Leveling Up through Eating

43 Kongie’s Innocent Transformation

[Additional 20% damage will be inflicted on undead monsters.]

‘Hoo? Holy power, huh……’

The Holy Power Stat. It was a stat that could add buff effects and deal additional damage towards undeads. For ordinary priests, it would be quite difficult to raise this stat to such a high degree because the method to increase such a stat was particular.

‘Wasn’t it something like not eating meat?’ 

My god! Isn’t that such a crazy way of obtaining stats?!

Since the method of obtaining the stat was so particular that it included banning themselves from doing a lot of things it was quite rare for users to achieve a high degree in terms of holy power. However, the benefits that you would receive were quite huge.

After he finished eating, Minhyuk finally remembered the pure extract quest that he had received from Boroto.

“Rald-nim.”

“Yes.”

“Do you happen to know anything about pure extracts?”

Rald looked at him with surprise when he heard his question.

“You’re not from the Northern Continent but you know about the existence of the pure extract!”

“A person named Boroto had requested that I bring him some pure extract.”

“Oho. So it was Boroto, huh? I remember him.”

Rald nodded his head.

“Pure extract is located either deep underground or under the sea, a place that is quite hard for humans to get into. It is a mysterious water that falls one drop at a time and will only accumulate after a huge amount of time.”

Minhyuk nodded his head in understanding.

“But… I also have no way of getting any pure extract either.”

“……Eh?!”

Minhyuk was caught by surprise.

How come Rald doesn’t know about it either?!

“Even if it was deep underground, the location where the pure extract can be found changes every time. Before, it used to be frequently located in Valkyrie Kingdom. But I don’t think that that is the case right now. It has been years since we’ve last seen it.”

“H, how can this be……!”

Minhyuk had no choice but to feel discouraged. It was the pure extract that’s like carbonated water!

I wonder if it was really hard to find?

Rald tried to find ways to assuage Minhyuk’s disappointment. It seemed like he couldn’t bear to see Minhyuk with such a sad look.

“But if it’s him, he might know where it is.”

“If it’s him……?”

Minhyuk was quite taken aback.

A hint. This might be a hint!

“It’s the Dragon King.”

“Hoo?”

The Dragon King. Simply put, he was the king of the seas.

The Sea of the Dragon King was located somewhere near Valkyrie Kingdom. In addition, it was said that there were still plenty of mysterious and unidentified things that have not yet been discovered by the local users.

And even if he did not want to, Minhyuk still had to go to sea since he needed to proceed with Ellie’s quest. And even if he excluded that reason, he still would want to go to sea. After all, there were plenty of delicious things that you could get from the sea.

‘Blue crab, shrimp, clam, flatfish, rockfish, oysters!’

He couldn’t even count them in one hand!

“But it’s not easy to meet with the Dragon King, after all he is the king of the seas. He must be living deep beneath the sea. But just in case you need this information, he also has three children.”

“Three……?”

“The three of them are all strong individuals. One of them is even comparable to Sir Perle in strength.”

Minhyuk nodded his head. He knew that Perle was comparable to Rumad in strength so if he compared their strengths then they were truly powerful. He decided to avoid any friction against such powerful men.

[Hidden Quest: Meet the Dragon King!]

Rank: S

Restrictions: Have met with Rald.

Rewards: Boroto’s Buffed Dish.

Penalty for Failure: Decrease in Boroto’s favorability.

Description: You have met with the legendary chef that was quite hard to meet, Rald! According to him, the only person who might know of the location of the pure extract was the Dragon King. So go meet the Dragon King-nim!

Minhyuk nodded his head happily.

The sea! I’m looking forward to it!

He said his goodbyes to Rald and left the restaurant to prepare for his journey to the sea. He first went and bought a fishing rod and some bait as well as the ‘Dorito’ bubblegum. Dorito bubblegum was Valkyrie Kingdom’s specialty and it could help anyone breathe underwater.

“Oh, this bubble gum tastes really good!”

Since Minhyuk was deemed by every citizen of Valkyrie Kingdom as a hero who had saved their kingdom, he was able to buy his items at a 10% discount. It was a special perk that was given to someone who had saved their king and their kingdom from the catastrophe.

As he chewed on the bubblegum, a notification rang in his ears.

[You can breathe underwater for 1 hour.]

“Phtew!”

Once the sweetness of the bubblegum faded, he quickly spat it out on a tissue. Then, as casually as he could, he placed five more in his mouth.

[You can breathe underwater for 1 hour.]

“Phtew!”

He spat the bubblegum out and popped in a few more in his mouth. The merchant who was selling the Dorito bubblegum couldn’t help but smile wryly at his absurd actions.

“On, one piece is worth 50,000 gold… why waste so much money on such an expensive item?”

“It’s not good to taste once the sweetness has faded away!”

“……”

“I’ll buy 300!”

Minhyuk quickly decided to buy the Dorito bubblegum in bulk.

[Kongie is asking for a summons.]

He was quite confused when he saw the sudden notification. When Kongie was summoned, he dropped down on the ground with a thud. Then, he quickly dashed off somewhere.

“Huh? Where are you? Kongie-yah!”

Minhyuk was taken aback with his actions as he hurriedly chased after Kongie. After chasing for quite some time, he saw an unexpected face. They were unexpected, but he was still quite glad to see them.

“Woow. The poopy pig is taking a real piggy with him!”

It was Hyemin and Hyemin’sDad.

Minhyuk approached them with a surprise on his face but Kongie still looked a bit weird. When he looked closely, he could see Hyemin holding a Chupachups lollipop in her hand.

Kongie quickly sat down in front of her like a puppy and then…

“Oiiiiink……”

As if he was trying to say that he wanted to eat it, Kongie looked at the Chupachups with twinkling eyes.

“Huh? This is Hyeminie’s, baby poopy.”

Hyemin quickly jerked her hand away as she hid the candy behind her. Kongie’s eyes started to shine with tears. Then, he bowed his head sadly.

“Oiiiiink……”

He let out a depressed sound. It seemed like he would shed his tears anytime soon. Hyemin and Hyemin’sDad looked at Kongie with pity for a moment.

‘Oh my god. How can there be such a nice(?) and pitiful pet like this?!’

‘It’s a waste of my candy but…… should I give it one? I feel so sorry for him……!’

As if she couldn’t bear to see Kongie sad anymore, Hyemin handed him a candy from her pockets. After receiving the candy, Kongie, who was still sullen and sad a few moments ago, suddenly smiled brightly. He tapped his tiny head on Hyemin’s legs as if asking if he could really eat it.

“You can eat it, baby poopy!”

Kongie nodded fiercely with a happy smile on his face as he opened his mouth and ate the candy.

‘This swindler……’

Minhyuk, who knew about Kongie’s con-man personality, looked at him curiously.

‘Huh? Wait. He got it just like that……?’

He found out about Kongie’s amazing ability and was once again surprised at him.

“Oh. Huh…….?”

“Keok?!”

Hyemin’sDad couldn’t help but let out a shocked gasp. Just a few moments ago, Minhyuk sat down like Kongie in front of Hyemin and looked at her with twinkling eyes and a dumb foolish voice.

“Oooooiiiiink……?!”

He copied Kongie down to the T. When Hyemin did not give him any candy, he also looked down sadly.

“Ooooiiiink……”

He also let out a tearful sound.

This is the most important! A voice filled with tears!

Hyemin’sDad and Hyemin were both left speechless. They were shocked at how Minhyuk copied Kongie and asked for some candy.

‘He’s still as weird as ever……’

‘P, poopy piggy is really strange……’

Hyemin and Hyemin’sDad eyes met as they looked at each other with wry smiles.

***

“Hehe. This is really delicious, Kong-ah!”

“Oink!”

[Kongie is happy.]

Minhyuk and Kongie were both eating candies happily.

Hyemin’sDad had told him that it was quite a long time since he had last accessed Athenae. It was only this time that Minhyuk found out that Hyemin’sDad was also a guild member of Legend Guild.

“Hyeminie, how are you these days?”

Minhyuk, who was eating his strawberry milk chupachups, turned to Hyemin. Hyemin was happily playing with Kongie as she answered Minhyuk.

“I have gotten a lot better. I also gained 10kg. And I’ll also be going back to school.”

“That’s a relief.”

Minhyuk smiled brightly.

Hyemin, who had unintentionally helped him, was finally getting better and better. It was truly great news.

Then, he suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, that’s right! Kongie can now wear two artifacts, so is it alright if I make a production request?”

He wasn’t sure, but there might be a possibility of Kongie’s ability to find medicine getting enhanced by wearing those two artifacts. 

“Ah. Of course, it’s possible.”

Hyemin’sDad smiled at him.

“I’ll take gold as payment.”

Minhyuk’s movement suddenly paused. The smile that Hyemin’sDad was giving him was quite different from his smile earlier. It was like he was saying ‘Student, I’ll give you a discount so buy from me.’ or something like that. Well. It was also a fact that Minhyuk had received his frying pan as a gift from him, right?

“I also need some artifact materials. Do you have any on hand?”

Minhyuk thought carefully if he had some artifact materials on hand.

‘I have the Basilisk’s Heart, don’t I?’

The Basilisk’s Heart was an SS-ranked artifact material! It was a material that did not lag behind from the Sacred Branch that he got last time. He also had the Phoenix’s feathers and some Twin-headed Ogre’s blood. When he thought about it, it seemed like his inventory was filled with amazing materials.

And Hyemin’sDad who saw all of these materials, was quite shocked.

“W, what is your level now?” 

“I’m a little over 250 right now.” 

“……” 

He shook his head in disbelief. There were plenty of materials here that could not be obtained by someone who was at Lv250.

‘But I wonder if it’s really fine to make pet artifacts with these good materials? Hmm. Well, it’s also good to make pet artifacts with these.’

Hyemin’sDad couldn’t help but gulp when he felt the power of Minhyuk’s artifacts. The armor, cloak, sword, helmet and the frying pan that he made for him…… Everything that he had equipped were artifacts that were out of the ordinary.

‘Pets are existences that can help a character gain 100% more of their strength. They can even add around 100~120 in strength and power towards their owners.’ 

Characters had obvious limitations. Once they had worn all of the possible wearable artifacts they could no longer wear a duplicate. Once their skill level had reached the maximum then they wouldn’t be able to level it up anymore. The high-leveled users often encounter these problems. Once they had reached the maximum, the items that could grow and level up could help them. However, it was strenuous and time consuming to get materials for such items. When in fact, the growth items were almost close to impossible to achieve.

That was when the concept of a ‘pet’ came into view. A pet would be the fastest way for a character to achieve great growth. That was because pets could increase their buffs and abilities whenever they grow. What more for an artifact-wearing pet?

‘Making a pet wear an artifact is almost the same as adding a character equipment slot.’

Once Kongie wore an artifact, then his capabilities would increase which in turn would also boost his owner’s powers.

“I hope that the ability to find delicious food gets enhanced.” 

Whisper, whisper━

“Ah. Yes……”

Hyemin’sDad smiled awkwardly.

“Ah. Can you please take care of this too?”

What Minhyuk handed to him was none other than Pandora’s Helmet. The Pandora’s Helmet that was handed over was giving off a subtle glow.

“It’s too eye-catching.”

“Ah. Then, shall we add some cloaking ability to this artifact?”

“Wow. Can you do that for me?”

“That’s 41 platinum. Ah, since we’re guild members… I’ll give you a guild member D.C. you only need to pay 40 platinum.”

Minhyuk finally realized that Hyemin’sDad was a complete businessman! He gave out a quotation of 41 platinum, smiled at him and said that he would give him a discount when it was originally priced at 40 platinum!

“Ah. I know.”

However, Minhyuk had a lot of gold under his disposal so it did not matter that much. Furthermore, the problem in the kingdom had worked out well so he could sell his items at twice the price soon.

Just in time, he could see the commander of the kingdom knights, Sir Perle, running towards him.

“How long will the production take?”

“Artifacts for pets are much easier to make compared to user artifacts so it can be done by today. But you have to leave your pet with me.”

“My pet?”

Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion. He was wondering how he could leave his pet with him when the summoning time was only for a few hours.

“Yes. If you place your pet in a pet storage then it can be summoned for a whole day. In the meantime, I will use a potion named ‘Pet Conversation’ to try and talk with your pet so I can produce the artifact that your pet wants the most.”

“Oho.”

That was quite a good idea. Minhyuk temporarily left Kongie in a pet storage and quickly left since Perle kept on nudging him to leave.

“Hyemin-ah. Let’s go buy some potion.”

“Yeah Dad! Baby poopy, protect this place while I’m away. Okay?!”

Kongie waved pitifully over the fence. His tail was wagging sadly as he looked at Hyemin who was moving away from him.

“Oiiiink……”

Don’t leave me behind. Oink~

Hyemin kept on looking back at him until Kongie disappeared from her sight. Once Kongie couldn’t see Hyemin anymore, he plopped down on the ground. The pitiful look was wiped away quickly. Kongie’s expression hardened. It was as if he had been staying at a desolate place for quite a long time.

“Oiiiink.”

It’s really hard to play with a child. Oink.

He sighed loudly as if to release that tired breath that he had been holding in. He sat down comfortably and wriggled his shoulders as he looked around his surroundings. His eyes caught sight of a pet cat that was sitting near him.

Pause!

The pet cat was surprised when he saw Kongie looking at him! Then, Kongie grinned wickedly as he opened his hands and gestured at the cat.

Massage my shoulders. Oink!

***

TL’s corner!

Kek. I knew Kongie was this badass. Hehe. The boss of all the pets.

PR’s corner!

Of course Kongie’s badass. Even Athenae itself has to try to keep a lid on his awesomeness.

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