Leveling with the Gods

Grrrrr-.

The ground trembled.

Just for a moment.

Drrrr-.

The man who opened the window and looked out murmured.

"What is it, an earthquake?"

It was only for a moment, but he could feel the ground shake. He was worried, but that was all.

And a long way from there, to the end of the world.

There was a deep pit.

Goo-goo-goo-.

A massive pit, tens of meters deep, and so wide that it's hard to imagine its length.

Dddd-.

In the midst of it, Son OhGong stood up, staggering.

"Ugh..."

Son OhGong held his head.

A sharp headache took hold of him. Looking up, he realized why.

"This is huge, man."

This big pit was created when they fell.

The ground shook with a momentary earthquake-like impact, and it was their fall and YuWon's that created it.

"Ughh."

Dddddd-.

YuWon emerged, clearing the pile of rocks with his hands.

"You really did it, you damn Monkey."

Jiing-.

It seemed like a voice was tinkling in his head. YuWon shook his head, his head spinning, and his brain throbbed.

"You're the same. How do you not faint after all this?"

And the same happened to Son OhGong.

For a while, both of them shook their dizzy heads.

Finally, they slumped back into their places.

It seemed that if they continued fighting any longer, one of the two would die or be annihilated.

"Your body is just as tough."

"Do you rely on that tough body to create this mess?"

YuWon laughed incredulously.

It had been a long time since he had a fight this ridiculous. At the height of the battle, Son OhGong relied on his body to make that final move.

"So what can I rely on?"

"And what if you really die? You're not even the main body."

"I've done enough not to die. Don't worry."

"I don't believe you."

It wasn't just falling, it was falling at full speed.

I don't know what else he could have thought, but this wasn't any different from dying together.

The ignorance was the same for both the body and the alter ego. Suddenly, YuWon remembered the moment he fought against Son OhGong a long time ago.

"He's very similar."

Although he knew it was an alter ego, he strangely felt comfortable with him.

"Still, the idea was good."

If what was in front of him was his main body instead of an alter ego.

If it was the Son OhGong with an immortal body, it would be a valid fighting method.

"I'll have to let him know later."

Time passed for a while as he held his head in his hands.

When the piercing pain in his head subsided, YuWon stood up.

"... Shall we go back?"

"... Let's go."

OhGong nodded.

And with that, the two climbed back onto the Flying Nimbus.

After that day.

YuWon and OhGong fought almost every day.

Over the course of a few days, YuWon mastered the use of the Golden Cinder Eyes.

[Competence of Golden Cinder Eyes increased by 0.07%.]

Getting used to the eyes meant increasing competence.

And in the process, YuWon could vaguely understand what the 'Eye of Foreknowledge' mentioned by Son OhGong was.

'For a moment. The power to foresee the future ahead.'

The Cinder Eyes could read the subtleties of an opponent's muscles and movements.

The Golden Cinder Eyes had the power to go beyond that, to see the 'future' of what was actually going to happen.

The difference was significant. Although not as effective as having the same eyes, the ability to see the future was still quite useful in the fight against Son OhGong.

'With this, I can win a fight against an unbeatable enemy.'

An opponent that cannot be defeated with his current abilities.

Even in a fight against such an opponent, he felt that with this power, it would be possible.

Just like that, when the training was in full swing.

"Let's start now."

One day, out of the blue, the Bull Demon King spoke at the dinner table.

Son OhGong, who was eagerly eating the deer meat he had caught in the mountains, looked up.

"Are you serious?"

"Why do you keep coming down here when I told you to stay up there?"

"It's because of this guy, I guess."

OhGong shrugged, looking back at the rest of the group.

"I'm taking care of him, right?"

He was referring to helping YuWon train.

But the Bull Demon King, who had seen the two fight a few times, shook his head.

"The odds are about 50/50, and lately, you've been losing more."

OhGong's shoulders trembled slightly.

"No, it's just that..."

"Do you feel better now? (몸은 다 괜찮아지신 겁니까?)"

Son OhGong, who was left speechless, turned his head and let out a sigh of relief.

The Bull Demon King tossed the meat he was holding into the fire and replied.

"It's been a few days. Still, I was waiting just in case."

"You're being cautious."

"I must be cautious. To be in perfect condition."

The Bull Demon King's gaze turned towards the waning sun.

The evening sky.

As he gazed at it, the Bull Demon King spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

"We will set out as soon as the sun rises."

He seemed determined, the color returning to his face unlike the first time he emerged from his prison.

"To save the Youngest."

Dawn arrived.

It was a strange sensation.

He should have been nervous, but he felt nothing out of the ordinary.

In fact, he felt his head even clearer than usual.

Outside the window, he heard the birds singing.

A cooler breeze entered the room, and a cold aura slipped out from under the blanket.

It took a moment for him to realize he was awake.

"That's it."

That was all.

No more words came out of his mouth.

A bunch of words raced through his head, but he didn't have to say them.

Floor 50.

And the rescue of Son OhGong.

That was one of YuWon's objectives.

"We're halfway there."

Rescuing OhGong sooner rather than later was one of the most important things planned for the future.

He could arguably be called the most talented High Ranker aside from YuWon.

Moreover, the battle against the Celestial Realm couldn't even be organized without him.

Kik-.

The birds' singing drilled into his ears, and YuWon got up from the bed and approached the window sill.

"I lasted a long time."

Sometimes Son OhGong would say things like that.

How long had he been trapped in that suffocating pile of rocks?

How dark, suffocating, and lonely it was.

He seemed the saddest when he talked about it.

Now that he had saved the Bull Demon King.

"Now, I will go and save him."

It was Son OhGong's turn.

Five Elements Mountain (Marble Mountain).

The hardest rock mountain in the 50th Floor world, where Son OhGong was born and raised.

Normally a heavily guarded place, it had turned into a celestial fortress in recent months.

"How many Generals are there?"

"The Generals are the problem. There are at least five High-Rank ones."

"And then there's Lee Rangjin's Army..."

Rankers from the Celestial Realm were scattered throughout the Five Elements Mountain.

There were hundreds of them, including many High-Rankers, and even Lee Rangjin, the highest power in the Celestial Realm.

"Haven't the conflicts with the Demons escalated recently? What's a Grand General from the Celestial Realm doing here?"

"And it seems Ne Zha is also going to appear."

"What's going on? Is there a war?"

"It's rumored that the Bull Demon King has escaped."

"The Bull Demon King? Wasn't he killed in the last war?"

"He's still in the rankings. The Ranking Office deemed him not dead yet."

"Don't they make mistakes sometimes too?"

"How many times has that happened, besides with Surt?"

"Well..."

The Celestial Realm soldiers stationed on the Five Elements Mountain grew restless and chatty.

The Bull Demon King had escaped.

If what they said was true, it meant that the Second Celestial War would break out again.

The relationship between the Bull Demon King and Son OhGong was no secret to the Tower Players, let alone the soldiers of the Celestial Realm.

Furthermore, as rumors circulated that the reason Son OhGong was imprisoned in the Marble Mountains was to rescue the Bull Demon King, fear of the Bull Demon King grew even stronger.

If the Bull Demon King were to leave the world, he would surely also try to save Son OhGong.

"The location of the Bull Demon King is still unknown?"

Inside the Five Elements Mountain, in a cave.

Lee Rangjin was using torches to illuminate the cave used by mountain beasts. It might be too shabby for a Celestial Grand General, but it wasn't so bad in the current environment.

And inside, the Celestial Generals were seated.

"No, not yet... I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize."

Since he had asked without expectations, Lee Rangjin was not disappointed.

"If the Bull Demon King wants to hide in the first place, we won't be able to find him. He's the best shaman/sorcerer I know."

Interestingly, there was no trace of the Bull Demon King anywhere.

The Celestial Realm wielded immense influence on the 50th floor, but even they couldn't find a single trace of his Mana.

"So, we can only wait like this?"

Upon hearing the General's question, Lee Rangjin nodded.

"More or less, but don't stop searching, just in case."

"Perhaps he has already escaped to another world, and..."

"No."

Unusually, Lee Rangjin cut off his words as if they were no longer worth hearing and responded.

"He will definitely come."

His voice was filled with conviction, not an ounce of doubt.

The other Generals couldn't argue with him.

The meeting didn't last long.

In fact, there was nothing to say.

All the Generals stationed in the Five Elements Mountain could do was wait.

Until the Bull Demon King made his move.

"Hahh~"

After a long silence, a General opened his mouth to yawn.

But the small yawn caught everyone's attention, so the General looked around and closed his mouth carefully.

"I..."

No one blamed him.

Everyone in the room knew that there was nothing to be done.

But that didn't excuse the fact that he was relaxing in a place like this.

"I'm sorry."

"......."

The apology went unanswered.

After a moment of stunned silence, the General stood up from his seat and bowed his head.

"I apologize, Grand General."

Lee Rangjin raised his hand.

He wondered what was going on, but Lee Rangjin covered his mouth with his finger.

It was a gesture to ask for silence.

"...?"

He wondered what was happening.

The cave, which had been silent before, was now so quiet that he could barely hear his own breathing.

All he could hear now was the crawling of insects that lived in the cave.

At that moment...

"It's here."

"What? What do you mean?"

Regardless of what he had heard, Lee Rangjin stood up and picked up his sword that he had left aside.

No, he tried to reach for it.

But then...

Right then, Lee Rangjin's hand, which was trying to reach his sword, stopped.

"This...?"

Lee Rangjin-gun raised his head and looked at the ceiling of the cave.

And at that moment...

Thud-.

The Five Elements Mountain, the place where Son OhGong was sealed, began to tremble.