Leveling Up through Eating

The man everyone had been waiting for was just a young man in his early twenties.

Even though he was young, he gave hope to patients with rare diseases and became the idol of many.

People all over the world had watched him grow and overcome his eating addiction. They even saw him fly to Japan on a helicopter for the sake of a young boy with a rare disease. He had also recently donated the tens of billions of wons’ worth of profits that he obtained in Athenae anonymously.

That was not all. He was the type of person who acted strongly against the strong and embraced the weak and the pitiful. He would show no mercy to his enemies but treat his friends kindly and gently.

Before the people knew it, this young man had already become an emperor.

Some people, blinded by their envy and jealousy, wrote malicious comments and targeted him. Then one day, a video with the young man as the protagonist was released. Through this video, the jealous people saw that he was completely different from them.

Unlike them, who would start complaining and sobbing about their situation right after they got out of bed, the young man would work hard and repeat one set of movements day after day until he obtained what he wanted to get.

Unlike them, who only thought of this as a mere game and left the will to develop and grow themselves while thinking it was annoying, he reduced his sleep and led tens of millions of people.

Before they realized it, they had already started to write his name on Ztube to see if he had any new videos. Of course, there were still malicious comments targeting him.

However, at this moment, when Helenia summoned tens of thousands of Hellfires and sent them raining down upon the world, he returned.

[Guild Master Minhyuk has logged in.]

[Allied Forces’ Commander Minhyuk has logged in.]

The moment they saw the notifications, the viewers, who had been miserable and in despair, jumped out from their seats and screamed. His appearance alone lit up the entire world.

[Loud and passionate cheers are ringing all over the world.]

[Amidst their loud cheers, a young man stood strong and proud.]

[Everyone saw his growth and development. They saw him overcome countless hardships and trials.]

[The only one who can stop her.]

[The only one who can end this.]

[Indeed. In the entire world, he’s the only one who can finally end this.]

[The one and only Great Sovereign.]

[He lit a small fire in the darkness. Like a signal, hundreds of millions of flames lit up and brightened the world.]

[In front of the Great Sovereign’s power, no enemy attack can reach those fighting by his side.]

[The Great Sovereign’s Authority: Great Sovereign’s Shield has been activated.]

[The Great Sovereign’s Shield will protect you once from any attack, no matter what.]

[The Great Sovereign is with you.]

A powerful shield made of light appeared above their heads and protected them.

[Your HP and MP have recovered by 25%. Your defensive power will increase by 20% for three minutes.]

Just like that, the dying ones escaped the brink of death when their HP increased by 25%.

Meanwhile, Helenia was shocked to see her Hellfire being countered and neutralized.

‘He protected hundreds of millions of people?’

This was a power that she had never seen before in her life. Helenia turned her head and saw Minhyuk.

Minhyuk was walking straight toward the struggling Barbarian, holding two swords. With Ben and Alexander regaining some of their strength, they held on tightly to his collar and legs.

“Hi- hiiiiik! Bastards! If- if you kill me here, then a huge number of monsters will be released to the world instantly!”

It was a ridiculous threat. But it could be fitting. After all, Lord of the Monsters Barbarian had been enduring and hiding behind the shadows for over a thousand years while repeatedly dismantling and fusing disgusting monsters, for this day!

Minhyuk walked past the shouting Barbarian. The dozens of Sky Knights charged toward them as if they had sensed the danger.

Slash– Slash, slash–!

“Keuaaaack! A- aaaaaack!!!”

Helenia’s face grew ugly as screams stained with fear resonated on the battlefield.

Barbarian, who was cut all over, breathed a sigh of relief. This was because he had endured the powerful force that ravaged him. Then, he caught sight of the indifferent look in Minhyuk’s eyes.

Slash–!

Thud, thud, thud–!

Barbarian was an Eight Pillars’ candidate. He had enough qualifications to become one but was deprived of them because he conducted experiments using various species. This Barbarian had collapsed on the ground.

The allied forces’ cheers erupted and resonated all over the battlefield.

[You have successfully killed one of the Eight Pillars’ Candidates, Barbarian.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled...]

[Everyone who participated in Barbarian’s hunt will receive a +2 increase in level.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Barbarian was completely different from the Named NPCs. As a former Eight Pillars’ Candidate and no less than an Eight Pillars himself, he was a threat to mankind. It was apparent how he killed hundreds of millions of people during this battle. Because of that, the system rewarded the people even though they merely joined the hunt for him.

Participating in the hunt alone guaranteed a +2 increase in level. What more about the players who had directly contributed to Barbarian’s death and those who killed some of the Sky Knights? Most were high rankers from the Beyond the Heavens Empire and Level 650 rankers, including Alexander.

Ascar breathed a sigh of relief. After adding the guaranteed +2 level increase, the number of level-ups she had received as a reward reached eight. Of course, it was not enough for them to recover from ignoring the access penalty. Nonetheless, it was enough for them to at least tide through this time and take a breather.

As for Minhyuk? He was receiving a constant stream of notifications in his ears.

[You have gained 5, 416, 030 platinum.]

Nevertheless, he did not have any time to pay attention to them. He looked at the Sky Knights. All of them had stopped in their tracks. The players took advantage of this and destroyed over forty Sky Knights. Because of that, they received a high EXP value that was enough to offset some of the level-down penalties they had received earlier.

Then, at that moment, something happened.

Crack, crack, crack–!

[With the death of Lord of the Monsters Barbarian, all of the monsters in his summoning room will be released.]

Fwoosh–!

Monsters poured out from the crack that appeared in space. The elated expressions on the faces of the players suddenly twisted and grew ugly. Of course, the same was true for Minhyuk. There were far too many monsters rushing out of that space. A rough estimate would give them at least a hundred million monsters.

Why were there far too many monsters? This was because Barbarian did not bother to summon monsters that were unnecessary for this battle. Even if he planned to summon them, he would only summon them once they were in the Land of the Gods. After all, in his eyes, mankind was nothing but a petty existence that he could wipe out easily at any given moment. Perhaps this thinking was what led him to his death.

The players, who thought it was the end, inhaled sharply at the sheer number of monsters. However, their eyes were not on them. Everyone was looking at Helenia and Minhyuk. If looks could kill, the two would have already died with how much they glared at each other.

Just a year ago, Helenia was resealed by Minhyuk, who she thought was nothing but a mere child. And Minhyuk?

‘Grandpa.’

He lost Beradon.

It was now time to end this.

Minhyuk’s entire body shook and trembled at the thought of killing Helenia. He could even feel his heart pound in his chest. The fury and the desire to kill her were overwhelming his entire being.

[Beradon’s Disciple System has been activated.]

[Anger… sometimes, it would turn into a monster that devours a person.]

“...”

At that crucial moment, Beradon’s gentle and warm voice rang in Minhyuk’s ears. Instantly, his wildly pounding heart calmed down. His mind also felt at ease.

Minhyuk knew that Helenia’s look was a provocation. If he had lost his composure, he would have made a reckless move, leading to their defeat.

[The system’s creator faintly smiles as he looks at you.]

And Minhyuk knew that he was with him.

At the same time, Helenia saw Beradon smiling faintly as he looked down at Minhyuk.

‘So it’s with you, huh?’

Helenia wanted “Beradon’s Disciple System,” which was in Beradon’s possession. She could tell that the power was not yet fully awakened. But once it had fully awakened, this power would show a strength beyond anyone’s imagination.

As she looked at Beradon smiling at Minhyuk, who was holding his sword, greed flashed on her face. Her lips twisted into a devious grin. ‘I won’t need Barbarian once I take that away.’

She beckoned to Minhyuk, delight evident on her face. “Come.”

***

The viewers were exhausted. They had been watching the players die over and over again as they fought against the pouring monsters. The only thing that they wanted to see right now was the end of this war.

That was why all of them were focused on the battlefield. They saw Helenia, who was using almost a hundred million monsters as a shield, provoke Minhyuk. Would Minyuk be able to reach her despite the countless monsters and magic that filled the distance between them?

Standing right next to Minhyuk were the ones who would send him to Helenia’s side. They were Brod, Ben, Conir, Elpis, Valentino, Ascar, Elpis, and… Nerva.

Thud, thud, thud–

The players fighting against the monsters knew that the war was ending.

“Open a path!!!”

“Open a path for Minhyuk!!!”

Every single one of them squeezed the last of their strength as they paved the way for Minhyuk, who had started to run. Magical attacks rained down upon the monsters. And there were also the other Great Sovereign’s Authorities that he had not yet used.

[The Great Sovereign is with the knights that will protect him.]

[The Great Sovereign’s Authority: Great Sovereign’s Knights has been activated.]

[Ten chosen knights will receive the protection of the absolute barrier for five seconds. All of your attack power will increase by 40%. You can also use your one-shot kill skill without penalty once.]

A bright light shone and covered the bodies of the people running alongside Minhyuk. They took the lead and prevented the AOE magical attacks and monsters with their bodies.

“Wolf of Death.”

“Dragon Slayer Spear.”

“Splitting the Great Demon.”

Their one-shot kill skills opened up a path. However, the path they created immediately closed because of the pouring monsters. In the end, Minhyuk could only run a bit.

The knights hurriedly ran in front of Minhyuk. Khan, who was running beside Minhyuk, jumped up. Then, he grabbed Minhyuk’s arms and swung him around.

“Go.”

Boom–!

Minhyuk flew. As he stepped into the air, Helenia bombarded him with magical attacks.

Slash, slash, slash–!

Suddenly, before the magic reached him, Ben appeared before him with his body wrapped in a barrier and received the brunt of the magical attacks in his stead. He grabbed Minhyuk’s hand and said, “Go, Your Majesty.”

Boom–!

Minhyuk soared even higher in the sky. Above him was a man resembling a hawk waiting for him.

“I’m not exactly fighting by your side because I like you.”

The man was none other than Nerva. Nerva grabbed the flying Minhyuk’s hand and added the wings of a hawk on his back. Then, he murmured, “Hawk Searching for Prey.”

Swoosh–!

The hawk wings on Minhyuk’s back spread and sent him flying toward Helenia.

Helenia cackled. “Come. Kyahahahaha!”

She already had thousands of magic prepared by her side. A smile of delight appeared on her face. She was thrilled at the thought of taking away Beradon’s Disciple System from Minhyuk. Just then, she saw Beradon smiling faintly behind the flying Minhyuk.

At that moment, she recalled how she had laughed at the dying Beradon while he had smiled faintly at her.

–It’s him.

–Another of my disciples will correct my wayward disciple in my stead.

–I do not have any regrets.

–This is because I have spent my last moments with him.

–Helenia…

–That child… you…

The smile of delight on Helenia’s face morphed into fear as she recalled the old man’s dying words. She hurriedly sent the thousands of AOE magical attacks she had been casting by her side in fear. But…

THUD–!

A heavy and overbearing force pushed her down.

[The Great Sovereign who Leads and Rules the Gods.]

[You are standing in front of the power of the one and only Great Sovereign.]

[No matter who, the enemy will surrender in front of him.]

THUD!!!

[Overpower.]

[No matter who or what the enemy is, they will fall into a ten-second stunned state!]

Helenia’s pupils dilated. The magic that had almost finished casting faded and scattered with the wind.

Before she knew it, Minhyuk was already standing in front of her.

“Did you say come?”

Helenia looked up and saw Minhyuk sneering at her. Beradon was standing behind him with a faint smile on his face. The words that Beradon told Helenia before his death rang in her ears again.

–That child will be the one who will punish you.

–That’s what I believe.

Shwaaaaaaa–!

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