Leveling with the Gods
chapter-609

Side Story 85

Flash!

The world turned pure white.

Sound and color vanished completely, leaving only Zeus within.

Crunch.

His footsteps echoed as agonizing screams fell silent.

Branil collapsed to his knees, eyes wide open.

Zeus approached him and said,

"I don't dislike people like you."

Crack, sizzle~

The place where the white electricity had passed started regaining its color, revealing other Rankers around Branil.

"The greedy are beautiful. It only matters if they achieve their goals or not."

Zeus tapped Branil's forehead.

Tock.

Thud.

Branil staggered backward, unable to move his body. He was completely paralyzed, unable to even lift a finger.

"I did it. I climbed to this stage and became the ruler."

"Gah..."

"Kuh..."

"Ugh, uwaaaah-"

Labored breathing and nausea came from different places. Zeus observed the Rankers struggling to move and continued,

"This stage is still far beyond your reach. No, maybe you'll never reach it."

"Hmph!"

Branil, who had barely regained consciousness by gathering all the Arcane Power in his body, gasped on the ground.

He hadn't fully regained strength in his body, but he could slightly move his head.

He looked up at Zeus from the ground.

'What the hell happened?'

Suddenly, his memory was completely wiped.

In an instant.

It seemed like Arcane Power had been injected into Zeus's fingertips, and then all his memories disappeared.

"So, I'll show you what it means."

Boom!

A sound resonated.

It came from his fingers.

Thunder, like that rumbling in the skies.

'A single attack.'

He didn't even see it.

With just a gesture towards the door they had broken down, this scene unfolded.

An upper world they were unfamiliar with.

Zeus had shown it to them.

'This is... a Celestial God.'

Celestial God.

That was an epithet that had accompanied Zeus's name for thousands of years.

One of the Three Gods of Olympus.

The Grand Guild Master seated on the throne of heaven.

And it was also the other name for the strongest Player.

"Move aside."

Whoosh.

Zeus ignored the Rankers, including Branil, and lifted his head to the sky.

"I'm not here to wait for brats like you."

No one died.

It wasn't an act of mercy.

He simply didn't consider them worthy of being killed, not even as a threat.

Most importantly, the Administrators had intervened for them to reach this point.

As expected...

Splat.

Puff.

Swords pierced Zeus's back.

His abdomen, chest, and limbs were pierced simultaneously.

The four Envoys that appeared behind him grinned like jesters and spoke,

"Seems like you were waiting for us?"

"We thought you'd at least greet us..."

Crack.

In that instant...

Boom!

Zeus's body exploded, and the Envoys were enveloped in a blue lightning bolt.

The blue lightning was Indra's lightning, with the most powerful destructive property.

The bodies of the Envoys were charred in an instant.

Right after...

Whoosh.

Behind the statue on the edge of the pond.

Zeus appeared with a smile on his face.

"I was just imitating that Monkey."

A figure created instantly.

Watching the Envoys entangled in that, Zeus asked,

"Are you okay?"

"You... Kkeok..."

"Kkeugok..."

The Envoys were getting up intermittently.

They were larger types than common Envoys.

They were probably supervisors of the Envoys on each floor.

And their appearance meant...

"I told you it wouldn't be easy, right?"

"I only wasted the Envoys."

"Don't underestimate him. Did you dismiss Vishnu in vain?"

-That also meant that the Administrators above them had come.

Administrators shrouded in robes.

From giants with an imposing body to silhouettes as delicate as women.

Four Administrators covered in robes emitted different sensations despite covering their bodies.

Blink.

The appearance of the Administrators throwing off their robes reflected in Zeus's eyes.

An Administrator similar to the Tutorial and others of indistinct appearance.

A short-statured old man with a hunched waist.

A beautiful woman with a slender waist and tall stature.

And even someone faceless, whose gender couldn't be discerned.

"Many of you came."

Four.

It was the highest number within expectations.

Although they were many, there was no reason to despair.

After all, they were the ones Zeus had summoned.

"Isn't it too confident?"

"He made all the provocations himself."

"I thought it might be an exaggeration, but he really is alone. Not even Hercules is here."

To determine if Zeus, who challenged them, was alone, the Administrators mobilized Rankers, including Branil.

They became the eyes and ears of the Administrators and explored if there was anyone else in the Temple.

"Still, be careful. The opponent is Zeus."

"Even in the Administration Office, he's considered top-tier."

In the Administration Office, the top-ranked.

Zeus pondered that at their words.

'Was that the basis for ranking calculation?'

Players wondered.

What was the criterion for calculating the ranking?

It couldn't be defined with just one thing. But, assuming, it was a fact that this criterion wasn't absolute.

Strength and power, wealth, influence, achievements...

Moreover, all kinds of criteria were applied complexly to the ranking.

The ranking of the Administration Office, organized in that way.

But the reason for that ranking was precisely this.

'Judgment on danger.'

One or two days to prepare for something like today were not enough.

Zeus knew that too.

At this moment, they were being manipulated by the ancient beings of the Tower, the administrators.

If they truly thought they were the owners of the Tower.

Ten years ago.

No, long before that, from the moment Foolish Chaos began to roam the Tower.

They should have aided Zeus.

"They said the Administration Office has the best information network, but it seems they were wrong."

Zeus's words drew the gazes of the Administrators.

Expressions asking what nonsense he was talking about.

Zeus's following words were also arrogant.

"If not, there's no way only four of you would have come."

Zeus hinted that they should have brought more than four if they truly believed they were the owners of the Tower.

Some Administrators chuckled at those words.

Even if he were Zeus, it made no sense for him to boast so much in front of four Administrators.

Indeed.

Despite the confidence he showed on the outside, Zeus's eyes were examining the Administrators one by one.

"They're not from the lower strata."

Particularly, one of them caught his attention.

"Especially that woman..."

Zeus's eyes narrowed as he observed the Administrator at the far right.

"I don't like her aura."

She was different from the other Administrators. Not only because of the turbulent Arcane Power emanating from her but also the bloodlust she had shown since her arrival.

What had angered her so much?

The answer came in the form of words:

"That guy? He's the one who killed my sister."

Sister.

Although he didn't know exactly who she was, if she was an Administrator's sister, she was most likely also an Administrator.

And a high-ranked one.

If someone had been able to kill such a high-ranking Administrator, only one name came to Zeus's mind.

"It's the work of that guy."

Floor 94.

In Deva's domain, YuWon had killed an Administrator.

Upon returning, YuWon shared information with Zeus. He said he had found the one responsible for Vishnu's death.

"He said he was her sister."

That could only mean one thing.

"It's him."

The Administrator burning with rage toward him. Her anger found an echo in the words of the other three Administrators:

"It's just speculation."

"Although it's a pretty plausible speculation."

"Zeus wasn't on the 94th floor at that time."

"But it wasn't Hercules or The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal either."

The Administrators couldn't find the culprit for the death of the 94th-floor Administrator, Chatogua.

And it was understandable.

Because the responsible party was Kim YuWon.

"And who is this guy named Kim YuHun?"

"It's a name that has never caught the attention of the Administration Office. He's an imposter."

YuWon had been using an alias, Kim YuHun.

However, no one believed he was a complete stranger.

It was logical for them to feel confused.

The more they trusted the information network they had created under the name of the Rankers' Administration Office, the deeper their confusion became.

Because he was, in fact, someone who had appeared out of nowhere.

"When it comes to Kim YuHun, the issue is who is using that name."

"And the main candidate is that guy right now!"

"Calm down, Jotakua."

"My sister is dead, and you're asking me to calm down!"

Kiiieeee!!!

Cuaaaah-!!!

Uaaah-!!!

Death cries echoed in their ears. The Rankers lying on the ground howled in pain, and some even lost consciousness.

Zeus, who was nearby, didn't feel very well either.

"I'll kill them all! That guy, Hercules, The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal! Everyone who could have killed my sister!"

Her face contorted in a grimace of fury.

The entire area was filled with ominous arcane energy.

The Administrators extended their hands, and the Rankers who had been brought to this place also trembled in fear at her anger.

However, precisely...

Zeus smiled at Jotakua's fury.

"You're right."

Jotakua's face twisted like a monster.

"I killed her."

And the moment those words came out of his lips...

"Z-Zeus-!!"

Tock!

Jotakua, who had lost her sanity, lunged at Zeus.

It was an instant, barely a blink.

Jotakua's movements in attacking were so fast that everything around her seemed to have stopped. However, no matter how fast she was. From the beginning, she could never reach Zeus.

Kaboom!

A wall of lightning rose from the ground.

Jotakua, who was charging, came to a sudden halt.

Could it be a trap?

Before the question could finish forming in her mind, the lightning pillars sprouting from the ground quickly expanded their reach.

Kaboom, kaboom!

Flash!

Lightning pillars rose from the ground.

Their reach encompassed the entire temple where Zeus resided.

"Jotakua!"

"This isn't good! Gather...!"

The last words weren't heard clearly.

The sound of thunder resonating around drowned out the voices of the other Administrators.

Rumble, crackle.

Kaboom!

A lightning bolt shot up from the ground and soared into the sky.

The temple was completely filled with lightning.

['Lightning-Infused Temple' temporarily activated].

"Lightning-Infused Temple?"

A name they had never heard before.

Probably, this was an original technique of Zeus that the Administrators were unaware of.

"You, the Administrators, always think all Arcane Power belongs to you."

Sizzle~

On the stage where lightning danced.

Zeus was like a fish in water.

"I'm curious."

"…!"

Crack.

Zeus suddenly appeared in front of her. His palm covered Jotakua's face.

"In this place, who will be the master of Arcane Power, me, or you?"

Rumble!