As soon as the other climbers heard there was going to be a cooking match, they decided to walk over to the tables or lean against the counter and watch with the staff, who all stood aside and even talked amongst themselves. The children and Judah were especially interested, and while the boy himself didn't show any expression, he was leaning his chin against the counter, staring.

The staff were more than delighted to lend them their equipment, and they seemed to take bets among themselves to who would win.

August was quick to dismiss them. He needed to focus, He thought of cooking something different, but he soon realized he would be probably have the best chance of winning if he were to cook what he loved the most.

As soon as he asked the staff for the ingredients and where in the storage could they be found, Lord Meneesh walked over to the kitchen asking what the commotion was about. And when August told him it was a cooking match to determine who was going to be the leader, he clapped delightedly and told them he would oversee the match as a judge, if they have no problems with that.

Who would?

After a minute of contemplation later, Lord Meneesh gathered them to a spot and laid down the rules for everyone. August wasn't very comfortable with this. It was supposed to be an internal match, not something that a Lord would oversee accompanied by over two dozen audiences.

"I'll be judging your food from three main criteria," he held up three fingers. "Intention, execution, and taste. You each have a 40 minutes to complete the meal."

He then told them that this was such a great idea that he would love to do this in the future, most likely after every trial to give the climbers time to breathe.

Once the timer ticked down, August, Quann, and Seven all hurried to the storage.

August decided to cook his favorite soup. He used the info bracelet to list all the ingredients he'd need. Typing mentally using arcane was difficult at first, but not as difficult as creating a sculpture of a forest made out of arcane.

He quickly took potates, beef, flour, Ash leaves, carrots, oil, mushroom, garlic, and a number of spices. He didn't expect they would have all his ingredients and more, but they were well stocked, and he spotted a lot of ingredients he didn't recognize.

From then on was a routine he'd done thousands of times.

He tenderized the beef repeatedly and coated it in ash leaves, salt, and pepper. He cooked the oil using their mysterious stove that, after a click of a few buttons, fire sprouted underneath the pan.

He marveled over the technology. How did this thing sustain itself? Where did they get all the firewood? He compartmentalized that for now and refocused.

He'd never used wine before, but one of the staff suggested adding it to the soup for the extra flavour. He took a separate batch and tasted it. And oh boy, it was better than what his usual ingredients! He'd never had wine, after all, so he eagerly took a wine glass and poured himself some.

7 minutes before the 40th mark, August finished and looked around. Quann had just covered his food with a metal plate cover. Seven finished right up at the last minute. When she saw August and Quann had finished, she decided to go first and placed the plate before the lord.

She strode as if the world belonged to her.

Lord Meneesh was excited, and everyone peered at the food around him. "This," she began. "Is chicken breast flavored with honey and garlic."

She went on to describe it in detail. About how she used flour to give the chicken a slight crust so the sauce clung to it, and used butter as oil, while cooking the chicken with garlic, honey, soy sauce, and vinegar. There was even something she called "parsely" whatever that was, that she added in the end which made the chicken look delicious at first glance. Her presentation made him lick his lips.

Lord Meneesh slowly spun the plate, studying the food. he then used a knife and fork and sliced a small part of the chicken, taking a bite. He closed his eyes, tasting it.

"You cook well," he said. "As I should expect from an automaton. The chicken itself is done well, and you used just the right ingredients to capture the optimal taste you were going for."

She tilted her head slightly upwards. "It is."

He set the plate aside then tapped his info bracelet. Several seconds later, Aeladine arrived and sat down next to him. She waved at August. He waved back. Lord Meneesh explained what was happening and made her eat his leftovers. She nodded and started taking small bites. "I haven't eaten yet!" she said.

She caught a few interested glances, mainly from the swordsman that rejected August earlier. Aeladine was pretty. Short, orange hair, freckles, and an easygoing smile. She started talking to Yura's group when one of them asked if they could take a bite.

August was called over. He presented his dish: a simple soup.

He wasn't frightened that he'd lose. Seven might have cooked the chicken well, but he saw a hint of distaste from Lord Meneesh. "It doesn't have a name," he said as he presented it to the lord. "My lord, do you not like sweets?"

He raised an eyebrow. "So, you've noticed."

August nodded. "You'll like this better. It's the beef soup I've cooked for myself since I was a child. I've made a number of improvements on it, mainly adding ash leaves and coating the beef with it."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Ash leaves?" he asked. "They're commonly bitter. Bitter enough that only a select few developed a peculiar taste to them."

August expected that. He smiled. "The beef soup, mixed with a few other ingredients, can neutralize the bitterness and turn it into a tinge of spiciness. That juiciness seeps into the potatoes too, so I highly suggest eating that with the beef together."

Quann took one bite, and then another, and continued on. August hit the mark this time. It was a good thing he'd been keeping an eye on Seven and waiting for her to make the first move. Her food, being too sweet, would contrast his meal well enough.

After few more bites, he passed it o Aeladine, who'd finished the chicken. She started eating the soup from the ladle, and while she was delicate looking for a lady, she definitely didn't hold back when it comes to food and possessed a large appetite.

"I have to say," Lord Meneesh said. "This is anything but simple. I can see a lot of care was put into it." He glanced at his staff. "And I see that my staff are taking notes."

Some of the staff approached him, holding the info bracelet up as they asked him what his process was in experimenting ash leaves. Apparently, there wasn't a lot of information in it because it was a difficult ingredient to work with, and their options were very limited that any additional information would be something they could add to their arsenal.

It was great that Lord Meneesh ate a lot of his food. He was patting his stomach, and was given a toothpick, and seemed relaxed almost. August nudged Quann, who gave him a slight smile.

"You've been oddly quiet for a while now," August said.

Quann shrugged and presented his to dish, opening the cover with a flourish.

And what August saw made him almost fall over. The staff stopped taking their notes, and behind their mask, August could imagine them gaping at the dish.

It was what these people called a dessert, but it was very intricately designed, and it reminded him of how much attention to detail he paid on his arcane scenery sculptures.

The dessert looked like a tall tower of cream, cherries and a sphere of black chocolate on top. There were small designs around its walls, like mini windows and even small people that seemed to have been sculpted from ice cream.

Quann couldn't avoid being watched while he was making this dessert, but he had created each layer separately from another, making the finished piece a surprise even if everyone had seen it already.

Lord Meneesh was nonplussed. "A dessert?" he said, frowning. "And chocolate."

He shook his head. He wasn't impressed, and his remarks on sweets would undoubtedly backfire on Quann, who took it all in stride and raised a knife. "Allow me, my lord."

Quann then cut a small incision on the top of the black chocolate, letting its contents drip onto the tower. The climbers were awed. The staff themselves laughed happily and some of them even whistled.

"I call this the Towerfall," Quann said. "I based it on how a climber would try to climb the tower, only to be consumed by the tower's personality into molding the climber to fit what it needs."

He gestured at the chocolate. That made August think--if every layer provides a test, and a test was structured in a way that would force individual climbers into killing their own comrades, then certain types of people, unpleasant people, would have a likelier chance of climbing the tower.

It was impressively simple, evocative, and it made him think about the implications of climbing too. He also served last, which meant he expected Lord Meneesh to find something sweet to palate his tongue, but this was where his intentions fell flat even if it was a good strategy on paper.

Lord Meneesh wasn't impressed with sweets. He reluctantly spoon a piece of the tower, and upper half of it fell, revealing cut-up fruits inside. August would love to eat that.

As soon as Lord Meneesh tasted the chocolate and ice cream onto his mouth, his eyes popped open, and he scowled at the cake. Aeladine was staring at him.

"Was it that bad?" She whispered.

August looked away and made a fist. Yes! He did it.

"No," Lord Meneesh said. "I've never tasted anything like this before. Wait, let me give it another try." He took a large piece and ate it, and this time he closed his eyes and let it swirl in his mouth.

He looked at Quann. "Would you be interested in offering me the recipe to this dessert?"

August deflated.

Quann apologized and told him it wasn't up for sale, but he would love to cook it for Lord Meneesh sometimes. That seemed to satisfy the lord, who greedily ate the rest of the dessert and, with a painful expression on his face, left a small portion for Aeladine.

"Wow!" she covered her mouth and chewed. She shut her eyes and let out a small moan. "Oh gods above."

That made some of the climbers clear their throat, or look away, and made Yura's friends blush. To August, it was an entirely new experience, and he felt himself looking away, feeling a small flush reach his cheeks.

What was he feeling? His body seemed to react on its own.

After finishing his dessert, Lord Meneesh reviewed each dish. Seven came first, and the lord demolished her, saying it was good, even well-executed, but he expected a touch of personality like the two dishes that came after. He felt like he'd eaten a factory-made slop by bored workers who wanted nothing more than to spit their dish in spite.

August wasn't sure if Lord Meneesh was insulting her because she was an automaton or that he was truly insulted by the dish. His comments irritated August, but Seven didn't seem bothered. When she retreated, he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I do not possess emotions. There are room for improvements, and his criticisms were valuable," she said.

"Those are insults, not criticism."

She looked at him and nodded. "Indeed it was. But I am an automaton. It doesn't bother me."

She started to walk toward the storage. August asked what she was about to do.

"I will make improvements to my dish," she said. "He said it doesn't have a personality. How does one add a personality? Should I intentionally create small, innacurate mistakes to my measurements?"

August was called by the lord, so he didn't get the chance to continue the conversation. He was praised for having created something that he put a lot of love, effort, and care, but he fell off on the technical side. His beef was too hard, but when August tasted it, he had no problem. And the potatoes, Lord Meneesh said, were to mushy, and would break down at the slightest touch. But he liked that! Potatoes should be delicate enough that they'd spread over a person's mouth.

He was miffed, but he couldn't do anything about it now. Quann was praised more heavily, and all August could do now was accompany Seven while she tried to take out one ingredient after another. Despite claiming to be emotionless, she seemed to take extra steps into brainstorming ways of improving her food.

When he asked her about that, she looked at him as if he was daft. "I am a domestic automaton."

Well, whatever. His pride was shot too, so he offered his help, stating that a human input could potentially increase her chances of creating more variety. Luckily, they weren't done yet, as Lord Meneesh especially prepared a high-class buffet, ordering all the tables removed, replaced by a long table, where a variety of food would populate.

Hopefully, the staff wouldn't mind the two of them taking a small space to cook an experimental food.

Just as he stepped out of the storage, he saw Yura wave him over from counter. When he walked over, she leaned in to ask a question. "Can we talk for a minute?"

That was probably the longest sentence he'd ever heard from her.

"Uh. Now?" He was about to cook and he didn't want other distractions.

Yura pursed her lips. One red eye stared back. "Nevermind. Later then."

With that, she left and joined her friends who watched other climbers and staff take out the tables and place the chairs next to the wall.