Leveling with the Gods

C341

Bam!

Zas.

Hera returned to her temple and slammed the table with her fist.

It was a valuable piece of furniture made of wood that had been cultivated for thousands of years in the city of the elves.

Although it was something she had always cherished.

Hera was so angry that she didn't even care about such a thing.

"Come out!"

In the empty room, right in front of her, the person in the cloak appeared.

She didn't know when he had been watching her.

Foolish Chaos politely clasped his hands in greeting.

"You called for me?"

"What happened? Explain it to me, quickly!"

"I didn't know Pandora would be present."

"Why didn't you think about it, why?"

Crash!

The utensils decorated throughout the room shattered in a scream that sounded like a cry. The windows broke, and the glass cups and plates turned into sharp shards that fell to the ground.

Despite the hysteria that lasted for a while, Foolish Chaos observed that scene imperturbably.

After all, this wasn't his house, so its owner (Hera) could destroy or burn it as she pleased.

"Aah, ahk-."

More than physical exhaustion, he had difficulty breathing due to the anger he had expressed excessively.

Hera vented her pent-up anger for a while and then stared at Foolish Chaos.

"And now what are you going to do?"

"Still, we didn't come out completely without gains."

"What? Gains?"

"Yes, thanks to that, we could be sure that he is involved in this matter."

"If you're talking about 'he'... are you referring to Kim YuWon?"

"Yes."

Crash!

The last window shattered into pieces.

It was the window behind Foolish Chaos.

"Are you saying that's what you call gains?"

Hera's eyes changed drastically.

Unlike Foolish Chaos, she didn't consider YuWon's existence to be important.

It was natural.

Her greatest enemy was still Hercules.

No matter how big the fire was, everyone was equal in front of the sun.

After dealing with Hades, the only target that remained was Hercules.

"We eliminated Hades, but you couldn't penetrate the castle. It's you who couldn't do it."

"What?"

"Pandora, is she so terrifying to you?"

Foolish Chaos took a step forward, getting closer.

Hera, whose eyes were blinded by anger until a moment ago, was surprised.

Hera took a step back at the sting of the question, "What were you doing when I set the table?"

No.

More precisely, it was because Foolish Chaos in front of her eyes suddenly became larger.

Step-.

Foolish Chaos took another step forward.

Only then did Hera realize that she had been backing away.

The distance closed quickly as if she could see the face in the cloak that she had never seen before.

"You did well."

"...What?"

"If you had fought, you would have faced the worst situation. You chose wisely."

Because you could never defeat Pandora.

It seemed as if those words were echoing in Hera's ears. Although her pride was affected, Hera just pressed her lips together and could no longer lash out against Foolish Chaos.

Certainly.

By merely killing Hades, she had already fulfilled her role and then some.

"There are still many ways when it comes to methods. Even if Pandora is resisting, there are countless ways to capture the castle."

"Methods? What kind of methods?"

"There are too many to mention all of them."

Foolish Chaos had many cards up his sleeve.

No need to think too much.

The long history of Olympus.

In the course of that history, many enemies arose, and causing them a little annoyance was an easy task for Foolish Chaos.

And among them...

"Olympus has many enemies."

Foolish Chaos wondered which card he would use.

In the Tenth Labor, it took more time than expected.

Hercules had confidence in his strength more than anyone else, but he lacked suitable skills besides strength.

Furthermore, the Tenth Labor was not just about capturing something but safely leading a cow.

Hercules sweated as he watched the unresponsive cows. He couldn't simply kill them and carry the corpses, so in the end, he had no choice but to tame them with words.

But...

"Wouldn't it be enough to lead them alive?"

YuWon raised a question.

Hercules prepared a rope.

A rope made of his own magic that would not break under any circumstances.

Thus, he tied the cows with the rope and forced them to follow him, dragging the herd of cows.

"Nothing is easy."

Back on the Sun Chariot, Hercules was sweating.

Forcing tens of thousands of cattle to move was exhausting, even for the mighty Hercules.

Making such a long rope wasn't an ordinary task.

Fortunately...

Thanks to YuWon's comforting words, the Tenth Labor didn't turn out as difficult as he had imagined.

"Well done."

YuWon welcomed Hercules back on the Sun Chariot.

Three days had passed since Hera invaded the royal castle.

The Labors were progressing smoothly.

"Is it the eleventh now?"

YuWon nodded at Hercules' murmur.

Thankfully, the Eleventh Labor was conducted on the same floor as the tenth.

However...

Unlike other Labors, the location wasn't clear.

"Finding the Garden of the Hesperides with the golden apple is the problem."

"I know the location."

It was surprising.

Hercules knew where the Garden of the Hesperides with the golden apple was.

YuWon also had a vague idea about that place.

"Before starting the Labors, I heard it from Prometheus. He told me to go to the end of the world."

"The end of the world..."

If it was the end of the world, there was a common place on all floors.

"Do you mean the wall?"

"Probably."

The scope was significantly narrowed compared to exploring an entire world.

Moreover, if they rode the Sun Chariot, they could probably find it quickly.

"He's better prepared than I thought."

Prometheus was the brother of Atlas, the giant of the Hesperides with the golden apple.

He probably, as a Ranker, knew the location of the Garden of the Hesperides in this Tower better. It was a wise decision to look for him before starting the Labor.

There seemed to be no need to go out and search for the garden. YuWon crossed his arms and observed Hercules, who started moving the Sun Chariot.

"It's hard to help him from behind."

Most of YuWon's occasional advice was the way Hercules solved the Labors before.

Although Hercules had spent a lot of time searching for the solution with his limited mind, YuWon didn't need to do it.

Hercules had already solved the Labors once, and he just needed to be told how to do it.

This saved him a lot of time.

And that was the problem.

"The fact that the Labors have gone so well probably means that..."

So far, it has been as Hercules had told him.

Each Labor was no different. If these Labors were designed to target Hercules, the trial wouldn't have been so smooth.

"Concentration instead of dispersion. It probably means to focus in one direction and act there."

The Sun Chariot began to move.

It wasn't moving through multiple floors; it was heading only towards the end of the world.

One hour was enough to reach the destination. During that time, Hercules concentrated on recovering to the fullest.

Glup-.

He took an expensive potion, filling his stomach and strengthening himself. After resting like that, Hercules stood up from his seat and looked outside the chariot.

An indestructible black wall.

Beyond that wall, the world they lived in was completely disconnected from the outside.

And around them...

"...Where exactly are we?"

He saw a brilliantly golden forest.

"What's so eye-catching there?"

Step-.

It was then that YuWon approached by his side.

He had been doing something somewhere.

During the journey, Hercules had completely forgotten that YuWon was traveling with him.

"Are they doing some kind of ?"

"Do you see it that way too?"

"I don't see it that way; it's just like that."

"Ah..."

A deep sigh.

It was so obvious what he was thinking. YuWon looked at Hercules and asked.

"You don't intend to avoid that trap, do you?"

"If there's a golden apple there, I can only proceed."

"I already guessed that."

His answer was so straightforward that it was disheartening.

As if he knew it would be this way, YuWon touched his forehead with one hand.

'That naive personality is no different from Son OhGong's.'

Perhaps even Foolish Chaos knew Hercules' personality.

By openly revealing the trap, Hercules decided to face it head-on.

Regardless of what had been prepared, he was ready to break it frontally.

Turning around and worrying was not characteristic of Hercules.

"Alright then, let's go."

He was curious.

What they had prepared to capture Hercules.

It probably wouldn't be easy. Indeed, the Eleventh Labor was known as the most difficult of all Labors.

Moreover, they had set a trap for this Labor.

This was similar to a challenge posed by Foolish Chaos.

'Well, we'll play your game.'

Step-.

YuWon got off the Sun Chariot and followed Hercules into the brilliantly golden forest.

'But keep in mind it won't be easy for you either.'

Whoosh-!

Then, a brilliant golden light engulfed YuWon and Hercules in the blink of an eye.

Thus, the view disappeared for a moment.

["You have entered the 'Hidden Dungeon - Shattered Garden of Hesperides'".]

A message appeared with a name different from what YuWon knew.

'As expected...'

They had really set a trap here.

And the System reflected it immediately.

Shattered.

True to its word, in the field of vision that was revealed as the golden light vanished, a completely different landscape unfolded.

"...."

The first thing seen was Hercules' back, who had stepped forward.

Wordless, standing as if he had lost his purpose.

His expression showed surprise at seeing something.

Crack.

YuWon took a step to the side and saw the scenery in front of his eyes, hidden by Hercules' back.

And naturally, YuWon also showed a similar reaction to Hercules'.

"What is that...?"

A strangely withered tree.

The black, dead earth around the tree.

And a monster's corpse leaning against the dead tree.

"Next to the golden apple, there was a Dragon named Radon guarding it." (Hercules)

Hercules, drunk with alcohol, recounted a story from the past.

Even though he was not someone who normally boasted about his fights.

Somehow, it seemed to be a memorable battle that remained in his memory.

"That guy was amazing. The fight with him lasted over five days."

"He seemed strong. Enough for you to say that."

"Strong? It wasn't just that."

YuWon looked at the withered Dragon's corpse lying before him.

"He was a terrifying creature with a hundred heads, each exhaling a different attribute breath. The agile snake-like heads had teeth harder than those of the Hydra."

One hundred heads.

Agile, snake-like heads.

"He's definitely not an enemy like Yamata no Orochi or the Hydra."

He was sure.

The monster's corpse lying there...

It was Radon.