Leveling with the Gods

C384

Chronos turned to dust and disappeared.

Gathering that dust, YuWon and Son OhGong constructed a small tomb on the first floor.

It wasn't an impressive tomb.

YuWon leaned over the grave and then turned around.

"I'll relay the message to Zeus. I made a grave here, so he can move it later."

"He doesn't remember the old man, does he?"

"He does. It seems he found him."

"Really? That guy is impressive even without being a wizard or sorcerer."

"If we send him a message, he'll probably come by himself."

Although their relationship wasn't close, Chronos and Zeus were father and son, after all.

It was natural to announce Chronos's death.

Passtss-.

The clothes YuWon was wearing disappeared, and he returned to his original attire, including the Garment Of The Four Great Elements.

Seeing YuWon like this, Son OhGong said curiously.

"You wear that clothing every time someone dies."

The black suit wasn't just for Chronos; YuWon had been wearing it for a long time whenever one of his comrades died.

It was a minimal gesture of respect to them.

They couldn't give them a proper funeral, but at least they could show up in front of them wearing elegant clothes.

"It's the clothing I used to wear in my world."

"I suspected as much. I've never seen anyone else wear it besides you."

Son OhGong pictured himself in a suit in his mind.

It turned out to be a rather stylish design.

"I want one of those too."

"Do you really need one?"

"Why not? It would be great if we all dressed the same."

It made sense.

In situations like this, where you have to bid farewell to someone, it makes sense to dress appropriately to some extent. It's not necessary to overdo the formality, but not doing so would be rude.

But...

"I'd rather not prepare to bid farewell to anyone if possible."

After changing clothes that way, Kim YuWon boarded the ship with Son OhGong.

It was a ship sent from Asgard.

"And now what?"

Son OhGong asked as he watched YuWon board the ship.

YuWon, climbing the ship's rope, responded:

"I have to go up."

"Anyway, the answers are up there, right?"

"It's a common story."

Having banished All-Mother was already a significant harvest, Kim YuWon thought.

But thanks to that, he came to his senses again.

"We need to move a little faster."

Shub-Niggurath appeared. Faster than they had expected, so they should also move quickly.

Was it because they needed to deal with Shub-Niggurath immediately? Even though they managed to push him away for now, they knew they would eventually have to face him. At that moment, they might not be able to escape as they had just done.

"Can you go alone?" Son OhGong asked, and YuWon responded as if puzzled.

"Am I a child?"

"I thought someone was watching you."

"It's fine. But what about you? Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Hmph, did you think I would return through the Clock Movement without having anything in mind?"

Thinking about it, it made sense. Son OhGong might be a bit impulsive, but he was the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, a proud and magnificent being who ruled the heavens. He wouldn't have come here without making any kind of preparations.

"I plan to return to the Celestial Floor."

"To the Celestial Floor?"

"It's a place I've only reached through the Trials, but..."

Celestial Floor, a mysterious place mentioned in Buddhist sutras. Son OhGong gained new powers and abilities there. But...

"Perhaps it exists in reality. In fact, I'm quite sure it does."

Son OhGong felt that this place might exist not only as a Trial but somewhere in this Tower. It wasn't a mere hunch, and he had never been wrong in his intuitions before.

And YuWon thought the same way.

"If you feel that way, you're probably right."

It wasn't something that had recently arisen. After observing him for a long time by his side, YuWon knew that Son OhGong's intuitions were more than mere hunches. Probably because of the mastery of the Golden Cinder Eyes, his intuitions were so sharp.

Swish~

Then, under Son OhGong's feet, a cloud appeared.

Riding on the Flying Nimbus, Son OhGong looked down at YuWon.

"So, we'll see each other later, buddy."

Son OhGong waved his hand casually.

Although they hadn't been apart for long since they reunited.

The path they were going to take now was different, and they had to part for a while.

Tu-gwak-. Son OhGong's figure quickly receded.

With the Flying Nimbus, he could probably freely explore this vast Tower in search of the Celestial Floor. They didn't know how long it would take, but YuWon was confident that Son OhGong would reach the true Celestial Floor and obtain the Buddhist sutras.

"Then, I..."

Kim YuWon raised his head.

On the moving ship from Asgard.

The sky was gradually approaching.

"I have to go."

The Tower's wall collapsed. Although it was soon restored, the presence of Shub-Niggurath that entered from outside was enough to threaten the Tower's Rankers.

"They say Odin fought."

"Just that? I also heard that Zeus and the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, were there."

"Veda Rankers were also present, and the number of Rankers there was in the thousands. It's probably a formidable power significant enough to be recorded in history."

"What kind of monster is capable of surpassing that power?"

Rumors about the Outer Beings spread rapidly. Through the Player Kits, various reporters issued articles speculating on Shub-Niggurath's identity. Some Rankers even took pictures, but all the images had something in common.

"What is this?"

"How did it turn out like this?"

"Everything is blurry."

The photos showed indistinct, hard-to-identify shapes, as if all the pictures were blurry or out of focus. There were about ten such photos, making the possibility of it being a mere coincidence very low. And not only Shub-Niggurath, but other Rankers also had similar images.

"Was the wall... protecting us?"

"If it can collapse at any moment..."

"That would be a big problem, wouldn't it?"

No one knew Shub-Niggurath's name. His name was only known to YuWon and Son OhGong, and there was no way to find out. Therefore, the Tower's Rankers referred to Shub-Niggurath and similar creatures as "Outers."

And when information about the Outers began to gradually spread...

"A meeting of Grand Guilds has been requested in Asgard."

"In Asgard?"

"It seems Odin is very shaken. He says he won't show himself to the public until the meeting arrives."

"It's understandable. After all, a creature even Odin can't face has appeared..."

"If it's the Grand Guilds, which ones are they?"

"All of them."

"All of them, you say?"

Invitations to the Grand Guilds, including Olympus, Veda, Demon Kings, Round Table, and many others, were sent out.

"By the way, I heard that many Veda Rankers died this time."

"Agni and Kubera?"

"So, the Three Veda Gods... are they taking action this time?"

"It seems only Shiva has shown up, despite an invitation from Odin."

Veda was one of the prominent Guilds in the Tower, along with Asgard and Olympus. Leading Veda were the Three Veda Gods. Everyone's attention was focused on whether the Three Veda Gods would accept Asgard's invitation.

And at that moment, on Veda's star on the 98th floor, a bright light burned.

Flicker, Flicker...

"I know you've been here for a long time."

Agni, with his tied-up orange hair, approached a slender man with white hair who stood on a small star the size of an island in the corner of the universe. At the end of this small star, the man held a fine thread with one finger.

"Odin has sent an invitation."

"..."

"How long do you plan to cling to that thread?"

"..."

The man still didn't respond to Agni's question. Like a puppet from which the soul had escaped, he remained motionless.

At the same time, Kubera was also in a similar situation.

"It's been a long time, Lord Brahma."

Kubera encountered a young boy. Standing in the midst of a vast forest, the boy noticed Kubera and smiled brightly.

The Veda Rankers who had faced Shub-Niggurath began to move to approach the Three Gods.

And at that moment...

"I know his name."

Mimir, who had been asleep for a while, spoke while sweating profusely and looking at Odin, who was carrying a small mountain of rocks.

"It seems that..."

And behind that mountain of rocks.

Gooong~

A massive tree stood, stretching its branches towards infinity.

"It seems like we'll have to move Yggdrasil."

Thud-.

The ship had arrived.

YuWon returned the ship he had rented in Asgard and immediately called the Administrator.

However, strangely, there was no response.

-The Administrator is busy right now.

Instead, an Envoy of the Administrator appeared before YuWon and uttered those words before quickly disappearing.

It seemed incredibly occupied.

"Could it be due to the wall's collapse or perhaps the absence of the Floor 1 Administrator?"

Probably both.

The Administrator's absence was a major problem for them. Few things were more urgent for an Administrator than leaving an empty world.

Furthermore, with the appearance of Shub-Niggurath, the situation had become even more complicated.

"I guess a fast track is out of the question."

Although he had planned to ascend quickly through the Administrator's Trial, even if he had to spend Points, it seemed difficult due to the busy Administrator.

So YuWon turned around, heading for the testing room.

And at that moment...

Shriek~.

From the bow of the ship YuWon had arrived on, light footsteps could be heard. YuWon turned his head toward the bow.

A figure that seemed as dark as a shadow.

A sinister presence made YuWon's skin crawl. It was a man of small and deformed stature, with only one wing and one arm.

The same individual he had encountered not long ago.

"Is it Satan?"

He knew this individual had been targeting him.

Even Son OhGong was concerned about YuWon because of Satan.

However, YuWon had no intention of relying on Son OhGong for that reason.

"Get down."

YuWon's gesture made the corners of Satan's lips rise. It seemed that this individual had been waiting for him here for a while.

Satan unfurled his wings from the start.

Though he now had only one left due to his fight with Zeus, his wings were the very source of his power.

Unfurling them meant he was willing to give it his all from the outset.

"Better this way."

Anyway, this was something that had to be resolved once and for all.

Moreover, Satan, that guy, was like a troublemaker you never knew when or where he would cause problems.

It would be better to catch him here instead of wasting more time creating other variables.

Besides...

"I gained a little more this time."

YuWon had gained much more power in this fight than usual.

Craaack-!

A Lightning Bolt burst from his hand.

Along with the Lightning Bolt, he also held the Nir.

"It's probably different from last time."

At the same time...

Through Satan's eyes, the image of YuWon holding the Lightning Bolt and Zeus overlapped.

The Tower was going through a tumultuous period in various places.