Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1120

When Minhyuk began hitting the Infinite Meteor, he realized that it did not require as much DEX as he thought it would. So, he immediately racked his brain.

The Food God’s Almighty Tool could transform into the form of anything that Minhyuk wanted. Also, 50% of Minhyuk’s DEX would be applied to the tool once it took form. With the Food God’s Almighty Tool’s two tools in effect, Minhyuk estimated that he could make a move to prevent the falling gigantic meteor while continuing to hit the Infinite Meteor simultaneously.

And Minhyuk’s assumptions were correct. However, the appearance of the largest and toughest meteor, which looked as big as a mountain, created another variable. Minhyuk appeared before Rundalk to block the gigantic meteor that would kill the King of Destruction if it ever hit him.

When fighting in a battle with the presence of others, Minhyuk often chose to hide most of his powers. This was not because he wanted to reveal his power later but because he could observe and look at the power and abilities of the people with him.

The candidates were all outstanding. If they were in the outside world, they would definitely be considered strong. But they would probably be devoured. The current era was filled with countless powerhouses who were far stronger than them. One of those powerhouses was none other than Minhyuk.

“Supreme Overlord’s Technique.”

Crackle–!

Flames surged out from the blade of Minhyuk’s sword and shot out toward the rapidly falling gigantic meteor.

Crackle, crackle–!

Most of the meteor’s durability had been wasted by Rundalk, which could be seen from the cracks that decorated its surface.

Crack, crack, crack!

Like that, the Supreme Overlord’s Technique’s blazing flames made contact and pierced through the gigantic meteor.

Bang–!

The gigantic meteor exploded. At the same time, both Minhyuk and Rundalk felt danger coming their way.

“Please go!” The Shield Pillar Candidate shouted. Ignoring the dozens of Supreme Monarchs surrounding him, he squeezed the last of his strength and sent it toward Minhyuk and Rundalk.

[Absolute Barrier.]

[The Absolute Barrier will last for 30 seconds.]

[Your movement speed will increase by 20% in the entire 30-second duration of the Absolute Barrier.]

“Keuaaaaaaack!”

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

“A-aaaaaaack!”

“King of Destruction, please go ahead!”

Rundalk looked back at his men.

One of them said, “Did you think that we’re unaware? We know that this is your final chance!”

Rundalk was not a good leader and monarch. He had used force to suppress them and even forced them to join him. Somehow, at one point, Rundalk grew fond of them. Of course, as time passed, these people also grew fond of him. And these people, who had grown to love and cherish Rundalk, knew that the death of their king this time would lead to his eternal and complete extinction.

Rundalk, who thought that perhaps this would be the last time he would see them, bowed lightly. At the same time, hundreds of Supreme Monarchs appeared and attacked the remaining candidates.

Minhyuk and Rundalk left them behind and began to run toward the Pandemonium’s Meteor.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk felt highly delighted.

[You have destroyed the most enormous meteor.]

[You have obtained 1,153 Asteroid Fragments for destroying the largest meteor.]

[If you are forced to log out, all of the Asteroid Fragments in your possession will be destroyed.]

In Pandemonium’s Meteor, all of the fragments that Minhyuk collected would be destroyed if he was forced to log out. Even so, Minhyuk did not use them yet.

‘Perhaps this will be the only solution.’

Minhyuk understood Athenae’s system and how it worked more than anybody else. That was why he was holding back on using them.

Even though the Meteor Summon had stopped, remnants were still falling nonstop. Rundalk and Minhyuk either avoided them or smashed them apart. They might be protected by the Absolute Barrier and would not receive any damage, but if they collided with a meteor, they might just risk falling again.

Thankfully, the small meteors quickly broke apart from the dozens of swings of Minhyuk’s Dual Swordsmanship Technique.

[You have acquired 31 Asteroid Fragments.]

[You have acquired 22 Asteroid Fragments.]

[You have acquired 13 Asteroid Fragments.]

Unlike Rundalk, Minhyuk obtained Asteroid Fragments from the meteors he smashed and destroyed.

Meanwhile, Rundalk was overcome with worry as he continued to run forward with Minhyuk.

‘There’s only the two of us left.’

For one, he has never ever crossed the halfway point. And it was apparent that greater danger awaited them from this point forward.

Rundalk glanced at Minhyuk. He was only grateful that this young man would be revived without penalties and would not suffer from complete extinction like him.

‘That’s truly a relief.’

The truth was, Rundalk knew that their chances of getting to where his daughter was being kept were very slim, so he did not hold much hope.

The two kept on running as fast as they could. Not long after, they entered another area.

[You have entered the second point.]

[Pandemonium’s Battlefield has started.]

[If you exchanged even a single Asteroid Fragment before entering Pandemonium’s Battlefield, all of your remaining Asteroid Fragments will be destroyed.]

Minhyuk grinned when he heard the notifications.

‘As expected. This is how they will stop us from reaching the Supreme.’

At this moment, Minhyuk confirmed that his assumptions and predictions were correct.

***

Pandemonium’s Meteor was a stage that Chaos created for Rundalk, designed so that Rundalk, who had killed the evaluators of the past, would be unable to reach the Final Meteor.

The Final Meteor was located at the end of Pandemonium’s Meteor. And inside it lay a slumbering little girl who was bathing in light. The light that covered the girl protected her from all of the danger in this place.

And because time did not flow in Pandemonium, the little girl did not age a single day for thousands of years. If the little girl woke up, she would feel like she had just woken up from a good and long sleep.

One person looked at the girl in annoyance. He believed that this girl would never wake up. This person was none other than the Supreme Sovereign, who was tasked with protecting the slumbering little girl.

‘Why do I, an evaluator, have to do something like this?’

To be exact, the man was not the Supreme Sovereign. He was none other than Captain Evaluator Ruba. Whenever intruders enter the Pandemonium’s Meteor, he would take on the mantle of the Supreme Sovereign. Ruba’s mission was simple: to stop Rundalk from coming here while maintaining the proper level of difficulty.

In this place, Ruba possessed the power of the Supreme Sovereign and its appearance. Perhaps no one could recognize who he was if they saw him here.

‘No one can fathom Lord Chaos.’

Chaos had ordered Ruba to set a moderate difficulty level if Rundalk reached this place. If it were up to him, he would set the highest level of difficulty and make the man feel despair in front of his daughter.

‘Is he thinking that he has already received enough punishment?’

Ruba believed Lord Chaos was a soft-hearted being who would suffer from being taken advantage of.

[The intruders have passed through the halfway point of the Pandemonium’s Meteor.]

[They will soon enter the Pandemonium’s Battlefield.]

“...?!”

Ruba had seen Ruba and the candidates attempt to enter this place several times. In all their attempts, they had failed to cross the halfway point. He waved his arm in the space covered with darkness in front of him.

Swoosh–!

The universe split. Then, a bright light appeared and showed the figure of Rundalk, who had entered the Pandemonium’s Battlefield.

‘How the hell was he able to cross the halfway point?’ Ruba wondered. At that moment, a very familiar face appeared in his eyes.

‘The Candidate of Gourmands?!’

Ruba still could not forget the shame and disgrace he suffered back then. They had always been treated with courtesy and respect, but when they went to Beyond the Heavens Empire, they were treated with contempt and disgust. They had also been trampled by Minhyuk and the Transcendentals once. Of course, that was before their seals had been released.

‘Of all places, why did you have to come here, you bastard?’

A thick smile appeared on Ruba’s face. Anyway, he managed this place. At this moment, Ruba decided he would never let them take this little girl away.

‘Of course, I won’t deny that the bibimbap he threw at us was very delicious.’

Even though he was furious at Minhyuk, Ruba could not forget the mouth-watering bibimbap he had thrown at them then.

***

Additional notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears when he entered the Pandemonium’s Battlefield.

[Please break through the Pandemonium’s Battlefield within five minutes.]

[If you fail to break through within five minutes, you will die.]

[Supreme Soldiers and Supreme Knights will constantly gather around you.]

[The Supreme Soldiers and Supreme Knights have been nurtured and raised by the power of the Supreme Sovereign.]

The two tried to jump out at the same time.

[All of your movements will be restricted for five seconds.]

Just like runners waiting at the starting point for the gun to fire, signaling the start of the race, the two could not move at all.

Not long after, the Supreme Soldiers and Supreme Knights appeared before them. Their numbers formed a vast, black sea. They could not estimate at all. Perhaps they were in the thousands? Tens of thousands? Maybe hundreds of thousands? No. Their numbers seemed to be in the hundreds of millions.

The two felt breathless when they saw them almost fill out the entire universe around them.

[Supreme Soldier. Level 729.]

[Supreme Knight. Level 845.]

And even their levels were high.

[The Supreme Sovereign increases the power of the Supreme Soldiers and Supreme Knights.]

[Supreme Soldier. Level 766.]

[Supreme Knight. Level 899.]

Minhyuk and Rundalk frowned at the sudden increase in difficulty.

[A Pandemonium’s Black Hole has appeared.]

Rundalk explained Pandemonium’s Black Hole earlier. The Pandemonium’s Black Hole was the only place where time flowed in the entire Pandemonium.

[Those devoured by the Pandemonium’s Black Hole have to do and repeat a series of actions for as long as the time flowing inside that black hole.]

[Failure to repeat a series of actions will lead to death.]

Rundalk said, “The time flowing in the Pandemonium’s Black Hole is around one to two weeks. This means you have to repeat a series of actions for that time. From what I heard, you have done something similar before.”

Rundalk shook his head.

“Even so, you still have to be careful. No one can keep their sanity after being devoured by the black hole and staying there for two weeks…”

[The Pandemonium’s Black Hole is being strengthened.]

[The amount of time flowing inside the Pandemonium’s Black Hole has been doubled.]

[Those devoured by the Pandemonium’s Black Hole will only be devoured for three seconds in reality.]

“It seems meaningless to endure something like this now.” Rundalk sighed. “I’m sorry. I know this has nothing to do with you but I still got you involved.”

“It’s fine. Of course, I accepted it because I hope to get my due reward.”

Minhyuk liked Rundalk. Nonetheless, he was not doing this just because he wanted him to meet his daughter. He just wanted the rewards.

“There’s only the two of us here…” Rundalk complained.

Minhyuk tried to say something.

[Start!]

They did not have any time. If they did not get out of this place within five minutes, then the two of them would die.

At that moment, more than ten large black holes appeared above them. The black holes covered almost everything above them as they crept up on them. At the same time, the countless Supreme Knights and Supreme Soldiers also began charging toward them. Fortunately, they did not have infinite HP like the Supreme Monarchs.

Minhyuk and Rundalk charged forward at the same time.

“The Annihilator’s Sword.”

Shwaaaaaa–!

Bright light erupted from Minhyuk’s sword and cut down the charging crowd before him, creating a path they could run through.

“Supreme Swordsmanship.”

Over a hundred sword lights shot out from Rundalk’s sword and slashed the swarming enemies.

Not long after, the two collided with the flocking enemies. Despite the sea of Supreme Soldiers and Supreme Knights blocking their path, the sight of them advancing little by little was truly spectacular.

And Rundalk? He was amazed. ‘He’s this strong?’

When Minhyuk destroyed the gigantic meteor, Rundalk already knew the young man was stronger than they thought. Seeing him now made him realize his strength and power were beyond what they had imagined. From what he could see, many candidates were far worse than him. Even more shocking to Rundalk was that Minhyuk was not receiving more damage than expected despite him allowing attacks to land on him.

The two leaped forward simultaneously and trampled the knights and soldiers beneath them. They ran atop them as if they were running on flat ground.

Swoosh, swoosh–!

Fwoosh–!

Minhyuk used Like the Wind whenever a path was opened between the knights and soldiers, while Rundalk used his Supreme Steps.

[Four kilometers left to your target destination.]

“...!”

Rundalk was busy trying to break through with all his might and saw something they had overlooked. They had been so distracted by opening up a path and running to their destination that they forgot the almost fifteen black holes creeping up on them.

In just a blink, a black hole appeared above Minhyuk. The swirling darkness within the black hole opened its maw and devoured Minhyuk.

“Minhyuk…!” Rundalk tried to shout at Minhyuk, but he could not because a black hole had also appeared above him.

The quick-witted Minhyuk hurriedly struck Rundalk.

Bang–!

The attack sent Rundalk flying away, allowing him to escape the area where the black hole was. Rundalk jumped up just in time to see Minhyuk get sucked inside the never-ending darkness of the black hole.

Shwaaaaa–!

Just like that, Minhyuk disappeared into the black hole.

[The Pandemonium’s Black Hole requires you to repeat a series of actions for one month!]

The time flowing inside each black hole should have only been one or two weeks. But it suddenly doubled to four weeks or so. This meant that Minhyuk had to repeat a series of actions for that duration while inside the black hole.

Then, something strange happened. The other black holes gathered around the black hole that sucked Minhyuk in and began to stack themselves up in layers. With this, he would be sucked inside one of the other black holes the moment he got out of one. The sight was utterly beyond anyone’s comprehension.

It was as if the black holes were targeting Minhyuk, or someone was controlling them to target Minhyuk.

‘Damn it!’

Rundalk, who could continue moving forward with Minhyuk’s help, was left alone. Having consumed considerable power, the Supreme Soldiers and Supreme Knights began to gather around him in layers.

Just when Rundalk was about to succumb to despair from the overwhelming and crushing numbers of enemies surrounding him, a shocking notification rang in his ears.

[One Pandemonium’s Black Hole has been cleared.]

“...?!”

Rundalk’s gaze turned to the black hole that sucked Minhyuk in. Right above that black hole, he saw the afterimage of Minhyuk swinging his sword passing by. The scene was moving too fast, as if it had been fast-forwarded tens of thousands of times. The scene of Minhyuk swinging his sword for one month was shown instantly.

Not long after, the black hole that devoured Minhyuk scattered like smoke, and he appeared again. Alas, another black hole was waiting for him. It immediately devoured him.

[One Pandemonium’s Black Hole has been cleared.]

[One Pandemonium’s Black Hole has been cleared.]

[One Pandemonium’s Black Hole has been cleared.]

“...?”

The Pandemonium’s Black Holes that devoured Minhyuk disappeared one after another.

At that moment, Beradon's words to Rundalk rang in his ears once again. Beradon said the young man was a genuine and honest hard worker. He could repeat a series of actions for weeks without taking breaks.

When Beradon told the young man to stop putting in so much effort, Minhyuk replied.

–Indeed, the path that I have taken is difficult. But looking back, it’s still more beautiful than any other road, no?