Chapter 403: First Place

Words : 1735 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 403: First Place Okay. Well, maybe all the effort for this thing was warranted. Because the moment they saw the pizza baking and all that cheese melting, it looked worthy. Smelled worth it, and ultimately tasted as good as all the effort exerted to make the damn thing. And it was a lot, which even surprised Luca because this was considered fast food back in Tesseris. But then here, it took an entire team that concentrated on learning and making fresh mozzarella cheese, which was chosen because it seemed to be the easiest of all the ones he could find. Then a few people were assigned to deal with making the sauce earlier which wasn’t supposed to be as difficult if not for the volume that they were aiming for. But the thing that really surprised Luca was the dough. While he never assumed it would be that easy, he also didn’t think it involved this much work! And while he could’ve asked for more hands, he knew that they would try to mimic his actions, which would make it very difficult since he himself wasn’t sure what he was doing! However, he was seeing it all come together now and suddenly understood why it was so complicated. The dough, which they worked hard to stretch by hand, was pressed into shape and puffed slightly around the edges, while the toppings, which held steady at first, began to glisten as the heat took hold. The cheese melted into puddles, and a gentle sizzle filled the room. It wasn’t even aggressive, but certainly caught the attention of the four other men who couldn’t help but move forward to see. But then came the smell. It would’ve been indescribable, but these people who have had the chance to experience a few wonders of the universe could at least recognize the smell of cheese. But for Luca, it was an experience of something a bit nutty and tangy that got him feeling hungry even when he’d just snacked a bit earlier. And it wasn’t just him because the scent floated under the doors, and practically curled under the noses of the people who were pressed against the outside walls of the kitchen. When they heard the sound of someone swallowing hard, Cece took it upon herself to inform the Duchess that it looked like it was time. From the inside, unaware of the growing commotion as the Duke and Duchess rushed towards their son’s kitchen, Luca was actually examining the first batch under the meticulous scrutiny of four mountain giants. The crust was golden, with a bit of charring that excited the little cook, as it didn’t look so far from the images in the book. And when the blade met the crust with a soft crunch, a few of them twitched in anticipation. Apparently, it was going to be sliced like this? Jax thought as he looked at Luca, who was cutting through the center each time then at Kyle who was surprisingly filming all this. "Kyle, what are you doing?" "Ollie would kick up a storm if this wasn’t documented." He said as he focused on capturing the cutting, but more importantly, he focused on the moment when Luca pulled the slice apart from the whole thing. The nervous but excited little dragon prayed that it had cooked properly as he slid a knife under the first slice before gently lifting it. Kyle caught that soft resistance before it separated cleanly. The cheese, which looked different now, was stretching as it pulled a bit from the sides, as if wanting to maintain its connection to the pie. And that was only the first slice. Because the adjutant couldn’t capture the first bite as he sort of wobbled after getting a taste which wasn’t really far from what the rest were experiencing. Only, they’d soon learn that there was more to the pizza than they could ever imagine. For when the surviving initial samplers saw what Luca had been up to, they were surprised to see some of the pies with additional ingredients. "You can do that?!" Jax asked as he looked at the different vegetables that were being added to a few of the pies. "Yes, you could change up the toppings, and maybe next time we could add some meat to this!" "!!!" Earlier, he had been memorizing exactly how much of each ingredient was used and how they were placed, only to suddenly learn that you could play around with it! And more than anything, you can put meat on here?! However, they would soon realize that they might not need to rush such a thing, for just the most basic flavor got them such a long list of contributions that Luca ended up dizzy. One such person who managed to squeeze himself into the top ranks was actually Theo, who cried when he successfully made his first healing pill by following Luca’s instructions. He’d been trying for days! But he was having difficulty using such a refining method because he was instead used to what his ancestors had passed down, or the modern pharmaceutical method, which was really just a lot of modern machines. So, being handed a few herbs and a furnace confused the hell out of the budding pharmacist. But when he first held them and heard the reasoning for it, he was sure that he would die before quitting because their guild leader had entrusted him with such a game-changing responsibility! And while he did faint after the first session with the bony elders that Luca had personally arranged for him, Theo persevered. Then persevered even more when he heard about the notable contribution requirement. And so, after hours and hours of trying to figure out why it wouldn’t form into a pill, the cadet thought of altering his method. Instead of trying to use up all his spiritual energy in one go, he would learn to split and sustain the process instead. And what do you know, the cadet who almost fell to the ground managed to produce one low-grade pill that actually passed the grading! It was one pill, sure, and a low-grade one at that. But it marked the possibility that others could also help make these for the countless people who needed them. So when he lined up after everyone insisted that it was really a notable contribution, the already weak-kneed cadet almost began crying once he was told to pick two slices of whichever flavor he liked. "You did really well, Theo! I didn’t think you’d be able to learn it this fast!" Praised Luca, who handed him two slices of pizza, one dubbed the classic, while the other had mushrooms. Theo stared at the two slices in his hands like they were ancient herbs that he had never thought he’d ever see. Well, frankly, that basil on there would actually qualify, so it actually made him shiver just thinking he was being handed such a thing for an afternoon snack. He was overwhelmed, because who wouldn’t be? Not to mention how Luca, his idol, was just smiling at him as he genuinely praised him for doing well. Him. A pharmacist who nearly passed out trying to understand how a pill furnace worked without machines. And now he stood here, shaking, clutching two slices of what looked like edible perfection because he could swear that everyone was looking at him. So he took a cautious breath, then another as he slowly lifted the first slice toward his mouth. The crowd hushed. They had seen him earn it, and so they wanted to see. And hear. Because apparently it made a sound so memorable that that alone was an experience. Crunch. And seems like the rumors were right because the sound was loud, distinctive, just beautiful! It couldn’t really echo anywhere because they were practically outdoors, but it remained in the hearts of these people with heightened senses. But it wasn’t just that, for Theo, the lucky one to experience it first was having a redefining moment as his eyes widened. "Ah!" he gasped, voice breaking. "What kind of divine gift is this?! " He managed to hold himself together—barely. Then, with shaking hands, he turned and bolted towards the sides. "Noah!" he cried out, stumbling toward his best friend. "Taste it! You have to taste it!" Theo rushed because he feared he wouldn’t be able to control himself and just eat everything, but was surprised because Noah actually said no. "No?!" Theo gaped. "I can’t. You earned that. I didn’t." "But—" "No," Noah repeated, actually smiling at him this time. "It’s yours." At first, Noah had been skeptical of the whole thing. This "notable contribution" system? Most places he’d been, that sort of thing ended in disappointment. Or bias. Or quiet favoritism passed off as merit. But then he watched. He watched how the people who had been selected didn’t gloat. Didn’t elbow their way to the front. In fact, everyone was going around comparing their achievements and backing down while congratulating the others when they genuinely thought that the other person had a greater achievement. It was bizarre and really unbelievable. But then he watched as Theo got to the front because the others really thought he had a great achievement and then Noah finally realized that they weren’t just being selectively fair. They were just...fair. A lot of people grumbled, but even then, they weren’t cheating. They were instead thinking of what notable things they could do next time. Noah thought that he had long realized that the people here were different, but today was really just another level. Maybe it was because the Lords were better? Likely. But overall, he was just glad he landed in such a place. "Noah? Is everything okay?" Called Theo, who noticed that his friend had been distracted. "Yeah. I’m good. And don’t worry about me," Noah said with a small smile. "Everyone was told they’d get to taste it." "Really?" "Yeah," Noah nodded. "They’re giving extra slices and the chance to pick flavors to the nominated ones. But no one’s going hungry." "Then—then I hope you get yours soon too!" he said, quickly wiping his face. "Because this...this is life-changing!" It really was, for when the line continued to move, so were the hearts and mouths of the people who just reset their goals.

Chapter 403: First Place

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