Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1199

chapter 1199

olympus, the world above the sky.

a man with voluminous, wavy golden hair stood above the clouds and watched everything beneath him.

[zeus. level 1,611]

the hands of the most powerful god in the entire gaia continent, or perhaps even the whole of athenae, were clenched into fists. yet, in the end, he did not say anything to herakel, who decided to return to the arms of another man instead of running to him.

‘even though that man is not as good as me...!’

zeus knew herakel was proud and arrogant, so he could not help but grind his teeth at his path choice.

at that moment, zeus saw the flustered hera warning minhyuk and his men.

***

the vassals of the beyond the heavens empire rushed toward herakel.

herakel, whose hair had grown into a bob, was once again back to having short hair. he looked at everyone around him in confusion.

“conir! why are you crying?! don’t cry!” the confused herakel shouted. he even began to cry after seeing how hard conir was crying.

meanwhile, minhyuk looked at herakel for a long time without saying anything. the original and complete herakel was left in an eternal slumber. however, from what it looked like, he did not regret his decision.

minhyuk felt a dull ache in his chest. herakel, who had killed his wife and children with his own hands, must have been living a hellish life. and herakel was forced to live like that because he was born with colossal strength and overwhelming power.

‘thank you, herakel,’ minhyuk said, greeting the now slumbering version of herakel.

hera screamed, “crazy! you’re crazy! herakel! you’re f*cking crazy!!!” she just could not understand what was happening. the choice that herakel made was no different from choosing death. what hera found to be highly absurd was that he decided to walk this path on his own and even carried the happiest smile in the world.

hera was the true embodiment of the goddess of jealousy. she felt robbed of the toy she had been playing with until now.

“do you think you can leave just like this?”

the gaia continent was under the rule and control of the gods of olympus.

“they will ostracize not only you but even the other foreigners here.”

hera looked up at the sky. she had always hidden behind the gods, and she hoped that the gods of olympus would use their voices to threaten these people.

[hades frowns. he begins to threaten you.]

[poseidon bangs his trident. he expresses his unhappiness with the situation.]

[ares grabs his sword and prepares for war.]

[apollo frowns. he’s wary of you.]

hera, who listened to the voices of the gods, waited in expectation. as long as zeus, the greatest god, gave his orders, they could drive out all the foreigners who had taken root in the continent.

finally, zeus opened his mouth.

[zeus looks at you with his hands clenched into fists.]

minhyuk paused, a slight tremble passing over his body. he knew he would be in a very bad situation if he earned the hatred of the gods. and this was especially true right now. after all, this was a new continent that they needed to pioneer and explore.

[zeus asks you to take care of herakel.]

minhyuk knew that zeus wanted to bring herakel back to his side. that was why the words that came out of zeus’ mouth left minhyuk surprised.

[zeus says he has always turned a blind eye to his plight.]

[herakel made him realize how happy he was to stay by your side even if it meant he had to die.]

that was right. even though zeus was not a good father, he was still herakel’s true father. of course, zeus knew it too.

[zeus knew how much sadness he had felt in his life.]

flash–!

a huge path made of light appeared in front of minhyuk. minhyuk realized they could escape this place by following this path.

[zeus thanks you for caring for him and giving him comfort.]

zeus wanted to at least act like herakel’s true father at the last moment.

[the twelve gods of olympus look at zeus.]

[zeus turns a deaf ear to the gods' voices.]

[zeus declares that he will be their enemy if they dare to say anything more than what they had said.]

[the twelve gods of olympus have shut their mouths.]

he acted as a father and stood in their way. zeus has never done anything for herakel before. now that his son had chosen to leave, he wanted to at least do one last thing for him.

***

it was precisely what minhyuk thought. hephaestus was overwhelmed with anxiety.

when he came here, he could not help but feel jealous of herakel. he thought, ‘even though herakel is lacking, he’s still very handsome.’

he had seen everyone hugging herakel happily. and herakel? he looked thrilled among them. hephaestus wanted to be treated like that, too. alas, he had always been treated like a monster wherever he went.

he believed he had to do something to be treated well in this place.

‘i have to show them that i am very useful.’

only through that way would he be able to fit in and not be thrown away. hephaestus’ thought process showed how much he had been hurt. it was a very painful way of thinking. he, who believed that he only had minhyuk as his faithful friend, wanted to do something for others to survive in this place.

‘i’ll have to take care of the vassals first. if they acknowledge me, then at the very least, they won’t call me a monster.’

hephaestus limped down the market with his head down. because he had severe social phobia, hephaestus had always walked like this.

“hey, over here!”

just then, a woman called out to him. she was an ordinary woman who owned and ran a small shop.

hephaestus looked up but still failed to make eye contact with the woman. this was mainly because he had developed a severe inferiority complex from his appearance. and because of this inferiority complex, he had developed a defense mechanism. this defense mechanism included him making aggressive comments and actions toward others.

“why are you stopping someone who’s going somewhere, huh?”

hephaestus was very self-conscious about his limp leg.

the woman approached him and said, “i heard that a very noble and precious person has come to our beyond the heavens empire. don’t you think it’s very uncomfortable to walk like that?”

hephaestus knew that the woman was talking about his legs. self-conscious, he tried to refute, his words aggressive to the point that he almost screamed at her.

“are you trying to laugh at me for having legs like this...?!”

when hephaestus finally looked up, he saw the woman smiling softly at him while holding a pair of wooden crutches.

“there’s nothing to laugh about for having legs like that. i just think that it’s uncomfortable on your part. here. they’re old but might help you a bit, right?”

the crutches were truly old, worn out, and ordinary.

“my husband used this pair of crutches whenever he felt uncomfortable.”

hephaestus held the crutches and asked, “what can i do for you in return? do you want me to renovate your shop? or do you want me to make some cool sculpture for you...?”

hephaestus was completely unfamiliar with the concept of goodwill and intentions.

the woman said to him, “i don’t want anything.”

“...?”

“i just saw you were uncomfortable and wanted to help you.”

“...”

hephaestus was rendered speechless. when the woman handed the pair of crutches to him, it was just an act of goodwill. of course, hephaestus could make himself a pair of crutches if he wanted to. nonetheless, he did not make one. for some reason, he thought he would look shabbier and uglier if he went around with crutches.

because of his severe social phobia, hephaestus could not greet and thank the woman properly after accepting the crutches. he even left the area as if he was running away from someone.

‘what a strange woman.’

hephaestus could only think this way. after all, who would give someone crutches without wanting anything in return? of course, the crutches were old and worn out.

now that he was equipped with a pair of crutches, hephaestus felt that it was much easier and more comfortable for him to walk.

at the same time, a notification rang in minhyuk’s ears.

[hephaestus’ heart and mind has been healed by 3%.]

“...?”

minhyuk looked at the notification in confusion.

then, haze entered his office once again. she reported, “your majesty, i have inquired with sir abel. i believe we will be able to find a way to repair a disabled leg, but it will be a bit difficult to find a way to change one’s appearance...”

minhyuk smiled faintly and said, “no, haze. it’s fine. just find a way for us to fix a disabled leg.”

“yes?”

minhyuk could tell what was happening and what would happen to hephaestus. he said, “i think there’s no need for me to step forward. his mind and heart will be healed today.”

while walking around with his newly acquired crutches, hephaestus suddenly stopped and turned back to look at the woman. a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he felt an unknown warmth for the first time. however, he was still suffering from a severe inferiority complex. it could not be easily discarded just because one wanted to.

‘i have to hurry. i have to hurry and be acknowledged by them so i can live as a normal man in the beyond the heavens empire.’

and the place he had chosen to visit first was where spear god ben, a man who had been imprinted in his mind as a scary old man, was.