Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1206

He was just one player, yet the entire world was paying attention to this player. Why? Because he had awakened as an Eight Pillar Class player.

A few reporters worldwide were preparing to fly directly to America, where Alexander was currently living. Meanwhile, the hundreds of thousands of reporters who could not join the lively scene were sitting in front of their computers and watching Alexander with rapt attention.

The fact that a single player created a massive wave like this was unbelievable. The awakening of the first Eight Pillar Class, the Weapon Master, was worth it.

Meanwhile, a notification rang in the ears of Alexander, who had finally and truly become an Eight Pillar Class player.

[You are the first Eight Pillar Class.]

[You have awakened the first level of power of the Weapon Master.]

[You have acquired new Weapon Master skills.]

[However, in exchange for awakening the first level of power of the Weapon Master, your level will drop by 100.]

The moment he awakened the first level of power of his Eight Pillar class, Alexander’s level dropped by 100. With the drop in level, Alexander’s stats and skill levels fell sharply. Regardless, what mattered the most was the future. From then on, Alexander would have mastery over all artifacts, just like the Weapon Master.

However, the drop in level had also made his previous skills and abilities drop. Previously, his Sword Mastery could reach Level 22, but with the 100-level drop, he could only reach Level 15. If one looked at it this way, Alexander’s awakening seemed only filled with losses.

Yet it was far from the truth. Previously, his skill allowed him to have a 2% additional attack power, a 2% increase in critical damage, and a 2% increase in sword accuracy rate with every rise in the level of his Sword Mastery.

Now that Alexander had indeed become the Weapon Master, the effects of his skill with every increase in the level of his Sword Mastery had changed entirely. Every increase in level would net a 3% increase in the rates mentioned above and attack power. In other words, if his Sword Mastery reached Level 10, the additional 20% increase in attack power, critical damage, and accuracy rate from before would be 30%.

Most of Alexander’s skills were in the same situation. What would happen if he grew again and reached the same level of power that he had before?

‘He will become at least 1.5x stronger than before.’

Of course, the stats he would earn with every level up would also increase. The higher his level, the higher the power that he would have. It was ten times easier for the now Level 600 Alexander to reach Level 700 than for the previous Level 700 Alexander to reach Level 800. The effort and hard work he needed to invest to become 1.5x stronger was also ten times less.

Alexander’s growth was endless. It was to the point where it could probably even go beyond Minhyuk’s growth. Of course, this was a story for another time.

However, the people held great expectations. They predicted that the scale, which had previously tipped to Minhyuk’s side because Alexander lacked the things he had–his vassals, his artifacts, his skills, and even his status as the Battle God and the Food God–could be balanced out with this one class alone.

The entire world, who knew this fact, watched Alexander with rapt attention when the reporters asked him what he wanted to do first after completely awakening to his class. And what did Alexander say?

“I will make Minhyuk the Pillar of the Gourmands.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

The wave that Alexander’s declaration had set off was extremely huge. Even Minhyuk, who had turned around to leave the spotlight to him, was left surprised that he had to look back at him.

The reporter asked in a daze, “You’re saying that you want to make Mr. Minhyuk a Pillar…?”

“I will be at his beck and call until he becomes a Pillar.”

The cameras’ flashes nearly blinded everyone on sight with how fast they were flashing.

“If there’s something that he needs to become a Pillar, then I will go and get it for him.”

Alexander had drawn a line for the entire world to see.

“I will use any means necessary for him to become a Pillar.”

As a Pillar, Minhyuk was lacking. And compared to the other Pillar Candidates, he had far less support. The declaration that Alexander made definitely gave him a considerable boost.

At that moment, the turtle Rosgol suddenly noticed something.

Rosgol was Weapon Master Fabro’s closest aide. The reason why Rosgol chose to serve him was because he believed that Fabro’s power was unrivaled. Fabro trusted Rosgol to lead his descendants on the right path. And that path was the same one he had walked on—one where he had to be recognized as the strongest being in the world, even if it meant that he had to trek dangerous paths and face strong winds. Fabro had left Rosgol the task of making the Weapon Master the best among the Pillars, just like he was in the past.

“Lord Fabro…! Please be magnanimous and show understanding for Alexander’s decision…! Keuhaaack!”

Rosgol had forged a relationship with Alexander. The two had grown close over time. Even if Rosgol favored Alexander, the real Fabro could choose to show his real power without any hesitation the moment he saw his descendant make the wrong choice.

“Keuhack!” Rosgol screamed in pain. At the same time, his eyes slowly turned red.

[Weapon Master Fabro has temporarily awakened.]

The clone was nothing compared to the real Fabro. Even though it was said that the clone was weaker than Fabro by 20%, that was a mere estimate. Fabro still possessed powers that his clone did not.

For example, he had the power called Weapon’s Voice. The Weapon’s Voice was a power that bestowed ego upon every nearby weapon. This allowed Fabro to listen to their stories. But that was not all its use. It was far more surprising than other skills. Fabro could use this skill to put pressure on the weapons and find out his enemies’ weaknesses through them.

He also had the power called The Plunderer. It was a power that allowed him to remove any of the artifacts his opponent wore.

[Weapon Master Fabro has doubts about your qualifications.]

***

Fabro had chosen Alexander because he was a lonely genius. Why were the criteria like that? Because Fabro was also someone who experienced loneliness. After all, he was a child abandoned inside the royal smithy.

He grew up inside the smithy and was forced to do odd jobs to help the blacksmiths survive. At first, he thought the blacksmiths were his family, but he changed his mind when he learned they treated him like livestock. In the end, he was left alone and lonely.

The lonely Fabro swung his sword non-stop, even if the sword had long been broken. He practiced drawing the crappy strings of an already broken bow. He was a lonely genius.

That was why he was obsessed with this ridiculous and terrible stereotype. He believed that people, regardless of their race, whether humans or gods, had to be lonely to reach the top. One had to be alone to be in the most beautiful place. Fabro believed that he would overcome his feelings and bias only by being alone.

In Fabro’s eyes, Alexander was like him–a lonely genius.

The life of a lonely genius was painful. And when Alexander overcame his loneliness and solitude, Fabro could not help but acknowledge him. Now, the lonely genius, who was supposed to stand in solitude, was saying he would do his best to make someone else a Pillar? This made Fabro furious.

Alexander’s declaration was the reason why Fabro awakened, albeit temporarily. This was because Fabro vowed that he would rather not have any successors if they chose to live a life where they would abandon their solitude.

Fabro wanted to deprive Alexander of his position as the Weapon Master. Before that, he wanted to trample on Minhyuk, who made Alexander’s conviction and heart shake and falter.

Fabro saw Minhyuk as a man who did not know solitude. In his eyes, Minhyuk was no genius, just arrogant. He wanted to drag such a man into the depths of despair. His reason? Minhyuk had created the situation.

A shocking sight unfolded in front of all the nervous people. A force erupted and covered an entire five-kilometer radius. Inside this area, the weapons held by the strong men resonated loudly. Just like that, more than a thousand weapons floated in the sky.

[Weapon’s Voice.]

[Fabro has awakened the ego of all the weapons in the area.]

When Fabro awakened the egos of all the weapons in the area, he imagined an exciting scenario. He imagined the scene of the weapons, the very same weapons that they held dear and used to overcome hardships and adversities together, stabbing their owners.

This was Fabro’s nasty habit. Of course, Fabro’s greed and arrogance were already locked in his clone. This was a different kind of greed. It was his greed for revenge. He wanted to take revenge and ruin the person who had led his successor astray.

Most weapons that encountered Weapon Master Fabro so far always wanted to become his weapon when they gained ego. And he believed that this fact would be proven now.

[Player Galsen’s Pure Brilliance Sword asks you to hold its hilt.]

[Player Gombang’s Endless Sky Bow begs you to pull its strings.]

[Guardian Brelin’s God Seeking Sword anxiously hopes for you to hold its hilt.]

The weapons that had gained egos desperately hoped to be with Fabro. At that moment, Fabro activated another skill.

[The Plunderer.]

[Fabro can loot and plunder any weapons that wish to belong to him.]

This was an unprecedented disaster! It was a power that could take away any weapons belonging to players and NPCs alike, the same weapons they cherished and held dear.

Just then, Fabro was left feeling strange and confused. ‘What?’

It was truly strange. Until this moment, 99% of the weapons that he had awakened the ego of obeyed him and begged him to take them away.

‘Please hold my hilt.’

‘Please swing me with your own hands.’

‘Only you can have me.’

Something strange was happening in front of Fabro right now. Only a few dozen of the thousands of weapons that floated above the capital of the Beyond the Heavens Empire truly wanted to be with Fabro.

For The Plunderer to allow Fabro to take away the weapons, the weapons had to want it.

At this moment, Fabro realized why it felt strange.

‘What the hell is this?!’

The weapons that yearned to belong to him were those that did not belong to the Beyond the Heavens Empire! How did he know? It was because these weapons did not carry the Beyond the Heavens Empire symbol.

The puzzled Fabro soon caught sight of the spear being held by an old man. He immediately conversed with the spear.

‘Do you want me to swing you?’

Of course, it was not just the owners; the weapons also wanted to belong to powerful owners. Although the old man was strong, Fabro knew that the force the weapon could exert in his hands would be different from his.

[I will never waver.]

[I will break in this old man’s arms.]

“...!”

Fabro was shocked. This was because the spear had declared that it would serve the old man, someone who was infinitely weaker than him, for the rest of its life. It had forsaken the glory it would receive in Fabro’s hands for the old man's sake.

This time, Fabro’s gaze landed on the wolf-like man.

[Rejected.]

The sword’s short yet blunt answer rang. It even released an even stronger energy to protect the wolf-like man.

Fabro could not understand. There was only one case where the weapons would react like this.

‘They respect their owners.’

The weapon respected the being that gave it to its owner and the being that walked the same path. Because of this, Fabro’s desire for them to be in his arms grew.

‘Come to me. If you come to me, you will transcend your limits!’

Fabro was sure these weapons had seen the power of the Weapon Transcendence firsthand. Still, no weapon left the arms of their owners. Fabro’s face grew ugly. He looked furiously at Minhyuk and this ridiculous empire.

Then, the sword in Minhyuk’s hand slowly floated in the air. Fabro was delighted when he saw this scene. At the same time, he thought, ‘What’s this? What’s this sword?’

He could not see or read anything about the sword. He could not even measure the power that it possessed. There were only two cases where a situation like this would unfold. Either the sword was completely trivial and insignificant—basically, it was something that Fabro could easily dismiss—or it was far beyond what Fabro could see. The sword was on par or perhaps even more significant than Fabro.

The person who owned and held the weapon had to suit it. Fabro was confident that there was no weapon in this world that he could not hold, so his face was filled with a sneer.

‘The sword that he has is just like this…?’

What did that mean? The sword was filled with greed and wanted a stronger owner.

The sword, which Fabro believed was filled with greed, flew toward him. Fabro stretched his hand out to receive the sword.

[You have started to plunder the sword…]

The weapon cut through his chest and flew past him.

Spurt–!

Fabro, whose chest was spurting with blood, looked at the sword in disbelief. He was the Weapon Master! The man who could control and rule over all weapons. Even so, he still could not control or rule over something that was at a higher level or stronger than himself.

Fabro has never experienced this before. He had never encountered such a sword in his life. There was not even a single sword that could cut him down the moment he started the process of plundering.

The sword that cut Fabro down then said to him.

[Weapon Master? Go on, hold my hilt. Let me see if you dare to have me.]

The bleeding Fabro slowly grabbed the hilt of the sword. His curiosity over the sword made him forget about the pain in his chest. The power of the sword seeped into Fabro. Fabro, who had confirmed the sword's power, could not hide the shock in his eyes. Then, his legs began to shake.

This was a great sword that even he, one of the Eight Pillars, could not hold: a rare, outstanding sword that would never appear again in the past, the present, or the future.

The sword said firmly.

[You failed.]

Fabro could not understand. The sword just laughed at him. And with a voice filled with mockery, it said.

[You see, I wondered if someone other than that child could hold me.]

It was as if the sword’s words were mocking him and saying, ‘How dare you call yourself one of the Eight Pillars?’ It was saying this to Fabro?! To the master of all weapons?!

[Now I know.]

[In this world…]

[The only one with the qualifications to hold me is just that child.]

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