Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 10: The Emergence of a Build

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

After three consecutive hours of hunting, Bocchi was feeling fatigued.

So, after capturing the second Yangsha Pangolin, he found a small shaded sand dune to stop the motorcycle. He pulled out a tent and a small cooking pot from the storage box under the seat.

Bocchi set up the tent and then selected four of the less active Gray Elephant Shrews from the tied-up bunch.

Ma Lu volunteered to behead them, and then Bocchi skinned them, removed the innards, and quickly rinsed them with water before tossing everything into the small cooking pot.

The pot was connected to the motorcycle’s battery, and before long, the aroma of cooking meat wafted through the air.

Bocchi sprinkled a bit of salt on top and, once the meat was done, handed a piece to Ma Lu.

"Eat up. Thanks to you, we managed to catch so much prey so close to The Giant Screen."

"Your hunting skills are impressive too."

Ma Lu said this sincerely. He had just closely observed the entire hunting process, and even though he wasn’t very knowledgeable about the craft, he could tell that Bocchi’s performance was quite good.

And it’s worth noting that while they ventured out together, Bocchi hadn’t accepted Ma Lu's invitation to form a team, so he didn’t benefit from the blessing’s boost.

In other words, it was all Bocchi’s own skill.

"At school, no one worked harder than I did," Bocchi said proudly. "I was always the top student, except for the last year."

"What happened in the last year?"

Ma Lu bit into the Gray Elephant Shrew meat. The creature, which resembled a large rat, had tough, chewy meat with a strong gamey flavor. Combined with Bocchi’s simple and rough cooking method—using only salt as seasoning—it wasn’t particularly tasty, just barely filling.

It was far from the Pan-Seared Sandfish Ma Lu had eaten at the Little Bear Bar a few hours earlier.

However, Bocchi didn’t seem to mind at all, quickly gnawing through a leg and then tearing off another. "In the fourth year, Psychic Ability were included in the assessments."

"Ah, I thought as much."

"There’s nothing I can do. If you don’t have talent, you just don’t have it. When hunting common prey near the city, this may not be so apparent, but the deeper you go into the desert and encounter real challenges, the gap created by differences in talent becomes more and more obvious."

Bocchi paused for a moment. "Your Psychic ability is indeed very special, but unlike mine, it’s actually useful. Especially to the larger hunting parties, your value is immeasurable. You could earn much more by following them. Are you sure you still want to form a hunting party with me?"

Ma Lu waved his hand. "Big hunting parties come with too many restrictions. I’m an outsider, and it would be easier to cooperate with you. Besides, as I said, your situation isn’t completely hopeless."

He wasn’t just comforting Bocchi; in the context of the Roguelike system, anything was possible.

And just recently, after swiftly dealing with nineteen Flame Geckos and four Gray Elephant Shrews, Ma Lu made a new discovery.

Three blessings caught his attention: two white and one blue.

【Regen Shield: There’s a 3% chance that a damaged shield in the team will instantly regenerate.】

【This Water is Electrified: There’s a 3% chance that water-based Psychic Ability in the team will carry an electrical charge.】

【Final Stand: There’s a 15% chance that a damaged shield in the team will completely block one instance of damage.】

These blessings intrigued Ma Lu, not only because they seemed well-suited to Bocchi but also because they could interact with each other. Although their individual trigger probabilities were low due to their quality, when combined, they hinted at the emergence of a build.

In Roguelike games, a build is one of the most important, if not the most crucial, aspects. It involves combining various attributes to generate effects far beyond their basic descriptions.

Once a build is fully formed, the team’s combat power can undergo a qualitative change, making invincibility a real possibility.

Bocchi was clearly unaware of the power of builds, but hearing that Ma Lu wanted to stay made him quite happy.

After finishing off his two Gray Elephant Shrews, Bocchi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and noticed that Ma Lu had barely touched his food. Concerned, he asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”

"Uh... I was just standing around earlier, not moving much, so I'm not very hungry."

“Oh. I’ll pack it up for you then; you can eat it when you’re hungry.”

Bocchi went to the motorcycle to get a lunchbox, and at that moment, a familiar buzzing sound rang in Ma Lu's ears, followed by a notification from the Traveler’s Bracelet.

—Ding! Congratulations, you have discovered a two-star ingredient: Two-Headed Jackal. The Two-Headed Jackal entry has been unlocked.

Seeing the words “two-star ingredient” excited Ma Lu, but when he saw the name, he froze.

Unlike small animals like shrews and pangolins, jackals were clearly classified as predators. More importantly, in his homeland, jackals were pack animals that liked to hunt in groups.

He didn’t know if this behavior carried over in this universe.

Just as Ma Lu was about to warn Bocchi to be careful, two red figures leapt down from the sand dune, aiming directly at Bocchi, who had his back turned!

Four heads lunged toward Bocchi’s neck, left and right hands, and his side.

It was a meticulously planned ambush that would have been silent and deadly had it not been for the bracelet’s unexpected scan.

As Bocchi had said, this desert was filled with opportunities, but also fraught with dangers. The roles of hunter and prey could switch at any moment.

The two Two-Headed Jackals were about to pounce on Bocchi when he suddenly rolled to the right, swiftly grabbing the mechanical spear hanging from his motorcycle.

Bocchi narrowly dodged the jackals, and after gaining some distance, quickly got back on his feet.

"Stay back; I’ll handle these two!"

Though his opponents were strong, Bocchi was equally confident in his abilities.

This confidence came from years of relentless training, but then he heard Ma Lu say, "You won’t be able to handle this alone."

“It's just two Two-Headed Jackals…”

“Not two—thirteen.” Ma Lu pointed to another sand dune, where eleven more red figures stood.

Bocchi gasped, “A jackal pack?”

Encountering jackal packs in the desert wasn’t uncommon, but finding one so close to The Giant Screen was rare.

The number of jackals far exceeded what Bocchi could handle, and to make matters worse, the motorcycle was blocked by the two Two-Headed Jackals that had attacked him.

This wasn’t Bocchi’s first encounter with Two-Headed Jackals; perhaps because of their two heads, these creatures were much smarter than ordinary beasts.

They clearly understood the importance of the motorcycle to the hunters, and once they secured a strategic position, they wouldn’t easily relinquish it.

This was evident as they didn’t pursue after landing. Meanwhile, the other eleven jackals on the dune began charging toward them.

The situation had suddenly turned dire.

Bocchi could only hope that a hunting party would happen to pass by; otherwise, he and Ma Lu would likely meet their end in this desert.

Thinking of this, Bocchi felt his anxiety rising, and his grip on the mechanical spear grew sweaty. To his surprise, Ma Lu didn’t seem panicked at all; instead, there was a faint gleam of excitement in his eyes.

This guy… is he not afraid of death at all?

As Bocchi was pondering, he saw Ma Lu extend his right hand toward him again. "Quick, join my team now."

“This isn’t the time to be talking about that, is it?”

“No, now is exactly the time to talk about it. If you wait any longer, it’ll be too late. If you want to survive, do as I say,” Ma Lu said firmly.

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