Initial Fusion

The two Reincarnators were so enraged by Xu Yue’s utterly insane accusation that their eyes nearly split open.

They wished they could immediately unleash their absolute power and blast this native who only knew how to cook into scraps.

But the impulsive Blondie was held back by the steady Glasses.

"Calm down! Don’t be impulsive!"

"Big bro, don’t stop me! I’m going to kill this brat!"

Blondie’s face was full of roguish fury, as if she had been greatly provoked.

She had already been dissatisfied with being so restricted after entering this Punishment Space. Then, after finally passing the assessment with the Space’s help, she had been set up by a native in the very first class.

So what if he could cook?

If it weren’t for the Space’s restrictions, I could pin you to the ground and beat you with one hand!

"Think about the punishment! Do you have that many points? Even if you do, is this worth it?"

Glasses’s words were like a blow to the head, waking Blondie up and making her see reason.

That was right. Failing the Punishment mission was one thing—at worst, they would earn nothing. But if they used force here, they would truly be taking a loss!

Consider yourself lucky. You got to keep your dog life.

Yet at that moment, the Space fully demonstrated that there was always a way out.

Ding~ Dish Familiarization: Given the Reincarnators' excessively poor cooking foundation, in order to ensure that the Reincarnators can overcome the initial difficulties and adapt, 2,000 Reincarnation Points may be spent to learn the basic cooking methods for the current lesson's Beef Bourguignon. If performed perfectly, the current course assessment can be passed.

Upon receiving this prompt, Blondie and Glasses both breathed a sigh of relief.

The recipe was so expensive that it left them speechless. A combat skill like Basic Fighting Mastery only cost 500 Reincarnation Points to start, yet here, a mere recipe cost two thousand!

No rights for those on Punishment missions.

Still, judging from this class, even a comprehensive Basic Cooking Mastery definitely would not be enough to pass with this dish alone. It would probably require at least Intermediate, or even Advanced, mastery.

Thinking about it that way, meeting the requirement without spending Plot Points and only using Reincarnation Points actually seemed like a bargain.

That’s right! We came out ahead!

And perhaps they could use this recipe to defeat the tenth seat of the Elite Ten Council!

Then the loss could be fully recovered through the final clear evaluation, and they could even make a huge profit.

"Do you two know how to make this dish?"

Roland Shaper stared sternly at the two transfer students. He had heard about their assessment, but he did not know why they had still been admitted.

"Of course we do! During the entrance examination, we simply weren’t very good at cooking eggs."

"That’s right. That was why we could only force ourselves to use the simplest fried eggs back then. But things are different now. Beef Bourguignon is undoubtedly something we are familiar with…"

The two readily agreed, then listed the precautions and characteristics of Beef Bourguignon as if reciting treasured knowledge.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, but they covered every key point with textbook-level precision.

Hearing this, Roland Shaper nodded, then looked toward Xu Yue.

"Clearly, they do know how to make this dish."

"So that’s how it is. I misunderstood them. Sorry for troubling you, Teacher."

Xu Yue immediately put on an apologetic, humble expression, then turned to apologize to the two of them.

"I’m truly sorry, friends. The impression you left on me during the entrance examination caused me to misjudge you. I hope we can work together from here on."

That sincere, apologetic expression made Blondie and Glasses ease up somewhat. Hmph, now you know how capable we are. We’ll make sure you get a big surprise.

Still, they would need to cooperate in the following class, so they would not hold it against him.

Although they had obtained the recipe, the Space’s prompt had stated that they needed to "perform perfectly" to overcome the current difficulty.

Therefore, it was still necessary to have this native with superb cooking skills cooperate with them. It could reduce the risk.

"Of course. Let’s pass this class perfectly."

Glasses clasped Xu Yue’s hand, his face full of goodwill.

The two of them smiled as they shook hands, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Tsk~

Forcing them to learn the recipe through the Space had been within expectations, but Space, your appetite is far too ugly. I worked hard to help you collect money from two people, yet you couldn’t even show a little appreciation?

At the very least, add some points to the final mission evaluation. That would make it easier for us to reach an understanding…

That was right!

Using the Space to trick those two into directly learning the recipe had been Xu Yue’s predicted best solution for this grouping.

I don’t need you to be exceptional. You only need enough fundamentals to complete this dish and serve as solid support, especially during the full hour of heat control and preparation work.

Even Yukihira Soma needed that country girl to assist him later on, so naturally I needed two kitchen hands as well…

As for the mission to defeat Roland Shaper’s taste buds, that would naturally depend on the skills Xu Yue had acquired from Yukihira Soma over the past few days, along with his own research.

As long as he had sufficient time to experiment with this dish alone, he could clearly taste the differences through his own mouth…

For Roland Shaper’s clear evaluation, Xu Yue definitely had to take the largest share. They could just pick up some scraps.

Oh, no. Since they could not defeat the Elite Ten Council, they would have to cough up even the scraps they ate later…

During the cooking process, a sudden incident was triggered by the resentment caused by Yukihira Soma’s suicidal words at the opening ceremony. Just as their beef was nearly done stewing, the neighboring group secretly added a large amount of salt, ruining all the ingredients.

There was not enough time left to slowly start over. If the beef could not be stewed until tender, there was no way to bring out the distinctive qualities of this dish!

The soft and adorable Tadokoro Megumi was so anxious that she ran in circles.

However, unlike ordinary chefs of the same year, Yukihira Soma had extremely strong improvisational creativity and adaptability. He managed to overcome the crisis by using the protein-breaking enzymes in honey.

At the very last moment, he served his dish.

After Roland Shaper, who was known for his sternness, tasted Yukihira Soma’s dish, even his face showed a blissful smile.

"It has been a long time since I’ve had such outstanding stewed beef from a student. Honey, is it? The combination was designed very reasonably. Together with your excellent Cooking Technique, your score this time is an A…"

"…Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to give an evaluation above A."

The highest evaluation of the entire class caused the other students to exclaim in amazement.

Since this transfer student had dared to say those things, it seemed he truly possessed considerable skill!

Some had passed before this, but most had only barely reached an A. Eighty percent of that was probably because Roland Shaper, cold on the outside but warm within, had gone easy on them. Only Yukihira Soma had truly earned his approval and satisfaction.

He had also received the highest and most favorable evaluation.

Only then did Xu Yue, who had spent the entire class completing his own dish, bring his plate forward.

Other than the group that had framed Yukihira Soma’s group earlier and accidentally knocked over the salt, ruining their dish, Xu Yue’s group was the last one.

As the dish was plated and the cover lifted, a rich meaty fragrance mixed with a faint scent of red wine wafted outward.

Its intensity made everyone nearby unconsciously swallow upon smelling it.

Even Yukihira Soma, who had studied this dish with Xu Yue, was startled.

This dish had taken much longer to prepare than when the two of them had practiced it before, and its aroma was far richer!

This was…

"Sauce?"

The thought flashed through Yukihira Soma’s mind. Moreover, this sauce carried a faint trace of familiarity.

It was very similar to the blending method his father had taught him during that half-day of personal instruction last time!

This…

Just a few days ago, he had only been able to imitate it mechanically. How long had it been? Yet he had already begun to make his own modifications and fuse them in?

This guy…

Really was a monster…

Yukihira Soma felt as though he had come to recognize something extraordinary…

Two chapters done!

I’m eating at my grandmother’s place, so there’s really no way around it. After I get home, I’ll still have to stay up all night writing tomorrow’s…

Sob, sob, sob~

Wishing everyone all the best in the new year, and may all your wishes come true!