Chapter 277: Colosseum (2)

The numbers were beyond what anyone expected. Kim Hwiyeon had thought it would be fortunate if even half the players survived.

With 100 participants, it wouldn’t have been strange if there were two or three hard-mode players among them. The fact that Korea’s hard-mode players defeated them and won was significant.

“I was surprised too. Players from other countries are strong, but… it wasn’t as difficult as I expected.”

Even those who had won were equally baffled. They had assumed that hard-mode players from other countries would be as strong as them.

But in actual combat, the difference was clear. There was a distinct gap in power between Korea’s players and others.

Kim Hwiyeon realized belatedly.

“Oh, right. We’ve been receiving Taesan’s help…”

The divine blessings.

Each one of them was anything but insignificant.

For instance, the Blessing of Struggle and Death enhanced their talent for combat, fundamentally improving their focus and abilities in battle.

This had allowed Korea to conquer two or three more floors beyond what other countries’ players had managed. In hard mode, a difference of even that much was enough to be apparent.

“Not bad.”

She scanned the group and asked.

“Just to check, no one’s encountered Amelia, right?”

There was no response. It was as expected, so Kim Hwiyeon wasn’t surprised. If anyone here had encountered Amelia, they would have had to defeat her, which was nearly impossible.

“I wonder just how strong she is.”

Amelia Aerin. The woman descending solo mode. Her strength piqued everyone’s curiosity.

They would find out if they made it to the end. Changing the topic, Kim Hwiyeon continued.

“So, what was the distribution like between countries?”

“The U.S. was overwhelming. Hardly anyone from other countries even showed up.”

“Right, that makes sense…”

The U.S. had 1.5 million hard-mode players alone. The difference in numbers was on a completely different scale.

Kim Hwiyeon frowned slightly.

“The special rule… the second one…”

“What is it, ma’am?” one of them asked.

“Never mind. It’s pointless to say, and it might not be the case anyway.”

She shook her head dismissively.

Taesan could guess what she was thinking. She was smart and quick to judge, so it wasn’t hard to deduce.

And she was correct.

However, as she said, there was no point in discussing it. Even knowing it wouldn’t make any difference.

Kim Hwiyeon scanned the faces of those who remained and asked.

“What about those who didn’t make it? Minsoo—where is he?”

“Oh, I ran into him. He was panting after fighting another hard-mode player, so I just knocked him out.”

“When we get back, he’s probably going to try to kill you.”

They laughed and chatted, passing the time until the scheduled moment arrived. The light began to surround them again, and their faces turned serious.

“See you at the next location.”

“Yeah.”

Taesan found himself once again transported to a vast plain.

He activated his magi.

[You activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]

Magi waves spread outward, delivering information to his mind.

Again, there were 100 participants. By the end of this battlefield, only 1,600 out of the 16 million players would remain.

This time, Taesan didn’t move immediately.

He leisurely strolled across the plain, sensing the movement of others all around him.

The behavior this time was markedly different from the first battlefield.

The players were organized. They grouped together and started eliminating anyone wandering alone.

Before long, dozens of players were moving in clusters, leaving Taesan as the only one traveling solo.

And then, they began approaching Taesan.

Sensing their movements, Taesan perched on a rock. As the group appeared, he waved at them.

“Nice to meet you.”

The group surrounded him.

Taesan looked at each of their faces.

“You’re all Americans, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

The muscular man at the front nodded.

“We’re simply using the optimal strategy for victory. Don’t hold it against us.”

With that, he raised his sword. The dozens of people behind him also drew their weapons.

Taesan smirked at them.

“Of course, Oliver wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this.”

The special rule. The second one.

At the end of the quest, the country with the most remaining players would receive additional points.

The more players from other countries they eliminated, the better for them. And since the U.S. had the largest number of players in the world, this was a natural strategy.

Even though the allocation was random, it was inevitable that the majority in each battlefield would be Americans.

And the American players, being the majority, could team up to eliminate players from other countries first.

“Smart. There’s a reason you survived to the end.”

After reaching the rift, what had happened? Had Oliver survived?

Taesan didn’t know. Once he cleared the game, he had no way of knowing what had happened in other countries. He had been too preoccupied with his own survival.

Sitting on the rock and muttering to himself, Taesan’s calm demeanor made the muscular man, Liam, scowl.

It was too composed.

Other players from different countries who encountered their strategy would either be dumbfounded or angrily protest, yelling that it was unfair.

That this was cheating. That it wasn’t right.

Everyone who had survived the first battlefield was a hard-mode player. Dozens of hard-mode players teaming up made it impossible for any individual to resist.

Liam had no issue with this strategy.

Numerical superiority was undeniably a form of strength. Using it to achieve victory wasn’t a problem.

If others had a problem with it, they should have ensured more of their players survived.

The plan was simple: eliminate everyone else, then fight among themselves to determine the final winner. All they had to do was take down the man in front of them.

But something felt off. It was only then that Liam noticed the yellow cloth on Taesan’s shoulder.

“…Who are you?”

“What are you talking about? Just kill him!”

Three impatient men behind Liam rushed at Taesan simultaneously. Their bloodshot eyes glared as they shouted.

“Become a stepping stone for the glory of America!”

Three hard-mode players attacked with speed and precision. With only 100 health, a single successful strike would mean instant elimination.

But Taesan didn’t move from his seated position.

As the swords aimed for his head, Taesan’s hand moved.

*Crunch.*

The three attackers were instantly crushed. Liam’s pupils dilated as he watched in disbelief.

He hadn’t even seen Taesan’s fist move.

Then the damage notifications appeared.

[Jackson received 4,355 damage.]
[Lucas received 5,332 damage.]
[Grayson received 4,123 damage.]

“You’re…”

“I’m Kang Taesan.”

Taesan stood with a smile. His introduction sent a ripple of shock through the group.

“Show me what you’ve got. Let’s see your pride in numbers.”

Taesan stomped the ground. In that instant, they lost sight of his movements.

*Crunch.*

Taesan descended from the sky, crushing the head of a hard-mode player beneath his foot.

The player disappeared, rendered incapacitated and defeated.

Liam shouted belatedly.

“Move, everyone!”

*Wham!*

The group scattered away from Taesan in unison. As one woman near him turned hurriedly to flee, her head was caught in Taesan’s grip.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Taesan slammed her into the ground. Her movement ceased immediately.

But Taesan didn’t stop there. Clenching his fist, he struck down the backs of those trying to gain distance. In an instant, more than ten players disappeared.

“What the—!”

Liam was shocked. In just a single movement, over ten players had fallen—every one of them hard-mode players!

Taesan dusted off his hands. If he had wanted to, he could have taken them all down the moment they started retreating. He possessed that level of speed and power.

The reason he hadn’t was simple: he wanted to evaluate their skill.

The players gritted their teeth and began moving to surround and pressure Taesan from all sides.

“Not bad.”

Taesan murmured as he observed them. Around eighty hard-mode players—all quite formidable.

Though their skill levels were lower compared to Korea’s hard-mode players, they weren’t lacking.

But that was all.

He didn’t even need to draw his sword, let alone use any skills.

With sheer overwhelming power and speed—

He parried a charging man’s polearm to the side. The force twisted the man’s hand, sending his weapon flying.

*Crack.*

His fist pierced through another man. Spinning around, Taesan kicked a third attacker. The man, prepared in a defensive stance, rolled across the plains.

*Boom!*

Taesan stomped the ground.

The earth erupted, causing those charging at him to lose their footing momentarily.

A blast of wind followed. The players couldn’t maintain their balance and were blown away.

[Logan received 934 damage.]

Liam was dumbfounded.

“What the hell…?”

Taesan’s fist hadn’t even touched them—it was just a simple gust from his movements. Yet it had inflicted nearly 1,000 damage, a number Liam couldn’t fathom.

It was beyond belief, yet it was happening. One by one, Taesan brought down the bewildered players.

“Just one time!”

Liam shouted desperately.

“Just one successful attack is all we need!”

Even a light graze from a sword or fist would do. They were hard-mode players; with skills, they could easily deal more than 100 damage.

Understanding this, the players’ chaotic expressions became calm. Their movements changed—they charged at Taesan, even if it meant sacrificing themselves.

‘Not that it will matter.’

Even if an attack landed, Taesan’s skill that nullified attacks would activate. They had no real chance of defeating him.

He parried incoming swords and countered flying fists. He effortlessly thwarted dozens of simultaneous attacks, none of which even grazed him.

His experience, stats, and abilities were all overwhelming. Even dozens of hard-mode players combined were no match for Taesan, who hadn’t used a single skill.

“I’ve seen enough.”

Taesan extended his hand. A chilling frost began to gather around it. Sensing danger, Liam shouted urgently.

“Everyone, retreat—!”

[You activated Frozen World.]

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

Icy winds surged forth. Some players tried to resist with their own skills, shielding themselves. Others used fiery magic from their staffs to melt the ice. A few tried to flee and put distance between themselves and Taesan.

It was all in vain.

The frost engulfed them all equally, freezing everyone solid.

Liam was the only one left standing.

He stared blankly at Taesan.

‘This is…’

Liam had believed that, no matter how strong Taesan was, he would be within reason. He had thought that Taesan could never surpass Amelia.

But this was something else entirely.

Taesan was delivering absurd amounts of damage—not just once but continuously. It meant that these extraordinary numbers were his *normal* damage output.

He was far stronger than Amelia. Liam realized this undeniable truth.

“Are you… truly human?”

Those were his final words. Taesan’s fist drove into his head. When Liam came to, he found himself summoned to the square for the defeated.

—

[Quest Complete.]

[You are the winner.]

[Calculating…]

[You have earned 380 points.]

[Returning to the winner’s location.]

—

380 points. It was likely a higher score because all the opponents in this battle had been hard-mode players.

Looking around, Taesan saw that no one else had arrived yet. He waited in silence.

It was a long time before Lee Taeyeon finally appeared. Panting heavily, she caught her breath.

“Phew, barely made it.”

Shortly after, Kang Junhyuk arrived as well, looking just as exhausted as Lee Taeyeon.

[All winners have been determined. Moving to the next battlefield in one hour.]

“Taesan, something’s off. Those Americans… they’ve completely lost it…”

Lee Taeyeon muttered, glancing around. Then her eyes widened in surprise.

“Huh? Why is it just us here?”

“Because everyone else was taken out.”

Taesan replied. The realization dawned on Lee Taeyeon, and her expression twisted.

“…Seriously?”

“Look around. Isn’t it obvious?”

“Damn it.”

Lee Taeyeon muttered in disbelief. She understood why this had happened.

“Damn special rules. Why would anyone even create something like that?”

“The reason is obvious.”

Taesan smirked.

The special rules that hadn’t existed in his previous life had been added for a simple reason.

The God of Despair didn’t want Taesan and Amelia to meet. They wanted to bring him down before that could happen.

That’s why health was capped at 100, and defense was removed. They even added a rule awarding extra points to the country with the most survivors, hoping American players would band together to eliminate Taesan.

‘But this is disappointing. Did they think something like this could kill me?’

The attempt to exploit his carelessness with mere hard-mode players was clumsy at best, especially for a plan orchestrated by a god.

‘Are they preparing something bigger?’

Perhaps the goal was to have Amelia confront him directly. If Amelia defeated him, her arrogance would only grow.

But that wasn’t necessarily bad for Taesan.

If a god made a move themselves, it meant he had an opportunity to gain something as well.

It was the first time a transcendent being had gone to such lengths to crush him.

And that made him excited. The time to meet Amelia was drawing near.