Leveling with the Gods

Pak-.

The shadow stirred.

It was the first body to respond to the call. Tsukuyomi's eyes widened at the sight of a body so strong and undecayed that had existed for a thousand years as an undead.

"You, you, you..."

Seeing Tsukuyomi unable to keep her mouth shut, the sharp-chinned man scratched his head awkwardly.

A man with a pale face.

Susanoo asked in response to Tsukuyomi's reaction.

"What are you so surprised about?"

"You... weren't you dead?"

After looking at Susanoo for a moment, Tsukuyomi shook her head.

"No, you're not alive."

Susanoo's face was expressionless.

Seeing that face, Tsukuyomi's expression became complicated.

It was good to see him.

A lot, really.

But she couldn't be happy.

"That's what you look like, ugly."

It was impossible to be happy to see someone who had come back from the dead.

The one who was the ruler of the undead returned as an undead. The situation was too strange to be happy about.

However, she couldn't just stand still like this.

"Nevertheless, it's been a long time. Old friend."

-...Yes, friend.

The greeting was awkward.

YuWon waited for a while for the two to loosen up.

An uncomfortable pause.

'I had never seen Susanoo like this.'

It was something she couldn't have imagined.

A Susanoo who got nervous in front of a woman.

A man who killed thousands or tens of thousands of men without blinking could only stay silent at this moment in front of a woman.

How long did that silence last?

"Look over there!"

"What's there?"

"I don't know, but weren't they here before?"

Tsukuyomi suddenly came to her senses upon seeing the players' racket outside the window.

"We don't have much time."

-That's right.

"What happened?"

It was a question that implied many things.

Like how you died.

Like how you became Undead.

Is your death really related to Amaterasu...?

Susanoo gestured with his hand in response to the question with so many implications.

"Just one question, straight to the point."

"Okay. I'm in a hurry too, so I'll only ask one for now."

In a moment of reflection.

There was a question that needed to be asked now.

"Are you sure that Amaterasu and your death are related?"

Why he was dead.

And if there was a reason, if it was because of Amaterasu, as she suspected.

The answer to that question soon came out of Susanoo's mouth.

"Related... It's not that they're not."

"They're not?"

"From what it seems, you knew it from the beginning, right?"

"So it's true?"

"Yes."

A moment of silence.

But there was no time to dwell on it, nor to process it.

"Even if it's true... Are you sure? Even if she let you fight Orochi alone, there could have been other circumstances, right?"

Amaterasu had been his friend for thousands of years.

It was hard to believe she would betray another friend and send him to death.

No, it wasn't.

It was hard to accept.

But...

"Didn't you feel it too? That bastard changed after obtaining the Magatama Jewel."

"That..."

"Well, I also trusted him back then, even though it was a wrong choice."

Susanoo remembered the promise he and Amaterasu had made.

"Why did he ask me to fight against him first, why did he ask me to trust him so blindly... It was strange because he didn't seem like the same guy I knew."

There was something called tact.

The kind of guy who said he would come a little late, making excuses after excuses, but in the end, didn't show up.

"Well, it's just my intuition, though I'm pretty sure this intuition is true..."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because he appeared. Looking for Kusanagi."

"Kusanagi?"

Tsukuyomi's eyes widened.

Amaterasu had appeared after the fight had ended. She was looking for Kusanagi, not Susanoo, who was dying from exhaustion.

"I didn't give it to her, of course. I fought with my life to obtain it."

"That's why... do you believe that Amaterasu led you to death? To get Kusanagi?"

"I saw his eyes."

"Eyes?"

"The eyes of a guy who coveted Kusanagi."

Tsukuyomi's eyes opened wide.

She wondered why.

The image of Amaterasu she had seen until now came to her mind. She recalled her greed and obsession with the Three Sacred Treasures, and the image of Amaterasu standing there with that look in his eyes came to mind.

With those eyes, maybe...

Maybe truly...

"Whatever you think, it's up to you. Whether you trust me or trust him."

Ssshhh-.

Susanoo's figure turned back into a shadow and dispersed.

Tsukuyomi stood there with a confused expression.

Her head was spinning.

Her gaze quickly turned towards YuWon.

Could it be that he was manipulated by that guy?

At that thought that passed through her mind, she shook her head.

"No, that's not possible. It was Susanoo, not someone else."

Susanoo was the same existence as the king of the undead.

The highest-ranking among the Three, he couldn't be commanded or dominated.

Even if his soul was stolen by a Necromancer, Susanoo would never submit.

YuWon looked at Tsukuyomi, who had paused for a moment, and then asked.

"Are you just going to stand there?"

"Huh?"

A bewildered expression appeared on her face.

There was a crowd of people looking for YuWon, all following Amaterasu's instructions.

For now, he had to move.

Tsukuyomi nodded.

"...see you later."

Shhh-.

Tsukuyomi's figure disappeared through the wall. Along with the moonlight filling the room, the cold air that had been freezing in the air returned to its original state.

"See you later..."

It was a phrase he had heard a lot lately.

The image of her with a complicated expression came to his mind. Fortunately, she didn't seem to distrust Susanoo's words.

"Well, I'll see you soon."

The variable called Tsukuyomi worked well for YuWon.

Although she was ranked below Susanoo and Amaterasu, she had a sufficiently excellent high rank. Her power alone was much greater than that of the thousands or tens of thousands of players out there.

"The only problem is that the one who's supposed to come isn't coming."

Clatter-.

BANG-!

The door where YuWon was sitting opened, and several players entered.

"...?"

"We found him!"

They panicked, not expecting it to be real.

YuWon looked at them and stood up.

"Here we go again."

YuWon turned to look out the window and saw the players gradually gathering.

Somehow, their numbers seemed to have increased.

"It's already won. But with so many people, not even the Three Precious Children will have enough to share."

"We can consider it a part-time job."

"Well, it's not that difficult. It's a job where even the Three Precious Children are present."

The players gathered around.

There were some Ranker players mixed among them.

All of them had a bad reputation in the world.

Those who had been expelled for committing crimes or causing trouble in their Guilds. Those who had become wanderers and settled on the 44th floor.

They all gathered in one place.

"We have been promised that once this is over, the Three Precious Children will definitely accept us."

"If the Three Precious Children join together as a Guild, they will quickly become a threat to the Great Guilds."

"And we will be at the center of it."

As selfish as they were, there was no individual who didn't need a roof.

And in the Tower, Guilds were the roof.

The only major Guild that could accommodate criminals.

They wanted this to be the beginning of their collective power.

And at the center of it all...

"Going around in circles."

There was Amaterasu.

She observed YuWon from a distance.

"What the hell does he want, why did he provoke her?"

And if there was someone from Asgard behind him.

Until those questions were answered, she didn't dare to approach.

But then.

"What's the point?"

She couldn't help but think about it.

She looked around, but couldn't find any trace of Asgard. If there was any other purpose, it didn't seem like it.

What could it be?

What does Kim YuWon want?

"Suspicious."

The distance between him and Kim YuWon was short.

If he wanted to leave, they could be face to face if he wished.

But Amaterasu was cautious.

He didn't make a move unless he was sure, and he preferred surrendering over having a small loss.

But this situation was an exception.

He couldn't give up the Three Sacred Treasures.

Fortunately, there was insurance.

"We have enough numbers."

Amaterasu checked the number of players gathered around YuWon.

He had gathered as many as he could, but he hadn't even expected this many players.

It probably meant that the influence of the Three Precious Children on the 44th floor was so great.

"Even if the quality is a bit low, it's still comparable to the scale of most large guilds."

This was the image he had drawn after obtaining the Magatama Jewel and settling on the 44th floor.

By gathering players who had nowhere to go, they would form a guild, use their power to threaten the large guilds, and gain immense power.

And maybe this moment was the beginning of it.

"They're just a handful of kids, but..."

Amaterasu's eyes swept over the group of players reflected in the Magatama Jewel.

"Gathered like this, they could be useful."

He had to use them.

It was much safer and more precise than exposing himself immediately.

"To do that, I need..."

Kwak-.

Amaterasu clenched the Magatama Jewel in his hand.

Ung-.

Then, the sky turned red, and beneath it were the players surrounding YuWon.

"I need to instill some courage in these lackeys."

In the middle of the city center.

YuWon was surrounded by a large crowd.

"You bastard, run even more."

"There's nowhere to run, right?"

"There are so many people here. Because of this bastard..."

The players surrounding him breathed heavily as if they were exhausted, and their faces were filled with vigilance.

Apparently, none of them dared to attack first.

YuWon looked around.

A dense space with no escape.

YuWon was also surprised by the number.

"There are so many."

Thousands of units, almost ten thousand.

It was astonishing how many players and Rankers were loyal to the Three Precious Children.

YuWon observed the change in the sky above the crowd.

"Has it started moving?"

A red sky was a sign of the manifestation of the power of the Magatama Jewel.

"I knew he was cautious, but I didn't expect this."

This bold move had attracted a large number, but it seemed to have made Amaterasu even more cautious.

Another method was needed.

"Are you saying one is not enough?"

Even with the Yata Mirror, Amaterasu refused to show his face directly.

It wouldn't be complete until the protagonist appeared.

"Then..."

After thinking for a moment, YuWon placed his hand on his waist.

Tak-.

The thing had been screaming continuously since before.

There was no point in hiding it anymore.

Skak-.

The Kusanagi was unsheathed, revealing a crimson sword.

"I wonder how it would be if the three of them came together."