Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1187

When Minhyuk realized that the gods of the Gaia Continent were the same as those in Greco-Roman mythology, he thought Herakel might be closely related to them.

Herakel’s figure made him think of one demigod. And that was none other than Hercules. Hercules was the son of Zeus. He was a strong man who possessed immense power and wielded a club. And the same was true for Herakel. The only difference was that Herakel, just like Conir, had an intellectual disability.

Minhyuk thought that perhaps Herakel might be Hercules. And this thought solidified when he heard the notifications just now.

[There’s a chance that you might encounter one of the truths about God of Strength Herakel.]

[To protect his master, Herakel can lend his strength and power to you once.]

[Your STR stat has temporarily increased by 163%.]

Thanks to these notifications, Minhyuk could confidently step forward and arm wrestle with one of the members of the Giants race earlier. The result shocked everyone present. After all, it was shocking to see a member of the Giants race, someone as big as a house and considered the symbol of strength and power in the Gaia Continent, fall to the ground just like that.

And the most important part here was that Minhyuk had a bet with Perrin, the Giant. If Minhyuk won against Perrin in arm wrestling, he would hit him ten times. And just like in the other continents, the Gaia Continent would also punish those who did not fulfill the terms of the bet.

Twitch, twitch–

Meanwhile, Perrin laid on the ground in disbelief. His hand, which Minhyuk had grabbed during the arm wrestling, was throbbing.

“Now, you have to get hit ten times, no?”

The giants were a symbol of power, stamina, and physical strength. Their robust bodies allowed them to withstand the gods' attacks and emerge unscathed.

‘According to the Greco-Roman mythology’s Gianttomachy, Zeus cannot handle the Giants. They only managed to win against them after he summoned Hercules.’

Only Hercules, who possessed overwhelming stamina and physical strength, could kill the sturdy and robust Giants.

The sudden turn of events flustered Perrin. However, he soon regained his cool. He thought, ‘It seems like his power has temporarily increased, huh?’

When Minhyuk sent him down to the ground, Perrin felt that the man before him could not control his strength. He could tell the man’s balance was off when he flipped him over. Although Perrin had lost the bet, he was confident that this tiny human in front of him would not be able to inflict any serious injury upon him. But there was one thing that he was very conflicted about.

‘Damn it. I said that I would go back just like that if I lost in arm wrestling.’

The Gorodis Kingdom was like a paradise for the Giants. Not only would they be free from the influence of Olympus, but they would also be able to reign over the humans here and eat and play to their heart's content for the rest of their lives.

Perrin said, “You’re quite strong. How about we make another bet?”

Minhyuk looked at the Giant in interest.

“If I don’t release a single groan after being hit ten times in a row, you will let me live here for the rest of my life.”

“You cannot accept such a bet!”

The elders who brought the Giant to this place reacted wildly to the propositioned bet.

“It is tough to put a scratch on the body of a Giant! You must never fall for that bastard’s tricks!”

Meanwhile, Minhyuk had noticed something through the notifications.

‘The notifications said that I might be able to encounter one of Herakel’s truths. This means that the Giant in front of me might know some information about Herakel.’

So, Minhyuk agreed. “Alright. But I have a condition of my own. My condition is simple. Just answer three of my questions.”

The elders were stunned and devastated. Of course, Minhyuk's power, displayed just a few moments earlier, was beyond their imagination. But if his power were temporary, as Perrin thought, he would not be able to leave a scratch on the Giant’s body.

“Now, now. You can start hitting,” Perrin said, his voice confident. He was not like the other Giants; instead, he was one of the few who possessed unique attributes.

[Giants’ Iron Armor]

[Your defensive power has increased by 1.8x.]

Minhyuk looked at Perrin, whose entire body had turned into what seemed like a diamond. Then, he tightened his grip on the Sword of Aeon.

‘Is this the battle between the spear and the shield?’

Unfortunately for Perrin, Minhyuk’s sword was the greatest in Athenae. There were times when being big could work out against him. After all, the bigger he was, the easier for Minhyuk to hit his weak points. Minhyuk, who was hellbent on cutting down Perrin, swung his sword and aimed for his Achilles tendon.

Perrin believed the human’s measly sword would not cut down his reinforced legs. But then, he felt a searing pain flood through all of his veins. The pain was too much. It was to the point that he felt like his eyes were about to roll to the back of his head. Fortunately, he could clamp his mouth shut and swallow the groan about to escape from his mouth.

Minhyuk swung his sword the next moment and cut his other Achilles tendon.

Spurt–!

Perrin lost his balance and was forced down on his knees.

“This time, I’ll take your hands.”

Something absurd happened in front of everyone’s eyes. Minhyuk was cutting through the rigid body that supposedly could not be broken or cut down by anything and slashed Perrin’s tendons.

After dealing with his legs, Minhyuk sliced the tendons of Perrin’s hands. The kneeling Perrin’s expression was highly twisted, tortured by a pain that he had never felt in his entire life.

“There’s still six hits left.”

The worst part? It was just the beginning. Of course, there were no restrictions on the ten allowed hits. Minhyuk was free to use his skills. At this moment, Minhyuk displayed the military prowess of the Food God and the Battle God that the Gorodis Kingdom's people were unaware of.

‘Frenzied Blade.’

Shwaaaaaa–!

The sword in Minhyuk’s hand pierced through Perrin’s chest. A series of damages immediately followed the successful attack on the Giant’s vital point.

“Dual Swordsmanship Technique. Sword of Carnage.”

Dozens of sword attacks ripped through Perrin’s body, almost tearing him apart.

“K- keuaaaaaaaack…!”

Perrin, who had already forgotten about the bet that they made, screamed on instinct.

Minhyuk scoffed. “You want to reign over the Gorodis Kingdom and act like their god? I’m sorry, but this kingdom is already an ally of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.”

Minhyuk was someone who knew how to touch people’s hearts and how to move them deeply.

Indeed, as the elders had declared earlier, quite a few people felt that their freedom to choose the religion they would serve and worship was being taken away. These people also felt highly uncomfortable that they had to worship a “god” who only knew how to eat. They believed that this god would never be able to lead them.

This was also why Minhyuk had to put on this show and say these things out loud.

“As long as the Gorodis Kingdom is an ally to the Beyond the Heavens Empire, no one, not even your people, will be able to take them down.”

Minhyuk’s words warmed the hearts of the people of the kingdom. At this moment, they felt as if Minhyuk was qualified enough to be the one who they serve and worship.

[The faith and belief of the people of Gorodis Kingdom in you has reached the skies.]

Minhyuk swung his sword, which carried the symbol of Crazy, and hit Perrin.

Bang, bang, bang–!

The lightning that fell from the sky tormented Perrin. However, after hitting the screaming Giant nine times, he stopped. He stopped just before he delivered the final blow.

[If you kill a member of the Giants race, the entire Giants race will be hostile to you.]

This notification meant that Perrin had little HP left. Perhaps this was because attacks that hit the body of someone who wasn’t in a defensive stance could significantly damage the opponent.

However, Minhyuk decided to complete all ten hits still. The only difference was that the tenth and final hit was extremely light.

The elders, who saw his stance, suddenly screamed. They ran wild once again.

“Just one more hit! You have to kill that bastard with that hit!!!”

“That bastard killed one of the elders!!!”

“The Giants are violent and aggressive beings!”

Minhyuk glanced at the elder, whose head was forced to burst by the Giant in front of him.

‘I need to hear information about Herakel from this man.’

On the other hand, he found something a bit strange. The elders had been clamoring for him to kill Perrin, which was fine and normal. However, cold sweat was dripping down the foreheads of the two surviving elders.

Minhyuk frowned as he thought, ‘Something’s off.’

***

Herakel woke from his sleep, confused.

Why was he punished? How did he become a child again? Why was he in his adult body once again? Why was a young boy sleeping right next to him? And why was a young man smiling faintly at him as he covered him with a blanket he had kicked away? Why was he so close to the young man that he could not bear to leave him and walk away?

‘I’m grateful to him.’

Even so, he still could not bring himself to understand.

Herakel grabbed his club and went outside, inhaling the cold, crisp early morning air.

‘Why did I stay in this place and remain loyal to him?’

There were a lot of questions floating in his head. But then, at that moment, he felt it. His close aide, the Giant named Perrin, was on the verge of death. His face grew ugly. But it relaxed just as quickly as it twisted.

‘I’m sorry, Perrin. There’s no way for me to help you.’

Herakel and Perrin were connected deeply. It was even to the point where he could see through Perrin’s eyes. Perhaps he had recovered all his memories because Perrin awakened to the world again.

Herakel, who chose to look at what Perrin was seeing, was soon left in surprise.

“...”

His pupils trembled as he looked at the man standing before him. Then, he barked a laugh.

‘Why did I love, respect, and trust this person?’

Perrin was in a ridiculous situation. Not only could Herakel share Perrin’s vision, but he could also read his memories. Through these memories, he saw the truth: Perrin did not use the frightened elders to bring him in.

‘You guys awakened the slumbering Perrin, talked with him for a long time, and used some kind of skill to brainwash him.’

But because Perrin was faced with unimaginable pain and suffering, the brainwashing was slowly being released. Perrin was a good man with a pure soul, unlike the other Giants.

The elders and their self-fabricated story forced Perrin to kill one of the elders. And it seemed like the elder who was killed was the one who did not know what the other two had planned.

‘They wanted to hide behind the Giants’ notoriousness so they could take the Gorodis Kingdom for themselves,’ Herakel thought, a bitter smile on his face.

Finally, the brainwashing that Perrin was subjected to was released entirely. Herakel started to see the entirety of the situation through his unimpeded vision.

Perrin shouted, “Aaaaah! H-hurts! Please, stop! I’m not like this! An unknown force suddenly forced its way into me and brainwashed me—”

“Bullshit!”

“Food God! You have to kill him now!”

“We have made a mistake and led such vicious and heinous Giants to the kingdom. Now is the only chance! Since you’re allowed to hit him ten times, you can kill him right away!”

The elders shouted as if they cared about the kingdom’s welfare, and the terrified people began to cry, too.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Food God, kill that Giant and bring peace to us all!”

“We have faith in you!”

“Food God! Please lead us to the path of peace and salvation!”

It was as Herakel expected. Everyone only cared about the outcome. Herakel silently stood there and watched Minhyuk through Perrin’s eyes.

There was still one question lingering in his head.

‘Why do I… toward this man…’

Why did he believe so much in this man that he followed him here?

‘Why do I respect and love this man so much?’

Then, Minhyuk said, “You got brainwashed?”

“Don’t trust his words!”

“Do not be misled by his tricks!”

“Are you saying that you believe the words of a Giant?!”

At this moment, Herakel realized why he loved and respected this man so much.

“Is what you say true?”

While everyone had pushed reason aside and failed to see the essence of the matter, this man saw through it and unveiled everything.

“Can you prove that you did not mean to do any of that?”

It was like how he hugged Herakel when everyone tried to kill him in the Land of the Gods.

“Tell me your story.”

Yes, Minhyuk was that kind of person, the type who would listen to other’s stories.

“I also think that it’s a bit weird.”

And he was more objective and more rational than anybody else.

“Why is your name ‘Good Giant Perrin’?”

He was someone who could grasp the situation quicker than anybody else.

“Why are the elders sweating like crazy? It’s as if they’re trying to cover up a sin.”

Despite everyone’s harsh criticisms and rebukes, Minhyuk slowly lowered himself and made eye contact with the distressed Perrin.

“If my deductions are correct. Then, the elders are trying to use you, a member of the Giants race, to seize power. However, my appearance has ruined all of their plans. That’s why they, who prepared for this day by brainwashing a Giant, are clamoring for me to kill you. After all, they don’t want to be found out and punished for the crimes that they have committed.”

Minhyuk’s gaze as he looked at Perrin was cold.

“If even a single word is a lie, I will kill you with one swing of my blade.”

Then, his cold gaze softened as a small smile graced his face.

“But if the elders are the ones who lied, then I will punish them myself.”

Perrin felt incredibly relieved when he heard those words.

Even so, they continued to receive criticism and rebuke. The elders shouted that everything was ridiculous and nonsensical while the people continued criticizing Minhyuk’s choice.

But Herakel, who saw him act like that, had the most brilliant smile.

‘This is the reason why I love and respect you.’

Hercules was the greatest hero in Greco-Roman mythology.

‘Serving you is an honor.’

And this very same hero respected Minhyuk.