Life at the Polar Star Dormitory pushed everyone's cooking skills forward quickly thanks to Kael's guidance. But Kael was ultimately a chef who specialized in traditional cuisine, so the help he offered others always started from basic fundamentals.
Molecular Gastronomy couldn't ignore fundamentals either, but it relied heavily on specialized equipment—an area Kael barely understood. He simply couldn't give Alice Nakiri much guidance on that front.
So as time passed, Alice realized her progress had noticeably slowed.
It wasn't her fault. Molecular Gastronomy was still a young field; compared to centuries and millennia of accumulated knowledge in traditional cuisine, the difference was enormous. The field had potential, but it was far from complete, and very few chefs studied it seriously. Most people still preferred the traditional path.
This was why Alice achieved so much at Nakiri International. Those achievements were unmatched by ordinary students—but at Totsuki, they didn't guarantee she would overwhelm everyone.
In theory, someone with her résumé should dominate the academy. She should've been able to crush the competition.
But reality proved otherwise. Even in the original story, she wasn't the strongest of her year. Beyond Erina Nakiri, she still had to contend with heavy hitters like Akira Hayama, Soma Yukihira, and Ryo Kurokiba—three mountains blocking her path.
Alice had long since noticed this disparity, and she made a decisive choice to shift focus. After all, she originally dove into Molecular Gastronomy for one purpose: to defeat Erina Nakiri.
With Erina's God's Tongue, beating her in traditional cuisine was nearly impossible. So Alice had chosen the only available alternative—pursue a new niche where Erina had no foundation.
Nakiri International happened to specialize in cutting-edge culinary research, so Alice had thrown herself into Molecular Gastronomy.
But she wasn't the same person anymore. With her vision enhanced by Kael, she recognized the truth: even if she mastered Molecular Gastronomy, she still wouldn't surpass Erina.
Now that she possessed a unique talent, she immediately shifted her attention to traditional cooking. And the cuisine she decided to devote herself to was Chinese cuisine—after all, Kael, a Seven-Star Chef and a master of Chinese cuisine, was right beside her.
Her Molecular Gastronomy techniques became secondary tools, and her overall progress accelerated dramatically.
In Kael's eyes, the current Alice had already surpassed Ryo Kurokiba.
With all the students returned, the Autumn Selections officially began. The venue was once again the Moon Banquet Hall, which was normally reserved for Elite Ten Shokugeki matches.
But since this was a selection for future Elite Ten candidates, it was fitting.
Because of the sheer number of participants, the venue was divided into two groups. Kael was assigned to Arena A.
"Seriously? He's in our group? Doesn't that mean we basically lose one slot before we even start?"
The moment the students saw Kael in Group A, most of them groaned in despair.
Each group of thirty would award only four spots to advance. Under normal circumstances, that meant thirty people fighting over four positions.
But with Kael present, it became twenty-nine people fighting for three.
He was a Five-Star Chef. Meanwhile, everyone else here was a Two-Star or Three-Star Chef. How were they supposed to compete?
Alice's reputation was intimidating, but she was still classified as a Three-Star Chef, so they at least felt they had a fighting chance.
None of them realized the truth: the students of the Polar Star Dormitory were far beyond their official ratings.
Megumi Tadokoro, Alice Nakiri, and Soma Yukihira had already reached Four-Star Chef level—equal to the Elite Ten.
In the original story, Soma only reached that level after his training with Joichiro. But thanks to Kael's Divine Senses, all three reached that level early.
Even though Alice had only recently shifted her focus, her fundamentals were always solid. Now that she had Divine Sight enhancing her abilities, her progress was shockingly fast—even surpassing Soma.
Other residents like Yuki Yoshino were nearly at Four-Star level and just needed more time. Even the weakest duo, Daigo Aoki and Shoji Sato, were now strong for Three-Star Chefs.
Kael estimated the two of them would score in the low seventies.
With Kael's guidance, Polar Star had undergone a complete transformation.
And that wasn't all—fifteen members of the Chinese Cuisine Research Society qualified for the Selections thanks to Kael's help. He had saved them years of time they would have otherwise needed on their own.
This Autumn Selection's outcome was essentially predetermined.
Group Assignments
In Group A, the Polar Star members were:
Kael
Soma Yukihira
Ryoko Sakaki
Shun Ibusaki
Zenji Marui
Daigo Aoki
In Group B:
Megumi Tadokoro
Alice Nakiri
Yuki Yoshino
Shoji Sato
Aoki and Sato were almost guaranteed not to advance, but everyone else from Polar Star had overwhelming odds of making it through.
In Group A, four slots were effectively claimed already. Kael and Soma would unquestionably take two. The remaining two would be contested among Ryoko, Ibusaki, and Marui.
Even Akira Hayama and Ryo Kurokiba weren't guaranteed to beat them anymore.
In Group B, three spots belonged to Megumi, Alice, and Yuki. The final spot would likely come down to Hisako Arato versus Miyoko Hojo.
Hojo's cooking had improved dramatically thanks to Kael, making the outcome unpredictable.
Hisako had the privilege of working alongside Erina's God's Tongue, but she spent so much time on secretarial duties that her culinary research suffered. If she continued like this, she would eventually be overtaken.
After all, no one can excel at everything.
The moment Kael stepped onto the arena floor, every spectator's attention shifted to him at once.
"As expected. The moment he appears, the entire room reacts,"
Eishi Tsukasa murmured from the Elite Ten seating area.
"Well, he is a Five-Star Chef. But seriously, how does someone that monstrous improve so fast? He's a first-year. It's only been one semester. And he became a Five-Star Chef right after school started!" Etsuya Eizan added, unable to hide his frustration.
He was considered a genius—nicknamed the Alchemist—but compared to Kael, he didn't feel like one at all.
"You all should avoid getting too close to that guy. Before break, he—"
Rindo Kobayashi began to warn them.
"Wait, he made dishes with pufferfish venom? Without neutralizing the toxin? That can't be real!"
The students around them exploded in shock.
They knew Kael was a Five-Star Chef. They knew he excelled at Chinese cuisine. But no one had mentioned he could make Poison Cuisine.
"What's the big deal? I've eaten plenty of his poison dishes." Terunori Kuga said this with complete nonchalance.
At first, he was terrified too. But the more he ate, the more he realized his body actually felt better, and medical tests found nothing wrong. Eventually, he stopped resisting and just enjoyed them.
Now hearing others gasp in horror, he felt they were overreacting.
"You… you've eaten them? And survived? Well… I guess he is your club's leader, but you're way braver than I thought!"
Everyone stared at Kuga like he was insane.
"You guys really don't get it. Sure, it's Poison Cuisine, but once he processes the toxins, they turn into beneficial compounds. The effects are actually good for your body. You think anyone can just ask him for something like that? You need a good relationship, and he has to be in the mood to make it."
Kuga shrugged.
"Is Poison Cuisine really that incredible…?"
Eizan wasn't sure whether Kuga was fearless or simply stupid. Even if Kael could transform poison into something beneficial, what if he made one mistake?
A single misstep in a Poison Cuisine dish would be fatal.
The thought sent a shiver down Eizan's spine.
"Let's drop the poison talk for now. Eizan, you should check on the judge panel. We're still missing one person."
Tsukasa reminded him. Eizan had personally invited the judges, so any issues fell on him.
"It's those two sisters… Well, nothing I can do. Getting chefs of that level to judge a preliminary round is already a miracle," Eizan muttered helplessly.
The missing judges were the Sendawara sisters, known masters in the world of curry. They normally wouldn't bother with a preliminary stage—but this year's theme was curry, and their specialty aligned perfectly.
Still, they were late, and Eizan had no choice but to go fetch them.
He found them just as they arrived.
"You two are really cutting it close. Any later and you'd be late."
"Close doesn't count as late, does it? Honestly, if it weren't for that Kael and the curry theme, we wouldn't even be here."
Natsume Sendawara spoke bluntly, leaving Eizan speechless.
Their reputation was too big for him to argue.
"The one I care about is Isshiki. He should be in Group B, right?"
Sendawara Orie asked. Unlike her assertive sister, Orie looked gentle and delicate—but Eizan knew better. The persona was an act. She was every bit as formidable.
"Isshiki is over at Group B. You two should head to your seats now."
Eizan didn't hesitate to expose where Isshiki was. After all, Orie only came because she wanted to recruit him.
Isshiki had protested at first, but no one backed him up, so he had no choice.
The sisters walked to the judge's area, and their appearance shocked the students. No one expected such big names to appear in the preliminaries.