Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1075

Ruba could not understand what was happening in front of him. It was true that no one aside from him had released any of the three seals they had. However, even if the evaluators had their powers sealed, they had enough powers to outdo even the gods.

Nonetheless, Royer had collapsed on the ground after being defeated in the dexterity arm wrestling, and Arshad was screaming while holding his head in pain. This was a genuinely indescribable situation.

‘They are nothing but Minhyuk’s subordinate.’

It was ridiculous. Even if he was a Pillar Candidate, it did not make sense for a human to have such powerful people under his command.

‘If you add the man who looks like a wolf and that old veteran, then…’

How many people were on his side? For a moment, Ruba wondered if the suitable name for this Pillar Candidate was “Emperor of Powerhouses.”

Grab–

Suddenly, someone grabbed his collar. The hold was firm and did not give him any time to react. The hand's owner was the man left frustrated by the bungeo-ppang that he had just trampled on and crushed a few moments earlier.

The man said, “Your evaluation will now begin.”

Their words were blatant mockery toward the evaluators. The worst part was that they confidently declared they would evaluate Ruba and his team.

Ruba, who was trying his hardest to shake off the man’s hold on him, was left flustered.

‘I can’t break free?’

He could not move. An overwhelming energy was also flowing from the man, putting pressure upon Ruba.

“Eeeek…!”

Bang–!

Only after momentarily raising his strength was Ruba able to shake off the hold on him. The moment he was released, he immediately widened the distance between them.

Then, the two began to fight, his sword clashing against Bender’s own.

Twitch, twitch–

‘What strength…!’

Every time Ruba’s sword clashed with Bender’s, he felt numbness travel through his arm and wrap around him.

Ruba evaluated the candidates’ momentum, power, and strength. He was well-versed in martial arts and ridiculously skilled in all of them.

However, Ruba’s sword twisted when it clashed with Bender’s sword. In that split second, Bender had already appeared behind him. The man lowered himself and grabbed one of Ruba’s legs with both arms, before exerting some strength.

Thud–!

Crack, crack, crack–

“Kgh- keuhaaaaaaaack!”

Crack–!

“One leg down,” Bender said calmly after breaking Ruba’s legs.

Ruba, unable to withstand the pain, screamed. Amidst his screams, his right arm got caught by the man.

“W-what…”

“Didn’t I say it earlier?” Bender, with his cold and vicious expression, stared at Luba.

A Transcendental was a human being who had transcended the limits of their race. Yet, after transcending those limits, they realized they weren’t humans. After all, they were born several times stronger than humans. Bender was one such Transcendental. He was also the strongest.

The cold gaze that he used to look at Ruba brought chills down the evaluator’s spine.

“Yes. I’m going to break your limbs.”

Crack, crack, crack–!

“Ughhhh!” Ruba clenched his teeth and tried to suppress the scream that was bubbling in his throat.

He could no longer muster strength in his arm and leg and lost his hold on the sword. With his arm and leg broken, he felt relieved. With this, he would no longer need to stop himself from screaming.

‘Now that they’re broken, I would no longer feel pain…’

That was where he was wrong. Goosebumps rose all over Ruba’s body when he made eye contact with Bender’s still cold gaze.

“Hiiiik…!”

“Ah. You didn't forget how we mentioned that we would make you pay double the price, right?”

Thud–!

‘Enough. Please stop!’ These words almost left Ruba’s mouth. Ruba was always treated courteously and had never lost to anyone. He was unfamiliar with pain. This unfamiliar sensation that was now coursing through his veins was now making him shake and tremble.

Bender pushed Ruba to the ground and immediately opted for the armbar position. Without any mercy, he put some strength in his hold and broke the man’s other arm.

Crack, crack, crack–!

“A-aaaaaaaack!”

Ruba’s eyes rolled back, his body struggling fiercely against Bender’s hold. After releasing his armbar hold on Ruba, Bender said coldly, “You failed.”

With a sneer, Bender turned around and left. He was fully aware of the situation. Although Minhyuk worried they might kill them, it was not as if the Transcendentals could not control their emotions.

“Fufufufu. I failed?” Ruba burst out laughing.

Bender instantly felt the air around Ruba start to change along with his words.

“Who are you to dare to judge me?”

Swoosh–

When Bender turned around, he was just in time to see the last line on Ruba’s arm slowly scatter and disappear.

Crack, crack, crack–

Bender knew that a powerhouse like Ruba would have his regenerative abilities. When the line disappeared from his arm, a mysterious haze rose and covered his body. At the same time, Ruba’s bones and all of the injuries that he had incurred regenerated quickly.

Minhyuk felt intense suffocation when he sensed a completely different energy coming out of Ruba’s body from before.

[Ruba has released the final seal.]

[Captain Evaluator Ruba’s killing intent has enveloped the entire area.]

[Everyone with levels that are 200 levels below Ruba’s level will feel suffocated and start to show signs of anxiety.]

Thankfully, Minhyuk had an invincible body and could resist abnormal statuses. But when he looked around, even his outstanding vassals looked like they were having difficulty breathing and even sweating bullets.

According to the notifications, everyone 200 levels lower than Ruba would be affected. This meant that the completely unsealed Ruba had a level far higher than Minhyuk’s vassals.

It did not take long for Ruba’s fully unsealed level to be revealed.

[Captain Evaluator Ruba. Level 1,237.]

“...?!”

Minhyuk instantly noticed that the situation had turned for the worse.

‘His level increased by more than 180 all at once?’

The first seal increased his level by around 50; the second was higher than that. And Ruba’s current level was far beyond that. At this moment, Minhyuk realized why they could become the Pillar Evaluators.

Ruba said, “Evaluators, I will take full responsibility.”

After completely recovering, he looked at the other evaluators. The Transcendentals had completely overwhelmed them, to the point that they could not even stand up and fight back.

“Release all your seals.”

When his words ended, Royer, still stuck in the ground with his hands completely in Nekk’s grasp, immediately overturned the situation and broke Nekk’s hand.

With Royer’s power completely unsealed, his dexterity was now equal, or perhaps more than Nekk’s own. And, of course, the same was true for Arshad, who was overwhelmed by Bernie’s mental attacks. Now, he was able to resist everything. And not only that, he was now able to make Bernie stumble and grab her head in pain.

“Kghhk!”

Evaluator Ruba’s level increased by almost 300 after unsealing all three seals. As for the other evaluators, their levels only increased by around 120 levels. Nevertheless, it was still quite a massive leap in power.

Minhyuk knew that they were in danger.

“All vassals, help Bender and the others drive them out of the Beyond the Heavens Empire!”

If the Transcendentals and the evaluators fought with no holds barred, then the capital of the Beyond the Heavens Empire could be blown away. And if things went wrong, the Transcendentals, who had forged a connection with Minhyuk, might be in danger.

Brod and Ben hurriedly stepped forward to subdue Ruba.

“Get lost.”

The passive skill Mad Hound, which would be triggered whenever he swung his sword, unfolded in front of everyone.

Slash, slash, slash–!

A mad hound bit Brod and made blood gush out of his body. One look and Minhyuk could tell that the skill was four times more potent than when it attacked him earlier.

“Kgghk!”

Ben tried to go past the groaning Brod and made to stab Ruba in the head. At that moment, a considerable force erupted from Ruba’s body and sent Ben flying far away.

Baaaaang–!

“Urk!”

After forcing the two powerhouses of the Beyond the Heavens Empire back, Ruba dashed forward and appeared before Bender. Bender and Ruba’s swords clashed. Now that Ruba was releasing a far different momentum and force from earlier, Bender had a hard time and groaned from the pressure.

‘I’m being pushed back.’

Bender realized that he was being pushed back in terms of abilities. He wanted to use his skills and mastery of the martial arts to overwhelm the opponent. The problem was that Ruba was also skilled enough and well-versed in martial arts.

Cuts appeared all over Bender’s body. Thankfully, his body was regenerating quickly and could quickly stop the bleeding.

“So, you have a body that transcends the human body. You have a regenerative ability that even the gods can’t keep up with.” A thick smile appeared on Ruba’s face. “Try regenerating from this attack, then.”

At that moment, more than a hundred sword lights appeared around Ruba. These sword lights immediately shot out and pierced through Bender.

Stab– Stab, stab–!

Surprisingly enough, not a single scream escaped Bender’s mouth. Even so, the damage the attack inflicted upon him was undoubtedly high.

“Ho? Then, how about this one?” Ruba, with a smile filled with mirth and interest, sent Bender flying to the sky.

Despite the slow and gentle landing, Bender felt a considerable force, as if the heavens were falling upon him, falling upon him.

“Ugh...!”

The overbearing force fell upon Bender without mercy and tore apart his body. The force landed sixty times in a second and lasted five seconds. Shockingly enough, Bender could still recover and regenerate despite his body being torn apart over a hundred times.

“Then, how about this?”

Ruba raised his sword and released a power that made the sky shake. Just like a cannon being fired, the power shot toward Bender.

Bender sensed the danger from the power. He could tell that he would be left seriously injured if he was hit directly by that power. He immediately raised the Transcedental’s Energy within him.

“Heaven Destroyer.”

The power, which carried a name that implied that it could even cut down the heavens, collided with Ruba’s attack.

Bang–

The entire Beyond the Heavens Empire shook and trembled.

Flutter–

The clothes worn by the two powerhouses facing each other fluttered.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk could tell that even if Bender could prevent Ruba’s attack, the shockwave and the aftermath would affect the surroundings.

Ruba was cackling. He was delighted to see his power move along with Bender’s Heaven Destroyer.

“Calamity.”

Stab–

A sword fell from the sky and stabbed straight through Ruba’s body. The power that Ruba released was forced to scatter as he covered his entire body with a powerful force that created something akin to a white shield. Bender and Minhyuk’s attacks both landed upon him.

“It hurts… a bit.”

When the flames cleared out, Ruba looked utterly disheveled. He suffered quite a lot of damage, but his body recovered and regenerated much faster than Bender's.

The warriors of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, including Brod, Ben, Conir, and many others, gathered around Minhyuk and Bender. Their numbers seemed enough to stop Ruba.

“Then, I will kill you all together.”

Ruba thought that this was better. He did not like anything about this empire, so it was better to kill them all.

Rumba began to gather his strength. It was much bigger and stronger than he had used to attack Bender earlier! It was so powerful that its presence alone made the entire empire shake.

But then, at that moment, a ladybird beetle, also known as a ladybug, flew down from the sky. It was the size of a fist. The moment the ladybug appeared, Ruba’s eyes widened.

“...!”

He, along with the evaluators, began to tremble. All five of them fell flat on their stomachs. The more shocking part was that Ruba’s power also dissipated into nothingness.

This ladybug was none other than him. He was the one who sent them to this land.

***

Athenae managed this world, but some parts were still hard to manage even for her.

The most significant part of the world that she had a hard time managing was the balance of the world. Because of that, there was someone who maintained this balance. He would only appear and intervene when the balance needed to be maintained or restored.

He was none other than Chaos. Chaos’ existence was utterly different from Supercomputer Athenae. Even Joy Co. Ltd. was shocked by the appearance of Chaos. This was because he emerged by himself when the game was created.

Chaos only involved himself in matters related to the balance of the world. Joy Co. Ltd’s evaluation stated that Chaos was “equivalent” to Athenae. Although his name did not carry the grand name of a Pillar, he was the one who managed the Pillars.

He sensed when the evaluators released their third seal and immediately came here. With just one look, he extinguished Captain Evaluator Ruba’s power. Then, with his authority, he looked through Arshad’s head.

Chaos instantly understood the situation. He realized that this situation unfolded because of his evaluators’ disrespect. But Chaos also considered it a given for people with power equivalent to the evaluators to be treated courteously. Even so, Minhyuk’s words still rang true. Without an official position, they were indeed nothing.

Chaos, who understood the situation, glanced at Ruba.

Ruba trembled when he felt the gaze of the red ladybug land on him. He immediately stuck his head on the ground.

“F-forgive me. I will receive the punishment for all of my sins.”

Chaos did not say anything anymore. For him, this was the end of the matter. But just when Chaos opened his wings and was about to fly away…

“Ladybird.”

“...?”

“...?”

Ruba and the other evaluators raised their heads in shock when they heard the voice.

‘No… Did you just call Lord Chaos as “Ladybird”?’

Of course, Chaos was currently in the form of a cute(?) ladybird beetle. But how dare he speak lightly of the lord like that?!

But Minhyuk did not know their qualms and looked coldly at the ladybird beetle. “Don’t tell me you’ll consider this thing as over after just taking a look?”

Minhyuk looked around him. Not only did Brod and Ben suffer considerable damages, but he was also yet to receive an apology from the evaluators for his soldiers, who had their arms and legs broken by them.

“Are you kidding me?”

The ladybird beetle looked at Minhyuk silently. As for the evaluators? They all held their breaths.

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