Leveling with the Gods

It was strange.

Normally, the fight should have been over by now.

Because the gap between Pandora and Kim Yuwon was so big.

He couldn't understand why a fight that should have lasted only a minute or two wasn't already over.

'Is it because of Pandora's instability?'

At first, he thought it was because of that.

Kim YuWon in front of Pandora.

The only reason she was resisting/surviving is because her mental strength is superior to most Ranker Players.

It's true.

With that kind of power is how he got Olympus into such a mess.

But....

Boom-!

Flames erupted from a small distance away from the Heavenly Mountain. The flames grew fast enough to engulf the entire mountain.

But it wasn't the fire that mattered.

It was a scream.

A woman's scream, drowned out by the noise of the battlefield.

Hearing Pandora's screams, Athena rushed to check the situation through the inner face of Aegis.

Pandora's figure was burning in purple flames.

'How the hell...?'

"I got distracted."

Startled, Athena looked up.

At that moment...

Shhhh-.

Swoosh-!

Athena's body flew downward as she was struck by the Heavenly Demon Spirit's sword.

Boom, boom, boom.

Kwak-.

After knocking down several spikes of the Heavenly Mountain, Athena barely managed to stand up.

On her shoulder, where Aegis had failed to defend, was a deep gash.

"Ugh..."

She never thought a momentary glance would produce such a result.

He had been too complacent against the Celestail Demon. However, this was not a situation that could be passed lightly.

The distance was growing.

Athena took another look at Pandora's situation.

Then.

"This, this......."

Athena's eyes widened.

Indeed, she could see Pandora, burning in purple flames a few moments ago....

"What is that?"

But Aegis reflected something that wasn't Pandora, something black as ink.

* * *

The ground covered in thousands of teeth.

Quack-.

Placing Pandora in his mouth, he chewed, and began to devour.

'She does take her time when eating.'

He knew from Lancelot that the size or hardness of her body wasn't what was important.

Perhaps it wasn't Pandora's flesh or bones that the Egg was feeding on, but the power of the Outsider within her.

'Is that a large amount, even for the Egg?'

Unlike Lancelot, who had just joined the ranks of the High Ranks, she possessed strength comparable to that of the strongest High Ranks.

And much of that power she owed to power outside the Tower.

And the Egg was digesting that power with great force.

"What is all this?"

Kwak-.

Yuyuan looked up at the sound of the voice.

Up in the sky.

Floating high above, a young man was looking down at him.

"Is what I'm seeing real?"

Hermes.

A High Rank of Olympus who symbolized freedom.

He had a higher rank than Ares, but in terms of skill, he was far below Athena.

First of all, Hermes was a Ranker whose strength was in his mobility, not his destructive power.

"Is that a question for me?"

"So, who else am I going to ask?"

"How arrogant. We're not even on the same side."

"I'm a bit like that."

Hermes descended and landed on the ground.

YuWon, who was wary for a moment, lowered his sword again.

Hermes hadn't even raised his staff and wasn't releasing his mana.

"Don't you intend to fight?"

"If it's fighting, I've had enough. Unless it's my sister, in which case I don't like it."

"Even so, you must have received an order."

"There's no reason to fight anymore, is there (이래서는 더 싸울 이유도 없잖아/No point fighting over this)?"

Kwak-.

Pandora being chewed by countless teeth.

Hermes looked at YuWon curiously.

"Apparently, those shoes are mine too, why don't you answer me?"

Hermes' gaze turned back to YuWon's shoes.

He had lost them long ago.

Like the staff, it was a prized object, and YuWon was wearing it.

It had probably come into the hands of an Administrator and had been given to him as a reward.

"I'm not going to ask for it back."

"I see."

YuWon replied while looking at the same scene as Hermes.

"I don't know either."

"What answer is that..."

"Just keep looking."

Hermes frowned with a puzzled expression.

With a face that said, what are you talking about?

He also wondered if he was avoiding answering.

But he meant it.

The identity of the Egg was a mystery and YuWon didn't know its identity either. He only knew it was an Outsider guy from the patterns engraved on the Egg.

The boy was only growing up eating Outsiders.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

'Maybe this guy could become the natural enemy of the Outsiders.'

The odds were low.

The Outsiders he'd seen, the ones he'd encountered, didn't exactly fit the word: natural enemy.

Yamata no Orochi's head, Lancelot and Pandora in front of him, there were many beings that were incomparable to them.

A natural enemy that could eat them?

It was hard to believe.

But he had no choice but to try.

He had been given one more chance.

Somehow, he had to win this time.

"You don't want to talk, do you?"

Hermes, unable to get a satisfactory answer, asked.

Then YuWon nodded and pointed ahead.

"Watch that."

"That?"

Shureuk-.

At the place where Pandora had been....

Dozens of tentacles protruded from among thousands of teeth.

A life form he had never seen before.

At that moment, dozens of teeth pounced on her, unwilling to let go, and devoured her.

Looking at Hermes' blue face, YuWon spoke.

"Can one hear of such a thing?"

It was a strangely convincing statement.

It was something he couldn't believe.

As far as scary things went, Zeus was even scarier. You could have dozens of those things and they wouldn't beat Zeus.

But the fear Hermes felt was different.

For some reason, he couldn't understand it.

"I see."

When Hermes nodded like this.

"Young lord!"

"Get out of the way!"

Two people, Pung Baekrim and Baek Mugang rushed forward and blocked YuWon's path.

Kak, kak-.

Right after that, Shin Mu-geuk and Jang Chun-il blocked Hermes' path. Pung Baekrim's body had already been torn here and there, and Shin Mu-geuk was also limp and limp, as if he had broken one of his arms.

Somehow, the four of them had managed to pin Hermes down with their combined strength.

"Wow. You guys are fast."

Hermes, on the other hand, was relaxed.

He didn't have a scratch on him.

Nevertheless, Hermes raised his staff and said.

"I surrender. I surrender."

"...?"

Question marks hovered over the faces of the four men.

The fight had clearly been one-sided until a moment ago, and suddenly he was surrendering.

"I don't have the confidence to fight that guy. And this fight is already over."

Hermes' head snapped back.

And at that moment...

Shii-.

Quaang-!

Something fell from the sky, raising a cloud of dust. Pung Baekrim and Shin Mugak rushed to protect YuWon, while Baek Mugang wielded his spear to clear the dust.

"Kuk..."

From that dust, Athena stood up.

She was bleeding, clutching Aegis in one hand and her broken sword in the other.

"We're all here."

Is it chance or fate?

As the end of the fight approached, they all gathered in one place.

"Hermes."

"Sister."

Hermes' gaze fell on the place where Pandora had disappeared.

"We have lost."

"...."

It was something he already knew.

And for that, it was all the more bitter.

For whatever reason, she had been distracted for a moment, and had been defeated by Cheon Mujin.

Pandora had been defeated by Kim YuWon, and Hermes was the only one left standing.

However, there was no way to turn the tide of the fight just because he was there.

'That guy is again...'

Pudeuk-.

Athena looked at YuWon and gritted her teeth.

War and Wisdom.

They were two words that symbolized his place on Olympus. In fact, he had fought in countless wars organized by Olympus and had never known defeat.

As such, he had always been at the forefront of war.

Once, not so long ago, he had failed.

And again today, in YuWon's presence, he met with defeat.

'He also did something with Hercules.'

He had guessed, but he wanted confirmation.

And he was curious.

What had he done to turn Hercules, the Hero of Olympus, against him?

What was it about Kim YuWon that attracted him?

But...

"No."

The answer she received was completely different from what Athena expected.

"It's your fault."

"What?

"I told you what Zeus, your father, is going to tell you. That's all."

What the hell was she talking about?

It was a completely unfamiliar voice. Even if it wasn't, he suddenly felt a misty fog over something that was shrouded in a veil.

YuWon looked at Athena, who was puzzled.

Hwareuk-.

[The 'Ash Eyes' understand the truth].

One of the abilities of Ash Eyes.

Falsehood and truth.

In this case, it didn't go as far as simply determining the other party's mood through facial expressions and eyes, but still, using the skill was much more accurate than simply reading facial expressions.

'Athena didn't know.

She had thought she would be involved in Hercules' affairs, since she and Ares were siblings.

But apparently she knew nothing about Hercules.

Athena had been at the forefront of Olympus, leading the war effort, but apparently Zeus did not trust her completely.

'So, Hermes...'

YuWon turned his head and looked at Hermes.

His expression was easier to read than Athena's.

[Not interested.]

It was a very Hermes answer.

His symbol on Olympus was freedom.

Known as the simplest of personalities, disliking complexity, Hermes didn't care much about things unless they concerned him directly.

'They said he wouldn't mind if Olympus collapsed...'

None of them had anything to do with Hercules.

So, could Athena really side with Zeus when she knew all the facts?

He wondered.

'Athena's abilities are useful.'

She was far more powerful than a Ranker.

Having fought in countless wars, Athena's commanding skills shone in great battles.

In fact, it was Athena, not the Olympians or Hercules, who commanded the Gigantomachy twice.

'Should I catch them for now?'

YuWon pondered for a moment about dealing with the two.

'And then...

[Hatching rate of the 'Egg of ?' increases]

The hatching rate of the Egg had started to increase again.

[Hatching rate: 96.01 %]

[Hatching rate: 96.67 %]

[Hatching rate: 97.17 %]

[Hatching...]

The hatching rate kept increasing.

YuWon nervously watched the increase in hatching rate.

'Please....'

[Hatching rate: 99.23%]

[Hatching rate: 99.40 %]

[Hatching...]

'A little more'.

[Hatching rate: 99.95 %]

[Hatching rate: 100 %]

[Egg of '?' begins to hatch.]

Boom-.

The thousands of teeth in front of him disappeared and cracks formed on the surface of the Egg in the inventory.