Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1022

[Red Skull Coliseum.]

[Balaman’s attack power will increase by 7% inside the walls of Red Skeletons.]

[You are trapped inside the Red Skull Coliseum.]

[Anyone trapped inside the Red Skull Coliseum cannot consume any food, potion, or consumables made in advance.]

[The Red Skull Coliseum will collapse on its own after thirty minutes.]

[However, if Balaman’s HP drops below 40%, the Song of the Black Skull and the Red Skull Coliseum will end in advance.]

These were the notifications that rang in Minhyuk's ears. He was looking around the coliseum, which was larger than he had expected. He was in a constant state of tension as he remained on guard against Duke Balaman.

‘Duke Balaman is the greatest reason why the Luvien Empire is what it is now.’

Nerva was saying that he should never become the emperor. Still, it was true that Duke Balaman was one of the contributors who made the Luvien Empire what it is now.

As someone who loved wars, he purged all kingdoms and empires that went against the Luvien Empire one after another. Minhyuk even heard that he reaped the heads of more than a hundred monarchs of kingdoms and empires by himself. He was a human born to fight.

“Let’s get this done quickly. I’ll have to kill Brod right after you.”

Duke Balaman did not perceive Minhyuk as a threat. After all, any dishes made in advance and placed in the inventory were made useless inside the Red Skull Coliseum. But that was not all. Duke Balaman also possessed the artifact called the “Absolute One’s Breaker Ring.” It was a God-rank artifact that could ignore powers like barriers.

Minhyuk did not know about this fact and said, “Let’s Have a Meal.”

Minhyuk immediately tried to create an invincible barrier to find a way to respond to Duke Balaman. But that was where the problem was. Duke Balaman stood in front of the barrier for a moment before walking past it as if nothing blocked his path.

“Shit…!”

“Black Skull’s Grudge.”

Black skulls appeared and slammed straight into Minhyuk.

[The Black Skull’s Grudge has made you weaker.]

[The first attack that lands on your body will completely ignore your defenses.]

[The first attack that lands on your body will have an additional 3,200% damage.]

Slash–!

Balaman swung his sword and slashed Minhyuk.

[Your HP has dropped below 81%.]

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide from shock. His HP dropped by nearly 20% with just a simple attack from Duke Balaman.

‘From what I heard, he is known for being able to cast debuffs using the undead.’

Duke Balaman was not only a brilliant knight but also someone who could cast shocking debuffs. This was why he could be said to be a powerhouse who did not lag behind Duke Vlad.

‘I think it’s because of that ring? I don’t think my invincible body will be able to exert its power because of that ring.’

Minhyuk had seen the skull-shaped ring on Duke Balaman’s fingers flash with red light when he struck at him.

Minhyuk quickly used Like the Wind and narrowed the distance between them to try and fight back. He dug in and aimed for Duke Balaman’s heart as he cast Sword of Frenzy. But Duke Balaman quickly twisted his body and avoided the attack. All the while raising his sword and cutting Minhyuk’s body down.

Slash–!

[Your HP has dropped below 78%.]

The damage Minhyuk received had significantly reduced compared to the first attack, but it was still surprising.

Clang– Clang, clang– Clang–!

Duke Balaman pressed forward and put heavy pressure upon Minhyuk. With Duke Balaman attacking him closely, Minhyuk quickly triggered the Intangible Sword.

Boom–!

The power that would allow the sword to hit his opponent pierced Duke Balaman’s chest.

“Ugh!”

Hundreds of invisible swords immediately followed it. Surprisingly enough, Duke Balaman could evade the hundreds of invisible and intangible swords, which could ignore all defenses just by using his senses alone.

‘Isn’t he a monster?’

At this moment, Minhyuk felt the same way when he was overwhelmed by Envoy Viel in the past.

Minhyuk summoned Viel’s Puppet Doll and the Ego Chain Sickle and sent them toward the madly charging Duke Balaman.

Clank, clank, clank–!

Viel’s Puppet Doll was the most potent and most lethal weapon. When partnered with the Ego Chain Sickle, it could be said that their power could reach its peak.

“You have many cheap tricks up your sleeve, huh?” Balaman grinned. “It’s not hard to break a weapon with an ego equivalent to a child's, you know?”

Balaman had encountered weapons like this hundreds, perhaps even tens of thousands, of times before. After clashing blades with Viel’s Puppet several times, Balaman grabbed the puppet by the neck and slammed it on the ground.

Bang–!

He stomped on the puppet’s head before plucking the swinging chain sickle from the ground. The duke struck the chain sickle once and forced it to get stuck on the ground.

Boom–!

[Skull’s Restriction.]

[The Black Skeletons neutralize Viel’s Puppet Doll and the Ego Chain Sickles.]

Then, he summoned several black skeletons. They moved to suppress the body of Viel’s Puppet Doll and prevented the Ego Chain Sickle from moving.

‘What the hell is this…?’

In just ten seconds, Viel’s Puppet Doll and the Ego Chain Sickle were rendered immobile and disabled.

‘Do I have to trigger Calamity?’

No, Minhyuk had a hunch that if he used Calamity right here and now, he would be the one beaten.

‘If I can cut down his HP below 40%, then the Red Skull Coliseum will collapse.’

That was the goal that Minhyuk had to go after. As that thought crossed his mind, he quickly triggered his Almighty Tool.

Shwaaaa–

Minhyuk threw the ingredients of the dish that he wanted to make in the air. At the same time, the Almighty Tool, which was a spatula, turned into a basket on its own and caught all of the ingredients that he threw in the air.

Thud–

Then, he threw the Bizarre Cauldron out. The pair of Almighty Tools repeatedly changed their forms on their own and straightened the cauldron. Balaman was quite shocked to see this scene.

‘I have never heard that he had this power before?’

Tools that moved and cooked on their own? It was pretty fun. But he was confident that Minhyuk would die even before he finished cooking.

Shwaaaaaa–!

Minhyuk, hearing the crackling of the flames, tried to focus on Balaman again.

“Black Skull’s Final Attack.”

Hundreds of black skulls appeared and got sucked into Balaman’s sword. Then, this sword soon struck Minhyuk.

Slash–!

“Keuhaaaack!” Minhyuk groaned. But even at the moment that he was forced to fold and collapse, he was still able to land a strike on Duke Balaman. At the same time, beads made of blood were absorbed in his body and restored some of his HP.

Balaman was impressed by Minhyuk's response to his attacks. He said, “It seems like I have to truly kill you here today.”

The Minhyuk that Balaman knew was nothing but a Food God. Yet someone, who possessed the Food God class had that much power? There was also the fact that Minhyuk had not yet eaten any dishes as of the moment.

Balaman judged that if Minhyuk could eat his dishes, he would become stronger and better than him. But a brief look behind Minhyuk and he could tell that the dishes that those self-cooking tools were making were only likely to be finished after the walls made of red skeletons collapsed.

Shwaaaaaaa–!

When he looked back at Minhyuk after taking that very brief glance, he saw that there were now two swords in the emperor’s hands.

God’s Dual Sword Technique was a skill that could increase Minhyuk’s attack speed by as much as 70%. Not only that, it also had the power to increase the damage of Minhyuk’s skills by 1.4 times. And when he successfully launched a series of consecutive attacks, he could double the number of attacks he had released. In fact, God’s Dual Sword Technique was considered overpowered because of the increase in speed.

Immediately after that, Minhyuk also triggered the Black Dragon’s Armor. The armor, which was created by a transcendental being, changed. Black scales appeared and began to cover his entire body.

Slash– Slash, slash– Slash–!

Minhyuk gritted his teeth.

‘The ring does not get triggered every time.’

Something would be neutralized whenever a red light flashed from Duke Balaman’s ring.

Minhyuk danced around Duke Balaman with his two swords and surprisingly overwhelmed the man. Blood spurted out of Balaman’s body with every cut that Minhyuk made. But it did not take too long for Minhyuk to feel frustrated.

Balaman looked down at Minhyuk with a calm and expressionless face. It was as if he was looking at nothing but a mere novice.

“An emperor must be strong.”

This was Balaman’s personal opinion. Minhyuk could not help but agree.

“They should never be weak, like you, who only knows how to hide behind your vassals.”

Despite the blood gushing out of his body, Balaman was still smiling. Not long after, the blood that dripped down his body shook. Then, it got sucked back inside his body. Just like that, his injuries began to heal again.

“...”

“I have been drinking troll blood since I was a child in preparation to become an emperor.”

That was right. Balaman had wanted to become an emperor since he was a child, and his mother and father also wished for him to do so.

Because of that, he had been enduring harsh and unbearable training since he was a young child. Several decades had passed since then. Fueled by the desire to stand at the highest position, not only did he endure harsh training for so many years, he even went so far as to sell his soul to the God of Death.

This just went to show how much Balaman wanted to become the emperor. And yes, he was fully prepared to carry the heavy weight that accompanied such a title.

“You bastard, do you think you have the qualifications to become an emperor?”

Slash, slash, slash–!

Balaman smirked as he watched Minhyuk swing his sword at breakneck speed. Minhyuk felt helpless and frustrated when the man before him continued to mock him.

“You are weak. You only became an emperor because of your vassals.”

Creak, creak, creak–!

Clack, clack, clack–!

Hundreds of screaming black skeletons appeared before getting sucked inside Balaman’s sword.

Bang–!

Minhyuk, who used God’s Dual Sword Technique, could recover 90% of his HP. But with just one attack, it fell to less than 45%.

“Urk!”

Nevertheless, Minhyuk still stood back up. Not only did Balaman imply that Minhyuk hid behind his vassals, but he also seemed to say that he was the only one deserving of becoming an emperor because he had been working hard for his goals.

Indeed. Minhyuk admitted that his path was relatively smooth compared to Brod or Spear God Ben’s paths. Perhaps Brod or Grandpa Ben were the ones deserving of his seat. But there was one thing that he was sure of.

“Even so…”

Flash–!

Minhyuk charged forward once again with his dual sword technique and began. He slashed and hacked at Duke Balaman, saying, “I have all the qualifications to become an emperor. And it's far more than yours.”

[Sword of Carnage.]

[The Dual Sword Technique is still in effect!]

[With the Dual Sword Technique, your sword’s consecutive attacks will be doubled!]

[You can attack your enemy 76 times per second!]

The effects of the Dual Sword Technique already doubled the consecutive attacks of the skill he had triggered. But he did not stop there. He also added another power to it.

[Double Skill]

[You have a 1.2% chance of triggering Double Skill. Upon triggering, the skill’s effects will be doubled.]

[The system can no longer measure the extent of your power!]

It combined the Dual Sword Technique, Sword of Carnage, and Double Skill.

‘This is dangero…!’ Balaman thought. But his thoughts were cut short. It was because Minhyuk had already gone past him.

“Because I have also persevered and endured countless trials and hardships.”

Slash, slash, slash–!

One second. That was the time it took for hundreds of slashes to cut Balaman’s body.

“Keuaaaaaaaaack!!!” Balaman screamed. This was the same person who did not even release a single groan when he was hit by Herakel’s club or Minhyuk’s attacks before.

But then, a gigantic red skull rose to the sky.

[Blood of the Red Skull.]

[The Blood of the Red Skull restores 70% of your HP.]

Balaman’s body, which the attacks had ravaged, recovered once again.

“No. A bastard like you does not have the qualifications to become an emperor! I am the one that is truly worthy of the emperor’s throne!”

Balaman truly believed this. He had dyed the battlefield red with the blood of his enemies just for this long-time dream. And now, his opportunity had come. He no longer wanted to fool around.

Rumble–!

“The Advance of the Skeleton Army.”

Tens of thousands of black skeletons floated above them before being absorbed by Balaman’s sword. Playtime was over.

Minhyuk looked at Balaman, who ran toward him and said, “No. I am the true emperor.”

Then, with a cold and piercing glare, he said, “Transcendence.”

[You have activated Transcendence!]

[You have gone beyond your limits and transcended to another realm!]

[You have gone beyond your limits and transcended to another realm!]

The notifications rang constantly in Minhyuk’s ears.

[The buff effect of the “Spicy Braised Chicken” will not be in effect during the thirty seconds of the Transcendence’s activation!]

[The Transcendence’s buff effects have now been applied!]

[All of your stats have increased by 35%!]

[All of your attack power has increased by 29%!]

[All of your defensive power has increased by 36%!]

[All of your skill levels have increased by +2!]

[Your resistance to abnormal statuses has increased by 40%!]

[Your total HP and MP have increased by 30%!]

[Transcendence will remain in effect for thirty seconds!]

A black stream of energy appeared and enveloped Minhyuk’s body. Then, he used the Sword of Carnage, which he had saved using his Save Skill, and again cut Balaman.

Slash, slash, slash–!

With the increase in his stats and attack power, the current Minhyuk stood far beyond Balaman. Seeing Balaman endure the Sword of Carnage with gritted teeth, Minhyuk hacked and slashed at the man with his sword carrying the symbol “Crazy.”

Slash, slash, slash–!

Balaman was bombarded by Minhyuk’s attack, which was immediately followed by explosions. Nevertheless, Balaman tried to endure and remain on his feet.

“I… will become an emperor… I want…”

Balaman was a lunatic. His desire to become an emperor had turned him into a madman.

Flash–!

Balaman collapsed at the same time Minhyuk’s Transcendence ended. At the same time, loud cheers erupted in Minhyuk’s ears.

“Duke Balaman has killed the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor!”

“This is an achievement that will go down in history!”

“The new emperor of the Great Luvien Empire has brought punishment upon the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor!”

The loud cheers made him frown.

Thud, thud, thud–!

Minhyuk looked at them with a cold and piercing glare the moment the walls made of red skeletons crumbled and collapsed completely. He said, “What bullshit are you saying?”

The Black Skull Knight Order troops and the Red Skull knights were all left dumbfounded by the scene in front of them.

“Ugh…”

The echo of Duke Balaman’s groan indicated who the winner and loser were in the battle between the two.

Meanwhile, Prince Cardin looked at the scene in disbelief. He thought, ‘How the hell…? Are you telling me that the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor is really strong?’

While they were left dumbfounded by the shock, Minhyuk also received a shocking notification.

[The God and Knight has been triggered!]

Minhyuk’s face grew ugly.