Soon, the four and water formed a massive, cohesive blob.

"Alright, grab chunks of it." Adrian told the soldiers. "Take it into the mansion’s kitchen and use the stone countertops to knead it properly by hand and add more flour, but not much. Ten minutes for each batch and bring it back when it is smooth and not as sticky as it is right now."

The soldiers grabbed a good amount of the sticky dough and rushed into the mansion. A few minutes later, they brought back a firmer dough.

Adrian grabbed ripped off a small piece from the dough and pressed it completely flat. Then, he stretched the edges until it looked like a thick pizza base.

He tossed the flatbread into the boiling pork lard.

The dough immediately bubbled and fried.

"Watch this closely." Adrian told the soldiers standing near the oil. "Once the outside turns golden brown, pull it out."

He pulled a custom cooking tool from his storage. It looked like a large flat plate with dozens of small holes punched through the metal, attached to a long wooden handle. He handed the giant skimmer to a soldier.

"Use this to scoop the bread out." Adrian instructed. "Toss the finished bread into that wooden crate over there."

The soldiers nodded and got to work. Adrian just stood back and supervised.

The local butchers showed up a few minutes later carrying massive wooden baskets. Adrian grabbed a knife and helped them chop the raw meat into smaller pieces before dumping all the meat into the boiling water.

Adrian didn’t stop there. He looked at the huge pile of leftover animal bones and tossed every single one into the pot.

Wasting food was a sin when you had hundreds of people to feed. On top of that, bone marrow was the secret to a rich broth.

Three hours passed by and the meal was finally ready to serve.

Thick stew bubbled like crazy in the iron pot. The heavy scent of roasted meat and fried dough completely took over the training yard.

"Form a line!" Adrian yelled.

The exhausted citizens practically tripped over themselves getting up. A giant messy line formed in seconds and curled all the way around the courtyard. A woman walked up to the front. "Lord Adrian, our houses burned down, so we don’t really have any bowls or spoons."

"Wait here." Adrian said.

He turned around and walked back into the mansion before he linked to the dungeon system and spent a tiny fraction of his mana reserves.

He fabricated hundreds of simple wooden bowls.

Adrian called for his soldiers and the soldiers ran inside, grabbed the newly made wooden bowls, and passed them out to the waiting crowd.

Adrian took his spot by the giant pot. He grabbed a heavy metal ladle and got to work.

He served them himself and every time a person stepped up, he dumped a massive scoop of hot broth into their bowl. He made damn sure everyone got plenty of soft potatoes and huge chunks of meat.

The citizens then moved to the next station and a soldier handed them a massive piece of golden fried flatbread.

The people walked away and sat back down on the dirt. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The moment they took their first bites, tears immediately filled their eyes.

This was not the watered down survival soup they were used to eating during hard times. The stew was incredibly rich. While the meat was perfectly cooked and tender enough, the broth was perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper.

And the bread was a game changer though. It was crunchy on the outside since it was fried, but incredibly fluffy and soft on the inside. They ripped the bread apart and dipped it right into the heavy gravy.

The despair hovering over the crowd slowly faded, and replacing it, was pure gratitude.

Mood had instantly lifted and people couldn’t help but feel better as they felt the food settling in their bellies.

They had lost their homes, but their Lord did not abandon them. Other nobles would have left them to starve in the streets. Adrian fed them a feast fit for a king.

"I never want to leave this place." an older man whispered into his bowl.

"Lord Adrian is a saint." a woman cried as she fed her children.

The citizens ate until their stomachs hurt. They did not bother pitching tents. They just lay back down on the dirt and leaves while the soldiers set up a guard rotation around the field’s perimeter.

Adrian wiped his hands on a rag and scooped Aria up. She was already half asleep. The two of them ate the exact same stew as the rest of the town, and honestly? It was pretty damn good.

Adrian carried her back inside when they finished. He walked into his bedroom, placed her gently on the soft mattress, and crawled in beside her. He pulled the heavy blankets up to their chins and Adrian finally shut his eyes and relaxed his body. He didn’t even notice when sleep hit him.

He woke up early the next day and it was around three in the morning.

Aria was out cold. Sometime during the night she had managed to get on top of him, and now, she was spread out flat against his chest.

Adrian rested his hand on the back of her head. He ran his fingers through her silver hair.

He let out a soft, satisfied smile.

He lay there in the dark and started planning. He mapped out the entire future of his military force in his head and calculated his next steps.

Once his mental blueprint was finished, he closed his eyes and linked his mind to the dungeon system.

It was time to edit the layout properly.

He used his Dungeon Master blessing, moving the gacha wheel and the mana crystal generator out of their rooms. He shoved all the items he had made until now, into a single massive storage room.

He expanded the entrance room and created a door on the opposite side of the entrance before he placed a large sign on top of the wall that said, ’Training Facility.’