Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1095

Although the devils were angry at each other, they had only left each other incapacitated. Most of them still had enough strength to stand up. They knew their rankings would be out of control if they started killing each other. The number one in the rankings, Baal, had taken that into consideration and only beat them so they would not die.

In other words, the devils had been “lit up”—a slang used by players when referring to someone whose HP had gone so low they were close to death.

And now, Minhyuk had unleashed Calamity and let the black wings devour the lit-up devils.

BOOM!

Calamity’s first strike, which would absolutely and unconditionally hit the target, landed upon Baal.

Bang!

Just like the other devils, Baal did not have much HP left, and he died from the hit.

The other devils in the vicinity were also swept away by Calamity. Most of the demons died.

As for those who survived the onslaught of Calamity, Minhyuk calmly walked over with his sword on his shoulder and then slashed their throats one after another.

Minhyuk listened to the EXP acquisition and platinum acquisition notifications that rang non-stop in his ears.

[You have leveled up.]

Since he had wiped out all of the 72 Devils, it was only natural that he would experience a level-up. Not only that, he was also able to gain around 1.5 million platinum.

[You have gained 1 STR.]

[You have gained 1 WIS.]

[You have gained 1 DEX.]

When he killed Great Demon Verus, he was given five random stat points. And with every devil that he hunted, he was also able to acquire one random stat point. This brought his total to 77 random stat points.

After easily dealing with the devils, Minhyuk turned and passed by Verak, who was looking at him blankly. He said, “Let’s go.”

Now, it was time for them to come for the thing that they truly came for in this place.

***

Minhyuk killed all the monsters he encountered in the Boundary Between Good and Evil. It was just like Verak said. With an average level of Level 600, the monsters residing in this place were truly too high.

Under Verak’s guidance, Minhyuk continued to go deeper in the Boundary Between Good and Evil. Not long after, a series of notifications rang in his ears.

[You have entered the Good and Evil’s Auspicious Site.]

[Your reinforcement rate, artifact production rate, and the rate of creating higher grade dishes will increase by 15%~25%.]

[Your DEX has increased by 14%.]

‘It’s true?’

This was the first time that Minhyuk had entered this place called an auspicious site. It was mostly because the auspicious sites would regularly and randomly switch positions. It was to prevent players from taking up and possessing auspicious sites.

That was not the case for the Good and Evil’s Auspicious Site. Instead, it seemed to be a place where anyone could enjoy the benefits forever. And now, Minhyuk could learn more about this place.

‘Monsters cannot enter the Good and Evil’s Auspicious Site.’

The monsters wandering around the auspicious site were blocked by an invisible barrier and forced to turn around and walk away.

As they went deeper into the site, Minhyuk found a woman. The woman seemed to be Aemira.

Verak said, “That person is Aemira, who created this auspicious site with her powers.”

It was truly a great and shocking ability. The Good and Evil’s Auspicious Site covered an area of 500 meters. In a way, creating an auspicious site this big could be considered to be extremely amazing.

The subtle glow that covered Aemira’s body spilled on the ground around her. The more he looked at her, the more he found something very weird. This something was none other than the small circle that surrounded Aemira. The circle was so small that it could only fit two people standing together.

Minhyuk muttered, “No way…”

“That’s right. Aemira cannot get out of that circle. She can only live inside that small space.”

“How long has she been staying in that space?”

“If we infer from the words that the God of Death has said, it’s probably around a thousand or so years?”

Minhyuk frowned. “Wouldn’t you go crazy?”

Staying inside that small circle for a thousand years? That was very terrible.

“From what I heard, the ones who sentenced Aemira to be imprisoned in that small circle are from Heaven. Their sacred powers are keeping Aemira from going crazy.”

“...”

Just the thought of living in such a constrained space for eternity terrified Minhyuk.

Minhyuk stared at Aemira for a moment.

Aemira, who was wearing an almost see-through white dress, looked very beautiful—just like an angel. She was sleeping while standing up and looked quite weak and lethargic.

After a moment, he began his cooking preparations. He moved a bit farther away from her to not disturb her. Alas, the clattering of his pans and utensils still woke Aemira up.

However, Minhyuk did not notice and continued to prepare while talking with Verak.

“What crime did she commit to receive such a terrible punishment?”

Minhyuk did not show much interest in Aemira. There was a high chance that she had been punished because she poisoned an angel or perhaps she had coveted the highest position in Heaven.

Verak shook his head. “I thought that she was an NPC who would give me a huge quest so I tried to find out what she’s guilty of. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t find it. I’m not sure if it’s because it has been way too long or if it was because someone’s hiding it.”

Verak’s thought process was reasonable. NPCs that seemed to have a story behind them were definitely bound to give quests with high rewards.

Verak added, “And there’s something that I found strange.”

“What?”

“She…”

“Hello?” a third voice called out while Verak was talking.

“She looks too much like an angel…”

Minhyuk was shocked to hear the third voice ring out from behind them. When he turned around, he saw Aemira trying to act unaffected as she smiled at them.

Minhyuk greeted her in response. “Yes, hello.”

He still did not show much interest or kindness toward her and just tried to focus on what he was trying to do again.

When he took a glance behind him, he saw Aemira stretching her neck as much as possible to see what he was doing. It seemed like she was very curious about it.

After finishing all of the preparations, Minhyuk took a deep breath. This was his first time trying to cook a Pillar Ingredient by himself. If he successfully cooked this Pillar Ingredient, then he would be able to obtain Rocado’s Imperfect Work Gloves. Although Minhyuk did not know what power the work gloves would give him, he was sure that it would be a huge boost to his stagnant Food God’s power.

Aemira asked, “Are you going to cook? Wow! I haven’t seen anyone cook for a thousand years. What are you going to make?”

Minhyuk responded to Aemira’s questions with a simple and curt, “Excuse me, I need to concentrate.”

“Ah… Yes…” Aemira muttered and bowed her head, acting sullenly like a child who had been reprimanded.

Now that she had gone quiet, Minhyuk took another deep breath and began to spread the oil in the heated cauldron. According to the Pillar’s Assorted Pork Set’s description, he was free to choose what kind of cooking method he would use to cook the ingredient. Nonetheless, if he used seasonings or sauces, the resulting dish’s special abilities would be significantly reduced. If he boiled it with water, then the meat might just melt. So, Minhyuk chose to grill it.

Minhyuk immediately placed four slices of samgyeopsal in the heated cauldron.

Sizzle–!

Quick start, quick finish! He intended to grill the meat as quickly as he could. The delicious and delightful sound put a smile on Minhyuk’s face. Now, it had become a source of his concerns.

Sizzle–!

Something was strange.

“...?”

Why was there so much smoke? The smoke filled Minhyuk’s vision. It felt like it was a thousand times more than the smoke emitted when grilling ordinary meat. The smoke even blocked Minhyuk’s view of the grilling samgyeopsal. The only thing that he could hear was the sounds.

[If the samgyeopsal gets burned, the special abilities will decrease significantly.]

[If the samgyeopsal is left undercooked, the special abilities will decrease significantly.]

The catastrophe was just beginning. As the acrid smoke filled the entire space, a tingling sensation started to bloom along Minhyuk’s arms. It seemed like something was wrong with the oil that usually gets splashed when grilling meat!

“Wh-what…”

The oil began to splatter all over Minhyuk’s body.

“Hey, shit! This oil…”

Minhyuk caught a glimpse of the oil that was being hidden by the thick cloud of acrid smoke that blocked his vision. It was almost the size of a fist!

Sizzle!

Minhyuk’s armor sizzled loudly the moment the oil made contact with it. It did not end there. Dozens of such oils shot toward Minhyuk every second.

[Your HP has fallen below 88%.]

[You are suffering from a terrible burn.]

[It will be difficult to move your body.]

Minhyuk could not understand why it would be difficult to move his body when he only suffered from burns.

The answer came to him soon after. A blister formed in the area where the oil splattered on him and immediately swelled to the size of a fist. Then, some kind of liquid began to trickle down from the blister.

[The samgyeopsal will burn in 5 seconds.]

[The samgyeopsal… 4 seconds.]

Minhyuk stretched his hand through the acrid smoke and constantly splattering oil and used the tongs to flip the samgyeopsal. Thankfully, his high DEX allowed him to grab all four samgyeopsal at once and flip it over all at once.

‘Phew. It’s done…’

[The samgyeopsal will burn in 2 seconds.]

Just then, the notification ringing in his ears made him realize something was wrong. Minhyuk extended the tongs once again to flip the samgyeopsal.

Sizzle!

‘What the hell is this…?’

Minhyuk thought he had successfully flipped the meat but soon realized something was wrong. There was no sizzling sound during the first flip; it only sizzled when he flipped it a second time.

‘Right now, are you telling me…’

This cooking was riddled with lies. The first time Minhyuk flipped the meat, the only thing he grabbed was air. What was ridiculous was that he felt it. He clearly felt that he had grabbed something with the tongs.

Blub, blub, blub.

This time, the sound that he could hear through the smoke had changed. The sound of something sizzling turned into the sound of something bubbling.

Minhyuk, who was now covered with oil, felt like his entire body was already burnt to a crisp. Nevertheless, his hands did not stop moving. He continued to grill the samgyeopsal until it had been cooked well and put it on a plate.

‘Phew…’

Fortunately, he was able to cook the samgyeopsal well. He had succeeded in making sure that it was not burnt or undercooked. Minyuk’s high DEX had played a huge part in it. It was also thanks to Minhyuk’s abundant experience in grilling samgyeopsal. This experience allowed him to determine if the meat was already cooked even if he could not see what he was cooking.

‘I still have to grill the moksal[1] and the hangjeongsal[2].’

When he finished cooking the samgyeopsal, the splattering oil and the thick smoke slowly died down.

[Please grill the next piece of meat right away.]

[If you don’t finish grilling the other meat, the grilled samgyeopsal will get cold and the special abilities will significantly decrease.]

Minhyuk wanted to continue after everything had died down, but the notifications would not let him be. He immediately began calculating.

‘The time that it will take to grill the remaining parts of meat…’

The samgyeopsal would have already cooled down by the time that he finished grilling the remaining meat. The notification was basically warning Minhyuk that he would only be able to obtain the full set of special abilities if he finished grilling the remaining meat right away.

Despite suffering tremendous damage from cooking the samgyeopsal alone, Minhyuk gritted his teeth and placed both the moksal and the hangjeongsal together in the still hot cauldron.

While the moksal could cover a large area in the cauldron, the hangjeongsal was only as thin as a finger. The only difference is in their amount. The hangjeongsal might be cut thinly, but there were many pieces of it.

Thick and acrid smoke rose from the cauldron. At the same time, the temperature also rose.

‘Why is it so hot?’

Minhyuk looked around in confusion.

“Wh-what the hell?”

That was when he saw a huge wall blocking his back while red-hot and burning charcoals surrounded him. The temperature grew higher and higher by the second.

[You are inside the Fantasy Charcoal Pit.]

[You are the only one affected by the charcoal pit.]

Minhyuk had seen once on the television how they cooked samgyeopsal in just ten seconds by putting it in a shovel and shoving it deep inside a heated charcoal pit. And right now, he was inside that very same charcoal pit.

He was sweating from the heat, and blisters once again appeared all over his body.

“Ugh!” Minhyuk groaned.

Even though Minhyuk had a high resistance to the fire attribute, the heat was just too much.

On top of that, his vision was being blocked while his consciousness was being confused by the acrid smoke. This left his senses feeling dull while he was grilling the meat. Minhyuk’s consciousness slowly turned faint and distant. Thankfully, his high DEX shone through and displayed its prowess to make up for the gap created by his distracted mind.

[Your high DEX has increased your resistance with the Fire Attribute. You can continue cooking.]

The Fantasy Charcoal Pit’s appearance was proof that only someone with an extremely high DEX could endure and cook this ingredient.

Minhyuk stretched his hand through the acrid smoke and grabbed the meat with his tongs and flipped it. This time, he still could not hear the sizzle. So, Minhyuk once again stretched his hand out and flipped the meat again.

Minhyuk gave it his all to drag himself out of the dizziness and the distraction.

[You have received a special privilege for your DEX.]

Tiny dots that were almost imperceptible through the thick smoke appeared blinking in Minhyuk’s vision. Those were the places where the meat exactly was.

“Keuaaaaaa!” Minhyuk screamed loudly as he grabbed the tongs with both hands and pushed it through the smoke.

He grabbed three tiny dots—in other words, three pieces of moksal—with his tongs all at once.

Sizzle!

This time the loud sizzling of meat rang in his ears when he flipped it.

Minhyuk, who was immersed in the illusion created by the Pillar Assorted Pork Set, watched as the door to the charcoal pit opened. For a moment, Minhyuk wondered if a cool and refreshing wind was just about to blow at him.

The problem was that he was not greeted by a cool wind but by a huge shovel filled with burning red coal. The shovel tipped down, and the charcoal fell on Minhyuk's head, which was infinitely small compared to the gigantic charcoal kiln.

Sizzle!

“Keok!!!”

Minhyuk felt like his entire body was melting. Despite knowing that it was nothing more than an illusion, he still could not help but scream from the pain that felt far too real. Even his invincible body could not resist the effects of this illusion.

“Keuaaaaaaack!!!”

Thankfully, the Divine Will was triggered and helped him to continue on. His DEX, which had been slightly increased when he entered this place, was now showing the dots representing the hangjeongsal.

There were ten red dots blinking through the thick smoke. He stretched his tongs out and flipped one… two… three… four… five… six… pieces of the meat.

Sizzle!

Unfortunately, Minhyuk’s mental power has been drained. Although he tried to rely on his DEX, his vision had grown far too blurry, and he could no longer see the blinking red dot.

The exhausted Minhyuk was already almost on the point of collapse.

‘Am I going to fail?’

Minhyuk could faintly tell that the Pillar’s Assorted Pork Set would be spoiled the moment he fell down and collapsed.

At that moment, an unknown voice rang in his ears. “I-I’ll help you!”

Minhyuk was left confused when he heard the voice. This was because it seemed to belong to Aemira, the woman who was punished by being trapped in a small circle of space.

“Keuaaaaaack!!!” Aemira’s screams echoed in the auspicious site as a notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[Aemira, the master of the land, has started to increase the power of the auspicious site.]

Then, a huge light burst from the land where Minhyuk was standing.

[The effects of the Good and Evil Auspicious Site have grown better.]

[Your reinforcement rate, artifact production rate and the rate of creating higher grade dishes will increase by 27%~40%.]

[Your DEX has increased by 24%.]

Minhyuk’s blurry vision cleared up, and he was able to see the red dots better. Using the last of his strength, he stretched out his trembling hands to flip the remaining dots with his tongs.

After struggling for 25 more seconds, Minhyuk successfully removed the moksal and the hangjeongsal from the cauldron and placed it into the plate. Then, he promptly collapsed. As his consciousness drifted off, a series of notifications rang in his ears.

[You have completed the Pillar Quest: Successfully Create Something using a Pillar Ingredient or Pillar Artifact.]

[You have obtained the Imperfect Work Gloves.]

He blacked out.

1. pork neck ☜

2. pork jowl ☜