Leveling with the Gods

C308

It was a completely different story from what he had in mind at first.

But that didn't mean it was something to dismiss outright.

Especially Zeus, he insisted even more.

"Tell me more."

As if he couldn't wait another moment, Zeus urged for the answer in an unusual manner.

Hades and Poseidon also showed interest.

That was good.

He had nothing to say if they persisted in asking about the Outer Gods, so he diverted the interest elsewhere.

His provocative words clearly caught attention.

"In summary, there is no 101st floor."

"Are you joking right now?"

Poseidon, the most impatient one, stood up from his seat in anger.

As if telling him to listen to the end, Hades raised his hand to stop him.

"Above the 100th floor is the ceiling. It is also the highest point of the Tower."

"But what you said earlier..."

"However, there is a summit that rises beyond that last floor."

The Tower consisting of 100 floors is a place where rankings are assigned, and the strongest, those who have reached the top of the Tower, are beings who have the privilege to be called Rankers.

But to go beyond that last floor and climb higher...

That was a different story from becoming a Ranker or a High-Ranker.

"As you know, the Tower is a structure that contains countless worlds. But if an existence is capable of surpassing each of those worlds and rises beyond that structure..."

When YuWon reached that point and said that, Zeus opened his mouth.

"God." (神)

It was just one word.

And all eyes turned to Zeus.

Only YuWon knew that would be the reaction.

"Yes. God."

"Divinity (神格). Myth (神話). Divine Spirit (神靈). Divine Power (神威). Qualities that a God should possess."

"Climbing the Tower is a process to test and build that."

"...As I thought."

As if knowing it would be so, Zeus nodded his head and closed his eyes for a moment.

Before closing his eyes, Zeus' eyes were filled with complex emotions he had been searching for a long time.

Those clues he had desperately sought.

But those clues were mentioned by YuWon.

It was the first time he had met someone who knew about the clues that could turn him into a God at the top of this Tower, apart from himself.

"The Door..."

So Zeus slowly opened his mouth.

As if something bad would happen if he spoke ill. Very carefully, letter by letter, he asked.

"Where is the Door?"

The Door.

A passage that could take him beyond the floor he thought was the last, whether it existed or not.

Zeus had desperately searched for that place for a long time.

And maybe...

Maybe YuWon, who stood in front of him, might know the location of that Door.

"The Door..."

YuWon opened his mouth.

Crunch...

At that moment...

Rasch, rasch...

A rustling sound came from behind the curtain.

"Nom?"

A confused voice echoed, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Naturally, all eyes turned in the direction where the sound came from.

There, Son OhGong fluttered around the room, searching for something to eat.

With something in his mouth, he chewed without being able to resist whatever it was.

Nom, nom...

Son OhGong greedily chewed on the thick bacon and bread in his mouth.

Clearly, he was very hungry.

"Did I talk about this too quickly?" (YuWon)

YuWon hadn't revealed information about the Door for a long time.

He decided that once it was revealed, there would be no way to contain it. That's why YuWon didn't share information about the Door with anyone he didn't consider trustworthy.

Furthermore, the appearance of a Ranker who opens the door and obtains the qualification of a God would collapse the current ranking system.

The beginning of an Era of Chaos.

The new great power would call forth greed. That greed would sow blood and plunge the Tower into chaos once again.

That's why YuWon tried to hide information about the "Door" from unverified Rankers.

That was until recently.

"Is it because of Indra?" (OhGong)

Son OhGong asked, and YuWon nodded.

Indra.

A High-Ranker who opened the Door long before them and obtained the qualification of a God.

His existence left a deep impression on YuWon.

"It's a gamble." (YuWon)

"A gamble?" (OhGong)

"Zeus has been searching for the Door long before us. He also knew the conditions." (YuWon)

He looked at the coffee cup he had brought with him from the lodging.

"If he opens the door, the qualification will completely change. Poseidon and Hades will also be affected." (YuWon)

"Isn't it dangerous?" (OhGong)

"Zeus and I share the same goal. Furthermore, after this incident, he will also have realized that he can't face his opponents alone." (YuWon)

There was enough evidence.

However, he wasn't completely sure.

Until now, Zeus wasn't a reliable ally. The same went for Poseidon and Hades.

But YuWon revealing the information about the Door was literally a gamble.

"Anyway, if we don't do it this way, we can't win."

"That's true."

Son OhGong, who had fought alongside them against the Outer Gods, nodded at YuWon's words.

Unbeatable monsters. To defeat those Outer Gods, they needed to become stronger than they are now.

Although they would be safe for the time being if they didn't gamble, in the end, the results wouldn't change.

Nom...

Son OhGong stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth and looked up.

The sky was gradually brightening, the sun was beginning to rise.

Son OhGong, looking up, muttered to himself.

"I should hurry too."

Most of the problems had already been resolved.

The Celestial Realm had collapsed, and Ragnarok had ended. However, the time had come to hurry, even though he had thought there was no rush.

"They probably won't need me for a while, right?"

Son OhGong had been acting according to YuWon's demands.

Since he had climbed the entire Tower and become a Ranker, he no longer needed to spend time ascending further.

That's how Son OhGong offered himself as a piece in YuWon's strategic game.

But fortunately, they had gained a lot of time with this incident.

Son OhGong thought he couldn't postpone it any longer.

"That's right. Go and come back."

YuWon also thought the same.

As he gave his response, Son OhGong nodded and began walking forward.

White clouds appeared on the ground. Son OhGong hopped onto the Flying Nimbus without looking back and left.

Swoosh!

The clouds traced a white line in the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Observing his departure, YuWon sat in his place and muttered to himself.

"The first half is over." (Note: Literally, we're at 50% of the )

The Three Gods had departed.

Both Hades, the Leader of the Olympus Guild, and Zeus, who was always searching for the Door, and Poseidon, who desired more power, headed towards the same place.

Leaving behind the empty seats of the Three Gods who set off in search of the Door, YuWon resumed climbing the Tower.

YuWon was alone again.

[Hargan: Are you already on the 89th floor? Why so fast?]

Thanks to relentlessly challenging every Trial, YuWon reached a higher floor than Hargan.

Unlike Hargan, who had to worry about his team members, YuWon was alone.

Furthermore, this time he focused solely on the Trials without getting involved in other incidents.

Of course.

Meanwhile, his unfinished training didn't stop.

A water droplet floated on the palm of YuWon's hand.

In front of him, a tall and thick rock wall could be seen. YuWon, with sweat on his forehead, quickly moved his hand and flicked the water droplet.

And then...

Splash!

The water droplet hit the wall, creating a huge hole in the middle of it.

Crumble, crumble...

The rock wall crumbled around the hole. YuWon, who confirmed with his own eyes how the small mountain of rocks rapidly disappeared, nodded his head.

"It worked."

The Water Attribute was the weakest part of YuWon.

Water was a magic specialized in defense. However, Poseidon, even though he had the Water Attribute, was not defensive at all.

-The power of water is determined by the degree of compression.

Those were Poseidon's teachings.

YuWon remembered every single word without missing a letter.

-Concentrated water becomes a weapon superior to any other. The pressure of water can exert a force close to infinity.

-In summary, it is about the concentration of Arcane Power.

Concentration.

It was a simple explanation.

However, YuWon delved into that explanation over and over again.

The result was what was unfolding right now.

A small water droplet the size of a bead of sweat crumbled the mountain of rocks. If Poseidon had seen this scene, he might have jumped up saying it was nonsense.

He would have said: How long have you been learning this? How can you do it so fast?

"Pleasantly surprising."

As he practiced what he learned from the Three Gods, YuWon began to feel something.

"Water suits my hands better than other attributes."

Through Uranus, he could handle three attributes.

Of all those attributes, the one that suited YuWon best was water.

It didn't lean toward one side and was the most versatile attribute in terms of defense and offense.

He had always sought versatility and omnipotence, so it was the magical property that best suited YuWon.

Dust covered the collapsed rock mountain like mist. YuWon covered his mouth with one hand and extended the other hand, placing it in front of his eyes.

"It's been a while since I used this."

The past few months had been quite exhausting in terms of effort to master an item.

There were moments when he wondered if it was worth putting in so much effort.

But still, Uranus was the fastest and most effective method to strengthen himself among YuWon's current resources.

It was worth investing enough time and effort.

"Perhaps by this moment, it's fine."

Throughout that time, YuWon hadn't paid attention to Uranus.

It was because he didn't want to use Uranus until he was sure he could properly handle the item.

But now...

It was the first time he had that thought.

He also felt curious.

To wield Uranus, he had to master the three properties that the item possessed.

And now...

He felt something close to certainty.

Pafs...

The first property that emanated from Uranus was Electricity.

Zzng...

The second property was Darkness.

It was the most familiar property. Since obtaining the Divine Dark Crystal, YuWon had been dealing with this property.

Jol, jol-jol...

And the last one was water.

Clear water droplets emerged around Uranus.

The three properties manifested simultaneously.

It wasn't just the sensation of wielding an item.

After going through Uranus, handling the three magical properties felt as natural and comfortable as moving hands and feet.

And in that moment...

Pafs...

Unintentional light sprouted from the center of Uranus.

[Divine Sky Crystal emits light]

"...?"

A sudden message.

The light grew stronger and multiplied.

[Divine Dark Crystal emits light]

[Divine Sea Crystal emits light]

Black light and blue light.

The three lights surged from Uranus and enveloped YuWon. They were the lights emitted by the three gems that composed Uranus.

Vision turned white. The wind and the smell of earth that gradually perceived disappeared completely.

Space shattered, and shortly after, a voice resonated in YuWon's mind.

-It was much faster than I expected.

Faster than he thought.

It was a sign that he knew this moment would come at some point.

It was a familiar voice.

Soon, YuWon remembered who the owner of that voice was.

"When you said we would meet again... Is this what you meant?"

The father of Chronos and the monster defeated by the ancient High-Rankers who united.

[The 'Memories of Uranus' begin]

"Uranus."

He was calling out to YuWon.