Leveling with the Gods

Beyond - 4

On any given day.

While Hercules and Son OhGong were at YuWon's house enjoying a round of drinks.

The three sat around the table, glasses filled.

Suddenly, Pandora's expression, who was also present, turned gloomy.

"...It's gone."

"And so, this guy...?"

"...?"

Son OhGong, who was enthusiastically recounting one of his exploits, came to a sudden halt, while YuWon and Hercules turned their heads towards her.

An odd atmosphere began to hang in the air.

"It disappeared."

"What disappeared?"

YuWon asked, to which Pandora responded with a pout on her lips.

"...The cake."

"The cake?"

They recalled that not long ago, Pandora had entered radiant with a cake in her hands.

A chocolate cake from the shop she had always wanted to try.

And now, thinking about it, it was definitely on the table that morning.

Bang!

Pandora turned and headed to her room. The sound of the door closing harder than usual was undoubtedly a way to express her displeasure.

"She's upset."

"Yeah, quite."

Swoosh.

Son OhGong and Hercules' gazes turned to YuWon.

He, in turn, sighed and looked at them alternately.

"Who did it?"

He asked, directing his gaze at Son OhGong. Blinking with an innocent expression, he asked incredulously:

"Me? It wasn't me!"

Jumping from his seat, Son OhGong pointed at Hercules.

"Surely it was you!"

"I don't eat that kind of stuff, it makes me nauseous."

Considering his muscular figure, it was a fairly reasonable response.

Indeed, Hercules didn't seem to have much affinity for chocolate or cakes.

"But you're always the one bringing cakes!"

"Those are just gifts to please the host's tastes."

"And you never felt like trying one?"

"I have many points. I don't need to steal others' food..."

"I have many points too!"

Son OhGong and Hercules growled at each other.

At that moment, as if they had reached an unspoken agreement, both looked at YuWon.

"You?"

"Have you been the one?"

Under the accusing gaze of both, YuWon couldn't help but laugh ironically.

"We're already suspecting each other for no reason."

"I haven't done it, I assure you."

"Me neither."

There were only three people in the house.

And those three people were YuWon, Son OhGong, and Hercules.

It wasn't possible for a thief to have entered the house, so the culprit had to be among them.

While they suspected each other, YuWon intervened:

"First, let's solve the urgent problem."

----------------

"No, this isn't the same."

Pandora took a bite of the cake YuWon had bought, but then shook her head.

"The taste is different."

Yum.

Despite her words, Pandora didn't stop eating the cake with her fork. Apparently, the taste wasn't entirely bad. However, she had realized that the cake YuWon brought was a counterfeit.

"We failed."

"She has an infallible palate for cakes."

The three sighed in unison. Their plan to trick her with an identical cake to find the original had failed.

"But well, do we really have to solve this?"

Son OhGong, visibly tired, leaned on the table. If it was about fighting, he could go three days and nights without getting bored, but apparently, consoling a woman's heart wasn't to his liking.

"The wedding is in a month. We must solve it by then."

YuWon nodded at Hercules' words.

In the end, Hercules was much smarter than Son OhGong.

"The culprit is this guy, without a doubt."

"No, I tell you it wasn't me!"

"It's obvious. He probably thought, 'What harm can one do?' and ate it."

"Burst my stomach and check!"

"Hold him."

"Alright."

"Aaaah!"

Hercules grabbed him by the arms, and YuWon unsheathed his sword.

Amidst the screams threatening to shake the house, Hercules finally let go of Son OhGong.

After a great commotion, YuWon spoke:

"There are two options."

"Which ones?"

"Get an identical cake or find the culprit."

Son OhGong nodded at YuWon's words.

"I'll catch the culprit. I'll prove it wasn't me."

Whoosh.

Son OhGong ignited his Golden Cinder Eyes, with his eyes shining bright.

It seemed that the suspicion bothered him quite a bit.

"I'll go ask some bakers. In Olympus, there are quite a few good ones."

Hercules, addressing YuWon, asked:

"And can't you see the past with that thing called 'Foreknowledge'?"

"If I could, I would have done it already. As far as I know, the only Player with the ability to see the past..."

While talking, YuWon's gaze went to the table where the cake was.

"It's not that there are no options."

There was only one person.

A Player with the ability to see the past.

-------------------

The alarm rang in Deva's heart.

"Guest! Prepare the welcome ceremony!"

"Who is the guest?"

"Who else could it be? It's my Hyung-nim!"

Starting with Baruna, who loved ostentation, the Rankers of Deva began preparing a grand welcome ceremony.

They didn't have much time.

YuWon had announced his visit through Baruna only three hours before his arrival.

And that was the reason for the commotion in Deva.

"What's with all this commotion?"

A young Vishnu yawned and went outside.

"Vishnu-nim! Kim YuWon is coming here!"

"Kim YuWon? Why is that guy coming here?"

Vishnu, still half-closed with sleep, tilted his head.

Kim YuWon.

The Tower owed him two favors.

One in the war against the Outers and another in the war against the Administrators.

He didn't belong to any Guild and preferred to act alone, but no one could deny that Kim YuWon was the best.

"Well, he... said he has something to ask us..."

"Ask us something?"

Vishnu furrowed his eyebrows.

Now he understood the commotion in Deva.

"It seems like something big is about to happen."

"Yeah?"

"Think about it. What happened every time that guy did something?"

Baruna's face, which had been tilting his head at Vishnu's words, turned pale.

"T-that's true..."

"The first known incident was the overthrow of the Round Table King. Then came the division of the Three Precious Kids, and after that, the power shift in Olympus."

Kim YuWon's actions had always brought about drastic changes in the Tower.

Until recently, they had forgotten that Kim YuWon was involved in those events, but it was no longer the case.

The Tower had remembered him.

They had come to know his achievements, his actions, everything.

That's why Vishnu couldn't simply celebrate Kim YuWon's visit.

'I hope it's nothing serious...'

Perhaps once again.

"...It could be that the blood wind is blowing through the Tower again."

----------------

The welcome ceremony, filled with alcohol, food, and music, came to an end.

YuWon, who had come as a guest, quickly concluded the meeting, saying it was a hassle.

First of all, he didn't have such an important matter that required a welcome ceremony.

"The cake has disappeared."

"...?"

In Vishnu's office. A question mark appeared on Vishnu's face when he heard the reason for the visit.

Did he hear it wrong?

Vishnu suppressed the urge to poke his ear and asked:

"What has disappeared?"

"The cake."

"..."

The words "and now what do you want me to do" resonated in his throat. When he asked for a more detailed explanation, he was told that someone had eaten Pandora's favorite cake.

"Vi... Vishnu...nim...?"

Next to him, Baruna could barely contain his laughter, on the verge of bursting into laughter.

It was funny, after all, that the reason the blood wind was returning to the Tower was that a simple cake had disappeared.

"Don't laugh."

"Yes...he...he..."

"If you can't hold it, go out and laugh. It bothers me."

Vishnu waved his hand and dismissed Baruna. Baruna bowed to YuWon, opened the door, and finally burst into laughter.

YuWon, who didn't know the full context, had a bewildered expression.

"Sigh. Okay, and the cake? Do you want me to look for it?"

"It would be helpful."

"Is that really your true reason? The cake?"

"It's part of the reason, but I also need to know who ate it."

"Isn't it obvious? Didn't Hercules eat it?"

Vishnu also thought Son OhGong was the culprit among the three.

Although Son OhGong himself would never admit it.

However...

"I don't think it was him."

YuWon shook his head at Vishnu's words.

"Although it makes me think..."

"But?"

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, can you see the past, right?"

Facing YuWon's question, who seemed to know everything, Vishnu realized he had gotten himself into a troublesome situation.

As a being from the future, he should know what his ability was capable of, and there was no point in trying to escape.

Since he had died and resurrected, he only felt like sleeping, so he had only been sleeping.

"If there's a tree nearby..."

It seemed he would have to go out.

"Come with me. Consider it paying off a debt."

---------------------

YuWon gathered Son OhGong, Hercules, and Pandora.

In the living room where the cake had been placed.

Son OhGong, who was back in that place, had a haggard face.

"I'm innocent... I..."

"I know, so be quiet."

It seemed that YuWon had been searching for the culprit quite diligently while he was in Deva.

Of course, he didn't have high expectations. After all, Son OhGong only knew how to fight, and he didn't think he was good at thinking.

"But why did you bring Vishnu-nim here?"

Hercules looked at Vishnu, who was only half his height.

He had heard that he had been recovering in Deva lately, but it was strange for him to suddenly appear with YuWon.

It was a somewhat unexpected situation.

"To find the culprit."

"How?"

"Didn't you talk about seeing the past?"

Hercules nodded.

Certainly, he had wondered about it himself.

However, he didn't have high expectations.

See the past?

He didn't think that was possible.

However...

"It's a wooden table."

Swoosh.

Vishnu, stroking the surface of the table, nodded.

"Then it's okay."

"Really?"

Son OhGong's eyes brightened.

If that was really possible, they wouldn't need to go through this anymore.

They just had to catch one of the culprits, no matter who it was.

"All trees have memory. It won't be difficult. What do we do? Do we do it now?"

"Please."

YuWon nodded at Vishnu's question. Inside, he thought it was a hassle to have to resort to this, but Vishnu touched the wooden table and infused his Arcane Power into it.

Then.

Wooow.

A green light sprouted from the wood.

That light soon projected a memory for everyone present.

And in that memory...

"There it is, the cake."

"Is it still there?"

A round cake was seen on the table.

It was late at night.

A moment when everyone was asleep.

And someone was seen reaching for the table.

"Who is it?"

"It's definitely not me."

"...Don't tell me..."

A slender hand holding a fork. Immediately, the gazes of everyone, including YuWon, turned to the face that appeared on the screen.

"Eh?"

"What?"

"Ha..."

It was late at night.

Pandora, with a still sleepy face from not having slept at all, sat at the table.

Hercules and Son OhGong made doubtful expressions at the idea, while YuWon put his hand to his face and sighed.

Seeing her start to devour the cake,

Words of anger erupted from Son OhGong's mouth.

"This damn-!"