Leveling with the Gods
chapter-444

C444

[The Otherworld Opponent]#Those who fight against other worlds. They possess great strength in battling against other worlds.

The description itself didn't seem convincing.

No specific numbers were shown, and no special abilities were described.

But he understood it.

Most characteristics related to Divinity tended to be like that, even if exact numbers weren't provided.

The reason for this was debated, but the general consensus was one.

Divinity belonged to forces that the System couldn't control.

Therefore, it had no other choice but to check it for itself.

Step~

YuWon approached the sheep.

The sheep bared their teeth at the wolf that entered the flock. YuWon counted the number of sheep.

'Around a hundred, maybe a bit more.'

He didn't need an exact number.

The sheep that had gathered in a group. These little ones wouldn't be wandering by chance.

This Black Woods was the territory of Shub-Niggurath.

'She must be preparing.' For a while now, YuWon had felt her gaze. It was clear she was trying to use the sheep to test him.

Unlike Zeus and Odin, with whom he had already fought once, YuWon was a newcomer.

'All the better for me.'

Oong.

The tip of the sword trembled in his hand.

The sword's edge began to be imbued with Arcane Power. The 'Otherworld Opponent's' power manifested over him.

And at that moment...

Pashh.

Finally, the wolf jumped into the flock of sheep.

"Kwaaah!"

A sheep's head was severed by YuWon's sword. Skin, fur, and tough bone were cut through together.

'Quick. And clean.'

'Is this the Asura's sword skill? It seems to go well with that guy too.'

'Nevertheless, they're not enemies that can be killed so easily.'

Three thoughts about YuWon's sword.

They weren't exceptional impressions, given YuWon's rank, that was to be expected.

But something surprising happened next.

Pashh.

The body of the severed sheep crumbled to dust. Where the hell did that tough vitality go? The sheep disappeared into YuWon's hands.

"Beeeh..."

"Beeeeh..."

The terrified bleating of the sheep.

YuWon cut down a sheep and stood still for a moment before murmuring.

"... So, it was like this?"

The corners of his mouth curved up.

It felt good. His leg, which had been still for a moment, moved again.

Shub-Niggurath might have sent these to test him.

'Thanks to that, I can fill my stomach.'

Kwaaah!

YuWon's sword cut off another sheep's head. The cleanly cut-off sheep's head fell from the sky to the ground with a dull sound.

Thud.

YuWon's arm, surrounded by a hundred sheep, was bitten by the teeth. The moment Hercules tried to step forward to help YuWon, the sheep that had bitten YuWon's arm was lifted upwards.

Vroomm-!

Crunch!

YuWon forcefully lifted the sheep that bit his arm and slammed it down with all his might.

The sheep couldn't even scream. YuWon held his leg up high and broke the sheep's neck.

Crack.

The sound of crushed bones.

Not a drop of blood flowed from YuWon's arm. It left a few bite marks, but it didn't seem to have caused any bruising.

"Flying high."

"Indeed... It seems light."

"Is he saving Arcane Power?"

"I wish I had a popcorn bag. Eat and watch the show."

"What's popcorn?"

"It's a food that people down below eat a lot these days. They fry corn..."

Zeus and Odin exchanged words. YuWon was running solo, so the three of them didn't have anything to do at this moment.

YuWon wasn't using any special abilities.

Although he could have used the Lightning Bolt like Zeus and burned the woods, he only had a sword in his hand as he leaped among the sheep.

The way YuWon cut down the sheep with his sword looked like a predator tasting blood going wild.

'But this is strange.'

Hercules, now watching YuWon fight with confidence, thought.

'Of course, the more you fight, the more stamina wears down...'

YuWon didn't seem to lose strength even a bit after cutting down the sheep with his sword.

'Instead, it seems like he's getting stronger.'

Kwaaah!

The head of another sheep was severed by YuWon's sword.

The sheep were no longer approaching YuWon. YuWon cut down a sheep and, while shaking the blood off his sword, heard a cheerful message.

['You have defeated the 'Black Goat of the Woods']

[The 'Otherworld Opponent' absorbs the power of the 'Black Goat of the Woods']

[The 'Otherworld Opponent' absorbs the power of the 'Black Goat of the Woods']

[The 'Otherworld Opponent'...]

[Your 'Strength' increases by 1]

His stats went up. The stats that had completely stopped began growing again.

Each sheep was like a level-up experience for YuWon. For the first time in a long while, he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.

'This is the third one.'

He gained three stats by defeating around a hundred sheep. With the second stat, his health increased, and his previously heavy breathing returned to normal.

Stat increases through hunting. In this regard, the power the Otherworld Opponent had was similar to the Predator.

And furthermore...

Crunch.

The teeth of the sheep that bit his leg.

Each sheep was an individual with enough strength and endurance to chew even steel. Even though YuWon's endurance stat was high, he couldn't ignore this kind of fangs.

At least, under normal circumstances.

[The 'Otherworld Opponent' protects your body from the 'Black Goat of the Woods']

Crack!

The sheep's teeth didn't sink into YuWon's body but, instead, they broke. It turned out to be the same result after trying multiple times.

An indeterminate force protected his body. This force that had started boiling inside him since the sheep fight began allowed him to avoid any harm.

'There's no need to keep testing at this point.'

Thud!

YuWon's sword lay flat.

There was nothing more to check here. Now he was starting to feel it was a waste of time fighting these types of sheep.

Of course, he had no intention of yielding these valuable experience sources to the three who were behind him.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A Golden Lightning Bolt erupted from the ring YuWon was holding his sword in.

[The 'Uranus Heart' creates a 'Lightning Bolt']

[The 'Otherworld Opponent' resides in the 'Lightning Bolt']

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The color of the Lightning Bolt changed. When the Golden Lightning Bolt mixed with the purple, YuWon's hand, about to brandish the sword, stopped for a moment.

And in that brief moment...

Vruuuum-!

Crunch-!

With its mouth wide open, a nearby sheep came closer and swallowed YuWon.

And at that moment...

Zing-!

It moved faster than he thought.

Crash-!

The Lightning Bolt cut the woods in a wide arc.

With that strike, the Black Goats of the Woods were swept up into the air.

[You have defeated the 'Black Goats of the Woods']

[You have defeated the 'Black Goats of the Woods']

[You have defeated the 'Black Goats of the Woods']

["..."]

[Your 'Arcane Power' has increased by 1]

The messages repeated. In the end, the message was that his Arcane Power had increased.

Arcane Power was one of YuWon's highest stats. Even if it increased by just one, it was a satisfying achievement.

However, the joy was momentary.

YuWon looked at the remains of the Lightning Bolt that had exploded in front of him.

Crack! Crack-le!

The Lightning Bolt's effect still lingered in scattered places. While YuWon's range wasn't as broad as Zeus's, his Lightning Bolt was much sharper.

Of course, YuWon and the other three weren't interested in that.

'The color of the Lightning Bolt...'

'It's closer to purple.'

In this Tower, there were various colors.

Depending on the properties of Arcane Power or abilities, the variety of types was diverse, but he had never seen a purple Lightning Bolt before.

'Power coming from the Outside of the Tower has purple properties.'

'Lightning Bolts are basically golden in color. The fact that the color changed means it mixed with another power.'

YuWon's thoughts were equally complex.

Through the Uranus Heart, YuWon re-attracted the Lightning Bolt into his hands.

Crack, crack.

A twisted Lightning Bolt of beautiful golden color.

It definitely had a different nature than before.

"What have you just done?"

"That's the question I want to ask you."

Hercules' voice resonated from behind.

Turning his head, YuWon realized that Hercules had approached him unnoticed. The distance was so short that YuWon had to look up to meet Hercules' gaze.

"That was definitely a Lightning Bolt. Maybe until yesterday, I wouldn't have known, but now I'm sure it is. But what exactly was it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"It doesn't seem like the nature has changed. I guess it inadvertently mixed with another type of power."

"Mixed with another power?"

"That's right."

"Come to think of it, you used purple fire. So, Fire and Lightning... no, it didn't seem like Fire mixed with Lightning..."

Hercules scratched his head, seemingly perplexed.

Despite having gained the power of the Lightning Bolt, Hercules didn't have a deep knowledge of Arcane Power properties compared to other High-Rankers.

"Anyway, what do you think?"

While Hercules was puzzled, Zeus, who also wielded the Lightning Bolt, had a rather straightforward reaction.

"Aren't you sure of his ability? Honestly, it's beyond my expectations."

It was certainly a response that suited Zeus.

After all, he valued results more than anyone YuWon knew.

No matter how YuWon had acquired this power, it was fine by him.

And this time, even Hercules didn't deny Zeus's statement.

"...Well. It's time to part ways, after all."

"That's true. If you have any questions, you can ask them later."

Hercules nodded.

He had confirmed the power YuWon had obtained by reaching Divinity. More than anything, the fact that he had made it to this battlefield was what mattered most.

"The fact that you've made it here means we have the advantage."

So far, YuWon had crossed many battlefields.

Probably, in this short period of time, he would be the only one in this Tower to have experienced such large battlefields. Moreover, among them, there were battlefields that not even YuWon could handle with his abilities.

And what they had in common was one thing.

In every battlefield YuWon appeared in, they won without fail.

Hercules looked at him with a satisfied expression.

But...

"Advantage?"

YuWon's response to Hercules' confidence, as if it were impossible, was an empty laugh.

"Just with me?"

"Huh?"

"No way."

A firm, unwavering response without hesitation.

Hercules, who thought he had gained a bit of an advantage with YuWon's arrival, had a perplexed expression for a moment.

And then...

As he gazed deeper into the Black Woods, YuWon spoke.

"Of course, if it's just me, that wouldn't be enough."

KO-FI