The air in the Grand Banquet of Blades was not filled with the clinking of silverware, but with the rasp of sharpening stones and the crackle of localized lightning. The "Banquet" was the Apex Institute's most prestigious mid-term examination—a brutal tradition where the kitchen met the battlefield.
To the Hegemony, cooking was an act of conquest. To eat well was to have dominated nature itself.
The trial took place on the Obsidian Ridge, the jagged, mountainous region at the very edge of the Dormant Behemoth's tail. Here, the creature's stone hide was thin, and the "parasitic" ecosystem of the wild outskirts thrived. Massive Thunder-Boars, Cinder-Hares, and the elusive Silver-Fin Sky-Snappers roamed the crags, their bodies dense with raw, unfiltered Prana.
"The rules are simple!" Instructor Grog shouted, standing atop a hovering transport platform. "Teams of four. You have six hours to hunt, harvest, and prepare a three-course meal using only what you kill. The judges will not be in a kitchen; they will be in the field. If your fire goes out because a monster attacked you mid-sear, you fail!"
Konja stood with Mina, Renzo, and Tali. They were surrounded by the elite teams of the Gold Tier, including Cassian Valere's squad. Cassian caught Konja's eye and gave a subtle, almost imperceptible nod—a silent acknowledgement of their shared secret in the Marrow Library.
"Target sighted," Renzo whispered, his Leaf-Blight's antennae twitching. "East ravine. A Primeval Thunder-Boar. Its tusks are dripping with pure electrical marrow."
"That's our appetizer," Konja said, his hand gripping the handle of the Heavens-Seared Cleaver-Blade. "Let's move."
The Hunt in the Crags
The Ridge was a labyrinth of razor-sharp stone. As they descended into the ravine, the sky darkened, purple lightning dancing between the peaks. The Thunder-Boar was a mountain of muscle and coarse, blue fur, its hooves sparking as it dug for spirit-roots.
"Tali, pin its legs! Renzo, take the blind spot!" Konja commanded.
Tali lunged forward, her tonfas glowing with a deep, earthy orange. "Salt-Pillar: Terrene Shackle!" She slammed her weapons into the ground, and the very stone of the ridge rose up like hands, gripping the boar's massive legs.
The beast roared, a sound like a mountain collapsing, and unleashed a wave of static. Renzo blurred through the electrical storm, his Leaf-Blight's scythes moving in a pattern of Wind-Shear. He didn't aim for the throat; he aimed for the tendons, slowing the beast without ruining the meat.
"Konja, now!" Mina cried, throwing a vial of Numbing-Pollent to distract the creature's senses.
Konja leaped. This was the moment of the "Live-Harvest." He had to kill the beast and begin the cooking process simultaneously to preserve the Prana-density of the marrow.
"Munka-Style: Lightning-Rod Sear!"
Konja drove the Heavens-Seared Blade into the boar's neck. As the blade bit deep, he didn't draw back. He channeled the boar's own electrical defense through the blade, using the Star-Iron to instantly cauterize the meat and lock in the juices.
The beast fell silently. Within seconds, Konja was already butchering the flank, the meat steaming in the cold mountain air.
"Course one: Marrow-Seared Thunder-Steak, seasoned with crushed Ghost-Salt," Konja announced, his eyes glowing with the focus of a Master.
The Sabotage of the Gold Tier
As they moved toward the high peaks for the second course—the Sky-Snapper—they found their path blocked. It wasn't a monster; it was Juno, the Flame-Griller from the refectory, along with two other Gold-Tier students.
"The Sky-Snappers are ours, basement dwellers," Juno said, her Iron-Boar snorting plumes of fire. "The Gold Tier doesn't share the 'Heavenly Ingredients' with those who live in the marrow."
"The Ridge is open to everyone, Juno," Mina said, her ribbons beginning to swirl. "Don't make us waste our time on you."
"Waste your time?" Juno laughed. "Flame-Style: Infernal Wall!"
She unleashed a wave of fire that set the dry mountain scrub ablaze, creating a barrier of heat that threatened to spoil the delicate Thunder-Boar meat Konja was carrying.
Konja stepped forward. He didn't draw his blade. He remembered the Blackened Crystal from the library—the lesson of the Void-Salt.
"The Void is not empty," Konja whispered.
He reached out his hand. He didn't use fire to fight fire. He used Absence. He channeled the Fifth Pillar, creating a pocket of "Negative Heat" around his team. The flames didn't just stop; they were sucked into a vacuum, extinguished instantly by the lack of spiritual "oxygen."
Juno's eyes widened. "What... what was that? That's not Munka-Style!"
"It's just balance, Juno," Konja said, walking through the dying embers. "You're over-seasoning your flames. They're too heavy."
The Sky-Snapper and the Storm
They reached the highest peak just as the storm broke. The Silver-Fin Sky-Snappers were literal fish that swam through the air, their scales acting as kites. They were notoriously difficult to catch, as they could phase through solid matter when threatened.
"We need a lure," Mina said. "Their scales react to sweet scents."
She pulled out a rare Sugar-Lily, but before she could crush it, a massive shadow fell over them. This wasn't a Sky-Snapper.
A Void-Vulture, a creature of the deep outskirts that fed on the Prana of students, dived from the clouds. Its wingspan was thirty feet across, and its feathers were made of serrated bone.
"Change of plans!" Renzo yelled. "The bird is the main course!"
The Void-Vulture was a Tier-6 threat. Most students would have fled, but the "Obsidian Team" worked with a synergy the Gold Tier lacked.
Konja closed his eyes, syncing with Zale. The fox's indigo fur began to glow with a strange, blackened light—the resonance of the Void-Salt.
"Synthesis: The Dark-Hearth!"
Konja and Zale moved as one. They didn't strike the vulture; they created a gravity-well. The bird, used to soaring on Prana-currents, found itself suddenly "heavy." It crashed into the obsidian ridge.
Konja landed on its back. "Fourth Gate: Eternal Hearth—Precision Cut!"
The Heavens-Seared Blade moved in a blur. He wasn't just killing the vulture; he was de-boning it while it was still infused with the peak energy of the storm.
The Final Presentation
Six hours later, at the base of the Ridge, the judges sat at a stone table. Lord Malchor sat at the head, his eyes unreadable.
Cassian's team presented a magnificent Lunar-Glazed Rib of Boar. It was elegant, perfectly executed, and shimmered with starlight.
Then came Konja.
He presented three dishes: the Marrow-Steak, a Ceviche of Sky-Snapper (which Zale had caught during the vulture fight), and the centerpiece—Smoked Void-Vulture with a Reduction of Cloud-Berries.
The judges tasted the vulture. There was a moment of absolute silence.
"The meat of a Void-Vulture is usually bitter," one judge whispered. "It is the flavor of death. But this... this tastes like rebirth. How?"
"I didn't cook the meat," Konja explained, his voice echoing in the clearing. "I cooked the emptiness inside it. I used the Void-Salt to draw out the bitterness and replaced it with the resonance of the Behemoth's heart."
Lord Malchor stood up. He looked at Konja, then at the silver brand on his hand.
"You have been reading the 'Forbidden Menu', haven't you, boy?" Malchor asked, his voice a low vibration that only Konja could hear.
"I'm just learning the recipe, Headmaster," Konja replied.
"The Obsidian Team has achieved the highest score," Malchor announced to the stunned crowd. "But be warned, Konja Munka. The Summit of Stars is no longer just a competition. It is an invitation to a war you do not yet understand."
As the sun set over Pangaea, Konja felt the weight of the victory. He had proven himself to the Institute, but he had also caught the attention of the shadows. Cassian walked past him, leaning in to whisper.
"Malchor knows about the library," Cassian said. "We're being watched. From here on, every meal we cook might be our last."
Konja looked at Zale, then at his friends. They had survived the ridge, but the true heat was only just beginning to rise.