Leveling Up through Eating

Minhyuk smiled when he saw Ali’s astonishment and shock.

“Is this enough for you to climb the Hall of Kings?” 

Ali nodded furiously when he heard his question.

“O, of course!” 

Rankers would be able to shine more if they have % increases in their stats. The 25% temporary increase in his WIS stat was not comparable to the 1.5x increase in his mana from the thousand-year-old ginseng but his other special abilities would be able to supplement the increase. And there was even a 20% reduction in the cooldown time. Ali was already vastly different to ordinary users in terms of casting speed and with this reduction his casting speed would undoubtedly be faster. The 20% increase in his INT also meant that his magical attack power would also have a temporary increase.

“You’re really an amazing chef! I think you’re leagues better than Black, the Twilight Chef!” 

Ali had also tried the Twilight Chef’s expensive dishes but there was nothing that he could eat that would boost his strength in the rumored traditional party house.

But with the temporary increase in his strength, he thought that it would be possible.

It was also at this moment that Ali believed that he and Minhyuk had some sort of ‘friendship’ and they could be somewhat called friends. Ali who did not have many friends! He would always have a sign that would show great trust between him and his friends. It was a sign that he would stay with them for a lifetime!

“Minhyuk-nim.” 

“Yes?” 

“Can you please give me your left arm?”

Minhyuk extended his left arm to him.

“Can we be friends?”

“Of course!”

Minhyuk considered Ali as his benefactor since he gave him that magical snack box. No, he was much more than that!

Then, Ali drew an ‘X’ on Minhyuk’s left arm and with a serious expression, he lifted his arm high up in the sky.

“This is a sign of our friendship!”

Minhyuk stared blankly at him for a moment. Meanwhile, Ali, who was deeply moved, had lifted his hand high up in the sky as he spoke in a deep voice.

“Do you know the feeling when another person dies? When your chest is bound under a spell? No, when you’re under a curse? No, when you pass a river of poison?!”

Minhyuk faintly realized something.

‘I know these lines from somewhere……’

“That’s not it! The time when your friends have forgotten about you! But I don’t believe that Minhyuk-nim will forget about me! This is a sign of our friendship! Friendshiiiiiiiiiiip!”

Ali shouted loudly to emphasize that one word.

Minhyuk stared at him quietly.

‘This person is an…… otaku? Right?’

Then, Ali whispered to him as if to urge him to respond to his words.

“If you join me then I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“Oooooooooooh!”

Minhyuk suddenly gained a lot of strength as he jumped up and lifted his left arm high up the sky. Then he turned around.

“No matter what happens, this X is the symbol of our friendship! Friendshiiiiiiiiiiip!”

“Kong-ah, come on! You do it too! Quickly!”

Kongie, who was sitting and enjoying his noodle soup, lifted his body at Minhyuk’s words. Then he copied Ali’s magic as he drew an X on his left arm before raising his hand high up in the sky.

“Ooooooooiiiiink!”

But deep inside, this was what Kongie felt……

‘This punk master. It’s really hard to live as a pet. Oink!’

Ali was beyond thrilled.

Aaah! What a beautiful scene! This is a very inspiring scene!

Meanwhile, Minhyuk thought that he should introduce him to Legend Guild’s ‘Ace’.

Then, at that moment a rush of notifications rang loudly in both their heads.

[Three sculptures of the Ancient Monarch have fused together.]

[The Ancient Monarch has now become stronger.]

[Due to the increase in strength of the Ancient Monarch, his soldiers have been awakened.]

[The Ancient Monarch’s Soldiers have woken up.]

“……?!”

Ali’s eyes widened.

The Ancient Monarch has become much stronger?

It was also true that the users who have gathered in Beas Village to hunt the Ancient Monarch were also very powerful. Because just one failure in the raid would result in a total wipe out. But what would happen if the Ancient Monarch has been strengthened?

‘What’s this? Something must have gone wrong.’

Then, another notification rang.

[The Guardians’ Tower will now be created.]

[The power of the three Guardians dwells in the tower.]

[The tower of the three Guardians will give out scores that are much higher than the regular tower of the Guardians.]

Every time the Ancient Monarch woke up, the Guardian’s Tower would also appear. However, the tower now was different from the tower back then. The ‘Guardian’s Tower’ was vastly different from the ‘Guardians’ Tower’. In other words, the Guardian’s Tower was the guardian of the sculpture and the role of this tower was to give points to the users. And the ‘Monarch’s Treasure Chest’ that they would receive would change depending on the score that they would get. The scores that could be obtained from the Guardian’s Tower would depend on a variety of actions.

1 Scores for a successful attack on the Ancient Monarch.

2 Scores for a successful fatal attack on the Ancient Monarch.

3 Scores for successfully hunting the soldiers of the Ancient Monarch.

4 Scores for dealing the final blow on the Ancient Monarch.

The reason why the scores for 1~4 were not explicitly stated was because the hunt for the Ancient Monarch has several different parties participating in it. The smaller the number of party members, the higher the score that they would get and the higher their score, the higher their rewards. However, if their party only had a small number of members, then it was only natural that they could not raid the Ancient Monarch. All they could do was be left behind by the others.

And just like what was explained above, the Guardians’ Tower would give a higher score compared to the regular Guardian Tower. In other words, the rewards would definitely be more generous.

‘What was it again? The best reward for successfully hunting the Ancient Monarch?’

Ali bit his lips tightly as he recalled the information.

‘A, a legendary artifact’s production recipe!’

There were a lot of different probabilities when someone was producing an artifact. Having high-grade materials did not mean that one would be able to produce a high-ranking artifact. Aside from the artifact materials, it would also depend on the blacksmith’s abilities.

But there was one thing that could ignore all of these. It was none other than the ‘Artifact Production Recipe’. In other words, if the user followed and collected all of the materials listed in the production recipe then they would definitely receive the rank of the artifact indicated in the recipe.

‘Wait. The reward should be better than a legendary artifact……’

Ali had a hunch.

‘It’s like they’re saying that there’s a possibility that we could have the production recipe for the best artifact!’ 

He was thrilled.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk, who was standing next to Ali, had also heard of the same notifications but he was looking at something else.

[Surprise Class Quest: The Ancient Monarch’s Yearning.]

Rank: SSS

Restrictions: Food God

Rewards: Ingredients for Ancient Monarch’s Soy Sauce Braised Chicken.

Penalty for Failure: -20 to all Stats.

Description: The Ancient Monarch was one of the Food God’s subordinates during his lifetime. When his mind was being encroached by the devil, he had asked the Food God for a favor. I don’t want to lose my precious subjects. I don’t want to kill them with my own hands. But now, the Food God of the past is dead. Make his wish come true and save Beas Village. If you succeed, then you will be able to receive one of the ‘Food God’s Divination’ through the Soy Sauce Braised Chicken.

‘Soy sauce braised chicken……? Food God’s Divination?!’ 

Of course, Minhyuk was trembling in excitement due to the soy sauce braised chicken.

[The Guardians’ Tower will now warp all the users in Beas Village and Berest Mountains to the mountain range’s entrance.]

The two men were suddenly surrounded by light.

***

The users from all over the world who were waiting for the Ancient Monarch’s raid were all flustered.

“The Ancient Monarch grew stronger?” 

“Wasn’t he already very strong from the very beginning?” 

All of the users present in the area would be warped at the entrance of the Berest Mountains once the Ancient Monarch appeared. Right now, there were at least 50 people gathered together. But none of these men could match up against the Ancient Monarch.

The users were all in a buzz after a man got warped again.

“He’s Japan’s ‘Musashi’, Kentaro. Right?” 

“Wow. Kentaro……!” 

Kentaro was placed second in Japan’s official rankings. He had two katanas hanging on his back as he crossed his arms.

There were many strong users here but it was quite rare for them to see one of the top five users of a country.

“Didn’t Kentaro raid the Ancient Monarch before?” 

Kentaro was famous for getting the Legendary Artifact Production Recipe. And right now, Kentaro had conducted the quest to enter Beas Village again. It was because he couldn’t forget the thrill of that time. When Kentaro dealt the last blow on the Ancient Monarch, the global users were in awe and amazement.

Then, Kentaro moved calmly as he began to speak.

“In order to raid the more powerful Ancient Monarch, users should all team up.” 

However, 50 people could not team up together.

Kentaro continued to talk.

“The most efficient number for each team is five. If the positions of each of the five people are good then the scores will be distributed perfectly. In addition, the limit for each party should be six people.” 

There weren’t many of these teams who made it to the top. But on the way up to the Berest Mountains, a translucent passage would be created depending on the number of teams. And the users needed to go up this passage as quickly as they could. In a way, this system was meant for people to fight in a team and cultivate teamwork but one could also say that the members of the team would be competing against each other.

And just like Kentaro had said, this was a method that most of the users knew.

[You are required to enter the Berest Mountains within 10 minutes.]

[For users who do not want to join the raid, you will return to the place you last visited before entering Beas Village once you log out.]

“We’d like to invite you to our party!” 

“Our party already has a Lv420 archer, Lv421 warrior and Lv417 legendary class users!!!” 

“We’re in a hurry. Our strongest combi is a combi of priests, warriors, archers, mages and bandits!” 

The users moved quickly while Kentaro was constantly bombarded by love calls.

“Kentaro-nim. Please party with me……” 

“Beat it.” 

“……” 

There were many users who wanted to team up with Kentaro. After all, if their team has a higher team score then their rewards were also bound to be bigger. But Kentaro kicked out the users who were incompetent and were trying to ride the bus.

‘From the people gathered today, I can see a few people who stand out from their user IDs……’

The number of people from all over the world who came to Berest Mountains to challenge this had continued to decline. Compared to the freshness of the first time, they would often be rewarded with treasure chests. However, they were too lazy and stingy. After all, it was too inefficient for them especially if you stacked up the time it took to complete the entrance quest.

Kentaro had an artifact. It was a ‘Measuring Pocket Watch’. It was an artifact in the shape of a pocket watch but instead of showing time, it would show the other person’s level. This artifact was a ‘legendary artifact’. And in a fight against a user or a monster, this artifact was quite handy.

There was a man who suddenly caught Kentaro’s eyes. He was a man wearing a black robe and was presumably a mage. Next to him was a man wearing a shabby armor, a rapier on his back and an old and rusty helmet. Kentaro quietly aimed his Measuring Pocket Watch at the man wearing the black robe.

[You have activated the Measuring Pocket Watch. You can only use it five times a day.]

[The Measuring Pocket Watch is exploring the level of the targeted user.]

Clack─

The cover of the Measuring Pocket Watch opened on its own.

‘……Ho?’

Kentaro’s eyes were filled with intrigue and curiosity.

That guy in the black robe.

‘He’s at least at Lv470?’

The Measuring Pocket Watch would not show an accurate number. But it shows the approximate range.

Then, Kentaro approached him.

“I need a mage user. Would you like to join me?” 

Ali, the mage user wearing a black robe, nodded his head in greeting when Kentaro asked him.

‘Kentaro…… I don’t like the rumors surrounding this guy but……’ 

If he worked with him then he would most likely be able to climb the Hall of Kings. So Ali, the Black Mage, nodded his head.

“Alright. Ah, he’s my friend. Can he come with us?”

“Is that so? Wait a minute. The time now is……”

Kentaro glanced at the man next to him as he used his Measuring Pocket Watch.

Clack─

Kentaro’s brows furrowed when he saw what was written in the pocket watch.

‘350?’ 

This is a user who could not enter Beas Village. Is this a bug?

That was the thought that crossed his mind.

‘He’s just a burden.’

Then Kentaro told him firmly.

“Excuse me, but what is your level?” 

Minhyuk answered his question right away.

“It’s Lv355.” 

“……!”

Ali turned to him in shock.

‘You’re only at Lv355. How can you be in Beas Village……’

Then, Kentaro smiled wryly.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s possible for you to come with me. As you know, the level of the party members is also very important in this party hunt. It’s a team score after all. Ah, of course, the smaller the number of people in the team, the higher the score…… but they will not be able to make it to the summit.”

“……”

Ali realized that he was trying to tell him to leave Minhyuk behind. And since Minhyuk has still not logged out yet then he was required to join a party. He could not return anymore.

But Ali wanted to climb the Hall of Kings, and for him to do so he needed to team up with the man named Kentaro. If he teamed up with him then he would get a high score. And those with the highest score on the team were most likely rewarded and crowned in the Hall of Kings.

There was a lot of buzz from the surroundings.

“Lv355?”

“Crazy…… Who would even want that user as their party member?”

“If I receive that user then I will get a decrease in my team’s score and a decrease on the Ancient Monarch’s rewards. Right?”

“I think that user should go up there alone.”

“Kghk! Lv355?”

Ali looked around for a moment before speaking coldly.

“Everyone, shut up!”

“……”

The surroundings turned quiet. Then, Ali spoke……

“I’m going up with this guy alone. Since we are ‘friends’.”

Ali raised his left arm that was marked with an X. Next to him was Minhyuk. He did not pay attention to whether the other users were cursing him or not as he munched on some cream bread while saying ‘Kyaa! Cream bread is so delicious!’. He also lifted his left arm.

“I’m refusing you. I’m going to accompany this person. We’re friends.”

Minhyuk shouted brightly while he ate his cream bread.

“Frieeeeeeeends!”

Kongie also hurriedly lifted his left arm while standing on Minhyuk’s shoulder.

“Ooooooiiiiink!”

It was at this moment when the person named ‘Ali’ had made the best choice of his life.

***

TL’s corner!

For friends!!!!!!