Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1194

The Origin Authority: God and Knight was one of the best skills in Minhyuk’s possession. In fact, Minhyuk was confident that this skill was the best in Athenae.

God and Knight would be activated if the other person was deemed someone the user needed. Otherwise, it would be activated if the system recognized the other as a talent.

Its description said, ‘The God and Knight will guide you or develop a situation where you can obtain the talent as your own.’ And now, the situation flowed so that Minhyuk could obtain Hephaestus as his knight.

The crawling Hephaestus cried out, “Please, I beg you. Please show me your sword and armor. If I can look atthem,r then I might just be able to finally complete the spear that I had been working on for a very long time!”

When Minhyuk entered Hephaestus’s room, the Destruction Artifacts attacked him and his artifacts. This sudden turn of events had left him both flustered and confused. This feeling then grew even deeper when Hephaestus suddenly fell on his knees and did this.

Hephaestus rubbed his palms together, begging, “I’ll do whatever you ask me to. So, please! I beg you!”

[Hephaestus has been working on the Olympus’ Guardian Spear for several decades.]

[But the Olympus’ Guardian Spear is an artifact at a level far beyond Hephaestus’ reach.]

[Hephaestus believes he can finally complete the Olympus’ Guardian Spear if he sees and feels other artifacts with his eyes and hands.]

Only then did Minhyuk understand why Hephaestus reacted like that.

‘Hephaestus possesses the eyes of a blacksmith. He can see more deeply into the Sword of Aeon and the Transcendental’s Armor.’

If Minhyuk, the artifact’s owner, allowed it, the detailed information would be revealed to Hephaestus.

The hairs on Minhyuk’s skin stood up. As of this moment, the Beyond the Heavens Empire had Hyemin’sDaddy and the dwarven blacksmith Olger. The two were outstanding blacksmiths, especially Hyemin’sDaddy.

Furthermore, Hyemin’sDaddy was the God of Blacksmiths, though he was still a player in the end,

‘He still can’t compare to the master craftsmen who had lived hundreds of years devoted to making their crafts and artifacts.’

Although Hyemin’sDaddy could be considered the best among the players, he was no match against the NPCs. So, if Minhyuk could recruit Hephaestus, then he would be able to be a massive help to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. With the artifacts that Hephaestus would create, the troops of their empire would become at least 7% stronger.

Greed almost took over Minhyut, his mouth breaking into a grin. He thought, ‘Based on the current situation, things are working in my favor. All I need to do is give him my permission and—’

“PLEAAAAAAASE!!! If you tell me to go east, I will never go west!”

Minhyuk was caught by surprise, and goosebumps rose all over his skin as he watched Hephaestus cling to his pants and scream.

‘This punk is nuts…’ Then, Minhyuk realized, ‘What in the world was I thinking just now…?’

He realized that he was behaving like Hera just a few moments ago. He had imagined locking Hephaestus up in the Beyond the Heavens’ smithy for the rest of his life and making him force artifacts for his empire so they could grow stronger. However, if he did that, he would be no different from Hera or the gods of Olympus.

There was one more thing that Minhyuk could not understand.

‘No matter what, he’s still a god…’

All Minhyuk needed to do was show Hephaestus his two artifacts. But to view them, Hephaestus clung to his legs and even begged, cried, and screamed. This told Minhyuk that the god before him had negligible self-esteem, confidence, and pride.

‘It has already hit the ground.’

It was also a testament to the life that he had lived.

‘He’s lived a dark and gloomy life and has long become depressed.’

Minhyuk, who realized these facts, grew curious about Hephaestus's life. So, he took a potion out. This potion was called Your Life, which the God of Alchemy Mandal developed. Minhyuk could view the important scenes in a person’s life when they drank this potion. Otherwise, he could view whatever the one who drank the potion wanted them to see.

“Then, will you drink this for me?”

“Alright! I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it right away!” Hephaestus said without any hesitation. After all, he knew he would not die even if he drank potions like this. Hephaestus could not even see anything around him right now. All he could see and think of was the artifacts before him. All he wanted to do was check them out.

Glug, glug–!

Hephaestus drank everything in one go. At the same time, Minhyuk and Hephaestus fell asleep.

[You will now start to peek into the life Hephaestus had lived through.]

***

[Hephaestus has been abandoned from the moment he was born.]

It was a story that everyone knew.

Hera, who had given birth to such a hideous child, had chosen to drop the child from the sky in disgust. Hephaestus fell into the sea and was left with a limp.

Eurynome and the nymph Thetis, who lived in the sea, felt sorry for Hephaestus and saved him. The abandoned child began to learn his blacksmithing skills there and, with his talents, became the God of Blacksmiths.

Now useful, the young Hephaestus was finally able to return to Olympus. Hephaestus was born with a soft heart, a docile temperament, and a kind nature. When he returned to Olympus, he naturally forgave Zeus and Hera.

The young yet lame Hephaestus hoped to be able to play and hang out with the children who would become heroes in the future.

–Let’s play together?

–Yeah! I’ll make toys that we can use to defeat the villains!

With a big smile, Hephaestus told the children that he would make them cool swords and weapons that heroes often held. But then, the child at the front had said.

–Then… you become the villain.

–How about being a Hydra?

–Oh! Hydra is perfect for you!

–H, huh? But I also want to be a hero…

–What kind of hero are you?

–You’re hideous!

–You look dirty!

–You’re even limping! It’s perfect for you. Hahaha!

–You don’t want to? Then get lost if you don’t want to!

Hephaestus listened to the boy standing at the front. Then, he pondered for a long time before laughing awkwardly.

–No, it’s fine with me. Let’s play!

[Hephaestus wanted to fit in even if it meant he would be used.]

Hephaestus, wearing the villain’s mask, was hit by the children’s toys, swords, and arrows.

–Die! You scoundrel!

–Hideous villain!

–Gods like you should never exist in the world!

–It hurts! It hurts!

But after their playtime was over…

–L-let’s play again next time.

[Hephaestus has learned how to yield and fit in since he was young.]

[He learned how to let himself be taken advantage of so he could play together with his peers.]

[And the same was true as he went into his adulthood.]

The scene in front changed.

[Hephaestus was someone who loved dearly and deeply. The first person that he fell in love with was a human.]

Hephaestus was making accessories. Although he was a god, he was making jewelry for the very beautiful human he had a crush on. The jewelry was a gorgeous ring adorned with flowers, perfectly reflecting the human woman.

But just as Hephaestus was about to give the gift to the human, a god appeared before him. This god, hiding behind a tree, was the same child who had told Hephaestus to become the villain.

–Do you think someone like you is deserving of love? Even if she’s a human, there’s no way that she would love a f*cking god like you!

Even after they got older, the relationship between the two men had not changed. They were still like masters and servants. The man pushed Hephaestus on the back. With great courage, Hephaestus spoke up.

–Excuse me…

–Kyaaaack!

The woman screamed in fear the moment she saw Hephaestus. And when she saw his limping leg, she looked at him in disgust. It was something that no human could dare do in front of a god. However, she did it to Hephaestus because he looked nothing like a god.

Hephaestus hid the ring he could not give to the woman and left her, who looked at him with disgust and contempt. The man, who saw the scene, snatched the ring from Hephaestus.

–F*cking idiot.

The man walked past Hephaestus and approached the beautiful woman. The woman, who received a ring from a handsome, cool god, was thrilled.

–...Goodness! You’re so cool.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

–I want to spend the night with you.

A blush adorned the woman’s face. Hephaestus, who hid behind a tree, could not help but cry when he saw the two enter a cabin together. The next day, the man came out of the cabin while buttoning up his shirt and told Hephaestus.

–There’s a drinking party among the gods today. Do you want to come?

Like the fool that he was, Hephaestus laughed. He had always wanted to hang out with his peers.

–Right. Th-thank you.

The scene changed once again.

In the dark, Hephaestus held his hammer tightly with his head bowed down. Then, he walked away alone.

Murmur, murmur–

The voices of various gods rang through the darkness.

‘Hephaestus. You’re hideous. It’s only right that you lock yourself up inside the smithy.’

‘Goodness! That’s a god…? I have never seen a god that looks like that.’

‘Kyaaack! He glanced at me!’

‘Hephaestus. I want to see how much I have improved. I can test it on you, right? You won’t die anyway,’

The limping Hephaestus continued to walk deeper into the darkness. He continued to walk and never stopped. And at the end of the darkness, a voice rang.

‘Hephaestus. You will make artifacts for the rest of your life in this smithy. One day, the world will recognize you and your efforts.’

Those were Hera’s words. Just like that, Hephaestus entered the prison-like place on his own.

But one day, he suddenly had a dream. He wanted to make an artifact that would surprise everyone who had ignored him.

Not long after, the notifications rang.

[Hephaestus has lived a life of subservience and obedience. He is a god who will choose to lower himself and submit to someone, letting himself be taken advantage of and be taken for granted.]

With that, the effects of the Your Life potion ended, and Minhyuk and Hephaestus both woke up.

***

Special Players Management Team.

The visiting employees still had an hour before they had to return. The scene they had watched on the monitor left them speechless. However, none could say that Hephaestus was cowardly or that the others were bad. This was because they knew that they would also react like that.

If they thought someone was weaker than them, they would choose to ignore them. They would not yield anything to them and would take for granted the sacrifices the weak would make for them.

‘I’m just a normal person? Who wouldn’t even do something like that?’

On the other hand, the visiting employees could not understand one thing.

“God and Knight is a truly ridiculous power. How can a power like that…”

Did that mean that Minhyuk would be able to get Hephaestus like that? At that moment, everyone’s thoughts were on the same page.

“Did he become the Supreme because he has a power like that…?”

They suddenly thought that if they could truly obtain strong men like that, they would also be able to do what Minhyuk could.

But then, Team Leader Park said, “Unfortunately, Hephaestus cannot be obtained through the God and Knight.”

“...?!”

“...?!”

Everyone present was left shocked and confused. After all, God and Knight had already been activated.

“Because he is currently a subordinate to Hera. Even if Minhyuk succeeds, the relationship will be terminated right away. There is only one way for Hephaestus to break free from being Hera’s subordinate. And that is for Hephaestus to break the link that connects him to Hera himself.”

“But Hephaestus is a god who has always lived a life of subservience and obedience, right? If that’s the case, then…”

This meant that, ultimately, his link to Hera and his status as her subordinate would never be broken. At this point, they thought the God and Knight were not a cure-all.

Then, everyone watched as the two men woke up not long after. When Hephaestus opened his eyes, he grabbed Minhyuk’s pants and began begging.

[Just once! Just show it to me once! I can make you anything and everything that you want! I can even bark or wag a tail like a dog if you want it!]

Anyone could feel the passion and love he had to create in Hephaestus, a god who had always been ignored and mocked. In their eyes, it was alright for Hephaestus to grovel and beg. They thought that it was not embarrassing for him to act like this. After all, he had always lived his life like that.

[Thud! Thud! Thud!]

[PLEAAAAAAAAASE! From this point on, I am your dog…!]

Everyone looked at Hephaestus with pity in their eyes. Hephaestus was slamming his head on the ground and begging as hard as he could. There was even blood flowing from his forehead.

Hephaestus, who had ignored the blood flowing down his face, soon felt a warmth touching his forehead. The warmth came from Minhyuk’s hand. It was blocking the ground where he was slamming his forehead. Hephaestus looked up at Minhyuk in confusion.

Minhyuk hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood flowing down Hephaestus’ forehead.

[I have made up my mind.]

Everyone looked at the monitor with rapt attention.

[I won’t take you in as my dog. And I won’t accept you as my subordinate.]

At the same time…

[The God and Knight has failed.]

This was the first time that the God and Knight had failed. Perhaps it was because it was destined to fail from the very start. Even so, Minhyuk did not care. He held Hephaestus’ hands and gently and slowly helped him up.

[Why? Why…?! Please, I beg you! Don’t abandon me…! Please accept me…! Is it because I’m ugly…?!]

Minhyuk smiled faintly as he looked at the screaming Hephaestus.

[I don’t want us to be like a dog and its owner.]

[Nor like a monarch and their servant.]

[I don’t even want us to be superficial friends.]

Minhyuk’s eyes were sincere.

[I want us to be friends.]

[The kind who would eat and talk together.]

[I don’t want anything from you. I just want to be able to see you every once in a while.]

[I just want to get worried about you when you’re sick or be able to comfort you when you’re having a hard time.]

At this moment, everyone realized that Minhyuk became the Supreme not because he had the power of the God and Knight but because he thought differently and was different from the rest. Perhaps it was also because he knew what God and Knight indeed were.

[I just want us to be that kind of friends.]

This was the reason why he was the Supreme.

[Hephaestus.]

Minhyuk helped Hephaestus up. He never broke eye contact with the ugliest god in the world as he talked to him.

[Will you be my friend?]