"Bald head? A monk?"
"It can't be such a coincidence..."
Turning around and watching the bald man's back disappear into the corridor, a subtle expression appeared on Okabe's face.
"It's exactly that coincidental. The person just now was Natsuo, the freshman who seized the Vegetarian Research Society."
"But why does he have two more people behind him now? Newly recruited lackeys?"
Hearing that Natsuo had two little bald heads following him, Hisako Arato's brows furrowed slightly.
In her impression, there shouldn't be a second monk in this year's freshmen besides Natsuo.
"Found it. Natsuo, age twelve, once won second place in the Guangzhou City Culinary Competition Junior Division. Specializes in various vegetarian and temple dishes, especially those involving mushrooms."
She pulled up Natsuo's information on her tablet.
"Second place in the Guangzhou City Culinary Competition Junior Division? That's a pretty prestigious achievement."
Okabe pondered for a moment.
It was well-known that Japan was about the size of one province in China.
Second place in the Guangzhou City Culinary Competition Junior Division was basically equivalent to second place in Japan's national junior culinary competition.
"You're right. I was shocked by this info when I first saw it, and this record was from when he was eleven. The participants were limited to ages 10-16, meaning he was facing opponents up to sixteen at the time."
As she spoke, Hisako Arato lightly tapped her fingers, pulling up the details of the Guangzhou City Culinary Competition Junior Division and pushing the tablet in front of Okabe and Erina Nakiri for them to view.
"Taking second place at eleven in a competition where the maximum age is sixteen—this kid really has something special. If he were two years older, winning first would be no surprise..."
As he spoke, Okabe lightly tapped the screen, pulling up the winner's list for the Guangzhou City Culinary Competition Junior Division.
Then they saw the name at the top.
Liu Yunshu, age ten.
Looking at the age note next to the champion's info, the scene fell silent for a moment.
Ten years old was so glaring.
The opponent had defeated Natsuo to become champion at such a young age, far surpassing him in both strength and talent.
This shattered much of the strong image Natsuo had just built in their minds.
"Never mind that. Let's think about what to eat for lunch."
Okabe closed the tablet and handed it back to Hisako Arato, gazing at the blue sky outside the teaching building.
The weather was pretty nice today...
There was no need for kids their age to overthink such distant matters.
As long as they continued to delve deeply into the culinary world, they would eventually have a chance to compete.
Genius and the strong would naturally attract each other.
"What to eat for lunch... that's a tricky topic for me."
Erina Nakiri fell into thought.
Clearly, deciding what to eat for lunch was a monumental dilemma for her as well.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
At that moment, an urgent shout came from not far away as a boy urged a girl to run downstairs.
"Too late, I'll wait for you downstairs."
In another teaching building, a similar voice rang out.
But the girl there didn't wait for the boy; she quickened her pace and dashed downstairs, her eyes gleaming with inexplicable anticipation.
"I hope I can get a front-row seat."
Thinking this inwardly, everyone silently quickened their steps, trying to pull ahead of those around them.
"What's going on? Why does everyone look so rushed?"
As he spoke, Okabe grabbed a passerby, his voice filled with curiosity.
"I don't know. I saw them running and just followed. Seems like something's happening downstairs."
The boy awkwardly scratched his head.
He actually had no idea what was going on; he just couldn't resist joining the crowd seeing everyone hurrying downstairs.
No matter the country, people loved to join in on the excitement by nature.
"Shall we go check it out ourselves?"
Seeing he couldn't get any useful info, Okabe released the boy's arm and looked at Erina Nakiri.
"Nothing else to do next anyway. Let's go see. I'm curious too."
After a moment's thought, Erina Nakiri didn't refuse, and Hisako Arato nodded slightly in agreement.
The three headed straight down the stairs and soon reached the ground floor.
In the center of the teaching building plaza, a massive bulletin board had appeared at some point.
Dozens of students formed a circle around it, those at the back even standing on tiptoe to see.
"This is..."
Looking at the bulletin board in the plaza center, Okabe showed a curious expression. In his previous life, he hadn't heard of such a setup.
In other words, this was a rule extended after he transmigrated to this world.
"Could it be..."
Beside him, Erina Nakiri seemed to think of something, pushed through the crowd, and approached to see the board clearly.
The wide, massive board was densely packed from left to right with 100 names.
It resembled the score postings after exams at some schools.
The difference was that here, names had sequence numbers before them and bonuses instead of scores after.
At the bottom were two lines of notes.
[The Jade Sequence is a comprehensive ranking based on Tōtsuki's records of the listed individuals' strength and past competitions. It is temporarily incomplete. Those without a sequence may challenge sequencers; lower sequencers may challenge higher ones.]
Something like that.
"Four, five, six... I'm seventh? Grandpa really underestimated me..."
Looking at her rank on the sequence, Erina Nakiri pouted in complaint.
But thinking about it, she hadn't had any standout achievements in recent years, so this position seemed reasonable.
"I'm forty-third..."
After searching for a while, Hisako Arato finally found her name, her mouth slightly agape, clearly not expecting such a low rank.
"First place. What an eye-catching number."
Okabe's gaze stayed fixed at the top of the sequence, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
If possible, top three would be fine for him. First place drew too much attention, not ideal for keeping a low profile.
But since he'd already gotten this rank, Okabe had no intention of giving it up. After all, this was Tōtsuki's recognition of him—not for the "10 million yen/month" bonus next to it!
Perhaps to incentivize competition below, first place's bonus was higher than second and third combined. Second and third were both "3 million yen/month."
Ranks 4-10: "1 million yen/month."
11-50: "500,000 yen/month."
51-100: "100,000 yen/month."
"But what exactly is this? A scholarship recipient list?"
"It's ranking the top 100 freshmen based on past achievements and distributing scholarships by rank."
Okabe voiced his confusion.
The list before them wasn't that simple.
"The Jade Sequence. Grandpa mentioned it during a chat recently."
"As you see, it's ranking this year's students. The top three have status no less than the Elite Ten. I thought it would take more time to announce, but it's implemented so quickly."
Retracting her gaze, Erina Nakiri briefly explained the origin of the sequence on the bulletin board.
In short, this year's freshmen were of such high quality that previous management couldn't provide adequate training.
After discussions in an Elite Ten meeting with the academy's chief instructor and current Elite Ten, they decided for the first time to implement the Jade Sequence among new enrollees, using fierce competition to compensate for teaching shortages.
A hands-off approach to save effort.
"Giving the top three Elite Ten-like status, sky-high bonuses, and unparalleled fame—these conditions will surely spark countless challenges."
Okabe nodded, immediately seeing the purpose behind Erina Nakiri's actions.
Since the students' strength had exceeded control, start the competition early!
Trials of blood and fire were more effective than any high classroom evaluations.
"Interesting."
"But this monthly salary setup feels more like ranking rewards than scholarships."
Okabe's gaze swept across the list, quickly scanning the top 100 names.
The bald monk Natsuo, who had caused a stir at Tōtsuki earlier, was only tenth on the Jade Sequence. Besides him, Okabe spotted several notable original characters.
Sequence 31: Akira Hayama.
Sequence 46: Ryo Kurokiba.
Sequence 78: Miyo Kitahara.
Sequence 99: Ikumi Mito.
Sequence 100: Soma Yukihira.
[Based on Tōtsuki's grasp of students' strength and competitions, if that's the case, this ranking is just a reference and not final. The true order will emerge after challenges this month.]
Looking at the names on the list, such a thought arose in Okabe's mind.
"Indeed. The top ten rewards can already support independent research and a small kitchen's operations. This encourages top sequencers to start their culinary careers early."
Hisako Arato nodded in agreement, speculating on Tōtsuki's intent.
Culinary research was expensive, especially for equipment and air-shipped rare ingredients worldwide. Tōtsuki likely considered this too.
They didn't want students of modest means slowed by financial woes.
"Look over there."
As she spoke, Erina Nakiri looked up and pointed to another slightly smaller board beside the list.
Okabe spoke softly.
"It seems to list the challenge rules."
"Unranked challengers must pay 100,000 yen challenge fee to sequencers. Win or lose, the fee goes to the challenged sequencer and into their personal pocket after the match."
"Challenges between sequencers are harsher: lower sequencer pays 300,000 yen fee. But this time, the loser bears it. This rule applies only to sequences 11-100."
Reading the smaller board, Erina Nakiri softly recited the rules aloud. Hisako Arato took photos to share back at Polaris Dormitory later.
"By the way, it doesn't specify how to challenge the top ten."
Scanning top to bottom several times without finding top ten challenge methods, Okabe looked at Erina Nakiri.
As Tōtsuki's young lady, she should know more.
"If no specific rules are listed, top ten can only be taken via Shokugeki."
Her gaze also scanned the board briefly before Erina Nakiri spoke slowly.
The purpose was likely to highlight top ten's difference from others.
Only then would everyone revere top ten sequencers and crave those spots.
"What blatant law of the jungle—using money and rank to pressure everyone into constant upward challenges without slacking. Refusing means losing money and prestige."
Retracting his gaze from the list, Okabe said with some feeling.
Seeing through the phenomenon to the essence.
The so-called Jade Sequence was Tōtsuki's sugar-coated cannonball to motivate new students, forcing these outwardly "peaceful" students into true era of great competition!
The surrounding students gradually recovered from initial shock, discussions surging like tides.
"First place is Okabe? Who the hell is that guy? Never heard of him—why top spot?!"
"Seems like that freshman rep at the time..."
"I've seen him. His dish in cooking class got A+ from the teacher, who praised him highly, saying if authorized, it'd be higher."
Okabe's name thus entered everyone's view.
"Even so, handing first place so casually is excessive!"
"Yeah, that's 10 million yen! At least compete first!"
Envy, jealousy, doubt, unwillingness... emotions rippled through the crowd.
The list instantly ignited these freshmen's already fervent competitive spirits.
Listed freshmen could endure, but unlisted ones grew restless, eyes scanning wildly for hidden sequencers to challenge.
No confidence against top ten, but 90-100? They felt they could try.
"Okabe? Pushing past so many strong to claim first—Tōtsuki really favors this guy. Even this monk only got tenth."
Natsuo's sturdy build and gleaming bald head stood out in the crowd.
Looking at the bulletin board, a glint flashed in his eyes.
Now with Vegetarian Research Society reformed into a temple kitchen, he needed major funds for renovations.
He was pondering how to lure rich kids and harvest their assets.
The sequence announcement gave him a clear target.
Claim sequence 1 for 10 million yen monthly from Tōtsuki, plus use the fame to recruit, making the temple kitchen thrive at Tōtsuki.
Reputation.
Always the biggest chip.
Now, he just needed to figure how to seize this sequence spot.
Using this academy's Shokugeki rules!!
____
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