Leveling with the Gods

C402

Momentarily, it seemed like time had come to a complete halt.

The Goblin King had closed the gap to within a single step. In the face of this Goblin King, YuWon unleashed his Gigantification to the maximum.

Gigantification was the most efficient ability in close combat, one could even say it was the most effective in dogfights if exaggerated a bit.

However...

Ssshhh!

A red demon-like figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

YuWon squinted his eyes as he saw the blurry figure forming before him.

'Surt?'

Bam!

Instantly, the punch he launched forward made the Goblin King's body recoil.

The Goblin King was also taken aback, but only for a moment. Then, as if he understood that something was amiss, he caressed the area where he had been hit as if he had sensed something.

"It's starting."

It was at that moment that he felt it.

Immediately after the strengthening ritual. The feeling of unknown power coming from YuWon.

As if there was someone else behind YuWon.

Ssshhh!

YuWon looked at the red demon-like figure that repeatedly appeared and disappeared before his eyes.

Though it was much smaller and had a different form from the one he knew, it seemed similar to someone he knew.

'Surt.'

Despite the urgency of the situation, he felt it clearly.

This power unmistakably belonged to Surt.

The power of the Giants and the flame of the Demon.

It was the same message he had heard when he obtained Surt's characteristics through the ritual.

"Are Surt's characteristics reacting with Gigantification?"

It made sense.

Gigantification originally was the Hidden Piece Hercules obtained after slaughtering millions of Giants.

While YuWon had acquired the ability more easily through the Tutorial, that meant the effectiveness of the ability had to be qualitatively different.

However, Surt...

Extracted from the heart of the Tower's fourth best High-Ranker, the Giant who had reached the pinnacle among Giants. That meant it was strong enough to replace the portion of those millions of Giants.

Rooar!

'Should I give it a try?'

Sss, sss, sss...

Power filled his body completely.

The name "Recreation of the Giant King" sounded quite grand, and YuWon decided to try out this new level of Gigantification at least once.

In this narrow space, it was the only way he could face the Goblin King.

"It seems like you haven't tidied up your things properly."

The Goblin King, looking at YuWon's expression, closed the gap again.

Though he was pushed back, it lasted only an instant.

Regaining his stance and raising his mace once more, the Goblin King exuded an even more terrifying presence than before.

"Now, can I expect something from you?"

Lifting his mace, the Goblin King prepared to attack again.

Zuuung!

At that moment, YuWon's sword flew towards the Goblin King's waist.

Craaack!

"...!"

The Goblin King's eyes widened as he felt pain he hadn't experienced before. This was the second time he had received such a massive impact in a pure strength battle; the first time was during the fight with the Bull Demon King a few days ago.

"I guess it's possible."

Crack!

This time, it was YuWon who spoke through gritted teeth.

The Goblin King clenched his fist with determination, aware of the situation.

Though he had anticipated it, YuWon's raw power was incredibly wild and overwhelming.

The Goblin King decided not to think of the opponent in front of him as a rookie who had just become a Ranker.

'Perhaps this is what it feels like to fight Hercules, as the rumors say?'

The Goblin King had heard about him. He was an impressive individual who earned the title of "Giant Slayer" after facing countless Giants on his own and massacring millions of them in the end.

This individual had earned the respect of many Rankers, and the Goblin King was not lacking in confidence in his own strength either.

However, for some reason, the figure of Hercules, of whom he had only heard, reminded him of YuWon.

Crack, Crack!

Crack!

While blocking the sword with his mace, the Goblin King's fingers wrote letters in the air.

Thud!

YuWon's sword, which had been hanging over the Goblin King's shoulder, suddenly fell down as if it had suddenly gained thousands of pounds in weight.

The weight of the sword changed in an instant. Although it wasn't so heavy that he couldn't lift it, it was enough of a change to destabilize his posture at that moment.

Whoosh!

"...!"

YuWon gritted his teeth in response to the massive impact he felt in his abdomen.

He did his best to stay on his feet, even if only for a moment.

At the same time, Uranus that he held in his hand began to emit a blue glow.

['Blessing of the Sea' resides in your body]

['Blessing of the Sea' is destroyed]

Kwaaaah!

His two legs became firmly rooted in the ground as if they were deeply embedded.

The Goblin King, sensing that his attack didn't move YuWon like an immovable mountain, frowned in frustration.

His punch had landed accurately, but YuWon hadn't even taken a step back.

Crack!

YuWon grabbed the Goblin King's wrist with his hand.

With his robust arms as thick as tree trunks, YuWon squeezed the wrist with all his strength and twisted the Goblin King.

Boom!

The Goblin King fell to the ground, and the ground flipped over along with him.

If it hadn't been for the magical protection in the surrounding area, the entire bamboo forest nearby would have been blown away due to the impact.

A dense cloud of dust rose. YuWon, with the Golden Cinder Eyes, looked down at the Goblin King, who had been thrown to the ground, and then looked at himself.

'The Blessing of the Sea has been broken.'

An ability residing in Uranus Heart.

The Blessing of the Sea automatically activated when YuWon was under a mortal attack.

As a result, it had a short duration but great defense. However, the Goblin King's punch had managed to break it in a single blow.

Of course, YuWon had contributed greatly to withstand that punch.

[You have reached 70% of 'Recreation of the Giant King']

Boom, boom!

He felt the muscle veins running throughout his body pulsating rapidly in time with his heartbeat.

It was clear that this was not a power that could be used for a long time.

'If this is really Surt's strength...'

Surt.

The mightiest Giant of all time, and Odin's ancient rival among the Giants.

Furthermore, the leader of Muspelheim, the chief of the Demons.

'I can't match that with the stats I have right now...'

Hercules was also a Ranker without equal in terms of sheer strength.

But Surt was originally an existence beyond categories.

If only brute strength were considered, Hercules might surpass him, but the power emanating from Surt's physique and presence was overwhelming and hard to face even for someone like Hercules.

Moreover, he had immense power in the form of flames that could cover all of Muspelheim.

If Surt were to gain Divinity, what kind of existence would he become?

That had been Odin's concern for a long time.

The first to become the King of Giants and Demons as the King of Muspelheim. Someone who had survived a blow from Gungnir and had power rivaling Hercules in his glory days.

That existence was Surt.

"Surt, it would be nice if that guy were on our side."

"We must give up at some point. Although with anyone else, it might be possible, with Surt, it's impossible to rehabilitate him."

"I know that. The problem with him is not a specific event or circumstance, but an innate disposition."

"Still, there must be another way."

"Isn't it about the Heart of Fire?"

"No, it's not that."

Hercules, who was discussing the matter, turned his head to look at Goblin Servant.

"I'm talking about that ritual."

At that moment, YuWon, who was present, thought it was madness.

But it turned out to be true.

"Perhaps that guy's heart could become the ingredient for 'complete transformation into a Giant.'"

Of course, there were conditions.

He had to obtain Surt's heart before receiving the ritual, that is, after completing Ragnarok.

It was quite a challenging task. Delaying the spell was also an issue, and triggering Ragnarok unprepared also had risks.

But in the end...

['Recreation of the Giant King' has been completed]

[You have obtained the body and heart of the Giant King]

[You have obtained the title "Giant King"]

Crackle, crackle, crackle-.

YuWon could feel the muscles in his body expanding and hardening.

The characteristics obtained through Surt's Heart were beginning now.

["Gigantification" evolves into "Complete Gigantification"]

[You have obtained "Complete Gigantification"]

The skill that Hercules acquired after massacring millions of giants.

["Complete Gigantification" has a remaining duration of 3 minutes.]

[2:59]

[2:58]

Perhaps, just like with the Eyes of Foreknowledge, this was due to the ability.

For some reason, he felt a considerable burden on his body, and the duration was short.

3 minutes.

It wasn't a very long time.

'Even so...'

Thud.

YuWon looked at the Goblin King, who was slowly emerging from the ground.

'Three minutes are enough.'

Complete Gigantification had been activated.

During these three minutes, the short distance gave YuWon an even greater advantage.

Thud.

YuWon's fist rose and struck the Goblin King's head.

Clang!

The Goblin King's head turned to the side.

In an instant, his vision disappeared, and his consciousness became vague. But...

The punch came out reflexively.

Kwahng!

The Goblin King's punch hit YuWon's head again.

There was no Blessing of the Sea.

Since it was a skill that had already been deactivated, it would take some time to restore it.

But YuWon didn't retreat after receiving that blow.

On the contrary...

Kwahng!

"Ugh...!"

As if he was expecting that, YuWon punched the Goblin King's abdomen.

Clang, clang, clang!

Fists exchanged. YuWon threw the sword he held in his hand, and the Goblin King threw his mace.

A fistfight.

Literally, a dogfight.

Clang!

Crunch.

The Goblin King took a step back.

His body trembled, and he was gradually overwhelmed by strength. He continued to stare at YuWon, but at some point, YuWon stopped using the Eyes of Foreknowledge.

This meant...

'I'm being outmatched in a hand-to-hand fight.'

It started when that mysterious ability manifested.

Slowly, the strengths became similar, but the sudden burst of power began to overwhelm him.

Although he was the one leading the strength-to-strength battle.

Now was the time to change the strategy.

'If strength doesn't work...'

Now he had only one option left.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Letters formed in the air from the tips of the Goblin King's fingers. As if saying that he wouldn't let him escape, YuWon lunged at the Goblin King.

Time was running out.

There was barely a minute left of the Complete Gigantification duration.

YuWon was in a position where he had to hurry to see the end.

Clang!

YuWon's fist struck the Goblin King's chest.

It surely would have inflicted significant damage.

Kwaahk!

But the Goblin King grabbed YuWon's arm and shrank back.

That was to use the spell he had recently cast.

"Sorcery is essentially the power to manipulate souls."

Whoosh, whoosh...

The letters began to infiltrate YuWon's body.

Using that as an intermediary, the Goblin King could see YuWon's soul, which had previously been invisible.

"When you stir the soul, naturally..."

And at that moment...

Thud.

"The power..."

The appearance of a being completely different from what he had imagined made the Goblin King's eyes widen.

'What is this?'