Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 821

[The skies, the seas, the land.]

[The greatest and strongest sword that can split the world has appeared.]

[This Sword…]

[…has cut even the Eight Pillars.]

The entire Athenae was turned upside down once again when these notifications rang all over the world. Even the Jade Emperor’s Coalition Army in Edea stopped in the middle of their march when they heard these notifications. However, the notifications did not end there.

[Anonymous has grabbed the greatest sword in existence!]

The whispers among the Jade Emperor’s Coalition Army grew louder and louder.

“The notification itself says that it’s the greatest sword?” Valentino, the God of Shields and the one considered as Italy’s greatest tanker, groaned. “I’d like to get hit by that sword at least once.”

Meanwhile, cold sweat dripped down Master Archer Miao’s forehead. Who in the world got their hands on that sword? There were quite a lot of guesses and assumptions amidst the players. None of them were sure who the owner of the sword was.

“Fortunately it’s not the Food God.”

“Whoever that is, I hope that they can deal with the Food God.”

“New and strong players will always appear. There’re also those unofficial rankers.”

Food God Minhyuk was currently acting as Edea’s commander. Master Archer Miao had clearly seen him amidst the hundreds of Hanwoos that came charging at them. She even saw Minhyuk turn around after Hanwoo trampled on them.

However, there was one thing that everyone was sure of. The players all over the world all felt envious and jealous. At the same time, there was also a great sense of anticipation and excitement.

***

There was an uproar in Joy Co. Ltd. The moment the players all over the world received the notifications, the officials of Athenae quickly checked on the situation.

“How high is the attack of the greatest sword in existence?”

“I can’t believe that the most powerful sword has already made an appearance. Isn’t this much faster than what we expected?”

There was only one thing that everyone was curious about. That was the item window that would usually be displayed in front of the player. However, because of the Player Confidentiality Agreement made with the executive-level players, they could not check the players‘ item window.

Joy Co. Ltd.’s conference room.

President Kang Taehoon groaned as he sat in front of all of the executives.

“It seems there will be quite a lot of God-rank artifacts that will be released soon.”

With the appearance of the greatest sword, the production team would have to work and supply more God-rank artifacts.

“Well, that’s a relief. It’s just in time. We will have approximately fifty players that should reach Level 600 in a month’s time.”

Whenever someone obtained something special, the others would also be able to obtain something special too. If the high ranking players were lucky, they might be able to overtake the others if they could get a good reward among the special privileges after reaching Level 600.

The fact that Minhyuk had obtained the greatest sword in existence was already a huge variable on its own. However, it was still manageable since he was a non-combat class player. It would be difficult for him to handle the other combat players once they got their special privilege after reaching Level 600.

Not long after, they turned on the monitor. President Kang Taehoon nodded as he looked at the monitor. He said, “Display the Sword of Aeon’s window.”

“Yes.”

Everyone looked at the screen nervously. With the clacking of one of the executive’s keyboards, the item information window appeared on the screen.

(Sword of Aeon)

Rank: God

Requirements: God, the One that Lifted the Second Seal

Durability: ∞/∞

Attack: 2,354

Special Abilities:

•Increase all stats by 37%.

•Reduce all skills’ cooldown by 30%.

•Passive Skill: Double Basic Attack Damage

•Passive Skill: The Greatest Sword

•Active Skill: Submission and Surrender

•Active Skill: God’s Dual Sword Technique

Description: Aeon. This is a sword that has been sealed for so long that one could not remember when it was first sealed. Only its second seal has been lifted, the sword still cannot exert its full power.

The entire conference room was plunged into silence.

The attack of ordinary high rankers’ swords usually ranged from around 1,600 to 2,000. However, the Sword of Aeon’s attack far exceeded that.

A sword’s attack would affect not only one’s basic attacks, but also all attack skills related to the sword. Assuming that another player had the same conditions but using a different sword, with a 37% increase in all stats, they would be able to incur almost 1.5x more damage than normal.

Then, there were the skills attached to the Sword of Aeon. Some of the skills that appeared before had been deleted and replaced by new ones. However, the one that stood out the most was the Dual Sword Technique.

“Display the God’s Dual Sword Technique.”

Just like that, the effects of the God’s Dual Sword Technique appeared in front of them.

“…”

“…”

Everyone was left speechless. Using the God’s Dual Sword Technique was very difficult. After all, it was only possible if one had two God-rank swords with them. However, it was perfect for MInhyuk’s circumstances. So, using the skill was already possible.

Still, that was not the most shocking part. Even though the God’s Dual Sword Technique could only be activated for five minutes, the skill user’s attack speed would increase by 70% during the entire duration. Even the power of all of the sword-related skills would also increase by 1.4x.

“…”

Everyone was speechless.

At that moment, Department Head Kim Dae-Il murmured, “It’s just as we expected, no?”

That was right. It was still within expectations. However, not long after, the Story Team’s Leader suddenly groaned. It seemed like he finally had seen through the crux of the item’s description.

“Keheok!”

“What’s the matter?” Kim Dae-Il looked at him in confusion.

The Story Team’s Leader, with his shaky voice, said, “Please read the item’s description once again. But this time, read it very, very carefully.”

At his words, everyone turned to look at the description once again. Then, their eyes grew bigger one after the other. They finally noticed the crucial point.

[Only its second seal has been lifted, the sword still cannot exert its full power.]

“On— Only the second seal?!”

“It’s not yet fully unsealed?!”

President Kang Taehoon and several other executives looked quite calm and collected. They already knew this fact.

Meanwhile, Kang Taehoon turned to look at the monitor once again. He watched as Minhyuk checked the Sword of Aeon with the God of Death and Hella, whose soul’s extinction was approaching. Then, he said, “We have a bigger problem.”

Everyone turned their attention back to President Kang Taehoon as he continued, “The Sword of Aeon has not even received any strengthening and reinforcement yet.”

***

“I love you, Hella.”

These were the words that Hella hoped and longed to hear for thousands of years. She knew that the man she loved was the reason for her death. Because of that, the man was drowning with guilt and could only avoid her. However, instead of an apology from her lover, what she wanted to hear from him were those words, and those words alone.

Hella’s eyes shone with her tears as she looked at the God of Death as she gestured at the whole of Hell, vast, empty and lonely.

“Are you going to plant flowers?”

“I will think of you every time I look at those flowers.”

“How about planting some trees too?”

“I’m sure that I will smile as I eat the fruits born from those trees while thinking about you.”

“Will you remember me?”

“Forever and always. I will never forget you until the day that I disappear from this world.”

That was right. Hella only wished to hear these words from the God of Death. After finally hearing those words, Hella could no longer hold back. She jumped into the arms of her lover.

The God of Death held Hella tightly in his arms. The warmth of her body and her unique scent that he had not felt for the longest time put the God of Death’s heart at peace.

However, the God of Death could already see Hella’s body shifting between a translucent state and her original state repeatedly. She truly did not have any more time left. She had to cross the River of Reincarnation now. Before that, there was something that the God of Death had to do first. He gently placed Hella down before turning to look at Minhyuk.

“…”

Minhyuk’s breath hitched, his breathing turning ragged as pressure fell upon him.

Even though the God of Death’s eyes looked empty, they still contained charisma that belonged to an absolute being. The God of Death was an Absolute God that even the Battle God, who ruled over all of the armies, could not control.

Then, the God of Death said, “How dare you take what is mine?”

“…”

“I will crush and destroy everything related to you. I will drag all those that you care about in Hell and make them into my slaves. I will make it so they will be forced to wander in Hell without being able to reincarnate.”

Indeed, the God of Death was truly capable of something like this. He had the power to make those words the reality.

Hella tried to say something but she promptly closed her mouth after a brief moment. Even though the God of Death loved her, this was something that she had no power to stop. In the first place, the God of Death was a vicious and ferocious being that no one could ever get close to.

“And I will deprive you, who entered Hell without my explicit permission, of the power to enter Hell once again.”

[The God of Death has banned you from entering Hell!]

[Once you leave, you will no longer be able to enter Hell anymore!]

The God of Death looked at Minhyuk coldly. He was different from the Battle God. He was a god that no one could get along with.

“The next time we meet, I will tear your body apart.”

It was an ill-fated relationship. Saving Hella was part of a quest. In other words, the rewards that he received would come with a price. Unlike the other gods, the God of Death did not have any interest nor did he have any favorable impression of Minhyuk.

“If you cook for Hella before she leaves, then I will turn a blind eye on this matter.”

This was not something that he asked just because he felt a sense of familiarity or was friendly with Minhyuk. The God of Death did this for the sake of Hella, the woman that he loved the most.

Minhyuk, on the other hand, was relaxed. In fact, he even chuckled when he heard those words. That was cool. For the sake of the woman that he loved, he was willing to become an ordinary man, even for a brief moment, and not the God of Death.

“Are you kidding me?”

Of course, in Minhyuk’s fashion, he had to snap back at him. The God of Death was doing this for his lover, and not for his own good. If that was the case, then he had to be the one to fight for his own benefits.

“Without anything in exchange?” Even though Minhyuk said those words, there was a soft smile on his face. Cooking for Hella was something that he also wanted to do.

“Let’s make a deal.”

Ring!

[Hidden Quest: Hella and Louis’ Parting Meal.]

Rank: A

Requirements: The one the God of Death asked to cook; the one that returned Velma’s ownership.

Rewards: You will be granted the Origin Authority: The One that Advances once.

Penalty for Failure: The God of Death will be hostile to you.

Description: The God of Death wants to have a final parting meal with Hella before she crosses over the River of Reincarnation. Satisfy them with one final feast.

Minhyuk was very surprised when he saw the quest window.

‘Did you just say Origin Authority?!’

The three greatest gods each possessed an Origin Authority of their own.

One of the Origin Authorities was the God and Knight that was now in Minhyuk’s possession, a skill said to be superior to any other skill in existence. As for the second Authority, it was in the hands of the God of Death.

‘The One that Advances?’

It would only be granted to him once. Minhyuk had no idea about what kind of power it was. However, the difficulty of the quest that was given to him was quite low. In fact, it was only at rank A. The dishes that he would cook would only serve as a decoration to make the parting of these two people more beautiful. It would be fine as long as Minhyuk did not do anything weird with the dishes that he would make.

‘This is definitely for business.’

Minhyuk saw thepart in the requirements where he had to return Velma’s ownership. Of course, it was something that he was not sad to part with. After all, he already planned to send the Hell Horse back from the very beginning.

Leaving the messy things behind for a moment, Minhyuk began to cook. The dishes that he chose would definitely serve to change the atmosphere between the two parting lovers into something beautiful and romantic.

So, what was Minhyuk going to cook? It was none other than carbonara. Minhyuk boiled the spaghetti pasta while he stir-fried some bell peppers, button mushrooms and bacon. He also grilled some steak until they were medium rare.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa—

The two gods sitting by the side could not take their eyes off of the rising flames as the olive oil made contact with the pan. After he finished cooking all of the dishes, Minhyuk took a table and some chairs from his inventory and placed them in front of the two.

Both gods were unfamiliar with the dishes that he cooked, so Minhyuk had to explain how to eat them one by one. “Hold the steak with your fork and cut it with your knife.”

The God of Death followed his instructions, his hands moving awkwardly as he cut a piece of steak.

“Then, please feed this piece to Hella.”

“…”

The God of Death, who successfully cut a piece of steak, raised the fork and placed the food in Hella’s mouth. Of course, Hella did the same. She rolled a mouthful of carbonara and delivered it to the God of Death’s mouth. The two looked at each other, small smiles hanging at the corner of their lips.

When they finished their parting meal, the notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

Ring!

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Hella and Louis’ Parting Meal.]

[The God of Death will grant you the Origin Authority: The One that Advances once!]

***

River of Reincarnation.

Unlike the other sights in Hell, the area around the never-ending River of Reincarnation was covered with green grass and its beauty was breathtaking.

The River of Reincarnation was impartial. Once someone entered and crossed through the River of Reincarnation, all of the memories of their past lives would disappear. Even if they were gods in their previous lives, they would not know what kind of existence they would become once they were reborn.

Right now, standing in front of this majestic and beautiful River of Reincarnation was the God of Death and the first God of Farming Hella.

[Hella will perish soon!]

Hella’s feet started to turn blurry. However, the two just stood together hand in hand and looked at the River of Reincarnation.

Then, Hella asked, “If you get reincarnated, what kind of being do you want to become, Louis?”

The God of Death looked at Hella. His voice sounded so soft, warm and gentle that one would wonder if he was truly the God of Death as he answered her, “A human.”

“A human?” Hella looked at Louis in surprise.

Those that lived and sat in their position as gods would generally be reluctant to give up their place. Yet, the man beside her wanted to be an ordinary human being.

“I don’t want to be just any human being.” Louis smiled softly. “I want to be a human being born right next door to you.”

“…”

“I will be born right next to you, grow up next to you, and chase after you. Then, when you come of age, I will confess to you. I want to be the kind of human being that will have two children with you, who look like you. I want to be the kind of human being that will do ordinary things with you, eat delicious dishes with you, and continue to walk and smile together with you once our children grow up and leave our nest.”

“…”

“That’s my greatest wish.”

Tears streamed down Hella’s cheeks. She said, “Sniff. Make sure of it. Make sure that you’re born right next door and chase after me. Make sure to watch over me so that I don’t bounce off all over the place.”

“I promise you. I will make sure to do it even if it requires me to visit Athenae.”

“Pfft. What’s that?”

The God of Death wiped the tears off of Hella’s cheeks as she chuckled at his words. Then, Hella took one step, then another, and another, until she entered the River of Reincarnation. She turned around and looked at Louis with a bright smile on her face as she turned into a light that floated around like a firefly, before disappearing with the current.

[You have activated the Battle God’s Voice!]

In the sky above them, a beautiful picture was drawn. It was the picture of the God of Farming Hella and the God of Death Louis wearing ordinary farming clothes, holding their children’s hands tightly as they went home with their backs against the sunset.