Level Up (1)
Everyone—from those who'd watched my mukbang from start to finish to the agro-pulled randos who'd shown up—was flooding the chat with shock and disbelief now that I'd polished off nearly all those large pizzas.
It was my first real binge since the change, so I'd been a bit anxious midway through, wondering if I'd get sick of it. But that worry turned out unfounded; I devoured it all without a hint of nausea.
Probably because my stomach never felt full, so my brain never sent the signal. Even so, the greasy buildup from the pizzas vanished with every sip of cola. Before I knew it, I'd drained almost all of the 1.25-liter bottles.
If not for the auto-emptying system, my gut would've been a cola lake dotted with pizza islands by now.
"Gulp. Gulp. Ahh—done!"
Like those old uncles back in the day shaking empty soju bottles upside down over their heads, I flipped my empty cola bottle and gave it a shake.
Whoops... a little dribble escaped. Tissue. Tissue.
While I was cleaning up the remnants, they were wasting energy on pointless arguments again. Sheesh.
"Guys, seriously, stop fighting already. I'm pocketing the mission pot."
Ka-ching~ Spent 300k, pocketed 700k. After fees and taxes, it's like 300k profit, but hey, got paid just for pigging out. Total cheat-mode win.
A mukbang body like mine was made for this.
Upload today's footage to YouTips?
"Gonna upload today's stuff? Uh... my current channel's all games, so dropping mukbang outta nowhere would be weird. Planning a separate one anyway."
Hmm... need an editor too? Full vids probably won't get views. I handled edits on the old channel, but my skills were trash and I barely bothered. A new one? Too much hassle solo. Plus streaming and editing? No way.
"Anyway, food's done. I'm out."
"Ugh, what interaction? I chatted plenty while eating. Oh, next mukbang, I'll order fresh right before finishing. Table's small, no room to play, and the last ones went cold—such a waste."
I'm not that slow, but the sheer volume meant they cooled off anyway. Cola stayed cold in the fridge, but pizza? Tiny microwave at home ain't reheating that well.
"Alright, have a good night, everyone. I'm off to bed."
Already this many folks sad to see me go on my first stream. Can't call it anything but a smashing debut.
Thanks, Seung-yoon. Streaming feels like my true calling.
Still not used to yapping solo in an empty room, but beats just uploading to YouTube. Live chat feels like real convo. Pure uploaders? Talking to ghosts. Can't even imagine.
Sheesh. Time to check the app.
"Lemme see... how much mana I banked?"
Hidden Condition 1) Use mana below 10%, then reach 2x max mana before surplus evaporates (SUCCESS)
Hidden Condition 2) Provide satisfying meals to Food God 10+ times (SUCCESS)
Condition 1) Use mana below 10%, then reach 4x max mana before surplus evaporates (NOT MET)
Condition 2) Provide satisfying meals to Food God 20+ times (NOT MET)
Condition 3) ???
Condition 4) ???
Check mail for hidden quest reward.
Check mail for level up reward.
"What the—."
Tons of notifications piled up. Below the reward alerts, a barrage of what looked like Food God's pizza reviews. Good thing it's on silent—phone would've vibrated itself to death otherwise.
But this sudden level up alert? Pure joy.
The status app only had basic stats, no level details or anything, so I'd just shrugged it off. Nice surprise.
All those Gold Shop skills locked behind level 2? Pie in the sky till now. Someday, that Meteor I eyed...
◈ Req: Mana Level 5. 10,000,000 mana
Eh, skipping this life. Still absurd price and reqs. Clean pass.
"Ahem. Rewards time?"
Tapped the red-exclamation envelope in the top right.
◈ Gold Shop only. No cash-out.
◈ Random skill from Gold Shop. Pure RNG.
Whoa. Legendary. One of these random skills could theoretically snag Meteor? Conditions aside, price was the killer. Heart pounding.
Even Teleport or Blink would make delivery gigs a breeze, even sans streaming.
Move to designated coordinates. Super convenient with good coord management!
Price: 10,000,000,000 gold
Req: Mana Level 5. 1,000,000 mana min. No distance limit, but needs empty coords. Mana scales with distance.
Instant to visible spot. Perfect for short hops!
Price: 10,000,000,000 gold
Req: Mana Level 4. 100,000 mana min. Mana scales with distance.
Hmm... both pie in the sky. High reqs kill delivery use. Tsk. Gotta filter if they pop.
Tempting, but unusable now like Meteor? Sour grapes. Sour grapes. Eating 'em would suck.
"Whew. Open the box?"
RNG box, unknown contents. Clutching my chest, tapped it.
YES / NO
Obviously YES.
—Shwoooosh!
Black box glowed, flashed, and three skillbooks burst out.
"Aha? Pick one of three, huh."
Classic loglight game level-up pick-your-favor.
Cooking Master (F-Rank)
Boosts cooking skill. Level up with XP to higher ranks.
Req: Mana Level 2. 100 mana/min. App toggle.
Fireball
Powerful spell—turns a few people to ash in one shot.
Req: Mana Level 3. 100,000 mana.
HP Boost
Straight-up HP increase. Passive.
Req: Mana Level 2.
"......"
Whoa. Total garbage pull. Fireball tempted, but unusable now. Hard pass. Burned all 3 rerolls.
Shimmering flash again.
"Please please please please!"
Eyes shut, prayed desperately, then peeked.
Throwing Master (S-Rank)
Boosts throwing mastery. S-Rank: Hit anywhere in sight. Max level.
Req: Mana Level 2. 700 mana/min. App toggle.
HP Boost
Straight-up HP increase. Passive.
Req: Mana Level 2.
Shooting Master (C-Rank)
Boosts shooting mastery. C-Rank: Hit target sans interference. Level up with XP.
Req: Mana Level 2. 400 mana/min. App toggle.
Hmm... nothing great. Not becoming an Olympian now. Throwing/shooting mastery? For what? HP Boost twice, no clear effect? Rigged gacha even here.
Sigh. S-Rank over C-Rank scrub. Shooting needs a slingshot at least; throwing works barehanded. Might use someday.
Regret lingered, but freebie's a freebie. Picked quietly.
"Sigh. Might as well shop with 10 mil cash. Something decent, right?"
First gacha flop soured the mood. Boo-hoo.