The Max-Level Chef’s Magical Town Game

At nine o’clock in the evening, the first day of business at the Nightfall Restaurant successfully ended. The employees went home, and Isaac started his work.

When she rented the place yesterday, Ye Mu had changed the layout of the house and saw the construction process of a building mage. However, Isaac’s style was clearly different from that of the previous mage.

…He had an evident obsession with perfection, every brick had to be aligned precisely, and the cement was applied exceptionally smooth and even. Yet, due to his high construction level, this pursuit of perfection did not affect his work speed. Even though the requirement to install the window meant completely dismantling and rebuilding most of the wall beside the door, he still finished in just half an hour.

By 9:30, the window was complete. From the outside, it simply looked like a larger square window, but walking close to it revealed a small brick counter snugly fitted underneath.

The small counter was painted a refreshing light blue, forming an L-shape with a taller counter next to it, also in light blue, providing enough space for two or three staff members to work simultaneously.

Ye Mu was very satisfied with this result and planned to have Jeff manage the window sales during the afternoon service the next day, while the younger Della would continue handling the dining area’s calling numbers for the dine-in customers. With Ivy also assisting in serving food, that would be sufficient.

Everything was falling into place!

—Ye Mu felt secretly pleased with her life in this new world.

—

[Scrambled Eggs with Garlic Chives]

—Continuous restoration of health and mana during consumption.

—Up to 2000 health and 1000 mana can be restored (total restoration amount is affected by quantity consumed).

—Continuous mana restoration after consumption, restoring 1% of maximum mana per minute for one hour.

[Stir-fried Pork with Green Peppers]

—Continuous restoration of health and mana during consumption.

—Up to 3000 health and 800 mana can be restored (total restoration amount is affected by quantity consumed).

—Easter Egg: There is a 3% chance of triggering an Easter egg after consumption, randomly granting 100-300 experience points.

At the Brave Inn, the Xibel team belatedly remembered to check the dish properties. After seeing half of it, they began to feel fortunate about their cleverness—deciding to pack two extra dishes to take home after dinner was truly the right choice!

While the [Stir-fried Pork with Green Peppers] had ordinary instant recovery properties, the [Scrambled eggs with garlic chives] provided continuous mana regeneration, which was crucial for their team that had to jungle hard during the day. Although 1% might not seem impressive, it would add up over time, saving them quite a bit on mana potions!

“Hey, why didn’t we think to check the properties in the store earlier?” teammate Leah scratched her head in confusion while looking at the property panel, deeply puzzled by his earlier lapse in judgment.

Everyone was a diligent adventurer, so their sensitivity to various stats should be ingrained in their very blood. They didn’t have a fortune to fall back on, and even buying the cheapest basic potions required comparing prices at three different shops. Now, as they gathered to eat out, none of them had even looked at the stats, and Leah felt something was off.

Xibel curled up the corner of her mouth. “Well, we were starving earlier. The food smelled so good that no one could focus on the stats!”

As she said this, Leah recalled their earlier experience.

…Indeed, when they entered the restaurant, they eagerly placed their orders, and as soon as the dishes arrived, everyone seemed to be enchanted by the dishes, devouring the food almost uncontrollably.

What stats? What additional effects? In that brief moment of joy, they had forgotten everything.

Nearby, Nala sighed, “It would be amazing if we could eat food like this every day.”

“That would be too expensive,” Leah replied regretfully, shaking her head. “While the Nightfall Restaurant offers excellent value for money, it’s still much pricier than the food outside. If we ate like this every day, we’d be broke before long.”

“Haha, I was just saying!” Nala waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, we’ve got six more meals left to offset the cost of this food! That’s already great!”

“Actually, I have an immature idea,” Xibel said hesitantly, her voice sounding a bit serious. All five teammates turned to look at her as she cleared her throat. “I noticed Ye Mu was quite busy during the peak dining hours today. Do you think it’s possible… that we could ask her if she needs any part-time help? If she does, we could spend one less hour hunting monsters each day and help her out for an hour in exchange for dinner?”

“That sounds great!” Leah exclaimed, slapping her thigh in agreement, and the other teammates nodded in support. The six-person team quickly reached a consensus.

However, for a group that relied on themselves, every second of monster hunting time during the day was precious, and nighttime rest was invaluable, so they would have to bring this idea up with Ye Mu during their next dinner.

But the hope of “having delicious food every day” led them all to dream sweetly, filled with the rich aroma of scrambled eggs with garlic chives and stir-fried pork with green peppers.

—

In the early morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the dense forest of the Dragon Mountains, some early-rising adventurers were already in position.

The mages specialized in various fields, each with its strengths and weaknesses, so lone adventurers were rare. Most were in groups of four to ten, working together with ranged, melee, support, and healing roles.

As it was late autumn, the leaves in the forest were gradually turning yellow, and the banks by the stream had accumulated a layer of dry leaves due to the many trees, which crunched when stepped on. However, beneath the leaves, mushrooms would still spawn regularly, attracting many wild monsters to look for food and drink water, leading to adventurers camping here daily to hunt them.

Today, a four-person team had been stationed here since dawn, and it wasn’t long before another six-person team arrived. This created a competitive atmosphere between the two teams, but the stream was long, and there were plenty of monsters, allowing both groups to hunt without interfering with each other.

After about an hour, the priests from both teams had already cast several waves of healing spells, and a bard strumming a lute had provided different buffs to his teammates. After clearing another wave of monsters, the priest from the four-person team spoke up first, “I’m out of mana! And I’m hungry! Let’s take a break!”

Without mana, the priest couldn’t continue healing, and if a crisis arose, it could be dangerous. The teammates temporarily put down their weapons and gathered under a nearby large tree to rest.

The melee mage with the heaviest load opened his backpack and distributed food to everyone. Each person received two rough flatbreads, a few slices of salted fried meat, and a small portion of mixed vegetable soup. Although the taste and texture were quite rough, everyone was used to such food, so no one complained.

However, the ranged mage chimed in, “I heard a new restaurant in town opened recently with really good food. When can we go try it?”

“One dish costs two to three hundred copper coins!” the melee mage said as he tore off a chunk of flatbread. “We don’t even spend that much on food in a day.”

The ranged mage still dreamed of the rumors, resting his chin on his hand. “But I heard they serve noble food. If that’s true, the attributes from the food could help us hunt a lot more monsters each day, and maybe we could earn it back!”

“Do you really believe that?” The melee mage took another bite of his bread, shoving a piece of fried meat into his mouth. “Noble food is priced like that, why would a chef work there? Besides, what high-level chef who can make noble food would open a shop? Are they uncomfortable living in their manors and castles?”

Upon hearing this string of rhetorical questions, the ranged mage fell silent.

Indeed, it was illogical for noble food to be sold at common prices. It wasn’t just the price, there was a clear distinction between nobles and commoners. Those who served nobles often considered themselves half-nobles, earning high wages and living in comfortable houses, looking down on commoners.

Therefore, the so-called “noble food” at Nightfall Restaurant was probably just a gimmick.

Meanwhile, the priest in the group focused on something else. While chewing on his flatbread, he looked at the nearby six-person team that was still hunting monsters, his brow furrowing deeper. “Look at that priest over there.”

His teammates turned to look.

The priest continued, “Judging on her health regeneration, she seems to be lower level than me, so how does she have so much mana? I’m already resting, and she’s still going strong?”

“That’s true,” the melee mage said, frowning. “Their bard seems to have a lot of stamina too… singing drains a lot of mana!”

As they spoke, the other team had just finished clearing a wave of monsters and showed no signs of taking a break. They went on to kill a few wild boars that had come to drink water before finally putting down their weapons.

“Time to eat!” the bard shouted excitedly.

The melee mage sat on a large stone by the river, pulling out pre-portioned meals from his backpack and distributing them to his teammates. The rich aroma of the food immediately filled the air.

“Wow, what are they eating? It smells amazing!” The priest, who had already been suspicious of the other team, couldn’t help himself and stood up to walk over. “I need to ask!”

With only a dozen meters between them, his approach immediately caught the attention of the other team. The melee mage, who had just taken a bite of his dish, gripped his staff cautiously. But noticing the newcomer was just a priest, he relaxed a bit, though his tone still wasn’t friendly. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to ask what you’re eating,” the priest got straight to the point, then looked at the other team’s priest. “Also… how do you have so much mana? You’ve been fighting all morning, aren’t you tired?”

The other priest sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a plate of rice in her lap. She scooped some rice with a copper spoon and chewed it with delight, answering, “Today’s dishes happen to provide a continuous mana regeneration effect—1% per minute—which helps me recover a bit between fights, extending how long I can keep going.”

…Continuous mana regeneration effect?

That’s something only noble food has!

The male priest became cautious. “May I ask about your identities…?”

“Ah, don’t get me wrong,” the female priest understood his concern. “We’re just ordinary folks. The food was bought yesterday from the newly opened Nightfall Restaurant. We noticed the continuous mana regeneration effect, so we bought a couple of extra portions to share today.”

Shit! So that restaurant really is selling noble food!

The male priest, who had just dismissed this thought moments ago, was so shocked he stepped back, then suddenly turned and shouted as he ran back to his team, “Let’s go to Nightfall Restaurant! Please, let me go tonight!”

—

At Nightfall Restaurant, Ye Mu adjusted the work duties for Ivy, Della, and Jeff according to her plan from last night, and she also raised their salaries a bit—each would earn an extra 10 copper coins per day. In her eyes, Billy, who was less motivated, as someone just wanting to complete the basic tasks, so she didn’t add any responsibilities for him, he would continue helping in the kitchen during preparation.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Before opening in the evening, Ye Mu posted a sign at the window.

“Nightfall Restaurant Self-Service Window:”

“Daily offering of fresh dishes for self-service, with the same selection as dine-in. Limited quantities, available until sold out.”

“Please queue orderly for purchase.”

On another sign below, she wrote:

“Today’s Menu:

—Stir-fried Pork with mushrooms, 230 copper coins per serving,

—Stir-fried cabbage, 120 copper coins per serving,

—Rice, 20 copper coins per serving,

—Mushroom soup, 30 copper coins per serving.

Note: Main dishes and soups cannot be sold separately.”

As soon as these two signs appeared, a crowd began to gather outside the window. Many customers who had planned to wait for dine-in were suddenly drawn in, especially those who arrived later, quickly deciding to line up for takeout.

Inside the window, Jeff was already ready. In front of him on the small counter were samples of several dishes, while the taller counter beside him was stacked high with pre-portioned dishes.

Being solely responsible for window sales put a lot of pressure on him, Jeff felt both nervous and excited. With ten minutes until opening, his anxiety peaked, and he grabbed Ivy. “What if I mess up?”

Ivy reassured him, “They’re all pre-portioned dishes, how could you mess that up?”

Sweat beaded on Jeff’s forehead. “What if I calculate the wrong amount?!”

“…” Ivy was a bit speechless at his excessive nervousness. Just then,

Ye Mu walked by and smiled, patting his shoulder. “It’s okay, just do your best. I’ll understand if there are a few small mistakes.”

“Okay… got it!” Jeff took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.

The open kitchen was located diagonally behind the self-service window. Billy sat in a chair in the kitchen, already resting. He noticed Jeff’s nervousness from afar and couldn’t help but laugh.

It’s ridiculous and childish to take such a job that only makes a little profit so seriously.

He had no intention of doing such useless work.