Leveling with the Gods

The Director's words caused a stir in the room.

"An exception?"

"Are you suggesting we give this non-Ranker a high rank?"

It was only natural for the Agency Administrators to be perplexed.

It had never happened before.

It wasn't uncommon for a Ranker to lose against a Player. The beings who were now the top Rankers in the Tower were already more powerful than the Rankers before they became Rankers.

In fact, OhGong had even defeated the highest-ranked Chimera Creator, who was the Test Supervisor on the 50th Floor.

But the ranking office didn't make exceptions for all that.

"An exception isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just means what he's done is incredible."

"But..."

"Kim YuWon already defeated a High Ranker a long time ago."

The Agency Director folded a piece of paper in his hands.

"Ares, the High Ranker from Olympus. Pandora... Furthermore, he greatly contributed to the fall of Olympus."

It was no small feat.

Pandora was a Top 100 High Ranker, and Olympus was a massive guild with the power to shake the Tower.

But there was a player who contributed to their downfall.

It was a feat that most Tower Players suspected, even the Ranking Office, which knew everything happening in the Tower with the help of the administrators.

"Maybe it's a coincidence. In fact, Hercules' remorse had more to do with the fall of Olympus than his ability."

"If that's the case..."

"But it was Kim YuWon who recruited Hercules. Furthermore..."

The Agency Director checked the words on the paper again.

"This time, he was the one who defeated Li Jing."

"......."

"A series of coincidences turns into destiny, and destiny into skill. Besides, it's impossible to defeat someone of this caliber through luck."

He was absolutely right.

And he wasn't finished yet.

"Kim YuWon infiltrated the Celestial Realm, rescued the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven, and joined forces with him to rescue the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, which led to the fall of the Celestial Realm."

"Are you saying that the fall of the Celestial Realm... was caused by Kim YuWon, not Son OhGong?"

"At least, that's what I believe."

It was an absurd story.

Although it was true that Son OhGong had made a significant contribution to the fall of the Celestial Realm.

But it was clear that the fluttering of Kim YuWon's wings had turned into a giant typhoon.

"So..."

"Are you saying we should treat Kim YuWon as a Ranker from now on?"

Well-founded persuasion always worked.

The Director nodded and smiled softly.

And then...

Pap-.

He turned to his desk, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a thick stack of papers.

"This is a compilation of Kim YuWon's activities so far."

Pak-.

A stack of papers with neatly written notes.

From the Tutorial, to the first floor, to the 50th Floor.

The agency supervisors clicked their tongues as they read the summary of Kim YuWon's achievements and the Agency Director's opinion.

"Let's take a look at this and decide Kim YuWon's ranking."

That was the moment when the long hours of overtime work were confirmed.

Five days after the Fall of the Celestial Realm.

In the great turmoil shaking the Tower, a small shack trembled.

"You are free."

Lee Rangjin's eyes lit up upon hearing that and he glared at the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

He had been freed from the Demon Subduing Chain and was stretching his body, stiffened by long periods of inactivity.

"Or do you want to be chained again?"

"Why are you releasing me?"

"It's none of your business. I'm just following that guy's words."

"The Bull Demon King?"

Son OhGong shook his head.

The answer surprised Lee Rangjin.

"Don't you mean... Kim YuWon?"

"Why so curious? It's not important. You can leave now."

OhGong waved his hand, as if telling him to get lost.

Seeing that he didn't deny it, it seemed to be true.

"Why are you listening to that kid?"

It was the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and no one else.

A guy who was sure to probably rank first.

The only person who could control him was the Bull Demon King, and even he couldn't control him so completely.

And yet, here he was, listening to Kim YuWon, to let him go.

"Kid..."

OhGong smiled satisfactorily and murmured at Lee Rangjin's words.

"I suppose it could look that way."

"......?"

Lee Rangjin put on an expression of perplexity.

It wasn't the reaction he expected.

As if he had no intention of saying anything more, OhGong hurriedly ushered him out of the place.

But then...

"Let's fight together someday."

As Lee Rangjin mounted his Celestial Horse, Son OhGong said something unexpected.

"What?"

"Just as you heard."

The words were unintelligible.

To fight together.

He couldn't imagine himself and OhGong fighting together, back to back.

More importantly...

'Fight against whom?'

A question mark appeared on his face.

But OhGong kept waving his hand and gesturing for him to leave.

Even if he asked, he didn't seem to want to answer.

After staring at him for a moment, he grabbed the reins of his horse.

Anyway, it didn't matter.

In the future, the Celestial Realm would surely pay for the humiliation of today.

Kihihihihih-!

The Celestial Horse started to move.

Soon, the horse turned into a dot in the sky and disappeared along with Lee Rangjin.

Immediately after...

"Don't you think you've said too many useless things?"

YuWon, who had been listening to their conversation, emerged from behind Son OhGong.

"What did I say?"

"Saying that we should fight together."

"I didn't say anything about the Outer Gods, did I?"

"Still, you better be careful. By now, that bastard must be feeling that something is wrong."

"Foolish Chaos?"

"That's right."

OhGong's face hardened.

It was true.

First Olympus, then the Celestial Realm.

There were two events that shook the Tower.

And in the process, the seeds of Foolish Chaos had been sown and died before they could bloom.

"I didn't know until later. The Jade Emperor killed my brothers for the seeds he sowed."

Son OhGong's sworn brothers.

Seven brothers in total, including the Bull Demon King, all met their end.

"Foolish Chaos's purpose is to weaken the Tower, and the Seven Eastern Demon Kings, which you formed, must have been a thorn in their eyes."

"I know, I know, no need to repeat it."

Son OhGong shook his head and avoided the words that pierced his chest.

-"Since time immemorial, Floor 50 has been the graveyard of promising Players."

The Celestial Realm.

A guild residing on Floor 50, ruling and reigning over that world.

And to become a Ranker Player, one had to pass through all the floors at least once.

-"Coincidentally or not, quite a few of the most talented Players died in the trials of Floor 50. Although it was later discovered that the Chimera Creator did it..."

Odin of Asgard.

He had long been interested in the Celestial Realm and followed its progress.

-"Later, the true nature of the Celestial Realm was revealed when the Chimera Creator exposed his connection to them."

He revealed his ties to the Celestial Realm and the fact that he had been turning famous Players into Chimeras as a Test Supervisor under his command.

Upon learning this, Odin began digging behind the Celestial Realm for quite some time.

In the end, he realized that the Celestial Realm had been connected to some entity all along.

'Until then, I had only thought it was one of the other major guilds.'

Foolish Chaos and the Jade Emperor.

How long had they been connected, and at what price had the Jade Emperor aided Foolish Chaos?

Nothing was known, but it was clear that the deaths of OhGong's brothers had something to do with Foolish Chaos.

"Foolish Chaos, that bastard."

After a moment of silence, OhGong spoke again, venom in his eyes.

"We've caught him before, but this time, I will catch him myself."

"Well..."

A part of him wanted to tell him to do just that, but the words didn't come out.

Foolish Chaos.

A being captured in a great battle against the Outer Gods, just before he returned using the Clock Movement.

So many people had died in the battle against him. In the end, YuWon was able to capture him, but to be honest, there was no guarantee that he would be able to capture him again if asked to fight in the same battle.

"It won't be so easy, I'm afraid."

"Come to think of it, I haven't heard the whole story. About him."

OhGong had been absent in the last battle that YuWon remembered.

There had been countless battles since then, but he had rarely fought against a high-ranking Outer God like Foolish Chaos.

Moreover, there was only one survivor from that fight, YuWon.

However, shortly after the battle ended, YuWon used the Clock Movement to disappear.

"Whether we like it or not, we'll probably encounter him soon."

With Lee Rangjin back home and the death of the Jade Emperor, the Celestial Realm has fallen.

Next time, perhaps, Foolish Chaos would make his own move.

Right now...

"Let's talk about Ragnarok."

In the depths of the Heavens.

In front of the Jade Emperor's morgue, a shadow silently entered the room.

The shadow circled around the body of the Jade Emperor.

As if pondering something, the shadow stood up.

"From Zeus to the Jade Emperor..."

What had been a small problem had turned into a full-blown problem.

"They were about to bear fruit..."

Zeus of Olympus.

His fall was initially attributed to Hercules.

Hercules was venomous enough to kill the seeds he sowed. So, he made Zeus play the role of Hercules on another hand and foot of Olympus.

But now that Hercules had turned, it was not impossible for Olympus to fall.

It was like that this time too.

"Was it the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal this time?"

The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

He was even more ruthless than Hercules.

Not only him, but also the Bull Demon King around him, and the Seven Eastern Demon Kings, consisting of a total of seven individuals.

All of them were beings that would become a problem in the future.

But...

"What kind of thing is Kim YuWon?"

There was a connection between these two events.

Kim YuWon.

A Player who was not yet a Ranker.

He was starting to think that maybe the fall of Olympus and the Celestial Realm had been caused by him.

"I should get rid of him."

If something bothers, it's right to push it aside and kill it. It didn't matter if it was big or small.

After all, even the greatest could stumble upon a small stone if they didn't have it in sight.

"Now he's on the 50th floor..."

Kim YuWon reached the 50th floor.

He had no intention of stopping here.

It was only a matter of time, and he would surely climb higher.

So...

"Anyway, he'll soon get caught in a typhoon and break."

There were still many seeds sown, and some of them would bear fruit and turn into giant typhoons.

They just needed a little more time to mature.

"I have to hurry a bit."

Now that the plans for the Second Gigantomachy and the Great Celestial Demon War had been ruined, there was no time to relax.

Ssshhhh-.

The shadow disappeared, leaving the morgue empty.

[The beginning of Ragnarok]

The fall of the Tower began so quietly.