Marvel: The Gourmet God

"All enemies have been fully consumed. As per the host's request, they have been converted into Devour Points. A total of 30 Devour Points have been obtained!"

The system's crisp voice rang out after the ghost had devoured all the scavengers' corpses, converting them into usable energy.

Only 30 Devour Points?

"System, if I want to upgrade the levels of my existing skills, how far can 30 points get me?"

Johnny communicated with the system through his thoughts.

"For each skill, upgrading by LV1 requires consuming 100 Devour Points. There is no upper limit on individual skill levels!"

The system's reply came swiftly, and Johnny couldn't help but smile wryly at the answer.

100 points just to upgrade by one level?

He had killed an entire team of over twenty scavengers and barely managed to obtain 30 points. This meant each scavenger only provided 1–2 Devour Points after being consumed.

What a rip-off!

As if sensing Johnny's complaint, the system chimed in again:

"The amount of Devour Points acquired depends on the strength of the consumed target. In this case, all the scavengers consumed were ordinary beings, providing a maximum of 2 points each."

Johnny could only accept the system's explanation.

Though slightly disappointed, he had to admit the system was right—these scavengers were indeed nothing more than average.

After some thought, Johnny decided to save the 30 Devour Points for now and began planning how to complete the mission assigned by the system.

From the now-devoured ghost-faced man, Johnny had learned the basic situation on Sakaar.

Sakaar was an enormous planet, many times larger than a typical star. The region ruled by the Grandmaster was on the other side of the planet.

To complete the system's mission, the first step was to traverse more than half of Sakaar to reach the Grandmaster's domain.

But simply reaching the Grandmaster's territory wasn't enough. To qualify for the Champion of Champions tournament, one had to go through a series of elimination rounds before being eligible to compete.

Alternatively, by demonstrating overwhelming strength, Johnny could be directly recommended by one of the Grandmaster's scavenger warriors, allowing him to bypass the eliminations and enter the main competition.

Currently, Johnny had taken over the scavengers' dilapidated spaceship. Traveling across the vast expanse of Sakaar to the prosperous region under the Grandmaster's rule wouldn't be an issue. However, he was undecided on which path to take for the tournament.

If he sought out one of the Grandmaster's scavenger warriors for a recommendation, he could skip the tedious elimination rounds and go straight to the main competition.

But doing so left him without absolute confidence in victory.

From the ghost-faced man's information, the competitors in the tournament were incredibly formidable. Among them were a queen from the insectoid species' homeworld, the nearly extinct Eternal Titans, and countless powerful beings from various galaxies.

After much deliberation, Johnny decided to advance through the elimination rounds step by step.

This approach would give him ample time to sharpen his combat skills through each battle. Moreover, he could consume the bodies of his defeated opponents, potentially gaining unique abilities while also enhancing his existing ones.

"Boom!"

The scavengers' rickety spaceship rumbled as it shakily took off. Once it reached a certain altitude, the thrusters roared to full power, propelling it swiftly toward the distant horizon.

Left behind were broken, shattered skeletons scattered across the ground. As endless garbage rained down from various sky portals, these remains were quickly buried deep beneath the surface.

Three days later, the rickety spaceship piloted by Johnny finally traversed more than half the planet's distance, drawing close to the region under the Grandmaster's rule.

Throughout the journey, Johnny's ship encountered multiple scavenger vessels.

These scattered scavengers formed various factions, large and small, often engaging in battles that ended only with one side's complete annihilation or submission.

Whenever Johnny came across other scavenger ships, he tried to avoid them—not out of fear, but simply because scavengers, as disorganized and weak as they were, barely piqued his interest.

Even if he killed dozens of them, he might only earn less than 100 Devour Points, which wasn't even enough to upgrade one skill.

"Finally, I'm getting closer. Champion of Champions... wait for me!"

After three consecutive days of piloting the spaceship, an ordinary person would have been mentally exhausted. However, Johnny's eyes were filled only with excitement for the upcoming tournament—or rather, with the burning desire to grow stronger!

"Unidentified scavenger vessel ahead. Entry into the city is prohibited without proper clearance! State your purpose immediately, or you will be treated as an unlawful intruder!"

As Johnny's spaceship continued forward, it was intercepted by a fleet of over twenty warships. A message was transmitted to his vessel.

Each of the warships was more than ten times the size of Johnny's dilapidated craft. Their decks bristled with thermal and energy-based weaponry, all of which were now trained on him.

"I'm here to participate in the Champion's Challenge."

Surrounded by the imposing fleet, Johnny remained calm and composed as he responded through the ship's communications system.

His voice was transmitted to the patrolling fleet under the Grandmaster's command, plunging them into a moment of silence.

The Grandmaster, after taking control of Sakaar, had issued a special decree:

No matter who they were, anyone participating in the Champion of Champions tournament would receive his protection. Outside the arena, no one was allowed to harm a contestant. Violators would face the Grandmaster's wrath.

"Lower your ship and follow us."

After a brief pause, a slightly surprised voice came through Johnny's ship. A faint smile appeared on Johnny's face—clearly, the ghost-faced man hadn't lied.

Moments later, Johnny disembarked from the scavenger's decrepit ship and was escorted by the patrol soldiers onto one of the fleet's warships.

The Sakaar soldiers, tasked with patrol duty, glanced at Johnny's youthful appearance and attire—vastly different from that of a scavenger—with mocking and amused expressions.

"Step aside!"

A rough voice boomed, scattering the gawking crowd and creating a path.

A towering man, standing over two meters tall, stepped forward. His powerful aura radiated dominance as he locked eyes with Johnny's calm demeanor.

"Kid, you're the one planning to join the Champion's Challenge?"

The tall man's voice, much like his physique, was brash and arrogant, laced with blatant disdain.

"Yes, I am. Take me to the Grandmaster. I'll discuss it with him personally."

Surrounded by sneering Sakaar soldiers, Johnny's expression remained tranquil, showing not the slightest hint of fear.

"You? A weakling like you wants to join the Champion's Challenge? You'll end up as nothing but a corpse—it's a waste of time."

The man burst into loud laughter, his words dripping with scorn.

The Sakaar soldiers behind him laughed just as raucously, their eyes regarding Johnny as if he were a clueless fool.

As their mockery filled the air, Johnny's lips slowly curled into a faint smirk.

Then—

"Boom!"

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