Chapter 59: Central Region

Ethan walked over to Zharok, who was engaged in a heated discussion with Jake. "It seems we’re both done with our business, how much longer do you need to stay here?"

Zharok was also a history enthusiast, he and Jake, a fellow history enthusiast, had a lot of common ground, if Zharok still needed to continue his research here, they could just split up.

"I’m done as well, although there are still some disagreements between us, we can take our time discussing them later," Zharok said.

"What disagreements?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Regarding the reason for humanity’s disappearance, Mr. Jake believes that humanity disappeared because of an apocalypse."

"Apocalypse?"

"Exactly, he believes it was an apocalypse brought about by the God of Chaos that caused humanity to vanish from this world... Look at the murals on the wall..."

"My thoughts are different, I believe it was the relationship between the spirits and humans..."

They began debating again.

Ethan listened for a moment, then scratched the back of his head. "If you two want to debate, can we do it outside?"

"Hmm, fair enough, we’ve already looked at everything here, is there anything else you want to see?" Jake asked.

"I don’t have anything else I want to see," Ethan said.

"Then let’s head out."

Ethan’s group finished their exploration and walked out of the cave with Jake.

Before they knew it, the sun was almost setting.

"It seems you two have a lot to talk about, so let’s keep dinner simple," Jake said.

"Yeah, preferably something we can eat while chatting," Zharok agreed.

Ethan had an idea, they returned to Jake’s cabin, and he started kneading dough.

"Meow? When did you make natural yeast, meow?" Pearl asked.

"I found some time while I was farming."

Ethan added the yeast to the dough and let it ferment, then he minced meat, added seasonings, and shaped it into patties.

"What are you making, meow?"

"Burgers."

With bread, meat, and vegetables, it would be a shame not to, Ethan brought out the ketchup he had made in the Ape Beastman village and began preparing.

Zharok and Jake were still deep in discussion, after a good while, they finally remembered the cooking and walked over.

"Do you need any help?"

"Sorry for making you do all the work alone."

"It’s nothing difficult, you guys continue," Ethan said with a smile.

Once the dough finished fermenting, he put it into Jake’s stone oven, after a dozen minutes or so, he took the bread out, golden, round buns giving off an enticing aroma.

"Meow-woo! They look so delicious, meow!" Pearl said, its eyes shining.

"Want a taste?"

"Meow-woo~. So soft and fragrant, meow!"

Pearl took the bread and ate it happily, Ethan smiled and began frying the patties and slicing vegetables.

How could he forget the French fries? He poured oil into the Cauldron of Blessing, fried the potato strips he had prepared earlier, and placed the ketchup next to them.

"It would be even better if we had cola, but this is all we have for now."

"Wow, this is already a feast!" Zharok said happily, he had no idea what cola was.

Zharok, Pearl, and Jake started eating fries while Ethan assembled the burgers, he sliced the buns in half, added vegetables, placed thick patties on top, drizzled ketchup, and placed the top bun.

[Delicious Ketchup Burger]

[Made with buns, meat patties, vegetables, and ketchup. Quick and convenient, but the taste is anything but simple.]

[Delicious Effect: Willpower increases by 1 point upon first consumption.]

[Delicious Effect: Combat skill levels increase by 2 levels for one day upon consumption.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★]

"Oh, nicely done," Jake praised.

"Really?! I’m looking forward to this so much!" Zharok said, eyes lighting up.

Ethan handed three burgers out, then picked up his own, soft, sweet bun sandwiching fresh vegetables and a tender, juicy meat patty.

The sweet and sour ketchup blended all the flavors together.

’It would be even better with cheese, if I added cheese, could I make a four-star dish?’

While checking his increased skill levels, he looked at the other three. ’Why aren’t they reacting?’

"Phew!! I almost choked to death!"

After a while, Zharok snapped back, he looked at the burger with shock. "To think such a delicacy exists in this world..."

"Meow-woo... this is truly too delicious, meow..."

"Even the first time I drank blood, I never tasted anything this delicious..." Jake sighed.

’Is there a need to exaggerate that much?’ Still, as a cook, it made him happy.

"There’s still plenty, so don’t hold back." The three of them seemed reluctant to finish and were taking tiny bites, only then did they begin to wolf down their food.

"Ah~! The fries are so good too! The burger? Absolutely incredible!"

"Thanks to the chilled juice, I don’t feel thirsty at all!"

"It’s too perfect, meow!!"

"It’ll taste even better next time," Ethan said, if he had time, he wanted to try making cheese, as for cola, as long as he could find carbonated water, he could make it.

Hearing this, Jake looked dejected. "What should I do... Do I need to move to the Central Region too...?"

Ethan couldn’t help but laugh.

The next day, he began packing, he couldn’t stay forever, just as he was about to leave, Jake walked over.

"Thank you, you really helped me a lot."

"Did you find any clues about the spirit weapons?" Ethan asked.

"Unfortunately, no, but I will continue my research, if I unlock the seal, I will definitely visit you in the Central Region."

"You are welcome anytime."

"Thank you! Oh right, take this." Jake pressed a magic stone into Ethan’s hand, an empty one, identical to the one from the ruins.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation."

"Uh... mhm, thank you."

’With two magic stones, I can make another freezer.’

"Everything is ready! Let’s go!" Zharok shouted.

"Let’s head out, meow!"

"Be careful on the road, you’re welcome anytime, or if you have questions, you can always ask me," Jake said.

"Thank you."

"By the way, regarding the World Tree seed — if you want it to sprout, it’s best to find a World Fragment first."

"A World Fragment? What’s that?"

"The World Tree is different from ordinary plants, it needs to absorb the power of the world to grow, and a World Fragment can help it absorb that power."

"Thank you."

"I’m the one who should be thanking you, until we meet again."

Jake smiled and bid them farewell, standing in front of his cabin.

It was time to go, Ethan climbed onto the handcart, and Zharok began running.

"How long will it take to get back?" Ethan asked.

"I don’t know, should be faster than when we came," Zharok answered.

Now that the temperature had dropped, Zharok could run during the day, Ethan leaned back on the handcart.

’Looks like I’ll have to find time to visit the Elven Kingdom.’