Leveling with the Gods

Chik-.

Lee Rangjin sat down and poured himself a drink.

He had traveled there to see someone, but he hadn't received any response.

"Next time, huh..."

That was YuWon's response to his request to go to the Celestial Realm together.

Gulp-.

Somehow, he felt bitter.

At the same time, a smile formed on his lips, and his eyes widened.

YuWon's eyes opened as he looked at him.

"He's definitely different from that Monkey."

The Monkey.

That was the word Lee Rangjin used to call the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

When he had first seen the Monkey, he had thought of him as a "gangly monkey" and a "speedy beetle."

Compared to him, YuWon's personality was the complete opposite.

He was calm and thoughtful in every word he spoke. If strength has a personality, YuWon's was almost the opposite of Son OhGong's.

Still, strangely enough, Lee Rangjin saw YuWon and Son OhGong overlapped.

A hunch, not a rational judgment.

A simple feeling that he couldn't be sure of.

"There must be a reason."

He trusted his instincts.

His instincts, which never failed him, helped him in every difficult moment and time and time again, he refused to let a hunch go to waste.

This time, however, even that feeling couldn't properly judge Kim YuWon.

"Will he harm us or help us..."

Pap-.

Lee Rangjin, who had emptied the entire bottle, got up from his seat.

"Well, we'll see."

The Celestial City was the highest city in the world.

Rising among the clouds, the land above the sky looked like a city of gods looking down on humans.

A city the size of a small country.

It had been four days since Lee Rangjin had returned to the Celestial Realm.

Lee Rangjin was sweating in the training grounds, wielding his sword like any other day, when a servant approached him.

"G-General...! Lord General...!"

The subordinate, who entered the training grounds, knelt on the ground, unable to bear the weight pressing down on his body.

He was also an undisputed Ranker, but the weight of the training grounds made it difficult for him to stand.

"What's going on?"

Jap, jap, jap-.

Lee Rangjin, with his upper body exposed and wielding a sword, approached, wiping himself with a towel hanging on one side.

Faced with his seemingly indifferent appearance, the subordinate could only be amazed.

'How can he swing something so heavy under this weight...'

Lee Rangjin's Unbreakable Sword was known for its unusual weight.

The Unbreakable Sword weighed dozens of times more than a normal weapon, and under this gravitational force, which most Rankers would struggle to endure, he wielded it like a toothpick.

Closest thing to Hercules.

That was the public explanation for Lee Rangjin.

"We have a guest..."

"A guest? Do you mean my guest?"

"Not your guest, but the one you were looking for."

"The one I was looking for?"

He didn't know who they were talking about, but then Lee Rangjin's eyes trembled for a moment.

Then, he passed by the subordinate. The subordinate, who was burdened by gravity, asked in surprise.

"Grand General... You...?"

"As a General of the Heavens, I should be able to overcome this kind of adversity on my own."

"What?"

The subordinate's eyes widened, and he exclaimed incredulously.

"General, General, General!"

Between his straightening knees and the fact that he thought he had mistaken his superior. (?)

Lee Rangjin hastily changed his clothes and left.

"Did Kim YuWon come to find me?"

Apparently, he had declined his invitation to go to the Celestial Realm together.

He said he would visit separately on another occasion.

As most would assume, he took it as a refusal.

After all, Kim YuWon was famous for not joining any guilds.

But then...

"Was it not a rejection?"

If it was just a request for time to think.

Then he might actually be able to enter the Celestial Realm.

Lee Rangjin's heart beat fast.

"Kim YuWon is coming to the Celestial Realm."

His first impression of Kim YuWon was that of a calm and strong warrior. But strangely, Lee Rangjin could see a glimpse of Son OhGong in his face.

"The strongest player."

Just like that label, YuWon had the qualities to someday become a High-Rank player.

If only Son OhGong were on the side of the Celestial Realm...

He didn't know how many times he had thought about that.

And now, right now, that future with such a talented person like Son OhGong was about to unfold.

"General!"

"Where is Kim YuWon?"

Lee Rangjin, wearing the armor he wore as casual clothing, looked around the mansion.

No matter how many lights he turned on, he couldn't see YuWon. He thought that if he had been looking for him, he would definitely be here.

"He's not here."

"If he's not here, then where has he gone?"

"Well...."

The soldier looked at Lee Rangjin for a moment before answering.

"Sightseeing."

"This is the path to the Peach Garden, one of the prides of the Celestial Realm. If you look closely, you'll see a row of tall trees over there..."

"Ah, yes."

YuWon turned his head to listen to the guide's explanation.

It was a boring explanation. He had offered to show him the way, and now he was taking him on a tour of the Celestial Realm.

He supposed that's what he expected, but YuWon hadn't come here for a tour of the Celestial Realm.

Besides, even if it was an explanation, most people already knew the story.

The Peach Garden was one of the treasures of the Celestial Realm, but that was old news.

'Son OhGong, that smug look he had every time he remembered eating those peaches.'

Peach Garden.

One thousand years, two thousand years, three thousand years....

A garden where Immortal Peaches, which had grown for over 10,000 years, gathered.

For a long time, the Peach Garden held greater value as it stored Mana. A Peach Garden that is over 3,000 years old has more value than the great fortune of Shaolin, and a Peach Garden that has been matured for 10,000 years is known as one of the best elixirs in the entire Tower.

But...

Son OhGong ate all the peaches in the Peach Garden.

Naturally, the only ones growing in that garden now were the ones that had been growing since then.

"Well, it's still quite valuable."

YuWon looked back at the Peach Garden.

He knew where it was anyway, but it didn't hurt to take another look.

"I have to go back anyway."

YuWon nodded at the guide's explanation and turned around.

"Let's keep going."

"Ah, yes."

The guide continued leading him.

The Celestial Realm was immense and couldn't be explored in a single day. Even if you traveled in a carriage pulled by a good horse, it would take three days to explore it.

"Where will we go next?"

The guide's eyes sparkled.

In his eyes, YuWon's appearance was like a shining jewel.

"If we manage to recruit Kim YuWon, I can make a great contribution to the Celestial Realm. If that happens, leveling up twice at once would just be the icing on the cake."

Kim YuWon was a promising rookie.

His value was no different from that of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, who had long been recognized as the strongest player of his time.

No.

There were even talks that he might be even more talented than him.

Naturally, several major guilds had their eyes on him, not to mention the Heavenly General and the Jade Emperor.

If he could recruit such a person, it was only natural that he would be rewarded for his efforts.

"This is my chance to impress those above, and I can do it."

Just as the guide made an internal decision...

Ki-hi-hi-hing!

A carriage approaching from the opposite direction blocked the way.

A carriage pulled by ten horses.

It was made of solid iron and beautiful gold, with the pattern of the Unbreakable Sword on it.

"General?"

The guide, seeing the emblem, hurriedly approached the carriage.

The guide bowed to Lee Rangjin as he got off the carriage.

"Greetings, Grand General!"

"Enough with the greetings."

Hiss-.

After closing the carriage door, Lee Rangjin approached YuWon.

"What happened?"

"We meet again."

"I thought you weren't interested."

"Of course, I'm interested. It's the Celestial Realm, not just any other place."

YuWon had already mentioned his interest in the Celestial Realm before meeting Lee Rangjin. In fact, he had come to visit him after hearing about it.

He needed time to think.

That's what he meant when he declined the offer to go to the Celestial Realm with him, and it was after that time of reflection that YuWon came to visit him.

"Have you made up your mind yet?"

YuWon shook his head.

"Not yet."

"You need more time to think, then."

"If you don't mind waiting, you're right."

He still hadn't changed his mind.

A smile escaped Lee Rangjin's mouth.

"I see, I see. You deserve it."

If he was the future Son OhGong, if he was the one who would sit in the seat of the next Grand War General.

Certainly, he deserved it. If it was Kim YuWon, he was a talent worth bringing even to the Celestial Realm.

"Are you the guide?"

"Yes? Yes!"

"You've done a good job so far. From now on, I will guide you."

"What? The Grand Lord/General in person?"

"Why not?"

"Why... for you to do something so degrading like this..."

"It doesn't matter. I do it because I want to."

With a chin gesture, Lee Rangin pointed to the largest carriage he was traveling in.

"Get in. If it's the Celestial Realm, I'll show you more corners."

This was something YuWon hadn't expected.

He knew the Celestial Realm would be interested in him, but he didn't expect Lee Rangjin to personally introduce him to the Celestial Realm.

"The Grand General will personally guide me..."

YuWon thought as he followed Lee Rangjin.

"It can't be that bad."

No, it was actually better.

"If I'm with Lee Rangjin-gun, I'll be able to delve deeper into the Celestial Realm."

Before saving Son OhGong...

YuWon needed to go deeper into the Celestial Realm.

A way to enter the Celestial Realm without becoming a member of it. No other player could do it, but YuWon could.

Fame is a great weapon in times like this.

"The Five Elements Mountain, where he was trapped, was under a spell."

Spell.

It wasn't something that could be broken simply by being strong.

You had to be strong, but to save Son OhGong, you also had to have knowledge in Witchcraft.

That's why YuWon had come to the Celestial Realm.

"And when it comes to that field, there's one person who knows it better."

He crossed his arms with confidence.

YuWon didn't know much about him.

But he realized it from the way Son OhGong talked about him.

"So save him first, it's much easier that way."

The old rival of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, who fought in a war against the Celestial Realm alongside the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven (平天大聖).

The Great Demon King (Ox King) who possessed the name of the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven...

He was sealed somewhere in this Celestial Realm.