"What the hell—where did I end up? Is this even still in Japan?"
Inside an abandoned factory, a teenage boy stood frozen, completely bewildered by his surroundings. His name was Kael, and until a few minutes ago, he'd just been a food delivery guy in a yellow uniform.
Right before this, Kael had been delivering an order when the elevator he was in suddenly malfunctioned and started plummeting. He'd frantically pressed every button in reach, but the fall didn't stop.
Just when he was sure he was about to die, everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing here—in this decrepit factory.
[Host detected. Inheritance System initializing. Newbie Gift Pack has been issued. Would the host like to open it?]
As Kael was still trying to process what had happened, a cold, mechanical voice echoed inside his head.
"Host? System? Newbie Gift Pack? Don't tell me… I've transmigrated?"
Even though Kael spent most of his days running deliveries, he was an avid webnovel reader and audiobook listener. He was more than familiar with this kind of "reincarnated with a system" setup.
"Hey, System? You there? Did I really transmigrate? Where am I? Come on, at least give me some details!"
He tried calling out to it—out loud, in his head—but there was no response. The system had gone completely silent, like it had crashed.
"No reaction at all?"
After waiting a bit and hearing nothing, Kael frowned. Then he remembered what the voice said earlier. Maybe he should just try opening the Newbie Gift Pack first.
The next second, a holographic blue screen appeared in front of him. In the middle was a glowing gift box icon. The box vanished, replaced by a list of several items. At the same time, detailed information about the system and the items poured directly into his mind.
First came the system overview. The system was called the Inheritance System, and its function was as simple as it was overpowered—it allowed him to obtain Inheritances.
There were two types of inheritances: Character Inheritance and Faction Inheritance.
Character Inheritance let him gain a specific character's abilities, knowledge, and techniques. Of course, it didn't mean instant mastery—he'd have to study and practice to fully unlock everything that character knew. Once he'd mastered it all, that inheritance would end, and the next one would begin.
Faction Inheritance, on the other hand, granted him control over an entire organization. But just like with Character Inheritance, he'd need to unlock it step by step, depending on the faction's nature.
In his current Newbie Gift Pack, there were two inheritances: one Character Inheritance and one Faction Inheritance.
Besides those, there were several other items.
One was a Storage Space—a thousand meters wide, long, and high, with time completely frozen inside. Anything he stored would stay in the exact same condition forever. The only limitation was that it couldn't hold living creatures.
Then there was a skill called Language Proficiency, which would let him understand and speak any language. That solved the communication problem right away.
Finally, there was a complete set of identification documents.
"Huh, that's actually pretty thoughtful. Guess the system realized I'd be an illegal nobody here, so it hooked me up with an ID."
Curious, Kael pulled out the ID. The moment he touched it, the information tied to his new identity streamed into his mind.
"So that's where I am... wait—Food Wars? I'm in the World of Food Wars! No way! The system even reset my body back to when I was a teenager?"
After absorbing all the info, Kael finally understood. He'd been sent into the World of Food Wars, the famous culinary anime world he'd watched in his previous life.
His new identity? A transfer student at Totsuki Academy. Unlike Soma Yukihira, though, he didn't need to take the transfer exam—he could enroll directly.
The system had even prepared him a place to live and some starting funds. It wasn't a fortune, but it was enough to live comfortably for years.
He immediately activated the Language Proficiency skill, then tested out the Storage Space—just a thought was enough to store anything he touched.
Finally, his attention returned to the two inheritances—the real core of the system.
He opened the Character Inheritance first. A human silhouette appeared on the holographic screen.
"Wait a second… is that—Kaiyu?! Are you serious, System? You gave me Kaiyu's inheritance just because our names sound alike?"
Kael instantly recognized the figure. Kaiyu, the "Soaring Dragon of the Clouds," was the main antagonist from Chuuka Ichiban!—the leader of the Dark Cooking Society. Before the Taiji Cuisine Realm appeared, Kaiyu was the ultimate villain of that world.
If it hadn't been for Liu Maoxing's absurd luck and divine plot armor, Kaiyu could've easily ruled everything.
By unlocking a Character Inheritance, Kael would gain that person's innate talents immediately, though their skills and knowledge would still require time and effort to master.
But even just those natural abilities were insane. Kaiyu, the Dark Cooking Society's supreme leader and the pre-Taiji era's final boss, was no joke.
Kaiyu's innate talents were monstrous—he possessed four of the legendary Five Divine Senses from the Chuuka Ichiban! world: Divine Touch, Divine Sight, Divine Hearing, and Divine Smell. The only one he lacked was Divine Taste.
It was a perfect contrast to Liu Maoxing, whose signature ability was exactly that—Divine Taste, along with several complementary sensory powers.
Thankfully, these enhanced senses were controllable. Otherwise, Kael would've been driven insane by the sensory overload.
Even now, he could tell—they were terrifyingly sharp, and this was just the beginning.
After all, these weren't ordinary abilities. These were the Five Divine Senses—the godlike perception of a culinary prodigy.
And Kael had just inherited four of them.