Leveling Up through Eating

Chaos witnessed how the warmth and gentleness disappeared from Minhyuk’s face and were replaced with a greedy look that made him look like the Evil. He had observed the man for quite a while and knew that he was not the Good or the Evil.

‘He acts strong against the strong and weak against the weak.’

Minhyuk treated those who were strong with an even stronger and fiercer behavior and said, “I am the one who broke that egg. However, in the name of ‘the balance of the world,’ you have restricted the reward that could help me strengthen myself. And now, I no longer have any rewards.”

[Chaos offers you the God’s Ore Pordachnium.]

His words were valid. So, Chaos offered an ore that not even the gods have in their hands. It was an excellent ore that could quickly reinforce an artifact without even going through the smelting process. One only had to bring it close to the artifact, and the reinforcement process would be completed. And there was not even any restriction on the artifact. It could be applied to any sword or armor, whether it was the Sword of Aeon or the Transcendental’s Armor.

‘This is enough, right?’

Chaos looked at the ore as it fell on Minhyuk’s hand.

“I refuse.”

“...?”

Chaos, who was trying to collect the twitching “Growth Devourer” in the remains of the egg, or rather, the unhatched version, paused.

“First. Do you think restricting my level-up by thirty is a great reward for such a feat?”

Indeed, the reward was not enough. However, even though Minhyuk refused the ore Pordachnium, he did not give it back and kept it in his inventory.

“???”

“This reward should be enough for the quest Unqualified One.”

Minhyuk had suffered an enormous loss. On a scale of 1 to 100, the effort and hard work that he had put in was 100. The problem was that the return was only a 20.

Chaos looked at Minhyuk with interest. He was the absolute god, different from the Absolute Gods. If God of Origin Athenae was considered the heavens, then Chaos was the earth.

“Let’s talk about the title Pioneer. The rewards I have been given are minimal compared to the achievements I have made so far.”

Chaos was startled. Initially, the “title” was supposed to give Minhyuk rewards appropriate to the person's achievements. Minhyuk had already reaped huge rewards during the process. Because of that, Chaos deemed it necessary to suppress the power of the title Pioneer and stopped it from being triggered.

He was the one in charge of the “balance” of Athenae. He did it to maintain the balance and not let it collapse.

Players who did not think too deeply about matters like this would probably just think, ‘Ah, I must not have met the requirements to obtain the achievement.’ And they would not think about it any further.

Minhyuk was different. He knew full well what was happening right now.

“Then, there’s also the fact that you have restricted ‘Transcendence’ and will not allow its accumulation with attacks from recognized allies.”

Simply put, Chaos was a living and breathing update and patch system. There was nothing in the world that was perfect. And he was brought to life to make up for what this world lacked.

“This is making me uncomfortable. Shouldn’t you have written it like that initially, huh?”

There was no such restriction in the Transcendence before. The restriction of accumulation from attacks of recognized allies was a sudden thing. This was because Chaos determined that Minhyul’s sudden and instant increase in power was enough to make the balance collapse.

“Let’s return to the title Pioneer once again, shall we?”

Minhyuk’s words were sharp as he turned to the ladybird beetle.

“The Supreme Dish.

“The Supreme Monarch’s Hunt.

“Helenia’s Hunt.

The antennae on the head of Chaos, who was in the form of a ladybird beetle, flinched.

What would have happened if Minhyuk had been given the reward for the achievement that he had made when he successfully made the Supreme Dish? Then, what about the achievement that he had made after successfully hunting the Supreme Monarch? Then, what about Helenia’s hunt?

He had been able to make shocking and enormous achievements so far. If they followed the Pioneer’s effects and paid him the rewards and the world message he deserved for the achievements he had made so far, then Minhyuk might have already toppled the entire Luvien Empire by now.

That was why Chaos restricted it. There was nothing wrong with what Minhyuk was saying.

“Ah. There’s also the most important thing.” Minhyuk pointed to the egg that Chaos was trying to collect. The Growth Devourer was still twitching and alive inside of the broken remains of the egg. “I had a hard time breaking that thing, right? Well, you’re not going to ignore that fact, no? It was not your Pillar Evaluators who broke that egg. So, do you restrict everything as long as you want it?”

Chaos’ antennae trembled. For the first time, he opened his mouth and said, “From the very beginning, that’s something that has been applied to this land…”

“Ah, is that so? Then, you wouldn’t have any problem if I spread that worldwide, right? You say that it has been applied from the beginning, but where in the world is it written? Where?”

His words were not only meant for Chaos to hear but also for President Kang Taehoon and the operators of Athenae. Minhyuk was extremely angry right now.

“In the first place, you find it very disadvantageous for you, so you decided to switch it up at the last minute.”

If this was something that has been applied from the beginning, then everyone should have been made aware of it from the start. Nonetheless, none of the players even knew about a restriction on the amount of EXP one could gain in a single day.

“That’s an excuse you have made up right here and now.”

Minhyuk had concluded this. Of course, Minhyuk was just one of the players. He was fully aware that he did not have the right to discuss updates or patches.

“These updates and patches seem to be targeting me. What, do you want me just to sit back and watch you do it?”

Minhyuk knew that all of the updates, changes, and patches being applied to the game were intended to suppress him.

That was right. If God of Origin Athenae and Chaos, who controlled the world, made the same significant changes and updates to suppress everyone, no one would argue and rebel. But the situation right now was different.

“These things were only applied to me.” Minhyuk pointed his thumb at his chest.

Were they worried he could obtain more significant and better rewards because he was too outstanding? Then, they should not have made it so someone could get them in the first place.

There was a reason why Minhyuk could confidently behave like this in front of Chaos.

‘Would the one in charge of the balance of the world dare to give someone a penalty just because they rebelled against him? And to top it off, the words that I said were not wrong, no?’

If Chaos did that, there would be no “balance” in and of itself. Chaos, who tried to call it quits with just a single “ore,” knew that Minhyuk’s brilliance was something he was born with. It was his natural right.

Chaos stared at Minhyuk’s eyes directly and silently for a long time. Then, he bowed his head and said, “I admit that.”

Even the officials and executives of Joy Co. Ltd., who were watching this scene in the conference room, sighed.

“It’s true. There’s nothing that I can say about it.”

“...”

Indeed. Just as Chaos admitted, Joy Co. Ltd. could not deny it. Everything that Minhyuk said was correct. Joy Co. Ltd. promoted fairness to every player, yet they were heaping updates, changes, and patches to suppress a single outstanding player.

“You admit it?”

Chaos nodded. “I will open my store for you.”

“A store?” Minhyuk looked at Chaos in confusion.

Meanwhile, the officials and executives of Joy Co. Ltd. were all left stunned.

Both God of Origin Athenae and Chaos had their stores. The two absolute beings’ stores were filled with countless rare and unique items. Now, Minhyuk had the opportunity to get into that store.

At that moment, a very unpleasant power swept over Minhyuk’s body to observe him. He tried to resist it, but when he saw Chaos shaking his head, he accepted it and let it observe him.

“I see you have a variety of stores.”

Minhyuk has completed a lot of episodes so far. Because of that, various stores opened and became available to him. The Royal Store opened when he was in the Continental Cloud, the Food God’s Food God Store, and many others.

The problem was that most of these stores had already been closed or obsolete. Why? This was because a massive chunk of them were only temporary stores. As for the others, Minhyuk’s level had gone far beyond them, and the items available in those stores no longer held meaning or use for him.

“Alright. I’ll delete the unnecessary stores and leave only my store for you. I’ll give you cash in exchange for the stores that will be deleted.”

And that was not the end.

“I’ll also turn into cash the Pioneer’s reward condition for world messages and achievements.”

Minhyuk felt like he was being blindsided. However, it was just a feeling, and he could not point it out because of something he was unsure of.

“What if I have nothing to buy in that store?”

“Then, go and see for yourself.”

[You can now look at some of the items in Chaos’ Store.]

[Only the items worth the lowest amount of cash will be shown to you.]

[Ore Pordachnium: 500 cash.]

“...?”

‘Wait. Wasn’t this the thing that he gave to me earlier?’

Minhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

‘This bastard…’

This guy in front of him tried to reward him with the least valuable item in his possession! It seemed like Chaos was also very clever and sly.

‘This is the item with the lowest amount of cash for sale in the store?’

As mentioned before, the ore Pordachnium was an ore that did not need to undergo the smelting process. It would reinforce the artifact in one go. And that was not all. It had a 100% chance of success and could even be applied to the Sword of Aeon. To put it simply, it was a cheat-like item.

‘This?’

This was the cheapest item? Then, Minhyuk checked the next item.

[Weapon Evolution Scroll: 2,000 cash]

(Weapon Evolution Scroll)

Price: 2,000 cash

Special Effects:

•Any weapon, regardless of its ranking, will become one rank higher.

•Upon the weapon’s evolution, the attack power and the special effects of the weapon will become better.

•There’s a 50% chance of failure.

•The evolved weapon’s basic attack power and skill attack power will unconditionally be increased by 5%. There’s a chance that the percentage will become higher.

“...?!”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide. This meant that the Sword of Aeon would be able to evolve.

‘The one who maintains the balance of the world has items that can destroy said balance?’

[Chaos store will be closed.]

Chaos hurriedly closed the store and said, “From this point on, you will receive cash whenever you make a shocking and remarkable achievement or whenever you trigger the world message. And just as I said before, I will also give you cash for the achievements that you have made so far.”

If Minhyuk had accepted everything without saying anything, then he would not have the right to use Chaos’ store or accumulate cash.

“Alright.”

Chaos thought that this was probably over.

“Now that we’re done discussing the Pioneer’s rewards for the achievement that I have made so far, let’s talk about the matter of the EXP.”

“...?”

Chaos realized that Minhyuk was going to suck him dry until the very last drop.

‘Is this… what you call daylight robbery?’

Minhyuk made a personal demand. “If you’re restricting the amount of growth that I can have with the Growth Devourer, how about dividing it into three equal parts and turning it into some kind of bead? Then, there would be no problem with the amount of EXP a target can absorb in a day, right?”

“...!”

Chaos’ eyes flashed open when he heard those words.

‘That’s smart…?’

Minhyuk’s thought was surprisingly easy to understand. Since he could not absorb all of the EXP, he would divide it into three and help the people around him grow.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

Minhyuk felt scared when he saw Chaos looking at him like that.

And Chaos? His head was spinning wildly. ‘Surely…’

If they did it like this, there would be no word regarding the EXP rewards. But Minhyuk’s vassals were already far too good.

“I’ll turn it into a bead that can help you help others grow. But it will only apply to those who are not your vassals.”

Minhyuk’s thoughts were seen through. Indeed, he thought of using it on Brod, Ben, Elpis, and others to help them become stronger.

Minhyuk clicked his tongue and answered, “Okay.”

Either way, he said only a few words and reaped benefits without losing anything. Only after that did Chaos spread his wings and fly up.

“The store and the Growth Devourer’s Egg’s rewards will take effect soon.”

Minhyuk, who watched Chaos fly and disappear, felt like his legs had lost strength. No matter how confident Minhyuk was that Chaos would not attack him, Chaos would still be Chaos, an absolute existence in this world.

But why did he not give the rewards to Minhyuk when he was still in front of him? Chaos had already flown far away and disappeared from his view when Minhyuk thought of this.

[You have acquired Chaos’ Cash Store’s Pass.]

[You have earned cash from the achievements that you have made so far.]

[You have earned 20 cash…]

[You have earned 10 cash…]

[You have earned 5 cash…]

“...?”

Minhyuk, whose dreams and expectations had already reached an all-time high, looked up at the sky.

“...”

He was scammed. The cash accumulation rate was incredibly and unbelievably low. Of course, these were cash earned from the small achievements that Minhyuk had made so far. However, the following notifications showed Minhyuk how stingy this cash accumulation was.

[You have earned 100 cash for successfully cooking the Supreme Dish.]

[You have earned 130 cash for successfully hunting the Supreme Monarch.]

[You have earned 200 cash for successfully hunting Helenia.]

“...”

It was the stingiest among the stingy. The total cash that he had accumulated was only 900 cash. To be honest, Minhyuk had been hoping to get around 10,000 cash just for killing Helenia alone. He thought that he would get around 200,000 cash for all of the achievements that he had made so far. But the reality was harsh. He only had enough cash to buy one ore.

‘Anyway, you won’t be able to see this anywhere else, right?’ Minhyuk thought positively.

Not long after, he watched the tower crumble and fall apart. He and his vassals hurriedly evacuated the one thousand men and left the tower. As he ran, a notification rang in his ears.

[You have obtained three Growth Eggs.]

[You have cleared all floors of the Tower of Growth.]

[As a reward, you have obtained the Pillar’s Ingredient in Varoghan’s possession, the Pillar Assorted Pork Set.]

Minhyuk’s mouth was filled with saliva at the thought of eating the pork. But then, an unexpected notification rang in his ears at that moment.

[One of the quests to help you find Rocado’s power has been triggered.]

[Pillar Quest: Successfully Create Something using a Pillar Ingredient or Pillar Artifact.]

“Huh?”

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