Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 196: Earth Before the Apocalypse (Part 1)
Taesan closed his eyes and began to sort out the situation.
First of all, this wasn’t an illusion. The texture of the potato he was chewing.
The rough feel of the table he was sitting at.
The wind brushing against his cheek.
And the ominous energy felt beyond the sky.
None of these could be false.
This was real, not an illusion or deception.
But the question was, what kind of reality was this?
Taesan looked at Joonggeun. With Taesan staring intently at him while eating, Joonggeun squirmed and tried to hide his discomfort.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just because.”
Taesan’s vague answer only made Joonggeun more bewildered.
That reaction told Taesan everything. This wasn’t just a reproduction of his memory. Joonggeun’s reactions were entirely different from before.
This was truly a manifestation. The world before the apocalypse.
Of course, it wasn’t literally that time. Taesan thought over various possibilities.
‘…Is it some sort of manifestation?’
An interference with time itself.
Summoning the time of the past and temporarily manifesting everything. That would explain it.
‘So, the power of a god can go this far.’
Bending time itself and summoning it here. He had known their power was near infinite, but this was truly astonishing.
However, it seemed even for gods, this wasn’t easy.
The message mentioned that Aphrodia’s domain was significantly reduced when she manifested time from the past.
No other god had shown such a message before. This implied they had to endure significant loss to perform such a feat.
Taesan watched Joonggeun awkwardly eating his potato with an unfamiliar expression.
Geum Joonggeun had a straightforward personality.
And he wanted to save people.
But as time passed and he saw too much death, he became exhausted. His face was filled with fatigue.
‘I never thought I’d see this face again.’
Taesan smiled faintly.
“It’s good to see you.”
“Uh… Hyung.”
Joonggeun awkwardly put down his potato.
“Did you eat something bad?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, it looks like you ate something bad. Did you eat a monster carcass or something?”
“Shut up.”
Taesan brushed off Joonggeun, who was peering at him with a worried face.
Seeing Joonggeun’s old, worn-out face brought joy and nostalgia, but Taesan remained composed.
‘This isn’t real.’
They had already died back then. Earth had been destroyed.
This was just a temporary manifestation twisted by a god. It was just a fabrication.
Still, it didn’t feel bad.
The ghost had been silent for a while.
Taesan continued eating his potato, thinking.
The reason a god twisted time to bring him here was clear.
They had been defeated. They were annihilated by monsters, and Taesan had failed to overcome the apostles.
They were destroyed, and that was his despair.
So now, he had to overcome that despair.
It was a trial with that meaning.
Taesan clenched his fist.
“Hmm… Something’s definitely wrong.”
Joonggeun looked at Taesan with a suspicious gaze. Taesan waved his hand dismissively.
“Never mind, it’s all fine.”
Boom!
At that moment, a commotion was heard from afar. The noise didn’t subside but grew louder.
“Uh… Hyung, seems like a Hard Mode player has arrived?”
“Yeah.”
Taesan immediately stood up and left the tent. Joonggeun, who had been watching in a daze, hurriedly followed.
“Hyung, you usually complain and leave, but today you’re quiet? Did you really eat something bad…”
“Do you want to get hit?”
Taesan raised his fist. Joonggeun flinched and ducked.
“No, it’s just that you seem different.”
“It’s just a change of heart.”
At the source of the noise, a man was shouting.
“Don’t be ridiculous! How is this Earth? This is some kind of prank, isn’t it? Don’t mess with me!”
“Young man, this really is Earth. The world has changed a lot while you were in the labyrinth…”
“Don’t lie to me!”
The man swung his fist violently. The middle-aged man who was trying to calm him down staggered back with a groan.
“Taesan, you’re here!”
The man, pressing his forehead in frustration, brightened up at the sight of Taesan.
“I was about to bring him over, but you came first! What’s the matter?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. Hyung seems different.”
“Do you want to get hit for real?”
Joonggeun quickly ran away.
Taesan chuckled as he passed them and approached the fuming man.
“Hey, young man. What’s your name?”
“…Lee Changchun.”
“Lee Changchun.”
A pitiful man, no matter how you looked at him. They had won against the monsters during the last return. They had closed the rift in the sky.
Believing they could rebuild Earth, they diligently conquered the labyrinth. But what awaited him upon his return was a dying Earth.
“I’m sorry, but this really is a dying Earth. The situation has changed. If you can’t accept it, you might have to accept it after getting beaten up.”
“…Who are you?”
“Kang Taesan.”
“Kang Taesan?”
“The one who used to talk a lot as an Easy Mode player?”
Taesan nodded. Changchun sneered at him.
“How funny! An Easy Mode player trying to take on a Hard Mode player?”
“That was the case before, but things are different now.”
He was no longer just an Easy Mode player.
Taesan stomped his foot. His body vanished in an instant.
Changchun’s pupils dilated as he failed to keep up with the speed.
But he was still a Hard Mode player, someone who had trained with his life on the line. He instinctively swung his sword.
Clang!
‘I blocked it…’
Or so he believed. Changchun was sent flying, still in his blocking stance. The crowd backed away in fright.
Boom!
Changchun tumbled into half-ruined buildings.
The people stared at Taesan in shock.
Taesan leisurely walked over to where Changchun had landed.
Changchun staggered to his feet, then, seeing Taesan, he howled and swung his sword.
Taesan lightly reached out, subdued him, and pinned him to the ground.
“You must be pissed. You don’t want to accept it. You were imagining a hopeful future, but now you’re faced with this.”
Changchun’s eyes were filled with frustration and aimless anger.
Taesan released his grip on Changchun.
“But this is our reality. What can we do? We have to survive again. Just like we’ve always done.”
“…Damn it.”
Tears streamed from Changchun’s eyes.
People who had come over late cautiously comforted Changchun.
Taesan turned away. Joonggeun spoke carefully.
“Hyung, you’ve definitely changed.”
“Another nonsense?”
“No, it’s not that. I mean, there’s the physical part too.”
Joonggeun scratched his cheek. Taesan had subdued Changchun with just simple movements, without any skills.
Taesan had always been a player who relied on skills to gain an advantage. Considering that Changchun was a Hard Mode player whom even Joonggeun found difficult to handle, this was unprecedented.
But that wasn’t what Joonggeun was referring to.
“You just seem more… gentle. Until now, you made everyone listen by beating them half to death, didn’t you? This is the first time I’ve seen you subdue someone and then let them go.”
“Ah.”
Taesan realized what Joonggeun meant and held back a smile.
In his previous life, he had been filled with anger towards everyone.
Why are you so weak?
Why can’t you even beat an Easy Mode player like me?
Why do you avoid and refuse to learn the skills I teach you?
Wasn’t it because of that we faced destruction?
Those were his constant thoughts. Up until his death, he harbored anger towards others.
It was an intertwined regret from choosing Easy Mode, making his emotions sticky and murky.
As a result, he always acted nervously.
He knew it was wrong but couldn’t control himself. He felt like he would go mad if he didn’t vent his emotions.
“Well, I’ve let go of those feelings now.”
“Really?”
Joonggeun’s expression showed relief.
Seeing that, Taesan realized Joonggeun had always been watching his mood. In his previous life, he was too consumed by anger to notice.
‘This is new in its own way.’
Not bad, really.
At that moment, another commotion was heard from the other side.
“Another Hard Mode player arrived?”
“No, that’s Lee Taeyeon.”
Taesan looked to the end of the area and spoke.
“Sorry, but can you hide for a bit? I’m not sure if you’ll be seen or not.”
“Huh?”
“Not you. I’m talking to the one who can’t be seen.”
Taesan entered the only intact house.
Inside, there were various decorations and murals. The house was quite elegantly decorated, but in this crazy world, no one cared about decorations.
Unless they were out of their mind.
Or trying to hide something.
“You’re here?”
A woman sitting in a luxurious red leather chair grumbled. She, with long black hair, proudly pointed her finger.
“Isn’t that pretty? I got it from the museum this time.”
At the tip of her finger was a large portrait.
The portrait, four times the size of a human torso, was spotless, without a speck of dust or a scratch.
Bringing that portrait back from a world filled with monsters, where seeing tomorrow was uncertain, meant she had treasured it and returned it here.
Taesan nodded.
“It’s not bad.”
Lee Taeyeon’s face wrinkled. She asked with a puzzled expression.
“…Did something go wrong?”
“No, I just meant it’s not bad.”
“…Really?”
Lee Taeyeon sank into her chair with a troubled face.
Taesan looked at her.
She was no longer the inexperienced, always screaming Lee Taeyeon. She had matured over time.
She lay back in her chair casually.
But her face was filled with anxiety. Her eyes darted around as if she were scared of something.
In his previous life, Taesan hadn’t noticed her reactions. He was too cornered himself.
But now, he could see it.
She was scared.
She changed the subject with a troubled face.
“You scolded the Hard Mode player, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s really strange. An Easy Mode player. A Hard Mode player…”
She gave Taesan a strange look and then opened her mouth.
“Status window.”
**[Lee Taeyeon]**
**[Level: 258]**
**[Health: 45810/45810]**
**[Mana: 7020/7020]**
**[Strength: 10152]**
**[Intellect: 9899]**
**[Agility: 13254]**
**[Attack Power +5421]**
**[Defense +8456]**
**[The target is in a state of fear.]**
High stats. They were enough to incapacitate an ordinary Hard Mode player in one hit.
But now Taesan knew. Those stats weren’t as high as they seemed.
‘I’ve missed out on a lot.’
Currently, Taesan’s level was 91. But his health was around 20,000. All his stats had reached 4000.
Considering the things he could obtain in the deeper layers, it meant Lee Taeyeon had missed out on many things as she descended.
Still, she had comparable strength to his previous life.
“Show me your status window too.”
“No.”
Taesan refused.
Lee Taeyeon frowned, not expecting his refusal.
“Why? It’s not like it wears out. Just show me.”
“Sorry, but I can’t.”
He wasn’t just an Easy Mode player anymore. If he showed her, it would cause considerable confusion.
Lee Taeyeon squinted at him.
“You’re acting weird. Show me your status window.”