Chapter 246

Chapter 246: "Culinary Talent"

The white-haired girl lay between Red Pupil and Little Liquor, both pressed closely against her as they slept.

Yellow Hair curled at the bedside’s edge, her massive frame leaving no space on the mattress.

Red Pupil appeared to have forgotten her daytime antics with Lin Yu, merely resting her head against the white-haired girl’s shoulder without further mischief.

This left the white-haired girl, who had been feeling both nervous and expectant, with a sudden emptiness in her heart.

Lin Yu ultimately couldn’t muster the courage to confront Red Pupil.

For someone socially anxious like her, taking initiative felt insurmountable – especially with others sharing the bed and a dog beneath it.

Not only did she hesitate to act, but her pounding heart initially kept her awake.

Eventually, sleep’s embrace and the quilt’s warmth overpowered her, dragging the white-haired girl into deep slumber.

…

Several days later

The daughters resumed their activities after the rest period.

Red Pupil led Yellow Hair and Purple Cloud’s ants deeper into the forest conquests.

Weak Sound and Purple Mist mobilized colonies of Weak Ants and Worker Ants toward the southern hills, aiming to seize Luo Yong’s former cave. Their plan involved establishing subterranean nests radiating from this base to dominate the entire region.

Likely due to goblin disturbances, the southern hills’ monsters proved weaker than Granville Monster Forest’s. Stealth Ant scouting parties had only encountered scattered Class B Monsters amidst predominantly Class C or lower specimens – no Class A threats detected. The conquest should proceed smoothly.

Darkling Stalker… vanished the morning after the banquet. Through her Unique Skill’s resonance, we sensed her prowling the forest’s heart.

She’s out hunting again.

Her leveling pace now surpasses all other daughters.

Though her prey-destroying habits mean rare live captures of high-tier targets.

Honestly, being so fixated on leveling herself up – I should really address this behavior! If… if the opportunity arises…

Not that I’m intimidated!

…

Magic Rainbow divided her time between routine hunts and instructing fellow Demonic Ants in arcane arts.

Curiosity prompted me to eavesdrop on Magic Rainbow’s lectures.

Magic acquisition apparently requires sensing magic essence first – the foundational step. Without this perception, spellcraft remains inaccessible.

Yet sensing essence itself demands possession of the "Talent of Magic" skill:

"Talent of Magic": Grants aptitude for magical study.

Thus despite attending Magic Rainbow’s lessons, my lack of this talent bars me from witchcraft… regrettable.

Incidentally, sufficient exposure to magic essence supposedly unlocks the "Magic Essence Perception" skill:

"Magic Essence Perception": Activates detection of magic essence presence. Estimates target’s approximate power level through essence quantity assessment.

This skill… feels vaguely familiar. Did I glimpse it among Gift Options before? Presumably rejected for superior alternatives at the time.

Ah yes – skills can indeed be acquired through study!

Hmm… To be precise, they are acquired through repetitive actions. Ah, I’m not making a dirty joke here!

Take Magic Rainbow for instance—through continuously sensing magic essence and studying magical applications, she unexpectedly developed the "Magic Essence Perception" skill on her status panel despite not leveling up. Similarly, among my daughters who frequently hunt, some Weak Ants lacking the "Bite" skill eventually acquired it through persistent biting motions.

Over these three years, many Weak Ants must’ve obtained the "Bite" skill this way. But with the sheer size of the colony, monitoring every ant’s status panel daily proves impossible—hence why this discovery came so late.

Then there’s the "Health Auto Restore" skill.

"Health Auto Restore": Enhances automatic Health Value recovery speed.

While a normal ant’s Health Value takes over three hours to recover a single point, this skill accelerates restoration to mere minutes per point… or even quicker! Though several ants manifested this skill on their panels, the bearers themselves remained unaware. This strongly suggests repetitive action as the trigger!

Upon interviewing these daughters and cross-referencing with others, the only notable difference was their excessive consumption of red fruit. Since red fruit restores Health Value, prolonged consumption might unlock "Health Auto Restore"! Yet Little Tear—who’s practically the colony’s top red fruit consumer—never acquired it. Evidently, luck plays a role in skill attainment through this method.

Regardless, I’ll increase my red fruit intake to pursue "Health Auto Restore". The skill’s potency appears level-dependent—a Class A Red Pupil might recover one Health Value per minute or faster!

Incidentally, could potions yield similar effects? If "Health Auto Restore" exists, then "Magic Value Auto Restore" likely does too! However, both Life Recovery Potions and Magic Recovery Potions remain scarce resources we can’t afford to squander.

…

Returning to the main subject:

Despite Magic Rainbow’s equal instruction, only Demon One among the nine Demonic Ants mastered Fireball and Waterball magic.

Ah, Demon One—the ash-white Demonic Ant with bicolored red-and-blue right antennae. While ordinary ants sport gray or black antennae, Demonic Ants flaunt vivid hues like crimson, emerald, azure, and gold, making them strikingly conspicuous. Though their flashy antennae occasionally draw my attention, we’re hardly acquainted beyond occasional castle encounters and greetings.

An incompetent mother? Nonsense! With so many daughters, tending to each individually is impossible—I’m no time-management guru nor temporal manipulator.

Then there’s Worker Liquor.

Since gaining human race transformation, she’s become a kitchen fixture. The mouthwatering aromas wafting from the dining hall daily lure me into "assisting"—which really means taste-testing her exquisite dishes. Given her culinary prowess, Little Liquor never lacks volunteers, with Little Tear being the most frequent visitor (no surprise given her gluttony).

The real shock came elsewhere—

Little Liquor recently acquired a new skill not through leveling, but repetition:

"Culinary Talent": Aptitude for exceptional cooking.