Leveling Up through Eating

Locke, one of the executives of Beyond the Heavens Empire, was a man with a face and a personality(?). And there was one thing in the Beyond the Heavens Empire that he could say he was the best in and was most proud of—it was none other than his body.

Locke was very proud that no one in the Beyond the Heavens Empire had a body that was fitter than his own. He was a man who only had working out and exercising in his mind.

He had been dumped by a woman recently. Usually, men would look for soju and get drunk on alcohol when they got dumped. As for Locke, in his sorrow, he ran to the gym. He whipped out his protein shakes and lifted weights, trying heavier ones than usual. Funnily enough, the sadness and frustration of that day allowed him to lift much heavier weights.

Simply put, Locke was a gym-loving guy who only knew one pattern: game, gym, sleep.

After finishing his workout, Locke logged back inside Athenae.

“Hoo. I wonder if anyone would like to work out with me?”

Unfortunately, no one around Locke wanted to join him in his healthy workout routine.

‘If I can find people to come and work out with me, then I think I can break down Level 600’s third wall.’

Sometimes, having a competitor would allow a person’s motivation to burn brightly.

While pondering this matter, Locke went to where Balaman, the slaves, and the prisoners lived. The Beyond the Heavens’ executives would always take turns patrolling and supervising Balaman, his men, and the rest of the people they had brought in.

Locke looked around the area where the prisoners from the Qingdao Kingdom were and listened to their conversations.

‘They’re all working very hard.

All of them were doing their best in their work and studies. And from what he could tell, they were all very grateful for the grace and kindness that the Beyond the Heavens Empire had bestowed upon them. They were all pleased since they were given comfortable and warm homes to live in. They even went so far as to praise the Beyond the Heavens Empire when they saw Locke doing his patrols.

After checking where the Qingdao Kingdom prisoners were, Locke went to where Balaman and his men were. Of course, they were still being exploited by the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

‘Tsk, tsk. These bad bastards.’

Minhyuk had ordered his men to give at least the bare minimum of support to Balaman and his men. It was because he said they might have a place to be of good use. In the first place, Minhyuk did not pay much attention to them. Of course, the same was true for the rest of the Beyond the Heavens’ executives.

When Locke arrived, he saw Balaman and his almost a hundred thousand men exercising. Shockingly enough, even Balaman, who had now become the living dead, was exercising.

“Take advantage of the break time… continue… exercising… If… you stop… your muscles… will be lost…!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, sir!”

Locke was in awe when he saw the muscles rippling on their bare chests. When he saw one of the guards approaching him, he asked, “What are they doing?”

“The Exploited Ones are only given a short break. But every time, they will rush out of the mines and exercise. They said they will lose their muscles if they slack off or something…”

“What about their food?”

“Their three meals daily consist of chicken breasts, salad without sauce, and some fruit. To be honest, it has helped us cut a huge amount from our food costs.”

Locke was completely overcome with emotion. Many people did not understand him, but he finally found people who shared his views and values.

“Soon… muscles… strength…!”

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“Uwooooooh!”

Then, he heard their roars.

Locke had a long-time dream. There was this war movie, 301, that was a huge sensation overseas.

‘This is Spwarta!’

It was a film set in ancient times in which strong, muscular, and healthy bare-chested soldiers go off to war.

Locke could not help but shudder in excitement at the thought of running bare-chested at the vanguard with these people and shouting, ‘This is Spwarta!’ It would be a spectacle.

Locke walked toward Balaman, whose muscles were bulging. When Balaman saw Locke and his bulging muscles, he seemed to recognize him as someone of the same kind as them.

However, Locke did not intend to show them any warmth and care. So, he asked coldly, “Bench press, squats and deadlifts. How many can you do?”

***

Minhyuk, who received a new quest related to the Battle God from The Teacher Beradon, could not help but shudder. He was sure that the “???” written in the rewards had something to do with the gods inside the God’s Prison. So, just as it was written in the quest description, he had to go to the Land of the Gods and meet Erach, the God’s Prison’s warden.

But before that, Minhyuk had to fulfill his promise to Beradon.

“You bastard. My stomach is going to stick to my back now!”

Minhyuk had promised Beradon that he would cook a dish using the ingredients protected by the Lord of the Mountains. He even said he should give him proper recognition if the old man were satisfied with his dish. Simply put, he just used a few words, but he was able to obtain an opportunity to increase his level once more. Because of that, Minhyuk wanted to put his heart and soul into cooking this dish.

Various colorful vegetables were among the ingredients he had on hand. So, what should he make? The same bibimbap that he had eaten earlier?

‘That’s delicious too. But right now, I think something else suits him better.’

The temperature in the mountains was quite chilly. Parts of the mountains had snow, too, which seemed to bring a greater and more penetrating chill to the body. There was a dish that used such colorful vegetables while simultaneously warming the body. It was none other than shabu-shabu.

“I’ll make you some warm soup.”

Beradon’s nose had turned runny from the cold weather, acting completely unlike his name as The Teacher as he nodded at Minhyuk. Then, he said, “A warm soup. I’m looking forward to it.”

Minhyuk began to cook the dish. There was nothing much for him to prepare. All he needed to do was make the shabu-shabu broth, the vegetables, and the beef.

He sat opposite Beradon and gently dumped the vegetables into the broth he had prepared. The vegetables included bok choy, bean sprouts, water parsley, and mushrooms.

When Beradon saw that the broth had already started to boil, he tried to stretch out his chopsticks and pick one of the vegetables.

“The vegetables are not yet fully cooked.”

“Hmm,” Beradon hummed, licking his lips in regret.

Instead of that, Minhyuk presented him with something better.

“At this time, it’s not the vegetables but the beef we can eat. All we need to do is blanch it a bit.”

Beradon quickly clamped a piece of beef for shabu-shabu that Minhyuk had offered him with his chopsticks and dipped it in the boiling soup. It only took a few seconds for the meat to get cooked. Beradon tasted the beef without anything else first.

‘It’s warm. And the smooth and soft yet chewy texture tastes excellent in my mouth.’

With a happy smile, Beradon picked up another piece of beef. This time, he dipped the blanched beef in the chili sauce Minhyuk had prepared earlier.

‘The spicy yet sweet sauce captures the greasy aftertaste of the beef and balances it out quite well.’

While the two were eating the beef, the color of the soup began to change a bit. The beef's flavor slowly seeped into the broth. The best part? The vegetables were now cooked and ready to be eaten.

Minhyuk picked up some beef along with plenty of vegetables. Then, he dipped everything in the chili sauce and put it in his mouth.

Munch, munch, munch–

The combination of the hot broth absorbed by the vegetables, the soft and chewy texture of the meat, and the distinct flavor of the chili sauce spread in his mouth and created a delightful harmony of flavors.

“Ho.”

“Munch, munch.”

Their breaths fogged as the two men continued eating the warm dish in the snowy mountains. When they finally reached the climax of their meal, Minhyuk said, “I’ll add some knife-cut noodles.”

He added and cooked some knife-cut noodles in the soup. At the same time, he took out some well-ripened kimchi. Once the knife-cut noodles had been cooked well, Minhyuk scooped some soup and noodles. Steam rose from the noodles as he scooped them into a bowl, handing it to Beradon. Then, he scooped some for himself. After that, he scooped up a huge mouthful of noodles and put them in his mouth.

“Sluuuuuuuuuurp!”

A feast of chewiness erupted in Minhyuk’s mouth the moment he chewed the knife-cut noodles. After eating the noodles, Minhyuk grabbed the bowl and took a sip of the soup.

“Kyahaa! I feel so warm inside!”

The chill in his body seemed to have melted away. Then, he took another huge bite of the noodles. But this time, it was accompanied by a mouthful of well-ripened kimchi.

Crunch, crunch–

‘As expected, knife-cut noodles taste best with kimchi.’

Minhyuk smiled happily. When he turned to look at Beradon, he could tell that the man was enjoying himself.

Beradon, who caught sight of Minhyuk looking at him, said, “Ahem, ahem. It’s edible.”

His words were completely different from his actions. After all, the old man had been eating the shabu-shabu in a hurry. At this moment, Minhyuk thought that the old man was quite cute.

Not long after, Beradon placed his bowl down and took a deep breath. “Hoo… I can’t eat anymore, though…?”

“But there’s still some left?”

They still haven’t put the cherry on top! Minhyuk took a lot of the shabu-shabu broth out before adding rice and egg to the pot to make some porridge. Minhyuk, who had finished his porridge, saw Beradon emptying his bowl quickly as if someone was going to take it away from him.

“I thought you said you can’t eat anymore…”

“Hmph! You brat! You should finish the food on your plate. How can so many dishes come out from just a single pot?”

There were many reasons why Beradon was so surprised.

First, he was able to enjoy the taste of meat.

Second, he was able to enjoy the taste of vegetables.

Third, he was able to enjoy the taste of noodles.

And fourth, he was able to enjoy the taste of rice.

It was an extraordinary yet delicious and delightful dish.

[Beradon has given you a slight recognition.]

[You have leveled up.]

And immediately after that, Minhyuk’s level increased again. In just one day, Minhyuk could raise his level by three. At this point, Minhyuk realized he was at least 5% stronger than yesterday.

“You’re quite the chef, huh?”

But there was still something left. Beradon had made a promise before Minhyuk went out to fetch the ingredients.

“Now, please tell me who your two most outstanding disciples are?”

Beradon frowned when he heard the question. It was the beginning of a story that he did not want to reminisce about, but a promise was a promise.

Soon, Beradon said, “Helenia.”

“...!”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide. Helenia, who wanted to destroy the entire world, was Beradon’s disciple. He jumped up from his seat and could not help but look at Beradon with an indescribable expression on his face.

“She has killed a lot of people and tried to take away a lot of things. Were you shocked and disappointed at the fact that I taught her?”

Minhyuk did not know how to answer the question. Perhaps Beradon helped her grow stronger like that, no?

“I do not discriminate. There is no good or evil in my eyes. I teach anyone qualified to receive my teachings. I may not be evil, but does that mean I only have to teach good people? Who set up that logic?”

Minhyuk could not bring himself to deny the old man. Also, he already knew that nothing good would come out even if he argued over this.

“What about your other disciple?”

Beradon smiled faintly as he looked up to the sky. Then, he said, “Athenae.”

“...?!”

The shock that Minhyuk experienced was far more than the shock he received when he heard Helenia’s name.

Athenae was the Greatest God and was also one of the Eight Pillars. She was the one who ruled everything in this world. That alone was enough to prove how much of a big shot she was. It was surprising to find out she had also been Beradon’s disciple.

“Can you tell me more about them?”

“You damn brat! You asked me about the two, but I believe we never agreed on that.”

Beradon has no reason to tell Minhyuk their story.

“Do you think my mouth is so loose, huh?”

Minhyuk shook his head. Beradon’s mouth was indeed a tough one to crack. If he could easily hear the story about Athenae and Helenia, then the entire world could listen to their story just as easily.

“Enough. You should go. If you’re unable to complete this, don’t even think about coming to see me again,” Beradon said as he walked away with his hands behind his back.

“I will do my best so that I can come to see you again,” Minhyuk said, greeting Beradon politely before disappearing on the spot.

Beradon, who continued on his walk around the mountains, had a severe look on his face. He thought, ‘I know. Many have died because I did not distinguish between good and evil.’

Thinking that it was the last time, he had accepted another disciple. At that time, he felt this disciple of his was stronger than Helenia and wiser than Athenae.

Beradon looked up to the sky and recalled the disciple he loved and hated most.

***

Team Leader Park Minggyu discussed this with Lee Minhwa on the Special Players Management Team.

“The players are in a very festive mood. After all, they have received a 3x increase in EXP Acquisition Rate for an entire month. Even the players who have achieved Level 600 are working hard to reach Level 650.”

“How many players do you think will reach Level 650 by the end of this month?” Team Leader Park mumbled. He already knew the answer to this question. He just wanted to voice it out.

Lee Minhwa smiled bitterly. She said, “Maybe around two hundred?”

“Right.”

But would those two hundred players and Player Minhyuk, the bastion of who President Kang spoke, be able to stop what would happen?

Of course, just as Minggyu discussed with Taehoon in the car, Minhyuk had received a foothold that would allow him to grow even further. But according to their calculations, even if Minhyuk became more muscular, it would still be difficult for them to beat Helenia. Team Leader Park could not help but think they still had a long way to go after considering the upcoming disaster.

Minggyu stared blankly at the screen, which showed Beradon’s situation. There was a sad smile on Beradon’s face as he looked up to the sky.

[Crunch– crunch–]

The sound of someone walking through the snow of the snowy mountains rang. Team Leader Park jumped to his feet when he saw the face of the man who appeared on the screen in front of him not long after.

In shock, he could not help but murmur, “Is this another bastion…?”

***

Beradon, with a sad smile, looked at the man walking up the mountain path. The man looked very handsome, with fair skin and black hair. He was also one of the Eight Pillars and his third disciple, who left him.

“It’s been a long time, Obren.”

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