Leveling with the Gods

His vision turned red.

Rarely had he focused his eyes with such intensity.

The world seemed to slow down as YuWon watched his alter ego.

The movement of muscles. The changes in facial expressions. The beating of his heart in response to his emotions.

Everything seemed to be naked. YuWon's eyes were not now limited to looking at his alter ego.

The first move had been launched.

Now the next fight would begin.

"Are they OhGong?"

His eyebrows twitched.

Bewilderment and suspicion.

Both written simultaneously over his expression.

"Are you that monkey's alter ego?"

The monkey.

From those words, YuWon realized that the alter ego in front was actually himself.

There was a time when he had openly called Son OhGong a monkey.

It must have been around that time.

'Either way, it's terrible.'

Still, at that time, he was quite close to Son OhGong.

He called him cute with words, but they used to greet each other and talk whenever they met face to face.

Son OhGong was the only person he could call a friend, even though he always traveled alone.

"Is it transformation magic and personality? You still use strange abilities."

Son OhGong's alter ego shares abilities with him. And one of Son OhGong's abilities is the ability to transform into a specific person or object in his mind.

"But it's rare."

Despite the explanation, the doppelganger looked at YuWon with a questioning expression.

"If you're that monkey's alter ego, there's no way he wouldn't recognize you..."

He stopped talking at that moment.

A red aura appeared in YuWon's eyes.

It wasn't the Golden Ash Eyes, but it was definitely similar to the Golden Ash Eyes.

However, the Sensory Field used by the doppelganger said that YuWon was an entity that did not use the transformation.

So he became even more confused.

A person with eyes like Son OhGong's.

He was confused as to what Yuwon really was.

And then.

"Now."

Pot-.

Skaaak-.

YuWon's sword was unsheathed, and Arcane Power flowed through the hilt.

['Superior Mana Sword' is activated ]

['Holy Fire' is activated]

Boom!

A holy flame surrounded the sword, along with the Superior Mana Sword skill that had been acquired for a costly amount of points.

The compressed fire and Arcane Power made the sword even sharper, and at such a close distance, YuWon's Sword flew precisely towards the doppelganger's neck.

"Ambush is not a very good move..."

Likewise, just as the doppelganger, who had also half-drawn his sword, was about to respond, the doppelganger's toes wiggled to the side.

Spat-.

Chick-.

The doppelganger's cheek was slashed. Drops of blood splattered on the floor, leaving red marks on the transparent mirror.

The doppelganger, already far away, touched his cheek with one hand.

There was blood on his hand.

"Necromancer..."

A man brandished a sword behind his back.

Excalibur in hand, Arthur joined Yuwon.

"It wasn't one."

Two people reflected in the alter ego's eyes.

Arthur.

And the other was a Ranker with the head and face of a thug.

-Is this our first battle?

Duduk-.

Ares smiled as he relaxed his uncomfortable body.

-I don't know what happened, but he's a guy with a lot of attitude.

Ares smiled at his alter ego, who looked exactly like YuWon.

Not long ago, he had possessed the body of a Ranker he met in a bar, and became Yu-Won's hands and feet.

'Aren't you going to help?'

-That guy is Amaterasu?

Despite YuWon's request, Susanoo stubbornly refused.

- 'He looks interesting, but I'm not interested. I'd rather you die here and the Three Sacred Treasures be buried forever.

He was not wrong.

As far as Susanoo was concerned, there was no difference between YuWon and Amaterasu.

YuWon was a necromancer who bound her soul, and Amaterasu was the enemy responsible for her death.

Naturally, from Susanoo's perspective, the best outcome was for YuWon to die here.

If that happened, YuWon would be dead, and Amaterasu would be screwed, as he would never be able to gather the Three Sacred Treasures.

'When are you going to recognize me?'

-Become stronger than me, and I will make you my master.

A High Rank ranked 57th.

He, who was a High Ranker with a higher rank than the Three Gods except Zeus, says that he needed to become stronger than him.

'Well, it's not that hard.

Time would take care of that.

For now, he had to overcome the one in front of him.

"Well, at least this makes it clear."

Shak-.

The alter ego's wound that wiped the blood from his cheek with his hand returned to its original state as if it had never been.

"You're not that monkey's alter ego."

The ability to recover quickly from minor scratches.

'Super regeneration'

It was one of YuWon's original skills. Contrary to its grandiose name, it was not a great recovery skill, but the important thing was that it healed 'any wound'.

Even an amputated arm would eventually regenerate. However, it took a long time to heal, so it was better to use it after the battle was over than in the middle of it.

'Still, it's not hard to recover from a wound like that.'

It was a skill he took for granted before, but seeing it now made him wish for it again.

'Three against one...'

Wu, wu, wu-.

The alter ego's Arcane Power began to move.

A sensory field spread around him, and he could feel that he was in it.

YuWon also used the Sensory Field. He used both his Ash Eyes and his Sensory Field to observe the doppelganger's movements.

Again there was surprise in his eyes.

"It's not quite an advanced level, but that really is the Sensory Field as well as the Golden Ash Eyes..."

Abilities that YuWon was familiar with.

"What are you really?"

The alter ego was curious about YuWon.

The Sensory Field was an ability that only YuWon had in the tower.

No, it was the same with the Golden Ash Eyes.

The only skill that only one person had.

However, YuWon had two of them.

-Who cares who the opponent is, it doesn't matter!

Skak-.

Kwagagagagak-!

Ares' sword cut the clone's body in half. But the figure of the alter ego, which looked like a fountain of blood, disappeared from the spot and appeared behind Ares.

Chak-.

The floor of the mirror froze.

"This person really..."

At that moment, Arthur's sword, which flew like a glide, pierced the clone's neck.

Shiiik-.

"It's my Master."

Pook-.

Excalibur slammed into his head. However, for a moment, Arthur felt nothing on the tip of his sword.

"Is it Excalibur this time?"

"......!"

Thud!

BANG!

Arthur's body went flying and crashed into the wall. Miraculously, Yata's Mirror was harder than any other metal, so even though it flew off with quite a bit of force, it didn't get scratched.

"The more I look at it, the more curious it is."

Sensory Field in the Golden Ash Eyes, and Excalibur.

All were abilities and items that made a name for themselves in this tower.

At this point, the alter ego did not look at YuWon with the same eyes as the first time.

The man who looked like him, and who had seemed suspicious to him before, was now the object of his curiosity.

"Since you don't seem to want to answer, should I force you to talk?".

Quack-.

After punching Arthur in the side with his fist and sending him flying, the doppelganger looked at the three of them with a grim face.

And at the alter ego's reaction, YuWon narrowed his eyes and frowned.

'That's a terrible way to talk.

A man who lives for his own good.

That was himself.

'Still, I managed to get the gist of it.'

A brief exchange.

Even though he sacrificed Ares and Arthur, he now had a vague idea of the statistics of the alter ego before him.

Arthur rose without falling.

The undead never die. They were beings that resurrected eternally, as long as YuWon's Mana did not run out.

Loss of Mana.

That was exactly the amount of damage Arthur had just taken from his alter ego.

'Odds...... aren't that high.'

It would be nice if Susanoo could help.

He could summon Susano'o as an undead right now, but that would consume too much mana.

Not only was it unclear how much help Susanoo'o's incomplete binding would be, but it would also be an excessive expenditure of his energy.

Nor did he know how long the combat would last.

Rather than risk it, YuWon thought of another way out.

"Looks like you've got a big mouth."

Ssh-.

His steps became lighter.

It was a start.

"Then I have no choice but to open it somehow."

Pot-.

The doppelganger, who had returned to YuWon's side, reached out his hand towards YuWon's face.

And at that moment...

Tsut-.

Saaak-.

As if waiting, YuWon threw his body and head back and swung his sword.

Bang, boom, boom!

Flames erupted from the sword strike, engulfing his alter ego and causing an explosion. The blow he had been preparing for sent him staggering forward as if he had never taken a step back.

Suaak-.

jjwoong-!

The swords clashed.

A white sword and a black sword. Both were the work of Hephaestus, and there was no need to mention their strength and hardness.

Tung-.

YuWon's body was pushed back and flew away.

In terms of Arcane Power, it wasn't much.

YuWon's current Arcane Power was 118.

It was comparable to that of any mid-level Ranker.

However.

'Not enough power.'

Although the Arcane Power was impressively high, other stats were missing.

Ting, ting, ting.

A tingling sensation in his grip.

Such an impact was an overwhelming difference in power.

Clang, clang-!

Reacting to the sword was not a problem.

It was thanks to the Ash Eyes and the Sensory Field.

However, everything but his Arcane Power was lagging behind.

In this case, there was only one way.

In such a situation, there was only one way out.

[The Giant's power permeates your entire body].

[The strength of a Giant is imbued in your arms]

[You have partially mastered complete gigantization].

Kudeudeuk-.

Your arms swelled up.

A feeling of vigor and strength, as if you could do anything.

Kwaak-!

Kwaaaaaaaaah-.

The weapons clashed, and the impact pushed back Ares, who lunged at him.

YuWo's feet were not pushed back as before.

His sword remained taut.

Unhappy with the result, YuWon clenched his sword tighter and faced the surprised doppelganger.

'Isn't that enough?'

Although partially, after meeting Hercules, he learned how to become a partial giant.

So he thought he could at least gain some advantage in strength, if not in other stats, at least in strength.

But no.

"Gigantization... ... ."

In disbelief, the alter ego's face hardened even more.

Clang-!

In a brief interval, YuWon swiftly lowered his sword and opened the distance.

The doppelganger came no closer. Now that he had seen the giant inside, he couldn't tell what else it might be hiding.

kitit-.

YuWon put his sword in the scabbard.

As he sheathed his weapon, his alter ego gave him a puzzled look.

"What are you doing?"

"Switching weapons."

Scott-.

After sheathing the Dusk Edge, YuWon pulled out another sword he was carrying.

"It's a bit of a cheat, but........"

A crimson sword hilt appeared.

Just holding it in his hand made his fingertips tingle.

Yiiiiiiing-.

"It can't be helped anymore."

Kusanagi, who had seen daylight for the first time in a long time, screamed for blood.