Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1048

The entire world fell into silence.

When everyone saw the Supreme Monarch grab Minhyuk by the collar, they thought he would be killed. But before the Supreme Monarch could make a move, the Battle God was able to cut off his head successfully.

Even Minhyuk could not believe that they were able to cut the Supreme Monarch’s body apart. Why? Because after a total of ten resets, he felt that he was indeed an enemy who they could never kill.

But the notification that rang had proven that the Supreme Monarch had died.

[You have hunted the Supreme Monarch.]

The notification was highly shocking. After all, just like the Frenzied Ingredient, the Supreme Monarch was an opponent so intense and out of reach for anyone.

[You have gained 4,313,671 platinum.]

“...!”

Minhyuk was shocked by the notifications that began to ring in his ears. He obtained four million platinum after hunting a single mob, which was extremely unusual.

[You have acquired the Supreme’s Ore: Alvarranium (2).]

[You have acquired the skill: The Supreme.]

It seemed like the Supreme Monarch was quite tidy. The only things he dropped were three essential items, and there weren’t any miscellaneous items at all.

Then, additional notifications came in.

[You have levelled up.]

[You have levelled up.]

[You have levelled up.]

After the three level-ups, Minhyuk settled down around the middle of the Level 690 range. But the notifications weren’t over yet. More surprising ones came in. And it has even become a world message that resonated all over Athenae.

[One player has successfully made the Supreme Achievement.]

[Despite the cauldron’s blistering heat, he endured and hugged it to ensure that he would be able to cook his way to the Supreme Court.]

[Despite the blazing flames that engulfed his body, he never backed down and continued to work hard to reach the player’s final level, the Supreme.]

[Despite the fear of dying, he fought against the very same being who made him tremble in fear.]

[He will be a legend.]

[He will be a myth.]

[He will be an idol.]

[He…]

[Today, the greatest of all achievements, the Supreme Achievement, has been made. Perhaps this feat will never happen again.]

[The name of the player who left a Supreme Achievement is none other than Minhyuk.]

Ring!

[You will receive rewards for making the Supreme Achievement!]

[You have levelled up.]

[You have gained 10,000 CHA.]

[You have gained 30,000 REP.]

[You have obtained the Supreme Title: The One Who Reached the Pinnacle.]

(The One Who Reached the Pinnacle)

Supreme Title

Requirements: The one who achieved something Supreme.

Title Effects:

•All of your stats will increase by 7%.

•Your success rate will increase by 10% when encountering another Supreme.

•All of your stats will increase by 19% when encountering another Supreme.

•The grade of all the dishes you will make from here on out will at least be at Epic.

•Your chances of making a higher-grade dish will increase by 50%.

Only after Minhyuk saw the ridiculous and shocking title did it dawn on him that they had indeed hunted the Supreme Monarch.

“We did it.” The Battle God smiled as he sprawled on the ground in exhaustion.

At that moment, Minhyuk recalled the live broadcast that he had left on.

‘When I changed the title of the live broadcast to “Hunting the Supreme Monarch,” I also changed the target donation.’

He had changed it to fifty billion. He thought the donations he received should probably be around forty billion won. However, his eyes almost dropped to the ground when he saw the amount of donation he received.

‘Huh…?’

***

Before Minhyuk and the Battle God succeeded in hunting the Supreme Monarch.

The PR Team of Apel, the company with the world's largest smartphone market share, were in the middle of an intense discussion.

“The entire world is paying attention to Player Minhyuk right now. And if we consider that his live broadcast was being broadcast all over the world with the cooperation of countless broadcasting stations, we can say that at least a billion people are tuned in and watching him as of this very moment.”

“If that’s the case, then this is our greatest opportunity to promote Apel. But how can we promote Apel in this situation?”

The PR Team Leader smiled and said, “Simple. If we donate a large amount of money, a notification will pop out on the broadcast screen saying, ‘Apel has donated.’ ZTube has blocked the donation notifications temporarily, but they have allowed notifications for donations of more than fifty million won to appear. If we donate a million dollars, people worldwide will be able to see the name ‘Apel’ on their screens.”

The PR team immediately donated one billion won during the live broadcast under the nickname “Apel.” Since the broadcast was aired worldwide, when their name appeared, various companies also saw it.

“Apel has done a unique and new way of promotion.”

“We should do the same thing and promote our company like this, too!”

“Since Apel donated a million dollars, how about donating two?”

“Barizon has donated two million dollars! We should go for 2.5 million dollars!”

The competition between various companies suddenly grew fierce. As they tried to promote themselves, the highest donation was constantly being refreshed.

But that was not all. Countless big shots from all corners of the business world were watching Minhyuk’s live broadcast. Most of these business figures were players of Athenae.

They felt a sense of vicarious satisfaction as they watched Minhyuk make the Supreme achievement, which they knew they could not reach. They were also delighted to see him attempt to hunt the Supreme Monarch despite the considerable risk and danger that they would face. For these bigshots worldwide, a hundred million was just a tiny change. Because of that, donations from their side also continued to appear.

“We must have Player Minhyuk sign an exclusive contract with our company.”

“The amount?! I don’t care how much! He’s definitely going to be chosen as the Greatest Man this year!”

“Do whatever it takes so that he will sign a contract with our company!”

Companies worldwide were gearing up with huge sums of money. They planned to meet with Minhyuk and ask him to sign a contract once he succeeded in hunting the Supreme Monarch.

Of course, Minhyuk rejected all of them.

***

[Target Donation: 50,000,000,000 won]

[Total Donation: 140,400,150,700 won]

“...?”

Minhyuk was rendered speechless by the ridiculous amount of donations he received. However, the total donations were still rising rapidly despite the completion of the hunt for the Supreme Monarch.

‘But to get 140 billion…?’

It was completely unbelievable. But what they achieved was also unbelievable. After all, not only did they cook the Frenzied Ingredient, but they were also able to hunt the Supreme Monarch.

‘If I turn all of the donations into gold, then it will greatly help the development of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.’

Minhyuk left the maze with the Battle God and the God of the Directionally Challenged.

The moment they stepped out of the maze, Arlene jumped into Minhyuk and the Battle God's arms. She hugged them tightly and sobbed, “Thank you. Thank you so much!”

The Battle God awkwardly said, “This is something that I have also dreamt of doing for a very long time.”

And Minhyuk? He gently patted Arlene’s back, his expression gentle and soft as he looked at her.

“Why aren’t you hugging me too? I also worked hard.”

Then, at that moment, the extremely tactless God of the Directionally Challenged interrupted them. But the three, who had built a tolerance(?) to some extent, ignored him.

There was still one important thing left for Minhyuk to do this time: eat the Supreme Gamjatang.

Minhyuk did not even bother to open the detail window to check its effects. After all, the effects would be shown once he ate it. But then, Minhyuk saw the God of Cooking and the Battle God. He was the one who asked them to help him cook this dish, but he was the only one who would eat it? Wasn’t that a bit too rude?

But then, Arlene smiled gently and kindly and said, “It’s all yours, Minhyuk.”

For Arlene, it was already enough for her to achieve her long-cherished dream.

“Thank you, Arlene.”

Arlene’s extraordinary power covered the Supreme Gamjatang. Then, the same dish sans the special effects and abilities appeared before the Battle God, the God of Cooking and the God of the Directionally Challenged.

Only at this moment did the tension leave Minhyuk’s body.

‘It has been tough.’

Lately, Minhyuk had not had time to eat something delicious. It was tough for him to find the time to eat. This was because he had been very busy, starting with the exploration of God’s Prison for his quick growth, then the bet with the Absolute Gods, and finally, the creation of the Supreme Dish.

The gamjatang was still boiling in the cauldron. It looked very delicious. Minhyuk quickly took a sip of the soup.

“Kghhk…!”

As the spicy soup taste spread in his mouth, a smile naturally appeared on his face. He grabbed the ladle and scooped a considerable piece of backbone on a plate. Then, he took a massive bite of the thick, soft meat on the bone.

“Kghhk! It’s so soft!”

Delight spread all over Minhyuk as the meat gently and softly melted in his mouth. Next, he pried some meat away from the bone and dipped it in soy sauce and wasabi. The soft smile on Minhyuk’s face grew wider at the taste that spread in his mouth.

After eating the meat that covered the bones to some extent, Minhyuk grabbed the bones on both sides and pulled them apart. Then, he savored the meat that was hidden inside. After eating a few backbones clean, Minhyuk grabbed some of the outer cabbage leaves and added them to his rice.

He added a piece of the outer cabbage leaf to his huge spoonful of rice and put it in his mouth. The moment he took a bite, the soup spurted out from the leaf, making his smile grow even deeper.

Minhyuk, who ate like that for quite some time, grabbed the ladle and scooped some of the soup into his plate. Then, he grabbed his plate and took a sip of the soup.

“Sluuuuuuuurp!”

He was in awe of the spicy and refreshing flavour of the soup.

But the greatest charm of gamjatang was the fact that he could make some fried rice with whatever was left in the cauldron.

Minhyuk scooped out the remaining gamjatang soup before adding rice and stir-frying it. After stir-frying, he spread the now red fried rice thinly on the cauldron and sprinkled some seaweed flakes on top of it. Then, he grabbed his spoon and scooped a huge mouthful of the piping hot fried rice into his mouth.

The flavour was fantastic.

Scratch, scratch–!

Minhyuk quickly finished the dish. He even scraped the bottom of the cauldron to ensure he had eaten every last bit of the gamjatang and the fried rice.

“Fwaaaa…!” Minhyuk exhaled happily.

Finally, the notifications about the Supreme Dish rang in his ears.

[You have eaten the Gamjatang.]

[The dish is the Supreme Dish.]

[The Supreme Dish is every chef’s dream.]

[The Supreme Dish is a dish that carries the power of the Extreme Trance.]

[The successful cooking of the Supreme Dish will permanently increase your stats by +50.]

[The two most outstanding chefs of the current era have met and created the most incredible dish.]

[All of your stats have permanently increased by +78.]

[You have obtained 2 Cooking Skill Points(SkP).]

“...?!”

Minhyuk was shocked.

‘It’s not just two or three basic stats? All of my stats have increased by 78?!’

This massive increase in his powers significantly boosted his growth. Minhyuk now possessed more than eight stats, which meant his stats had increased by more than 600 points in just one go.

‘Just by cooking this dish alone, I grew by more than 5%.’

In fact, Minhyuk has already experienced significant growth from the successful hunt of the Supreme Monarch. Because of this dish, he was able to gain another boost to his stats. But these numbers weren’t the most important thing that he gained.

[One of the Absolute Gods, the God who Loves to Cook, declares a vow.]

“...?”

Confusion was evident on Minhyuk’s face as he turned to look at the God of Cooking.

The voice of Arlene, who was kneeling on one knee, resonated all over the world.

[I, Arlene, the mother of all chefs, solemnly swear…]

[...that I will support him, protect him, and obey his orders occasionally.]

[Through this vow, I declare…]

Arlene looked up at Minhyuk with a faint smile on her face.

[...that I will stand by the Battle God’s side.]