Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1208

Minhyuk could be considered the one who understood the Athenae’s system the best among all the players. He instinctively knew that even though the quest was only ranked A, he would be in big trouble if he dared to take away any of the weapons in the hands of the young Fabro.

‘Of course, that’s not the only reason I consoled and comforted Fabro.’

It was because Minhyuk felt he was looking at his childhood when he saw Fabro’s past. He had also chosen to leave himself in solitude and make himself lonely.

Of course, it was not just him who consoled and comforted Fabro. The hundreds of thousands of weapons that Fabro had held also stepped forward and healed his heart.

For a split second, Minhyuk felt like he was under an illusion. The adult Fabro cried as he stared at the smiling face of his young version in the sky.

Then, shocking notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[Weapon Master Fabro has realized the true meaning of being a Weapon Master.]

The sudden turn of events was entirely out of their expectations. Both Minhyuk and Alexander looked at each other with embarrassment. Fabro’s awakening would mean that Alexander would no longer be able to live as the Weapon Master. Nonetheless, those worries were unfounded.

[Weapon Master Fabro has chosen to remain sealed on his own.]

Immediately after that, Fabro declared to all of the Pillars and the world through a notification that he was in full support of the Pillar of the Gourmands.

[Weapon Master Fabro is giving you rewards.]

The hundreds of thousands of weapons scattered with the wind and disappeared. Only the five old, shabby weapons that Fabro held as a child remained floating around him.

Fabro looked at his old weapons fondly before looking at Minhyuk and saying, “Thank you for letting me know the true meaning of being a Weapon Master.”

Before, Fabro firmly believed he could only reach this position and become the Weapon Master because he was a lonely genius. Now, he realized the truth.

“The Weapon Master gained its name because they were with their weapons.”

It meant that the weapons would protect their owner, and the owner would also protect them. Only now did Fabro realize he had the most precious thing in the world.

Because this man made him realize that, Fabro pondered deeply about what he would give him. He wanted to provide the man with the best gift that he could. After much consideration, Fabro finally found the best reward for him.

Fabro looked at Minhyuk’s vassals before returning to him, asking, “Are you looking for the Pillar Ingredients?”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide in a comical manner. He had already cooked and eaten two of the Pillar Ingredients in existence. There was only one ingredient left, but no matter how hard he tried to look for it, he could not find it.

Fabro, who seemed to have read the thoughts in his mind, said, “You must be having a hard time finding it. Of course, that’s only natural. Because I kept the ingredient hidden in the past.”

“The past?” Minhyuk asked, unable to understand the meaning of his words.

“That’s right. I just hid it a few moments earlier.”

Fabro held the final Pillar Ingredient, the ingredient representing the sky. And, of course, Minhyuk wanted to have the final ingredient in his hands. He liked it more than anybody else. After all, he could completely unseal the gloves once he had successfully obtained and cooked the final ingredient. Furthermore, Minhyuk had made an assumption.

‘Perhaps something special will happen if one player ate the three Pillar Ingredients alone?’

There was a high chance that something very special would happen once he completed that.

First, the Pillar Ingredients were almost impossible to find and very difficult to cook. In the current era, the number of people who could cook them could be counted on one hand. That was why Minhyuk believed something special would happen if a single person could collect, cook, and eat all three Pillar Ingredients.

On the other hand, he could not understand why Fabro had just hidden the ingredient a few moments earlier. He even said that he had hidden it in the past.

‘Is he telling me to take on the difficult path when he can just give it to me right now?’ Minhyuk thought.

Though Minhyuk was confused, as someone on the receiving end, he could not question Fabro’s choices.

Fabro handed Minhyuk a scroll.

[You have acquired Dreaming of the Past Scroll.]

“Use this when you have the time.”

Fabro smiled gently at Minhyuk. Then, he turned to look at Alexander, his successor. Fabro smiled softly at Alexander, who flinched in surprise when they made eye contact.

“You have a good friend.”

Fabro’s reaction was completely different from his reaction earlier. After all, he had shown how furious he was when Alexander chose to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with someone else just a while ago. Then, Fabro, who had escaped from Rosgol’s body, was sucked back inside.

The entire situation finally ended.

***

The Beyond the Heavens Empire had done an excellent job preventing Weapon Master Fabro’s Clone from running rampant in their capital. When the true Weapon Master Fabro appeared and declared to the world that he was giving Minhyuk his support, a vast wave was created. Just like before, the communities worldwide began to heat up. Stories about their future expectations for Minhyuk and Alexander appeared all over social media.

Minhyuk finally returned to his office and checked the scroll he had received from Fabro.

(Dreaming of the Past Scroll)

Rank: ???

Special Abilities: ???

Description: You cannot check anything until you rip the scroll apart.

Minhyuk still could not fathom what Fabro’s intentions were.

“I have to rip it to know what it is, right?”

Haze agreed with him. She said, “Your Majesty, Fabro has learned something new with your help. He was even able to heal his long-standing wounds. It would have been nice if he had immediately given Your Majesty the Pillar Ingredient. Even so, tearing the parchment will probably not give you any hardships or adversities.”

After all, Fabro had shown his support for Minhyuk, so it was unlikely he would be willing to put him in danger.

“What’s our current situation?”

“We have quickly stabilized the situation. I don’t think you have anything special that you need to deal with, Your Majesty. I think you can tear the parchment anytime you like. Besides, obtaining the final Pillar Ingredient is Your Majesty’s long-cherished dream.”

Minhyuk nodded. Just thinking about what delicious ingredient would be released excited him.

Not long after, Haze stepped out of the office. Minhyuk looked down at the mysterious scroll. He closed his eyes for a moment and tore it apart. Then, a feeling of being teleported enveloped him.

[You have torn the Dreaming of the Past Scroll.]

[The effects that Fabro had hidden have been activated.]

[You will go back to the past of one of the people related to you.]

[You will go back and visit the past of three of the people related to you.]

[They may or may not know that they are related to you or that you are the emperor they are serving in the future. This will depend entirely on the situation.]

[You will appear in front of the people related to you or those related to your people. This will depend entirely on the situation.]

[You have to treat the people related to you to a delicious meal.]

[You have to treat those related to your people to a delicious meal. This will depend entirely on the situation.]

[If you successfully serve them a delicious meal, you can obtain the rewards that Fabro has hidden.]

[Only after serving a delicious meal to the people related to you will you be able to obtain the Pillar Ingredient.]

When Minhyuk opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of the battlefield.

“Charge!!!”

“Don’t stop! Rescue the prisoners!”

“Kill the wicked and heinous people of the Velez Empire!”

Minhyuk looked at the situation in confusion. According to the scroll, he would appear in the past of the people related to him or those related to his people.

He watched as the tens of thousands of soldiers and knights continued to advance, even if it meant stepping on their comrades' bodies. They kept running with shields above their heads, protecting themselves from the rain of arrows about to fall on them.

Minhyuk looked around. ‘Whose past is this?’

He had only heard about the significant events in his people's lives. He did not know the exact details of their past.

Then, at that moment, something huge fell from the sky.

“It’s a magical bombing!”

BANG–!

Massive explosions erupted non-stop all over the place. When the dust finally settled, the entire battlefield was filled with the bodies of soldiers who died with their eyes wide open. There were also quite a lot of soldiers groaning and crying with their bodies covered with wounds, and quite a few who were screaming and shouting for help.

That was when Minhyuk saw a young man running among them. He helped one of the soldiers who had collapsed and was asking for help.

“Just hold on a bit longer. Just a bit longer!”

“Benz. Pl-please! S-save me! I don’t want to die ye…”

The young man, who was named Benz, helped his comrades despite the rising pillars of flames and explosions. He even went so far as to comfort the soldiers who were shouting and screaming in pain. Unfortunately, the comrade that he helped still died with his eyes wide open.

“...”

Minhyuk stared at the scene blankly. Benz, the young man, closed his fallen comrade's eyes and began to run to help the other injured soldiers. He kept on running to save the people even though they were being blasted with countless magical attacks.

One of the dying soldiers realized that Benz was trying to save him. So, he said, “Benz…” He reached out and looked at Benz with sad eyes. “Urk! Ack… I… hope you get what you want… make… sure to save the prisoners… y-you…”

Thud–!

“Damn it!” Benz screamed as he hugged his now-dead comrade.

“Retreat!”

“Retreat!”

“We have received orders to retreat!”

“Everyone, run!”

“The prisoners! What about the prisoners?!”

“Prisoners?! We’re already in this f*cking situation! All of us are going to die; why do you care about those prisoners, huh?!”

The army troops to which Benz belonged began to flee after receiving orders from the nobles. Benz looked at the situation in disbelief. Of course, quite a few people rebelled and disobeyed the orders the nobles had given them.

“It’s just right around the corner!”

“We have to rescue them!”

“We only need to go two more kilometers! That’s the place where they’re being held captive!”

“You want to rescue the prisoners? Fine. Those who want to stay can stay. Those who want to live, retreat!!!”

Vwooooooong–

Vwoooong–

With the blare of the horn, the soldiers began to flee. As for those who wanted to save the prisoners? They continued to charge forward. Among them was Benz. He grabbed one of the spears that fell on the ground and began to trudge forward amidst the bombardment of attacks to try and rescue the prisoners.

At that moment, Minhyuk saw a huge fireball coming straight toward Benz. He ran forward and pushed him out of the way.

Bang–!

A massive explosion erupted. Benz looked at the man who pushed him, confused. Of course, Minhyuk would not receive any damage from fireballs or anything else. After all, he was in a dream.

When Minhyuk turned to look at Benz and saw his shaking pupils, he finally realized who he was. He looked similar to someone he knew—Spear God Ben.

***

The Venjas Kingdom’s Prisoner Rescue, which happened decades ago, was a famous story circulated in the kingdom. It was said that the courageous knights and soldiers from the tiny kingdom of Venjas successfully rescued their people who had been taken captive.

Regardless, the result of their expedition was utterly disastrous. Although the prisoners had been rescued, they were all killed during the chase. Because of that, they were all recorded as the “heroes” of the Venjas Kingdom.

Minhyuk did not know the exact details of the story. However, he knew that the young man in front of him was Ben’s dead son. He could not help but marvel at the incredible system's power.

[Benz has realized that you are the man Ben chose to serve in the future.]

It seemed that Benz could not tell how much affection Minhyuk and Ben had for each other, what kind of person Ben was, or what type of life Ben had now. He also could not tell what kind of influence Minhyuk had on his father. Nonetheless, there was one thing that Benz was sure of: Minhyuk was from the future, and he was Ben’s master.

The aggressive enemies began to retreat in fear of the charging forces of the Venjas Kingdom, and the explosions and bombardment stopped. Benz survived with Minhyuk's help.

Minhyuk looked at Benz brightly. Then, he said, “Benz, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Ben’s…”

“Get lost.”

“...?”

Minhyuk was left confused and flustered by Benz’s reaction.

The young man had shown how courageous and righteous he was before. He even ran for the sake of the injured despite the looming threat over him. However, his face immediately changed when he realized Minhyuk was related to Ben. He even looked at Minhyuk in disgust. Only after hearing his following words did Minhyuk realize why.

“You’re the man who accepted that crazy Pinnacle Strong Man under your command, right? You’re the same kind of people.”

Minhyuk knew that Ben was a strong man who once left the world in terror. Of course, the Minhyuk of today could quickly deal with the Pinnacle Strong Men of the past. In these kingdoms and empires, there weren’t any strong people like them.

The Pinnacle Strong Men were notorious, especially Ghost Spear Ben. After all, he had killed many people in his quest for power.

“I don’t care about anyone related to that damn man! He’s someone who chose to abandon his child because he went crazy about his power…”

“Wait. Please listen to me… your father…”

Benz had died. Minhyuk did not know if he would die today, tomorrow, or sometime in the future. Nonetheless, his death changed Ben. Ben abandoned his position as one of the Pinnacle Strong Men and even lived a very long time in the Dragon King’s Sea just to search for his son’s pocket watch. Ben did not realize how much he cared for and loved Benz until it was too late. And that fact left him with regret.

Alas, that was Ben’s side of the story, not Benz’s story.

“That man is not my father. Get lost. He and I are nowhere near the same!”

In a way, it was not wrong to put it like that. Ben was more of a lean and slim man, while Benz was tall and had a considerable build; he even looked like he fit the term “tall and majestic general.” His large physique made it look like he could beat several soldiers with a single swing of his arms. Even his eye color was different from Ben’s own. And if one thought of Grandpa Ben, they would realize that their sense of justice was completely different.

“Do you understand?! He and I don’t look alike at all! You said he’s my father…”

However, there was one visible similarity between them.

“Benz. You’re also bald, huh?”

“...?”

Benz was only twenty-three this year. The sudden and blunt declaration of fact left Benz teary.

“F*ck you…”

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