Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1097

Minhyuk received grace and kindness from Aemira. Without her help, he would have failed to cook the Pillar Ingredient.

‘Just thinking about that moment is enough to make me feel like I’m about to faint again.’

Failing would mean he could not acquire the Imperfect Work Gloves and, worse, the disappearance of the Pillar Ingredient. Perhaps it would also spell the end of the quest to find Rocado’s power.

The help that Aemira had given him was like a timely rain. That was why Minhyuk planned to give it his all to fulfill her request.

“Can you please kill me?”

Until he heard her words.

“...”

Even though there was a vast and bright smile, Aemira looked like she was about to cry.

The flustered Minhyuk looked at her in confusion. Then, at that moment, a notification rang.

Ring!

[Hidden Quest: Aemira’s Request]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: The one who received Aemira’s request.

Rewards: Skill - Auspicious Site

Penalty for Failure: Aemira’s favor will drop.

Description: When you told Aemira that you would help her once with a request, she spoke unbelievable words and asked you to kill her. However, the reward is lovely and tempting. Let’s think about this carefully.

When Minhyuk clicked on the skill name “Auspicious Site,” detailed information popped out. Despite being able to create an auspicious site with a smaller effect than the auspicious site made by Aemira, the reward could still be considered to be ridiculously shocking.

According to the skill description, Minhyuk could make an auspicious site with an area that covered a 150-meter radius around him and be the master of the land. Inside this auspicious site, one’s DEX would increase by 3%, and the probability of successfully creating something with a higher grade would also increase by 3%.

The effects might be insignificant compared to Aemira’s auspicious site, but the fact that he could create an auspicious site with an area covering a 150-meter radius was already cheat-like and overpowered enough.

Nevertheless, Minhyuk still chose to put the quest on hold. He continued to look at Aemira in confusion.

“I just want to feel comfort finally.”

With these words, he understood why she said that before.

“I don’t want to feel lonely anymore.

“I want to be rid of this place.”

That was why Aemira told him to kill her.

Minhyuk’s lips turned dry as he looked at the girl silently. As he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth without being able to say anything, he realized that Aemira’s mind and body were restless and uneasy.

‘The beings from Heaven might be stopping her from going crazy, but in a way, it could already be considered a great feat for her to maintain that level of sanity and mentality.’

If it were Minhyuk, he might have already been unable to voice his thoughts.

“Let’s talk first.”

Ever since he contracted his eating addiction, Minhyuk had undergone countless psychiatric counseling and personal counseling from Jinhwan. Every single time, the words, ‘I want to die,’ ‘I want to feel comfort,’ and ‘I want to live normally, too’ would come out of his mouth.

He recalled the words that his psychiatrist would often say while holding his hand tightly and flashing a small smile at him.

“Do you want to die? Don’t you have things you want to do?”

“Things I want to do?”

Delight suddenly flashed on Aemira’s face. This was because this was the first time someone asked her if she wanted to do something.

“Uhm… I want to see the sky. I heard that the sky is a wonderful thing that stretches far and wide?”

“...?”

“I read from the book that birds will fly in them, and it will sometimes rain or snow!”

At that moment, Minhyuk noticed something. ‘She… has been here from the very beginning.’

Was that accurate? Minhyuk looked around. Although this place was the Boundary Between Good and Evil, it seemed to be modeled after Hell. The sky was dark without any twinkling stars in sight, and the entire place was filled with gloom.

“I want to see the sea. I also want to run barefoot on the sandy beaches by the sea!

“Ah! I also want to try drinking alcohol! I want to get drunk to the point that everything around me starts to shake!

“And wasn’t there something called food that makes you feel full? I want to try that thing called food. The thing that you ate earlier was food, right?

“Ah! I also want to try that thing called love! I want to feel that unknown feeling!”

As Minhyuk listened to Aemira’s non-stop wishes, he realized that she genuinely did not want to die. Would it make sense for someone like her, who wanted to do a lot of things, to want to die just like that? At the same time, he felt a dull ache in his chest.

All of the things that Aemira wanted were ordinary and mundane.

Minhyuk had been living as Athenae’s Supreme for quite some time now. During that time, he had unknowingly developed “sense.” It was shouting and telling him, ‘There’s something here.’ He did not know what it was, but his sense warned him not to overlook it.

After looking at the flushed and non-stop chattering Aemira, Minhyuk finally decided. He thought, ‘I will believe in my senses. I will not accept the quest.’

[You have rejected the Hidden Quest: Aemira’s Request.]

Ring!

[The quest will now change.]

[The Hidden Quest: Something Concealed has been created.]

[Hidden Quest: Concealed Case]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: The one who received Aemira’s request.

Rewards: Aemira’s favor will dramatically increase.

Penalty for Failure: Aemira’s favor will decrease.

Description: You have turned down Aemira’s request. Because of that, you have to find another way to help her. Find the case that has been concealed, destroy the prison that traps her, and save her! Go to Heaven’s Library and check the ‘Case Reports.’

Minhyuk knew his senses were correct when he saw that the quest had changed. A quest was sometimes a telltale sign of something about to happen or something that had been hidden. The quest mentioned something “concealed,” which meant a truth was hidden behind everything.

At this moment, a hypothesis formed in Minhyuk’s head. ‘Aemira said she had no answer when I asked her why she was trapped here.’

Minhyuk did not understand what she meant. That was until he got this quest.

‘The reason why she can’t answer is because she doesn’t know.’

There was a high chance that Aemira did not even know what kind of crime she had committed and why she was trapped in this terrible prison. But there was one thing that Minhyuk was sure of: that he needed to go to Heaven.

Before going to Heaven, Minhyuk approached Aemira, who was still talking like a chatterbox.

“Aemira.”

“Yes!” Aemira, who was talking non-stop, looked at Minhyuk.

“Would you like to come with me if you can leave this place?”

Of course, Minhyuk wanted to repay her kindness, but he also knew that she would be of great help to him and the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

‘If we have her power to create auspicious sites, then…’

If Minhyuk had Aemira by his side, he could create a better dish every single time. The fact that she could make an auspicious site with an area covering a 500-meter radius was enough to attract people with outstanding DEX to Beyond the Heavens Empire.

‘And if we also consider the other powers she has not yet shown, then…’

Aemira was a woman with far greater power than he had expected. Nevertheless, he extended this offer to her, not because of greed. Minhyuk would respect her choice. If she did not want to, he would make sure that he helped her leave this place and settle somewhere else.

With a tearful look, Aemira asked, “C-can I really leave this place?”

It seemed like the thought of it alone was enough to make her feel overwhelmed with emotions.

“If I follow you, then… what kind of place will we go to?” The trembling Aemira asked.

Minhyuk chuckled. “It’s a place where you can go and visit the blue sea immediately. A place where you can stand in the middle of the street and look at the vast and endless sky at any time.”

Tears started to drip down her eyes when she heard those words.

“It’s a place brimming with delicious food and kind and nice people. I am the emperor ruling that place.”

A smile broke out on Aemira’s face.

Then, Minhyuk asked, “Aemira, would you like to be one of my people?”

“YES!!!” Aemira shouted as she clenched her fists tightly. It seemed like she was desperate to get out of this place truly.

Minhyuk was shocked by her loud voice, which almost pierced his eardrums. Nevertheless, he smiled as he looked at her. This was because he could see her willingness to live in her eyes.

Now, it was time for Minhyuk to make a move. Before leaving, he made sure to give Verak his orders.

“You want me to call that person here?”

“If my assumptions are correct, then the God of Death has only given me a pass because I said that I was going to the Boundary Between Good and Evil. As for you, you stay here with Aemira.”

“I understand. Are you going to enter Heaven? Can you even enter Heaven?”

To cross Hell, one needed to obtain a pass. So, there was a chance that the same was true for Heaven. Even though Minhyuk did not know if he could enter, he still began walking toward Heaven.

And Verak? He thought that Minhyuk would return immediately if he failed to enter Heaven. But Minhyuk did not come back.

‘He must have entered Heaven?’

Since Minhyuk had ordered Verak to stay with Aemira, he thought he should follow his emperor’s command and converse with the girl.

“I want to try that too!

“I remembered it now!

“I want to try that thing called cake too!”

“...?”

Verak stared at Aemira, who had not stopped talking since earlier. After seven hours, Aemira turned to the dozing Verak and said, “Excuse me! I thought of another thing that I want to do!”

“Ah… Oh… Hmm! Yes!”

Aemira did not stop speaking for over seven hours!

***

Minhyuk finally arrived in front of the sky-high transparent barrier covered with a colorful aura. This barrier separated Heaven from this place.

‘Now… How do I get into Heaven?’

Minhyuk had never encountered an angel, let alone an archangel. He could only silently stretch out his hand and touch the transparent barrier.

Swoosh–

“Huh?”

Minhyuk’s hand quickly passed through the barrier.

[The holy power you possess far surpasses the angels’ holy power.]

[You can enter Heaven.]

“...That was easy.”

Although Minhyuk said that, the truth was something else. After all, most of the priests’ holy power could never go beyond the angels. It was only possible because Minhyuk’s holy power was beyond imagination.

‘Do I have to reveal myself to go inside the library?’

The answer to that was a resounding no. Minhyuk did not need to clash against the beings of Heaven for nothing. So, he quickly took out the Great Demon Verus’ Mask.

When Minhyuk entered, he met some of the beings of Heaven. Even though they were angels, they did not have those shiny rings made of golden light floating above their heads and looked literally like humans.

Minhyuk hurriedly changed into one of them. At the end of the road, a magnificent tower stretched up high.

[Archangels’ Tower]

Minhyuk walked towards that tower. Some floors in the Archangels’ Tower seemed open to all beings of Heaven. Minhyuk could enter the tower’s first floor without undergoing any identification process.

He stopped one of the heavenly dwellers and asked, “Excuse me. Where’s the library?”

This place was no different from the human world. The Heaven’s Library, located in the tower, was available to everyone. When he followed the instructions and entered the library, he was met with a mysterious place filled with tens of thousands of bookshelves that were around six meters in height.

‘There’s no way that this is the true library.’

According to the quest, he had to check the Case Reports in the library. This meant that there was a case report file somewhere near here. It would be an essential item, but there was no place where it could have been hidden.

At that moment, Minhyuk saw a firmly closed door made of light.

[No entry for unauthorized personnel.]

“...”

Minhyuk was rendered speechless by how similar things were to the human world. There was a high chance that the essential things in this library were in there. So, the question was: how would he get inside?

At that moment, he saw many people greeting an old man who looked like a librarian.

“Are you going out to eat?”

“I’ll be back in an hour. And Lunaval, aren’t you going to clean up that pile of books over there?! Bandera! Mop the floor!”

Minhyuk immediately moved to a place in the library hidden from the heavenly dwellers' eyes. Then, he changed his face to the face of the old man who went out to eat. When the old man disappeared completely, he returned with his hand behind his back.

Minhyuk was quite good at lying. No, it was more apt to say he was very good at it.

“Elder Rundalla, why did you come back?”

“There’s something that I forgot to finish inside. Hmm…” Minhyuk hummed as he patted his body. “My key…”

“Yes? Your key?” The librarian looked at him in confusion. He knew that Rundalla was not the type of person who would forget his keys.

“No, Lunaval! Didn’t I tell you to clean up that pile of books?!” Minhyuk mimicked the angry expression on the old man’s face earlier.

With cold sweat dripping down his forehead, the librarian hurriedly handed the set of keys to avoid being nagged at. “H-here. Please take this first. I’ll go and clean it up right away!”

The keys with “Authorized Personnel” written on them landed in Minhyuk’s hands easily. He immediately grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Then, another library appeared on the other side of the door.

‘Is it here?’

Minhyuk shook his head. It shouldn’t be in a place like this. He looked down at the set of keys in his hands—the names of the doors they opened were written on every single one. Among the keys, he saw one with the words “Heaven’s Cases and Judgement Log” written on it.

Minhyuk went to a few doors and finally found the corresponding door. When he opened the correct door, he was met with a huge pile of documents and books organized neatly yet cramped inside the room. One look, and he felt like he was already being suffocated.

‘At this rate, I don’t know how long it will take me to find it…’

Fortunately, the notifications rang at that moment.

[You have made progress on the Hidden Quest: Concealed Case.]

At that moment, a bright light shone among the tens of thousands of case logs. Minhyuk, who saw the shining light, picked up the case log. Then…

[You can now view the Concealed Case.]

[Would you like to watch it?]

Of course, Minhyuk chose to watch it. At the same time, shocking scenes passed by his eyes. He watched the full story of the incident, the truth that he had uncovered, and the imprisonment of the innocent Aemira unfold in front of his eyes.

Minhyuk’s eyes almost popped out of his sockets after watching everything. He had now learned of the entire truth of the matter.

‘These f*cking bastards…’

“Elder Rundalla, didn’t you go out to eat?”

“...?”

Right before he was overcome with anger, Minhyuk heard footsteps getting closer and closer to where he was. Right now, Minhyuk had only sneaked inside this place. What he did right now was trespassing. As the next Battle God, there might be dire consequences if he were found out.

Click, click, click–

The doorknob clicked and began to turn.