Chapter 1897 – Master Dishes

As soon as Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Shopfront, the Forest Traveler started to change.

In less than five seconds, the Forest Traveler transformed from a shabby, two-story restaurant into an exquisite, three-story establishment The restaurant was now far more appealing than the surrounding Shops.

However, the interior had changed far more than the restaurant’s exterior. The space inside the restaurant had more than doubled.

Originally, the first floor had only had room for a little over ten tables, but now, it could hold more than 30. The second floor had also become a dining area, and the living area had been moved to the third floor. Currently, however, the interior’s design was still modest. Shi Feng would have to spend more Gold to decorate the place.

Next, I have to figure out how to lure customers here to increase the restaurant’s business. Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction at the new Forest Traveler.

Although he had to pay for the restaurant’s upgrade with his own money, now that the restaurant’s quality had improved, he could charge customers more. At the same time, the restaurant’s increased size could hold more customers at one time, increasing profits further.

However, Shi Feng was more concerned with the two Master Dishes.

One of the two Master Dishes was Drunken Tiger Meat, while the other was called Frozen Bone Soup. When consumed, the Drunken Tiger Meat increased players’ Strength by 10% for six hours. As for the Frozen Bone Soup, it increased players’ Intelligence by 10% for six hours. Neither dish had a Cooldown. Hence, even if the buffs were removed by a Skill or death, players could consume another dish to regain the benefits.

To physical and magical class players, a 10% increase in Strength or Intelligence would provide a significant boost to combat power. Moreover, the two dishes effects could stack with similar potions. The only downside was that the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup’s buffs would vanish upon death. In contrast, many Master Potions would remain in effect. However, there was a positive to these two Master Dishes. If players entered special Dungeons or environments that prevented the use of external tools, they wouldn’t lose the dishes’ buffs.

Hence, the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup would be of significant help during his planned Void Serpent raid.

Since the Forest Traveler was only a 1-star Restaurant, its only chef had been the owner, Joseph. Even if he provided the dishes’ required materials, their production speed would be limited. Now, when Shi Feng examined the restaurant’s menu, he saw that the Drunken Tiger Meat only needed ten minutes to cook, while the Frozen Bone Soup only required eight minutes.

However, since he had upgraded the restaurant, he could now higher two more chefs. He could double the dishes’ production speed if he did. As for the required materials, Zero Wing could collect them in a short time.

Following which, Shi Feng called up the Forest Traveler’s system interface. In no time at all, he managed to hire two more chefs and eight more waiters. He then reopened the Forest Traveler for business.

Less than five minutes, the restaurant welcomed its first NPC customer. Although the promotion was as effective as he had hoped, it was tolerable.

In God’s Domain, a leased restaurant didn’t only earn an income from player customers. It could also earn money from NPCs. Only, the profit-sharing for income from NPC customers was much lower, only one-quarter of that from players. However, while this amount seemed insignificant, NPCs provided daily income. As the restaurant’s star-rank and size continued to improve, it would generate more income from NPCs.

Currently, the Forest Traveler was a 1-star Restaurant and could only earn about 3 to 10 Gold from NPCs each day.

However, once it became a 2-star Restaurant, it could earn around 30 to 100 Gold per day from NPCs. Most importantly, the restaurant would gain more Master Cooking Recipes. The restaurant’s accommodations would become higher-quality, as well.

Players didn’t determine accommodation fees in the Sea of Trees. Rather, the system would set a price based on the hotel or restaurant’s size, star-rank, and popularity. The minimum accommodation fee for a 1-star establishment in the city would be 50 Silver, while the maximum was 1 Gold. For 2-star accommodation, the minimum price was 2 Gold, while the maximum was 5 Gold. Hence, accommodation fees in the Sea of Trees ranged from 50 Silver to 5 Gold. Establishments could only rise to 2-star status in the city.

However, 2-star Restaurants and Hotels were very rare in the Sea of Trees. They were all concentrated in the central district, but players would need sufficient status and Contribution Points to rent these establishments. Though, once players crowded the Sea of Trees, those who owned 2-star Hotels and Restaurants would earn a massive income from their establishments.

After Shi Feng dealt with the Forest Traveler, he contacted Melancholic Smile and had her collect the required materials for the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup as quickly as possible. Then, using the Abyss Pendant, Shi Feng left an Abyss Marker in his office in the Forest Traveler. With this, he could return to the Sea of Trees even without a key.

Of course, there was an easier method to return; he could upgrade one of his leased establishments to 2-star status. He’d be able to head to a magic store and purchase a special Teleportation Scroll. Although the Teleportation Scroll cost far more than a Return Scroll, each costing 5 Silver Coins, 2-star establishments’ player staff could bind the Teleportation Scroll to the building. Players could then use the bound Teleportation Scroll to teleport back to the establishment.

Since the Forest Traveler wasn’t yet 2-star rank, it didn’t have this function. Hence, Shi Feng had to rely on the Abyss Pendant.

Once Melancholic Smile had gathered the necessary materials, Shi Feng teleported to White River City’s Guild Residence to collect them. After retrieving the materials from the Guild Warehouse, he used Abyss Teleport to return to the Forest Traveler. He then had Joseph and the two new chefs begin their work in the kitchen.

While waiting for the chefs to complete the dishes, Shi Feng returned to White River City’s Candlelight Trading Firm to produce Advanced Mana Armor Kits and Titan City’s standardized Dark-Gold Weapons. He used this opportunity to upgrade the weapons of Zero Wing’s members and earn the Forging Proficiency required to become an Intermediate Master Forger.

Previously, he had acquired several hundred sets of materials necessary for forging the standardized Dark-Gold Weapons from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. Meanwhile, as Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile were both busy with the Hell Tank components, these items’ production rate had considerably slowed. Even now, there was a huge pile of materials left unused.

In his Special Forging Room, Shi Feng forged weapons without rest, steadily and rapidly filling his experience bar.

As he crafted Dark-Gold Weapons, not only did his Forging Proficiency increase, but he also gained EXP faster than grinding normal monsters. After two days of work, Shi Feng had reached 70.5% of Level 69. He was now less than 30% away from the Level 70 threshold. He was also less than 20,000 Proficiency Points away from becoming an Intermediate Master Forger.

Shi Feng had also forged 300-plus standardized Dark-Gold Weapons and 200-plus Advanced Mana Armor Kits.

Shi Feng used 130 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Level 55. Although the improvement wasn’t earth- shattering this time, its Attack Power had risen from 2,070 to 2,350. All Basic Attributes had also increased by 192 points, rather than the previous 170 points, and the weapon’s Attack Speed had risen by 29 instead of 27. This change increased the Attack Power of Shi Feng’s sub-arm immensely. However, the Abyssal Blade still couldn’t compare to Killing Ray, whose level increased or decreased with its user’s.

However, Shi Feng was satisfied with this result. After all, the Abyssal Blade was a top-tier Epic Weapon now. If he evolved it further, it would become as powerful as Fragmented Legendary Weapons.

It’s about time. I should go and collect the dishes. After a glance at the time, Shi Feng used Abyss Transfer to return to the Sea of Trees.

As Shi Feng returned to the Forest Traveler, he noticed that the restaurant had considerably more NPC customers. At least, it wasn’t as deserted as it had been. There were even six customers dining in the first-floor hall.

A short moment later, Shi Feng collected 300 sets of Drunken Tiger Meat and 500 bowls of Frozen Bone Soup from Joseph. He then teleported back to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City.

When Cola, Alluring Summer, and their companions noticed Shi Feng’s arrival in the Guild Hall’s lounge, they ran up to greet him.

“Hehe, Guild Leader, look! I’m Level 60 now!” Cola said as he gleefully revealed his level, proving to Shi Feng that he had worked very hard while grinding monsters.

Every five levels was a minor turning point in God’s Domain. Meanwhile, Level 60 happened to be one of those turning points that gave players a small boost to their Attributes.

“Guild Leader, why did you recall us so suddenly?” Alluring Summer asked after rolling her eyes at Cola.

“Mhm. You two, try on these two set equipment,” Shi Feng said, nodding. He then took out the Sins of Thunderfire Set and the Scorching Wind Set, which he had acquired from the Flame Demon King, handing them to Alluring Summer and Cola.