Chapter 312: The Fifth Return, Earth (8)
“A double-digit monster, huh.”
Taesan calmly stared at the giant.
The players gritted their teeth.
Korean players had encountered double-digit monsters before, but for the Japanese and Chinese players, this was their first time seeing one.
The power emanating from the monster was beyond what they could handle.
Just looking at it was enough to shake their minds and send tremors through their bodies.
They instinctively knew that even if all of them charged together, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
Through the open passage, an uncountable number of triple-digit monsters began to emerge.
Each triple-digit monster was powerful enough to overwhelm dozens of Hard Mode players.
Hundreds, even thousands of such monsters surrounded them.
Yet, they didn’t despair.
They gripped their weapons with determination.
A being of absolute power stood among them. Someone who protected them and defeated monsters without fail.
Taesan’s presence kept them from succumbing to the terror of death.
They believed they could win.
With that faith, their gazes turned toward Taesan.
“Minerva. Varkaza. You know what to do, right?”
“Got it. I’ll go help elsewhere.”
[Don’t die, Master.]
“I won’t die against enemies like these.”
Minerva and Varkaza vanished. Gasps of awe came from the crowd.
Jinryong, watching their departure, looked visibly displeased.
“Wretched creatures.”
But at the same time, he saw an opportunity. If he defeated monsters that even those lowly creatures feared, he could reclaim their worship.
With that calculation, Jinryong quickly sprang into action, charging toward the monsters.
‘Thud.’
An A-rank monster in the lead lunged at Jinryong. He bared his teeth and drew upon his power.
‘Boom!’
Energy exploded.
The full power of the A-rank monster and Jinryong clashed violently.
This wasn’t one of the weaker A-rank monsters they had encountered before. This was a true A-rank, one that had slain countless Hard Mode players in Earth’s crumbling state.
‘Crack!’
Despite that, Jinryong wasn’t overwhelmed.
In fact, he was dominating.
“Hah!”
Jinryong focused entirely on the battle, forgetting his surroundings.
The power within him surged and swallowed the monster.
The monster resisted and counterattacked, but it was steadily being pushed back.
“Die!”
Jinryong clenched his fist.
The energy burst and compressed, crushing the A-rank monster completely.
“Phew.”
Jinryong wiped away his sweat and smiled victoriously. He had defeated a triple-digit monster with little difficulty.
“Behold!”
He spread his arms wide, as though declaring his dominance.
“I am your master!”
With a sneer, he turned to gauge the crowd’s reaction.
And froze.
He had been so focused on fighting the A-rank monster that he hadn’t noticed the situation around him.
What he saw shocked him.
Dozens of defeated A-rank monsters lay scattered around.
His gaze shifted hastily. Taesan was already far ahead, rushing forward.
‘Boom!’
Dozens of A-rank monsters charged at Taesan, trying to kill him.
Taesan gripped his swords in both hands and stepped forward.
[Taesan has activated Raging Gale Dash.]
‘Slash.’
The swords moved. The rushing sword wind summoned a storm, shredding everything around it.
The dozens of A-rank monsters blocking his path were all split apart.
“Ooooh!”
“As expected!”
The players, still locked in battle, let out exclamations at the sight.
Jinryong’s accomplishment of defeating a single A-rank monster barely registered in their minds.
“Th-this…”
Jinryong stammered, unable to suppress the emotions bubbling within him. Meanwhile, Taesan had already reached the giant.
[—-!]
The giant roared and raised its arm. The club it swung down carried enough power to shatter the earth.
Taesan raised his sword.
‘Clang!’
“Kyahhhh!”
The resulting shockwave sent people flying. The monsters weren’t spared either; the collision of pure force caused everything nearby to roll across the ground.
Jinryong was no exception.
“Ugh…”
Covered in dirt, Jinryong lay on the ground, staring blankly at the battle between Taesan and the giant.
‘Slash!’
With a groan, Taesan swung his sword again. The graceful arc of his blade deflected the giant’s attack.
‘Crack!’
The giant’s opening was exploited by Kang Junhyuk, who drove his weapon into it. The giant flailed, retaliating violently against the combined assault.
Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyuk planted their feet firmly, their faces set in grim determination.
‘Crash!’
Blades collided with the giant’s body.
After several minutes, the combined efforts of the two finally brought the A-rank monster down.
“This is absurd.”
Lee Taeyeon caught her breath. She and Kang Junhyuk were unparalleled, save for Jinryong and Taesan. Even if ten Hard Mode players attacked them, they were confident they could prevail.
But defeating this triple-digit monster, even with their combined strength, was no easy task.
“This doesn’t look good.”
“Indeed.”
Lee Taeyeon muttered as she glanced around.
“Ahhh!”
“Kill it!”
Players and monsters clashed, but only the players fell.
Hundreds of Easy Mode players charged a single A-rank monster. The monster shook its massive body, sending them flying, and they never rose again.
‘Boom!’
A massive A-rank monster rampaged across the battlefield. Several Hard Mode players tried to stop it but were flung away like dominos.
The situation was dire.
Easy Mode players couldn’t even sustain a proper fight. Even with Hard Mode players combining their strength, it cost hundreds of lives to bring down a single monster.
There was no balance in the exchange.
Minerva and Varkaza were still defeating monsters, but even they couldn’t handle the overwhelming numbers.
“Phew.”
Lee Taeyeon steadied her breathing.
Her entire body trembled. She wanted nothing more than to run away and hide.
But she gripped her sword tightly and pressed forward.
‘Clang!’
Her blade clashed with the monster.
She was pushed back, sliding across the ground, but quickly adjusted her stance and countered the monster’s attack. Kang Junhyuk supported her from behind.
‘Crack!’
“Kill it!”
“Crush them!”
The crowd roared.
Even as countless people fell to their deaths, their momentum didn’t wane.
In fact, it only grew stronger.
‘Boom…’
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck. The sky seemed to split apart from the clash of power.
“So this is the power of the Deep… it’s overwhelming.”
“We’ll get there too, someday. Though it’s still a long way off.”
“True, but it’s hard to even imagine it.”
Lee Taeyeon shook her head and gripped her sword.
The battlefield between Taesan and the giant was far off, but the shockwaves of their clash could still be felt.
Every time those shockwaves rippled, the people’s determination grew.
Taesan was fighting the giant—something that felt like death incarnate, a being no one thought humanity could overcome, even if the entirety of humanity charged at it.
Yet, he fought.
They believed they could win.
With Taesan’s name on their lips, they charged forward.
Even those who didn’t initially worship Taesan found themselves chanting his name, overwhelmed by the heated atmosphere and the desperate situation.
Faith in the millions began to converge.
Taesan continued to clash swords with the giant.
‘Clang!’
The shockwaves spread through the ground. Feeling the power through his blade, Taesan created some distance.
S-rank monsters ranged from 1 to 99. This monster was undoubtedly S-rank.
However, even within the S-rank, there was a significant gap between the numbers.
The monsters numbered 1 through 9 and those numbered 10 through 99 had an unbridgeable power difference.
In other words, a double-digit S-rank monster wasn’t too difficult for Taesan to handle.
Jinryong surely knew this as well.
So why had he sent out such a monster?
Taesan glanced behind him.
On the battlefield, countless players were being slaughtered by the monsters.
Meanwhile, the giant silently focused its gaze on Taesan.
It didn’t attack first but instead responded to Taesan’s movements.
“Same strategy as before.”
The enemy aimed to pin down Taesan while letting the other monsters deal with the weaker players.
It was a simple yet highly effective tactic.
This meant Taesan’s course of action was clear.
He had to defeat the giant as quickly as possible without conserving his energy.
Taesan accelerated toward the giant. The giant swung its massive club.
‘Boom!’
The mere motion of the club grazing the earth caused it to crumble.
Even so, an S-rank monster was still an S-rank monster. Its raw strength was enough to overwhelm Taesan in direct confrontation.
But speed was where Taesan held a decisive advantage. Furthermore, the giant had no special abilities, relying solely on its club.
The strategy to defeat it was simple.
Taesan dashed forward, planting his foot firmly. The giant swung its club downward to intercept him.
‘Crash!’
The impact shattered the earth beneath them, revealing its inner layers like a puzzle breaking apart. The shockwaves extended to where others were fighting.
“Ugh!”
Lee Taeyeon staggered heavily as she fought a monster. She barely managed to fend it off, glancing at the spectacle in disbelief.
“What in the world…”
The once-flat plain had turned into a fractured canyon.
It was a battle that literally reshaped the map.
Taesan raced across the collapsing terrain. Thanks to his [Balancing] skill, unstable footing posed no problem for him.
The giant saw Taesan charging and swung its club wildly, creating massive whirlwinds. A giant storm began to form.
‘Slash!’
Taesan swung his sword fiercely at the storm.
[You have activated Raging Gale Dash.]
The wind created by his sword enveloped him, allowing him to pierce through the storm.
The colliding winds dispersed into nothingness.
The giant’s strength was physical, not supernatural.
In other words, without solid footing, it couldn’t launch proper attacks.
[You have activated Earthquake.]
‘Rumble!’
The already collapsing ground began to crumble faster. Taesan opened his mouth.
“Fall.”
His declaration of will resonated through the ground, and the earth obeyed.
The ground beneath the giant gave way, causing its massive body to start falling.
The falling giant swung its arms, but without stable footing, its attacks lacked power. Taesan unfolded his wings.
[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]
[You have activated Landing.]
[You have activated Acceleration.]
‘Boom!’
Taesan’s accelerated body struck the giant’s club.
The club shook violently, causing the giant’s body to descend even faster.
Taesan clung to the giant and swung his sword.
[You have activated Partial World Alteration.]
‘Crack.’
The roots of his wrist guard expanded violently.
Everything around them began to shatter. The debris of the earth turned to dust, and the giant’s club was ground away piece by piece.
‘Clang!’
The giant’s body was split open. Taesan raised his sword.
[You have activated Critical Point Designation.]
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Conversion.]
[You have activated Addition.]
[You have activated Blade of Resolve.]
[You dealt 105,480 damage to Monster 14.]
The giant let out a pained roar as its body was driven deeper into the ground.
‘Crash!’
How far had it fallen? With a thunderous boom, the giant slammed into the ground.
It stood again, swinging its club wildly.
Taesan easily dodged the attacks, now holding a jet-black spike in his hand.
[You have activated Amon’s Jet-Black Spike.]
‘Boom!’
The giant was slammed back into the earth.
Taesan, seeing the writhing giant in agony, raised his sword.
‘Slash!’
[You dealt 26,840 damage to Monster 14.]
The giant roared as the blade pierced deep into its chest.
Its muscles bulged unnaturally, and it regained vitality, launching a frenzy of attacks.
But Taesan was no longer there.
“Berserk mode, huh?”
A common pattern for giant-type monsters. When their health dropped below a certain threshold, their strength and speed would surge temporarily.
In other words, the giant’s health had significantly dwindled. The damage it took during its fall had clearly taken a toll.
[You have activated Sabnac’s Jet-Black Thread.]
[You have activated Random Blink.]
‘Boom!’
The black threads exploded, tearing through the giant’s body. Taesan blinked randomly into the sky, landed with [Landing], and used [Acceleration] to stomp down on the giant.
[You have activated Critical Point Designation.]
He plunged his sword into the giant’s chest. The giant roared and swung its arm at Taesan, but it was futile.
[Your First Absolute Attack Nullification has been activated.]
The giant, relying solely on its physical strength, was an opponent against which attack nullification could be used almost perfectly.
While the three Absolute Attack Nullifications were activated, Taesan struck the designated critical point dozens of times. Large damage notifications continuously appeared.
Frost raged, roots that pierced the world emerged to restrain the giant’s movements, and flames that could incinerate the world engulfed the giant.
His Mana and Magi drained rapidly.
But it wasn’t a problem. Taesan drew upon his Divine Power.
His Mana and Magi replenished once more.
Taesan continued to unleash his magic.
By the time his Mana and Magi were completely drained again, the giant had fallen.
[You have achieved victory against Monster 14.]
[Your Soul Rank Enhancement has been activated. Proficiency in Twisted Spirit Coordination has increased by 4%.]
“As expected, it had a lot of health.”
Both his Mana and Magi were completely depleted. Defeating it wasn’t difficult, but its health was incomparable to labyrinth monsters.
Still, aside from its vast health pool, the giant didn’t possess any unique abilities, which made the fight shorter than expected.
With the Soul Rank Enhancement, his proficiency in [Twisted Spirit Coordination] surpassed 60%.
Taesan looked at the fallen giant’s corpse.
The giant had been strong. It fulfilled its purpose of holding him back.
But something was missing.
The gods were eyeing Taesan greedily.
They were targeting him as an individual.
For beings as voracious and powerful as the gods, it didn’t seem likely that they would refrain from attacking Taesan directly while merely focusing on killing others.
Taesan emerged from the collapsed underground battlefield and returned to the frontline.
There, people were still risking their lives fighting the A-rank monsters.
With a powerful step, Taesan crushed a monster’s head. Seeing him, their faces brightened.
“Taesan-nim!”
“You’ve won!”
Taesan didn’t respond with words but by moving his body.
With his arrival, the monsters began to fall rapidly. Seeing this, the people shouted his name as they fought.
Eventually, after some time had passed:
[Special Quest Cleared.]
The quest completion window appeared.
They had won.
The people erupted in cheers of joy.
“We won!”
“Victory!”
They looked at Taesan with eyes full of gratitude and reverence.
“Taesan-nim! Thank you!”
“Great one!”
Everyone praised Taesan. Even the Chinese players were shouting his name.
The strength of the double-digit monster was something everyone on the battlefield had felt.
For a moment, they had all been certain of their deaths.
Yet Taesan had returned victorious from such a monster.
And he was completely unscathed.
There was no one left to doubt Taesan’s power. Without him, they would all have perished. Everyone began to call his name and worship him.
[Proficiency in Divine Power has increased by 1%.]
[Proficiency in Divine Power has increased by 1%.]
[Proficiency in Divine Power has increased by 1%.]
His Divine Power proficiency rose sharply.
Taesan looked at the people.
Every gaze was focused on him alone.
And watching this, Jinryong’s face twisted in utter frustration.
