Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-ss3-30041322

Sun Wukong's remark contained an undertone of disdain toward Vivasvat. It was as if he was speaking with an immature minor. However, Vivasvat did not object. Rather, he narrowed his eyes and observed his opponent.

Vivasvat was wary of his opponent because of the rumors that preceded him. Even if most of the rumors were simple exaggerations, even if only some of them were true, Vivasvat knew that he currently did not have the power level to deal with Sun Wukong. Moreover, Vivasvat was scanning his surroundings to secure a way out in case things went south.

"Oho? You're unlike what they say about Jiho's son. You're much calmer than I expected. Are you really Jiho's son?" Sun Wukong was a little startled by Vivasvat's reaction. Based on the Heavenly Demon he knew, Sun Wukong expected that the Heavenly Demon's son would have already called him an idiot and rushed headfirst at him without thinking about the consequences. However, Vivasvat showed no signs of such agitation, let alone excitement.

"Hmm, perhaps you resemble your mother?" Sun Wukong grumpily muttered to himself as he hung the Ruyi Bang on his back. It seemed that Sun Wukong had been looking forward to a good spar.

"Well, it probably doesn't matter. Anyway, little boy, stop running around all over the place and go home. Your mom and dad are worried about you. Stop causing concern for them and return." Sun Wukong treated Vivasvat like a young boy who ran away from home. If Vivasvat did not follow his words, it seemed that Sun Wukong was planning on knocking Vivasvat out and dragging him back home.

However, Vivasvat continued to look at Sun Wukong while having his Great Handprint skill readied. He remained quiet. As if he was about to die of frustration, Sun Wukong made a frustrated expression and was about to say something in annoyance. However, just at that moment, Vivasvat spoke up. "Where my father is… You seem to know."

'You.' Sun Wukong smiled. Even amid the countless iterations of the turning 'wheel', few people had ever referred to him as 'you.' "And if I do?"

"Tell me where my father is. I must see my father."

"I don't feel like telling you."

"Tell me."

"I don't want to. I'm already tired and angry about having to come here, but now, you want me to get involved in a father and son quarrel? I will not."

"…If that's the case, I guess there's only one action I can take."

"Oh! Are you going to do something about it?"

Phew. Vivasvat lightly sighed and cracked his neck. Crack. As his body relaxed, Vivasvat's magic powers began flowing smoothly. The aura of light that was wrapped around him began to shine brighter.

"I have no choice but to force you to speak."

Whoosh! A strong wind began to swirl around Vivasvat. The wind grew to become a great gust of wind, soon turning into a typhoon. It shook the entire planet, which was already perilously teetering. If things remained like this, it seemed like the planet would soon shatter into pieces.

Amid a strong typhoon wind, Sun Wukong's long gray hair fluttered and swayed. Smile.

"You." Sun Wukong was smiling brightly as if he found the developing events immensely satisfying. "So, you are Jiho's son."

And with those words… Bam! A fierce battle between Vivasvat and Sun Wukong began.

***

After a while, the descriptive words to describe what went on changed. It was no more a 'fierce battle' as it was a one-sided beat down, an utterly one-sided beatdown. That was the most accurate way to describe what happened.

"Hahaha! It'll still take you a million years for a kid like you to chase after this old man!"

Rumble! Sun Wukong literally slapped Vivasvat around. Whenever Vivasvat launched a Great Handprint attack, Sun Wukong would avoid it casually and then slap Vivasvat on the back of his head. And if Vivasvat tried to approach Sun Wukong from his blind spot using Shukuchi, Sun Wukong would use his illusionary and transformation magic skill to hide himself, and then hit Vivasvat from behind with Ruyi Bang.

Vivasvat could not even touch Sun Wukong. It was an utter defeat and humiliation for Vivasvat. 'How… How come I can't get even a single hit in?' Vivasvat could not understand how he was being so thoroughly routed. Although he was not thinking of defeating Sun Wukong, Vivasvat had been confident that he would be able to at least put up a fight against him. Vivasvat had thought that, if he could put up a formidable performance, perhaps Sun Wukong would consider divulging the whereabouts of his father.

However, as soon as the fight started, and the moment he had his head slapped silly, Vivasvat instantly realized that his initial thoughts and expectations were all in vain.

"Have you heard of that one saying?"

"What are you going to say…!"

"Everyone has a plausible plan…until one gets hit."

"…"

"While I was contemplating that saying, I got another idea."

"…?"

"What would happen if one didn't just get hit but was slapped silly?"

"…!"

"So, let's go!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

How long did the beatdown last? At some point, Vivasvat felt like the world was spinning.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Ack… No…!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"I need to know where my father is…!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"No…!"

Vivasvat tried to hold on. He was determined to not lose his mind. If he were to lose his consciousness now, Vivasvat knew that he would find himself in front of his mother when he regained his consciousness. If that were to happen, Vivasvat was sure that he would not have an opportunity to look for his father again.

Thus, Vivasvat clung on to Sun Wukong to not lose his consciousness. No matter what, Vivasvat was determined to find the whereabouts of his father. However, this was much easier said than done. It was already straining Vivasvat to the limit to maintain consciousness.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Hey! This should be enough, so get off me. I don't like males clinging onto me! I don't swing that way!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Hey, get off me…!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Argh! You're driving me crazy!"

Fortunately for Vivasvat, as time passed, Sun Wukong grew tired. Though he was excited to beat up his opponent in the beginning, that excitement could only last to a certain extent. Though Sun Wukong had stated that he would stop beating Vivasvat up, Vivasvat did not let go of Sun Wukong. Now, Sun Wukong was feeling frustrated and angry.

If it was an enemy, Sun Wukong would have already annihilated his opponent. However, he could not do that to this child. If he inflicted a wound on Vivasvat beyond what he dished out, Sun Wukong knew that he would later get an earful from the Heavenly Demon. Slowly, Sun Wukong began to grow tired.

Huff! Huff! Huff! Breathing heavily, Sun Wukong tiredly looked at Vivasvat.

"It's still…a long way…before it's over…!" It would not have been strange if Vivasvat collapsed immediately. His two eyes had been bruised black, and his entire body was covered in dust. One would scoff at the idea that such a being had moments ago defeated an elder god and blew away an entire planet with a single gesture. Regardless, Vivasvat trudged onward. His eyes, which shone through his shaggy and ragged hair, were still sharp and full of conviction.

"Ugh…!" Sun Wukong sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair as he could not see an end to this tireless beatdown. Then, with narrowed eyes, he asked, "Why are you doing this?"

Vivasvat's reaction was incomprehensible to Sun Wukong. Vivasvat was the son of two beings who could be said to be the most important and precious existences in the vast, entire universe. Vivasvat had won the lottery of lotteries and could awaken as a god whenever he wished. Why was such a being living with such hardships? Why not just live a comfortable life?

At first, Sun Wukong thought that the young boy was excited having wind in his lungs and was simply being ostentatious, but looking back on it now, it seemed that his initial assessment was not necessarily the case. There was a deep-seated emotion behind Vivasvat's actions. It was a very dark, deep emotion.

'What the hell happened to you?' That thought was stuck in Sun Wukong's mind.

Noticing that Sun Wukong had momentarily stopped, Vivasvat thought that Sun Wukong would now listen to him properly, so Vivasvat squeaked out a few words. "There is something I really want to ask my father."

"You want to ask him something?"

"Yes…"

"What do you want to ask him?"

In response to Sun Wukong's question, Vivasvat shut his mouth tightly. He was unwilling to divulge his inner thoughts. No matter what happened, Vivasvat would never divulge his question.

Sun Wukong felt the sudden urge to slam this stubborn young kid's head once more, but then he shook his head. He knew well that no matter what he said, the kid's stubbornness would never be broken.

'How is it that this kid is a spitting image of his father… Ugh! This father and son pair are both bullying me!' Conveniently forgetting what he did to the Bull Demon King during his own youth, Sun Wukong finally put away the Ruyi Bang in his hands. 'I'm going to get an earful from Jiho. I need to avoid his wife for the time being as well.'

It was Yama who had asked Sun Wukong to bring back Vivasvat. However, Sun Wukong changed his mind at this moment. He wanted to see for himself what kind of resentment this stubborn kid had and how the kid was going to solve it.

"Tower."

"…?" The word came out from nowhere, without context. Vivasvat looked at Sun Wukong to try and understand what he meant. Perhaps because he was too focused on a possible incoming fist from Sun Wukong, Vivasvat had not followed along with the context of the conversation.

"Go to the Tower."

"…!"

Sun Wukong waved his hand lightly in the air. An effect fell on Vivasvat's head, and soon, all Vivasvat's wounds were healed at once. It was an amazing skill, but Vivasvat had no time to think about such things.

"Is my father really there?"

"Your father is not there."

"Then…?"

"Your father is the one who built that damn Tower."

Pound! Pound! Vivasvat's heart raced after hearing about his father. This was the first substantial information that he had come across regarding his father's whereabouts, which Vivasvat had been tirelessly searching for.

Sun Wukong kept his arms crossed and continued his explanation in an annoyed tone. "And to clear up a misunderstanding, your father is absolutely not avoiding you. It's just that he has his hands full with other things at the moment."

These were completely unexpected words for Vivasvat, who widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh, has father gotten injured or something…?"

"Hahaha! What? Is your father hurt? In this universe? Who the hell would be able to do that? If there's anyone who can do that, please introduce me to that being. What I would give to see that smug guy have his head cracked open."

"Then…?"

"He's fallen asleep."

"…?"

"That is… ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■… Goddammit! What 'leaking the profound secrets of the heavens' did I say to be censored? Ugh…!"

Vivasvat could not understand Sun Wukong's explanation as sudden, static-like noise seemed to disrupt his voice. Sun Wukong was thoroughly indignant at the fact that he was disturbed, but Vivasvat was able to reclaim his calm.

Leaking the profound secrets of the heavens… Among the legends surrounding divine beings, there were some legends that were considered taboos for the wider public, as it may cause chaos and confusion. These taboos were protected by the law of causality and could never be disclosed. Thus, by having his words censored, it meant that the reason why Vivasvat's father was asleep was shrouded by a great secret.

'What could possibly…!' Vivasvat could not understand what was going on. Judging by Sun Wukong's words, it seemed that even he, Sun Wukong, who was considered the strongest among the many faces of the Heavenly Demon, could not do anything for Vivasvat's father… What the hell happened to Vivasvat's father?

'First… If I go to the Tower and do some digging around, I should be able to find something.' Since he found a clue about his father, Vivasvat was determined to act immediately. With that thought, Vivasvat recalled the messages he had received earlier and pinned them at the top of his status window.

[Another 'Invitation to the Tower' has been received. Do you agree?]

[Accepted.]

[The invitation process shall begin.]

Whoosh! Vivasvat's entire body was immersed in light for a moment. Just before being sucked in somewhere, Vivasvat thanked Sun Wukong. "Thank you for your help."

Sun Wukong, as if he felt annoyed to utter another word to Vivasvat, shook his hand lightly and turned his body in the opposite direction.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"What are you going to ask this time?"

"If I climb to the top of the Tower, will I become as strong as you?"

Initially, Sun Wukong had an expression of thorough annoyance, but after hearing Vivasvat's question, Sun Wukong widened his eyes, as if he had been asked a question he had never thought of. Then he smiled lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "How can a kid like you become like me? It would take you at least a million years."

"So you're saying that I need to invest that amount of time, right?"

"…What? Ha! This brazen bastard!" Sun Wukong smirked. "Do you think I'll be fooling around in the meantime?"

"Then…"

"If you spend a million years…you'll probably be able to put up a bit of a fight."

"I see. Thank you." Vivasvat smiled lightly and lowered his head.

And then… Poof! Along with a burst of light, Vivasvat completely disappeared.

Sun Wukong was left all alone. He had his arms crossed as he shook his head. "Ugh. I don't know anymore. You two should clean up your own messy internal quarrels." Sun Wukong disappeared after murmuring the words to himself.

***

Since the start of the tutorial, Vivasvat has caused a sensation. Since he was already able to deal with gods easily, the tutorials and lower floor sections designed to match the level of mortal heroes did not offer him much of a challenge. As a result, he recorded overwhelming results on every floor.

These feats and facts spread rapidly through the various godly and demonic societies in the heavenly world.

"A player named Vivasvat? Ah, you're talking about the guy who passed the tutorial with overwhelming grades?"

"Hmpf! Such an arrogant being who dares to use the same name as Deva's sun god!"

"Hmm… I heard that he might become a god soon."

"Is he really that talented?"

"There's such a shortage of talented people these days… If that player really is that talented, you should bring him by."

As things were rapidly occurring all around him, Vivasvat was more focused on the world spread out in the Tower than anything else. 'I wonder… The dragons and giants… Existences I thought were extinct still exist in this place.'

The world of the Tower could already be called another new universe in itself. Each of the floors had a stage that was so huge that it was impossible to guess the floor's boundaries, and the beings that flowed in and out of these floors were living in different complex societies.

However, this reality also brought up many questions. Weren't all these divine beings referred to as absolute beings in their respective legends? Among them were some beings who Vivasvat never found or located in the outside world, even though Vivasvat had traveled to so many universes to find them.

No matter how wide the world of the Tower was, it was inevitably very cramped to be able to accommodate all the beings who once ruled over the entire universe. Thus, Vivasvat could not help but think…

'It's like they've all been locked up here on purpose…' Thus, instead of slaying the gods right away, Vivasvat tried to find out why they had been imprisoned in the Tower. One had to know one's opponent and his possible weaknesses to formulate a plan.

Even for Vivasvat, it would be suicidal to charge the hundreds of thousands of societies within the Tower. No matter how deep his resentment towards transcendent beings, Vivasvat was not foolish enough to lose his sensibility.

'Or I could just avoid them altogether until I meet father…' In any case, Vivasvat hid his skills as much as possible and only performed as an outstanding rookie player, and soon after, he was able to resolve some of his questions. The reasons were simpler than he initially thought. 'They were imprisoned in this place by father.'

All beings, from divine gods and demons to dragons and giants all detested the existence of the 'Heavenly Demon'. What would happen to Vivasvat if they were to ever find out that the Heavenly Demon's blood flowed in him? Just thinking about it in this way, Vivasvat felt a chill run down his spine. '…I'll have to be careful.'

That was the first decision Vivasvat made in the Tower.