Ascension Through Skills

Before confronting those who were trying to kill him, Taesan grabbed the necks of Junggeun and Hwiyun.

“Eh?”

Confused, Junggeun’s body flew through the air.

“Whoa!”

They were forcibly thrown to the rooftop of the building. Following them, Taesan brought Taeyeon and Junhyeok in the same way. Junhyeok, who had been dragged along, blankly stared at Taesan.

‘How is he so fast?’

He, too, had exceeded the human limit but couldn’t see the process of being caught and moved to the rooftop.

“Stay here because you’ll be in the way.”

As Taesan was about to descend, Junggeun quickly grabbed him.

“Hold on. With that number, it could be dangerous. Even the minimum damage…”

Junggeun, who was speaking, noticed something odd.

“Huh?”

Taesan hadn’t received any damage from the iron bars. Taesan drew his sword.

“Wai, wait.”

Hwiyun spoke in a trembling voice. Her shaking eyes were directed at Taesan.

“I understand your concern.”

Taesan calmly said.

“But you don’t have to worry.”

Taesan returned to the ground again.

Those surrounding him hesitated.

“What are you just looking at!”

Junghyeok yelled harshly.

“Kill him!”

The ones who arrived at the city hall were surprisingly idle.

Since no special quest had started, they could only wait in silence.

“So boring…”

“Does the internet work?”

While they were trying to alleviate their boredom, a commotion arose outside. The noise of hundreds of people gathering and making a fuss could be heard.

“Is there a speech or something?”

The bored group huddled together. Among the crowd, they saw hundreds of armed individuals surrounding one man.

“Huh?”

“Are they fighting?”

They whispered cautiously among themselves. Some of them recognized the face of Junghyeok among the crowd.

“What the hell is that guy doing?”

With a mixture of confusion and surprise, more and more people started gathering. Amid thousands of stares fixed on him, Junghyeok twisted his lips.

“Rather, it’s good.”

No matter how strong the opponent was, with this many people, there was no way they could lose. If so, he could use this opportunity to shift to a regime of fear.

If he showed that anyone who opposed him would be trampled by hundreds of people, everyone would follow his words. That was his thought. Taesan could also see this through Junghyeok’s face.

It was not wrong.

If it was Taeyeon or Junhyeok, they would have had a hard time against those numbers. They might even lose.

‘But I’m not them.’

Taesan drew his sword.

Junghyeok shouted.

“Kill him!”

“Whaaa!”

He looked indifferently at the people rushing at him while screaming. The ghost grinned.

[Are they really trying to attack you at that speed?]

They were too slow.

Moving at the speed of ordinary humans, they seemed to be standing still.

When they got close, Taesan moved his hand. His hand disappeared for a moment, and when it reappeared, numerous system windows appeared along with it.

“Ack!”

“Ah!

[Do Munjun takes 50 damage.] [Seojun takes 36 damage.] [Doyun takes 54 damage.] [Siwoo takes 33 damage.]

“What, what?”

Everyone was appalled by the shocking damage. For them, who were in Easy Mode, where the damage had not even reached double digits, it was an outrageous number.

Taesan casually moved his sword again.

Everyone nearby was cut down and fell.

“Ah…”

In a matter of seconds, several lives were lost without any response.

Junghyeok, who had been stuttering, shouted out.

“Murderer!”

Those who were disturbed by the sudden death also echoed.

“Murderer!”

“Mass murderer!”

In the face of hundreds of criticisms, Taesan calmly lifted his sword.

“So what?”

To kill someone. His emotions had gone through much worse to be hurt by such an act. After witnessing the extinction of mankind and the deaths of everyone he knew, the death of a person held no significant meaning for him.

And these hundreds of people were the accomplices of Junghyeok, who had also killed humans without hesitation. There was no reason to show mercy.

Taesan planted his foot. People thought his figure had disappeared for a moment. When he reappeared, he was behind them.

Swoosh!

With innumerable damage points, people fell without even a chance to scream.

Facing Taesan, who was looking at them indifferently, people charged with screams and shouts.

Taesan didn’t dodge their attacks. He just cut and stabbed those who attacked him.

A spear hit Taesan’s chest. The attacker’s face lit up.

[Kang Taesan's Block has been activated.] [Kang Taesan takes 0 damage.]

“Ugh, Ack.”

Taesan swung his sword, cutting them down. Numerous spears and blades touched Taesan, but no damage was done. Junghyeok, who had been watching, spat out a curse.

“There should be at least 1! Why isn’t there any?”

No matter how high the defense was, there was a minimum damage value.

If hundreds of people hit him just once, hundreds of points of damage should have been done, and it could have been a threat.

But Taesan had a blocking skill that eliminated damage below a certain level.

There was no way for them to inflict damage on Taesan.

Thud.

Again, dozens of people fell. The ghost sighed.

[Is this all they can do? It's frustrating.]

“Isn’t it already over?”

With a casual response, Taesan planted his foot again.

“Ah, I can’t see…”

Bang!

With a loud noise, the ground was shattered. Those watching doubted their eyes at a power that created a crater.

Taesan began to kill each person around him one by one. He grabbed the neck of a disagreeable-looking man. The man’s face turned pale.

“Wait, wait!”

Taesan didn’t listen and snapped his neck. He was the man who had been loudly chatting next to Junghyeok like an aide and had killed hundreds of people. There was no reason to spare him.

“This is a nightmare!”

Junghyeok yelled in denial.

Hundreds of people were being wiped out by just one person. And it wasn’t a guerrilla-like tactic but a pure fight of strength.

They couldn’t keep up with his movements, couldn’t block his attacks, yet their own attacks were perfectly blocked.

“Shoot arrows! Throw nets! Use potions!”

They somehow followed suit in response to his desperate cries, but it was meaningless. The arrows were deflected weakly, and the net was torn like a spider’s web. He would break through with force even if they tried to block his way by consuming strengthening potions.

The expressions of those who had been admiring and watching from the surroundings gradually hardened. They hesitated, distancing themselves, their faces filled with fear.

If they were at that level, there was nothing to say about those who were participating in the battle.

Taesan dusted off his sword.

“Are you going to do more?”

By now, almost half of the people were dead. Hundreds had died in just a few minutes.

“Ah, ahhhhhh!”

With a scream, they ran away. Whether that was the starting point or not, people disappeared into the stampeding crowd.

He didn’t bother chasing them. After all, they were as shaky as a day-old fawn. Chasing them to kill them would be a waste of time.

He walked over to Junghyeok, who was dumbfounded and sitting down and grabbed his head.

“The dream is over.”

“I… I-.”

Everything he had built up so far was smashed by just one person.

“Why, why does someone like you exist!?”

A cry filled with despair echoed through the air. Taesan responded to coldly Junghyeok’s hatred-filled glare.

“I’ve heard that before.”

“What?”

“And they died like this. Goodbye.”

Junghyeok’s body fell.

It was an incredibly pitiful death for a man who had once ruled Easy Mode.

It hadn’t been this simple in Easy Mode. Back then, Taesan was just an ordinary player, and Junghyeok was the one who ruled Easy Mode.

Avoiding them, using guerrilla tactics, and descending into the maze, Taesan was able to win after several months of battle as he grew stronger.

But now, the difference in stats was so great that he could finish him off in one shot.

Taesan nonchalantly retracted his hand and looked around.

Those who met his gaze shivered. After briefly watching them turn their desperate eyes away, he climbed back up to the platform.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. Yes……”

Taeyeon answered blankly. Hwiyun bit her lip.

“You……..”

Her eyes, having seen the corpses, were shaking endlessly.

From her perspective, she wouldn’t be able to accept the fact that people kill each other. As the difficulty level of Hard Mode was high, the atmosphere tended to be more of mutual support.

However, she would have to get used to it.

“From now on, this kind of thing will happen often. You can’t move forward if you’re tied to one or two things.”

Taeyeon and Junhyeok were still dazed. It seemed that a little more time was needed to have a proper conversation.

“Just take a rest for now.”

Taesan looked down at the people.

The gaze directed at him was that of one looking at a murderer.

“You might have a bit of a headache.”

In the vast park, Taesan stood alone next to a tree. Junggeun approached him.

“You look lonely.”

“I prefer it this way.”

Taesan responded in a deep voice.

“No one bothers to ask me to teach them something. This side is better. How about you? Are you okay?”

“Well, you saved my life, so I shouldn’t dwell on such things.”

Junggeun casually shrugged. It was not just his words; he genuinely didn’t seem to care.

“Besides, I roughly know what kind of people they are.”

“What about Taeyeon and Junhyeok?”

“They’re resting now. They said they would come soon.”

“Tell them to take their time.”

Taeyeon, in particular, was emotionally weak. The numerous corpses she had seen could have weighed heavily on her mind.

“Hyung.”

Junggeun asked with a worried face.

“Are you okay?”

“What do you think?”

Taesan, in turn, asked back. Junggeun lowered his head as if he realized it was a pointless question.

“You look fine. If it were me, I would be quite shaken… Is it because of Solo Mode?”

“That’s not related.”

He was fine because of accumulated experience, but he couldn’t mention that. Junggeun, who had been curiously looking at him, soon opened his mouth with a serious face.

“…Brother. But you might be in trouble. Right now, Hwiyun and the others are discussing you…”

“I don’t need it.”

Taesan cut off Junggeun’s words indifferently.

Ordinary words from numerous people.

They couldn’t stir any feelings in Taesan.

“And soon they won’t be able to make a racket.”

It was about time for the special quest to begin.

“We can’t just sit idle!”

A middle-aged man harshly slammed the table. His face, with a strong impression, looked stubborn.

“We must punish that man!”

Hwiyun pressed her forehead. She sighed deeply.

‘I shouldn’t have called them.’

Hundreds of people had died, not by monsters, but by their own kind.

In the chaos, Hwiyun tried to cope somehow. She needed people to discuss the matter, so she called representatives from the National Assembly or civil organizations. Now, she was deeply regretting her decision.

“He killed people.”

A woman with a stern look spoke. Back when Earth was fine, she was a representative of a civil organization and received quite a lot of respect.

“We must punish him by law.”

“Yes. No matter how the situation is, there are things that we must preserve to remain human.”

“Punish him?”

Hwiyun sneered with a bitter laugh.

“Are you saying we should punish him, who can single-handedly deal with hundreds of players, and who I myself can’t even handle?”

“Yes. Even if the monsters are terrifying, we need to establish order.”

Faced with their insistence that this was the natural course of action, Hwiyun felt dizzy. She scrambled to convince them.

“Firstly, the instigator of the fight was Choi Junghyeok. He was the one who started it. He held the players of Solo Mode as hostages.”

While it was shocking that people had died, fundamentally, Taesan did nothing wrong. He was attacked and merely fought back. Perhaps this would have been wrong in the past, but in the current situation, it was exceedingly natural.

Still, the congressman shook his head firmly.

“But what he did was a private punishment. It was an excessive response. He must be punished.”

Private punishment.

To utter such words in a situation where there was no official existence. Hwiyun couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. The representative of the civil organization quietly said.

“You said he’s a university student? Then he might not understand well. If a world where brutes with power can act as they please, our world wouldn’t have been maintained. We suppressed such people with law.”

“…But that world has crumbled now.”

“We have to rebuild it. Are you planning to live like animals?”

Annoyed by the words as if she was soothing a child, Hwiyun felt a surge of irritation.

Those who talked with her were congressmen, representatives of civil organizations, and the like. They were people with many followers.

Even when they entered the maze, they naturally had many followers. They were so-called baby birds who didn’t enter the maze and only hoarded the food their followers brought to them under their protection and help.

Because of this, they didn’t understand the current situation. The monsters were powerful. No matter how hard they fought, they could never return to the previous world.

And yet, they mentioned Earth’s laws and talked about punishing Taesan, who was nothing less than their hope.

If they were to punish him, who would do it?

If Taesan got angry and attacked them, who would stop him?

Who could handle the power of such an absolute being?

They had no such thoughts at all. They just wanted to regain the power they once had.

Hwiyun closed her eyes at the desire visible in their eyes.

‘Did Mr. Taesan see me like this?’

She opened her mouth, thinking anew that he had somehow spared her.

[Start of Special Quest］ [The first wave starts.]

A quest window appeared in front of them.