Leveling with the Gods

C475

Boom!

A lightning bolt echoed in the sky.

Under that thunder, the world crumbled. Hercules' fist struck the earth with force.

Crack!

Crash, crunch, crunch!

The earth split open, creating the illusion that the world was turning upside down. Behind Hercules, countless Son OhGong appeared.

"Grow!"

A voice echoed in a reverberating tone.

And toward those Son OhGong...

Fwoosh!

Hercules' other fist, wrapped in lightning, extended.

Bum!

The Son OhGong were swept away and vanished. The torn remnants of the Son OhGong turned into smoke and disappeared, and amidst that, a Son OhGong with a body as black as coal emerged holding the Ru Yi Bang.

This one wasn't a clone.

Buuuuuuuuum.

Ru Yi Bang aimed at Hercules' neck. It was too late to dodge, so Hercules extended his fist.

And then...

"Stop."

Swish.

Wjoosh.

A sword line drawn vertically from above.

Along that line, flames rose, and the two individuals who were about to collide halted.

"That's enough."

"Ah, why?"

"I can still do more."

The sound of cold water poured onto the long-burning fire. It would be strange if it didn't make a loud noise.

But...

"It's me who's tired. Me."

YuWon decided it was time to stop.

If it kept burning, the entire place would turn into an uncontrollable wildfire. Hercules didn't retreat once the fight began, and Son OhGong wasn't the type to withdraw first.

Of the three, he was the only one capable of mediating the fight.

"Curses."

"...I don't like it."

As if it were regrettable, as if they could still fight more, the two complained, but their bodies were no longer in that condition.

Son OhGong, swaying a little. And Hercules, already drenched in sweat.

Both were clearly reaching their limits. In the past month, the two had fought countless times and had yet to reach a proper conclusion.

And during that time...

YuWon truly felt the sensation of chasing someone after a long time.

"They've truly become monsters."

With the power of lightning, Hercules had fully adapted to that power.

Son OhGong as well.

After the Golden Headband's seal was broken, he gained power rivaling that of Hercules.

The two had become monsters beyond YuWon's expectations. Although he thought he could keep up with them, it turned out to be more challenging than he thought.

"Even so, this should be enough..."

Although it wasn't as good as he remembered, at least what he expected lined up quite well.

One month.

It was a time when the three fought without rest.

Because they fought so much during that period, they could even foresee how the opponent would move, and that would be an advantage when they fought together.

If that were the case, at least they wouldn't trip over each other.

Furthermore, Hercules and Son OhGong. Both were opponents YuWon couldn't easily face.

The fight with them not only consisted of coordinating their movements but also helped them better understand the new power.

"Hercules has changed a lot too."

YuWon's gaze turned to Hercules' back, which seemed filled with dissatisfaction.

Unconsciously, he was now skillfully handling the power of lightning. At first, after using lightning, his body was surrounded by electricity for a while, but now the electricity quickly disappeared at his will.

Son OhGong was the same.

Since the Golden Headband's seal was broken, he gained power rivaling that of Hercules.

He, too, couldn't fully control the power flowing into him, and he hadn't used it to its full extent yet.

Even until now.

"Well..."

When YuWon opened his mouth while observing the fight between Son OhGong and Hercules, the two, walking in opposite directions, stopped.

"Should we move?"

Smile~

The corner of Son OhGong's mouth, who was turning his body the other way, lifted.

It seemed that fighting like this also became boring. Or perhaps he was eager for the fight against Ubbo-Sathla?

"I like your person, but I don't like your cautious personality."

As if he had been waiting, Son OhGong raised his fighting spirit again, which had been paused for a while.

Sweat flowed from Hargan's body. Golden lightning permeated his entire body. Although he fought generously with all his power, he was no match for Pandora in front of him.

"Why is she so strong?"

The power of lightning had practically fully recovered. Moreover, he had perfected the way of using that power in battle.

The last year was the most valuable period for Hargan. During that time, Hargan considered that he had experienced significant personal growth.

However...

"Is it over?"

All his experience didn't work against Pandora at all.

Neither the power of lightning nor the fists he learned from Hercules.

None of it affected Pandora.

"Well, this time..."

Pam!

Pandora's face appeared in front of him.

If it weren't for this situation, there would be nothing strange about his heart pounding.

"I'm going in."

Splash!

"...!"

Pandora's fist struck Hargan's chest. The feeling that the bones in his chest were breaking into pieces filled his mind, and his consciousness drifted away for a moment before returning.

But even that was only for a moment.

Crack.

Hargan gritted his teeth to regain composure. To defend against Pandora's continuous attacks, Hargan enveloped his body with the power of lightning.

Craack-le!

Each blow seemed like it would snatch away his consciousness. Barely holding on, when he faced Pandora manifesting between the attacks, his spine automatically shivered.

Spine-chilling...

An unknown energy...

Pandora, usually seeming as gentle as a lamb. Hargan also had a fairly friendly relationship with her.

They joked and played.

But when they fought like this, she suddenly turned into a fierce beast.

Even showing her fangs and aiming at his own throat.

Crack-.

Hargan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Just blocking didn't suit his temperament. For a month, he had only focused on blocking Pandora's attacks.

Somehow, he felt that he should at least land one blow to vent his frustration.

To do that...

Zzeeek!

"What...?"

Pandora's fist stabbed into Hargan's forehead. Hargan, looking surprised at Pandora, extended his fist.

Clang!

Just as the extended fist was about to hit Pandora's face...

Zaap!

"Calm down."

Someone grabbed Hargan's wrist.

Kwaaaack.

"Ugh..."

"Oh, sorry."

The one who stopped Hargan was Hercules.

When he released the caught wrist, Hargan quickly wrapped his own wrist with one hand and frowned with an unsatisfied expression.

"It was my chance to land a blow, why did you stop me?"

"There was a chance, yes. But still, I had to stop them."

"Why?"

"Because she wouldn't have stopped either."

"...Pandora?"

Hargan looked at Pandora, who was hiding behind Hercules, as if wondering what that meant.

Had she been holding back until now?

Certainly, the anger she felt towards him was always genuine. Hargan knew that the cause of that anger was his resemblance to Zeus.

Both in appearance and in handling the power of lightning.

Hargan was called 'the young Zeus' in the outside world, so it wasn't strange for Pandora to show hostility towards him.

"Even so, you did well."

Pak, pak.

Hercules patted Hargan's shoulders.

Somehow, he managed to make her more authentic. Indeed, it was an unexpected achievement.

"Pandora."

"Yes."

"Don't go anywhere. Soon everyone will gather here."

Hargan, who seemed dissatisfied with Hercules' explanation for a while, opened his eyes.

"What's the destination?"

Until now, YuWon had only mentioned the goal, but he hadn't given details about when and where they would go.

All he had said was that they should focus on improving their skills and coordination.

"Floor 91."

"If it's the 91st floor... Nibelung?"

Rankers and Players affiliated with Great Guilds usually first thought about the Guild representing each floor. And among them, the Guild representing the 91st Floor was Nibelung.

It wasn't as large as Asgard or Olympus, but it was still a Great Guild representing the best of the Tower.

"Yes, exactly. Let's go to Nibelung."

"To Nibelung?"

There was nothing special about Nibelung.

In fact, it was rather peaceful, perhaps the quietest city on top of the Tower.

That was the reason.

"Isn't that where Siegfried reigns?"

The reason Hargan hesitated about that destination.

Hephaestus remained stuck in his workshop for a while.

At first, he thought it would only be a moment. Doing nothing was uncomfortable, so he held the hammer in his hand as usual.

Melt iron. Harden it. Shape it, hammer it.

That's how Hephaestus began making weapons again.

Clang-.

It was then...

Although it should have been locked, someone entered Hephaestus' workshop.

"I'm not here for business."

Bang-!

Feeling the presence, Hephaestus opened his mouth while hammering.

He didn't turn to look. Normally, he would have opened the door first and thrown the hammer at the visitor without ceremony, but today he had no intentions of doing so.

However...

"The quality is quite good."

Clang-.

Hearing the sound of lifting his piled-up children beside him, Hephaestus finally turned his head.

"What the...?"

Hephaestus turned around so quickly that his mouth stiffened.

He didn't expect to see that face at all. Now that he thought about it, the voice seemed familiar to him.

It seems he was very distracted; otherwise, he would have recognized that horrible voice.

"It's you."

While grabbing a spear created by Hephaestus, Zeus seemed to smile weakly.

"It's rare to hear bad words after so long."

"... What are you doing here, father?"

"Did I come to a place I shouldn't be?"

A question answered with another question.

Hephaestus looked at Zeus with a face full of questions.

Does he want to reconcile now?

Or perhaps witness the opening of his new workshop?

But...

"I came to ask you a favor."

A favor?

The Zeus that Hephaestus knew would have said "order" instead of "favor" and would have sent someone to ask instead of coming himself.

"What favor?"

"It seems you're thinking of making weapons again."

Zeus' gaze was still directed at the spear created by Hephaestus.

Although the materials were mediocre, the spear was well-made. Even though Hephaestus made it just because he was bored, the spear's tip was sharp enough to pierce through steel even if a child stabbed it.

"That's right..."

"Make a weapon for me. If possible, as soon as possible."

Hephaestus's eyes widened.

It wasn't just a "request" to make weapons. Zeus wanted a weapon he could use himself.

Like back then.

When he got him the Heavenly Divine Crystal to make the Lightning Bolt.

Clang-.

Hephaestus clenched the hammer in his hand tightly.

In his heart, he wanted to give the same answer as last time. That he would no longer make weapons for you. That I'm not making weapons for war.

He wanted to say that.

But...

"How soon do you want it?"

Perhaps it was a twist of fate.

At the only moment his heart wavered, Zeus arrived at the workshop.

"I don't have time."

After agreeing, Zeus spoke with a relieved face.

"I'd appreciate it as soon as possible."