Leveling Up through Eating

Conir and Herakel both ventured into the world outside with excitement.

Conir wanted to let his precious and dear friend experience the joy of traveling the world and doing business. That was why he engraved Herakel’s name on the handcart that they were using. And Herakel? He had never earned money through his efforts before. So, when he went out into the world with Conir, he was filled with expectations and excitement.

But suddenly, a huge ball of flame fell from the sky and shattered their handcart to the point of no repair. When they saw this, their anger grew to unbelievable heights. The two glared sharply at the 100,000-strong army wearing black cloaks with skulls painted on them that appeared in front of them.

Then, the two pulled out masks and put them on at the same time. Minhyuk had previously given them these masks.

-Strength can be revealed and displayed. But if you show others that you are strong, you might be placed at a huge disadvantage. So, if ever you’re in a situation where you have to fight, I want you to wear these masks.

Conir wore a black mask, while Herakel wore a white mask. This was a sign that they would show their power.

***

Luca, the Black Skull Knight Order's deputy commander, had long waited for their master, Duke Balaman, to become the emperor. He could not understand why Duke Balaman was not a part of the Stars of the Empire. After all, he was as strong as Duke Vlad and deeply cared for his men.

But after waiting for so long, Duke Balaman's path to the throne had opened up. This was only under the assumption that the prince Lord Nerva had been looking for had been eliminated.

Duke Balaman’s forces and influence within the empire were considered huge. The main reason was that the Black Skull Knight Order members had outstanding prowess.

‘All of us have received the teachings of Duke Balaman.’

Even though several forces were similar in size to Duke Balaman’s forces, they were confident that they would be able to deal with them and clean them up in one go.

As soon as Duke Balaman obtained information about where the prince was hiding, he immediately sent 400,000 strong troops. All the troops were elites who had been waiting for this day for a long time.

‘The Black Skull Knight Order right now is comparable to the elite soldiers of the Luvien Empire.’

They were a knight order that boasted high levels and outstanding skills.

‘Even if someone will guide and escort the prince so he could come safely to the empire, we are more than enough. We can easily dispose of them.’

But that was assuming that they found them first. Based on his descriptions alone, they scattered and spread out to search for the prince. As for Luca, he listened to the report of one of the search teams and followed right behind them.

Finally, he and his team could find someone who looked exactly like the description given to them. They also found two brothers(?), seemingly lacking in the intelligence department, standing in front of the said prince while dragging a handcart behind them.

Although Luca found it a bit strange, he still ordered a flame magic attack to be sent toward them. Not long after, the flame magic shattered the disabled(?) brothers’ handcart. Luca heard the two brothers say something. Before they knew it, the two disabled brothers(?) donned some strange masks. But he did not care about them and ordered his army to advance.

Meanwhile, Cardin noticed that these people came from the empire, and they were sent to kill him.

Ping–!

Boom–!

Flares were shot into the sky. Cardin could tell that things were about to go down the drain.

‘More importantly…’

Cardin feared that harm would come to the brothers. He knew that even though the two acted like hooligans(?) and ripped him off of his potion, the brothers were kind people.

‘I need to buy time so they can run away,’ Cardin thought. This was because he believed that even though they released an incredible amount of killing intent, that was the extent of what they could do.

Then, Luca said, “Prince Cardin, please come…”

“Hey.”

***

Conir had learned a lot from the Hooligan Captain Locke, who had mentioned something before.

–Conir. Ever since ancient times, a man should not be ignored and belittled. What do you have to say when someone ignores you?

“Do you think I’m joking?”

Yes. Conir had learned and absorbed a lot from Hooligan Captain Locke.

–You punk, teach him good things.

Of course, Genie had slapped Locke on the back of his head when he said those words.

“...The adults are talking here.” Luca frowned. Then, he waved to the soldiers behind him.

Even though Locke had been slapped hard, he still added.

–If they continue to ignore you. Then, you have to say this line.

Conir looked at the enemy with a cold and sharp glare.

“Five seconds.”

“???”

“That’s the time it would take a hundred of you to fall.”

After telling him the line, Locke had continued.

–Kghhk~ I like the sound of that! I really like that! Keuhahaha! Then, what will happen if you deal with a hundred people in just five seconds? The situation would be over.

–You punk. Why are you teaching him things like that?

Khan had hit the same place where Genie hit Locke.

Luca, hearing Conir's words, looked at him incredulously. He judged that these two brothers were not worth paying any attention to. Luca gestured to the soldiers behind him with his chin. The soldiers immediately moved toward Conir.

“Just bury them after you kill them.”

After sorting out the situation on that side, Luca returned to the important matter that he had to deal with. He said, “Soon, Duke Balaman will arrive. He will become the new emperor…”

But the loud sound of the wind made him raise his eyebrows. ‘What the hell? I can’t concentrate here, you know?’

His face grew ugly as he wondered why it was so noisy when all the soldiers had to deal with was a boy. But Luca had no choice but to look at the scene with wide-open eyes.

The boy wearing a black mask rested his blood sword on his shoulder as he glared at Luca. Around him were a hundred fallen Black Skull Knight Order soldiers.

The boy, Conir, said, “Four seconds.”

Despite being hit twice in a row in the back of the head, Locke had not given up. He cackled and said to Conir, “That’s the time that it would take to slash the necks of a thousand people.”

“...!”

Luca saw how he moved like the wind when the boy's words ended. He jumped among their troops, and just like a killing spirit, he swung his sword. At the same time, the soldiers grabbed their now bleeding necks. The soldiers could not even react to how fast the boy moved.

The boy, who slashed the necks of a thousand soldiers, stood straight amidst their corpses and looked at Luca coldly.

“Apologize.”

“...Wh– What the hell!?” Luca shouted in shock. At the same time, he thought that he was Cardin’s hidden escort.

‘Well, there’s no way a prince would have no escort, no?’

They have met an unexpected ambush. But the boy named Conir did not have the desire to kill anymore. He would let it be as long as they got their apology and compensation for their broken handcart. Even though Luca had ordered to kill him, he showed no hostility toward the deputy commander.

“Kill this bastard now!!! He’s unexpectedly strong, so don’t let your guard down!”

It was just killing a thousand people. Luca could also do that because they were powerful just like that.

“Three seconds.”

After being hit by Khan, Locke had received Minhyuk’s slap on the back of his head. Even so, Locke still did not give up.

“That’s the time it will take for ten thousand of you to die silently.”

Conir took on the posture of the quick draw. He then bent his knee and drew his sword.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash–!

The sword light from his sword pierced the soldiers' hearts charging at him. Luca’s jaw dropped open.

But Cardin was most surprised by this. He could tell that the boy, who had a broad and generous heart, had an intellectual disability. The boy had told him that they should embrace him, and they truly embraced him. They even helped him and showed him the way.

Goosebumps rose all over Cardin’s body. With every second that passed, the boy showed a higher realm. That was right. The boy had been giving his enemies the chance to back down. After all, he was a man who would not kill for no reason.

‘But they broke the boy’s dream and handcart and even ordered to kill him.’

Despite the boy’s warnings, they did not stop. They even gave the order to kill him once again.

“S- Stop him! Black Skull Knight Order!!!”

The Black Skull Knight Order knights were superior to some of the imperial knights. Some of them were even superior to the Swords of the Gods. Around fifteen of these knights leaped forward to deal with the boy. Their speed showed that they were leagues above the level of an ordinary knight.

Soon, the boy said, “Two seconds.”

Those who charged at the boy did not know that it did not matter if they were comparable or superior to the Swords of the Gods. This was because the boy was the Sword God. He was the most outstanding with the sword in the world.

***

Valen had once told Conir this.

–The Imperceptible Heart Sword.

Valen gently stroked Conir’s head.

–Conir, you have the purest heart. That’s why you probably are the only one who can wield the strongest Heart Sword.

A little while after Conir became the Sword God, he solidified and strengthened his Heart Sword.

***

“That’s the time it would take for everyone to fall before me.”

Luca and Cardin grew nervous when they heard the boy’s words.

The boy returned his sword, which he used for the quick-draw move earlier, back to its sheathe. Then, he raised his hand and held his imperceptible sword, making him look like he was holding only air.

“Heart Sword. Chapter 1.”

Ting–

The clear and crisp sound of metal hitting metal, like when a sword strikes another, reverberated.

Stab, stab, stab–!

And with this beautiful sound, the almost fifteen knights of the Black Skull Knight Order, who were charging at Conir, fell with blood spurting out of their bodies. Even the bodies of the soldiers right behind them were torn and ripped apart.

Did they see the boy’s sword move? No. They did not see it. Then, were they cut by the sound alone? That was not the case either. The Heart Sword was a sword that could not be seen or held and could only be wielded by the heart.

‘That boy…’

At this moment, Cardin realized that the boy was the Sword God of the current era.

***

Laghman was one of the faithful and loyal knights who left with Prince Cardin when he decided to leave the empire. Standing around him were the many people who had been waiting for this moment for a long time. These people had met a great teacher by chance and gained an outstanding achievement. Now, they were completely different from how they were in the past.

They were waiting at the place where they had promised to meet. The problem was that they had been waiting for a few days.

Someone spoke ominously and said, “No way. Could it be that the empire has already dealt with the prince?”

“Perhaps.”

“Why don’t we go out to look for the prince instead of waiting here like this?!”

They had been anxiously waiting for a few days now. Perhaps it was time for them to act. But Laghman just shook his head.

“The Prince is completely road blind. We would face a bigger problem if we missed each other on the road.”

“No matter how bad someone is with directions, he should not be like this, no…?”

“Was it when he was nine years old? The prince said he would go to the imperial garden because he was upset. He said we would face severe punishment if we dared to follow him. The result? He went missing.”

No. Are you saying he got lost even though he only needed to go a hundred meters in front of his home?

“And one week later, we found him about five kilometers away from the empire. It was very shocking… He could have just asked for directions but… he’s stubborn.”

But that was not the end of it.

“When he was eleven, he got lost inside the imperial castle where he lived and always wandered around. There was also that time when he went to another empire. Unsurprisingly, he got lost. A month later, we found him in some faraway land a hundred kilometers from where he was supposed to go.”

“...”

“...”

Everyone was rendered speechless.

“During that time, I was shadowing the prince. Let me tell you. It’s a truly shocking talent. His ability to escape my sight and wander off on his own is so amazing that I wondered if it was a godly skill. He’s so road blind that one could say that he’s the God of Road Blindness.”

While they were left in silence, they heard someone coming.

Thud–

It seemed like the legendary prince, who could get lost in his own house and be found a hundred kilometers away from his intended destination, had finally come. But the one that showed up was someone who was eating takoyaki.

Munch, munch–

“Hello?”

It was none other than Minhyuk.

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