Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1180

Ancas clearly remembered how Minhyuk had spoken and climbed in the trailer, spewing flames that seemed like they could burn down anything and everything in their path.

Before they arrive, I will make you all as strong as the members of the Slaughter Squad.

It sounded like an empty promise. The Gorodis Kingdom’s army only had around 500,000 soldiers, much smaller than other nations. Even so, when they were strapped for time, saying that he could make them all strong was ridiculous.

Then, Minhyuk shared the effects of his trailer.

(Cooking Trailer)

Rank: God

Requirements: A DEX higher than 2,000

Special Effects:

•Your cooking time will be reduced by 60%.

•Your cooking time for bulk dishes will be reduced by 70%.

•The flavor of the dish will be preserved in bulk dishes. No deterioration will occur.

•Automatic cooking function.

•With the stronger firepower, stir-fried dishes will have a 10% increase in buff effects.

•Dishes cooked in the trailer would have a 30% increase in buff effects and a 40% reduction in duration.

•The trailer can detect any danger in the vicinity. The higher the level of danger detected, the higher the chances of creating a higher-grade dish that can help you overcome the approaching crisis.

•Attacks and damage will be nullified while you are cooking. However, it is only effective for an hour.

•Active Skill: Double Food

Description: This is a cooking trailer created with an Eternal Flame that has stronger firepower. Cooking will be done much faster than expected when inside the trailer. Even the buffs of the completed dishes will be more significant than initially expected.

Ancas was utterly taken aback.

–Of course, I can only make around 100,000 servings before they arrive. But if you can buy me more time, I can keep cooking and feed the rest of the troops.

The trailer’s effects were beyond imagination. However, even after seeing that, Ancas could only smile bitterly.

–Did you just forget what I said? I can only endure for—

–No. It’s possible. After killing Averra, the morale of the enemies will drop significantly. Then, you can overwhelm them.

–...Please stop joking around.

Ancas could not bring himself to believe Minhyuk’s words. He was fully aware that he could not kill Averra by himself.

However, after activating the trailer’s automatic cooking function, Minhyuk told Ancas he would use ‘Create a Recipe’ to create a dish specifically for him.

–In the past, when I was still the king of the smallest kingdom, I used this trailer to cook for the knights and soldiers who did not believe in me and led them to war.

Minhyuk shook his head as he continued his story.

–Unfortunately, the current situation is much worse than when our kingdom faced invasion.

But then, a small smile appeared on his face.

–Funnily enough, I am also much stronger and better than I was back then. I now have a pair of gloves with special powers and DEX several times higher than in the past. I even obtained some exciting skills.

Minhyuk immediately moved to cook the dish, especially for Ancas, and his movements were ten times faster than usual. It was as if a fast-forward button had been switched on. The name of this power was none other than The Famished One’s Cooking.

Everyone stared at the pillar of light that fell from the sky in a daze.

It was just as Minhyuk said. The excellent dishes and cuisine of the Gaia Continent were focused on increasing something permanently. The power of buffs contained in this dish was entirely unfamiliar to the citizens of the Gorodis Kingdom. Of course, the Guardian Deity’s Dish also possessed such power, but they weren’t aware of that.

Ancas could not help but cry, and his heart deeply moved as he ate the dish presented to him. Was it because it was too excellent? No, it was because it was very delicious—the most delicious dish he had ever tasted in his entire life.

It was even the dish that he wanted to eat the most, the same cake that his younger sister, who was now in a vegetative state, used to make for him in the past.

–Ancas, protect your kingdom.

Ancas, who stirred from his thoughts, looked at Averra’s rolling head. It only took five seconds. It was all thanks to the effects of Minhyuk’s dish.

Ancas was an outstanding attack-type knight. He possessed extraordinarily high attack power, movement speed, and excellent swordsmanship skills. On the other hand, his defensive power and HP was much lower than that of an ordinary knight. Minhyuk’s dish made up for everything that Ancas lacked. It instantly increased Ancas’ HP by 50% and his defensive power by 60%.

In addition, the level of his Pargara’s Swordsmanship’s 4th Chapter, the Defensive Swordsmanship, increased by three. The 4th Chapter: the Defensive Swordsmanship was what Ancas lacked most. But with Minhyuk’s aid, its power had grown exponentially. Initially, the skill could only neutralize and cancel all enemy attacks by 0.9 seconds. But after the level-up, it could neutralize all enemy attacks for three seconds.

The moment the battle began, Ancas immediately used this swordsmanship skill. All of Averra’s attacks, utilized to kill him quickly, were easily neutralized by Ancas’ Defensive Swordsmanship.

Then, Ancas, much stronger than before, used his greatest and strongest swordsmanship skill on the flustered Averra. This made Averra lose his balance. Not only that but even his arm was cut off. This series of events made Averra mentally unstable and unable to judge correctly.

As an assassin, Averra had infinitely lower HP and defensive power. However, the biggest reason for his defeat was that he thoroughly underestimated Ancas. In fact, he did not even deem fit to use his pinnacle skills.

Ancas did not miss the opportunity. He raised his sword and cut Averra’s head off. Then, he threw the head toward the damn bastards who were just betting on how long he could hold on.

“...!”

He could see how flustered Slaughter Squad Commander Romba was. Even the members of the Slaughter Squad, who were just jeering at them earlier, had turned frozen. This was only natural. After all, their own Slaughter Squad commander died in just five seconds. The morale of the Slaughter Squad took the hit instead of the Gorodis Kingdom.

“Is this the level of the notorious Slaughter Squad?”

The Slaughter Squad flinched when Ancas stepped forward. Commander Romba could not hide how flustered he was. Unlike Averra, Romba was not a combat-type Slaughter Squad commander. He could only look around and quickly shout, “A-attack! Kill them all!”

But before Romba’s command fell, arrows fell upon them. Romba smirked. There was no way that those crude arrows could pierce through the hard and sturdy armor of the Slaughter Squad.

‘These arrows will just bounce off our armors and leave just a tiny bit of scratch—’

Thud–! Thud, thud–!

Something very shocking happened. With a remarkable display of accuracy, the shooting arrows shot through their archers' necks, hearts, and even wrists. The downpour of arrows fell one Slaughter Squad member after another.

That was not all. The Gorodis Kingdom’s army swiftly unfurled ropes and descended the canyon walls. The moment they landed, they immediately struck down the Slaughter Squad, who had tried to raise their shields and counter.

Slash–! Swoosh–! Vwoong–!

The members of the Slaughter Squad were left stunned when they saw their shields break apart.

Things were not yet over, as gigantic rocks fell from the top of the canyon and began to devour and flatten the Slaughter Squad. At the same time, thousands of magical attacks appeared in the air and shot toward their members.

‘Damn it!’

Romba’s mouth dropped open at the incredible display of power that the troops of the Gorodis Kingdom were showing them. Their biggest mistake was their arrogance. They swaggered here confidently on their own despite knowing that the Gorodis Kingdom’s army was waiting in ambush for them.

“R-retreat…!” Slaughter Squad Commander Romba ordered for an immediate retreat.

It was a huge disgrace. Alas, when they turned around, they saw that the Gorodis Kingdom’s army had already blocked the entrance to the canyon. Meanwhile, Ancas and the troops that descended began to push them back.

‘How are they this strong?!’ Romba thought, unable to comprehend the matter.

This level of strength was different from what a mere royal army should have. At the very least, they were at a level that was comparable to elite imperial knights.

The worst part? All of the stats and attack power of the Slaughter Squad had decreased dramatically after their morale dropped to the ground. Because of that, the Gorodis’ royal army and the Slaughter Squad were on equal footing.

Under such circumstances, it was only natural for the side with more troops to gain victory. The Gorodis’ royal army charged forward and began to kill the Slaughter Squad trapped in the canyon.

However, it was not as if Romba did not have a way. He was not a Slaughter Squad commander for no reason. He possessed a unique power—none other than the Dreaming Commander’s Slayer.

Upon activation of the Dreaming Commander’s Slayer, anything and everything within a two-kilometer radius would stop. Time would stop for thirty seconds. However, for Romba, ten hours would have passed by. During this time, he would enter the dreams of the strongest and most outstanding individual in the vicinity.

In this dream, he appeared in the place where the individual lived. For example, if the man lived in a kingdom, he would appear in that kingdom, or if it were a territory, he would appear there. Although it was said to be a dream, it was sort of a reality.

At that time, Romba would need to find and destroy a crystal. Once he did that, the strongest individual would die immediately.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

‘If I kill Ancas right away, then…’

They would be able to create a breakthrough.

However, there was also a risk when using the Dreaming Commander’s Slayer. As mentioned before, although it was a dream, it was also reality. He would go and visit the place where the strongest individual lived. And the people living in it? They would do the same things that those people usually did. If someone stronger than him found a wisp of his energy, then he would be caught.

But from what Romba recalled, there was no such powerful individual in the Gorodis Kingdom.

Romba immediately activated the Dreaming Commander’s Slayer. At that moment, everything seemed to stop for a moment. Just like that, Romba entered the dream of the person determined as the strongest individual.

***

Romba opened his eyes. However, the scene that greeted him left him confused.

‘Where is this place?’

Romba was puzzled. It was not the Gorodis Kingdom that he knew.

‘The symbol of a fork and knife?’

The symbol of a fork and knife crossed together was imposing.

[Please move to find the crystal.]

[You can feel a faint wisp of the crystal’s energy.]

Romba did not have much time. If he could not find the crystal within ten hours, then the effects of the skill would be nullified.

‘Is there someone stronger than Ancas? Don’t tell me, that person is the one who made them stronger?’

If that was the case, then Romba believed that things had turned out for the better. The power that made Ancas and the soldiers stronger would also disappear if he could kill this person. After all, most buffs would disappear if the caster died.

The place looked like a peaceful village.

“Duck. Quack, quack!”

“Duck. Quack, quack!”

A man, who seemed to be the kindergarten director, shouted and called out for the sound of a duck from his students. But when no one responded, he quacked.

The young child sitting at the back sighed. “Director, we are children. Only babies will quack like ducks.”

“...”

The director scratched his head. It was apparent that the children ignored him despite his position.

Romba kept on going deeper inside the place.

This time, he saw an old man checking the butt of a cat and a strange baby piggy running around with its flapping belly.

‘This is a very peaceful place. However, it’s a very strange place.’

As he continued walking, he saw a man sitting on a tree branch reading a book. The man was so shockingly handsome that even Romba was left flabbergasted.

‘From what it looks like, no one here is more powerful than me.’

This was what Romba realized when he saw that none of these people took notice of him.

‘There’s no time for this.’

He had to hurry and find the crystal. Romba moved quickly. Unbeknownst to him, many of the people he had seen were staring at his back as he ran.

Romba, who had been wandering around for four hours, felt as if he was getting closer and closer to the crystal’s energy. Finally, he found the crystal floating inside a small stable, emitting faint light.

He chuckled as he took out a hammer. Once he broke this crystal, the Gorodis Kingdom would lose its power and collapse. Then, things would proceed as planned.

Crack–!

The sound of a whip cracking rang in his ears.

“...?”

Surprised, Romba turned around. The baby piggy he had seen earlier was now glaring at him with a whip in his hand. Even the strange old man, the director ignored by the children, the sturdy man herding cows, and around fifteen more men surrounded him.

“Oooiiiiiink. (Tie up this suspicious person.)”

“Wh-what? How dare you try to hurt me…”

Then, the old man said, “Boy, move, and you’re dead.”

“...!”

The overwhelming amount of killing intent that spilled out from the old man’s body rendered Romba immobile. What was shocking was the fact that everyone present here was showing a completely different energy and momentum. The pressure weighing down on him left him breathless and unable to fight back.

“Oink. Oink, oink. (Bastard. Who are you? What are you doing here? What’s your purpose?)”

But the scariest out of them all was the baby piggy. How he slammed the whip in his hands on the ground was terrifying.

Even if Romba wanted to answer, he could not do so. It was because they tied him up and kept his mouth shut.

Flip–

Then, Romba saw a man, who looked very intellectual, put on his glasses and flip through a book. The man seemed to be from the demon race and looked quite handsome.

‘I think this guy will lead the situation and find a reasonable resolution, right?’

This man should be completely different from the baby piggy, right?

Soon, the man said, “I wanted my new work, ‘His Majesty’s 101 Magic Tools,’ to be more realistic regarding expressions and narration. This is a great opportunity for me.”

The man adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and looked at Romba, who was tied tightly and held captive.

‘What’s the 101 Magic Tools? What the hell is that?’

The baby piggy said, “Oooink. Oink, oink. Oiiiiink!!! (You bastard. Today, you’re going to spill out everything. You will tell us who you are, what you are, what you’re here for. Every. Single. thing!)”

Then, the torture(?) began.

***

A strange sensation suddenly washed over Minhyuk’s entire body while he was in the middle of cooking.

‘What?’

Immediately after the strange sensation washed over him, he received a notification.

[Time has stopped for a moment!]

Minhyuk grew tense. He immediately turned to look at Romba and wondered what kind of power the man unleashed.

[The Dreaming Commander’s Slayer has failed.]

[The Dreaming Commander’s Slayer has suffered from indescribable torture and was left mentally damaged in the dream.]

[He will soon die. This is the penalty for failing to complete the Dreaming Commander’s Slayer.]

“...?”

At that moment, Minhyuk saw Romba collapse in relief. Drool dripped down from his mouth as if it had been gagged by something up until this moment. He was even crying weirdly.

“I– I’d rather die! Wa-wahahahaha!”

“???”

Then, he burst into wild and maniacal laughter. It was as if he had gone crazy.

[You have killed Slaughter Squad Commander Romba.]

[You did not deal any direct or physical attack.]

[You have gained 754 platinum.]

[You have gained 1,355,846,030 platinum.]

“What’s going on here?” Minhyuk said, wholly puzzled at the sudden turn of events.