Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 816

Whether it was an artifact material or a cooking ingredient, as long as it reached God-grade, its value would soar and be considered as a valuable treasure. Of course, cooking ingredients had lower value compared to artifact materials at the same grade. After all, artifacts could display permanent effects.

However, that was not the only reason why God-grade cooking ingredients were of lower value compared to other materials of a similar grade. Basically, the way to cook God-grade ingredients was not that difficult. On top of that, God-grade ingredients were constantly being released with the increase in level of the players. Interestingly, the value of God-grade cooking ingredients was still very high.

Right now, the quest Hella’s Request popped up in front of Minhyuk, and he even stood to obtain three God-grade ingredients!

‘Acquiring these three God-grade ingredients will help me in protecting Edea this time. It might become one of the big variables in this battle!’

Of course, it was important for him to lift the second seal of the Sword of Aeon. However, acquiring these three God-grade ingredients was equally important.

Amidst all these, there was one thing that Minhyuk was very curious about.

“You said that you know the God of Death, right? How did you know him?”

Hella smiled bitterly. After a few moments of hesitation, she said, “I’m his lover.”

“…”

Lover? Perhaps it was only natural. Gods were just like humans. They also had emotions, and could also feel and love.

‘Keok! If— if she’s an ex-girlfriend then… wouldn’t that make it even worse?’

When lovers separated, they would usually grow apart and sometimes, the relationship might even sour.

But then, Hella said, “I can guide you to where the God of Death is and I can also lend you a hand so that you won’t die right away when you meet him!”

“Did you just say die?”

“The God of Death always kills any outsider. So, if you appear right in front of him, there’s a chance that he might kill you on the spot.”

“Ah…”

Minhyuk did not know where the God of Death was. But after knowing that the God of Death would attack him on the spot if he suddenly appeared in front of him, then it was probably for the best that he went there with Hella.

[You have accepted the Hidden Quest: Hella’s Request]

“What’s the second Sin’s Ingredient?”

“The second Sin’s Ingredient is pumpkin sweet potato.”

“…!”

Minhyuk was delighted to hear what it was. Sweet potato was an amazing ingredient. It tasted good whether steamed or roasted over a fire. It was also good when made into caramelized sweet potato or added into dishes like braised chicken or spicy braised chicken.

“Pumpkin sweet potato! Huwooooo!”

“…?”

Hella thought that the young man in front of her was quite unusual. The man had just been making a serious face just now before entering into a deal with her, but now, he was smiling purely like an innocent child.

“Do I have to dig for the sweet potato like before?”

Hella shook her head. “I have no idea either.”

Hella never had the chance to try and harvest the second Sin’s Ingredient.

The two looked around. Even though the Sin’s Sweet Potato was buried deep underground, they could still see the black aura that seeped out of the ground and floated right above where it was. Minhyuk quickly approached the black aura and swung his hoe down on where the sweet potato was.

[You have started the harvest of the Second Sin’s Ingredient, the Sin’s Sweet Potato.]

[To harvest the Sin’s Sweet Potato, you need to harvest a total of 20,000 sweet potatoes in three days.]

The surroundings suddenly changed right as the notifications finished ringing in their ears. From the dry and barren land from before, it suddenly turned into a wide and thriving sweet potato field.

“…!”

“…!”

Hella and Minhyuk were both shocked. In Hella’s case, she was shocked to hear that they needed to harvest 20,000 sweet potatoes in three days.

‘In just three days? That’s impossible.’

Of course, she had the help of the man in front of her. However, Hella thought that it was still an impossible feat. When she saw Minhyuk’s shaking body, she thought, ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’

However, Minhyuk’s thoughts were completely different from hers.

“If I can harvest all 20,000 sweet potatoes, then does that mean that they’ll all be mine?”

“…”

“Isn’t this a really good quest?”

The way Minhyuk sounded so optimistic and positive about their situation left Hella quite speechless.

Thus, the two began to dig for sweet potatoes.

***

With Hella and Minhyuk’s high DEX, it was not that hard to harvest the sweet potatoes. On top of that, Hella also had a variety of helpful harvesting skills.

“Hundred Hoes.”

Thuuuuud—

The sweet potatoes in her vicinity squeezed out of the ground the moment she swung the hoe in her hands. Just like that, Hella was able to harvest the sweet potatoes at a rapid pace.

While she harvested the sweet potatoes, she turned to look back at the young man beside her. To her surprise, the young man named Minhyuk was working much faster than her.

‘Crazy.’

Hella had a guess how the man beside her was able to harvest the Sin’s Radish. The sweet potatoes around them would usually be harvested after three swings of an ordinary hoe. However, Minhyuk could easily dig it up with just a swing.That was not all, he was also moving rapidly all the while roasting a pile of sweet potatoes wrapped in foil underneath the blazing flames of burning firewood.

“Pumpkin sweet potato! Uwoooh!”

Thud, thud, thud—!

Minhyuk looked happy as he swung his hoe continuously and dug the sweet potatoes in front of him. This was his only chance of obtaining 20,000 sweet potatoes in three days.

About an hour later, there was a notification.

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

The beings from Hell could not grow further. Actually, this statement was not quite true. It was better to say that the dead could not grow. Minhyuk was faintly aware that Hella was already dead. However, compared to finding out the truth of the matter, he was more desperate to dig and eat the sweet potatoes.

After digging for quite some time, Minhyuk approached the burning firewood that had been roasting the pile of sweet potatoes since earlier. Then, using the Sword of Aeon, he speared one of the sweet potatoes and took it out of the fire. Perhaps, those that sealed the Sword of Aeon would be both astonished and dismayed to see the greatest sword being used as a stick to take out sweet potatoes from a fire.

“Hot! Hot!”

The mouth-watering golden color of the sweet potato greeted Minhyuk after he peeled off both the hot foil and the burnt skin of the root crop. He then carefully blew on the steaming flesh of the sweet potato before taking a huge bite.

“Hoo—“

The heat instantly spread in Minhyuk’s mouth the moment he took a bite, forcing him to roll the sweet potato all around his mouth. Once the heat dissipated to some extent, the sweetness of the sweet potato began to slowly spread out.

“De-delicious! I’m going to eat more. Sweet potato!!!”

Minhyuk returned to the field to work once again with his right hand holding the hoe and his left hand holding a steaming sweet potato. Hella could not help but inhale sharply when she saw this ridiculous scene.

“Haa… Haa…”

Hella, who had used a lot of her skills during that hour, was able to harvest 300 sweet potatoes. If she was harvesting an ordinary sweet potato, then she would probably be able to harvest around 2,000 in the same amount of time. However, this was Sin’s Sweet Potato, and harvesting it was far more difficult than harvesting ordinary sweet potatoes.

The 20,000 quota in three days seemed possible considering that she could harvest 300 in an hour. However, after taking into account the recovery time of her mana and the cooldown of her skills, she realized that it was far from enough.

Hella, who was left exhausted and out of breath, suddenly thought of Minhyuk once again. She turned to look back at him.

“…!”

To her shock, Minhyuk was able to harvest around 500 sweet potatoes in an hour. On top of that, his speed had increased by about 1.6x since he started digging for sweet potatoes. This was all thanks to the Divine Will skill.

[The skill: Divine Will has been triggered.]

[All of your skills and abilities related to DEX will temporarily increase by 30%.]

[All stats will temporarily increase by 8%. Attack and defense will temporarily increase by 6%.]

The passive skill Divine Will was much easier to trigger than the previous skill Will. He only needed to exert a quarter of the usual effort that he otherwise usually need. It would also boost all stats, as well as the attack and defense of the skill user.

That was not all, if Divine Will was triggered three times in a row, the DEX would increase by around 60%. In other words, Minhyuk did not grow tired.

Thud— thud— thud—

It was as if Minhyuk was given wings. He dug non-stop, the sweet potatoes piling up into a mountain behind him.

By the second hour…

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

By the third hour…

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

[You have harvested 2,000 sweet potatoes!]

By the fifth hour…

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

[You have harvested 3,000 sweet potatoes!]

And by the tenth hour…

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

[…DEX.]

[…DEX.]

[You have harvested 6,000 sweet potatoes!]

Hella was left completely speechless. ‘How is he not getting tired?’

In contrast, she felt so exhausted. It felt like she was going to fall asleep any second. However, Minhyuk still looked very energetic. On top of that, he had been working like that for twenty four hours straight.

[You have harvested more than 12,000 sweet potatoes.]

In the first place, Minhyuk was someone that did not give up easily. Seeing Minhyuk continue to dig sweet potatoes without resting for an entire day motivated Hella. She cheered herself up as she continued to push herself as well.

Then, by the third day, the sweet notifications rang out.

[You have harvested 20,000 sweet potatoes!]

[You have acquired the Sin’s Sweet Potato.]

[You can now harvest the Sin’s Potato!]

[You have acquired the God of Farming Hella’s Shining Bean Sprouts.]

Even though almost half of the third day had passed by, what they had accomplished was still amazing.

Then, another notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You have reached MAX favor with the God of Farming Hella.]

Minhyuk had constantly heard notifications regarding Hella’s favor while he was harvesting sweet potatoes. So, it was not really that surprising.

Still full of vigor, Minhyuk asked Hella to sit down and take a break. They had conversed while harvesting the sweet potatoes. According to Hella, she had been struggling for thousands of years to harvest the Sin’s Ingredients, in hopes that she would be able to provide the beings of Hell with incredible ingredients and allow them to eat tasty dishes.

Minhyuk smiled. Then, he peeled a roasted sweet potato and handed it over to the goddess. “Hella, you haven’t eaten anything for a very long time. Go on, have a bite.”

Hella looked at the sweet potato in Minhyuk’s hands. Everyone had laughed at her when she said that she would let Hell thrive. However, she had continued on this seemingly unfeasible journey and it seemed like she was now finally heading toward the end. This young man in front of her was the only one that recognized her efforts.

She held the sweet potato in her hand before taking a bite. The taste of the root crop that she had not tasted for thousands of years was strangely sweet. Tears started to gather in her eyes.

“Thanks.”

‘Thank you, for giving me this delicious food for the first time in thousands of years.’

“Let me give you a present in return.”

[You have received the blessings of the God of Farming Hella.]

[You have gained 1,000 DEX.]

[You have acquired the Active Skill: Farmer’s Breath.]

‘Oh?’

Minhyuk was in awe. He checked the information of the Farmer’s Breath.

‘Isn’t this amazing?’

The Farmer’s Breath was an amazing skill that could increase all of the crops effects by 10% just by breathing upon them.

After taking a short breath, the two stood up to begin harvesting the Sin’s Potato. But then, Hella asked, “Why aren’t you getting tired? Actually, why does it seem like you’re enjoying this?”

There was no one in the world that would enjoy such repetitive and laborious work. Even the God of Farming was suffering from doing hard labor like this.

Minhyuk grinned and said, “Because I want to do it. I find enjoyment in things that I want to do. Besides, I also love eating sweet potatoes. More importantly, isn’t it fun to think that I will be able to help Hell thrive with you, Miss Hella?”

They were good words, and they moved Hella’s heart deeply. Although she was a god that stood at a high place, she was still able to learn something from the young man in front of her.

‘Have fun… that’s right. Let’s have fun.’

Minhyuk placed his hand on top of Sin's Potato.

[You have started the harvest of the Third Sin’s Ingredient, the Sin’s Potato.]

[To harvest the Sin’s Potato, you need to harvest a total of 40,000 sweet potatoes in five days.]

***

In a place where the corpses of the dead were strewn about, the God of Death sat on his throne with his eyes closed. He was the God that presided over all of those that died. A single drop of tear trickled down his cheek. The God of Death’s heart ached just at the thought of her.

Just like Athenae, the God of Death had sat in his position for a very long time. However, he had once doubted himself. It was because of that doubt that he chose to descend upon the earth.

It was during that time that he met the Continental God, the God of Farming Hella. Unlike himself, she was a being that had the power that could bring life to the world. Somehow, the grim, dark and twisted God of Death fell in love with the life-giving Hella.

It was true love, but one that should never have sprouted. The God of Death was hated by many. The day the God of Death returned to hell was the day his beloved Hella, the Continental God, was killed by the other gods.

The God that presided over Hell almost drowned in guilt. Hella would not have died and come to Hell if she had not loved him. On the day that he was supposed to send her off to be reincarnated, the God of Death could not face her because of that guilt. After all, even the God of Death could not revive the dead. Back then, Hella had said something.

—Do not feel sorry. I have no regrets loving you.

However, the God of Death could not raise his head to meet her gaze. Hella knew that the God of Death was overcome with guilt. She knew right then, the God of Death could not bring himself to see her anymore.

‘Are you thinking about those things again? You’re probably thinking along the lines of… I am hated by everyone because I am the God of Death. I cannot be happy because I am the God of Death?’

‘…’

‘And… All of this is because of me.’

‘…’

‘Weak. That’s what you are.’

Hella called the God of Death weak. When he looked up, he saw the bitter smile on Hella’s face.

‘I’ve found something to do. I’ll make crops grow and make Hell thrive and become bountiful. I will only reincarnate after I have done that.’

‘That’s impossible. If you miss the time to reincarnate, your soul will not be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation and you will truly perish.’

‘…Louis,’ Hella called out to him in a small voice after hearing the worry in his tone.

The God of Death finally looked her in the eye.

‘Didn’t you say that before? I’m so tired of Hell where not a single grass could grow. I hate how Hell smells rotten. I hate myself for being the God of Death.’

‘…’

‘This is the place where you belong.’

Hella’s smile was the most beautiful smile in the world.

‘I will bring new life to your world before leaving.’

After that, Hella went to harvest the Sin’s Ingredients. Thousands of years had passed since then. However, the God of Death never visited her. He could not face her. He knew that he was acting cowardly, running away from her just because he felt guilty.

But the God of Death also knew that Hella’s true death was fast approaching. In fact, she should have perished more than 2,000 years ago. However, the God of Death had interfered and stopped her from truly dying. Now, she only had around a week left.

The God of Death had been watching her from far away, hiding his existence from her for a very long time. A thousand years since her declaration, exhaustion had already started to seep into her bones. Three thousand years later, she looked like she was having a hard time. However, she never ran away.

It had been a long time since the God of Death had last seen her smile. He just hoped that she would give up and finally enter the cycle of reincarnation.

The God of Death wiped the tears that dripped down his cheeks and slowly opened his eyes. Then, he gently placed his hand on the black crystal by his side to take a look at her face.

What greeted him though, was her bright and smiling face as she swung her hoe down. It was a smile that he had not seen on her face for thousands of years.

With hoe in hand, Hella was shouting with joy.

[It’s a potato! Ahoo! Ahoo!]

“…Ahoo?”

What did ahoo mean? The God of Death tilted his head in confusion. That was when he found a young man not too far away from Hella.

[We will eat potatoes! Ahoo!!!]

[Ahoo! Ahoo!]

The God of Death watched the two people as they laughed and worked hard in the field together, his gaze drifting toward the man named Minhyuk.

‘I hope that you can help her enter the cycle of reincarnation before it’s too late.’