Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 241: The Fourth Return. Earth (8)

The monsters begin to move.

They attack the confused people. The victims collapse with groans as they are struck down.

“Arrrgh!”

Lee Juhyuk grits his teeth and charges forward again.

A monster swings its long, black arm. Lee Juhyuk raises his shield.

*Clang!*

“Ugh!”

With a heavy impact, Lee Juhyuk’s body is pushed back. His eyes shake in disbelief.

He thought the initial blow had knocked him back because he had been caught off guard.

But even after regaining his composure and bracing himself with his shield, he was still pushed back. The difference in strength between him and the monster was significant.

“Ahh! Aaaahhh!”

A hundred monsters charge forward. The number of players here exceeded ten thousand. A simple calculation meant that a hundred players could take on each monster.

Yet, it was the humans who were being pushed back.

No one could stop the charging monsters. The people were swept away like ants caught in a storm.

“This can’t be happening!”

Lee Juhyuk shouted in denial. He brandished his sword and shield and lunged at the monster.

He was one of the strongest hard-mode players.

Until now, he had never been overpowered in a one-on-one fight against a monster.

He had the strength and experience to easily defeat a D-rank monster without any trouble.

That’s why he had asserted his independent authority. He had confidence in himself.

*Clang!*

But he couldn’t even take down the monster in front of him.

Far from that, the longer the fight continued, the more he was being pushed back.

“This is impossible! Monsters can’t be this strong!”

He screamed, but nothing changed. He couldn’t even hold his ground against one monster, and the other players were being overwhelmed without mercy.

At this rate, they were all going to be annihilated.

Someone cried out desperately.

“Juhyuk-nim!”

“A, ah.”

He was their leader.

He had to give orders, whether to retreat or attack, but he was too shocked to say anything.

More people started to fall. A monster leaped and landed in the midst of the group. It swung its long tentacles, intending to sweep them away.

“A, ah…”

Just when the people sensed their impending death, the monster’s head was stomped flat.

*Crunch.*

[6,879 damage dealt to Monster 157961.]

The monster was felled in one strike. The people, who had been on the verge of fleeing in terror, forgot the situation for a moment and stared in astonishment.

“What…?”

“Six thousand?”

They couldn’t believe the damage they were seeing.

And they had heard of only one person capable of such damage.

“Taesan-nim!”

Taesan stood before them.

*Thud.*

The monsters changed their target. From the people to Taesan. Dozens of monsters charged at him simultaneously, intent only on killing him.

“Ahhh!”

The people were terrified. Each of these monsters was far stronger than a hard-mode player. Even with nearly ten thousand people gathered, they hadn’t been able to put up a proper fight.

Taesan lazily clenched his fist.

*Crunch.*

The head of the foremost monster was crushed.

His wildly swinging arms severed the monsters into pieces, and his kicking feet exploded several monsters at once.

Taesan handled the monsters as if he were a storm. The people watched in stunned silence as they were overwhelmed by his sheer power.

“O, ohhh…”

They fell to their knees.

As Taesan dealt with the monsters, he muttered to himself.

“I don’t care if you die or not, but don’t drag others down with you.”

At Taesan’s words, Lee Juhyuk flinched violently.

Taesan had hoped, perhaps, that Juhyuk would come to his senses and give proper orders, but in the end, he remained paralyzed by shock and did nothing.

He had been the same in his previous life. Whenever an unexpected situation occurred, he couldn’t accept it and would panic. Because of that, many people had died.

*Crunch.*

The monster in Taesan’s grip was split in two.

Just as things were being brought under control, a sudden violet rift trembled. A great force surged and expanded.

And from that rift, more monsters poured out.

The faces of those who had believed in their victory turned pale.

The violet rift was a pathway for monsters. If it wasn’t closed in time, the pathway would open, and monsters would appear.

Countless monsters emerged.

And the strength emanating from them was clearly superior to the monsters they had just fought. By Taesan’s standards, they were at least C-rank.

Even one of these monsters could wipe them all out. Instinctively, the people sensed this. Fear overwhelmed them. No matter how strong Taesan was, they couldn’t believe he could win. That thought flashed through their minds.

Taesan frowned.

“There’s too many.”

It was annoying.

So, he decided to deal with them all at once.

Taesan raised his hand.

[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

*Vmm.*

Light gathered on his hand. The frightened people turned their gaze to the light.

“Ah…”

They gasped, forgetting the situation.

The sun on Earth had disappeared long ago, blocked by the cracks in the sky.

Something was affecting the world, and although the distinction between day and night still existed, the pure sunlight was gone. Even in the labyrinth, they had relied on torches, and their eyes had grown accustomed to darkness.

In such a world, the light now on Taesan’s hand was as bright as the sun.

The warm and intense sunlight that enveloped them. Pure light they could barely remember.

Holding that light in his hand, Taesan gazed calmly at the monsters.

He drew his arrow toward the charging monsters.

The light exploded.

People closed their eyes, unable to withstand the brightness.

“Huh?”

Those who had been finishing their battle in the south looked east in shock.

It was as if the sun itself had descended.

“Taesan-ssi?”

Kim Hwiyeon muttered in bewilderment.

As the light slowly faded, people opened their eyes.

And they were stunned.

A massive crater lay before them.

The crater was pristine. As if the light had only erased the area it touched, the ground was smoothly hollowed out.

And the monsters were nowhere to be seen.

The countless monsters had been burned away by the light.

“The light their master wielded. That was intermediate magic, right?”

“Yes.”

Minerva marveled.

“He’s strong. To handle such an amount of light without any difficulty… As expected, it’s a magic directly created by the God of Magic. If intermediate magic is like that, then advanced or top-tier magic must be quite something.”

“Do you think he’ll ever learn it?”

Even intermediate magic was effective deep inside the labyrinth. With magic’s characteristic of increasing power with higher proficiency, it was highly valuable.

For that reason, advanced magic was still a distant dream.

“If it’s the master, it’s possible.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Of course.”

Minerva stretched her body. Her blue hair flowed softly.

“If someone contracted with the Spirit King, that much is definitely possible.”

Minerva smiled slyly. She glanced around.

“A magic that even surprised me. For those people, it must feel even more extraordinary.”

Taesan was now on a rooftop. And around him, many people were offering prayers.

The subject of their prayers was Taesan.

“Living beings always seek someone to rely on. Just like the people of Arullia believe in my father. Here, that person seems to be you.”

“There seems to be one exception.”

Amidst the worshipful gazes, there was one person filled with denial.

The short break was over. The quest had said that rifts would keep appearing, and they did. The rifts showed up periodically before them.

And so, they began to fight again.

“Block them!”

Lee Juhyuk shouted desperately.

“Listen to my orders! Go forward and slay the monsters!”

But the people hesitated and did not follow his command. They knew now. Lee Juhyuk was not fit to be their leader, and there was no reason to follow his words.

That realization drove Lee Juhyuk mad.

“I’m the leader! I’m the one leading you!”

“No.”

Taesan muttered as he stepped forward.

“You are nothing.”

[You have activated Frozen World.]

A bitter cold descended. The charging monsters and the violet rift were all frozen and shattered.

“Oooooh!”

“Taesan-nim!”

The people erupted in admiration and worship.

“A, ah…”

And Lee Juhyuk was completely forgotten.

“I, I’m the leader. My word is the truth…”

He stammered. Taesan looked at him with cold eyes.

“I really don’t get you.”

He had understood Choi Junhyeok. What he wanted was his own survival.

He had understood Seo Jangsahn. He wanted a rational way for them all to survive.

But Lee Juhyuk was different.

Lee Juhyuk was obsessed with being the leader.

It wasn’t about survival or saving lives—it was just about holding that position.

Such stubbornness held no meaning in this world. Ideologies, values, desires—all became meaningless in death.

Even someone as strong as Lee Taeyeon, or Kim Hwiyeon, who had sacrificed his life for others, or the hard-mode players who had returned upon the world’s destruction, denying everything…

They had all fought their way through the labyrinth, risking their lives and growing stronger by sacrificing everything they had.

And they had all died.

Taesan, too, would have shared their fate had he not returned after turning back time.

That was the reality of the current world.

For that reason, Kang Taesan could neither understand nor want to understand Lee Juhyuk.

No matter what a player of Lee Juhyuk’s caliber did, it wouldn’t affect them at all.

But it wouldn’t hurt to drive a wedge in now.

“You’ll never be a leader.”

Taesan told Lee Juhyuk. His body trembled.

“You don’t have what it takes. You don’t have the strength, nor the charisma to lead all the players. You might lead a small group, but you will never lead a large one. That’s who you are.”

“A. Aah.”

Lee Juhyuk groaned.

He had lived his entire life as a leader. He had never imagined himself being anything else.

Lee Juhyuk lowered his head.

Taesan didn’t know what he would choose. And it didn’t matter what he chose.

Taesan walked past him without a care.

The battle continued.

The rifts appeared endlessly. People took turns in two shifts, removing the rifts. The people from other regions and those from Seoul worked together and grew more accustomed to fighting, bringing down the monsters more efficiently.

Taesan’s creation of a new domain also played a significant role. The monsters weakened, and the people grew stronger, making it easier to defeat the monsters.

And Lee Juhyuk, with a pale face, continued to fight.

He no longer gave orders or directed others. Though half-dead, he continued to fight.

“I’m bored.”

Inside City Hall, Minerva twirled her fingers. A storm erupted in her area, sweeping away all the monsters.

“Apologies to these poor, dead lives, but for you, Varkaza, and me, this is honestly boring.”

The B-rank monsters, and the occasional C-rank ones, required others to risk their lives, but to Taesan, they were far too weak. Taesan responded.

“They’ll come soon.”

“Probably.”

Minerva murmured as she gazed at the rift in the sky.

“They’re getting stronger.”

The ancient gods always targeted the last stage of the return.

The gathering power would open a passage and send down a mighty monster.

‘Will it be at the peak of A-rank or at S-rank?’

The ancient god had made a pact with the deity. If Taesan succeeded, the god would grant him a direct reward.

The first had been Rakiratas, the power of battle and death. The second had been the black magic of the demon god.

What would it be this time?

One thing was certain—he would win.

And he would seize the reward.

Taesan prepared for the upcoming battle.