Leveling Up Through Eating

President Kang Taehoon, Department Head Kim Dae-Il, Team Leader Park Minggyu, and Employee Lee Minhwa were all huddled together, watching the same scene on the monitor.

Department Head Kim Dae-Il mumbled, “Pandemonium is truly an amazing place. After all, it’s where the greatest Battle God and the greatest weapon craftsman are only revolutionaries.”

Kang Taehoon nodded in agreement. As Kim Dae-Il said, Pandemonium\'s Country had many outstanding and influential people.

Then, Kim Dae-Il sighed sadly. “Even if Player Minhyuk succeeds in killing Bul’ark, Pandemonium’s Country still has a god and his envoys. In the end, he will still end up in failure.”

His speculations were very reasonable. This was a world where God was not present. So, what good would it do to change the king? But unbeknownst to Kim Dae-Il, there was another truth hidden behind this.

At this moment, President Kang Taehoon recalled that Lee Minhwa was on the promotion list this time. She was set to be promoted to deputy team leader. Her promotion was a bit too quick compared to the number of years she had been working in their company, but Team Leader Park Minggyu was very generous with her scores.

As if to test her, President Kang Taehoon asked, “Who do you think is the greatest among them?”

Was it the greatest Battle God? The greatest master craftsman? Or the Cooking Revolutionary, who had already been defeated?

Without hesitation, Lee Minhwa said, “It’s Story Revolutionary Gardin.”

Meanwhile, Kim Dae-Il was muttering to himself and saying, ‘I think Leo is the greatest. Next would be Bharal…’ So, he was shocked to hear that she thought the best was Gardin, who only made someone else listen to his stories. And as far as Kim Dae-Il knew, Gardin could not even eat properly because he did not have enough money. Right?

“What are you talking about? Where did you see that Gardin…”

Before Kim Dae-Il could finish his words, he saw President Kang Taehoon smile.

“You’re very observant, huh?”

He looked like he understood why Team Leader Park had generously praised Lee Minhwa.

Kim Dae-Il looked puzzled. How was she observant? The Gardin Kim Dae-Il had seen was a poor author who was always hungry. To eat, he even had to give missions to those who came to Pandemonium’s Country.

“Why do you think so?” Kang Taehoon probed.

Lee Minhwa did not hesitate to answer. “First, Gardin is believed to have stayed the longest in the Pandemonium’s Country.

“Second, he does not have a stigma.

“And third, it doesn’t make sense for him to give missions to guide someone in the Pandemonium’s Country. Besides, everyone else was being suppressed regarding food and eating. Yet, he was able to feed himself by giving missions to others? That does not fit with the Pandemonium’s Country’s common sense.”

These were things that Kim Dae-Il was not aware of. He asked, “Ah, come to think of it, why does Gardin not have any stigma? Was it because he was able to escape? And where does he get his food?”

Kang Taehoon looked at Lee Minhwa happily. “I see; you must already have a guess as to his true identity.”

“I’m not sure, but I have speculations about who he is.”

“What in the world are you talking about…”

Kim Dae-Il did not know, and he wanted to know. After all, most employees shared their views and understanding of the character Gardin. Only President Kang Taehoon knew the truth. Even though Lee Minhwa had the same information as them, she could see through it. It was evident that she was a very competent employee.

Kim Dae-Il quickly looked back at Team Leader Park. The man, who had heard the hints, seemed to know everything, too.

Glancing at Kim Dae-Il, Park Minggyu said, “If you read Athenae’s Set-Up Guide, you should know that Pandemonium is something that Chaos had created. But the Pandemonium’s Country is not included in Chaos’ Pandemonium.”

“...?”

‘W-What do you mean by that?’

While they continued with their incomprehensible conversation, someone knocked on the door. It was none other than the Rewards Team Leader.

“President, you discussed the compensation for Player Minhyuk the other day, right?”

That was right. Joy Co. Ltd. had agreed to let Minhyuk know about something he was curious about. Player Minhyuk had asked them to find information about the Storyteller.

The Rewards Team Leader said, “Should I tell Player Minhyuk the whereabouts of the Storyteller?”

Kang Taehoon shook his head. “I don’t think there’s a need to do that anymore.”

***

Bul’ark was intoxicated with the overwhelming power that was coursing through his veins for the first time in his life.

He felt like no one, not even a god, could put a single scratch on his body. He also thought he could break all his opponent’s bones with a simple slap of his palms. A building was already on the verge of collapsing with just one punch from him.

And right now, the man, who had overpowered him earlier just by changing his sword and armor, was being punched and kicked by him. He could not even chase after him with how fast he was. The best part? All of the other revolutionaries had fallen. They were either incapacitated or dead.

Just then, Minhyuk, almost turned into a meat paste, pulled something out.

‘Temporary Revolutionary’s Token?’

Bul’ark saw the words written on the token, but they soon vanished and were replaced with “The Last Revolutionary.”

At the same time, an unknown yet overwhelming force erupted from the token that had turned into the Last Revolutionary’s Token.

[All the lights gathered together and lit up almost half of the darkness.]

Along with that force, the sound rang again.

‘It’s this f*cking sound again.’

In Bul’ark’s ears, the sound was nothing but bullshit. It was like the buzzing of a mosquito that lingered in his ears and kept on scratching his nerves.

A black-light appeared and covered the blade of Minhyuk’s sword.

The arrogant Bul’ark shouted, “Come on, cut me! Huh?! Keuhahahahaha!”

Anyway, he already possessed a divine body. Even if Minhyuk’s sword cut him down, he could still regenerate. His left arm was the proof, as it had already grown back. Besides, no attacks had worked on him after he had grown stronger.

Spurt–!

Bul’ark, who saw the blood spurting out of his body, was left in both confusion and disbelief.

The man, Minhyuk, glared coldly at him, his eyes filled with contempt.

[Finally.]

[The never-ending darkness has started to be devoured by the light.]

‘It’s that story again.’

Bul’ark snorted. Minhyuk was already on the brink of death; what else could he do to him? That was when Bul’ark realized that the deep gash on his body was not regenerating.

[Your sword’s attack power has reached 4,500.]

[You have a 65% chance of ignoring all of your opponent’s defenses.]

[The ‘Scar of Revolution’ is imbued in the Sword of Aeon.]

[Those who have been cut with the Scar of Revolution will not be able to recover or regenerate their injuries for five minutes.]

It seemed like Leo also knew that the strengthened Bul’ark would not be able to be easily cut and killed. So, he imbued the power of the Scar of Revolution in the Sword of Aeon.

Bul’ark was left flustered when he realized that his injuries were not healing. Regardless, he cackled. “You have consumed most of your strength, you bastard.”

Besides, it wouldn’t be surprising if the man in front of him died right away. Minhyuk’s HP was now less than 10%.

[The strongest power of the Story Revolutionary is dwelling in your body.]

[Even if he would lose… even if he were in pain… he still took a step forward.]

[With each step that he took, he shed them.]

Minhyuk took one step after another.

[The glorious and noble blood that he shed gave him strength.]

[You have recovered 100% of your HP and MP.]

[He obtained all of the power that he had used.]

[All of your skill cooldown time has been reset.]

Thump–

[He obtained the power to confront and fight against his enemies even in front of his greatest fear.]

[You have the courage never to back down and face any fear.]

Minhyuk kicked the ground as he charged forward, using everything and anything he could. He did not spare anything.

‘Overlapping Delight.’

The golden die showed a five, while the black die showed a 4. At the same time, he applied the effects of the black die to the Frenzied Blade.

Bul’ark prepared to defend against the attack.

Unfortunately, it was not the Frenzied Blade that landed on him. It was the sword, the sword that had instantly obtained a temporary attack power of 4,500. He stabbed deep into Bul’ark’s chest.

Stab–!

Then, the Frenzied Blade was triggered, and his body was torn to shreds. Bul’ark, who was bleeding all over, realized that he could not regenerate his injuries again.

Surprisingly enough, he remained standing despite the non-stop attacks of the sword with 4,500 damage and an attack that could ignore his defenses. This was a testament to how monstrous his HP was.

Minhyuk’ constantly clashed with Bul’ark. With the Overlapping Delight’s effect, Minhyuk was never pushed back.

‘The Annihilator’s Sword.’

Bang–!

The flashing lights cut Bul’ark’s body. Unlike the previous attack, Minhyuk could no longer cut off his arm.

Meanwhile, Fighter Bul’ark continued to punch Minhyuk’s body. And Minhyuk? He immediately equipped Black Dragon’s Armor and used the Heavenly Sword, sending a downpour of swords toward Bul’ark.

Stab, stab, stab–!

“Keuaaaaaaack!”

The story appeared once again.

[One day, with a whisper, he said…]

[Revolution… That will be our freedom. But someone told him that it was impossible.]

Minhyuk did not stop. He used Like the Wind and jumped all over the place. The people who watched him fight for their sake shed tears as their bodies got sucked into the black hole.

[Another time, he told ten people…]

[Revolution… It is necessary for us.]

[But everyone called him a fool.]

Bang– Bang, bang– Bang–!

Blood splattered all over the place. The soldiers and the knights looked at the fools.

One of the fools, Gardin, was breathing weakly. The other, Bharal, had already died with his abdomen pierced through. The Cooking Revolutionary had already died long before the start of the true revolution. And Leo? His entire body burned as he fought for the revolution until the very end.

[Then, one day…]

“Please make sure that the revolution succeeds.”

“Please make the revolution come true.”

“For the revolution!”

“FOR THE REVOLUTION!”

The troops, who used to be Bul’ark’s army but were now a part of Minhyuk’s army, knew they had been living in the darkness. They hid behind the king and called the revolutionaries fools.

Now? They were charging forward. They rushed toward Bul’ark, who was fighting fiercely against Minhyuk. Some of them had their bodies torn to pieces, while some burst with one punch from Bul’ark. Even so, they continued to charge at him.

[One of the fools gathered ten men and said, ‘The revolution is necessary.’]

[They called him a fool.]

[One day, this fool that had been ignored and denied, gathered another ten men.]

[One day…]

[One day…]

[One day…]

Minhyuk unleashed Calamity.

A gigantic black wing of blades unfurled behind him, tearing his opponent apart. Barely surviving the constant explosions, the bloody Bul’ark triggered his power.

“Dragon’s Roar.”

Kihyeeeeeeck!

With a roar, Bul’ark launched a series of linked attacks.

The first attack dealt 100% damage. The second, 105%. The third, 110%. The fourth, 115% damage. Each successful linked attack would increase his attack power. This attack power punched Minhyuk’s Black Dragon’s Armor and reduced his HP by a significant amount.

Bul’ark had sent Minhyuk flying in the sky and successfully linked twenty-six attacks in ten seconds. Then, he sent Minhyuk crashing down on the ground. With this attack, Minhyuk’s HP fell below 12%.

“Dragon’s Descent!”

Bul’ark’s body grew 1.5x bigger than usual as he shot down in a straight line.

[Dragon’s Descent.]

[You will deal 11,000% additional damage once you stab your opponent.]

Everyone thought that Minhyuk would die. Strangely, there was no despair on Minhyuk’s face. There was even a smirk. With apparent contempt and mockery, he said, “Transcendence.”

Shwaaaaaaaa–!

A swirling black energy surged out from his body.

“Transcendental’s Spear.”

A gigantic black spear appeared before him and shot straight through the descending Bul’ark.

Bang–!

Bul’ark collided with the Transcendental’s Spear. He immediately activated Crouching Dragon, a skill that would allow him to defend against anything for two seconds. The Transcendental’s Spear failed to pierce through him when he curled in on himself.

Bul’ark continued his descent, his foot extending as he prepared to crush Minhyuk. At this moment, he was very confident that this was the end.

“Absolute Defense.”

At that moment, Minhyuk triggered a skill that allowed him to defend against anything. And right now? He already has the revolutionary’s token ready in his hand.

[The strongest power of the Army Revolutionary dwells in you.]

Minhyuk was very curious. What was the strongest power that the greatest Battle God had left him? Was it a power that would allow him to transcend his limits instantly? Or maybe it was a power that could allow him to summon cannons and fire a thousand heavy artillery simultaneously? If not that, then perhaps it was a power that could allow him to summon a million troops?

Alas, it was not any of those powers. It was the power that made him the greatest and bravest wolf.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship. Final Chapter. Wolf’s Death.”

Then, he turned into an old man who did not know how to back down.

“God’s Pinnacle Spear.”

Bang–!

After that, he became the Great Demon, leading all the demons.

“Splitting the Great Demon.”

Shwaaaaaa–!

Bul’ark, who was bitten, pierced through, and slashed, looked at Minhyuk in shock.

[You can use and trigger the Pinnacle Skills of four of your vassals without any time difference or constraints.]

“After thousands of years.”

The story written on the final page began to ring again.

[One day…]

[Everyone called for a revolution.]

[With one mind, they all hoped for a revolution.]

[The brightest and most radiant light drove away all the darkness.]

At this moment, Minhyuk turned into the most incredible Sword God.

“It’s now time for a revolution.”

He owned and wielded the most powerful Sword of Aeon, swung his empty hand, and used the Heart Sword, the greatest sword the naked eye could never see.

Slash–!

Bul’ark’s body split in half.

[The revolution has succeeded. The hideous and vicious king paid the price for using Predatory Catastrophe. He ended up imprisoned in one of the prisons of Pandemonium’s Country for all eternity. -End-]

Thud–

After turning the last page, the sound of the book being closed rang.

Bul’ark, whose body was split in two, died with disbelief on his face.

[The events that have transpired are similar to those written in the ending of Pandemonium’s Country.]

[Something special will be triggered.]