Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1106

Humans were powerless in the face of natural disasters. Because of that, Verodun, someone who had the power to create natural disasters, became the most prominent figure on Disaster Day and recorded the highest number of votes.

Verodun not only created many natural disasters but also saved many people from them. In truth, these were just acts. He was the one who created the natural disasters, brought everyone into the depths of despair, and then saved them.

The truth was that Verodun was a vicious, wicked, cowardly person. That was why he hid behind the excuse that ‘I can’t create natural disasters as I please’ despite doing something so vicious and treacherous.

The Pillar Candidate with the most votes was kneeling before Minhyuk. To anyone watching the scene, it looked like he wanted to submit and obey Minhyuk. Because of that, Minhyuk’s votes skyrocketed. In just an instant, Minhyuk’s votes surpassed Verodun’s 34.1%.

Verodun looked up and saw Minhyuk mouthing some words.

‘Life is a real battle, you piece of shit.’

These words ignited his wrath.

With exquisite timing, Minhyuk once again turned on his live broadcast. Sporting a cold look, he arrogantly said to Verodun, “I’m very sorry, but I have no intention of cooperating with you, Verodun.”

[The bet winner, Minhyuk, makes his third wish.]

[His wish is for you not to say anything in front of him for one minute.]

Verodun was just about to shout something, but no words came out. It was as if someone had restricted his voice box.

Minhyuk turned to look at the Beyond the Heavens Empire behind him. Then, with a kind smile, he said, “Cooperating with you will bring chaos and disturbance to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. So, don’t ask for my help. Work honestly and do your best to become a Pillar by yourself.”

The entire world witnessed the scene and looked at Minhyuk in awe.

[Let’s all look at the situation. It seems like Verodun has seen endless potential in Minhyuk and has asked to be one of his subordinates.]

[Minhyuk believes that accepting Master of Nature Verodun, who possesses enormous power, will bring chaos and confusion to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.]

[That’s only natural. Perhaps their empire would be divided if he accepted such a man.]

[Minhyuk made a choice that took into consideration his empire. He’s a great emperor.]

Once again, Minhyuk turned off his live broadcast. The furious Verodun could no longer hold back his anger. He immediately tried to release the power that controlled nature.

[The power of the sacred and divine angel does not allow the existence of any natural disasters inside the empire.]

Verodun could not exert his powers within the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“Y-you f*cking shallow…” Verodun said, his eyes turning bloodshot from anger.

Seeing him like this, Minhyuk growled, “You’re in no position to say that, though?”

What Minhyuk got, he would make sure to pay double that. He was the type of person who would trample on his opponents completely and ensure they would never be able to climb back up again.

Minhyuk played the sound from the video he had recorded. Verodun's voice demanded and threatened Minhyuk to cooperate with him and prove that he was the mastermind of this overwhelming disaster.

With this, Verodun could no longer recklessly make a move against the Beyond the Heavens Empire or any of the people related to them. If he did that, Minhyuk would release this video without any hesitation. Once the video was released, Verodun's votes would hit rock bottom on the last day of the voting period.

“Th-this f*cking shitty emperor! You have no respect for your elders!” Verodun shouted in anger.

However, Minhyuk just chuckled. “Then, you should act your age. If you do, then I will treat you as I should.”

Minhyuk clicked his tongue. Now, there was no more business to discuss with Verodun.

“Enough. You should get out of my empire.”

The red-faced Verodun was left unable to say anything. All he could do was go back while vowing to return.

***

Minhyuk ranked first until the second day of the start of the Advanced Polls. Of course, the votes had increased significantly because they thought Minhyuk would cooperate with Verodun. Now that he refused the cooperation, his votes had also dropped significantly. Even so, there were still quite a lot of articles published all over the world that defended Minhyuk and helped maintain his votes.

[Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Soldiers: Supporting allies and helping with restoration works worldwide.]

[The kings and emperors of Athenae are extending their heartfelt gratitude to Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor Minhyuk.]

The players were required to participate in activities aiding the recovery and restoration of their nation after it was ravaged by natural disasters. Thanks to the help of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, the time they needed to devote to this had been significantly reduced, which helped maintain Minhyuk’s votes.

However, on the third day, the players were given the right to change their votes. Because of that, Minhyuk’s votes hit rock bottom again.

“...?”

[Advanced Polls]

Current Voter Turnout: 8.8%

1st place: Master of Nature Verodun. Percentage: 27.1%

2nd place: Pillar of Death Boleyn. Percentage: 24.9%

…

9th place: Pillar of Gourmands Minhyuk. Percentage: 3.1%

The results were expected. Nevertheless, Minhyuk was flustered when he saw the sharp vote drop.

‘It seems like stopping the disaster and making Verodun kneel is a big deal, huh?’

Perhaps that was only natural. After all, seeing Verodun kneel before Minhyuk made the people expect many things. Since everything was just trickery on Minhyuk's part, he had to steer it in a direction where he had to reject the offer.

With their expectations fading, many players changed their votes. Of course, the voter turnout had yet to reach 10%. Still, all the candidates were now doing their best to win more votes.

As for Minhyuk? He was still watching the situation. At that moment, a notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[You can now watch the candidates’ activities on the third day of the voting period.]

The candidates’ Advanced Polls was a festival for all the players of Athenae. And it seemed like it was for that reason that they could watch the candidates’ highlights once a day.

The scene in front of Minhyuk changed the moment he accepted. Then, Verodun, whom he had met a few days ago, appeared in front of him. The video clearly narrated Verodun's name and detailed explanation.

[Master of Nature Verodun has decided to save the world from overwhelming natural disasters and catastrophes.]

Minhyuk, who knew his true nature, was utterly disgusted by the display before him.

Verodun, with a kind and gracious smile, walked into the kingdom suffering from drought. He stretched his arms to the sky, and heavy rain began to fall. The people left exhausted from the drought flashed a relieved smile.

[Pillar of Death Boleyn declared that he would kill all the nuisance that troubled the world.]

Pillar of Death Boleyn was someone who was still hidden behind a veil. Surprisingly, he was the hidden master of Athenae’s intelligence organization, Immune. The main reason why he ranked second in the Advanced Polls was because he revealed his identity.

As the narration said, Boleyn could be seen assassinating all of the nuisances that had caused trouble in the world recently.

Minhyuk was quite impressed with his skills and even in awe when he saw him fight against the Baccaron Mercenaries.

The Baccaron Mercenaries were mercenaries who had turned rouge. They opted to become bandits and looted many people, becoming a huge headache for the entire continent.

Seeing Boleyn pierce through their defenses and fight alone against the Baccaron Mercenaries was spectacular.

[King of Races Reikan decided to fight alongside the races who wished to take back the lands taken away from them.]

Minhyuk’s breath almost stopped when he saw a man wearing a helmet resembling a wolf riding atop a gigantic wolf. The man, who seemed to be waiting for someone else to appear, was surrounded by members of different races in no time.

Reikan’s army was magnificent and awe-inspiring. Minhyuk could not help but groan lightly at the sight of millions of troops rallying behind him. Maybe his declaration of reclaiming the land that had been taken away from these races was a declaration of their invasion of the human world.

‘There is no distinction between good and evil among the Pillars.’

The videos of the candidates passed by one after another. Then, finally, the ninth candidate appeared. A sparkle appeared in Minhyuk’s eyes. This was because he was the ninth candidate. He expected that they would showcase his splendid and cool performances just like how they did the candidates before.

[The Pillar of the Gourmands. He…]

The video that followed the narration left Minhyuk in a stunned silence.

[...ate hard today too.]

“...?”

Minhyuk was truly speechless. They showed him cooking delicious food and eating it all day inside the imperial kitchen. There were even dozens of plates piled up like a mountain behind him.

‘No wonder my votes are meager…’

Minhyuk had not made any moves so far. This was because he wanted to see how the other candidates were doing and how they were performing. Was it because he had only been eating yesterday and today that his highlight scene was just this?

[He, the Pillar of Gourmands…]

[...truly enjoyed his meals.]

‘This… Is Joy Co. Ltd. deliberately targeting me?’

The additional narration left Minhyuk flustered and embarrassed. Nevertheless, he was the Pillar of the Gourmands, so eating well and enjoying his meals might just leave a good impression on the people.

Finally, the last candidate appeared. The last candidate was also one of Minhyuk’s teachers and was his staunch supporter.

Minhyuk looked at the number of votes written on the top of the screen.

‘10th place: Continental Emperor Ellie. 1.2%.’

He, watching through the camera’s perspective, realized that this was the first time he had seen Ellie alone. Of course, he could not say anything to her; he just watched her stand in the middle of the field, surrounded by hundreds of broken magic scarecrows.

Ellie was once known as the Sword Emperor. Before she knew it, she was being hailed as the Continental Emperor. But she did not become an emperor who led and ruled the entire continent.

Minhyuk was fully aware of it, too. In fact, one reason was that he became the Battle God.

‘Of course, I’m not the only one to blame.’

The truth was, Ellie was still lacking. She was still short of being worthy of the title of Continental Emperor who would lead the entire Asgan Continent.

Ellie, who plopped on the ground, gasped for air. She looked completely exhausted. Then, her body shook as sobs escaped from her mouth.

[Ellie… has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in Vasgara’s subjugation.]

“...”

Minhyuk’s jaw dropped open. Vasgara was a place that was filled with countless gigantic monsters. There were rumors about a power that would allow one to be a god hiding in that place. Surprisingly enough, Vasgara was not that far away from the Eivelis Empire.

Minhyuk felt like his heart was being squeezed as he watched his dear noona cry.

Ellie asked.

–Minhyuk, was I wrong? Did I make the wrong choice when I refused the position of the Sword God?

Every once in a while, regret about her past actions and choices seemed to engulf her. Honestly, Minhyuk was shocked that she was nominated as a candidate. It was because she was a legend at worst and a god at best and would probably be unable to carry the weight and the burden of being a Pillar.

Of course, the people believed her. They all hoped and believed that she would make a name for herself as a Pillar Candidate and lead them in the name of the Continental Emperor.

‘Those who held high expectations for others only needed to voice their expectations. However, those carrying these expectations will be left vulnerable with their heart slowly rotting from the pressure.’

‘What if I don’t meet their expectations?’ This thought alone would be enough to leave them in distress. Not only that, but it would also breed a constant sense of self-destruction and blame in oneself.

A knock suddenly echoed from the door of the training grounds where Ellie was sobbing silently to herself. Ellie immediately wiped her tears and maintained an expressionless face. Then, she stood up as if nothing had happened.

Thud, thud–

As she walked away, her voice, which was filled with the majesty and dignity of an emperor, rang. The emperor was already left vulnerable with her heart starting to rot and decay from everyone’s expectations. However, she had no choice but to pretend as if nothing had happened and act calmly in front of everyone

Minhyuk looked at her figure for a very long time. Not long after, she closed the doors. At the same time, the video ended. Once again, Ellie’s votes flashed in front of Minhyuk.

‘10th place: Continental Emperor Ellie. 1.2%.’

Unfortunately, Minhyuk could not even visit her and cook a warm meal. She might notice if Minhyuk did something so suddenly.

‘Ah, it’s not easy to comfort my noona, who has high self-esteem and pride.’

A bitter taste slowly spread in Minhyuk’s mouth. Sadly, he could no longer think about Ellie.

‘I have to act quickly and show them what the Pillar of the Gourmands can do so I can become a Pillar.’

Minhyuk then turned around to head to the central plaza’s fountain area.

[Clone Bird, who has been searching for knights, has finally found a suitable knight.]

“Oh…!”

Minhyuk was shocked. Clone Bird Dodo had recently eaten a Growth Egg and because of that, he had evolved further. This was proven by the notifications that he had heard just yesterday.

[The Clone Bird is evolving.]

[One of the sealed abilities of the Clone Bird has been released.]

[The Clone Bird can now select and appoint a temporary knight.]

[The God and Knight’s once-every-two-months usage restriction is not applied to the Temporary Knights.]

There was even a notification about the additional ability that had been unsealed with the Clone Bird.

Clone Bird could not select and appoint a temporary knight. These temporary knights would work under Minhyuk for a week at most.

‘In a way, it can be said to be an unnecessary ability. However, it can also be considered as a surprisingly clever system.’

The temporary knight would not become one of Minhyuk’s vassals. However, their appointment would still greatly benefit Minhyuk. This was because the system and Clone Bird Dodo, who knew who Minhyuk needed, would encourage these chosen knights to be under Minhyuk temporarily. On top of that, Minhyuk could also find a way to break through the temporary knight chosen by Clone Bird Dodo and permanently turn them into his knight.

Not long after, additional notifications rang.

[The Clone Bird offers to the knight that he found to become a Temporary Knight.]

[Eivelis Empire’s Emperor Ellie has been invited to become a Temporary Knight.]

“...?”

Minhyuk was shocked. Alas, the notifications did not end there. The following notification left him with even greater shock.

[The Clone Bird, who had offered the knight to become a Temporary Knight, has experienced a huge shock on his forehead.]

“...?”

At that moment, Minhyuk’s eyes widened in understanding. Ellie had obviously “ordered” Clone Bird Dodo to bury his head on the floor.