Leveling with the Gods

Chapter 135

The 66th Floor of the Tower. A world without night with pure white clouds instead of ground. And below them stood a huge temple reminiscent of a castle.

Pure white walls and a pure white ceiling. In this place that echoed with beautiful and never-ending music…

Stomp, stomp—

The heavy thuds of footsteps could be heard.

“Huh?”

“Ruler of the Seas, this is…”

A few Rankers came forth to block the guest that had suddenly entered, a two-meter-tall man with blue hair.

Each of his steps shook the ceiling of the temple. As a few dozen Rankers blocked his path, the man stopped walking for a moment.

“Will you continue to block my way?”

Eyes that contained the oceans looked around at the Rankers. He sent a dense wave of pressure at them.

Feeling as if their lungs would collapse, the Rankers all clenched their hands around their weapons and unleashed their Arcane Powers.

It would’ve been fine if it were anywhere else… But they definitely couldn’t let him enter this place.

The tall man with blue hair, the “Ruler of the Seas” and one of the “Big Three” gods of Olympus.

Poseidon’s eyes narrowed into crescents.

“I’ll take it that’s your answer.”

“Kugh…”

“Cough…!”

A few of the Rankers spat blood from their mouths. They felt their lungs collapse and their bodies being pressed down.

Simultaneously, the temple was filled with humidity, and the air started to quake.

At that moment…

“ᐷ He may enter.

A voice could be heard from the ceiling.

“Kughk!”

“Cough, cough…”

The Arcane Power that had filled the air disappeared, and the oppressive aura was released.

The Rankers, filled with relief at being alive and from escaping the pain, all collapsed and sat on the ground.

“If you block my path again, it won’t end with just a warning.” Poseidon looked at them for a moment before moving on.

Inside the innermost part of the temple was a room with a wide-open ceiling that directly showed the sky.

“You’re here.”

“Now you don’t even come out to greet me.”

A man dressed in white cloth with his golden hair tied up. That man emitted such bright light that just looking at him made one feel like they would go blind. Going above being good-looking, his beautifully sculpted face was famous throughout the Tower.

Zeus.

The self-appointed King of Olympus, and the one who thought of himself as the ruler of the Tower.

He smiled at Poseidon. “But didn’t I open the way for you?”

“Even if you didn’t, I would’ve gotten past them.”

“You would have.”

Zeus put his feet in a pond.

Poseidon stomped towards him.

“I don’t want to talk to you for long, so I’ll get straight to the point. Right now, in Britain—”

“Are you going to tell me that Lancelot is dangerous?”

So he knew already.

Poseidon frowned and nodded.

Lancelot was a Ranker that Olympus had invested in for a long time. A High-Ranker at Lancelot’s level could have stayed in Olympus as much as he desired, but the position he attained from being in The Round Table was different from the average High-Ranker.

More than anything, as Poseidon thought of his plans for Lancelot in the future, he was someone who mustn't be exposed right now.

“What are you thinking of doing?” Zeus asked.

If Poseidon already knew, he definitely would have thought of it already. This was the reason that he had come to find Zeus.

Zeus was an existence like that. Terrifyingly strong, but he didn’t blindly rely on his strength alone. He always made and executed plans after looking a few steps ahead and making insurances.

It was one of the reasons that Olympus could reach this point.

“To avoid an even bigger fight…” Zeus contemplated for only a moment. He nodded and continued, “There’s no way but to take a small loss.”

“A small loss?”

“Britain never had a relationship with us in the first place.” Looking down at the pond, golden electricity flowed in Zeus’s eyes. “And for that…”

Bzzzt—

“Erasing everything would be best.”

A spear of lightning formed in his hand.

Bzzt, bzzzzt—

Looking down at the pond with him, Poseidon furrowed his brows. His skin prickled.

Even though it didn’t fully make its appearance, the sky began to shake.

‘The Lightning Bolt.’

The item that symbolized Zeus and the object that made him King of Olympus.

Seeing it again filled Poseidon with envy. If he had been able to obtain the 「Stone of the Sea,」 he would have had an item like that as well.

“Erasing Camelot off the map…”

It was a clean method.

However, there was a problem.

“The Administrator wouldn’t just sit by.”

“I have already finished my talks with him.”

Zeus was one of the existences who could directly talk with an Administrator. From the moment the incident had happened, he had already been talking with the Administrator.

“What happened?”

At Poseidon’s question, Zeus turned his gaze back to the surface of the pond.

“One strike.”

Atop the leisurely flowing surface of the water, the image of a purple-skinned Lancelot swinging his sword in a fight against Merlin was shown.

“I was given only one strike to use.”

* * *

Translator - Jreaming

Proofreader - BringTheRayn

* * *

Lancelot’s mind felt like it was burning. He could only think of one thing.

‘I want to be king.’

Against the thousands of strings that filled his vision, he swung his sword.

Shwak—!

“Uwaaah!”

“Th-The gate!”

“Stop being shocked! Just move away!”

The castle gates were cut along with the strings. The gates and walls fell to the ground. The knights started to hurriedly move to protect the soldiers.

However, their king, Lancelot, didn’t even pay those dying soldiers any mind.

Seeing this, Merlin furrowed his brows.

“You damned bastard…”

Vwooong—

The debris of the fallen walls didn’t touch the ground. As Merlin moved his hand, the heavy rocks that were falling stopped in their tracks.

And in that moment…

Shwak—

Fwip—

A straight line was drawn on Merlin’s chest.

There was no blood.

Just this wasn’t enough to get past the sturdy layer of spells that surrounded Merlin’s body.

“Have you gone mad?”

“I am completely sane.” Lancelot’s eyes flashed open. His reasoning was still seemingly intact as he spoke with a confident voice, “So very sane.”

He knew that he was different from his usual self. However, he still liked how he was now.

There was no need to think hard about ways or methods. All he needed to do right now was get away from this place as fast as possible.

[The ‘King of The Round Table’ declares his land.]

[If you attack the king within the declared area, a level of penalty will be applied to you.]

Bzzzt—

The penalty was applied to Merlin’s body as he tried to use a skill.

Lancelot’s skill put anyone who attacked him at a disadvantage inside Britain’s territory.

“Petty tricks.”

Bzzzt—

Merlin didn’t seem bothered by the penalty as he prepared his next attack.

Crack, crumble—

The rocks he had lifted using gravity were condensed into a point a tenth, then a hundredth of their normal size.

“Then let’s see…”

Shooosh—

Fwip—

The flung rock was cleaved in two.

Lancelot looked at Merlin questioningly as if asking what he was doing.

But…

Doong—

The rock that was split in two didn’t lose its power and remained afloat in the air.

“…How long you can stay fine.”

Shwaaak—!

Th-Thud, th-th-th-thud—

Bang—!

The condensed rocks pummeled Lancelot.

Bzzzt—

Sparks flew off Merlin’s body. However, there were many methods of protecting oneself from this penalty. At the end of the day, this wasn’t the omnipotent power flowing through the Tower but an effect of Lancelot’s skill.

Merlin used another spell to protect his body and relentlessly threw the rocks at him.

“This time…”

Crack—

Rumble—

The ground was carved out, and a huge plot of land of about 100 meters was condensed into a point.

“It’ll hurt a little more.”

Fwap—

Crack—!

The rock that slammed into Lancelot’s body flung him backwards. He only stopped after hitting the invisible wall blocking his way.

[The selected area has been designated as a ‘prison.’]

[You cannot move outside the area from inside it.]

A prison. A huge jail surrounding Camelot, the capital of Britain. This was in place to bind Lancelot to this area.

Shwoooooo—

Merlin’s body lifted up into the air and moved towards the place Lancelot flew.

After hitting the wall, Lancelot fell to the ground with the rock. A deep crater was formed in the spot the rock fell, and Lancelot lifted his hand to move the rock away.

Crack, bang—!

The rock rolled over, making a heavy sound.

Merlin clicked his tongue at seeing his absurd strength.

“I guess that guy is still a High-Ranker.”

Just where did he get that ridiculous strength?

Lancelot’s body, which should’ve been beaten ragged after getting pummeled by so many rocks, showed no signs of major injury. He didn’t have any holes, nor was there any blood flowing from his body.

He stood and looked up at Merlin as if nothing serious had happened.

“Oh-ho, alright…”

Rumble—

A rain cloud formed in the sky.

Bzzzt—

Merlin’s Arcane Power pierced the sky and changed the flow of the air in the atmosphere.

“So you want to get struck even more?”

“Aren’t you starting to get tired?”

Lancelot turned his eyes to the invisible wall that he had hit earlier.

“It can’t be easy maintaining this.”

Merlin’s eyebrows faltered.

The prison wasn’t that difficult of a skill. However, maintaining a skill that encompassed the entirety of Camelot wasn’t easy, even for Merlin.

“Compared to you, I’m…”

Lancelot put strength into his sword.

Vwoong—

Arcane Power pooled at the edge of his blade.

After having turned his attention, the tip of his sword wasn’t pointed at Merlin.

“…Still raring to go.”

Shwak—!

“This mad bastard!”

Merlin hurriedly moved his hand.

The sword cut through the inner part of the city.

The shock spread out towards the residents of Britain.

Bzzzt—!

Because of the attack that was directed at the players living in the city, penalty was applied to Lancelot’s body. However, seemingly unaffected by this, Lancelot swung his sword a few more times.

Shwaaak—

Vwooom—!

The Arcane Power stored in Lancelot’s sword met the air and scattered. Cracks started to form on the protective barrier made by Merlin, and in that instant, a bolt of lighting fell from the sky.

Rumble—!

The lighting struck Lancelot’s head.

The ground also took the shock, and a dust cloud instantly formed around him.

Merlin glared at the spot Lancelot was in. “For a bastard who wants to be king to take his own people hostage, you should be ash—”

It was then…

Bang—!

A shock was applied to the invisible wall surrounding Camelot.

“No way…”

Bang—!

Crack, cra-ka-kak—

The shocks continued. Cracks instantly started to form.

Merlin hurriedly reached out with his hand to put mana into the wall. Right now, more than anything else, restoring the wall was the highest priority.

Creak—

“Were you thinking of doing this from the start?’

The splitting of mana. The loss of strength in the wall because of that.

This was what Lancelot had wanted, because getting away from this place was his highest priority.

Bang—!

As a crack had already formed, the rate of its destruction was faster than its restoration.

Lancelot put more and more strength into his sword.

Merlin’s hand shook.

‘What an idiot.’

Just when was he able to get this strong? This wasn’t simply a matter of the passage of time. Lancelot didn’t seem to have especially increased his levels or trained his skills in the last thousand years.

On top of that, an unnatural and ominous feeling could still be sensed from him.

‘Did you really become a monster?’

Boom—!

Crack—

The cracks instantly covered the walls that surrounded Camelot. The magic circle shook violently and Merlin felt as if the hand that was continuously supplying the Arcane Power would let go.

The situation to contain Lancelot seemed difficult since he was putting his all into escaping.

But then…

“You seem to be in some trouble.”

The form of YuWon walking towards Lancelot entered Merlin’s vision.

Feeling that he came just in time, Merlin’s honest feelings escaped from his mouth first. “What were you doing to only arrive now?”

“I apologize.”

[?’s egg is salivating.]

After coming close to Lancelot, an Outer God fragment, the egg started to buck.

“It took a little while to convince this guy.”