Once they were done, Roland couldn’t help but be impressed. This was some of the best food he had ever tasted in this Temple. He has been here for years and he has eaten many delicacies from many worlds, but this one had to be the best!
“Hello, I hope you all enjoyed your meals as much as I think you did,”
Roland looked up to see a man standing in front of their table. Ah, this must be the chef. His name is Han… right? He is the one I saw going into that room to cook earlier. He is really something special if he can make food of this caliber.
“I don’t think I can say anything bad about the meal at all. There is nothing to question about your skills in the kitchen, that’s for sure,”
Han smiled and gave a small bow, but he stopped when he heard a low mutter coming from that lion woman.
“If only we could say the same about his character,”
Han rose a brow and looked towards her. The question in his eyes was obvious. Do you have something to say to me? Leona looked like she wanted to say something but she clicked her tongue and looked away after a moment. It was none of her business what Han did in his free time.
Roland watched the dynamics between the two of them and he couldn’t help but ask if they know each other.
“We came into the temple at the same time. I think that is where we had our first meeting,”
Han said this, but then a loud sound echoed through the restaurant as Vulcan hit the table while shouting a loud “Aha!”
“I knew I met you somewhere before! You’re the idiot that hit my shoulder the other day and never apologized! So you’re just a cook huh!?”
Han glared at Vulcan while talking in a cold tone.
“I would advise you not to cause a scene in my store. If you have something to say, then say it, but don’t shout like an illiterate,”
Vulcans eyes widened in anger!
“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to -!”
Roland quickly put his hand up and Vulcan turned towards him quickly. Roland only stared him down for a few seconds before Vulcan cursed and sat back down angrily. Once that was dealt with, Roland had to turn back to Han with a curious look. Who was this man that had already made so many enemies in this short time after coming to the temple? It was a good thing that the third member of the recruits didn’t have anything to say, but it was still strange that two of his members were involved with this man.
“I’m sorry about that. The meal has been splendid and I don’t think it would be possible to find something to match up to or beat your cooking. It’s a shame that we have to leave now,”
Roland told Senna to pay the fee and then they all stood to leave the restaurant, but just as Roland was about to leave, he looked towards Han and activated one of his skills.
[Appraisal] has been activated.
Hans’s system quickly brought up a skill!
[Mental Defence] has been activated.
Roland’s skill was supposed to give him a complete list of what Hans’s skills were, as well as his current level, but Roland blinked as an announcement quickly came up.
[[Appraisal] has been blocked due to a counter skill]
Roland saw this new announcement on his screen and he had to make sure he wasn’t seeing wrong. His skill was blocked? He looked up at Han again and saw Han looking at him with bored eyes. Those eyes sent a shiver down Roland’s spine and for a moment it looked like Han knew exactly what he just tried to do! He quickly decided that it was time to go.
Roland would have to find out more about this Han. He hasn’t seen anybody that was capable of stopping the appraisal skill! Roland was almost at level hundred and he is able to use the appraisal to look at the skills of those at even level one fifty! So why was Han blocking his skill!?
“Sir, is there something wrong?”
Senna came closer to Roland as they walked out of the store and asked this. Roland looked at her and she was shocked when she saw the confusion on his face. Like he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle.
“That man. Do you know anything about him?”
Senna shook her head before she told Roland that they only knew that he was a white star and one of the weakest of the chosen. They didn’t know how he got the restaurant, but some people say he bought it from a man that wanted to move to a higher floor.
Roland didn’t like not knowing enough about someone. He will have to find out about Han somehow. This man isn’t just a weakling. Nobody has ever seen a white star in this Temple before, so why did everyone suddenly think that people were weak because they were white stars?
“Senna. Have you ever seen him use any of his skills before? Is there any way for you to gauge his current abilities?”
Senna shook her head. She never bothered to look at such weaklings before. But Roland wanted to know more about this Han for some reason, so she would have to find a way to do it.
“I will think of something, sir”
Roland nodded as they got to their house to continue their training. This Temple was just too small for him not to know all of the players. If Han is going to be a problem then it is best if they get rid of him earlier.
…..
Han watched the group of five to walk away and he felt irritatatiom inside him. That Roland, he just tried to use a mental skill on me, didn’t he? And not only that, but it was a skill strong enough to make my Mental Defence come up like that. What was he trying to do? Was he trying to read my mind? No, that doesn’t make sense. Why would he try to read my mind for no reason like that? I didn’t show any signs of lying or dishonesty. That means he was trying to do something else. It was a long shot, but Han could only guess that Roland was trying to take a look at something inside his head, well, either that or he was trying to look at Han’s skills. The shock that Roland showed was the sort of shock a person would have when something you expect to be easy doesn’t work as it should. Han decided he is going to look out for any strange behaviors from that guild in the future.
The Trinata guild, right? They were one of the biggest guilds in the Temple currently. The fifth strongest, if Han’s information was correct. They were rumored to have three gold stars and eight silver stars in their guild along with more than seventy bronze stars.
That man, Roland, was one of the higher-ranking people in the guild so Han would have to look out for him. If Roland wanted to cause problems in the future then he would do it while thinking he had the backing of his guild. People like that were the most irritating because they usually do the stupidest things blindly.
Oh well, I’ll take care of it if it ever comes down to that. My plans are already in motion anyway and I can’t have them escaping before I’m done. Just a few more days and everything will be ready.
…….
The day that Han had been waiting for came faster than he expected it to. That morning he, Lily, Yue, and Rin said their goodbyes to the other girls as they left the restaurant. Today, they were going to try getting through the tenth floor. It has been one week since he upgraded Yue’s and Lily’s systems for the first time and just yesterday he made Yuuma do the second upgrade. This made Yue’s system jump right into the gold star but Lily still remained in the silver star for now.
At least now that they were this strong, Han was sure they won’t have a problem on the tenth floor. Rin was also much stronger than before. She has been growing at a scary pace and Han was sure it was because he never offered any help whenever they went out to fight on any of the floors. He would just throw the girls to the monsters and see if they could come back themselves. It was the best method of making them as independent as possible.
As it stood right now, Rin is capable of handling a silver star if they were only using their physical strength. Han was going to try and see if he could get some kind of weapon for her. She would be needing it if she ever hoped to handle any of the skills that the chosen had. Physical strength alone isn’t going to be enough to allow her to get through this Temple.
But that wasn’t the most important part of today. No, Han chose this particular day for them to go to the tenth floor because of one reason alone.
“What the hell is that man doing here again!?”
Vulcan shouted in anger while pointing towards Han’s group. Han smiled and waved.. Found you.
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