Leveling with the Gods

It was strange.

Zeus and Hercules, the former of whom shouldn't be alive, had reconciled.

"In the future I know, Zeus is dead."

"What do you mean?"

Son OhGong seemed perplexed.

It was clear from his expression. In the world he came from, Zeus was alive.

"Originally, Zeus, who would have been killed by Hercules, is now imprisoned in Asgard. It's as if I saved him by changing the future."

YuWon's head was spinning.

Meanwhile, OhGong scratched his head, looking confused.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tell me more, just in case. All the details you can provide."

"Another situation, like what?"

"Something about Olympus, something about the Three Precious Children."

YuWon asked about the major events that had occurred.

Son OhGong pondered for a moment, and then, one by one, began recounting the stories he knew.

In the grand scheme of things, the story hadn't changed.

What had changed was the relationship between Hercules and Zeus.

"I can think of two possibilities."

After organizing his thoughts, YuWon spoke.

"The first is that the future you lived in was immediately altered by the present I changed."

"Oh, that sounds plausible."

"...The second is that the world you live in and the world I live in now are completely separate, different worlds."

"Separate worlds?"

"The theory of parallel worlds or something like that... I don't know. I heard about it too, a long time ago."

YuWon shook his head, confused.

If he himself was like this, then OhGong must be going crazy in his head.

Nevertheless, one thing was certain: he had the opportunity to change the future.

"If I change this place, I might be able to change there too."

A possibility.

That was all he needed.

It meant that his actions, which had seemed so vague until now, were actually bearing fruit.

If he did well here and now.

Perhaps he could change his future as well.

"We'll figure out the details later..."

The joy of the reunion ended here.

Gurgle-.

Son OhGong paused to listen to the ticking of the clock in his belly.

"It's been a while since I ate."

Kak-.

The meat soup boiled and bubbled. OhGong, who had released an alter ego to capture a wild beast, quickly grabbed the deer's hind legs and began tearing them off.

Wujik-.

Son OhGong began eating eagerly.

The Bull Demon King also began eating silently.

And then...

"I see you're quite secretive with your secrets."

"Kuk!"

Son OhGong spat out the food he had been chewing into the Bull Demon King's mouth.

In an instant, his face was covered in saliva and chewed meat, and he wiped his face with the back of his hand, expressionless.

Then, with a panicked voice, OhGong opened his mouth.

"What, what secrets?"

I think he was trying to sound as calm as possible, but his panic was evident.

That's right.

After all, it was YuWon and OhGong who were talking to each other while blocking their voices with magic in the first place.

It was clear that there was a secret, and he couldn't help but suspect.

But...

'He knows everything.'

YuWon saw the meaning between the words of the Bull Demon King.

He didn't simply say, 'There is a secret.'

He said it because he knew what it was.

"Did you hear everything?"

"I know it's rude to eavesdrop. I'm sorry."

After wiping off the saliva and pieces of meat that Son OhGong spat out with his sleeve, the Bull Demon King nodded.

"It has been strange, to say the least. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that I suspected."

"Are you referring to me?"

"Yes."

The Bull Demon King nodded.

"The system is fair. So is time, and talent can only go so far."

It was a doubt that everyone had while watching YuWon.

A high-ranking player in the top 100, Li Jing.

YuWon had developed the skills to confront him, a growth that could not be described as merely talented.

He was nothing more than a player who had just reached the 50th floor.

"But you, you don't seem to have limits, and you have just entered the Tower, and for what purpose would you risk your own life to save the youngest..."

Suspicion.

And curiosity.

"So I eavesdropped. I mean, I'm a highly reputable sorcerer, how could a simple magic barrier stop me?"

Suddenly, the Bull Demon King's gaze fell upon Son OhGong.

Son OhGong averted his gaze as if he had committed a sin.

No.

To be precise, he was trying to avoid further questions.

"Where were you, I wasn't there?"

But in the end, the Bull Demon King had to ask the question.

It was a difficult question to answer.

But he also couldn't help but ask.

"You weren't there."

OhGong pounded his chest in frustration, his eyes shining.

"But now, I will make it happen."

"...Really?"

The Bull Demon King raised his head, the corner of his lips twitching.

The night sky was unusually dark.

Unlike him, who only thought about today and tomorrow, the OhGong standing before him was thinking about a very, very distant time.

"I have been waiting for you for over a thousand years, but I guess we were not meant to be."

Even if they were to meet again in this moment, the fact that he might be dead in the distant future tickled the heart of the Bull Demon King.

Perhaps the knowledge of that fact was the reason why OhGong couldn't be too happy at this moment.

"Let's win the battle against the Outer Gods, and even the battle against the Heavens."

For now, he had to face the task at hand.

The battle against the Celestial Realm had only just begun.

"And..."

The Bull Demon King picked up a ladle of boiling water.

"I'm glad to see you again, younger one from the future, even though our times are different."

Kik-.

"Eat a lot."

The meal had ended, and it was late at night.

The Bull Demon King fell asleep. Surprisingly, he had a rather light sleep.

They had talked quite a bit during the meal, as it had been over a thousand years since they last spoke.

But talking was not enough. The delayed history had no choice but to continue filling in the future.

Furthermore...

"How are you?"

YuWon walked through the cold night air.

Sitting outside the house was Son OhGong, with an unusually complex expression on his face.

"Fine."

"Do what you're doing and don't put on that uncomfortable face."

"Me? Really?"

"You've always been bad at hiding your facial expressions."

OhGong's simplicity was one of the best YuWon had known.

He always wore his emotions on his sleeve, and that was no different now.

YuWon wondered what had happened to the usually excited boy.

"Is it because of your older brother or because of me?"

"Because of the older brother."

"Why?"

"The dead don't come back to life, and someone I thought I would never see again suddenly appeared, so I wondered if this was the person I knew..."

A person from another world.

Son OhGong was at a loss for words in the face of that uncomfortable feeling.

"Also, I'm glad to see you."

Son OhGong scratched his head awkwardly.

He was torn between feeling happy and uncomfortable.

The family he had missed so much had returned.

As happy as he was to see them, the Bull Demon King of this world had not yet died.

YuWon had rescued him and saved him from being executed in the celestial prison.

"Anyway, everything is a bit complicated, and now that I'm out here, I wonder if this is the World I knew."

The world where YuWon and OhGong lived had already been devastated by the Outer Gods to the point where its original colors could no longer be found.

That's why the forest and the sky OhGong saw now were also very different from what he knew.

"Still, it's beautiful."

OhGong took a deep breath of the cold night air.

"It smells good too."

Things that can be enjoyed for free without having to pay separately become luxuries that cannot be enjoyed even with money in the future.

OhGong, who had just returned to this world, was gradually getting used to it.

YuWon left him alone for a moment, not wanting to break that feeling.

A moment of silence.

As he held the moonlight through the clouds in his eyes, YuWon spoke.

"Do you remember what we're going to do from now on?"

OhGong was one of the people who devised a plan with him.

He had even been considered a potential candidate to go back to the past with YuWon...

"Do you remember all of that?"

He had forgotten.

Son OhGong wasn't the brightest bulb in the box.

He could remember the overall plan and what had happened in the past, but he couldn't recall the details.

Moreover...

'He was trapped inside the Five Elements Mountain for years.'

Among all the people who were going to return to the past, the reason why YuWon emerged as a more likely candidate than Son OhGong.

One of the reasons is that Son OhGong was trapped in the Five Elements Mountain.

Even if he could use the Clock Movement to travel back in time, he would still be trapped in the Five Elements Mountain, and everything would be lost.

"It's been so long, and you remember everything, right?"

"Yes. What did you expect?"

"Well, before coming here, Odin told me..."

Sighing, YuWon's eyes lit up at the mention of Odin's name.

"Odin?"

"He told me that if I ever returned and found myself trapped in the Five Elements Mountain, and you rescued me as planned, you would have achieved as much as you had planned, and I shouldn't disrupt the flow."

He was not mistaken.

OhGong was truly powerful. Not only did he invade the Celestial Realm alone and cause a commotion.

Regarding the battle between OhGong and the Celestial Realm, the Classification Office said the following.

A battle between a giant guild called the Celestial Realm and a lone Son OhGong.

Ninety-nine out of a hundred times, the Celestial Realm would win, but one out of a hundred times, Son OhGong would win.

OhGong's problem was that he relied on that one out of a hundred times, so he rushed in, but his power was overwhelming.

But...

"So from now on, you will be the one with a headache. If I make a mistake and something goes wrong, there will be no turning back."

Son OhGong smiled satisfactorily and picked up the staff he had left aside.

"I will do what I have always done, which is to strike and crush."

He had just been freed from his restraints.

His fight with Ne Zha had been brief, and he was still in top form.

Strike and crush.

That was the best OhGong could do.

Or rather, he was considered one of the candidates to return here solely because of that talent.

Immortality.

That one fraudulent ability was enough to explain OhGong's existence/assistance.

"Ideal."

If only two people could return like this (이렇게 두 명이 돌아올 수만 있다면).

As much as he had thought about it many times, YuWon couldn't help but feel happy with the current situation.

"20%."

The plans that seemed impossible had now reached the point of becoming truly possible.

The corner of his lips curved up, and he stood up from his seat.

"Are you alright?"

"Don't you know my body?"

"Yes."

YuWon nodded.

He had asked the wrong question.

Well then.

"Tomorrow, right now, I need you to do something."

"Do something? What?"

"The Heavens."

Upon hearing that, Son OhGong's eyes gleamed.

"I will crush them tomorrow."