Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1200

chapter 1200

the members of the eight pillars were not chosen by strength but by their abilities and influence. often, they possessed enough power to protect themselves. of course, this strength was based on their standards. most candidates who could be hailed as one of the eight pillars fit the word “strong” perfectly.

among those who had become a member of the eight pillars, one was said to be unrivaled when it came to strength. this man was said to be at least on par with evil god obren, perhaps even more. this man was none other than weapon master fabro. fabro was a master of all weapons in the world. he could freely handle and use any kind of weapon. nôv(el)b\\jnn

the one who inherited his power was player alexander, who was the first to obtain the eight pillar class. he had become even stronger than he was in the past. regardless, alexander was nothing more than a next-generation eight pillar, just like minhyuk.

standing before alexander was a turtle the size of two fists, side by side, with a fierce expression. this turtle was no ordinary turtle. he once served fabro as his aide and confidant and symbolized his strength.

the turtle’s name was rosgol. he was also one of the candidates to become a pillar. however, he had witnessed fabro’s power and realized he could not dare to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with such a man. so, rosgol chose to be his close aide and confidant.

at that moment, fabro was in a deep slumber.

“i just don’t understand.”

rosgol first met alexander when he overcame fabro’s trial and obtained the eight pillar class. however, he was disappointed and not satisfied with alexander.

alexander was strong, but he was also a foreigner. yes, rosgol was dissatisfied with alexander because he was a foreigner. after all, a foreigner did not live in this place. they were people who had never truly fought or experienced an actual life-or-death battle. even so, rosgol still could not help but be shocked by how talented alexander was and how excellent his skills and abilities were in dealing with all kinds of weapons.

there was one thing that rosgol could not understand.

“how come you have not become a pillar candidate?”

captain evaluator ruba had visited alexander. this alone meant that alexander had enough talents and qualifications to become one of the pillar candidates. alas, alexander himself declined the offer to become a pillar candidate.

–i still don’t have the qualifications to become one.

alexander had to fulfill two conditions before becoming the weapon master. the first condition was to become one of the eight pillars, and the second was to kill weapon master fabro's clone. only by fulfilling those conditions would alexander be able to make full use of the powers of the weapon master. yet, alexander said he was still not good enough and gave up on becoming one of the pillar candidates.

seeing rosgol’s expression, alexander could only say, “i told you this before. i am not the supreme.”

it was that story again. rosgol was rendered speechless when alexander mentioned the man named minhyuk. alexander said he could not surpass that man.

even though rosgol had been urging him to become one, alexander was fully aware of his capabilities.

‘even if i become one of the pillar candidates, there’s no way i will be able to become one of the pillars.’

for alexander, it was better to build up his strength and power than to take on a challenge recklessly he was sure would not complete.

“alexander. we won’t know when fabro's clone will go berserk.”

fabro's clone only had 80% of fabro’s power. nevertheless, it was still beyond anyone’s imagination.

“he might go berserk at any moment. you must know that his clone is the crystallization of fabro’s greed.”

was fabro, one of the eight pillars, a good and kind man? the answer to that question was no. fabro was someone who was intoxicated with power. he was someone that even the other pillars were afraid of.

the path that fabro had chosen was no different from what others had taken. unfortunately, the path he had taken, the path of the strong, had produced a completely different result from what he expected. there was constant fighting, looting, and a never-ending greed. ultimately, fabro was recorded as one of the eight pillars' most evil and vicious members.

fabro wanted to stop. however, the ego sword that he possessed wished him to become stronger. eventually, fabro decided to seal the ego sword. the problem was it had already eaten a portion of fabro’s soul. it was something that could not be easily sealed.

ultimately, fabro had to turn his sword into his clone. he even sealed himself together during the process.

“you must become a pillar as quickly as possible, alexander.”

if alexander became a pillar, he would naturally be able to obtain fabro’s first level of power.

“only by obtaining that power will you be able to kill the clone and become a complete pillar.”

it was easy to say, though it was not easy to do. it was not as if alexander was ignoring rosgol’s concerns. he was very much aware of it.

“it’s been 2,000 years already, no?” alexander looked at the bloody red sword stuck on the ground, standing proudly in the distance. that bloody red sword was fabro's clone.

“don’t think of it so lightly, alexander. that sword...”

“i know. the sword is just like fabro and can handle any kind of weapon in the world. it’s also a crazy sword that thinks that it's the best. this is the 370th time that i have heard this story.”

rosgol shook his head. “if that sword awakens and you’re not a pillar, then...”

“i’ve heard that story about 460 times already. we don’t know what that sword, which thinks it's the best, will do. still, rosgol... it’s been 2,000 years.”

alexander thought that perhaps that sword would never awaken.

‘and just because i’m the only one supposed to break it does not mean i can.’

on top of that, the fact that it had not yet awakened after 2,000 years meant that alexander would still have quite a few years to prepare. perhaps he would be strong enough to do it by then.

at that moment, there was a surge of murderous intent.

“...!”

“...!”

the heads of the two men whipped toward the direction. that was when they saw the sword, which had been stuck in the ground, slowly float in the air.

alexander’s face immediately grew ugly.

“hey, i...!”

“hoooo! herakel, come out! your benefactor is here!”

“aaack! herakel’s benefactor!”

the two looked at hephaestus with shining eyes. this was the first time that hephaestus had experienced something like this. the two did not look at him as if he was something dirty or as if he was a monster. they just smiled at him as if they had met a kind and lovely friend.

“hesto!”

“he... sto?” hephaestus murmured, his face filled with confusion.

“it’s short for hephaestus! eat ramyeon in our store before going!”

“eat gimbap too, before going!”

the two looked at hephaestus with happy smiles as they served him with a bowl of ramyeon and a plate of gimbap. hephaestus, given a meal without even paying, felt another surge of warmth in his chest.

hephaestus continued walking around with his crutches.

‘this is a strange place.’

“i’ll make you a weapon,” hephaestus said as he faced the man called the great demon.

the man smiled faintly at him before putting a headset over hephaestus’ ears.

assa, one~ tiger swallowtail butterfly~~

an unknown melody played in hephaestus’ ears. after visiting the great demon, hephaestus continued his walk.

this time, he met the wolf-like man. hephaestus looked at the stable and said, “do you want me to fix anything for you?”

“it’s fine. more importantly...” the man slung his arm over hephaestus’ shoulders and said, “why is a great man like you hunched over like this? straighten your back. you’re worthy and excellent!”

hephaestus kept on walking. however, the more hephaestus walked, the more he could not understand what was happening. no one has called him a monster. there wasn’t even anyone who asked him to make or do something.

“oh! it’s the new nobleman!”

“hello!”

as he continued to walk on the streets, the soldiers who passed by him showed him respect, while the people greeted him fondly. hephaestus felt something that he had never felt before in his life. as that feeling washed over him, his determination solidified.

hephaestus thought, ‘i will protect you.’

for those who did not judge him, for those who did not call him ugly, for those who did not call him a monster, for those who did not want anything from him, he made a vow.

‘i will give you my life. for you and this empire, i will make the most wonderful and outstanding things.’

at that moment, a series of notifications rang in hephaestus’ ears.

[you no longer want to create artifacts because you have been repressed, controlled, and forced to submit.]

[your eyes have been opened anew. you have seen a new path in blacksmithing.]

[you will now create artifacts to protect someone.]

[your blacksmithing abilities have become 1% better.]

a small smile bloomed on hephaestus’ face. and as he kept on walking, he caught sight of a man. the two looked at each other silently for a very long time.

***

[hephaestus’ heart and mind has been healed by 4%.]

[hephaestus’ heart and mind has been healed by 2%.]

[hephaestus’ heart and mind has been healed by 5%.]

[hephaestus’ heart and mind has been healed by 4%.]

minhyuk, who listened to the notifications ringing non-stop in his ears, was very happy to learn that hephaestus’ heart and mind were healing.

minhyuk wanted to see the man who was healing, so he went out to find him. when he found hephaestus, he saw him face to face with a man.

‘locke?’

that was right. the man standing face to face with hephaestus was none other than locke.

locke and hephaestus continued to look at each other with an unknown yet complex expression. not long after, they smiled and laughed. they looked like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long while.

and hephaestus, his expression screamed, ‘this friend lives like this too, huh...’

[hephaestus’ heart and mind has been healed by 17%.]

‘no. why is your heart and mind being healed right now?’

for some reason, locke felt as if he had lost.