Chapter 175: The World of Arrogant Giants (1)
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Intermediate magic. Lilith and the ghost had said that it was on a completely different level from basic magic and would be highly effective even in the depths.
Finally, Taesan was about to obtain it.
Thinking about intermediate magic naturally reminded him of the hunchback who pursued twisted mysteries.
He had tried to kill Taesan because he hated the idea of Taesan learning intermediate magic.
As if understanding Taesan’s thoughts, Zervand spoke softly.
[A pitiful child. He pursued twisted mysteries. While that is one path, it became too warped. Moreover, he used tricks and felt jealousy. It’s pitiful. And ugly.]
“What do you think of him?”
[Nothing.]
Zervand shrugged his shoulders.
[I place no value on him. The magic he acquired is interesting but not that significant. More importantly, I have no interest in observing a warped and ruined child. It’s not entertaining.]
His voice, filled with indifference, suggested he wasn’t lying. Zervand smiled and asked.
[Do you have any questions before you receive the quest? I’ll answer what I can.]
“I do have a few.”
Since he offered to answer, Taesan saw no reason to refuse. He asked.
“What will happen to the hunchback who pursued twisted mysteries?”
The ghost had told him that such a blessing was too much for an immortal and that the consumption of power would be immense.
Moreover, the power that descended before he defeated the knight was extraordinary. If the timing had been slightly off, it could have been quite dangerous.
The God of Magic, Zervand, replied.
[He rose to that position solely through power and used a lot of it. He won’t be able to do anything for a while. You can rest easy.]
“Is that so.”
Zervand smiled.
[They will take an interest in you, Kang Taesan.]
By “they,” he meant the immortals.
[Hostility and favor. There will be more hostility than favor. They are jealous of the talented. We have no intention of interfering under fair conditions, so prepare yourself.]
“I understand.”
Taesan nodded. Zervand chuckled at his calm demeanor.
Immortals, whose status far surpassed that of mortals, would target Taesan with hostility.
What Zervand had just said was not something to be easily accepted.
The weak-hearted would tremble in fear, and even the strong would find it hard to ignore.
However, Taesan remained undeterred. He was merely prepared to wait quietly.
Zervand’s smile deepened.
[Interesting. Do you have any other questions?]
Taesan nodded and asked a question only a god could answer.
“Why are we separated?”
Easy Mode, Normal Mode, and Hard Mode.
Players in these three modes could meet, help each other, and form parties to clear the labyrinth.
But Solo Mode was different. Each player had to clear their labyrinth individually.
In his previous life, he didn’t put much thought into it. He wasn’t interested in gods and was busy acquiring skills, so he just assumed it was how things were.
But now, having entered Solo Mode and gathered various information, he naturally wondered about it.
‘There are too many of us.’
Even in Korea alone, there were well over ten thousand players in Solo Mode. On a global scale, there could be as many as a hundred thousand.
And in Solo Mode, there were gods, guides of sin, and NPCs like the ghost.
Considering that Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk had met Einzahler, they must also exist in separate labyrinths.
The same would apply to the guides of sin.
Labyrinths divided into hundreds of thousands by the players.
And all those labyrinths had NPCs and adventurers.
It was hard for Taesan to understand.
Zervand smiled.
[Is that what you’re asking?]
“I’m curious. Was it always like this, or did something happen?”
[I can give you a general answer with your current knowledge. To answer your question, it’s the latter.]
Zervand spoke softly.
[Something happened, causing the labyrinth to be copied and separated.]
“…Is that even possible?”
Einzahler and the guides.
They were all strong beings. They had reached the limits of mortality.
And such beings had been copied hundreds of thousands of times. It was hard to believe.
[It’s not impossible. Their power is finite but doesn’t deplete. It’s unchanging and infinite. Truly annoying beings.]
For the first time, Zervand’s face showed annoyance.
[They should accept defeat and disappear, but they insist on causing trouble and trying to ruin everything. When will I be able to twist their necks?]
Beings with infinite and unchanging power.
Taesan had heard about such beings from the ghost before.
“Are they the High Gods?”
[That’s enough.]
Zervand waved his finger instead of answering.
[You’re only allowed to know this much. If you want more, descend deeper.]
“I understand.”
Taesan nodded. He had gained something.
The separation of the labyrinth wasn’t always like this; it had happened due to the interference of the High Gods during their entry.
“Then I’ll accept the quest.”
[Sub Quest Accepted.]
[Good.]
With a satisfied face, Zervand clenched his fist. Space unfolded.
[Go there and meet their king. Among the arrogant ones, he is the only wise one. He will have the answers.]
Taesan nodded and stepped into the space.
As he disappeared, Zervand muttered.
[It will be a meaningful experience for you.]
With that final voice, Taesan stepped into the world of giants.
The world of arrogant giants, Bahulia.
As soon as he arrived, an unpleasant sensation invaded his mind.
‘What is this?’
[Mind Control Check in Progress…]
[Check Successful!]
With the notification, the unpleasant sensation vanished.
Taesan raised his head.
He had arrived in a forest. The weeds were about the same height as Taesan, and the trees were so enormous they felt like walls.
“It lives up to its name.”
If he moved leisurely, he wouldn’t even be able to leave the forest. Taesan strengthened his legs and climbed a tree.
Even though he climbed quickly, it took a while to reach the top of the tree.
From the treetop, he could see a road not far away.
And at the end of the road, he saw what appeared to be a city.
Taesan jumped off the tree and headed toward the road. Even after running for five minutes, he only just reached the road.
“It’s vast.”
The road was as wide as a plain.
[This is going to be difficult to navigate.]
In the world of giants, everything was this large. The buildings wouldn’t be small either.
Even from a distance, they looked tiny, meaning they were quite far away.
“It will take some time.”
Taesan started moving.
He ran toward the city he had seen from the treetop.
He wasn’t running at full speed. He needed to conserve his strength, so he ran at a moderate pace.
Of course, for him, a moderate pace was something an ordinary person couldn’t even follow with their eyes.
Yet he still hadn’t reached his destination.
Even after running for over an hour, he had only gotten a little closer.
And during that time, Taesan noticed something.
“Everything is huge.”
The animals and plants were at least ten times larger. While running, he had seen a deer-like animal the size of a villa.
The giants would be twice that size.
While thinking about that, Taesan stopped.
He looked up calmly.
“They are indeed big.”
Three giants were sitting in the middle of the road. They hadn’t noticed Taesan and were chatting among themselves.
“Brother, is this place safe? It’s too close to the city.”
“Yanm, if we see them coming, we can just run away. Why are you worried? Are you afraid of the Black Yaktal?”
“You know that the lord of that city is a monster. We should give up here.”
The giant who seemed to be their leader frowned. Taesan called out to them.
“Hello?”
“Huh?”
“Did you hear something?”
“There’s no one here but us. What sound?”
They still hadn’t noticed Taesan and tilted their heads in confusion. Annoyed, Taesan waved his hand.
[You have activated Wind Blast.]
A gust of wind exploded in the giant’s face, causing them to recoil in shock.
“What the—?”
“Magic?”
They were astonished, and Taesan tilted his head.
[Mind Control Check in Progress…]
[Check Successful!]
The notification window for a mind control check appeared whenever he used magic. While it had no apparent effect, its constant appearance was annoying.
“What is this?”
Taesan muttered. The giants finally noticed his presence.
“..Huh?”
A giant tilted his head.
“What are you?”
“A human.”
“A human? What’s that?”
“Brother, brother.”
The one who had been watching dumbfoundedly hurriedly grabbed the giant.
“Isn’t it that thing? I read in a book once. There are small guys like this in other worlds.”
“A book? You can read?”
“Well, I was from a well-off family. But then I knocked my sister-in-law down and ran away.”
“Anyway, are you saying this guy is from another world?”
“Probably…”
The giant spoke uncertainly. Taesan nodded.
“Yes.”
“Wow…”
They marveled and examined Taesan with curious eyes.
“He’s really tiny. He’d blow away with a puff of air.”
“Isn’t he smaller than an insect?”
“Enough. I’m new here and need information. So I wanted to ask you something.”
“Hmm.”
Instead of answering, the giant’s eyes gleamed.
“Brothers, how much do you think he’d sell for?”
“…Probably a lot? He’d be perfect as an ornamental piece.”
“Right?”
The giant smiled, revealing yellow teeth.
“Alright, human. Get caught.”
The giant reached out his hand. The shadow of his hand blocked the sun as it approached Taesan.
Taesan grabbed the giant’s finger. The giant trying to lift Taesan paused.
“Brother?”
“What are you doing?”
The two giants nearby asked in confusion. From their perspective, it looked like the giant was holding Taesan still.
However, the giant holding Taesan was sweating.
‘What is this?’
He couldn’t lift him.
It felt like trying to pull a firmly planted sword from the ground.
‘This can’t be happening.’
It meant this tiny human had more strength than he did.
Taesan was equally surprised.
‘Strong.’
From what he had heard, they weren’t that impressive. They seemed to be at the level of bandits or rogues.
But they were exerting significant pressure on Taesan.
‘They live up to their size.’
Taesan strengthened his grip on the giant’s finger. The giant’s face turned pale. Taesan turned and threw him.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Brother!”
The giant flew through the air.
The remaining giants, horrified, swung their clubs at Taesan. Taesan raised his arm.
Boom!
The weight on his arm made Taesan frown.
It was quite heavy. Not enough to feel pressured, but stronger than any adventurer on the same level as him.
Taesan tightened his grip on the club. The club shattered into pieces. Taesan then threw a punch into the giant’s abdomen.
“Ugh!”
The giant collapsed, gasping. He twitched a few times before lying still.
“This is interesting.”
Taesan tilted his head. In the labyrinth, a 30th-floor adventurer would be considered the strongest outside. Yet these seemingly unimpressive giants possessed such power.
Such powerful beings should have already entered the labyrinth or become known, but there had been no such information.
[The giants… I’ve heard many stories, but they really do possess this kind of strength.]
“You know about them?”
[Not much. They’re a reclusive race that rarely ventures outside. But there are legends.]
The ghost spoke.
[They are said to be capable of facing transcendents.]
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