Chapter 396: Glowing Handsome Man

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Glowing Handsome Man

The reward appeared in her hand.

It emanated a warm, alluring Aura, as if capable of stirring the deepest desires of one’s heart.

[Desire Candy]

[Effect: Eating this candy will stimulate the faint power of wishes contained within, attempting to grant one of the user’s desires.]

[Note: The Desire Candy has a ninety-nine percent chance of failure and a one percent chance of success. Success would be a miracle.]

"A one percent success rate..."

Seraphina Sullivan’s lip twitched as she read the candy’s description.

When she saw that it could grant wishes, Seraphina had been excited.

But then she saw the success rate and was reminded of her "bandit chief" constitution.

’These odds are worse than a gacha game.’

Regardless, it was the reward for completing the first quest and the first "local specialty" she had obtained in this dream dungeon.

She carefully put the [Desire Candy] away, not using it immediately.

An item that gambled on such low odds might be useful for a desperate play at a critical moment.

"Alright, everyone, it’s time to get to your posts."

A frog guard who looked like a squad leader hopped over, urging them on in a booming, muffled voice, "The banquet is about to start, and we’re short on time! Follow me!"

Seraphina Sullivan, Ironhide, Clayton Quinn, and Joy Hughes exchanged a look, seeing the gravity and determination in each other’s eyes.

The first quest was just the beginning. The real challenges—preparing the banquet and dealing with the impending "Nightmare Corps"—were still to come.

They followed their respective guides toward different areas of the Fantasy Castle.

Thus began their "work" careers in the "Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams."

Seraphina followed a "little guide person" wearing a ridiculous chef’s hat.

They passed through winding, increasingly lavishly decorated corridors inside the castle.

Finally, they arrived at a vast area saturated with an even richer and more complex sweet fragrance.

The banquet’s back kitchen.

Or more specifically, the dessert preparation area.

The place was like a baking exposition for fantasy creatures.

As far as the eye could see, all sorts of "chefs" were bustling about.

There was a giant, over three meters tall, with gem-blue skin and knotted muscles, yet it was using its enormous hands with incredible dexterity.

The giant was currently holding a rolling pin as transparent as ice crystal, working a "cloud dough" larger than a tabletop.

There was a "butterfly woman" with the upper body of an elegant noble lady and the lower body of colorful butterfly wings and an insect’s abdomen.

She was currently using her proboscis to draw nectar from a sweet-smelling flower.

She then precisely injected it into a row of small "macarons."

There were also "Slime" flavorists floating in the air, their jelly-like bodies wobbling as they constantly secreted different colored syrups.

There were even a few fluffy "squirrel" chefs in small aprons, using their tails to hold whisks and vigorously beat ingredients in a huge silver bowl.

The peculiarity of the races and the variety of their forms were a real eye-opener for Seraphina.

It was a bizarre and motley collection of creatures.

It was as if creatures from every fairytale and myth imaginable had been gathered in this one kitchen.

’What on earth do the king and Princess of the Peach Kingdom... look like?’

A strong sense of curiosity rose in Seraphina’s heart.

’Are they like the kings and princesses from traditional fairytales?’

’Or something more... unexpected?’

After all, the butler was a spider-person and the guards were frog-people.

"You’re the new Pastry Chef?"

Just as Seraphina was covertly observing the strange sights around her,

a clear, pleasant male voice, one that seemed to have a metallic quality and an ethereal echo, sounded from behind her.

Seraphina turned at the sound.

And then, she froze.

It was a man—an extremely young and unusually handsome one.

He wore a well-tailored, pure white, robe-like chef’s uniform that flowed like moonlight.

A simple golden sash was tied around his waist.

But none of that was the main point.

The main point was his appearance, and... the fact that he was literally glowing!

That’s right, "glowing" in the most literal sense of the word!

He had waist-length golden hair that looked like the purest molten sunlight.

The hair was not still.

It moved as if of its own accord, without any wind, each strand emitting a soft, brilliant golden halo.

It was like he had a built-in holy light special effect.

It illuminated the small area around him with a bright, warm light.

His face was so handsome it was almost unreal.

His features were flawless.

Like a work of art personally sculpted by a God,

his deep eyes were like a night sky filled with a sea of stars.

He had a high-bridged nose and thin, slightly pursed lips.

All combined into a face so handsome it was almost aggressive.

Right now, those eyes were watching Seraphina with a hint of scrutiny and curiosity.

Seraphina squinted instinctively. "You... you’re blinding me!"

Hearing Seraphina’s reflexive mutter, Eureka was momentarily speechless.

The man was more than just a visual shock.

He also exuded an indescribable special aura—one that was gentle yet distant.

It wasn’t the oppressive pressure of Power.

It was more like a... "quality" of existence that was itself beyond common sense.

It made him seem out of place among the bizarre dream creatures around him.

And yet, strangely harmonious.

Even though Seraphina had seen all kinds of on-screen idols and fashion models in modern society,

and even had considerable expertise in aesthetics from her own design background,

she had to admit that the golden-haired man before her was the most impactful, most "perfect," and also the most "inhumanly" handsome person she had ever seen.

It was a kind of beauty that transcended Gender, race, and even the category of living beings—a beauty that was almost "conceptual."

However, Seraphina’s daze lasted less than a second.

Her experiences struggling to survive in the apocalypse, tempered by numerous brushes with death, had long since made her mind exceptionally tough.

Her immunity to good looks was also far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Especially in a bizarre and unpredictable dungeon like this, any anomaly warranted high alert.

Almost instinctively, she secretly activated [Eye of Resume], trying to view the information of this "glowing pretty boy."

However—

[DING! Skill activation failed! Target is protected by high-dimensional information cloaking and rule interference! Analysis impossible!]

The cold failure notification rang in her mind, accompanied by a familiar, distorted static.

Seraphina’s heart sank!

’Analysis failed!’

’This feeling... there’s no mistaking it!’

’It’s exactly the same as when I tried to inspect Cecilia while she was possessed by the Fiend God’s consciousness!’

In this "Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams" dungeon, all outside items were unusable.

There was no way he could have a shielding item like the [Stone of Concealment].

In that case, for something to be able to forcibly interfere with and block even a Talent Skill like [Eye of Resume], there was only one possibility—

A higher-level existence!

Or, at the very least, an existence carrying a higher level of "rules" or "will"!