The following web novel series is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Level Up with the Gods
Chapter 1

The sky had turned deep purple.

The world decayed into darkness, and the ground beneath us crumbled away.

The tower, the place we’d lived for so long, was collapsing down.

***

“We lost.”

Those were the two words that no one dared to utter.

To speak those words would make them true.

The ten gods gathered, reflecting on the legend they had written.

“Is this really the end?”

“I didn’t think our final farewell would be like this.”

“I know. Although I knew it would end some day...”

“Let’s just get it over with. It’s all ruined anyway.”

“What’s ruined? It’s not over yet,” said Sun Wukong, a white-haired man with a long cudgel.

He was called “The Biggest Star of the Sky” and “The Traitor of Heaven” among his many other titles.

“Says someone who’s near death.”

The man responding to Sun Wukong’s confidence was Hercules, who was holding a broken mace and wearing a lion’s hide.

Hercules, the main figure who had led the battle against the Giants to victory and the greatest hero of Olympus, was dying and missing an arm.

“I don’t die.”

“Even if you’re immortal, I wonder if that would still stand in front of them.”

Hercules turned his head and gazed at the beings floating far up in the purple sky—Outer Gods, deities of another realm.

Sky-closing Despair, Swamp of Sorrow, The Unborn, and Mindless Chaos...

These beings, the mere sight of which could cost ordinary people their lives, were shaking up their world.

***

“Ngh...”

“This place will be discovered soon.”

“They might’ve discovered it already.”

A white lump flew in from an unseen direction. The gods’ gazes shifted to the lump, then returned to the direction from which the voice had come.

“You came back.”

“I almost died.”

It was Yuwon, a man with black hair and black eyes.

He had cut his hair short because it was easy to deal with.

Seeming exhausted, he walked slowly to a tree and sat on its trunk.

“Are you alone?” Hercules asked.

Yuwon was without the companions he had initially left with.

“...Yup.”

“Merlin, Asura, Vishnu... All of them?”

“Yeah.”

Yuwon nodded.

“They all died.”

The space fell solemn.

The gods who had accompanied Yuwon couldn’t return; they likely became nourishment for another world, consumed by the beings who lived there.

After a moment of continued silence, the gods focused on the white lump Yuwon had thrown towards them.

“Who’s this guy?”

“Mindless Chaos.”

“What?”

Yuwon’s response surprised the gods.

Given that he returned alone, they had assumed it wouldn’t be an ordinary being, but it still exceeded their expectations.

“Really...? It’s him?”

Yuwon nodded.

“I had a revelation.”

During the battle against Mindless Chaos, one of the Outer Gods, Yuwon had come to realize a brutal truth.

“Inners cannot win against Outers.”

“Inners” like Yuwon belonged to the tower.

The gathered beings had ascended to the top, achieving their god status and earning their name as they achieved their legendary status.

But even they couldn’t reach the level of the gods from another world—Outers.

He was already aware.

He’d known ever since this battle began and the gods from another world first appeared.

Their existence proved to be a disaster even to gods.

“We won’t be able to win,” the old man in the corner said. “For now.”

A clockwork was floating above his hand.

It was the Clockwork of Kronos.

Yuwon stared at the old man, Kronos, and asked, “Is this the only way?”

“Return to the old timeline. Start from the beginning.”

“I wanted to end it here, if possible.”

“This was the last chance,” Kronos responded in a firm voice that belied his bent back and wrinkled face.

Kronos could control time.

The items he created possessed abilities related to that power.

“I will not be in the timeline you return to, though. That’s the cost of turning back time and twisting the timeline. So don’t try to look for me or anything.”

“You’ll just disappear?”

“I don’t know what form I’ll be in, but my disappearance means nothing.”

Having already had this conversation, Yuwon hoped the battle would end the debate.

But they had lost the battle, and now going back in time was the only option.

“Then who will…?”

All eyes turned towards Yuwon. They had already decided who would travel to the past.

Only Yuwon’s decision remained at this point.

“Is it me?”

“Yeah.”

It had been discussed since the Clockwork was first mentioned.

When it came to the issue of time travel, the most suitable candidates had been reduced to two:

Yuwon and Sun Wukong.

A final decision had been made while Yuwon was away.

“...Why me?”

“Because you were the last to join. Despite that, you’re still here, alive.”

He was right.

Yuwon had entered the tower later than everyone there. In spite of that, Yuwon had adapted to this world faster than anyone, and he was able to fight alongside them.

“You didn’t forget, did you? Those residing upstairs are limited in how they can interfere with the lower floors. In order to change the tower, you have to climb from the bottom.”

“Yes, I know.”

“So you’re the only hope.”

Yuwon sighed and reached out his hand.

The clockwork kept turning time forward. The method of operating it would get engraved into his mind the moment he held the item.

“When you go back, our relationship won’t be the same.”

“Don’t be disappointed when I don’t recognize you. I really won’t know who you are.”

“Smack anyone acting like idiots. If they are being too difficult, you can just kill them.”

“Good luck, friend.”

Each one said parting words to Yuwon.

They spoke their minds, as this would be their final farewell.

“It’s easier said than done.” With a bitter smile, Yuwon examined his friends’ faces.

Since the Outer Gods appeared, they’d had to join forces.

Not everyone here had been friends from the beginning. Some were even enemies full of hostility who had fought to kill one another.

But it was different now.

It was strange to even think of now.

They are some of the hardest ones to convince...

He was already worried.

He wondered if he could go back in time and gather all these idiots in one place like this.

Could they fight against the outsider gods and achieve victory?

He wondered if they could change everything for the better...

The clockwork began turning backward. The sound of the clock ticking as the seconds passed was loud in the quiet of the room.

It’s gonna be a lot of work.

The sight of innumerable clockworks turning backwards filled Yuwon’s vision.