Leveling with the Gods

Fwoosh—

Everything looked new with his flaming eyes. His body’s senses felt as fired up as a forge’s roaring furnace, and he felt as if he was constantly in the heat of battle.

‘So this is… Cinder Eyes.’

There were three stages to the [Golden Cinder Eyes.] The first is [Monkey’s Eyes]—eyes that Son OhGong, the monkey of Mount Huaguo, possessed. The second was [Cinder Eyes]—eyes that swallowed Demon fire.

The only way to awaken the [Cinder Eyes] was to swallow a Demon’s fire with the hidden piece of the Tutorial and imbue them into your eyes. 

‘I never thought a day would come where I would respect that idiot.’

Suruhtra’s fire was indeed hot. But it wasn’t just hot. YuWon’s entire body was engulfed in flame, burning his skin off. It was a level of pain that would have made anyone with weak focus and mental fortitude go insane. That was what he felt while wearing the 「Pyromancy Robe.」 But what about Son OhGong?

‘His body defies all logic.’

Without any special items, Son OhGong was able to hold his ground against Suruhtra until he obtained the [Cinder Eyes.] Son OhGong told YuWon that he was physically on another level from birth. Turned out he wasn’t exaggerating. 

ᗌ Rank : A

ᗌ Proficiency : 12.14%

ᗌ Monkey’s Eyes that synchronized with Demon fire. It is able to tell apart good and evil as well as truth and lies. 

ᗌ Strong resistance to fire.

ᗌ Sensory amplification.

ᗌ Battle prediction.

An A-rank skill. It was nothing compared to [Master of Mana,] an Authority of an Administrator, but S-rank skills should have been unattainable in the Tutorial anyways. And A-rank skills were so rare that even Rankers only possessed a few of them.  

What was really great is that [Cinder Eyes] already had over 10% proficiency. The higher the rank of the skill, the harder it was to raise its proficiency. So, taking that into account, 12% honestly felt like cheating. 

‘I’m glad I raised the proficiency early on.’

As a skill obtained by evolving [Monkey’s Eyes] with a hidden piece, it was only natural for some properties to carry over. 

It was easy to raise the proficiency of [Monkey’s Eyes], it being only an F-rank skill. And YuWon kept the skill active almost the entire time after obtaining it. Because it was a low-rank skill, it didn’t consume much mana, so YuWon intended to raise the proficiency as high as he could.

“ᐷ ‘You want to get started’?”

Suruhtra smirked faintly. It was shocked after seeing YuWon walk out of the flaming pit, but the surprise didn’t last too long. YuWon’s body was covered in burns, not to mention he was unable to dissipate the fiery aura from within his body. 

“ᐷ And what exactly do you want to start when your body’s in such a state?”

It was only natural for Suruhtra to look down on YuWon. It was not only the child of the Giant Surtr, it was also a Demon, one of the races that ruled the Tower. Though it was weaker due to the restrictions of the Tutorial, it still couldn’t help but look at the gravely wounded YuWon as nothing more than a pest.  

“This is nothing.”

Whoom—

YuWon extended his arm, and the space in front of him started to ripple. It was his 「Mid-Grade Personal Inventory.」 YuWon reached both his hands into his inventory, and from within, he pulled out a weapon and a medicine ball.

“ᐷ That’s…”

Suruhtra squinted its eye, closely observing the sword in YuWon’s hand. A sword with a white blade and hilt. The oddly-colored, simple-looking sword radiated an icy aura that felt like one touch would give you frostbite. 

Kk-crack—

Shhhh—

The icy aura of the 「Arctic Steel Sword」 seeped into YuWon’s body. It started to cool him down. It collided with the fiery aura that had accumulated within his body, and the two nullified each other. 

This, of course, wasn’t all that YuWon had prepared. 

Gulp—

YuWon swallowed the two medicine balls.

[You have consumed an 「Ice Crystal.」]

[You have consumed an 「Ice Crystal.」]

[Your body temperature steadily drops.]

[Neutralizing status effect : Burn.]

[Attribute : Ice has been added to your Arcane Power.]

The extreme heat and awful burn that enveloped YuWon disappeared. But in their place, a deep chill took over his body. 

“Fuuu—”

YuWon started breathing out frost. And even though he was still surrounded by a sea of fire, he could no longer feel the heat. It was thanks to the two 「Ice Crystals」 he consumed and the 「Arctic Steel Sword」 in his hand. 

‘I actually feel a bit chilly now.’

* * *

The 「Ice Crystals」 and the 「Arctic Steel Sword」 possessed an aura that was the polar opposite of fire, especially the 「Arctic Steel Sword.」 

It was forged from a glacier and was sharper than most steel swords. The 「Arctic Steel Sword」 possessed a powerful icy aura, but as a side effect, it slowly froze the user. 

‘That’s why…’

Suhurtra flinched from the aura emanating from the sword. It realized that the aura coming off of YuWon and the sword could actually hurt it. 

‘… This just might be doable.’

Suruhtra, the low-class Demon. 

Now that YuWon had obtained the [Cinder Eyes,] it was finally time to defeat Suruhtra. 

Thud—

YuWon stepped foot onto level ground as Suruhtra’s sword swung down at him. 

Fwooosh—!

A giant flame engulfed YuWon. Instead of trying to dodge it, he swung his sword at the fire. 

[「Pyromancy Robe」 is resisting Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[「Pyromancy Robe」 has gained additional resistance against Fire Attribute attacks.]

[Cinder Eyes are resisting Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[Cinder Eyes are absorbing Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

This was an attack that just moments ago broke the 「Magic Nullification Shield」 and almost killed YuWon. However, in a short span of time, things had changed greatly. 

[Your body temperature is rapidly decreasing.]

[Resisting status effect : Burn.]

[Cinder Eyes.] 「Pyromancy Robe.」 As well as the 「Ice Crystals」 and the 「Arctic Steel Sword.」 The combined forces of the skills and items allowed YuWon to cut through Suruhtra’s flames. 

Slash—!

YuWon managed to cut a path through the flames for himself. Leaping high into the air, YuWon entered Suruhtra’s personal space near its waist… 

Slash—!

… And slashed Suruhtra’s torso, cutting through its armor of fire. 

“ᐷ Ahhhhh!”

Suruhtra screamed in agony. 

It was working. Normally, such a feat would be inconceivable because one couldn’t normally pierce through Suruhtra’s armor of fire, even with high Strength and Arcane Power stats. Yet YuWon had managed to do exactly that thanks to the power of the 「Arctic Steel Sword」 and the 「Ice Crystals.」

“ᐷ You…!”

The 「Arctic Steel Sword」 was indeed great at cutting. In return for slowly freezing the user with its icy aura, the sword was capable of slicing and freezing almost anything. 

Hot blood spouted from the wound to Suruhtra’s torso.

Fwooosh—

Suruhtra became enraged, its body slowly turning black. And from within its hand, a crimson and black infernal flame materialized. The onyx-colored flame was most definitely a threat. 

‘I need to dodge it.’

YuWon’s vision was tinted red thanks to the power of [Cinder Eyes.] And within his vision, a path was drawn. He could instinctively feel it. That was where he had to move to. It was one of the powers of the [Cinder Eyes,] ‘Battle Prediction.’ 

Wooosh—

Boom, b-boom—!

Suruhtra’s black flames started incinerating the entire area. The black flames differed from the normal fire that was prevalent until a moment ago. Instead of simply scorching the ground, these flames were capable of completely melting earth away. It was one of the Authorities of a Demon, the ability to call forth Hellfire. 

“Kugh…”

Thankfully, YuWon was able to avoid being incinerated by the black flames, but he was unable to come out fully unscathed. He tried to dissipate the heat with the 「Arctic Steel Sword,」 but it was no use. He wasn’t strong enough to fight against Suruhtra yet. 

‘Two crystals weren’t enough.’

YuWon pulled out the other two 「Ice Crystals」 from his inventory and swallowed them. 

[Your body temperature greatly drops.]

[You are now affected by the status effect : Frostbite.]

The icy aura of the 「Arctic Steel Sword」 had been gradually taking over YuWon’s body. Despite the fact that he was being blasted with heat, his body was now full of icy aura.  

To get burned and frostbite at the same time. YuWon had faced all sorts of situations in the Tower, but this was the first time he had experienced anything like this. 

‘I won’t last much longer.’

The Ice Attribute was a natural weakness for a Giant of fire like Suruhtra, but the problem was that YuWon wasn’t physically capable of handling so much icy aura yet. 

‘I need to finish this quickly.’

With this much icy aura, he could somewhat fight against Suruhtra’s flames. 

His heart and chest felt like they were now frozen solid. Feeling as if he was suffocating from the cold, YuWon let out a deep breath, barely managing to exhale some of the icy aura within him.

While he was exhaling, Suruhtra’s sword descended upon him. 

Craaaash—!

The black flames split apart the earth.

YuWon twisted his body, dodging the attack. Moving away from the melting ground, YuWon ran towards Suruhtra. 

Slash—

YuWon jumped at Suruhtra’s legs. He was running out of time. He no longer had the luxury of conserving his mana. 

[Arcane Sword]

Woom, wooom—

The [Arcane Sword] extended a few inches beyond the 「Arctic Steel Sword.」 

YuWon swung his sword against Suruhtra’s leg with all his might.

Slice—

YuWon inflicted a clean cut on Suruhtra’s leg.

“ᐷ Aaaagh!”

Suruhtra cried in agony. Losing its balance from the loss of one leg, Suruhtra fell to its knees with a thud.

Searching for YuWon, Suruhtra quickly raised its head, but before it could find him… 

Woom, wooom—

… A white ball of ice mana flew right into Suruhtra’s face.

[Mana Blast]

Boom—!

Kk-kk-crack—

A [Mana Blast] reinforced with the power of the 「Ice Crystals」 landed a direct hit to Suruhtra’s face and Suruhtra’s flaming head froze in an instant. This caused Suruhtra to lose its balance and sway. 

But it didn’t last long.

Fwoosh—

Fire rose from Suruhtra’s head once again. Suruhtra might have a weakness against ice, but the difference in power between Suruhtra and YuWon was far too great. 

But for YuWon, disrupting Suruhtra’s balance for just a moment was more than enough.

‘I can see it.’

With the power of the [Cinder Eyes,] the world appeared like it had slowed down a tempo. Suruhtra’s swaying body was definitely large, but it wasn’t impossible to climb up, so YuWon got on top of Suruhtra’s back. 

Feeling YuWon standing on its neck, Suruhtra shook its head. 

“ᐷ You insolent bastard! How dare you! You’re a brat that hasn’t even climbed the Tower yet…!”

Fwooosh—!

Flames started raging across Suruhtra’s body. They were the [Flames of Annihilation.] It was a fire that was mixed with black Hellfire—the fire that would destroy this Tutorial. And YuWon was not yet at a level where he could handle these flames. 

[Attribute : Ice is resisting Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[「Pyromancy Robe」 is resisting Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[Cinder Eyes is resisting Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[Cinder Eyes is absorbing Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[You have failed to resist Suruhtra’s Flames of Annihilation.]

[Status effect: Burn increased to level 2.]

[Status effect: Burn increased to level 3.]

[Your fire resistance increased by 1.]

YuWon had prepared various countermeasures against Suruhtra’s fire. However, even with all those preparations, his body was still being burnt black. That was the power of the 3rd Tutorial’s Annihilation and the gap in power between YuWon and Suruhtra. 

But…

“Still…”

YuWon managed to get on top of Suruhtra’s head. 

The low-class Demon Suruhtra only possessed a single fatal weakness. 

“I’ll be the one to win.”

YuWon wielded his 「Arctic Steel Sword」 in reverse. 

Suruhtra screamed after realizing that YuWon had managed to get on its head.

“ᐷ W-Wait…”

Stab—!

YuWon’s sword dug deep into its head, and the sword slowly dissipated icy aura into Suruhtra.

Kk-crack—

Shatter—!

The 「Arctic Steel Sword」 forged from pure ice broke, and the Flames of Annihilation on Suruhtra’s body were extinguished. 

And then… 

[You have defeated the Annihilation of the Tutorial.]

[You have accomplished an inconceivable achievement.]

[Due to accomplishing an impossible achievement, the calculation of your reward will be delayed.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled…]

While his consciousness faded, sweet messages continued to ring in his head.