Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 677: Divine Will

(The One that Never Gives Up)

Unique Title

Title Effects:

•Passive Skill: The One that Never Gives Up

•Passive Skill: The One with the Strong Will

•All of your stats will increase by 1%.

•Your DEX will increase by 5%.

The passive skill: ‘The One that Never Gives Up’ has a 15% chance of being triggered whenever one does a task with firm will and tenacity. Once activated, it would increase one’s defense by 50% and attack by 40%, for a minute and a half. It also had a buff effect that increased one’s HP volume by 30%.

The other passive skill: ‘The One with the Strong Will’ was also special. It was related to the skill ‘Will’. Once the skill: Will was triggered, it would increase one’s DEX and fatigue recovery.

‘It’s a good title.’

Then, he checked the bet.

[Bet with the Gods Quest: A Bet to Complete Harvesting Crops and Chopping Firewood]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: The one that never gives up that has received the attention of the God of Will.

Rewards: ???

Penalty for Failure: The skill: Will will be destroyed.

Description: The God of Will has developed a great interest in you after you have shown the will to never give up despite the impossible task in front of you. Do not give up and finish harvesting the crops and chopping the firewood.

‘The penalty is…’

To be honest, it was a bit too much.

After Minhyuk achieved 5,000 in his Will stat, he received a special privilege from the God of Will, which allowed him to escape the clutches of the Evil God’s Curse. He even had a 60% increase in his DEX. Because of that, he did not have to accept the bet with the god.

‘Losing the skill: Will forever is definitely a huge penalty for me.’

It was the truth, especially for Minhyuk, who had relied on the support of the skill plenty of times.

‘I was able to obtain an Absolute God’s Secret with the bet with the God of Cooking.’

However, the temptation of the reward caused him to waver.

“I accept the bet.”

Minhyuk accepted the bet and immediately continued to harvest the crops in front of him. This was so he could be sure that the Evil God’s Curse had already disappeared from his body. Just as he hoped, he did not feel any pain nor did he feel hot or cold. However, the crops were still difficult to harvest in and of themselves.

‘Even if the Evil God’s Curse has disappeared…’

It was still a very difficult job to do. Minhyuk looked around the field and murmured to himself, ‘Since the Evil God’s Curse has been lifted then…’

Minhyuk had consumed an easy-to-eat buffed dish to boost his DEX when he received the Evil God’s Curse. However, he heard a notification back then.

[You have received the Evil God’s Curse.]

[You can only receive buff effects from a blessing or a prayer from someone that has strong holy power.]

In other words, all of the buff effects would not be available to him. However, that was not the case anymore.

‘With the way I am now, then…’

Minhyuk had not been able to have a proper meal for a few days now. So, he took out one of the ingredients that he had acquired in the past and had been saving for quite a long time now.

(Hundred-year-old Ginseng)

Ingredient Grade: Effective Medicine

Special Abilities:

•STR +7, STM +15

•This is a hundred-year-old ginseng that can boost one’s strength and help one regain their stamina and energy. There is a chance of getting a higher boost in your power depending on the way you cook the ingredient.

Description: This is a ginseng that has remained underground for a hundred straight years.

Minhyuk took out a cauldron. There was this dish that he had been craving for. It was a dish that anyone would look forward to, even if the temperature was hot or cold. That dish was none other than samgyetang.

Samgyetang was the perfect dish during the cold, when one was desperately hoping for a warm soup amidst the freezing wind. It was also a dish that could make one sweat and was perfect to ‘combat heat with heat’.

Minhyuk started to cook, putting all of the ingredients, including the hundred-year-old ginseng, the jujube, an entire clove of garlic, some green onion and many more, inside his cauldron. Of course, he did not forget to add the chicken in his samgyetang before covering the cauldron with its lid.

Crackle— crackle—

The crackling of the firewood inside the fireplace provided warmth and made Minhyuk feel comfortable.

Chiiiiiik—

The white steam that escaped from the gaps of the lid of the cauldron made Minhyuk feel excited. After the dish had been boiled and cooked to some extent, he removed the lid and began to season the dish. Then, he boiled it again. The longer the samgyetang boiled, the more tender the meat and the easier it would separate from the bone.

After waiting for quite a while, Minhyuk moved the samgyetang into a large earthenware pot. Then, he set the table and placed several side dishes next to the pot. There was nothing special about the samgyetang’s side dishes. They were just ssamjang, cucumber, green pepper, well-ripened kimchi, some pepper and some salt.

Minhyuk gently pulled the leg off of the chicken with his chopsticks from the still boiling soup of the samgyetang.

“Kghhhhk…”

The juicy and still piping hot chicken meat looked very tender and soft. Once he placed it in his mouth, he gently chewed the tender and well-boiled chicken leg. When he pulled it out of his mouth, only the bones were left.

Swoosh—

“Kyaaa!” Minhyuk exclaimed lightly as he grabbed the remaining piece of chicken leg. This time, he dipped it in salt before putting it in his mouth.

The saltiness of the dip and the slight sweetness of the samgyetang created a harmony inside his mouth. Then, Minhyuk grabbed a piece of green pepper and dipped it in ssamjang.

‘Green peppers aren’t spicy. They taste best if you dip them in ssamjang.’

Crunch, crunch—

‘This sound… this sound is music.’

The sound that accompanied the green pepper dipped in ssamjang was so appetizing that Minhyuk could not help but eat ravenously. Next, Minhyuk ate the chicken with some well-ripened kimchi. The color of the side dish looked so scrumptious.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

The greasy taste that lingered in Minhyuk’s mouth disappeared the moment he placed the kimchi in his mouth. The delicious combination painted a smile of joy on Minhyuk’s face. Sometimes, Minhyuk would grab some cucumbers, dip them in ssamjang and put them in his mouth.

“Magnificent! This is truly magnificent!” Minhyuk shouted happily.

This time, Minhyuk added the glutinous rice that he had soaked in advance into the still-warm samgyetang soup together with some minced onions, carrots, and green onions, before boiling everything once again. He would stir it once in a while to prevent the rice from sticking on the bottom of the pot. Just like that, Minhyuk had finished making a chicken porridge in his earthenware pot.

Minhyuk quickly grabbed his spoon and scooped a spoonful of the piping hot chicken porridge.

“Fwoo! Fwoo!” Minhyuk blew on his spoon. After all, he knew that he would burn his mouth if he put the spoonful of freshly cooked chicken porridge in his mouth.

After he decided that he blew enough, he placed it in his mouth. The chicken porridge tasted light with a hint of saltiness in it. The charm of the chicken porridge was that it did not need much chewing and was easy on one’s stomach.

After that, Minhyuk added some well-ripened kimchi on top of another spoonful and placed it immediately in his mouth. The refreshing kimchi perfectly complemented the slightly greasy flavor of the chicken porridge.

Then, Minhyuk took out another side dish from his inventory. It was none other than the cool and refreshing dongchimi, with a thin layer of ice on top of it.

‘Dongchimi goes well with chicken porridge too.’

Eating dongchimi with hot chicken porridge would wash away the greasiness and the heat of the dish, leaving behind a refreshing flavor in one’s mouth.

Scratch, scratch—

In a blink, Minhyuk was already scratching the bottom of the pot while chewing the last piece of hundred-year-old ginseng in his mouth.

‘Hmm. It tastes healthy.’

Indeed. The bitterness and lack of flavor of the ginseng could only be described as healthy.

[You have eaten Samgyetang.]

[All of your stats will increase by 16%.]

[Your lost vitality and energy has been restored. You have gained strong stamina. For the time being, you will not get tired.]

[Your STM has increased by 1.3x.]

[The buff effect will last for an entire week.]

Minhyuk, who looked around after eating his meal, was shocked with what he saw. This was because he was greeted by the sight of countless popes, saints, and paladins gathered around him.

“…How was the taste?”

“There’s not even a drop left…?”

“…”

Perhaps this was only a natural reaction for these people, who have felt that hunger and the cold were now a natural part of their lives.

“I’ll work on the fields so it won’t happen to you anymore,” Minhyuk declared. However, the truth was none of the popes, saints and paladins believed that he would be able to do it.

After all, no matter how hard Minhyuk tried before, he was only able to achieve a 37% harvest yield in four days. However, what they did not know was that Minhyuk had just been blessed by the God of Will and was no longer shackled by the Evil God’s Curse.

“If that’s really the case then we wouldn’t wish for anything more.”

“That’s just a dream.”

“If you do that, then there’s nothing that we can’t do for you. However…”

Their faces turned darker as they spoke. They had watched Minhyuk vomit blood and curl in pain for several days as he toiled on the field and was only able to accomplish so little. The popes, saints and paladins had given hope up. But Minhyuk was not the same.

“You can go back now,” Minhyuk said, sending these people back. He did not have any time to chat with them. He could not be delayed any longer.

Although he had escaped the shackles of the Evil God’s Curse, there were still a lot of crops that needed harvesting.

They all turned back, distancing themselves from Minhyuk, and watched him from afar.

Thuuuud—

Minhyuk once again began to slam his hoe down and started his harvest spree. That was when the popes, saints and paladins realized something.

‘What?’

‘He’s gotten a lot faster.’

‘Doesn’t it look like there’s a spring in his step as he digs with his hoe?’

That was right. This was because Minhyuk’s speed was almost 1.5x faster than before. Although it was partly because of the meal that he ate, Minhyuk could not deny that everything was thanks to the God of Will. However, there was just one thing.

‘I feel like dying.’

The problem was his mental strength. Mental strength and endurance was not something that anyone could just replenish. No matter how clear his head was, there was no way that he would feel refreshed doing such repetitive tasks without sleeping.

‘Obren…!’

However, Minhyuk gritted his teeth and persevered for his friend. Then, a set of notifications rang in his ears.

[You have triggered the skill: Will.]

[All of your skills and abilities related to DEX will temporarily increase by 24%.]

[A special privilege has been activated thanks to the power of the God of Will.]

[All of your skills and abilities related to DEX will temporarily increase by 3%!]

[The effects have overlapped.]

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

“…!”

Minhyuk felt power coursing through his veins. Even as time went by and his mental strength reached its limits, he never gave up and continued to try again and again.

***

The God of Will was a very influential being among the Absolute Gods. In fact, even the God of Death did not dare to recklessly go against him. The power that the God of Will possessed did not have any restrictions. It was limitless. Since he was the God of Will, as long as he tried to do it, he could be like the God of Death, or anyone he wanted to be.

“…”

And that very same God of Will was now standing there with a gaping mouth. At first, he just wanted to help a bit and watch that god challenge something that he knew was something that was already impossible to achieve. Thanks to his help, the god fought against the limits of his mental strength and persevered.

No one had ever entered the eyes of the God of Will.

However, the man that he was watching soon harvested all of the crops on the field and broke the Evil God’s Cursed Stone that appeared in front of him. Then, he immediately went on to chop firewood. The man continued to chop firewood for not one or two, but four straight days.

Every time the man fell down, he would stand up once again and repeat what he was doing. As the God of Will watched the man, he acknowledged the fact that even he could not achieve something like that.

Finally, the man chopped his last piece of firewood.

Thuuunk—

The remaining Evil God’s Cursed Stone appeared right in front of the man.

The God of Will smiled softly and said, “You are worthy to have this.”

The God of Will had lost the bet, but the smile on his face was wider and brighter than any smile of his from before.

At the same time.

[You have broken the Evil God’s Cursed Stone!]

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Evil God’s Curse!]

[…]

[…]

[…]

Notifications rang constantly in Minhyuk’s ears. However, among these countless notifications, there was just one set that stopped Minhyuk in his tracks.

[The Skill: Will has evolved!]

[One of the ten Absolute God Secrets has awakened in the world!]

[You have acquired the Passive Skill: Divine Will.]