Leveling with the Gods

C439

Beeeh-.

Beeeeeeh-.

Beeeeeeeeh-.

The goats were bleating loudly.

Even though YuWon and Zeus had clearly approached the place, the goats didn't even turn their heads.

The gaze of the goats was always fixed on the Egg, as if they were waiting for its hatching.

"Did you mean that Egg for Danpung to eat?"

It was a taunt from Zeus, asking why YuWon went through so much trouble to find something like that.

But instead of responding to Zeus's reaction, YuWon looked at him with concern.

"Watch your words."

"What are you talking about?"

"If that guy heard it, he might get pretty mad."

"Angry at an Egg with me...?"

Zeus's eyebrows twitched irregularly for a moment as he continued to speak.

At first glance, it seemed insignificant, so he overlooked it, but it was undoubtedly the Egg that YuWon had been searching for so diligently.

YuWon knew more about Shub-Niggurath than anyone.

If YuWon had invested so much valuable time in moving like this, there was definitely a reason.

'It's definitely strange.'

Zeus set aside his prejudice that obstructed his view and looked back at the scene in front of him.

'It doesn't seem like a special threat. They are surrounding it as if... as if they are protecting that Egg.'

There was no other word to describe that appearance.

'It looks like they are receiving that Egg as if it were a gift.'

If it had been Shub-Niggurath instead of the Egg, he would have felt no annoyance.

It seemed like it wasn't just an Egg. Perhaps the being that would hatch from this Egg could become the master key that would lead this fight to victory once it grew enough.

Of course, that would be a story for after the being emerging from the Egg had developed enough.

So Zeus's frustration was natural.

"So what? Are you saying we should just stay here and watch?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

Crack!

It was then that the sound of bones breaking and being crushed was heard.

Zeus's head, which had been talking to YuWon, turned.

Beeeh-.

Beeh-!

The goats were bleating. But their voices were different from before.

It wasn't hostility but respect. And also reverence. The goats that had gathered around the Egg with fear and treachery turned and fled amid fear and treachery.

Sssss-.

A violet smoke emerged from the Egg. It spread towards the nearby goats and bound them tightly.

Crack!

It was the sound they had heard a moment ago.

A sound of bones breaking and being crushed.

Zeus thought that sound had been caused by a powerful force.

But it wasn't.

Crack!

No, it wasn't.

"...I'm not sure what I'm seeing right now."

Woodeuk-.

In the moment the smoke coiled, the goats withered down to the bones, skin, and fur and dried up.

Although their true nature had not yet been fully revealed, Zeus felt a threat coming from the Egg that hadn't even hatched.

What could it be trying to emerge from inside there?

'Is it like running into a tiger while trying to avoid a fox?'

Craack, craaaac-le-!

A Lightning Bolt leaped from Zeus's hand. As the goats fled far from the Egg, Zeus aimed the Lightning Bolt at the smoke.

However...

Ssuuuh-.

The smoke that had been devouring the goats suddenly changed its movement.

Until a moment ago, it seemed on the verge of devouring everything around it, but in an instant, it retracted and seeped back into the Egg.

And the moment was clear.

Zzbuk-.

It was when YuWon approached the Egg, passing through the goats.

"Are you still asleep?"

There was no response.

Zeus dissipated the Lightning Bolt he had created in his hand again.

At least, he confirmed that the Egg was friendly towards YuWon.

Zeus followed YuWon as he approached the Egg.

During that short period, the smoke that had escaped from the Egg had devoured hundreds of goats.

They passed by the dry corpses of the lambs.

"Is this the so-called Danpung?"

As they approached with YuWon, the Egg began to wriggle.

Instinctively, Zeus clenched his hand in response to the Egg's reaction.

Look at this right away.

The being sleeping inside the Egg was an entity that could devour creatures that even High-Rankers had difficulty dealing with in the blink of an eye.

It was a blessing that it could distinguish between friends and foes, but...

"Haven't you eaten enough?"

Chak-.

The Egg responded slowly to YuWon's response, as if it were hurrying to hatch.

Up to now, its hatching speed had been quite slow.

But not only Zeus was in a hurry.

"One-."

Crack, crack-.

The cracks increased rapidly.

"Two-."

Just up to three, let's count.

Skak-.

While YuWon thought this way, he drew his sword from his waist. His intention was to break the Egg if necessary to make it hatch.

And in response to YuWon's reaction...

Crack, craaack-.

The Egg, which had been preparing to hatch, began to shed its shell.

This way, the Egg hatched.

And from inside the Egg...

Chok, Chok-.

Small feet crawled out.

"Abba-."

"...Little one?"

His height was about up to the knees. His limbs were small, but his head was large.

He had such white skin that he looked like a doll. Zeus felt a slight irritation at his adorable and youthful appearance, as if he were a doll.

All this trouble for this little one?

"Abba. Abba-."

Danpung opened his arms wide in YuWon's direction.

He was still a young child, moving clumsily as he walked, but YuWon smiled at Danpung's figure.

"It seems like it was worth waiting for so long."

Danpung had finally grown and turned into an Egg. YuWon thought that over time, the Egg would naturally hatch.

But that wasn't what happened.

YuWon's gaze turned to the scattered sheep/goat carcasses in the area.

"Are you still hungry?"

Dead sheep.

Each of them had been drained of their strength and dried up like mummies. The Predator had devoured the Outers and increased Danpung's level and growth rate with its power.

Danpung, bloated from consuming them, had finally hatched in this way.

Following his wish, YuWon lifted Danpung and placed him on his shoulder.

His weight was quite solid. The little one that used to fit in the palm of a hand now looked quite large after hatching.

"Are you full?"

"Abba!"

Though his response was a bit hesitant, at least he answered correctly.

The child who used to whimper like a newborn now looked so big, and YuWon felt proud of him.

On the other hand...

"Is this the child you were looking for?"

Zeus seemed quite dissatisfied.

"Yes."

"You have wasted unnecessary time."

Even though he shouted "Danpung!" with all his might and searched for him, the little Danpung in front of him didn't seem to have any special powers.

"Really... I just wasted time."

The image of Shub-Niggurath came to Zeus's mind.

Not only the figure he had just fought, but also Shub-Niggurath's true form that appeared on the first floor.

Can that child fight against her?

No, maybe not.

He didn't know if it had any secrets, but Zeus didn't think of it that way.

However...

"You may think so."

YuWon was different.

He saw something that Zeus couldn't see and felt something that Zeus couldn't feel.

He had confidence.

His choice was not wrong.

"Don't try to convince me anymore. If you want to explain his worth, show it to me with the results."

"So I will."

Kagagak-.

A sword was drawn from YuWon's waist.

"Then, first, let's get out of here."

"That's what I want to do."

It was then when the corner of Zeus's lips rose. The moment he raised his hand upwards without any further hesitation...

Craaaaaaack-le.

Without wasting any more time, as if there was no time to lose, Zeus started shooting Lightning Bolts into the Black Woods.

Kugugugu-.

There were only about three minutes left.

During that time, due to Hercules' madness, the battlefield had changed completely.

Countless craters and Golden Bolts illuminated the endless land. And in the midst of that, lay the shattered body of Shub-Niggurath.

"Uff, uff..."

Hercules, who boasted that no one could surpass him in terms of physical endurance, was exhausted after only three minutes.

Crack, crack-.

The Bolts continued to flow uncontrollably through his arms.

It was as if they were screaming to let him jump higher. The power of the Lightning, rooted in Hercules' body, was beyond his control.

[The power of 'Lightning' resides in your arms]

[The power of 'Lightning' cannot be controlled]

[The power of 'Lightning' cannot be...]

Repeating messages.

He felt his Arcane Power escaping from his body. The uncontrollable force of the Bolts emitted overwhelming power even when he tried to control it a bit and dispersed like grains of sand in the palm of his hand with just a hint of excitement.

So, Hercules released as many Bolts as he could.

Otherwise, it would have been difficult to inflict significant damage to Shub-Niggurath.

Kwak-.

For a moment, he sighed while squeezing and relaxing his fist, organizing his strength.

Even if he stood still and concentrated like this, the Bolts did not obediently follow Hercules' will.

'That's difficult. And there are so many.'

Hercules had been fighting all his life with just his bare body.

Fighting using magical powers and abilities was only used to strengthen his body with Arcane Power or use Gigantification. He had never used techniques that altered the nature of his Arcane Power.

That was because he had no talent in that regard.

It wasn't that he had no talent for Arcane Power, and as a Player, he had more than enough talent.

But that was why he was a "vessel to plant the Lightning."

"Why are you so distracted?"

Maybe thanks to that, he managed to catch his breath a little?

Odin approached Hercules. He held Gungnir in his hand and seemed to be preparing for his next move.

"It still feels strange, I admit."

"You must have gained a new power."

"Yes."

"It won't be easy to control, but if you can master it..."

Odin chuckled and spoke words that would surprise anyone else if they heard them.

"Perhaps this place might become yours."

Odin, the second-ranked in the Ranking, was considered the greatest being in this Tower after the first-ranked, who had not been active for over ten thousand years.

He was saying that even he might yield his place to someone else. That's how impressive Hercules' performance was.

However,

"Thanks to you, I can finally see his face properly."

The fight with Shub-Niggurath was not over yet.

"His face?"

"Now that you mention it, you probably never saw it."

"What are you saying?"

"I mean the guy I saw on the first floor."

Kwak-.

Odin's hand tightly gripped Gungnir.

"...It wasn't that easy."

Hercules looked at the landscape he had created himself.

The land was devastated to the point that it seemed like doomsday could be today. All of this was the turmoil he had caused.

But was it that easy?

And then, at that moment,

-Beeeh-.

Along with the sudden change of the sky to a purple color, a bleat was heard in this world.