Michael woke up early the following day, but not by his own volition. The little imp Evelyn decided that he must make good on his promise to cook breakfast; therefore, after being egged on by her sisters, she knocked on Helen's door.
Seeing as Helen wasn't waking up even after the sound of knocking pervaded the silent room, the Necromancer couldn't help but feel proud of his achievements last night.
Quickly putting some clothes on, he opened the door slightly and greeted the pretty Druid.
[Good morning.](Evelyn)
"Good morning to you, too."
[You seem tired. It's okay if you are too tired to cook...](Evelyn)
Seeing the guilty expression on her face, Michael smiled and patted her head.
He was physically and mentally exhausted, especially after spending an extra three hours 'taking care' of Helen last night.
Based on the timeline, when they reached Menestad, it should've been around 7-8 PM since it's winter and the sky darkens quicker. Then, they spent another two hours until they found the Monk Bozan.
'Following that, another three hours while fighting the goatmen and Ghouls, another hour and a half riding back to Kyovashad... we probably made it back around 2 AM. Add the extra three hours of intense exercising with Helen...'
It was only around 8-9 AM right now, so Michael wanted to cry, but there were no tears to be shed.
A man is as good as his word! If, as a man, you make promises left and right but aren't able to keep them, it makes you a failure in society!
"Since I'm still tired, I'll cook up something that doesn't take too much preparation so I can go back to sleep after. Hmm..."
After pondering for a while, he reached a decision.
"Let's go with Sausage and Egg Sandwiches and some fruit smoothies."
Under the curious eyes of Evelyn and soon the other girls except Helen, Michael took over the kitchen and started preparing the ingredients.
As for the servant chefs on duty, he allowed them to help and take notes simultaneously, ensuring they could recreate the recipes for the mistresses in the future.
"These sandwiches are easy to make and are usually good as snacks. Don't let the girls abuse it, especially the meat sandwiches. For ingredients, you can get creative. For today, I'll slightly cook in oil both the ground meat and some vegetables like onions, then add some cheese on top."
Seeing how enraptured the nine women in the kitchen were, Michael couldn't help but laugh and think it might be a good idea to record himself and sell the videos later.
He just wasn't sure if that was possible.
"Then, you can add more vegetables to give it taste, like sliced peppers. Once the meat has been cooked enough, cut the bread into two pieces on its length. Separate it and fill it with the goodies. That's about it."
Fortunately, after he cooked yesterday for the sisters, the chefs working for them started preparing their own bread instead of buying it after Michael taught them how to use butter to make it less coarse.
Since they were ladies, the bread they designed was slightly bigger than two fists, making it ideal for sandwiches. However, the initial purpose might've been different.
Keeping the freshly made two sandwiches in his Inventory for himself and Helen, he allowed the chefs to prepare food for themselves and the sisters while he worked on a way to prepare smoothies.
Fortunately, the Illusionist Magician Hella recreated a contraption she had previously seen in the Dry Steppes that served as a juicer.
With some minor modifications, he showed the girls simple ways to create smoothies using milk, yogurt, and plenty of fruits.
When he explained how using certain vegetables in the mix could help their diet, detoxify the body, and have many other good effects on the skin, they immediately pestered him to give them as many recipes as possible.
"Usually, it would be better to have the fruits frozen before adding them to the mix, but since it is winter already, it works fine with their natural state. We can use wolf-berries and nuts to see if you find them agreeable. As for other mixes, you can experiment yourselves by using the fruits you like most."
Seeing the eager sisters join in on the creation process, Michael filled two glasses with the fresh concoction and put them in his Inventory before retreating sneakily.
To make sure he wouldn't wake up Helen, he used a Cleaning Marble on himself and his clothes before entering the room, quickly undressed back to his underwear, and fell back asleep in moments.
It wasn't until early afternoon that he woke up again, under the prodding of the pretty tigress.
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[Wake up, sleepyhead! It's already past noon! You'll miss your meeting with your party members.](Helen)
Smiling, he embraced the beauty closer to him and kissed her.
"It's all good. I already asked your sisters for a favor, and they sent one of your servants to let Miss Raskya and Monk Bozan know about the delay. We'll go tomorrow only. After all, the other three should be just as tired as I am."
[I see. That's good. It's a shame you didn't activate the Waypoint in Menestad when you arrived. It would've made things much easier.](Helen)
"Way...point!? Damn it! I completely forgot about it!"
Seeing Michael smack his forehead in annoyance, Helen giggled but suddenly stopped. Looking suspiciously at him, she quickly started the interrogation.
[Wait a second! When did you talk with my sisters about it!?](Helen)
"This morning. I had to cook breakfast for them, remember?"
[What!? You all ate without me!?](Helen)
Looking at how annoyed this tigress got because of missing a meal, Michael laughed aloud and took out the two sandwiches and the sweet concoctions from his Inventory.
"I didn't forget about you."
To his surprise, Helen quickly snatched her part and kissed him as thanks before devouring the sandwich.
Remembering that she probably didn't have time to eat last night, and it was already past noon, he took it as a snack and prepared to eat whatever the chefs in the kitchen prepared for lunch as a main dish.
Sure enough, after finishing the sandwich, Helen looked unsatisfied, so they got dressed and met up with the other sisters in the pavilion.
Fortunately, they didn't count on him for lunch, and the chefs had already prepared roasted potatoes and beef stakes, ready to be served at any moment.
Besides the food, Michael enjoyed the casual conversation with the girls and the experimental smoothies they came up with.
[You promised you'd tell us about yesterday's adventure.](Evelyn)
Seeing her shining eyes, Michael paused and looked questioningly at Helen.
[Since Evelyn is the lowest level among us, we don't let her go Dungeoning without us. So, she's a bit 'famished' when it comes to venturing out into the wilderness. She still sees it as an adventure...](Helen)
"It's not a bad mentality to keep, Miss Evelyn. For the rest of your sisters, going out and seeing the horrors these demons and invaders inflicted on the Sanctuary and its people had already destroyed the 'adventurer' mentality. However, while it's not bad to keep thinking about it like that, make sure you keep your wits about yourself when in the wilderness, or you'll end up in dangerous situations just like I did yesterday. As for what exactly happened..."
Michael explained the whole proceeding from the point where he accepted the Quest until late at night when Helen and Mina came to their rescue.
[It was a good judgment call to make use of the terrain. However, things would've happened differently if you didn't have your Skeleton Warriors to block the entrance.](Mei)
"Mhm. Not only that, but Aybdah's Ice Trap, as well as his Ambush skill to kill the Boss, Burt's totems and potions, and most importantly, Christine's Charged Shots mattered just as much as my contribution in holding on the defense line."
[That girl is pretty impressive to be able to use Charged Shot up to 100%. I was capable of that only after reaching Level 20. And even then, I couldn't constantly charge it that much.](Mei)
"Is it something I can learn also?"
[Yes and no. This skill is an actual Ranger Class skill, so it makes learning and mastering it easier. For other Classes, they need to study the inner workings of their skills before being able to overcharge them. Otherwise, the overcharging might fail, and the resulting backlash could cripple the caster.](Mei)
"I see."
Michael pondered for a while and realized he could use some spell books based on Necromancer skills.
At the moment, he was using the system to cast them automatically. Based on his years of reading novels, if he could learn to cast the skills properly, it might result in a huge damage increase, even without overcharging.
[Still, your Class is broken as hell when it comes to area damage.](Tia)
[Language!](Mina)
"Yes, it's pretty amazing, but only against low-level enemies at the moment. However, the two enhancements I can pick for it are also pretty ridiculous."
[Eh!? Even more than it's at the moment? What does it do?](Tia)
[ Enhanced Corpse Explosion
--------------------------
Corpse Explosion radius is increased by 15%. ]
[ Blighted Corpse Explosion
--------------------------
Corpse Explosion becomes a Darkness skill and, instead of exploding, releases a vile miasma dealing 110% Darkness damage over 6 seconds. ]
As for the other enhancement option, Michael ignored it without any consideration, as the Darkness skill sounded quite OP.
[That's absolutely ridiculous!](Tia)
[I agree with Tia this time around. With two additional levels, your damage will take off.](Mia)
[Amazing!](Evelyn)
[I wasn't expecting the Necromancer class to be this powerful. This Corpse Explosion skill is the best way to deal with minion-level creatures on large scales among most Classes I've seen.](Mina)
[Imagine adding increased Darkness damage through items and the Paragon Board. Even Boss-level demons will die in seconds!](Helen)
Seeing how hyped the girls were, Michael finally understood just how powerful this Class-defining skill of his was.
Coupled with the Hewed Flesh that has a percentage chance to create Corpses with each hit, Michael had the potential to become an explosion master, as he just detonates corpses from behind his minions.
There was only a small problem, though.
"Right! I wanted to ask you girls since you're all at a higher level than me. I've reached the maximum level of skill slots I can use. How can I unlock more?"
The girls looked at him strangely, making Michael sweat for a moment.
"Don't tell me six is the maximum number!?"
[Well... It's not. You'll open two more after reaching Level 25 and completing your first Class Awakening. One at Level 28 and one at 30. Then, another three after the second Class Awakening at Level 50, another three at Level 75, and another three at Level 100.](Mina)
"Pfew! So I can still use more skills in the future. That's good! Versatility means higher survival chances."
[No, no, no! To begin with, how did you use up six slots at Level 9!? It doesn't make any sense.](Tia)
[Yes, Michael. Did you just get every skill you saw in the Skill Tree?](Helen)
Michael rolled his eyes and explained his skill choice to the girls. There was no reason to hide them since the other party members and Bozan had already seen him perform them.
[So, let me get this straight. You have a skill that costs nothing but regenerates Resources. Then, a skill that costs barely any Resources, which damages, lowers enemies' movement speed and increases the damage they take. Another skill that allows you to become immune to any form of damage for three whole seconds, which also deals with percentage damage and costs NOTHING. Your overpowered Corpse Explosion skill also costs nothing and deals stupid amounts of damage to a pretty wide area. A control skill that costs nothing has a relatively low cooldown and can restrict enemies for up to six seconds. AND the skill that allows you to Raise Skeletons on top of all this!? How is this permitted!? It makes no sense!](Tia)
Hearing Tia put it like that, Michael couldn't help but agree that his Class was somewhat overpowered.
[Well, it's not that exaggerated. Yes, having a Necromancer in a party that's capable of doing all those things is amazing, as he can coordinate with the remaining party members and bring about excellent results. As a solo Wanderer, though, the damage he can deal should be less than another Wanderer at the same level but of a different Class.](Helen)
"That makes sense. It would be too unbalanced otherwise."
[Yeah, yeah, but that's only right now. After he gets some items with suitable skills and decent Aspects, he can solo Bosses of higher levels than his own.](Tia)
[I think so as well. I can imagine many combo spells he can use in different situations.](Mia)
Like a good student, Michael asked for guidance and took notes as the sisters theorized different scenarios and the skills he should use in them.
Overall, he felt that he should come over and cook more often for these ladies.