Leveling with the Gods

Kwaaang-!

The temple walls were smashed.

Fences torn down.

Bodies on the ground and the ground upside down.

Hudududududuk-.

Several Rankers gathered inside the precariously shaking temple.

In their midst, Manteus, a Ranker from the Temple of Hera, confronted Hercules.

"Why are you doing this, what's wrong?"

He looked on the verge of crying/shouting.

There were dozens of Rankers around him, but this was Hercules.

They were no match for him.

"Bring me Hera."

The answer was the same.

It was probably the third time he'd heard it.

Bring me Hera.

He could tell by the look in her eyes and the way she tore the temple to pieces that this wasn't just a greeting.

"She's not here."

"Really?"

Hercules thought a moment and then nodded.

"Then she'll come when the temple is destroyed."

Simple, straightforward answer.

Pak-.

Hercules took a step toward the assembled Rankers.

"Thirty-two. If that's all there are, you'd better gather more."

A shiver ran down Manteus' spine as they closed the distance.

"If there's around three hundred people, it might be worth it."

Three hundred.

That was the number he had mentioned with the Rankers in mind.

Some would say he was bluffing, but Manteus didn't see it as just bluffing.

No, it wasn't.

Rather, it was humility.

'After what he did in the Gigantomachy, the Rankers here can only be destroyed in the blink of an eye.'

But should he give up?

No. Even if he did, it would be a problem.

'What the hell happened to make him open his eyes like that?'

They were murderous eyes.

A look of unforgiveness.

The Hercules before him was the same one Manteus had seen in the Gigantomachy.

Kak-.

It was then that Manteus gave up the fight half-heartedly.

"War heroes are a thing of the past."

Pak-.

Hector, the High Rank newcomer to Olympus, stepped forward.

"Times have changed. You relics of the old world, dormant for a thousand years, you may retire to the back room."

Covering his head with a helmet and clad in silver armor, Hector approached Hercules.

He was clearly a man of High Rank.

Especially with thirty Rankers around him.

"Wait."

Manteus was quick to rebuke Hector.

"Right now we need to talk, not fight, and this is Hercules."

"Even if it is Hercules, this one has more than thirty Rankers."

Numbers.

How many people had died falling into that trap, but Hector didn't seem to have learned it.

"We've requested reinforcements from Olympus. Additional personnel will probably arrive shortly."

"That's good to hear."

Hercules folded his arms as he heard the whispers directed at Manteus.

As if to say: the more the merrier.

"...I'm sorry, but I can't take this disrespect anymore."

Hector approached Hercules with his sword and shield.

"Even if I die, I....."

Then...

Boom-.

At a good distance.

Hercules' fist stretched forward.

And at that moment...

Boom-!

The atmosphere crackled, and Hector's armor shattered.

Boom!

Hector flew skyward.

There was no time to say a last word or anything. The other Rankers gasped as they watched Hector fly like a shooting star.

"Uh, how far did he fly?"

"From a disparo........"

A Ranker who was the closest to a High Ranker.

Lately, Hector was a promise on Olympus. Even without a real bloodline, there was talk that if he did well enough, he might someday form a guild of his own.

But such a Hector was sent flying in one fell swoop.

Duduk-.

"Let's start now."

Kwaaang-!

Quad, quadd-.

As his foot hit the ground, the temple, already cracking, began to crumble.

"To destroy Olympus."

* * *

[The contract is complete].

[You have the allegiance of the 'Warrior of War and Struggle'].

[The power of the 'Warrior of War and Struggle' is restored].

[This soul cannot participate in a fight against an Olympus Player].

Chuck-.

Finishing the contract, Ares knelt down towards YuWon.

The same as Arthur, a pledge of loyalty.

'To think that a day like this would come in my life... or death.'

Ares, who was reputed to be half-carvenic, was kneeling not to Zeus, but to YuWon.

Although he could not take part in the fight against Olympus, an intact Ares would be a great boost to YuWon at this time.

YuWon took a short break to regain his Mana and climbed up to the roof.

It had been several days since he had returned from his business on the 38th floor.

Pak-.

In his inventory, his player kit vibrated.

[Hargaan: Did you really make it?]

YuWon, who had just finished resting, sent a reply.

[What's wrong?]

[Hargaan: Hera's temple was attacked by Hercules]

[I told him to strike there first. Now he's on our side].

After replying, YuWon tried to put away his player kit again.

At that moment...

Tak-.

[Hargaan: What? Really?]

[Hargaan : No, what have you done, you madman, Hercules, really?]

[Hargaan : I knew you were crazy, but what the hell have you done to convince Hercules?]

The messages were ringing off the hook.

It was obvious that he was a bit surprised.

YuWon thought about replying, but stopped himself.

It wasn't a very productive conversation. Since Hercules had attacked the Temple of Hera, it shouldn't be hard to figure out what was going on.

'It has begun.

The Temple of Hera was the first target thanks to the information YuWon gave him.

All the beings involved in Alcmene's death.

Of them, other than Zeus and Ares, Hera had the most to do with Alcmene's death.

'On Olympus, it's better to intercept them one by one than to kill them all at once. I've even sent their approximate locations in your player kit.'

The only Ranker who could stop Hercules on Olympus was Zeus. After all, there weren't many Rankers who could stop him, even if you searched the entire Tower.

'The destruction of Olympus has begun. There is only one thing left to do....'

Jiing-.

The vibration started again.

It must be the same vibration, but this time it felt different. YuWon took out his player kit and checked the message.

[Hades: Preparations have been completed.]

The message he had been waiting for.

After checking it, YuWon replied the messages from Hargaan that he had ignored earlier.

[We will start now]

Hargaan.

As the son of Zeus, he will be the player who would later lead the destruction of Olympus.

[Hargan: Start? Hadn't we already started?]

[Not really...]

The time has finally come for you to recoup your investment in Hargaan.

[There is something you can do to help]

* * *

A dark and cloudy sky.

The sky, which has never been cloudy in a year, has turned unusually gray today.

Jeobuck, Jeobuck-.

The Throne of Heaven.

The temple of Zeus, King of Olympus.

It was there that Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom, sought her father.

"We were waiting for her."

The Rankers guarding the temple stepped aside at Athena's arrival.

Even if it were Poseidon, one of the Three Olympians, they would not allow one-sided visits, but Ateanea's was for a reason.

'Maybe something was talked about beforehand.'

The situation seemed strange.

A sense of crisis I had never felt before.

Maybe, just maybe, the impregnable tower that was Olympus, built over millennia, might collapse.

'The sky is cloudy.

Kurung, bang-!

Even the sky was thundering.

It was the first time Athena had seen such a sky in this world.

'You must be very angry.'

Gulp-.

Even though he was the father who gave birth to her, she was afraid of Zeus at this moment.

No, not just at this moment.

She had always been afraid.

Because Zeus was the strongest of all the Rankers she knew, the most bloodless and ruthless.

But it was an insignificant amount compared to now.

Athena walked down the corridor, reaching the center of the temple where Zeus resided.

Zeus had his back to her, facing the pool.

"You have come..."

The rise and fall of his voice was uncharacteristic.

But Athena could tell he was in a very bad mood.

More than his expression or his voice, the sky above the open roof gave it away.

"Ares is dead, isn't he?"

"...Yes."

"Hercules has been smashing temples?"

"...Yes."

"I see we're in trouble."

Naturally, Athena was surprised.

Trouble.

It was a word she had not used even when her relations with the Asgard had soured, when she had personally thrown Poseidon into her prison to avoid war.

No.

It was a word Athena had never uttered in all the history she could remember.

Zeus of all the gods was in trouble.

"I will call out the troops at once. Dionysus, Apollo and Hermes and send them to..."

"Apollo no."

He knew Apollo was in contact with Hargaan.

That was all.

But lately, since Hargaan's encounter with Hades, things had been different.

"You mean my uncle and his contact?"

"Yes."

"Is Hercules' return related to that?"

"I thought so at first."

Zeus' gaze turned sideways.

"But then I realized I didn't have to go that far."

"Yes?"

"Do you know who killed Ares?"

Everyone knew.

After hearing the news, he saw Ares' temple destroyed in person.

He couldn't imagine the shock he received....

A player who had just arrived on the 40th Floor.

He had heard the stories before, but he was already powerful enough to take on an entire Olympus Guild.

But...

"Is he related to the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven by any chance?"

So far, Athena had not rated YuWon that high.

Rather, she was worried about Son OhGong's alter ego by his side.

Although she already had the strength of a High Ranker, she was confident that she could take on YuWon at any time.

He wondered what it would look like in the eyes of Zeus.

And then.

"The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, must be just like Hercules."

"What do you mean...."

"This is no coincidence.

Ares was dead, and Hercules had changed.

There was only a causal connection between the two men who had never met. On the way back, Zeus could see why Hercules had changed.

'It was a trap to get him back.'

He didn't know how he had found out about Alcmene, but he thought he had done a good job.

Olympus had already suffered an incurable wound.

He couldn't let this go on any longer.

"Athena."

A solemn call.

Pap-.

"Yes, my King."

Athena knelt before him like a loyal servant waiting for orders.

But Zeus was not looking at her.

All he was looking at was the surface of the well, which remained calm despite the wind.

"Strike the Heavenly Demon Cult."

Athena's eyes flickered.

Heavenly Demon Cult.

It was the only known guild in the outside world that had anything to do with YuWon.

"You mean..."

"Yes."

At this point, there was only one reason for Olympus to get involved with the Demon Cult.

"We will attract that Kim YuWon."

That was the moment he became Zeus' target.