Leveling with the Gods

The Golden Castle was home to many Rankers.

The Rankers of Asgard were generally warrior-like in nature.

The Valkyries, a symbol of Asgard, were representative examples.

They fought daily and tested their skills against each other.

Their ethos was that the weak were not warriors.

That's why...

It was for this reason that YuWon's visit stimulated them.

"I heard Tamar lost last night."

"She was so sure she was going to win."

"And you?"

"Me? Are you kidding? Of course, I'm going to win."

"Then why don't you challenge him too?"

"Challenge him? Are you kidding?"

"Ah, right."

Soon, one by one, more and more Rankers challenged YuWon to a fight.

As they lost more and more often, the topic of conversation among the Valkyries shifted to who could defeat Kim YuWon first.

But the pride of the Valkyries remained unyielding.

"Challenge isn't the right word."

While YuWon's ranking was high, there were fighters among the Valkyries who had an even higher ranking than him.

Moreover, the leader of the Valkyries, the High Rank Thor, was a fighter with a double-digit ranking.

"Still, he seems to have decent skills."

"How many Valkyries have lost so far?"

"I don't know."

"It seems there are some who have secretly challenged him."

"...."

"Hey, what about you?"

"....yes, I did."

Boom!

Someone was seen flying out the window with a spear in hand.

Although they only caught a glimpse, they recognized her face.

"This time it's Nyala."

Another fighter joined the list of those who were defeated by YuWon.

"She's been waiting for days, but she finally accepted the challenge."

"Who's next?"

Now, no one thought YuWon was an easy opponent.

Even the Valkyries, who thought his ranking was an exaggeration, began to recognize his ability.

YuWon clearly had the skills to be a High Rank Player.

Ignorance gave way to recognition, and before they knew it, the nature of the combat had changed.

It was literally like a challenge for a great warrior.

"Kim YuWon is busy right now."

"He's sleeping, please come back later."

Awakened from his sleep, YuWon was bewildered by Guard and Reed's behavior and asked.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, you woke up?"

A brusque face and tone he had never seen before.

Reed patted his chest and opened his mouth.

"Since there are so many challengers, we were protecting him so he wouldn't be disturbed while sleeping."

"If you ever need us to do anything else, just say it. We'll take care of it."

"I haven't asked you to do something like that..."

YuWon looked at the two men waiting at the door. They were guests who had come early in the morning.

This was a repetitive process that had been happening in the past few days.

In that repetitive process, Guard and Reed did what they could to protect YuWon's sleep.

It was a noble gesture.

But it was an unnecessary task.

"I don't care what time it is or how many people there are, let them in."

"Any number of people?"

It was not Guard or Reed who reacted to YuWon's words, but the Valkyries who had come for him.

But in reality, it was not Guard or Reed, nor the other two Valkyries, who were looking at YuWon.

Kak-.

A sensation behind him.

The Valkyries turned their heads, and in that moment, their bodies stiffened.

"You've come!"

"At your service!"

Each of them greeted her with a military salute.

The Valkyries were a combat unit of Asgard composed of Ranker Players, and they were no different from soldiers.

In the direction of their salutes, a woman with dark hair and tanned skin approached.

"It's about time you arrived..."

Gradually, the higher-ranking Valkyries began to appear before YuWon, and now even a familiar face had come to find him.

Brunnhilde, the Leader of the Valkyries.

One of the most skilled High Rankers in all of Asgard.

Co-leader of the Valkyries, the main combat force of Asgard, and equal in authority to Thor, son of Odin.

She herself had come to YuWon.

"Are you Kim YuWon?"

Brünhilde's gaze was ambiguous and hard to read.

Unlike the bellicose look of the Valkyries who had preceded her, her eyes were neither cold nor warm.

And that was her advantage.

She was always cool and calculating. She was a warrior more rational than anyone else YuWon knew.

"Yes, why?"

"I've heard that the Valkyries have been very rude to you lately."

YuWon nodded as if to say yes.

Then Brunnhilde spoke with a serious and stern voice and an uncompromising gaze.

"Forgive me, but now it's my turn to be rude to you."

"L-Leader!"

"You..."

Even among the Valkyries, there was a certain discipline and hierarchy.

And for the past few days, the Valkyries had been challenging YuWon according to that hierarchy.

They wanted YuWon to be defeated by any one of them.

Step by step, from the bottom up, like a ladder.

But now...

Brunnhilde, at the top of the ladder, challenged YuWon to a battle.

Brunnhilde, Leader of the Valkyries. Ranked 181st.

Her ranking was based solely on skill.

She had risen to the top of the Valkyries without connections, solely through her strength.

Defeating her would earn the respect of all the Valkyries.

No.

It would earn the favor of Asgard.

If YuWon could defeat her, he would gain the recognition of all the Valkyries.

"Shall we go?"

Behind the Golden Castle.

There was a training ground for the Valkyries of Asgard.

All the battles of the past few days had taken place here: the high ceilings and miles of space were made for intense combat.

The Valkyries gathered.

To watch their leader, Brunnhilde, fight.

"It's a bit cramped, but I'm sorry, there's no other available place," Brunnhilde said, and YuWon nodded.

"There's nothing to be done about it. But until yesterday, it was enough," YuWon replied.

The Valkyries looked at each other as Brunnhilde and YuWon spoke.

"Until yesterday, it was enough" meant that the space was sufficient for training with the other Valkyries.

'Does he really think this place is too small?'

'This training field?'

A training field that extended for kilometers.

Moreover, this training field, including the Golden Castle, was enchanted by Odin, making it much stronger than other training fields.

Brunnhilde and YuWon did not ignore this fact but continued to argue about the size of the place.

"From your look, it seems like you don't enjoy fighting."

Brunnhilde's voice was low, so the other Valkyries couldn't hear.

"Are you putting on a show to display your strength?" she asked, as if analyzing YuWon before the fight began.

"But you also don't seem to have an ambition to show your strength. So, what do you want to gain by displaying your strength...?"

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't want to know anything."

Skaak-.

Brunnhilde unsheathed her sword. Her voice remained firm, without fluctuations.

"It's just that I don't want to see the honor of the Valkyries fall."

"And are you different?" YuWon asked.

"Yes, I am," Brunnhilde responded firmly.

But her next words had a different meaning from the first ones.

"There's no way I'll lose my honor, even if I lose to you. My honor is not so fragile that it would fall to the ground just because I lose to you."

Brunnhilde held the 181st position in the Ranking.

Moreover, unlike YuWon, she hadn't risen through the ranks in one go; she had proven her worth countless times over the years.

If she lost, it would mean that her opponent was worthy.

"So, are you going to help me?"

"That will depend on how you perform."

Brunnhilde looked at the Valkyries who had come to the training field to see how she and YuWon would fight.

"If you want to demonstrate your skills, do it here. I'll provide you with the stage."

Goooooo-.

Brunnhilde raised her Arcane Power.

As if the dialogue was no longer necessary, she began to move her feet.

And upon seeing her, the corners of YuWon's lips lifted.

'You're the same here.'

The encounter with Brunnhilde had happened long after the current events.

Their fights were always rational, and there was a reason behind them. This time was no different.

If she lost, the Valkyries would have lost to someone worthy of it, which meant they could regain their lost honor.

This, in turn, would improve YuWon's reputation.

On the other hand, if she won, it would be said that she was the leader of the Valkyries after all.

In any case, Brunnhilde had nothing to lose in this fight. Additionally, YuWon had a lot to gain in this fight, even if it meant he had to win to do so.

"Let's see what skills you have..."

Hwaluk-.

YuWon's eyes lit up.

['Golden Cinder Eyes' activated]

And at that moment...

"Watch closely."

Paat-.

In YuWon's eyes, Brunnhilde's sword was reflected.

Tadak, tadadak-.

The ground burned a bright red.

OhGong snorted at the scorching earth.

"I like the atmosphere."

He remembered when he had been trapped in the Eight Trigrams Cauldron long ago.

Back then, his whole body had been bound, but now it was different.

His arms and legs were free, and the power of his body was unrestrained, making him feel like he could fly at any moment.

That was the difference between then and now.

And the most important difference...

-What are you doing here?

Gao-oh-oh-.

A voice resonated like an earthquake. The voice came from above OhGong's head. Although the burning ground seemed empty, it was not actually so.

OhGong looked up, towards the shadowy figure that blocked the sun.

"Finally, something useful has appeared."

OhGong looked back at where he had come from.

"They were quite weak."

The corpses of many giants lay behind OhGong.

But compared to the giant up there, they were nothing more than newborns.

"Are you Surtr? Or aren't you? You don't seem much like what they say for being Surtr."

-What is the Monkey from the Celestial Realm doing in Muspelheim?

"Oh? Are you that guy's son?"

Unfazed by the giant towering over him, Son OhGong adjusted his divine staff on his shoulder.

He gazed at the mountainous giant with admiration.

Still, he thought he was a good guy to deal with.

"He told me to keep a low profile..."

OhGong's eyes gleamed.

In the distance, he could see the giants of Muspelheim gathering. Each one of them was enormous, and they were starting to form an army.

Dragging his words, OhGong nodded.

"But I can't help getting involved when I see something like this."

It was hard not to get impatient in the face of such a spectacle.

The giants of Muspelheim.

They were an enemy he would have to fight at some point.

Moreover, YuWon had said that Ragnarok had to start quickly, so...

"Grow..."

OhGong trusted that YuWon would understand what he was doing.

"Ru Yi."

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