Grot continued cooking, and soon enough everyone had another huge portion of spicy noodles in front of them. Grot had done an excellent job and everyone had gotten their portion in no time at all, so fast that no one had even felt a speck of hunger yet.

Crackling.

Vasa with a sly smile placed two servings in front of Gael and Marg.

"Good luck. Looks like one of you has a chance of surprising the others." Vasa uttered before heading to the next table.

"Hah, is it just me, or is she interested in you?" Marg glanced at Gael as a slight smile appeared on his face.

Gael shrugged, "Maybe, to be honest, I haven't had any interest from women in a long time."

Marg's eyes went sideways, "What...? How is that possible? I mean... It's obvious even to me that someone with your face is definitely popular with women."historical

Gael sighed, "Well... Perhaps it's all about my surroundings. Let's just say... The women I have to come in contact with are all arrogant, no... they're just in positions too important for that."

Marg nodded understandingly. He didn't question it further since he assumed that Gael was a member of some powerful family in Ashen World, so in that case the girls around him were the same.

"Fine, in that case, let's get to eating. We've already wasted enough time talking." Marg uttered before pouncing on the spicy noodles with real enthusiasm.

Gael inwardly chuckled at the comicality of the situation.

'In the middle of a fight, with bloodshot eyes and sharp claws, Marg would look intimidating, to anyone, but right now, he looks ridiculously good.' Gael nodded slightly as he took the fork in his hands.

After a few minutes, they both finished that portion, as did many of the other contestants. Their bellies were full and red vapor was coming out of their mouths due to the unusually spicy food they had eaten.

However, several of the contestants looked calm and confident, especially Davon. He was taking this ordeal more seriously than anyone else.

'Hah, even though I'm still hungry, I'm not sure I can beat him... However, given our difference in strength, if I were to unleash my aura, he wouldn't stand a chance.' Gael muttered internally, pondering what to do next.

If he amplified his aura for at least Fifth Chronicle, all the food he had consumed would instantly turn into energy. To him, it would seem like a drop in the vast ocean, nothing significant.

However, the situation was different now. He had a certain limit, more than others, but he had a limit.

Gael smiled bitterly. He didn't want to cheat in any way, so he wouldn't strengthen his aura, but he also wanted to win, it was important to him.

Gradually, there were fewer and fewer participants, and after the fourth portion, there were only ten left. Unfortunately, Marg had dropped out in the next stage, so now he was just watching Gael, hoping his stomach wouldn't explode.

"Hahaha, you guys disappoint me. Only four servings and you've already given up? This isn't serious!" Grot exclaimed with an excited expression, he glanced at Marg, "Hey, I expected more from you! You used to be able to eat a lot more!"

Marg sighed, "Hey... Can't you see that I just let my new friend win? Although... One more bite, and I would have died..."

Grot nodded with a wide smile, then he clapped his hands together drawing attention to himself.

"Guys, follow me, I know you can barely walk, but I need your help. I can't do it alone." Grot uttered, and with a wave of his hand headed for the basement.

The ten contestants were slightly puzzled as they glanced at each other.

"Fine, let's not hold up our favorite chef." Davon calmly said respectfully and followed Grot.

After that, the others did the same.

Soon they found themselves in the basement, mostly alcohol and food that could be stored for quite a while, but there was something else.

In the center of the room was a huge black stone table. It was big enough to seat twenty persons or ten but everyone would have plenty of room.

"Good, now let's bring it up. Don't get overconfident, this table weighs an incredible amount." Grot said seriously and grabbed the edge.

As they each took their position, Grot gave the command and they lifted the table off the ground. At that moment, everyone felt the weight of the table and the powerful pressure that came down on them. It was possible to move this table, but it was not easy, even for ten people.

Gael was no exception, because of the strength limitation he felt the same, which was unusual for him.

The only times he could feel heaviness was while blocking someone's attack, but not when lifting things.

'Damn! Considering our overall strength, this table definitely shouldn't be this heavy! Who made it!" Gael internally exclaimed, slowly stepping forward.

Crackle.

They stepped inside and carefully placed the table in the center of the tavern, brushing the sweat off their foreheads.

"Phew, that was hard, but we made it through." Grot took a deep breath, "Now let's get to the next step. Have a seat and wait a bit while I prepare the food. Vasa, follow me!"

"Yes!" the girl exclaimed, heading for the kitchen.

"Hah, that was hard!" One of the participants said with a wide smile. Obviously, he had no regrets.

"I agree, but the food is definitely worth it. Grot is one of the best chefs I know."

"Right, no doubt about it." Someone said and turned to Davon, "Hey, you're going to win again aren't you?"

Davon replied after a short pause, "Well, I can't be sure of that, but I will try. However, if there is a new winner then I will be happy about it. Change is always good."

'Change...' Gael pondered with a calm look, 'In fact, there hasn't been changing in this world for a long time, only now something has started to change...'

Ten minutes later, Grot and Vasa came inside, carrying a multitude of dishes, ten in total. It was a huge fried fish, nothing unique, but the meat was juicy and the crust was crispy, everything that was needed for an excellent dinner.

"Round one, Rainbow Salmon!" Grot exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "You have ten minutes! Let's get started!"

Each of the contestants quickly began to eat, without stopping. The fish was huge, so after a few minutes, the first of the contestants gave up.

"Sorry Grot... I can't take it anymore, it's too much for me..." The man uttered, struggling to get up and out of the table.

Grot nodded, "Sure. You gave a decent performance either way."

At the end of the first round, there were seven people left, then Grot went to prepare the next course, giving the contestants a short break.

It helped them recover a bit, but it wasn't enough to rest, much less feel hungry.

Crackling.

Seven plates of massive cuts of meat appeared in front of the participants. The steak was so thick that it seemed to be height rather than thickness. Even the owner of the widest mouth, would not be able to take a flat bite out of this steak.

"Round two, Snow Pig Steak!" Grot exclaimed, with his arms crossed over his chest.

The contestants knew the rules, so after glancing around, they proceeded to eat the biggest piece of meat of their lives.

After this round, only four of the seven contestants remained, so very soon the next course was on the table.

Grot and Vasa could see by the look on their faces that they were tired perhaps even more than the contestants, but they had to cook until it was necessary.

"Damn! This is impossible! I'm done!" One of the contestants uttered as he left the table. He had only eaten a third of the steak and he couldn't fit another bite in him. That was his limit, he couldn't eat any more.

There were only three left, Gael, Davon, and Tiger Beastfolk. They ate in silence, occasionally looking at each other as if hoping that soon one of them would give up, the important thing was to wait for that moment and keep eating.

"Argh! You're both monsters!" the Tiger exclaimed, with slight anger, hitting the table. Obviously, he wasn't happy about losing, then he took a deep breath and his emotions returned to normal.

Tiger looked at Grot and nodded respectfully, "Thanks for everything. Hopefully, there will be a new winner this time."

"No problem. I hope to see you here again tomorrow."

Tiger smirked, "You bet I will."

After a few minutes, Davon and Gael ate their portions, they finished at the same time and took a deep breath.

"Well, well, judging by your exhausted faces, we're in for the final round aren't we?" Grot smiled.

Davon and Gael didn't answer or react in any way, they just breathed as if they were in death.

'Fuck... I've never been so full... This tournament is harder than most I've been in, though this is the first tournament where I don't have to fight... Hah, it's funny...' Gael grinned inwardly, staring at the ceiling and breathing, just like Davon.