Chapter Twenty: A Triple Defeat

After the contestants finished their preparations, they only needed to gently ring the bell placed in front of the stove, and a staff member would come to determine the order of presentation for the judging.

By the time Chi Sui took the pastries out of the pot and carefully plated them one by one, the area around her was already filled with the sounds of bells and chimes, until only she remained.

While she sprinkled chopped scallions on her dishes, the host of the competition began introducing the judges. Since her hands were busy with the finishing touches, she only caught the gist of the introduction.

There were four judges for this contest: the mayor of Windbell Town, the ranch owner of Windbell Ranch, the president of the Windbell Town Merchants’ Association, and a renowned gourmet who had traveled all the way from Zephyr City.

In the Sky Islands, there are only six recognized professions confirmed by the Book of Enlightenment, each corresponding to one of the six islands: the rancher of the Purple Island, the farmer of the Green Island, the craftsman of the Silver Island, the merchant of the Gold Island, the mage of the Blue Island, and the warrior of the Red Island. It’s worth noting that any island’s inhabitants can potentially hold any profession, though the likelihood varies.

Among these six professions, the merchant stands out as the most unique. Unlike the others, which are determined by birth, one becomes a merchant by accumulating sufficient capital and then applying for certification through the Book of Enlightenment. Upon passing the assessment, a resident officially attains the merchant profession.

Merchants are also the most numerous and have the lowest entry threshold among all professions.

With the growing population of merchants, an organization was established to govern them—the Merchants’ Guild. This, in turn, gave rise to numerous merchant sub-professions not officially recognized by the book. Among these, the most famous is the gourmet.

The key ability of every merchant is to use the Book of Enlightenment to view product information invisible to others. Since products vary widely, different merchants specialize in different areas. Naturally, gourmets focus on food.

After making the final adjustments to the pastry presentation, Chi Sui lightly shook the bell on the table.

Once it was confirmed that everyone had finished their creations, the host’s enthusiastic voice rang out again: “All contestants have now completed their dishes. Let us all take a look at what culinary delights have been brought forward.”

The first dish was placed on the judges’ table. It was made by a young man who appeared barely in his early twenties, dressed in a shirt and vest, his smile fresh and clean.

However, the judges’ expressions were strained. From Chi Sui’s vantage point, she could even see large beads of sweat forming on the forehead of the white-haired president of the Merchants’ Association.

Momo twitched her nose and buried her head into Chi Sui’s clothes.

“Chi Sui, that dish smells really strange.”

“Don’t smell it. For the next two dishes, try to hold your nose as much as you can.”

Chi Sui raised her hand to partially shield her eyes, reluctant to watch the judges swallow the food. Yet curiosity got the better of her, and her unshielded eye kept glancing at the judges’ spoons.

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Thanks to prior warnings from Bersa, Chi Sui had already set her expectations low for the cooking skills of the world’s residents—but this competition still managed to redefine her understanding.

Her eyesight had been good since arriving at the Sky Islands. Although she stood the farthest from the judges’ table among all contestants, she could still clearly see the dishes.

One cup contained a sticky, shapeless mass of deep brown color. It was impossible to tell what ingredients the maker had used. The appearance alone was enough to put anyone off their appetite.

The host’s introduction arrived exactly on cue: “This contestant is Mr. Kia from Windbell Town. His creation is—Improved Pudding. According to Mr. Kia, he has innovated by modifying the existing pudding recipe. What kind of feedback will this peculiar dish receive? Let’s wait and see~”

Chi Sui thought she detected a hint of schadenfreude in the host’s voice.

The ranch owner of Windbell Ranch was a sturdy middle-aged man with a beard covering half his face, making his expression hard to read. Yet his sharp eyes conveyed a sense of honesty and trustworthiness.

This trustworthy man smiled as he pushed the cup toward the gourmet seated in the center: “Mr. Byron, your reputation in Zephyr City precedes you. This is your first visit to Windbell Town, so naturally, the first taste should be yours.”

The man called Byron gave a nervous laugh and pushed the cup toward the other side.

“This is Windbell Town, after all. Mayor Duke, you should try it first.”

Mayor Duke, who had been watching carefully and cautiously, suddenly wore a pained expression. He glanced sideways at the Merchants’ Association president, who was frantically waving his hands. As old friends, he felt reluctant to pass the cup back again.

Duke had been naive to think that simply setting a cooking skill requirement would prevent surprises. Who knew people today loved innovation so much? This mass of something resembling waste was already a visual assault.

Trying to maintain a forced smile, Duke controlled the trembling of his hand holding the spoon. He scooped a tiny bit of the so-called pudding and, under the expectant and pitying gazes of everyone present, put it into his mouth.

“Contestant Kia’s... uh—” Duke intended to politely express his opinion on the contestant’s innovation but was overcome by a physical reaction and began to gag.

The Merchants’ Association president anxiously patted Duke’s back, inwardly relieved that it wasn’t himself tasting the dish.

Once Duke finally stopped vomiting, he looked at the mass in the cup, wanting to speak again, but was overtaken by another wave of nausea.

The scene was unbearably tragic. The host quickly removed the cup from the table.

With the source of torment gone, Duke caught his breath and spoke: “Contestant Kia’s pudding is indeed unique. Just a small amount sticks in your throat and leaves a lingering aftertaste. My advice: your innovation is commendable, but next time, perhaps don’t innovate.”

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Hearing Duke’s description of the pudding sticking in his throat, Byron trembled subtly and glanced at the product evaluation in his Book of Enlightenment: “An utterly failed creation composed of extremely poor taste and an even worse appearance.”

Windbell Town truly was a place brimming with talent. In all his years as a judge, Byron had only seen the “utterly failed” label once before. He felt enlightened.

As the first contestant left the stage in disappointment, the second contestant nervously placed his creation on the judges’ table.

This contestant was the culprit behind the burnt smell. Even after removing the burnt crust, the bread’s interior carried a strong charred odor. Without the crust, the bread’s shape was a complete mess, clearly showing the maker’s lack of shaping skill.

The host began the introduction: “The second contestant is Tom from Warmwind Town. This is his first time making a dessert using honey. Let’s see how the judges respond to it.”

Byron secretly opened his Book of Enlightenment and, as expected, saw the words “failed work.” He spoke up: “Since this uses honey, I believe Mr. Cecil, the ranch owner, as an expert in this field, should try it first.”

Cecil laughed heartily. His laughter was bright, and his words were sincere. Yet it was this sincerity that made the Merchants’ Association president’s face fall as he watched from the sidelines.

“It was President Karl who helped me assess and critique my first bread. In fact, President Karl is much more professional than I am in this area. How about, President, you try it first this time?”

This dish was noticeably easier to accept than the previous one. Knowing it was impolite to refuse, Karl took a small piece and put it in his mouth.

Immediately, an indescribable bitterness overwhelmed his taste buds. Karl quickly grabbed a glass of water nearby and used it to wash down the burnt bread. Opening his mouth to speak, he saw the hopeful look in the contestant’s eyes, so the words he had prepared faded into: “Keep trying your best. Next contestant, please.”

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The third contestant’s creation looked much better. A simple cupcake, nicely baked with a good color.

Byron finally breathed a sigh of relief at seeing a normal dish but couldn’t resist the habit of opening his Book of Enlightenment in advance.

This time, the evaluation was glaringly clear: “Ordinary appearance, terrible taste, unquestionably a failed work.”

Goodness, three failures in a row.

Clearing his throat, Byron said, “This time, Mr. Cecil, the ranch owner, should try it first.”