"Just a few minutes more and my perfect dish will be ready." Paul glanced at the time and tapped his feet anxiously.

The final round of the Country's Best Young Chef competition was scheduled the next day. If he won the title, his future would be limitless.

Paul had spent many sleepless nights to reach this phase and he couldn't give up now. He had to create the best dish, impress the judges, and grab the trophy. His life would be settled.

'Who said a culinary school dropout couldn't become an excellent chef?' Paul scoffed, recalling the words of ridicule and abuse he had faced when he had to quit school due to his inability to pay the ginormous fees. 

"I'll show them tomorrow what I'm capable of," he vowed, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

But before he could compose himself, his sight turned blurry and a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Woah!" Paul held the counter edge to stabilize himself while he shook his head to clear his mind.

However, things only turned worse and he ended up losing strength. His head turned heavy and his ears buzzed. He couldn't hear anything properly and broke into a sweat instantly until his shirt was drenched.

A strong sense of uneasiness washed over him and his legs turned jelly, his body weighing him down. Paul couldn't hold onto anything. His body collapsed faster than he could comprehend and he ended up hitting his head hard against the counter edge.

A hot, thick liquid trickled down his neck and Paul hissed when he registered the pain. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to stand up. But in vain.

He had no strength to move. His limbs felt as heavy as lead blocks while dark spots filled his sight.

In the end, the darkness consumed him, pulling him with it until he lost his consciousness completely. 

"Where is Paul? Is that bastard still lazing around? I am going to kill him today. The customers are waiting. Ask him to prepare the dishes soon."

"But Master Thomas, it has been only a few minutes since Paul went on a break."

"A few minutes is enough to finish eating lunch. Ask him to return to work or get lost. I will not allow wastrels to work in my shop. All they do is waste time and expect to be paid on time. I am not here to do charity."

'Which idiot is cursing like a loose man? His tongue needs to be sanitized,' Paul thought as he squeezed his eyes. His body was in utter discomfort and the strong smell of onions and garlic assaulted him from everywhere.

"What the heck! Why do I stink?" Paul wondered, squinting his eyes for a moment before opening them wide. "Why do..." He stopped suddenly when he noticed the foreign place. It didn't look like his kitchen or any kitchen he had worked in.

It seemed more like a run-down place where the rats would party. Paul felt suffocated and being a clean freak, he felt his skin crawl at the mess around him. He wouldn't dare prepare food in such a filthy place, let alone eat anything from there.

"What hell hole is this?" he exclaimed, not noticing an extremely furious, overweight man rushing towards him with a grotesque expression.

"You worthless piece of trash. Did I not ask you to return to work?" the man hollered and Paul scrunched his face in dismay. He even leaned back to save himself from the man's spit.

"You mongrel. Return to work and start cooking or else get lost. I am not here to feed you lowly creatures," the man continued, not noticing his expression of disgust.

Paul stared at the man who seemed to have walked out of the gutter. His mere presence made him nauseous and he felt repulsive.

"Who are you?" he questioned, not bothering to hide his resentment.

"You..you.." the man was speechless and looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"And why are you barking like a dog?"

"Did you just call me a dog?" The man was baffled by his audacity and glared at him as if he were ready to bite his head off if he were to agree.

Paul didn't give him attention and looked around, trying to find out what was happening and where he was.

"You son of a bastard. Get out of my shop." The man pulled Paul, dragging him out of the kitchen.

Paul couldn't escape from his clutches and he was dragged from the kitchen to the entrance before he was hurled out in front of everyone.

"You are not allowed to come to this place. Get lost. Scram," the man pointed at him and commanded.

Although Paul heard him, his attention was all on the people who were staring at him, especially their attires. They seemed to have come out of historical times and nothing like the world he belonged to.

'What the hell is happening? What is this place?' He panicked. The unfamiliar setting almost made his heart leap out of his chest. 'How is this possible? How? Where am I?'

All of a sudden, his brain was filled with images and memories that didn't belong to him. It was as if a movie was being played at 2x speed. 

Paul was knocked out of his breath by the time he realized what had happened and how he had ended up in a world he didn't belong to originally.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed and the man who was still hurling profanities stopped for a moment.

"Now, you realize your mistake. Too bad, your apologies will not work. You have no place here." The man looked down on him, his face filled with arrogance.

Paul raised his head and looked at the name of the shop. Thomas' Kitchen. He wasn't interested in working in such a sordid place either. Untying his apron, he threw it at the man's feet and sneered.

"I am not interested in working here either. You are nothing but a selfish man who doesn't care about your customers. You serve food prepared using spoilt ingredients and sell them at a high price. I have long wanted to quit this place."

"You... How dare you!" the man seethed, his eyes blazing with anger.

Paul didn't stop at that. Since he had decided to make an enemy that day, he went all out, "Your kitchen is worse than a pig sty. People who eat your food will suffer from all kinds of diseases. I can't work in such a filthy place anymore."

Paul didn't even wait for the man to respond. He turned around and walked away, ignoring the stunned crowd behind him. He didn't even care when people pointed fingers at him and scolded him for being impudent and ungrateful.

Retracing his steps from the host's memories, he returned home - the very home that seemed to be worse than a thatched hut. The roof was falling apart and no place looked intact. The place didn't look habitable from any angle.

But shockingly, it was where he stayed.

Exasperated, Paul entered his 'home' and studied the place. "What did I land myself into? How the heck did this happen?"

All of a sudden, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind and a holographic screen appeared before him making him jump.

[System Activation Initiated]

[Scanning Host Complete]

[Welcome to Divine Recipe System]