Leveling with the Gods

The Sword of Kusanagi (Kusanagi Sword).

A sword of swords, forged from the tail of Yamata no Orochi.

True to the nature of the sword, it was said to be the sharpest of all the objects in the tower.

The power of the Kusanagi had nothing to do with the stats, skills or dexterity of the player wielding it.

It simply wielded and slashed. This was the power of Kusanagi, which could cut not only the opponent, but also the opponent's iron sword.

That is why YuWon did not hold Kusanagi in his hands.

The sword stopped the growth of those who wielded it.

But now he couldn't help it.

Technically speaking, Zeus was much stronger in comparison.

No, not even comparable.

The alter ego in front of him was nothing more than a test subject created by the Mirror of Yata.

However, he was strong enough to be difficult for his current self to handle.

Of course, Zeus was also a being from a different dimension.

A High Ranker who ranked ninth in the rankings.

However, YuWon didn't take out Kusanagi in the fight against Zeus.

Because there was no need for that.

'In the fight against Zeus, there were many instances where I was able to win. But for now, this is my only option.'

Yata's Mirror was proof that YuWon didn't know it existed.

That's why he couldn't prepare in advance, and couldn't find a better way to solve it.

Kusanagi was like a cheat in a game.

That's why he didn't want to use it, but there was no need to be stubborn in this situation.

"That sword, it's a Demonic Sword."

His eyes narrowed at the faint aura of expectation emanating from Kusanagi and the faint Mana enveloping the surface.

Demonic Sword (鬼劍).

A dangerous type of object.

Demonic swords used to be very valuable. As an item that instantly increased the user's stats, its power was much greater than other items of equal value.

However, the problem was that there were many cases where the player could no longer grow due to becoming drunk on the item's power.

'The Kusanagi is considered the best item of its kind.'

Boom-.

YuWon held the Kusanagi in his hand and swung it in the air.

'And that guy doesn't know Kusanagi.'

It felt good in his hand.

Its lightness was such as having nothing in his hand.

And the confidence of being able to cut through anything.

All of that was due to this Kusanagi.

Between them, the feeling of being able to cut through anything was too good to be true.

Confidence is inherently a double-edged sword. You can't have too much of it, and you can't have too little of it.

Having the Kusanagi in your hands doesn't make you invincible.

It was just a matter of soberly assessing the sudden surge of power and not relying on it too much.

That was the task at hand for the player holding the Kusanagi.

"Disappointing."

His alter ego clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"I thought you were a pretty decent guy, but you resort to something like that."

"Even pretending to be pretentious..."

"It's not pretentiousness, it's smugness."

It was a terrible thing to say.

YuWon felt his face heat up unnecessarily. He was who he used to be, but he was a shitty person.

It was true.

Until then, he had rarely faced opponents as strong as Son OhGong or Hercules.

'It wasn't until I met the Outsiders that I learned humility.'

From then on, his personality slowly changed.

He made friends and experienced fighting as a team instead of alone.

He realized that the person he had always considered the best was not as cool as he thought.

YuWon looked at himself in the mirror.

'Really...'

Not cool.

He felt his face heat up. He sighed and shook the Kusanagi in his hand.

'You talk a lot.

Tak~

The red glow in YuWon's eyes intensified. The change was caused by the Demonic Sword in his hand.

After staring at Kusanagi for a moment, the doppelganger moved.

Spot-.

Flash-!

An instantaneous acceleration.

YuWon's eyes followed the doppelganger's movements, but for a brief moment he lost sight of it.

'It's an anomaly.

It wasn't a special ability.

It was a way to fool the opponent's eyes by making his movements instantly faster.

A movement that was naturally ingrained in his body.

He was well aware of this movement.

'Left.

Clang-!

The sword collided with the sword.

The impact was less than before. Kusanagi's sword absorbed the impact.

The doppelganger's eyebrows twitched.

"Good block."

Shh-.

Kak, kak, kak, kak!

Then the clones of Arthur and Ares rushed from both sides and attacked in unison, but the Alter ego jumped high.

Parbat, Parbabat-.

He turned faster.

YuWon's eyes followed the movements of the alter ego reflected in the mirror.

It seemed that there were several of them. It was like the Murim World's arcane ability, Shape Shifting, which could make a body appear manifold at high speeds.

'Is it acceleration?'

Acceleration.

It was a B-grade skill, not a very high-ranked skill.

However, before Regression, it was one of the skills YuWon was most proficient in.

First, among the stats originally possessed by YuWon, the highest stats except for Arcane Power were Sense and Agility, with equal numbers.

"I'm coming."

Hwareuk-.

YuWon's body burst into flames.

An enormous Arcane Power enveloped the surroundings. The flames spread out like a curtain.

[The 'Sacred Fire' protects the body]

['Ash Eyes' controls the 'Sacred Fire' ]

Shiiyi-!

Dozens of sword attacks erupted from all directions. Each and every one of them were powerful sword strikes that would have been impossible to block had you not prepared beforehand.

Boom, boom, boom!

The curtain of Holy Fire shattered, only to regenerate again.

YuWon looked at his alter ego on the other side.

'Which one is the real one?'

In the midst of countless sword attacks.

YuWon's eyes followed an alter ego.

'I found it.

Hua-ak-!

['Steps of Heaven' has been activated].

[Increases movement speed by 100% for 5 seconds].

[You can walk through the sky for 5 seconds].

Using the skill associated with Steps of Hermes, YuWon escaped from the veil/curtain protecting his body.

YuWon's speed doubled in an instant, and dozens of his alter egos converged on him.

Shaaaaaaaa-!

The sword strikes merged into one point.

Although small in size, it was the most powerful so far.

'It really is me.'

He knew it would be like that.

As his future, or rather, his past, he knew how to fight.

What abilities he had, how to attack.

How to move at times like this, what to use next.

And what level the Kim YuWon in front of him now was.

He had already made a verdict.

And then...

'Go through.'

He felt confident.

Kii-iing-.

Kusanagi broke into a shout.

The moment she made up her mind to cut, the aura surrounding the sword became several times sharper.

['Superior Mana Sword' is activated.]

No other skill was needed.

A single Demonic Sword with the strength and aura of a sword is enough.

Jjiik-.

A thin and sharp sword pierced through the giant blades shot by the alter egos.

Clang-!

"......!"

A look of surprise appeared in the doppelganger's eyes.

He hadn't expected YuWon to be able to cut through that formation of swords.

And of course, in an unexpected situation, his response would be slow.

CLANG-!

YuWon's sword collided with the doppelganger's.

The clash of the two swords shook his body for a moment.

But that was all.

After a moment of shaking, the clone straightened up.

"...You surprised me."

"I wouldn't be surprised at all."

"What?"

Jigging.

A long scar appeared on the clone's cheek.

Chwaak-!

A much larger wound than the first.

Such a wound could not easily recover even with the Super Regeneration skill.

Swing-.

YuWon's sword began to dance again.

The bright red sword made several lines in the air. A sharp sense of anticipation was added to the sword's movement, which tangled like red threads.

Swoosh!

As he swung the sword, the red threads formed in the air and flew towards his alter ego. His eyes widened at the sword strikes that surrounded him as if he was chained.

"Wow-."

Kwagwagwagwagwagw-.

Arcane Power burst from his body.

Tuk, tu-tu-tuk-.

An enormous amount of blue-colored Arcane Power cut the red thread.

At the moment a bead of sweat broke out on the forehead of the doppelganger who had poured out so much Arcane Power at once....

Tik-.

The sweat on his forehead froze.

For a moment, his body stiffened.

Cha-ang-!

His frozen body broke free.

It was not difficult to break free from the bonds. Arthur's ice was no match for his alter ego's body.

But...

Just for a moment.

That brief moment was enough.

-Good job.

Shaaaaaaaa-!

Ares' sword pierced his alter ego's throat.

And in that moment.

Pang-.

The doppelganger's hand grabbed Ares' sword.

-What the...

Boom

Quaang-!

Ares' body floated upward and then crashed to the ground. The alter ego didn't let go of the sword he was holding, and Ares did the same.

Boom, boom, boom-!

Yata's hard, mirrored floor didn't shatter. The impact on his back jolted Ares' consciousness, and his grip soon loosened.

Thud, thud-.

Looking at Ares, who was thrown to the ground, the doppelganger threw back the sword in his hand.

A small wound had formed on his hand.

"That sword is not just a simple demonic sword."

Ignoring YuWon, the alter ego looked at the demonic sword in YuWon's hand.

If he were a player who only used Demonic Sword, his level would be obvious.

But it wasn't.

"What item is it, isn't it dangerous to have something like that?"

He wasn't wrong.

He wasn't the only one who had been cut by the sword in the previous encounter.

YuWon's grip was sore. It was an effect of Kusanagi.

'A sword that devours the life of the user. The execution of its power does not discriminate between friend and foe.'

He could see why people were so reluctant to use the Kusanagi, even with its grandiose name.

The only way to deal with this sword is to break it. If a player couldn't surpass the sword's expectations, it was impossible to even hold it in their hands.

'It would be perfect for Susanoo.

Kab-.

YuWon wielded the sword again and approached the doppelganger.

The doppelganger's eyes were fixed on the Kusanagi in YuWon's hand.

"The sword is good, but you still don't know?".

"Know what?"

"You can't beat me. I'm stronger than you."

YuWon nodded.

The distance was short. At that distance, a single person moving fast could reach him with a sword strike.

A short distance.

This was the distance YuWon preferred, and it was the same for his alter ego.

"That's right. You're stronger than me."

Normally, he would have faced an opponent who was exactly like him.

But due to the peculiarity of going back in time, Yata's mirror reflected back to him an alter ego stronger than him.

"But...."

At first, he was terrified of the alter ego in front of him.

So, without realizing it, he unsheathed his kusanagi and fought passively, uncharacteristically.

But now she was confident.

"I'm still going to win."

YuWon's eyes sparkled.

Kak-.

One more step.

Further and further in, closing the distance and projecting confidence.

There was only one reason for his confidence.

You don't know me.

'But I do know you'.