Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 981

Warp Tower.

Just like any other day, Continental Master Aesden continued to send those who lacked qualifications back by calling out astronomical prices that were more than ten times the ordinary price of a warp.

Surprisingly enough, it was less crowded today compared to usual. It was only natural. Just because many people wanted to use his services did not mean there would always be a long line in front of the Warp Tower. Because of that, Aesden fell deep into his thoughts.

‘I wonder if he’s adapting and adjusting well in the World of Hybrids?’

He still could not forget the sweetness of the chocolate that the man, who was the land, the sea, the wind, and the sun, had given him. Of course, Aesden had met and sent countless people. However, the man was particularly memorable because Aesden saw something great in him.

‘It’s also the first time that my crystal ball has been broken.’

At that moment, a group that looked like they had arrived for an appointment entered the tower. A man with a massive build and carrying a sword with the symbol of a wolf on its blade stepped forward and said, “Please send me to the World of Hybrids.”

“...?”

Aesden was quite surprised to see another man coming to find Utopia just a few days after the man from before.

Aesden acted as usual. But something happened when he closed his eyes to probe the man.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack–

When the man from before visited him, cracks appeared on Aesden’s crystal ball when he put his hands on it. But now? The man before Aesden raised his hand, but the crystal ball was already broken.

“...!”

Aesden trembled. He seemed to understand what kind of person the man in front of him was even though he hadn’t looked into his consciousness.

If the young man who passed by a few days ago was the wind, then this man in front of him was the storm. If the young man were the sea, then this man would be the violent waves of the ocean. And if the young man were the land, then this man would be the land that covered the entire universe.

The brightest Sun might have already lost its light, but the fact that it was once a Sun would always remain.

“Th- this way, please… I’ll show you the way…”

But before Aesden could finish his words, someone stepped forward again.

“Hoho. Can you check mine too and send me together with him?”

This time, the one who spoke was an old man with thick, long black hair tied into a ponytail. The old man looked like he had a well-balanced and toned body, but in Aesden’s eyes, he was nothing but an old man.

Aesden quickly replaced the broken crystal ball with a new one. But just like the case with the man earlier, the crystal ball broke when he raised his hand.

Crack, crack, crack, crack–

Aesden immediately understood. ‘He is someone who will never back down. He does not fear death. He’s a human who has gone beyond his limits and became a demigod. He’s probably sacrificed himself and became a god for someone’s sake.’

Aesden was quite shocked.

“If you stand here, then I will show you…”

“Please do it for me too.”

This time, a gigantic man with black skin stood in front of Aesden. Aesden could only gulp dryly as he watched several unknown and unidentified men enter.

‘Will blood taint the winds of Utopia soon?’

***

‘The Food God has gone crazy and wants to die.’

This was what Rakk thought after he saw the man continue to hit the Heart of Oppression even after he threatened him that he would become the Battle God.

Hero Ender, with a look of concern on his face, said. “Sir Rakk, what if he destroys the Heart of Oppression?”

Hero King Rakk schemed and set all of this up. He had seen the Heart of Oppression in one of the ancient books and used the information he gathered to create it. Because of that, he also knew how to destroy it.

“That bastard will never be able to destroy the Heart of Oppression.” Rakk was very confident. “The Heart of Oppression is already 95% complete. It already has the power to regenerate itself. Furthermore, the Heart of Oppression wants to live. Not only will it reflect some of the attacks back, but it will also tempt and seduce the one attacking it.”

“Can the Heart also inflict damage?”

“That’s right. Its regenerative ability is also swift. One has to keep attacking the Heart before its injuries heal. But it will not be easy. The opponent will receive some damage it inflicted upon the Heart.”

Ender swallowed his saliva at those words. The attacker would receive some damage they inflicted upon the Heart. That was insane.

Not only that, but the HP of the Heart of Oppression was definitely beyond imagination. There was a high chance that its HP was more than fifty times that of that man, who was hailed as the Food God.

What would happen if he continued to strike the Heart? He would probably die first before the Heart got destroyed. What would happen if he took a break to recover from his injuries? Then, the Heart would also take that time to restore and regenerate itself.

‘What’s even more unbelievable is that the Heart would seduce and tempt its opponent.’

How long would one need to strike the Heart of Oppression for it to break and destroy? The answer to that was unknown. How many days would one be able to endure receiving damage while still striking the Heart?

After hearing Rakk’s words, Ender believed it would be impossible for the Food God to destroy the heart. But then, Ender’s eyes grew wide. “Sir Rakk.”

“What’s the matter?” Rakk was entirely at ease. He simply believed that he could easily kill the Food God and obtain the ingredient born from the Heart of Oppression once the transparent barrier disappeared. So, he did not pay any attention to the Food God.

“Sir Rakk, putting a scratch on the Heart would be hard even for you, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But… From what I can see, the damage to the Heart is already at 10% now.”

“What? That’s impossible…” Rakk immediately turned to look at the Food God, his expression filled with disbelief.

But he was slapped with reality. It was just like Ender said. The damage that the Heart received was already at 10%. The worst part? It only took less than an hour.

Rakk’s face grew ugly. ‘What the hell?! What kind of damage…?’

The fact that the man could already chip off 10% of the Heart was a testament to how excellent the damage he could deal upon his opponents. However, Rakk still shook his head.

‘He would receive damage with every strike he lands upon the Heart.’

So, even if he could inflict massive damage upon the Heart, he would still fall before the Heart got destroyed. Once that happened, the Heart would regenerate itself rapidly.

But Rakk soon saw something unbelievable. That was true. The Food God was damaged with every strike he landed upon the Heart of Oppression. But with every strike, an unknown bloody bead would appear and get sucked into the man’s body.

***

Every time Minhyuk landed a strike upon the Heart of Oppression, a notification would ring in his ears.

[You have received 1% of the damage you inflicted upon the Heart of Oppression.]

Ping–!

Minhyuk’s body was jolted. It has to be known that Minhyuk could swing his sword four times in just a second. In other words, he would receive 4% of the damage he inflicted every second.

He did not know how many hours or days it would take him to finally strike down the Heart of Oppression, which meant that this process would continue for who knows how long.

‘Furthermore, the HP of the Heart of Oppression is sky-high.’

He expected it to be at least fifty times more than his own HP. Minhyuk was left flustered when he realized this fact.

‘Am I going to fail?’

Minhyuk would receive damage with every strike that he landed. No matter what he did, he could not think of a way to destroy it by himself. However, an unexpected skill appeared and helped Minhyuk.

(Slaughterer’s Absorption)

Passive Skill

Level: None

Effects:

•Upon successful attack, there is a 3% chance that you will be able to convert 50% of the damage that you have dealt to your opponents into HP.

•Upon successful attack, there is a 0.7% chance of recovering a small amount of your stamina and mental power.

Although there was only a 3% chance, it was still beneficial. Bloody beads would float from the Heart and seep through Minhyuk’s wounds whenever the skill got triggered. The beads would then help him heal his injuries and recover his HP. The Slaughterer’s Absorption skill would only be triggered if the opponent was “living.” In other words, the Heart in front of Minhyuk was considered alive.

Of course, players also had their regenerative abilities, an ability that depended on one’s STM. It might be a bit shabby when compared to the regenerative abilities of Athenae’s boss mobs, but it was speedy compared to the speed of a human’s self-healing abilities.

With a series of coincidences, Minhyuk’s STM and Slaughterer’s Absorption met and created a great harmony. Because of that, Minhyuk’s HP did not decrease much, even if he received a portion of the damage that he inflicted.

Now, nothing could physically stop Minhyuk from destroying the Heart.

Bang–!

Bang–!

Bang–!

Even the Divine Will was helping Minhyuk and giving him more strength. As time went by, the Divine Will overlapped and helped Minhyuk move faster and faster.

This has been Minhyuk's most angry moment since he started playing Athenae. His anger fueled him to land a stronger attack.

Six hours later, Rakk and the other heroes realized things were going the unusual route.

“Ender, quickly summon the ‘Heroes’ Army’ that we have sent to slaughter Romado Village.”

The Heroes’ Army was an army made up of thousands of half-gods and half-transcendentals. They were the army that Hero King Rakk had mentioned before. Rakk intended to bring them here and instill a psychological fear in the Food God. After all, they could not physically damage the man with the transparent barrier between them.

Then, Minhyuk, who was still swinging his sword, said. “The Heroes’ Army is slaughtering a village? What did the villagers do wrong, huh?”

“They cooked the potatoes. We, heroes, are the rulers of Utopia. We are only punishing them for breaking the rules of this world.”

Only then did Minhyuk pause. However, the strength in his hands grew as he listened to their words.

“And you’re trying to kill everyone because of that?”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m pretty sure all of them had already been killed. Perhaps there’s not even a single ant left behind in that village. This is the price for going against us, the heroes.”

Grit–

Minhyuk ground his teeth. Those people just wanted to eat better-tasting potatoes. Perhaps Minhyuk was too immersed in the situation. However, as someone who knew hunger better than anybody else, he knew the pain that they were experiencing.

“That’s the way to govern such lowly trash. Perhaps a lowly god like you doesn’t know that. After all, you have no qualifications to stand above someone.”

That was where Rakk was wrong. Minhyuk was the emperor who ruled more than ten million people and was the commander of millions of troops.

At this moment, Minhyuk made another vow. I will make sure to kill them.

For the first time, the Heart of Oppression began to tempt Minhyuk, who was utterly overcome with anger as he continued to strike at it with his entire being.

[The Heart of Oppression promises that you will be able to kill them all as long as you wait for its complete revival.]

[The Heart of Oppression says it will give you a more powerful Oppression’s Beef Grill Set than the one you have seen as long as you wait for its complete revival.]

The temptation grew stronger the more it spoke. Of course, Rakk, who created the Heart of Oppression, also heard a similar notification.

[The Oppression’s Beef Grill Set that will be born from the Heart of Oppression that the man is attacking will be 20% stronger.]

Rakk was delighted. He knew it! The Heart of Oppression had started to tempt the man so that it could survive. Rakk felt his heart pound, believing he could obtain a better ingredient from it.

Meanwhile, the Heart of Oppression continued to whisper in Minhyuk’s ears. ‘Wait. Just wait for one week. If you wait a week, I will kill them all and present you with a shockingly outstanding ingredient.’

Of course, Minhyuk was not the type to easily fall for temptations. However, as if hypnotized, he stopped moving.

‘You can have everything in Athenae.’

The whispers grew louder and louder in his ears.

‘You can become the Supreme.’

‘You can win against the Luvien Empire.’

‘You can eat all of the delicious things in the world.’

‘No one will be able to threaten you.’

All that would happen if the man did not destroy the Heart of Oppression. Rakk grinned in delight. In the end, everyone was filled with their selfish greed. And that man also could not expel the greed from his body. Although he pretended not to be enticed, his instinct told him to stop. However, Rakk’s thinking was utterly wrong.

Baaaaaaaaaaang–!

“I don’t need any of that.”

Minhyuk only stopped briefly before continuing to swing his sword again.

That was quite funny. Being the Supreme, gaining victory against the Luvien Empire, which no longer threatened them, and eating delicious food?

“I can do all of that with my power.”

Baaaaaaaaang–!

With every twitch of the muscles in Minhyuk’s arm, a more powerful attack would land upon the Heart of Oppression. Rakk and the other heroes who witnessed this scene looked at Minhyuk in shock. And Rakk? He could also hear the Heart’s desperate voice as it pleaded to Minhyuk.

[The Heart of Oppression offers the man trying to destroy it a 5% stronger Oppression’s Beef Grill Set!]

[The Heart of Oppression offers the man trying to destroy it a 7% stronger Oppression’s Beef Grill Set!]

[The Heart of Oppression offers the man trying to destroy it…]

[The Heart of Oppression offers the man trying to destroy it…]

Rakk could feel the Heart of Oppression struggle so that it could live. Right now, the Heart of Oppression was trying to offer the man ingredients that went beyond what it initially could give to survive. However, what shocked Rakk was that the man before him did not intend to stop his attacks.

Baaaaaaaaang–!

“S- stop…! Do you not even have an ounce of desire for the ingredient it will produce?!”

Baaaaaaaaang–!

But no matter what they said, the man did not stop. Rakk could see the blood dripping down one of the deep injuries inflicted upon the Heart of Oppression.

[The Heart of Oppression offers to give the man destroying it 500 cooking ingredients…]

Spurt–!

It did not take too long for the blood to start spurting out of the Heart.

[The Heart of Oppression offers to give the man destroying it 100 billion platinum…]

A hole would appear in its body with every offer the heart made. A red light began seeping through the holes in the Heart’s body in just a split second.

Rakk could not believe his eyes. ‘Does he have no greed? How can he do that?’

It was ridiculous. Entirely and utterly absurd.

Minhyuk chuckled when he saw the light.

Baaaaaaaang–!

Rumble–!

And when Minhyuk’s sword struck the Heart of Oppression, the frantically beating heart started to melt and crumble. The Oppression’s Beef Grill Set and a wooden box appeared in its place.

Then, at that moment, shocking notifications rang in the ears of the already frustrated Rakk.

[More than 99% of the Heart of Oppression has been destroyed.]

[The Heart of Oppression presents to give the man destroying it an Oppression’s Beef Grill Set with two times its original power.]

Rakk was frozen in place. He knew that the Heart of Oppression was struggling hard to save itself. It was giving out sweet candies and tempting the man to give in.

But Minhyuk just chuckled at the proposal. It was as if it was something that anyone could make. He said, “Shut up.”

And using all of the power that he could muster, Minhyuk struck the Heart of Oppression one last time.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang–!

[The things that have been oppressed and subdued have been released by someone.]

[You have acquired the Box Containing Everything that has been Oppressed and Subdued.]

Rakk could not take his eyes off Minhyuk who easily destroyed the Heart of Oppression, despite its sweet temptation and final struggle. Then, a bright red light engulfed the dungeon and almost blinded him. At the same time, a notification rang in Rakk’s ears.

[The destroyed Heart of Oppression begins its final struggle.]

Bathump!

[In its final struggle, the Heart of Oppression pays tribute to the man carrying the strongest and unbending will in the world.]

Bathump!

[In its final struggle, the Heart of Oppression pays tribute to the man who fought for his and everyone’s sake.]

Bathump!

[In its final struggle, the Heart of Oppression pays tribute to the man who shines brightly despite the hardships, adversities, and temptation thrown his way.]

Bathump– Bathump– Bathump–!

The loud beating of the heart engulfed the entire dungeon. Not long after, a very shocking notification rang in Rakk’s ears.

[The Heart of Oppression leaves 5% additional power to the Oppression’s Beef Grill Set that only has 5% of its original power left.]

[The man has acquired the Oppression’s Beef Grill Set with 10% of its original power left.]

“...”

“...”

Bathump– Bathump– Bathump–!

The loud thumping of the heart gradually died down.

Rakk, who had read through the ancient book, had not seen any case where the Heart of Oppression acknowledged and praised someone. All he knew was that the Heart of Oppression was a living and breathing being.

‘The Heart of Oppression is in awe…?’

And as the thumping of the heart grew fainter and fainter.

Buzz–

All of the heroes felt their ears ring. Then, the red light that spread from the Heart of Oppression receded. It looked like a fog had lifted from their eyes.

“I remember telling you that I will kill you, no?” Minhyuk said as he grabbed Rakk by the collar.

Swoosh–

Rakk felt goosebumps rise all over his body.