Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 991

After asking Abel to find information about Jack-of-all-Trade Rocado, Minhyuk asked Obren, “Obren, do you know anything about Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado?”

Just like Rocado, Obren was also one of the Eight Pillars. On top of that, Obren had a vast and deep trove of knowledge. Then, Obren answered.

[I don’t know the exact details either. But I know what Alvier was talking about. Rocado is superior to the God of Blacksmiths. He is also superior to the God of Cooking. Even his paintings looked like they were alive and moving.]

However, there was something strange.

“Why can’t we find any of the things that he made in the world?”

Of course, there was a high chance that the Athenae Operators would have made it hard for anyone to get to them since they were content that should not be released to the world yet. But these days, information about the Eight Pillars was being unraveled individually. But for some reason, there was still no information about any of the artifacts or items that Rocado had made.

[They’re all hidden somewhere.]

Minhyuk nodded. Anyway, his doubts would be solved once he met the man. However, he could not help but worry.

“What if he’s also like Helenia…?”

[I don’t think that’s the case at all. Just think about it. If he wanted to do that, he should have done so.]

As expected of Obren, his words were truly rational and credible. At that moment, a whisper from Abel came.

[Abel: I found a trace.]

The difference between knowing and not knowing was indeed like the difference between heaven and earth. A clue immediately came out when they tried to find out about Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado.

[Abel: God of Strength Herakel. He’s known to be associated with Rocado.]

A god had a friendly relationship with Rocado? When he heard this, Minhyuk thought things might work out more easily than he initially thought.

[Minhyuk: If he’s a god, there’s a high chance he will cooperate with me since I’m the Battle God, right? Hehe.]

[Abel: Uhm… I don’t know about that. I don’t think God of Strength Herakel will treat you amicably because you’re the Battle God.]

The problem was Abel’s reaction was not quite right. He reacted negatively to Minhyuk’s words.

[Abel: It’s almost impossible to find information about Rocado from ordinary races like humans. But it was different with the gods. From what I have gathered, there seems to be quite a few among the gods who knew about Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado.]

It was possible. After all, the Land of the Gods was entirely separate from the land of humans. Perhaps Obren did not know much about Rocado because he had been slumbering for a very long time, or maybe because he was just completely unaware.

[Abel: According to the information I gathered, quite a few gods had already visited Herakel so that they could meet Rocado.]

It was natural for the gods to visit Herakel after they obtained such information, which also proved how much they needed Rocado.

[Abel: All of them had been beaten with a club and kicked out.]

“...?”

Minhyuk was quite surprised. What kind of existence were the gods? They were omnipotent beings. But these gods were beaten with a club and kicked out by Herakel?

[Minhyuk: Is Herakel still alive?]

[Abel: The gods were the ones to come and find Herakel and demand something from him first. And Herakel has never killed a god. I don’t know, but maybe he’s keeping them from meeting him.]

[Minhyuk: Ah…]

[Abel: Just keep one thing in mind.]

[Abel: He’s also called ‘Mad Dog Herakel.’]

***

In the Black Land located inside the Land of the Gods.

The Black Land gained its moniker because everything from the soil to the trees was black. The gods mostly forgot about this land. After all, there were no crops, and the sun did not shine upon it well.

The God of Strength Herakel lived in a cave in the Black Land. Today, another god could be seen walking toward his residence. The god was none other than the God of Alcohol Edona.

Rumors circulated among a small number of people, including the gods, about how Herakel was closely associated with Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado.

The God of Alcohol Edona wanted Rocado to craft an outstanding goblet, a goblet that could make the flavor of any alcohol better and deeper. As for the rumors, Edona dismissed them. After all, they were far too ridiculous.

‘A god can beat up another god with just a club?’

It was bullshit. And even if a god was capable of doing that, the Battle God would not let them go. Edona firmly believed that it was nonsense.

‘Lies. They are lies created by those who failed to get information and meet with Rocado.’

Of course, Edona did not come to visit empty-handed. He had brought a bottle of wine made by collecting drops for a thousand years.

‘Millenium Wine.’

Edonia wanted to trade his Millenium Wine for Rocado’s services.

As he continued walking, he saw the cave where Herakel was said to be residing.

‘From what I heard, he has not left his cave for a very long time.’

The thought flashed in Edonia’s head when he saw Herakel’s figure, a figure he had only heard about, come out.

‘It seems like they’re lying.’

Didn’t they tell him that Herakel never went out of his cave? However, there was something that checked out with the information that he had heard before.

‘An old and shabby club. Topless. Body filled with strong and tough muscles. Two meters tall.’

Edona was sure this man was the Herakel he had only heard of from the rumors. A wide smile appeared on his face.

“You must be Herakel?”

However, Herakel did not answer. He approached him one step at a time, looking like he had something urgent to do.

From what Edona had heard, Herakel was just a Continental God. That was why he felt pretty offended at the fact that the man had ignored him. However, he stamped down the irritation and raised the bottle of wine in his hand while saying, “This is a bottle of wine made from drops of wine for a thousand years. If you come with me…”

Herakel remained silent and just continued on his way.

Grab–

But just when he was about to pass by Edona, Edona grabbed his arm and said, “How about a talk, hmm? I’ll give you this drink. Let’s have a drink and talk about the man named Rocado.”

“Rocado.”

Edona realized that something was off. When Herakel heard “Rocado,” his eyes immediately turned red. Then, Herakel asked, “Do you know Gaerna’s Life Elixir? The elixir that can save even the gods?”

‘Gaerna’s Life Elixir?’

Of course, Edona knew about it. One of the Six Monster Gods, Gaerna, possessed an elixir. And from what he knew, Gaerna’s Life Elixir had been obtained by the next generation Battle God.

At that moment, Edona found something strange. ‘But why is he looking for a life elixir? Wait…’

Herakel was the closest being to Rocado. When he heard Rocado’s name, his eyes turned red, and he looked like he was about to shed tears.

‘And from what I heard, Herakel is lacking in the head.’

The God of Strength, powerful enough to destroy a mountain, might be strong and powerful, but he was pretty dim-witted. However, Edona knew that Gaerna’s Life Elixir could not save him from that.

‘Is Rocado going to die soon?’

Edona could not help but think so. Just like humans, gods were also filled with greed. At this moment, Edona thought he had to get his outstanding goblet. Rocado had to make one for him.

‘Even if he’s dying, he has to make me one before he dies!’

“Hoho. I don't know about that elixir, but maybe he will get better if he gets a taste of my alcohol.”

“Liar. The only thing that can save a dying person is Gaerna’s Life Elixir.”

“...”

The man immediately caught Edona’s lies he thought was a fool. Realizing that the dim-witted Herakel had caught his lies, Edona could not help but grow angry.

“Bastard! How dare you! Do you not know who I am?! You’re nothing but a mere Continental God! Bring me to where Rocado is right now!”

Edona crossed a line that he should not have crossed at all. Looking deeper into Herakel’s words, one would realize that Edona was already in danger. The problem was he made it worse by demanding that the man take him to where Rocado was because of his greed. In other words, Edona did not care about whatever happened to Rocado afterward as long as he got his goblet.

At that moment, Edona saw Herakel raise the club in his hand. Then, he heard the man say, “My club. Endure eight blows.”

“...?”

“If you endure eight times, you can beat me eight times in return. And Rocado’s location. I will tell you.”

Thud!!!

Edona felt that his surroundings were spinning after the club struck him. The most important part to note here was that he received tremendous damage despite it being only a simple swing of the club. After all, he should know that there was no indication that Herakel had used any skill or divine power when he swung it toward him.

“Keuhaaaaaaaack!”

“One.”

Fwooooosh–

“Keuaaaaaack!”

“Two.”

“S– Stop! I don’t want to know! STOP!!!”

He had only been hit twice, but Edona felt like all of the bones in his body had been broken. He thought that he might die if the third hit came down upon him.

‘No. I think I will die.’

Gods could live forever. But that was only because they no longer aged. It would be different if they received physical damage.

Herakel just passed by the gasping Edona, who had collapsed on the ground, while muttering, “Gaerna’s… Life Elixir… Must find.”

Edona felt his anger rise as he watched Herakel’s gradually departing back. Contrary to the rumors, Herakel had left his cave and was heading toward where the gods lived.

Edona continued to stare at Herakel’s figure. At this moment, he thought this man would become a massive threat to the Land of the Gods. He thought, ‘You f*cking bastard. The Battle God will punish you.’

Then, Edona turned into a flash of light and disappeared.

***

Minhyuk had already finished all the preparations he needed to go to the Land of the Gods long ago.

“The Battle God’s advertisement video will be finished in two weeks. If it is truly as Your Majesty says, and we can complete Evangel with your statues, portraits, artifact samples, and the like, we can create a synergistic effect with the video.”

Minhyuk nodded. There was a smile on his face as he prepared to leave.

‘Since Rocado is like the father of dexterity, he would have excellent cooking ingredients with him, right?’

If the Special Players Management Team members had known what Minhyuk was thinking about, they would have probably screamed, ‘Please let us go home!’ at him.

Just as he was about to leave, a sudden notification appeared before Minhyuk.

Ring!

[The Sudden Quest: Herakel’s Tyranny has been created.]

Ring!

[Sudden Quest: Herakel’s Tyranny.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: Battle God

Rewards: An increase in your favor with the gods.

Penalty for Failure: A decrease in your favor with the gods.

Description: God of Strength Herakel is rampaging in the Land of the Gods. Herakel, with his skin as tough as a dragon’s scale, is as strong as a bull. He possesses a power that can break mountains and stop even the gods. As the next generation Battle God, prove your qualifications by stopping Herakel’s so-called tyranny.

Minhyuk could not help but look puzzled after checking the contents of the quest. A quest about Herakel, whom Minhyuk would find, suddenly came to him. However, there was one crucial point written in the quest.

‘He’s going on a rampage?’

How much ruckus was he making for this notification to appear before Minhyuk? And from what he could infer from the notifications, he could already assume what would happen.

“Herakel will die soon.”

Of course, Minhyuk still did not know what the quest wanted from him.

Minhyuk, unaware of the exact situation, immediately warped to the Land of the Gods.