Leveling with the Gods

C276

Harggan's words startled his companions.

"F-Father?"

"Team Leader?"

"So then..."

Harggan's father.

They had heard many stories about him. Even if he wasn't Harggan's father, his name was inevitably known to those who were born and raised in this Tower or to those who had just arrived.

A being who called himself Zeus, one of the Three Gods of Olympus and the king who founded Olympus, had appeared in the players' trial room.

"If you have something to say, let me know only."

Harggan's reaction was unexpectedly calm.

It was as if he had known in advance that Zeus would come to seek him out.

A reaction that seemed stoic.

But Paladinthe, the one closest to him, could sense the opposite.

'Is he afraid...?'

Hargan was scared.

And it wasn't just because Zeus was standing in front of him.

'What exactly has happened...?'

Suddenly, when Paladinthe glanced at Zeus, he was smiling.

It was an appearance that contrasted with Harggan's.

"It is true that I have something to say only to you."

Zeus asked Harggan, who was tense.

"Do you think I'm going to harm you?"

Harggan stiffened at the direct question.

Instinctively, he protected his teammates. But even if he protected them, he knew he couldn't stop an opponent like Zeus.

And as he looked at him, Zeus said, "You don't have what it takes to be a King."

His evaluation was harsh.

"Abandoning your own worth for insignificant bastards like them. That is neither bravery nor justice. Sacrificing one generation for the next is simply foolishness." (Note: Sacrificing one generation for the next can also mean sacrificing the great for the small)

With those words, Zeus turned around.

"I have no intention of killing you. Follow me."

With those words, Harggan's rigid body relaxed a bit.

At the moment of the destruction of Olympus, Harggan joined forces with Hades and YuWon to drive out Zeus.

Naturally, the relationship between Zeus and Harggan was not good, and Harggan thought that Zeus held a grudge against him.

But...

"If he wanted to kill me, he wouldn't have come to me in the middle of a trial."

Players in the middle of a trial were protected by the Administrators. It was a Tower law to ensure that the trial was fair, and it was also something that the Administrators were very sensitive about.

"I'll be back soon."

Tap~

Harggan left his teammates behind and began to follow Zeus.

It felt like entering the mouth of a giant monster. However, Harggan had no choice but to go because if he didn't walk directly, he would be devoured.

Inside a room in the Golden Castle.

Someone was tossing and turning on the bed where YuWon was lying, eating grapes and muttering to themselves.

"What are we going to do now?"

It was Son OhGong, who was quite bored and had come to see YuWon.

Now that YuWon had just recovered, he was ready to leave.

"We have to climb."

"Climb?"

"Today is a trial day. We have already wasted a lot of time, so it's time to climb."

The Ragnarok took its toll, as the top of the tower was their destination, and YuWon knew exactly what they had to do.

Take the trial and climb.

They had finished their task on the 60th floor. Now they had to solve the problems beyond that.

"You're very relaxed."

"Because I'm already a Ranker, unlike you."

OhGong shrugged and grabbed another fruit.

Seeing how relaxed he seemed, YuWon frowned.

"That's better, I have another job for you."

"Eh?"

Son OhGong stopped with a fruit in his mouth. He knew that this feeling was not good.

"There's something you have to do up there first."

"Fight?"

"I wouldn't send you if it were that."

"Ugh..."

Son OhGong frowned as if he was already annoyed. YuWon didn't want to send him to a place where he could cause trouble.

"Why don't you try trusting me a little?"

"I've sent you before, and you only made the situation worse. I don't think I can trust you unless it's a big matter."

"Am I like that? I'm not like before."

"I don't believe it. If I send you, there might be another event like Ragnarok or the Gigantomachy."

"......"

He had nothing else to say. In fact, Son OhGong liked it when things got tense. Moreover, Son OhGong was a High-Ranker who was recognized even in this Tower.

With his unique strength, he could take on a major guild. Therefore, his movement couldn't be treated simply as an individual's.

It could turn into a "war" rather than just a "fight" depending on his actions.

"What happened to Fafnir and Vritra?"

"I let them go after 'defeating' them. They said they would return."

"They will return..."

"We'll see later, something like that."

Although he said it casually, his voice was tinged with disappointment.

"Speaking of which, does it have any meaning to let them live?"

"Are you talking about the Dragon race?"

"Yes."

"It has its meaning. It's to preserve the power of a race."

"Do you want to rehabilitate them?"

"It's not like there isn't a way."

Son OhGong's expression became perplexed upon hearing YuWon's words.

At least in his memories, there were no stories related to rehabilitating the Dragon race. It was probably something that YuWon was imagining on his own.

"If you're thinking like this on your own, it means there's some variable..."

The YuWon that Son OhGong knew wasn't someone who acted without a basis.

Rather, he tended to overthink.

"Then, why Zeus?"

"Zeus?"

"Can you think why him?"

After considering the question for a moment, OhGong shook his head.

"No, it hurts my head to think about that."

Anyway, he now knew that there was some basis for it. That was enough for him. Son OhGong sighed and got up from the bed where he was lying down.

"So, what do I have to do?"

"You..."

YuWon explained to Son OhGong what he had to do first at the top.

It wasn't something complicated.

First of all, Son OhGong was better at physical action than thinking.

Son OhGong, who was trying to remember YuWon's words, scratched his head and responded.

"Well, if it's something like that..."

Although he still felt a bit bored, it seemed like the feeling of boredom had diminished a bit. Until a moment ago, he was lazily lying down with nothing to do, but now he quickly got up from his place.

"See you upstairs then."

Thud.

Credit must be given for his action. When the task was decided, Son OhGong immediately jumped out of the window and hopped onto the Flying Nimbus (筋斗雲, Kintōun).

Soon he disappeared from sight.

YuWon looked at Son OhGong and nodded.

"That's right, let's do it."

A delayed response.

As the time to start the trial approached, YuWon also began to move.

"Then, I'll leave that to OhGong..."

From now on, he would have to climb up and do what he had to do first.

"Where are you hiding, Zeus?"

That's exactly what he had to do, find Zeus, who had disappeared.

Muspelheim, examination room on the 65th floor.

The Trial that took place in the scorching land was a challenging obstacle for players climbing the Tower, spanning across 10 floors. The environment was so unfavorable that players wished to pass the Trial as quickly as possible and ascend higher.

There were about 50 players participating in the Trial.

Undoubtedly, the number of participants was much lower than on the lower floors.

However, unlike them...

"It's a headache."

YuWon was separated and faced someone.

The person YuWon faced was not a trial supervisor.

He was a young dwarf about 1 meter tall with snow-white skin.

He was the Floor Administrator.

"You're an anomalous creature that is upsetting this tower. Until now, we tolerated it to some extent, but now you have crossed the line."

He could understand it.

Indeed, until recently, it seemed like the Administrators turned a blind eye to many things.

YuWon had already crossed the gap between floors. From the lower floors, YuWon's power was equivalent to that of a High-Ranker. But now, he had far surpassed the level of a High-Ranker Player and had entered a grand battlefield called Ragnarok.

"That thing you carry..."

Zzzz...

Along with the administrator's words, the fire burning in YuWon's heart reacted.

It was a magical energy of an size that was hard to estimate. Even for YuWon, who possessed it, it was difficult to determine its size.

"What am I supposed to do if the person, who was already problematic, comes charging in with something like that?"

"Then, why don't you just let me pass and let me ascend?"

The Administrator shook his head at YuWon's complaints.

"We can't do that. It would be a privilege."

"But that's what they want."

YuWon pointed to the players gathering far away, preparing for the Trial, unaware of the situation.

"I will make them all fail, this time too."

The Administrator frowned.

If anyone knew what YuWon's statement meant, it would be the Administrator in charge of supervising the Trials.

Most of the Trials YuWon participated in were like this.

To achieve the best results and increase the rewards, YuWon eliminated other participants from the Trials.

If ten trials were conducted, in seven or eight of them, YuWon would pass alone.

And that's precisely why the Administrators called YuWon "an anomalous creature that disrupts the system."

"Are you threatening me now?"

"I'm simply stating an obvious outcome."

"This guy..."

The administrator, who had been concerned, turned around.

"Wait for me a moment."

Creaaak...

As the administrator moved, a door opened in the direction he was heading.

YuWon stood in place, waiting for him. Although he said "a moment," it took quite some time.

"What's the matter? Why don't we start?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? We're ruined anyway."

"Still, what if there's a chance?"

"There's Kim YuWon. We're ruined. It won't work."

"Let's hope for a team play."

"Hasn't it been canceled?"

"Do you really think the Trial would be canceled?"

When the trial didn't start for a while, the participants felt frustrated.

They had already lost their enthusiasm when they learned that YuWon was participating in the trial, and all they hoped for was to team up with him for the trial.

How much time had passed?

The Trial Supervisor, who had disappeared, appeared before the participants.

He was an intimidating-looking supervisor with an imposing figure and scars tattooed on his face.

"Are we starting now?"

"I'm nervous."

The participants became tense.

Among the Players who had made it this far, there was none who didn't dream of becoming a Ranker. Naturally, the expectations and tension surrounding the Trial were different from those in the lower zones.

But...

"There will be no Trial today."

The words of the Trial Supervisor extinguished the tension they felt.

"Return the way you came."

"What?"

"No Trial?"

"They suddenly cancel the Trial, what the hell...?"

Protests were heard everywhere.

But the words of the Trial Supervisor remained unchanged.

"Return the way you came."

Those were his final words.

The points spent to participate in the Trial were refunded, and the participants, complaining, turned around and left.

YuWon stood there, separated from the group, observing the scene.

"That's how it turned out."

Poof...

The Administrator reappeared, breaking through space.

YuWon looked at him as if expecting an explanation.

"We are going to open a new Trial."

It was a sudden conclusion.

Canceling the Trial they had in front of them at that moment and opening another Trial.

Clearly, it wouldn't be a normal Trial.

"What kind of Trial is it?"

"From floor 65 to 79."

Letting out a deep sigh, the Administrator looked at YuWon as if he were a problem.

"It will be a Trial to take you alone to the next level at once."