Leveling with the Gods - Chapter 524

C524

When the class time arrived, YuWon took off the headphones he had on and put them in his pocket.

The class was boring.

More than half of the students had their heads down, trying not to fall asleep.

However, YuWon paid attention to the professor’s words.

“So, the encounter between humanities and economics is something that can be often seen in our society, like in places nearby…”

Humanities.

It was the school and major he had chosen based on his grades.

But YuWon was more focused on the class than ever.

 

“The logo of the famous sports brand N1ke, commonly known as a swoosh, is actually the side view of the wings of the goddess of victory ‘Niké (Νίκη)’ from Greek mythology…”

At that moment…

“Niké doesn’t have wings.”

“What?”

Han DaEun, who was dozing off next to YuWon, was surprised to hear the mumble that unconsciously came out of YuWon’s mouth.

YuWon was surprised and shook his head. Han DaEun went back to half-closed eyes, pretending like nothing happened.

Although pretending to be focused, YuWon was confused.

‘Again.’

The goddess of victory, Niké.

It was evident that he didn’t know her. After all, how could he know a deity?

However, YuWon thought:

Niké doesn’t have wings.

It was a certainty, not a question.

The problem was that he couldn’t understand where that certainty came from.

‘It’s not the first or second time.’

It always happened the same way when he heard stories about myths.

This strange déjà vu sensation had lingered since his childhood.

Clack.

YuWon stood up from his seat.

He put the headphones back on and left the classroom.

Han DaEun, who had been asleep throughout the class, followed YuWon, who was picking up his backpack.

“What’s going on, are you skipping class?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

YuWon had never skipped class before. So when he suddenly left the class, Han DaEun was perplexed.

“Just, not feeling well.”

“What’s this, puberty?”

“Don’t talk nonsense and go to sleep.”

Clack.

YuWon opened the back door of the classroom and left.

He went down the school hill and walked along the avenue. The déjà vu sensation grew stronger.

Beep.

He stopped next to a bus that came to a halt.

In the crowded bus, people getting on and off, he saw a poster.

It was a movie about Thor, the prince of Asgard.

‘Ragnarok.’

He had already seen it. From the moment it was first released, YuWon headed to the theater to watch it as if he were possessed by something.

He thought that if he watched it, something would come back to his memory. But instead of remembering, the déjà vu sensation only intensified.

Throughout the whole movie, YuWon only thought of one thing:

‘Ragnarok is not like this.’

It was as if he had experienced Ragnarok.

It was absurd, of course.

‘Really, should I go see a shaman…?’

—————————–

The door closed, and YuWon walked out.

The sound of birds was particularly clear in the woods. Hurried voices were heard from inside.

“Shaman! Shaman!”

“Why did I suddenly faint…?”

“No, I don’t know. You were fine until the morning…”

The conversation heard from inside made YuWon’s heart race.

Let’s run away.

YuWon ran downhill through the mountain, panting, and looked up the path he had traveled.

He had gone to see a powerful shaman to see if he remembered his past life, but the shaman suddenly fainted when she looked into his eyes.

“What’s happening?”

As he had gone to look for a powerful shaman, time had become late.

When YuWon arrived home by bus, it was already night.

Plop.

“Ahhh.”

Tossing the backpack to a corner, he lay down on the small bed without taking off his socks.

He felt a strange sensation.

The more time passed, the more the déjà vu sensation intensified.

Sideways.

YuWon’s gaze went to the nightstand.

A small box.

It was the first object he saw when he came home.

When was it?

A few years ago, a woman who crossed paths with him on the street suddenly gave him a gift.

She was a beauty that made your eyes widen. So much so that even most celebrities looked like squids or frogs in comparison.

“Don’t ever open it.”

A gift they told him not to open.

“Of course, I’m curious.”

What was inside that box that they told him not to open?

If she wasn’t his ideal type, he probably would have thrown it away or ignored the warning and opened it.

But even so, he hadn’t thrown it away and had kept it for a few years.

YuWon’s gaze kept going to the box.

“I’m curious.”

A box that couldn’t be opened.

They called it…

“Pandora’s Box?”

Saying that, YuWon’s chest tightened.

He couldn’t contain himself.

Clack.

Reaching out, YuWon opened the box.

The box opened easily, unlike the time he had waited and hesitated.

As easy as it was disappointing.

“What is this?”

And as easy as it opened, the content was also disappointing.

“There’s nothing.”

Inside the box, there was nothing.

Clang.

After checking the inside of the box, YuWon let it fall to the floor.

The feelings he had felt when she handed him the box a few years ago, as if they were bubbles, extinguished.

‘Was she just playing with me?’

He had waited in vain. YuWon stared at the ceiling for a while, dazed.

The more time passed, the stranger he felt. His gaze went to the box that had fallen to the floor.

Although he had checked with his eyes that there was nothing…

“What am I doing…?”

YuWon picked up the box again and looked inside.

As much as he looked, it was an empty box. Even if he turned it, not a speck of dust came out.

But if he didn’t check it more, he couldn’t get rid of this unpleasant feeling. So YuWon approached the box and looked closely to make sure.

“Still nothing…”

YuWon’s murmurs ceased.

At the bottom of the box, something blurry began to become visible.

The more he concentrated, the clearer it became.

It was a woman with orange hair and beautiful features.

It was the woman who had given him the box in the middle of the street.

She wore a red dress and had a pastry in her mouth.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she whispered someone’s name.

“YuWon, Kim YuWon. Kim…”

The woman’s voice echoed from within the box. The name she murmured was YuWon’s.

At that moment, YuWon realized what he had been feeling all this time.

He hadn’t forgotten…

“Kim YuWon…”

The person who had given him the box.

To Kim YuWon.

———————-

Knock-knock.

Someone knocked on the door of Pandora’s mansion.

Pandora, who was sitting at the table muttering the same name, rushed to see who it was.

She wanted to confirm who was knocking on the door.

“YuWon…”

“Is it you, Pandora?”

“…”

It was a man with bronzed skin. He held a bouquet of flowers in his hand and knelt before her, extending the other hand.

“I am Varuna, a High-Ranker of the Devas, and I would like to formalize a relationship with you…”

At that moment, a shadow loomed over Varuna’s face.

Buuuung-!

Varuna turned into a star and flew across the sky.

It wasn’t worth listening to him further. Pandora punched him and closed the door, shaking her hand.

It happened often.

Men, upon learning that the most beautiful woman in the Tower lived in an isolated mansion, came to court her without a second thought.

And the next one.

And the next one after that.

Every time it happened, Pandora always kicked them out.

“It doesn’t matter who it is.”

There were only two people she didn’t kick out.

Sssshhh-!

Son OhGong or Hercules, who always came with a pastry.

By the way, Hercules was also here, but he stopped a little before the door.

“I see you’re waiting for someone.”

“…”

Pandora frowned.

Hercules noticed Pandora’s expression and asked:

“Who are you waiting for?”

“Does it look like I’m waiting for someone?”

“Then it’s not?”

It was true.

But she wondered why Hercules had never mentioned it before.

“I just saw Varuna flying. Even if he’s a bit unpleasant, he’s very popular for his good looks.”

Hercules smiled and asked with a playful expression.

“Do you love that person you’re waiting for very much?”

“Yes.”

Pandora nodded.

“We’re getting married.”

“We’re getting married.”

In Hercules’s mind, a scene overlapped.

For some reason, these words from Pandora didn’t seem like the first time he had heard them.

Hercules, who had been sitting there like a fool, returned to reality upon hearing Pandora’s voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Hercules shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

“Really?”

Pandora, expecting something, sighed.

This time, she thought it would be different, but in the end, the reaction was the same.

Hercules bid farewell to Pandora after chatting at the door for a while and left. Pandora watched him go before turning around.

Clack-.

The door closed slowly.

For the past few years, Pandora had not let anyone enter through this door.

She prayed that the first person to cross this door would be the one she was waiting for.

So, just after turning her back to the door and entering the mansion, Pandora grabbed a fork to eat the pastry Hercules had brought after a long time.

Knock-knock.

Someone knocked on the door again.

Hercules had left not long ago. If it were Son OhGong, he wouldn’t calmly knock on the door but would already be making a lot of noise.

An unwanted door sound.

But she couldn’t ignore it.

Hiss!

Just as she was thinking it would be somewhat nice to eat the pastry Hercules had brought after a long time, she got angry thinking her time had been interrupted. With a fork in one hand, she walked decisively to the door.

Pandora swore to herself.

This time, she wouldn’t blow him away but would stab him with the fork.

So Pandora opened the door.

Clank-

“Who again-”

Pandora’s eyes widened when she saw the face of the visitor, whom she thought would be another idiot.

Under the bright sun.

YuWon looked at Pandora.

“From your reaction, I see many have come.”

With a face as calm as ever, despite being so annoyed. Despite having waited so long, when the moment arrived, Pandora stood there paralyzed, not knowing what to say or how to react.

She wanted to ask many things.

Where did you go?

Why have you come just now?

Why does no one remember you?

So many questions that she couldn’t say anything.

A brief, awkward silence.

“It seems like I’m asking something obvious, but…”

With concern, YuWon awkwardly opened his mouth.

“Do you remember my Name…”

Do you remember my Name?

At that moment, Pandora lunged at him and hugged him by the neck.

“YuWon!”

As if she had already heard the question.

Shouting the Name at the top of her lungs.

——————

“I had a strange dream.”

YuWon recounted the dream slowly.

In that place, he was a student.

In that world, Son OhGong was considered a deity from the Journey to the West mythology, and an anime was created with him as the protagonist.

The funny and cheerful song “Chiki-chaka-choco-cho” was still spinning in his head. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0AMybcHlxg)

Upon careful consideration, Son OhGong was unusually popular in that world.

It’s not known how many types of anime there were with his name as the protagonist.

Listening to the story, Son OhGong’s shoulders lifted a lot. He looked at Hercules and shrugged as if to say, “See?”.

An anime based on Olympus was published in over 30 volumes of comic books. The comic book “Olympian Mythology,” which exceeded 10 volumes, was a bestselling masterpiece that sold over 10 million copies in total.

At this point, Hercules complained a bit that he wasn’t the protagonist.

A movie starring Thor caused a great stir worldwide. The actor who played the role won the Best Action Actor award at the film festival the following year.

Unfortunately, the protagonist was not Odin.

Furthermore, in the dream world YuWon had, the stories of countless Guilds spread everywhere and integrated into people’s lives.

So when YuWon told the dream to Pandora, Hercules, Son OhGong, and the others, Son OhGong was the first to laugh and say.

-Where is that world?

-THE END “LWTG”-

–KO-FI

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