Leveling with the Gods

Chapter 25

At the top of Barragánda, there was a deep crater.

This was a trial where you had to defeat the boss within a month and earn CP. And every skilled participant wanted to be the one to defeat it.

“Quite a few people are starting to show up.”

“That’s inevitable. They know that if they get left behind here, they’ll lose their chance to get ahead.”

“That team doesn’t look half bad.”

“They just have a lot of people. They’re basically scarecrows.”

Yolche, SungYoon, and Elador looked at the participants that started gathering around the crater.

They had split off from Hargaan after the bet was made so they could hunt more efficiently, trying to achieve as high a level as possible before hunting the boss.

“Most of them gotta be at least level 20,” said SungYoon. He had the highest mana sensitivity in the party. With his high Arcane Power, he sensed the participants around them and mumbled, “A few of them seem pretty strong.”

“They’re guys that made it this far. In order to enter the Tower, that’s a minimum requirement.”

“Are all the players inside the Tower able to control mana?”

“Players can. Most people who aren’t able to are residents of the Tower.”

“Residents?”

“They are people who were born inside the Tower, like me and the captain. And they become a ‘Pure-Blood’ once they are selected by the Tower and receive the system’s blessing.’

“I see.”

SungYoon nodded his head like he understood.

Dozens of people were forming groups to try and defeat the boss, but SungYoon had no expectations of any of them. He couldn’t believe participants of their weak skills were attempting to fight the boss. From what he had heard, the Tutorial’s boss was a creature that could never be defeated by the likes of them.

“Hey, noona.* Do you think that we’ll be able to defeat the boss?”

*TL/N: ‘Noona’ is a Korean honorific used by guys to refer to girls older than them.

Yolche was a Pure-Blood just like Hargaan. And thanks to her experience as a mercenary, she had met many players who had taught her a lot about the Tutorial.

Yolche took a second to think about SungYoon’s question before shaking her head.

“I’m not sure.”

“Are you saying it’s 50-50?”

“Yeah. Under normal circumstances, I’d tell you that it’s impossible, but…” Yolche trailed off while speaking to look far down the trail before she continued, “I can’t get a proper grasp of how powerful our captain is.”

There was a group of five people walking up the mountain. That pack was led by Hargaan, who stuck out with his golden blonde hair.

“They got here a bit late.”

“Every minute was valuable time. I’m sure they wanted to make the most of it.”

“I wonder what YuWon’s doing right now?”

“Who knows. Right now, he’s probably—”

Elador, who was watching the crowd, answered SungYoon’s question. “Here he comes.”

“…?”

SungYoon turned his head to look at the trail in the opposite direction, where he saw…

“Already…?!”

… YuWon walking up the mountain.

* * *

“It’s Hargaan!”

“That crazy bastard…”

“So he finally showed up.”

Hargaan’s presence rowdied up the participants that were searching for a team. Among them were guys that Hargaan had sent flying on the first day.

Hearing the commotion near the entrance to the boss room made YuWon laugh. It reminded him of the first time he met Hargaan.

‘What a celebrity.’

A few familiar faces were present in the crowd next to the boss’s crater. Yolche, Lee SungYoon, Elador, and other members of Hargaan’s team. It appeared that they had continued hunting in two separate groups.

‘They seem to have leveled up quite a bit.’

YuWon could sense that Elador and SungYoon’s mana flow had changed. They must have leveled up multiple times because the flow of mana that they radiated now was much denser.

They all had changed in just a few days, and Hargaan, their leader, was no exception.

Crackle—

At the top of the mountain, Hargaan also spotted YuWon and started giving him a look.

YuWon felt a light electric current.

Hargaan grinned widely, waving at YuWon.

“You’re finally here.”

It seemed that Hargaan already thought he had this in the bag as he warmly greeted YuWon as if he was an old friend.

Hargaan walked up to YuWon and started looking around at the nearby participants in confusion.

“Why is no one else with you? Have you not found a team yet?”

“I don’t have a team.”

“You don’t have a team?”

YuWon nodded his head.

“I’m all by myself.”

Hargaan was baffled by YuWon’s ridiculous response.

“Are you planning on defeating the boss by yourself?”

“I mean, that’s how I can get the most points.”

“I’ve been told that I was crazy many times in my life, but you’re on a whole ’nother level.”

Hargaan was overcome with greed while looking at YuWon. During the past four days while the time limit was frozen, he had tried his best to catch up to YuWon. However, the gap between the two had only widened.

[1st – Kim YuWon : 28973cp]

[2nd – Hargaan : 21410cp]

A CP difference of over 7,000.

In order to flip the scoreboard, the only option Hargaan had was to earn more CP in the process of defeating the boss. All in order to recruit YuWon into his team and to finish the Tutorial in first place.

Hargaan was determined to raid the boss before YuWon no matter what.

“Could that be him?”

“You mean Kim YuWon?”

“He’s ranked even higher than Hargaan.”

“How strong is he?”

“Is this guy also a Pure-Blood or whatever?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never heard his name before…”

The people around them murmured, eavesdropping on YuWon and Hargaan’s conversation. A few of the Pure-Blood participants even started giving each other looks to see if anyone recognized YuWon.

Soon after…

“From what I heard, it seems like you don’t have a team…”

“We’re actually about to start our raid.”

“If you don’t have a team, would you like to join us?”

A few participants started approaching YuWon. They were reckless and daring, making an attempt at defeating the boss. But none of them appeared to be adequately skilled.

“How dare you fucking weak-ass fruitflies try and—”

Vzzt, crackle—

At the thought of YuWon joining a different team, Hargaan started emitting electricity out of fury. He was okay with YuWon forming his own team, but his pride couldn’t stand to see him join someone else’s team.

“D-Dodge!”

“He was Hargaan’s teammate!”

“I-I promise that I was only just standing here. Really!”

The participants, having already faced his wrath a few times, immediately backed off from YuWon.

Thanks to Hargaan clearing away the pests for him, YuWon started making way.

Fizzle—

As YuWon walked away from him, Hargaan stopped gathering electricity in the palm of his hand. After realizing that YuWon was headed towards the boss’s crater, he asked, “Are you going for it right away?”

“Well, time inside the Tutorial is more valuable than gold.”

YuWon was right. Hargaan nodded his head in agreement and started walking right beside YuWon. Then Elador and her brother, as well as the rest of his team, started following Hargaan.

“To try and clear the Tutorial in five days. This is very exciting.”

After seeing YuWon and Hargaan make a move, the other participants also started following them. It was quite obvious what they were thinking. They wanted to forcibly become a part of the boss raid and earn some CP.

“These motherfuckers…”

While walking towards the crater, Hargaan looked back and shot them a glare.

Vzzt, crackle—

Between his glare and the golden electricity he was emitting, the other participants took a step back, unable to come any closer.

YuWon had been worried about getting pestered by the small fry, so he was thankful for Hargaan.

Tmp, tmp—

YuWon was finally right in front of the crater.

“Let’s go.”

And as soon as he took a step into it…

Fwoosh—!

… His body was sucked into the deep crater.

[You’ve entered Boss Room No.1.]

[Please find the boss and clear the trial.]

A large, deep cave sprawled out in front of YuWon’s eyes. This place was similar to the underground dungeon where he killed the Parasite Dragon.

This was the Boss Room. In order to meet the true boss, there were a few hurdles he had to get past first.

“Hissss—!”

Slither, ssk—!

Kling, klang—

Various monsters appeared out of the cave.

‘Acid Snakes, Land Eels, Lizardmen, Orc Warriors, and Goblin Warriors.’

Armed Orcs and Goblins, Acid Snakes and Lizardmen. Hostile monsters that couldn’t cohabitate together were all staring down at YuWon. This was something that normally would have been impossible, but on this island it wasn’t.

‘That guy is easily capable of this kind of control.’

There were at least a few hundred monsters just within his sight. This was a scale that should have been impossible for any one man to handle because it was never intended for anyone to attempt alone.

Klack—

The Goblin Warriors and Orc Warriors raised their shields, strengthening their defensive formation.

Klack—

The Lizardmen poked out their swords and spears through the openings between the shields. These monsters were like a well-trained army.

“Hisssss—!”

On the floor, a long, thin snake slithered around.

“Wow. What’s all this?”

“There’s a ton of them.”

Hargaan and his companions that came in after YuWon looked at the monsters blocking their path with fascination.

They didn’t look all that worried because, to them, an army of monsters of this caliber wasn’t much of an obstacle. Every single one of them were the dark horses of this Tutorial.

‘The boss is in room number three,’ YuWon thought to himself.

Tmp, tmp—

YuWon started walking towards the monsters’ shield formation, thinking, ‘I need to break through as fast as possible.’

Finally getting the opportunity to see YuWon’s skills, Hargaan’s companions stood by and observed him, despite all the CP that was laid out before them.

‘Do we finally get to see him in action?’

‘I wonder how strong he is?’

‘The captain is already a monster… Yet he’s ranked even higher than the captain.’

‘I wonder if he only has a lot of CP, or maybe he is actually that powerful?’

‘I can finally verify it with my own eyes.’

Even Hargaan, who was always the first to charge into battle, crossed his arms and watched YuWon go forth, as if signaling YuWon to go and do his thing.

And as if trying to meet their expectations…

[Colossal Fire x Arcane Sword]

Whirr, whirr—

Fwoosh—

A crimson mana pulsated from YuWon’s sword. Extreme heat and a razor-sharp aura enveloped him. It was the result of combining two of his skills.

He continued to walk closer and closer to the monsters.

Tmp— Tmp—

There was a heavy tension in the air. He looked like he was taking slow steps, but the gap between YuWon and the monsters closed quickly.

It had only been a few seconds. After taking a few steps, in a flash…

Whoosh—

‘He disappeared?’

‘Where did he go?’

The gang lost sight of YuWon. The only one who managed to follow YuWon’s movements was Hargaan.

After disappearing…

Wham—!

YuWon landed on top of the monsters’ heads.

Fwoosh—!

The crimson Arcane Sword started flying between the Orcs, Goblins, and Lizardmen. The monsters cried out in pain as a crimson storm brewed around them.

The fiery heat burned their flesh, and every time the sword flashed, multiple heads dropped.

And in just a few seconds…

Thud— Thump—

A pathway was created between the Orcs and Goblins that were blocking the way.

Only

“… What in the world?” SungYoon mumbled in shock.

In an instant, YuWon had penetrated the monsters’ defenses and committed a slaughter with just a single sword.

“He’s… even more of a monster than the captain.”

____