Leveling with the Gods

C377

It was a bleat that sent shivers down the spine no matter how many times you heard it.

YuWon vividly remembered the first time he encountered the owner of that bleat.

He couldn't forget it.

"The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young."

"Really? I thought it was the Dark Fertility Goddess."

"I thought they called her the All-Mother..."

There were countless names people referred to that creature by. These were names that people thought of when they saw it, names they couldn't help but give it.

Among all of them, YuWon remembered that being as: "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young." Because there were always thousands of goats around the Black Goat of the Woods.

And on the day they clashed with this being...

Bang!

"Leave for now."

Odin, with an appearance ready to face death, sent his comrades away and confronted the being alone.

Facing Odin's figure, YuWon recalled the image of the Black Goat of the Woods approaching while trampling the Outers that could be considered on the same side as the Black Goat of the Woods.

A being in the form of a giant goat, much larger than Odin.

An Outer God.

Odin threw the Gungnir with all his might at that being.

Kwung!

YuWon quickly lowered his head.

He had to stop dwelling on the past. What was urgent now was to ensure that the Black Goat of the Woods couldn't enter.

-Beeeee-.

The mother's bleat was getting closer.

Through a hole in the wall, the Black Goat of the Woods was advancing towards them. If they didn't act quickly, the Black Goat of the Woods might cross.

Kwok-.

YuWon pulled a spear from his inventory.

An item he had obtained after passing the Administrator's trial.

It was the Nir, an item that could rival Odin's Gungnir.

["Nir" is activating]

Kwuuung!

A powerful energy began to emanate through the spear he held in his hand.

Zeus, who was witnessing the activation of the Nir up close for the first time, showed a rather surprised reaction.

"A pearl on a pig's neck."

Regardless of how much he increased and strengthened his power, in Zeus's eyes, who had reached Divinity, Yu Won was not a source of admiration.

The reason Zeus valued YuWon is that he always did things that were much more difficult than what Zeus himself could do.

However, even as Zeus, he couldn't help but acknowledge the Nir.

"Don't say nonsense and prepare yourself as well."

Fireee~

The image of the Rankers who had gathered under his gaze appeared in YuWon's view.

Then, in the next instant...

-When the signal is given, we will all attack.

YuWon's voice transmitted directly to their minds.

And the same happened with Zeus, who was right beside him.

"Attacking a guy who hasn't even fully revealed himself yet..."

Crack, crack, crackle-!

From Zeus's hand, a Lightning Bolt formed.

Unlike the other Lightning Bolts he had created so far, this one was a highly compressed single Lightning Bolt.

"It's reasonable, so it's fine."

Rankers who had reached a certain level of skill were bound to be proud.

It was natural.

The path to becoming a Ranker is tough, and the path to becoming a High-Ranker is even tougher, to the point where it seemed like a bed of roses in comparison.

That's why it was more natural for them to have too much confidence in their own abilities.

But Zeus had none of that.

He was as objective and rational as anyone.

And perhaps that was his greatest strength in creating Olympus.

And one more thing...

Kwuuung-!

Odin's Gungnir began to activate in his hand.

The other Rankers were in sync too.

"I don't know what this is, but..."

"First, we must stop him, right?"

"Who will give the signal?"

Crack, craaack-!

Hwaaaaah!

Uuuuuuung-!

Thousands of Rankers began to prepare their abilities. They gathered all their Arcane Power and prepared for a joint attack.

-Beeeeee-.

Step-.

Through the hole in the wall, purple-haired legs began to enter.

Only a few minutes passed.

In those minutes, the Black Goat of the Woods had completely dyed the sky purple.

And then...

[The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young wishes to reveal its form]

The signal everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"It's time!"

Odin's shout.

"Get out of here, monster!"

"Curse it! I don't know what's happening, but for now..."

"Get that one first!"

Thwaaaaah!

Hwaaaaah!

Kwagagaga, gaga-gak-!

Countless Rankers' abilities were unleashed towards the Black Goat of the Woods.

Odin's Gungnir activated with enough power, Zeus's giant spear dyed the sky golden.

And finally...

From YuWon's hand, the Nir was also fired.

At that moment...

"You..."

Pat-.

"Come and fight me."

A man dressed in black appeared before Yu Won's eyes.

Kwauung!

Crack, crack, crack...

The man caught the Nir that YuWon had thrown with his bare hands.

Although he couldn't block it completely, he was pushed back and sent flying.

But that wasn't all...

Thwack!

The man who blocked the Nir had one of his hands shattered and torn apart by the force of the impact, and he looked at Yu Won with wide-open eyes in pain.

"Satan..."

YuWon had thought that he would eventually move, but he didn't expect it to be now.

Satan's shattered hand trembled for a moment. It seemed he had singled out YuWon as his prey on this battlefield.

While Satan blocked YuWon's path in this manner...

Kwagwagwagwag-!

The abilities of the other Rankers extended directly towards the Black Goat of the Woods.

Hwaaaaah!

The abilities of the other Rankers precisely aimed at the Black Goat of the Woods.

Hwaaaaah!

A surge of Arcane Power that resembled a storm roared inward. The figure of the Black Goat of the Woods trying to enter the Tower from outside was temporarily hidden beneath this storm and the explosion of Arcane Power.

And during that moment, YuWon looked at Satan, whose arm had turned into a mass of rags.

"Is his goal to bring that thing inside?"

So far, Satan had remained still. Given his hatred for the Tower and his desire for its destruction, it was obvious what Satan's purpose was. Entities outside the Tower, including the Black Goat of the Woods, were his cards to fulfill this desire.

Tudung, tududu-.

Bloody pieces of flesh dripping from his shattered arm.

Satan stared at his own arm, shattered for a moment before responding.

"Don't get in my way."

"Who's getting in whose way?"

Of course, YuWon wished to move quickly and focus on the other side. But he thought maybe it could be possible.

YuWon had had enough time to activate the Nir before shattering Satan's arm. And the man had intentionally flown to block it.

On the other hand, he thought Satan's body, which lost an arm just from receiving a direct impact, was quite impressive.

YuWon looked towards Chronos.

So far, he hadn't made a decision.

Or maybe he had a different plan than what YuWon expected.

Kuuuuuu-.

The explosion of Arcane Power that occurred once finally gradually subsided.

When the remnants of the dust cloud mixed with Arcane Power faded away, the collapsed wall was finally revealed.

And furthermore...

Twisted-.

Even the opening in the wall that had remained intact until now displayed the shape of the Black Goat of the Woods' legs breaking through.

-Beeeee-.

The bleating much clearer than before.

Moreover, from the protruding legs through the opening, the nearby Rankers could see what lay beyond.

"The legs..."

"They are goat..."

Beeeee-.

Beeee, meeeeeee-.

Until a moment ago, the heads and horns of the goat fighting as if they were about to die were attached to the legs.

It was as if a thousand goat had merged into a single form.

That form constantly changed before their eyes. From a giant goat leg with thousands of fused goat to a unified goat leg with purple fur.

Twisted-.

The leg that had temporarily stopped due to the attacks of the Rankers began to crack open the rift once again.

On the other side, the gleam in the eyes of the goat that had thrust a leg into the Tower grew more intense.

And the moment they met that gleam in the eyes...

"It's the end of the world..."

"How did I end up involved in this fight?"

Agni and Kubera felt their minds drift for a moment.

If they hadn't instantly focused their minds and firmly grasped the situation, their legs might have gone weak.

Even if they were High-Rankers, it was already too much, so what about the others?

It was then that they realized.

The moment that thing entered, it would be a battle they couldn't win under any circumstances.

"A single blow and it's all over..."

In one of the constantly shifting leg shapes, there was a small wound. Probably the area struck by Gungnir and Zeus's spear.

"Don't stop..."

Kwaaang-!

Kwalung-!

A voice that roused the Rankers mired in despair.

YuWon and Satan's gazes turned to the voice that disrupted the atmosphere.

Crack, craack-.

Zeus, rising into the sky surrounded by countless Lightning Bolts, creating swirling Lightning Bolts around his body.

He shouted as he rode the clouds.

"Stop them from entering! I'll lead the way...!"

Crack-.

Zeus grabbed one of the numerous Lightning Bolts floating around him.

"Follow me. To me!"

Baaaaang-!

He hurled the spear with all his might.

The thunderous noise echoed on the ground. Thanks to Zeus's power, the morale of the Rankers who had been prostrate on the ground slowly rose.

Zeus wasn't just strong.

He, who had once been the King of Olympus, knew how to influence the battlefield's mood.

"From now on, it's a race against time."

For now, YuWon had no choice but to leave the situation on the other side in Zeus's hands. Since they entered the Tower, this was probably the toughest fight yet.

YuWon approached Satan, who was blocking his path.

And just after that...

[The power of the Giant accumulates throughout your body]

[Gigantification is complete]

[Golden Cinder Eyes is activated]

[Sensory Field is activated]

[Holy Fire is activated]

YuWon activated all his powers and abilities.

"We don't have time."

Whoooosh-.

The sound of Arcane Power filled the air as YuWon and Satan began their confrontation.

"Come."

Kqong, kkwaaang-!

Craaack-.

Countless abilities were unleashed, and Zeus hurled dozens of Lightning Bolts one after another.

Not far away, the battle between YuWon and Satan had begun. It seemed that Satan had targeted YuWon.

Odin looked at Gungnir in his hand.

"It seems peace has been long."

Even he thought his skill was a bit rusty. Not only throwing the spear but even his mindset for facing the fight felt weak.

Ranked second.

Excluding the first place recognized only by Administration Management, it would be correct to say that the name "Odin" was the biggest in the Tower.

Odin knew this very well.

Since reaching that high position, he hadn't really had a proper fight for a long time.

Kwang-.

Odin tightened his grip on Gungnir.

However, he no longer intended to throw it. Throwing the spear had already come to an end.

Instead...

Step-.

Odin began to walk towards the Black Goat of the Woods entering through the rift.

Now was the time to face it head-on.