The sour taste of lemon, the tenderness of the fish, the burning aroma, and the slightly sweet taste with a bit of fishy and oily smell burst into Lumian's mouth in rich layers. It was much more delicious than he expected.
He also thought that this kind of dishes would be closer to the taste of potions. They were both unpalatable and exciting, but who knew they could be called delicacies.
Given the choice, Ludwig indeed preferred delicious food and would not fool himself... Lumian chewed the seven or eight pieces of fish and swallowed it into his belly.
A slight burning sensation immediately spread from his throat to his stomach, making him feel as if he had drank a glass of strong alcohol.
This feeling quickly subsided and there was nothing unusual anymore.
"Did this have an effect?" Lumian looked at Ludwig.
Ludwig shook his head:
"Wait another two to three minutes for your stomach to absorb it."
"So fast?" Franka asked in surprise.
It's not that she doesn't respect the occult. Having drunk potions, she knows that potions have instant effects, but Ludwig's delicacies clearly require the stomach to be digested and absorbed, which completely goes against the working principle of the stomach.
Moreover, the stomach does not absorb everything!
Ludwig replied seriously:
“The chef’s creations are quickly absorbed by the stomach.”
Chef... Lumian nodded thoughtfully.
He remembered that Ludwig would comment on this and that in a gourmet tone many times before.
Ludwig didn't explain any more, buried his face in the soup pot in front of him, and ate the pile of "ice lemon fish fillets".
Jian Na and others saw this and quickly ate the fish fillets on their plates.
After two minutes, Lumian felt that every part of his body was getting hot, and his skin and flesh felt a slight sting.
This was a very weak effect on him, not to mention compared to the feeling when drinking the potion, even the pain of burning himself with flames was far less than it was.
Not long after, Lumian returned to normal, with no apparent abnormalities visible on the surface.
He looked narrowly at Franka, Jenna and Anthony, waiting for the "ice lemon fish fillet" to take effect.
After another minute, the faces of Jian Na and others suddenly turned red, as if they had eaten very spicy dishes in the plateau area of the Kingdom of Feneport.
"Hiss..." Lugano made a painful sound, and felt a burning sensation in his breathing.
This came from his body, making it impossible for him to treat it.
A layer of frost appeared on Franka's body surface, as if she wanted to reduce the stinging sensation of her skin and flesh in this way.
This has no effect.
There was a certain amount of pain on the brows of Jian Na and Anthony, but they did not make any unnecessary movements, enduring the discomfort and waiting for the "Iced Lemon Fish Fillet" to complete the transformation of their bodies.
This lasted for ten or twenty seconds, and the expressions of the four people relaxed one after another.
"How do you feel?" Lumian asked with a smile.
Franka recalled habitually and said:
"Every inch of skin and flesh feels like it's been burned by fire. Well, it's not to that level yet. It feels lighter..."
While she was talking, she took out a box of matches from her "traveler's bag", lit two of them very experimentally, and placed them on the back of her left hand, holding them there for a while.
Franka's expression gradually became distorted. She held on with her left hand for a while, then retracted it and shook it.
The box of matches then fell to the ground.
"It still hurts!" Franka grinned and reported the experimental results to Lumian and Jenna.
Ludwig replied in the midst of his busy schedule:
"It won't reduce the pain."
"How is the wound?" Jenna asked with concern.
Franka immediately looked at the back of her left hand and saw that there were only very shallow burn marks on the fair skin, and the actual damage caused was very small.
"It does have an effect, although the temperature of this flame is not high to begin with..." Franka's expression relaxed.
Anthony on the other side of the dining table considered his words and said:
"I feel like I'm a little more irritable than normal, but it's still within reason."
"I have irritable moods too, not many." Jenna agreed.
Franka and Lugano successively confirmed the existence of this phenomenon.
"This is normal. If there is an effect, there will be pollution." Ludwig explained after swallowing the "ice lemon fish fillet" in his mouth.
Janna and Franka set their sights on Lumian at the same time.
Lumian spread his hands and said with a smile:
"I don't feel it."
The pollution of "ice lemon fish fillet" is almost negligible to him.
Franka didn't know whether she should be envious or sympathetic, she thought for a few seconds and said:
"This is a bit like a weakened version of the 'contracted person', who suffers certain negative effects in exchange for corresponding extraordinary traits. Well, the effect is obviously weaker, but the advantage is that it is mainly passive, and the negative effects are also smaller.
"When you get similar ingredients in the future, you must ask clearly what the permanent effects and negative effects are. You can't eat them all at once. You have to be selective, otherwise problems will easily occur."
Lumian glanced at Ludwig and said:
"It also depends on the person."
Maybe the "Chef" or "Gourmet" path has a sequence that reduces the corresponding impact, just like the "Mendicant Monk" and "Ascetic" to the "Indentured One".
Franka understood what Lumian meant and continued excitedly:
“Dishes and concoctions that have permanent effects are no longer similar to the various potions in the ‘Medicine’ path.
"I have always envied the 'contracted person' before, thinking that I could freely combine abilities and create a unique character model. Now, without accepting the gift of the evil god, I finally have the opportunity, although it is a weakened version.
.”
This made Jenna's heart flutter, and the two witches looked at Ludwig with bright eyes.
In their eyes, this was no longer the edible monster child Lumian described, but an extraordinary little chef worthy of love and care.
Ludwig concentrated on eating the remaining "ice lemon fish fillet" without any unnecessary reaction.
…………
Underground Trier, in the hollow of a certain quarry.
Franka, Jenna and Anthony stood outside the "spiritual wall", watching Lumian perform a ceremony and prepare to obtain new contract abilities.
Because he had already read all the information on spiritual creatures provided by Ms. "Magician" and had the knowledge of strange creatures that came with the gift of power, Lumian quickly screened out two people who might have the ability to travel through the mirror.
A contract goal:
One is a spiritual creature called "Bloody Jack". According to the description, in the southern part of the Kingdom of Loen, when some occult enthusiasts and folklorists were playing some kind of divination game, they discovered a figure holding a giant ax and covered in blood appeared in the mirror.
A man with a blurry appearance and blood dripping from the mirror will walk out of the mirror, attack everyone present, and kill them all;
One is the "Dalatra Diamond Worm" mentioned in the occult knowledge of the "contractee", which can provide the ability of "traveling through the mirror", and requires the sacrifice of a meteorite crystallized on the surface to sign the contract.
The negative impact is that the body density becomes larger and the stature becomes shorter.
There is no doubt that the one Lumian wants to summon is the first one, but he is not sure that "Bloody Jack" must have the ability to "walk through the mirror".
Looking at the three burning candles, Lumian took two steps back and said in a deep voice in ancient Hermetic:
“The ‘fool’ who does not belong to this era;
“You are the mysterious master above the gray fog;
"You are the yellow and black king of good luck.
“I pray for your favor;
“I pray for your attention;
"I!
“In the name of the great ‘Fool’ I summon:
"The strange creature wandering in the illusion, the killer hiding in the mirror, Jack from the bloody world..."
The blue-black candlelight expanded instantly, forming an illusory door full of mysterious patterns in the diffuse, unsettling light gray mist.
The door slowly opened, and darkness rushed out, covering the mirror Lumian had specially placed on the altar.
The mirror suddenly floated up, facing Lumian vertically. It reflected a blurry man wearing an old jacket, bleeding, and dragging a giant axe.
Lumian opened his mouth, let his throat and chest resonate, and spit out the "Secret Word of Destiny."
Silver-white and black words like symbols were outlined out of thin air, and fell on the imitation parchment paper at the edge of the altar, forming a brief and strange contract.
As soon as the contract was created, Lumian established a connection with "Bloody Jack", mastered its abilities and characteristics, and "heard" its requests.
"Bloody Jack" has three abilities and qualities related to mirrors. Lumian named them "Mirror Mark", "Hide in Mirror" and "Journey Through Mirror".
"Mirror Mark" can leave a mark on a mirror that is imperceptible to others and is inverted with reality to locate the target; "Hide in the Mirror" can help the user hide somewhere in the dark tunnels.
Being sucked directly to another mirror by the terrifying suction force; "mirror shuttle" is the ability to quickly pass through those illusory tunnels.
And "Bloody Jack's" requirement is to use ninety-nine living people as sacrifices.
Lumian thought for a while and thought that he should choose "Mirror Imprint" because what is most needed at the moment is positioning, and "Mirror Travel" can be replaced by "Spirit World Travel", which can arrive directly without fast travel.
His eyes suddenly turned silver-black, reflecting the fate of "Bloody Jack".
He is not looking for information about the other party, but confirming one thing under the protective effect of the ritual.
After a brief gaze, Lumian switched to ancient Hermes and asked about "Bloody Jack":
"Can the requirements be changed?"
He didn't know if "Bloody Jack" could understand and respond, but he wouldn't lose anything by giving it a try, otherwise he would have to write and ask Ms. "Magician" if she had any other suitable mirror creatures.
After asking, Lumian immediately entered the state of using the ability of "amplifying destiny" and saw more clearly the fate of "Bloody Jack" in the next ten seconds.
He pretended to be nervous and wanted to touch his face, so his right hand quietly made a forward touching motion.
He magnified a certain tributary of destiny!
That is, two or three seconds later, the idea of "Bloody Jack" was transmitted to Lumian through the connection established by the "Secret Word of Destiny":
"Drag me out of the mirror!"
Lumian raised his eyebrows, took two steps forward, and extended his right hand towards the mirror floating on the altar.
As soon as his fingers touched the glass mirror, he felt that it became void and had no entity.
When Lumian fully extended his palm into the mirror, a cold, wet, and obviously sticky hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.