Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 777: Benevolent Ruler

It was highly likely that Effer did not expect their situation to become this desperate. Many people must have wanted to leave Happy Island, a plan that did not come to fruition due to their emotions and feelings for Effer.

The quick-witted Minhyuk instantly understood the situation and quickly triggered his Food God’s Voice.

‘I’m not sure, but there’s a chance that they will become my people too.’

It was a sad and pitiful story. Unfortunately, Effer was already at death’s door. That was his fate. There was nothing that Minhyuk could do about it. After all, it was an incurable and irreversible disease. As for the people that Effer was leaving behind, they would need a new ruler. It could not be just any ruler. After everything that they had been through, they would definitely want a powerful ruler.

Minhyuk felt the need to show and tell these people about the kind of existence he was, as well as the kind of place the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was.

Impressive, majestic and great.

He wanted to show these people the embodiment of those words. That was why he wanted to stop the God of Happiness.

In the end, the gigantic cow, Hanwoo, was gradually being pushed back in the struggle of power between him and the God of Happiness. Seeing this, Minhyuk immediately soared through the skies and held his sword with both of his hands.

The loud and majestic Food God’s Voice rang loudly as Minhyuk aimed his sword at the back of the God of Happiness.

[He is the King of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

“Sword of Frenzy.”

Minhyuk, with the help of the Swords of the Gods, had created the ‘Food God’s Swordsmanship’ using Ellie’s Swordsmanship as the base. As a result, it was much stronger than before.

When he triggered Sword of Frenzy, the vital points of the God of Happiness appeared in his eyes. However, just because they were all vital points did not mean that they were the same. The attack would have different impacts depending on where the vital point was. The one that Minhyuk chose to attack was none other than the back of the neck.

Staaaaaaaaaaaab—

[Sword of Frenzy.]

[You can hit the enemy’s vital points just by stabbing within a five meter radius.]

[Twelve consecutive attacks with 500% additional damage will be triggered upon successful attack on a vital point.]

[You have an 80% chance of ignoring all of your enemy’s defenses.]

[You have successfully ignored all of your enemy’s defenses.]

“Kuweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck!”

The God of Happiness jumped around and struggled like crazy the moment Minhyuk stabbed right into the back of his neck while he was busy pushing Hanwoo back.

Immediately after that, the twelve consecutive hits were triggered.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

The God of Happiness’ struggle intensified from the consecutive strikes of 500% additional damage. In the end, Minhyuk could no longer hold on because of the fierce struggle and fell to the ground.

“Noble!”

“Are you alright?!”

The residents of Happy Island leaned over the railings of the walls and looked at Minhyuk. Even the dying Effer was leaning over to watch the situation. Effer had originally thought that the man was a mere chef. However, it seemed like he was a great king from another continent.

None of the people here wanted him to die in this place. Everyone had judged that the God of Happiness had simply allowed Minhyuk to land an attack on him. There was no way that a mere human king would be able to overcome and kill a god.

Thuuuuuuud—

Minhyuk immediately used Like the Wind to avoid the God of Happiness’ stomping feet.

[Sword of Tempest.]

[Hundreds of blades will appear and dance around the typhoon-like sword that has an ego of its own. The skill user’s basic speed will be increased by 150% and applied to the blades that will cut down the enemies.]

[Movement speed will also increase by 300% during the skill duration.]

[The skill duration is three minutes.]

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

Hundreds of swords whipped up a storm in front of Minhyuk and moved swiftly, leaving only afterimages of their blades. At the center of it was the ego.

“Stormy.”

As if responding to Minhyuk’s words, the storm of swords danced and flew faster toward the God of Happiness.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

Hundreds of scratches appeared on the body of the God of Happiness the moment the storm of swords made contact with his body.

‘How high is his defense? What about his HP? Can I even kill him alone?’

There were a lot of things that Minhyuk had noticed earlier when he stabbed the God of Happiness. First off, the god’s defense was high, higher than any of the opponents that he had faced before. It was proven with the attack just now. Even though his Sword of Tempest had caused injuries on the god, they were nothing but superficial wounds and did not really do much damage.

Crunch—

“Summon Spear God Ben.”

[You cannot summon your vassals in Happy Island!]

Minhyuk’s face twisted from the unexpected difficulty in front of him. He had already expected this much, but when it was presented to him, he still could not help but break out in cold sweat. He had judged that the God of Happiness to be viewed differently from the gods that lived in the Land of the Gods. The God of Happiness was a god that did not interact nor live with other gods and existed solely on Happy Island. He also had a ridiculously high HP and MP.

“Hwiiiiiiiik! Kwiiiiiiiiiiiik!”

The God of Happiness stomped his feet on the ground as if he was preparing to crush Minhyuk.

Thuuuuuuud, thuuuuuuuuud, thuuuuuuuuud—

The entire Happy Island shook and trembled because of the God of Happiness’ actions. As the tension rose to its peak, the character on Minhyuk’s sword changed to ‘Destruction’.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—

With every swing of Minhyuk’s sword, a red bolt of lightning would fall from the sky and hit the God of Happiness. However, Minhyuk was still being pressured as well. He had to try and avoid the charging black pig.

While avoiding the attack, Minhyuk tried to awaken Obren, who was sleeping inside the Puzzling Seasoning Jar.

[Obren cannot be awakened.]

Unfortunately, Obren was not someone that Minhyuk could call out at any given moment. If Obren was sleeping, then he could not summon him. Minhyuk’s expression was distorted.

‘Then, what should I do?’

[The God of Happiness’ Tranquil Cry.]

“Grrrrrrr….”

At that moment, the eyes of the God of Happiness turned white. When they made contact with Minhyuk’s eyes, a strange sound resonated inside Minhyuk’s head.

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

[You cannot resist with your Invincible Body.]

“Kwiiiiiiiiiik!”

“Hwiiiiiiiiiiiiik!”

“Kuweeeeeeeeeeeck!”

It sounded like thousands of pigs crying loudly in his head. At the same time, he temporarily lost control of his body. Then, the God of Happiness charged at Minhyuk, who had stopped in place.

Hanwoo hurriedly tried to stop the God of Happiness. However, there was nothing he could do with his ‘Charge’ skill on cooldown. In fact, he was even thrown away by the charging God of Happiness.

Not long after, the God of Happiness collided with Minhyuk.

Baaaaaaaaang—!

[Your HP has dropped below 80%!]

[Your bones all over your body have been broken, you cannot control your body.]

[The movements of your left arm are now limited!]

“Keheoook!”

Minhyuk, who was flying backward, clearly felt the impact. It was just one single collision, but it had shaved off 20% of his HP. The God of Happiness chased after Minhyuk and stomped on him with his front legs.

Baaaaaaaaaaang—

Every stomp caused a crater in the ground and created a thick cloud of dust. Of course, Minhyuk also received damage.

[Your HP has dropped below 50%!]

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

“Kwiiiiiiik, hwiiiiiik, kwiiiiiiiik!”

The God of Happiness, who was in the form of a black pig, smirked as he trampled on the man in front of him. A sense of urgency welled up deep within Minhyuk when he saw how 15~20% of his HP was shaved with every stomp of the god’s foot.

[Evil God Obren has awakened!]

A glow appeared on Minhyuk’s face. He could now summon Obren! As long as he summoned Obren, then he would be able to kill the God of Happiness.

[Obren is not responding to your summons!]

“…What?”

However, Obren did not respond to his summons. Actually, Obren was not sleeping earlier. He just deliberately ignored and refused the summons.

‘Pathetic bastard.’ Obren spoke to Minhyuk. ‘Instead of thinking about how to win on your own, you want to get other people’s help?’

Minhyuk frowned when he heard Obren’s scathing remarks. “What do you mean…”

‘You can’t do anything without the others by your side, huh? Punk?’

“…”

Minhyuk, while being punished on the ground, was left speechless.

As if to give him a hint, Obren continued, ‘You can win even without me, the Spear God or Brod.’

At that moment, the God of Happiness’ front foot stomped on Minhyuk once again.

Thuuuuuuuuuuud—!

***

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—!

A thick cloud of dust would rise whenever the God of Happiness’ front foot came down on Minhyuk’s body.

“Minhyuk…” Evelyn murmured, tears constantly dripping down her cheeks.

Minhyuk was a chef from another continent. A simple and pure young man who loved to eat. Somehow over time, he became the Happy Island’s Noble.

Evelyn looked around her. She saw that they were all very sad to see Minhyuk’s plight. After all, in their memories, Minhyuk was a young man with a very bright and cheerful smile on his face. His smile was so bright that they could not help but chuckle and smile along with him.

Despair stained their faces. They all knew that no one would be able to survive the God of Happiness’ kicks and stomps. Even Avendor, the culprit that created this mess, knew this much. Somehow, Avendor had miraculously survived the God of Happiness’ rampage. He clicked his tongue.

‘Preposterous. A mere human king dares to fight against God?’

In Avendor’s eyes, the man was nothing but a fool. He thought that it was best that he get out of this place and find a way out of the island.

Staaaaaaaaaab—

Just then, a spine-chilling sound rang in everyone’s ears. That was when they saw a sword stuck in the eye of the God of Happiness, who was happily stomping on the ground earlier.

“Kwiiiiiiiiiiik!” The God of Happiness shrieked from the pain.

At the same time, Minhyuk jumped up from the ground and appeared in front of the God of Happiness in a flash. A barrier glowing in a gentle silver light wrapped around his body. It was the effect ‘Absolute Defense’ from the Forgotten Monarch’s Crown, the helmet worn by Destruction Monarch Farrow that was stackable with another equipment. The skill had a seven-second duration. However, the most surprising fact about this effect was that the user could attack their opponent even while the barrier was up.

“Kwiiiiiiiiiiik!!!”

The bleeding Minhyuk looked at the shrieking God of Happiness and spat coldly, “Hey, shut up. It’s irritating.”

For a moment, Minhyuk had felt afraid when he realized that he could not summon Spear God Ben or Brod. In fact, he thought that his opponent was overwhelmingly strong when he was forced to the ground and received the god’s stomps.

However, Obren’s words made him realize something.

‘I have always received help whenever I’m in a tight spot.’

Because Spear God Ben, Brod or somebody else would always come to his aid and get him out of the dangerous situation that he was left in, he had become too dependent on them.

He— the ruler of a kingdom, perhaps an empire in the future, and would become the next Battle God—had started to bow down and step away in front of powerful enemies just because he believed that his vassals would come and save him.

However, Obren’s words had made him realize that he was not the God of Vassals. He was the Food God, and also the Battle God’s Descendant. At that moment, his thoughts were manifested by the Food God’s Voice and turned into letters that branded the sky above them.

[He has received the recognition of the Sword God.]

That was right, Minhyuk had received Valen’s recognition.

[He has received the recognition of the Spear God.]

Indeed.

‘Even though I’m a human, I have also received the recognition of Spear God Ben.’

[He has received the recognition of the Absolute God’s Sword.]

He had also received Brod’s recognition. He even declared to the world that he would build an empire and become an emperor.

[He…]

[He…]

[He…]

[He…]

[He…]

Words continued to etch themselves in the sky above them.

He had received the recognition of all these great entities. Perhaps he was the only candidate to become an emperor that could become Nerva’s greatest enemy. Yet, he had felt frustrated just because he could not call his vassals to fight the God of Happiness?

When he was pummeled earlier, the thought that flashed in his head first was, ‘What should I do? I cannot summon my vassals?’ Minhyuk had to throw away those laid-back thoughts. Then, the beginning of the voice changed.

[I…]

“Food God’s Swordsmanship.”

Red aura burst out and covered Minhyuk’s entire body as his attack and movement speed increased by 40%, while his physical and magical defense increased by 30%. It did not end there. His cutting power and sword attack power also increased by 30%, along with a 20% increase in skill damage. Even his critical hit rate had increased by 50%.

Minhyuk, who had been hoping for others to appear and come to his aid earlier, leaped toward the God of Happiness, his black hair fluttering behind him.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—!

He began to slash and cut the God of Happiness’ body quickly and swiftly. With the increase in his cutting power, Minhyuk was able to cut deep enough that blood started spurting all over the god’s body.

“Kwiiiiiiiiiik!!!”

Even if the being in front of him had a higher HP and defense than any other opponent that he had faced, or if one attack from this opponent could easily shave off 20% of his HP, why had he thought that it was a big deal? He had received the recognition of many.

‘He’s the god standing at the lowest place…’

‘The lowest god…’

‘A trivial and insignificant god…’

Bullshit.

Regardless of the many negative comments, he had always come out on top.

“Food God’s Swordsmanship. Final Chapter.”

“Kwiiiiiiiiik, kwiiiiiiiik, kwiiiiiiiiik!”

Minhyuk glared coldly at the charging God of Happiness as he slashed his sword down at the speed of light.

“Sword of Carnage.”

[Sword of Carnage.]

[Movement speed increases by ten times and cuts down your enemy in an instant.]

[The opponent cut by your sword will suffer from thirty-eight sword attacks in one second. Each of the sword attacks will have 2,000% additional damage.]

[You have ignored all of your enemy’s defenses.]

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—!

Blood spurted out of the eighty-meter-tall body of the God of Happiness as it was torn apart by thirty-eight sword attacks in one second.

“Kwiiiiiik, kwiiiiiiik, kwiiiiiiiiik!”

The body of the God of Happiness, who struggled fiercely against the attack, slowly curled up and tilted to the side.

Thuuuuuuuuuud—

The Food God’s Voice, which had been triggered earlier, finally came to an end.

[I…]

[…am the God that stands at the highest place.]