In Yongin, the atmosphere among those in Easy and Normal modes was notably tense.

They refused to engage in conversation, exuding a gloomy aura. Only those in Hard mode seemed confident.

“…It must be the difference in power,” Kim Hwi-yeon thought uncomfortably. Hard mode players could survive without issues, but not those in Easy or Normal.

As time passed, people from other regions began to arrive. Their numbers were visibly small; without someone like Taesan to cover for everyone, many had perished on the way.

Kim Hwi-yeon brought them into Yongin City Hall with a sorrowful expression. Gradually, the vast grounds were filling up.

Taesan was idly sitting on the rooftop of a building. There was nothing to do.

For the week until the special quest ended, there wasn’t much to do actively. Once people reached Yongin City Hall, they were prevented from going out, making it impossible to rescue others from different areas.

It meant he had to quietly wait in the city hall for the next two days.

Taesan’s gaze fell on a disturbance below. Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk were arguing with what seemed to be Hard mode players from Yongin.

As he focused, he could hear their voices.

“What did you say?”

“Are you deaf? I said, stop acting out because you’re in Solo mode.”

“We’re not acting out, we’re just trying to…”

“That’s exactly what acting out is.”

The Hard mode man scowled at Lee Taeyeon’s response.

“We can do whatever we want with the Easy mode people. It’s our right. And you dare try to stop us?”

“This explains why you’re always causing a commotion. Why so noisy?”

Kang Jun-hyuk’s face hardened as he gripped his sword tighter.

“What? You’re trying to glare at me with those unseasoned eyes?”

“Stop it.”

A gruff voice intervened. The Hard mode players turned around, their faces brightening up.

Seo Jang-san approached with a frown.

“What’s the commotion?”

“Ah, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty?”

Kang Jun-hyuk furrowed his brows. The title seemed out of place in modern society, but Seo Jang-san accepted it calmly and inquired.

“Yes, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. They just violated the laws Your Majesty set.”

“Violated? I was just saying there was no need for…”

Lee Taeyeon stammered, looking distraught. Seo Jang-san ignored her and stroked his chin.

“Breaking the law is not acceptable. You need to be punished.”

Seo Jang-san’s cold gaze turned to Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk. Kim Hwi-yeon had never seen such a look from him before.

Kang Taesan felt it was like the gaze of an arrogant king.

After a moment of thought, Seo Jang-san nodded.

“Normally, this would call for execution…”

“Execution?”

Lee Taeyeon screamed.

“Since it was an unknowing offense, I can’t impose such a severe penalty. So, let’s keep it simple…”

“What are you talking about?”

As a voice came from behind, Seo Jang-san quickly turned around.

Taesan was smiling as he looked at them.

“Mind if I join?”

“Who are you to dare…”

“Stop.”

A Hard mode player began to shout, but Seo Jang-san cut him off.

Seo Jang-san slowly backed away.

“…It’s nothing. We were just discussing her disruption of order.”

“Order? Who decides that? You?”

Taesan scoffed.

“You might be in charge here, but you’re not a king. I’d prefer if you didn’t impose your laws on us.”

“Is that so!”

Irritated by the mocking tone, a Hard mode player moved. He drew his sword and struck at Taesan, who dodged with an annoyed expression.

“What now?”

“S-s-s-strike!”

The Hard mode player didn’t stop his assault.

His movements were undoubtedly fast, having survived in Hard mode meant he was beyond human limits.

But to Taesan, the attacks were ineffectual.

Taesan merely swayed on the spot, dodging everything effortlessly.

“What, what?”

Onlookers were astounded. The attacking man was getting desperate.

Even though he moved slowly, Taesan avoided every blow as if they were in slow motion, highlighting the immense gap between them.

“Die!”

With a primal yell, the man aimed a strike at Taesan’s head.

Taesan reached out and grabbed the sword. The man’s body jerked to a halt.

“Self-defense, right?”

Taesan clenched his fist, using minimal force, slowly and gently swinging his arm.

The Hard mode player flew back as if hit by a cue stick.

[Kim Gu-hwan takes 51 damage.]

Kim Gu-hwan twitched on the ground. Seo Jang-san, unwittingly, gasped in horror.

“51?”

The unimaginable damage was clear to him. Taesan casually twirled his gauntlet and muttered.

“Controlled that well.”

He grinned.

“Want to go again?”

“No, no need.”

Seo Jang-san struggled to hide his agitation as he spoke.

“I apologize. He will be severely punished for attacking you recklessly.”

As Seo Jang-san took the fallen Hard mode player away, Taesan casually warned.

“Don’t pull any more stunts. Next time, I’ll kill you.”

Seo Jang-san’s body flinched momentarily.

The Hard mode player’s abrupt attack had been directed by Seo Jang-san.

Although they knew Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk were comparable to Hard mode players, Taesan was an unknown quantity.

Seo Jang-san had intended to gauge Taesan’s strength, having heard only vague tales from Kim Hwi-yeon about his might.

Taesan knew this and meant his warning as a final reprieve.

“I’ll remember that,” Seo Jang-san said as he left.

Kang Jun-hyuk burst out in frustration.

“Those damn people!”

It was rare to see Kang Jun-hyuk angry, usually being cheerful and confident.

“Why do you just listen quietly!”

“We’re being provoked! What are you going to do by avoiding them?”

Frustrated, Kang Jun-hyuk pounded his chest. Lee Taeyeon looked down dejectedly.

Taesan, still smiling, asked, “What happened? Explain.”

Kang Jun-hyuk, still agitated, began to recount the events.

“We were walking in the park when I noticed some guys cornering Lee Taeyeon. I didn’t know what was happening, so I listened quietly at first, but as the talk got rougher, I intervened. Taeyeon, tell us, what was it about?”

“Well, it’s nothing big…”

Lee Taeyeon slowly explained. Kang Jun-hyuk’s face twisted in anger as she finished.

“You did the right thing! Why are they so brazen?”

According to Lee Taeyeon, she intervened upon seeing a group of men harassing a woman in the park.

Though initially frightened, she stepped in as their behavior escalated.

The men then pressed her for breaking their “order,” citing a law supposedly set by Seo Jang-san, whom they called “the king.”

Kang Jun-hyuk bitterly commented, “He said breaking the law, Seo Jang-san. This place’s king or something? He said something similar.”

“Brother, isn’t this place strange?”

“Why do you think so?”

“There’s no one from Solo Mode, and the numbers for Easy and Normal Modes are low and they act weird. At first, I thought it was just how it is, but it’s becoming more irritating.”

“If it’s strange, it’s strange; if not, it’s not. Just rest for now. They won’t bother you since you’ve beaten them up.”

“Alright.”

“Thanks, Taesan.”

Taesan bid them farewell and left.

Kang Jun-hyuk was clearly quicker on the uptake compared to Lee Taeyeon.

He returned to the rooftop and continued observing.

After a while, someone approached him.

“Brother, what brings you here?”

Geum Jung-geun, with a wry smile, started speaking.

“I heard there was some trouble earlier.”

“Something like that.”

“I’m sorry.”

Geum Jung-geun apologized with a remorseful face.

“It seems a few Hard mode players are too aggressive. I spoke to Jang-san about it, and even he says he’s having a hard time controlling them.”

From Taesan’s perspective, it looked like Seo Jang-san was orchestrating it, but Geum Jung-geun seemed unaware.

“He said he’d be more careful in the future. There shouldn’t be any more incidents.”

“I don’t really care. It’s not something you need to apologize for.”

“But since we’re both Hard mode players, and those guys aren’t strangers…”

Most Hard mode players knew each other. The ones involved in the dispute with Lee Taeyeon were acquainted with Geum Jung-geun, which is why he felt compelled to apologize.

Geum Jung-geun left with a regretful expression, while Taesan looked out over the ground.

Scenes like the ones Lee Taeyeon described were unfolding below.

Hard mode players oppressed and tormented those in Easy and Normal modes, much like nobles and slaves.

“It was the same in the previous world.”

[Displeasing.]

Annoyance tinged the ghost’s tone.

[Just like the Guides of Sin. Repugnant and vile exist everywhere.]

“Aren’t you being too harsh comparing them to that?”

At least the Guides of Sin recognized strength. In contrast, Seo Jang-san only acknowledged Hard mode players, which made his behavior even more contemptible.

Hard mode players. Excluding those in Solo mode, they were the strongest beings.

They were a diverse group. There were those like Geum Jung-geun who were despairing of reality, and those like Kim Hwi-yeon who sought to save everyone.

And there were those who sought power, believing they were the ones who must lead everyone.

They proclaimed that only Hard mode players could be the saviors of the world.

Advocating for old-fashioned hierarchies and strict orders, they oppressed Easy and Normal mode players, elevating Hard mode to a position of nobility.

That was Seo Jang-san.

Such a person saw Solo mode players as thorns in his side. Solo mode players stronger than his cohort directly undermined his agenda.

He would have liked to use numbers to suppress and control them, a tactic that worked in the previous world where Lee Taeyeon compliantly submitted because she disliked conflict and couldn’t handle all the Hard mode players on her own.

But now, that was impossible.

Not just Lee Taeyeon, but Kang Jun-hyuk was there, and Taesan too.

“Foolish efforts,” Taesan mused.

Even if that weren’t the case, Seo Jang-san’s plans were doomed to fail.

Easy and Normal mode players were indeed weaker. If one considered their performance at the time they cleared the labyrinth, even if they grouped together, they couldn’t beat a single Hard mode player.

But that was the story when they cleared the labyrinth.

Now, the gaps weren’t so vast. Easy mode players could kill Hard mode players if they risked their lives.

Choi Jung-hyuk was a case in point. Despite being an Easy mode player, he had managed to maintain power and survive longer than Seo Jang-san could.

“Yet he won’t give up.”

[Such types cling to what they have until the bitter end.]

Taesan’s knowledge was all from the previous world. Presently, Seo Jang-san would be brimming with confidence, thinking he could trample Taesan and claim leadership for himself.

“It’s a last warning then.”

Taesan stood up.

Two days later.

It was the last day for the quest to gather in Yongin. The cities of South Gyeonggi, twenty in total, were supposed to send their groups here, but many hadn’t made it.

Groups with barely a few hundred survivors, or none at all, showed up.

Those close enough made it with fewer casualties.

As the time dwindled, the number of arriving groups shrank. By the last day, contrary to expectations, only about a hundred thousand had assembled.

A gloomy atmosphere spread through the city hall. Friends not arriving, the reality that these were all the people left from South Gyeonggi, filled them with despair.

But this somber mood was soon overshadowed.

The special quest appeared before them, brutally clear.

[Special Quest Initiation.]

[Choose your king.]

[The king can assign roles to people. While these roles are not compulsory, following them yields significant benefits. Ignoring the king’s orders repeatedly will result in penalties.]

[Killing the king will result in severe penalties.]

[Once a king is chosen, ensure your survival.]

[Produce food, defend your territory, and build barriers. Waves of monsters will assault periodically.]

[Survival Duration: One month.]

[Rewards will be adjusted based on performance upon return to the labyrinth.]

[There are a few conditions under which a king can be changed.]

[Significant rewards will be given to those who play a major role in changing the king.]