Chapter 105: The next morning — The limits of the Chamber

Adam focused his attention on the first window.

It opened immediately.

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System Notification

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Growth effects validated.

Host Progression:

Strength: +3 Agility: +3 Stamina: +3 Intelligence: +3 Spirit: +3

The Luck stat is unaffected.

Skill progression detected:

Eyes of the World: Lv. 2 → Lv. 3 Vigorous Body: Lv. 3 → Lv. 4 Massage: Lv. 2 → Lv. 3 Fertility Control: Lv. 3 → Lv. 4

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Adam remained motionless for a moment.

"Three points in almost all my stats... in a single night."

Even after reading the Kamasutra description the day before, seeing the actual result was different.

Strength.

Agility.

Endurance.

Intelligence.

Mind.

Five different stats had increased simultaneously.

Fifteen points in total.

And that’s not counting the levels gained by various skills.

A second window opened.

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Partner Growth

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Elena of Valoria

Strength: +1 Agility: +1 Stamina: +2 Intelligence: +1 Spirit: +1

Lyriana Noctis Sylvermoon

Strength: +1 Agility: +1 Stamina: +2 Intelligence: +1 Spirit: +1

Other Companions:

Isadora of Valoria: Spirit +1 Selene Arkwell: Intelligence +1 Elaria Silverleaf: Strength +1 Shiora Crimsonhorn: Agility +1 Vespera Drakharis: Stamina +1

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This time, Adam sat down completely.

Elena and Lyriana had received more than the others.

He had no trouble understanding why.

Their stats were much closer to his than those of the five most senior women in the group.

The skill was working exactly as advertised.

The greater the gap, the more the weaker partner benefited from the growth transfer.

And even those whose stats far surpassed his weren’t completely excluded.

Adam was beginning to grasp the true potential of this skill.

It didn’t just allow him to progress.

Over a long enough period, it could benefit the entire group.

The last notification concerned Satisfaction Points.

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Satisfaction Validated

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Satisfaction Gained Overnight:

+3,500 Satisfaction Points

Previous Points:

100

Current Points:

3 600

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Adam stared at the number.

Three thousand six hundred.

Just a few hours earlier, he had practically emptied his reserve with the ten Superior Draws.

And now he already had enough to perform several draws again.

His gaze instinctively slid to the corresponding function.

Then he closed it.

"No."

He already knew the trap.

"This time, I’m keeping the points."

He had enough mysterious rewards to deal with at the moment.

Instead, Adam opened his status.

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Status Panel — Adam

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Level: 3

Stat Value

Strength 21

Agility 21

Endurance 29

Intelligence 24

Spirit 22

Luck 13

Available Stat Points: 12

Talent:

Satisfaction Feedback System

Satisfaction Points: 3,600

Blessings

Mana Body — Lv. 3 Eyes of the World — Lv. 3

Skills

Boundary Marker — Rank - · Grade - — Lv. 3 Adaptation — Blue Rank · Rare Grade — Lv. 2 Vigorous Body — Blue Rank · Rare Grade — Lv. 4 Healing — White Rank · Common Grade — Lv. 2 Massage — Green Rank · Uncommon Grade — Lv. 3 Fertility Control — Blue Rank · Rare Grade — Lv. 4 Weapon Mastery — Orange Rank · Unique Grade — Lv. 1 Kamasutra — Orange Rank · Unique Grade — Lv. 1

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Adam slowly scanned the values.

Strength: 21.

Agility: 21.

Endurance: 29.

Even his Spirit was now at 22.

And he still had 12 Stat Points in reserve.

At this rate...

His level three was becoming increasingly misleading.

He finally closed the interface.

"We’ll see about that later."

He got up, put on black shorts and a simple t-shirt, and left the sleeping area.

The voices of the others were coming from the relaxation area.

When he arrived, the seven women were settled among the cushions.

Some still had slightly disheveled hair.

Elaria was holding a cup of tea.

Vespera and Isadora were chatting quietly.

Selene was almost completely reclining.

Shiora had already managed to retrieve a notebook.

Adam stopped.

"Shiora."

She looked up.

"What?"

"It’s much too early for that notebook."

"I’m not working."

"What are you doing?"

"I’m thinking with written notes."

Adam sighed.

"Of course."

A few smiles appeared.

He climbed down into the pit and sat down among them.

"Hello."

Replies came from all directions.

"Hello."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Apparently so." "

Adam leaned back against a large cushion.

"And you? How are you feeling?"

This time, the women exchanged several glances.

Elena was the first to answer.

"Different."

She slowly opened and closed her hand.

"Not drastically. But enough for me to notice."

Lyriana nodded.

"Me too. My recovery seems better, especially in terms of stamina."

Selene smiled.

"They spent the first part of the morning checking that they weren’t imagining things."

Elena glanced at her.

"You did exactly the same thing."

"Of course."

Selene didn’t even try to deny it.

Isadora continued more seriously:

"For the five of us, the increase is much smaller. Only one statistic improved by one point."

Elaria raised her cup to her lips.

"That’s still remarkable."

Vespera agreed.

"At our level, getting a direct stat increase without rank progression, specialized training, or extremely rare resources is unusual."

They already knew the description of the skill.

But knowing that an effect was supposed to occur and actually seeing a change in one’s own body were two completely different things.

Shiora leaned slightly toward Adam.

"And you?"

Adam immediately felt seven pairs of eyes converge on him.

"All my stats except Luck have increased by three points."

Silence.

Even Selene straightened up.

"All of them?"

"Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, and Spirit. Three each."

Elena opened her eyes slightly.

"Fifteen points?"

"Yes."

Vespera immediately became much more attentive.

"And your skills?"

"Eyes of the World, Vigorous Body, Massage, and Fertility Control have each gained a level."

Elaria slowly set down her cup.

"Overnight."

"Yes."

Selene smiled dangerously.

Adam noticed immediately.

"No."

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your face said it all."

Laughter rippled through the pit.

Shiora, meanwhile, was already thinking.

"The greater the gap between your stats, the higher your benefit seems to be. Elena and Lyriana then received more than us because they’re closer to your current level..."

"That’s my conclusion too," Adam confirmed.

Elaria added:

"Which means that as Adam catches up to us, the distribution could become more and more balanced."

Vespera nodded.

"So, skill is even more valuable in the long run than we thought."

Adam preferred to cut things short before Selene or Shiora turned the conversation into a joke again.

"I also received 3,500 Satisfaction Points."

Shiora immediately opened her mouth.

Adam raised a finger.

"And I’m keeping them."

She closed it.

"I wasn’t going to say anything."

"A lie."

Elena laughed softly.

After a few more minutes, their attention returned to the Room itself.

They had, in the end, only spent one real night with the door closed.

And there was still much they didn’t know about its rules.

Adam gestured toward the library.

"Since we have some time before we leave, I suggest we test exactly what the Room considers work."

The idea immediately intrigued Elaria.

"Finally."

Adam glanced at her.

"Why do you say that as if you’ve been waiting for this experience since last night?"

"Because I have been waiting for this experience since last night."

Obviously.

They started with something simple.

Reading.

Selene retrieved a book on international trade.

She settled comfortably.

Opened the first page.

Then the second.

On to the third...

The book vanished.

It reappeared instantly on her shelf.

Selene stood with her hands empty.

Silence.

Then Adam burst out laughing.

"The House just confiscated your book."

Selene frowned.

"I could read it."

Shiora raised an eyebrow.

"You seemed to be struggling from the very first paragraph."

"There were far too many numbers."

"It was a business book."

They tried again.

Same result.

Selene could read a few lines, but as soon as she had to force herself to continue, the House intervened.

Shiora picked up the exact same book.

She read a page.

Then a second.

Then a third.

Nothing.

The book remained in her hands.

A smile appeared on her face.

"Excellent book."

Selene looked at her as if she had just confirmed an incurable disease.

"There are eight pages on the taxation of goods in transit."

"Exactly."

Adam understood.

"So it’s not the subject of the book that matters."

Elaria wanted to check.

She picked up a manual on advanced military techniques.

A few pages later, it disappeared.

Elena retrieved the same book.

She continued reading without any problem.

They tried several things.

A treatise on enchantment was perfectly acceptable in the hands of Elaria or Vespera.

In Selene’s hands, it quickly ended up returning to its shelf on its own.

A report on infiltration methods interested Lyriana enough that the Chamber didn’t react.

Shiora, on the other hand, lost the document after a few minutes.

Adam tested several subjects himself.

Rune programming.

Blacksmithing.

Magic.

History.

Some remained accessible as long as he read out of curiosity.

But when he deliberately tried to transform the reading into a structured study session...

The book vanished.

Elaria finally summarized their conclusion.

"The Chamber doesn’t seem to simply identify an activity based on its category."

Vespera continued:

"It interprets the intention."

Adam nodded.

That was exactly how he felt.

"As long as we do something because it relaxes us, amuses us, or naturally interests us, it accepts it."

Shiora added:

"But as soon as the activity becomes an obligation, a professional task, or something we force ourselves to pursue to achieve an external goal..."

Selene pointed to the library.

"Confiscated."

"Exactly." "

Adam found this far more sophisticated than a simple list of prohibitions.

The Chamber seemed capable of distinguishing between reading a magic book because one loved magic...

And reading that same book because one desperately wanted to finish an assignment before the end of the day.

The difference didn’t lie in the action itself.

It lay in the mindset.

Then they tested production.

Elaria’s workshop remained accessible.

But as soon as she picked up several components with the clear intention of crafting a useful object...

The tools vanished from her hands and returned to their places.

Elaria remained motionless.

"I don’t like this rule."

Adam smiled.

"I do."

"Obviously."

The experiments continued.

Repairing equipment for professional purposes: forbidden.

Preparing a prototype: forbidden.

Production for sale: forbidden.

Then they arrived at the kitchen.

This time...

No reaction.

Adam entered the area designated for preparing meals.

He touched several utensils.

Nothing.

Isadora tried in turn.

Still nothing.

"So cooking is allowed," Elena observed.

"Probably because eating is part of the ordinary needs of rest," Adam suggested.

Unfortunately...

They quickly encountered another problem.

The supplies.

The Chamber had some basic supplies for drinks.

But they had brought practically no fresh ingredients yet.

So it was impossible to truly test the kitchen.

They simply made tea.

Or rather...

They tried.

Adam watched Selene pour the leaves directly into water that was far too hot.

"Wait."

Too late.

Elaria, for her part, had found another container.

Adam looked at her.

"Why are you measuring the temperature with an alchemical instrument?"

"Precision."

"For tea?"

"Yes."

Shiora seemed more reasonable at least.

Until Adam discovered she had used an absurd amount of tea leaves.

"Are you trying to make tea or create a commercial concentrate?"

"I prefer strong flavors."

Adam was slowly beginning to understand something.

He observed Elena.

"Do you know how to cook?"

She hesitated.

A bad sign.

"I can prepare certain things."

"Like what?"

A second of hesitation.

"Meat."

"How?"

"I heat it up."

Adam remained silent.

Lyriana discreetly looked away.

He turned to her.

"And you?"

"My skills are more suited to missions."

"That doesn’t answer the question."

"It was intentional."

Adam placed a hand over his face.

Isadora tried to defend the group.

"We’re not completely incompetent."

"You, you cook?"

The duchess remained composed.

"My dishes are edible."

Adam stared at Isadora.

Then at the others.

"So, ’Edible’ is currently the highest level of cuisine in this room?"

Vespera considered this.

"Probably."

Adam began to laugh.

Not a quiet chuckle.

A real laugh that he had great difficulty suppressing.

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"It’s not that funny."

"You lead guilds, armies, territories, and entire organizations..."

He caught his breath.

"You can face monsters capable of destroying cities... but a kitchen can beat you."

Shiora folded her arms.

"We have staff for that."

"That’s not an excuse."

"It is exactly an excuse. And a very good one." "

Adam laughed again.

This side of the women before him was so far removed from the image they usually projected that he found it almost unreal.

Then an idea came to him.

Cooking.

It was something he knew well.

Very well, in fact.

In his former life, he had always loved to eat.

And since he lived alone, preparing his own meals had become a daily habit.

But Adam had never liked constantly doing the same things.

He had studied the cuisines of many countries.

Tried new recipes.

Learned different cooking methods.

Sauces.

Breads.

Soups.

Meats.

Fish.

Stewed dishes.

Asian cuisine.

European.

Mediterranean.

Middle Eastern.

Desserts."

Over the years, what had begun as a necessity had become a true hobby.

And he had become quite good at it.

Since arriving in this world, he had also discovered something strange.

The food wasn’t bad.

Far from it.

The ingredients were often excellent.

But the cuisine lacked variety.

The same dishes were constantly repeated.

Roast.

Soup.

Bread.

Stew.

Grilled meats.

A few sauces.

And very little experimentation with spices or unusual combinations.

Pastries and other sweets were even more limited.

Adam smiled gradually.

"Very good."

Elena noticed his expression.

"What?"

"Tonight, I’m cooking."

Silence.

Selene blinked.

"You?"

"Yes, me."

Shiora seemed skeptical.

"You know how to cook?"

Adam placed a hand against his chest as if he’d just been insulted.

"Do you really have so little faith in me?"

"You never told us you knew how to cook," Elena replied.

"You never asked me."

Elaria adjusted her glasses.

"What level?"

Adam thought for a moment.

"I used to cook practically all my meals before I came here."

That answer alone was enough to change several expressions.

He continued:

"And I loved learning recipes from different regions of my old world. So tonight, I’m going to prepare several dishes that you’ve never eaten before."

Selene immediately sat up.

"Several?"

Adam smiled.

"Several."

The tigress’s tail began to twitch.

"I approve of this decision."

"Obviously."

Shiora seemed much more interested now.

"Have you chosen which ones yet?"

"Not yet. It will depend on what I find at the market."

He would have to compare the ingredients available in this world with those he knew.

Some products probably existed under other names.

Others might have equivalents.

And some recipes would have to be adapted.

But this difficulty was precisely what made the idea more interesting.

Adam turned to Isadora.

"Tell the servants not to prepare dinner tonight."

She raised a slight eyebrow.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." "

Selene immediately chimed in:

"I want a large quantity."

"I haven’t cooked anything yet."

"Just letting you know."

Adam sighed.

"A very large quantity. Understood."

Elena was already smiling.

"Now I really want to try it."

Lyriana nodded quietly.

Even Vespera seemed curious.

Adam looked at the seven women.

"You’re probably going to discover flavors quite different from what you’re used to."

Shiora asked:

"Different how?"

"Wait until tonight."

"So you refuse to give out any information about the product before its launch?"

Adam burst out laughing.

"Exactly. I’m using your sales tactics."

Shiora gave him an almost proud look.

"You’re a quick learner." "

The tests in the Room continued for a while longer, but they had already grasped the essentials.

The Room didn’t simply prevent them from doing certain things.

It seemed to monitor their intentions.

Reading for pleasure was allowed.

Reading for professional reasons was not.

Handling an object out of curiosity was possible.

Turning it into a production session was no longer allowed.

And cooking, at least for their personal needs, remained permitted.

Adam found this logic much more intelligent than he had imagined.

Finally, Isadora checked the outside time using the Room’s interface.

"It will soon be time to go out."

The door had been closed the day before.

Outside, almost eight hours had passed.

Inside...

They had had plenty of time to sleep, recover, and spend the beginning of their morning peacefully.

Adam stood up.

"Perfect. I’m starting to get hungry."

Selene looked at him.

"You’ve just been talking about food for twenty minutes. Of course you’re hungry."

"It’s probably related."

They gradually left the relaxation pit.

The discussion about dinner continued nonetheless.

Selene wanted meat.

Shiora wanted to discover something she could eventually market.

Elaria wanted to understand the preparation techniques.

Adam immediately had to remind her:

"You’re eating tonight. You’re not turning my dinner into a food engineering lesson."

"I’m not promising anything."

Vespera simply asked:

"Does the cuisine in your world use a lot of spices?"

Adam smiled.

"It depends on the country."

"How many countries?"

He thought for a moment.

"A lot."

The dragoness seemed even more interested.

Adam now had a new mission for the day.

Buy the necessary ingredients.

Adapt a few Earth recipes to the products of Valoria.

And above all...

Show seven women capable of managing a continental crisis that a meal could be more than just a properly heated piece of meat.

For that alone...

He was already looking forward to evening.

They finally headed for the door.

Breakfast awaited them in the manor.

And after that, the day of preparations for the journey to the elven kingdoms would truly begin.