Leveling with the Gods

Salamov opened his eyes. 

His eyes had turned white, and he was able to see hundreds of meters around him. 

Salamov was a well-known recon player in the lower floors.

“He’s gone,” he said.

“What?”

“Gone?”

Salamov nodded his head. 

He had his sights on YuWon just a moment ago, and then he suddenly disappeared. 

There was only one possibility as to what happened. 

“It must be some stealth ability,” Salamov remarked.

There wasn’t a lot of information known about YuWon. The few players that managed to see YuWon fight on his way up to the 11th Floor said that he was a melee swordsman, and that was true.

The players of Team B that came across YuWon said that he used a sword. 

But there had been zero information that said that he was capable of [Stealth.]

“Stealth?”

“He has such a skill?”

“Is there any way we can find him?”

Salamov shook his head. His skill, the [Thousand-Mile Eyes,] was a rare skill that, depending on the proficiency, could literally see as far as a thousand miles, and it was even capable of seeing through most [Stealth.] Yet Salamov couldn’t see even a trace of YuWon. 

Salamov spoke with a frown, “I can’t say for certain without getting closer, but I don’t think this is an ordinary Stealth.”

“What do you mean?”

“It must be a pretty powerful skill. I can’t even see a shimmer,” Salamov explained.

His explanation left his teammates in shock. 

The [Thousand-Mile Eyes] was a pretty famous skill. Its reputation as a detection skill made even Rankers desire it, and this skill was the sole reason why Salamov came to be well-known in the lower floors. 

According to the rumors, he’d already made a contract with a major guild, so his skills were not in question. 

So for Salamov to say such a thing…

“Kim YuWon was an assassin?” said one of the players. 

… That was the natural conclusion one would come to. 

However, Salamov shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the case. Assassins typically don’t wield long swords. Not to mention that they intentionally wear dark clothes,” he said.

“Then what is it?”

“My guess is…” Salamov trailed off, turning his head quickly. Salamov’s eyes were still white, meaning his [Thousand-Mile Eyes] was still active. “When did you get all the way here?” he asked.

Salamov’s question shocked his teammates, making them draw their weapons.

There was a faint shimmer in the direction of Salamov’s gaze.

“Is that the Thousand-Mile Eyes? You have a pretty good skill,” YuWon said, revealing himself. 

Salamov’s teammates breathed a sigh of relief. If Salamov wasn’t present, they would have all been assassinated without knowing what was going on.

‘What the—?’

‘So he is an assassin!’

Because YuWon didn’t socialize with other players, there was little information known about him. So without directly facing him, it was impossible to figure out what his abilities might be. 

Salamov was among the confused. 

Earlier, if he hadn’t seen the faint shimmer, he would have ended up with the same fate as everyone else.

‘There’s a stealth skill that I couldn’t see through with the Thousand-Mile Eyes at this distance?’ Salamov couldn’t believe it. He wondered if perhaps YuWon really was a player specialized in assasination. 

‘Let’s hope that is the case. Because if he’s not an assassin, and he can use Stealth at this distance…’ gulped Salamov, ‘… it’ll be close to impossible to defeat him.’

“Maybe it’s because you guys don’t have a lot of people, but your Heaven’s Net is too flawed,” said YuWon while looking around.

Team B players that were spread out started gathering closer together, and the wide Heaven’s Net started to tighten. 

“Even if it’s you, now that you’ve revealed yourself, you can’t do a thing,” Salamov told YuWon. 

Salamov could see the dozens of players surrounding YuWon, their gazes aimed at YuWon’s vitals. Dozens of skills and weapons were all ready to fire. 

This was a stage prepared for YuWon. 

“It was a wise choice to separate yourself from the ‘king,’ since you can’t fight us at full power if you’re protecting someone,” said Salamov. 

YuWon was looking elsewhere during Salamov’s explanation. This made Salamov frown. He took a step towards YuWon. 

Salamov shouted, “Hey, are you listening to me…?” 

A chill went down Salamov’s spine, shutting him up and making him take a step back. 

Finally YuWon’s gaze looked to Salamov. 

“You have good instincts,” YuWon complimented.

Slice—

Salamov looked down at the ground in front of him. There was a fresh cut on the ground. 

Despite being more than ten steps away, YuWon had managed to cut from that distance.

Salamov gulped, realizing the danger of moving recklessly. 

There weren’t many players that were capable of fighting head to head against YuWon. 

Tmp, tmp—

People started to appear out of the forest. 

There were roughly 20 players, most of which YuWon didn’t recognize. 

The only two faces that YuWon did recognize were Hoon’s and Ro’el’s. Hoon, the genius of the NamGung Clan who was expected to become a High Ranker one day, and Ro’el, the one nicknamed an angel because people say that she was blessed by god. 

YuWon knew their faces because both would become Rankers in the future. 

“You abandoned your ‘king’…” Hoon said while raising his greatsword. “So you chose battle over the test.”

Being capable of lifting a heavy greatsword with one hand made Hoon look reliable. 

On top of Hoon and Ro’el, the other 20 players present were also the cream of the crop on Team B. And in the distance, there were dozens of players waiting and aiming for YuWon. 

The best way to describe this situation would be to say that he was a cornered rat. In fact, he had walked into this trap himself.

Tmp, tmp—

Hoon walked towards YuWon, getting even closer than where Salamov was. Considering his skills and the length of his sword, Hoon was now more than capable of reaching YuWon with his sword, yet YuWon didn’t stop him.

YuWon could tell by the atmosphere. NamGung Hoon. He was essentially the one leading Team B. 

“I’m sorry that it’s come to this…” Hoon apologized, bowing his head to YuWon. 

“What do you mean?” YuWon asked.

Hoon responded, “Though unintentional, I have a good team, unlike you.” 

The teams were picked randomly, yet the differences between the two teams were too great. 

Hoon turned his head and looked around. “I’m not ashamed of this situation because this is a test. You are certainly a very skilled player. It’s just that your luck didn’t match your skills,” he said.

“What are you trying to say?” YuWon asked.

“Give up on the test. I don’t want to have a match like this.”

YuWon smirked. Telling him to ‘give up.’ He was wondering what Hoon was on about, but for it to have been this…

“You’re more talkative than I heard,” YuWon said, raising his sword and displaying how he had zero intentions to give up on the test.

* * *

Hoon let out a sigh. He had expected this, but he was still disappointed. It seemed that things had to happen this way.

“I guess it can’t be helped then,” Hoon said while also raising his sword.

As if they had made an agreement ahead of time, the other players did not intervene. It was a 1v1 situation.

“Hmm…” YuWon hummed while letting out a small laugh. Hoon didn’t have a bad personality. 

‘Back then and now. His personality is still the same,’ YuWon thought to himself.

Hoon had a cool-headed personality. He was rational and made quick judgements. It was how he was able to climb the Tower quickly and become a Ranker. And on top of that, Hoon was not a coward.

Being rational and uncowardly, even in a situation like this, Hoon wished to have a one-on-one duel with YuWon. 

And YuWon liked people like him, so if possible, he didn’t want to kill him. Especially because in the future, Hoon had great things he had to do for the NamGung Clan.

“I don’t really care how many people there are,” YuWon said.

“That makes me feel a bit better,” Hoon said, taking a step towards YuWon. 

In that moment…

Whoosh—

Hoon’s sword drew an arc and…

Klang—!

… Their swords clashed.

The heavy greatsword exerted a lot of pressure, making YuWon’s eyes light up.

‘Would you look at that,’ YuWon thought.

He knew very well that the NamGung Clan’s sword was heavy because in his past life he took the 10th Floor’s test with the NamGung Clan. 

‘I guess he’s a gem for a reason,’ YuWon thought to himself, impressed by the strength of a player who was currently only at the 11th Floor. It made him genuinely curious what Hoon’s stats were. 

“Hmph—!” Hoon let out a deep breath, swinging his sword repeatedly. 

There was no reason that a heavy sword had to be slow. As an example of this, Hoon’s sword was quick and moved with the full extent of his strength.

The players watched the fight in a daze, wondering how Hoon could put so much strength into his swings while moving so fast. 

Watching Hoon made YuWon think, ‘He’s definitely a martial arts genius.’

YuWon was called a genius plenty as well, but he was not as much of a genius as Hoon when it came to martial arts.

‘Not bad,’ YuWon remarked.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Klang—!

Hoon’s sword was deflected, making it swing upwards. His eyes widened from the pain that made him think his hand was about to break. 

‘What is this strength…?!’ Hoon wondered. 

His hands were numb, making him almost lose his grip on his sword. 

The NamGung Clan’s sword was heavy. And the clan’s Imperial Sword Form had a power that could exert pressure on one’s surroundings just by wielding the sword. And this principle was naturally baked into Hoon’s sword techniques.

‘What’s going on?’ Hoon was confused.

Klang—!

Once again, Hoon’s sword was deflected.

When his sword clashed with YuWon’s sword, it felt like both his feet got lifted off the ground. 

There was an unbelievable difference in power.

‘I can’t believe I’m being pushed back in terms of strength,’ Hoon thought while gritting his teeth.

A blue shimmer started blooming around Hoon’s sword. And at the same time, an enormous, mountain-like power was imbued into his sword.

“Hmph—!” Hoon grunted.

[Archangel’s Blessing empowers you.]

[Your Strength increases.]

[Your Constitution increases.]

[Your body becomes lighter.]

[Your mana regeneration accelerates.]

An unexpected power strengthened Hoon and his sword.

Crash—!

YuWon and Hoon’s swords collided with each other.

Despite swinging with his all, YuWon’s sword didn’t budge an inch. But what preoccupied Hoon’s mind the most were the messages that popped up a moment ago.

Hoon turned his head and saw that the tip of Ro’el’s hand was pointing towards him.

Shnnk—

With an exchange of sword swings, Hoon and YuWon ended up some distance away from each other. 

Hoon took this chance to glare at Ro’el.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked. He had made it clear that he’d first fight YuWon one on one.

“This is all you can do even after receiving my buff. Doesn’t that mean this match is already over?” Ro’el said. 

The power that had buffed Hoon a moment ago was Ro’el’s doing, and she was already buffing the other players, having judged YuWon and Hoon’s fight to be over.

Hoon grit his teeth. He was completely uninjured, meaning the fight was only just starting for him.

“It’s far from over yet—” Hoon argued.

“It looks like he thinks it’s over though.”

“What?” 

Fwoosh—

Hoon turned his head and felt a wave of heat on his face. 

It was an extremely hot fire, but what really caught his attention wasn’t the heat. 

‘That fire is…’ Hoon thought to himself.

A purple fire had appeared around YuWon, making Hoon think back to a scene.

‘Agrea’s Dungeon…’ Hoon’s eyes widened. ‘Could it be?’