Leveling Up Through Eating

The evaluators were gathered in the conference room to discuss the results of the Advanced Polls.

“I can’t believe that it’s not the Pillar of Death but the Pillar of the Gourmands who took 1st place in the Advanced Polls.”

“Fortunately, it’s just the Advanced Polls. If it’s the true Pillar test, then I’m sure that the Pillar of the Gourmands will never be able to climb to the position of a Pillar.”

“Ah, more importantly, when will Lord Ruba wake up?”

Ruba suddenly fell asleep in the middle of their meeting. From what they heard, he was doing something for Chaos.

Not long after, the sleeping Ruba woke up with a start and immediately began to scream. “A-aaaaaaaaaaah!!! You m*therf*cker!!!”

“...?”

“...?”

Confused, the other evaluators looked at Ruba, covered in cold sweat.

Ruba, who was acting under the mask of the Supreme Sovereign just now, died after being directly hit by Minhyuk’s Transcendental’s Spear. Before he died ultimately in that place, he was left with the shocking truth about the food that they had eaten back then.

“Captain, are you okay?”

“What’s the matter?”

Ruba could not help but wipe the cold sweat that began to drip down his forehead once again after being questioned by the other evaluators. He could not say that he met with the Pillar of the Gourmands and tried to pay back the humiliation that they had suffered last time but ended up being beaten again.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, is the meeting over?”

“Yes. We were just waiting for you to wake up, Captain.”

Ruba nodded calmly.

Then, at that moment, Arshad looked at him mournfully and said, “Captain, do you remember?”

“What?”

“You know, the bibimbap the Pillar of the Gourmands gave us before? I still can’t forget the taste of that bibimbap. He even mixed it for us.”

Royer also piped up. “That’s right. I would think about it every once in a while before going to bed. Ah, just thinking about it is enough to make my mouth water.”

“...”

Ruba went silent for a long time and looked at them like that.

***

Rundalk, who was slowly falling into the depths of the abyss, recalled his final memory. It was the scene where the Supreme Sovereign showed his daughter his dying figure. What made Rundalk even sadder was the fact that the only memory that he left of him to his child was the memory of being an inadequate and absent father.

–Daddy, where are you going?

–Daddy’s very busy, Bellamy. If Daddy becomes a great person, then others will treat Bellamy nicely, and we will live happily.

The child looked up at him sadly while holding onto his hands tightly. What his child needed was not an absolute being who even the Pillars could not dare to treat lightly. She just needed her father to read the fairy tale book and use his arms as her pillow while sleeping.

Because of that, Rundalk was determined to live just for her sake once they met again. Yet it seemed like he was still far too greedy.

As he got drawn deeper into the abyss, these notifications rang in his ears.

[Pandemonium slowly seeps into your legs.]

[Even if you get out of the Pandemonium’s Prison, you will be with a limp.]

[Pandemonium slowly seeps into your arms.]

[Even if you leave the Pandemonium’s Prison, your arms will only have enough strength to hold up a pair of chopsticks.]

[The Pandemonium’s Prison’s power takes away most of your powers.]

Rundalk knew that it would not be easy to live his life for his daughter anymore. However, he wanted to hold his cute daughter’s hands just once. Just one last time, like she did when holding his hands.

In the end, Rundalk succumbed to his death.

[You are paying the price for the crime of trying to break the balance of the world.]

[This is your final challenge.]

[Your soul has started to dissipate.]

As he slowly fell deeper and deeper into the abyss and slipped into his eternal rest, another voice rang in his ears.

“D… dy?!”

He felt like he was slowly being pulled up from the depths of the darkness. The unidentified voice also began to sound clearer and clearer in his ears.

“Da… ddy!!!”

Then, he felt the touch of a tiny hand. It was holding tightly onto his own. Not long after, another series of notifications rang in his ears.

[The Life Asteroid brings you back to life.]

[All disabilities left in your arms, legs, and body will completely disappear.]

[Around 75% of your abilities that have dissipated and have been lost can be recovered.]

Rundalk’s eyes snapped open. At the same time, he caught sight of his daughter, Bellamy, holding his large hand tightly with her tiny hands while crying. He still could not make sense of the situation that he was in.

That was when he saw one of the asteroids floating around Minhyuk, bursting with bright light. It was none other than the Life Asteroid. Years of honed instincts told him that Minhyuk had used the power of that asteroid to save him. When Rundalk looked around, he also realized that the Supreme Sovereign was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed in relief as he hugged Bellamy in his arms. He said, “From now on, I will never leave your side. Daddy promises to live only for you.”

After that, Minhyuk explained what had happened. He told Rundalk about using the power of the asteroids to climb to the level of the Supreme and kill the Supreme Sovereign.

***

Minhyuk, who had used the power of the Life Asteroid to revive Rundalk, could not hide his regret.

‘I wish he was able to regain all of his powers.’

Even though it had the power of the Supreme, it seemed like there were still limits that restricted them. However, it did not matter that much. Now, Rundalk flashed the happiest smile in the world as he hugged his daughter tightly.

‘Shall we check it now?’

Minhyuk did not have the time to check the notifications after he killed the Supreme Sovereign. It was because he thought that it would be challenging to save Rundalk if he left the man in his dead state for a long time.

Now that everything was settled, he checked the notifications he had heard earlier.

[You have successfully hunted the Supreme Sovereign.]

[You have gained 890,694 platinum.]

[You have borrowed the power of the All Supreme Asteroids. The EXP that you have gained will decrease.]

[You have gained 69,899,000,013 EXP.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have hunted the Supreme Sovereign. You have earned 700 cash.]

[The Supreme Sovereign does not drop anything, including artifacts.]

“...?”

Minhyuk could not help but be shocked by the notifications.

The Supreme Sovereign was on par with an event mob. Yet, there were no artifacts, consumables, artifact materials, or any other rewards.

‘This is shi…’

As he scrolled down, his consternation turned into delight.

[The Supreme Sovereign is a boss mob that cannot be hunted and cleared without borrowing the powers of the asteroids.]

[You have obtained the Easter Egg: The One who Endured.]

[The 20,000 Asteroid Fragments you used to exchange for the All Supreme Asteroids will be returned to you.]

[You have obtained 20,000 Asteroid Fragments.]

[You have obtained 30,000 Asteroid Fragments for the successful hunt of the Supreme Sovereign.]

[The first slot of items you can exchange with Asteroid Fragments will now be closed.]

[You have accumulated 50,000 Asteroid Fragments. A new slot will now be opened.]

[Most items available for exchange in the new slot can only be exchanged once every four years.]

[A few select items are not subjected to the once-every-four-years exchange restriction.]

“...?”

Minhyuk’s eyebrows immediately raised when he saw the words “once every four years.”

‘Wow. They’re brilliant.’

The items in the first slot were all incredibly outstanding, and he could buy around 100~500 pieces of each of them. Now that he had an astronomical amount of fragments, he decided to close that slot. This was so he could open up better slots and obtain more excellent items in the future. And right now, Minhyuk was checking the new slot for him.

[Supreme Reinforcement Scroll. Required Asteroid Fragments: 5,000]

The effects of the item could only be described as crazy. When the scroll was applied, the chances of obtaining a +3 reinforcement would immediately jump to 100%. What was more surprising was that there was no restriction on what kind of artifact or how many reinforcements the artifact had before it.

[Supreme Skill Scroll. Required Asteroid Fragments: 6,000]

According to its description, it could increase any skill level regardless of the skill\'s rank by +2.

[Supreme Artifact Material. Required Asteroid Fragments: 8,000]

[Supreme…]

[Supreme…]

The further he went down the list, the more the frown on his face deepened.

“Why?!”

“...?”

Rundalk, enjoying his reunion with his daughter Bellamy, turned to look at the screaming Minhyuk in confusion. This was because he suddenly began huffing and puffing and stomping his feet.

“Why is the most important thing not here?!” Minhyuk screamed as he looked above him.

This newly opened slot has the worst drawback to have ever existed.

“Why aren’t there any ingredients here?!”

“...?”

That was right. The most important thing that Minhyuk was referring to was none other than cooking ingredients.

When Minhyuk heard that the items he could exchange from this newly opened slot could only be exchanged once every four years, a dream immediately formed in his head. He dreamt of obtaining the Supreme ingredient and taking it out to eat every once in a while. It would feel like eating something that he had saved for four years.

The thought of eating something after a long wait filled him with delight. Alas, his dreams were shattered. No ingredients were on the list of items available.

Minhyuk looked at Bellamy and said softly and gently, “Bellamy, can you close your eyes for me?”

“...?”

Despite the confusion on her face, Bellamy still obediently closed her eyes. And Rundalk? He instinctively blocked her ears.

“What kind of bullshit!#@!#@$#$@!!!”

The words were a testament to how furious Minhyuk was.

“Phew.”

Finally regaining his calm, Minhyuk nodded at Rundalk. Only after seeing him nod did Rundalk take his hands off Bellamy’s ears.

“What’s going on, Daddy?”

“Uhm… Well, Daddy’s friend prayed to the heavens. The prayer was so sacred and holy(?) that no one else could listen to it.”

“Aha!” Bellamy nodded fiercely as if she understood the words that her father said.

After figuring out why Minhyuk was angry, Rundalk said, “If what you want is not available, then why don’t you just exchange your fragments for something that can make it?”

This was sincere advice from Rundalk, someone who had lived for thousands of years. Minhyuk was finally enlightened. Indeed, there was certainly a way to do that.

Minhyuk once again scrolled through the available items and scrutinized every single detail about them. At that moment, an item caught Minhyuk’s eyes.

[Supreme Treasure Box (5). Required Asteroid Fragments: 25,000. There is no restriction on the number that you can purchase.]

‘It has nothing to do with cooking.’

Regardless, he could obtain five Supreme Treasure Boxes in one go. On top of that, the effects of the Supreme Treasure Box clearly stated that there was a chance that he could obtain something that was not in the Asteroid Fragment Shop. There was also this effect.

‘There’s a meager chance of obtaining a far greater item than the items open for exchange with Asteroid Fragments.’

Minhyuk pondered deeply about this matter. If he exchanged one of the other items now, he could only exchange them again four years later. Wouldn’t it be better for him to increase his worth by exchanging everything he could exchange today? Waiting for four years would probably be a bit too late, no?

Of course, if there were ingredients available, he would have been very willing to wait for four more years. Since there were none, he decided to exchange it for this, hoping there would be ingredients inside.

[You have exchanged for Supreme Treasure Box(5).]

The moment the notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears, he saw Rundalk approach him hand in hand with Bellamy. He looked like he had already made up his mind about something.

***

Land of the Leaders.

The faction members following the King of Destruction were all covered in gloom. It was as if they were attending a funeral. They had been wiped out before reaching Pandemonium’s halfway point. Among the people who joined the expedition, only Minhyuk and Rundalk survived.

“Damn it! This is Lord Rundalk’s last opportunity, but…” Blaine cried out, his tone accusing himself.

The members of the faction of the King of Destruction held a deep affection for Rundalk. Their main goal was to allow him to meet his daughter.

The other factions looked at the grieving members of the faction of the King of Destruction.

“That guy always makes the impossible possible,” Beradon said with a small smile.

Rokan, one of the Monarch of All Creations, asked Beradon to tell them more about Minhyuk. Beradon willingly relayed the young man’s story, but it was pretty hard to believe for those who listened.

“Isn’t that too ridiculous?”

The story was so far-fetched that Rokan could not believe it.

“You’re saying that the one hailed as the Spear God works for him, the emperor, as a barista?”

“And his sister is the Continental Emperor while his uncle is Overlord Raldo, a genius that only appears once every era?”

There was something even more unbelievable.

“He treats the God of Cooking as his grandma?”

No. Anyone who heard that would think the one relaying this story was stupid.

“Then, are you saying that if the one who rules the sea comes to his empire, they would only become a fisherman?”

‘How did he know?’

The Pirate King Gorfido was a fisherman in the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Rokan laughed incredulously. “Then, does that mean that the being symbolizing the Beyond the Heavens Empire is a pig?”

As a member of the faction of the King of All Creators, he did not need to be overly polite to the King of Good Beradon. He just spoke his mind and told him everything that he wanted to tell.

When Beradon heard his words, surprise flashed on his face.

“No way. They have a pig as their symbol?”

“This is so ridiculous that I can’t even speak properly. Especially when I heard that his uncle was the Overlord and his sister was the Continental Emperor Candidate. If we follow the logic of your words, then once Minhyuk and the King of Destruction came back, would they already be grandson and grandfather? I wonder what position he would take by then?”

Beradon blinked blankly. It was because everything that was said was true.

“If that happens, then I’ll strip my clothes off and dance naked. No matter how I think about it, I still can’t believe that such existences from legends and myths will willingly do something like that.”

At that moment, three bright and blinding lights flashed in front of everyone.

Rundalk walked out of the bright light and said, “Hohoho. Alright, alright. This grandpa will cherish and protect our dear Minhyuk.”

“Yep, Supreme Grandpa!”

“Eh?”

At this moment, Rokan realized that something had gone wrong. Why did Rundalk suddenly become Minhyuk’s grandfather?

Then, Rundalk declared, “Everyone, I want you to know that Minhyuk is like a grandson to me. Ah. No. He’s more than my grandson.”

“Yes!”

“How should this grandpa help you?”

“Hmm…” Minhyuk pondered. Then, he said, “Then, how about becoming the director of the Sprout Academy? Bellamy is also at that age.”

“Sprout Academy?”

“Yes. Sprout Academy is where we look after the children of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. The children there are mostly of Bellamy’s age. So, wouldn’t it be good if Grandpa Rundalk goes there to protect them?”

“Ooooooh. That’s good!”

Rokan, who watched that scene, could not help but wonder what he was listening to. At that moment, Beradon sneaked up to him and said, “See? The Supreme is now the director of the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s kindergarten.”

“...”

“But boy… I’m not inclined to see you fulfill your promise.” Beradon frowned as he glanced at Rokan.

And Rokan? He was very curious. ‘What the hell happened inside Pandemonium?’

Anyway, from this day on, the Supreme will be the director of the Sprout Kindergarten.