Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 478: Naval Warfare (Bottom)

[The Sea Hunter Korro has been put to rest.]

[You will not be able to summon Sea Hunter Korro a second time.]

[The Lunatic Ebetto has been put to rest.]

[You will not be able to summon Lunatic Ebetto a second time.]

Gorfido’s Subordinates, the Named NPCs that were the source of Lundnu’s pride, fell down one after another under Conir’s sword. Everything went according to Minhyuk’s expectations.

Minhyuk knew that the whole of Japan would not recognize Minhyuk’s victory if he used the demon to kill all of Lundnu’s Named NPCs. So, to prevent something like that, he proposed another round with a different opponent.

Minhyuk predicted that Lundnu would choose Conir. Of course, the results would not change even if Lundnu chose Ghost Spear Ben, Talmor’s Corr, Best Selling Author Aruvel, or the others. Paladin Corr might be the weakest among Minhyuk’s Named NPCs, but the fact that they were fighting the undead would give him higher additional damage as a benefit of his high holy power.

As for Ghost Spear Ben and Best Selling Author Aruvel, they had overcome plenty of battles with Minhyuk and had grown stronger over the course of their stay with him.

‘The fact that I was clueless about Lundnu being able to summon Gorfido’s Subordinates meant that he did not summon them often.’

Of course, there would definitely be penalties for summoning those Named NPCs. However, no matter how fine and outstanding a sword was, it would turn dull if left unattended for a long time. On the other hand, swords that were constantly being used, repaired and sharpened by cutting down countless enemies would always be superior.

This was the case with Minhyuk’s vassals. All of them had been sharpened by countless ordeals and trials. They were the men that had not lost their ground and had pushed back 150,000 enemy troops. They had even hunted a black dragon and fought against demons. Going through these tough battles meant that they grew stronger. After all, NPCs were just like players in the sense that they could grow infinitely.

Clack—

Minhyuk raised his Continent Destroyer Sword and pointed it at Lundnu.

This sight, especially after losing all of his men, made Lundnu furious. Under their current circumstances, Lundnu was undeniably the loser.

However, he still held on to one belief, ‘I won’t go down that easily.’

Lundnu’s arrogant remark, ‘The Food God would be nothing but a loser if we met at sea’was something that he blurted out because he believed that they would never meet under such circumstances. Even now, he still believed it. After all, the Food God was definitely exhausted. He had fought and destroyed countless ships by himself, which meant that he had also used up his skills. Hence, Lundnu believed that he still had a chance.

[Gorfido’s Authority.]

[You have awakened part of Great Pirate Gorfido’s power!]

[You will be unrivaled as long as you’re at sea thanks to the power that you inherited from Great Pirate Gorfido.]

[All of your stats will dramatically increase by 34%.]

[You can use a portion of the skills that Gorfido harnessed in his life.]

Lundnu threw away his black pirate hat, and when he waved his hand, the sea water followed his movements and attacked Minhyuk.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

Lundnu immediately jumped up the moment the seawater made contact with Minhyuk. Then, hundreds of weapons made from seawater suddenly appeared and rushed forward to trap Minhyuk. However, even though Minhyuk’s feet were firmly standing on Gorfido’s Pirate Ship, his abnormally high stats granted him ease of movement. Minhyuk slashed his sword toward the first attack that was about to reach him.

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

Along with the loud explosion, dozens of water weapons disappeared. This was the power of the Lightning ‘Explosion’ attached to Minhyuk’s Continent Destroyer Sword.

Swoosh—

‘Explosion’ slowly disappeared and was replaced with ‘Crazy’. At the same time, Lundnu’s sword slashed at Minhyuk’s chest. However…

Slaaaaaaash—

“Ugh?!”

…it was Lundnu that received the damage, not Minhyuk. The strong impact from the reflected attack made Lundnu shake and tremble. But he immediately shifted to his left and sent an attack again.

Clang, clang, clang! Crack—

Minhyuk easily deflected all of Lundnu’s attacks.

‘What kind of outrageous stats does he have…?!’

That was not all; the way Minhyuk blocked Lundnu’s attack was so clean and precise that it seemed as if he was one with the sword.

Shwaaaaaaa—

Baaaaaaaaaang—

The effect of Crazy was activated and Lundnu was blown back by the force of the attack.

“Urk!” Lundnu vomited a mouthful of blood, but he still jumped up to attack Minhyuk.

[Arfey’s Swordsmanship Chapter Four.]

[Plundering Pirate.]

The moment his skill got triggered, Lundnu’s AGI doubled, while his sword attack increased by 1.3x. Feeling confident with his speed and damage, Lundnu attacked Minhyuk once again. However, with every attack that he sent out, there came the mounting realization that the Food God was not a loser at all.

The Food God was no match against him? No, the Food God had complete dominance over him.

‘I was definitely the one who attacked first. So why…’

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa!

Baaaaaaaaaang—

Lundnu vomited another mouthful of blood, his body flying back from the impact.

“How?!” Lundnu roared, still in denial about the glaring gap between him and Minhyuk. He badly wanted to reject the existence of the gap between him and the man hailed as the strongest player in the world.

At that moment, a new word, ‘Destruction’, was branded on Minhyuk’s sword. When the furious Lundnu tried to cut Minhyuk’s neck, Minhyuk countered by slashing at him. Then…

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

…eight bloody lightning bolts struck Lundnu.

“Keuaaaaaaaaaaack!”

The damage was crazy. Only a few attacks landed square on Lundnu, but his HP dropped sharply.

‘This… Is this the true power of top ranking players…?’

Lundnu felt extremely frustrated when he realized that without Gorfido’s Pirate Ship, he was just one among the many ordinary players.

[You have fallen into a two-second stunned state.]

Lundnu’s head fell the moment he was put into a stunned state. In just a blink, he was met with the notifications of his forced log out.

[You have been forced to log out.]

[You are Great Pirate Gorfido’s Descendant.]

[Great Pirate Gorfido’s Descendant will have a different penalty. The penalty will be dependent on the atrocious deeds that you have committed.]

[Your access has been limited. You can only access the game four times.]

[Your gold drop rate has increased by eight times.]

[Your artifact drop rate has tripled.]

[Your inventory has increased by five times.]

[The one that has successfully killed you will receive the Title: ‘The One who Hunted the Great Pirate’.]

At the same time, Minhyuk received a set of notifications.

[You have forced Great Pirate Gorfido’s Descendant Lundnu to log out.]

[You have acquired the Title: The One who Hunted the Great Pirate.]

[Lundnu is the player hailed as the Ever Seas’ Great Pirate. You will receive EXP as a special reward.]

[You have gained 500,000,000 EXP.]

[You have wiped out 82% of the pirates!]

[You have accumulated +27 STR and AGI, +21 WIS and +25 INT in the Wagyu.]

[You have accumulated 100,000,000 EXP in the Wagyu.]

The notifications did not stop there.

[Lundnu is considered an atrocious and vicious pirate. His penalties after being forced to log out are more severe than ordinary pirates.]

[You can pick up the items that he dropped!]

[You have gained 1,133 platinum.]

[You have acquired Gorfido’s Earrings.]

[You have acquired the Hunter’s Harpoon.]

[You have acquired 441 Sea Ore Pradnium.]

[…Handsome Pirate’s Boots.]

[…the Undead’s Feather Armor.]

The constant notifications that rang in Minhyuk’s ears informed him of the huge rewards that he had reaped. Then, Minhyuk ordered, “Wipe them out.”

“As you command!”

“As you command!”

“As you command!”

There was no task easier than wiping out an army that has lost its commander. The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom began to clean up the remaining pirates.

***

Japanese Branch’s Special Players Management Team’s new employee Ryota was in both shock and disbelief. He thought, ‘For real. He has wiped out more than 90% of the pirates…’

The monitor was displaying the scene of Minhyuk and the members of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom wiping out the remaining pirates and reaching more than a 90% wipeout rate. In fact, they had completely overruled the predictions of the Japanese Branch’s Story Team, who predicted that it would already be amazing if they could reach 40%.

‘Crazy… the Food God is… very cool.’

Ryota was even fascinated by the Food God. However, there was one problem.

“Gorfido will become the Food God’s vassal… oh no…”

Gorfido was considered as both the best and the worst NPC in Japan. He was also famous for being more evil than the demons at sea! Such an existence would actually become a player’s vassal?

‘Of course, he will become weaker if he becomes a vassal, but…’

It was the price that Gorfido had to pay for the chance at a new life that the Absolute God had presented to him.

Then, Team Leader Tadayoshi said, “Gorfido? He’s evil, you know? It does not mean that a player would have complete control over him just because he became their vassal. You have to understand that, Ryota.”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

“In Athenae, a world where NPCs have a high degree of freedom, having Gorfido as Player Minhyuk’s vassal might very well spell doom for him. Gorfido is a vicious killer, and having a crazy killer by his side would make the Food God suffer instead of reaping benefits.”

“…”

Ryota nodded after hearing Tadayoshi’s explanation. He thought, ‘Unless he could win Gorfido’s heart and loyalty, Gorfido will only bring disaster to him.’

A vassal also had their own freedom. What would happen if Gorfido went crazy and went back to his old ways? It would bring a catastrophe for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Just like what Team Leader Tadayoshi had said, Gorfido would only bring disaster if Minhyuk did not have his heart and loyalty. At that moment, a white pillar of light fell down into the empty space in front of Minhyuk. And in that empty space, a ragged and worn skeleton suddenly appeared. Flesh and skin started to appear and cover these bones. Long black hair that reached the waist appeared on the skeleton’s head. It was immediately followed by a long and majestic black cloak, as well as a black pirate hat with a skull pattern on it. After the transformation, the figure that appeared in front of them had sharp and glinting eyes, an elegant nose, and a soft, yet defined, jawline. He was a very handsome man.

[Player Minhyuk has exceeded 80% clearance rate in the quest: Gorfido’s Wish. Great Pirate Gorfido has been granted a new life.]

[Granted a new life, Gorfido has lost 20% of his original power.]

And just like Tadayoshi had predicted, Gorfido’s expression did not look good.

‘A great pirate like him going under the command of a human? There’s no way he would not be reluctant,’ Ryota thought, fully convinced that this was the case. Then, Minhyuk approached Gorfido with a soft smile on his face.

However, the words that he said were extremely shocking…

[I will not make you my vassal.]

[Player Minhyuk has refused Gorfido’s pledge of vassalship!]

“…?!”

“…?!”

Ryota was extremely shocked.

***

Gorfido, who was given a new life, had the same thought process as what the many people thought of him, ‘Do I really have to live under someone’s wing and atone for my sins? Do I have to live with someone who’s just a human?’

He wanted to atone for his sins after recalling the incident with Andrei. However, for someone like him to serve Minhyuk… was that even possible? Perhaps his reluctance was because of his remaining pride as the Great Pirate. Then, Minhyuk approached him and said, “I will not make you my vassal.”

“…?!”

Gorfido looked at Minhyuk in doubt. It was not just him. Even the members of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the viewers from all over the world watching the broadcast right now were also looking at Minhyuk in doubt.

‘You don’t want Japan’s greatest NPC as your vassal?! Are you crazy?!’

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

Gorfido did remember.

‘Yes, those are definitely good things, big things. However, you don’t have to have everything to be happy.’

These were Minhyuk’s words, the words that had greatly moved Gorfido’s heart.

“I hope that you can find happiness even in the smallest of things and that you will live a good life, a better life than when you were a great pirate. Also, you have to atone for all of the sins and atrocities that you have committed. And…” Minhyuk smiled softly as he continued, “…find a pretty woman, get married, have a child, and care for them just like you cared for Andrei.”

Great Pirate Gorfido did not know anything besides killing, looting and plundering.

“Get that kind of happiness by yourself.”

“…!”

Gorfido’s heart shook wildly at that. Looking back, he already knew that Minhyuk was strange the first time they met.

‘You’re a complete f*cking bastard, aren’t you?’

Gorfido was an orphan. He had to do everything and anything to survive and had been the subject of everyone’s fear from a young age. Everyone tried their hardest to please him, in fear. But strangely enough, when he had heard Minhyuk curse him back then, he had not felt bad. It had just made him look back on his life.

A strange man. A special man. A funny man. And a kind man.

At this moment, Gorfido truly realized that the man in front of him had taught him a lot of different things in the brief time they had spent together.

Minhyuk smiled softly at him before turning around to leave. And Gorfido…

Thud—

…suddenly knelt down on one knee as streaks of hot tears fell down his cheeks.

‘I can’t and won’t ask anyone to forgive me for my past, but I want to live the rest of my life atoning for them. I want to live by his side.’

Gorfido slammed his fist on his right chest, his body trembling fiercely as he declared, “I, Gorfido, will devote my life to Your Majesty’s service!!!”

Gorfido’s loud declaration echoed loudly in the vast seas. Minhyuk looked back at Gorfido with a smile.

This was the moment when the King of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, the Food God, had truly won the heart of Great Pirate Gorfido.

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