Leveling Up through Eating

Rumble–!

The sound coming from Beradon’s stomach was as loud as thunder. He might be starving, but he had a smile on his face.

‘Fufu. He’s probably receiving a beating from the Lord of the Mountains now.’

The Lord of the Mountains had been protecting these mountains for a long time. What Beradon asked Minhyuk to dig were ingredients that had been growing with the nourishment of the power and energy of that Lord of the Mountains.

The truth was, Beradon had tried countless times to pick some of those ingredients but every single time resulted in failure. That showed how ferocious, strong, and swift the Lord of the Mountains was.

‘I could kill it if I wanted to.’

But there was no reason for Beradon to kill the Lord of the Mountains.

This test he presented to the young man was by no means easy.

‘It’s because the ingredients that grew from the energy of the Lord of the Mountains will wither on the spot the moment it dies.’

What if the young man was able to suppress it? Well, Beradon was sure that he still could not get those ingredients. The ingredients would eventually wither if they were forcibly taken from the Lord of the Mountains.

The young man was the one who was able to resist Beradon's power. He might just be stronger than he expected. But even if the young man was strong, the only way for him to obtain those ingredients was for the Lord of the Mountains to give it to him willingly.

“Fufufu!” Beraden laughed happily.

However, just ten minutes later, he was taken aback,

“I brought the ingredients.”

“...?”

“It’s a bit hot, right?”

Beradon stared blankly at the young man, who was carrying the ingredients in his hands, while two cows who took the form of humans followed behind him with flushed faces.

“Sir Hanwoo, why is your name Hanwoo?”

“Fufu. Do you know the meaning of Hanwoo?” Hanwoo chuckled, his words carrying a deep meaning. And Minhyuk? He laughed awkwardly on the side as Hanwoo said, “My master said that Hanwoo is the best and most outstanding cow.”

“Oh my! That’s so cool…!”

“I heard that there’s 1+ and 1++, but my master said that he named me Hanwoo because I’m a great and amazing cow greater than 1++.”

“That’s amazing! Excuse me, can you give me a name too?”

Minhyuk was left flustered. He knew that the Bull Demon King would be hurt if he knew the true meaning of Hanwoo 1++. So, he hurriedly racked his brain to find a suitable answer to the Lord of the Mountain’s question and be done with the topic altogether.

‘This is the American Server.’

And based on the American beef grading system, their best and most fantastic beef was graded prime.

“P- Prime. How does Prime sound?”

“Oh my! Prime, huh? That sounds amazing! What does the name mean?”

“In America, it’s the best tasti— no… It’s the most outstanding and excellent cow on this continent.”

“Thank you! I will return this favor to you later!”

[You have given the Lord of the Mountains a name.]

[The Lord of the Mountains is delighted with the name “Prime.”]

[Prime’s favor has increased.]

[The Lord of the Mountains Prime promises to do you a favor once.]

As he looked at the Lord of the Mountains Prime and Hanwoo standing together, Minhyuk thought, ‘Even so, Hanwoo is still the best.’ This fact remained unchanged.

Beradon looked back at Minhyuk. He was amazed by how thorough he was.

“The Lord of the Mountains is one of the few remaining members of the Bull Demon Race. She must have felt lonely because she could not meet any members of her race.”

He thought that the young man named Minhyuk was experienced.

“I did not expect that you would take advantage of the fact that she is a member of the Bull Demon and win her over with a handsome man.”

“...”

Minhyuk actually wanted to subdue the Lord of the Mountains. As for the rest… It was taken care of by the Bull Demon King.

“That’s amazing. You wouldn’t be able to get those ingredients even if you overpower and subdue the Lord of the Mountains. I can’t believe that you can get what I couldn’t from the Lord of the Mountains by using such an out-of-the-box thinking and method.”

Beradon sincerely admired Minhyuk’s ways.

“I have to acknowledge and recognize you with this.”

This was what Minhyuk had been waiting for. Then, the notifications rang.

[Beradon has given you a slight recognition.]

[You have leveled up.]

Minhyuk looked at the notifications in awe. He thought, ‘This is really cheat-like.’

And the situation was more cheat-like because it was Minhyuk. The increase in his level once he received Beradon’s recognition was not restricted by the amount of EXP he had in his EXP bar. As long as he received the recognition, his level would increase by one, no matter what. So, whether at Level 1 or Level 500, they would level up by one.

As someone who stood at the top of the official rankings, Minhyuk received the greatest effect from this.

‘At my level, it has become tough to level up. An increase in my level is worth a lot.’

If he were hunting, Minhyuk would have to hunt regularly for about a month and a half before he could level up. Of course, this was with the exception of boss monsters. So, it could be said that the situation had allowed him to take a huge step closer to Level 700.

[You have completed the Quest: The Thing Protected by the Lord of the Mountains.]

[You will be able to receive a small lesson from Beradon.]

But before that, Beradon smiled faintly at Prime and Hanwoo.

“Even I found the Lord of the Mountains to be a pitiful being. She protected these mountains every day, not knowing whether other members of her race were still in existence. Thinking she was the only one left, she felt unhappy as she continued protecting these mountains.”

Of course, Beradon had been attacked by Prime a few times before. However, the main reason why they did not clash that much was because Beradon cared for the bull demon. So, when he saw the Bull Demon King before him, he could not help but impart a small lesson upon him.

Beradon could not see through another person’s heart and read their minds at will. However, he had more knowledge than anybody else in the world.

“There is a place where the few surviving members of the Bull Demon Race live.”

“...!”

Hanwoo’s eyes grew wide when he heard that. The truth was, the Bull Demon King was not from these lands. He had always been curious about his race. After all, he could turn into a cow or a human at will.

Then, he met Prime. After sharing a deep and strong love(?) with each other, he asked Prime if she knew if there were still other people from their race. But the female bull demon said that she did not know either. It seemed like the answers they sought were in Beradon’s hands.

Minhyuk was also interested in their conversation. He thought, ‘There are more beings like Hanwoo and Prime out there?’

Hanwoo, with his Hanwoo’s Charge, was an excellent vanguard who could wipe out more than 100,000 enemies in one go. After using everything he could use in his cow form, Hanwoo could change into human form and fight again.

‘Are you saying that there are more Hanwoos out there?’

Minhyuk already made a scenario in his head.

During the battle with the Great Luvien Empire! The Beyond the Heavens Empire had far fewer troops than the enemy. However! There is a vast herd of dozens of gigantic cows charging toward the black sea created by the forces of the Luvien Empire!

‘That’s crazy.’

Of course, Hanwoo was also showing a great interest. He asked, “Are there more people like me?”

“Is that true?”

And the same was true for Prime. Except for Hanwoo, she did not know if there were still others of the same race as her.

“Let me draw a map for you.”

Hanwoo held the map Beradon had given him tightly, proof of his curiosity about his own race.

“Originally, there were thousands of bull demons in existence. But a lot of them had died.”

“Who killed them?”

Beradon chuckled at Hanwoo’s question. He said, “That’s something you must figure out on your own.”

Hanwoo was very grateful that Beradon told them this much information. Then, he immediately turned to look at Minhyuk. Minhyuk welcomed such a development. So, he nodded in agreement.

“You have my permission.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Not long after, Hanwoo and Prime, with the map in their hands, left.

Beradon, who was looking at Minhyuk, murmured, “Oh my. So, you’re the Food God.”

Then, he sat on a nearby rock. Then, he continued, “You came to find me because you can no longer grow. All the people blocked by that wall always wanted to come and meet me.”

That was right. Leveling up was the easiest and most typical way for a character to become stronger. However, to achieve a much stronger power than the power gained by just leveling up, one had to grow and develop one's class.

And now, both of Minhyuk’s classes, the Food God and the Battle God, had reached a point of stagnation. For him to unseal more of the power of the Battle God and the Food God, he had to reach Level 700. The problem was that the road to reach Level 700 was far too bumpy, and the process would give him little to no gain.

What Minhyuk needed was a breakthrough that would allow him to get out of this stagnant period.

“Fufu. You have been clinging to what has been set for you.”

Minhyuk could not understand what Beradon meant when he clung to what was set for him.

“Foreigners only grow after following what has been set and decided for them.”

“Do you mean…”

Minhyuk still could not understand.

What has been set and decided for them? It was none other than quests. Completing a high-ranking quest would give a much higher EXP than completing an ordinary hunt. It also allowed them to obtain something special, like an increase in stats or a class-specific artifact.

Yes, it was just as Beradon said. Minhyuk had been growing by completing quests. Quests were set by the system. And that was also the reason why he had reached the limits. Although some quests would appear suddenly sometimes, Beradon was still correct.

“We can just create one of those set things.” Beradon smiled faintly. “Just like this.”

[The Growth Cultivator has been activated.]

[The Growth Cultivator is observing you.]

[The Growth Cultivator has started to create quests related to you!]

“...!”

At this moment, Minhyuk realized that Beradon was the person who could make something even if nothing had been set. In other words, he could create quests that Minhyuk could no longer reach for.

‘This is nuts!’

Minhyuk was very shocked. The notifications came continuously while he was still reeling from the shock.

[The Growth Cultivator has started to chase after something related to the Food God.]

[The Growth Cultivator has started to chase after something related to the Battle God.]

The notifications grew silent for a moment. At the same time, Beradon closed his eyes and muttered, “Hmmm. This is much better.”

Beradon was quite shocked. He did not expect that the Food God would also be the Battle God.

Not long after, the notifications began to ring once again.

[The Growth Cultivator is creating something related to the Battle God.]

Beradon opened his eyes. Then, a smile that was by no means gentle appeared on his face as he looked at Minhyuk. He said, “As I have mentioned, I have no intentions of taking any more disciples.”

Minhyuk understood what he meant.

[The Growth Cultivator has started to increase the difficulty of something related to the Battle God that it is creating!]

‘Hey- Hey! This gramps…?’

Then, Beradon opened his mouth again and said, “But if you can accomplish this, then I will accept you as…”

A sparkle appeared in Beradon’s eyes.

“...my last disciple.”

Ring!

[The Class Quest: Visit to the God’s Prison has been created.]

[Class Quest: Visit to the God’s Prison]

Rank: Class

Requirements: Level 650.

Rewards: ???, you will become Beradon’s final disciple.

Penalty for Failure: You will no longer be able to meet Beradon. The level of a random Battle God’s skill will drop by 1.

Description: Visit the God’s Prison. Find Erach, the God’s Prison Warden, and listen to their story.

‘...’

Minhyuk was stunned.

“I did not create something out of nothing.”

Minhyuk’s ears perked up as he listened carefully to Beradon’s words.

“I’m just converting something that already exists into something that has been set for you.”

That was right. Not everything could be linked to a quest because it was related to the Battle God. But Beradon had this overpowered and cheat-like power that allowed him to link something related to his target into a quest and add rewards.

That was when Minhyuk saw the “???” written in the rewards portion of the quest.

***

President Kang Taehoon, who had finished the third-anniversary announcement press conference, boarded the car and returned with Team Leader Park Minggyu.

“Player Minhyuk has met Beradon, who can create a foothold for players to grow further. He will definitely achieve shocking growth during this period.”

He may also obtain greater power that could help him fight against Helenia.

‘It’s still not enough.’

This was what President Kang had concluded.

But not long after, Minggyu’s eyes widened when he checked his phone. He said, “President. I received a message from Lee Minhwa.”

“...?”

Minggyu hurriedly gave his report, “The Teacher, Beradon, has created one quest related to the Battle God with the power of The Growth Cultivator.”

“Ahem… He’s really an amazing NPC.”

NPCs could create quests related to themselves. But The Teacher? He could make a quest for the Battle God even if they weren’t related to each other at all.

“If Player Minhyuk completes this quest, he will reach even higher heights.”

Nevertheless, Kang Taehoon believed that it was just limited to that.

Then, Team Leader Park opened his mouth again and said, “The quest rewards include ‘???’ and ‘Final Disciple’.”

“WHAT?!”

The Teacher would accept a final disciple?! This was very shocking. When he first heard the report, Taehoon thought Player Minhyuk had just received another quest to help him gain a foothold to grow even further.

Team Leader Park relayed the hypotheses he created based on the message he received from Lee Minhwa. He said, “The quest has ‘???’ on it, right? Beradon set the rewards. Assuming that Player Minhyuk truly becomes his final disciple… then I think he will be able to gain a foothold that will allow him to continue to grow.”

“The reason?” President Kang asked, tension evident in his tone.

Team Leader Park said, “That ‘???’ written as one of the rewards... there’s a chance it will allow Minhyuk to use ‘The Growth Cultivator’ temporarily for a few months.”

“...!”

President Kang Taehoon’s eyes grew wide. A player would be allowed to access The Growth Cultivator. Of course, it would be impossible for them to obtain this power permanently. However, as Team Leader Park said, they could still use the skill, albeit temporarily. And if that happened?

“Player Minhyuk will probably create a variety of quests related to his classes and charge straight toward Level 700.”

And there was also one thing that they had to take into consideration. The Growth Cultivator was a power equivalent to the Eight Pillar’s Disaster.

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