Leveling Up Through Eating

Ellie had completed the Trial Master’s easter egg and obtained the class most suitable for her. At that moment, notifications constantly rang in her ears.

[You have obtained an Absolute Demigod Class. All of your stats and skills will change!]

[Your level will be maintained even after changing your class to the Absolute Demigod Class.]

[The Absolute Demigod Class Hegemon King possesses strength that far surpasses the power of the emperors protecting their empires.]

[The Absolute Demigod Class Hegemon King will exert stronger power when you are fighting for the sake of your people.]

[The Absolute Demigod Class Hegemon King will never be defeated by anyone, even if they are standing at the highest peak in their field.]

Ellie felt strength surge through her body as the notifications rang constantly.

Originally, players who had obtained the Absolute Demigod class would often suffer a penalty that would force their level to drop by 200. But Ellie was different. In her case, her level remained the same.

[The buff effect applied to you will remain in effect.]

In addition to the change in class, the effects of the samgyetang that Minhyuk gave her as a gift did not disappear.

At that moment, Ellie was indeed a real Hegemon King. With the state that she was in, she could be said to be strong enough to sweep the entire Luvien Empire. Of course, this power was just temporary. Nonetheless, even if this power disappeared, the fact that Ellie was now the Hegemon King would remain unchanged. This meant that she would forever be capable of defending her empire.

‘Thanks.’

Of course, Ellie would never forget when Minhyuk came to meet her. Ellie tried to maintain her meager pride as someone who was once his teacher and wanted to turn down his help.

Ellie was thankful that she listened to Minhyuk’s persuasion. Because of that, she obtained power that would allow her to protect her people and continue to build the Eivelis Empire.

So, she ran straight to where Minhyuk was.

***

Countless viewers from all over the world witnessed the birth of Hegemon King Ellie, which even led to a sharp increase in both Ellie\'s and Minhyuk’s votes.

Of course, this also led to a bout of curiosity. The viewers all wondered how strong Hegemon King Ellie truly was. But after seeing Ellie run someplace else, they thought that they would not be able to see her power today.

Shockingly enough, the place where Ellie went was the place where Boleyn was.

“Which bastard dared to touch my little brother?”

Ellie, now greatly indebted to Minhyuk, felt an unbearable anger surge within her.

Meanwhile, the players present were all left dumbfounded.

“More than Level 1,200…?”

“E-Ellie’s level surpassed Level 1,200…?”

An NPC’s level was a number that represented the total of all of their abilities and skills. Ellie’s current level resulted from the addition of the buffs and the change of her class to the Hegemon King.

[Hegemon King’s Wrath.]

Ellie released a powerful killing intent, proclaiming that no one could take her on, even if they were at the pinnacle of their respective fields. Nevertheless, Boleyn’s men continued to jump at her. Not long after, they all vomited a mouthful of blood at the same time.

“Kueeeeeeck!!!”

“Urk!”

The assassins hiding all over the place collapsed one after another. The power radiating from her was more than enough to overwhelm them and leave them unconscious.

Boleyn, who had hid his dagger behind him, was shocked by Ellie’s overwhelming momentum. It was so heavy that he felt like a noose was tightening around his neck. But the shock did not end there; the notification that rang in his ears made him fall into an even more profound shock.

[The Hegemon King will never be defeated by any person, even if they are standing at the highest peak in their field.]

[All Hegemon King’s abilities will increase by 11%.]

“Is it you, you f*cking bastard?”

“...?” Boleyn was taken aback.

What the hell? Why was she speaking in a manner unbefitting of an emperor? Why was she acting like some vulgar thug? Those vulgar words put heavy pressure upon him.

Boleyn felt like the person before him had been an emperor since she was born. It was as if she had stood above him since she came to this world.

Not long after, Minhyuk was released from the illusion.

“Didn’t I tell you? We’re doing a 2v1. The other one is my noona.” Minhyuk grinned when he saw how flustered Boleyn was. “Ah. My noona has become the Hegemon King, too.”

Boleyn, who saw Ellie start to move, immediately racked his brains. Although her powers seemed above his, he believed he could still handle them.

‘Silent Killer.’

At that moment, Boleyn created a clone. This clone only had 300 HP, but the damage that it could deal was similar to the damage that Boleyn could deal. The Silent Killer appeared behind Ellie and moved to cut her back.

[The Hegemon King will never be defeated by any person, even if they are standing at the highest peak in their field.]

[The damage received will be reduced by 50%.]

“...?”

Boleyn was stunned. She ignored Boleyn’s clone and immediately engaged in a fierce battle with her.

The assassins\' main weapons were their quick hand movements and high damage. Boleyn tried to overwhelm Ellie with his quick hand movements, but no matter what he did, he was being pushed back.

‘Wh-what…?!’

He was flustered. His opponent was not just strong.

‘Even her skills are comparable to mine?!’

As the sole survivor of the 1,000 children kidnapped and trained to wield a dagger by a group of assassins, Boleyn prided himself in his ability to kill. What about this woman in front of him? She only wielded her sword to keep her position as the empress.

Shwaaaaaaa–!

The sword of the Hegemon King, which was used to protect her empire and her people, swung and cut Boleyn repeatedly.

Shwaa–!

Slash, slash, slash–!

The blood spurting out of his body non-stop left Boleyn flustered and panicked. In the end, he was forced to trigger his secret skill.

“Death Assassin.”

This skill, which could cut down 90% of any of his opponent’s HP, was the skill that made Boleyn who he was now. It did not matter how strong the opponent was; they would be severely injured once this force hit them!

Vwooooooong–!

Boleyn narrowed the distance between him and Ellie in an instant and moved to stab her neck with his dagger. He was sure that he had stabbed her in the neck.

[Supreme Hegemon King.]

[The Hegemon King will never be defeated by any person, even if they are standing at the highest peak in their field.]

[The Hegemon King will be able to deflect any attack of any person standing at the highest peak in their field once.]

“...”

‘What is this f*cking ridiculous characteristic?!’

Ellie grabbed Boleyn’s wrist. “Hey.”

“...?”

Ellie leaned toward the flustered Boleyn and whispered, “I haven’t used any of my swordsmanship yet.”

“...!”

The words left Boleyn in an even deeper shock.

If Ellie did not receive the buff effects from the dish Minhyuk created for her, she would not be able to overwhelm Boleyn like this. She wouldn’t even be able to reach Boleyn. But now, she was able to instill fear and terror in him that made it impossible for him to come back up.

Snap–!

Ellie broke his wrist.

Crack–!

“Ugh!”

Of course, she did not forget to break the other one.

“Keuaaaack!” Boleyn screamed.

At that moment, Minhyuk appeared behind him and said, “Did you forget? This is a 2v1.”

“...!”

The world was shocked by the spectacular sight of the panicked Boleyn being hit non-stop by Ellie and Minhyuk’s basic attacks. Although they kept on hitting the man, they made sure not to kill him. There was a reason for that. Although it was regrettable, they were not allowed to kill another candidate during the Advanced Polls’ voting period. This was so someone like Boleyn could not assassinate one of the candidates.

Ellie looked at Boleyn, who was suffering from countless broken bones all over his body, and said, “Do you want to live?”

The pain from his broken bones left Boleyn with a deep-seated fear that he had never felt in his body. He had grown up stomping and trampling upon others and even went to build an organization named Immune at 19. He was everyone’s object of fear and respect. When asked if he wanted to live, Boleyn’s response was to nod fiercely.

“Make a vow in the name of God Athenae that you will not retaliate against us after this fair game ends.”

Ellie was a clever woman. Just like Minhyuk demanded a condition where Boleyn would not be able to touch anyone from the Beyond the Heavens Empire if he won this 2v1 match, she also demanded conditions that would help protect her and her empire.

“Hey, make a vow.”

Ellie threw Boleyn aside. His expression perfectly fit the words broken and rattled after he made the vow. The assassins of Immune rushed to help up Boleyn.

If Boleyn dared to touch the Beyond the Heavens Empire or the Eivelis Empire, he would go against his vow and be punished. As such, he would never be able to touch them again.

“Get lost.”

Immune’s assassins hurriedly lifted Boleyn and left the premises. They all ran with their tails tucked between their legs. Of course, Verodun could be seen among them.

Once everything was sorted out, Minhyuk looked at Ellie and thought, ‘She’s strong.’

Of course, this was only because of the effects of his dish. Even so, he could not help but wonder if he could win against her in this state.

But there was something far more important than that.

1st place: Pillar of Death Boleyn. Percentage: 36.1%

2nd place: Pillar of Gourmands Minhyuk. Percentage: 33.7%

…

4th place: Continental Emperor Ellie. Percentage: 12.6%

The expression on Minhyuk’s face turned bitter as he thought, ‘In the end, will the first place really be out of my reach?’

Meanwhile, Ellie had a small smile on her face as she looked at Minhyuk.

***

Cameras from all over the world seemed to have gathered in front of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They were shaking and shivering after witnessing the birth of the Hegemon King.

Community sites from all over the world were in a buzz while the votes for the newly birthed Hegemon King rose steadily.

[In the end, Minhyuk cannot get 1st place.]

[It’s because he looked utterly overwhelmed when he got beaten by Boleyn earlier.]

[There’s still a few more hours left. Is it really impossible to turn the tables?]

[I don’t think it’s possible. Those who haven’t voted for Boleyn are now concentrating on Ellie. Even though Ellie’s votes have increased a lot, they are definitely going to stop soon. No matter how many people want to vote for her, she can’t get past 15%. This is because there aren’t many people who can vote now.]

[Even though Boleyn’s in that situation, his votes are still increasing.]

[For some reason, I feel sad. Tsk.]

Basically, they had already thought that these results were already confirmed. After all, the one who knocked down Boleyn was Ellie, not Minhyuk. So, there was no way for Minhyuk to gain any more votes.

The people in the community sites were still watching the situation from Ellie\'s point of view.

[Hegemon King Ellie accepts the offer to become Minhyuk’s Temporary Knight.]

[The duration will be one week.]

Everyone was left puzzled by the notifications that suddenly appeared on their screens. Even Minhyuk was shocked.

Hegemon King Ellie did not reveal all of her powers in the battle against Boleyn. The real power of the Hegemon King was this.

[The Hegemon King’s First Authority.]

[The Hegemon King’s Iron Blood Army has been activated.]

[Hegemon King Ellie has become Minhyuk’s Temporary Knight. The effects of the Iron Blood Army will be applied to the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s army.]

At that moment, something astonishing happened. The armor donned by the Beyond the Heavens’ Imperial Army troops protecting and maintaining the crowd began to change. It grew more sophisticated and beautiful. But that was not all. Their helmets had also turned into horned helmets.

[The Hegemon King’s Iron Blood Army will be applied to all of the troops under Ellie’s command.]

[All of the attack power of those standing by the side of the Hegemon King will increase by 9%.]

[All of your attack power will increase by 8%.]

[All of your artifacts’ abilities will increase by 7%.]

[Those standing by the side of the Hegemon King will forget their fears.]

What did Ellie aim to achieve by doing this? She wanted to show everyone every single detail of her powers.

[The Hegemon King’s Second Authority.]

[The Advancing Army of the Hegemon King has been activated.]

[The army\'s abilities advancing with the Hegemon King will increase by 1% per second.]

[It will continue to increase for a total of 30 seconds. The 30% increase in abilities will remain in effect for one minute.]

It was a jaw-dropping power. First, it wasn’t restricted in the number of people it could be applied to. It could be given to anyone allied with the Hegemon King.

But the notifications were not yet over.

[The Hegemon King’s Third Authority.]

[The Hegemon King’s Knights has been activated.]

[No matter when or where you are, the Hegemon King’s Knights will protect you.]

Tens of thousands of knights appeared. All of them were wearing horned helmets with capes carrying the symbol of the Eivelis Empire, the Phoenix.

[The Hegemon King’s Final Authority.]

[The Hegemon King’s Roar echoes all over the world.]

[All enemies fearfully tremble upon hearing the Hegemon King’s Roar.]

Uwaaaaaaaaaaah–!

A deafening roar rang from a distance and reached the ears of tens of millions of people.

At this moment, the viewers realized that Ellie was deliberately showing off the power of the Hegemon King.

[All enemies lose their consciousness upon hearing the Hegemon King’s Roar.]

[All enemies’ abilities will decrease by 45% for one minute.]

The viewers were all left stunned. Even though they knew Ellie had no chance of winning first place in the votes, they almost wanted to vote for her.

“Minhyuk.” Ellie smiled at Minhyuk.

Minhyuk turned to her with a smile of his own. The relationship between the two had been established and maintained for a very, very long time. It all started when he was still a novice, and they maintained it even after he became the lord of his own territory, the king of his own kingdom, and the emperor of his own empire.

The truth was, Ellie felt that her pride had taken a hit. After all, someone who she treated as a child had already surpassed her. However, at this moment, she wanted to abandon and leave that ugly heart behind. She had been hiding from this long-established truth for a long time.

The deafening roar continued to echo all over the world.

“No. Battle God.”

Ellie, the newly birthed Hegemon King, knelt on one knee. It was a show of loyalty and respect to her lord.

At the same time, Minhyuk’s votes, which had remained stagnant, began to rise once again.