“Huh?”

“To Yongin?”

People realized that not too far away, within walking distance, there were others like them.

“I have a friend in Yongin!”

“My family was there!”

Those who had not met acquaintances in the labyrinth due to various reasons—such as different levels or incompatible circumstances—now raised their voices, enveloped by a new hope.

“But then…

“We have to go from here to Yongin?”

Despair also crushed them simultaneously.

On their way to Anyang City Hall, they had encountered numerous monsters. Many had barely survived encounters that pushed them to the brink of death.

Kim Hwi-yeon desperately comforted those who were quickly losing heart.

“Don’t worry! You’ve all become stronger by descending into the labyrinth!”

She tried to smile reassuringly as she shouted.

“And we will protect you! Once we reach Yongin City, there will be even more people gathered. Then we can combine our strengths! We can survive!”

Beneath her desperate cries, people began to find their resolve.

Kim Hwi-yeon, who had barely mustered some enthusiasm herself, quickly took charge. Unnecessary luggage was discarded, provisions were stored in inventories, and they formed a line.

Then they set out. Leaving the city hall behind, they headed towards Yongin.

“The map…

“We got it with the quest. There won’t be any problem with the route. How considerate.”

They grumbled as they carefully made their way.

Beside Taesan, Jung-geun chuckled bitterly.

“One week. Actually, it’s more than enough time.”

Considering it takes about 15 days for the cross-country march, the distance from Anyang to Yongin was considerably short.

Although there were tens of thousands of them, their physical abilities were not ordinary. Even the weakest Easy Mode players had slowly reached the limits of human capacity.

Under normal circumstances, they would arrive with plenty of time to spare, but there were beings determined to stop them.

[Monster 441623321 has appeared.]

[Monster 126887995 has appeared.]

The monsters attacked.

“Eeeek!”

“Die!”

People desperately swung their weapons. Everyone had become stronger since the first return. Even Easy Mode players could now handle mid-level monsters.

But there were simply too many of them.

Twice their number in monsters charged at them. Although the people resisted, inevitably some were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

“Aaaah!”

“Help me!”

Screams echoed from all around as Kim Hwi-yeon swung her sword frantically.

Swoosh!

Several monsters fell instantly, but their places were quickly filled by others.

“Jung-geun!”

“I, I want to help too!”

Other Hard Mode players were no different, struggling to deal with the influx of monsters.

However, some among them stood out.

“Hup!”

The still youthful Kang Jun-hyuk swung his sword, cutting down all monsters that charged at him with afterimages.

He then stomped on the heads of the monsters, using them as a springboard to leap towards a struggling area.

“Are you okay?”

“Th-thank you!”

Lee Taeyeon was similar. Though he screamed in fear and grimaced, he coolly took down the monsters without breaking a sweat.

His actions were noticeably effective even compared to Hard Mode players.

However, despite their struggles, there were areas that inevitably began to fall. The number of Hard and Solo Mode players was just too few compared to the twenty thousand they were supposed to manage.

“Uaaaah!”

An Jung-hee, on the periphery of the group, screamed.

As a Normal Mode player, she trusted her stamina to block the monsters’ attacks at the front lines.

But taking more hits than necessary, her health was now down to a single digit.

“No!”

She cried out, panicking and flailing unnecessarily, which caused her to be pushed out of the group and trapped among the monsters.

“Ah…”

A monster raised its massive arm. The woman, her face pale, clenched her eyes shut.

Then a wind blew.

The sound of something being crushed filled her ears as she timidly opened her eyes.

All the monsters around her were obliterated.

“It’s been a while.”

The person who had patted her head smiled at her.

“Taesan oppa!”

“Stay back.”

“Yes, yes!”

She hurriedly rejoined the group. Taesan faced forward.

The monsters charged at him.

An uncountable onslaught enveloped Taesan. Isolated, no one could go to his aid. Those watching covered their mouths.

“There’s so damn many.”

Taesan scowled as if annoyed and raised his fist.

Instantly, his fist glowed and exploded.

The charging monsters were obliterated. The shockwave flung dozens of monsters into the air for meters around.

“Huh?”

“Wh-what?”

Stunned voices trailed off as Taesan moved.

The whip tied around his wrist came to life, slaying all approaching monsters.

“Two meters, decent speed. As expected, it’s useful.”

Taesan muttered as he waved his hand, creating several ice arrows that pierced through the monsters.

Hundreds were swept away.

And then, even more surged forward.

“I wish I had an area attack.”

He did have something similar. Darkness expanded behind Taesan.

[You have activated Decarabia’s Twisted Vegetation.]

Boom!

“Waaah!”

“What, what?!”

Giant roots erupted from the ground, crushing the monsters. When people regained their senses, the roots had blocked the monsters’ advance.

[You have activated Ice Arrows.]

Ice arrows gathered in the air, their size increasing as they spread cold in all directions.

“Ah…”

Even the frail Easy Mode players could sense the gathering power.

Soon, a massive ice meteor formed in the sky.

“Farewell.”

[You have activated Magical Acceleration.]

The meteor fell, landing amidst the monsters.

A boom followed by a cloud of dust covered the people.

“What’s going on?”

Jung-geun, having cleared his area, hurried over. He gasped at the carnage.

“…Brother?”

“It’s done here. Let’s move.”

Taesan dusted off his hands.

A vast crater had formed in front of him.

Taesan nonchalantly gestured.

“Hurry up and get sorted. Let’s go.”

He continued on, trampling and killing monsters along the way.

During this, over twenty thousand people witnessed Taesan’s strength.

And they realized what level of a monster Taesan was.

They knew Taesan was strong, but most hadn’t truly felt it. When fighting Choi Jung-hyuk’s group, they had turned their eyes away from the reality of people killing each other. When blocking the wave, they only confirmed Taesan had killed all the monsters after the fact.

Now, they finally understood Taesan’s strength.

Their combined efforts barely subdued the monsters that Taesan obliterated with a flick of his fingers. The extraordinary techniques he displayed swept away hundreds.

Awe.

And fear.

Various emotions were directed at Taesan.

Indifferently, Taesan dealt with the monsters.

After clearing them all, they moved again, and night fell.

“It seems everyone’s tired, let’s rest soon.”

“We need to find a place. Maybe enter a building.”

Searching around, they barely found a building large enough for twenty thousand people. After assigning places, Kim Hwi-yeon, looking exhausted, spoke.

“Then we should keep watch. You all can take turns…”

“No need for that.”

Taesan stepped outside and raised his hand.

[You have activated Decarabia’s Twisted Vegetation.]

Boom!

Roots rose and encircled the building.

Taesan didn’t stop using his magi. The roots continued to grow, eventually completely encasing the building.

“That’ll be enough until tomorrow. Ordinary monsters can’t break through, so you can rest easy.”

“Oh, okay…”

Kim Hwi-yeon nodded with a pallid face.

The fearful glances towards Taesan intensified.

Ignoring them, Taesan stepped outside.

He had used almost all his magi to encase the building. It needed to be replenished.

[You have activated Prayer to the Devil.]

Suddenly, his body felt heavy. He opened the status window. All his stats had halved. After waiting quietly for three minutes, his magi recovered by one.

“By tomorrow, it’ll all be back.”

Inside, people were finishing their meals and beginning to sleep.

Taesan leaned against the building’s wall outside for a rest.

Kim Hwi-yeon approached him.

“Mr. Taesan.”

She hesitated, then apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“…Because of the people, you’re staying outside.”

People who had witnessed Taesan’s strength flinched whenever he approached. When he last summoned the massive roots that encased the entire building, they looked at him as if seeing a monster.

It was as if they couldn’t breathe if he was in the same place, forcing Taesan to step outside.

“You saved us…”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m used to it.”

In the previous world, despite being Easy Mode, his power far surpassed Hard Mode, and people found him strange, telling him to stay away. Sometimes they even attacked him, accusing him of being a monster’s spy.

Compared to then, now was quite mild.

“But…”

Kim Hwi-yeon bit her lip. Taesan was exceptionally strong, but he had used that power to help them. He had the strength to reach their destination alone but chose not to abandon everyone.

She felt they should be thanking him, not keeping their distance. That was her belief.

Seeing her expression, Taesan chuckled lightly.

“Forget unnecessary thoughts. I’m not the type to dwell on things.”

These things naturally resolved over time.

“Instead, go bring Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk.”

“Those two? Okay.”

She obediently went inside the building. Moments later, she returned with the two.

“Why are you here?”

“I couldn’t sleep, and I was bored. Wanted to talk with you, hyung.”

Jung-geun showed a naive smile. Taesan indifferently raised his sword.

“No time for stories. Kang Jun-hyuk, you’re up first. Draw your weapon.”

“Phew.”

Lee Taeyeon exhaled in relief. Kang Jun-hyuk’s eyes sparkled.

“Like last time, are we doing it again?”

“There’s no time to rest.”

Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk were Solo Mode players. There, no other player was present.

That meant they had no one to spar with to get stronger. The only time they had was when they returned to Earth.

Such precious time wasn’t to be wasted. Kang Jun-hyuk energetically drew his weapon.

“Alright! I won’t go down as easily as last time!”

[Duel request. This duel is conducted in a condition where both parties are equal.]

[Duel established.]

[Kang Jun-hyuk and Kang Taesan begin their duel.]

Kang Jun-hyuk was confident.

He had improved his skills while descending into the labyrinth. Not just his stats had increased during the divine trials, but his movements and tactical skills had significantly advanced as well.

The stats for this duel were the same for both Kang Taesan and Kang Jun-hyuk. Intent on producing a different outcome this time, Kang Jun-hyuk charged forward.

And the result was predictable.

“Argh!”

In just one minute, Kang Jun-hyuk was sprawled on the ground. Taesan, without a speck of dust on him, flicked his sword.

“Is that it?”

“Why, why…”

“You have a long way to go to catch up to me. I surpassed where you are now a long time ago.”

Even if their stats were equal, the outcome remained unchanged.

“You’ve improved since before, but you still ignore defense when you attack. If you don’t fix that, you’ll get countered and die.”

“Ugh… okay…”

Kang Jun-hyuk propped himself up. Taesan pointed his sword at Lee Taeyeon, who flinched.

“You’re next. Come here.”

“Eek.”

Lee Taeyeon let out a strangled scream.