As Chef had promised, she only gave them food once a day and she stayed true to her word.
Throughout the week, as Kaedros, Taria, and Rauk settled into life within the Castle, that single daily meal remained their only sustenance.
But somehow, it was enough.
The fruit didn't just nourish them, it sustained them. Their hunger wouldn't return until the next sunrise, just in time to face another day of fighting Chef's golems for food.
Their days followed a brutal rhythm.
First, they battled the Lake Monster for water. Then, they trained lightly in a shaded clearing deep within Chef's garden under Thalso's cold watch. Afterward came the food trial, a fresh wave of golems to defeat before they earned their single meal.
Following that, more training until Thalso dismissed them with a nod and disappeared.
And when night came... they fought again.
The shadows still attacked in the dark, but now they wielded real weapons instead of shadow blades. At least the poison was gone.
