Food Wars: Fishing System #252+253: Capturing the Cosmos Mammoth, Preparing a Godly Ingredient

The Godly Ingredient was right there in front of him, and it wasn’t going anywhere. Yuuki could capture it whenever he wanted—the immediate priority was dealing with the Mammoth King.

Taking down a creature of this magnitude wasn't particularly difficult for him.

“Eternal Knocking!”

Closing in on the colossal beast, Yuuki unleashed the technique without hesitation. A creature this immense required a more definitive approach.

The moment the Eternal Knocking landed, the Mammoth King’s constantly moving body went rigid. The sealing technique instantly snuffed out its aura.

Its presence vanished, leaving it frozen in place. The other Cosmos Mammoths saw their leader’s bizarre state and grew curious, then concerned. Eventually, one of the ten strongest mammoths cautiously approached its king.

It didn't touch the king directly. Instead, it let out a powerful roar. Ordinarily, sound couldn't travel through the vacuum of space.

But in this universe, the normal rules didn't apply. Both Yuuki and Nono heard the roar with perfect clarity.

And Yuuki understood its meaning. The creature had infused its thoughts directly into the sound waves, making its intent easy to decipher.

At a certain level of power, verbal communication became obsolete. One could simply project information into another's mind—even the Red Nitros were capable of it.

Of course, this only worked if the target wasn't actively defending against it. A mental shield would block the transmission, unless the power gap between the two was simply overwhelming.

These were highly intelligent creatures. Seeing their king suddenly freeze and lose its aura was more than enough to cause a panic. The approaching mammoth was asking what had happened.

But the Mammoth King could no longer answer. While it wasn't dead, it was trapped in a state of absolute stasis.

Everything had stopped for it in that single moment. It was completely unresponsive.

When its roar elicited no reaction, the mammoth moved closer, intending to investigate. But in the next instant, Yuuki’s Eternal Knocking struck it as well.

Just like its king, the mammoth froze solid, its aura vanishing into the void.

The sight sent a wave of panic through the rest of the herd, who had been about to move forward.

Still, two fallen members weren’t enough to make them give up entirely. Another of the stronger mammoths advanced, only to be hit with the same technique, sharing the same fate.

Now, true panic set in. They all knew how powerful those three were. The Mammoth King was the strongest, of course.

While they were all the same species, a king always stood leagues above the rest.

The other two were also among the most powerful warriors in their herd.

To see all three fall so easily… the remaining mammoths didn't know what was happening, but they knew one thing for certain: this place was cursed.

Their king had suddenly sensed the aura of a special ingredient and led them here on a mad dash across the cosmos. But when they arrived, they found nothing.

All they saw was their king darting erratically through space, as if searching for something, muttering that the aura was right here, yet he couldn't find its source.

It had been strange from the start. Now, their king and two of their strongest had been taken out just like that.

It meant this area was lethally dangerous. Any creature that got too close would suffer the same fate—their fallen comrades were proof.

They didn't dare approach any closer. They began to back away, but with their king still frozen there, they didn't flee entirely, just kept their distance.

Seeing this, Yuuki decided to press the attack. He had no intention of capturing the entire herd—that was completely unnecessary.

One Cosmos Mammoth was enough to eat for a very long time, and he already had three.

But he needed to prepare the Godly Ingredient here, and he couldn't have them hanging around. He needed them gone.

He struck down another lead mammoth. That was the final straw. The rest of the herd turned and fled in a desperate, chaotic stampede.

They didn't dare stay a second longer. The four strongest members of their species had been lost here.

If they remained, the entire herd could be wiped out, and that was a fate they could not accept.

Before their encounter with NEO, the Cosmos Mammoth herd had been a dominant force in the Blue Universe.

Their immense size, overwhelming power, and massive numbers had allowed them to rampage across the cosmos, completely indifferent to what other races thought of them.

Any race that took issue with them was either too weak to matter or too smart to pick a fight. If a weaker race caused trouble, they were simply annihilated.

They were, in short, an incredibly powerful species.

But then they ran into NEO in the Blue Universe and were devoured, down to the last one.

Fortunately, being devoured by NEO didn't mean true death, especially since NEO was already at an advanced stage of its evolution at the time.

That was why the entire herd had been swallowed whole.

In its infancy, any ingredient NEO consumed was effectively dead, even if its body remained intact in that other dimension.

Only the creatures it swallowed whole after it had matured remained alive.

Now, having finally escaped their prison, the Cosmos Mammoth clan had thought their glorious reign would begin anew in this strange universe. They never imagined it would be so dangerous.

It was their king who had led them here, but now their king was gone. That much was certain.

This place was lethal. And keeping their distance wouldn't save them. If they stayed, they would all share the same fate.

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With the Cosmos Mammoth herd routed, Yuuki turned his attention back to the Godly Ingredient. That was the real prize. The mammoths were just a side dish.

This time, however, he noticed something different. The ingredient wasn't speaking to him. His Food Luck was useless against it. But he soon discovered he had another way.

His Divinity, combined with his God-Chef level culinary skills, had given birth to a new kind of instinct. Though this was his first time seeing a Godly Ingredient, it felt familiar—like a chef who has handled the same ingredient for decades encountering a new one.

He wouldn't be clueless. He could draw upon his vast experience to understand its properties and then apply his accumulated knowledge to prepare it.

Yuuki might not be old, but his experience—from the World of Souls, the Mobile Kitchen, preparing GOD—was immense. Combined with the unique effect his Divinity had on a Godly Ingredient, he was confident he could cook it.

But it wouldn't be easy. This time, there were no instructions from the ingredient itself. He was on his own.

Yuuki entered a special state, similar to the one Froese used for her Divine Cooking.

Nono could only watch from the side. She couldn't even perceive the Godly Ingredient's existence. All she could see was Yuuki entering that focused state and beginning to cook.

Even if Nono could enter that state herself, she still wouldn't be able to see the ingredient. She was like the Mammoth King—without Divinity, one might be able to sense or even briefly glimpse things related to the Gourmet Gods, but they could never touch them or observe them for long.

So, Nono could only watch. She already knew from Yuuki what was here, so she wouldn't disturb him.

She wanted to help. Since she couldn't see or touch the Godly Ingredient, she thought she might as well deal with the Cosmos Mammoths.

But she quickly realized her limitations. She didn't possess Divinity, and her own power had long since been fully developed. While she could still improve, the process was painfully slow.

On Earth, Nono was a powerhouse, capable of sweeping aside any opposition. But out here in the vastness of space, she was weak.

She couldn't even scratch the hide of a Cosmos Mammoth, let alone prepare one. In that moment, Nono was once again confronted with the reality that she simply couldn't keep up with Yuuki.

No one in this world could. Yuuki’s growth was just too fast.

Others had to rely on him to carry them. The gap between them was real, and it was immense.

Resigned, Nono gave up on helping and simply watched Yuuki cook. Even though she couldn't see what he was preparing, she could see him, and she could observe his techniques.

She knew she couldn't replicate them now, but that didn't stop her from committing every move to memory.

Of course, she could only clearly see the movements he deliberately slowed down. The rest was a blur. But still, she kept her eyes fixed on him. Nono was a girl with incredible inner strength.

She knew she couldn't compare to Yuuki, couldn't match his pace, but she never, ever gave up on improving herself.

While Nono watched him, Yuuki’s entire focus was on the ingredient. Preparing a Godly Ingredient with no guidance was a challenge that made his scalp tingle—a feeling he hadn't experienced in a very long time. It was a testament to the ingredient’s divine nature.

It took him thirty-five years.

After thirty-five years, Yuuki finally completed the preparation of one Godly Ingredient.

And it was a dish only he could eat. No one else could see it, let alone touch or consume it.

Perhaps one day, after he became a Gourmet God himself—or even surpassed them—and advanced further on the path of cooking, he could find a way to grant Divinity to others.

He suspected even the Gourmet Gods themselves couldn't do it. The method they had given him made one thing clear: to learn their techniques and become a Gourmet God, one had to already possess Divinity.

It was like an RPG novel—you could be given the ultimate skill, but if you didn't have the magic root, it was useless.

From their reactions upon seeing him, he knew they weren't opposed to a new member joining their ranks. In fact, they seemed to welcome it. But they couldn't create one themselves—after all, they were beings created by the world.

So, for now, Yuuki would have to wait. And even if he couldn't make others into gods, it didn't really matter. Their lifespans were already infinite. All he had to do was protect them.

Yuuki began to eat. The flavor itself didn't shock him. It was the effect that left him truly stunned.

The Godly Ingredient enhanced his Divinity and accelerated his exploration of the culinary path. He could sense that the effect was limited—it would help him reach a new level of understanding, but after that, it would no longer be effective.

Even so, Yuuki was more than satisfied. To have the help of such an ingredient was an incredible boon. He wasn't about to get greedy.

After finishing his meal, Yuuki stored away the other Godly Ingredients and the captured Cosmos Mammoths.

As much as he wanted to continue cooking and eating right then and there, he wasn't alone. Nono was with him.

He couldn't just leave her here. He would return to Earth for now. Once he had fully absorbed the effects of this ingredient, he would continue his journey through the cosmos.