The sun had already set when Jayden arrived at the Black Claw Restaurant. The heavy doors of the building parted with their signature smooth whisper, granting Jayden entry into the cathedral of culinary excess.

The receptionist—the same sharp-eyed woman, recognized him immediately. Her professional smile widened into genuine warmth.

"Welcome back, sir. Chef Moreau is in the inspection kitchen, as always. You can head straight back."

"Thanks," Jayden said, offering a polite nod before navigating the familiar, sensory-overloading tasting corridor.

He reached his destination within seconds and pushed through the heavy steel door. The kitchen was in its usual state of controlled, chaotic symphony. It was quieter than his previous visits... due to the end-of-day reduction in staff. The ambient noise of a full kitchen service wound down to the smaller, more focused sounds of cleanup and prep. A handful of chefs moved between workstations with the economical purpose of people finishing rather than beginning.

At the center of the stainless steel workstations stood Chef Moreau, his massive frame hunched over a workstation, a jagged cleaver in hand.

As the heavy door clicked shut, Moreau glanced up. And upon seeing Jayden, a wide, boisterous grin split his scarred face.

"Ah! The hunter returns!" Moreau boomed, setting his cleaver down and wiping his blood-stained hands on his apron. "Where have you been, kid? I haven’t seen you in weeks. I was even starting to think a Stalker finally got the better of you."

Jayden chuckled, walking over to the inspection platform. "Not quite. I’ve just been busy preparing for the global tournament."

"Ah, the global tournament," Moreau nodded knowingly, his eyes gleaming with respect. "That is a brutal gauntlet. My daughter competed a few years back. She had to train twenty hours a day just to survive the qualifiers."

"Really?" Jayden asked, genuinely interested. "Did she make it to the finals?"

"Make it to the finals?" Moreau scoffed proudly. "She took third place! And she scouted and taken in by Beta’s National University right after the closing ceremony."

"Wow, that’s amazing," Jayden said. "I’m actually aiming for Beta University myself."

Moreau leaned against the steel counter, his expression turning serious. "You have the talent for it, I’ve seen your kills. But listen to me: the tournament isn’t just about raw power. It’s about endurance and strategy. Don’t let the elite-born brats intimidate you with their flashy gear. Stay grounded, trust your instincts, and pace yourself."

"I will. Thanks for the tip," Jayden said, nodding in appreciation.

Moreau clapped his hands together, shifting back to business mode. "So, what did you bring to sell to me today?" he asked.

"Actually," Jayden said, crossing his arms casually, "I’m not here to sell anything."

Moreau raised a thick eyebrow. "Oh? Did you just come to chat with an old cook, then?"

"Not quite," Jayden smirked. He took a step back from the massive steel platform and flicked his wrist, accessing his inventory. Almost immediately...

Thud. Thud-thud-CRASH.

Ab avalanche of beast corpses materialized out of thin air. Eighty-three massive carcasses spilled onto the platform, piling up so high the top of the mound nearly scraped the kitchen’s ceiling.

The clatter of knives and the shouts of the sous-chefs ceased instantly. The entire kitchen froze, staring at the mountain of meat in dead silence.

Moreau’s jaw dropped. He stared at the ceiling-high pile, then slowly turned his head to look at Jayden, his dark eyes wide with utter disbelief.

"How... how in the hell did you kill all of these?" Moreau breathed.

"Hunting beasts is how I train," Jayden replied with casually. "And I’ve been hunting non-stop for the past couple of days. These are just the results. I didn’t want to leave them to rot in the forest, so I figured I’d bring them to you."

Moreau blinked, his brain clearly struggling to process the logistics. "Okay... alright. How much do you want for the lot?"

Jayden shook his head. "Nothing. I’m giving them to you. For free," he said.

Moreau froze. The silence in the kitchen somehow deepened. The other chefs exchanged bewildered glances, wondering just who this kid was and what kind of insane relationship he had with their boss to just hand over a haul this massive for free. It was unheard of.

"Are you out of your mind, kid?" Moreau asked, his voice low and serious. "This is a fortune. The amount of premium meals we can yield from these carcasses alone will bring in close to twenty million credits. And that’s not even factoring in the sale of the vital organs and alchemical reagents on the black market. You really have to reconsider giving all these to me for free. I can’t just take it."

Jayden looked at the pile and then at the chef. "I have no use for the money right now and no use for the meat too. I was even going to leave them in the forest." He met Moreau’s eyes. "But I’d rather they go somewhere they’ll actually be used. I’ll probably even bring you more the next time I go on a hunting binge."

Moreau stared at the kid, utterly flabbergasted by the sheer generosity. He let out a long, heavy breath, shaking his head. "You’re saving my supply chain for the next three months with this single drop. I really can’t accept this without giving you something in return. It goes against my pride."

Jayden smiled wryly. "Okay, fine," he sighed. "How about a free meal someday?"

"I’ll do you one better," Moreau said. He reached into his apron pocket, accessed his storage ring, and pulled out a sleek gold card. Stamped directly in the center was the minimalist imprint of a black claw. He handed it over to Jayden.

Jayden turned the card over in his hands. It felt like solid, cold metal.

"That is a Black Claw VIP Card," Moreau explained, a proud smirk returning to his face. "It entitles you to eat here for free for as long as this restaurant stands. Bring your family, bring your friends, order whatever you want for as long as you want. You just flash that to the waiter, and the bill disappears."

Jayden’s eyes widened. "Wow. That’s... incredible. Thank you, Chef Moreau." In a way, having unlimited access to high-tier beast meat cuisine was far more valuable to him than a one-time payout of credits.

"No, thank you, kid," Moreau said earnestly. "Make sure you actually come by and try the food, alright?"

"I definitely will," Jayden promised, sliding the gold card into his inventory. "I should get going, though. Still have a lot of training to do."

"Of course. Good luck with the tournament, kid! I’m rooting for you!" Moreau called out as Jayden turned to leave. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Jayden chuckled. "Thanks, I will try my best." Then he walked out of the kitchen, then proceeded to leave the restaurant. He stepped into the cool evening air, the city humming with that frantic night energy. He took in a deep breath then began another dash, this time heading home.

By the time Jayden arrived back at his house, the lights were dim. It was late, and Harleen, Jacob, and the girls had probably already gone to bed.

The moment he stepped through the door, his stomach let out a violent, echoing growl. He was starving. It wasn’t just his normal post-workout hunger; it felt like a hollow, gnawing void in his gut.

He moved straight to the kitchen, bypassing the light switches. He found a massive container of leftover roast and pasta in the fridge, threw it in the microwave, and leaned against the counter, drumming his fingers impatiently.

Why am I so hungry anyway? he wondered mentally. I know I should be, since I haven’t eaten anything for quite a while. But this hunger... it’s more intense than usual.

[Your metabolism has drastically altered, Jayden] Luna chimed in, her tone purely analytical. [You are practically a speedster now. And moving at high speeds places an immense strain on your cellular structure. To preserve your stamina reserves and regenerate the micro-tears in your muscle tissue, your body is burning calories at an exponentially accelerated rate]

"So... I have to eat a massive amount of calories every day just to function?" Jayden asked, pulling the hot food from the microwave and digging in with a fork right there in the kitchen.

[Correct] Luna affirmed. [As long as you wish to utilize Super Speed, you must provide your body with the fuel required to generate that kinetic energy]

Jayden sighed, shoveling a massive bite of pasta into his mouth. Between the threat of spontaneous combustion via friction and needing to eat like a Behemoth just to stay awake, this ability came with way more complications than he had originally anticipated.

After scraping the container clean, he trudged upstairs, his exhaustion finally catching up to him. He crashed onto his bed, falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

....

The next morning, sunlight streamed through his window, warming his face. Jayden groaned, stretching his aching muscles, and sat up. He opened his holotqb to check the time and froze....

11:15 AM.

He had slept incredibly late.

Before he even swung his legs out of bed, the familiar text of the System materialized in his vision.

[Alert! Subpack Members killed multiple targets]

[Total Exp Received: +900]

[Exp: 8060/7500]

[You have leveled up]

[You are now Level 18]

[....]

Jayden grinned. His army of was working overtime. But the notifications weren’t finished.

[Bonded Beast (Skye) has eliminated 52 targets in total]

[Base Exp Earned: 1,200 Exp]

[Soul Bond Bonus (x2). Base Exp has been doubled]

[You have received +2400 EXP]

[Exp: 2,960/8,500]

Jayden let out an exhilarated laugh, falling back onto his pillows. Sending Skye off-planet was unequivocally the best decision he could have made. She was an absolute menace. Being an A-Rank Legendary beast put her on par with, or even above, the mythological S-Ranks of Earth. She was essentially farming high-level alien ecosystems purely for his benefit.

He closed the interface, invigorated by his newfound power, and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He came out a few minutes later and left his room.

Downstairs, the house was quiet.

Harleen and Jacob had already left for work, and the girls were likely over at Aileen’s house for the training. The only sound was the low murmur of the Holo-TV projecting a news broadcast in the living room.

Jayden made his way into the kitchen, dropping bread into the toaster and brewing a strong cup of coffee. He was taking his first sip when a specific phrase from the television caught his attention.

"...the maiden voyage of the technological marvel out of Jade City..."

Jayden lowered his mug and walked into the living room to get a better look.

The holographic projection displayed a massive, incredibly sleek train resting on an elevated magnetic-levitation rail. It looked like a bullet forged from chrome and deep azure metal, completely seamless and aerodynamic. The reporter’s voice echoed through the room.

"The ’Aero-Apex’, Jade City’s brand new mag-lev supertrain, is the first of its kind. Designed with state-of-the-art anti-friction shielding and a dark-matter fusion engine, the aero-apex is said to have a maximum velocity exceeding the speed of sound. It is scheduled to transport its first wave of passengers from Jade City all the way to Autumn City, across the ocean in the Arcadia continent. Departure is scheduled strictly for 12:00 PM today]

Jayden tuned out the rest of the broadcast. He didn’t care about the engineering, the fusion engine, or the VIP passengers. All he cared about was....

Speed of sound.

A slow, thrilling smirk crept across Jayden’s face. What better way to test the absolute limits of his new ability than by racing a machine literally on the same speed level as him?

He checked the time. He had a few hours before noon.

"Alright then," Jayden murmured to the empty room. He walked back to the kitchen, downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp, and grabbed his toast. He needed to take a bath, dress, and get to the Jade City rail line.

He had a train to catch.