Hearing this, YuWon put his all into controlling his facial expression.
Of course he knew him. Very well at that.
When Zeusâs [Lighting Bolt] fell, his conclusion that Son OhGongâs clone would help out was also drawn from that knowledge. HoweverâŚ
âAt this point in timeâŚâ
He couldnât have known him. That was normal.
âOf course I know. âThe Great Sage, Heavenâs Equal.â The High-Ranker currently fighting with the Heavenly Realm.â
So YuWon answered with Son OhGongâs story that everyone know.
âBut I heard that you stopped your activities a long time ago?â
It was a standard reply. Son OhGongâs title of âThe Great Sage, Heavenâs Equalâ and his situation of fighting the Heavenly Realm. And even the fact that he had stopped his activities long ago was widely known by everyone. HoweverâŚ
âNo, not that.â Son OhGong wasnât asking a question like that. âYou⌠Are we acquaintances?â
It was a weird phrase. âAcquaintancesâ? Unless one was suffering from memory loss, there was no way someone would ask that question.
YuWon had a baffled reaction. Son OhGongâs response was too weird.
âSo heâs not here just because of Cinder Eyes.â
At first, YuWon had thought that OhGong had come to look for him because of this skill. [Cinder Eyes] could only be obtained with the [Monkeyâs Eyes] with a hidden piece. This meant that YuWon had the [Monkeyâs Eyes] as a skill from the start.
The [Monkeyâs Eyes] was a skill that Son OhGongâs family, the monkeys of Mount Huaguo, possessed. However, only Son OhGong currently had this skill.
The conclusion that Son OhGong wouldnât just watch as the [Lighting Bolt] fell was drawn from this reason.
âI thought it was because⌠he wouldnât let a player who had Cinder Eyes dieâŚâ
He had already thought about how he would explain himself in that situation.
There was not a single player who had purchased [Monkeyâs Eyes] from the Tutorial up to this point. From the beginning, [Monkeyâs Eyes] was far too expensive for its mediocre effect to buy in the Tutorial.
But in any case, it was true that one could buy this skill from the Tutorial. And YuWon had thought that he would be able to use that to smooth out the conversationâŚ
âExplain clearly what you mean by that.â
âCanât you read between the lines? Are you an idiot? What canât you understand?â
ââAn idiot,â huh⌠I never expected to hear that from you.â
âLook at this.â Son OhGongâs lips curled upwards with an expression that said he expected this. âAs I thought, you really do know me, donât you?â
ââŚâ
YuWon furrowed his brows without saying anything.
He had uncharacteristically made a mistake. He needed to act like this was the first time he was meeting him, but he had reverted to his old speech patterns because of what Son OhGong said.
âIt really is hard to act in front of this guy.â
YuWon looked into Son OhGongâs eyes.
His gaze was full of intent. He had definitely said, âAs I thought.â
YuWon didnât know why he came looking for him, but it was certain he knew something before coming here.
âYou⌠What do you know?â
âI can see what your half of the eyes canât see.â
Fwoooshâ
Vwwwwingâ
Arcane Power flowed out from both his [Golden Cinder Eyes] and enveloped YuWonâs body.
âEven more so if we have the same eyes.â
It was a familiar feeling. The feeling of being completely found out and seen through. The feeling of being naked in front of someone else didnât feel too good.
âThenâŚâ
Fwoooshâ
YuWonâs eyes turned red.
In that momentâŚ
[Cinder Eyes resists Golden Cinder Eyes.]
[Resistance failed.]
He hadnât expected too much, but as he thoughtâŚ
âIt doesnât work.â
[Cinder Eyes] was a skill at a lower tier than [Golden Cinder Eyes.] From the start, it was impossible for an unevolved skill to resist the evolved skill.
In this moment, Son OhGong was looking at something through YuWonâs eyes. Although he didnât know what that wasâŚ
âSo? What do you see in that fancy eye of yours?â
âThe me that you know.â
Inside Son OhGongâs golden iris, another world was reflected through it.
âI can see my main body standing next to you.â
[Golden Cinder Eyes.] The unique skill that can peer through the truth, only possessed by Son OhGong in the entire Tower.
That skill had allowed him to look into YuWonâs eyes into a different world.
âYou definitely know my main body. And very well at that. No?â
YuWon shut his eyes for a moment. It really didnât feel good to have his everything seen through by someone else.
How could he put this?
But Son OhGong wasnât someone you could trick by making excuses.
ââŚYouâre right.â In the end, YuWon nodded. âIn the world I was in, you and I knew each other.â
âThe world you were in?â
It wasnât an easy sentence to fully understand. Especially for someone like Son OhGong who wasnât that smart in the first place.
Maybe that was why Son OhGong just ignored it and continued asking, âSo? How did we know each other?â
It seemed that not even the [Golden Cinder Eyes] were able to see the whole truth.
After contemplating for a second, YuWon gave an answer.
âWe were friends.â
His [Cinder Eyes] that were looking into Son OhGongâs lit up.
[Cinder Eyes resonates.]
It was a feeling he hadnât felt for a long time.
âAn antagonistic friendship.â
Resonance.
Son OhGong looked at YuWonâs slightly opened eyes.
He wasnât looking through YuWonâs eyes anymore. YuWon was showing OhGong himself through the two similar eyes.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Jreaming
Proofreader - BringTheRayn
* * *
The distant skies and the view of the training grounds disappeared.
The scene that started to play in the two peopleâs eyes was that of YuWon laying down on top of a rock and Son OhGong standing in front of him.
âWhat are you?â
ââŚâ
âAre you sleeping?â
Son OhGong questioned YuWon, who had laid down in his spot.
OhGong had gone for a quick bathroom break, but someone had come in and started sleeping with a sleeping mask on.
âIâm not asleep yet.â
âThen get up and get out of here. This is my spot.â
âThe sun shines the best here,â YuWon, who had just found a good spot to take a nap, replied with an annoyed tone.
Seeing this, Son OhGong asked, baffled, âI didnât kill you after acting like that?â
âYeah. I wonder.â
Rumbleâ!
Suddenly, a lighting bolt fell from the sky.
It couldnât compare to Zeusâs [Lighting Bolt,] but after it hit the ground, it split the rock YuWon had been laying on.
The rock instantly disappeared.
âGet up.â
Pangâ
Son OhGong hit his palm with his fist.
âI know you arenât dead.â
Bzzt, bzzztâ
Inside the deep pit that was just created, surrounded by the electricity that hadnât faded yet, YuWon stood up.
And right after that, a battle started.
Rumbleâ!
Their fight lasted for quite a while.
And this scene seemed to be enjoyable for Son OhGong.
âOh, you fight well.â
As Son OhGong spectated the fight with an excited expression, he asked, âBut is that really you? Itâs quite different from the you right now.â
âThatâs when I had been a Ranker for a few decades.â
âA few decades? Youâre not even a Ranker now, though?â
Bangâ!
YuWon and Son OhGongâs fists collided.
The mountain crumbled underneath them, and lighting bolts fell like rain from ăFlying Nimbus.ă
âThatâs really you?â
Son OhGong had also become a Ranker pretty quickly. He was the one who took the shortest time to become both a Ranker and then a High-Ranker.
But even then, seeing YuWonâs growth rate was enough to surprise Son OhGong.
âSo, who won?â
âI lost.â
No matter how fast oneâs growth was, the opponent was âThe Great Sage, Heavenâs Equal.â
YuWon lost to Son OhGong in their first fight. After the fight ended, Son OhGong didnât kill him, and they were able to fight again after a few years.
âAround this timeâŚâ
The fights repeated multiple times. On about the tenth time, YuWon was able to get his first victory.
âMaybe you got a little attached to me, so you started to follow me at some point.â
âMy main body? Why?â
âHow would I know? Only you know why you did it.â
After some time, it had become natural. Not friends but not enemies either. YuWon, who had never built a team before, started to move alongside someone else.
âI was annoyed at the start. That someone was next to me. I wasnât used to it.â
YuWon had never stayed together with someone else. Not even back in his youth at the orphanage. Everyone treated him with discomfort, which led to either neglect or violence, and he felt uncomfortable having people around him.
That was probably why he climbed the Tower alone.
âThen why did you move around with me? Did you open up your heart to me?â
âHow could I get rid of someone who couldnât even die? We went around together because there was nothing I could do.â
Shwoooâ
The vision Son OhGong was seeing through YuWonâs eyes changed. He saw the figure of YuWon trying to get rid of Son OhGong, who had just been following him around like it was a normal thing to do. And the repeated fights.
It really was difficult to see if they were friends or enemies.
âBut while we were doing this, the wall broke.â
Rumbleâ
When the calm sky had started to shake, YuWon and Son OhGong both felt the disgusting feeling nearly simultaneously.
The wall that never wavered broke for the first time, and entities no one could have ever imagined poured in from the outside.
âAfter that, we simply fought, and fought again. It really was easier for us to get closer when we fought together rather than fought each other.â
The monsters beyond comprehension that were eating up both the world and its Rankers. Looking at them, Son OhGong narrowed his eyes.
âWhat⌠are those?â
The monsters he could see werenât the real Outer Gods but an image created through YuWonâs vision.
âOuter Gods. Gods from outside the Tower⌠They were called a lot of things.â
âSo theyâre all gods, in any case.â
âThey were existences that deserved to be called as such.â
There definitely were a lot of beings inside the tower that called themselves gods. The âBig Threeâ gods of Olympus, Odin and Thor of Asgard, The âThree Precious Children.â They all called themselves gods and showed off abilities worthy of that title.
HoweverâŚ
Not one of them could truly be called a god.
âJust how⌠can something like that exist?â
Son OhGongâs face went white.
The twelfth clone was different than the true Son OhGong, the main body of âThe Great Sage, Heavenâs Equal.â That was why he became afraid of the Outer Gods shared with him through YuWonâs eyes. Because rather than being explained to him through words, he was directly feeling what they were.
âDid you fight against those things?â
âIt wasnât just me.â
The people that sat around each other. Odin, Hercules, Chronos, Asura, Son OhGong⌠And YuWon. They sat together and started to talk.
âEveryone here fought together, and we lost.â
âThat doesnât make sense.â
They were all High-Rankers. And a few of them were beings that Son OhGong, who had no interest in the world, knew as well. In particular, there was probably no Ranker who didnât know Odinâs face.
âReally? You lost even though everyone gathered like this?â
âWe lost horribly as well.â
Most of the Rankers that fought against the Outer Gods died, and only a minority were able to survive.
It wasnât a fight they could win.
That was the conclusion everyone came to.
That was why this gathering happened.
âLetâs decide nowâŚâ
The one who asked for the gathering was Odin.
He began to speak while looking at two of the people, YuWon and Son OhGong, ââŚOn the one who will be sent back to the past.â