Leveling with the Gods

Side Story 81

"I don't know since when..."

General Lee Rangjin sighed as he tightened his Unbreakable Sword.

Around him gathered several high-ranking Rankers from the Celestial Realm.

"I think the Jade Emperor's Throne has been empty for too long."

Creak~

Walking on the damp ground, a middle-aged man with one blue eye approached.

"I think it's time to make a decision, Grand General."

A middle-aged man with blue eyes and black hair.

Lee Rangjin's expression distorted upon seeing his face.

"Haebak?"

It was a face and a name he had long forgotten.

A former High-Ranker who once inhabited the Celestial Realm but was expelled for the sin of flooding an entire village to satisfy his lust for a virgin.

Lee Rangjin felt an indescribable disgust knowing that Haebak had returned to the Celestial Realm.

"What are you doing here?"

"Why? Hasn't a new era begun?"

"No matter what era it is, you are not welcome. I warned you, didn't I? I told you to rot at the bottom of the sea."

Lee Rangjin pointed his sword at Haebak.

"Your disgusting tastes have stained the name of the Celestial Realm."

"Look at the current state of the once exalted Celestial Realm. The Jade Emperor, Prince Ne Zha, Celestial King Li Jing... They're all dead, aren't they?"

The High-Rankers who upheld the Celestial Realm had disappeared.

It all happened during the battle against Son OhGong.

"Yet, you fear the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and dare not fight. I! I would never do something so cowardly!"

At the end of the brief speech, the Generals surrounding Lee Rangjin pounded the ground in approval.

Hundreds of Generals had set a trap to capture Lee Rangjin.

In that place, Lee Rangjin stood alone.

However...

"It's strange."

Instead of feeling fear, Lee Rangjin stroked his chin and looked at Haebak.

"The Haebak I know is not this brave."

Haebak.

He was a coward who valued his life above all else.

Moreover, his greed for power led him to make mistakes frequently.

That was Haebak.

The fact that he had gathered the Generals here with the intention of targeting him was undoubtedly strange.

'Then...'

"Is it them again?"

Swish!

Whoosh!

Lee Rangjin's killing aura spread through the area.

His anger was not directed at the Haebak in front of him but at another place.

The Administrators.

The damn ones who had turned the Great Celestial War into a battlefield and sided with Taishang Laojun.

This time, they were using Haebak to disturb the Celestial Realm once more.

"It seems I'll have to start from the bottom once this is over."

The fall of the Celestial Realm was now evident.

And another thing had been confirmed with this incident.

"-As a leader."

He was not fit to be a leader.

His place was as a warrior, wielding sword and spear.

He had forgotten that for a while.

Boom, boom!

The tip of Lee Rangjin's spear turned into a brush and drew in the void.

"Oh, Celestial Heaven."

The figure of a dog, drawn in the void, took shape.

Lee Rangjin, mounted on the wolf-sized dog with white fur, raised the Unbreakable Sword.

"Let's go."

To punish the traitors of the Celestial Realm.

He had become a warrior once again.

--------------------

"Weren't the Devas the only problem?"

Zeus, dressed in his usual attire, reviewed the messages Hermes had conveyed to him.

"Demon Kings and The Heaven. The Celestial Realm and Nibelung..."

Various Guilds experienced internal wars simultaneously.

"The same goes for medium-sized Guilds like Murim and Round Table. Even small and medium Guilds have joined."

"Opening a new era? Sounds good."

Zeus scoffed at Hermes's report.

New era.

It sounded good.

But in the end, it only meant they wanted to ascend and seize power.

Of course.

"We can't hand over this place to those worms."

Zeus had no intention of handing over his place.

"And our side? Any suspicious movements?"

Hermes had eyes and ears in every corner of the Tower.

Zeus had obtained information through him for a long time.

"Olympus is quiet. Strangely quiet."

"It's certainly artificial."

"Artificial?"

"No signs. If so many traitors have appeared, there should be enough signs."

Hermes's eyes were present everywhere in the Tower.

For a long time, Zeus's goal was to use Hermes to spread eyes like the Ranking Administration Office.

Though not as much, thanks to that, the Olympus information network was the best in the Tower.

However, it was understandable that they hadn't noticed the betrayal.

But it was strange that they couldn't find signs even after the betrayal was revealed.

"It's artificial. And also very..."

"Artificial?"

"Someone intervened. And relatively recent."

Hermes waved his hand at Zeus's confident words.

"Oh, come on. Where in the world is someone who can intervene in so many Guilds without us knowing?"

Hermes laughed, calling it ridiculous.

However, Zeus responded by lifting his head and looking at the open sky.

"Haven't you seen those guys before?"

"Eh..."

At that moment, Hermes also looked at the sky.

Although it had now returned to its blue color.

There was a time, ten years ago, when that sky turned purple, and everyone trembled.

If the future beings hadn't come here, Olympus, and everything in the Tower, would have been a complete mess.

"There's no reason there can't be similar guys among the Administrators."

This was a battle the Administrators started first.

They were just responding.

It wasn't a situation they liked.

"Are you going to provide support?"

Olympus was currently the strongest Guild in the Tower.

It was their place to be at the forefront of the fight against the Administrators.

After all, the more the Administrators gained in this battle, the more dangerous it would be for Olympus.

Of course.

"We don't have to play along with those guys."

Zeus had no intention of getting dragged into the Administrators' plan.

No matter how long they had been planning this situation, the outcome would be the same if they followed their plan.

"Leave that side to someone else. There's someone suitable for that."

"What do you mean, Father?"

"Since they sent a challenge..."

Creak.

Zeus headed towards the place with the well in the center of his space.

"I must also show something extraordinary."

Grabbing the Lightning Bolt he had always thrown towards the sky in his hand.

----------------

The Administrator of Floor 51.

In the appearance of a ragged beggar, he muttered as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"This appearance won't last much longer either."

This disguise to hide his external appearance would also come to an end soon.

He had always dreamed of that.

The day they would rid themselves of this appearance and walk through the Tower themselves.

The Guilds. The players.

The day they would trample on them and become the true owners of the Tower.

"Congratulations, Administrator."

The confidant of the Floor 51 Administrator.

The Envoy named 'Jeokson' applauded for him.

Despite having the height of a small child, he was one of the largest Envoys.

"It's still early. To congratulate me."

"Isn't it almost the same as already done?"

Most of the Great Guilds were in a state of civil war.

Divide and conquer.

It was the method the Administrators had chosen to win this battle safely.

"What are you worried about so much?"

"That guy, Kim YuHun."

A player who had become famous in the recent Great Celestial War.

The Administrator couldn't help but think of him.

"I have an unsettling feeling."

"It must be paranoia."

"Yes, it must be."

No matter how many Administrators had died in the Great Celestial War.

There were still many Administrators remaining, and above all, the strength of the Players had also considerably weakened.

Victory was already tilted.

Above all.

"As long as that guy is with them, there shouldn't be variables unless Yog Sothoth comes in person."

The Floor 100 Administrator.

The Administrator nodded at the thought of him.

The reason they could start this battle was thanks to his existence.

A battle where victory was assured from the beginning.

There was nothing to worry about as long as Yog Sothoth, the King of the Outer Gods, did not return.

'But why do I still have this feeling...?'

Eyes of Foreknowledge.

He was the one who had that ability.

Although it was not a clear future, he couldn't dismiss his current feeling as nonsense, as he had a supernatural intuition close to foreknowledge.

"A-Administrator-nim"

The Envoy stammered by his side.

He continued speaking while looking out the window.

"Out there..."

"What's going on?"

The Administrator, who was absorbed in his thoughts about Kim YuHu, turned his head following the Envoy.

The sky outside the window.

A golden wave was seen above it.

"Isn't that a Lightning Bolt?"

"What?"

Why was Zeus's Lightning Bolt here?

The moment that thought crossed his mind.

A bright golden spear fell downward.

Kwa-rung-!

----------------------

Floor 100.

The highest place in the Tower, a world that only Rankers could reach.

That's why that place had a special meaning.

For Players.

And also for Administrators.

And about the Administration Office of Floor 100.

Crack, crackle.

A Lightning Bolt was gathering, aiming at the Administration Office.

"Is it Zeus's doing?"

"It can't be easy to throw a Lightning Bolt from such a distance."

"It's a waste of Arcane Power. There's plenty of time to dodge it."

It was a foolish act.

The more powerful the Lightning Bolt and the farther the distance, the more Arcane Power consumed.

Above all, the necessary preparation time to launch the Lightning Bolt also increases, making it easier to dodge.

However, there was only one reason why Zeus would do such a thing.

"Is he trying to provoke us?"

The attack to bring down the Administration Offices of each floor.

This action was nothing more than a provocation to the Administrators.

"Some might respond to the provocation."

"Shouldn't we be careful?"

"If we form a team, even Zeus won't be able to escape. If he wasted his Arcane Power like this, it might even be an opportunity."

"We shouldn't underestimate him. He's a very intelligent guy."

There was no Administrator who did not fear Zeus.

He was the greatest Player in the Tower.

As he possessed the Administration Office, the Administrators were more aware than anyone of the danger Zeus represented.

Of course.

"It doesn't matter anyway, right?"

Swoosh.

An Administrator's gaze turned to the Administrator who was facing away, looking out the window.

"Zeus doesn't even know about the Great Dreamer."

"Right. We have Cth■lhu."

The Administrators smirked as they looked at the lightning floating in the sky.

Cth■lhu, the Administrator of Floor 100. Thanks to his existence, which is even forbidden to mention alongside Azathoth, they were confident of victory in this battle.

"That is, unless Yog Sothoth or Azathoth return."

The moment those words came out of his mouth.

Whoosh.

As if it had never been there in the first place.

The Floor 100 Administrator disappeared without a trace.

The Great Dreamer.

That was the Name given to the Administrator of Floor 100.

One of the great Names derived from the Outer Gods.

Even at this moment, the Tower was dreaming the dream he had created.

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