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."
Chapter 647: Combining Efforts - 647
"You think so?" Skymender asked.
"Indeed. Charles has a photographic memory, meaning he can remember everything. Before, he had slacked and relied only on his memory to get this far, but it seems that he has realized the difference between comprehension and memorization."
Skymender nodded. He had come to the same conclusion.
"But I am confident of winning against Charles alone. Why would I work with you, a stranger?"
The woman sighed. "I did not come expecting you to easily agree. So I've brought information, and as our alliance progresses, I can give you more and more."
"What information?" Skymender asked.
"This will be my initial payment. This is not the first Imperial Scholar Camp to ever be held."
Skymender looked at her with surprise.
"Neither is it my first time attending." She said.
"How is this useful information?" Skymender asked.
"Because although there was a first place winner last time, he did not technically win. In addition, with my experience last time, I can provide valuable information. Of course, just about everything has been different so far, but the information I can give you is not limited to this. Work with me, and more information is yours."
Skymender could tell her thoughts. Whether or not she was confident in winning against Charles, being first place was not the only condition to winning. In that case, maybe she was trying a different method. Regardless, this alliance seemed as if it would benefit him.
He was about to speak, when a plate landed in front of him.
"We can finish speaking after I'm done." Skymender said.
He took off his mask and began to eat.
In front of him was a burger with some red sauce on it. He picked it up and took a bite.
As soon as his mouth touched the sauce, he could feel the raw spice coming from it. He paused instantaneously, sitting the burger down on the plate. Just as he finished doing so, he began to violently cough. He could barely handle spice even when he did not have breathing problems much less now.
The chef looked surprised, as well as the woman.
"Did you make it even spicier, Master Chef Garb?"
"No. I guess he really can't handle spice, huh."
Skymender did his best to stop himself from coughing, but his throat had been agitated. He got up and walked off to the side, where he took a vial of poison and broke it open. The gas traveled up entering his nose.
He suddenly felt as if his throat was cleared and the spice was gone.
This was something he had accidentally discovered. After becoming immune to the poison, it began to benefit him whenever his throat was acting up.
With a deep breath, all the trouble was gone.
He continued to breathe in the gas until it was gone.
He returned to the table. "I should probably eat something else."
The chef nodded and threw out another patty.
The woman looked at him with curiosity. "What exactly was that?"
"Old injury, don't worry about it."
She looked at him for a moment before ignoring it.
With his mask on, Skymender's breathing eventually reached a completely normal level.
"How exactly do you want to cooperate?" Skymender asked.
"It is simple. Study together and combine our knowledge, or simply sabotage Charles. Perhaps we can do both."
"Will the Imperial scholar allow such actions?"
"In the last Imperial Scholar Camp, I watched two people fight to near death, and the Imperial Scholar never said a word about it."
"When exactly was the last Imperial Scholar Camp?"
"Ten years ago. The last one should have been the first since the Imperial Scholar had just turned sixty. Before that, he wouldn't have been old enough to think about a successor."
Skymender nodded. "What is the rate at which you will give me information?"
"Whenever we successfully beat Charles."
"Are you really that worried about him?"
The woman looked at him seriously. "A photographic memory is the same as cheating. He can do what we do with just a fraction of the effort. Since he has also begun to comprehend what he memorizes, the odds of one of us coming out on top, even together, is small."
At this time, her food came.
She stopped talking and began to eat. Skymender watched as his food was prepared, eventually eating a delicious burger.
Before leaving, the woman set up a time to meet here again.
"Tomorrow at eight. If you show up, I'll take that as acceptance. By the way, my name is Miria. It was nice to meet you, Skymender."
Skymender nodded as he left.
When he returned to his housing building, he did not enter his room. Instead, he spoke to a lady at the front desk.
"Hello. I have twenty points. I'd like to move my room."
She nodded. "Go ahead. You can move a floor up, Skymender."
Skymender nodded and returned to his old room, packing everything up and taking it with him as he walked up the stairs.
He found a room with a nice view and made it his. Upon entering, he saw a vast difference. There was much more open space, natural light, and even more appliances.
He sat everything down and found his bed. It was bigger, softer, and overall nicer.
Skymender studied before falling asleep. The next day, as usual, he went to class. He learned a lot. Afterwards, he met Miria at the same restaurant.
They arrived around the same time, and both took out their notes. Going over them as the show went on, they found that it was actually quite useful. They were not perfect, and it was natural to miss something every now and then.
In addition to that, the way one interprets things can be different from others. By comparing notes and studying together, they essentially had two perspectives instead of one.
Whether it would be enough to compare to Charles' photographic memory or not was yet to be determined.
A week passed, and the last day of the medical section was upon them.
"This section went faster due to our previous study of biology. The test will be tomorrow. Good luck."
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
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