Leveling with the Gods

YuWon picked up a half-broken chair that was rolling on the floor and sat down.

Amaterasu did the same.

The two sat on uncomfortable chairs, facing each other, with no table.

The floor was littered with corpses.

'Amaterasu. Post 52. Owner of Yasakani no Magatama.'

Amaterasu was the center of the Three Precious Children. As they were not a formal guild, they did not have the title of guild leader, but everyone who knew them considered Amaterasu their leader.

Rumors abounded about Amaterasu.

Some said he was a young beauty, others that he was a very old man.

None of these rumors were true.

He never showed his true face.

"I think I need not tell you why I sought you out."

"Because of the Three Sacred Treasures*?"

(Note*: Trinity will be changed to Three Sacred Treasures).

"Yes."

Amaterasu asked without turning the question around.

"Where is Yata's mirror?"

It sounded almost urgent.

He had one of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Yasakani no Magatama*, and Susanoo had the other, the Sword of Kusanagi. (*: Literally meaning: Jewel of the Eight Curved Shaku.

So there was only one left.

Amaterasu held back the surge of Mana and tried to engage in conversation first.

But.

"I don't know."

At YuWon's response, Amaterasu's Mana began to surge out.

Chak, chak, chak -.

Saaaah-.

The tavern building shook to its foundations, and the air grew hot.

Amaterasu was one of the highest ranks in this Tower in terms of Fire Attribute Arcane Power.

Naturally, when his power was released, YuWon felt suffocated.

'It's suffocating.

So far, Amaterasu had not threatened YuWon in particular.

For now, it was simply a change in his mood.

But it felt like staring into hot lava.

His breath was cut off as he knew its depth and danger.

"You don't know?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm looking for it, and if I did, I wouldn't be doing this."

Amaterasu thought a moment and then nodded.

"I see."

"Is that all?"

"No. There's more. How do you know there's a Sacred Treasure here, and on what basis?"

"It was a test reward from the 43rd floor. The source is from the Administrator. The information is reliable."

"The Administrator?"

His black eyebrows twitched. He was trying to determine the authenticity or accuracy of the information, but this was making it difficult.

An Administrator.

If that was true, there was no need to question the accuracy of the information.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you were going to say that."

"You're the one who knows the most about the Three Sacred Treasures."

"You know who I am?"

"I do. You are Amaterasu. High-ranking member of the Three Precious Children, bearer of one of the Sacred Treasures."

"You have a good eye."

"I thought you said you never show your face. That face, it's not yours."

Amaterasu was a Ranker wrapped in a veil. But if you look at it another way, that veil was Amaterasu's face.

"You said you won the fight with Ares, so it must be true."

The fight between YuWon and Ares was also hidden information in Olympus. Olympus did not need to tell the Players that a higher ranked Player of their guild was defeated, so they tried to hide it as much as possible.

However, there were not a few who had been there, so it was no secret to the better-informed Guilds.

"Well, well enough. The better you are, the easier it will be to find the Three Sacred Treasures."

"If I find it, are you going to take it away from me?"

"Take it from you? It's ours."

"You've never had it in your hands, and you're already claiming it as your own?"

"If you have a grievance, use your power, isn't that the rule of this world?"

The methods of the Three Precious Children were always the same.

Freedom.

To them, freedom was the logic of power, and more power was needed to overcome it.

"But it is strange."

Amaterasu cocked her head.

"Do you believe in the Celestial Demon Cult, or do you believe in the mere fact that you defeated Ares?"

Fire-.

The air in the tavern turned hot. Oddly enough, the tavern didn't burn. I could feel his gaze through the flames everywhere.

"Your attitude is a bit arrogant."

She wondered if he was trying to sort out the sequence.

Rising from her seat, Amaterasu approached YuWon and unlike before, in a threatening manner.

The breath that was already tight in his throat constricted even more.

The air rusted with the fire in the tavern, and the flames tightened around YuWon as if he were alive.

'It's been a fight from the beginning...'

Yoo Won didn't get up from his seat.

This wasn't a fight of swords and fists.

['Holy Fire' resists 'Sunshine.']

['Ash Eyes' resists 'Sunshine'.]

[The 'Four Great Spirits' Garment' resists 'Sunshine'].

Kak-!

YuWon's ability and Amaterasu's ability collided.

YuWon used the "Four Great Spirits' Clothing" ability that increased resistance to various attributes instead of Triaina, like a tiger using the abilities of a cat.

Of all the attributes, fire resistance was the one YuWon had the most confidence in.

Instead of dodging and ducking, YuWon counterattacked.

'Look at this guy.'

Amaterasu's eyebrows twisted.

He knew he was good, but he hadn't expected this level of endurance.

Would he hold out to the end?

Amaterasu's eyes flashed.

He was too proud to back down.

'I'll just subdue him.'

The moment he made a decision, Amaterasu's Arcane Power grew stronger.

Chii-ii-.

The heat in the tavern intensified and burns began to appear on YuWon's body.

[Fail resistance to 'Sunshine'].

[Anomaly: Burn begins].

Fire agony.

Amaterasu's fire was as hot as he had heard. She hadn't even unsheathed her Sacred Treasure yet, but it was enough to cut off YuWon's ability.

Wriggle-.

Danpung in YuWon's arms twisted to get out.

And then...

['The Predator' shows its teeth].

Jjeouk-.

The predator started to open its mouth.

It seemed to have decided that YuWon was in danger and was slowly revealing itself.

'No.'

Kak-.

YuWon caught the Danpung Predator, which was trying to get out under its own power.

'Not now.'

There was no point in revealing himself completely, even if it meant fighting.

This was a fight that wasn't worth fighting.

'This fight must be lost.'

That was the reason why he had chosen an unwinnable fight in the first place.

Chii-.

[Status Anomaly: Burns rise to Stage 2].

The burns were getting worse and he was starting to feel his skin melting.

"As long as there is a clue about the Three Sacred Treasures, Amaterasu will never strike the final blow."

The guild that had fought the longest against the Three Precious Children was Asgard.

Odin had fought Amaterasu long enough to know how obsessed he was with the Three Sacred Treasures.

In fact, at one point, Amaterasu collected all three and achieved a High Rank in the top ten.

'Even if he kills me, it will be after he finds the Mirror of Yata.'

YuWon was the only one who obtained the clue to the Three Sacred Treasures from the Administrator.

To Amaterasu, who had been searching for the Mirror of Yata for a long time, YuWon was an existence that could never be killed.

"Tell me what you know and I will spare your life."

Phazik, Phazit-.

Penalization began to flow through Amaterasu's body.

But none of that mattered to him. In the first place, since YuWon had climbed up to the 44th floor, the gap between the floors wasn't that big, so the Penalty was quite weak.

For Amaterasu, a Top 50 player, the Penalty was not too heavy a burden.

"If we cooperate like this but I give you all the winnings, then I will be the one who loses here."

"It's mine anyway. If you get your hands on the mirror, I'll take it away from you, even if it means wiping out the entire Heavenly Demon Cult."

"Do you really think only the Heavenly Demon Cult is after me?"

"Other than the Cult, you're not in cahoots with other guilds, so stop bragging..."

But then, Amaterasu's eyes narrowed.

It was because of the badge YuWon pulled out.

Kwak-.

The mana that had seemed to explode a moment ago had calmed down.

The mana that had been boiling as if it was about to explode a moment ago had calmed down.

"Do you also trust Asgard?"

Golden Castle Plate.

It was a precious item that even Asgard players did not possess.

A gift given to special guests, recognized by Odin.

An invitation of sorts.

Now that it was in YuWon's hands, Amaterasu couldn't help but think about the relationship between YuWon and Asgard.

'It's troublesome when Asgard is after someone. I can't kill him now, and I can't force information out of him...'

There was only one way out of this.

"The Mirror of Yata is non-negotiable."

Negotiation.

Amaterasu no longer saw the YuWon in front of him as an opponent to take something from by force.

To get what he really wanted, he needed a little cooperation.

"Tell me what you want."

"Can you give me something comparable to the Three Sacred Treasures?"

"I'll kill the 100 people you want, and I'll be your sword in the meantime."

It was a tempting offer.

No amount of valuables or points could buy a High Rank like Amaterasu.

A condition that anyone who knew the value of a High Rank couldn't help but be tempted.

After a moment's thought, YuWon asked.

"Is it possible to save lives instead of killing them?"

"Let's call it saving ten lives. I don't like that."

"Never mind. I'll accept it then."

"Good thinking."

Amaterasu held out her hand to YuWon.

With different intentions, the two held hands.

* * *

Amaterasu shook YuWon's hand.

YuWon told Amaterasu a modicum of information. Beyond that, he kept his hand hidden.

Amaterasu left immediately afterwards.

When YuWon returned to the inn, the spirit that had been writhing until earlier spoke to him.

-Do you believe me?

Susanoo.

It had been a long time since he had spoken. Thanks to his title of King of the Dead, YuWon could hear spirits even when he wasn't using Kyneē.

"No. I don't believe you."

-You still held his hand.

"No reason not to, he wears a mask, I wear a mask."

They were shaking hands out of necessity, for different purposes.

That's why YuWon didn't hesitate to take your hand.

Through this encounter between YuWon and Amaterasu, Susanoo realized what he had been doing.

-You called him here for a reason. With the fictitious bait of the Three Sacred Treasures.

The Three Sacred Treasures was tasty bait to lure the Three Precious Children.

The Administrator's excuse, the ten days searching for him.

It was all for this meeting.

- What do you want? Are you drawing something bigger this time, like you did when you destroyed Olympus?

The Three Sacred Treasures were the wish of the Three Precious Children. It was no secret to any player with a modicum of knowledge of the world that they were seeking it.

Therefore, Susanoo thought that YuWon had placed the Three Sacred Treasures as bait to lure them.

What kind of picture is YuWon drawing?

Similar to the plan that destroyed Olympus, YuWon must have been thinking of something big again.

However...

"There's one thing wrong."

It was Susanoo who had been watching everything right next to him, but he didn't know everything.

-One thing wrong?

"Because fishing without bait is doomed to failure."

YuWon's reply shook Susanoo to the core.

-No way...

It's not fishing without bait....

Those words could only mean one thing.

-The Mirror of Yata, is it real?