Chapter 3: Pleasing the God's Tongue!

"...?"

Tsuna thought the surprise ended there, but it seemed like he was wrong to assume that as he looked at the transparent screen in front of him.

[Mission : Pass The Entrance Exam And Be a Student at Totsuki Culinary Academy!]

[Reward : Basic Level of Earth Bending!]

[Description : Gaining basic proficiency in Earth Banding from the Avatar universe without any issue of different origin!]

[Accept? Y/N]

He moved to the mirror he had hastily fixed a while ago and noticed it didn't have any reflection, which meant either he was hallucinating or only he could see the mission screen.

"Well, technically, if I was the only one seeing it, it could be counted as a delusion... but..."

Tsuna chuckled as he chose to accept the mission, and the screen disappeared.

"I don't really care anyway, as long as I get to cook," he muttered as he then put on his tracksuit and went out to stretch his body and do some running around the neighborhood.

As he walked down the stairs, he looked at a small traditional Japanese restaurant, which looked quite similar to his restaurant in his past life.

This sight made him feel slightly nostalgic, seeing the familiar interior.

He felt fond of it!

"...Ito's Golden Fried Rice, huh?"

Tsuna walked out of the small restaurant combined with a house on top as he looked at the banner in front, shaking his head, "...Don't worry, I'll continue this legacy as well."

This restaurant was initially run by his grandparents, who passed away a year ago.

The former Tsuna had always been there to help out, which was why he came to love cooking and aspired to be a great chef, setting his eyes upon the Totsuki Culinary Academy, where many great chefs were born!

He then went on and ran around the neighborhood.

After a while...

He pushing himself forward, despite his body feeling incapable of continuing.

Tsuna shouted out, "You don't know me, son!" even when his body felt like giving up.

A few hours later, Tsuna finally finished his run, his tracksuit completely drenched in sweat.

"...This body is so weak, huh?" he muttered, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to move and cook himself breakfast.

He knew he had to go and take on the transfer entrance exam in the afternoon.

A few hours later...

In the Tokyo area, atop a large hill...

"Whoa, this place seems even better than I was expecting..."

A red-haired teenager wearing a middle school uniform over his T-shirt exclaimed.

He looked up at the imposing school situated atop the mountain hill, its Japanese architecture appearing majestic in his widened eyes.

"Whoa, seems so convenient..."

Soma muttered to himself, noticing a lot of people arriving in luxurious cars while he had walked there on foot after taking a metro.

However...

As he watched, a figure caught his eye.

A skinny person in an unfamiliar middle school uniform was sprinting toward the entrance, sweat drenching his whole body.

Soma couldn't help but exclaim, "What the hell?"

"...It's here, right?"

Tsuna spoke, his gaze fixed on the massive entrance adorned with bold Japanese calligraphy proclaiming "Totsuki Culinary Academy."

"I guess so..."

He continued before turning to see a kid his age standing nearby.

"Oh?"

Even in his past life, Tsuna had stayed in Japan for quite some time, so he had immersed himself in their culture, including anime and even Japanese animal videos (JAV).

That's why he immediately know who the teenager in front of him was.

"Yo, bro, you look tired... How far did you run to get here?"

Soma blinked in amazement as he approached Tsuna.

"About 30 kilometers..."

"What? Are you serious? Damn! What the..."

Soma couldn't help but find Tsuna quite peculiar as he scratched his head before chuckling, "Well, whatever. Anyway, are you also taking the entrance exam?"

"Yeah, it's here, right?"

"Whoa! What a coincidence! I'm also taking it today. And yeah, it should be here..." Soma grinned as Tsuna nodded, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Wanna come in together? My name is Soma Yukihira, by the way..."

"Sure, I'm Tsunayoshi Ito. Just call me Tsuna, it's more comfortable."

"Hahaha, sure, Tsuna!"

Both of them then decided to walk in together through the entrance gate as they slowly made their way into the building where the exam would take place.

As they talked, Soma was glad to learn that both of them came from small restaurants.

However, they encountered some peculiar individuals who seemed to discriminate against people from small restaurants like theirs, but they found it amusing and didn't care at all as they walked into the building.

"Oh, right. Tsuna, I noticed you didn't bring your own knife. Did you forget it or something?"

"My own knife? I don't have anything like that..."

"What? So, you're going to use the standard knife?"

Even Soma was slightly surprised by this, as most aspiring chefs would often own their own knife, considering it an extension of their soul and heart.

However, it seemed like Tsuna was quite different from others.

"Any knife is the same to me. As long as they're sharp enough, it's a good knife."

"Damn, you're right. I guess what matters is how you use it..."

Soma seemed to ponder something while scratching his head, nodding in agreement. He was reminded of his father's words about how a skillful chef would be able to tackle everything with anything in hand.

Suddenly, a loud commotion broke out as they finally made their way toward the crowd of students taking the entrance exam.

"Shit! It's the God's Tongue!"

"No, she's impossible for someone like me!"

"...I'll have to forfeit this exam!"

Exclamations echoed across the entrance exam room as frantic footsteps resounded from inside, indicating that people were frantically running away from whoever was inside.

Both of them looked surprised at this.

"Huh?"

Soma glanced at the people running away, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Hmph... These cowards don't deserve to be taking the exam at all..."

A snort was heard as both Tsuna and Soma turned to look at a blonde-haired teenager in front of them. She crossed her arms over her chest arrogantly, looking down on those who had fled.

"Let's go, Hisako. This is just a waste of time..."

"...But, Erina-sama, it seems we have two participants today..."

The girl with short purple hair spoke, pointing at Tsuna and Soma. Erina frowned before noticing their presence and scoffed.

Judging by their appearance alone, Erina already considered them to be lacking in skill.

Especially the dark-haired one, as she noticed the skinny guy seemed to have his whole attire drenched in sweat and out of breath.

"This guy is hopeless," she thought, associating Tsuna's condition with someone who was afraid of her fame.

"..."

She clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

And that stupid-looking expression on the red-haired teenager made her frown even deeper, "Both of them are hopeless..."

However, for the sake of formality, she had to stay and do her job.

She snorted, "This is going to waste more of my time!"

"Let's make it quick. Cook me whatever you want with egg!"

Erina ordered them, which made both Tsuna and Soma look at each other and grin.

"Challenge accepted!"