Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 236: The Fourth Return. Earth (3)

“What are you going to do then?”

“Be quiet for a second.”

Kim Hwiyeon responded to Kang Taesan’s question. She pressed her temples.

She had anticipated it. The next quest would involve traveling from various regions to Seoul. So she had already come up with a rough plan.

“First of all… We will go to protect them.”

Everyone in the meeting nodded at her words.

The quest was about protecting those coming to Seoul. It wasn’t a task where they could wait for the others to arrive. They had to move to rescue them.

“But we’re too few compared to the places we need to cover.”

That was the issue at hand.

Their numbers were not enough to protect all the regions. Distributing their manpower with minimal risk was a tricky challenge.

“Which regions do we need to cover?”

“Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, Wonju in Gangwon Province, Daejeon, and Jeju Island. These six locations.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

“How are we going to distribute the forces?”

Kim Hwiyeon, who had been pondering with her eyes closed for a moment, opened her mouth.

“We’ve decided to leave the City Hall to players in Easy and Normal mode.”

“If it were before, maybe not… But now that Taesan has helped, they should be able to handle it.”

The people agreed. As long as they were within Taesan’s domain, even players in Normal mode could defeat the monsters without too much difficulty.

This meant that only Hard and Solo Mode players would be leaving.

“First, Geum Jung-geun, and half of the Hard mode players will go down to Daejeon.”

The others agreed to this. As soon as the D-class monsters returned, they had appeared. When the main quest began, it would only become more difficult, not easier.

And Kim Hwiyeon’s judgment wasn’t wrong. In her past life, when she had sent Hard mode players out based on the belief that they could handle it, many lives had been lost in vain.

“Then half of the remaining Hard mode players will go with Lee Taeyeon to Wonju, and the rest will head to Gwangju with Kang Jun-hyuk. Is that alright?”

“Yes.”

Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk nodded calmly. The gap between the two and the Hard mode players had widened with each return, to the point where even dozens of opponents were no longer a match.

Even if a C-class monster appeared, the two of them wouldn’t be easily overwhelmed. It was a reasonable lineup.

“Then the remaining three regions are…”

Daegu, Busan, and Jeju Island.

They were the most distant locations. Silence fell as everyone’s gaze turned toward one person.

Taesan spoke.

“I’ll take care of the remaining three.”

“…Can you really handle that?”

“No problem.”

His calm answer was met with gasps of awe and admiration. Kim Hwiyeon looked at Taesan with a sorry expression.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

And so, they departed.

There was no time to waste once the quest had begun. The prepared individuals steeled themselves as they stepped outside of the domain. Before Kim Hwiyeon left, she asked Taesan.

“Where are you going, Taesan?”

“Busan.”

“Busan…”

Worry crept across Kim Hwiyeon’s face.

“It’s quite far. I heard the situation in Busan is pretty dangerous.”

Most of the Hard mode players had died. Only a few Normal and Easy mode players had survived the last return.

It was believed that survival was impossible this time. Even the people in Busan thought so.

“Do you think it’s a problem?”

“…No, it was a pointless question.”

Kim Hwiyeon withdrew, realizing from his answer.

“Well then, I’ll head out first.”

“See you later, brother.”

“Phew. Managing people is quite something…”

“Well, it’s a good experience.”

One by one, they scattered.

Taesan opened his mouth.

“Varkaza, you know what to do, right?”

[Snort. I don’t like being separated from my master, but if it’s an order, I’ll do it. Just tell me where to go. I’ll finish it perfectly.]

Taesan patted Varkaza’s head. Receiving the information, Varkaza launched into the air.

Boom.

Varkaza took off.

Taesan turned his gaze to Minerva.

“I understand. It’s a bit annoying, but since it’s your order, I’ll see you later.”

Minerva smiled and disappeared into the wind.

Left alone, Taesan also started walking.

“Busan, huh.”

It was practically at the end of the country.

“It’ll take about 30 minutes.”

—

A man, his face covered in scars, was desperately swinging his weapon.

“Argh!”

With a shout, he blocked the monster’s attack and stabbed his weapon deep into it. The monster twitched and fell.

But soon, another monster replaced it.

Grrr.

“Argh!”

Screams echoed from all sides.

The man grimaced as he watched familiar faces fall one by one.

“Damn bastards!”

He roughly opened his inventory and threw a potion. The potion shattered on the monster, spreading its power.

Crack!

Frost formed.

The monsters’ entire bodies froze, slowing their movements.

But it wasn’t a major blow, and the monsters began to move again soon after.

The man gritted his teeth. The item he had bought with so much resolve hadn’t had much effect.

“How is everyone?”

“Not good!”

A man with a sincere expression, covered in wounds, shouted. The number of monsters far outnumbered them. The sight of his people being gradually overwhelmed made the man clench his teeth.

“…Everyone, charge!”

He roughly advanced into the group of monsters. His people desperately followed him.

“Argh!”

They barely managed to break through the monsters.

Panting heavily, the man asked, “How many survived?”

“Most of the Easy players are dead, and about half of the Normal ones. A fair number of Hard mode players died as well.”

“Damn.”

The scarred man grimaced.

The quest couldn’t be refused. They had set out from Daegu to head to Seoul.

Along the way, they encountered countless monsters.

Each one rivaled a Hard mode player, and there were more than a hundred of them. It was far beyond what they had braced themselves for. Though they had managed to break through, there was still a long way to go.

“Brother, do you think…”

“Calm down.”

The scarred man reassured his anxious comrades.

“You saw the quest, right? People will come from Seoul.”

“Do you really think they can come?”

The scarred man fell silent at the sincere man’s question.

There were too many monsters. He couldn’t imagine people making it through from Seoul.

“There’s no reason for them to come through such a dangerous path.”

“…They’ll come. You’ve heard about Solo Mode, haven’t you?”

“But is that really…”

Even as doubt clouded their eyes, the man couldn’t provide an answer.

He was a Hard mode player. One of the stronger ones, leading the players from Daegu.

As such, he had heard many stories from Kim Hwiyeon, Geum Jung-geun, and the other Hard mode players from Seoul about Taesan.

A human as strong as a monster. A being who had given all the people in Seoul new powers through black magic.

Not only that, but the other two Solo Mode players were also said to be very powerful.

But the man had been skeptical, even while listening to the stories.

There was another Solo Mode player beside him right now. But his power wasn’t all that impressive. He was barely at the level of a top-tier Hard mode player.

The difference in power within the modes was vast, but the man couldn’t believe it would be that extreme.

Moreover, he had never seen Taesan in person, only hearing stories.

They said he could send people flying with his fists and that craters would form on the ground just from his leaps.

‘They must have exaggerated on purpose.’

They were in despair and needed someone to lean on. The man had judged that Taesan was a figure created for that purpose.

He might not be weak, but the man thought he was likely about three or four times stronger than a Hard mode player.

“…In any case, we need to go to Seoul. Everyone, get ready.”

The people gritted their teeth and stood up.

They began to advance again. Monsters appeared once more.

Seeing the number of them, the people’s faces turned pale.

“This… This is insane.”

Hundreds of monsters blocked their path.

“Run…!”

As one man shouted and turned to flee, he fell silent.

There were dozens of monsters behind them as well.

Coming to their senses, they realized they were surrounded by monsters.

The sincere-looking man muttered blankly, “It’s over.”

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

The scarred man lowered his head.

“No, this can’t be helped. You did your best, brother.”

“We survived for a long time. I can die satisfied.”

“Mom, I’ll see you soon.”

“At least let’s take down one more.”

They calmly accepted their deaths. The scarred man gripped his weapon with burning determination.

“If we’re going down, let’s take as many as we can with us!”

“Yes!”

Just as they braced themselves for their final stand, a loud thud echoed in front of them.

Boom!

“W-what?”

The people, who had been rushing forward, stopped in their tracks in shock. As the dust settled, the figure that had caused the loud noise appeared.

[Finally arrived. Those pests were really annoying.]

A lazy voice rang out. The man’s eyes widened. Someone shouted.

“A m-monster!”

A green golem had appeared. The man instinctively slashed at it with his sword.

Clang!

[0 damage to Varkaza.]

“What?”

[Don’t do anything foolish. I’m not your enemy.]

Varkaza clapped its hands together. A barrier formed around them.

Clang!

[I was ordered by my master to protect you.]

“M-master?”

The creature could talk. Moreover, it didn’t seem to have any intention of harming them, so the man lowered his sword.

[Yes. My master. A man by the name of Kang Taesan has ordered me to protect you on your way to Seoul.]

Kang Taesan.

The man’s eyes shook at the mention of that name. Seeing his reaction, Varkaza turned away.

[Seems like you’ve heard of him. Good, that’ll save us some trouble.]

“…Are you his servant?”

[Think of it however you want.]

“That’s amazing. To command a monster like this…”

The man muttered to himself. It was truly incredible, but as an Solo Mode player, it wasn’t strange to think he could tame a monster.

The people who had been rushing to protect their leader hesitated as the conversation continued.

The man, now composed, spoke.

“Where is your master?”

If someone could control a monster like this, he must be far stronger than the man had anticipated. If he were here, at least half of them might survive, the man thought.

But Varkaza betrayed his expectations.

[He’s not coming.]

“What?”

[I came alone. I’m enough to handle this.]

“What are you…”

The man, about to say something, paused.

Clang!

He hadn’t noticed, but the monsters were continuously pounding on the barrier Varkaza had created.

However, the barrier didn’t have a single dent.

[This is annoying, so let’s finish this quickly.]

Varkaza clapped its hands together.

A rainbow-colored light burst forth.

The people screamed and shut their eyes.

There was a loud rumbling, and the ground shook.

When they opened their eyes, everything around them had been flattened.

—

A woman in her mid-twenties was pulling her hair in frustration by the sea.

“Damn quests! Can’t you give us something reasonable?!”

She laughed in exhaustion.

Dozens of people behind her collapsed to the ground in similar defeat.

“This is beyond inconsiderate…”

The woman slumped to the ground.

Her name was Lee Hye-yeon. She prided herself on being a competent career woman.

After finishing a long project, she had come to Jeju Island for a refreshing vacation. But just as she was about to enjoy her trip, the world fell apart.

She had entered Hard mode.

And when she returned to Earth, she had ended up on Jeju Island, where she had entered the labyrinth.

An island separated from the mainland, where 670,000 people lived.

Since there were fewer people overall, there were fewer strong individuals. The only fortunate thing was that, by sheer luck, there were relatively more Hard mode players here.

But the endless wave of monsters had reduced their numbers, and by the third return, only a few hundred remained.

It was almost certain they would be wiped out in the next return.

That’s why Lee Hye-yeon had believed that she would be able to go to Seoul during the next return. That there would be some means of transportation.

But no.

“How is this even possible…”

They had to cross the sea to get to Seoul.

She lowered her head.

It was an impossible task. The planes were all destroyed, and even if they weren’t, no one could fly them. A few small fishing boats remained, but they were useless.

Rumble.

The distant sea roared fiercely.

There were monsters in the sea as well. Even if they tried to cross on a boat, they would end up as fish food.

“It seems like this is the end…”

“I don’t want to die, sis…”

“I feel the same. I want to live too…”

They clung to each other, crying. The monsters slowly approached them.

And at that moment, a breeze blew.

“Hello?”

A beautiful woman with blue hair appeared. Lee Hye-yeon, who had been sobbing, recoiled in surprise.

“W-who are you?”

“If I say I’m a spirit, will that make sense to you?”

“A… spirit?”

“Yes. My master told me to bring you all to Seoul.”

“M-master… Seoul… Could it be Kang Taesan?”

At Lee Hye-yeon’s mumbling, Minerva’s eyes glinted.

“You catch on quick. It seems you have some ability, after all.”

“No, I…”

A strange being offering help. And a spirit, no less.

She didn’t know the full details, but there was only one person with this kind of power. Minerva smiled as she spoke.

“So don’t worry, little lambs. I’ll get you to safety.”

“But…”

They glanced at the sea.

Monsters lurked deep within the waters, stirring. If they attempted to cross, they would all be buried there.

But Minerva didn’t see it as a problem.

“First, let’s deal with those.”

Minerva waved her hand. The wind became a blade.

The approaching monsters were all sliced into pieces.

“What…?”

“If there’s no path, we’ll just make one.”

Minerva hummed as she stepped into the sea.

The water parted.

The sea began to open.

“Clearing the way…”

Minerva stomped her foot. Power spread through the ground, bursting the sea monsters apart.

“Oh…”

“Huh…”

The people stared blankly at the miracle unfolding before their eyes.

Minerva gestured from the path now forming between the sea.

“Come on.”