"Everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Kael. I just transferred into Totsuki this year. You probably already know that much, so let me tell you something you don't know—my Special Ability."
Kael started his introduction normally, but that last sentence made every student in the room, including Terunori Kuga standing beside him, widen their eyes.
Special Abilities were something only chefs could awaken—an extremely rare trait unique to the World of Food Wars. Even within Totsuki, only two Special Abilities were officially known: the First Seat Eishi Tsukasa's ability to commune with ingredients, and Erina Nakiri's God's Tongue.
Other chefs had unusual talents—like Akira Hayama's insane sense of smell or Subaru Mimasaka's tracing—but those didn't reach the level of a true Special Ability.
Anyone who awakened a Special Ability was practically guaranteed to be a monster in the kitchen.
""No wonder Kael could beat the head of a research society. So he had a Special Ability all along! That explains everything!""
A student snapped back to reality and blurted out in shock.
"Exactly. But you should correct yourself. It's not 'Kael-san' anymore. You should be calling him President."
Another student nodded in agreement.
"Special Ability? So that's why you cook like a complete freak. What's your ability?"Kuga leaned in impatiently. Every chef dreamed of awakening something like this.
A high-ranked chef might not have a Special Ability—but anyone with a Special Ability would inevitably reach the top ranks.
Unlocking one meant opening the door to the highest echelon of the culinary world.
"My Special Ability is called Divine Hearing. As the name implies, my hearing is extremely sharp. For example, I can clearly hear the buzzing of a mosquito hundreds of meters away."
The room erupted.
"Even if a hundred people cooked at the same time, I could hear every part of every process without missing anything. And from that, I can pinpoint every flaw."
Kael gave a simple rundown. He intended to only reveal Divine Hearing for now. He did want to take it easy, but he also couldn't completely ignore the Chinese Cuisine Research Society. If revealing this helped him guide them later, that was fine.
"Hearing a mosquito from hundreds of meters away? That's insane!"
Everyone exploded into chatter again. What kind of broken ability was this? Was this some kind of literal superpower?
"Wait… with a power like that, if anyone talks trash about the President anywhere on campus, won't he hear it immediately?"
The moment that student said it, everyone stiffened.
After all, everyone had secrets. And talking behind someone's back? That happened every day. Now, if Kael could hear everything…
Yeah, of course they were nervous.
"I'm sorry, but why is that the thing you guys are focusing on? Shouldn't you be looking at how this ability can instantly dissect flaws in your cooking? This is even more broken than the God's Tongue!"
A student finally cut in.
Hearing that, the others suddenly realized the real point. In terms of improving one's cooking or teaching others, Divine Hearing was way more efficient than taste-based abilities.
Everyone knew how powerful the God's Tongue was—but Erina was the Nakiri princess. Getting her to help you wasn't easy.
And the God's Tongue required actually tasting dishes. Even if she took only one bite per person, after a hundred dishes she'd probably collapse from overeating.
But Kael? He could analyze a hundred dishes at once, instantly.
That efficiency crushed the God's Tongue.
"Your ability really is absurd. With something like that, you wouldn't even need to cook often. Just checking on the Chinese Cuisine Research Society every now and then would raise everyone's overall skill by an entire tier."
Kuga sighed in amazement. He could already imagine the society's future. Currently, the truly top-tier talents in the society were few.
Even in the Autumn Elections, only Miyoko Hojo specialized in Chinese cuisine—and she didn't even reach the top eight, nor did she join the society.
But with Kael, maybe they really could cultivate a few serious Three-Star Chefs.
"It looks like everyone's curious. In that case, why don't I show you how my ability works in practice?"
Kael's words instantly lit up the crowd. Of course they wanted to see it. Who wouldn't?
"What do you want to do?" Kuga asked, eager.
"Simple. Pick one hundred students. Each person will cook a dish of their choice twice. The first time, I won't say a word. The second time, I'll tell each person exactly what mistakes they made. Then we compare the results."
Kael explained calmly.
"That's actually a great idea. Leave the selection to me!"
Kuga immediately called a few members over and began choosing the hundred participants. The students below were buzzing with excitement. Getting guidance from someone with a Special Ability was a rare chance—maybe a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Normally, finding their own mistakes took a long time. Even after finding them, figuring out how to correct them took even longer.
With Kael, the feedback was instant.
Soon, under Kuga's direction and the help of several managers, one hundred students were selected.
Their skills varied widely—from low Two-Star to high Two-Star, and even two fresh Three-Star Chefs. But compared to someone like Alice Nakiri, they were still far from elite.
Preparing space for a hundred people to cook would be a nightmare anywhere else. But in the Chinese Cuisine Research Society?
The venue was huge, and members quickly transported ingredients. In less than half an hour, everything was ready.
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100 powerstones = Extra chapter