That's right—Kael had awakened a Special Ability. It wasn't something inherited from Kaiyu's legacy. It belonged entirely to him.
Honestly, Kael hadn't held much hope that he would ever awaken anything. The culinary world was huge, yet the number of chefs who possessed a Special Ability could be counted on single hand.
And awakening one had nothing to do with skill level. Even among Nine-Star or higher chefs, only a few had one. There was even someone like Mana Nakiri, who was born with hers.
So Kael had wondered before if he might awaken a Special Ability someday, but he never expected much.
But now it was actually happening—and Kael could clearly tell his ability wasn't fully awakened yet. Every day, his power was still growing.
In the entire culinary world, the only Special Ability he'd heard of that developed over time was the God's Tongue.
That only made him more curious. What would his Special Ability look like once it fully awakened?
As the Autumn Elections finals drew closer, Kael's power continued to grow. Through constant testing, he discovered another function as well.
Two days before the finals, he sensed it—his ability had finally formed. Before this, everything had only been at the gestation stage. But now, it had truly been born.
And the moment it awakened, he suddenly understood how to use it.
As if it were instinct—like something etched into his bones.
It completely changed his view of what a Special Ability was. He'd assumed a chef had to slowly figure out how their ability worked over time. But once his awakened, the knowledge simply… appeared.
It felt more like divine intuition.
Kael named his ability Ingredient Dominion.
It had two main effects.
The first was something he'd noticed early on—he could control animals. Now that the ability was complete, even large animals were within his reach. Pretty convenient. If he ever went hunting again, he could become a "Hunting King" even without terrifying physical strength.
The second effect took longer to understand: ingredient transformation.
Using his power on a prepared ingredient, he'd originally only been trying to see if he could make it move. But instead, the ingredient changed.
And now that the ability was complete, Kael understood the ability fully.
He could restore ingredients to their peak state.
Take the saury he'd been collecting these days. Their quality varied. And from the moment they were caught to the moment they reached market stalls, their freshness inevitably declined.
Take the saury Kurokiba Ryo and Hayama Akira searched for in the original story.
Even those 'best ingredients'—Kael's ability can restore ingredients to that exact peak condition.
It reminded him of the legendary Eternal Spirit Knife… except that knife only worked on seafood. The Garuda Knife purifies beasts but can't reverse freshness.
His ability worked on fish, poultry, game, vegetables, fruits—everything.
If a Special Ability represented the chef's nature, then what did this say about him?
His Cooking Heart was undeniably Domineering. Though he didn't usually act dominating, his cooking philosophy certainly was.
He didn't expect his awakened power to be this overwhelming—a knife that could "skin" an ingredient back to its peak state.
Of course, this didn't mean Kael could be sloppy when selecting ingredients. His ability restored ingredients only to their own best condition. If the ingredient was terrible to begin with, restoring it wouldn't magically turn it into a masterpiece.
So he still needed high-quality base ingredients. With those, his ability could make them perfect.
If anyone else had awakened this ability, it wouldn't be nearly as useful. Many ingredients, once spoiled or damaged, couldn't be salvaged. And testing each one would burn enormous physical energy.
Just like Malcanta's circus-style cooking, which also consumed massive stamina.
Kael's Special Ability was the same—it consumed physical strength. Maybe someday he could replace stamina with Qigong, like Kaiyu… but he didn't know how to use it yet. Even the simplified version was beyond him.
So whether Qigong could substitute for stamina was a question for the future.
For now, Kael wasn't too worried. His physical strength far surpassed ordinary people. He had plenty of stamina to spare.
More importantly—his Special Ability was still growing.
Slowly, yes. But certainly.
Awakening such an overpowered ability put Kael in a great mood. He immediately gathered a mountain of ingredients to test it.
As for the ingredients he needed for the Autumn selections finals, he had prepared them long ago.
If it weren't for the fact that poor-looking ingredients would make him seem arrogant, he wouldn't even bother going to the market.
With his skill level, he wouldn't lose anyway. Even if he used the worst-looking saury in the pile, he could beat Megumi Tadokoro easily. The gap between them was simply too big.
Still, it was a competition, and he should take it seriously. And the Autumn selections were Totsuki's signature event. His relationship with the Nakiri family meant he wouldn't treat it casually.
This time, Kael didn't help Megumi prepare or give any advice. They were opponents, after all. Even if everyone—including Megumi herself—knew she couldn't win, she still wanted to give it her all.
She wanted to stand on that stage with her own strength.
Time passed quickly, and soon the day of the finals arrived. Once again, the Moon Road was used for the entrances. But the students weren't concerned about who would win—they were more excited to see what outrageous dish Kael would unveil this time.
After both contestants stepped onto the stage, the MC announced the start of the Shokugeki.
Kael already knew what Megumi planned to make. Nothing flashy—just a simple pan-fried dish. Homey, plain, but perfect for her.
Megumi's cooking—and even her Special Ability—was always gentle and restrained. She excelled at traditional comfort food.
Meanwhile, Kael was mixing something in a large bowl. This time he wasn't hiding what he was doing. Everyone could see him adding powders into water—water that changed color repeatedly.
Five colors… then gray… then dark green… then black… then gradually lighter… until it returned to five colors again.
When he was done, he had a thick, ketchup-like substance—except completely transparent, almost like gel glue.
Everyone stared, baffled.
"What is that kid doing now? Don't tell me it's another one of those dishes!"
Senzaemon Nakiri's eyelids twitched. Sure, Kael's Poison Cuisine made him feel ten years younger… but the process was traumatic enough that he still shivered thinking about it.
Judging by how Kael was preparing things, this was definitely not a normal dish. Probably another Special Ability dish.
"What 'those' dishes?"
Beside him, Leonora Nakiri—Alice's mother—asked curiously. She had come to serve as a judge and to see her daughter.
"Poison Cuisine, Mother! I told you about it!"
Alice popped up beside her mother, completely ignoring seating regulations. But no one dared say anything—she was a Nakiri, after all. Even the Director didn't object.
Anyone trying to "enforce the rules" right now would probably get kicked out of the Academy.
"Oh, that's Poison Cuisine? How interesting."
Leonora leaned forward, curious. With beauty identical to Alice's, but with a mature air, she drew the gaze of half the stadium.
…Until she spoke.
It wasn't her voice—it was her accent.
Her Japanese was clumsy and broken, turning her elegant aura into something unintentionally comical. Students who'd been mesmerized immediately deflated inside.
While everyone whispered, Kael finished coating the saury with the transparent sauce.
Then he cranked the stove to maximum.
A pillar of flame half a meter tall roared upward. Students flinched instinctively—but Kael calmly skewered the saury with an iron rod and thrust it directly into the blaze.
"H-Huh!? What kind of cooking method is that?! Grilled saury is great, sure, but who sticks it straight into a fire like that?! At that heat it'll turn to charcoal!"
From the Elite Ten section, Etsuya Eizan gaped at the scene. Even he couldn't fathom why someone would cook like this.
With that heat, the outside would burn instantly while the inside stayed raw.
"He's not an irrational person. He must have a reason. Kuga, do you know anything? He's your Captain, after all."
Even Eishi Tsukasa—calm, refined First Seat—couldn't understand it. This was a mistake even amateurs wouldn't make. So why was Kael doing it?
Kuga rolled his eyes.
"How should I know? He's barely visited the research society recently except to give quick guidance. If you think I know what he's planning, you're delusional."
Dojima Gin watched, equally confused.
"Director, do you have any idea what his goal is?"
"No. But it must be related to that sauce he mixed earlier. My guess is that the sauce protects the fish from burning. Otherwise, there's no explanation."
Senzaemon stroked his beard, eyes narrowing. He was convinced Kael wasn't acting recklessly.
Under everyone's scrutiny, Kael rotated the fish through the flames, then pulled it out a moment later.
When the crowd saw the fish clearly, jaws dropped.
Not a single scorch mark. It looked identical to before it hit the flames.
Everyone instantly realized—it had to be the sauce. But another question arose: If the outside was raw… had the inside cooked at all?
Actually, it had. The internal heat had fully cooked the flesh, and the sauce's flavor had seeped in perfectly.
The outer layer simply remained untouched thanks to the sauce's protective effect.
_________________