The Rise of the Black Plain

Minos and Abby had recently arrived at the hotel they would stay in Jalene City, and by now, the two were diligently cultivating in their apartment.

Many things had happened in the month that had passed, but neither of them leveled up. Minos would need at least another ten weeks to level 44, while Abby would need almost double that.

But both were doing very well and had gotten stronger in the past month.

In the meantime, Abby had learned two Silver-grade techniques, one focused on defense and the other on movement. With that, she still needed to learn two more spiritual techniques with Minos, which would be focused on attack and support.

However, it would still take her more than a month to complete this set of Silver-grade techniques. After all, she would need to get used to the difference generated by changing techniques!

But the time the two had traveled had provided excellent training in Abby's newly learned techniques. Back then, after leaving that camp in the middle of the Flooded Valley, the two had faced beasts on three different occasions.

On two incidents, they had fought 5th stage beasts that had attacked them in groups. And both times, the two of them had fought a lot, especially the blue-haired girl, who had Minos' protection at all times.

And even though Abby still didn't have a powerful attack, due to the classification of her technique, her fighting proficiency had improved a lot. That is because moving more quickly and being able to defend against stronger attacks had made this young woman much more efficient!

Even the fights against Minos had increased in difficulty after she learned these two techniques.

As for the third combat with spiritual beasts, a single beast from the 6th stage had appeared in their path on that occasion. And even though that beast was only at level 50, that was enough to threaten Minos' side.

In that situation, he couldn't invest all of himself against that beast and then be vulnerable for several hours straight in a dangerous region!

On the other hand, Minos had to guarantee his friend's safety, who could not under any circumstances resist an attack from a being of level 50.

Abby had several helpful arrays for times like these, and she had used one of those to hold that beast for some time while she and Minos ran!

And they managed to successfully escape until they left the Flooded Valley and arrived at the first town on the north side of this forest region.

After that, the two traveled for more than 20 days, passing through several cities in this southern part of the Kingdom of the Waves, until arriving in Jalene City.

Most of the places they passed were only slightly larger than Diamond City, and, in general, they hadn't had any significant problems.

Their cultivation was not low by this state standards, and they both traveled on a fast 4th stage beast. Consequently, even if they had passed through other dangerous places, nothing had happened until they arrived here, in the principal city of the Gulf of Waves.

...

Hours passed, and by this time, it was already dawn in Jalene City.

The streets of that town were busy, and various food fragrances already permeated the air, departing from every culinary establishment that was already open at this time of day.

And in a part of the city's beachfront, in a five-story hotel, Minos and Abby were lying on the bed in their bedroom, hugging each other and dripping with sweat on their bodies.

Both breathed hurriedly, as they felt a heavenly sensation passing through their bodies, after the two's early morning 'active.' Abby was getting better at what she did, and with her innate ability, even without using it on purpose, this young woman couldn't help but completely please her partner.

As for Minos, he naturally had his ability in bed and satisfied his partner several times on each intimate occasion they had.

Anyway, after exchanging a few kisses while still in bed, the two got up and took a hot shower until they finally went out for breakfast.

They wanted to stay in this town for a week at most, or rather, they would stay here only until Minos could negotiate some cooking-focused techniques. At the very least, he wanted to buy 40 Blue-grade and 3 Black-grade ones.

That would be enough for the Dry City to support its inhabitants who wished to pursue this area of specialization.

So, even if they wanted to try the gastronomy site, neither of them was in a hurry to do this early in the day, during breakfast. Instead, the two would leave to do this gastronomic tour later after getting to know this city a little more.

For now, the services of this hotel that they had rented an apartment would serve the two youths.

But that wouldn't be bad. No, even the cooks at this hotel, which was reputed to be one of the best in the city, could be considered to be of a much higher caliber than those Minos had the opportunity to sample their cuisines.

In fact, only the cuisine of the hotel that Minos and Ruth had stayed at, in the capital of the Cromwell Kingdom, could be considered superior to that of this hotel in Jalene City.

But that was just expected. While one place received Spiritual Kings as its regular guests, this place within the Kingdom of the Waves usually had Spiritual Generals as clients. With that, there would naturally be a difference in the quality of services.

...

After finishing their breakfast, which had been quite hearty and tasty, Minos and Abby had already left that hotel and were now walking along the shore.

The two had received some information in that hotel, and with that, they had planned what to do in this town.

They learned that many local cooks attended in their own establishments just as could happen on Stone Island with blacksmiths. And because of that, it would not be so easy for Minos to buy spiritual techniques from these people, who acted individually.

But according to the manager of that hotel, Minos could be able to negotiate the items of his interest at the Jalene City Culinary School.

This place functioned as a space for teaching and developing local gastronomy, just as the Dry City Medical School was proposed to work.

Compared to the alchemist guilds, this place in Jalene City focused more on teaching gastronomy rather than also having a commercial appeal, like those other establishments.

Instead of selling high-value items at the local culinary school, there was a 6-level refectory where any locals could pay a small amount to eat.

Usually, the dishes served in this place were prepared by people who had just risen in ranks as cooks and were still controlling their new techniques, skills, etc.

Therefore, due to their advances, the first dishes prepared by these people were not considered perfect for their levels. So, they sold at a low cost to residents who wanted to go to the cooking school cafeteria so that at least the price of the ingredients was paid.

After all, such a thing was not cheap!

After that, these cooks would naturally not do such a thing until they advanced in classification again.

Anyway, this local culinary school was located in the southern region of this town, where Minos and Abby were going right now. This place was on the beachfront avenue, on the shore, where the two walked calmly, feeling the morning breeze on their faces.

'Let's see how this place works…' So, the young Stuart thought to himself, already preparing to learn useful things for him to put in his territory.