Leveling with the Gods
chapter-509

C509

Four Divine Beasts finally submitted. The presence of Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, not a clone, was enough to completely erase a Great Guild.

"Haha, should you not have said you were the original?"

"That's right. If you had shown that level of sincerity, we would have pretended we couldn't defeat you, you know?"

White Tiger and Blue Dragon.

The two High-Rankers approached OhGong and smiled awkwardly.

The appearance of Four Divine Beasts was so pathetic and contemptible that Son OhGong sighed.

"Are there only fools among the Four Divine Beasts?"

...."

Four Divine Beasts were left speechless.

Son OhGong scratched his head in irritation.

In terms of temperament, he simply had no patience.

With those thoughts, Son OhGong rode on his Flying Nimbus.

'And it's even more annoying with that stupid condition.'

"Absolutely, do not kill anyone."

YuWon's warning was not just a formality.

In the future, OhGong, just like now, traveled to Guilds that refused to cooperate and used force against those who did not.

Ultimately, the Guilds that never moved. Those who cowardly hid behind other Guilds and planned their safety with the blood of others.

OhGong didn't let those types get away. And he also remembered.

This was the beginning of something bigger.

"This fight has just begun. Remember that."

What YuWon warned more about was this.

From Tower Rankers to Players and residents. Guilds that did not move until more than half of all races were eliminated.

But now, the fight against the Outers had just begun.

Son OhGong knew that too.

However, he just felt angry.

"If it were up to my temperament, I would just..."

Fiercely burning eyes.

Four Divine Beasts trembled upon meeting Son OhGong's gaze.

Son OhGong moved, riding on the Flying Nimbus. Looking down, he saw the injured Rankers getting up one by one.

Still, no guild member died as a result of this commotion.

"Tsk..."

Son OhGong moved to the next location, savoring his disgust.

Previously, he would have caused disturbances on impulse, but in the end, meaningless words and displays of force were not fun.

Moreover, he had more interest in a particular side, so his disappointment was even greater.

"I should have followed them."

Tap, tap, tap.

Hercules broke a dry branch and threw it into the blazing fire.

Every time he inhaled, he exhaled vapor. Since becoming a Ranker, he thought he would no longer feel the cold, but it seems that was a mistake.

"It's cold."

"...Freezing."

Pandora borrowed YuWon's "Garment Of The Four Great Elements."

It was a cold that went beyond sub-zero temperatures.

Outside the Tower, the temperature dropped so much at night that it would freeze not only the skin but also the bones and soul.

Even Pandora seemed to have difficulty enduring the cold.

"I told you not to come."

As if he had anticipated that, YuWon sighed.

Exhaling a strong white breath, YuWon took ground coffee from his inventory and heated it in water.

"Take it. It will make you feel better."

"Thank you."

"No, not to you."

Instead of offering a cup to the outstretched hand, YuWon gave the coffee to Pandora.

Seeing Hercules's embarrassed expression, YuWon poured another cup of coffee. The cup looked like a miniature in Hercules's hand.

"It seems like we've traveled a long way. I see nothing."

Hercules brought the cup to his lips and drank it in one go. Then he looked ahead.

An empty and desolate desert. Unlike inside the Tower, this place had no civilization.

"One of the two, I guess."

"One of the two?"

"Either they have escaped, or they are trying to join forces to fight against us."

They had been moving for more than a day, but they hadn't seen anything. They knew that the others already knew they were coming.

That made sense.

YuWon raised his head and looked at the sky.

Unlike the purple sky that appeared in the Tower, the sky here was very clear.

Although he knew that the stars were actually something else, he couldn't help but admire them.

'Did that guy warn them?'

Sothoth's eye was present inside and outside the Tower, everywhere.

He could feel that he was being watched. He understood that others had already suffered at the hands of that entity.

"I should hurry a bit," YuWon thought.

This moment will probably be the last time he rests.

YuWon looked beyond the vast desert that stretched endlessly.

"I used to walk a lot around here. I even got tired of it," he said.

A long time ago, Azathoth had walked through this desert.

In this world of sand and sky, there wasn't much else to do than sit in silence or walk.

Hercules asked, intrigued by YuWon's reflective words.

"When you were Azathoth, you say?"

"Yes."

"And now?"

YuWon hesitated for a moment.

But the hesitation only lasted a moment.

"...I am Kim YuWon."

He said, nodding as if reaffirming his decision.

Hercules squinted his eyes.

"Did you think about it?"

"No."

"Then why did you hesitate?"

"I don't know. It seems like my answer is delayed without me knowing it. As if I had to think even for such an obvious conclusion."

YuWon felt uncomfortable too.

Despite consciously thinking of himself as Kim YuWon, the striking name of "Azathoth" rooted in his subconscious wouldn't disappear.

Having lived so many years, engaging in personal reflection at this age was strange.

"Anyway, at least it's nice that the conclusion is that."

"Is that so?"

Hercules looked at the blazing campfire.

The magic burned thanks to YuWon's power. After a while of silence, Hercules spoke.

"I was born and raised on Olympus."

...?"

"When I was a child, I prepared to become a High-Ranker and entered the Tower. The process was simple, and ultimately, I participated in the Gigantomachy and was called a Hero."

Hercules, the Hero.

He was embarrassed to be called that.

Despite that, the fact that he uttered the word Hero meant it wasn't just a delusion.

"After the war, I became a lumberjack. Strangely, the blood on my hands that didn't wash off even in the constantly falling waterfalls seemed to wash off as I cut wood."

"So that's why you worked so much with wood."

"That's right. That's why I'll be a carpenter."

Hercules, who said that, seemed as excited as a child.

"I've always thought about it. Since I have a lot of strength, I think I could be the most skilled carpenter in this Tower."

He was envisioning the future after this war.

A carpenter.

Hercules had already worked with wood for a long time. From the end of the Gigantomachy until the name of Hercules was forgotten. He collected wood from the forest and used his points to help needy residents.

"And you, what do you plan to do?"

Hercules alternately looked at YuWon and Pandora.

He asked about their dreams.

"We?"

"Yes. Don't you have something you want to do? Especially..."

Hercules looked at YuWon and asked:

"You, you had another world where you used to live."

The original world.

YuWon's answer was brief.

"I forgot."

Hercules frowned at YuWon's answer.

"You forgot?"

"I was an orphan. In my first memory, I had no mother or father."

Orphan.

That was the word that had hurt YuWon's heart the most. Having to live alone in such a difficult world was even colder than this cold.

"I had no one, so I grew up alone. I don't remember the process well. It's been a long time. But they weren't good memories."

"...I see why you didn't talk about your past."

"There was nothing to tell. If I had to mention a special event, it would be that I was bullied for being an orphan or that I fought. One of the two."

Kim YuWon, who said that, shrugged.

"For me, this place is my home. Even if I could go back, I have no intention to."

The time spent in the original world was barely 20 years. In contrast, the time spent fighting alongside companions like Son OhGong, Hercules, and Odin far exceeded that.

Where his home was no longer mattered. YuWon's world had already changed.

"After everything is over, what would you like to do?"

"What would I like to do...?"

YuWon's words became vague at the end.

It was a question he had never asked himself.

What do I want to do?

After thinking for a moment, YuWon lifted his head.

"Nothing in particular."

"Nothing in particular? Seriously?"

"Yes."

YuWon's answer disappointed Hercules.

There's nothing he wants to do.

It was regrettable to feel that in YuWon's response.

However,

"What I really want to do is just do nothing."

YuWon's words were more sincere than any other response.

"Enjoy the tranquility, get enough sleep. Don't plan anything, don't move around busily..."

After a thousand years since the end of the Gigantomachy.

Unlike Hercules, who chopped wood without a purpose after losing his goal, YuWon had run towards a single goal for most of his life.

To survive.

"I have fought more intensely than anyone for a long time. After traversing the long hallway, all I want is for there to be nothing, if possible."

As he spoke, his thoughts slowly clarified.

What he really desires.

YuWon summed that up in one word.

"I just want, for a while, to have a boring life."

"A boring life, huh?"

The moment Hercules realized that YuWon truly desired that, he smiled without disappointment.

"It's simple."

"But it's so difficult."

"It is. But now, there isn't much left."

Hercules, who was smiling broadly as if the desert was clearing, looked at Pandora, who had a determined expression somewhere.

From the gleam in her eyes, it seemed like if you poked her a bit, an incredible response would come out.

"Pandora, and you-?"

"I will get married."

"Get married...?"

Eyes wide open.

Hercules looked at YuWon, hoping it wasn't true.

"With him?"

"Yes, with YuWon. I will, for sure."

Pandora's answer was one that Hercules didn't expect.

On the other hand, YuWon, who was listening to that, seemed somewhat indifferent.

"Right now, you're receiving a confession."

"I know."

"You're not even surprised."

"I'm surprised enough. But not as much as you."

"...Why am I more surprised?"

The one receiving the confession was YuWon. However, the one who was surprised was Hercules.

YuWon seemed to have imagined that this would happen to some extent.

Pandora.

If you talk about the most beautiful woman in the tower, she is mentioned alongside Tsukuyomi and Aphrodite.

But YuWon received a confession from her.

Hercules, who was left dumbfounded, burst into laughter and asked.

"And what if this guy doesn't accept you?"

"I'll still do it."

It seemed like she didn't like the question, so Pandora muttered with a face full of annoyance, as if making a vow.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter."

"Incredible."

Hercules scratched his head, as if finding the response ridiculous.

"After going through a long hallway, what? Did he say there was nothing?...."

In the end, there was something truly incredible waiting for him.

Tap, tap, tap-.

The campfire continued to burn.

YuWon didn't respond to Pandora's confession. Pandora, on her part, didn't seem different from usual, as if she didn't expect a particular answer.

Pandora, slowly sipping coffee, and YuWon, lost in thought while stirring the campfire with a log.

Hercules thought.

'I don't know if those two will end up together or not, but...'

Looking at the starry sky shining.

'I hope that day comes soon.'