1429 The Examination Begins!

The massive golden gates were open.

And with the heavenly words spoken, many took deep breaths, lifted their chests, and marched in.

Din. Din. Din. Din.

Their footsteps reflected their emotions.

Some were hesitant, some nervous, others confident, while quite a few were just relaxed.

And soon after entering the academy ground, they seemed to come to a fork on the main road a little further from the massive fountain.

[All Culinary examinees will head to the left, while those for Bartending... head to the right!]

The voice again resounded, making the massive inflow of people break apart.

Make no mistake!

The golden fenced academy was incredibly large, with numerous student residential buildings, each having their designated farming sites too.

The place was beyond huge, having its own streets, car parks, Battle Arena, etc.

And as the group divided, Mildred found herself going left.

Up the hilly terrain, she and the many contestants went.

Right from the gates, they were given contestant number badges.

This was why they arrived way earlier than the actual exam time.

They not only registered their names but also did multiple rounds of security checks.

It can be said that the academy was more or less on several vast hills.

And to reach the main gates, one has to drive or walk upwards within the private drive lane.

However, it should be noted that the main Golden Gate was the 2nd and final gate to enter the academy because just before one stepped onto the long-winded drive lane, they would first pass through another gate and several security protocols within the private widened drive lane.

Thus, everyone had been checked, registered, and even had the opportunity to put their bags away in the Public locker-room within the security entry buildings.

Now, they were marching in with their bartending/chef attire on hand, as well their trusty favorite or ancestral blades at hand.

No one wore their aprons yet since they didn't want to get it dirty.

Marks could get taken away for appearing at the start of the examination like that.

And though the academy would provide knives, chopping boards, and everything else they would use, many still came with their favorite blades.

It was the prestige of a chef.

The only rule for carrying kitchen blades was that unless when in use, one must have it ticked away in a wooden holding or iron dagger sheath of some sort.

Anyone caught marching with an open blade in their hands would be sanctioned the way they saw best!

Gulp.

With the warning loud and clear, no one dared to do so. Similarly, everyone subconsciously held or placed their blade sheath at their front, making sure that no one with ill intentions would pull it out and frame them or do any other devious acts just to see them away.

The exam was stiff. And some real-life competitors from opposing restaurants, inns, and taverns were here.

Provided they stopped their competitors from bringing glory to their hometowns or cities, wanst this still great for them?

In this moment of truth, countless bad thoughts continuously swirled and bombarded many people's minds.

But for whether they would dare to pull such acts, only they knew the answer to that.

.

"Hey... Take a look at candidate 526. If I'm not mistaken, that should be Chef Basol from the massive 2-star Restaurant in Deiferus!"

"What? A 2-star restaurant?.... Why... That's the highest restaurant star out of Baymard!"

"Exactly! And Basol is also a very famous chef there!"

"Check it out. There's the uprising Chef Polina, one of the few female chefs to spring up in Zalipnia. It's said that she has a magic touch, making food turn as rich as gold when entering your mouth!"

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah~~..."

The ramblings of the contestants only served in highlighting the forecast examinees amongst them.

And already, many felt their self-confidence lower even more.

Would they be able to get in after so many professional chefs around?

If they aren't able to impress the examiners with the talents they had?

Din. Din. Din. Din. Din~

The further they traversed, the thicker the air around them.

Fear and doubt had only made their muscles clenched even more.

For some, their entire families depended on passing this one examination.

Mildred's ears seemed to be in an isolation chamber because all that she heard didn't phase her at all.

Others were secretly looking at the strong examinees amongst them. But she had long been focused on something else entirely.

Sniff. Sniff~

Tomatoes, ginger, greens...

Her nose has always had a heightened sense. And already, she could smell the faint aromas of these ingredients.

It was so faint that she hardly picked anything up.

Maybe the smell was coming from the many academy farms belonging to the students. But she had a hunch that the smells would have something to do with the exam.

Tomatoes... Did this have something to do with the exams?

And more importantly, when can she take a bite of it?

Grrr~...

She was already hungry, even though it wasn't long that she ate.

.

Mildred rubbed her belly while imagining the delicious taste of food in her mouth when suddenly, someone bumped into her.

"Ah!... I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean it. The smell just caught me off guard."

A timid girl with the cutest freckles and 2 pigtails continuously apologized to her.

Mildred opened her eyes in shock. "You can smell it too?"

The girl nodded vigorously.

She had thought she was hallucinating or imagining things. But hearing Mildred's questions, she knew what she smelt was real.

"I'm... I'm... Okaru."

The girl said, blushing shyly.

And the moment introduced herself, the duo walked alongside each other, making their way towards the examination site.

Okaru bit her lips very nervously. "What if we don't make it? This is the first exam out of the week. If we don't make it through today, we won't qualify for tomorrow's exam. So aren't you afraid? What if the other examinees are too strong, giving us a bad review in the eyes of the examiners?"

Mildred shrugged her shoulders. "We are all just as talented as the rest. So just do your best for yourself... And everything will be fine... Cook for the customer and not yourself."

Cook for the customer?

... The words resounded in Okaru's ears again and again.

Yes!

Although this was an examination, their test was still to please the customers!