Leveling with the Gods

"Trap..."

Ares' gaze drifted to Arthur and then back.

"So what you're saying is that you can beat me with yourself, is that what you're saying?"

"No, I'm not saying that, but it sounds like it, doesn't it?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Rather, Ares' men were the ones who stirred at the provocative words, and wanted to charge at YuWon, weapons drawn, but Arthur planted himself before them, Mana throbbing in his empty eyes.

"Truly one has to live a long time for this sort of thing to happen in life."

His laughter ceased and the Sword of Ares twitched.

Scott-.

Thwack~

YuWon's back wall cracked.

Ares' Sword moved slightly, sending a sharp Energy Sword across the distance.

"I'll blow your head off right now."

"You talk a lot."

Hwareuk-.

YuWon's eyes turned red.

['Ash Eyes' read 'Sword Technique'.]

['Sensory Field' is activated]

Ash Eyes and Sensory Field.

When these two skills appeared, everything inside the temple was clearly visible, like the top of the palm.

"Wow, you're going to start with everything, I see."

"Oh, you knew that?"

Ares lifted the corner of his lips.

He didn't seem too surprised when he saw the Ash Eyes, given how much was known about YuWon.

"So..."

Skang!

The tip of a spear flew past.

The moment YuWon raised his sword and slashed it aside, Ares' body appeared from above.

"Block this one too!"

Clang-!

Woo~

Ares parried the blow, and the weight of it caused the divine ground YuWon was standing on to give way.

Ares retrieved the spear that he threw lightly and then plunged the spear straight into Yuwon.

Peek, peek, peek~

A quick stab.

YuWon dodged its trajectory with ease and asked.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

At the moment Ares grimaced questioningly.

Pak-!

The fist that curled in the front stretched forward.

Thud-!

The floor of the temple was overturned, and lightning power was shot in all directions.

The body of Ares, who had been eagerly attacking YuWon, was knocked down. For the first time, he seemed to have a puzzled look on his face.

"Your house might collapse."

"You, this power..."

The power of Zeus Lightning, as well as the power of Hargaan.

It was a power that only appeared in direct descendants who had inherited Zeus' strong lineage. The power that even Ares could not inherit was used by Yu-Won here and now.

"It is the power you are jealous of..."

YuWon knew the ugly side of Ares.

"Of Hargaan."

Jealousy.

It was a word that would never be appropriate for Ares, who sat on the throne of war and fighting.

But that didn't mean Ares didn't feel jealousy.

He was jealous of only one person in his life.

Hargaan.

Throughout history, and as far into the future as he knew.

Of all the countless offspring of Zeus, he was the strongest in blood, and Ares was constantly jealous.

Snap~

"How dare you say that..."

When he touched her reverse scale, the reaction came immediately.

"How dare you mock me!"

Woo~

A completely different amount of mana was deposited into the sword than before.

If he had been cautious before because he was worried that the temple would collapse, now it seemed that he didn't care.

Ttak-!

The temple floor cracked, and fragments of the overturned floor flew out in hundreds or thousands of directions.

YuWon grinned as he slashed at the splinters that splattered towards him with his sword.

"Looks like I hit the nail on the head, huh?".

"Shut up!"

Flash-!

Golden mana exploded and Ares' sword was dyed the same color.

A sword more and sharper than anything else.

YuWon faced the sword without avoiding it.

[The strength of a Giant permeates your entire body.]

[The stat "Stamina" is temporarily replaced by "Muscles"].

Fire~

Along with Gigantification, Holy Flame entered the sword.

At the same time, the golden mana and YuWon's sword collided in the middle of the temple.

Twack-!

Twwaaaaack-!!!

"What kind of Mana...!"

"Everyone, behind us!"

The Rankers gathered in the arena/room were bewildered by the clash of the two mighty powers.

The aftermath of the sudden mana clash spread throughout the temple. Mana of different attributes coated the swords of the two men, scattering hundreds of strands of sword waves.

Two invisible waves of mana.

Boom, boom, boom!

Chanang-!

The sounds of swords and spears clashing could be heard non-stop.

The temple walls crack under the impact of the battle, and the ground began to crumble.

'Is it really Player Kim Yuwon who is fighting there?'

Yuwon was a player who had just passed Floor 40.

It was true that he had now left the lower floors and was now on a fairly high level, but he couldn't believe it.

It was as if he was fighting another High Rank.

It was an unbelievable situation.

Even when YuWon first invaded the temple, most thought that maybe he was crazy.

Of course, he was a Player who shook Olympus to an unprecedented level.

But all they thought was that he was just a Player.

And they were wrong.

For one thing, there was no way he could have gotten into a fight with no chance of winning.

There were enough chances....

No, maybe he had come in with complete certainty of winning.

"Your hands are quite spicy."

Tang~

An intense shock transmitted through the fallen sword.

The sword was durable, but the force with which he wielded it was considerable.

"Is it because of the Gigantization?"

Gigantization, YuWon's signature ability, was already well known in Olympus.

An ability that dramatically increased muscle strength, a symbol of Hercules.

Ares had also coveted it for a long time.

It was so hard to get that he had given up on having it, but....

'I'm greedy.'

Ares' eyes sparkled as he looked at YuWon.

Even at this moment, he was still astonished.

A Player who entered the tower at the same time as Hargaan.

He didn't understand how he had been able to grow so much in such a short time, even being comparable to a High Rank.

Eyes of Ash, Gigantification, Sea Stone.

And even the power of the Clown, which was the symbol of Zeus.

He was armed with all sorts of abilities and items that even the High Ranks of the Tower could only covet.

'If I can take him down, and get any of them...'

Ares' lips curved.

'Maybe someday I can surpass my Father.'

Grab-!

Ares' body leaned forward, accelerating in an instant.

YuWon distanced himself from Ares, who suddenly dug in further. Ares dug in further and further, brandishing his sword as if he would not let go.

At that moment...

"You should look up."

"......?"

Only then did he feel the Mana from above.

Ares raised his head and three dazzling lights entered his field of vision.

[Lightning]

Crackle-!

Three bolts of lightning struck Ares' head. Ares' body, clad in golden armor, turned yellow and YuWon's sword pierced him.

However...

Kak-!

"......!"

Ares' sword was charged with even greater power.

He was unaffected by the Lightning Bolt.

"That light is my father's power."

Ares approached Yuwon.

Close enough to see the reflection in his opponent's eyes.

Skak-.

Pik-.

"Do you really think I will fall under that power?"

Ares' sword slashed the ends of YuWon's hair.

It was the first time Ares' Sword touched Yuwon's body.

'It's creepy.'

Yuwon's eyes, which had been looking into Ares' eyes, narrowed slightly.

The sword became stronger and the golden aura flowing through Ares' body intensified.

As if this was only the beginning, his hands turned with the movement of the two spearheads.

Shuaak-.

Kak-!

The spearheads moved, forming a long line in the middle of the temple.

Then.

"Quaaaaaaaagh!"

"Ah, Lord Ares!"

"We're right behind you! Lord Ares... Aagh!"

Naturally, the temple was knocked down, so were those caught in the crossfire.

Blows that even a Ranker player would struggle to survive. Not to mention the players under their control.

All the blood was spilled by those under Ares.

At that moment...

Kiiiiiiing-.

Kak-!

Sword attacks flew from the aftermath of the fight with YuWon.

Arthur stood in front of one of the players.

-This is not a pretty sight.

Ares was so distracted by the fight that he began to rampage madly.

He seemed to have no regard for the safety of his subordinates.

He became the person Arthur despised the most, and he was fighting Yu-Won.

Kurrr-.

It was unknown what he was made of, but the temple did not collapse easily. Apparently, the points spent on it were worth it.

-What kind of war is this?

Ares.

A High Rank of Olympus who symbolized war and fighting.

-War, by its very nature, is not fought alone?

A sapphire glow flashed in his empty pupils.

Though he was not moving because he was at YuWon's command, Arthur wanted to pounce on Ares and slit his throat at any moment.

Kkagagagak-!

Shukaaak-!

YuWon concentrated on Ares' sword.

Striking the sword and pulling on it. He raised his holy flame to protect himself from the gushing mana.

The Eyes of Ash and Sensory Field, perhaps thanks to the two effects, avoiding his spear wasn't too difficult.

Then...

- How long do I plan to keep watching?

Arthur's voice flowed into her ears.

It was a voice that sounded very angry. Only then YuWon found Arthur standing there protecting the other Players and Rankers.

'Is he angry?'

He was.

Arthur had been known as the King of Knights in life.

Chivalry was what he stood for, his essence.

How repugnant Ares must seem in Arthur's eyes.

'I thought my senses would come back...'

"I don't think so."

"What?"

'Not going to happen.'

Ares looked puzzled, sword still swinging.

At that moment...

Ttak-.

The tip of the sword thrust into his throat.

Startled, Ares hastened to take a step back. But that was only for a moment, as Ares immediately swung his spear, cutting YuWon's body in half.

However...

Ttuk-.

Ares' body instantly stiffened.

Flames engulfed YuWon's body.

For a brief moment, he thought he saw the figure of Zeus.

'What the hell...'

"You said this was your father's power?"

Creackle-!

A blast of electricity burst from YuWon's left hand.

A familiar power.

Moreover, for Ares, who had an exceptionally high resistance to electric shocks, it was an ability that wasn't scary at all.

"...Isn't it?"

"Well, I don't know about the other way around."

"The other way around?"

'You mean the dark attribute mana?'

Now that he thought about it, Ares' knowledge of YuWon included that he could use dark mana.

Perhaps, it was information obtained through a subordinate, Agamemnon.

From fire to lightning to darkness.

It was a natural talent to be able to use all those types of mana, but there was no particular problem with the attribute being different.

'The absolute power of mana doesn't increase just because the attribute changes.'

But.

''That said, I'm curious.

Pssst-.

There were always exceptions.

"What you know and what you don't know."

Kak-.

Kyneē's eyes, which had not fully opened until now, widened.

"What's the difference?"

['Hell' worships the 'King of the Dead'].

From within him, an almost infinite power began to gush forth.