Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 607: Is it Bichor or is it Bichon?

[If you want to become a God, challenge it.]

[If you want to become a True God, challenge it.]

The entire world went wild. However, the craze over the Abyss soon died down in just a few days.

Why?

Firstly, the Abyss was not an easy place to find for most players. More than tens of millions of players from all over the world set out to find the Abyss, but only around 400~500 of them were able to reach it.

Secondly, of the 400~500 people that found the Abyss, only thirty were able to pass through the first gate. And out of those thirty, only one person was able to pass through the second gate. On top of that, no information about the person that passed the gates of the Abyss had been shared.

Currently, God’s Child Ross was the only one that was going through the Gates of the Gods inside the Abyss. God’s Children were not Absolute Gods, they were only a special minority that had inherited the power of the said Gods. Ross smirked as he crossed the fourth gate while mumbling to himself, “In the end, no one can cross through the second gate.”

From what he heard, even Alexander could not pass through the second gate. This fact alone made Ross feel arrogant, his nose pointing high up in the skies.

At the same time…

There were almost a hundred players gathered in the vicinity of the Abyss. These players were those that failed to pass through the gates, but were unable to return because of regret.

Just then, another man arrived while munching on some mouth-watering chicken skewers. The man was even holding a can of cola in one hand, while his other hand tightly held several skewers of chicken.

“…?”

“…??”

“…???”

It was only natural that the players present in the area could not recognize the man. After all, Minhyuk had changed his face through the help of Great Demon Verus’ Mask. However, the smile painted on Minhyuk’s face was infectious as he tasted the sauce that covered the chicken skewers. And when he took a bite…

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

A pleasant sound rang in his ears. The combination of the sweet and spicy sauce and the crunchy fried chicken was a dream in and of itself. Not long after…

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp—

…Minhyuk gulped down the contents of the cold, icy can of cola in his hands. He could not help but burst out in admiration at the refreshing and sweet flavor that passed through his mouth and made his throat tingle.

“Kyaha!”

“…???”

“…???”

“…???”

The players gathered in the area looked at Minhyuk in confusion. All of them wondered if there truly was a player like that. On top of that…

“Ah. I only made 400 chicken skewers. What a shame… Huhu… My 367th fried chicken skewer, goodbye…”

“…???”

“…???”

“…???”

Then, Minhyuk slipped through them, entered the Abyss and promptly disappeared from their sights. The people gathered outside were left staring blankly at the direction where he disappeared.

***

[You have re-entered the Abyss.]

[You are the player that passed through the first gate, the ‘Food God’s’ Gate.]

[You can now move on to the second trial.]

‘Some of the ingredients from the Ancient Gods’ Recipe Book are here.’

The Ancient Gods’ Recipe Book was one of the items that Minhyuk had obtained by opening the Absolute Gods’ Treasure Chest.

(Ancient Gods’ Recipe Book)

Rank: ???

Effects:

•If you make a dish from the Ancient Gods’ Recipe Book with the ‘ingredients’ listed in the recipe, it will give you a permanent increase in stats, skills or other powers. The power that will be increased will depend on the ingredients used.

•If you make a dish from the Ancient Gods’ Recipe Book with the ‘ingredients’ listed in the recipe and transcend what the Ancient Gods have made, something special might happen.

List of Dishes:

•Vietnamese Rice Noodles and Bánh xèo.

•Pizza and Carbonara.

•Niú Ròu Miàn.

•Kimchi Jjigae Meal Set.

•Nagasaki Jjampong and Sushi.

•Etc…

“It’s global. That’s good, very good.”

One of the reasons why Minhyuk was in awe and admiration of the Ancient Gods’ Recipe Book was because of the diversity of the dishes. Most of the dishes were representative dishes of each country.

In other words, Minhyuk would be able to enjoy a variety of dishes from different countries all over the world. Just the thought alone was enough to make Minhyuk’s mouth water.

“Sluuuurp!”

Also, God of Cooking Arlene had said it herself, ‘You will receive astronomical rewards every time you clear a trial. You can also obtain at least legendary-grade ingredients.’

Of course, the main reason why Minhyuk came here was because of Valen. This was because there was a chance that Valen, who had become a ‘sword’, was sleeping in the Abyss.

‘Just wait a bit more, Instructor.’

Finally, Minhyuk headed to the second gate.

[Abyss.]

[The Second Trial will now begin.]

[Starting from the Second Trial, the rewards that you will receive will depend on your attack completion rate!]

[The attack completion rate will be decided by the combination of the attack completion time, attack score, creativity and ingenuity score, and many more!]

[There’s currently one more person that has passed the challenge of the second trial!]

[The person that has passed the challenge of the second trial completed the trial in 8 minutes and 45 seconds with an attack completion rate of 58%!]

[The Second Gate is the trial of the ‘God of Shield’.]

[The ‘Tomb Administrator’ will make their appearance starting from the Second Trial!]

‘Tomb Administrator?’

This was something that Minhyuk had never heard of from Arlene. In the darkness of the Second Gate, a gloomy and dark voice rang, “Fufufufufufu. Weak one, you have come to a forbidden place.”

“…???”

Minhyuk’s face was filled with doubt as he munched on one of his fried chicken skewers, “Chomp?”

“I am Bichor, the Abyss’ Administrator, and I will show your foolish self what despair is.”

Minhyuk looked at the being that was covered in darkness, who was spewing things that Minhyuk’s own father, Black Dragon, would definitely say. The being slowly walked out of the curtain of darkness, his entire being covered with a robe. However, the being was so small that he could not even reach the height of 140 centimeters. And despite the robe covering the being’s entire body, the white fur, black shiny nose, and big eyes could not be hidden at all.

“Bichon[1]?”

“Foolish one, I am not Bichon, I am Bichor…”

“I know. But you’re definitely a bichon.”

“N, no… I’m Bichor…”

“Puppy bichon, your fur is done prettily. Which pet shop did you go to? Chomp!”

“…”

That was right. ‘Bichon’, the tomb’s administrator, literally appeared in the form of a bichon. He had thick white fur, big bright eyes, and a tiny yet shiny nose. He was basically a bichon. However, there was one thing that set this bichon apart from the others, he had a severe case of trying to ‘be cool’.

“Foolish one. You can’t even recognize greatness when he’s right in front of you,” Bichor said, an air of arrogance and viciousness wrapping around his body, a mean smile curling at the corner of his ‘bichon’ face.

“I, I will bring despair upon you with the trials that I have made!!!”

“Fetch, Bichon!” Minhyuk said while pulling something out of his chest. This something was none other than a dog toy for Love, Hope and Happiness, the Cerberus.

Bichor was very shocked to see a duck-shaped toy appear on the floor in front of him. He shouted, “Impudent! How dare you mock…!”

“Here, I’ll give you snacks.”

Thump—

At the word ‘snack’, Bichor bit the toy without a second of hesitation.

“…?”

“So, you’re really a bichon.”

“…”

The moment Minhyuk threw a dog snack in the air, Bichor let go of the toy and jumped in the air to snatch it. Bichor chewed on the snack while grumbling, “I will never forget this humiliation. Damn it. All of this is because of that damn curse!”

As Bichor continued to chew on the snack, he suddenly thought of something, “But… why do you have dog snacks with you?”

“Because I was curious about its taste?”

“…”

“…”

He was carrying dog snacks with him because he was curious about its taste? Bichor could not begin to fathom the man in front of him.

***

Tomb Administrator Bichor was the one in charge of managing and creating the trials in the Abyss. He produced all of the trials in this place, using the unique power of each of the Gods that laid in eternal rest within this place. This fact alone showed how great Bichor was.

The one that created and managed the Tomb of the Gods! Yes! That was Bichor. He was also the being closest to becoming the ‘God of Traps’. This very same Bichor could not hide his embarrassment and anger when he saw a human carry a ‘dog snack’ with him.

‘Impudent human! How dare you look down on me!!!’ Bichor thought as he stroked his voluminous hair angrily.

Every stroke of his paw made the white hair sway and gently fall down into place.

‘I’ll definitely make sure that you will regret this!!!’

The second trial was the God of Shield’s trial. Currently, there was already a very powerful human that had passed through the third gate and was challenging the fourth gate. That human truly had an amazing strength. However, that power was only possible because that human was a part of the special minority.

So, Bichor believed that there was no way that the man in front of him, who was munching on fried chicken skewers, would be able to break through the walls created by the God of Shields.

That great human from before only took eight minutes and forty five seconds to break through the walls created by the God of Shields, with an attack completion rate of 56%. The human in front him now? Bichor was absolutely sure that he would be met with failure.

“Fufufufu. Foolish human. You will never be able to clear this trial. Can you see that? That is the God of Shield’s wall maze. It is a maze lined up with tens of thousands of traps. On top of that, the God of Shield’s walls, which are ten meters in height, are extremely sturdy and durable! You can never break them!!!” Bichor shouted furiously.

However, the man in front of him seemed to not feel any tension at all. Minhyuk, who was still munching on his fried chicken skewers, looked at the hundreds of tall and sturdy walls in front of him. The wall was literally the ‘maze’.

Then, Minhyuk said, “You’re thinking that I’ll fail, right? Bichon? Then, if I succeed, can you do what I ask you to do for thirty seconds?”

“Kwahahahahahahahaha! Succeed? You? An uncivilized human like you? That’s absolutely impossible. Alright. Then, if you fail, I will apply twice the penalty for failure. Are you still willing to bet, human?”

“Alright. Bet.”

Then, the notifications rang.

[The Tomb Administrator has activated his power.]

[You will receive twice the penalty if you fail.]

[Bichor will follow your commands for thirty seconds if you succeed.]

“Keuhahahahahaha! Foolish human bastard!!!”

After that, Minhyuk walked in front of one of the walls. The wall was so high that Minhyuk had to raise his head to see the top.

And Bichor? He was going wild.

‘Foolish and arrogant human bastard!!! You will experience far greater despair and frustration because of that useless pride and arrogance of yours!’

But then…

“Summon Hanwoo.”

Thud!!!

“Mooooooooo!” A cow suddenly appeared, mooing loudly as Minhyuk rode on its back. Then, the cow started to grow in size until it reached forty meters.

“…???”

Minhyuk said, “Hanwoo, charge.”

[Charge.]

[Hanwoo’s speed will double the moment he charges forward. Everything that collided with him in his charge would receive double the damage.]

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

The God of Shield’s walls began to crumble and break apart the moment Hanwoo, the forty meter tall cow, charged at them. Minhyuk got off Hanwoo’s back once he arrived at the end, his hands still full with his fried chicken skewers.

[Abyss.]

[You have successfully cleared the Second Trial of the God of Shields with shocking results!]

[You have acquired a +5 increase in all five of your basic stats!]

[You have achieved a 95% attack completion rate!]

At the same time, a notification rang in Bichor’s head.

[As per the contract that you made as the tomb administrator, you will be forced to obey his commands for thirty seconds.]

Then, Minhyuk said, “Bichon, sit.”

Swoosh—

Bichor sat.

“Bichon, paw.”

Tap—

“Bichon, bang!”

Collapse—

Minhyuk then proceeded to rub ‘Bichon’, no, Bichor’s tummy, “Oh my, you did a good job! My baby. Achuchuchu~ My dear Bichon is a very obedient and good listener~”

“…”

Bichor unknowingly gasped, ‘Haa… haa…’, a happy smile on his face.

“You’re obviously a bichon but you keep on saying no.”

“…”

That was when Bichor realized what he had done, an overwhelming sense of shame washed over him. At the same time, he was shocked, ‘Crazy… his attack time… is just 12 seconds…?’

Suddenly, Bichor unknowingly let out a whine, “Hiiiiiing…”

“…”

Yes. He was definitely a dog.

1. Refers to the Bichon Frisé, a type of toy dog and companion pet that is considered to be a great all-around pet. ☜