Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 235 : The Fourth Return. Earth (2
“Hmm.”
Taesan gently touched the ground. On the cracked, desolate Earth, a flower from the labyrinth had been planted.
“This feels about right.”
Taesan raised his head.
Nothing had changed at City Hall.
Clicking his tongue, Taesan pulled out the flower he had planted. Kim Hwiyeon, who had just arrived, tilted her head in confusion.
“What are you doing?”
“Creating a domain. I learned something useful from the labyrinth, and I was testing if I could apply it here, but it’s not working well.”
Taesan took out another flower from his inventory.
“A domain… Is that something that affects all of City Hall?”
“That’s right.”
Kim Hwiyeon stared blankly and murmured to herself.
“It seems like you’re getting farther away from being human, Taesan.”
“Am I?”
Taesan had thought so too at times.
But he didn’t care much. His goal from the start was to transcend mortality anyway. Kim Hwiyeon gave a wry smile at Taesan’s indifferent attitude.
The inside of City Hall was chaotic. The reason for that chaos was the calm-looking man standing before her.
Kim Hwiyeon looked up.
*Boom!*
A monster stood right in front of her.
Its power was something she couldn’t easily guarantee victory against. By previous standards, it was at least D-class. And there were dozens of them.
*Boom!*
But they were all blocked by the barrier.
The barrier was so sturdy that it didn’t even shake.
“Seeing them up close, these monsters look quite strange.”
“They’re similar to insects or animals, but different. Even if you dissect them, there’s nothing inside. They’re truly alien creatures.”
Taesan had dissected many monsters in his previous life. But all they contained was darkness. There was no useful information to be gained from them.
“I didn’t think I’d ever find myself analyzing monsters like this right in front of me…”
After the first attack, the monsters had continued to appear.
Sometimes in small groups of ten or more, sometimes in groups of dozens.
But they were all blocked by the barrier Varkaza had erected before they could even reach City Hall.
**[These are weak.]**
Varkaza spoke indifferently.
**[These must be the lowest-tier creatures used by the Ancient Gods. Even if hundreds of thousands of them gather, they couldn’t harm me or my master.]**
“That’s… quite an impressive thing.”
If hundreds of thousands of D-class monsters appeared, Earth would be doomed. Maybe other countries could survive, but South Korea would be completely annihilated.
This meant that Taesan was far stronger than all the players in Korea combined.
While that had always been true, people only began to fully realize it with this return.
“The Ancient Gods, huh.”
Kim Hwiyeon muttered the words.
Taesan had explained the rough situation to Kim Hwiyeon, Geum Jung-geun, and the other leaders.
He told them that the ones attacking Earth were the **Ancient Gods**, beings who had been defeated by the current gods. Not accepting their defeat, they were now destroying countless worlds.
“And Earth is just one of them… and the gods summoned us to the labyrinth.”
Taesan hadn’t explained the reason behind the separation of difficulty levels. Even Kim Hwiyeon would have struggled to accept that the labyrinth she was in had been created by the beings attacking them.
**[They’re truly despicable. They meddled with my world and destroyed yours.]**
Minerva grumbled, and Kim Hwiyeon let out a dry laugh.
“It’s all so vast. It’s too much.”
The existence of gods, the labyrinth, and everything that surrounded them.
She closed her eyes.
Her eyebrows twitched for a moment.
When she opened her eyes again, they had calmed.
“And Taesan, you’ve even spoken directly with the gods.”
“Not very often.”
**[Even once is plenty. Since I entered the labyrinth, I haven’t seen a single mortal who had relationships with transcendent beings like you do.]**
The ghost added a snide comment, but only Taesan could hear him. Kim Hwiyeon, oblivious, shook her head.
“It’s all so overwhelming. But… it makes sense. Actually, it’s kind of nice.”
Kim Hwiyeon chuckled softly.
“It means that everything that’s happened to us at least has a big reason behind it, right? At one point, I thought it might just be some kind of random prank, but thankfully, it’s not.”
“A prank?”
“You know, there’s that theory. That all of this is just the dream of some transcendent being. That we’re nothing but fragments of that dream. I had thoughts like that at one point.”
Kim Hwiyeon had clearly been doing a lot of thinking. She kicked a small rock with her foot.
“Thank you, Taesan. For telling us about this.”
“I intended to from the beginning, so don’t worry about it.”
In his previous life, Kim Hwiyeon had struggled desperately. And she died without knowing the truth.
This time, Taesan wanted her to know the truth.
And he had faith. He believed that Kim Hwiyeon and Geum Jung-geun were strong enough to handle the truth without losing their resolve.
Taesan planted a white flower and sprinkled blue powder around it.
*Wooooong.*
A resonance occurred. Kim Hwiyeon, surprised, watched as a glimmer appeared in Taesan’s eyes.
“Finally.”
*Kiing.*
A blue domain spread out, centering on City Hall.
“What?”
“A monster?”
The people were startled by the sudden change. Believing that the barrier had been breached, they drew their weapons. But soon, they realized something different.
“Oh.”
“My power…”
The blue domain was strengthening their abilities.
Taesan dusted off his hands.
“Varkaza, let a monster through.”
**[Understood.]**
Part of the barrier opened, and one of the monsters that had been banging on it slipped inside without any resistance. Confused by the sudden entry, the monster looked around before determining its target.
*Ssssss.*
The monster began moving toward Taesan.
“Give it a try.”
“W-What?”
Taesan stepped back. Left alone with the monster, Kim Hwiyeon hastily drew her weapon.
*Clang!*
The battle began suddenly.
Kim Hwiyeon fought seriously. The monster in front of her was one she couldn’t easily defeat.
*Kaang!*
However, her sword strike caused the monster to stagger significantly.
Not missing the opportunity, she pressed the attack.
*Clang!*
A few minutes later, the monster collapsed. Kim Hwiyeon, catching her breath, was shocked.
“How…?”
She had won far too easily.
Her movements had been faster than usual, and the monster had been slower and weaker. Taesan brushed his hands again.
“That worked well.”
The domain he had created through alchemy had the power to strengthen people and weaken monsters.
It was his first time trying something like this, so he hadn’t been sure how it would turn out, but it had worked better than expected.
“So, this is what you were working on?”
“Yeah.”
“Well… This is going to cause quite a stir.”
Kim Hwiyeon gave a wry smile.
“Ooooh!”
The blue domain surrounding them. Realizing its effects—strengthening themselves and weakening the monsters—the people became even more astonished. And they began to worship Taesan.
“Ooooh!”
“Lord Taesan!”
“Please protect us!”
As Taesan passed by, they grabbed at the hem of his clothes, praying. Countless hands reached out to him, offering their faith.
Overwhelmed by their response, Taesan unfurled his wings. As he flew into the sky, the people cried out even louder.
**[Your proficiency in Divine Power has increased by 1%.]**
“Why does this keep increasing?”
Taesan muttered in annoyance as he looked down at City Hall.
People knelt in prayer, looking up at him.
It was as if they were worshiping a god.
“Oh?”
“You’re back?”
Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk, who had been sparring, greeted Taesan. Lee Taeyeon playfully said,
“How does it feel to be worshipped?”
“It’s weird.”
Taesan grumbled. Kang Jun-hyuk calmly spoke up.
“It’s only natural. After all, it’s not like you haven’t done anything.”
You protected them from monsters, strengthened them, granted them dark magic, and gave them the blessings of a god.
At this point, it would be strange if the people of Seoul weren’t worshipping Taesan. The majority now prayed to him.
“They just needed someone to rely on. And that someone became you.”
“Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming. Just how much stronger are you going to get?”
Lee Taeyeon glanced at Minerva and Varkaza, standing by Taesan’s side. As spirits, they were even more powerful than Lee Taeyeon herself.
She had grown stronger, but Taesan had become incomparably stronger.
Even though they were in the same labyrinth, she couldn’t imagine ever catching up to him.
Taesan answered.
“Even without a spirit contract, if you keep descending, you can become stronger than I am now. Though by then, I’ll be even stronger.”
“Is that really possible…?”
Lee Taeyeon questioned with some doubt, but Taesan spoke with certainty.
“It’s possible.”
His words were filled with such confidence that both Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk were moved.
For Taesan, who knew Lee Taeyeon’s future, it was only natural.
Looking at Lee Taeyeon, Taesan felt a strange emotion.
The Lee Taeyeon created by the God of Despair had known many things.
How many times had she returned to the past? What had she seen? And what had become of Taesan in that time?
Noticing Taesan’s gaze, Lee Taeyeon flinched.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
Taesan drew his sword.
“Let’s have a spar. Pick up your weapons.”
Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk’s eyes lit up as they grabbed their weapons.
“You’ve both grown mentally strong.”
Despite their efforts, both were knocked back by Taesan’s strike.
In the past, Lee Taeyeon would have looked for a way to escape, and Kang Jun-hyuk would have charged in recklessly.
But this time, it was different. Lee Taeyeon moved defensively, looking for an opening, while Kang Jun-hyuk attacked aggressively but with a constant focus on countering.
They moved with determination, doing everything they could to defeat their invincible opponent.
Three hours later, both were drenched in sweat, but their expressions weren’t bad.
They had undoubtedly gained something from sparring with Taesan.
**[Not bad.]**
After they left to rest, Minerva spoke up.
**[They’re still fragile and weak, but they have talent. They have potential. And more importantly, their minds are disciplined. If luck is on their side, they could become quite strong.]**
“That’s why I trained them. They can’t die easily.”
**[Your proficiency in Divine Power has increased by 1%.]**
“This again.”
Taesan scowled.
“What is going on?”
**[Divinity. The will and faith of the people who believe in you.]**
Minerva turned her gaze.
Inside City Hall, countless people were directing their faith toward Taesan.
**[When life believes in someone, that faith becomes power and flows toward the object of that belief. When enough accumulates, it becomes divine power, a sort of strength. But for a mortal to gain divine power this clearly… I’ve never seen that before.]**
Although Minerva had only recently been born, thanks to her orb, she possessed all the knowledge a Spirit King should have.
“Can’t I use this somehow?”
**[That? Without a god’s authority, you can’t use it.]**
Minerva said with certainty.
**[You could force it by bending the rules, but the risk is too high. Only a transcendent could manage it. Don’t worry about it. What’s more surprising is that you even have this.]**
For a mortal to become transcendent. Even in the labyrinth, where the greatest warriors from countless worlds gathered, it was nearly impossible.
But Taesan thought differently.
It wasn’t that it was impossible to wield this power. It was just nearly impossible.
And if it was nearly impossible, then someday, he would master it—just like he had with so many other skills.
For the next two days, Taesan continued training Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk.
The worship directed toward him didn’t stop, and the divine power kept accumulating, but he ignored it.
Then the time came.
**[Quest Start]**
**[People from all regions will gather in Seoul. They will risk their lives to reach this place.]**
**[Protect and guide them so they can arrive in Seoul safely.]**
**[Additional rewards will be given based on your performance.]**