A clerk wearing a green uniform from the Ministry of Food, guided Ji Hoon through the halls inside the Tholus Culinarius, leading him to the waiting room where he would meet the other contestants and wait until they were called for the competition.
Ji Hoon could feel the cheers and voices of the audience rumbling from above.
After navigating the intricate, labyrinth-like structure, they reached a room. The clerk pushed the door open and the two entered.
Ji Hoon could feel every contestant looking at him as the clerk spoke. "The last contestant has arrived. Now you will be called when the time comes."
Ji Hoon walked in. Some contestants looked him over and judged him, while others returned to their own conversations. He looked around at the contestants who had passed the preliminary round.
There were… surprisingly few. Considering he had seen hundreds of them at first, it was a little shocking to see so few now.
Then, before he could notice more, an arm hung around his neck, followed by a loud, cheerful voice.
"Noble boy, I am glad you made it! I was starting to think you weren't coming!"
The familiar voice and speech pattern were something Ji Hoon recognized before even turning.
"Haha, now why would you think that, Lior?" Ji Hoon said, greeting his friend.
As the two were about to converse, a large man pushed past Ji Hoon. Ji Hoon looked and recognized him immediately—it was the big guy who had passed with him in the preliminaries.
"Oops. Didn't see you there, m'lord. Apologies," the man said, snickering and laughed at his own 'joke.' The three companions beside him snickered with him. "Good one, Victor!"
Victor threw them a smirk as they passed. "Stick with me, boys. I'll lead us to victory."
Ji Hoon let out a sigh. "Sigh... I can't believe he is still at it..."
Lior, who was watching, couldn't help but ask, "Is there a problem, brother?"
"Nah, just some guy messing around. Don't fret it," Ji Hoon waved it off, and they began conversing again.
While talking with Lior, Ji Hoon noticed some familiar faces. The five contestants who had passed in the same hall as him were all here: Helene, her friend, the purple-haired guy, the shy boy, and Victor, whom he had just met.
Not just them—he could see the Grace Twins here, too. He smiled as he looked at the twins talking to each other. 'Looks like they made it here too. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.'
His eyes met the oldest, Malak, for a brief moment. Malak gave him a nod, which Ji Hoon returned as a greeting, before turning back to Lior.
Just then, a man wearing a blue uniform came to them with a piece of paper in his hand. The man cleared his voice, catching the contestants' attention, then spoke.
"Contestants, you are going out there in a minute. Please get ready and follow me." With that, he and other clerks wearing green gestured for everyone to follow the senior in blue.
"Looks like it is time," Lior said to Ji Hoon.
Ji Hoon smiled, breathed in and out, and followed the clerk with Lior and the other contestants toward the entrance. The closer they got, the louder the cheers became.
They finally reached a door that connected to the outside, the stage of the Tholus Culinarius, and the clerk told them to stop until they were called.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Tholus Culinarius...
The crowd, seated in tiers laid on top of one another like ocean waves, cheered as Lady Seraphina started speaking.
[ [1]Welcome, everyone! We are glad you could make it to this year's ICC. We would like to thank the sponsor of this tournament, our ruler, the great Charles the II, our emperor!
As you might know, this year we have changed the theme of the ICC for the first time in thirty-four years. That's right, folks—this year we are focusing on only one genre: Sweets and Desserts!
Who will be the cook who will take us with their dishes into the realm of sweets and finally wins the ICC?
Without further ado, let us call out the contestants! ]
The crowd cheered as the doors to the side of the center stage opened and in came the contestants, all wearing black uniforms. Some were excited and waved to the crowd, while some were scared by the number of eyes on them.
Ji Hoon felt the same. He was amazed at the sheer size of the place, let alone the number of people present. 'Woah~! This is so many people! I mean, this is as big as the Superbowl or World Cup from my past world!'
In his past life, he had participated in cooking competitions that were broadcast live to millions of people, but that was through the power of a TV screen—he never actually had to see all those people face to face!
Speaking of TV, a weird figure on the roof of the dome caught his eye. "Is that...?"
"Woah! So that's the Light Box of Valeria I've heard so much about! It really is amazing!" Lior called out from his side.
Ji Hoon looked at him, then back at the Light Box. It really was amazing. As he watched, he could see magical mana waves of static turning into what seemed to be a bird's-eye view image of the contestants.
It showed different contestants as they headed to the center, toward the eight high-tech cooking stations laid out before one another in two rows of four.
Ji Hoon was still mesmerized by his first sight of MagiTech, when Lior snapped him out of it. "Hey bro, I thought you were a local. Why are you more surprised at this than me?"
Ji Hoon forced a laugh. "Oh yeah, it's just that I haven't been to these places before since I wasn't interested then—"
Lady Seraphina's voice reverberated through her voice magnifier, cutting through their whispers and the crowd's noise. The Light Box focused on her as she started talking.
[ This year, we allowed registrations from people across all continents and kingdoms, and as you might have heard, hundreds registered. That's right—we accepted three hundred and thirty-six registries this year! ]
Whispers spread through the crowd. "Did they really have that many? Then the fact that these are the only ones who passed..."
[ And out of 336, only these 32 contestants have passed! These are some of the kingdom's finest sweets and desserts handlers!
But as you all might know, here at the ICC we don't want only passing grades—we want THE greatest and best cook we could ever have!
And so, we will see who becomes the Zhìzūn Dàshī — the Supreme Master! ]
The crowd roared.
[ And let Round One begin! ]
Ji Hoon could feel it—the people and the contestants around him were already hyped up. Even the previously shy and scared ones were now filled with excitement.
[ Let us all welcome the judges who will be judging the fine cooks before us! ]
The crowd was going crazy as Lady Seraphina announced the famous judges for the day.
[ Please welcome the first judge, Lord Matthew, owner of Cole Bakery! ]
As Lady Seraphina continued, the judges came out one by one. Finally, twelve judges stood tall before taking their respective seats in groups of three at the four stations laid out for them.
Ji Hoon, although he had never met these people before, could feel the immense influence of the judges from the way the contestants stiffened and the crowd's cheers swelled into a thunderous roar for each name.
The air itself seemed to hum with a new level of anticipation. Lady Seraphina continued, her voice cutting clearly through the lingering applause.
[ Alright, now, before we begin the first round. As you can see, there are only eight stations here, laid in two rows of four.
Some of you might be thinking, why so few when there are four times the contestants? ]
A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd, a sound mirrored by the confused whispers among the contestants themselves.
[ That is because the first round is going to be a group challenge! ]
The murmurs grew louder.
[ Up until now, the first round has always been a one-versus-one knockout challenge. But this year, we have changed the rules! Instead of a duel, it will be one group versus another! ]
She paused, letting the announcement sink in. The silence in the arena was palpable.
[ A proper cook not only needs to cook well but also be able to work with others in a kitchen. We are going to test that ability of yours.
Now, we are going to give you five minutes to form groups of four. The contestants who have not formed a complete group by the deadline will be automatically assigned. The time begins ticking now! Contestants, group up! ]
Above, the Light Box shimmered, its view of Lady Seraphina dissolving into a large, glowing countdown timer that read 5:00. The numbers immediately began to tick downward.
A jolt of energy shot through the contestants. The orderly lines shattered into a frantic swirl of movement as the cooks scrambled across the stone floor, voices overlapping in a chaotic chorus of offers and questions.
Ji Hoon's head snapped around, his eyes instantly meeting Lior's. A single, confirming nod passed between them. That was two.
They needed two more.
The contestants were grouping up quickly, and Ji Hoon could see that some clearly already knew each other. It wasn't weird, considering he knew a few people, too. As he and Lior scanned the frantic crowd, a boy approached them slowly.
"C-Can I join you? If you are not full?" the boy asked, his fingers nervously fiddling with each other.
Ji Hoon looked at him and recognized the shy boy who had passed the preliminaries with him. He glanced at Lior, who gave a quick, confirming nod.
"Of course," Ji Hoon said. "Nice to meet you properly. We met at the prelims. I'm Ji Hoon."
"And I'm Lior!" his friend added with a bright smile.
The boy's shoulders relaxed slightly. "My name is Ansen."
"We still need another person," Ji Hoon whispered to himself, his eyes once again sweeping across the bustling arena. They tried to ask a few others, but most groups just shook their heads or called out that they were already full.
Just as they were starting to lose hope, Ji Hoon's gaze landed on the back of a girl who was asking to join a group—Victor's group.
He saw Victor smirk and turn her down, saying they were full. She turned away, and as her figure shifted, something about her sent a jolt through Ji Hoon's very soul.
It wasn't a memory from Cassian's life; it felt like a tug from his own past as Ji Hoon.
She wore a mask covering the lower half of her face, and her blond hair was tied back in a neat, practical bun.
Suddenly, she caught him staring. Her eyes, visible above the mask, narrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?" she asked, her voice muffled but clear.
Ji Hoon shook his head, realizing he had been staring too intently. "My apologies," he said quickly, then gestured to Lior and Ansen. "We have a spot open. Would you like to join our group?"
She looked at each of them for a second, contemplating, before giving a single, sharp nod. They were complete.
Just then, the timer hit zero, and a bell chimed across the arena. Lady Seraphina's voice rang out, announcing the end of the grouping period.
[1] I am gonna use the [ brackets ] to show the Microphone voice and Lady Seraphina's voice.