Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1035

Chapter 1035

Minhyuk gave it his all, fighting the gods Beagan summoned from the Gates of Hell. Why? Well, the reason was simple. This was so he could increase his Hunt Rate, get better rewards, and gain more EXP. Since he had already obtained the Light of Purification, Minhyuk was confident that there was no risk for him.

‘As expected, those who died from the Light of Purification will not give any EXP.’

Minhyuk could only sigh in disappointment. However, it was also confirmed that he could receive satisfactory rewards.

Ring!

[You have completed the Linked Quest: God’s Prison’s Lunatics.]

The Growth Cultivator's quest originally had the name “Visit to God’s Prison.” However, the linked quest was triggered when he arrived, and the name was changed.

‘At first, there were two rewards listed.’

The rewards were “???” and becoming Beradon’s final disciple. Minhyuk thought that the “???” was written that way because it was related to Evan. It was probably the power of the “Great Sovereign” and the “Battle God’s Sword” that he was talking about before.

Not long after, Evan said, “I have told you that I can make the power of the Great Sovereign become a permanent power if you can purify this place excellently.”

The “excellent” that Evan was talking about was referring to how much Minhyuk could fill his Hunt Rate.

“Even though you have asked me to do something I have never done before, I can still say that you have done an amazing job.”

“Ahem.”

Minhyuk used the previous generation's Battle God Evan as bait to lure the gods.

“In fact, the Great Sovereign is divided into three categories. All of them could only be used once.”

Evan had already told Minhyuk about this. However, he told Minhyuk that he could at least turn the power that would allow him to make all of his enemies fall into a stunned state for ten seconds if he could raise his Hunt Rate to a very satisfactory level.

“Unfortunately, I cannot make the other two powers permanent. Even so, I believe that they would be able to greatly help you one day.”

Then, the notifications rang.

[You have acquired the consumable skill: Great Sovereign that the previous generation Battle God Evan possessed.]

[The Great Sovereign is an extraordinary power that only Evan possessed.]

[The First Authority. Enemies, no matter who or what, will be left in fear of the greatness and majesty of the Great Sovereign.]

[You have acquired the Great Sovereign’s First Authority, Overpower.]

[The Second Authority. He will protect everyone by his side.]

[You have acquired the Great Sovereign’s Second Authority, Great Sovereign’s Shield.]

[The Third Authority. The knights serving the Great Sovereign will cut down all enemies blocking his path.]

[You have acquired the Great Sovereign’s Third Authority, Great Sovereign’s Knight.]

[When one of the powers of the skill, Great Sovereign, has been activated, you must activate the two remaining powers within ten minutes.]

[If not activated within the set time, all of the power of the skill, Great Sovereign, will disappear after ten minutes.]

Ring!

[The Great Sovereign’s First Authority, Overpower, has been changed. It is now a permanent power!]

[Overpower, which has been turned into a permanent power, will only be able to exert a weaker power.]

[You can use the Consumable Overpower Skill once.]

Minhyuk looked at the notifications one by one.

‘Unfortunately, the two other skills are consumables.’

Although the rewards he received were entirely unexpected, the word “consumable” meant it would disappear after being used once. This was why players did not pay much attention to consumable powers even though they could exert much stronger power. Of course, the same was true for Minhyuk.

He first checked Overpower.

‘No matter how strong the enemy is, they will be placed in an absolute stunned state. The enemy subjected to the greatness and majesty of the Great Sovereign will also fall into a state of fear and terror.’

Minhyuk would be able to use the shocking consumable Overpower skill once.

‘This is really crazy.’

Ten seconds could be considered a very long time on a battlefield. If he could bind his enemies for ten seconds, he would be able to attack them at least forty times. But that was not all. A skill that could stun an opponent was considered way too overpowered and cheat-like, so only a few existed. So, having one that could stun his opponents for ten seconds seemed quite powerful.

‘This is a consumable power. And if I activate one of the three skills, I must activate the remaining two within ten minutes.’

That was why Minhyuk did not expect much when he checked the Great Sovereign’s Shield. After all, even if it were powerful, it would still disappear after one use. But when he finally saw the Great Sovereign’s Shield description, his jaw almost dropped to the floor.

‘What the hell is this…?’

Were they telling him that there was a skill that was as ridiculous as this? Minhyuk almost choked on his breath when he read the description of the skill. This power was the Battle God’s power.

‘There’s no limitation in numbers. It will absolutely protect all of those who decided to fight alongside the Battle God from one attack.’

Minhyuk was truly impressed. This meant that it did not matter if there were only hundreds or even millions of people; as long as they fought by Minhyuk’s side, one of the attacks that would come their way would be neutralized.

‘After defending against one attack, all of their HP and MP will recover by 25%, and their defensive power will increase by 20% for three minutes.’

The only thing that Minhyuk could say was, ‘Wow.’ At this moment, Minhyuk understood why this power was made into a consumable power. If this power had become permanent, then Minhyuk could have given such a powerful buff to hundreds of allies.

Then, he checked the Great Sovereign’s Knight.

‘Ten of the knights serving and fighting for the Battle God will be surrounded by an absolute barrier for five seconds. Their attack power will also increase by 40%, and they will be given another chance to use their one-shot kill skill again.’

Minhyuk was rendered speechless. That was just how crazy the power was.

‘If this power had been changed to permanent, even the Luvien Empire would be terrified too, no?’

Minhyuk was left in awe after checking the ridiculous power of the consumable skills. Then, he checked Overpower, which has been made permanent.

(Overpower)

Active Skill

Level: None

Penalty for Use: None

Cooldown: 48 hours

Effects:

•The enemies, no matter who or what will be left in a two-second stunned state before you.

•Enemies that have fallen stunned will also be given the abnormal status: Fear.

It was enough to satisfy Minhyuk. No, it was a reward that was powerful enough that one could only dream of having it.

Then, additional notifications began to pour in.

[You have achieved an 88% Hunt Rate.]

[You have set a phenomenal record for the Hunt Rate.]

[You have exceeded your level and made shocking and notable achievements.]

[If you can reach more than 40% of the Hunt Rate, the rewards that you will receive will become better.]

[Your rewards have become better.]

[Your rewards have become better.]

[The rewards cannot be made better.]

[The system is searching for a better reward.]

[No reward can be found.]

‘A reward cannot be found?’

When Minhyuk heard the last notification, his face grew ugly. He wondered if he could not receive proper rewards and compensation for his troubles.

[God of Origin Athenae praises you for the achievements that you have made.]

“...!”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide. Minhyuk had met the God of Origin Athenae several times before. She was the most excellent and most noble god. And now? She had directly intervened.

[She felt ashamed when she saw you jump alone inside God’s Prison, which she had turned a blind eye to.]

[She praises you for your courage. And as a reward, she bestows the ingredient in her possession upon you.]

A bright light fell from the sky. When Minhyuk raised his hand toward the light, a white treasure chest landed on his hands. Minhyuk was deeply moved.

“Athe-llujah…”

This was an ingredient personally bestowed upon him by Athenae and might be comparable to a Pillar Ingredient. There was a high chance that it was very delicious too. This was why he could not help but praise Athenae and scream, ‘Athe-llujah.’

The smiling Minhyuk hurriedly opened the chest in his hands. His mouth immediately watered when he saw a pork backbone lying silently inside.

‘Wow. This would make a perfect gamja-tang, no?’

Minhyuk, still in awe, hurriedly checked the ingredient’s details.

(Athenae’s Frenzied Pork Back Bone)

Ingredient Grade: God

Special Abilities:

•This is Athenae’s Frenzied Pork Back Bone. You will receive a permanent increase in stats. The effects that you will receive will be determined by how well the ingredient has been cooked.

•Cooking this ingredient will be more complicated than cooking any God-grade ingredient. But if you can successfully cook this ingredient, you are guaranteed to receive at least a +50 permanent increase in your stats.

•Draining the blood and chopping this ingredient will be very difficult.

Description: Athenae’s Frenzied Ingredients have the most tremendous power globally. Of course, its taste is guaranteed to be the best, too. However, countless Gods of Cooking had attempted to cook ingredients labeled ‘Frenzied,’ and all had failed. Once the ingredient preparation or cooking fails, the ingredient will immediately rot.

“...”

Minhyuk, who had just shouted ‘Athe-llujah,’ looked up to the sky and cried, “How can I even eat this, Lady Athenae?!”

–...

But no answer came. Was this the legendary pie in the sky? According to the description, countless Gods of Cooking had tried to cook ingredients labeled ‘Frenzied’ and had all failed. This meant that this was the most challenging ingredient that had ever reached Minhyuk’s hands.

‘Even the Gods of Cooking had all failed.’

The God of Cooking was one of the Absolute Gods. If someone asked Minhyuk who could make a better dish between him and her, then Minhyuk would, without a doubt, raise her hand. Of course, Minhyuk’s dish would have better buffs. But Minhyuk admitted that the God of Cooking and the Food God were different gods and would have their advantages and strengths.

‘If I recklessly cooked this ingredient, then I might lose this precious ingredient.’

This was a problem in and of itself. After all, he would lose an ingredient that could give him at least a +50 permanent increase in stats when successfully cooked. This meant that if he could cook this ingredient well, then there was a chance that the effect would be multiplied several times.

Minhyuk continued to stare at the sky with sad, tearful eyes as if begging for an answer.

–...

The problem was that Athenae remained silent. Not long after, the sad Minhyuk received another notification.

[You have completed the Quest: Visit to the God’s Prison. You can now become Beradon’s final disciple.]

[Only the final reward is left. Go and visit Beradon to receive the reward.]

***

God’s Prison.

The Battle God gathered the strongest and greatest gods in front of God’s Prison and prepared for battle.

‘They’re about to charge out of the prison.’

Everyone present was on edge.

Flash–!

Light flashed and covered everyone’s vision. When the light disappeared, two men could be seen standing in front of them. Their eyes grew wide when they realized who the two men were. It was because the two men were none other than Minhyuk and Evan.

“Did you succeed in purifying the prison?”

The sad Minhyuk looked at the gods, who had drawn their weapons, and immediately understood the situation.

“Urk!!!”

Then, as a practiced actor following method acting, he suddenly staggered on his feet.

“???”

Evan turned to look at Minhyuk in confusion.

“Haa… Haa…” Minhyuk gasped for air as he slowly collapsed on the ground.

“There were hundreds of gods that had gone berserk inside. I heard from Erach that there was a chance that they would come out of prison, so I went inside.”

Minhyuk lied with a straight face. And the gods? They could only cough in embarrassment when they heard his words. It was because they had paid no heed to this matter.

“I fought the berserk gods desperately. Because if I don’t stop them, they will definitely threaten the Land of the Gods.”

Then, the Battle God said, “So, you fought…” he glanced at Evan, but he continued to say, “...alone?”

“I had to… protect the Land of the Gods. Ugh, heuk!” Minhyuk suddenly grabbed his chest.

‘But you never received any attack on your chest?’ The confusion on Evan’s face deepened, a question mark popping above his head as he looked at Minhyuk.

But Minhyuk continued his impassioned acting as he cried out, “Hundreds of gods attacked me. Even God of Death Beagan threatened to enslave my soul!”

“???” Another question mark popped up above Evan’s head.

“I don’t even know how many attacks I have received. But… I continued to fight Beagan fiercely and desperately.”

Evan tilted his head in confusion.

“Just so…”

Cold sweat dripped down Minhyuk’s forehead. His lips had gone dry, and his eyes slowly closed.

“...I could protect… for the sake of…”

Thud–

“The Land of the Gods.”

Evan continued to look at Minhyuk, who had now collapsed.

The Battle God bit his lips.

‘The thing that we have disregarded and neglected… He, alone…’

The Battle God looked behind him. The Battle God’s Five Generals and the elite gods looked at the “hero” and the next generation “Battle God,” who they did not recognize but still fought silently alone for their sake, with eyes filled with emotion. They felt very moved as they looked at the “Battle God.”

The Battle God nodded lightly at Minhyuk, who had already collapsed(?). Then, the Five Generals and all of the gods present nodded as they saluted Minhyuk. Aside from the Battle God, all the gods present looked at Minhyuk respectfully.

“Battle God.”

The Battle God looked at the Five Generals. Then, they said…

“Even though the next generation Battle God still lacks the qualities to become a Battle God, we can risk our lives to fight alongside, and serve him.”

“We realized that your choice was truly correct.”

“We will jump into the fire pit for him!”

With softness in his eyes, the Battle God looked at the collapsed(?) Minhyuk and said, “I also do not regret choosing him.”

“...”

And Evan? He just looked at Minhyuk silently.