I knew that the biggest benefit of the ability ring I crafted using the dagger artifact was that it didn't use mana.

The genius of slaughters grandson must be a warrior who fights on technique and strength alone.

With enough strength, you don't even need abilities.

For example, if you slash three times in the same place faster then the eye can perceive it looks like an ability. Because only one slash was seen.

I wonder if I could make a legendary ring that could make a woman more seductive.

It was probably possible but it didn't agree with my current desire.

What I needed were strong comrades to rely on when the time for my revenge came.

I was strong but it was a apparent to me that the world was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

A generation of monsters was what I needed to accomplish my goals.

And I had just the power to do it.

I didn't know how to make anything beyond basics rings but that was enough.

My plans needed to stay hidden from everyone at this point.

The vineyard incident made it clear too me that the powers were all intertangled.

If I let anyone know about my quest to figure out what happened to my family. It would get far more complicated.

Time for breakfast I thought to myself as I walked out and made my way towards the cafeteria.

"Sir this is for you"

The cafeteria guard told me as he handed me a pin

"Stick it on your shirt, and you can eat food that's scavenged by Elder and cooked by the head chef."

So now they really were supporting me. Even though I know not that Grand Elder is basically just a looter.

It makes sense though the forest is full of waste. Animals die all the time berries fall from trees. It's the most efficient build for supporting an outpost.

Anyway, the head chef's eyes seemed to sparkle when he saw me.

He immediately pulled out some ingredients and started cooking.

I took a seat silently and waited for him to finish.

"Here you go, enjoy!"

He was being respectful to me, probably because he wanted a cool ring.

I took the food and headed back to my room and sat in the sunlight.

I had decided to strengthen the outpost by making a generation of looters like grand elder.

It seemed like the most efficient way as long as the fortress stayed protected.

My plan was to make teams of three people, which meant I would make three different common rings.

One ring would be for escape the other would be for recon and the third would be for stealth.

Afterall the more resources that were brought back the faster, I could grow.

I opened my food bag to see a little box made of wood. And on top of that box was a letter.

It read

The elder has instructed me to cook your meals. This food will be my top duty and he will supply the ingredients. The name and uses of the food are too important to be left out. So I will always write you a short note on top of your food. You are only allowed to eat one meal a day because of the astonishing age of most of these meals. When the time comes I hope you will remember my diligence.

Regards, Top chef

It didn't matter if he knew my abilities I guess. Because of the legendary ring that controlled the whole camp.

I guess I found a safe home for myself for a while!

The other note read Hundred year leopard steak, sprinkled in bone marrow.

It was delicious with every bite I could feel my body rejoice at the nutritious value. Apparently I could get cool abilities from eating. But this meal was just highly nutritious too the body.

I spent the rest of the day in my room planning out how I was going to build the looter squads.

The next day when I checked my arm to see if the nutritious food from yesterday had any effects on my mana accumulation.

It didn't but my arm seemed to be slightly sturdier when I raised it.

I wanted to wander around today but my ideas for the looter squads hadn't been fully planned out.

I stayed in my room drawing out there ability trees for the whole day. I decided to eat today's meal right before I went to bed.

When I got there my meal was already prepared.

Apparently, the badge I got was a mana item that tracked my location so everyone could prepare for me before I arrived in locations.

They wouldn't be able to contain the information again if there was another winery incident.

I could generate about 60 mana a day without any food buffs.

Today's meal, I opened it up to see a sandwich.

The note said that it was made from the heart of a hundred year old ostrich and was sprinkled in the bone marrow.

Apparently, grand elder wanted to make it so my body was strong enough to avoid a natural death before giving me any food that boosted my mana production.