The yellow current flowed through his hand and fell down.
Poseidon looked at the bottom of the pond. The water had completely dried up. The hole that had been dug beneath it was far too deep to fathom.
It was the place that Zeusâs [Lightning Bolt] had fallen.
âIncredible.â
Although it was only one shot, it was still an amazing sight to see.
The power to eliminate an entire city.
The ones who possessed such power didnât even exceed ten in the entire Tower. HoweverâŠ
ââŠThis was outside of expectations.â
Psshtâ
Zeus wore a confused expression for the first time in a long while.
âOutside of expectations?â
âIt failed.â
âWhat?â
This was an even more surprising news.
Failed? And not just anyone else, but Zeus?
If he meant âfailedâ regarding the total annihilation of Camelot, that was understandable. A city of that size was still difficult to destroy in its entirety even with [Lightning Bolt.] On top of that, Camelot had a High-Ranker, Merlin, in it as well.
However, Zeus wouldnât have said it âfailedâ with only that much.
From the start, the thing that he wanted wasnât the entire city but just the castle.
âWhat happened?â
âAn unexpected variable appeared.â
âVariable? What?â
ââThe Great Sage, Heavenâs Equal.ââ
Poseidonâs eyes went wide. But he nodded because, although it was surprising, it was also understandable to a certain degree. An acceptable response.
There were not many in existence that could block [Lightning Bolt.] The âGreat Sageâ was definitely one of them. Considering the power of his ăRuyi Jinguă and ăFlying Nimbus,ă it was definitely doable. HoweverâŠ
âBut why is he there? Thereâs nothing good for him if he ends up our enemy.â
âHeâs a free spirit. Heâs probably not even considering if heâll make enemies or not.â
âSo heâs fearless.â
âHe has the strength to back it up. We canât ignore him, nor can we simply just label him as our enemy.â
Hearing Zeusâs words, Poseidon nodded.
While it was true that obstructing the will of Olympus was an unforgivable sin, the subject in question wasnât just anyone. âThe Great Sageâ couldnât be considered a lone entity. Being the wielder of the power of immortality and cloning techniques, he was someone not even the major guild âHeavenly Realmâ could kill. On top of that, his rankings were much higher than Poseidonâs as well.
âDid his main body move?â
âThereâs no way.â
The Great Sageâs current main body was in a situation where it couldnât move. Which meant that the [Lightning Bolt] had been blocked by one of his clones.
âHe wasnât the only unexpected variable.â
âWas it perhaps Kim YuWon, that bastard, as well?â
âThatâs probably the case.â
Poseidon had asked just in case, but it turned out to be reality.
No matter if The Great Sageâs clone had helped out, it was hard to believe that a mere player who wasnât even a Ranker had blocked [Lightning Bolt.] That was a feat hard for even most Rankers to accomplish.
Then, at what level did they need to view Kim YuWonâs current strength?
âWas he already approaching the strength of High-Rankers?â
After thinking about Kim YuWon for a second, Poseidon shook his head. No matter how incredible his growth rate was, that wasnât the most pressing thing that required his attention right now.
Because due to this event, an even bigger giant might start to move.
âAsgard will soon know as well, then.â
âThatâll probably be the case.â
âWhat are you thinking of doing? Knowing you, youâve probably set up a plan for what happens next already.â
At Poseidonâs question, Zeus nodded. âItâs not like there isnât a way.â
ââŠThen?â
Their eyes met.
In that momentâŠ
Bzztâ
Bang, splashâ!
The two Arcane Powers collided in the air. Lightning poured down as a curtain of water erupted midair to block it.
The electricity flowed through the water and into Poseidonâs arm.
Bzzt, bzzzztâ
He could feel a prickling sensation through his hand.
Clenchâ
After looking at his numb hand for a second, Poseidon clenched it into a fist and glared at Zeus.
âI knew this would happen.â
The situation had formed in Poseidonâs head the moment he heard of the failure. The passing thought that maybe the reason that Zeus, in all his selfishness, had allowed Poseidon to come here was just to prepare for this moment.
âAre you thinking of cutting me off to be the scapegoat?â
âSorry, brother.â
Rumbleâ
The sky opened up as a stormcloud descended and thunder roared.
Rumbleâ!
Bzzt, bzzzzztâ
Lightning fell from the sky. It moved as if alive, and after circling Zeusâs body, it gathered on his palm.
âAll thingsâŠâ
Grabbing the bolt of lightning that had just fallen, Zeus held the âweaponâ charged with incredible Arcane Power in his hand.
ââŠFor the glory of Olympus.â
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Jreaming
Proofreader - BringTheRayn
* * *
Consciousness waned back and forth.
YuWonâs body felt stiff. It felt as if he hadnât moved in a few days already.
His eyes opened, and the view of a tall ceiling filled his blurry vision.
âDid I pass out?â
It had been a while since he fought until his consciousness gave out.
No, in truth, it was hard to call that a fight. The only thing he did was block a singular attack from Zeus. No one would see that and call it a fight.
Clankâ
As YuWon went to sit up, he noticed ăEdge of Nightfallă on his chest.
As if someone had put it there, ăEdge of Nightfallă was on his body. It had the effect of increasing his recovery rate in darkness, which included at night.
âWas it Merlin?â
He seemed to have woken up a few days early thanks to this.
He sat up in a daze as wind blew into the room. His mind started to clear, and his memory slowly returned.
âThe reward.â
If you were a Ranker who had leveled up and had been climbing the Tower for a long time, it was the moment that you always looked forward to.
On top of that, if his memory was correct, the reward this time was much better than expected.
[Name: Kim YuWon]
[Level: 97]
[Strength: 99]
[Dexterity: 95]
[Constitution: 99]
[Perception: 99]
[Arcane Power: 105]
His stats were still nowhere near good.
Compared to most Rankers, his stats were undeniably impressive, but YuWon had even higher stats than this before. They were still lacking, and by a large margin too.
However, among them, there was still one decent stat.
[Arcane Power: 105]
âIt⊠was real.â
Arcane Power stat +3.
Looking at the number, it wasnât that big of a jump. However, his Arcane Power had shown no sign of progressing for the longest time. Even after conquering Susanooâs dungeon and leveling up, it had only risen by two, but from this one incident, it had risen by three.
âItâs much better than leveling up multiple times.â
Just as it became harder to level up the closer he got to Level 100, it was very difficult to raise a stat that had gone into triple digits. Also, the stat would have a bigger effect than before, even from this minor increase.
A straightforward reward.
No. Technically, this wasnât even the reward from the test.
âTwo of the three increases were from the Arcane Power absorbed by KyneÄ. The remaining one was the reward.â
Vwong, wooongâ
Dozens of [Mana Blasts] were created, centered around YuWon.
The pale blue [Mana Blasts] were smooth and round like marbles. The number of perfect mana spheres exceeded 20, reaching 30.
âThis is definitely more comfortable.â
The importance of stats refreshed itself in his mind every time they increased. The same personâs mastery over mana changed so drastically just because of the difference in the number next to the stat.
Even though the number only increased by three, he felt that he could create ten more [Mana Blasts] now. AlsoâŠ
[Fragment of Lightning Bolt]
á Rank: S-
á Proficiency: 0.00%
á A small fragment of the âLightning Bolt.â Allows one to control electrical energy.
á A strong resistance to electricity.
á Amplifies lightning-attribute mana by 10%.
âI didnât expect to get this as a skill.â
[Fragment of Lightning Bolt.] The skill obtained after completing the âDestruction of Camelotâ test this time. The great power of and resistance to lightning, and the amplification of mana.
Just looking at the description, it wasnât that impressive of a skill. However, the wording of âcontrolâ in the skillâs description put this skill on a different level.
YuWon looked at the swarm of [Mana Blasts] that filled the room like fireflies.
And thenâŠ
Bzzt, bzzzztâ!
Sparks flew fiercely off them. The room was instantly filled with electrical charge.
Even though he was in the center of all this, YuWon didnât feel any different. In the first place, the only ones affected by their own mana were ones inexperienced in mana control, which didnât apply to YuWon.
âControl⊠meansâŠâ YuWon clenched his outstretched hand in front of him. âSomething like this.â
Rumble, rumbleâ
On the ceiling, a dark stormcloud formed. The dozens of [Mana Blasts] coalesced into a small [Lightning Bolt.]
At that momentâŠ
âThatâs enough.â
Creakâ
The closed door opened wide as Merlin entered the room.
âWe did so much to block it, are you going to blow up the castle yourself?â
Cr-crackâ
A mana cage surrounded the cloud.
YuWon dropped his outstretched hand and looked at Merlin.
âOld Man.â
âAgain with that. Donât call me âOld Man.ââ Merlin quietly clicked his tongue and sat on the sofa at the far side of the room, shaking his head. âIs that a new skill you obtained? I didnât expect to see that damned lightning again after only a few days.â
âHow many days have passed?â
âItâs been five days. You slept for a while.â
Five days.
He had expected only three to have passed, so it was a lot more than he realized. The shock he received was probably that strong.
âJust what did you do? After you got hit by the lightning so suddenly and fell, the Lightning Bolt disappeared. And alsoâŠâ Merlin looked at the dark marks created all around the room. âYouâve obtained a strength like this as well.â
âItâs hard for me to control it right now. I apologize.â
âIâm not trying to stop you, just tell me about it.â
âItâs the reward I got after passing the test this time. And the thing back thenâŠâ YuWon shook his head and stopped his explanation. âI canât explain it properly. I just got a feeling.â
âA feeling? You did?â
Seemingly baffled by this, Merlin let out a dry laugh.
Although he hadnât known YuWon for long, Merlin knew that he wasnât someone who would move based on feelings alone.
But it was the truth.
âI also do this sometimes.â
Although he replied in a joking manner and shrugged his shoulders, it wasnât like there wasnât evidence for his actions.
The ăDivine Dark Crystal,ă the ăDivine Sea Crystală⊠And the ăDivine Sky Crystală that Zeus currently had. If what YuWon guessed were true, these three stones werenât separate in the beginning.
âThey might be trying to reform.â
He didnât know for exactly what reason ăKyneÄă ate up the power of the [Lightning Bolt.] However, thanks to that, he acquired a power that would be useful for his inevitable fight against Zeus.
âThe skill âFragment of Lightning Boltâ gives a strong resistance against electric attacks. Iâll be able to use it quite effectively if I have to face Zeus sometime in the future.â
Although he suffered quite a bit, the things he had obtained in Britain this time were massive.
âIf you can move around a bit, stand up. You have a guest waiting for you.â
Hearing Merlinâs words, YuWon could guess what it was about and asked, âAre you talking about Son OhGong?â
Hearing OhGongâs name, Merlinâs forehead scrunched a little.
Maybe eventually in the far future, but currently, Merlin and Son OhGongâs relationship wasnât that good. On top of that, from the view of The Round Table, Son OhGongâs unpredictable personality made him a unstable bomb that could go off at any time.
ââŠItâll be good not to say his name so nonchalantly. Heâs famous for being ill-tempered. In any case, itâs not him.â
âThen?â
âItâs me, you punk.â
Creakâ
Not able to wait any longer, the guest that had come for YuWon swung open the door and walked in.
Seeing a face he wasnât expecting, YuWonâs eyes went wide.