Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 629: The Sword God’s Inheritance

Chapter 629: The Sword God’s Inheritance

Valen, in his prime, might just be a Continental God. However, he was so powerful that even those that were born as Gods would not be able to do anything against him.

There were originally only twelve Gods that were slumbering in the Abyss, the Tomb of the Gods. When Valen fell into his slumber, the total increased to thirteen, with Valen taking root in the thirteenth gate.

Why was Valen slumbering in the thirteenth gate? Was it because he was the last one to fall into eternal rest? No. It was because the Sword God Valen was a God of a higher rank than the God of Creation, God of Immortality, God of Animals, or even the Food God. The sword was a well-loved and favored weapon. The power of Valen, the God of Swords, was of course beyond imagination.

‘Minhyuk, cut me down,’ Valen thought, joy hidden deep in his heart as he watched Minhyuk use ‘Let’s Have a Meal’ and stay behind the barrier. He wanted to pat the boy on his head after seeing life come to his eyes once again.

It was pride. Valen was so proud of Minhyuk. The Gates of the Abyss were so difficult that ordinary people could not even dream of clearing one, let alone two of them. This only meant one thing. The child that smiled broadly as he slashed at the scarecrow back when they first met had finally grown strong enough to become a ‘True God’.

‘Once you cut me down, you will be able to walk and follow the path of a True God.’

Valen knew that the two of them had no other choice. Either Minhyuk or he had to die here. It was a cruel and unfortunate fate. However, Valen was happy since he could die at the hands of his disciple.

‘You won’t be able to beat me.’

Although it sounded arrogant, that was what Valen truly thought. Minhyuk’s growth was definitely shocking. However, in his prime, even Spear God Ben would not be able to win against Valen.

“Do you think your situation will change by playing tricks on me?” Valen continued his performance. Most enemies would not do something like this, but Valen was different, “Even if you play tricks, you will not be able to deal with me. Measly subordinate…”

“Shit. Shut up for a bit, ‘Past’ Instructor.”

“…?”

“You’re very loud. Yada-yada. Were you really this chatty in the past?”

Right now, the current Valen was just like a stranger to Minhyuk. His figure was that of the past and he even put on the concept to match the figure, one wherein he did not have his complete memories. Because of that, Valen could not say anything. Still, those words stung a little and made him sad.

‘It, it hurts a bit. Mi, Minhyuk…’

***

Minhyuk had exchanged whispers with Genie before he started cooking. He explained the situation to Genie and asked her to relay it to God of Snakes Elizabeth, who was standing right next to her.

God of Snakes Elizabeth’s powers and abilities had declined significantly. However, among the NPCs of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, her powers were still on par with Spear God Ben. Fortunately, God of Snakes Elizabeth could use the full extent of her ability to control the system once.

[Genie: So, what you’re trying to say is that you want to change the gate’s ending where only one of the two people had to survive?]

[Minhyuk: That’s right.]

Genie did not answer after a long time. It seemed like she was talking with Elizabeth. Then, an answer finally came.

[Genie: It’s both possible and not possible.]

[Minhyuk: What does it mean?]

[Genie: We can get involved with the system. However, we don’t know if we can change it to the way we want it to.]

[Minhyuk: The reason?]

[Genie: The Abyss is the Tomb of the Gods. That means that there are a lot of Gods’ powers that are in there. Even if Elizabeth is the God of Snakes, it would be impossible for her to control the system in a place like that completely.]

Minhyuk understood. After all, God of Snakes Elizabeth was not Athenae. Although she had the power to control the system, the fact that she was far away and had to control the system through a set of coordinates would make it even harder.

[Minhyuk: Please do it immediately. How long do you think it will take?]

[Genie: We won’t be able to do it quickly. You have no other choice but to endure and hold on to Instructor Valen.]

They needed to be able to control the system so that Minhyuk and Valen would not need to kill each other. To do that, Minhyuk needed buffed dishes.

‘The Food God belongs to the lower ranked Gods among the thirteen Gods,’ Minhyuk judged. However, that was only the story if he used the Food God’s power by itself. Minhyuk was a very strong player. He was someone that could exert far more power than other classes, whether they were combat or non-combat classes. If Minhyuk combined the Food God’s power and his own strength, the Food God would become the strongest God among the thirteen. But…

‘It’s not just about being strong.’

Minhyuk had already reached the point where he could freely control the effects of the buffed dishes that he would make through the cooking ingredients that he was using.

Should Minhyuk increase his skills to the max? Or should he go with a more efficient method and raise all of his stats and create a balance? While Minhyuk was pondering about what he should do, the voice of the guy that had been sleeping for a while suddenly rang in his ears.

[Are you an idiot? Your opponent is the Sword God. He’s not just your ordinary genius.]

‘What?’

Minhyuk was actually glad to hear his voice. This was because although his words sounded crooked, he was always saying the appropriate things at the right time.

[But you’re also not just an ordinary genius of the sword.]

That was right. Minhyuk could be considered to be the strongest when it came to swordsmanship. After all, he was someone that was on par, perhaps even stronger, than Olympic Gold Medalist Carr in terms of kendo. Also…

[You have the Slaughterer’s Armor.]

That was a fact. Right now, Minhyuk not only needed to think of a way to beat Valen, but also a way to drag out the time in a battle against him. As it turned out, Minhyuk was the owner of the Slaughterer’s Armor.

Of course, the power that the Slaughterer’s Armor could exert would differ depending on the opponent. For existences like Valen, who had a high resistance toward the ‘reflection skill’, the armor could not exert the full extent of its power. That was why.

‘If I increase my basic damage, then I can give an additional boost to one more ability.’

Indeed, it was not that difficult for Minhyuk to increase his basic damage. If he could just increase his ability to ignore the opponent’s resistance against damage, then he might be able to do this.

‘I’ll start.’

Minhyuk started cooking. The dish that he was going to cook was bizarre tteokbokki. But was he going to eat just that? Of course not. This time, he was going to add a special dish. The special dish was none other than the ‘Myungrang Sweet Potato Hotdog[1]’.

This was a combination that Minhyuk had wanted to try for the longest time. In fact, the craving always appeared whenever he saw contents with the title ‘Freaking Amazing Combi’ while surfing his SNS. The sweet potato hot dog, with its sweet and sugary taste, and the spicy tteokbokki that could make one tingle, seemed like the perfect combination. And this was the combination that Minhyuk started cooking.

“We can’t go our separate ways like this.”

How could they go their separate ways like this when they have only just met again? Of course, his Instructor Valen, who had ‘lost his memories’, would not understand this pain.

“That’s why I won’t lose to you, Instructor.”

‘I see. Of course,’ Valen thought, bitterness surging within him after hearing Minhyuk’s words. At the same time…

‘Although his voice is solemn, excitement is evident on his face.’

Valen could not help but laugh. He was sure that the rascal was excited at the prospect of eating something delicious. As he watched Minhyuk cook, Valen did not stop his act and kept on mumbling, “This lousy subordinate. Quickly stop this cowardly…”

“Shut up, Past Instructor.”

“How dare you call me, a great being, Past Instructor…”

“No, why can’t you just shut up?”

“…”

Basically, what was happening right now was similar to someone cursing their boss. Valen was already about to turn red from holding in his tears. But, he still did his best to endure it.

Minhyuk finished cooking his bizarre tteokbokki. Then, he immediately began frying his sweet potato hotdog.

Sizzle—

The hotdog slowly turned a beautiful gold as it floated inside the golden oil. After around three to four minutes, Minhyuk pulled the hotdog out, the oil still sizzling on its surface. Then, with a tak! tak!, Minhyuk shook off the excess oil.

What did Minhyuk do next? Of course, he sprinkled some sugar on the hotdog, the sugar falling down like snow and covering its surface.

“Hehe…” Minhyuk chuckled. He was smiling so broadly that one would wonder if he was the same person that had said ‘We can’t go our separate ways like this’ earlier.

Even so, Valen did not hate this side of him.

‘Keep living like that, even without me by your side,’ Valen thought, sincerely hoping that this would be the case once he was gone.

As for Minhyuk, he was looking at the dishes in front of him with awe. This was because the buff effect of the bizarre tteokbokki and sweet potato hotdog was considerable.

The first thing that Minhyuk did was to lift the lid of the bizarre tteokbokki. Why did he open the lid of the container when he was the one that made the dish himself? Well, it was so he could feel like he was eating from the real store.

The moment he opened the lid, the white melted cheese, just like snow on a winter day, greeted him. Right below it was the spicy red tteokbokki sauce, that looked just like boiling lava. When he picked up a piece of rice cake, the white cheese stretched out all the way to his mouth.

The sweet and spicy flavor burst out, as the chewy texture of the still hot rice cake lingered in Minhyuk’s mouth. After chewing on a single piece, Minhyuk picked another piece of rice cake. This time, he ate it together with a piece of Vienna sausage. Minhyuk personally liked the Vienna sausage added in the bizarre tteokbokki.

How would one put it? It could be considered less spicy? However, as Minhyuk continued to chew, the spiciness slowly started to fill his mouth. A ‘Ho~’ automatically came out of his mouth when he placed another piece of rice cake in his mouth, as beads of sweat started to dot his forehead. Minhyuk quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped off his perspiration, before picking up a piece of red fish cake and placed it in his mouth.

Chew, chew, chew—

“Haaa. Spicy,” Minhyuk said as he unknowingly fanned his tongue from the spiciness that lingered.

This time, he picked up the sweet potato hotdog that was sprinkled with sugar. The sweet potato hotdog was actually filled with an entire stick of mozzarella cheese inside.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

As he took a bite, the crunch of the outer skin rang loudly in Minhyuk’s ears. When he reached the cheesy inner layer, the mozzarella stretched out and followed the movement of his mouth. Minhyuk slurped the white cheese in his mouth. This time, Minhyuk dipped the mozzarella sweet potato hotdog in the tteokbokki sauce and placed it in his mouth.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

‘Aaaaaaah! The combination of the sweet and salty flavors is the best! Delicious!’

A smile of delight appeared at the corners of Minhyuk’s mouth. He quickly ate the tteokbokki and the hotdog. Then, he chugged down the cool and refreshing peach-flavored Julpis. The cold Julpis washed away the greasiness in his throat and made his smile grow wider.

Then, the notifications came in. Minhyuk wiped his chin, a small smile on his face as he watched the barrier slowly disappear.

***

Valen felt a bit nervous after watching Minhyuk finish his food. However, it was just a little anxiety on his part. Although he cherished and loved Minhyuk more than anybody else, he still had a firm grasp on reality. He was fully aware that Minhyuk was still not strong enough to fight against him, who was at his prime.

[Sword God’s Blessing.]

[Your Physical and Magical Defenses have increased by 45%.]

[Your HP volume has increased by 1.5x.]

[You can calculate the damage that your opponent will incur upon you.]

The Sword God’s Blessing is Sword God Valen’s inherent skill. The best part of this skill was the fact that he could calculate the damage that he would incur. The calculation was simple. It would compare the damage to that of opponents that Sword God Valen had fought before, whether they be monsters, people, demons, or the like. To put it into perspective, this is what would happen if an ordinary child hit Valen.

[A normal blow has inflicted 313 damage upon you.]

[The damage incurred is similar to a goblin’s damage.]

These data would appear in his head. Would this information matter? Yes it would. With this data, Sword God Valen could take proper countermeasures. If he could understand his enemy and himself, then he would be able to win every battle.

The strongest opponent that Valen had faced was Gorac. Of course, it had been just his clone. However, Gorac’s clone could be said to have the same power as Great Demon Verus when he descended on earth.

Minhyuk immediately triggered his skill, “Sword of Tempest.”

Hundreds of sword blades appeared in the air and shot toward Valen. Valen’s sword glided smoothly in front of him as it deflected the hundreds of sword blades that were rushing toward him. None of the attacks reached him.

At the same time, Minhyuk took the opportunity to charge at him. As Valen saw it, he did not intend to avoid this attack. But he also did not intend to die without putting on a fight. Of course, he would still create a situation where he would end up losing, but as Minhyuk’s teacher, he wanted to see if Minhyuk already had the qualifications and the power for the next step. At that moment, Minhyuk’s sword slashed toward Valen.

Spurt—

Baaaaaaaaaang—

However, a strange sound rang in Valen’s ears despite the attack just being a simple slash. It was the sound of something getting slashed and then exploding. When Valen looked down, he saw that his armor had a dent.

“Urk…?”

Then, Valen was forced to fly back from the impact of the attack.

‘What’s this…?’

Then, the notifications rang in Valen’s ears.

[A normal blow has inflicted 19,676 damage upon you.]

[The damage incurred upon you is similar to Gorac’s Clone’s damage.]

[Warning!]

[Your opponent is exerting the same amount of power as the strongest opponent you have faced.]

Minhyuk used Like the Wind and chased after Valen.

Baaaaaaaam—

Valen immediately raised his sword and deflected Minhyuk’s downward slash.

Booooooooom—

[A normal blow has inflicted 19,376 damage upon you.]

[The damage incurred…Gorac’s Clone’s damage.]

The notifications did not stop.

[A normal blow has inflicted 19,676 damage upon you.]

[The damage incurred upon you is similar to Gorac’s Clone’s damage.]

Minhyuk’s basic attack was similar to Gorac’s basic attack.

“Kghk! Ugh! Argh! Ack!”

Currently, Minhyuk’s teacher, Valen, was unilaterally being beaten up.

“W, wait!”

“I’ll just knock you out.”

Valen was flustered, ‘No, Minhyuk…’

Where did the Minhyuk who was crying so much earlier go? All that remained in front of Valen was Minhyuk beating up his teacher. Didn’t he just say that he missed him?!

“Kghk! Urk! Aack! Keok!!!”

For some reason, Valen suddenly felt at a loss.

1. A type of corn dog with sweet potatoes in the batter. The flour used in the batter is rice flour and is chewier than normal corn dogs. ?