Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1163

Kim Chang-Sik went to a shabby lawyer’s office near his old restaurant with Minhyuk.

The old lawyer, frowning as if his eyes could not see clearly through his thick glasses, looked over the contract and said, “There are no unfavorable conditions to you. There are a lot of conditions here that are very favorable to you. According to this contract, Ilhwa Group will take full responsibility if you suffer setbacks and losses.”

Kim Chang-Sik came here because he feared that Ilhwa Group’s legal team would say something else if he came to them. He had always taken the short end of the stick since he was a child. That was why he wanted a definite confirmation.

The contract presented to him contained very favorable terms and conditions. In fact, not only would he receive a huge amount of basic funds, but it also stipulated that Chang-Sik would be able to receive incentives if he exceeded a certain amount of sales.

The biggest takeaway was that they would pay off all of his debts incurred during his time with the Luvien Empire. Of course, that was on the condition that Kim Chang-Sik would pay them back, albeit at a slower pace and on manageable terms.

After signing the contract, Chang-Sik stepped out of the law firm and asked, “Why did you give me such good conditions?”

“It’s not that the conditions are good; it’s just that you, Boss Kim, are talented and skilled, right? Also, I know…”

“I know that you, Boss Kim, will work harder for me in return for these favorable conditions.”

“...”

Of course, it would differ from person to person. Some would think it was only natural for others to offer them such good conditions. Kim Chang-Sik was different.

Kim Chang-Sik, whose gukbap restaurant became famous for its good taste and flavor, woke up earlier than anybody else to boil the broth for his gukbap. He also kept his restaurant clean of dust and was even hailed as the best boss by his customers.

Minhyuk was wise and sensible. This was the thought that was running through Kim Chang-Sik’s head.

‘Even if it means that my body will break, I will once again try to set up a chain of restaurants for him.’

Not long after, Kim Chang-Sik and Minhyuk parted ways. Kim Chang-Sik then connected to Athenae once again.

[You have sent your application to migrate to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.]

[You have now become a Beyond the Heavens Empire citizen.]

***

[Conir’s Ramyeon, Herakel’s Gimbap’s 2nd Store has opened at Carballa Territory.]

[Ben’s Cat-Poop Cafe’s 2nd Store has opened at Carballa Territory.]

[...5th Store has opened…]

Minhyuk immediately opened five stores in each territory where he applied Territory Reinforcement.

After lining up for five hours at the first store, the customers immediately went to the other territories. Regardless, even though five additional stores had been opened, there was still a line at these stores.

On top of that, the world-renowned Chef Gadon held a lot of conversations with Liaison Merchant Brau. Not only did he talk with Brau, but he also planned to go around the Beyond the Heavens Empire and sell a single dish.

‘Brau’s power is amazing.’

Minhyuk had checked the “proof” pictures from the other branches that were constantly being uploaded.

Those with more sensitive taste buds noticed a 10% difference in flavor. Compared to the masses, they were few and far between. Most people did not feel any difference from the dishes served in the main branch. This was all thanks to the special power of the Liaison Merchant Brau, ‘As it Is.’

‘Anyway, those with sensitive taste buds can just eat at the main branch.’

Minhyuk smiled faintly.

‘Our first goal is to open 100 branches in the entire Asgan Continent.’

Their second goal was, of course, to open 1,000 branches in the world. Minhyuk could see that they had a chance. After all, no ramyeon or gimbap could replace Conir’s Ramyeon, Herakel’s Gimbap. Even Grandpa Ben’s cafe was overflowing with noble customers willing to pay one platinum just for one cup of his coffee.

Now that things had settled down with the chain stores, it was time for him to do something else.

‘I have already handed over my autobiography to Gardin.’

Gardin had told him that he would remove all of the unnecessary parts of his autobiography and rewrite it more beautifully. So, that was already dealt with.

Now, there was something that Minhyuk had to pay attention to.

[Your invitation for the Expedition to Gaia has arrived.]

Minhyuk nodded after checking the notification’s detailed information. From what he saw, twenty of Athenae’s strongest would gather to explore the new continent, Gaia. It was quite an interesting story.

‘Only two people from each empire can participate.’

Quite a few people had received the invitation to Beyond the Heavens Empire. After careful deliberation, Mihyuk told one of them to come along with him. This person opened the door and went inside his office.

“Your Majesty, all the preparations are done.”

The man was none other than Brod. The Beyond the Heavens’ Sword, and their strongest and highest damage dealer.

With all the preparations done, the two headed to the place written on the invitation.

***

Emperor Cardin could not understand.

‘Why?’

Cardin studied under Beradon and made it so he would grow up brilliantly and receive his father’s recognition and acknowledgment. Nonetheless, even after all this time, Nerva still did not recognize him or his achievements. There was obvious contempt in his eyes as his father looked at him. It was as if the man was looking at someone sitting in a seat not meant for him.

Emperor Cardin tightened his hold on the invitation in his hands.

“Duke Laghman.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Cardin felt resentment towards Nerva for putting all of his expectations on Brod. He felt like everything was nothing but bullshit. His father was the one who used immoral methods to become the emperor, yet he wanted to put the man he recognized on the throne to clean up his sins and make amends with that man.

Duke Laghman also received Beradon’s teachings. Even before that, he was already strong enough to be considered one of the world’s strongest men.

“It’s time for us to announce to the world that the past has long been gone. A new world is now set to prosper and bloom.”

Emperor Cardin could tell that Minhyuk and Brod would come and participate in the Gaia Continent’s expedition.

Cardin and Laghman stepped out and were greeted by an elite army. Cardin climbed on his horse and began to lead the march.

***

All of the servers were temporarily closed to accommodate the update. Unable to access the game for half a day, the players naturally drifted over to wait for the release of the advertising video that Joy Co. Ltd. had announced.

As the advertising video played, a grand and majestic sound rang while a phrase appeared on their screens.

[Gaia Continent: Open]

All of the viewers were left in awe. They never expected that they would expand Athenae like this and introduce an entirely new continent. After all, all of the existing continents were connected to each country where Athenae was available.

At that moment, the voice of the narrator rang.

[The Luvien Empire has been trying to explore and pioneer the new continent for a very long time.]

[Columbus, the Luvien Empire’s explorer, had been caught up and dragged by a storm during his recent expedition. Coincidentally, the storm brought him to a new and never-before-seen continent.]

[The new continent had allowed Columbus to explore their new lands. However, only a twenty-man Exploration Team was allowed to do so.]

Hundreds of ships carrying the symbol of the Luvien Empire floated in the deep, blue sea. Standing at the center were Emperor Cardin, Duke Laghman, Alexander, Kentaro, Minhyuk, Brod, and all the other strong men who had received the invitation.

“This is quite a refreshing scene, exploring a new continent with you,” Minhyuk said.

The moment he spoke, all of the viewers noticed that Minhyuk and the other players were being controlled by AI.

The unfolding of the sails signaled their departure. The sight of hundreds of gigantic ships cutting through the sea was spectacular. But it was not as if the sea was calm. Sea monsters appeared and constantly blocked their path. The more than a million troops that the Luvien Empire brought made a move and began to pave their way.

Just like that, the scene passed by quickly. Then, the video showed a gigantic storm brewing in the sky above the ships. Everything had turned dark as heavy rain began to fall. Then, dozens of waterspouts appeared, moving rapidly and roughly toward their boats.

Thud–!

Boom, boom–!

Vwooong, vwoong, vwoong–!

At this point, everyone realized that beyond this point, no one else aside from the Exploration Team could enter.

A fast-speed boat was launched. This ship was much smaller than the ships of their fleet but was faster and stronger than any other ship. The twenty strong men rode this ship.

“Your Majesty, please take care of your body and return safely!”

As if to overshadow the other strongmen, the more than a million elite soldiers of the Luvien Empire knelt in unison and wished for Emperor Cardin’s safe return. Amidst their wishes, the speed boat entered the eye of the storm.

At that moment, more than 100,000 Man-eating Piranhas that were the size of dolphins popped up and went straight toward their boat.

Disaster Specialist Ricor, the emerging powerhouse Absolute Monarch Richard had raised and nurtured, had now become one of the representative strong men of the world. At this moment, he showed his prowess.

“Typhoon Blade.”

Slash, slash, slash–

The strong typhoon created by the Typhoon Blade blew and ripped apart all of the piranhas in his vicinity. Of course, this attack left all of the allies unscathed.

“Load.” At Alexander’s command, thousands of artillery rose in the air. “Fire!”

Bang, bang, bang–!

The approaching piranhas were being torn apart. Each of them used their powers to break through the piranhas’ encirclement. Among the team, only Emperor Cardin, Minhyuk, Brod, Laghman, and Alexander looked like they were still in good shape.

Emperor Cardin looked at Minhyuk and Brod and said, “Things are quite different from what I heard.”

Then, Cardin looked at Laghman. Laghman was showing his overwhelming power. Every piranha that his sword touched was torn and ripped apart. Yet even after all that, Laghman did not show any sign of exhaustion.

The viewers were all thrilled. It was rare for Emperor Cardin to show a sense of rivalry toward Minhyuk. For them, this was a very exciting and refreshing sight.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” Emperor Cardin responded to Minhyuk. Then, he chuckled and looked away.

Unlike the NPCs, the players were all moving under the AI’s control.

Suddenly, the Man-eating Piranhas surrounding them began to run away. Confused, the twenty strong men caught sight of something approaching them from afar. Their approach alone left the boat shaking wildly.

“They’re Man-eating Beluga Whales!”

[Man-eating Beluga Whale. Level 901.]

Because the scene was displayed as an advertisement video, a detailed explanation appeared on the viewers’ screens.

[The Man-eating Beluga Whales are beings that live off of the coast of the Gaia Continent. They are much smaller than the average beluga whale. Even though they were small, they were still the size of a ship. Also, their skin is tough to pierce while their teeth are sharp and powerful to the point that they could simultaneously chew and swallow an entire boat.]

Along with that, the gentle expression on Minhyuk’s face changed. He said, “It seems like you’re being openly sarcastic with me. That sours my mood.”

At that moment, all the viewers realized that the AI’s control over all the players had been released.

***

Minhyuk was not only dumbfounded, but he also found the situation completely ridiculous.

‘Why the hell did they control us like this?’

As it turned out, it was mainly to let the NPCs play an active role. Naturally, Minhyuk, controlled by AI, looked like he was swayed by Emperor Cardin’s words and orders.

With the appearance of the Man-eating Beluga Whales, a notification rang in his ears.

[The AI’s control over you has been released.]

[The ending of the advertisement video will change depending on who the person who hunted the most Man-eating Beluga Whales is.]

Ring!

[Sudden Quest: Ignored Emperor.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor

Rewards: Your level will increase by 1.

Penalty for Failure: Your level will decrease by 2.

Description: Luvien Empire’s Emperor Cardin has ignored and brushed off your existence as the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor. Repay the disgrace and humiliation you have suffered by hunting more Man-eating Beluga Whales with Brod than Emperor Cardin and Duke Laghman.

Once they were released from the AI’s control, the other players also began to go crazy. Now that the AI’s control was not restricting them and they were as free as the NPCs earlier, they began to unleash their powers and show off.

After fighting for so long, everyone suddenly came to a halt. This was because Emperor Cardin and Duke Laghman, who had been showing off their powers by eliminating the Man-eating Piranhas earlier, were now slaughtering several advancing Man-eating Beluga Whales.

“Amazing…”

“How could this…”

“Ho…”

Emperor Cardin’s display of power was quite surprising, but Duke Laghman’s strength and momentum were shocking and insane. It seemed like it was true that he was the strongest duke in the history of the Luvien Empire. Even Alexander could only stand there and watch him, mesmerized by his display of power.

Alexander muttered unknowingly, “Six.”

“...?”

Everyone turned to look at Alexander.

“That’s the number of Man-eating Beluga Whales that the two have killed or incapacitated in just two minutes.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone was shocked, but an even more shocking sight greeted them when they turned to look at Alexander.

They saw Minhyuk sitting on a chair on the deck with an arrogant expression. And standing in front of him was a furious Brod.

‘How dare you mock His Majesty in my face?!’

Minhyuk sat leisurely on his chair and said, “Brod.”

Everyone looked at Minhyuk as if he was insane.

Then, he ordered, “Tear them all apart.”

Bang–!

At that moment, an explosion erupted from the waters. The players had just flinched, while Brod had already ripped the body of the Man-eating Beluga Whale, which had jumped up in two.

Boom–!

Brod, who leaped to the sky, released the rampant power of the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship that wrapped around his sword.

“Wolf of Death.”

Bang, bang, bang–!

In an instant, he ripped apart two more Man-eating Beluga Whales. Then, he used the slowly sinking bodies of the beluga whales as springboards, jumping and running over them before they could completely sink. He also threw his sword to tear apart another one.

Before the beluga whale could completely sink to the depths of the sea, Brod appeared and pulled out his sword. Then, he stabbed it straight into the flanks of another beluga whale and tore it apart.

Spurt–!

The crazy wolf leaped and ran around.

“One minute…” Alexander’s voice trembled. “That’s the time it took for him to kill seven Man-eating Beluga Whales…”

Everyone was left shocked.

And Minhyuk? He, who was sitting on his chair, looked back at the shocked Emperor Cardin and said, “Things are quite different from what I heard, huh?”

“...!”

“...!”

Emperor Cardin and Duke Laghman’s faces turned bright red at his words.