Leveling with the Gods

C415

Swooah...

YuWon opened his eyes, feeling a sensation of cold running through his body.

A blue sky.

It was something he always took for granted, but strangely, today, it looked different.

It seemed like the image of the purple sky he had seen during the Trial was still deeply imprinted in his mind.

"...Refreshing."

As he lay on the beach and gazed at the sky, he felt a pleasant sense of calm.

Thud...

He heard the sound of footsteps approaching the beach.

YuWon's eyes, which had been enjoying the feeling of lying down and relaxing, moved. The shadow looming over his body was considerable, and he saw a familiar face.

"Hercules?"

"It really is you."

Hercules, with his imposing presence, held a wet lion's pelt in one hand and looked at YuWon.

YuWon got up and looked at Hercules.

"What are you doing here?"

"You're asking me that question. When did you get here?"

When Hercules had challenged the Trial, YuWon hadn't yet reached the 100th floor. Therefore, finding himself in this place was unexpected.

"It's been a while."

"Then, is this...?"

"I passed the Trial and came here. And you?"

"The same. I opened my eyes, and here I was."

Scratching his head as he replied, Hercules seemed much calmer than his future self who had been with YuWon until recently. Maybe because he hadn't yet started the fight with the Outers.

YuWon looked up at Hercules, who stood over two meters tall.

"It seems you also finished the Trial."

The timing seemed quite fortunate.

Whether by coincidence or some kind of Tower prank, YuWon hadn't expected to meet Hercules again in this place.

YuWon looked down at his saltwater-soaked clothes and spoke.

"Let's get something to eat."

Swooah...

Hercules tore a piece of meat with one hand.

It was a whole roasted hind leg of pork, but in Hercules's hand, it looked almost as big as a giant chicken leg.

He ate quickly.

"Don't eat so fast; it's uncomfortable to eat together."

"I'm eating as slowly as I can."

This restaurant was the first one they saw in the city they had arrived at after walking quite a distance from the beach.

Other customers at the restaurant continued to glance at YuWon and Hercules.

Not only their faces but also Hercules's imposing figure were impossible to ignore wherever they went.

At first glance, it was hard to tell whether he was human or a Giant, and that confused people.

"How tall are you, really?"

"Is he a giant?"

"Wow, he eats incredibly well."

"By any chance, Hercules..."

Although they lowered their voices, that didn't mean they couldn't be heard.

Some people had already recognized Hercules.

"You stand out no matter where you are."

"What can you do if you're born this way? Ah, if you're not going to eat that, pass it over."

"Are you so hungry that you're begging?"

YuWon tilted his head at Hercules's appetite, who was eating an entire pork leg while sitting.

He had always had a big appetite due to the muscles that encased his entire body like armor, but he had never seen anyone eat so quickly.

"You seem to have worked hard."

There was a moment of silence.

Hercules, who was eating, stopped his hand and raised his head.

Although his usual demeanor was indifferent, he now had an exhausted expression, both mentally and physically.

"What kind of Trial did you go through?"

"Didn't you hear anything I said?"

"Was it the Gigantomachy?"

Hercules shook his head with disgust at YuWon's question.

He couldn't hide anything when he was in front of YuWon.

"The Trial was incredibly realistic. Even after realizing it wasn't real halfway through, still..."

"Did you win?"

"I won, so I guess I'm here. If you die there, you really die."

Hercules's myth, the Gigantomachy, was the best legend he had gained.

Zeus, the creator of the board, had originally planned to create the Hero named Hercules using the Gigantomachy. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that Hercules was the one who had obtained the title "Giant Slayer."

"Well, do you want me to tell you more details?"

"Alright. You seem to have a hard time talking about it. Eat some more."

"That's right, and you?"

Hercules started eating again and threw a bright look at YuWon.

"What kind of Trial did you pass?"

"..." Hercules's words referred to what kind of Myth he had completed.

And, depending on the type of Trial, the category and size of the reward would also vary.

While bringing a piece of meat to his mouth, Hercules's attention was entirely focused on YuWon's mouth.

Then...

"I'm hungry."

YuWon didn't speak further.

He was more focused on the food than ever, and the veins on Hercules's forehead tensed at the sight of YuWon eating so attentively.

"Damn glutton..."

Hercules muttered some of the foulest words he knew while continuing his meal.

A meal that continued in silence.

Tak.

After they finished eating and Hercules drank a beer to wash down his throat, he finally opened his mouth again.

"Anyway, you're really fast. You have the shortest period, right?"

"Ranker?"

"Yes. Furthermore, have you already reached this next world that other Rankers still don't know about?"

"Well, you have too."

"Anyway..."

Swooosh.

Hercules wiped his mouth with a napkin he had prepared.

Then, with a more serious look, he gazed at YuWon.

"What do you plan to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Usually, Players climb the Tower in search of power, honor, wealth, and the like. But for you, those aren't goals but means."

Hercules prided himself on having a keen eye for people.

In his eyes, YuWon had no ambitions like power or wealth. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to confront Olympus from the beginning, fight Zeus, resolve Ragnarok, and dive into dangerous situations over and over.

YuWon had a purpose.

And that purpose was quite clear.

And for that, he needed power.

"Do you already have everything you need?"

YuWon looked into Hercules's eyes.

His eyes said it was time to talk.

The situation was uncomfortable.

"You don't need to ask that so hard."

"What?"

"By the way, you were in the middle of a Trial, right?"

YuWon pointed to the Kit he had left in a corner of the table.

"You should investigate a bit about what has been happening in the world while you weren't here. What has been going on while you weren't?"

Swooosh...

The thread moved.

Normally, Vishnu would have immediately picked it up, but he didn't do so this time due to the arrival of a visitor.

"Are you still holding onto that?"

Swooosh...

Under the sky as black as space, on a cliff where Vishnu was seated, a boy approached and sat beside him.

Vishnu paid no attention to the boy and spoke.

"Has it already happened?"

"Yes."

"There is still plenty of time."

"Agni was going crazy for me to move faster."

"Ten days..."

Swooosh...

The thread moved again.

Vishnu's eyes reflected the thin red thread swaying.

"Is Shiva already in motion?"

"It's his turn now."

"It's already time for him to get tired."

"He's excited."

Brahma reached his hand forward.

A red thread also flowed from his hand. Although it hadn't been long since they had started, he was already yawning at the idea of continuing.

"So, how are you doing?"

"I can't see what you can't."

"Is it more fun this way?"

Brahma stood up and yawned as he leaned back. Vishnu continued to watch the swaying thread as he spoke.

"I was bored."

"Were you?"

"It's changing. Continually. Without stopping."

Brahma sprang to his feet.

Fate is changing.

That hadn't happened in thousands of years, and Vishnu said it was happening over and over again.

"Since when?"

"Not many years ago. So I keep monitoring."

"Is it changing in what direction?"

"Well, who knows. I'm not sure if it's a positive or negative change."

"What are you saying?"

The question resonated in a chilling tone.

Swooosh...

Vishnu pulled the thread.

With a sound like water splashing upward, a gigantic monster resembling a Dragon emerged through the thread in his hand.

Roar!

The monster, with a mouth as enormous as a sea monster, rose into the sky, only to fall behind Vishnu shortly after.

Thud...

The small island where Vishnu and Brahma were trembled.

Brahma, looking at the monster, made a pitiful expression as if it were a shame and muttered.

"An Imoogi trapped in a crevice? It must have been hard."

Having caught a big fish, Vishnu lowered another thread.

Watching Vishnu, who didn't stop, Brahma asked:

"Don't you feel sorry for them?"

"It's an occupation for when I have nothing to do."

Pulling out unfortunate beings trapped in dimensional rifts was what the Deva founder Vishnu had been doing repeatedly for thousands of years.

Moreover...

"The unseen fate started to become seen. But it doesn't seem to be something good."

Reeling out another thread, Vishnu spoke quietly as he sank.

"It looks like something big is happening at this upcoming Reconciliation Meeting." (Note: The meeting that will be held in Asgard)

"...Something big happened."

It was the first word that Hercules spoke after reviewing everything that had happened through the Kit.

A collapsed wall.

And an entity from another world more powerful than Odin that had entered from the other side of that wall.

Definitely not something ordinary.

For Tower inhabitants who only knew up and down, the "Outer" was practically an unknown world.

Furthermore...

"They don't seem to have any intention of getting along with us."

Hercules looked at YuWon with a gleam in his eyes.

Why?

While reading these articles, he had the feeling he understood everything YuWon had been doing up to now.

If YuWon already knew about their existence.

If he had been preparing to fight them for a long time.

Then...

"There will be a grand meeting."

"There is probably no Guild uninterested in the Outer."

"Olympus, Deva, Demon Kings, Celestial Realm... the number of major Guilds is quite high. Even with a simple search, you can know the number. If we add Guilds not appearing in records, the scale will be much larger. It will be the biggest meeting in history and is likely to be a historic day."

The largest-scale meeting in history. And that day was only ten days away.

"What are you going to do?"

Hercules asked YuWon.

Would he participate in this meeting or not?

"Of course..."

And YuWon's choice was already made.

"I will go and take a look."

It was clear.