Everything was silent—until suddenly, it wasn’t.

  Gotta be kidding me, Luca grumbled inwardly, slapping his hands over his ears. He hadn’t even realized he’d been dreaming until that moment, but the abrupt wake-up call shoved every other feeling aside, leaving only irritation in its wake.

  The blaring siren—like a chorus of shrill wails—finally cut off after a torturous ten seconds.

  And then, another kind of annoying sound came in.

  "Angra has blessed you all with another glorious day! Rise and shine!"

  The tone was quite… mocking. The smile could be felt on their voice.

  "The Second Challenge will begin shortly! You have five minutes to prepare. Don't bother primping too much, my dears. You'll get plenty dirty in this challenge!"

  Luca sighed. Five minutes? That was barely enough time to wash his face. Pushing the blankets aside, he stepped onto the floor and immediately grimaced as the cold seeped through the carpet into his bare feet. While searching for his shoes, he remembered his injury and gave it a quick check.

  He ran his fingers over the bandage—everything seemed fine. No pain. After a moment's hesitation, he peeled it off, revealing a clear, intact patch of skin beneath. That item really worked. Those 30P hadn't been wasted after all.

  Once he'd slipped on his shoes, Luca headed straight to the bathroom to wash his face and rinse his mouth. Only then did he realize he was still in pajamas. Glancing around, he was surprised to find his clothes hanging on a hook behind the door. Without hesitation, he changed, catching the faint scent of roses clinging to his shirt and shorts.

  At least everything was clean.

  Once dressed up, before time ran out, it made sense to use the tears to secure his ‘advantage’ (though leveling the playing field was more accurate).

  Time flew faster than anyone would believe.

  "Back to the kitchen we go!"

  The host's voice marked the end of their temporary hotel stay—for now. There wasn't a second to waste. Luca had to shut his eyes against the sudden burst of light. When he opened them again, one thing was obvious: he wasn't in the bathroom anymore. But he wasn't in the kitchen either.

  Judging by the waves crashing against the shore and the coconut-like trees scattered around, Luca guessed this was a beach. Except the water was more black than blue, and the ‘palm trees’ had acid-green leaves with clusters of red fruits covered in a whitish gelatinous coating. It dripped, making a squishy sound.

  ...Yeah, he wasn't eating that. Or even touching it if he had any say in the matter.

  The murmuring told Luca he wasn't alone on this ‘beach.’ Looking more carefully, he spotted a handful of other participants. Thirteen, to be exact. They were scattered around the same general area but kept a cautious distance from each other. Even Ammit and the black-winged demon, or the imp and the four-armed demon were like three meters apart.

  Hmm. The conditions of the demons... varied. It was obvious who’d gotten a good night’s sleep and who’d been through a nightmare. Though honestly, the number of demons in the latter camp outnumbered those who’d slept beside the carnivorous horses. Huh. Could they have fallen for the hotel’s traps…?

  Luca considered it for a second.

  Nah, he decided, giving them one last glance. If that were the case, they probably wouldn’t be standing here.

  Luca turned his attention on scanning his surroundings. No sign of the judges—or even the host.

  Of course, that changed soon enough.

  A 'coconut' fell from one of the trees, bouncing on the red sand as white droplets splattered everywhere before making one giant 'leap' and smashing into the ground. As expected, it shattered—but what spilled out wasn't pulp. Thick black smoke poured from the fragments, coiling upward until it formed a humanoid figure.

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  "Welcome to another delightful challenge, participants!" The cheerful voice could only belong to one person: the host. "Come over this way."

  Luca followed the nearest participants, forming a ragged line in front of the host.

  The host’s gaze swept across them before they clicked his tongue. "Thirteen? Seriously?" After releasing a long sigh, they continued, "We're short on participants, but who knows? Maybe the quality will surprise us. And what better way to test that than by letting you demonstrate your excellence in ingredient selection?" With a short clap, smoke rose in front of the waves, the water flowing past the foot of the newly formed table as if it weren’t there.

  There was something up there on the table. Something hard to explain. If he squinted and tilted his head, he might call it a black mass with tentacles. Fuming tendrils. But putting a name to it would take more imagination than he had to spare. Technically, he shouldn’t have to let it to his imagination but…

  The Tears of Discernment wasn’t a perfect item. It still could be rendered useless in some occasions.

  The host waved a hand toward the table, and the black mass of smoke shrank with a piercing shriek. A chill ran down Luca's spine. An array of platters displaying bizarre contents unfolded before them—fifteen in total, each featuring something more disturbing than the last.

  No. Correction: Each held an ingredient more... unique than the last.

  "You have before you an exceptional selection of ingredients, stars from the abyss!" the host announced. "And you must grant each of these divas a leading role in the dish you create. You'll have two hours, and you'll find essential ingredients at your stations—" They paused abruptly, scanning the place with increasingly narrowed eyes.

  One second. Two seconds of tense silence...

  They clearly didn't find what he was looking for—a fact made obvious when they suddenly bellowed, "I said stations!" Their voice shifted so drastically it was as if they'd been possessed or replaced by another personality. Ha. At least the outburst got quick results: a burst of smoke expanded like a red tide, barely an inch next the actual waves, and a gust of wind spread it outward, revealing the outlines of kitchen stations—a neat row of them, side by side.

  The host cleared their throat, their voice returning to its ‘normalcy.’ "Now, to distribute these treasures... we'll follow the winners' order from the last challenge! The rest will receive a random selection from what remains."

  At the same time that Luca got the message from the new task, his eyes scanned the floating labels above the table. Though he could now see what each ingredient was, he couldn't say he was thrilled with the offerings. It was all seafood—from purple sea urchins that looked like bouquets of spiked grapes, a bed of green-blue ribbon-like algae, spiny cucumbers with deep red flesh veined in orange, to... what was unmistakably a big spawn's genitalia, sprawling across three whole platters by itself.

  None of these were ingredients Luca would’ve chosen to cook given the option.

  "Let’s begin the selection," announced the host, then added as if the thought had just struck him, "And in case you’re wondering, the judges will join us later. Today we have a special guest, so do your best, darlings!" With that, he gestured to the Imp. "Go on, step up and take whichever platter you like."

  The demon strode to the table, making a beeline for the plate of ‘sea urchins’—or as the label insisted, ‘sea roses.’

  "That…?" Surprise flickered across his shadowy face before he shrugged. "Fine, next! Don’t forget to carry your ingredients to your station. But no starting until I say so—no rushing," he warned, waving the next demon forward.

  One by one, the others claimed their prizes: sea cucumbers, abalone, and seaweed—the "easy" picks.

  Then it was Jackal Head’s turn. The named demon glided forward as if floating over the sand and selected one of the more... unique offerings: saltwater crocodile heart (according to the translation). He looked thoroughly pleased with his choice, earning a comment from the host.

  "Fascinating! I can’t wait to see what you’ll present to the judges—especially our special guest."

  Next up: Luca.

  He moved toward a corner platter holding an intricate deep-blue shell with white spirals. Despite its massive size—roughly that of a medium dog—it seemed harmless, just an oversized seashell display. But the label above it was clear:

  The platter had to weigh at least ten pounds. Luca carried it to his station—unfortunately right next to Jackal Head’s—without issue, but he could’ve sworn the thing was already moving inside its shell. He hoped killing and cooking it wouldn’t be too difficult... though given its size, he’d need to be careful.

  "Another bold choice. I approve!" said the host, watching him pass with a crimson smile. "Come along, contestants! Who’s next?"

  Setting the platter down, Luca eyed the next demon approaching the table before turning his attention back to his ingredient.

  A crab with a bad temper…

  More than doubts about what dish to make, his concern was squarely on how to deal with this thing—fast. And secure. Not only due the ingredient, but because of who was next to him.

  Luca had not forgotten that this demon was quite agile with his magic, and how had almost ruined the dish last time. If spice —or another thing— ended on his dish it would be too problematic.

  Luckily, he still had a few minutes left to figure things out.

  new update schedule: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.