“Sanctified Field.”

A bright golden line appeared in front of Miguel as he cast his spell, and swiftly it wrapped around the area in a circle.

The magic flashed brightly once upon completion before fading away into the ground.

“There, my spell has taken hold. Nothing with hostile intentions should be able to enter the area now.” Miguel said, a faint smile of satisfaction on his face.

After he finished his protective spell, Marcus cast his own, erecting a web of iron threads that spread out an encompassed the area around their camp.

With this spell, Marcus would be alerted if anything tried to approach, and the iron threads would wrap up any intruder and restrain them.

“Well, I am glad to see that our three spells do not clash with each other. I am sure that we will be save from any external threat now.” Evette said looking satisfied.

The three of them then returned to the center of their camp to find several tents erected and everyone preparing to eat.

‘Are they really just going with dried rations. I know that we have a limited storage space even among all of us, but I figured that elite groups of adventurers would do better with their food. Although perhaps none of them are well versed in cooking.’ Marcus thought as he watched everyone getting ready for dinner.

Among the best food that anyone had was dehydrated bags of prepared meals that they were going to reconstitute with boiled water.

The only one not pulling out anything to eat was Mrazivý who knew that Marcus would be cooking for them.

‘I can already see what is going to happen when I pull out an entire kitchen. Good thing I made sure to stock up on plenty of food. I may not need to eat, but good food will make sure that everyone has high morale.’

Walking over to where Mrazivý had set up their tent, Marcus opened his item box and brought out several counters for preparing food, a giant professional grill, and a magic walk-in fridge that was storing fresh food.

“Mraz, would you grab these items from the fridge and begin cutting them up while I prepare the grill.”

Nodding her head, Mrazivý took the list Marcus handed to her and entered the fridge that was preserving a great deal of food.

Using his fire magic Marcus lit the grill and checked to make sure that its enchantments were working as intended before pulling out a number of species and sauces from his item box.

It wasn’t long before he looked like he was ready to begin a giant outdoor barbecue, and everyone’s attention had been drawn towards him.

“This is certainly an impressive setup you have got here. What are you planning on making?” Thegia said her interest was obvious.

Before coming over she had been eating some preserved fruits, but she had put those down to see what Marcus was doing.

“I am going to be making some simple skewers for Mrazivý and I. We are used to eating freshly cooked food even when in dungeons, so I figured there was no reason to change our usual routine here. Of course, you are free to have some if you want. I made sure to stock up on plenty of ingredients.” Marcus said, pointing to where Mrazivý was pulling out items from the fridge.

“If you are offering don’t mind if I do. Is there anything that I can do to help?’ Thegia said, looking enthused to be eating fresh food.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think we will be fine. If you just for a bit, it will be ready, and we can all enjoy.” 

However, as Marcus moved over to help Mrazivý, Kollo came forward with a less than pleased look on her face.

“Don’t you think this is a waste. Your item box must be filled with useless items like these. When it comes to exploring new areas, being prepared is far more important than luxuries like these. You are putting yourself and all of us in danger by bringing this stuff over necessary gear.” 

“Of course, I know that. I would not be bringing my cooking equipment along if I did not have the space for it. I possess the largest possible item box. It is barely half full right now. You do not need to worry about me. I can more than carry my own weight for this expedition. In fact, I am sure that you will find that my cooking is more important than you can imagine. Now, pick out what meat and vegetables you want on your skewers. I will make you the best food you have ever had while out adventuring.”

Seeing the confident grin on his face, Kollo stepped away and allowed him to prove himself useful with his cooking.

Pulling out a knife Marcus began helping Mrazivý cut up the ingredients they would be using to make dinner.

Soon he had the first round of skewers prepared and applied seasoning and sauces to them before placing them on the grill.

A satisfying sizzling sound echoed over the area and an intoxicating smell soon began to reach everyone’s senses.

It did not take long for the members of the expedition squad to gravitate towards Marcus, enraptured by the scent of delicious food.

“Um, I know this might be rude to ask since we are in different parties and did not make any plans to share food, but would it be okay if we partook as well.” Fianna said, representing her party.

She was the first from another quadrant to ask and wore an expression of anticipation.

“That is perfectly fine. I always intended to share with any who asks. Pick out what you want on a skewer, and I will cook it. I may not be a professional, but this is a hobby I have devoted a bit of time to, and I am confident that whatever I make will taste good.”

With a bright smile on her face, Fiann skittered over to where the cut-up vegetables and meat were and began piling them onto multiple metal skewers Marcus had made.

Her party members followed behind her and Evette soon came over with her party and joined in as well.

The only ones that held out were the members of Round Table that Cassius led. 

After their less than cordial initial interactions they felt that they could not approach Marcus now.

‘I wish they would just suck up their pride. If this goes on for too long resentment is just going to build up. Part of the reason I am doing this is to bridge the gap between us.’ Marcus thought as he continued to cook.

A few minutes later the first skewers were finished cooking, and everyone began to eat.

“Wow! This is really good. The food is not fancy, but the quality and taste are as good as high-end restaurants.” Iardi, the weasel beastwoman that was a member of Fianna’s party Intrepid said.

The atmosphere around Marcus’ cook station quickly became incredibly jovial and the three parties that were partaking in the food opened up with each other.

Of course, this left one party out, and Marcus could see several of the members of Round Table sending envious looks towards those that were enjoying the fresh food.

A part of Marcus wanted to simply invite them over, but he could not bring himself to do so when Cassius had been so rude to himself and Mrazivý.

‘He’ll have to be sincere if he wants to patch things up and eat my food. It might be a bit petty of me, but I can’t just let it go.’

The evening continued to wind down and everyone eventually had their fill and began matriculating back to their own camp sites.

“Hey, I know that we agreed that you would take the first watch tonight, but since you did all this cooking for us, I figured that I would take your shift. You know, as a show of appreciation.” Kollo said to Marcus once the other parties had left.

“I appreciate the offer, but I will take my shift just like everyone else. This cooking was something I did more for myself than anyone else. Plus, Mrazivý would throw a fit if I did not cook for her.” Marcus said with a chuckle.

“Hey! I would not throw a fit. I went through years of adventuring without your cooking. I would be fine without it.” Mrazivý said stubbornly.

“Really? I think I remember the first time we met that you complained about my rations being cheap and told me about how your old party had a magic bag dedicated to carrying fresh food for you.” Marcus replied with a teasing grin.

“Ugh! How long are you going to keep bringing that up.” Mrazivý said with a groan.

Unfortunately, she could not bring up any argument for her defenses.

“Hehe. You two really are close.” Thegia said with a mischievous smile and a notebook and pencil in hand. “Now, tell me more about this first meeting of yours. Spare no details.”

Her look of extreme interest and heavy breathing as she looked at Marcus and Mrazivý immediately changed the mood.

“I think it is time that I go to my post and keep watch on the camp.” Marcus said.

“Yes, and I should go and finish setting up the inside of our tent.” Mrazivý said, fleeing from the area.