Leveling with the Gods
chapter-533

C9

Frrr-.

The moment they made eye contact.

"Ugh... ugh..."

For over a thousand years, Ciryc, who had led a life as a High-Ranker, experienced a fear like never before.

No, it went beyond the emotion of fear.

Among those who became Rankers, there was no one who hadn't faced the threat of death.

However, despite that.

Cyric, in front of the crowd, found himself falling backward without realizing it.

The eyes still hidden behind his long white hair continued to stare at him.

"I, I, I... Heavens..."

Stop~

Son OhGong's hand covered his lips.

With a silent gesture for him to be quiet, Cyric tightly shut his mouth.

The poker face he had maintained until Varuna appeared had long since crumbled.

'Why is The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal here? Why is The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal... here with Varuna?'

He repeated the same thought countless times.

Despite trying to analyze it repeatedly, he couldn't understand.

What would be the probability of encountering The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal in this 100-Floor Tower?

And what would be the probability of The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal appearing precisely with Varuna?

『Hey.』

"Yes, huh?"

Ciryc, surprised, responded. He involuntarily shrank.

Son OhGong, though active as a mercenary of Olympus, technically wasn't affiliated with any Guild.

Most of all, he was known to be so temperamental that he could take down not only a Ranker but even a Celestial Realm.

『Tsk. Answer nonsense, and I'll hit you. Just nod your head.』

Cyric nodded vigorously.

A thin and long staff hanging from Son OhGong's waist.

The moment that moved, the first floor would once again face a great catastrophe.

『Good. Then, leave everything you have and go.』

"Wha...?"

He involuntarily opened his mouth.

Although he hurriedly closed it again, the words were simply unacceptable.

'What am I going to do if I leave this?'

The five products Cyric was promoting.

That was all Cyric had left.

By nature, a scam must have a foundation.

But Son OhGong was saying to leave all of that.

『What's wrong? Anyway, you had to leave everything.』

Cyric lifted his head.

It was unfair.

The final game hadn't been played yet.

Before starting the game, when he tried to escape, Varuna and Son OhGong stopped him.

『There's no reason to feel unfair. Anyway, you wouldn't have won properly.』

He wasn't wrong.

Indeed, Cyric had no confidence in winning the next game.

Moreover, the items he possessed weren't even originally his.

But people always feel unfair when they lose what they had in their hands.

And Cyric was also part of those people.

『If you feel bad, do it properly here again. Don't run away.』

Son OhGong disappeared into the crowd while waving his hands.

Although he disappeared immediately from his sight, he was sure Son OhGong was watching him from somewhere.

'Who the hell is this guy...?'

Cyric finally turned to YuWon, resigned to accept the situation.

"Is everyone messing with me?"

Varuna was also perplexed.

'I-Is that really The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal?'

Long, white hair, a long staff hanging from his waist.

There was no doubt.

'...Yes, it is.'

As a High-Ranker of Deva, Varuna had participated in the last war against the Outers.

In that battle, Varuna had watched from afar as Son OhGong fought.

At that moment, Son OhGong, in his Yokai state, had terrified even his battle companions while massacring the Outers.

'Oh, no.'

Chisss-.

Unconsciously, Varuna took a step back, sweating cold.

'I think I've come to the wrong place.'

"Hey."

Varuna, surprised, turned to the side.

Son OhGong was now standing beside him, smiling widely.

"I thought I didn't like your face because it reminded me of a parasite, is it you?"

His expression was smiling, but his eyes were cold and ruthless.

Varuna, soaked in cold sweat, asked:

"Are you the main body?"

"Do I look like a clone?"

A question with another question.

He couldn't be sure.

At this moment, he couldn't feel the majesty of a great god from "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal" or the "Traitor of the Celestial Realm" in the Son OhGong in front of him.

'A clone...?'

If it was a clone, then it made sense.

It was said that the way to differentiate between the main body and Son OhGong's clones was by the strength and majesty they exuded.

Of course...

Even if it was a clone, it was a formidable being for Varuna.

"But... why are you here?"

Floor 1.

The lowest place in the Tower.

Even normal Rankers rarely came here.

Varuna also wouldn't have paid attention to this place if it weren't for Pandora.

However, the fact that The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal appeared on Floor 1 was a situation hard to comprehend.

"Well, it's obvious."

Swoosh-.

Son OhGong's gaze turned to YuWon, who had just emerged victorious from his battle against Cyric.

That was enough as an answer.

Son OhGong also remembered YuWon.

"It's been a while..."

"Oh? Seems like you remember him too?"

Varuna nodded.

Son OhGong stared at her and shrugged.

He more or less knew how Varuna had come to remember YuWon.

"Well, it's obvious. He must have taken a hit from Pandora while bothering her."

Son OhGong grinned widely as he looked at Varuna.

Although the current Varuna didn't know, Son OhGong had fought alongside Varuna for quite some time before returning to the past with the Clock Movement.

Naturally, he also knew his personality quite well.

"...And since when do you remember him?"

"Probably much earlier than you."

"Is there anyone else?"

"Hercules. Now there are four."

"Four..."

Varuna clenched his fists.

Although he was annoyed that there were others who remembered YuWon besides him, the number wasn't that large.

'It's still okay. It's still okay.'

Son OhGong shook his head as he watched Varuna silently clenching his fists.

He could clearly see what Varuna was thinking.

The guy, who didn't have much prestige among the High-Rankers representing Deva, was probably trying to ascend through YuWon.

'But well...'

Son OhGong grinned maliciously as he watched Varuna dream of a bright future.

"Still, he might be useful."

The spectators dispersed.

Since all the prizes were taken away, the game no longer had any meaning.

YuWon whispered low to Cyric, who had a stunned expression:

"You were aiming for a floor without an Administrator, huh?"

Cyric raised his head in surprise.

A floor without an Administrator.

He descended to the first floor with that information.

He thought there wouldn't be much trouble here unless he caused a big commotion.

"Instead, consider it lucky. If you had gotten into this kind of trouble on the first floor and encountered Olympus, they would have cut off your head."

"...Yes."

There was no resentment.

Cyric was no longer displeased with YuWon.

Instead, he was only curious about YuWon and the people around him, like Son OhGong and Varuna.

YuWon, who had collected the items, approached Pandora first.

He didn't mind the gazes of Son OhGong and Varuna, who were watching from the other side.

"Took you a while, huh?"

Whoosh-.

Just as he had originally planned, YuWon handed over to Pandora the items he had won in the game.

"Will this be your size?"

A ring slid onto Pandora's finger.

A small, thin ring with a red gemstone.

Pandora looked at the ring in her hand with shining eyes.

"...Yes."

Pandora extended her fingers and examined the ring from side to side. Then, smiling pleased, she lovingly embraced the hand holding the ring.

"I like it."

"I'm glad you like it."

YuWon took Pandora's hand without reservation.

Although most of the spectators had left, there were still quite a few people around.

He had no intention of making a scene here.

"Let's go home."

"Are we leaving already?"

"Hey, I think we should."

YuWon's gaze turned to Son OhGong and Varuna, who were silently lurking in a corner.

"It's for the intruders."

YuWon snapped his fingers.

Varuna shuddered in the distance, and Son OhGong chuckled slyly and disappeared without a trace.

Varuna kept a considerable distance, following YuWon.

Shortly after, when YuWon returned home, Son OhGong suddenly peeked his head.

"Were you on a date?"

Son OhGong's movements were sometimes unpredictable even for YuWon. His expression seemed somewhat excited, as if he found it quite amusing to see YuWon playing with Pandora.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"What's wrong? Why are you so calm now? A moment ago, you were embarrassed."

It was like the children of old playing "hide and seek."

YuWon sighed and looked at Varuna, who had followed.

"Hey."

"Yes!"

"Don't meddle in what doesn't concern you."

What he was trying to do on his own, Varuna intervened, and the situation became more serious.

If it was something related to him, he could simply ignore it.

YuWon had known for a long time that people didn't care much about what concerned him.

However...

'If you guys get involved, it becomes annoying.'

Son OhGong seemed to have caught the hint and concealed his presence.

Although he had white hair, he had changed his face quite a bit with skill.

But that wasn't the case for Varuna.

"Come in."

YuWon let Son OhGong and Varuna into the house.

Pandora was absorbed in contemplating her new ring.

Plop.

He served them two glasses of water without much ceremony.

"I don't think you came just to play. Speak."

"Eh? How do you know?"

"Does your look when you come to play match the one you have now? And if you had nothing to say, you wouldn't be here."

It wasn't just because he had known him for a long time. It was largely because Son OhGong was such an easy-to-read character.

"Really? I should learn to have a poker face or something."

"Stop talking nonsense. What happened on your journey? How are things?"

"A bit confusing."

Son OhGong scratched his head.

It was a habitual gesture indicating that he was trying to think but not very successfully.

"Just as you said, the Administrators have moved, but..."

"If they moved, how did they do it?"

"Just like that. An Administrator approached Zeus and told him not to trust them."

Zeus.

He was the player number 1 in the current ranking.

In other words, he was the Player representing the Tower.

An Administrator had warned the Player representative, despite the symbolic nature of the act, the content of the warning was disappointingly vague.

"I also thought something terrible was going to happen, like with Shub-Niggurath, but in the end, it was nothing."

Varuna, who had been listening to the conversation with tension, spoke with a trembling voice.

In contrast...

"It's a declaration of war."

YuWon's reaction was quite extreme.