Early in the morning.
YuWon took a bite of his fruit.
It was still bright outside the window. Unlike the Demon Realm, the night in the sky passed in the blink of an eye.
After resting well, his body and mind felt fresher. It seemed like he was finally enjoying a relaxed meal after a long time.
Thanks to the treatment he received in the Demon Kings’ army, YuWon had settled in the Celestial City and taken a few days off.
“I should start moving little by little today.”
He had rushed to participate in the Great Heaven Demon War. He had taken Trials without rest to meet the schedule, and finally, he had successfully resolved the Great Heaven Demon War.
Eat, sleep. Then eat again, then sleep.
After spending several days like that, his heavy head felt a little lighter.
Just as he was about to finish his last relaxed meal…
Ring, ring.
The Player Kit he had left on the table started ringing.
[Hargan]
Seeing the name that appeared on the kit, YuWon hesitated for a moment.
If he answered this call, he felt like he would lose the rare opportunity to have some free time.
The sound continued non-stop. YuWon finally answered the call.
-Hey! What’s going on?
He was glad he moved the kit away from his ear.
Hargan, from the beginning, spoke with an excited tone.
“What’s up?”
-It’s your ranking. Haven’t you checked it yet?
“Ranking?”
YuWon reached out for the Player Kit.
“I’ll end the call.”
Tic.
YuWon quickly hung up the call and started searching for information on the Player Kit.
This was the second time Hargan behaved so excitedly.
The first time was when YuWon’s ranking was first recorded.
The fact that YuWon, who was not a Ranker, was registered in the ranking was surprising.
But after that, even as YuWon’s ranking went up, Hargan didn’t reach out to him.
As if there was nothing surprising about it.
But this time was different.
“What happened to my ranking?”
YuWon searched for his ranking and stood frozen in place, unable to believe what he saw.
It was so high that it was hard to believe.
[Kim YuWon: 53rd]
53rd.
It was a ranking that barely differed from Hades, the current King of Olympus, by only two places.
Even though YuWon’s ability had improved significantly, it was too drastic of a ranking increase.
YuWon’s previous ranking was 67th.
He had risen an incredible 14 places.
Even when the Ragnarok ended, YuWon’s ranking hadn’t gone up that much.
“Is it because of the title?”
Having an affiliation meant more than strengthening one’s personal power.
This was true for Raguel.
As the Chancellor of the Heavens, he was ranked among the top 100, even though he was just a moderately skilled High-Ranker.
The power Raguel had was comparable to being the second-in-command in the Heavens.
If it were any other Player, they would probably be celebrating their promotion by dancing, but YuWon felt his head spinning instead.
Next to YuWon’s ranking, there were several related articles.
[Is YuWon’s ranking rise a management error?]
[The truth behind the ranking: Is it about ability?]
[The Second-in-Command of the Demon Kings. Is YuWon backed by the Demon Realm?]
[Analysis of YuWon’s movements. His motivation for the tutorial…]
Just by reading the titles, it seemed like he understood what they were about.
Some of the articles were written provocatively, as if they were sure that YuWon had joined the Demon Kings.
“Damn journalists…”
YuWon wasn’t interested in the affairs of the world.
It was natural.
He already knew how the world worked, even how it would work in the future.
He knew far more than the journalists running around, and he couldn’t help but lose interest in their information.
However, maybe simply because he was bored at the moment.
YuWon started searching and reading some of the important articles about himself.
And in the midst of that…
“…Huh?”
One article caught YuWon’s attention.
[Power Struggle in Olympus. A Conflict Between Hera and Hades?]
[Hercules at a Crossroads. The Siblings Apollo and Artemis, and…]
[Dionysus, a High-Ranker of Olympus, Says There Are No Internal Struggles in Olympus and That Everything Is Already Stabilized… What’s the Truth?]
——————
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Zeus stepped down from Olympus.
The vacant throne was taken by Hades.
He was the highest-ranking in Olympus, excluding Zeus, and everyone considered him the rightful successor to Zeus.
At that moment when Zeus was overthrown, there was no one else apart from Poseidon in Olympus.
However…
Besides the Three Main Gods, there was another High-Ranker in Olympus who posed a threat to him.
‘Hera…’
Zeus’ wife, the High-Ranker after the Three Main Gods.
She was moving to take control of Olympus.
‘Has this ever happened before?’
YuWon checked in his memory, but there was nothing.
The history he knew had changed.
There was a scent in the air.
“If we change events one by one, there will undoubtedly be changes.”
“Then, we should investigate that aspect. If there were changes, it means there is a high possibility of intervention in some way.”
He wasn’t sure yet.
However, it seemed necessary to confirm it.
“Then…”
YuWon called Hargan again.
A short ring.
And after a brief moment…
-Why did you end the call so suddenly?
Hargan’s voice, annoyed, returned.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to confirm something and then call you.”
-The ranking?
“Yes.”
-Well, I guess it’s understandable. You’ve risen a lot in the Ranking, seriously.
Fortunately, Hargan didn’t seem too upset. It wasn’t the first time YuWon hung up the phone like that, and he also had other reasons.
-Seeing that you don’t even check the rankings, you probably don’t know our news either, right?
Hargan was the first to speak.
From YuWon’s point of view, who was about to mention something related to Olympus, it was a welcome start.
“It seems they’re in the middle of a battle.”
-It’s not just a battle. Now…
There was a pause in his voice.
A conflict could be felt on the other side of the phone. YuWon patiently waited for Hargan to continue.
-No, wait. Could we meet and talk for now? I’ll come to your place.
It seemed there was some help he needed to request.
It probably wouldn’t take much time.
After all, Olympus had the best means of transportation, the Sun Chariot.
“As for where I am right now…”
————————-
It only took four hours for Hargan to find YuWon.
After talking on the phone during breakfast, he arrived just in time for lunch.
YuWon was sitting outside the residence, in a quiet café with few customers. There was nothing particularly special about the café to make him feel conscious of any stares.
“You came early.”
“I wasn’t far, just two floors away.”
“Sit down, for now.”
Thud-.
Hargan sat across from YuWon. He looked outside through the café window, his eyes widening in surprise as if he were amazed.
“It feels strange here. Demons might be lurking around here.”
“Everyone should be used to that by now. We’re from the same Guild.”
“Is there really no problem?”
“Of course, for now, it doesn’t seem like there are problems due to Diablo’s orders. No one knows when or what problems will arise.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“It was a problem we had to face at some point. It’s been like that since the beginning of the Great Heaven Demon War.”
“So many things really happen…”
Normally, he would have been open-mouthed in amazement.
The battle known as the Great Heaven Demon War had lasted as long as the history of Olympus. Perhaps it was a war that had a significance beyond the Gigantomachy.
YuWon had managed to bring that war to an end.
It was strange, but now it felt appropriate.
‘This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.’
He had reformed Olympus, defeated the Three Precious Children, triggered Ragnarok, and now ended the Great Heaven Demon War.
It no longer seemed surprising what could happen.
When Hargan arrived, the drinks that YuWon had ordered in advance were already ready. Hargan’s drink was sweeter than coffee.
“Anyway, congratulations. You’ve risen in the ranking. And you’ve finally settled in one place.”
“I haven’t settled.”
“What?”
“It’s a lie. The journalists said strange things.”
“… A lie?”
Hargan tilted his head and scratched his head, wondering what was going on.
The article clearly stated that YuWon had become the Second-in-Command of the Demon King’s ranks. Unless that was true, it was hard to believe in YuWon’s astounding rise in the rankings.
But it was YuWon himself who said it wasn’t true.
“Well, I guess you’re right. You’re not someone who lies about these kinds of things.”
Hargan straightened up in his seat.
Looking ahead and bending at the waist, Hargan changed the subject, saying, “Anyway.”
“I heard some news about what’s going on in Olympus these days. Do you know what’s happening there?”
“Dionysus said it wasn’t a big deal during an interview.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I don’t.”
Hargan nodded in relief.
“Yes, something has happened.”
His face suddenly turned serious.
Olympus was in a state of turmoil, that was something YuWon knew, but seeing Hargan react so seriously was something he hadn’t seen before.
“Is it really because of Hera?”
“Yes.”
As he recalled recent events, Hargan gripped his head with one hand while furrowing his brow.
“I don’t know if it’s because she’s carrying the Great Uncle Poseidon on her back or if she has recruited many Rankers within Olympus. It seems Hera has been restraining the Great Uncle Hades lately.”
“Perhaps it’s the influence of external forces to the Guild.”
“That would be the worst. If it’s something like that, then it could escalate into a war rather than just being an internal Guild problem.”
“What about Hercules? What is he doing?”
In a way, he was the simplest problem.
Hercules, the Giant Slayer.
He was the greatest force in Olympus after Zeus and possessed incomparable power.
Moreover, by obtaining the hammer created from the branch of the World Tree in Ragnarok, he had enough power to confront Olympus by himself.
“If Big Brother Hercules helps us, we won’t have to worry. Well, even if it’s not because of him, Hera couldn’t have done this.”
Hargan sighed deeply.
“That’s the problem, that…”
Indeed, that was the reason why Hargan had sought out YuWon.
“I don’t know what happened, but we haven’t been able to communicate with Big Brother Hercules.”
“They haven’t been able to communicate with him?”
“Nothing serious should have happened to his abilities and status. His ranking remains the same.”
It was a valid assertion.
YuWon wasn’t worried about Hercules either. Unless Hera teamed up with Zeus again, there was no way they had the means to threaten Hercules.
But Zeus was currently on the 100th floor.
There was no room for Hera to team up with him.
“So why are you so worried?”
“The problem is that, according to what we’ve found out, it seems Hera has proposed a wager.”
“A wager?”
With those words, Hargan whispered quietly to YuWon.
Twelve Labors. It seems she accepted that.
