Leveling with the Gods

Son OhGong was an unusually peculiar character among the Rankers that YuWon knew.

He was sometimes even considered a pervert. He enjoyed fighting almost as much as eating.

Fighting, getting hit, what was enjoyable about it?

'That kind of thing suited Asura well.'

Asura and Son OhGong.

The two of them fought almost every day.

Son OhGong usually came out as the winner, but Asura wasn't far behind.

When it came to combat, Asura was also a genius equal to Son OhGong.

Two people who loved to fight.

It was exhausting to be caught between them.

But it seemed that the alter ego was the same.

Boo-.

YuWon looked at the back of Son OhGong as he rode on the Flying Nimbus.

Son OhGong's first alter ego.

He knew that the personality changed slightly depending on the number of alter egos.

Right now, the twelfth Son OhGong alone was quite different from the main Son OhGong.

But somehow...

The way he walked, full of joy, resembled Son OhGong a lot.

'The closer to the first, the closer to the real one...'

YuWon exhaled, his Mana bubbling like an active volcano.

'I wonder how strong he'll be.'

He was very excited.

What difference would there be between the first alter ego and the twelfth?

How much would the first Son OhGong resemble the main body?

The answers were about to come.

Bam~

Landing softly on the ground, Son OhGong looked at the wall in front of him.

"Shouldn't this be enough?"

Swoosh.

A black, solid wall.

It was the farthest point the Flying Nimbus could reach.

"This should be enough to escape the eyes of the heavens. We've come a long way."

Half a day riding on the Flying Nimbus.

Son OhGong's Flying Nimbus had the speed to travel to the ends of the world and back in a single day.

"You can let loose here. So you shouldn't worry too much either...."

Hwareuk-.

"Let us unleash our power from the depths of our hearts."

Son OhGong's eyes ignited in flames.

For a moment, YuWon felt as if Ragnarok had been recreated.

But only for a moment.

'He's serious.'

The illusion was fleeting, and YuWon felt his shoulders crushed by the power of Son OhGong that surrounded him.

It wasn't the Flames of the Eight Trigrams.

The Golden Cinder Eyes, which appeared in Son OhGong's eyes, brought the Mana around YuWon under his control.

His breath was cut off.

But he wasn't the only one with those eyes.

[The 'Golden Cinder Eyes' resist the 'Golden Cinder Eyes'.]

Hwahhhhhh-!

The Mana around YuWon began to burn.

The Arcane Power around the two was shaken by the different forces.

YuWon's eyes never left Son OhGong's.

Even though he had been using the Golden Cinder Eyes for a long time, he was nothing more than an alter ego.

Moreover, YuWon didn't just have the Golden Cinder Eyes.

['Mana Master' is active]

[The mastery of the 'Golden Cinder Eyes' is increasing]

The Golden Cinder Eyes had the power to control the Mana in the air, and Mana Master had a similar effect as it granted you control over the Mana in the atmosphere.

The two abilities, with their similar powers, had a synergistic effect, giving him the power to counter Son OhGong's Golden Cinder Eyes.

"Not bad for something you just acquired."

Son OhGong no longer focused on the Golden Cinder Eyes.

The strength that had been holding his breath had disappeared. YuWon unleashed the power of his eyes and began to move his feet, just like Son OhGong.

Bam-.

The two walked toward each other at the same time.

Whirligig-.

OhGong spun Ru Yi Bang in his hand.

Scott-.

YuWon did the same and unsheathed his sword.

There was no need to fight with their eyes anymore. From now on, they would fight in a different way.

Kek-.

The distance closed.

And in that moment...

Kwiiiik-.

Tak, tak, tak!

Without anyone saying who would go first, the two lunged at each other.

Goo-.

Ru Yi and YuWon's sword clashed.

Kwalung-!

The collision dug a deep hole in the ground, opening a rift in the clouds above where the two collided.

Son OhGong's eyes widened. It was just a clash, but it was enough to measure his opponent's strength.

'This guy?'

He expected him to be strong, but he was more than he had imagined.

Apparently, according to the twelfth alter ego, he was nothing more than a child with the abilities of a high-ranking player.

'Why is he so fast?'

The speed at which he was growing was beyond imagination. He had no idea how many levels he had or how many stats he possessed.

Bum-.

Son OhGong swung his Ru Yi again.

In YuWon's eyes, there were instantly dozens of them.

Thud, thud, thud!

The sword pierced through all of them.

YuWon carefully examined the tips of the Ru Yi Bang.

None of them were fake.

Normally, when suddenly faced with dozens of strikes like this, one would try to find the one true strike.

But YuWon had fought against OhGong many, many times.

And now, unlike before, he had the Sensory Field and the Golden Cinder Eyes.

"I'll accept them all."

Shuk-.

Kak!

"...!"

The tip of the Ru Yi Bang pointed towards the sky.

Son OhGong appeared frightened.

Then, YuWon's sword pierced Son OhGong's neck.

"......."

The tip of YuWon's sword gleamed in Son OhGong's pupils.

The sword halted in midair.

Son OhGong looked at YuWon, as if asking him what the hell he was doing.

"I don't want you to disappear."

The first alter ego was certainly similar to the main body.

It wasn't just the personality or disposition; it was the way he fought.

Son OhGong was not afraid to die. No, in the first place, he believed in his body as immortal.

An undying body.

Using that advantage as a key to cheat, Son OhGong's fighting style, although seemingly ignorant, was the most efficient way to make the most of that advantage.

But...

The 'alter ego' is different.

Swish~.

YuWon sheathed the sword he had held against Son OhGong's throat and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

'An alter ego that has suffered near-fatal damage disappears. Immortality is an advantage possessed only by the main body.'

And that was a fact that the Son OhGong standing before him had overlooked.

"Don't be so dismissive. See? I'm better than you think, much better."

"...Yes. Sure."

Son OhGong scratched his head.

Actually, he didn't think he had ignored it.

In the first place, he hadn't ignored it.

YuWon was already strong enough.

Stronger than most High Ranks.

But that wasn't all.

'He's much stronger than I thought.'

A moment ago...

For a split second, OhGong didn't see YuWon's sword pointing at his throat.

And it wasn't a movement he had seen with his clear vision; it was clearly a slash, not a stab, and before he knew it, the sword had reached his uvula.

His pride was wounded.

He clearly lost the close-quarters combat.

"This is exhilarating."

The Mana enveloping Son OhGong overflowed.

Boom-.

From the trembling of his shoulders, YuWon was certain.

'From now on...'

From now on, Son OhGong would be aware that he was an alter ego, and he would fight cautiously, wary of YuWon's abilities.

Furthermore...

'He probably won't give me the same distance as before.'

As expected.

Chuck-.

"Grow-."

The tip of Son OhGong's Ru Yi Bang pointed at YuWon's head.

"Ru Yi."

BOOM-!

GUOONG-!

The ground shook, and the mountain's peak flew off.

The mountain had a circular hole.

And inside the mountain's hole, Son OhGong chased after YuWon.

Boo-boo-!

Kwaang-!

The elongated stick struck YuWon's head from a distance. YuWon's body was forcefully sent flying and buried into the mountain's hole.

Kurrrr-.

Bum, bum, bum, bum.

The mountain, which had been precariously swaying under the impact of Ru Yi Bang's swings, collapsed. Watching the cascading mudslide, OhGong used his Golden Cinder Eyes to look inside.

"Where are you hiding?"

Different-colored eyes rolled around.

His eyes searched for YuWon for a moment.

Flash!

A blinding flash of light.

OhGong squinted for a moment, and then YuWon's sword flew out.

Swoosh-!

Bum!

This time, OhGong's body was pushed back and sent flying.

The distance widened.

And at that moment...

[Uranus Heart generates a Lightning Bolt].

Fajijijijik-!

A black lightning formed in YuWon's hand.

"Grow-."

Boom-!

The lightning shot out from YuWon's hand.

"Ru Yi."

Twack-!

Twack-!

The lightning clashed with Ru Yi Bang in the air.

The lightning focused into a single point. And so did the collision of Ru Yi.

It reminded him of the lightning that struck Camelot, and the clash between them. Back then, the alter ego, who was assisting YuWon, hadn't been able to stop the Lightning Bolt in the end, but this time was different.

Crunch, crunch, crunch-.

The two forces clashed, each unable to overcome the other, and the struggle continued for some time.

And then it happened.

OhGong charged towards YuWon.

Boom-boom-.

Thwack!

OhGong's fist slammed into his stomach.

His fist was as hard as stone, and for a moment, YuWon's body trembled.

But only for an instant.

'Why didn't he dodge...'

The fact that YuWon didn't dodge, even though he believed he could, made OhGong pause for a moment.

At that moment...

[The 'Blessing of the Sea' dwells in your body]

OhGong realized that the sensation in his fist wasn't what he expected.

He thought the attack had landed, but it wasn't so.

His fist didn't enter, it was drawn in.

Kwak.

YuWon's hand grabbed OhGong's arm.

And at that moment, a scene flashed through OhGong's mind.

"...Damn it."

Fajik, jijijijik-!

OhGong gritted his teeth as electricity surged through his body.

It was an ability that had shocked even the Bull Demon King. If he couldn't get away, he would immediately lose the fight.

"Return."

Shuuuk-.

Ru Yi Bang was once again in his hand.

Enduring the electric shock with his body, OhGong aimed the tip of the staff at YuWon.

"G-Grow..."

YuWon's eyes widened.

No way, not at such a close distance.

"Ru Yi."

Boom!

The staff soared into the sky, sending YuWon and OhGong flying upwards.

[The 'Blessing of the Sea' trembles.]

"Kugh..."

Up in the clouds, YuWon frowned as he felt the jolt in his chest.

It felt like his ribs had been broken. Even with the sea's protection around him, the flying staff from such a close distance was still too threatening.

Furthermore, his attack wasn't over yet.

'Where...'

Pak.

Using his Golden Cinder Eyes, YuWon saw Son OhGong within his field of vision.

A future that hadn't happened, just a little while later.

YuWon's head jerked back.

And at that moment...

Bam-.

OhGong's hand grabbed YuWon's shoulder.

"You can't be thinking..."

"What you eat, you figure out."

The corner of his lips lifted.

Slowly, gravity began to pull the two of them downwards from the peak.

And then...

"Let's fall together."

Clutching onto YuWon's men, OhGong started their descent towards the ground.

As if he were riding his Flying Nimbus.