Leveling Up through Eating

Minhyuk knew that the ladybug had sent the evaluators here. Of course, he could tell what descended upon them was just a shell.

“Are you kidding me?” Minhyuk growled, his words stopping Chaos from leaving.

After seeing his evaluators' atrocities, the ladybird stopped them and tried to leave immediately.

“You-you! You! You’re crazy!”

“How dare you do that in front of me! I will tear your limbs right away…!”

The evaluators went into an uproar, but with one glance from Chaos, they hurriedly buried their heads into the ground again.

Minhyuk could not read any of Chaos’ expressions. He felt intimidated because he could only see the ladybird beetle’s empty eyes staring straight at him.

“Just think about it. If my subordinates entered a kingdom that is infinitely weaker than my empire and broke the arms and legs of the innocent guards, then…” Minhyuk went on, his voice calm and undisturbed. “...I would bring a basketful of dishes, the thing that I’m best at, and apologize to them.”

Indeed, Minhyuk would do that. It was not because he was the emperor and had to bear his men's faults. He would bow his head because his friends and colleagues made the wrong choice, and he wanted them to realize this. Of course, it was also so he could apologize for the damage that they had done.

If he did that, then his friends and vassals could learn something. As for the ones that were affected? They would probably burst out in laughter and let bygones be bygones. This was the reason why Minhyuk could become the emperor.

What about Chaos?

“You came here, ta-dah, then everything is over? And you’re leaving just like that? Are you kidding me? Will the broken limbs of my guards be attached when you do something like that?”

At that moment, Chaos turned to look at the soldiers, whose arms and legs were now being put in a cast. To everyone’s surprise, their injuries and broken bones reattached themselves.

‘Ah… They’re attached…’

The priests had said that reattaching the bones could take several hours, but one glance from Chaos was enough to fix them.

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about, right?”

What Minhyuk wanted was a sincere apology. Of course, he did not mean to hold Chaos accountable or force him to lower his head to him.

‘I have my sense of measure.’

Minhyuk knew that nothing good would come out of incurring Chaos’ hate. There was only one thing that he wanted.

“I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about those bastards over there.” Minhyuk pointed to the evaluators, who were lying prone on the ground.

Chaos stared at Minhyuk for quite a long time. Minhyuk did not feel good after being stared at by Chaos’ solemn gaze. He felt as if his entire being had been seen through.

‘He’s the one who supervises the Eight Pillars.’

Of course, Minhyuk could not help but be nervous.

After staring at him for a long time, Chaos slowly nodded.

[Chaos’ Blessing.]

[Chaos’ Blessing will help bring you to the next level.]

[You have leveled up.]

“...?!”

The EXP value, which had left him at a loss as to how to increase, quickly rose until he reached the next level. Minhyuk was quite shocked at Chaos’ small gesture of sincerity.

Then, Chaos turned to look at the trembling evaluators.

[You are only strictly allowed to evaluate him.]

[Sincerely apologize for the atrocities and sins you have committed here.]

[Know that everything is under my observation.]

[If you dare to tarnish the evaluator's title, you will not be exempted from complete extinction.]

“We have received your orders!” The trembling evaluators answered loudly.

Chaos turned to look back at Minhyuk. After a while, he spread his wings and flew to the sky. The evaluators continued to lie prone on the ground even after Chaos had disappeared in front of them.

After Chaos completely disappeared from everyone’s view, a shadow cast over them.

“...”

At that moment, Ruba and the rest of the evaluators felt a strong sense of foreboding.

***

The attitudes of Ruba and the evaluators did a complete 180 after Chaos left.

Ruba, who was sweating cold bullets, said, “S-sor…”

The evaluators had never lowered their heads to anyone except Chaos. It was evident from how reluctant Ruba was to finish his sentence. His mouth was clamped shut as if something had glued them together.

At that moment, Minhyuk glanced at the sky and said, “Ah! Lord Ladybug!”

The evaluators rushed before Minhyuk and immediately bowed down when they heard his cry.

“S-sorry.”

“We were too arrogant.”

“It’s just a trivial thing.”

If those familiar with the evaluators saw them acting like this, they might have been given the greatest shock. That was just how arrogant and authoritative the evaluators had been acting.

However, Minhyuk knew what kind of existence Chaos was to them. And Chaos had told them to apologize sincerely. That was why they bowed their heads even though they knew it would humiliate them.

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

Minhyuk was honestly disappointed. He wanted them to apologize, but the subject was not him. Minhyuk stood still, his blood boiling at the thought of the humiliation that his soldiers suffered earlier.

One of the soldiers, Hanson, was still holding onto his arm while still shaking in fear. His soldiers were NPCs. They must have been overcome by fear when Ruba beat them and must have thought, ‘Ah, I’m going to die like this.’ That was why the subjects of their apologies should not be Minhyuk.

‘What a pity. Perhaps my kind and soft-hearted soldiers will forgive them easily.’

Minhyuk knew the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Empire well. They were all kind and affectionate people. That was why he thought like that.

Ruba bowed to the two soldiers and sincerely apologized. “I-I’m sorry. I was so obsessed with my power that I have treated you like that.”

With their legs and arms now fully healed, the two soldiers sneered at him.

“And you think that it will be over just like that?”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“N-no?”

Minhyuk stared at his soldiers. ‘My precious soldiers are supposed to be kind and nice…?’

Ruba pondered briefly before saying, “Th-then hit me once per person!”

Ruba thought long and hard and ended up coming up with this trick. At best, these two soldiers would either stab him with the sword or punch him in the abdomen. And even if they did that, he was confident he would not receive the slightest damage.

If he allowed them to hit him in exchange for the damage he had done to them, it would prove to Chaos that he was genuinely bowing his head and sincerely apologizing.

Minhyuk immediately understood what was going on in Ruba’s head. Still, he knew that he could no longer get involved.

“Then, I will not decline your offer.” Hanson stepped forward.

Ruba was not nervous at all. ‘If you stab me in the stomach with your sword, then perhaps it's your sword that will get broken.’

And if he punched him in the abdomen, then the one that would get hurt more would be his hands.

“I’m going to hit you now.”

With all of the grievances and displeasure he had experienced, Hanson slapped Ruba’s right cheek with all his might.

Thwack–!

The hit that would bring others the greatest shame and discomfort was not a punch. It was none other than a slap on the face. Immediately after Hanson, the other soldiers stepped forward and slapped the left cheek of Ruba, who was still stunned after being slapped on the right cheek.

“...”

Ruba’s face immediately turned face from the sudden and unexpected double whammy. His face twisted and grew ugly, just like a devil’s own.

Minhyuk, who saw everything, thought, ‘G-guys…?’

Only at this moment did Minhyuk realize that his kind and soft-hearted soldiers were someone who knew how to hit someone where it hurt the most. That was right. They were kind, friendly and nice. In a way, they learned from their emperor, Minhyuk. They all had to pay back what they had received properly. The people were just like their emperor.

Ruba looked like he was about ready to rip someone apart.

Minhyuk glanced at Ruba before looking at the sky above him. Then, he said, “The weather is so nice today.”

“...” Ruba immediately quelled his anger. “That should be enough… now… right?”

Minhyuk nodded lightly.

The evaluators all looked at Ruba when he returned to their side. This was the first time in their lives that they had witnessed Captain Ruba suffer such humiliation and shame. However, they have no choice but to put it behind and discuss the evaluation.

This time, the evaluation was quite honest. They were all witnesses to the fight before, and they had all heard Arshad shout that Minhyuk had passed.

“His story toward his journey to become a Pillar is excellent. His hard work, efforts, endurance, perseverance, and the trials and adversities he faced are all qualified. He can take the place of a Pillar with his story alone.” Arshad commented honestly.

Although he did not say anything anymore, he thought, ‘We should give him a high score. After all, not many can handle Lord Chaos and Captain Ruba like that and play them like a fiddle.’

The other evaluators also gave their own honest opinions.

“His momentum and force are also excellent. Although his current mastery of martial arts is still not at the level of a pillar, he is still a candidate. So, once he grows, he will most likely reach the level of a Pillar.”

“That’s right.”

Arshad suddenly interjected. “He wants to become the Pillar of the Gourmands.”

“...!”

“...!”

The evaluators, who were made aware of this fact, were all in awe. Indeed, the data that they had on hand clearly said that this candidate was the “Food God” and wanted to become the “Pillar of the Gourmands.”

Although they had given him a high score for the momentum and force aspect of the evaluation, they still had to give him scores related to food and eating. Of course, they had already judged that he was worthy of a nomination and an appointment because he had already obtained enough points. Nonetheless, they had to follow procedures and try his dishes first.

And Minhyuk? He had already received a notification regarding the results.

[The evaluators had unanimously acknowledged your position as a candidate.]

Nevertheless, they still said, “Please serve us a meal.”

Minhyuk frowned. According to the notifications, his qualifications had already been acknowledged, so there was no need for this. Besides, he felt completely uncomfortable serving these people a meal.

Despite the irritation that was evident on his face, he still served them a meal. He took something out of his inventory and almost threw it at them.

“Eat that,” Minhyuk growled. Now that he had resolved some anger toward them, he reverted to his more polite and formal way of speaking. “Next time, I hope you will think carefully about what a true evaluator is.”

After leaving those words, Minhyuk and his vassals disappeared. Hanson, who watched them go, brought a table to the evaluators to make it easier for them to eat.

‘Even so, this bastard’s a bit…’ Ruba thought.

Just then, at that moment, Hanson tapped him on the shoulder. He said, “Please live a good life.”

“...”

Ruba realized that the Beyond the Heavens Empire was both a good place and a ridiculous place. Minhyuk and his people acted the same.

The evaluators looked at the food in a shabby pot in front of them. The contents of the pot were bibimbap, which had already been perfectly mixed.

‘He already mixed it before serving it to us.’

Then, they began to eat the food.

***

The evaluators finally went back after eating the bibimbap.

The truth was, they had also missed the taste of food. Why? This was because they hadn’t descended in the world for thousands of years. In the land where they lived, no food was as delicious as the dishes in the human world.

The dish that was served to them was exceptionally divine. And just as they expected, the DEX of the one hailed as the Food God was genuinely outstanding. Of course, any dish from his hand would be delicious.

“He is worthy of becoming the Pillar of the Gourmands.”

“Indeed. The bibimbap was truly delicious.”

“I want to eat that again. But does bibimbap usually have soup at the bottom of the pot?” Arshad asked.

Ruba clicked his tongue and said, “You don’t know how to eat it. Bibimbap tastes more delicious if you mix it with a few spoonfuls of delicious soup. That guy knows how to eat.”

“Oho…”

“I want to eat it again.”

“I don’t want to go back and act friendly with him, but I want to eat that bibimbap again.”

They all smacked their lips.

***

Bender found the situation very unexpected. The Minhyuk he knew was not the type of person who would willingly give a warm meal to someone who dared injure his people and damage his empire.

Then, he heard Minhyuk murmur something, “What a waste. I used good ingredients and even mixed it well for my kids…”

As they stepped foot in the imperial palace, Bender, who had heard the incomprehensible words from Minhyuk’s mouth, asked, “Hey, why did you serve them such a hearty meal?”

At the same time, the notifications for his recognition as the candidate for the Pillar of the Gourmands rang in Minhyuk’s ears. After listening, Minhyuk sighed and replied, “A hearty meal? Ah. I made it with care and love. It’s a very healthy meal specially made for my kids.”

“Huh? You have kids?” Bender looked at Minhyuk in confusion.

Minhyuk said, “Ah! I’m talking about our dear Love, Hope, and Happiness. I think it’s a waste. I mixed it well, too.”

“Who are Love, Hope, and Happiness?”

“They’re my Cerberus.”

“...”

“???”

If it was Cerberus, then…

‘A dog?’

At that moment, Bender thought back to the evaluators sitting in front of a table, relishing dog food while shouting in awe from time to time.