345 The Competition Begins!

Landon was currently on his way to meet these people from the Temple of Adonis.

It would take at most 4 days for him to reach them, and another 4 for them to return.

As for the actual battle itself, he had expected it to occur within a few hours or a day at most.

Needless to say that before he left, he had also said farewell to his fiancee and mother as well.

And so unbeknownst to the Citizens of Baymard, their king had already left the empire for a 9 day trip.

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But of course, even though Landon had already gone..... the empire was still in a state of busyness, as several activities were still currently going on at the moment... with or without their king.

For starters, today was the 20th of June.... which represented the first day of summer.

And why was this day particularly important?

That was because Baymard's law academy..... as well as the Culinary & Bartending academy, would have their second entrance examinations today.

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George who was one of the people who had previously come from Carona with his sister... was currently standing amongst several other examiners outside the Academy's doors.

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"Please line up in a chronological manner and step forward with your registration card at hand!" Instructed some of the supervisors around, as they tried to verify the identities of everyone at the gates.

George quickly followed their instructions, and soon gave his Examination card to one of the many supervisors there for verification.

And after that, he followed the crowd into the Academy.

More specifically, they were led to the largest hall that he had ever seen.

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He breathed in and out, as he tried to steady his chaotic nerves.

The entire place, and the pressure he felt just from observing the other candidates had quickly made him grow a little fearful... as his palms slowly became sweaty.

Dammit!!!

The whole scenario had made his blood run wild from fear and a hint of excitement.

In short, ever since he had arrived here, he had found himself to be shocked on a daily basis.

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At first, he and his sister had thought that they wouldn't see anything better than what the cruises offered... but boy were they wrong!!

George could still remember all the feelings that he had felt...  as if it had just happened yesterday.

For one, when he and his sister saw the Coastal port... they almost fainted from sheer amazement.

And how could he possibly forget about his first experience within the buses, trains and Taxi cabs here?

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Another thing that surprised him were the homes.

Previously, he had planned to rent at one of those inn's that had 'Pubs'.... but when he got here, he was told that Baymard didn't have any of those at the moment.

At first he thought that all hope was lost, and that he & his sister would have to live in the streets instead.

But of course he was wrong!

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Thanks to the help of one of the workers within the Coastal port..... he now knew all about renting or buying 'apartments' or homes.

So he immediately went to the 'Real Estate & Apartment Renting Agency.

And from there, they gave him and his sister their current apartment..... which was a massive 2 bedroom one.

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From the moment they had stepped onto the apartment..... they had swiftly dropped their bags to the floor, and hurriedly explored their way through their new home.

And while exploring.... they tried to test out the gadgets, just like how the worker had explained.

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As for the pack of noodles and other food items within their bags... they soon found out that those things were somewhat cheaper here, than they were in Carona by a few cooler coins.

(*Of course this was because shipping costs, custom duties and all that.)

Hence with that realization in mind.... they quickly sighed from relief, as they thought that they would have to rob a bank just to eat here if they ever ran out of food.

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As for the matter of jobs.... George had to say that Baymard was extremely organized when it came to this aspect, as well as several other aspects too.

He and his sister had found their current jobs through this thing called 'Newspapers'.

George had successfully gotten an evening job at the park..... while his sister had also gotten a job at the mall too.

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And of course even though they still had this job to do, he and his sister had never forgotten their true goal in coming to Baymard.

Hence they studied and practiced tirelessly, while doing their evening jobs.

For a fact, the entire thing was like a good dream to him, as he truly didn't want to wake up from it anytime soon.

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Today.... they had woken up pretty early in the morning, and had prepared their breakfast, as well as their lunches.

And by 7 Am, they had hurriedly left their apartment for their examinations.

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"Buddy... We meet again!!!" Said another young man, who was currently towards George, while pushing his way through the crowd.

Upon seeing him, a slight smile slowly creeped on George's serious face.

Frederick Mosey!!

This new buddy of his was quite the character.

A while back.... for research purposes, he had gone to the entrance of the academy and tried to see if he could get in or have a tour of the place.

But sadly.... as an elite Academy, how could they just allow anyone in and out as they pleased?

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Previously.... Grorge didn't know a lot about the academy... as all he knew about it came from gossips circulating within Carona.

So one could say that he didn't know how elite this Academy really was.

They had rejected his request... but had also given him booklets and pamphlets on the Academy.

And it was only after browsing all the information there, that his brain went into shock mode.

Indeed.... the Academy was truly an elite one.

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In short, the more he researched on it, the more determined he was in getting in.

He had cooked several dishes for his sister... and had also rated himself based on what he knew.

Previously, he had wanted to join the academy purely just for the chance to change his future and improve his family's living conditions back in Carona.

But now, after investing a lot of time studying and preparing.... he had soon realized that he truly did want to become a chef.

Hence he took it more seriously.

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It was also at the front entrance of the academy, that he had seen this new friend of his.

Unlike others who were quiet and left the academy premises after being rejected... this friend of his didn't give up no matter what!!

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On that day, after being rejected.... just when he was about to leave, someone standing ahead of him suddenly stopped walking and swiftly leaned over to the guards and tried to bribe them with food.

Yes Food!!

Apparently, the guy was a true foody.... as he thought that the most valuable thing was food rather than money.

Even the guards whom he spoke to, couldn't help but look at him twice again.

Who the hell offered Doritos as a bribe?

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"Buddy..... are you ready?" Frederick asked while tapping George's shoulders.

"Hmhm.... I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He said, while placing his notebook in his bag.

"Hahahah..... good.... good... good!

What's the point of panicking?" Frederick said, while chewing on a protein bar.

They gisted for a while more before the bells surprisingly rang out.

It was finally time!!!

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The crowd's murmurs quickly died down, as they soon spotted several people walking into the stage before them all dressed in professional chef and bartending White.

'These must be their teachers' the crowd thought.' Those within the crowd thought.

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"Welcome to the Culinary & Bartending Academy!!

In here, we pride ourselves in studying the best culinary techniques..... as well as developing the best dishes within the entire continent.

Our main goal is to make our customers happy through our food and drinks.

With new, innovative and never seen before dishes.... of course we will train the best of the best, as we expect our graduating chefs to be the new leading torches throughout the entire continent and even the entire Hertfilia.

Our graduates will become high master chefs and bartenders that'll be sought out by many wherever they go.

Now..... whether you all have what it takes to become masters in these fields, will depend on whether or not you all will pass this entrance examination." Said one of their teachers.

"And just to give you all a proper tune down of it all... We will have 9 examinations will take place in the span of 5 days, with each examination targeting different qualities from the rest.

It should be noted that a student needs to pass the first 6 examinations before he or she can join the academy.

So... without any further delays, lets get on with the exams shall we?"

"_"

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