"Come on, eat a little. Have I spoiled you with too much good food that you've become picky?" Akira held a large chunk of cactus in front of the three-humped camel, half coaxing, half threatening it to eat.
The camel looked at akira with a resigned expression, its long face scrunched up.
In all its years, this week had been a mix of pain and pleasure. Its current employer was incredibly generous, buying it cactus every day—something it could never have imagined before. At the camel rental station, it had only been fed ordinary fodder.
It had even heard from its mother cousin 'an old three-humped camel' that many camels never got to taste cactus in their entire lives. Yet here it was, with more than it could eat every day… but the problem was, there was just too much!
Seeing the camel repeatedly gesture toward its bulging stomach, akira finally laughed awkwardly. The once healthy and well-proportioned, muscular belly of the camel now looked as if it were pregnant, having grown significantly larger than when it was first rented.
Over the past week, akira had been eager to try every new and exotic food he came across. Naturally, this included portions that were too large or dishes that didn't suit his taste after trying them.
Adhering to the principle of sampling a wider variety of foods... all the things akira didn't want to eat ended up being stuffed into the camel belly.
"Hello, do you have a moment to talk?"
At that moment, a young voice sounded beside Akira ear.
Turning around, he saw a head of blue-green hair tied up in several spiky ponytails. The fair and youthful face revealed the woman young age. Her upper body was adorned with a striking purple gauze, layered over a white top, while her lower half was clad in bright green shorts.
Although her attire differed from her original appearance, Akira still recognized the woman as Menchi, the examiner!
Menchi was a Gourmet Hunter, and if akira remembered correctly, she should be 20 years old. She had broken the Hunter Association's record, becoming the youngest one-star Hunter!
The Hunter Association ranks are roughly divided into four levels: no-star, one-star, two-star, and the highest, three-star.
To become a one-star Hunter, one must make a significant contribution in a specific field. To become a two-star Hunter, while already being a one-star Hunter, train another one-star Hunter. Finally, making significant contributions in multiple different fields can earn one the title of three-star Hunter.
Normally, promotions follow this set of standards, but there seem to be special cases where exceptions are made. Menchi, who became a one-star Hunter at the age of 20, might not necessarily be extremely powerful, but she must possess exceptional talent in the field of gourmet cuisine!
Unbeknownst to Menchi, akira had just glanced at her and recalled all the information related to her.
"Is there something you need?" Akira observed Menchi before him without showing any emotion.
Then Menchi led Akira to a nearby alley and carefully explained her reason for seeking him out.
"If I'm not mistaken, sir you must be a Nen user, right?" Although it was a question, Menchi said it with a tone of certainty.
"Yes, and you don't need to call me 'sir', Just use my name. I'm Akira."
Hearing this, Menchi let out a sigh of relief, even though Akira hadn't yet heard her request.
From these few exchanges, she could tell that Akira was an easy-going person, which indirectly increased the probability of her request being successful later.
"My name is Menchi, and I don't mean to bother you, Akira..."
It turned out that Menchi target for this trip to the Samok Desert was a B-rank ingredient found here — the White Sand Scorpion!
Like the Yellow-Pincered Ant, the White Sand Scorpion was also a creature unique to the Samok Desert. The difference was that while Yellow-Pincered Ants were used for direction-finding, White Sand Scorpions were famous as an ingredient.
Among Hunters, ingredients were also classified. Generally speaking, ingredients eaten by ordinary people were mostly D-rank, while C-rank ingredients were considered relatively rare. B-rank ingredients were priceless, and even many Nen users found it difficult to obtain them.
Akira remembered that in the original story, the paws of the Big horn bear were also classified as B-rank ingredients.
Activate Pokedex ability!
Name: Menchi
Strength: B+ to A-
Nen Ability: Menchi Kitchen, Conjuration type Can conjure most kitchen decorations and utensils using Nen. It has all the tools that should be in a kitchen and can also attack using the tools inside, such as large knives, forks, and flames.
Akira wasn't surprised by Menchi Nen ability. Conjuring a kitchen suited her well, but this was the first time he had seen strength expressed in this way.
It meant that Menchi strength was between B+ and A-, just short of breaking through that final barrier.
Considering Menchi age of 20, this was already quite impressive strength.