Leveling Up Through Eating

PR: MattForgenti

Jisoo, during his early ages, was much shorter than the rest of his peers. What was worse was that he had an ugly face and a large head so he lived quietly being called an ‘Improper Fraction’. He did not do well in both studies and sports. He even had acne. He was introverted and had no friends. However, he was good at ‘games’. During weekends, Jisoo would play games alone at home when most of his peers went out to the PC room or karaoke with their friends.

He believed that he would only have this ‘game’. But one day, Jisoo was robbed of money by Lee Sungmin and his gang of friends. At that time, the student council president who he felt was too far away to become his friend heard about his situation and went to help him immediately.

That day, he came to the classroom in a daze.

Then, that friend continued to raid Lee Sungmin and his gang of friends the next day, the day after that and the next day after that. One day, he appeared in front of him with money in his hands and said to him……

‘They’re not going to ask you for money anymore.’

‘Ye, yeah. Thanks.’

Jisoo smiled softly. He felt extremely grateful to him. However, it was not a lie when Jisoo thought that it would be the end of their interactions. It was because he knew that their worlds were too far apart. But then, he said……

‘What are you going to do after school today?’

‘Huh? Me? Me, well…… I will play some games.’

‘Oh! PC room, call?!’

‘Ca, call!’

He was the first friend that he had ever made. And it was also only natural that he met Seoktae and the Wild Boar General, Jihye who were always with him.

‘Ah, Minhyuk is bad at games!’

‘Wow. Minhyuk-ah, the game collapsed!’

‘I always lose when I play games with you! So buy me some ramyeon! Keuhahaha!’

‘Keuhahahaha! You’re 10 years away from beating me!’

He laughed happily when he realized that he finally found a friend.

And for Lee Dawoul who mocked and swore at ‘him’ he only thought for a moment about the things he would lose. But when he did the math, he wondered what it would feel like to lose something like that. However, he knew that there was more to him than that.

“Uweeeeeeeeeck!”

Lee Dawoul jumped up on his feet when he saw him fake vomit.

“Th, this crazy shit……!”

“A shameful inferiority complex from something that happened more than five years ago? Phew, you pathetic bastard.”

Jisoo pretended to slice his neck off as he spoke coldly.

“Watch the back of your head in the game.”

He left after he finished saying those words. Go Eun-ah looked at them in puzzlement after she had stopped recording the interview. The other players also started to move around.

“Wow. Locke really lacks tact.”

“What’s wrong with him? Why did he do that all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit too much even if he has no manners?”

“Ahahaha. I’m alright. Everyone.”

Lee Dawoul smiled pretentiously which lifted the stone that was dropped in their atmosphere. Then, they smiled at Lee Dawoul as they left.

‘......Look at these bastards?’

Lee Dawoul grinned.

Anyway, you’re the ones who will get trampled in the game.

***

Today was the day of the War of the World Tree.

Both Team Leader Park Minggyu and employee Lee Minhwa were busy. After all, it was the final day of Athenae: Korean War. And it was also because today was the day of the ‘War of the World Tree’. It was the event with the largest number of players.

In the case of the War of the World Tree, the champion would not only receive the title of ‘MVP’ but they would also receive a special reward. However, the super mischievous and playful supercomputer Athenae had yet to reveal what the reward was. She said that it was going to be revealed just before the games started. Not only were countless users interested in this, even the employees of Joy Co. Ltd. were also interested to know.

Not long after, the commentators shouted.

[The last day of Athenae: Korean War has arrived!]

[Waaaaaaaaaaah!]

Then, loud roars and shouts broke out from the stands.

***

[There will be a total of 30 users who will participate in the War of the World Tree. Each and every one of them were the top combat classes for our country.]

[That’s right. There are plenty of users here who were in the top 10 in our country’s rankings. There are even the unofficial players who we have never seen in the rankings before. I think it will be fun to see the strength of these new faces.]

[Can you please explain the rules of the game before it starts?]

[Yes. The War of the World Tree will start on this large area of land. This land was once called ‘Icea’. It was an extremely rich and bountiful land that when you sow seeds, the seeds would definitely and abundantly bear fruits. But right now… The World Tree that has supported the land of Icea is being eaten away by ‘termites’.]

[Termites?]

[Yes. Ancient termites are beginning to nibble away at the roots of the World Tree. And with its roots being damaged, the World Tree is starting to gradually lose its powers.]

[Ah. So what the players simply have to do is narrow their numbers down?]

[That’s right. The players have to hunt those termites. If you successfully hunt the termites, you will be able to receive the ‘World Tree’s Spirit’. The players should inject this to the World Tree and the player with the most number of spirits injected on the World Tree will be crowned the MVP of this event.]

[Then, you can’t raise your score just by hunting the termites? Players will definitely prevent other players who have hunted the most number of termites in injecting this ‘spirit’.]

[That’s right. Being able to hunt these things alone did not mean that you will win. You should also remember that the termites are not an easy opponent.]

A window filled with the information about the termites popped out on the big screen.

[Wow…… The level of the termites are around Lv440~470!]

[That’s right. In addition, the termites have a variety of properties that are suitable for their type of attribute. Ice, fire, water, poison etc. Everyone has to keep in mind that the termites with attributes are not easy opponents.]

[According to the descriptions, there’s also an item called ‘World Tree’s Blessings’, correct?]

[Yes. The World Tree will save the players that are struggling to survive once. The World Tree would unleash its power once. At that time, the strength and power of all the players and the termites will become the same.]

[The strength and power of all the players and termites will become the same?!]

[Yes. Athenae may be a virtual reality game but it is also important to consider the abilities of the players in real life. Through the ‘blessings’ that Joy Co. Ltd. and the God of Athenae created, the players will solely depend on their control and abilities since their stats and skills will be equal and the same. In a way, this may be an opportunity for those players who have been pushed behind by the high stats, high luck and overgeared players, to show off and explode in strength. In addition, the termites will have their abilities lowered down and similar to the players, but I think it will be a bit lower than their stats.]

[In other words, once the ‘Blessings’ come down, then the situation will be favorable to Lee Dawoul or player Carr?]

[That’s right. As we speak, it seems like the players are starting to enter one by one.]

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

[The cheers when Player Carr entered are no joke!]

[There’s no other way. When Player Carr, a gold medalist in the London Olympics, told us that he was playing Athenae he already grasped a lot of attention.]

[Right now, the Crazy Priest Locke is entering!]

“Booooooo!”

“Get lost!”

“Locke! You piece of shit! Apologize to Player Carr!”

[It seems like the audience are booing.]

[Last night, there was an article that said that Player Locke swore at Player Carr and pretended to throw up.]

[What was worse was that there were a lot of players who witnessed the scene and pointed out ‘Player Locke’s Rudeness’. And is now becoming an issue.]

[But Player Locke does not seem like he’s discouraged at all.]

[He looks rather excited.]

***

When he heard the booing from the audience, Locke raised his arms and roared.

“Euwoooooooooo!”

This was the Crazy Priest Locke. This was his true appearance. Khan was even walking beside him.

“Hey, come on!”

“Ah, why~”

“Do you really want to be in this situation right now?”

“What’s the situation right now?”

Khan closed his mouth for a moment when he heard his words.

That the whole country will hate you? And that Carr will certainly put us in check?

Carr was a strong contender for the title. It was a fact that they could not forget. However, Khan had nothing to say. In fact, he even thought that Locke did a good job.

“Boo! That Khan person is cheap too! That’s obvious!”

“That’s right! They’re playing with each other. Legend Guild might not be able to survive!”

Then, Khan raised his hands and roared too.

“Euwoooooooo!”

Shit, I don’t know anymore. If I were Locke I would have definitely spat on him before coming out!

And a minute before the games started.

[As you can see, the ground is filled with ant caves. In those caves, the termites are nibbling away at the roots. And one ant cave is equivalent to a dungeon.]

[Yes. And there are even a lot of termites above ground.]

[Ah! Just in time! The information for the additional rewards for the War of the World Tree will be announced soon!]

[The additional reward for the War of the World Tree is a ‘World Tree’!!!]

[The World Tree!!! That’s an SSS-ranked item! No, it’s not an SSS-ranked item but it’s much more effective than that when used as an artifact material!!!  That’s the additional reward for the War of the World Tree!]

[The random warp of players is now beginning!]

The players began to enter one by one. There were players who appeared above ground, and there were also players who appeared under ground.

One of those players was Carlo. He was frowning. Carlo was a Lv442 ‘Knight of the Sun’ but he was now visibly upset.

‘I appeared with Locke.’

It was because he appeared in the same ant cave as Locke. However, Carlo decided to not bother with him anymore. After all, no one had gained any ‘spirit’ yet. It was better for them to acquire and increase the number of ‘spirits’ in their hands than fighting their enemies from the very beginning. So Carlo ignored Locke.

‘Crazy Priest.’

It was originally a healer class. Carlo had heard about him a lot but he still looked down on him. Of course, his participation in the ‘War of the World Tree’ the best competition for combat classes had proven his strength but in reality, he thought that he did not have to take precautions against him.

Carlo finally encountered a termite. The white termites that were walking on two feet with wings on their backs strangely looked like they were humans too. And they were even holding spears. As soon as they flew towards him…

Flash─!

Clang!

“Kgghk!”

Carlo couldn’t help but frown.

‘Sh, shit……!’

They were told that their level was around Lv440~470 but the attack that he had just received earlier was a bit too much for that.

While Carlo was busy frowning…

Bang, bang, bang!

Sparks suddenly started to pop around him that dwindled his HP down.

‘Shit……!’

He should have paid attention to opponents that have different attributes.

Meanwhile, the commentators were quickly explaining the situation.

[Ah, the players that are already facing the termites look confused.]

[The termites are more powerful than what you think! Our country’s best rankers are perplexed!]

[Just now... Our strongest contender, Carr, has already hunted one. That’s amazing. He revealed his job class to be the ‘Crown Prince of Swords’! We can see that with just a raise of his hands, dozens of swords appear from the sky and pierce the termites!]

[One kill! Double kill! Triple Kill! He already obtained three ‘spirits’! It’s overwhelming!]

Then, one commentator said…

[Huh……? But, why are Player Locke’s hands turning red?]

[The momentum from Player Locke is quite extraordinary.]

Carlo turned his head. He could see that his hands were dyed red and there was a lot of pressure coming out of his body.

‘Come to think of it……’

Why did Legend Guild let Locke in the field? Legend Guild has Abel, an assassin, and Ascar, the Goddess of the Battlefield. So why did Locke come out to participate?

‘Why on earth……?’

Of course both Abel and Ascar, the Goddess of the Battlefield, participated in different events. However, the most brilliant event in this competition was the ‘War of the World Tree’.

So why? Legend Guild couldn’t be that dull, right?

And at that moment, Locke struck the ground with his fists that were dyed red.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang!

***

After eating beef to his heart’s content in Paladi Village, Minhyuk was back in reality taking a rest. He was currently talking to Jihye on the phone.

“I know. I understand.”

After hanging up the phone, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He saw an article a while ago about ‘Locke’s Rudeness’ on his phone. He could see the criticism that the netizens had heaped on him. They even made a lot of noise on the TV.

[The reward that will be given to the MVP of the War of the World Tree is literally the ‘World Tree’. The World Tree is an SSS-ranked artifact material……]

Minhyuk gulped as he laughed.

“I think it would be delicious if I grilled my 3,000 year-old eel on charcoal made from the World Tree, right?”

Then, he stood up.

***

TL’s corner!

I feel so annoyed because it was Lee Dawoul who instigated Locke but Locke is the one being criticized. smh.

Report mistakes and chat with us at: /Q3dStgu