Leveling Up Through Eating

[You have committed an act of poor etiquette.]

[User Ver is in a temporary chaotic [1] state.]

[If the other party initiates an attack, the other party will not receive any penalty.]

[The item can be collected by the owner after 3 seconds.]

[Item is not available for use.]

Chaotic.

It was a state that was created when someone has committed an act of poor etiquette. If the opposing party decided to attack a person under the chaotic state then they would not be subjected to a chaotic state.

If a person under the chaotic state has not yet moved to kill then they would be placed under a half-chaotic state. This state would give their opponents a few minutes to attack before their half-chaotic state was released.

However if that person has already killed another player then he would be placed under a temporary complete chaotic state. If other players attacked them, there would be no penalty incurred until their chaotic state was released.

"What\'s with this bread that makes you keep on eating it…"

As he said that, Ver tried to throw the bread down.

At that moment, no one was able to stop Minhyuk from punching Ver in his face.

Punch!

Ver was blown away, he couldn\'t even come to his senses.

He was very surprised.

\'W, why did my HP drop this low… It was just one punch!\'

As he looked at Minhyuk in surprise, he heard him say…

"I\'m an X? Me?"

\'W, what\'s with that look…\'

Ver was very confused.

Roy and Rakku were very surprised with what just happened. They couldn\'t help being surprised, especially because Minhyuk, who always had a nice smile on his face, got angry.

"W, what are you doing, did you just hit me?!"

With one jump, Minhyuk has already stepped closer to him.

Pressured by the deep sense of incompatibility, Ver flinched and gulped in fear.

He had a gut feeling.

I don\'t know how my HP dropped this low but if he ever decided to take me on then I would definitely force myself to log-out.

Ver was both extremely surprised and frightened that he couldn\'t stop himself from stuttering.

In fact, it was very simple for him to log out of the game. However, Minhyuk\'s expression was so fierce that he became overwhelmed by his momentum.

Rakku stared at him with pity.

Minhyuk approached him, however he knew that he was not worth dealing with.

He then raised his hand.

"Hiiiiiiiiiik!"

Ver covered his head. He thought that he would get attacked again.

Minhyuk took the bread away from his hands and put it in his mouth.

"......"

Ver, who was embarrassed for no reason, stared at Minhyuk with an ugly face.

"Come on, both of you need to calm down. Ver-ssi, come here."

Roy stepped up to mediate between them while Rakku secretly pulled at Minhyuk\'s collar.

Actually, it wasn\'t that difficult for Minhyuk to force him to log-out via PK. However, there was a reason why he did not kill Ver.

\'If my guess is right, then Roy will definitely separate us from Ver.\'

Ver, who was trying to protect his remaining self-esteem, scowled at Minhyuk as Roy mediated between them.

"Let go, let go of me. That bastard…"

Minhyuk stared back at him with folded arms.

When their eyes met, Ver closed his mouth without realizing it.

Then, Rakku whispered in Minhyuk\'s ears.

"Minhyuk-nim, good job. Wow, great cider. I was so upset because that person kept on flirting with me and separating us."

Minhyuk pulled out another castella from his inventory.

"Rakku-nim."

"Yes?"

"That person tried to do something that he shouldn\'t have done."

"W, what is it?"

She perked her ears up and listened carefully.

"He tried to throw away food."

"...?"

Minhyuk ate his castella with a very solemn expression.

He\'s a man who knows no bounds.

***

Roy smiled awkwardly at Ver who was walking from a distance.

"Oh… Wait. The party\'s mood is not that good. Haha. Well, I\'m not blaming Minhyuk-nim for it."

Roy saw it happen but before he could move Minhyuk had already taken the necessary actions.

If I were you, I would have done the same.

"Sooner or later another mob, the sweet python [2], will come out. It\'s much stronger than the mini ant, so we\'re going to have to pull them over one by one then strike them down. Ver-nim and I are best for the job."

What Minhyuk was expecting really happened.

He is not doing it to reconcile us, but to leave us behind.

Of course, it was just a possibility.

However, Roy interfered only when it happened, as if he was waiting for it.

Minhyuk was sure that he had to be on guard against him.

"It\'s too quiet, it\'s better for you guys to stay behind."

Roy spoke in a quiet voice.

Minhyuk and Rakku readily nodded their heads. They watched Roy and Ver walk further inside the dungeon until they disappeared from their sights.

Minhyuk still continued to stand and eat, Rakku was the only one who felt that it was awkward.

"You really won\'t give me anything? Just a bit?"

"Yes, I won\'t give you even if it\'s as much as a chick\'s tears [3]!"

"As much as a chick\'s tears…"

Minhyuk was totally the type who does not share with just anyone!

Then Minhyuk talked to her…

"How much of your MP is left right now?"

Why did he ask this all of a sudden?

She tilted her head in confusion.

"I\'m half-full right now."

"Is that so? Then it will be filled up quickly."

Minhyuk nodded his head as he replied.

"Why?"

"Just in case."

Just in case?

She had a curious look on her face.

20 minutes later…

"Why, why aren\'t they coming?"

She looked awkward.

It was enough time for two people to come back.

[Party Chatting Rakku: Roy-nim? Ver-nim? Where are you?]

[Party Chatting Rakku: Nims? Can you please answer me?]

[Party Chatting Rakku: Nims…?]

However, the party chatting window remained silent.

Minhyuk was quietly eating his castella bread.

At that moment…

Thud, thud, thud, thud—

They could hear the sound of urgent footsteps from the dark.

Rakku silently looked over while Minhyuk mumbled something as he ate his bread.

Then…

"Heok, heok, heok… Damn it. Nims. A great sweet python came out!"

"G, great sweet python…!"

The one who was running over was their party leader, Roy.

Great sweet python.

Aside from the boss mob that exists inside the dungeon, this monster was considered to be a quasi-boss mob.

Occasionally, in very rare occurrences, the quasi-boss mob could prove to be more challenging and difficult to fight compared to the boss mob.

The great sweet python was exactly this occurrence. Whenever this guy showed up, a dozen or more sweet pythons have always accompanied it.

"What about Ver-nim?!"

"He was forced to log out. Damn!"

Roy, who came in a hurry, was breathing roughly.

"Hmmm."

Minhyuk nodded seriously while he ate his bread.

"Heok, heok, heok… We tried to shake those guys off… Heok, heok, heok, I just kept on running…"

Roy was still breathing heavily.

"T, then are the three of us going to attack it?"

"Yes, we have to be as careful as possible and start off with the mob surrounding the great sweet python…"

In that instant…

Roy suddenly stabbed his spear towards Minhyuk.

"Kyaaaaack?!"

Rakku let out a little scream.

Then…

Claaaaaaang!

With a bread in his hand and the sword that he pulled out of his waist on the other hand, Minhyuk calmly parried the spear.

[Chaotic user.]

[No penalty will be incurred when PKed.]

[There is a high probability of an item dropping.]

Minhyuk chomped on the remaining bread in his mouth.

Roy quickly widened their distance, his expression was very shocked.

Minhyuk stepped forward as he pushed Rakku back with his arms.

"What the hell, you knew?"

The kind smile on Roy\'s face faded away.

"W, what\'s happening?! Why did you suddenly attack Minhyuk-nim…!"

"Him? Because he\'s the PK guy."

Minhyuk spoke calmly.

"Yaaaah, so you really knew? I never thought that you could parry my spear."

Minhyuk mumbled something when he saw Roy.

It was a chapter of the Bardy Swordsmanship.

"When did you realize it?"

"Well…"

***

Two hours ago.

He was on his way to central plaza after meeting with Charlie, the hunting NPC.

"Ah, damn [4], I dropped the spear I got last time!"

"What? How did you drop it!"

Their faces were very familiar. Minhyuk recalled a vague memory.

He saw them before, on the day when he first arrived at the central plaza and met with General. This was the user who bragged about getting a great item and the other friend who had a stomach ache.

"I went to a dungeon party hunting and got PKed, ouch. That guy is a big bastard… Ah, that spear is a unique item, ah I\'m so pissed off!"

"PK?! Wow, there are still bastards like that even in a beginner\'s village."

"Why are you laughing? Are you that happy?"

"Calm down my friend. When a friend is in trouble, shouldn\'t a true friend laugh at him so he will learn his lessons?"

"Yaaah, XX bastard!"

Minhyuk saw them and thought that it was truly possible.

He clearly remembered how that user was jumping in joy when he got that spear. Minhyuk was wondering if that situation was similar to when he received what he was eating.

He then continued to walk towards central square to find a Twilight Party.

***

To be honest, Minhyuk was also unsure. It could just be a spear that has a similar form.

However he was sure that the spear was unique and it was what he saw the other day.

Uncommon artifacts were rare.

Moreover, artifacts starting from the unique grade could only have one item in existence.

That\'s why he was extremely doubtful. He was sure that it was strange so he continued to observe.

He was then accepted as a party member.

When did he realize?

Of course it was when he said that he would take him on a bus, there was definitely another reason for that.

\'He was aiming for my items.\'

PKing would result with random item drops and Minhyuk\'s items looked quite expensive.

Plus, he steadily moved according to Minhyuk\'s expectations.

Minhyuk tried to think rationally about his moves.

Will he make a move when the three of us are together?

No, I don\'t know about his level but it will definitely be hard on him to take us all.

So he will definitely separate one person away from us.

As a matter of fact, his breakthrough was when Minhyuk and Ver had a dispute. He waited for the right timing and said that he would chase and hunt the mob.

Suddenly, Minhyuk got a hunch.

Ah, so this guy was the real one.

He was prepared to PK Ver but he thought that he didn\'t need to do anything. He was going to die anyway, so he thought that it was better to use him to confirm things than kill him himself.

"Well, it doesn\'t matter. All we have left is a time-consuming mage and a level 10 classless novice."

"H, how can such a person look so good-natured…!"

Rakku shouted.

Even if they were low leveled, no one would feel good about getting PKed.

Then, Rakku saw Minhyuk.

He was very calm.

\'Like what that person said, I\'m a mage and Minhyuk-nim is the Lv10…\'

It seemed like their 2:1 odds would only lead to a complete defeat. Rakku clearly saw that Roy was good at fighting.

Roy quickly narrowed their distance.

[Power Strike]

[Additional 10% attack power on a single blow.]

He used the special skill attached to the spear to blast Minhyuk with all his strength.

He thought...

If he wants to stop this then he needs to throw his sword away.

Then I will stab him in the neck.

[Dauntless Strike]

[Your strike will have an additional 20% attack power.]

A red light flashed on Minhyuk\'s sword.

Claaaaang!

With a heavy sound, Minhyuk easily parried his strike.

"Should I show you everything I got?"

Because of Roy, Minhyuk worked hard to hide his stats.

Even with the deflected aggros, he only finished off the ones who had blood all over and was on the brink of death.

Tremble—

Roy\'s face grew solemn when he felt the shock that passed through his arms.

Minhyuk quickly narrowed their distance.

"Ha!"

"Huh?!"

Both Rakku and Roy exclaimed in shock.

Minhyuk has fooled them, his strength and stats were much higher compared to when they were hunting mini ants.

Clang!

Clang!

Minhyuk\'s sword pressed on Roy swiftly.

\'What the fXck, what kind of stats does this Lv10 have…!\'

He could feel his powerful physical attack.

Then…

[Two Consecutive Quick Assault]

[Your attacks will be doubled.]

Claaaaang!

Minhyuk\'s sword swiftly hit the spear. Then another sword arrived right on top of its afterimage.

Claaang!

Clank!

Roy couldn\'t win against his strength, in the end he lost his grip on his spear.

Minhyuk stabbed Roy at his neck.

Staaab!

"Kgghk!"

He shivered when he saw the sword stuck in his throat.

Splatter!

Minhyuk pulled it out without hesitation.

He saw plenty of shimmering artifacts that dropped in front of the dead body.

\'A ring?\'

***

Footnotes

[1] 카오 (Kao) short for 카오틱 (Chaotic) : when a player\'s name turns red and you can\'t enter the village. Also termed as dyeing since it turns your name into red. Mostly for when a player PKs another player.

[2] okay so the mob monster is called 단뱀 thanks to Cuties, they showed a picture of a 단뱀 which made me both scared and curious. However, according to Thursdays it\'s a pun for python. It\'s either a monstrous snake or a sweet/sugar python. But according to the manhwa, there should be an apple on it so let\'s go with sweet python. Kek. If you have thoughts on this lemme know.

[3] 병아리 눈물만큼 : as much as the tears of a chick, cry as much as a chick. An idiom meaning a very small quantity.

[4] the exact word for this is 쒸파 and I really don\'t know enough swear words to correctly translate this so I used damn. According to Thursdays it\'s a variant of 씨발, but I\'m pretty sure author always censors f*ck so let\'s just go with damn.

TL\'s corner!!

If you don\'t remember, cider is a slang for feeling refreshed after an injustice is solved.

Heok is the onomatopoeia for gasping or ragged breathing in KR.

I thought Minhyuk would unleash his wrath but well….

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