Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Haruto slowly opened his eyes as his mind finally emerged from the haze of overwhelming flavor.

A moment later, he realized that his body had undergone a complete transformation.

His skin had become smooth and firm, the slight roughness it once had replaced by a texture as fine as silk.

When the glow from the Jewel Meat fell across him, it even left a faint sheen on his skin.

After staring blankly for a moment, Haruto hurriedly checked the rest of his body.

His once somewhat slender chest had broadened, and when he lifted his shirt, he found eight sharply defined abdominal muscles beneath it.

The muscles along his arms and thighs had filled out as well, but they were not bulky.

Every line looked balanced and powerful, carrying the unmistakable sense of explosive strength.

Haruto slowly clenched his fist.

Power surged through his limbs in a way he had never experienced before, and he could even feel the faint resistance of the air pressing against his fingertips.

He tested it with a light punch.

A soft whistle cut through the air beside his ear—something he could never have imagined doing before.

Haruto rose to his feet and stretched.

His bones cracked sharply as he moved, but every motion felt incredibly light and fluid, as though a heavy set of chains had been removed from his body.

The transformation was not entirely good news, however.

Haruto looked down at himself, then compared his height with the Jewel Meat beside him.

Somehow, he seemed to have gotten shorter.

He had originally stood at around one hundred and eighty centimeters, but he appeared to have lost nearly ten centimeters, leaving him closer to one hundred and seventy.

Combined with his suddenly broad, muscular body, the change made him look especially solid and compact.

Once the initial surprise passed, Haruto began to form a theory.

...

"Was this the Jewel Meat... or the Gourmet Cells?"

He ran a hand over the firm muscle of his arm as he considered the possibilities.

Jewel Meat was not only one of the finest ingredients in the world; it was also known for its remarkable ability to strengthen the body.

Even someone frail and sickly could become robust almost immediately after eating it.

Gourmet Cells, however, were even more extraordinary.

As Haruto understood it, even ordinary people in the world of Toriko possessed Gourmet Cells.

In most people, though, those cells remained dormant and did little more than give them a slightly larger appetite.

The race known as Nitro also seemed to possess cooking techniques capable of stimulating the Gourmet Cells inside ordinary humans, making the people themselves more delicious.

Of course, that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Haruto had no intention of eating anyone.

After thinking it over, he became fairly certain that he had acquired active Gourmet Cells.

For one thing, the changes to his body were simply too extreme to be explained by Jewel Meat alone.

More importantly, nearly a third of the Jewel Meat in front of him was gone.

That amount was larger than his entire body and contained an almost unimaginable amount of energy.

An ordinary person would probably have eaten themselves to death long before finishing it.

Haruto, on the other hand, felt perfectly fine.

In fact, he was bursting with more energy than he knew what to do with!

The only explanation he could think of was that active Gourmet Cells had digested and absorbed the enormous quantity of food, converting it into fuel for his body’s evolution.

...

What confused him was how easily the process had happened.

Haruto knew that, compared to the enormous human population of this world, relatively few people ever managed to awaken their Gourmet Cells.

Some members of the Gourmet Corp. even resorted to injecting themselves with highly active Gourmet Cells.

The strange and often grotesque changes to their bodies showed just how dangerous and difficult the process could be.

Haruto had done neither of those things.

He had not injected active cells into his body, nor had he gradually awakened his own through years of consuming vast amounts of gourmet food.

All he had done was eat enough Jewel Meat, and somehow his Gourmet Cells had awakened.

It seemed far too simple.

What Haruto did not know was that the process had gone so smoothly precisely because he had been so weak.

That weakness did not only apply to his physical strength. His original cells had been equally fragile.

When confronted by the Gourmet Cells, they had been unable to resist at all.

The invasive cells had spread through his body like cancer, taking root and multiplying without obstruction until they had replaced and reconstructed every cell he possessed.

"Whatever. There’s no point overthinking it."

Haruto shook his head, a relieved smile appearing on his face.

The process did not matter nearly as much as the result.

He now had a strong, healthy body and active Gourmet Cells.

That alone was an incredible stroke of luck.

Unable to contain his excitement, Haruto began testing his new body.

He started with his speed and quickly found that he was at least two or three times faster than before.

Next, he drove his fist into the fleshy wall beside him, leaving a deep indentation in its surface.

When he tried jumping, his body shot lightly into the air, rising more than two meters before landing with perfect stability.

He barely felt the impact.

...

The more Haruto tested himself, the more excited he became.

He tried one movement after another, reveling in the power rushing through his body and the seemingly endless energy filling his limbs.

Once he had established his basic physical capabilities, he attempted to draw out whatever special ability his Gourmet Cells might have given him.

Haruto concentrated and tried to call upon the energy inside him.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, nothing unusual happened.

Aside from his strength and speed being far beyond normal human limits, he could not detect any special power.

He was not disappointed.

He had only just acquired his Gourmet Cells.

They were like a newly sprouted seed, one that still needed time and far more delicious ingredients before it could fully grow.

As long as he continued eating high-quality gourmet food, he was certain that a unique ability would eventually emerge.

Would he develop something like Toriko’s sense of smell?

Perhaps Coco’s poison, Zebra’s voice, or Sunny’s sense of touch?

Haruto could hardly wait to find out.

That, however, was a concern for the future. Right now, he needed to decide what to do next.

He had already found the Jewel Meat, so there was no reason to keep wandering aimlessly through the Regal Mammoth’s body.

Haruto quickly decided to remain in this chamber until it was time to return home.

The fact that the Jewel Meat had remained here undisturbed suggested that the area was relatively safe.

He would not have to worry as much about parasites or other dangerous creatures finding their way inside.

As for leaving the Regal Mammoth altogether, the thought never seriously crossed his mind.

Haruto knew his limits.

He might have acquired Gourmet Cells and undergone an evolution, but his actual strength was still fairly modest.

His speed and power now far surpassed those of an ordinary person, yet against the beasts of the Toriko world, he would still be helpless.

He probably could not even defeat some of the parasites living inside the Regal Mammoth.

The outside world was undoubtedly incredible and filled with countless gourmet ingredients, but it was also far more dangerous.

The region inhabited by a Regal Mammoth was certain to be crawling with powerful beasts.

At his current level, stepping outside would only risk turning him into a convenient snack for the first hungry predator that noticed him.

Under the circumstances, remaining inside the Regal Mammoth was easily the safer choice.

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