Leveling Up Through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

45 Grilled Clam

Kiari, one of the children of the Dragon King, went inside her room despondently. As she closed the door, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

‘Jevis, where are you……’

It had been days since Jevis, the third child, had been missing.

‘Did she really run away?’

No, that can’t be. Although Jevis is the youngest among the three of us, no one trusted and followed the Dragon King more than her.

Jevis was so loyal to the Dragon King that if she was asked for her rabbit’s liver then she would have gladly given it to him at that very moment. That was how much loyalty and love she had for the Dragon King.

However, Kiari’s eyebrows crumpled in annoyance.

“That……?”

Her head turned to look at the area where her bed was located. There was a piece of paper tucked neatly underneath her bed. When she came forward and pulled it out, she saw that it was a letter.

[If there is anything in this world that can heal the Dragon King then I will find it no matter what. That’s why I’m going to hunt the predator. I’ll be right back. Kiari.]

There was also the mark of a rabbit’s paw as if to prove that it was really from her. Perhaps, when Jevis had written the letter and placed it on her desk, the wind had entered through the gaps from the door and displaced the letter until it rested underneath her bed.

‘Jevis……!’

Jevis was the weakest among the three of them but it was still a fact that she was one of the Dragon King’s children. It was entirely possible for her to successfully hunt the legendary Clam Golem that they had deemed to be a predator.

Originally, the Dragon King had forbidden the hunting of the Clam Golem because it eats up the trash scattered around in the Dragon King’s Sea. However, Jevis had ignored the Dragon King’s past remarks and had gone ahead to hunt it. This meant that she was prepared to receive punishment just to find a way to cure the Dragon King. This was how deep her love was for the Dragon King.

Jevis might have been the weakest among the three of them but she had special powers. Out of the three of them and the entirety of the Dragon King’s Sea, there was no one else who could talk to the God Roves except for her. This was the case ever since they were young. Even the Dragon King couldn’t communicate with the God Roves!

This was the reason why her holy power was high and why she excelled in various production jobs. She could easily make a huge batch of potions in one go with fine quality. So Kiari could tell that she wanted to make a potion to feed the Dragon King using the materials from the predator.

Among them, she was the one with the most amazing buffing ability as well as aggro skills. Her aggro skills were so super that she could even attract stronger and amazing creatures. She was not sure but she believed that it wasn’t entirely impossible for her to draw the attention of the predator.

But, there was one problem.

‘Why isn’t Jevis back yet……?’

Did something go wrong? No, she can easily take down the predator. Did something unusual happen?

‘D, don’t tell me…… Did the predator become angry?!’

As far as she knew, the predator had only been angry for a total of two times. Once the predator was angered, its body would change completely and it would become much stronger. The predator’s anger would only rise if there were plenty of trash under the sea, and once its anger reaches its peak the predator would then become the Angry Predator.

‘An angry predator…… the clam golem……’

Jevis may not be able to win against such an opponent.

***

Minhyuk tightened his grip on his sword as he watched the bastard close its mouth.

‘It’s quite close so it would be good if I can catch it all at once.’

The only way to attack the bastard was through its mouth so if he was able to strike it successfully then he would definitely be able to kill it all at once.

[Rampant Sword. Connection (Inherit)]

[One strike will result in 7 powerful strikes with an additional 40% damage.]

Chichichichiiiiiik!

A weird sound came out from an empty space not far from where the Clam Golem was located. The Clam Golem which had just opened its mouth wide looked over with curiosity.

Without missing any moment, Minhyuk quickly ran towards its open mouth as he slashed at it with his sword.

Clang!

‘......?!’

The moment the attack connected, Minhyuk heard the jarring sound of metal clashing with another metal.

‘What the hell? Why does this sound like I’m hitting another metal?’

He accurately landed his attacks on its mouth for five straight times.

Ting, ting, ting, ting, ting!

However, he still couldn’t scratch it with his sword. At that moment, it’s wide open mouth suddenly started to return back to its original state. Then……

Fwiiiiiiish!

He launched one final attack and slashed it diagonally.

“Keuaaaaaack!”

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

His strike was able to land on its body as clam shells fell down.

‘What crazy defense……!’

Minhyuk finally realized why only one attack came through from all of his other strikes.

‘I wonder how high its defense is?’

The beady eyes of the Clam Golem suddenly turned towards Minhyuk. Minhyuk was now fully visible towards the Clam Golem. After all, his invisibility would be lifted after 2 seconds once he attacked an enemy!

Minhyuk quickly turned around to run, however he faintly realized how disadvantageous his situation was.

“S…… tep!”

Vwooooooooooong!

As soon as his feet left the ground, a fist went straight through the afterimage that he had left behind.

Vwoooong!

Minhyuk had barely escaped the attack. However, its body quickly turned around and swung its fist at him again.

Vwooooong!

Minhyuk felt the strength of the wind from the fist as he used Step to evade the attack once more. The wind ruffled his hair in a mess.

Dash!

He successfully evaded the attack! As he evaded, he also tried to strike on the bastard’s body.

Clang!

And just like what he had expected, he wasn’t able to leave so much as a scratch on its body.

‘What kind of nonsense is this…….!’

At that moment…

Bang!

His feet quickly dug on the ground as he maneuvered his body to once again face the bastard.

Swoosh!

He quickly narrowed the distance between them.

[Sword of Fury. Shatter (Destroy)]

[There will be an additional 60% for strong lunges and stabs, if a vital strike is successful then the additional attack power will be 100%.]

Swoosh!

His sword that was filled with a strong force stabbed strongly at its body. Sword of Fury, Shatter (Destroy), was literally a stabbing attack. Once the attack was successful, the condensed power in the sword would then explode inside the body of the enemy.

‘As long as Intangible Sword is attached to it……!’

I might be able to subdue this guy!

However……

Dash!

Black energy suddenly covered the fist of the Angry Clam Golem as it ran forward towards Minhyuk.

Fwoosh!

The bastard swung its fist as it tried to counter the tip of the sword with its punch. The powerful force from its punch collided with the tip of Minhyuk’s sword. The force even stretched towards Minhyuk’s body!

Bang!

“Keheuk!”

The force that was condensed at the tip of Minhyuk’s sword exploded together with the force from the Clam Golem’s fist. Minhyuk’s body flew and rolled away from the aftermath of the collision.

The Clam Golem quickly straightened its form and ran after Minhyuk’s body. Minhyuk’s eyes widened in shock. However, thanks to his amazing reflexes, he was still able to attempt another attack towards the Clam Golem in his disadvantageous position.

[Rampant Sword.]

[A flurry of rampant swords with additional 35% attack power will be created for 7 seconds.]

Slash!

Slaaaaaash!

It was the fast and indiscriminate attack from Rampant Sword! Minhyuk believed that this was the best attack to stop the bastard’s incoming attack. The attack would also allow him a bit of a breather to regain his footings. Dozens of images of swords were swinging indiscriminately towards the Clam Golem.

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

Slaaaash!

Bang, bang, bang!

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

A scar finally appeared on the body of the Clam Golem, however, the attack was not enough to deter the movements of the bastard. The Clam Golem was still fiercely pursuing Minhyuk’s body that was flying away.

Minhyuk quickly slashed his sword at its chest.

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

The reason why Intangible Sword was considered to be a ridiculous skill was because it could ignore all of the defenses of the enemy. It was like attacking a completely defenseless person who only had a shirt as their armor. This meant that, depending on the amount of the enemy’s HP, he would be able to kill them all at once.

However, the bastard in front of him still looked as energetic as ever.

‘How high is its damned HP……!’

Before he knew it, his body had already rolled on the ground. Minhyuk quickly adjusted his bearings as he stood up. The Clam Golem quickly narrowed the distance between them. He realized that he wouldn’t be able to evade this attack so he hurriedly took out his frying pan.

[Frying Pan Gigantification.]

[You can adjust the size of your frying pan depending on the mana that you will input.]

Minhyuk quickly enlarged his frying pan as he covered his body with it. Then……

Baaang!

The bastard’s fist slammed straight at the frying pan.

“Keheop!”

The force of the fist was so strong that Minhyuk’s body flew out and plunged straight on the walls of the cave.

‘My HP dropped by 10%......?’

Even though most of the impact was received by the frying pan, he still received a huge amount of damage. In a daze, it was too late when Minhyuk realized that there was a fist that was coming straight at him.

Bang!

A notification rang out as soon as the punch landed on his body.

[You HP has dropped below 50%.]

[Due to the powerful blow, one of your eyes has been temporarily blinded.]

One of Minhyuk’s eyes closed and his field of vision narrowed. As if realizing that Minhyuk was incapacitated, it geared for another attack.

Baang!

Its foot stretched out and kicked Minhyuk on his abdomen.

“Kghk!”

Minhyuk, who was still stuck on the wall, went deeper in the wall as he vomited blood. His consciousness blurred and became hazy but he still held on his sword tightly.

‘I’m going…… to eat…… grilled clams……!’

The taste of the shellfish meat on an open-mouthed white clam and the clear soup in the plate-like shell. And once you picked the clams and dipped it in gochujang… Minhyuk wanted to taste this flavor once again.

At all costs.

[Your HP has dropped below 3%.]

[Your body is deteriorating due to excessive bleeding.]

Blood was dripping from Minhyuk’s head and his body was not in the best condition. But, his body shined brightly and his injuries recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was the effect of Armor of Immortality.

[Three Consecutive Quick Assault.]

[Three attacks will be consecutively struck towards the enemy.]

The Clam Golem, who was watching the on-the-verge-of-death Minhyuk, was suddenly caught off guard. Minhyuk’s sword quickly stabbed at its abdomen.

Ting!

However, it’s extremely sturdy shell was able to stop the attack. So he stabbed at it again.

Tiiiiing!

As expected, his attack was blocked again.

And finally.

Stab!

The sword finally pierced through its stomach.

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

[You have dealt a fatal blow.]

“Keuaaack!”

The Clam Golem shrieked loudly as its hands swung once more to punch at Minhyuk.

Swoosh!

[Step.]

[Quickly move a distance of 1m for two steps, capable of attacking enemies while moving.]

His first step was used to move to the left to avoid the incoming punch.

Puhaaaaa!

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

The shells from its thick armor-like body fluttered down to the ground in troves.

“Gruooooo!”

The bastard screamed angrily as Minhyuk quickly dashed away to increase the distance between them. Then, he stabbed the ground strongly with the tip of his sword.

[Earth Quaker.]

[A violent earthquake is triggered within a 10m radius.]

“Keuhaa!”

The Angry Clam Golem stretched its hands out to try and catch Minhyuk. However, the ground fluctuated strongly as it trapped the Clam Golem in its clutches. Minhyuk used this moment to increase the distance between them further.

‘What skill do I have that has the fastest cooldown?’

It was Rampant Sword: Connection (Inherit). However, there were still 20 seconds left before he could use it again.

Rumble━

The Clam Golem was using its immense strength to break out of the ground that trapped it. Meanwhile, Minhyuk had increased the distance between them to 100m. Before he knew it, the Angry Clam Golem had already broken free of its restraints and was glaring at Minhyuk sharply. Then…..

[Clam Golem’s Roar.]

[All abilities will increase by 30%.]

“Graaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Keup!”

Minhyuk heard the ear-shattering roar of the Clam Golem.

‘Did it say 30% stronger than before?’

Just when he was thinking like that…

Bang!

The bastard stomped on the ground and dashed to where he was.

“......!”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened the size of the saucers. Its speed had increased greatly and each of its steps broke the ground beneath its feet. Minhyuk quickly dashed away.

“Step!”

He was only barely able to avoid the galloping golem! The running bastard stopped in its tracks as Minhyuk stomped on the ground and jumped on its back.

[Rampant Sword. Connection (Inherit)]

[One strike will result in 7 powerful strikes with an additional 40% damage.]

[Rampant Sword.]

Taeng, taeng, taeng!

Just like what he had known earlier, the clam golem’s defenses were truly too astronomical. Suddenly, it turned around which caught Minhyuk by surprise.

“......?!”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened when he saw its eyes blacken.

Clang! Slash! Clang! Slash!

Two of his attacks slammed straight at its chest. However, due to its monstrous HP, it still did not collapse.

Then, the blackness that covered its eyes slowly spread out as it created a sphere. The huge, black and powerful sphere suddenly descended on Minhyuk.

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

Grrrrrrrrr!

At the same time, the entire cave shook strongly as piles of stones fell down from the ceiling.

***

“N, no!”

The moment Ben saw the cave shaking strongly, an immense sense of frustration engulfed his being.

It had been quite some time since Minhyuk had entered the cave. He knew that he had already found the Clam Golem since he could keenly hear the sounds of fighting which was followed by the sounds that he was currently hearing.

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

Grrrrrrrrr!

It wasn’t just the cave, even the Dragon King’s Sea was shaking strongly due to the vibrations from inside.

Ben dropped to his knees as he peered in the darkness of the cave with frustration and despair.

“......Th, this can’t be happening.”

I already lost my son, am I losing this young man who closely resembled him too?

His eyes lost its shine as he looked at the cave in a daze.

***

The Clam Golem’s eyes bulged in surprise. It believed that everything was over.

It was sure that the intruder who had entered its cave recklessly should have died with that attack. However, there was something standing in between itself and the intruder.

The being was smaller than its fist and was floating in the air.

It was none other than Kongie, the baby pig with a flipper spatula and a pot on its head.

“Oiiiiiink……!”

[Kongie is angry.]

***

TL’s corner!

[Kongie is angry.] [He will make you into grilled clam.] KEK. I wonder if that’s the case.

PR’s corner!

Finally, time for Kongie to shine! I’m looking forward to it.

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