Leveling with the Gods

C364

In a conference room with a long round table.

Inside the room adorned with a luxurious round table and expensive paintings imported by the "Round Table" Guild, there were only three people.

YuWon, Mimir, and Odin.

The three individuals sat around the round table.

"Thor, lad, you've been up to unnecessary antics."

Odin looked disapprovingly at Thor, who stood with his hands raised outside the conference room.

Thor's arms were shackled with heavy cuffs weighing 10,000 pounds. Even Thor, a double-digit High-Ranker, couldn't easily bear that weight.

Although it looked more like scolding a young child.

Odin thought this kind of corporal punishment was more intuitive.

"You should care for the people, but not seek their attention. I told you clearly not to confuse that."

Indeed, upon closer analysis, there wasn't a significant issue with Thor's behavior.

But a king should care for his people, not seek their attention.

That was Odin's thesis about a king, and Thor was recently confusing that.

"How long do you intend to leave him like this?"

"Perhaps I should leave him like this for a month so he can reflect."

"He'll suffer a bit then."

Listening to the conversation between the two, YuWon looked at Thor, who stood outside with his arms raised.

His arms were already trembling.

Still, it seemed like he was determined to endure, knowing that an even greater punishment awaited him if he lowered them.

"Well, leave him like this for now."

Swish-.

Odin neatly clasped his hands together and raised them above the round table.

"Let's first talk about Chronos."

The eyes of YuWon and Mimir widened suddenly.

Chronos.

Finally, the name was mentioned by Odin.

"Have you remembered anything?"

"Little by little, memories have been coming back to me. When I thought about the first two syllables of his name, the other two also began to surface slowly."

Even up to that point was impressive.

The Clockwork Mechanism was a joint creation of Odin, Mimir, and Chronos.

Among them, Odin was the third to regain his memories about Chronos, after Mimir and the Bull Demon King.

"Of course, what I've remembered is only his name and his face. I have almost no actual memories about him."

"I suppose I'm in a similar situation. Just fragmented memories."

"There's no need for you to strain to remember. Remembering would only cause adverse effects."

Hearing YuWon's words, Mimir and Odin's gazes met.

For some reason, YuWon lowered his head in the face of their expressions.

Chronos, Mimir, and Odin.

The three were High-Rank Players who entered the Tower at similar times and had a closer friendship than anyone else.

If memories about him were to come back, could Odin and Mimir properly fight against him?

'I can't allow that to happen.'

In YuWon's mind, images of the three comrades getting drunk together and chatting appeared.

It was unthinkable that they, who shared all those memories, would end up fighting to kill each other.

It was a situation that could never happen.

"Well, if that's the case..."

Odin shrugged and stopped thinking about Chronos.

Memories that wouldn't return even if they strained to bring them back. There was no need to force them to think about it.

"So, if we let that guy continue like this, something bad will surely happen?"

"Indeed."

"That's right."

Both answers came simultaneously from YuWon and Mimir.

In their responses, there was a firm confidence.

The reason was the same.

Mimir had a vague sense of anxiety about Chronos turning into an Outsider, and YuWon was from the future, where that anxiety came true.

"...Really?"

One of them was Odin's only friend.

And the other was a High-Ranker who predicted the Ragnarok and put an end to it.

For Odin, it was an answer he couldn't ignore.

"Then, should we proceed with only fragmented memories for now?"

"I will inform you about Chronos's abilities."

This place was created because of Chronos.

What needed to be discussed now wasn't just Chronos's memories and their own memories.

The important thing was Chronos's power.

His current situation and location.

And his goal.

Those were the topics to address.

YuWon spoke about the power of Chronos that he remembered.

An ability that controlled time by consuming Arcane Power and the time given to it.

A unique and exclusive ability granted to only one person in the Tower, and both Mimir and Odin were quite astonished.

"Controlling time..."

"Even with conditions, it's an impressive ability."

"The problem is whether that ability is still allowed to him."

For some reason, Chronos had become an Outsider.

According to Zeus's words, it seemed like he maintained his original form to some extent, but it was unknown if his original ability was still intact.

For now, they could only assume that the ability was still valid and act accordingly.

"So, what about the countermeasure for the ability?"

"I will take care of that."

Those were Odin's words.

It might be unknown to others, but Odin was the strongest warrior YuWon knew.

Since he had been given information about his ability, Odin should already have strategies in his mind.

YuWon nodded and spoke.

"Then, what remains is the location and objective of that person."

YuWon's gaze turned towards Mimir this time.

The likelihood of the answer coming from him was high.

But...

"I can't see it with my own eyes."

Unfortunately, his eyes had little effect on the Outsiders.

Even the eye that saw everything in this Tower seemed unable to reach the existence outside of the Tower.

"So..."

A situation where not even Mimir's trusted eyes could help.

YuWon frowned as he pondered it.

'If we knew his objective, we could also figure out where he is.'

The first move was crucial.

The objective.

In addition to what YuWon knew about Foolish Chaos's plans, Chronos was different.

'The objective, the objective...'

While YuWon was deeply absorbed in his thoughts...

"Why do you care so much about Chronos?"

YuWon raised his head at Mimir's words.

"Maybe you'll find the answer if you reconsider the reason."

"The reason?"

A deep furrow formed between YuWon's brows.

Even if they were casually uttered words, if they came from Mimir's mouth, they were different.

Every word that came out of his mouth always aimed at the heart of the truth.

As YuWon contemplated Mimir's words, suddenly what Zeus had told him came to mind.

Chronos had appeared before Zeus, but if it had been to meet his son, he would have said what he had to say and then disappeared. However, Chronos did not.

"Poseidon."

YuWon's voice was filled with certainty.

The silence that had filled the room was broken. Odin, who had been silent, asked:

"What are you saying?"

"Chronos went to look for Poseidon."

"To Poseidon?"

"He originally intended to target Zeus but failed."

It was clear that Chronos's intentions were not good.

The moment he appeared at the gate, if his original target was Zeus, it made sense.

Zeus couldn't be easily touched, not even by Chronos. Because Zeus had become one of the strongest beings in this Tower right now.

So, if he appeared and disappeared in front of his eyes as if nothing had happened.

And if the reason his original target was Zeus was because of his bloodline.

'The next target is Hades or Poseidon.'

It wasn't Hades.

He was currently in Olympus. Since the previous incident, the borders of Olympus had significantly strengthened, so it wasn't easy to target him.

Moreover, more than anything else, Hercules was by his side.

It would be difficult to touch him.

"Poseidon, Poseidon..."

Odin muttered Poseidon's name again and again.

Perhaps from now on, Asgard would do everything in its power to find Poseidon.

Mimir's presence within Asgard was equally strong.

"As long as the trial is over, it shouldn't be so difficult to find."

If Poseidon had passed the Ascension Trial and descended back down.

It wouldn't be difficult to spot the distinct blue-haired being. Besides, Asgard's eyes were present all over this Tower.

With this, the approximate direction was determined.

The only remaining issue...

Why exactly Foolish Chaos brought Chronos to this place.

"Is he targeting me? Or perhaps..."

Is he painting a larger picture?

As the story of the three individuals was coming to an end...

"Grave! Something grave has happened!"

A hurried voice was heard from outside the conference room.

Kiiing-.

A man who hastily opened the door without even asking for Odin's permission.

It was Loki, Odin's second son.

"Father!"

"What's happening?"

As if he said he wouldn't stay still if it wasn't an important matter.

Ignoring Odin's stern gaze, Loki opened his mouth.

"On the first floor..."

Shwaaa-.

The waves crashed.

The waves were calm. Waves that moved with the wind broke beautifully against the rocks.

Clank-.

The shattered water droplets glistened under the sun. At first glance, it might seem like a beach, but something strange was quickly noticed.

The rocks that the waves had broken.

They were not ordinary rocks.

"What the hell is this?"

Hephaestus stood on the rooftop with his hammer.

The rocks broken by the waves were all someone's houses. The city was flooded with water, and everyone on the first floor drowned.

It was all the work of a single person.

"Can you handle this?"

Toc-.

When the feet of the blue-haired man, Poseidon, touched the ground, the waves calmed as if they had never been stirred.

In a matter of minutes, Poseidon had the first-floor city flooded, and everyone drowned.

It was all his doing.

"Are you afraid?"

It was a twisted response.

First of all, Poseidon reacted as if he didn't care about Hephaestus's question.

But instead of feeling bad, Hephaestus only felt something strange.

"Not just his weird state."

Glug-.

That was his impression since Poseidon first descended to the lowest level of the Tower.

A place that someone like him, one of the Three Great Gods, should never have to visit.

For someone like Poseidon, this first-floor city was not a place that deserved attention as a base.

Furthermore...

"He's someone entirely different."

Poseidon's gaze was so different from what Hephaestus knew.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have descended directly to the first floor and caused such a commotion.

"He slaughtered people, disregarding the penalties. Unless it's a few Rankers, there's no way they can avoid such rain and tide."

Clang-.

Hephaestus gripped his hammer and stared at Poseidon.

The next event was obvious.

"He'll come soon."

As soon as those words were spoken, the space ripped between Poseidon and Hephaestus, and the sky and earth trembled.

Kuung, kugugugu-.

The Arcane Power that connected the sky and earth erupted in fury. That fury was directed at Poseidon as if accusing the ruthless Poseidon.

And in the face of that weight, Poseidon smiled.

"That's right, that's correct."

A being who resisted Rankers' intervention more than anyone else in this Tower.

One who followed the laws and ruled the Tower.

"I've been waiting for you."

With a slight movement, the Administrator appeared in front of Poseidon.