Leveling Up through Eating

President Kang Taehoon was shocked by the report that Team Leader Park Minggyu had given him. Was Player Minhyuk being recognized by The Teacher?

‘A way that would allow someone who had grown stagnant to grow further.’

And he had found that way.

“It’s highly likely that Player Minhyuk would grow faster than the players who would benefit from this event.”

Of course, the words “highly likely” were there. Even if he received the teachings of The Teacher, in the end, how far and how fast he would grow would all be up to him.

“Will Player Minhyuk become a variable in Helenia’s awakening?”

The truth was half of Athenae’s population might just disappear during Athenae’s Third Era if they failed to stop Helenia. The players would be forced to log out at least once, and many of the NPCs they cherished would die and disappear forever.

This was why Joy Co. Ltd. had prepared an event to help them and prevent such a terrible situation from happening. Nevertheless, the probability of winning against Helenia was very low.

Although it seemed like a small variable was wiggling into existence right now.

But it was also possible. After all, Helenia and The Teacher had a close relationship.

‘The growth that one could obtain and experience from The Teacher is endless.’

Kang Taehoon was sure that although The Teacher was only hailed as a candidate to become an Eight Pillar, his power was comparable to the Eight Pillars.

***

The Teacher, Beradon, looked like an old man. If one looked at his white hair and the age spots blooming on his face, one would not be able to believe that this old man once became someone who tried to become the pillar of this world.

Beradon, with his hands behind his back, took a stroll. He said, “That brat, Cardin, must have arrived safely.”

He was sure the brat would ask him for help if ever he was in danger.

“That greenhorn as an emperor? Pfft.”

Beradon talked lightly of the man who became the emperor of the Great Luvien Empire. Although Cardin was Beradon’s disciple, he knew the young man was still lacking.

It was only natural that he talked lightly about the young man. After all, Beradon had taught countless disciples with talents that far surpassed Cardin’s talents.

Were there no empires that could rival the Luvien Empire in the past? No. There were. And that empire was even more remarkable and better than the Luvien Empire. And the ruler of that empire was once Beradon’s disciple.

But was that all? The most vicious and terrible master of Hell, the first-generation God of Death, was also Beradon’s disciple. The second generation Battle God was also one of his disciples.

Beradon did not distinguish between good and evil when taking in disciples. But now, even though they weren’t really good, Beradon tried not to raise and help any evil disciples.

“Brat,” Beradon spat out when he thought of someone. However, the look on his face immediately smoothed out.

Beradon had decided that he would no longer accept any more disciples after teaching Prince Cardin.

‘I can finally rest now.’

He just wanted to rest and wait for his return to the soil. Now that no one would bother him anymore, he would eat leisurely.

‘I wonder if my planted lettuce and other vegetables are growing well?’

Beradon wanted to live a leisurely life. To achieve this dream, he had been working on a garden. Of course, his gardening skills weren’t good, so the garden's appearance was quite bad. But the taste of his vegetables could be said to be good.

‘Fufu. At least, that brat Cardin could cook a bit.’

As Beradon continued to walk with his hands behind his back, he suddenly recalled Cardin’s cooking. Perhaps many would have been shocked to hear this fact.

‘My goodness! You made the man leading the Luvien Empire cook?!’

But Beradon was the man who made even the first-generation God of Death massage his shoulders. He even told the second-generation Battle God with a sarcastic voice, ‘You’re an idiot. You know that, right?’

Beradon, who was walking towards his garden, was met with a very shocking sight.

“N- No…”

This was because his beautiful garden was gone. It looked like an entire family of wild boars had swept it away.

Beradon might be great at teaching, but when it came to things that needed dexterity? Well, all he could say was that he had shit for hands. But despite that, he still did his best to plant and make a garden. Yet, the garden he had worked so hard to create and grow had become a mess.

Swoosh!

But then, at that moment, a mysterious smell wafted over and tickled Beradon’s nose, making him whip his head in one direction. It was a very delicious and stimulating smell.

‘This is…?’

The smell was savory and was enough to make one’s mouth water.

‘Sesame oil?’

He slowly and carefully crept forward to catch the thief(?). That was when he saw a man sitting not far from his garden. The man was holding a huge silver bowl and mixing some bibimbap. Next to the man was a bowl of steaming, savory siraegi doenjang soup.

‘This shameless…!’

The vegetables the man had been mixing in his bowl were all from Beradon’s garden. Beradon, who wanted to step forward and confront the man, stopped in his tracks.

‘Hoo… You will no longer hate anything if you give up your greed.’

Beradon had been doing mental training constantly.

‘Yes, that’s right. I can do that.’

He slowly calmed down and opted to spy on the young man. Has he heard the sound of red bibimbap being mixed with savory sesame oil? Of course. And it was music to his ears. Saliva started to pool in Beradon’s mouth. And from what he saw earlier, plenty of eggs were in that massive bowl.

‘Right, that’s right. You know how to eat, huh? In this harsh world, people are bound to give you only one fried egg in your bowl of bibimbap. But it seems like he added three of them in his bowl.’

Once the man mixed everything well, he scooped a huge spoonful of the bibimbap.

‘Bibimbap will taste even better if you scoop a huge spoonful for your first bite.’

A smile unknowingly curled at the corner of Beradon’s mouth as he watched the man smile happily as he ate the bibimbap.

‘I might not be the one eating it, but I feel like I am.’

He imagined the taste in his mouth as if he were the one who ate that huge spoonful of bibimbap. With every bite of the bibimbap, the crunchy and crispy texture of the vegetables would spread in his mouth. Then, combining the savory sesame oil and the spicy gochujang would create a pleasant flavor in his mouth. And the fried eggs? They also added to the harmony of flavors.

‘Right. That’s it! You know it well! Your mouth is dry because you ate a huge bite of bibimbap in one go!’

At that moment, the man lifted the bowl of siraegi doenjang soup and took a sip. Beradon, who was imagining the taste, unknowingly burst out in admiration. He, who was still doing mental training to control his mind, suddenly grew hungry.

I want to eat that bibimbap!

Anger started to surge within him once again.

‘I was the one who grew those vegetables in my garden! So, how come he’s the one eating them?!’

Even though Beradon was trying his hardest to control his mind and restrain himself, it was getting harder and harder for him to bear. It seemed like his desire for food and his appetite were far greater than he thought.

In the end, Beradon failed to hold back. He jumped out before the young man could finish eating everything up.

“BASTARD!!!” Beradon shouted angrily, his hands still behind his back.

“Munch, munch? Hello?!”

This man was a shameless and unscrupulous thief. How dare he greet him politely while still eating in his garden? Seeing Beradon’s face grow uglier by the second, the man realized something was wrong.

The man immediately stood up and said, “Goodness. I see you’re an old man. How dare I sit in front of you…” He then proceeded to greet Beradon politely. “Hello, Grandpa!”

“...?”

Beradon felt a bit flustered with how polite the man was. But he still said, “This– You thief! I can’t believe you! How dare you dig up all the vegetables I worked so hard to grow in my garden and use them to make bibimbap?! I wonder how many bibimbap you have already eaten, huh?!”

Of course, Beradon’s garden was not so small that everything planted in it would disappear with just a single bowl of bibimbap.

But then, the astonished man said, “That– that was a garden…?”

“...”

“But it did not look like a garden at all?”

Beradon could not deny his words. Cardin once told him something similar.

‘Master, I don’t think you should farm. How can you call that a garden…? It looks more like weeds that had survived the trampling of a wild boar.’

Even so, the glare in Beradon’s eyes did not decrease. He said, “How can various ingredients sprout if it’s not a garden, huh?!”

“I’m sorry, grandpa.”

“That’s right. Now that you know, I should also get some bibimbap…”

But Beradon was left in despair. Why? Because the man had already finished all of the bibimbap in just a short time.

Beradon cried out, “My bibimbap…”

“I’m sorry, grandpa. Would you like me to make you some bibimbap with the ingredients that I have on hand?”

“Clean it up!”

That was completely different from eating something made from the garden he had worked hard to create and nurture!

The angry Beradon soon wondered why the man came here. So, he asked, “But why are you here?”

“I came here to receive teachings from the man named Beradon.”

Beradon raised his eyebrow. In the end, Beradon was still a human being. He couldn't view this person, who ransacked his garden and did not even let him have a bite of bibimbap, favorably. Besides, he had already decided not to receive any more disciples.

“I’m sorry, but I am no longer accepting any more disciples.”

With those words, the man realized that the old man in front of him was the one he had been looking for.

“Grandpa, please teach me!”

But it was also confirmed that his first impression of the man was good. After all, the young man politely stood up from his seat and greeted him when he appeared. Even so, Beradon still declined. Well, he might have accidentally ruined his garden.

‘Of course, it’s not necessarily because of my garden.’

This was true.

This was absolutely not the case.

“I will say this once again. I have vowed never to accept any more disciples. Go back.”

However, the young man was the type of person who would not give up so easily. Seeing this, a tremendous and overwhelming killing intent began to soar from the body of Beradon, the one who was once a candidate to become one of the Eight Pillars.

‘Yet I did not become one of the Eight Pillars.’

There was one crucial thing. It was inaccurate to say that he “did not become” one.

‘I chose not to become one of the Eight Pillars.’

It was mainly because of his disciples.

Even so, the terrifying killing intent that was spreading from his body was comparable to that of an Eight Pillar. As someone hailed as “The Teacher,” he could help others grow.

‘I can also take it away.’

The power of one of Beradon’s authorities, The Depriver, rose from his body and put pressure on the man in front of him. The first-generation God of Death, the second-generation Battle God, and Prince Cardin; they all despaired before this power.

Beradon did not activate The Depriver against the young man because he ruined his garden. He did this to everyone. It was a kind of “test” of some sort. Unfortunately, even if he initiated the test and the young man passed this trial, Beradon did not intend to take in another disciple.

‘Is he a foreigner?’

This meant that the young man would receive constant notifications regarding this.

[The Depriver.]

[The Teacher is trying to deprive you of what you have learned.]

[As time passes, your stats will start declining, and your level will decrease.]

[A strong and irresistible force is weighing down on you.]

That was right. The Depriver was a power that could make its target grow weaker. And for those who had grown strong and reached stunning heights, growing weaker was a terrible and frightening thing for them. Most people subjected to this power apologized and ran away in despair. But there were a few who realized something.

‘Even if he takes it away from me, as long as I can receive his teachings.’

‘He shouldn’t be doing this just to take it away from us.’

‘That’s right. And even if he takes it away, I will not return.’

These select few people had received Beradon’s recognition.

Creak, creak, creak–!

The branches of the trees fluttered fiercely, and the ground shook and trembled. But the young man in front of Beradon continued to endure, trying to stand rather than kneel.

“Get lost! You did this to my garden… No! I don’t intend to accept any more disciples!” Beradon shouted, putting more pressure upon the young man.

“I truly want to receive your teachings, Sir Beradon. Also, forgive me.”

Forgive him? Why? Beradon could not understand what the young man was saying for a moment.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh–!

Then, an overwhelming energy and momentum appeared and began to swirl and wrap around the young man. The gentle and soft eyes of the polite young man disappeared and turned into eyes as sharp as that of a hawk’s own.

Rumble, rumble–!

Under this power, the ground shook and trembled even more while the trees fluttered more fiercely. Even the sky began to roar and cry.

‘Wh– What…?!’

[The opponent has started to suppress the power of the Authority: The Depriver.]

Beradon, realizing that his power was being resisted, tried to release more of it.

[The opponent has wholly suppressed the power of the Authority: The Depriver!]

Vwooooooong–!

The absolute authority that was swirling around Beradon’s body disappeared in an instant.

Beradon was left stunned. Many had visited him and received this trial. However, none of them had been able to suppress his power. Although he had never vowed to receive any more disciples, this fresh and novel experience made him rethink his choices. Interest started to bloom in Beradon.

***

Minhyuk was not afraid of the power of The Depriver that the old man, who identified himself as Beradon, possessed. This was because he possessed the skill: The Unyielding One.

And when Minhyuk successfully resisted and completely suppressed the power, a shocking notification rang in his ears.

[Beradon has given you a slight recognition.]

“...?”

For Minhyuk, this was a very unexpected notification.

Usually, in times like this, Minhyuk would hear the notification saying, “Beradon’s favor has increased” or something similar. But the notification that rang in his ears had a slightly different meaning.

But something even more shocking rang in his ears not long after.

[You have leveled up.]

“...!”

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