Chapter 563 – West District, No. 189

Mo Lan was well aware of Iris’s culinary skill level.

Iris had also turned the dishes she’d developed into gourmet cards and uploaded them to the Card Shop. They were sold not only in the Witch version of the Card Shop but had long been publicly available in the Dawn Society as well.

Mo Lan had bought Iris’s gourmet cards before — her progress had been remarkable.

If not for her memories of Earth’s civilization, Mo Lan felt that when it came to meat-based cooking, she was far inferior to Iris.

“I wonder what star rating I could test into now!” Mo Lan was getting a little excited.

“Here! Let me send you the Communication Card number for the Delicacy Island Chef Evaluation Center receptionist first. Add him and book a time for your chef evaluation, then go take the assessment when the time comes.

After all, the only judge is Krotack, and even though his appetite is enormous, the evaluation efficiency is… honestly quite concerning.

Originally, chefs who haven’t taken their evaluation yet can stay temporarily at the evaluation center’s reception lodge while waiting, but you obviously don’t need that — just come stay at my place first.”

Vasida said, “I live at West District No. 189. Just fly toward the docks and you’ll find it.”

Mo Lan added the Communication Card number of the chef evaluation center receptionist that Vasida had sent her. While waiting for him to approve the request, she steered her flying carpet toward the docks.

As they flew near the West District, Vasida said:

“Look, see that house over there made entirely of pitch-black obsidian? That’s where I live.

Back when I was choosing among all the vacant houses, I set my eyes on it the moment I saw it!

Now I can even crack dragon scales, but I still can’t hammer a single crack into that house. It’s absolutely the sturdiest building on all of Delicacy Island.”

Mo Lan: “…”

A house made from Obsidian, the hardest magical mineral in all of Valen — of course it was sturdy. The correct way to break down Obsidian wasn’t brute force, but to first sever the magical energy running through its interior.

The flying carpet landed outside the obsidian building, and Mo Lan’s gaze was immediately drawn to a plaque hanging on the courtyard gate.

【Big Eater’s Canteen】

【Star Rating: One Star】

【Chef: Vasida (Witch)】

【Signature Dishes: Egg Fried Rice, barbecue, hot pot, braised dishes…】

【Notes: 1. Only one diner served at a time. 2. You can eat until full. 3. No payment required — simply have a friendly sparring match with the chef before dining (hand-to-hand combat). 4. For reservations, please contact the chef directly. Communication number…】

Seeing Mo Lan pause before the plaque, Vasida said with some embarrassment, “Every chef is required to hang a sign like this outside their courtyard, so dragon customers can learn about the chef’s offerings.

My cooking skills are average — I really only know how to use Culinary Magic to cook a bit faster. Among all the one-star chefs, the only advantage I have is my speed and being able to let people eat their fill, which is what I use to attract dragon customers.

But the results have actually been pretty good.

Apart from Witches, other chefs can slave away all day and still not make enough food for a single dragon to pick its teeth with.

My dragon customer reservations are booked out a whole month in advance, and many of them are regulars.

I only cleared my schedule these past two days because you were coming.”

It wasn’t until Mo Lan went inside and saw Vasida’s guest reception records that she finally understood why Vasida’s progress in Magic studies had plummeted so drastically over the years.

With a schedule like this — either fighting dragons or cooking for dragons — where would she find any time to practice Magic?

Vasida’s food output for each dragon customer visit was enormous. The first and second floors of the obsidian building had both been opened up — half serving as the kitchen, half as the dining area.

The attic was Vasida’s actual living space.

The tiny attic had a large-sized Spatial Tent set up in it, leaving barely any room for anything else.

“You normally just live in the tent?” Mo Lan asked.

“Can’t help it. The settlement allowance for a one-star chef is only so much — it was just enough for me to knock through the first and second floors to make cooking and serving dragon customers easier. So I can only camp out in the attic.

Honestly, very few chefs have it as rough as me. Other chefs all renovate their places to be as comfortable as home. When dragon customers come, they just dine in the chef’s own restaurant. The portions are only slightly larger than for normal humans — they don’t need any extra space for hosting at all.”

Vasida explained, “When it comes down to it, my cooking skills just aren’t good enough. But I still want to attract more dragons to come spar with me, so I have to use portion sizes to lure them in. Otherwise, I might not get a single dragon visiting in an entire month.”

“Is the competition among chefs on Delicacy Island really that fierce?” Mo Lan asked curiously.

It had even forced Vasida to find such an unconventional approach.

“Of course! While housing is free here and there are regular welfare stipends and free ingredients to collect, if you want additional living resources or magical resources, you have to buy them with coins.

Living comfortably on the island is easy, but if you want to live lavishly, there are plenty of places to spend coins! And they have to be specially minted dragon-claw coins — only dragons have those. The only way to earn dragon-claw coins is to attract dragon customers with delicious food and earn their coins.

Every chef in all of Valen knows that Delicacy Island treats its chefs well. The Dragon race even set up chef recruitment stations at major ports across the Mainland, bringing large groups of chefs to the island for assessment every year.

Here, one-star chefs are a dime a dozen, there are quite a few two-star chefs too, and only three-star chefs can truly say they never lack for customers. It’s only four-star and five-star chefs that are relatively rare…”

While she was still talking, the chef evaluation center receptionist that Mo Lan had added finally replied to her.

【Scorched Tongue: Esteemed Witch, welcome to Delicacy Island. Your chef level evaluation will be held three days from now at 10 AM. Please arrive ten minutes early at Kitchen No. 1 of the Chef Evaluation Center to prepare.】

She had barely finished reading when another message popped up.

【Scorched Tongue: Esteemed Witch, my master has heard that you are an Advanced Culinary Witch and has specially moved your chef level evaluation up in the queue. Would it be convenient for you to come for your evaluation this afternoon?】

Mo Lan was about to reply “sure,” but then she noticed the chat window showing that the other party was typing. A thought struck her, and she waited for about a minute.

Soon enough, a new message popped up.

【Scorched Tongue: Esteemed Witch, it has been a very long time since a chef has come to Delicacy Island for evaluation with original dishes. My master is deeply troubled by this, and he insists that I tell you — please come to the Chef Evaluation Center for your chef level evaluation as soon as possible. He eagerly awaits your arrival.】

[The other party is typing…]

【Scorched Tongue: Or would you be willing to tell me your current location? My master happens to be free right now and could come to see you!】

After waiting a while longer, no new messages appeared.

Mo Lan looked at Vasida. “The island master of Delicacy Island — is he… serious?”

The legendary master of Delicacy Island was supposed to be a Beyond Peak level powerhouse!

How had he become so fickle and indecisive?

“Um… he does tend to be rather talkative. Once you’ve been on Delicacy Island long enough, you’ll learn what kind of personality the island master has,” Vasida said. “In any case, he’s quite approachable when it comes to dealing with chefs, even if the other person is just an ordinary human.”