Fantasy Realm [One Piece] [Harry Potter] [Naruto] - [Progression] [LitRPG]

Chapter 177: Change, Results, and Last-Minute Preparations

Time passes in a flash. Alex spends his days checking out the trading HUB, training his Nen abilities—sometimes alone, sometimes with Menchi—and genuinely living a fulfilling life.

Tereza takes near-daily trips to the forest, careful to avoid being seen and risking punishment from the Realm for exposing its existence.

Alex notices his life changing little by little. Almost daily, he casually interacts with his teammate and his supporter, no longer feeling as nervous as before. While he still struggles to fully accept his new position, he's now able to enjoy close, intimate moments with both of them—sometimes even at the same time. If it weren't for the looming mission, Alex feels he could happily continue this blissful existence forever. Their teasing has decreased significantly, though Alex can't imagine it ever stopping completely—it's just too deeply ingrained in their personalities. Whenever Alex looks at Tereza or Menchi, taking in their stunning figures, he can't help but feel a little proud of what he's experienced with them—though he tries not to let it go straight to his head.

One day, just 4 days before the start of the next mission, Menchi gathers the group, including Rishi, to announce the results of her last-minute cooking sessions. They meet inside Alex's player room in the Realm, unwilling to discuss these matters anywhere else.

"I've heard about your dishes, and honestly, I'm amazed by your success," Rishi says, his expression calm but clearly impressed. "With you on the team, we now have as many White-ranked dishes as we want. I also heard you've managed to sell your dishes at a profit. I guess we're lucky to have you."

Tereza immediately chimes in, her tone playfully sharp. "She's Alex's supporter and my gi... my friend. Why are you happy?"

Rishi raises an eyebrow, unfazed. "We're a team. Of course, our supporters support the entire team. If you or I ever get a supporter, they'll offer their services to everyone as well—that should be obvious."

Alex intervenes to keep things on track. "Rishi is right, Tereza, that should be obvious! Anyway, Menchi, carry on. As Rishi said, you've managed to turn a slight profit with your cooking, so by now you're no longer using up FC with your experiments, right? You can more or less sustain yourself now?"

Menchi responds, her tone smug as she crosses her arms. "Hmph. I've been turning a slight profit from the start. By now, I'm earning quite a bit every day. But I don't just want to earn FC—I want to use it to invest in even higher-quality ingredients! You know my dream: I want to create the greatest dishes in existence! I want to make food that defies logic, that creates miracles just by eating it. Every bit of FC I earn, I'll reinvest into making that dream a reality!"

Her expression softens as she looks at Alex. Despite her busy schedule, the past 10 days had been filled with meaningful moments shared between them. Alex had never pressured her and had supported her unconditionally, alongside Tereza, who didn't care about the financial investment at all, even offering her more FC.

"Anyway, Alex," Menchi continues, her voice sincere, "I'm grateful for your support. Only after experiencing the market and meeting other players did I realize how much 50,000 FC actually is. I met someone who cried with happiness after making a 2,000 FC profit, acting like it was a life-changing windfall. If you ever need FC, I'll stop my experiments and focus solely on earning back every last bit for you. I'm your supporter, and while I live for my own goals, my main job is to support you—and of course, your teammates as well.

"For now, our goals align perfectly. You said you and your teammates desperately need high-quality healing items since the generic [Healing Potion] isn't suitable anymore. You gave me until today to produce the best dishes I can—or else we'd have to buy them from the market. I've called you all here to show you the results of my efforts!"