Leveling with the Gods

C378

Kwung!

Zeus's Lightning Bolt struck the Black Goat of the Woods. Despite being pierced, its legs twisted and began moving forward again.

"Block them! Block them!"

"Damn, how resilient is this damn thing?!"

"Throw another one before you talk!"

Kurung, kwuuuuu-!

As thousands, even tens of thousands of skills were unleashed in succession.

Zeus, who had shot powerful lightning bolts a dozen times, sweated on his forehead as he muttered to himself.

"This guy is annoying."

Craaack-!

Zeus prepared to throw another spear.

A single powerful attack was much more effective in stopping the enemy than throwing several attacks.

Zeus raised his Arcane Power in his hand as he imagined. The largest and most powerful spear he could create.

"I need a bigger spear."

Craaaackle-!

The sharp tip of the spear was forged in his hands.

"I need a sharp spear."

Crrrrrack-.

The sharp tip of the spear was shaped in his hand.

Zeus had always been a ranged attacker.

Because he was so strong, Zeus could fight in any position, but since he started climbing the Tower with the Three Gods, he specialized in throwing spears.

Zeus's spear was more powerful than anyone's.

He didn't need to aim precisely.

Zeus's spear had such a wide range that it could sweep everything in sight.

But now...

"I need one that can pierce a single point..."

Craaaaackle, craaaaackle-.

The sharp tip of the spear was forged even more.

'I need an extremely sharp spear.'

Craaaaaaaaack-.

The sharp tip of the spear was honed to the maximum.

That's how the spear was forged in Zeus's hand.

"Stand aside."

Thud-.

A heavy step passed by him.

"...?"

It was as if a massive mountain was moving. Despite having similar height and shoulders, Zeus felt like he was as tall as a giant.

Odin.

The King of Asgard and the strongest in this Tower.

He began to approach the Black Goat of the Woods.

"Are you trying to stop it up close?"

Zeus's gaze shifted to the Black Goat of the Woods, which was still constantly changing its appearance even at this moment. Most of the Rankers could barely see it directly, and their only option was to cast their abilities from afar.

Of course, getting close to it was unthinkable.

The reason was different, but Zeus had no reason to get close when he could throw his spear from a distance.

However...

Thump.

Odin approached the cracking wall.

While being so close, Odin looked up at the Black Goat of the Woods.

-Beeeeee-.

The creature pushing the crack with half its face exposed was surprisingly strong. Even someone like him seemed unable to easily penetrate this "wall," which was truly solid.

"I don't know what kind of world is outside, but-"

Woosh, woosh~

Above Odin's head. Several dozen large magic circles, all intricate and made with complex formulas, appeared.

"Go back to your world."

Woosh, woosh~

The magic circles that were expanding as if covering the sky entered Odin's palm and stacked on top of each other.

"Huh-!"

He grunted, his muscles swelling as if he were using Gigantification, but this was just one of the many spells in Odin's arm.

Kwack, kwagakagak-.

Dozens of spells intersected and constantly circulated energy. Amidst another direct confrontation, the Black Goat of the Woods let out another bleat.

-Beeee-.

Woosh~

Odin's arms began pushing the Black Goat of the Woods out of the crack.

"R-Really?"

"Is he fighting that thing alone?"

No matter what they did, it seemed like this creature would never die.

No, it didn't even seem possible to disturb it as it entered the crack.

But there was Odin, pushing the Black Goat of the Woods with both hands.

Craaaaackle-.

In Zeus's hand, the Lightning Bolt gradually became blurry.

Why didn't he throw Gungnir and decided to intervene himself?

Odin seemed to have chosen to push the Black Goat of the Woods instead of trying to defeat it.

'It seems this guy is not just empty fame...'

Woosh, woosh-.

The magic circles kept generating and disappearing in Odin's hand.

With Odin and the Black Goat of the Woods facing off, a power struggle began.

"It seems you know more than just throwing spears."

Odin was one of the few High-Rankers recognized by Zeus.

He had established the Kingdom of Asgard in a lawless land that used to be a chaotic territory, bringing order to it.

Odin didn't reach second place in the rankings just by possessing Gungnir. Gungnir was merely an item symbolizing his power. The true strength lay within Odin himself.

'Let's leave that for later...'

Zeus turned around.

If they stayed so close to each other, it would be challenging for him to throw his spear from here.

Instead...

Zeus decided to deal with the issue that had been bothering him before.

"I'll have to remove that annoying obstacle first."

Swish-.

Long fingers stretched toward YuWon's neck.

With a power that could penetrate even adamantine, the hand silently and swiftly approached.

In the blink of an eye, Satan appeared on the opposite side of YuWon.

Spit-.

['Sky Steps' activated]

[Movement speed increased by 100% for 5 seconds]

YuWon's body jumped upward as if propelled by springs, harnessing the power of the Hermes Steps. Satan, who had been playing in the empty air, turned his head.

And at that moment...

Craaaaaackle-!

Fire and lightning intertwined on YuWon's sword as it cut across Satan's chest.

Clang-!

A sound like hitting hard metal with a blunt weapon.

YuWon frowned at the sensation transmitted to his grip through the sword.

The cutting sensation was minimal.

Zzziik-.

Satan's body was pushed backward.

He looked at his chest, where blood flowed from a superficial wound.

If this were merely a brute force battle, YuWon wouldn't stand a chance.

Fireee~

But YuWon had several abilities in his arsenal.

"Those eyes are annoying."

Since the start of the fight, Satan had never been able to fully catch YuWon.

Hermes Steps, vision through the Golden Cinder Eyes, and reflexes through his Sensory Field made it challenging for Satan to engage YuWon in hand-to-hand combat.

"Mmm."

YuWon examined some wounds on Satan's body.

All of them were marks from his sword strikes. Some of them might be better described as scratches rather than deep cuts.

Never before had he faced an opponent with such a resilient and tough body.

"How high must his endurance stat be?"

Excluding Nir, Satan hadn't suffered any significant damage to his body due to YuWon's attacks.

Thanks to the Golden Cinder Eyes and the Sensory Field, YuWon had managed to somewhat level the playing field, but Satan, who ranked seventh in the rankings, remained a formidable opponent for the current YuWon.

'Should I use Holy Fire to launch a stronger attack? Fight in the long term using the Dark attribute? Or use Susanoo as a shield and activate Nir...?'

As YuWon contemplated the upcoming battle against Satan, something unexpected happened.

Flutter~

Two bat-like wings unfolded on Satan's back.

Woosh-!

At the same time, a Dark Attribute Arcane Power began to spread around him.

ZzZzZz-.

YuWon's arm, which was shielding his face, suddenly turned completely black. It was the corrosive force of the Dark Attribute Arcane Power.

As Satan spread his wings and the Dark Attribute Arcane Power began to expand, YuWon stared straight ahead.

And at that moment...

Swaaah-.

A serpent-like cry echoed in his ears.

[The power of a Giant resides in your left arm.]

Buuuuuuuum-.

At the right moment, YuWon extended his fist.

Kwaaaang-!

A loud boom resounded as their fists clashed. Even with Gigantification, it was still too early to directly face a High-Ranker of the seventh place like Satan.

However...

ZzZzZz-.

What YuWon didn't know was that he hadn't directly collided with Satan.

"It'll probably sting a bit."

A Lightning Bolt flashed above YuWon and Satan.

Kwaaang-!

The moment it made a deafening noise.

"Caaaaaarrr!"

Satan's body lit up with a golden glow. Watching Satan writhing in pain, YuWon mockingly said:

"I told you it would sting a bit."

YuWon turned his head back, dissipating the electrical discharge he had in his hand.

Crackle~

Zeus approached YuWon. Right after entrusting Chronos to YuWon, Zeus showed interest in Satan.

"Are you busy dealing with that guy?"

"I probably would have handled it fine even without your help."

If Satan had both arms in good condition, he might have had a chance, but there was no way to deal with YuWon having only one arm.

Anyway, YuWon had an item called 'Nir' that could pierce through Satan's body.

Of course, Zeus didn't believe YuWon's words.

In his eyes, YuWon seemed to be struggling as if he were in trouble until just a moment ago.

"Really? Then I should have left you alone."

"Why did you suddenly come over here?"

"For now, Odin is dealing with the guy who calls himself the 'Black Goat of the Woods'."

"Odin?"

While YuWon fought relentlessly against Satan, focused on the battle, YuWon noticed that in the distance, Odin was having a confrontation with the Black Goat of the Woods.

At that moment, YuWon remembered something that had happened a long time ago.

-"Leave for now."

Odín had blocked their path, turning his back to stop the Black Goat of the Woods.

That ancient incident seemed to be coinciding with the current moment.

"Are you worried about that?"

After YuWon looked there without speaking for a while, Zeus asked.

"Did you already anticipate this situation?"

YuWon shook his head.

He had anticipated everything else, but he had never thought that the Black Goat of the Woods would try to cross through that narrow gap.

It was too big a risk even for them.

"Is there no way to block it?"

Currently, Odin was deploying dozens of spells and sacrificing himself to block the Black Goat of the Woods.

But that would only delay things.

It wasn't a permanent solution.

"It's not impossible."

"How sure are you?"

"I'm not sure."

It was the first time YuWon had given such an uncertain answer.

That meant the situation was not good at all.

After thinking for a moment, Zeus nodded.

It wasn't a satisfying answer, but it was better than nothing.

"Then should I leave it in your hands? Go over there."

Craack, craaackle-.

Zeus looked at Satan, who had been staggering after being hit by the Lightning Bolt.

If the obstacle that had been sticking to him so far had been preventing YuWon from acting freely, then everything would be resolved once he removed it.

It wouldn't be a difficult task.

"It shouldn't take me long."

Huuaaaa-!

Satan released a powerful Dark Attribute Arcane Power as he stared at Zeus.

Crack-!

Zeus gripped his spear once again as he observed him.