Leveling Up through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

68 Prince Argon and the Royal Shop

This notification rang loudly as countless large guilds entered the A-ranked area in Elvenheim.

[Take back the land that has been taken away by the demonic race.]

[If you succeed in recapturing the land and defending it for two days, then you will become the master of the land that you have protected and your contributions will increase sharply.]

The words in the notifications were easy to interpret. In other words, this was a structure that promoted a competition between the large guilds. 

Guilds began to enter Elvenheim’s A-ranked area.

Meanwhile, Caillan, the guild master of Iris Guild, and Ares, the guild master of Ares Guild, formed an alliance. Through their alliance, they were able to gain about three small villages and towns. They were fighting a defensive battle in order to gain a stronghold between Elvenheim and the Elven Forest. Caillan and Ares’ mouths were both almost torn with how wide they were grinning.

“As expected.”

Ares shook his head when he heard Caillan’s words.

Caillan and Ares were both forced to fail by Legend Guild. In the case of Caillan, he suffered from failure when he faced off against Legend Guild during the disaster from God Juis. In Ares’ case, he suffered failure when he tried to capture King Varen and faced off against Legend Guild.

But right now, they were both ahead of all the guilds. And they have been so for quite a long time now. Other guilds were only able to have just one territory. In addition, they would also be able to hit the goal faster to get that opportunity. The opportunity was none other than the ‘Elf Shop’.

Elf Shops was a shop that did not only exist in Elvenheim. It existed in all of the villages, towns, big cities, and territories in the entire continent. Due to the war’s outbreak, countless Elf Shops were created. The Elf Shops would only be available to the user once they have accumulated enough points from their contributions.

In addition, the users were all restricted from using the consumables that they had brought with them as soon as they entered Elvenheim. The only consumables that they could use were the ones they had purchased in Elvenheim. Elves potions, elves parchments, elves food and even rare artifacts.

Right now, Ares and Caillan were both able to discover a special purchase from a High Elf woman that stayed in their three recaptured towns.

[The Elf Shop’s Upgrade.]

[100,000 war points.]

The woman was called Ruby.

Caillan and Ares had guessed that Joy Co. Ltd. had set up high contribution points or a restriction for having more territory or perhaps having excessive luck to get something special. Their guilds were extremely lucky but it was also because they had good defenses. And because of this, they found a way to get ahead of the other guilds faster. They believed that if the ranking of the shop increased then they would be able to get something better for the war.

“Ruby. I’m buying the Elf Shop’s Upgrade.” 

“You need 100,000 war points to exchange for the Elf Shop’s Upgrade.” 

“Here’s the 100,000 points.” 

“You’ve worked hard to save us, elves. Thank you.” 

Having that many war points meant that they had hunted many demonic races.

Then, the notifications rang.

[You have purchased the Elf Shop’s Upgrade.]

[Your Elf Shop will be upgraded to Rank C. Caillan and Iris Guild will have a 10% discount in the Elf’s Shop.]

[You can purchase more special items in Rank C.]

Caillan grinned widely before rushing to check the Elf’s Shop.

“……!”

The smile on Caillan’s face did not disappear. The reason was simple, it was because there were now a lot of better things in the shop than before.

They were now selling a whole lot of the ‘Elves’ Arrow of Life’. Right now, he could purchase 1,000 pieces for one transaction only. Surprisingly enough, the arrow had an additional 15% increase in attack power and a 20% increase in critical hit rate when facing demonic races. And that was not all of it. Although the items were limited in quantities, there were countless things that were now available in the Elf’s Shop. There was even the Elf’s Water of Life which could temporarily increase the attack power against the demonic races by 15%.

Currently, Iris and Ares Guild had a little more than a hundred members. So what would happen if each and every one of them would have a 15% increase in attack power? They could go far ahead of the other guilds. 

Then, Caillan heard another notification.

[The Elf’s Shop Upgrade price has increased.]

[300,000 war points.]

‘Expensive……’

It wasn’t easy for them to gain contribution points. He was only able to gather 100,000 war points after almost exhausting his individual war points. Thanks to his individual and guild war points, they were now significantly ahead of the others. 

But then, Caillan suddenly felt curious. 

“What is the highest ranking?”

***

Meanwhile, Legend Guild was also able to gain a town. And along with that, Genie was also able to meet with the Shop NPC, Remin.

Genie tilted her head as she looked around the shop.

[Do you want to upgrade the Elf’s Shop?]

[50,000 war points.]

‘Oh?’

Then, she immediately checked the information.

[Elf’s Shop’s rankings. The Elf’s Shop would start at rank E. However, it is possible to upgrade your shop to a better and great store if you continue to make contributions. The rankings are divided into D, C, B, A and Royal. Three days after the Rank C store opens, the upgrades that can be purchased will be released in all of the NPC shops in every village and town. If you have a special NPC shop in your town or village, you may be able to increase your ranking by that time.]

“So this is how one can use their points.”

The privilege that was granted to her store was to gain access to information in advance. This meant that she would be able to see further information and check them ahead of others.

[Rank C upgrade requires 100,000 points, Rank B: 300,000 points, Rank A: 600,000 points, Royal: 1 million points. In the case of a Royal Shop, there are only two Royal hidden NPCs that can open the Royal Rank. In addition, once the Royal Ranked Shop opens, your 1 million war points will be returned to you.]

“Kek!”

Genie was shocked. 

Royal rank needs 1 million war points? What’s worse is that only the Royal family can open it?

It was said that the elves only had the Elf King and only one prince among their royalties. So the difficulty was already very high with just this requirement alone.

And Genie could easily deduce the meaning of the returning of the 1 million war points.

‘It’s literally impossible for an individual to gain 1 million war points to access the Royal Shop. This is clearly a privilege and is something meant to sober us up……’

Legend Guild was not performing very well since their numbers were significantly smaller than the rest of the guilds. And right now, they were even down by one person. 

Then, Genie sent a message in the GC to Ace.

[Guild Master Genie: Our Ace, where are you^^?]

[Guild Chatting: I’m almost there. I’m taking some really strong people with me so wait for me a little bit more~]

[Guild Master Genie: Okie dokie.]

She heard that he would bring strong and reliable people but she really did not expect much. However, she still believed that there would be a slight boost in their strength if they came.

***

(Map of the Immortals’ Land)

Restrictions: None

Description:

—It serves to show and indicate what is in each section of the Immortals’ Land. However, it cannot show the rewards list.

—The status of other users, their military troops and personnel as well as their scores while they are still in Immortals’ Land can also be viewed.

—The Map of the Immortals’ Land gives the owner the opportunity to check the rewards list once. This chance has already been used by the previous owner.

[All Talk Commander]

Unique Title

Title Effect: It has the power to make the soldiers or the users believe in your words even if you lie.

The map looked quite useful to him. 

When he unfolded the map, he saw the things that were located in Zone 1 written clearly on it. And his new title…… It was literally a special title that Minhyuk had received after speaking those meticulously thought out lies.

Then, Minhyuk saw the troops crying and laughing in front of him.

“Keuheuheuheuk. Thanks to our commander, we can be here with you safely and without any worries. I’m so happy to be here with you.” 

“Huhuhuhuhu!” 

The Reapers and Iron Blood were all in tears. And just like what they had agreed upon, they all became a part of the Rice Supplement company.

“Keuheuheuheuk! Ah! Great Minhyuk-nim!”

“Minhyuk, mansae!”

“Minhyuk, mansae!”

That was right. They had all become a group of swindlers! Minhyuk pretended to be moved to tears as he started his charade.

“I can’t control my tears. They keep on falling down so I’ll go over there to calm myself down. Keuheuheuheuk!”

Minhyuk shed his tears just like that but once he got out of their sight, a grin bloomed in his handsome face.

‘I’ll be in big trouble if someone asks for a bite, right?’

Minhyuk’s smile was so wide that his mouth almost got torn. Then, he pulled out the chicken feet set that he had received after achieving 100% in the commanding ability.

“Wow……”

He admired the chicken feet set for a while after he pulled it out of his inventory.

The Spicy Chicken Feet Set that’s glistening red looks so beautiful. And there’s even some steamed eggs?

The steamed eggs were different from the common steamed eggs that were cooked in an earthen pot. When he held and shook the plastic container that contained the steamed egg, the steamed egg bounced and wiggled. It looked extremely soft and elastic.

Then, he looked at the ingredients right next to it. They were the ingredients that were used in making rice balls together with some peach Julpis. Minhyuk quickly wore plastic gloves as he sprinkled the rice with sesame seeds. He used pickled radish as fillings before rolling it in seaweed.

“I’m none other than a master craftsman in making rice balls!”

Just like what he said, Minhyuk’s skill in rice ball rolling was already at its peak. It could already be considered art at this point. Sometimes, there were people who couldn’t even make half a ball of rice. These were people who truly couldn’t roll rice balls. However, Minhyuk could make it very pretty and round.

After making some rice balls, Minhyuk quickly picked up one reddish, shiny and glistening spicy chicken feet with his chopsticks before putting it in his mouth. He was chewing it easily but he could still feel the sting in every bite. The flavor of the chicken feet was a bit spicy but it was still tolerable. The flavor that first spread in his mouth was tinged with the delightful aftertaste of smoke and charcoal fire. And after eating about three of them, he couldn’t help but let out some breath out of his mouth.

“Swiiip— Aaah.”

His tongue was tingling due to the spicyness. This time, he took a spoon and dug in the soft and jiggling steamed egg. With just a touch of the spoon, the steamed egg easily came out of the container. As soon as he placed it in his mouth, he could taste the soft and warm steamed egg. The taste of the steamed egg brought happiness and relief in his mouth.

Then, he turned his attention towards the rice balls. With his hands wrapped in the plastic gloves, he brought the rice ball to his mouth. The salty seaweed, sesame seeds and pickled radish blended and mixed to create a savory yet sour flavor in his mouth.

After tasting everything, he quickly went back to his chicken feet. His forehead was already beaded in sweat after eating plenty of the chicken feet. However, the enticing and spicy flavor of the chicken feet had a magical temptation that wouldn’t let him stop from eating them until they were gone.

And at this time, there was one thing that he needed.

Glug, glug, glug— 

He quickly took out a glass filled with ice before pouring the Julpis in it. Then, he grabbed the glass and gulped down its icy yet refreshing contents. His tingling tongue suddenly sizzled and calmed down. 

After he finished everything, the notifications rang loudly in his ears.

[You have eaten the Food God’s Spicy Chicken Feet Set.]

[You gained 100,000 contribution points.]

“Oh?”

He suddenly earned a significant amount of contribution points in one go. 

After eating the spicy chicken feet set, Minhyuk once again opened the map of the Immortals’ Land  and checked its contents. There was a variety of information listed in the map. Minhyuk couldn’t help but tilt his head in thought as he stared at Zone 2.

‘A red skull?’

In reality, such a figure represented ‘danger’ and ‘destruction’. Minhyuk clicked on it.

[You can’t have additional access. The rewards list has been checked already.]

[The previous owner had already checked all of the information.]

“……Hmm.”

Minhyuk tilted his head in thought. The previous owner was Bach so he thought that he had already finished checking everything. With that, he couldn’t see that information so the rest was left unconfirmed.

Minhyuk left and led his troops quickly.

It was time to finish taking over Zone 1 so they could move on to Zone 2.

***

“……”

Eclei was left speechless after coming back from his nap. It was because there was no one in sight. He felt a bit strange standing alone in a place where the cold wind was blowing strongly. What was worse was that Bach was nowhere in sight. So he logged out.

After Eclei, or Lee Sungjae, logged out, he immediately contacted Bach, commonly known as Lee Hyunwoo in reality. But before he could even do so, he already saw several text messages on his phone.

‘What’s this?’

When he finally realized the situation, Lee Sungjae couldn’t help but feel flustered.

He just read that Bach was logged out by Minhyuk and their troops all joined the Rice Supplement company. But to make matters even worse, Hyunwoo made a foreigner’s pledge. Right now, Hyunwoo had no choice but to tell Emperor Asvon that he had died from a monster attack and Minhyuk had to take over the command of their troops.

Not long after, Hyunwoo received a call. Sungjae’s voice was filled with doubt and anger since everything sounded so ridiculous to him.

“No. How can you do something like that!!!”

[I let my guard down. I never thought that he would have that skill. He had a skill that would momentarily make him invincible…… If it wasn’t for that, then I’d definitely win.]

Hyunwoo still thought that he had lost only by a narrow margin.

[He’s a rookie when it comes to fighting.]

“Didn’t you die from such a rookie?”

A moment of silence passed by between them. However, Hyunwoo said to him not long after……

[That’s what happened…… Now, I’m out of commission so I’ll have to trust you Sungjae. I still have a way to win.]

“A way?”

[Yes. Do you remember that red skull in the Map of the Immortals’ Land?]

“Yes. I remember.”

When he asked Hyunwoo about it, he seemed reluctant and only said that it was a dangerous area.

[It’s a very dangerous area. And I have checked the information in there completely. It’s the land of the ‘Fallen Spirit King’. Hunting the Fallen Spirit King can grant you two rewards options.]

“What’s that?”

[First. It’s none other than becoming a demonic human. By becoming a demonic human, you will get more powerful troops from the corrupted soldiers of the Fallen Spirit King. The second option gives you 400,000 contribution points and the Elf’s Heart. The Elf’s Heart is said to contain an enormous power and can be used as a guild property. And one more thing.]

Sungjae quietly listened to Hyunwoo.

[When you become a demonic human, the second reward will be transferred if someone hunts you.]

***

TL’s corner!

Flags were raised.