Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1240

When Minhyuk became the Battle God, these notifications rang worldwide.

[Player Minhyuk has become one of the Absolute Gods, the true Battle God who rules over all armies.]

[It is unusual for a player to become an Absolute God.]

[Player Minhyuk has released the seal and opened up all of the powers of the Battle God.]

[Countless people from all over the world are discussing Battle God Minhyuk.]

[The poets are writing down poems about him.]

[The bards are singing songs about him.]

Minhyuk already carried the titles “Supreme” and “Pillar.” The title “Battle God” was currently added to it. With all of these titles, it was very difficult for the other players to see him as someone who was the same as them. There were even posts on community sites that went like this:

[What should I do to get a hidden quest from Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Minhyuk?]

[Well, you can get a quest. But… Minhyuk is a player, right?]

[Ah. For a moment, I thought of him as an NPC. lololol.]

No other player could match his influence on Athenae and the world. The poets almost defied him, while the bards sang about him as if he were an authentic god. These poems, songs, and discussions among the players quickly spread rumors.

[From what I heard, All of God Minhyuk’s stats have increased by 18% when he became the Battle God.]

[Bullshit. It should be around 32%. Just think about it. The Battle God is the greatest god among the Absolute Gods. So, why would the increase in his stats only be at 18%?]

[Ah. Okie, okie. That makes sense.]

[Kyaha. At his level, if his stats increased by 32%, he can just cut down the rankers with a mere touch of his hands.]

[I’ve also read a line from one of the poems released by the poets. It said, ‘Thousands of gods lined up in front of him in a moment of crisis.’]

[Wow. That means that Minhyuk can gather the gods from the sky together!]

[No. You should listen until the end. That poet is just exaggerating…]

[HUUUUUUUUH?! Shouldn’t it be possible for Minhyuk to gather the gods and bring them to earth?]

[This is freaking crazy. Hyung, please take me.]

[That’s settled. Today is my first day with Minhyuk.]

Rumors bred more rumors until they became more and more exaggerated. And while everyone’s expectations for Minhyuk continued to grow, the Foreigner Kingdoms’ Alliance was attacked. At the same time, rumors about how only four people from the Beyond the Heavens Empire would go to war began to spread. At first, the rumors were still based on the truth.

[Because of the pressure from the Luvien Empire, Minhyuk was forced to participate with only three people?]

Then, it passed down from one another until it started to change.

[What? Minhyuk said four people are enough to deal with the King of Races?]

[Wait. He’s more than enough to end everything?]

The rumors grew wilder and spread quickly, immediately increasing people's expectations.

Minhyuk, standing at the center of this storm, felt cold sweat running down his spine.

‘Guys! Don’t you know how Joy Co. Ltd. works?! Huh?!’

He was sure that everyone knew how Joy Co. Ltd. valued balance greatly. After all, they had always been fair like that. Even if they provided special privileges and benefits, it would always still be within the scope of common sense.

However, the fact that Minhyuk became the first Absolute God played the most significant role in their sky-high expectations. They all could not help but wonder if the skills and stats that Minhyuk possessed after he became the real Battle God had risen.

Of course, it was just as they thought. Minhyuk’s skills and stats have increased dramatically.

‘Nonetheless, it’s only in the Land of the Gods.’

Minhyuk was 1.4x stronger than he was on Earth in the Land of the Gods. If any ranker entered the Land of the Gods, it would only take him three seconds to cut them down. Alas, it was completely different here on Earth.

Unfortunately, Minhyuk temporarily became 30% weaker because of the penalties. He planned to reveal this fact to everyone when he entered the battlefield. But the moment he appeared, he realized something.

‘Once I tell them this, the morale of the allied forces will instantly drop.’

Even the enemy knew this. If Reikan knew that the enemy troops' morale had dropped and their commander was weakened, the kingdoms’ allied forces would definitely collapse.

The gears in Minhyuk’s head began to turn as he tried to think of ways to break through this situation.

At that moment, Reikan, who was half-human and half-wolf, with a human form but a skin covered with the wolf’s black fur, looked strangely intimidated.

[King of All Races Reikan. Level 1,039.]

Even so, everyone who saw Reikan’s level could only swallow a groan. Even worse, they would be inflicted with a debuff and be met with an abnormal status just because they were standing opposite Reikan.

[Wild Beast’s Eyes.]

[Reikan’s Wild Beast’s Eyes has left you terrified.]

[All of your stats have decreased by 13%.]

[Your resistance to abnormal statuses has decreased by 40%.]

[All of your defenses have decreased by 30%.]

[All of your HP and MP have decreased by 10%.]

[You have an invincible body that can ignore and resist all kinds of abnormal states.]

[You have resisted an abnormal state.]

Despite the outstanding debuff or the powerful abnormal status, Minhyuk could resist it—unless he was in a very special situation.

‘Huh?’

At that moment, Minhyuk saw Reikan take a step back. The loud cheers and roars of the allied forces were pulling the enemies' morale down. Of course, Reikan also knew that Minhyuk had become the Battle God. Just like the troops of the Foreigner Kingdoms’ Allied Forces thought, he also believed that Minhyuk had become stronger after opening up all of the power of the Battle God.

‘Who would be crazy enough to go here alone if they’re not powerful enough?’

Reikan did not even imagine that Minhyuk had come here in a panic.

‘What amazing battle intent.’

Reikan felt even more intimidated. After all, Minhyuk possessed a sky-high amount of CHA. Even though there was a massive difference in his and Reikan’s level, Minhyuk still looked incredibly frightening to him. And because Reikan believed that Minhyuk had become extremely strong, the pressure on him became even heavier.

“I cannot fight with the Great Battle God in a head-on battle.”

Minhyuk was sure that he would be the one to lose if he fought against Reikan in this situation.

“I acknowledge your power and spirit. I never expected that you would come to the battlefield alone.”

Minhyuk felt as if Reikan, standing before him, was performing a one-man show. His level could even be considered mastery!

“I am not some reckless bastard.”

“Awoooooooo!”

“Awoooooooo!”

“Awoooooooo!”

The werewolves started using their Howling. At the same time, light fell upon the troops of the Allied Races.

Minhyuk’s face grew ugly when he saw this scene. He thought, ‘You planned to do this from the beginning?’

They looked like they had come to attack and deal with the Allied forces, but they did not seem to want to annihilate them.

“Send your royal army back to your kingdoms immediately!”

Reikan used the werewolves’ extraordinary power to help their troops advance directly to each of the foreigners’ kingdoms, worsening the situation.

“Battle God, when we meet again, I will no longer be afraid of you! Awooooooooo!” Reikan shouted as he used Howling and disappeared.

The Luvien Empire and the Beyond the Heavens Empire could not understand what King of All Races Reikan wanted to do.

‘He must have known that they would not be able to win if the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire teamed up and attacked them.’

However, the Allied Races suddenly launched an attack, so the two empires immediately assumed that Reikan was hiding something. Reikan's words just confirmed this to Minhyuk.

Reikan had left only 150,000 troops to tie down the allied forces. However, there was a problem.

‘There’s only one reason humans have been pushed back even though they are clearly superior in numbers.’

The average level of the human soldiers had increased to Level 450, while the average level of the soldiers of the Allied Races was around Level 540. The human knights’ level was around Level 540, while the Allied Races’ knights were around Level 610. The difference in level was clear as day.

‘The allied forces should leave behind the minimum number of troops to deal with the Allied Races’ troops left behind in this place then…’

“Everyone, retreat!”

“Our Lord, the Battle God, will deal with the 150,000 enemy troops alone!”

“Men, retreat!!!”

“???”

Minhyuk had judged that they should at least leave 300,000 troops behind. However, the kings all chose to order their entire army to retreat. The troops of the allied forces disappeared with a flash of light. In the end, only around 500 were left.

“We’re sorry for ordering the entire army to retreat.”

Their retreat came from their blind faith in Minhyuk. It was understandable. After all, Minhyuk had not been able to reveal that he was in a temporarily weakened state. And the most important thing right now was for each kingdom to extinguish the fire in their turfs. Kentaro, Miao, and Richard apologized profusely, realizing how selfish they were at this moment. Also…

[The Five Kingdoms Alliance wants to appoint you as their forces' commander.]

Minhyuk felt a massive weight on his shoulders. If his stats hadn’t been temporarily weakened, he would have been very confident in dealing with this situation. And if his dishes hadn’t been restricted, he could have shown them the true power of the Battle God.

[Minhyuk accepts the position of the commander of all forces.]

Although it was a heavy burden, he had to walk this path. This was the only way for him to win them over.

Most of the 500 troops left behind were made up of rankers. These people thought everything would be fine as long as they were Minhyuk and were confident they could return to their respective armies after dealing with the 150,000 enemy troops left behind. Regardless, the main reason why they stayed here was…

‘I want to see it.’

At this moment, Minhyuk noticed the hundreds of transparent drones hovering above them. He could already imagine the commentators saying, ‘Our Minhyuk will slaughter the 150,000 enemy troops as usual…’

‘All I can do is do my best.’

He already accepted the fact that they would be disappointed.

‘All of my stats are down by 30%. My skill levels have also dropped by two, and my AGI is down by 9%.’

Under the eager eyes of everyone present, the weakened Minhyuk began to move. The rankers immediately followed behind Minhyuk to relieve some of the burden dumped on him.

“Awoooooooo!”

A howl echoed on the battlefield. Among the 150,000 Allied Races’ troops was Werewolf Deputy Commander Ganial.

[Werewolf Deputy Commander Ganial. Level 789.]

The Werewolf race had many advantages. They could easily change between their human and wolf forms, running on all fours. They also pose many threats to others. The first problem with this race was their speed. The second was their overwhelming, earth-shattering bite. The third was their proficiency in using various types of magic. They were just like mages.

And the 150,000 troops left behind by the Allied Races were mostly made up of werewolves. Ganial, who announced the werewolves’ advance, howled once again, “Awoooooooooo!”

[Charge Howling.]

[The 500 werewolves standing at the vanguard respond.]

[They are temporarily restricted from using all the magic they can wield.]

[Instead, their STR, AGI, and STM have increased greatly.]

Carrying the truth that the world did not know, Minhyuk stepped forward and leaped toward the charging werewolves, who had become 20% faster and stronger. At that moment, a red current appeared and wrapped around his body.

“Food God’s Swordsmanship.”

Minhyuk’s stats jumped. ‘Whether it works or not, let them watch.’ This was the thought that flashed in Minhyuk’s head.

‘If I weren’t 30% weaker, I would have already turned them into ashes.’

He knew it was impossible, but he kept reminding himself of this fact. Even so, Minhyuk still did not run. Why? Because he was the Battle God.

The werewolf at the lead jumped at Minhyuk. Minhyuk, who thought that he had to hit the werewolf a few more times than usual when dealing with them, thought of finishing it quickly by targeting its vital point.

[Critical Hit!]

Shwaaaaaaaa–!

Bang, bang, bang–!

The power of Destruction ravaged the werewolf’s body as Minhyuk’s sword pierced its chest. Then, it burned and turned into ashes.

Shwaaaaaa–!

“...”

The charging werewolves suddenly stopped in their tracks while the rankers following behind Minhyuk were rendered speechless. Meanwhile, Minhyuk shuddered as warmth seemed to flow through his veins.

‘What the…?’

He was dumbfounded. The level of werewolf that he had just killed was around Level 590. Although it was lower than the Allied Forces’ knight class werewolf, the Charge Howling had left it with a 10% higher STM, STR, and defensive power. But it died with just one stab? Well, to be exact, it was not just one stab. The Critical Hit was triggered, and the Destruction’s lightning strikes fell upon it.

Minhyuk smiled as he realized something.

‘When did I…’

Had he grown to this point where he could not be tied down by a 30% stat reduction and skill restriction? In the first place, Minhyuk had only been dealing with Level 500~600 guys recently. And he could already deal with them with just one or two hits. That was why he did not know he could still take them down with a few shots, even if he were 30% weaker.

‘Let’s check it out.’

Swoosh–!

Minhyuk swung his sword and aimed for the head of another werewolf.

[Critical Hit!]

Once again, the werewolf burned and turned into ashes.

“As expected of the Battle God…”

“Wow, this is crazy…”

“What the hell? How high is his deal volume…?”

Richard, Miao, and Kentaro were all left in awe. When Minhyuk finally realized his situation, he began to move like crazy. He slaughtered the werewolves one after another.

[This is amazing. As expected of the Battle God. The werewolves are falling like leaves in autumn!]

[With every swing of Minhyuk’s sword, he quickly reduces the number of werewolves.]

No one could block Minhyuk’s path. At the same time, he felt a sense of delight.

‘I’m already at this level?’

He had been terrified and questioned whether he could truly become the Battle God with his power. Then, he realized that he had reached this point and had become the true Battle God because he had all the qualifications to be one.

One Shot, One Kill.

Slash–!

One Shot, One Kill.

Slash–!

One Shot, One Kill.

Because Minhyuk had an incredibly high DEX, he saw red spots representing his enemies’ vital points. If he hit those red spots, he would, without a doubt, trigger a critical hit.

A scream rang in Minhyuk’s ears. While he was dealing with the werewolves in front of him, the rankers struggled against the seven-meter-tall werewolves that fell from the sky.

Minhyuk believed that it was much more efficient to deal with the strongest enemy first.

[Mutant Werewolf. Level 732.]

The rankers could not deal any damage to the gigantic werewolf and were all struggling to fight back. The worst part? Just a single swipe of its paw could shatter the rankers’ armor.

Minhyuk, who was still dealing with the pack of werewolves in front of him, stabbed in the general direction of the Mutant Werewolf. There were around six meters between him and the werewolf. However, Minhyuk activated his ability to reach enemies within an eight-meter radius.

[Frenzied Blade.]

[You can hit the enemy’s vital points just by stabbing within an eight-meter radius.]

[Twelve consecutive attacks and a 600% additional damage per second for five seconds will be triggered upon successful attack on a vital point.]

[You have a 90% chance of ignoring all of your enemy’s defenses.]

Minhyuk, who had merely stabbed toward the Mutant Werewolf while triggering his skill, thought that it would be great if this could support the struggling rankers.

[Triple Skill.]

The Triple Skill, the evolved version of the Double Skill and a power that only had a 1% chance of being triggered, was suddenly activated. The Triple Skill was a power that could instantly increase the power of the skill by three times.

An invisible sword stretched out and pierced through the heart of the Mutant Werewolf.

Stab–!

[The 600% additional damage per second for five seconds triggered upon successful attack on a vital point has been increased. You can now deal an additional 1,800% damage per second for five seconds.]

[The twelve consecutive attacks per second for five seconds will also be increased to thirty-six consecutive attacks per second.]

Stab–! Stab, stab–!

The rankers were all struggling in a fierce battle against the Mutant Werewolf, unable to deal any damage and reduce its HP. However, Minhyuk only stabbed his sword haphazardly from a distance and inflicted several attacks that forced the HP of the Mutant Werewolf to drop rapidly.

Minhyuk actually just wanted to support them.

Thud–!

As it turned out, it was a one-shot, one kill once again.

“...”

“...”

Richard, Miao, Kentaro, and the people worldwide watching Minhyuk all looked at him as if he were a monster.