"Kid, what business you got being here?" one of the other contestants laughed as he slapped me on the back. "You look like you could barely finish a plate!"
"Haha," I replied. "You'd be surprised."
"My name's Fjorn," the man laughed again. "From Steelheart City. What about you, kid?"
"I-" I began before I was interrupted by another voice coming from the side.
"What's the point?" A man with a huge stomach dressed in golden clothes sneered. "He's probably going to get out in the first round."
"Broll, my old friend, it's you!" Fjorn guffawed as he slapped the man in the golden clothes on the back. "Participating today to lose to me again?"
"Hehe," Broll grinned. "I won't lose this time. I've already mastered my family's Secret Eating Arts."
As I watched the two of them banter, the announcer shouted, "And of course, this competition is hosted by our beloved Mayor Ling!" before the crowd burst into cheers.
"And now, let the competition begin!"
All the contestants, including myself, were seated at our individual tables as staff pushed wooden table carts into the stadium. The carts were filled with countless plates, each stacked with delicious-looking meat skewers.
"For the first round, all contestants will be given one hundred baroar skewers! The last contestant to finish their skewers will be eliminated!"
The staff quickly placed the plates in front of me, the aroma of the skewers already making me want to start eating.
"And now...the round begins!" the announcer hollered.
The contestants quickly picked up the skewers, finished them, and placed the clean sticks to the side.
Fjorn and Broll on the other hand, picked up multiple skewers at once and devoured them clean, their speed at eating uncomparable to the other contestants.
I, however, picked up the skewer and slowly tasted it, savoring the flavor.
The meat was cooked tender and crisp with just the right amount of spice added, having a bit of a spicy flavor to them.
As I finished my skewer, I picked up another one and started eating.
"Fjorn is already at his twenty-sixth skewer and Broll is at his twenty-third! The rest of the contestants are also making steady progress, it looks like Contestant 1 is at her fourteenth skewer!" the announcer excitedly shouted.
"But it looks like Contestant 9 is taking his sweet time with his skewers, still on his second one! It looks like the one who is to be eliminated this round is already set in stone!" the announcer laughed.
The crowd burst into laughter and jeered, some of them booing.
However, I could also hear someone cheer for me in the audience, almost desperately.
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"YOU CAN DO THIS! PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO!"
I spotted a girl in the audience, standing atop her seat, hands cupped around her mouth, screaming.
"And it looks like Fjorn is on his fortieth skewer, Broll close behind!" the announcer exclaimed.
Eventually, Fjorn finished his last skewer while Broll was on his ninety-sixth one, with the rest of the contestants on around their fiftieth skewer.
I started to speed up the rate at which I was eating skewers, finishing my twentieth one.
One by one, the other contestants started to finish their skewers, leaving only me and Contestant 4.
Contestant 4 was on his seventy-sixth skewer and was taking a short break to catch his breath before continuing to eat his skewers. He glanced at me, seeing that I was only at my forty-eighth skewer, and smirked.
It was then I started to truly devour the skewers, eating them at an unprecedented speed. Contestant 4 glanced at me, shocked that I was starting to catch up, and started hurrying up as well.
As Contestant 4 hit his ninetieth skewer, I had just finished my eighty-third skewer; both of us almost finished.
"Wow! It looks like Contestant 9 isn't here just for show!" the announcer enthusiastically shouted. "But will he be able to catch up to Contestant 4?"
I then decided to waste no time, throwing both the skewers and the sticks in my mouth, as the announcer and the crowd watched on in shock.
When Contestant 4 finished his ninety-seventh skewer, I had finished my last, giving a loud burp.
"Contestant 9 is truly the dark horse of this round!" the announcer yelled. "Who would've thought that he would be able to catch up and overtake Contestant 4 when he was so far behind!"
The audience cheered and I saw the girl from earlier also excitedly cheering as if it was her that was in the competition, not me.
"Well, Contestant 4, it looks like you are the one who is eliminated this round!" the announcer said as he walked over and pat the contestant on the shoulder.
"I-it's not fair!" Contestant 4 screamed. "He must've cheated! No way he could finish that many skewers! I mean, just look at him!"
The crowd quieted down and then started booing at Contestant 4, disliking his inability to accept defeat.
The announcer frowned, and then said in a dark tone, "When I said you're eliminated, you're eliminated, got it?" as his hand clamped forcefully down on Contestant 4's shoulder.
Contestant 4 broke out into a cold sweat and started hurriedly nodding.
"Well, then," the announcer said, breaking out into a joyful smile again. "Round two of the competition will begin shortly as the contestants take a fifteen-minute break! Hold on tight, folks!"
As the contestants got up from their seats and started chatting with each other, I heard a loud laugh coming from behind me as someone slapped me on the back.
"I have to say, kid!" Fjorn declared. "I sure did underestimate you! But it'll take more than that to win this competition!"
Broll also walked over, curiously asking, "How did you manage to eat all those skewers with your small stature? Do you also practice a type of Eating Arts?"
"I don't know," I replied. "I just love to eat."
The two glanced at each other before Broll said, "Keeping it a secret, huh?"
I was speechless.
After a while, the announcer's voice boomed over the stadium again.
"And we shall shortly start round two! Contestants, please gather around and pick a slip of paper out of this box!"
As the contestants all grouped around the box and chose a slip of paper, the announcer then shouted, "Yes, that's right! This round you will be assigned a partner who you will work with!"
As I opened my paper, the number on it read 2.
"Now, please find your partner with the matching number on the slip!"
My partner was Contestant 1, a burly lady with a jolly smile on her face.
"I hope you won't let me down, partner!" she said as she patted my shoulder.
Fjorn was on a team with Contestant 3, while Broll was on a team with Contestant 8.
Lastly, Contestants 2 and 7 were partnered together.
"The rules for this round are simple; finish your food before all the other teams! The last team to finish eating is eliminated!"
As I and Contestant 1 were led to our table by staff, the carts containing the food we had to finish were also rolled into the stadium.
There were heaps upon heaps of steamed prawns filled into bowls.
While we sat down, the staff quickly arranged the bowls on the tables, filling my nose with the smell of seafood.
"For this round, each team will need to finish one thousand prawns!" the announcer shouted. "You may begin!"