Leveling with the Gods

Leveling with the Gods

Chapter 89

The world of the 20th Floor was massive. Ironically, it was also a cramped place.

The world itself was large, but there wasn’t much space that people could live in. With 90% of the world being ocean, unless you were an aquatic race, you couldn’t live on the 20th Floor.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the remaining 10% of the land was abandoned. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

Despite it being only 10% of the world, the land was still expansive and bountiful, so the world progressed greatly.

The Marine Kingdom, Portugia.

In that kingdom, there was a legend…

“He who finds the ‘Stone of the Sea’ will become the god of the sea…”

On Neptu, one of the twelve islands of Portugia and the smallest of the islands, there was neverending fighting.

“… What an attractive legend. To be able to become a god just by getting your hands on it,” the person continued.

A dozen players were threatening a large boy and girl. The two were over two meters tall, and they were trembling while walking back into a wall.

“P-Please don’t hurt us…”

“Wh-What did we do wrong? Why are you doing this to us?”

“Hah! ‘P-Please don’t hurt us… W-We didn’t do anything wrong…’ Hehehe.”

“You should be ashamed of how cowardly you guys are for your size.”

“Are all Giants li’l chickens like them?”

“It’s hard to hide yourselves now that you’ve grown quite big, isn’t that right?”

“These li’l assholes probably aren’t even ten years old if we go by human age.”

“Really? But they’re this tall?”

“These creepy buggers grow to be at least four meters tall. Blegh.”

“You guys should have been good while Asgard was still helping you guys out. So why did you guys go and pick a fight with them…”

Asgard and the Giants were originally on friendly terms. But after some Giants started working together with the Demons, Asgard cut ties with them. And ever since, these situations had become common.

All sorts of crass comments were showered upon the two Giants.

The two players walked further back into the corner, cowering in fear.

“You know the legend I was talking about earlier?” a red-haired man that was leading the group asked while walking closer to the Giants.

“Wh-What legend?” one of the Giants asked in response.

“The one about the Stone of the Sea,” the red-haired man spoke. “Where is it?”

The Giants looked at the emblems on the players’ chests. They were drawings of a red-maned wolf.

They were members of the Crimson Wolf Guild, a guild infamous in the lower and middle floors.

“I heard that the Giants are hiding the Stone of the Sea,” said the red-haired man.

“Do you really believe such a childish rumor?” the Giant boy asked.

The red-haired man scoffed in response, “Of course I don’t, but it’s still the most plausible rumor.”

“And do you know who the source of that rumor is?”

“Isn’t it Olympus? They’re as reliable of a source as it gets.”

“Then I’m sure you also know the relationship between us and Olympus?”

“We know. And that’s exactly why we’re doing this,” the red-haired man said while reaching for his knife. “Olympus will give zero fucks about us killing Giants.”

The 20th Floor was a world under the jurisdiction of Olympus. Over half of the Bureau were Rankers and players of Olympus, and whenever incidents involving the Giants occured, they covered up most of them.

This could only happen because Olympus wanted to eradicate the Giants.

“If you don’t want to die, then tell me already. Where is the Stone of the Sea?” the red-haired man threatened the Giants.

“I told you, we don’t have anything like that!” one of them shouted.

The other Giant followed up with, “That’s a fake rumor spread by Olympus to get rid of our people!”

Despite the Giants’ strong objections, nothing was going to change.

Displeased from not getting the answer he wanted, the red-haired man picked his ear, saying, “Oh, really?”

He then turned his head back towards his comrades.

They were fellow guildmates that had been with him for a long time now, and each could tell what the others were thinking just by the look in their eyes.

“Well, let’s see if you guys can still keep saying that later on.”

Shing—

Shnnk, shank—

The players started to prepare their weapons and skills.

The surrounded Giants grit their teeth. They knew that these guys wouldn’t listen to them no matter what they said.

The red-haired man instructed his men, “Don’t kill them. Just cut off their limbs one at a time. Then they might change their minds and—”

“What are villains doing, roaming around such peaceful times?” a voice interrupted him.

* * *

* * *

The red-haired man was named Horang, an executive of the Crimson Wolf Guild. He turned his head, glaring, and saw that a man was walking into the alley.

“‘Villains’?”

“Who’s this asshole?”

“He doesn’t seem to know where he shouldn’t stick his nose.”

“Don’t you know who we are?”

The Crimson Wolf Guild was composed of players from the 20th to the 50th Floors. And because the guildmaster was a decently high-ranking Ranker, they were well-known on the lower floors.

“Hey, man! Don’t try to play hero and scram unless you want to get hurt!”

“Are you going to just let him go?”

“It’ll get annoying if we kill someone that’s not a Giant, especially with how vigilant Asgard has been lately.”

“Those motherfuckers are always acting like they’re goodie two-shoes.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The group had decided to ignore him, knowing that it was just one guy, but then the voice got even closer.

“I’m not playing. I’m the real deal.”

Ssk—

YuWon cut through the group, saying, “and I have business with them too.”

“What?”

“Is this son of a bitch also after the Stone of the Sea?”

“Hey, be careful.”

The members of Crimson Wolf became more alert watching YuWon walk through them. Even an idiot would realize that someone so bold had to have good reason to be so confident.

“Which guild are you from?”

“Tell us. But whichever guild you’re from, this isn’t right, man.”

“There are rules even among us…”

“Wait,” Horang stopped his guildmates and just watched YuWon approach the two Giants.

‘This guy. He looks familiar…’ Horang thought. He’d definitely seen this face somewhere before.

That’s when it hit him.

“Hey, is he…”

“Are you thinking the same thing I am?”

A few of the guild members started whispering. They seemed to be on the same page as Horang.

“Kim YuWon,” Horang said to YuWon. He spoke in his deepest voice and with the scariest glare he could muster. “Am I right?”

YuWon nodded his head.

After the Grand Martial Arts Tournament, the number of people who recognized his face greatly increased.

Horang was one of them.

“Does that mean we can just talk this out?” YuWon asked.

“You may be pretty skilled for the 20th Floor, but that ain’t nothin’. I get that you’re amazing and all, but we cleared the 20th Floor long ago,” said Horang.

The majority of the players in the Crimson Wolf Guild were players of the 25th Floor and above.

And Horang, being an executive, was a player of a floor much higher than 20. So to him, even if YuWon was the winner of the Grand Martial Arts Tournament, he only saw YuWon as a player of the 20th Floor.

“Are you acting like this because you believe in the Heavenly Demonic Cult?”

“No,” YuWon said, turning to face the Crimson Wolf Guild while standing in front of the Giants, “I don’t believe in anyone.”

Horang furrowed his brow as he locked eyes with YuWon.

It was just one guy. A player who only just arrived on the 20th Floor.

Despite that, Horang couldn’t look down on him. That’s how much weight the name “Kim YuWon” carried lately.

Horang thought, ‘There has to be a reason why he’s acting so cocky.’

With YuWon’s skills, he should have been able to join any large guild at any time he wanted.

Horang continued thinking, ‘We shouldn’t lose to the skills he showed at the tournament. But what if he has comrades nearby? Or what if he’s being escorted by someone from the Heavenly Demonic Clan?’

It was well-known that YuWon was the Vice-Lord of the Demonic Cult.

So even though it seemed like there was no one else nearby, it was still a risk to fight him with only this many people on their side.

‘It’s a shame that we have to let go of some Giants, but…’ Horang thought it was risky with only twelve people, so he took his hand off his hilt and turned around.

“We’re leaving,” Horang said.

“But, sir!”

“He’s completely alone!”

Horang shook his head. “We’re turning back, and that’s final.”

As a leader, Horang did not change his mind after making a decision. So his companions, after a bit of hesitation, left as ordered.

“You’re lucky,” Horang growled, “if it weren’t for the Heavenly Demonic Cult, I would have torn you to pieces right here.

YuWon looked at him who was looking back with bloodlust. Horang’s eyes had turned yellow. His glare was fierce and sharp, like that of a wild beast.

‘He’s not a normal guy,’ YuWon sensed from the intense mana Horang was radiating.

It was strange to YuWon. He thought, ‘Why isn’t a guy like this better known?’

YuWon was familiar with most Rankers, and Horang was no ordinary player. With a fairly high position within his guild, he should have had the skills to become a Ranker.

“Uh…” a loud voice spoke from behind YuWon.

He turned his head.

It was the girl Giant. It seemed that she had tried to speak quietly, but a Giant’s voice was much louder than a human’s voice.

The Giant girl said, “Thanks for saving u—”

“What if I hadn’t saved you?” YuWon cut her off. “Were you just going to take it?”

“What?”

“You’re two Giants. You shouldn’t be afraid of guys like these.”

The Giants were a strong race. Born with dominant strength, they were on par with Demons and Draconians.

“So why didn’t you fight?” YuWon asked.

The Giant girl mumbled, unable to give a proper answer.

The Giant boy cut in, “You must know Giants pretty well.”

He was now much more alert, having realized that YuWon knew Giants better than the average person.

YuWon nodded his head. “A little bit.”

“Who are you with? Olympus? Or Asgard?”

“Big brother, I don’t think we should be so rude to someone that helped us.”

“He’s still a human. There’s no way he helped us without expecting something in return,” the boy defended his actions to his little sister.

“But still…”

“He’s right,” YuWon nodded.

YuWon looked straight into the eyes of the Giant boy who was a good two or three feet taller than him.

“I didn’t help you guys for no reason,” YuWon continued.

“So are you after the Stone of the Sea as well?”

“That’s right.”

The 「Stone of the Sea.」 It was an item that all players that visited the 20th Floor dreamed of.

As an item known to turn one into a god, despite its existence being unproven, countless players and Rankers searched for it.

YuWon was no different, except for one thing.

‘The Stone of the Sea is real,’ YuWon knew.

Unlike the others who were on a wild goose chase, YuWon knew the truth and how to find it.

“Damn it, why don’t you believe us?! We don’t know where it is!” The cries of the frustrated boy rumbled in the alleyway.

The towering boy’s muscles twitched as he told YuWon, “Listen to me. We really don’t know. We don’t even know if the Stone of the Sea is real, and even if it does exist, we don’t know where it is!”

“I know that,” YuWon said.

“What?” The boy was confused.

“You guys don’t know where it is, so of course you guys don’t have it,” YuWon explained.

The boy furrowed his brow as he asked, “Then what business do you have with us?”

“I have business with a Giant that you guys know.”

“A different Giant?”

“Urpha.”

The two made surprised faces at the name YuWon brought up.

The Giants in front of him were only a few decades old. In human terms, they were only elementary schoolers. YuWon had no business with these kids.

“I’d like to meet your elder.”