Leveling with the Gods

C461

The place they arrived by boat wasn't very far.

In less than two hours, they reached a mansion on the 98th floor.

"Have we arrived already?"

YuWon, who had stepped to the front of the boat, asked as he looked at the expansive mansion with a garden.

He thought they would go down further, but they had already arrived. It seemed they weren't heading to Asgard's territory.

'If it's the 98th floor... a place where the influence of Olympus extends.'

YuWon's gaze turned to Zeus, who stood with his back turned.

'For now, are we going to the nearest place?'

After the fight with Shub-Niggurath, Olympus and Asgard had established a fairly close relationship, a fact known to the public.

However, even so, had the leaders of two such large guilds come together to a place like this small mansion?

Sss...

Zeus, who was looking down from the bow, turned around.

He didn't know what he was thinking all the time, but seeing YuWon again, he made a puzzled expression.

"It's strange."

"What is?"

"Something... seems the same."

"So, what's the problem?"

"You always changed every time we met again. And quite a lot."

In Zeus's mind, he recalled when he first met YuWon.

At first, he was someone who could barely avoid one of his Lightning Bolts. But then, and then again. So, several times until their last encounter.

YuWon kept changing.

But...

"A year isn't much time, but it should have been different for you. But now, what's this? Have you been having fun and playing around for a year?"

"Are you disappointed?"

"Disappointed?"

Zeus seemed angry for some reason. Although his face seemed expressionless, his calm gaze was more filled with fire than when he fell from the throne.

"No. I just regret wasting my time coming here to see a guy like you."

Toc, toc...

With those words, Zeus entered the inner part of the boat. It was a reaction that indicated there was nothing more to say.

That was the first time he saw Zeus so talkative. He didn't know much about him, but seeing him so talkative, he seemed genuinely upset.

"Don't worry too much."

Sss...

Just as the boat touched the ground, Odin approached.

"The one who has been looking for you more than anyone in the last six months is that guy. You might not know, but he was probably worried."

Although it could have been an attempt at consolation, YuWon laughed looking at the departing Zeus.

'Worried?'

Looking at it that way, Odin still didn't know Zeus well.

Or maybe it was him who knew him too well.

'He's not the type of person to do that.'

Zeus was a logical and rational type.

He was the kind of person who used his own children as pawns to achieve his goals. It was impossible for such a person to worry about someone who wasn't even his son.

YuWon looked to where Zeus had gone.

'It's strange.'

It had only been a year.

But then, why was he so angry?

Like a person who doesn't have much time.

In the meantime...

"We've arrived."

Thud...

The boat carrying the three people reached its destination.

Kiiing...

Zeus entered a small room that had been set up on the boat and lay down on the bed.

Although not as tall as Hercules, Zeus was also a man of great stature. He lay haphazardly on the relatively small bed and looked at the ceiling.

"Are you disappointed?"

YuWon's words resonated in his mind.

He wasn't. Although he said he regretted it, it wasn't because he was disappointed.

'...I just had high expectations.'

And the reason was obvious: because he had expectations.

But YuWon hadn't changed at all since a year ago.

'Has he been loafing around all this time?'

Zeus thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head.

'I don't think so.'

So, why?

Sure, Rankers faced a wall at some point. Zeus did too, and he had broken down that wall several times.

But so far, it seemed there was no such wall in front of YuWon.

'...This is a problem.'

Zeus raised his hand.

His hand blocked the light from the ceiling. But, for some reason, the hand couldn't block all the light.

'...It's fading.'

The hand gradually blurred.

To regain it, Zeus clenched his fists.

Craack...

The hand regained its original shape. If he lost concentration, this was what happened.

How much longer could he endure?

Srrr...

His eyelids became heavier and heavier.

He thought that maybe, if he lay down on the uncomfortable and narrow bed, he would feel a bit better, but it wasn't the case.

Instead, drowsiness overwhelmed him. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

'How long has it been...'

He continued to think as he stood up to avoid falling asleep.

'How long has it been since I slept?'

YuWon followed Odin into the mansion.

It was a spacious and grand mansion. It wasn't flashy, but it was quite tidy, with barely any traces of human life.

"Whose house is this?" YuWon asked, intrigued by the choice of a home instead of a palace.

"It's true it's not a grand residence. But it's the home of the most beautiful woman in Olympus," Odin replied with a slight smile.

"Aphrodite?"

"Ah, yes, she's beautiful too."

Aphrodite was a Ranker with such a beautiful appearance that it was jokingly said half of her ranking came from her face. Naturally, people didn't hesitate to mention Aphrodite when choosing the most beautiful person not only in Olympus but also in the tower.

But it turned out it wasn't Aphrodite who awaited them.

"Someone is waiting for you," Odin said.

"For me?"

"YuWon!"

A familiar voice echoed, and YuWon's gaze turned to the end of the hallway.

And there...

Swish.

Someone flew towards YuWon.

Thud.

It was a quite impactful collision. Although YuWon didn't put up much resistance, his body was knocked down.

It was surprisingly strong, might even be Hercules in a woman's form.

That person was...

"...Pandora?"

"I've come, YuWon."

Pandora smiled brightly. Unlike before, when she wasn't as put together, her red hair was carefully combed, and her expression was much livelier.

Pandora was like a flower blooming in the desert. Everything in the world seemed dim in comparison to her.

Now YuWon understood why Odin called her the "most beautiful woman in Olympus."

"You're heavy," remarked YuWon.

"Are you going to run away again?" Pandora asked.

"I've never run away."

"Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't. To run away, you first have to be tied down somewhere."

"Next time you go somewhere, let me know."

"......?"

YuWon, who was under Pandora, looked at her with confused eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Pandora asked, interrupting the conversation for a moment, and YuWon replied.

"It seemed like you were talking a bit more."

Pandora's expression, as remembered by YuWon, changed, and her speech became somewhat hesitant.

But now it was a bit different.

There were changes in expression, and her words were quite extensive.

It was as if a doll that used to move without emotions had turned into a person.

"Don't you like it?"

"No."

There was no reason not to like it.

"It's much better this way. So let me get up now."

Swooosh.

When YuWon got up, Pandora stepped back. Although she barely did.

Crunch.

A grip strong enough to wrinkle or tear clothes.

It was a determination not to let go.

"I won't leave. At least not today."

YuWon made Pandora release her hands with those words. He appreciated the place she provided, but carrying her with him constantly wasn't practical.

YuWon looked around the inside of the mansion again. Given the scale, he suspected this mansion wasn't cheap.

"Was this place provided by Olympus to Pandora?"

"Now that she's a High-Ranker representative of Olympus, why wouldn't they give her a castle instead of a mansion?"

Pandora's ranking had risen rapidly. Unlike the past when she was sealed by Zeus, she was now freed, and her imperfect mind was also slowly returning.

Pandora's elevated ranking had reached two digits, rapidly approaching Hades' level.

"Did I come here just to meet Pandora?"

"She seems to be looking for you a lot. I'm not sure why."

"I guess she thinks she owes me."

"That's what she said. That you saved her. But it doesn't seem like she's just looking for you because of a debt."

At those words, YuWon looked at Pandora, who was watching him from a half-step away.

What was the meaning of that look?

'...She's really beautiful.'

Although his heart trembled being observed by such a beautiful woman at such a close distance, that was all. The emotion had already been eroded and worn away from the moment he began glimpsing the future of destruction.

'I'll have to talk to her later.'

To be able to free himself from her, YuWon would have to uncover where Pandora's obsession originated.

With that thought, YuWon followed Odin, who had started moving again.

"As you can see, the world is changing."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. The sky you saw is appearing in different places."

The purple sky was considered a precursor to the arrival of the Outers. And, as YuWon had seen, the Outers appeared in the sky he was looking at. Although they were only tentacles without a Name, they were clearly beings coming from outside the Tower.

But for the sky to be showing Outers everywhere...

"Why didn't I know about it?"

"It happened a few days ago. I was having headaches because of it."

Odin's gaze turned towards the window.

Asgard's ship floating above the mansion. To be precise, Odin was looking at Zeus inside it.

"And in the midst of that, Zeus came to see me. He said you had appeared."

"He seems quite disappointed. He still hasn't come down."

"I'm sure it's not just because of that."

Odin's gaze turned to Pandora, who was following behind YuWon.

"...Ah."

It was only then that YuWon understood the situation. Of course.

The relationship between Pandora and Zeus wasn't good. Zeus was the one who locked Pandora in a prison, and every time she saw Zeus, she swore to kill him.

Perhaps Zeus wasn't coming out of the ship because of Pandora.

"But if you're going to talk about that, why did we come here?"

"I have things to ask you and things to give you."

If he had questions, he could have asked them anywhere. The reason Odin, who sought him, came directly here was probably because he had something to tell him.

"The questions that are bothersome are better asked later, and what are you going to give me? Is it something good?"

"I don't know if it's good or not, but..."

The tail end of the conversation became blurry, as if certainty was hard to come by.

But soon, Odin spoke confidently.

"You'll probably be surprised."

KO-FI