Vampire's Slice of Life

Flames raged in a crystal prison.

This was the gem beneath the bed of rocks Lith harvested.

Contained within the red gem were blinding white flames, burning even an immortal's hands that touched it.

With great difficulty, Lith held it in his palms and grunted due to the intense heat spreading from his palms towards his whole body.

Within seconds, he felt as if his whole body was lit on fire and grunted.

Dennis, Shi, and Hyunsuk who watched the scene were silent. They could feel the intense heat from afar, it went without a doubt how problematic it would be to hold the gem.

Gritting his teeth, Lith cast layers of barriers made of Earth, Wind, Water, and Light on the gem.

First, a square-shaped Wind layer enclosed the gem. It made the heat dissipate uniformly in all directions and provided proper ventilation.

Next, a Light layer reflected the intense light coming from the white flames. Since the Wind layer was present before, it didn't overheat the gem enclosing the flames.

After it was an Earth layer to absorb heat. This layer also gave a proper shape for Lith to hold onto.

Lastly, the Water layer at the very end kept the Earth layer moist and ensured it didn't break after turning brittle.

It felt a bit muddy to hold this square box containing the gem, but it was much better than feeling one's body being burnt.

If Lith had access to the Space element, he would've placed it into a different dimension, but in its absence, this was the best he could do.

Holding the gem, Lith said, "The first ingredient is acquired. Three more are left."

"Three? But weren't there five riddles, Your Highness?" Dennis suddenly asked.

If there were five riddles and they found one, shouldn't they be left with four more ingredients?

Lith shook his head. "The last two riddles are there to confuse people. The fifth riddle which you're talking about, it's not really a riddle, but a clue to the fourth riddle."

Dennis rubbed his chin. He did not understand anything. But oh well, if His Highness said three, then it's three!

Hyunsuk and the now conscious Shi were flabbergasted. Their hands were trembling and even though both were strangers to each other, they couldn't help but look at themselves.

The two's shocked eyes met and without saying anything, they understood everything the other party was feeling.

They had just watched their Master find a thing out of legend and then even contain it with his magic.

A thing… of the legend… a thing… of legend…

These words echoed in their minds and they both were frozen on their spots.

"Hello? You guys good?" Dennis waved his hand in front of the two's faces.

They woke up from their stupor and looked at Dennis, blinking their eyes repeatedly.

The two's gaze then fell on the mud box their Master was holding and it went without a doubt—he had actually successfully acquired an item of legend!

Hyunsuk and Shi were residents of this world. No one knew about the cursed child's legend better than them.

Despite eons of searching, no one was successful in finding the ingredients for the mythical stew. Then how come… how come their Master found it in one go like this?

The two could not help but wonder.

It was not just the two, even Lith and Dennis were slightly surprised with how efficiently they found this.

However, Lith had some speculations as to why the path was easier.

Truth to be told, it wasn't actually easy, but filled with sacrifices and hardship.

Miwa and Ralph were in grave danger. One was captured by a devil while the other was in the hands of the church. Their circumstances were really unfortunate.

Not only that, before this last quest, they had suffered through two centuries of hardship. By no means was it a joke and it was serious training.

Not only were Lith and the rest learning cooking, but also cultivating simultaneously.

Their attainments in various elements had increased sharply and despite having their own paths, the Cooking Path acted as a supplementary and only helped them further.

It did not clash and it helped them a lot. It's precisely for this reason that Ralph, who cultivated the Lust Path, could go about so many days without sleeping with anyone.

If he had abstained for so many days under normal circumstances, he would've gone crazy and turned into an incubus that only worked on instincts. He would've fucked any and every breathing thing he could find.

But such circumstances never appeared as eating food made out of rare beasts and herbs helped sustain and alleviate his cultivation.

Likewise, it was the same with the rest and they hadn't wasted their two hundred years in mere cooking.

Their reflexes, ability to handle huge crowds, not faltering under pressure, willpower, tenacity… Everything had been sharpened and increased to a great deal.

There was an old saying: sharpening the knife won't delay the cutting of the watermelon.

Their growth or cultivation had not been delayed due to cooking for so many years.

After going through such hardships, the four had entered this world for their last quest.

They were not natives of this place and naturally had knowledge and a perspective different from these guys.

The people of this world were afraid of venturing in the devil territories. Even if someone was caught and if some hero emerged out, they would stick to the rescue mission and not go elsewhere.

Likewise, the devils barely cared about the mythical ingredients. What mattered to them was the desires and ambitions of the humans.

Lith also speculated that the reason for them finding this ingredient was due to deities and a few other external factors.

It was no coincidence that Miwa fell in the hands of the devil that was near the gem.

The deity that was impressed by the vegetarian food and gave clues to Miwa's place was also another factor.

If Lith and Dennis hadn't practiced and perfected their cooking techniques, this deity wouldn't be impressed and they wouldn't be able to find Miwa.

Add to that, if they weren't kidnapped by the devils in the devil territory then Lith wouldn't have met Hyunsuk and Shi.

As for how Hyunsuk and Shi arrived here at the precise time, it had something to do with the 'external' factors. What force made them meet, Lith didn't know yet.

But there was something greater at play with not just a Charm meeting Lith, but also a Jinx coming together as an added bonus.

Who in the world possessed two complete opposites like this as disciples?

Even Lith's mother, who had many powerful subordinates, did not have anyone as special as this.

This was no mere coincidence!

…..

A/N: Hi everyone, please send your Powerstones and Golden Tickets.

Will release one bonus chapter with every 50 golden tickets and 100 Powerstones.

The goals look like:

108/150 Golden Tickets

186/300 Powerstones