Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 994

Chapter 994

Minhyuk had been together with Conir, a boy with intellectual disability, for a very long time now. Thus, he learned much about people with intellectual disabilities from his daily interactions with Conir.

People like Conir would blindly follow the words of those who protected and cared for them. They would also unconditionally follow the teachings that had been repeatedly told and ingrained in them.

‘What would have happened if I had not endured Herakel’s eight hits and embraced him?’

If Minhyuk had hugged the tense and unbridled Herakel just like that, he would have been sent flying back by the gigantic man’s club. Minhyuk had arrived earlier on the battlefield and had been observing the situation.

‘There are no deaths.’

The strength in Herakel’s club was hefty. It was to the point that a few of the Heavenly Soldiers could die with just one or two hits from him. But Herakel had been skillfully controlling his strength, distinguishing between those who could and could not endure the hits of his clubs. Because of that, none of them had died.

When he saw that, Minhyuk embraced Herakel instead of killing him. What he needed to do now was to comfort and console Herakel and listen to his story, something that no one ever listened to.

Minhyuk patted Herakel’s back gently. And Herakel, acting like a mad dog, broke down and wept like a child. Herakel immediately began talking when Minhyuk asked him to tell him what was happening.

Herakel told Minhyuk about how Rocado, his long-time friend, was on the verge of death. He also told him how he came out of his cave for the first time to seek help and how he encountered the God of Alcohol. Then, the following stories were something that he had already heard or witnessed.

“I see. So that’s what happened.” A bitter taste lingered in Minhyuk’s mouth.

As he patted Herakel on the back, he saw the Heavenly Captains, who had recovered considerably from their injuries, pointing their weapons at Herakel and approaching them. It seemed like they were under the illusion that Minhyuk had created this situation so it would be easier for them to subdue Herakel.

Witnessing this, Minhyuk released an overwhelming killing intent. Minhyuk’s CHA was extremely high compared to the other gods, and the Battle God’s dignity made everyone feel numb.

“I will kill you if you try to attack.”

“...!”

“...!”

The Heavenly Captains all stopped and took a step back when Minhyuk’s killing intent washed over him. At the same time, they all looked at him in confusion.

First Heavenly Captain Carrack said, “The Battle God has permitted us to kill Mad Dog Herakel. The damage that the Land of the Gods received is already far too much. Have you not seen Herakel’s power? If we let him live, he will definitely threaten the Land of the Gods.”

Everyone could not understand what Minhyuk was doing. This was more so because the influence of the next generation and the current generation Battle Gods was far too different. The current Battle God had personally given the authority to kill Herakel. There was no questioning that.

Minhyuk slowly let go of the crying Herakel. He looked around him and said, “Mad Dog?”

He found their words ridiculously absurd.

“When the gods came to find him to find out where Rocado is, did he swing his club for no reason?” He asked as he walked among the Heavenly Soldiers. “No. That shouldn’t be the case, right? They must have asked Herakel, ‘Where is Rocado?’ And Herakel would not have answered any of you.”

Minhyuk took one step after another and approached someone. This someone was the Battle God, the greatest and highest god of the current era.

“Since he did not answer, all of you must have used all kinds of things to bribe him. But that one must have failed, too. So, you resorted to threatening him. You must have told him, ‘I will kill Rocado!’ or ‘I will kill you, you bastard!’, no?”

Minhyuk stood in front of the Battle God.

“Only at that point did the beatings start. After that, you told the world that he is a Mad Dog. The gods, who had talked big and bragged that they would get Rocado’s location, would have exaggerated when they returned after being beaten and driven away by Herakel. ‘That bastard is a mad dog who beat me for no reason at all.’ You probably said that.”

“Your words are an attack on the other gods!”

“You should watch your mouth!”

The Heavenly Captains criticized Minhyuk, while the gods, who came to see the situation, looked at him with ugly faces.

However, Minhyuk’s sharp gaze turned to look at the God of Alcohol. “Did I say anything wrong?”

“...”

Edona gulped, his mouth turning dry from the question. He had heard from Herakel that Rocado was in danger. However, he was far too intoxicated with his greed that he still wanted Rocado to make him his goblet, even if he was on the brink of death.

‘Even if he’s dying, he has to make me a goblet before he dies!’ With this thought in mind, Edona put pressure on Herakel and even threatened the man. However, the report that Edona told the Battle God was completely different from what happened.

‘Mad Dog Herakel beat me up for no reason at all! He’s now running towards the Land of the God! He is a threat to us all.’ This was what he reported.

Among the gods existed a God of Truth. With the power of the God of Truth, they could always confirm whether Edona’s report was accurate. Knowing this, Edona immediately kowtowed in front of the Battle God and said, “For– Forgive me! Forgive me, Battle God.”

Then, Minhyuk caught sight of the Fifth Heavenly Captain Rox standing among the other Heavenly Captains. He looked at the man and asked, “Did he attack you first?”

“...”

Rox could not answer. This was because he was the one who shot the arrow first after being frightened by Herakel’s thunderous stomps.

“No.”

The truth was finally revealed to everyone present.

“In the first place, the ones who created this so-called Mad Dog are those petty and narrow-minded gods.”

The gods were noble beings. They were arrogant beings who would never admit to making a mistake, even if they did something wrong.

Then, one of the gods said, “Are you going to go against the will of the current Battle God?”

Hearing the words of that god, Minhyuk, who was already standing in front of the Battle God, said, “If being the Battle God means that I will be like this, then I will refuse this position.”

“...!”

The Battle God frowned. He and Minhyuk had a very close relationship. He even allowed Minhyuk to call him uncle. Would he do something like this? But Minhyuk was a very stubborn person. He would do what he said.

The Battle God looked around at the Heavenly Army and the gods watching the scene. At this moment, he clearly remembered the words that he had uttered before.

‘We are old. We need someone new to lead us.’

The Battle God knew that if he had cared to learn more about Herakel, then he would have been able to learn about all of the things that Minhyuk revealed here.

But just because he was the Battle God did not mean he would always be able to choose the right path. Just as a king would ask for the opinions of his vassals, the Battle God would also ask the opinion of the other gods. This was so he could arrive at the most appropriate decision.

Then, the Battle God said, “Heed my orders. Herakel will be exiled from the Land of the Gods forever. He has to leave the Land of the Gods within two weeks. If Herakel ever steps foot inside the Land of the Gods, he will be met with immediate judgment and be killed.”

The Battle God looked at his men and continued, “And God of Alcohol Edona will be sentenced to ten years in prison for giving false reports.”

After leaving those words, the Battle God turned around and left. As he walked further away, the God of Cooking appeared beside him in a flash of light. She said, “You took a hit and lost the argument, huh?”

However, there was a slight smile on the Battle God’s face. The God of Cooking immediately understood the meaning of that smile and chuckled in response.

“We are completely different gods.”

“That’s right. I think he will open up a new world.”

And Minhyuk? He felt relieved when he saw the Battle God and the other gods turn around and leave.

‘I was so nervous back there…’

Minhyuk had confidently said he would not become the Battle God if the man were like that. However, Minhyuk was only able to say that because he knew better than anybody else that the current Battle God was not some kind of scoundrel who would not listen to reason.

But first things first. He had to take Herakel away from this place. Just when the thought flashed in his head, Minhyuk saw Herakel, crying like a child, stand up and clutch his hand tightly with his huge hand. Herakel treated Minhyuk as if he were his guardian, crouching to hide behind him and looking up at him with pure and innocent eyes while tightening his grip on Minhyuk’s hand.

“Herakel.”

Crack, crack, crack–

“My hand is breaking…”

***

Minhyuk brought Herakel far from where he had fought a fierce battle earlier. Then, he said, “Herakel, there’s no more Gaerna’s Life Elixir left.”

“...?!” Herakel’s eyes grew wide as he looked at Minhyuk in shock.

Unfortunately, all of Gaernae’s Life Elixir in Minhyuk’s possession had been used up. One had been used for the Battle God, while the other was used for Don.

Seeing the sad look on Herakel’s face, Minhyuk said, “But maybe we can find a way.”

Minhyuk was wondering about something. Wasn’t Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado a god? If he was a god, then he should not die unless he received physical harm, no?

“Why is a god like Rocado going to die?”

“...Rocado. No god. Rocado, human.”

“...?”

Minhyuk could not help but be surprised that one of the Eight Pillars of the world was a human.

‘How on earth did he do that?’

The stories that Minhyuk had heard about Rocado made him believe that he had been in this world for a long time. It would be bizarre for a human to live that long, wouldn't it?

“Rocado… Immortality Herb, ate. Rocado ate five Immortality Herbs. No more herbs left.”

After hearing Herakel's words, Minhyuk was able to infer the situation. He assumed that the herb Immortality Herb was an item that could greatly increase the lifespan of a human like Rocado.

‘That’s crazy.’

For a moment, Minhyuk wondered what happened to Rocado, who lived longer than the average human, before he became the Jack of all trades.

However, the most important was whether Herakel would allow Minhyuk to meet Rocado.

‘Looking at the current situation, I don’t think there’s something to worry about, but…’

Herakel had been walking majestically while holding Minhyuk in one hand like a newborn baby. Minhyuk could not understand why he was hugged like this either or where they were going.

“Herakel’s friend. They said, welcome anytime. Go home.”

The situation was quite favorable to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk, who was being held comfortably(?) in Herakel’s arm, suddenly thought of a question. ‘If Herakel’s club is an ordinary club, it would have already been broken to pieces long ago.’

Although Herakel’s club looked ordinary, it was nothing but that.

“Herakel, can you show me your club?”

“Of course! Herakel gives everything to friend!”

(Herakel’s Club +43)

Rank: Rare

Requirements: The one who received Rocado’s permission.

Durability: ? / ?

Attack Power: 2,030

Special Abilities:

•STR increases by 45%.

•STM increases by 65%.

•Can turn passive skill on or off.

•Passive Skill’s Current State: OFF

•Passive Skill: Slightly Painful Club.

•Passive Skill: Really Painful Club.

•Passive Skill: Very Painful Club.

•Passive Skill: Really Fast Club.

•Active Skill: Really Very Painful Club.

Description: A club customized for Herakel by Rocado and his lover, Eirin. The words ‘For Herakel’ are engraved on the club.

“...?”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide as a saucer. ‘The attack power is over 2,000?!’

The Sword of Aeon, a sword that was hailed as the most incredible sword in the world, only had around 2,300 attack power. Of course, it had been quite a long time since Minhyuk obtained the Sword of Aeon, so there must have been many artifacts with 2,000 attack power released to the world.

If there was one, it was probably already in Alexander’s hands. However, just because artifacts with that much attack power had been released did not mean they were commonplace. That was why it shocked Minhyuk to see the club have that much attack power.

And that was not all. It could also increase Herakel’s STR by 45% and STM by 65%.

‘Is this why the gods could not endure his attacks?’

But the more shocking part is that it said that Herakel could freely turn his passive skills on or off.

‘Wait, what’s wrong with these skill names?’

Of course, the skill names might have been written as such because the club was customized for Herakel.

‘Hmm. It really is made for Herakel.’

It was made so it was easy for Herakel to understand. These were the descriptions of the passive skills:

The Slightly Painful Club had a 50% chance of getting triggered and could give 10% additional damage.

The Really Painful Club had a 40% chance of being triggered and could deal 20% additional damage.

The Very Painful Club had a 20% chance of being triggered and could deal 25% additional damage.

The Really Fast Club had a 20% chance of getting triggered and could double the speed of Herakel’s club.

‘I think I would have died if I got hit with the club’s passive…?’

Minhyuk’s HP had dropped to 5% by the eighth hit of Herakel’s club. He would have died and come back to life if the passive was turned on.

But there was one thing that Minhyuk found to be truly ridiculous. ‘This is just a rare item?’

It said, “The one who received Rocado’s permission.” This meant that as long as someone received Rocado’s permission, they could wield this club even if they were only at Level 10.

‘Our levels restrict the artifacts that we can equip.’

Legendary-rank artifacts that players at Level 100 could own were far worse than the legendary-rank artifacts owned by players at Level 500. However, if these artifacts suited the player, they could display great power among players at the same level. Athenae had used the requirements to cleverly restrict the artifacts players could wear according to their levels.

However, looking at the club’s requirements alone, one would think it was only suitable for players up to Level 50, mainly because it was ranked rare. But if one looked at its abilities, one would doubt whether it was only at that level. That was why Minhyuk found it to be truly ridiculous.

But the answer came easily to him.

“...Herakel.”

“Why?”

“The +43 written next to Herakel’s club is a sign of the club being reinforced, right?”

“That’s right! Rocado gathered the twinkling and sparkling stones and used them!”

“...?”

Minhyuk was shocked. At this moment, he realized why Rocado was hailed as Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado.

‘This is enough to destroy an entire ecosystem, right?’

Of course, the chances of successful reinforcement would increase significantly if someone at a high level used an excellent reinforcement stone to strengthen a low-rank artifact. Because of that, some spendthrift and rich players often reinforce their training swords to +20 for fun.

However, the fact that the club was ranked rare meant it was not ranked that low.

‘But he was still able to strengthen it by +40?’

Perhaps this was only possible because it was Jack-of-all-Trades Rocado who did it.

At this moment, Minhyuk recalled several artifacts that he could not reinforce and strengthen even if they were still at +0. These artifacts were none other than the Transcendental’s Armor Set and the Sword of Aeon.

Then, Herakel giggled. “Friend! Friend wants to strengthen something?!”

Herakel was showing off, just like any ordinary man.

“Yes, I want to strengthen something.”

“Herakel! If Herakel’s friend helps Rocado not be hurt anymore, Herakel will help you strengthen it!”

It was like he was saying, “Hey, hey! He will do it as long as I say it~” Of course, there was a condition. And that condition was to help Rocado.

“Really? Will Rocado do it if you say so?”

“Rocado will do it if Herakel says it!” Herakel confidently thumped his chest with his fist.

“I also want to eat something delicious.”

“Hehe. Trust Herakel! Rocado will do it if Herakel says so! Herakel knows that Rocado has some strange ingredients!”

“Let’s go, Herakel! Let’s meet Rocado!”

After a while.

Herakel was on his knees with his fists raised high to the sky.

“Keep your arms straight!”

Herakel cried silently, tears dripping down his cheeks after hearing Rocado’s shout.

“Herakel… wrong…”

This was the ending of the show-off and the braggart.