Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 570: Battle of the Thrones (2)

‘It’s definitely an AOE buff skill.’

Minhyuk could tell with absolute certainty. ‘Everyone’s Happiness’ was most definitely an AOE buff skill, which would be very useful in wars. Before the trial had started, a notification popped up in front of Minhyuk…

[You can view how the Food God failed the trial once.]

Minhyuk was given only one chance for this trial and could also request the assistance of three gods. However, he believed that he could find the answer if he took a peek at how the Food God failed the trial.

“I would like to watch how the Food God failed.”

Then, the space in front of Minhyuk changed, showing the figure of the Food God and the 500,000 starving people. Food God Allen’s expression was covered with worry and concern as he looked around him, “How can this be? Why are so many people starving here? And I will become an Absolute God once I free them from hunger?”

Then, the notifications rang.

[Food God Allen has saved many hungry people in the continent. However, he has received several interference and restrictions from the Absolute Gods.]

Minhyuk could not understand what the notification meant. What did Food God Allen feeding the hungry had to do with the Absolute Gods and their restrictions?

[That was why Allen, a Continental God, wanted to raise his status, prove his power and become an Absolute God himself. The Abyss was his final hurdle in becoming one.]

‘The Abyss is the final hurdle in becoming an Absolute God.’

Minhyuk pondered over the words for quite a long time. The Absolute Gods had placed several restrictions on the Food God. In the end, the Food God chose to climb to the position and become an Absolute God to free himself from them. Minhyuk continued to watch the video in front of him.

To feed the half a million starving people, Food God Allen cooked hundreds of meals for days on end, foregoing sleep and rest. Allen was delighted to see the people enjoying the meals that he made and gaining more energy. However, the trial seemed almost impossible to clear alone. There were people that were able to eat the Food God’s dishes, while there were those that died while waiting for the food.

However, another problem, and a huge one at that, presented itself. Those that had eaten Food God Allen’s dishes came back for more.

“Food God, I wish to taste your dishes again.”

“Show mercy, give us another of your dishes!”

But the Food God shook his head firmly, “The dish I fed you is a buffed dish that will give you the strength to endure for thirty days with an empty stomach. So, I cannot. I’m going to cook for those that haven’t eaten yet.”

“Aaaaaaah! How can you abandon us!!!”

“You’re too much!!!”

“I hate you!!!”

This was the case for most of the men. Those that had first tasted food and regained their energy turned their backs away from the dying children and elderly. But even when that happened, Allen did not give in to their wishes. He remained silent and cooked for the hungry.

And one day, without realizing it, Allen had fallen asleep. It was just for a brief moment, but when he opened his eyes again, the view in front of him brought terror to Allen.

[It was hell on earth. Those who had eaten the food killed the ones that had lost their energy and strength and collapsed to eat food once again. Tens of thousands of people had died while he was asleep.]

Allen was shocked. The people came up to him, with blood splattered on their bodies and said, “Hehe, Allen. Since the number that you have to feed has decreased, then my turn to eat again will come faster, right?”

“…”

Allen was left speechless at the shocking scene in front of him.

[Allen felt a stinging pain in his chest upon witnessing the ugly side of humans. As time went on, they resorted to killing their kin, the same people that lived alongside them. The owners of the twelve tombs that witnessed this scene had told him to ask help from three of the gods. However, this help, something that they had offered from the beginning of the trial, was firmly refused by the Food God.]

“Food God, us gods will lend you our strength.”

“Choose from the three of us and borrow our strength.”

But Allen refused once again, “I do not trust the gods.”

[Allen had been deprived and restricted by the Absolute Gods one too many times. And even though he was also the same Continental God as them, he could not bring himself to trust them at all.]

It was clear that the gods that owned the tombs felt sorry for Allen. He was a man that dared to challenge the realm of the Absolute Gods so that no one would be hungry. However, he was already exhausted and his mentality had already been broken. And from what it looked like, he had failed in making the right decision.

“Only my cooking can save them.”

Food God Allen believed so and cooked for these people as best as he could. During the process, the people continued to kill each other, causing Allen’s mind to collapse. Allen might have forgotten but his challenge for the trial had already failed when the people started to kill each other. He was already approaching his death. But he still said the same thing over and over again.

“Only, only my cooking can save the world.”

Allen continued to cook, his exhaustion piling. Now, all that was left was a madman of a shell. But even though he continued to cook like that, the amount of people that he fed only reached around 100,000. Allen’s frustrations and exhaustion reached his limits. In the end, he fainted. When he opened his eyes again, the people had once again killed each other, leaving only a few of them behind. Only then did the Food God realize that it was his own folly that brought death to these people.

‘If only I had borrowed the power of the gods.’

If Allen had chosen to borrow the power of the gods from the very beginning, then he might have a chance of clearing the trial. If he had abandoned his pride and arrogance, then those people might not have died. So, for the last time, Allen asked them, “God of Life, lend me your power and let me live for ten more days. God of Creation, lend me your strength and allow me to create a special power. God of Immortality, lend me the strength that will allow me to use all of my power for the remaining ten days of my life. God of Time, turn back the time once I make this special power and allow them to live their lives again.”

But the gods shook their heads.

“The trial is already over. On top of that, you can only borrow the power of three gods.”

“I’m asking you because I already know that I’m going to die. I know that I have already collapsed and failed this Abyss Trial.”

The gods felt pity for Food God Allen and allowed the four gods to lend him their powers. The trial had already failed anyway, so it would not matter what they did here. The flame of life burned inside Allen’s body as he used all of his stats, skills and strength to create a skill.

“Urk!”

Allen ignored the blood that dripped out of his mouth as he continued to put the last of his strength into the creation of this skill. Even though he was dying, he still continued to burn the rest of his power and strength using the power of the God of Immortality. Once the ten days had ended, a flash of blinding light appeared and surrounded the dish that Allen was making. The light was so dazzling and beautiful that even the gods swore that they have not seen something as beautiful as that in their lives. With the appearance of this dish, the God of Time turned back time to when Allen first came here.

The 500,000 starving people once again appeared in front of Allen. Seeing this, he finally closed his eyes and laid in eternal rest. Then, the dish that he made for the hungry, which was floating in the skies, slowly descended. It was just a bowl of gruel, but when the light faded and it stopped descending, the same bowl of gruel appeared in front of all 500,000 hungry people.

‘Crazy…!’

Minhyuk was shocked. After all, seeing one dish become 500,000 dishes was astonishing.

‘Cloning dishes?’

The power was truly spectacular. Then, the notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears once again.

[On that day, the Food God used the last of his powers to save the 500,000 hungry people. And when he took his final breath inside the Abyss, he became one of the gods that protected it.]

[On that day, the Food God, as a Continental God, became the first ever in history to create an Absolute God’s Secret.]

[The Secret’s name… ‘Everyone’s Happiness’]

The 500,000 people that regained some of their energy from the gruel that the Food God made, surrounded his cold body and honored him. When these people, whose hunger had abated for a moment, honored him, it looked like the world that the Food God had dreamt of. A world where no one was hungry.

With the end of the video, Minhyuk returned to the Abyss where the 500,000 hungry people were waiting for him. Rejecting the help of the three gods and believing that his own cooking was the only thing that could save these people, just like what the previous Food God did, was something that Minhyuk believed to be foolish. However, the previous Food God was still able to look back at his true self and eventually feed all 500,000 of these hungry people. But Minhyuk knew that he could not do something like that. He had to feed all 500,000 of them in a completely different way than what Food God Allen did.

‘I don’t have the power of Everyone’s Happiness.’

But even if he had that, was it possible? Minhyuk witnessed how the people that Allen fed turned vicious and killed each other just to eat another of his dishes. If he fed them one by one, then the results would be no different from what Allen did.

Not long after, Minhyuk shook his head, a smile hanging on his face, ‘I know how I can clear this trial easily.’

***

Among the viewers watching the Defense Against the God’s Swords that took place in the middle of the Battle of Thrones, the Koreans lamented. This was because South Korea, who was leading in terms of contributions and showed a spectacular performance so far, got the short end of the stick. They actually had to face the strongest God’s Sword in the defense-type event of the Battle of Thrones.

The God’s Sword that appeared ranked from 1~28 and the difference in the power of the 1st to 5th ranked God’s Swords was said to be the difference between heaven and earth. But now, the strongest God’s Sword was going to attack South Korea?

[No, what’s the point of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the Korean rankers working hard if they’ll just become a sacrifice in this shitty luck game?]

[Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s luck is so shitty. Hahahahahahaha. Among the 28 God’s Swords, they actually have to face the strongest. Bwahahahahahaha!]

The other kings, who were busy defending against their own God’s Sword opponent, gave orders that would bring Beyond the Heavens Kingdom deeper into the mire.

“Send 5,000 troops straight to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom now.”

“Send all of the troops that we can spare to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom now!”

The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, which would be under the siege of the first God’s Sword, would be nothing more than a piece of delicious cake that they could feast on. Under the attack of the strongest God’s Sword, an enemy that was equivalent to tens of thousands of troops in terms of power, and the addition of almost a hundred thousand troops sent by the allied forces, the fall of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom seemed to be set in stone.

Because of their constant battles, Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had already lost 7,000 of their troops. They were now faced with a situation where they had to stop the God’s Sword, along with double the number of troops that they faced before.

“Our fight in the Battle of Thrones is over.”

“F*ck. What kind of shitty luck game is this?!”

“Ge, Genie. What do we do?”

The South Korean rankers were a mess. They had done their best but now, they had to face around 100,000 enemy troops, and fight against the number one God’s Sword.

[The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is facing yet another crisis.]

[The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s luck is unbelievably horrible in the middle of the Battle of Thrones.]

[We can now expect the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to fall even before Food God Minhyuk participates in the ‘middle of the event’.]

[What a pity.]

Meanwhile, the 100,000 troops had already gathered around the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and stationed themselves there as if they were watching the situation.

“Why is the First God’s Sword taking so long?”

“I know, right?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s the strongest God’s Sword that’s why he’s coming out late, for a better effect, you know?”

The troops laughed and mocked the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Standing at the vanguard was France’s King Calauhel, who surprisingly took part in this attack.

Calauhel had suffered greatly under the hands of the Beyond the Heavens King, the Food God. In other words, his resentment and hatred toward Food God Minhyuk could already reach the skies. That was why he wanted to take the lead in destroying the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Thanks to the ‘King’s’ special privilege, Calauhel was now 1.5x stronger than usual.

On top of that, he had confidence that France would be able to endure the fight against their God’s Sword, since a relatively weaker one appeared in front of them. So, even if he was here, nothing would happen.

‘When will he come out?’

Calauhel’s body was itching to fight. He wanted to sweep away the people that Food God Minhyuk cherished and loved as fast as he could. Then, the notifications rang.

[The final God’s Sword is about to make his appearance to the world.]

The notification about the first Sword was completely different from the other God’s Sword.

[The Absolute God’s Sword, as the strongest sword, once crossed blades with Nerva Sephiroth to vye for the position of the ‘Battle God’.]

[Even Emperor Nerva Sephiroth is afraid of the Absolute God’s Sword!]

[Absolute God’s…]

[Absolute God’s…]

“…!”

“…!”

The entire world was shocked by the notifications. Nerva Sephiroth was the central figure and the leading force that would lead Athenae’s second era, and the being that would appear in front of everyone now, the Absolute God’s Sword, was someone comparable to him.

“Waaaaaaaaah! Shit…!”

“We’re done for…!”

The South Korean rankers fell into a deeper state of despair while the 100,000 troops cheered in delight. And along with that…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Something akin to a meteor fell down on the ground and created a thick cloud of dust. Only the silhouette of the man could be seen through the dust. Calauhel felt delighted.

‘Quick! Destroy Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!’

The South Korean rankers groaned in despair while the allied troops cheered loudly. Then, at that moment, a voice pierced through the thick layer of dust, “Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

The 100,000-strong troops were confident that the strong walls that protected Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would collapse now. But then, the Absolute God’s Sword said, “Final Chapter.”

Then, hundreds of long and sharp blades appeared and rained down from the skies.

“…???”

“…???”

“…???”

To everyone’s shock, the attack did not rain down on Beyond the Heavens Kingdom; instead, it rained down on the 100,000 allied troops. The blades cut down the armor, whether it was epic-ranked or legendary ranked, of the troops that stood at the vanguard and killed them. In just a single swing, more than 7,000 rankers disappeared. Then, the notifications rang.

[The Absolute God’s Sword.]

[He’s the one that challenged the position of the Battle God’s Sword and is someone that stands toe to toe with Nerva Sephiroth.]

[His name is… Brod!!!]

And Genie, who was looking at the figure from above the walls, saw a man wearing a cape with the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together. If one removed the dirt covering it, one would clearly see that it was the symbol of ‘Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’.

The person that appeared in front of them was the one in charge of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s livestock: the Mercenary King, also known as the Beyond the Heavens’ Sword.

Upon witnessing his return, Genie shouted in delight, “Brod!!!”