Leveling with the Gods

C302

It has been approximately two weeks.

YuWon closed his eyes and sat down. He couldn't see anything beneath his closed eyelids.

Hades stood in front of him, silent.

He felt the sensation of his body being dragged deeper beneath the water's surface.

It was a familiar sensation.

'I have been in Tartarus before.'

It wasn't intentional, but YuWon had fallen into Tartarus when he went to the Underworld. The world of the dead.

The power of the Dark Divine Crystal (Stone of Darkness in other translations) briefly guided him there.

A vast and deep black sea of indeterminate size.

Shapeless souls that couldn't be recognized within it.

YuWon longed to return to Tartarus once more.

-Tartarus is the beginning of all darkness.

Hades had searched for Tartarus for a long time.

Tartarus was the ultimate place that Hades desired. He believed that if he found Tartarus, he could surpass Zeus.

That was the reason he sought the Dark Divine Crystal.

-The Dark Divine Crystal is the means to open the door to Tartarus. And opening the door means one can also cross over to that place.

He didn't think it was a ludicrous tale.

All this time, YuWon had been opening Tartarus and using his magic.

All he had to do was reverse it.

It was easier said than done.

Ts, Tsutsu...

The distant mind snapped back in a flash.

At the same time, his head heated up, and he felt a sharp pain as if his brain was melting.

Again.

"Ugh..."

A wave of nausea surged from within.

With eyes wide open, YuWon leaned forward while sitting and looked down at the ground.

He barely held back the urge to vomit. The intense revulsion was unimaginable, and his concentration scattered as he opened his eyes once again.

"Another failure."

It was at that moment that Hades spoke.

It was a voice full of lament.

"Ah, sigh..."

After exhaling several long breaths, YuWon lifted his head.

How many times has it been?

As he calmed his inner self and the burning pain in his head subsided, YuWon opened his mouth.

"It's not easy."

"Of course."

Though he said it as if it were obvious, Hades's voice couldn't hide his disappointment.

The door leading to Tartarus.

YuWon had been working with Hades to open that door.

It didn't take long for him to master dark attribute magic. And when he surpassed the basics, Hades made a proposition.

-Open Tartarus.

At first, he thought it was asking for something too easy.

After all, YuWon had already been using Uranus to open the door to Tartarus for quite some time.

But...

-Crossing over and fully taking the power of Tartarus is the ultimate way to use Uranus.

Simply opening the door and crossing it were two completely different matters.

Tartarus rejected YuWon.

When YuWon opened the door wide, if he tried to cross it, it inevitably showed its teeth.

"I suppose it doesn't like me."

"I didn't think it would be easy. Don't feel bad."

"I'm not worried."

YuWon stood up and stretched his body, which had become stiff from sitting for so long.

As he stretched, he reached his hands up and saw Uranus in his hand.

A repulsion he couldn't understand.

The Realm of the Dead.

Tartarus...

Unfortunately, it wasn't just Hades.

He knew there was a great power beyond there. Even though Hades didn't mention it, YuWon had been there once before.

A vast ocean of mana.

As long as that power rejected him, there was no way he could force himself to cross.

"But I'm adapting."

One step beyond the door.

Just one step, but he felt like he had set foot on it.

And that step was the beginning.

Once you're on the other side of the door, that's when it starts.

"Don't lift your foot hastily just because you can cross."

Hades had been visiting Tartarus for an inexplicably long time, so he knew quite a bit about the place.

"Because once you cross, you won't be alive or dead, and you might also be dead for having crossed."

"I know.

I've heard it a dozen times.

But it was also an important story.

That's why YuWon, who normally had great willpower whether he vomited or not, quickly gave up.

If he pushed himself too hard, he might end up trapped in Tartarus, never to return.

"It seems you're very tired..."

Hades noticed the sweat running down YuWon's forehead.

From morning until now, YuWon had been continuously crossing through Tartarus without rest.

Although it seemed like he was just sitting there, he was actually going back and forth between life and death.

"Take a rest and then continue."

YuWon shook his head.

"No, thank you."

As if he had expected it, Hades pouted.

It was always like this.

Even if he was asked to rest enough, YuWon didn't know how to stop.

He always seemed to be chasing after something, without resting for even a moment.

And that was precisely the reason for concern for Hades.

"Didn't I say it? Once you lose consciousness and get trapped in Tartarus, that's it. So..."

"I'll stop here for today."

YuWon suddenly stood up, dusting off his place.

He finished a little earlier than usual, much earlier than expected.

Originally, he intended to challenge himself until late at night.

"It seems there's no middle ground, is there?"

Better late than never, Hades thought, and decided not to be greedy.

Still, it was strange.

If he was exhausted, he could understand it, but YuWon used to persevere even in tougher times than this, never giving up.

"Did something urgent happen?"

Hades looked at YuWon, who started breathing slowly, and asked.

It didn't seem like he just stopped due to tiredness and fatigue.

His gaze seemed more determined than before, as if he had finished all his tasks.

"Something urgent..."

YuWon nodded at Hades's question.

"It seems to have arisen now."

Chichi, chichiji-.

Harggan buried his face in the ground.

With half of his head submerged in the ground, he unleashed a dazzling burst of Golden Lightning all over his body.

Zeus looked at Harggan with disdain.

"Have you run out of energy already?"

Harggan lifted his head from the ground.

His body was completely tattered and felt like an old rag.

Naturally, he couldn't help but complain.

"I've been like this for several days. What do you think?"

"When I was young..."

"Nostalgia again? Look, there's an amazing café on the 71st floor, so go there and find something you like." (Note: there seems to be a wordplay here, but I don't understand it, haha)

Harggan dropped to the ground, screaming and groaning.

He had been without rest for days. Not only was he physically exhausted, but he also felt the terror of death at every moment.

The lion throws its cub off a cliff to raise it with strength.

Harggan felt that firsthand through his own father, Zeus.

Zeus made Harggan face his limits.

If he didn't stop him, he could have died for real. He unleashed lightning so powerful that Harggan had no choice but to endure to stay alive.

The reason was simple.

It was to unleash the latent power of Lightning within Harggan.

"Anyway, I can't take it anymore. You better kill me."

Harggan lay on the ground like a corpse.

Zeus looked at him for a moment and nodded.

"Very well. Rest."

It was an unexpected reaction.

Harggan, who was squinting at Zeus, blinked.

"Really?"

"The results are faster than I thought. Anyway, you'll soon have a chance to see that guy, so check what you've learned so far."

This didn't seem real.

With just a warm word, Harggan's heart melted. In this moment, Zeus, who until a moment ago seemed like a demon from the Underworld, seemed to be the most loving and caring father in the world.

Harggan's eyes, looking at Zeus, were filled with deep affection.

And that gaze furrowed Zeus's brow.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's just a little surprising."

"Surprising?"

"Suddenly being like this with you, father... it's just..."

Harggan, who seemed confused, scratched his cheek as if he had said something unnecessary and covered his eyes with his hand.

Well.

Until a few years ago, this was something he couldn't even imagine.

Although they were of different social statuses, Harggan's father was Zeus.

The great King of Olympus, whom he thought would never descend from the high sky.

Even though he had fallen from the throne of the King of Olympus, Zeus remained an imposing figure in Harggan's eyes.

Even now, he was stronger than before, having captured Indra.

But now, being here with Zeus, he realized that there were many things he didn't know about the world.

"My mother would have loved to see this..."

The changed figure of his father.

And the changed relationship between them.

It was like a drawing that he had only considered a dream.

Even if it was just an illusion that would fade away at any moment, it would be fine.

In this moment, Harggan felt that Zeus in front of him was not the King of Olympus, but his true father.

"Nonsense."

Zeus dismissed Harggan's words.

A brief silence felt stronger than any roar.

The forest that until a moment ago was filled with both of their Lightning now turned silent without making a sound.

A silent emptiness stretched on.

After a few moments, it became comfortable enough to move.

The air remained so silent that it felt suffocating.

"Aren't you leaving?"

Unable to bear the frustration, Harggan spoke first.

He wanted to return to his quarters, wash his body covered in dust and blood, eat, and rest comfortably.

But...

"Father?"

Although Harggan spoke, Zeus didn't react.

He had such a rigid expression that sent chills down the spine.

He looked towards some distant place, his gaze fixed on the void.

The lack of response made the suffocating air even more oppressive. Just when even the air became heavy to breathe, Harggan spoke again.

"Father, what...?"

"You finally moved."

"What?"

What the hell is he talking about?

It was then that Harggan turned his head to follow Zeus's gaze.

He moved.

The field was empty. There was no one, not even the usual beasts and insects.

Ssssh.

The corner of Zeus's lips lifted.

"If you're going to move anyway, you'd better hurry."

A stream of golden air flowed from Zeus's eyes.

Rumble, rrrumble...

The thick clouds in the sky burst into a furious roar.

"Or else I'll take away your advantage."

Crack, crack...

A Golden Lightning climbed up his fingers and mingled with the clouds in the sky.

It seemed like at any moment, a Lightning Bolt would fall from the sky and turn everything around into a wasteland.

An explosive situation.

There had never been a moment when those words fit so well.

Just when the Lightning gathered in the clouds was about to disperse downward...

"You still have an impatient temperament."

Jebuk...

In Harggan's empty field of vision, a semi-transparent figure suddenly appeared with a robe.

"Zeus."

Gulp...

With the appearance of the robed figure, Harggan understood.

Why he had felt such intense oppression until a moment ago.

It wasn't due to the discomfort of silence.

It wasn't due to Zeus's expression or momentum.

It was because of the inexplicable presence in front of him.

His heart, it seemed like it was about to burst.