Leveling Up through Eating

Translator: ChubbyCheeks

PR: MattForgenti

Zank did not delay at all.

Thuud!

He knelt down and bowed in a hurry.

“Zank of the Heavenly Spear Masters says his greetings again! I give my greetings to the Legend of the Continent, the Father of all the Spear Masters, Ghost Spear Ben!”

“You finally learnt some manners.”

Then, Minhyuk said……

“Senior. That’s quite rude to others. Please let him get up.”

Ben laughed as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

“I’m just being silly. Boy, stand up.”

“Yes? N, no it’s fine……!”

“Stand. Up.”

Fwoosh!

Zank immediately stood up as if he had seen a ghost. Once he was standing, Old Man Ben turned towards Minhyuk and laughed as he said to him…..

“I already made him stand up. It’s fine now, right?”

He looked like he was telling Minhyuk ‘I did a good job, right? So compliment me!’.

“Aigoo. You did~ well~!”

“Hohoho. Thanks.”

Crow was muttering something to himself while he watched Old Man Ben talk happily with Minhyuk.

“Ben…… Ben…… Where did I hear that name…… Ghost Spear Ben……”

Crow continued to mull over the familiar sounding name as well as Zank’s violent reaction. After thinking about it for quite some time, he suddenly jumped up in shock.

“The Ouroboros Hunter Ben……!”

Crow’s eyes grew the size of the saucers. 

Ouroboros! It was a snake with a size that was comparable to the size of a dragon. It was a legendary monster and was estimated to be at around Lv500.

Crow’s job class was a Spear Master and he had heard about Ben from an NPC who had changed his job class to a legendary job class.

‘You’re really a great Spear Master.’

‘Crow. Do you believe me when I say that there’s a better Spear Master on top of me?’

‘……?!’

‘In the past, Ghost Spear Ben had successfully hunted an Ouroboros that had swallowed a whole village down.’

“What’s wrong Crow? Who’s that old man?”

Genie couldn’t understand why Zank and Crow both had strong reactions towards Old Man Ben. Crow quickly gathered his thoughts before speaking up.

“That person is just like a legend. The Continent’s Thousand Heavenly Spear Masters or even the Hundred Heavenly Spear Masters are all like a child in front of that old man, Genie.”

Crow shook his head in disbelief.

“Perhaps we have gotten ourselves a ridiculously strong vassal right now.”

“……!”

Genie’s face was colored with surprise as she turned her head to look at Minhyuk and the old man.

“Did you kill the Ouroboros?”

“Killed it.”

“Where did it go?”

“I broke it up and sold it.”

“But it would have been delicious if we made it into some snake wine……!”

“I did not think of that! Do you want me to catch one now?”

He might be a bit weird but he’s the best vassal that we could ask for.

***

America’s Black Swan Guild, the third in the guild rankings in America, was gaining a lot of attention globally after they surpassed the 45-minute threshold in the Time Attack Dungeon.

In particular, this Time Attack Dungeon was happening in Athenae and the only restrictions for them to be admitted was that they needed to be ‘only three people’ and ‘can only enter 5 times per day’. In addition, there were various things that were added up to finalize the rank like final clear time as well as damage inflicted.

Black Swan had currently achieved an S-rank for the first time. 

“Can we ask you a question Mr. Michael?” 

Michael was being surrounded by reporters all over. He was God Baveka’s Child, Julian, in the game. Although his name was quite similar to a woman’s he was definitely a straight, white male.

“In all honesty, I heard that there were quite a lot of ways to raise Holy Power. But the limits and restrictions are clear and definite. That’s why we want to know how Mr. Michael has achieved an astounding 1,500 Holy Power?” 

Michael gave a wry smile when he heard their question.

“I just completed a variety of services and activities for God Baveka.” 

“Activities…… I heard that these activities and services were horrible in nature, is that true?”

Each and every reporter present knew for a fact that the services performed for God could truly raise their Holy Powers. However, these acts and services were all inhumane and impossible to do.

“That’s right. Every day I had to bow a thousand times towards God Baveka. Then, I had to keep silent inside the game for over a month. I was also only allowed to eat hard bread and wine given to me in Baveka’s Sanctuary. I was not allowed to hunt any monsters. I also was not allowed to sleep for 5 days and was only tasked to pray to God Baveka.”

“It’s…… Is that really what you did?”

Michael just smiled silently.

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click!

The camera flashed endlessly while the reporters were all left speechless with what they had heard. But based on Michael’s personality they could deduce that he might not have been silent for only a month. Perhaps he had already started to stop talking from the moment he became God Baveka’s Child.

Also, the hard bread that he had mentioned was literally the bread that was served during service in Baveka’s Sanctuary. However this bread was very dry and stale and was really just not fit for consumption.

And he even had to pray for 5 days straight without any sleep… Would anyone do that patiently? And it was even done inside the game. Was there anyone in their right mind who would do something like that inside the game? It was definitely something that a normal person would do.

“You’re really amazing. I’m truly speechless.”

Clap, clap, clap!

The reporters all clapped at his dedication.

Then, one of the reporters said……

“But…… If there was a user who had increased their Holy Power through an easier method then, would you feel pain for your efforts?”

Michael laughed bitterly when he heard those words.

“Currently, it is known that medicines and God’s blessing can increase Holy Power. But receiving God’s blessing is also difficult and God’s blessing is not for everyone. In addition if we don’t have the medicine then we won’t be able to eat them and gain Holy Power.”

The interview finished after Michael had said that. Then, he quickly went home and accessed Athenae. Once he logged on as Julian, he wouldn’t be able to say any more words.

The Guild Master, Smith, approached him.

Julian wouldn’t also send a whisper so the only way to communicate with him was through a whiteboard. So he quickly wrote on his whiteboard.

[Goddamn reporters! They asked me what I would feel if a user found a way to increase their Holy Power in an easier way and not how we got it. That was the question that was most irritating.]

“Yes. I understand your feelings. That’s why you better calm down.” 

Julian was not a pure, innocent and clean person like what was spread through people’s stories. It was just that he had found a special way to showcase himself and his fame surprisingly flew high.

Smith saw him as his closest aide and confidant.

A companion with 1,500 Holy Power? Isn’t that too crazy.

In fact, his silence would only last for another two weeks but he still had to bow to God Baveka’s a thousand times per day. And Smith who stood to the side as he watched him do this also felt horrible. He had to admit that he was really a tenacious person.

Suddenly, Smith thought about what the reporter had said earlier.

‘Will there be really someone who will get a high Holy Power like Julain through an easy method?’

Then he laughed helplessly.

‘That’s impossible.’

***

Genie, Khan and Locke were all talking about the Time Attack Dungeon.

“But our biggest problem is the boss monster, the Dullahan King. It’s defensive power is really high.”

“Yeah. Ah. We only have three chances left……”

Minhyuk suddenly spoke up after listening to their stories.

“Do you want me to come with you?” 

“Huh?”

“……”

“In the Time Attack Dungeon?”

The three of them paused when they heard him volunteer. This was because Minhyuk might be stronger compared to his original level but he was still weak if he was compared to them. It did not matter if they were friends but they couldn’t make a rash decision when the whole guild was at stake.

“I gained a lot of Holy Power this time so I thought that it might be of help.”

The three of them laughed bitterly when they heard him say that he had received a lot of Holy Power. God Baveka’s Child, Julian, had a Holy Power that was over 1,300. No, according to the interview recently, he had 1,500 Holy Power.

But just in case, Genie still asked him.

“How much?”

“1,000. Ah. But in reality the effect is around 2,000?”

“Huh……?”

“Eh……?”

Genie asked him while sporting a confused expression on her face.

“H, how did you get it that high?”

“I just ate diligently……”

“……”

“……”

Khan, Genie and Locke all thought back to the hardships that God Baveka’s Child Julian had gone through and all of them thought of one thing.

‘Julian, I feel sorry for you……’

‘As expected, life is really unfair……’

‘It’s like he ate raw spinach without boiling it……’

***

Genie, Khan, Locke and Minhyuk all stood in front of the entrance of the dungeon in the Time Attack Dungeon.

‘2,000 Holy Power.’

As Genie thought about it again, she couldn’t help thinking about how ridiculous it was so she just laughed it off. Meanwhile, Minhyuk had asked them for a favor in exchange for helping them in their attack.

‘I want you to get the best and finest cooking ingredients that you come across.’

The reason why Minhyuk chose to ask for the best ingredients was simple.

‘I’ll call my friends in Athenae and eat together.’

Of course, his father was also included in the list. He had never eaten together with his father and his friends who had lived with him for 5 years. So he wanted to make the best dish with the best ingredients for his father’s upcoming birthday.

That was the only condition that Minhyuk wanted for him to join this Time Attack Dungeon. Perhaps it was more like a favor than a condition. He asked them for help because he knew that gathering all of the ingredients by himself would definitely prove to be too difficult and time consuming.

There were only three people allowed to enter the Time Attack Dungeon so a person had to be left behind. And it was Genie.

“I’ll be waiting for you in front of the entrance.”

“Yep.”

“Just keep your eyes wide open.”

The reason why Genie decided to be left behind was because she could not deal a higher damage compared to Khan and Locke could serve as both a healer and a dealer while Minhyuk was the person with the highest Holy Power among them so the only choice left was her.

Originally, the skill God’s Targeted Praise was attached to Pandora’s Helmet but he recently used it on Ben so it could no longer be used.

‘Will this work?’

Minhyuk went inside but Genie was still left worrying. They know that Minhyuk currently had a x2 increase on his attack and defense but his level was still too low. And what was more worrying was that he only had a x2 in his attack and defense but his speed was still the same.

Genie knew that they already had no chance of narrowing the ranks between the other countries in this Time Attack Dungeon but she still checked the current ranking.

[United States Black Swan Team: 43 minutes 38 seconds. Rank: 1st.]

[South Korea Legend Team: 1 hour 5 minutes 21 seconds. Rank: 14th.]

The Legend Team had narrowed the time as much as they could but they had reached their limit.

What they knew was that the top three teams would be rewarded after the Time Attack Dungeon had finished today. The 1st to 3rd place only. There was no clear list of the rewards yet but she was sure that it would be tremendous.

Minhyuk, Khan and Locke moved inside the dungeon.

As soon as they entered, a notification rang.

[You have entered the Time Attack Dungeon.]

[The Time Limit for your attack is 2 hours. You will not be allowed entry if you fail to clear the dungeon.]

Minhyuk had heard a lot about this before he entered the dungeon. He knew that the Time Attack Dungeon was a repetitive dungeon so all they had to do was target their enemies better and narrow down the time as much as they could. 

And they only had three times left to attack. The first out of the three tries left was set for Minhyuk to adapt and gain a better understanding of the dungeon.

Locke rushed directly towards the cursed dragon.

[Crazy Priest’s Heal.]

[Continuous bleeding will be triggered. There’s also a 20% probability of placing the enemy under an abnormal state.]

Locke had to try for a quite some time before succeeding in his attack since the cursed dragon had a tremendous defense. Khan and Locke struggled fiercely before they successfully killed the dragon.

“Did you see? They’re really strong.”

“Hmm……”

Minhyuk nodded his head. He was originally on his way to a Lv300 hunting ground but he only felt his situation when he arrived at a Lv450 hunting ground.

The next one to appear was the Ghoul King. The 3m tall Ghoul King immediately launched a poison attack towards them.

“At this point, you have to drink the detoxification potion!”

[You have inhaled the poison of the Ghoul King.]

[You have an invincible body that can ignore and resist all abnormal states.]

[You have resisted an abnormal state.]

“Oh. Really? Please give me a bottle!”

“Here.”

Khan hurriedly threw the detoxification potion to Minhyuk. He had complete resistance against abnormal states but he was thirsty so he still asked for a potion. But when he gulped it down……

“……Tastes bad!”

He firmly decided to never drink a detoxification potion ever again.

They kept on moving forward after dealing with the Ghoul King. At this time, Khan said……

“This is the third point. This is the second most agonizing place after the Dullahan King  since there are a lot of monsters that flock in this area. The toughest thing in here is getting past through them in the shortest amount of time.”

Khan continued his explanation.

“We’re having a hard time since Locke and I don’t have any area of attack skills. If we had an area of attack skill then it would be easy to clear this point.”

“I have an area of attack skill. Should I try it once?”

“Oh. You have an area of attack skill?”

Locke and Khan turned towards each other. They knew that Minhyuk could exert a tremendous amount of power when he was dealing with a single person so they both had great expectations towards his skill.

Khan hurriedly drove back the cursed dragons and wrathful specters that prevented them from moving further inside.

“Try it.”

In fact they were just excited but they did not expect too much. Even if Minhyuk had a x2 increase on his attack power, this place was still difficult for someone of his level.

Minhyuk stepped forward after hearing their consent. Then, the next moment, the space was torn apart as a sword imprinted with a Phoenix appeared.

[You have summoned the Ancient Water Dragon Barraca’s Greatsword.]

Minhyuk quickly grabbed the grip of the sword.

Shwaaaaaaaaa!

A red current surrounded Minhyuk’s body. It fluttered around him like ashes floating from an ember.

“Keuhahahaha. Doesn’t Minhyuk look cool?!”

Locke laughed loudly as he blocked the mobs that tried to get closer to Minhyuk. Then, he saw Minhyuk slam the greatsword down on the ground.

Stab!

“Deep (Burst).”

[Blooming Sword. Deep (Burst).]

[A sword will indiscriminately rise from the ground and attack your enemies within 8m from your position. It will cause a penetrative explosion that will have an additional 70% damage.]

There were hundreds of swords that rose from the ground.

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

The swords immediately stabbed straight through the bodies of the monsters. And once it stabbed at them……

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The monsters exploded in one go!

Plop, plop, plop!

Plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop━

Plop, plop, plop!

More than 40 monsters that blocked their way in front exploded in an instant.

“……”

“……”

Locke was frozen in shock as he stared at the place where the monsters exploded. Then, he turned towards Minhyuk and asked……

“What’s your level?”

“291.”

Locke was at Lv437.

“Y, yeah……”

Khan and Locke suddenly bowed their heads as they both looked down at the ground. Not long after, Locke raised his head as he stared at a faraway place in a daze as he murmured something.

“I suddenly miss my mom……”

***

TL’s corner!

I was almost finishing this when I checked 161 and saw that my file did not save online and now the changes I have made in 161 disappeared. AHHHHH I’m so frustrated. That’s 10 pages worth of words. I’m so sad.

Report mistakes and chat with us at: https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu