The Heavy Hole wasn't far from Mt. Melk. With Behemoth's speed, they reached it quickly.
"Just like I thought—there are differences from the original story. The gravity here is already several times normal."
As Kael and Melk the Second arrived at the cave mouth, they immediately felt it. The gravity here was already multiple times heavier than normal—very different from the original.
Kael estimated that by the time they reached the bottom, the gravity would be at least dozens of times stronger than outside.
For him, that was nothing. For Melk the Second, though, it would take a serious effort.
As long as she could endure it, it would be fine. Unfortunately, Kael's Enbu wasn't strong enough yet—and Enbu couldn't transfer or negate gravity acting on another person. So in the end, it came down to whether Melk the Second could hold on.
The two entered the Heavy Hole. Behemoth stayed behind—its size alone made it unsuitable, and Kael had no intention of bringing it into the Gourmet World in the future anyway.
Behemoth was fairly strong by Human World standards, but in the Gourmet World, surviving even a few minutes would be considered lucky. Its fate was to remain in the Human World.
Since it wouldn't be going to the Gourmet World, there was no need for it to adapt to this kind of gravity either.
Kael and Melk the Second continued downward. The Heavy Hole was nearly twenty thousand meters deep. Just reaching the bottom took time—and more importantly, the place was crawling with fierce beasts.
After descending several thousand meters, the gravity had already climbed into the teens. For Kael, it was still trivial, but Melk the Second was starting to feel it. Her movements grew sluggish.
They had also entered the territory of the Balbamoth.
Balbamos were beasts that lived deep within the Heavy Hole. Their capture level wasn't especially high, but many stronger outsiders still lost to them.
Part of that was because Balbamos hunted in groups. The other reason was that they were fully adapted to the environment here, giving them an overwhelming advantage over intruders.
"It's Balbamos… We're in their territory now. These things are not easy to deal with."
Melk the Second spoke tensely. Kael aside, she herself stood no chance against them, so her worry was understandable.
"Relax. Focus on adapting to the gravity. They won't dare move."
As he spoke, Kael released his aura.
His cell level had already broken into the triple digits. At that level, aura alone was enough to paralyze the beasts here.
The Balbamos instantly froze. Not a single one dared to move. The pressure from Kael's presence was overwhelming.
They felt that if they so much as twitched, they would die in the next instant.
So they stood there like statues—not even daring to move their eyes.
"Suppressing all of them with just aura… and not affecting me at all…"
Melk the Second was stunned again.
Using aura to intimidate beasts was a basic skill for Gourmet Hunters with Gourmet Cells. When facing large numbers of low-level beasts in the wild, releasing aura was the most efficient solution.
If the aura was strong enough, it could drive them away. If it was overwhelming, it could freeze them in place entirely.
Toriko had done something similar in the Biotope 8, using aura alone to lock down a group of Troll Kongs.
But in the White Forest of the First Biotope, even with Rin's perfume amplifying the aura, it was only enough to repel beasts—not immobilize them—and it couldn't even chase off something as strong as a Two-Headed Crocodile Dragon.
The reaction always depended on the strength of the person releasing the aura.
Kael was far beyond anything the Balbamos could even dream of challenging.
They continued downward. The deeper they went, the slower they moved.
Kael could have gone straight to the bottom to adapt to the gravity there, but Melk the Second couldn't. She was still too weak to handle that level of pressure and needed time to adjust.
"It's Ruby Crabs. Ingredients that live deep underground."
Once they passed the ten-thousand-meter mark, they found large numbers of Ruby Crabs.
Kael immediately understood why.
Food Luck.
Just like how Toriko had found Ruby Crabs thanks to Komatsu's Food Luck, Kael's own Food Luck had guided them here.
Even though he hadn't come to gather ingredients—and didn't need food to replenish himself—Food Luck still delivered them right to him.
His Food Luck was growing.
In the past, it only guided him toward ingredients he consciously wanted. Now, with its increasing strength, it actively brought ingredients to him whether he needed them or not.
As it continued to grow, Kael wondered if he would eventually start hearing the voices of ingredients.
After this trip, Kael considered visiting the Gourmet Shrine.
He had no interest in Acacia himself, but the shrine likely contained an immense concentration of Food Luck.
Since his ability allowed him to absorb ambient Food Luck, the shrine would be a treasure trove with no owner.
The Ruby Crabs that Food Luck delivered were quickly eaten by Kael and Melk the Second.
There weren't many, and with their appetites, they finished them easily, so Kael didn't bother collecting any.
As for the gems themselves, he had no interest.
They would be priceless in the World of Food Wars, but in the Toriko world, resources were abundant.
Not just food—materials needed for technological development were everywhere.
Take the Gourmet Desert, for example. Entire deserts there were composed of a single resource—rare earths, special metals, and more.
That abundance was why technological progress in the Toriko world was so fast. Even with Nitro technology as a guide, without sufficient resources, such development wouldn't be possible.
Several hours later, they finally reached the bottom.
By now, Melk the Second could barely move. Thankfully, Kael was there to provide supplies and restore her stamina. Otherwise, she would have died here even without being attacked by beasts.
Seeing her condition, Kael simply lifted her onto his back. That reduced her consumption significantly.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kael. I overestimated myself. I didn't expect the gravity at the bottom of the Heavy Hole to be this terrifying."
She spoke apologetically.
She had thought she could handle it. In truth, she could endure it—but she couldn't move freely. Coming here alone would have meant death.
"No need to apologize. This kind of thing is hard to predict. And honestly, we descended too fast. Your Gourmet Cells haven't fully adapted yet. Give it a few days, and it won't feel this bad."
He was both comforting her and telling the truth.
Gourmet Cells could adapt—but they needed time. And the Gourmet Demon inside Melk the Second wasn't particularly strong. Gourmet Demons varied greatly in power.
Toriko's Red Demon was top-tier, with exceptional adaptability.
And when Toriko had come here, he was far stronger than Melk the Second was now. Their situations simply weren't comparable.
As they talked, they approached Melk the First's workshop.
Kael had already located it before reaching the bottom. His Devil's Sense of Smell wasn't for show.
If Toriko could find Komatsu in the Gourmet World by scent alone, Kael could certainly find Melk the First.
He had been to Melk the First's former residence before, so he recognized his scent immediately. Once here, locating him was effortless.
There was no need for a Scorpion Demon Cattle to guide them.
Kael carried Melk the Second straight to the workshop—but standing outside was a young Scorpion Demon Cattle.
Other creatures existed even at the bottom of the Heavy Hole. To avoid being disturbed while forging knives, Melk the First had the Scorpion Demon Cattle guard the entrance and drive away intruders.
Kael and Melk the Second naturally drew its attention.
The Scorpion Demon Cattle let out a warning roar. It had already been tamed by Melk the First.
Its job was to chase intruders away first—and only attack if they refused to leave.
Kael gently set Melk the Second down and took out the Knocking Gun Jiro had given him.
In the next instant, he was in front of the Scorpion Demon Cattle.
A crisp snap rang out.
The Scorpion Demon Cattle froze solid—knocked out instantly.
With intermediate Knocking and Jiro's custom Knocking Gun, even an adult Scorpion Demon Cattle wouldn't stand a chance, let alone a juvenile.
The roar cut off abruptly.
Inside the workshop, Melk the First sensed something wrong and stepped out.
The moment he saw them, his expression changed completely.
He stared in shock at Kael—and then at Melk the Second.
Especially Melk the Second.
He never expected to see his daughter here.
Though he had found her rather than fathered her, he had raised her from childhood. Their bond was deep.
Shock turned into overwhelming joy.
For an old father, not seeing his daughter for so long—there was no way he hadn't missed her.
But Melk the First's voice was unbelievably quiet.
His lips moved as if he were speaking. Kael could hear him—but Melk the Second couldn't make out a single word.
It was honestly impressive in its own way.
Long-term silence usually robbed people of speech entirely.
Only Melk the First ended up like this—still able to speak, just so softly that no one could hear him.
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