Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1152

Pandemonium’s Country’s King Bul’ark listened to the constant reports brought to him.

“The prisoners in the Prison of Hunger have escaped.”

The Prison of Hunger was where the prisoners were left to go hungry. They were only given half a potato to get by in a day. This was a form of suppression and was also used to boost the power of the Supreme Jar.

“Your Majesty, the prisoners in the Prison of Torment have also escaped.”

The Prison of Torment was a place where the prisoners would be cut with a knife and beaten until they were bruised or set on fire. And even after suffering from such heavy and terrifying acts, their bodies would recover after 24 hours.

“Those imprisoned in the Prison of Despair have also escaped.”

“And the same goes for the Prison of Frustration. All of the revolutionaries, including the Army Revolutionary, have escaped. It’s obvious what they’ll do.”

Bul’ark had expected this to happen. He was nothing but a puppet king andwanted to take advantage of the situation. Though it was incomplete, he planned to use the powerful force brewing inside the Supreme Jar.

Alas, this plan went up in smoke when some random madman choseand ate yeot.

‘I wanted to become the god of this place.’

Surprisingly enough, the god of this place was the one who created this Pandemonium. He had never shown himself to anyone, suppressing Bul’ark through the Supreme Envoys.

‘A damn f*cking god who treats me like a lap dog.’

Even so, Bul’ark did not feel frustrated. He thought, ‘In the end, do I have to use that power?’

Speaking of the Supreme Jar, did Bul’ark receive it? Well, it was only half right. The Supreme Jar was a special jar that could hold an extraordinary power. The one who contributed the most to the jar having the ability to hold that power was Bul’ark himself.

Bul’ark possessed an incredibly outstanding power. This power was called Predatory Disaster and could help him absorb others’ powers. If misused, the Predatory Disaster could rebound and shock Bul’ark considerably.

The Predatory Disaster was a taboo. If Bul’ark died during its use, he would be dragged down and imprisoned in the Eight Prison. He would then be subjected to eternal pain and suffering that he had subjected others to.

The revolutionaries would come in soon at the rate things were going, so he had to use the Predatory Disaster. It could absorb the power of those engraved with the stigma. Bul’ark, sitting calmly, stretched his hand out toward the soldier who made a report to him.

Thud–!

“Keoooook!”

The soldier, who was engraved with a stigma, was sucked into Bul’ark’s palm.

Fwoosh–!

As Bul’ark tightened his grip on the neck of the soldier, the soldier’s body slowly dried up like a mummy and broke down with a crack.

***

Gardin was not an ordinary author in Pandemonium. Even though the story he wrote was not interesting, it would still give hope to the people of Pandemonium’s Country who were being oppressed.

So, Gardin had to write the final chapter with more care. The story he wrote in the early and middle stages did not matter. What mattered was the last chapter. Something extraordinary would happen if this final chapter unfolded as he wrote.

‘The final chapter of the Pandemonium’s Country that I have always written always ends up in a disaster.’

Of course, Gardin never actually finished his story with this final disastrous ending. This time, it was different. Gardin wrote the final chapter of Pandemonium’s Country for the first and last time. He finally put a complete end to this story.

Gardin chuckled lightly as he finished his story and watched the entirely different ending that he had written.

‘If the flow of the story of the final chapter and the events of reality coincide, then…’

That power would be revealed to the world.

***

Minhyuk was standing in front of the Infinite Smithy. Leo had told him that the Infinite Smithy was created after the creation of the greatest sword. Thanks to the creation of this room, he was able to produce eleven other Greatest Weapons.

After handing over the Sword of Aeon and the Transcendental’s Armor, he could only stand there and stare at the empty smithy. The blacksmiths immediately went ahead and took out the artifacts that they had hidden and began to supply the Army Revolutionary Bharal and his army. They would no longer come back to the smithy. After all, the revolution would soon begin.

‘When will he come out?’

Only a few hours had passed since Leo entered. While waiting, Minhyuk recalled his conversation with Bharal.

–We’ll get the Cooking Revolutionary.

There were four Revolutionaries in total. When they came together, they could temporarily free themselves from suppression and awaken their true powers.

With Army Revolutionary Bharal present, it was only natural that Minhyuk remained where he was. He did not need to go out there himself and save the Cooking Revolutionary.

‘This is a bit boring, but… I’ll just eat something yummy while waiting…’

Bang–!

Bang, bang, bang–!

“Kyaaaaaack!”

“U-uwaaaaaack!”

“Spare us!”

“Please! A-aaaaack!”

Violent shrieks and screams rang loudly in Minhyuk’s ears. He immediately turned to look in the direction where the screams were coming from.

That was when he saw the Supreme Army flooding out of the castle and pinning people down. Then, a man wearing a red royal robe appeared and stretched his hand toward the men they held in captivity.

Shwaaaaaaaaa–!

The restrained people turned into mummies, drying up until they turned into nothing but sand that followed the wind and got sucked into the body of the man.

Ring!

[Sudden Quest: Salvation of the Pandemonium’s Country.]

Rank: SSS

Requirement: The one who received the Temporary Revolutionary Token.

Rewards: ???, Level Up +2

Penalty for Failure: The destruction of the Pandemonium’s Country, a sharp drop in the favor of all of the revolutionaries.

Description: Pandemonium’s Country’s King Bul’ark is hell-bent on using his power to devour and kill his people for their power so he can become a true god. Stop him.

Minhyuk frowned.

‘He devours their powers?’

Now that he was looking more closely, that seemed to be the case indeed. It certainly looked like Bul’ark was sucking something from those who had turned into dried-up mummies.

This sudden turn of events had left Minhyuk flustered. He did not currently have the Sword of Aeon and the Transcendental’s Armor equipped. Of course, he had another set of armor stored in his inventory just in case of emergencies. But the armor was only at the legendary rank.

‘In the first place, I never expected that I would have to fight when I took off the Sword of Aeon and the Transcendental’s Armor.’

Unfortunately, he could not run away either. The most significant disadvantage of sudden quests was that he needed help to turn it down. And if Minhyuk failed to stop Bul’ark, his favor with the revolutionaries would drop sharply.

In that short amount of time, the situation had turned grave. This was because the number of people that Bul’ark had sucked dry had and was still increasing at an exponential rate.

***

Bul’ark was devouring all of the people carrying the stigma at a rapid pace. With every person that he sucked dry, his strength would grow stronger by a little.

‘If I devour everyone, including all of the revolutionaries, then I may just be able to kill the God of Pandemonium.’

The more he devoured, the more he felt like he was gaining power.

The girl, who was holding onto her father, who had now turned into a dried-up mummy, cried out, “You lunatic! You are not a king!”

The crying and screaming girl could only stare at the terrible reality in front of her. She had been born into this nation and had lived a life filled with oppression. If they failed to meet the amount of work they were given in a day, they would not be able to sleep or eat. Their freedom to eat and sleep had all been taken away. Not a single person in this place was unaware that all of this was done to increase Bul’ark’s powers.

At the girl’s cry, the bereaved embracing their dead family members, all stood up and took arms. Tens of thousands held onto their knives, pickaxes, bats, hoes, sickles, and the like and stood up simultaneously. Even the crying girl stood up and pulled out the dagger hidden in her clothes.

“You bastard! You are not a king!”

“I will no longer allow myself to be oppressed.”

“Give us back our freedom!!!”

Standing right next to Bul’ark were the 1st to 20th Supreme Army Commanders and the countless knights and soldiers under his command.

Bul’ark sneered as he watched the people standing up in droves. “That’s right. I am not a king.”

Bul’ark declared himself that he was not a king.

“I am the god of the new world. And a god does not need citizens. Rejoice! You should be happy that you will be part of god, right?”

The armed people continued to march forward. The problem was those who carried the stigma. They could not recklessly fight against the king, and they could not even approach him. If they dared to get close, they would feel like their bodies were being electrocuted.

Bul’ark stretched his hand toward them.

Swoosh–!

Their bodies twisted and dried up.

The girl saw the clear expression of despair and hopelessness on the faces of the dying people. They died without even putting up a fight! Even so, the people standing behind the girl continued to march forward. The stigma could not suppress everyone at the same time. And this gave them at least a window to breathe.

They eventually clashed with the knights. The people who took up arms died with just a single swing of the weapons in the hands of the knights of the Supreme Army. This sight alone was enough for the girl to realize their revolution was in vain.

“Everything was a lie. A revolution is impossible.”

Just then, at that moment, someone touched her head. The man, who had mixed in among the running people, handed a handkerchief to the crying girl.

“The revolution has begun.”

He was a young man who seemed to be just four or five years older than her.

The man said, “Because we’re already fighting a revolution. Because you wanted to see change. And at the end of that revolution… is freedom.”

His words sounded silly. The girl, looking at the young man’s smile, denied it. “What do you know? The beginning of a revolution always starts with a powerful man, no?”

The girl had matured far too early. She believed a revolution would only begin if a strong man who could kill Bul’ark appeared.

The young man nodded. “That’s right.”

He mixed in among the tens of thousands of people charging forward, and the rest of his words floated lightly in the ears of the crying girl.

“That’s why I’m here.”

Tens of thousands of people were being swept away. However, hundreds of thousands of people who had locked themselves in their houses and hid behind their doors jumped out, took to the streets, and started running.

“Come! Keep on coming! Keuhahahahaha!”

Bul’ark was getting stronger and stronger, and he could even continue doing so. So, to him, their desperate actions were a cause of delight. He was so delighted at the sight of the screaming people that he failed to notice the signs. He just simply devoured everyone who had been cut down and fell in front of him.

“Anyway, you’re all weak. You should be honored that you will become my nourishment…!”

At that moment, a strange sound rang in their ears.

Thud–

The Knight Commander-level troops around him immediately prepared for any possible danger.

Thump, thump, thump–

The sound of something falling non-stop. The strange sound was so familiar to Bul’ark that it made goosebumps all over his body. Before he could even turn his head to look at where the sound was coming from, an unknown head rolled down in front of them. This head was none other than the head of the 9th Knight Commander.

[The events are similar to the written ending of the Story of Revolution.]

[A part of the page will be broadcast.]

[Amidst the constant terrified screams, the people were despairing.]

[Ah. In the end, was everything that we did in vain?]

[But they did not stop. The weapons and tools they used to arm themselves were an announcement to the world. They would fight for this revolution even after their death.]

[Today… it will be fine even if we die.]

[It will be fine even if they all burned to their deaths.]

[At that time, no one knew him.]

[No one has ever seen him.]

[And no one has ever heard of him. But he raised his sword and swung it for them.]

Bul’ark hurriedly looked around when he saw the head of the 9th Knight Commander in front of him. The heads of the knight commanders were all rolling on the ground. And their bodies? They had been torn apart. What was surprising was that they were all on their knees.

“...?”

[Amidst the blood flowing on the ground, he stood firm and looked at the king in disgust and contempt.]

“Those are good words. ‘Become my nourishment’?”

[No one knew him. No one has ever seen him. And no one has ever heard of him.]

[But his story is the beginning. This is the beginning of the Story of Revolution.]

“You will become my EXP.”