Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 48 (Patreon)

Chapter 48: Becoming Stronger

Training concluded, everyone returned to Meteor Street.

Uvogin and Nobunaga were thoroughly beaten up by Luo, their spirits dampened, sharing a sense of commiseration.

Machi had just begun to touch upon the capabilities of Nen, her skills still raw. Against Luo, she had no fighting chance, relegated to observing rather than participating in actual combat training.

In the two bouts, although Uvogin and Nobunaga were essentially used as punching bags by Luo, they also displayed their unique characteristics and abilities.

Watching from the sidelines, Machi felt as though she was being left far behind, which rendered her silent on the way back.

She pondered... how to catch up with Luo and the others.

The trio walked in silence, Luo included, unaware of Machi's feelings.

Two months of intensive training had indeed made Luo stronger, to the point where he felt confident in winning even against Cook.

"Although control over my aura has strengthened, there's still a sense of stagnation when adjusting the amount of aura."

"During the fight with Uvogin, even with my concentration at its peak, the transfer of aura isn't as fluid as I'd like, with about a second's delay. It's fine for offense, as preparation in advance is possible, but for hasty defenses, it's far too slow."

"The difficulty of improvement is high; I can only proceed slowly, without rush."

"When utilizing my aura, the flow feels smooth, but it lacks endurance, the optimal state lasting less than five minutes."

"These two months, I've focused too much on refining control and neglected to increase the amount of aura within me."

"And despite such strenuous training, my proficiency in the six Nen categories has only increased by 1%."

"While any improvement is welcome, this rate is excessively slow."

Luo thought to himself as he walked, eyes forward.

To fully utilize Ren in combat and only maintain it for less than five minutes was far too brief.

If faced with a formidable enemy, even if I could manage them, failing to defeat the opponent within five minutes would lead to a weakened state, akin to stepping one foot into the grave prematurely.

The degree of control over my aura has improved, but still hasn't reached a satisfying level, and next, I must shift my training focus towards increasing the amount of aura.

Five minutes is indeed too short...

"There's about two more months left; I must at least be able to last over fifteen minutes."

Luo clenched his fist, realizing his shortcomings and flaws that needed swift rectification.

Moving forward, daily sparring and accumulation of combat experience were necessary, along with increasing the amount of aura within me.

The four of them, with varying thoughts, shared a common goal in their hearts: to become stronger!

After a battle, the trio was quite exhausted, managing to recuperate some energy on their way back.

As they neared Meteor Street, Uvogin and Nobunaga's spirits began to recover.

"Luo, what are we eating today?"

As they approached Meteor Street, Uvogin asked eagerly.

Nobunaga remained silent but looked at Luo with anticipation.

"Sour and spicy shredded potatoes, fish-flavored shredded pork," Luo replied casually.

Although Meteor Street had a market, its small size severely limited the available ingredients, with potatoes almost being a staple in every meal.

Gurgle...

Hearing these dishes, Uvogin and Nobunaga swallowed their saliva unconsciously.

Machi rolled her eyes at the mention.

"Let's hurry; I'm starving."

Uvogin quickened his pace, leaving Luo and the others a few meters behind.

Reluctantly, the trio sped up to catch up with Uvogin.

Minutes later, everyone arrived at Uvogin's house.

In terms of house size and kitchen specifications, Uvogin's home was decent. Chrollo's place had better conditions, but Luo seldom visited there, mainly to avoid the East District and its creep, reducing the chances of encounters.

Upon returning home, Uvogin rushed into the bathroom first, leaving Nobunaga, who sweated the most, almost ready to chop down the bathroom door.

Machi stood in the living room, closing her eyes to practice Ten and Ren.

Luo headed to the kitchen to prepare food for Machi and the others.

Ever since showcasing his culinary skills at the church, Machi and the others had never cooked again, adopting a stance of not eating unless it was made by Luo.

Luo placed five washed potatoes on the chopping board, extending his palm above them, activating the power of God's Hand.

A glowing sphere expanded to cover the entire chopping board and the five potatoes.

Luo calmly controlled God's Hand, peeling the potatoes' skin as if peeling an apple, with a thin layer of skin spirally falling off from the top.

In less than thirty seconds, the skin of all five potatoes was peeled off.

Then, Luo reduced the scope of God's Hand to the size of a ball, covering one potato. With a slight intention, in less than a second, a potato was divided into a pile of symmetrical strips by God's Hand.

After finishing with one potato, Luo immediately moved on to the next, processing all five potatoes in less than six seconds.

The first time he attempted to use his ability on potatoes two months ago, peeling took a minute, and slicing could at best cut a potato into a dozen pieces.

Now, Luo's ability not only covered the entire chopping board but also differentiated the target objects, peeling the skins of five potatoes simultaneously without affecting the chopping board.

Identifying targets and handling multiple targets simultaneously was a sign of progress, and he was now successful in dividing potatoes into strips, though he was not yet able to slice two potatoes at once.

Without seeing his limit, Luo would continue to train and progress until he reached it.

When practicing control over God's Hand using stones recently, he often envisioned a future scenario.

If his control was strong enough, could he separate the bones, muscles, blood vessels, and even pathogens of a living organism?

This whimsical thought provided him with ample motivation.

Utilizing the ability of God's Hand, he swiftly processed the ingredients and began cooking.

In less than ten minutes, two large dishes were ready, and the rice had been cooked before they left.

As he served the food and utensils, Uvogin had not yet finished his bath. Nobunaga, seizing the opportunity for revenge, silently gestured to Luo and then rushed to the table, intending to eat everything before Uvogin finished bathing.

Machi stopped practicing and walked to the table, catching Nobunaga's glance, sighing lightly, and then looking at Luo, who also appeared resigned.

"Bang!"

Just as Nobunaga filled his bowl ready to eat, the bathroom door burst open, and Uvogin, wrapped in a towel on his lower half, charged out.

"I smell something delicious."

Luo, Nobunaga, and Machi looked at Uvogin, still covered in soap, a few black lines falling from their foreheads.

...

Nightfall.

Luo lay on his bed, hands under his head, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Machi was still on the hammock, not asleep. Suddenly, she asked, "Luo, are you asleep?"

Luo turned his head towards the hammock where Machi lay and replied, "Not yet."

"Oh," Machi responded, ending the conversation there.

Luo was puzzled but didn't press further.

Silence fell upon the room.

After a while, Machi spoke again, her voice inquiring, "Luo, what do you think about using aura as threads?"

Luo paused, unsure how to respond.

Originally, Machi's Nen involved using aura as threads, so this should have been an easy question to answer, but Luo hesitated.

After a moment, Luo seriously said, "That's something you have to decide for yourself, without needing to hear others' opinions."

Luo didn't respond affirmatively to Machi's inquiry but encouraged her to make her own decision.

Machi fell silent.

Shortly after, she softly said, "Hmm."

...

The next day, the combat training continued.

Uvogin and Nobunaga were still being swung around by Luo.

Days passed, each one bringing them closer to strength, and September was fast approaching.

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