Leveling with the Gods - Chapter 631
* * *
Three days.
That was how long Yu Won and Son Oh Gong had agreed to train the two of them.
“Ugh, wheeze-”
“Phew-”
They swung their weapons until their mouths were filled with the taste of blood.
Before them stood clones of Son Oh Gong.
Even though they were clones, Son Oh Gong’s clones possessed the strength of mid-rank High Rankers.
Naturally, there was no way for the two of them to harm the clones no matter what they did.
“Jeez! That’s not how you do it! When you aim for the neck, you do it like this… stab…”
“Slow, down, stab. Why don’t you just explain it properly instead of using weird words?”
Yu Won’s voice passed by them.
Son Oh Gong scratched his head while groaning.
‘Why am I doing this?’
The problem was that he was the one who had agreed to train those two in the first place.
“Well, the hammer is a bit heavier than the sword, right? Put some strength into your malicious energy. Otherwise, you won’t be able to put enough force into the end of the hammer.”
Swish-.
Son Oh Gong could see the problems with Jooin and Seongchan.
What they were doing wrong, what bad habits they had.
What problems arose from switching weapons.
“Each of your player stats has its own advantages. Han Jooin, you have high Strength, and Choi Seongchan, you have high Agility. The fact that you have a single stat that’s so high means that you have talent in that area.”
A person with weak Strength was holding a heavy hammer, and a person with good Strength was holding a light weapon.
Up until now, the two of them had been fighting with the opposite weapons.
“But is it okay to switch weapons so suddenly?”
“What do you mean, how much have you learned? It looks like all you’ve been doing is swinging and slashing.”
In the end, the two of them switched weapons, just like Yu Won had said.
And right after that.
Son Oh Gong was left alone teaching the two of them.
“Ugh, that bastard. He just dumped all the annoying stuff on me.”
Jooin asked while forgetting the fact that he was the one who had butted in first.
“Where did Mr. Yu Won go?”
“Ah, that guy.”
Son Oh Gong flicked his ear as if he didn’t care and replied,
“He’s getting married soon. That’s why he’s busy these days-”
“Really?”
“Marriage? With Ms. Pandora?”
Son Oh Gong looked at the two of them approaching him with sparkling eyes.
Was it something to be so interested in?
It was just a party where they would dress up and have fun.
“Stop talking nonsense and rest for a bit. We’ll be leaving soon.”
“Yes? Where are we going?”
“I’ve always thought that the best training is actual combat.”
“Just in case, don’t ever let these guys participate in the next test.”
Even though he had heard those words.
“Next test, we’re not going to do it?”
You know what?
I’m Son Oh Gong.
* * *
The 9th floor’s testing ground.
Jooin and Seongchan looked up at the high ceiling with their legs shaking.
“W-why are we suddenly here?”
“Well… haha…”
They were supposed to skip this test.
“By the way, never switch weapons with each other. If I catch you switching, you’ll die by my hand even if you pass the exam.”
“Oh, and no giving up halfway. You’ll still die by my hand.”
“Exam fee? Hey, you monkey, do I look like I need it?”
I was thankful that he lent me the exam fee, but the problem was that the story had changed from the beginning.
Over a hundred players gathered in the examination hall.
Joo-yeon and Seong-chan waited for their names to be called.
The exam was a 2:2 bead-snatching game.
A simple test where you had to snatch the beads held by your opponent.
The method didn’t matter.
Kill them, keep them alive, or persuade them.
All you had to do was get your hands on the bead by any means necessary.
“It’s the beads again this time.”
“Yeah.”
Gulping-.
With a dry swallow, I barely managed to get the tension down my throat.
Time passed.
As I watched several players die or get injured in the examination hall, my tension grew.
And soon.
“Next, Han Joo-yeon, Choi Seong-chan.”
The two of our names were called.
“Your opponents are Deru and Maru. Go to the examination hall.”
“……Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Creak-.
Joo-yeon and Seong-chan stepped onto the stage, each holding their weapons in their hands.
Their opponents were twins with dark skin and clothes with Hopi patterns.
Of all people, we had to face twins who worked well together.
‘Can we do it?’
Seong-chan’s vision wavered.
This was the exam that he had failed more than five times already.
Furthermore, this time he was using a completely different type of weapon than he had been using so far.
Was this really the right thing to do?
“Don’t be so nervous.”
Bam-.
“Ugh-.”
A fist punched him in the side.
Seong-chan, who had been getting more and more nervous, suddenly came to his senses.
When he looked around, Joo-yeon was grinning and raising the hammer in his hand.
“We’re going to make it this time. For sure.”
He was just as nervous, though.
Seong-chan nodded and looked ahead.
Their opponents were already glaring at them, burning with fighting spirit.
After a while.
“Exam, begin!”
As the signal from the exam supervisor dropped.
Whoosh, thud-.
Deru and Maru.
The two brothers each jumped at Joo-yeon and Seong-chan.
Clang, clang-!
Clang-!
The two men attacked with long claws in both hands.
Seong-chan’s eyes wavered as he desperately blocked their attacks with the sword in his hand.
‘……Huh?’
They’re better than I thought?
* * *
On the ninth floor, above the examination hall.
Son Oh-gong, who had secured a good seat, looked down at Joo-yeon and Seong-chan’s match.
“Even a kids’ fight is fun to watch.”
Crunch-.
He munched on potato chips and watched Joo-yeon and Seong-chan take the test.
“Damn kids, don’t be so scared.”
“What are you doing now?”
Son Oh-gong turned his head at the voice from behind him.
Yoo-won approached Son Oh-gong, who was sitting on the railing and watching the match.
“Huh? Why are you here-.”
Swish-.
“Didn’t I tell you not to let the kids participate?”
Yoo-won grabbed Son Oh-gong’s ear and glared at him.
Even though he had warned him.
That’s how it was when the damn monkey ended up making Joo-in and Sung-chan participate in the exam.
“Aah! I got it, so let go! Ack!”
Woo-won let go of Son Oh-gong’s ear as he complained about his aching ear.
Was it just him or could the sound of their noisy racket be heard all the way to the testing grounds?
“Whew… Don’t worry too much. Who did they learn from to make you worry?”
Chak-!
Joo-in and Sung-chan, who were engaged in a close battle against the two twin brothers.
Certainly, they had improved compared to before.
Although, to Woo-won, they seemed the same as before.
Certainly, they looked more comfortable handling their weapons.
“What those guys need most right now is confidence. There’s nothing like that to get over the wall.”
“So that’s why you threw them into real combat?”
“That’s right.”
Son Oh-gong nodded his head with a proud expression.
Uncharacteristically, it wasn’t completely wrong.
Certainly, it might be faster than simply teaching them.
Of course.
Even if the goal was the same, Woo-won and Son Oh-gong’s methods were different.
“Still, with their current abilities, it’s impossible for them to aim any higher.”
“That’s your problem. You’re too much of a perfectionist.”
Tsk, Son Oh-gong clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Woo-won looked at Son Oh-gong with a dumbfounded expression.
Never would he have imagined that there would come a day when he would lose an argument to this guy.
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
It was then.
Perhaps it was because Son Oh-gong was being too noisy, but the test supervisor, who recognized Woo-won and Son Oh-gong, came up to them.
“Test supervisor, Temar, reporting! I pay my respects to the great ones!”
Test supervisor Temar bowed at a 90-degree angle towards Woo-won and Son Oh-gong.
He too was a formidable ranker, but the people in front of him were high rankers ranked 1st and 4th respectively.
Whether he looked up at the sky to see an elephant or an ant, what difference did it make?
Temar, who recognized the two, couldn’t help but be nervous.
“What brings you here?…”
He had heard that Son Oh-gong was active as a mercenary for the Olympus and Asgard alliance.
The strongest mercenary, who condemned those who disrupted the order of the Tower.
That was what Son Oh-gong was doing right now.
Was there something wrong with his testing method?
While he was feeling nervous about that.
“I just came to see the kids’ test.”
“Kids?”
Temar made a puzzled expression at Son Oh-gong’s answer.
Kids?
Naturally, Temar’s gaze turned to the testing ground where Woo-won was looking down.
The twin brothers and a man and a woman.
Was one of them the successor to the Heavenly Great Emperor?
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m just looking after them for a few days.”
“A few days?”
Huh-.
With a soft sigh, Temar looked at Joo-in and Sung-chan, who were participating in the exam.
“Those guys are really lucky.”
It was never easy for ordinary players to receive guidance from rankers.
It was rare for ordinary players to receive guidance from rankers.
And they had received guidance from a high ranker, the genius of combat known as Je Cheon Daeseong.
They could only be envious.
And then, that moment.
Clang-!
Joo-yeon’s hammer struck the opponent’s side.
The tide of the battle turned with that hit.
“Maru!”
The other players, worried about their brother, briefly looked away.
And at that moment, Seong-chan’s blade moved.
“Don’t hesitate. In the test, think of everyone but me as your enemy.”
“I’ll cut them down. I’ll kill them. Your level will change depending on your determination.”
A moment’s hesitation could ruin the test.
Yoo-won’s words flashed through his mind, and with them, his momentary hesitation vanished.
Screech-.
A red line appeared on Teru’s neck.
In the sensation that the world had slowed down, he saw the neck of the opponent he had cut fall to the ground.
It wasn’t his first time killing someone.
But it was the first time he had fought with the intention of ‘killing’ someone.
‘Ah….’
Thud-.
The severed neck fell to the ground.
His fingertips trembled.
He thought he understood a little why Yoo-won had said those words.
“So this is what it’s like….’
A dazed feeling.
The realization that he had passed the test came from the sound that followed.
“Han Joo-yeon, Choi Seong-chan! Pass!”
The declaration of the test supervisor, Temar.
Joo-yeon and Seong-chan’s heads lifted at the voice from above.
And then.
They saw the faces of Yoo-won and Son Oh-gong looking down at them.
“Those guys have crossed the wall.”
Temar chuckled as he watched Joo-yeon and Seong-chan greeting Yoo-won and Son Oh-gong.
Yoo-won nodded at his words.
He had intended to take it a little slower, but the result wasn’t bad anyway.
After the test, Joo-yeon and Seong-chan didn’t move on to the next floor but went straight up.
They thought it was more important to greet Yoo-won and Son Oh-gong before leaving.
“Yoo-won-ssi!”
“We passed!”
Excited greetings.
Son Oh-gong pouted as he watched Joo-yeon and Seong-chan running toward them from a distance.
“I’m the one who taught them, so why are they greeting that guy?”
At Son Oh-gong’s words, Joo-yeon and Seong-chan belatedly greeted him.
Yoo-won then took out his kit and sent a message before saying,
“Go to the Heavenly Demon Cult when you get upstairs.”
“W-What? The Heavenly Demon Cult?”
“Why there?”
“Tell them you came with my recommendation. Then they’ll treat you properly.”
The person Yoo-won had sent the message to was the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Cheonju Kwon, Pung Baek-rim.
One of the four Heavenly Lords representing the Heavenly Demon Cult.
He was also known as a martial artist with the harshest training methods.
“Do well.”
Thud, thud-.
At Yoo-won’s encouragement, Joo-won and Seong-chan felt a strange chill.
Come to think of it, they had forgotten.
The next floor was the 10th floor, the floor ruled by the Heavenly Demon Cult and Murim.
YuWon had the position of sub-leader of that Cheonma Shinkyo.