Leveling with the Gods

Jjeouk-.

The Egg bared his teeth.

It was the first time.

I couldn't believe this bum, unable to do anything but eat, showed up first.

'That's how urgent it is...'

In any case, it couldn't be all bad from YuWon's point of view.

The Egg's help would make the fight much easier.

Besides, what if he joined the fight.......

"Huh?"

Thrrr-.

The teeth disappeared again.

The mouth closed and the Egg went silent again, not even breathing.

'Whatever.'

He didn't think the one that hadn't even hatched would come out to help him first.

He didn't want to get his hopes up.

'Let's see what comes out of that.'

When YuWon felt disappointed and determined at the same time....

"You..."

Pandora opened her mouth as she saw Yuwon for the first time.

"You're getting anxious, aren't you?"

Tkak-.

For some reason, she felt unnecessarily bad.

I don't think she had ever felt this bad in her life.

He felt his own voice echoing in his head.

-You know you're not going to win anyway.

-It's all for nothing. We're all going to die anyway.

-Why don't you give up? Why do you have to go through this?

These were the negative thoughts I secretly harbored.

It was a drop in the bucket compared to everything YuWon felt, but the emotions were not fixed in size.

There was only one way to suppress them, and that was with a strong mind.

"Why are you stopping me?"

Pandora asked.

YuWon replied, channeling his Mana into the Kyneē in his hand.

"Because your presence harms us."

"To you?"

Pandora asked, confused.

From that reaction, YuWon realized that Pandora was more than just an outer shell.

'She's one of those seeds too?'

Chaos Fool.

An Outsider that had been in the Tower since who knows how long ago.

Pandora was like Lancelot.

The only difference was that Pandora in front of him hid a much larger part of the Outsider's power than what was planted in Lancelot's body.

'I can only fight...'

YuWon looked at Pandora's gradually distorted expression.

He had fought the Outsiders countless times.

That was why he knew how dangerous the aura he sensed from her was.

'For now, I will lightly attack-.'

Pak -.

A black Lightning Bolt formed in his hand.

['Lightning Fragment' reacts with 'Kyneē']

A Lightning Bolt shot out from YuWon's hand.

Kwareung-!

Pajijijijiji-!

The Lightning Bolt shot out towards Pandora. The Lightning consumed the aura surrounding Pandora, turning her into a pile of rubble.

"I guess that's your way of saying hello."

Thrrrr-.

The Lightning Bolt that burst with force disappeared as quickly as it had come. YuWon sighed as he saw Pandora emerge from the Black Lightning.

"Mmm."

Pandora's powers fed on emotions to become stronger.

Only negative emotions fueled her power.

And this was a war zone.

A place where negative emotions were bound to increase more than in any other.

Everyone was afraid of death, and all of that fueled Pandora's power.

Skak-.

Fazizik-!

Mana burst forth from Kyneē.

He swung his unsheathed sword at Pandora's throat in one swift motion.

Ting-.

The sword was deflected by an invisible force. He tried to force a slash towards her, but YuWon felt his grip loosen momentarily at the unpleasant sensation that ran through him.

Shhhh-.

Pandora's hand stretched forward.

Pang.

The grip around her nape cut off her breath, and her body defied gravity and floated upward, only to be flung back down.

Quaang-!

Bang-

A jolt ran down his back as he plummeted to the ground.

YuWon felt numb for a moment.

"Wow..."

It was only for a moment, but he felt one thing during the fight with Pandora.

"Strong."

Considering Pandora's performance in the Second Gigantomachy, it might be natural.

He was prepared for it, but he couldn't help but sigh when he realized the difference in power.

His body was pinned to the ground.

Outside, he could feel Pandora walking towards him.

This situation was not unfamiliar to him.

'This happened in the fight with Chryses.'

Before he obtained the Divine Crystal of Darkness.

But even then, the fight had ended in a draw.

He had to think.

A way to win the fight against Pandora.

'Help me, you too.'

[The '????' Egg shakes his head.]

'Damn it.'

In response, YuWon cursed inwardly.

He was a very useless guy.

He didn't need convincing. He wouldn't listen to him, he was too selfish.

He had to choose another way.

Pap-.

Pandora's footsteps approached.

And with her, the unpleasant feelings in his chest began to stir.

I think he knew why they killed themselves.

A part of him wanted to slap himself and stick a knife in his throat.

I could not dismiss this feeling as mere irritation. There was a reason it was called conditioning.

'When she was active, Pandora outranked Athena. It won't be any different now, so a head-to-head battle isn't the answer.'

YuWon stood up from his spot.

She had little time to think. The distance between her and Pandora had narrowed.

['Demonic Energy' has been activated.]

['Lightning Fragment' reacts with 'Kyneē'.]

['Eyes of Ash' is activated.]

['Sensory Field' is activated.]

It was a fight with less chance of victory than any YuWon had fought since his Regression, but it was a fight to be won.

An involuntary fight.

But it would be a fight that would make the victory worthwhile.

'Should I take him out? If possible, I'd like to keep it hidden until the fight with the Three Devils...'

A battlefield with many eyes.

YuWon, who needed to look further, couldn't use all his hands.

Of course, if it was too difficult, he couldn't keep it hidden, but he had to fight with as few hands as possible.

'I have to find another breakthrough.'

When he tried to think and act like that at the same time....

"Why are you trying to kill me?"

Pandora's voice boomed over the floor.

"Why, what have I done wrong, why, why, why, why, why?"

Her voice was frustrated, angry and full of resentment.

It was amazing to hear so many emotions in one voice.

Anger, resentment, loneliness, fear?

Pandora was a great mass of all negative emotions.

'Wait.

That's when...

One thing I had forgotten flashed through my mind.

[You have activated 'Steps of Heaven']

[Your movement speed increases by 100% for 5 seconds.]

[You can step on the sky for 5 seconds.]

After stepping on the air several times, YuWon soared into the sky in an instant.

Pandora looked up and their eyes met.

Eyes filled with complicated thoughts.

'I see it.'

The moment she looked into those eyes, she was convinced.

'A breakthrough.'

The ability associated with the Steps of Hermes, Steps of Heaven, had a duration of about 5 seconds, but there were already three seconds left.

That was enough time to check it out.

Kak-.

A light step in the air.

Pandora turned her head to look for YuWon. As Pandora rolled her eyes in search of YuWon, who had disappeared in an instant, a purple flame entered her vision.

Fire~

"Er......?"

Her eyes widened.

What he saw was not just a simple flame.

"Aaahhhhhhhh!"

Krak-!

The tip of his sword slashed Pandora's throat. There was a sound like metal hitting metal, and YuWon's fingertips felt a stinging sensation.

Pit-.

The cut was small, and the depth of the wound, shallow.

Tough.

It wasn't just his ability to control his emotions, his physical abilities were already as good as any High Ranker.

'How many alternative physical strength stats does he have?'

'Endurance, which is the basis of physical ability.

Since he did not use any special skills, this toughness could only come from his stats.

At this point, Pandora's body was so strong that even YuWon's sword could not easily penetrate it.

'Even though it's like this...'

There was little impact from the sword. But the burns on Pandora's skin were clearly from the flames.

'There is damage.'

There were no sword strikes, but there was fire damage.

It was a natural result.

'This is the essence of the Sacred Fire.'

The Sacred Fire is a monster that fed on the emotions of its victims.

And in that sense, the Sacred Fire was Pandora's worst enemy.

[Sacred Fire's skill increases by 0.21%.]

[The ability of the Sacred Fire increases by 0.38%.]

[The skill of the...]

Proficiency/Competence increased rapidly.

As the skill went up in rank, the Sacred Fire Proficiency increased very little. The minimum increase is 0.01%, which is not enough to make a difference.

The Proficiency/Proficiency thus raised was about 5%.

But now, at this very moment, his Proficiency was increasing at a rate that could be described as quantum leaps.

And just like that...

Boom, boom, boom-.

As expected, the flames of the Sacred Fire intensified.

Like a small cigarette burning a dry twig as kindling, the flames of YuWon's Sacred Fire curled around the two of them.

"Ah, ahhhh......."

Pandora's eyes fluttered violently.

On a battlefield brimming with all sorts of negative emotions, a gigantic flame engulfed the countless fireflies that could be seen reflected in her eyes, consuming them.

"Go away, go away, go away-!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch~

Pandora waved her hands in the direction of the flames, whose range was gradually narrowing.

But it was nothing more than a fear-driven struggle.

Chii-i-.

Hwareuk, Hwaaaaak-!

The fire, once transferred to the body, was not easily extinguished.

No, first of all, the Holy Fire was a fire that would never go out until YuWon's power was completely exhausted.

Its heat was enough to burn Pandora's body.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

Pandora screamed in pain from the fire in her body.

Negative emotions were the source of Pandora's power.

The stronger the feeling, the stronger she is and the stronger the influence she can exert on those around her.

But that was the problem.

The Sacred Fire was an ember that fed on emotions.

Unbeknownst to her, she herself had become a huge kindling.

'An ability that didn't work so well for Ares is now being used in this way.'

An ability that was useful against a relatively weak majority, was now being used against the strongest and most demanding individual.

No.

Now that his Proficiency had increased, he would probably be able to wield even more power than before, even if not Pandora.

"It will be over soon."

Pandora roared through the flames.

The moment her knees buckled.

[The '????' Egg is salivating]

A message from the guy who was waiting for his prey to weaken.

"All I have to do to feed you."

What it's like to raise a lazy bastard.

"When you hatch, I expect you to give it all back to me."

Jjeouk-.

A mouth, much larger than the previous one, opened from beneath the ground where Pandora was standing.

A hundred mouths, hundreds of teeth.

YuWon nodded at that sight.

"Now, eat her."

Kwazik-!