Leveling with the Gods

C399

Thousands of years ago.

The Goblin King encountered a small goblin.

"I see you're alone. You're the Poison Goblin (Dokgak), right?"

The small goblin was thin and dying.

The Goblin King found him in the remotest corner of Goblin Country.

"I've heard about you. You're the boss of this street, aren't you?"

At the same time as they called him "poisonous," the young goblin's eyes shot flames.

Literally, it was a look full of poison. It was astonishing how that poison could emanate from his emaciated body.

"You may be good at fighting, but your body is quite weak."

The Goblin King was intrigued by the Poison Goblin.

It was as if he felt the same sensation as when he first encountered the Bull Demon King a long time ago.

The Goblin King saw potential in this Poison Goblin. And this feeling had never failed him before.

"Take this."

Plop.

A small mask fell in front of the Poison Goblin.

"Come to see me later with that. At that time, I'll adjust it to your size."

"...Who are you?"

The Poison Goblin asked as he picked up the mask.

Despite sensing an imposing atmosphere when seeing the Goblin King, the Poison Goblin showed no sign of fear.

The Goblin King liked that attitude, so he smiled wryly.

"Hmph, a cheeky brat who doesn't even know the king's face."

"The king? Are you?"

"You? Haha, really, this guy. The more I look at him, the more I like him."

The Goblin King stroked his chin.

In his mind, a strange way to transform the slender Poison Goblin's body came to him.

"Do you want to become stronger?"

"...Yes."

"I didn't hear you, say it louder."

"Yes."

"I see, that's how it is. You want to become stronger, right?"

The young Poison Goblin.

The Goblin King opened his mouth as he looked at the mask that the Poison Goblin held in his hand.

"From now on, your name will be Servant (이매)."

Years passed.

The Poison Goblin, who had been fighting in the alleys, suddenly disappeared. The other young goblins who had fought against him sought revenge but never found him.

Hundreds of years passed.

A goblin with a familiar mask appeared in front of the Goblin King.

"I, Servant, greet you."

"Good."

At that moment, Servant was barely at the level of a Ranker.

The only reason he had such a high rank was the few spells he had learned from the Goblin King and his natural poison.

But that's why the Goblin King held him in such high esteem.

"Now all you have to do is fix that body of yours."

That same day.

Servant underwent a physical enhancement procedure.

His weaknesses were compensated for, and he became the strongest goblin apart from the king.

That was the birth of the first of the King's Masked Goblins, Goblin Servant.

Boggle, boggle-.

Goblin Servant looked inside the boiling potion.

At some point, YuWon was no longer moving. He thought he had lost consciousness, but that wasn't the case.

The fact that the ritual continued without interruption was proof of it. Three days had already passed.

"It seems he's in a deep meditative state."

It was clear that YuWon was somewhat out of it.

It was astonishing that he could withstand and continue the ritual in that state. His mental resilience was truly impressive.

"Does he really plan to complete all of this?"

At first, Goblin Servant thought YuWon was too ambitious. He would be content if he could obtain at least half. Getting power from the Heart of Surt would be a great achievement.

But now...

Three days had already passed. YuWon didn't even move.

"It seems to be coming to an end."

The Goblin King also appeared exhausted.

Both shared the same opinion.

There's nothing left.

Boggle...

Goblin Servant still gazed at the boiling potion. The tar-black color remained unchanged.

What the hell is coming to an end?

"...A smell?"

Goblin Servant's attention was drawn to the tip of his nose.

Suddenly, the stench emanating from the potion vanished.

He thought he had simply gotten used to the smell, but that wasn't what was happening.

Goblin Servant's gaze shifted to the inside of the potion.

And at that moment...

Chiiing...

From the previously vigorously bubbling potion, scorching steam began to rise suddenly.

Until now, the potion had been boiling due to a phenomenon caused by Sorcery. It wasn't evaporating due to heat.

But now, it was different.

An intense heat was transmitted through the steam.

The potion was evaporating.

"Why is this happening?"

Goblin Servant, the Goblin King, and the Bull Demon King had no choice but to stop the ritual due to the scorching heat emanating from it.

"You should step back."

The Bull Demon King spoke as he took a step back due to the blazing heat.

"...?"

At the Bull Demon King's words, Goblin Servant and the Goblin King also began to retreat.

As they moved further away, the heat became more intense.

Chiiing, chiiii...

The bubbling steam created dense clouds rising into the sky.

Although the moonlight was hidden, ironically, the surroundings seemed brighter.

Fwoosh!

Red and purple-toned flames mixed and rose upwards. The flames instantly caused YuWon's potion to evaporate.

There was no trace of the foul smell.

Only a faint earthy scent was perceptible where the steam met the ground.

From the mist of the steam, someone emerged.

It was obvious who it was.

"Kim YuWon?"

Inside that place, there was no one else but YuWon.

Despite that, Goblin Servant briefly doubted the obvious answer.

"Is it really... Kim YuWon?"

Until now, it was only a blurry figure through the steam.

Still, despite appearances, Goblin Servant couldn't think that the figure on the other side of the steam was YuWon.

It was as if countless beings were appearing through it before Goblin Servant's eyes.

Finally, when YuWon slowly emerged from the steam.

Ssshh...

Goblin Servant noticed that YuWon's eyes were unfocused.

"Is he conscious?"

Well.

He had been enduring unbearable pain within that place for three days. Being conscious was even more astonishing.

What was even more surprising was that YuWon was now moving.

"You're okay..."

"Don't come closer."

The Bull Demon King blocked Goblin Servant's path to YuWon.

It was a strange atmosphere. He could have calmly walked out, but YuWon chose to evaporate the entire potion.

It meant that he couldn't control his power.

"You might hurt yourself for no reason."

Kugh~

Immediately after the Bull Demon King stopped Goblin Servant, the Goblin King began to move.

It was out of curiosity.

How much more powerful had Kim YuWon become after completing a ritual of this magnitude? And the question he had in mind was whether the person in front of them was really Kim YuWon, whom they had known just a few days ago.

"It seems to be a success, but..."

The Goblin King stroked his chin.

"Well, I'm not sure yet."

The distance between the two was only ten steps. However, for the Goblin King, those ten steps were reduced to just three due to Kim YuWon's speed.

"He might have lost his mind..."

But then...

Bwoong...

A body soared upward.

"...?"

The Goblin King furrowed his brow, filled with questions. What had happened in that short period of time?

The Goblin King's body, which had been flipped, landed on the ground.

Kwaaaah!

The ground cracked as the Goblin King fell. A large hole formed, and in the center of that hole, the Goblin King realized that his arm was trapped by YuWon.

Kwaaak...

YuWon's hand tightly gripped the Goblin King.

The Goblin King used to be someone who believed that no one could surpass him in strength. No matter how weak he was from using Sorcery for a few days, he was surprised to feel someone controlling him like this.

"What kind of power is this...?"

Apparently, the ritual had been quite successful.

Of course, that was one thing.

But then...

Plop...

A vein on the Goblin King's forehead began to swell.

After spending several days without eating or sleeping while assisting in the ritual, this was the last thing he needed.

"What are you doing...?"

But right at that moment...

Srrrk...

There was a sudden release of the gripping force.

Plop...

YuWon collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness. The Goblin King, who had been lying on the ground due to the sudden turn of events, looked at YuWon with a puzzled expression.

"What the hell was that?"

A sudden attack, followed by a collapse.

Confused, the Goblin King looked around.

The ground was crumbling and cracking. The tiled house had collapsed due to the impact.

In the midst of all the chaos, the Goblin King muttered.

"This is going to be... costly."

YuWon had started feeling dizzy quite some time ago, probably since he began to battle the Heart of Surt.

He was half-lost in a trance-like state. Although one positive thing was that, compared to the pain of the Heart of Surt, the other features he had gained afterward were not as painful.

"When did I lose consciousness?"

That was his first thought when he regained his senses.

His eyelids felt heavier than usual today. Even though his body seemed capable of lifting Ru Yi Bang with a burst of energy, his eyelids were too heavy.

But what could he do? He had rested enough, so he had to get up.

So YuWon slowly opened his eyes.

"Are you awake?"

And just as he did, the Bull Demon King was waiting for him.

Instead of responding, YuWon rolled his eyes and looked around, taking in the room he was lying in along with the ceiling.

It was an old house. What happened to the Goblin King's tiled roofed house?

He clearly remembered that he had been living in the Goblin King's residence with his permission.

Reading the questions in YuWon's eyes, the Bull Demon King spoke.

"We couldn't help it. You destroyed the entire house."

"...Was it me?"

He didn't remember any of that.

Him destroying the Goblin King's house. When the hell did that happen?

A throbbing headache made him groan. It seemed like his body still wasn't fully recovered.

"Your body is fine. The problem is your mind. I tried to forcefully hold back your mind from disconnecting, so your head hurts."

Gurgle.

Steam was rising slightly from the tea cup.

YuWon accepted the tea cup offered by the Bull Demon King.

"Drink it. The aroma should help clear your mind."

"Thank you."

Although he didn't know the tea's name, he definitely felt a bit calmer inhaling its aroma.

While sipping the tea, he tried to reflect, but as expected, he couldn't remember anything.

He had no choice but to ask if he couldn't remember.

"What happened?"

"You've gained a lot of strength."

"Really?"

"It seems like you really don't remember anything."

The Bull Demon King's reaction suggested that he wasn't joking. After all, he wasn't Son OhGong, and he didn't seem to be joking about something like this.

YuWon waited for the Bull Demon King to tell him what had happened. It seemed like he had caused some kind of trouble, considering he mentioned destroying the house.

He thought the Bull Demon King would probably tell him what had happened soon. Meanwhile, YuWon continued to silently drink his tea.

"What do you think?"

Sliding his hand gently toward YuWon, the Bull Demon King asked, "Would you like to spar with me?"