Chapter 645: First and Second - 645
Skymender nearly held his breath as he watched the names appear. He saw many names, some of which he had become familiar with and some of which he still didn't know.
Around the classroom, he heard many sighs and other noises of disappointment. Finally, he reached the top five without his name being written.
He watched with expectance as the fifth place name was written.
Charles.
Next was fourth place. Not him. Third place. Not him.
This meant that he was in the top two.
Second place… Not him.
He could barely stop himself from laughing. He, a ten year old, outsmarted all of these people.
As expected, his name was written in the first place spot.
"This test was harder, so more intelligence points will be given. First place, 5 points. Second place, three points. Third place, one point."
That put his points at ten total.
"Alright. Next, we will begin to study biology, the study of life. This field is far more in depth than the field of space. It should take a little longer to get through it all. Let's start now."
The Imperial Scholar began to lecture. Skymender left the Education building rather late, while the sun was barely hanging on.
He considered going to the place he usually ate at, but with ten points, he had new options.
He started at a green restaurant. Its walls were made of jade-like material and plants were growing around it. A vine hung down blocking the entrance. In front of it was a sign that said ten points.
Skymender brushed aside the vines and walked through the entrance. An elegant looking woman stood at the front counter, wearing a jade green dress.
"Welcome to the Jade Tea Manor. Please have a seat anywhere you would like."
Skymender nodded and walked upstairs.
Up here was a beautiful balcony he had seen before. He sat at the only table on the balcony and looked at a menu. After a brief moment, the woman came up.
"What can I get for you?"
Skymender pointed at a random tea.
She nodded. "Coming right up."
She returned downstairs and came back up less than five minutes later carrying a tea cup on a plate.
Skymender enjoyed the calming drink as the sun finally fell. He soon left and returned to his room, studying and falling asleep.
The next morning, a similar cycle to that of when they were studying space repeated.
Skymender learned over a long period of time, came back and ate, then studied, and finally fell asleep.
This lasted nearly two weeks. They finally finished after being in the Imperial Scholar Camp for an entire month.
Skymender now had a total of eighteen points.
Today, the Imperial Scholar announced the end of the biology section.
"It has been a while, and we are finally done. I can't claim that you know everything about biology, but you now have a firm grasp over it that most will never achieve in their entire lives. The medical section would have lasted just as long if we had not already finished the biology section. We can probably cut that down to a week. The biology exam is tomorrow. Prepare."
Skymender returned to his room and studied heavily through the night. The next morning, he returned. After introductions, the Imperial Scholar took them to another room. As soon as they entered, it felt as if they had left the building and entered a forest. The roof was open, allowing the sun to shine in, and an entire wild garden took over the room.
"Plants, animals, water, all life that can survive in this habitat are here. Note down as many as you can, all the information you remember about them, and where you found them. You will be scored based on this. No cheating, or you will be kicked out of the Imperial Scholar Camp. You may not realize it, but there are eyes everywhere in here. Start… Now."
Skymender quickly walked over to the side and began to mark everything he saw and recognized down.
He had a bit of advantage in this field as well due to his study of poison, though not much. He had mostly focused on poisonous plants back then.
Perhaps in the medicine section he would have an even greater advantage.
He spent nearly an entire hour straight writing. He did not know absolutely everything, but he had confidence in his knowledge.
After an hour, they were summoned back by a sound. Not a single person dared to write down after they heard the sound. Nobody knew what the Imperial Scholar was capable of.
They returned, and the Imperial Scholar collected all of their notes.
"On to section two, a more standardized format."
He led them back to the room and handed out normal test papers. Some questions had pictures. Some only had words.
Some asked for you to identify a plant based on a picture, while others asked you to identify a plant based on its properties.
With only two weeks of studying, even if everyone was extremely talented and the Imperial Scholar himself was teaching them, it was impossible to know all of the answers.
After another hour, the test was taken up.
The next day, they came in again.
Names were written from the bottom up.
Skymender watched as he made the top five again, then the top three. Just as he thought he was going to get first place, he was written down second. Instead, the name Charles resided at the top of the board.
He looked over at Charles, who looked back at him with a serious gaze. It was much less friendly than when they met. Clearly, he felt much less confident than before, even with his possibly perfect memory.
Skymender already knew why someone with a perfect memory could fail to get first place every time.
It was because there was a difference in memory and comprehension. He only wondered if Charles had realized that yet. If he had, then the rest of the Imperial Scholar Camp would be much more challenging.
Chapter 646: Master Chef Garb - 646
The Imperial Scholar announced the Intelligence points gained after the test.
"First place gets 5, second place gets 3, third place gets one. This changes the rankings on the leaderboard."
Getting on the moving ladder, the Imperial Scholar moved over to the overall ranking leaderboard.
He changed a few names, but most stayed at the same place with only a point change. It had been a while since he had changed this, a week, so even points gained outside of the test were added.
With the leaderboard changed, Skymender found himself in first place with 21 points. Second place had 20 points, a close second.
Charles also made his way into the top five of the leaderboard after this test.
Skymender had only been in the lead once before, and he had been quickly taken over. This was his second time taking the lead.
The Imperial Scholar began to teach about medicine. He went over some plants with medicinal properties, but many of them they had already gone over, even if just briefly.
He got far into his lecture before dismissing the class. Skymender, now with 21 points, had a few more options.
First, he went to a clothes shop. He only had a few changes of clothes, and they were not very comfortable or even that expensive.
Entering a clothing shop, he saw the walls lined with clothes. The necessary Intelligence points to get in was 20, meaning only he and second place had access so far.
He looked around and found a sky blue outfit. Considering his name was Skymender, it felt fitting. He adorned it and left the store without any need to speak or even think too much.
Next, he headed to a new restaurant. Very few restaurants existed beyond the 20 point range, which meant he was almost reaching the most elite tiers of restaurants present.
As he entered, he was greeted by a raging, but controlled circle of fire.
A man in chef's clothing opened his eyes.
"Finally. A worthy diner. Your dinner shall be legendary."
He picked up a spatula next to him and flipped it in the air, catching it perfectly.
He stood up and spun.
"Behold."
A liquid shot out of his mouth. As soon as it hit the fire, the fire shot up, blocking him from vision momentarily.
When the fire died down, there was meat sitting on a metal grill that appeared.
He stood confidently.
"Take a seat, newcomer."
Skymender was stunned to near silence, but still obeyed.
There were only a few seats, all made around the fire. The tables were just far enough away to avoid getting melted. Skymender was just far enough away to avoid sweating.
"What will it be for you, sir?"
The Chef asked, his figure in the center of the fire nearly terrifying.
"Chef's recommendation." Skymender said.
The Chef smiled. "Do not regret it."
He jumped in the air, spitting a liquid into the fire once again. It raged up, and when it settled down, he held a raw patty on his spatula. The meat previously on the grill was gone, who knew where.
He threw the meat into the fire, it landed perfectly centered on the girl.
He reached down beside him, an area blocked by fire, and when he lifted his hand up, fresh vegetables flew into the air.
He moved a butcher's knife, cutting the vegetables neatly as they fell onto the grill.
Skymender was stunned. This level of swordsmanship was beyond a level any chef should have.
"Years ago, I was a potential Sword Master. However, I abandoned that path for my desire to master the art of cooking. In a thousand years, there may only be one chef at my level of showmanship. Revel in the odds of you being born in my era."
His words were arrogant and proud, and most likely, true.
How many of those that could become potential Sword Masters would be a chef instead.
Essentially none.
The chef jumped and spit out water. The fire parted, and the chef stepped forward, flipping the patty.
The fire began to hastily close in, but the chef did a backflip back onto his area in the center.
From afar, he threw vegetables and meat. When necessary, he would part or rile up the fire.
Skymender watched, his eyes mesmerized. When any art reaches its peak, it is truly magnificent, a sight to see.
It was as if he was watching the equivalent of a beautiful woman painting an unparalleled artwork.
Without him knowing, a figure entered the restaurant and sat next to him, staring at the chef. Skymender only noticed when the chef entered the center and looked beside Skymender.
"Welcome back second timer. Give it another go. The usual?"
The woman beside Skymender smiled. "The usual please, Master Chef Garb."
The Chef smiled and spit out a liquid that caused the fire to rage. When it settled, another grill was near Skymender's, a steak cooking on it.
The woman smiled as she watched the chef, seemingly entranced.
Skymender recognized her. She was second place on the leaderboard, the only other person qualified to enter this restaurant.
After a while, she looked at Skymender.
"First time?"
Skymender nodded.
"The first time is always the best. Master Chef Garb is one of a kind. Another like him may not appear even a thousand years after his death."
"So he has said." Skymender responded.
The woman shook her head. "You don't fully understand. Master Chef Garb has lived a life far more tragic than most. Everyone he loves is dead. His family, his friends, all are gone. He is at the end of his life as well. I'm surprised he has lasted this long. He had shut off everything else, leaving only pure passion for the art of cooking. He cooks for orphans for free, giving a spectacular show, yet charges nobles unimaginable amounts for a single show. Someone like him is unique throughout the entire world."
Skymender didn't respond, but asked a question.
"So why sit next to me?"
"Because it seems we need to work together if either of us wants a chance to defeat Charles."
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
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