Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1145

Minhyuk understood the advantages and disadvantages between players and NPC more clearly than anybody else.

The greatest Battle God, Bharal, had asked him earlier if he possessed a self-created ability and not inherited from the Battle God. Why did he ask him this question? Because, in the first place, the NPCs lived in this world. In their eyes, strength and power came with training and creating a more outstanding power than anybody else’s.

Since NPCs lived here and held swords since they were young, they were far superior to players in terms of proficiency in the sword. Compared to them, the players were highly lacking. They couldn’t even create something exclusive to them. Players had a completely different mindset from the NPCs regarding fighting and battles.

Of course, the players also had a weapon that helped them match the NPCs' strengths, skills, and proficiency. They had quests, rewards, events, and a leveling-up system.

‘On top of that, there’s Class.’

The players had a more comprehensive range when choosing their classes and had a significant advantage compared to the NPCs.

‘Dual-class.’

NPCs basically could not have two classes at the same time. And even if they could, they would not be able to activate the skills of both classes. As for players, not only could they obtain two classes, but they could also use the skills attached to these two classes simultaneously. Of course, the difficulty level in the growth of a dual-class player could be considered extreme. However, Minhyuk was ahead of anybody else.

In other words, Bharal had judged Minhyuk only after seeing one aspect of him.

Bang–!

Dozens of gigantic meteors fell from the sky and swept through dozens of Repetition’s Monsters. When Bharal saw this, he wondered if Minhyuk was a Great Mage. This was because the force of his magic was stronger than any of the mages he had ever encountered.

Well, that was only natural. This was because Minhyuk used Helenia’s Magic Scroll. And any of her magic scrolls could be activated without consuming any MP. The only restriction was the level that could be used was supposed to correspond to one’s class.

Bharal shook his head. ‘He’s not a mage.’

Nevertheless, most of the monsters that had killed nearly half of the prisoners in the first stage in the previous repetitions were either dead or unable to fight. Meanwhile, the man was in his own space, moving ten times faster than usual.

“The Famished One’s Cooking.”

Then, a white pillar fell from the sky and struck the dish. Only then did Bharal realize how wrong he had been in his judgment. He realized he should not have mocked and laughed at this man for not having a Battle God’s power of his creation.

Right now, he was showing them that he was a chef. As for the dish that appeared in front of the ten gathered men? It was none other than ramen.

The ten most outstanding prisoners were shocked to see the dish floating before them.

‘He could make a God-grade dish in that short time?’

Minhyuk looked at the dish and said, “The flap of a butterfly’s wings can change the world.”

Significant changes were happening in their situation, repeating in the same direction.

The ten most outstanding prisoners looked down at the ramen in shock and awe.

Gulp–

This was the first time the prisoners had seen food on this bloody battlefield in at least a hundred years.

“Go on. Please, have some.”

Minhyuk did not intend to prolong this repetition. If Minhyuk failed this time, he would suffer from a logout penalty.

One of them went straight for the noodles. The chewy texture of the noodles made the man exclaim in awe and admiration. Seeing this, the others hurriedly lifted the bowl and drank the milky-white soup.

The soup's rich, savory, and deep flavor made them all exhale roughly, while the soft char siu and the soft-boiled egg left them shaking from the thrill of such a delightful dish. But the thrill did not end there.

[You have eaten a Ramen.]

[The dish is God-grade.]

[All of your stats have increased by 27%.]

[Your physical and magical attack power have increased by 21%.]

[Your physical and magical defensive power have increased by 15%.]

[Your HP and MP volume have increased by 15%.]

[You can increase the level of a selected skill by +2.]

[You have gained the courage to never back down in the face of any fear or terror.]

It was a very shocking dish, and it was made in just five minutes or so.

Not long after, Minhyuk, standing by the walls, caught sight of the Repetition’s Monsters charging out once again.

[Repetition’s Monster. Level 646.]

The average level of the countless Repetition’s Monsters was around Level 600. The fact that this was their average level meant that there were many pretty high-level ones among them.

“Hundreds of thousands of monsters died in just that one attack.”

“That’s crazy.”

The prisoners felt like the situation in front of them was very unreal. This was because the monsters that tormented and left them with tremendous casualties during the first stage had been swept away with just one single attack.

[The second attack will now begin.]

[You have achieved a 19% Release Rate.]

When Minhyuk saw this, he immediately realized they could only break out of this repetition by obtaining a 100% Release Rate.

“This time, it will be different! Everyone, charge!!!”

The prisoners followed Minhyuk's orders, who had taken over all of the command, and charged forward.

After giving his orders, Minhyuk hurriedly looked behind him and asked, “How much Release Rate did you achieve before?”

“Around 47%.”

Minhyuk nodded. He realized that the appearance of the Repetition’s Ogre was only the halfway point. On top of that, he truly understood that they were at an extreme difficulty level. After all, they could only reach more than 40% of the required rate even after more than a million tries.

“Let’s go.” Minhyuk ran at the vanguard.

Battle God Bharal has relinquished his throne and position as the Battle God. Because of that, he could no longer use most of the Battle God’s summoning skill. But that was not the case for Minhyuk. Not only that, but he also had many items to use and summon.

Using the other prisoners as a springboard, Minhyuk leaped forward with Puppet Viel, the Ego Chain Sickles, and Beanie appearing around him. Puppet Viel ran at a high speed and cut through the enemies swiftly and easily. Every time the Ego Chain Sickle, an item that could never be truly broken down, swung around, countless monsters would die.

‘What the hell is that puppet?’ Bharal was in awe.

That puppet was supposed to be nothing but a summons, yet it was stronger than some of the other gods. The damage that the indestructible Ego Chain Sickle could deal was beyond imagination.

“Oiiiiiiiink!” With his cute and bulging belly, the baby pig stabbed a monster in the eye with his paws and cut a shrieking monster that passed right after.

“You must never use your powers!” This was the order that Minhyuk had given to the ten prisoners.

These ten people would have already used most of their powers if this were the same. However, to exceed 50% of the release rate, they had to save as much power and strength as possible.

The word “Explosion” appeared on the blade of Minhyuk’s sword. With every swing of his sword, light would flash, and the monsters would be swept away.

However, the most remarkable change could be seen in the ten most outstanding prisoners. They used to exhaust their powers to fight against the onslaught of monsters. Now that they had become 1.5x stronger, they could reduce the same number of the Repetition’s Monsters even without using their skills.

Then, the Repetition’s Ogre finally appeared. Before, only 30% of the prisoners would be alive by the time the Repetition’s Ogre appeared. But now? Almost 90% of them were still alive.

The ten prisoners, Bharal, Minhyuk, Beanie, Puppet Viel, and the Ego Chain Sickle, collaborated to kill the Repetition’s Ogre easily.

“From this point on, it’s the real deal.”

[The third attack will now begin.]

[You have achieved a 50.1% Release Rate.]

The number of Repetition’s Monsters that appeared had doubled once again. As for the Repetition’s Ogre? Five had appeared all at once. This was the third attack, an unfamiliar ground inside this land where everything repeated itself. And even the commander leading them was unfamiliar.

“We will focus on hunting the Repetition’s Ogres!”

[Repetition’s Ogre. Level 844.]

The Repetition’s Ogre was by no means a low-level monster. However, it was relatively easy to deal with. The only reason Bharal struggled with one was that he had already exhausted most of his strength before fighting it. But now, Bharal and the other most outstanding men among the prisoners have not yet used their skills.

“Immortal Knight Order.”

Around twenty soldiers, equipped with shabby helmets and weapons, were summoned. When Bharal saw these soldiers appear, he could not help but remember his knight order from the past.

When Bharal used his summoning skills in the past, beings that were at the demigod or god level would appear by his side. But the beings that Minhyuk had summoned appeared to be nothing but ordinary soldiers at best.

Slash, slash, slash–!

Bang, bang, bang–!

Boom, boom, boom–!

Yet they were able to sweep away everything around them quickly.

Even though they looked like ordinary soldiers, they could easily cut off the monsters with just a swing of their blades. But that was not all. They formed teams of four and immediately went on to hunt and cut down the ogres non-stop.

Beeeeeeep–!

Bharal saw Minhyuk pull out a frying pan and whistle loudly. This act drew the aggro of all the monsters in the vicinity toward him, but the young man stopped them from charging at him.

And with the ten people activating their skills, they were not pushed back by the Repetition’s Ogres and the more than double monsters. Of course, they had also suffered heavy damages and casualties. Only 40% of their allies survived. Nevertheless, the notification that rang in his ears delighted Bharal.

[You have achieved an 89% Release Rate.]

After clearing the third attack, Bharal finally saw a ray of hope—hope that they could finally step foot on the ground outside without being constrained by this land, hope that they could successfully carry out their revolution, finally correct it, and bring peace to Pandemonium’s Country. But that hope was once again made hazy.

“A lot of people say that being stuck inside the Prison of Repetition is the most terrible torture.”

A man they had never seen in a million years had appeared before them. The man was sporting a very grotesque figure. He had the face of a human but the body of a giant ogre. He also held a sword and an axe.

“This is because they will see hope after the constant repetitions. But when that hope approaches, they will be dragged into another cycle of repetition and forced into the abyss of despair.”

[Repetition King Akkaman has appeared!]

[The Repetition King’s first authority has been triggered.]

[Repeating Attack.]

[The most outstanding power used in this repetition will appear and attack you.]

[You cannot defend against the attacks coming your way.]

Bharal was left horrified by the notifications that rang in his ears.

After all, the most outstanding power they used in this repetition will be triggered. The power that helped them became a sharp blade threatening their lives.

Bharal immediately recalled the powers that he used. His strongest attack was a one-shot kill skill to deal with a Repetition’s Ogre.

Tidididik–!

Bharal was hailed as the Explosion Monarch. And right now, a colossal cannon has surfaced from the ground. This cannon, which had dealt 25,000% damage to his enemies and knocked them all at once, was now aiming at him.

Boom–!

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

The worst part was that it could not only deal with 25,000% damage but also leave one’s body shaking from the impact and inflict a five-second stunned state on the opponent.

Bharal, whose entire body was almost wrecked, looked around. Every person present had been attacked by the strongest attack they had used in this repetition. Nearly 40% of the surviving prisoners had died.

Bang, bang, bang–!

Minhyuk was suffering from Crazy's attacks. Fortunately, there was only one attack.

‘Kghhk. Doesn’t this hurt too much?’

Despite being a passive skill, the damage inflicted upon Minhyuk was still too much.

At this moment, the people, who had been left in a daze after being attacked by their skill, understood what was happening.

[Repetition King Akkaman has been given extraordinary power by the God of Pandemonium.]

[Inside this prison, he will be an absolute being transcending any existence.]

[Repetition King Akkaman. Level 1,031.]

Their opponent’s level was high. But considering the strong beings Minhyuk had met and fought before, he thought it wasn’t that high.

‘The biggest problem here is that we don’t know what kind of power or effects his Repetition Authority can bring.’

Minhyuk was in a very tense mood. And the same was true for Bharal. After all, only 10% of the prisoners had survived. And of the remaining 6,000 people, almost 70% of them were left with severe injuries.

Then, another horrifying notification rang in their ears.

[The Repetition King’s second authority has been triggered.]

[Repeated Hits.]

[Your weapon will swing as often as you have swung it in your life and attack an invisible wall.]

[The weapon swung repeatedly will only be restored to its original appearance once you enter another repetition.]

“...?”

Minhyuk was puzzled. ‘What?’

And it was only after this repetition was over that another repetition began, too? Only when all of the weapons he and the prisoners held floated in the air and moved by themselves did Minhyuk truly understand what those words meant.

The weapons immediately struck an invisible wall. Out of their control, the scene seemed to be played in fast-forward, with the speed raised by tens of thousands of times.

Clang, clang, clang–!

Bang, bang, bang–!

“This is crazy…!”

One of the prisoner’s swords only left an afterimage as it swung at the invisible wall. Then, cracks started to appear on the blade of the sword.

Yes, all weapons have durability. If wielded against nothing but air, the durability would not take a hit. But when hitting something, the durability would decrease. The most significant damage to durability was when the weapons were used against hard and sturdy things like walls or iron. This was the boon of all weapons.

And right now, their weapons were being forced to swing at an invisible wall as many times as they have ever swung their sword. In just three seconds, weapons had been swung more than 100,000 times. This immediately resulted in cracks all over the weapons’ blades.

Clatter–!

Clang, clang–!

Crack, crack, crack–!

Finally, their swords and staves were split in two, the strings of their bows snapped, and even the tips of their spears grew blunt.

Bharal was left stunned. ‘Are you telling us to fight without weapons? And against that monster, too?’

When Repetition King Akkaman saw the stunned look on Bharal’s face, he could not help but grin. He said, “On average, the weapons will swing 60,000 times in 1 second. In 2 seconds, they will swing 130,000 times. And in 3 seconds, they will swing 180,000 times.”

No weapon durability could withstand that many swings against a hard wall.

“And the number of swings will include the number of times you have swung your sword outside this prison.”

A vicious smile appeared on Akkaman’s face when he saw that the weapons had now been broken.

Bang, bang, bang–!

Strangely, it seemed like a weapon was still hitting the invisible wall. Shocked, Akkaman turned his head in the direction of the sound.

The only one whose weapon was not yet broken was Minhyuk. The number of times his sword was swinging was equivalent to how much he had swung his sword in his entire stay in this game. And Minhyuk? His sword was still swinging even though five seconds had already passed.

On average, the weapon would stop swinging by the 200,000th swing. But if the sword was still swinging at five seconds, then…

‘He swung his sword 350,000 times?!’

…that meant that the young man had swung his sword 350,000 times his entire life. No. The swinging was, in fact, not yet over.

Six seconds.

‘430,000 times?!’

Seven seconds.

‘500,000 times?!’

Eight seconds.

‘580,000 times?!’

Nine seconds.

‘650,000 times?!’

It was already shocking for an ordinary human being to swing their sword 200,000 times in their entire lifetime. Yet this man was able to surpass that. And what was more shocking was that Minhyuk’s sword remained intact.

In just ten seconds…

‘A million times…?’

This proved that Minhyuk had swung his sword five times more than the average person.

Akkaman unknowingly stared at Minhyuk’s hands. That hand gripped tightly into a fist would have been torn repeatedly until they formed calluses.

Akkaman stared at Minhyuk in even greater shock when he realized that his sword was still swinging even after ten seconds had passed.

Then, Minhyuk stared at Akkaman and said, “Mine isn’t breaking though?”

“...”

Goosebumps rose all over the skin of everyone present.