Chapter 369

While Taesan descended into the Labyrinth, he wanted to know what had the others achieved, and what had happened?

He began with Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk.

［Lee Taeyeon［Solo］: We’re down to the 40th floor.］

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: As fast as ever.］

［Amelia Aerin［Solo］: ……Already?］

Amelia quietly gasped. While she was clearing Earth’s quest, Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk had caught up to her at a rapid pace.

［Kang Jun-hyuk［Solo］: The things you taught us were really helpful in a lot of ways. There were some dangerous enemies, but we made it down without too much trouble.］

It seemed they had entered a stable zone. As long as they didn’t get cocky or overly careless, they would likely continue progressing without serious difficulty.

［Kim Hwiyeon［Hard］: We’ve gotten pretty far too. The fastest ones have cleared halfway through the 60th floor.］

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: Not bad.］

［Kim Hwiyeon［Hard］: But we’re starting to hit a wall. I think it’ll take quite a bit more time from here.］

Just as Solo mode became drastically harder at deeper levels, so too did Hard mode. It looked like they’d be stuck for a while.

［Amelia Aerin［Solo］: I need to get down there quickly. At this rate, I’ll be overtaken.］

［Daniel Darmont［Hard］: We’ve only just returned, so it can’t be helped.］

［Kang Jun-hyuk［Solo］: But with all this, when’s the next return happening? From our perspective, it’s about time a return quest came up.］

［Oliver Khan［Hard］: But we’ve only just gotten back to the Labyrinth. I doubt a quest will pop up so quickly.］

［Lee Taeyeon［Solo］: Do you know anything, Taesan?］

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: No idea.］

Taesan didn’t know either. So much had changed from his past life that his memories were no longer very useful.

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: It could come any time, or much later. Be prepared.］

［Lee Taeyeon［Solo］: Got it.］

［Kang Jun-hyuk［Solo］: Oh. By the way, how far have you gone down, hyung?］

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: 77th floor.］

［Amelia Aerin［Solo］: ……Seriously?］

The community chat suddenly stirred with noise.

［Oliver Khan［Hard］: Hah. I can’t even grasp what that means. Just how strong are you at that level?］

［Lee Taeyeon［Solo］: Are you about to clear it?］

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: Still a long way to go.］

It was possible that the time needed for the remaining floors would exceed everything he had spent in the Labyrinth so far.

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: But I’ll still finish before you guys.］

［Lee Taeyeon［Solo］: Then are you going to return to Earth first? Or wait for us at the 100th floor?］

［Kang Taesan［Solo］: Who knows.］

That too was something Taesan was still debating.

After a bit more conversation, Taesan turned off the community chat.

If it was the current Taesan, he could return faster than anyone.

What would he do with that time gap?

And how would he restore the ruined Earth?

The polluted air. The decaying land. The devastated terrain and dried seas.

In his past life, he hadn’t paid much attention to those things. Their only goal was survival. They simply needed to protect their small territory and endure against the monsters. Anything beyond that was unnecessary.

But now it was different.

What Taesan now wished for wasn’t mere survival.

He wanted to drive out the Old gods from Earth and live there once more.

To rebuild civilization, reclaim the land, and raise children.

That was the fundamental reason he turned back time.

Labyrinth players, with their enhanced bodies, could endure the polluted air. The decayed land couldn’t support normal farming, but limited makeshift cultivation was possible. However, children born anew wouldn’t be able to withstand the pollution.

And makeshift cultivation was far from a perfect solution.

With no living animals, consuming meat was also impossible.

To truly live again on Earth, not just survive, countless problems had to be resolved.

Using Labyrinth items might help, but that power was localized. The roots of Earth were damaged too deeply—it wouldn’t be easily fixed.

“What should I do?”

He had a lot to consider. For now, he believed he might find something as he descended the Labyrinth.

Taesan moved down to the 77th floor.

[77th Floor Quest Initiated.]

[Stabilize a world driven to the brink of destruction by the Old gods.]

[Reward: Bloodstained Hammer of the Cruel.]

[Secret Reward: Varies based on your performance.]

“Hmm?”

Reading the quest conditions, Taesan narrowed his eyes.

A world driven to the brink of destruction.

After a moment’s thought, Taesan nodded. Upon accepting, his body leapt across space.

Tap.

Taesan landed on the ground.

What he felt was polluted air.

And the sensation of decayed land.

And faces of people filled with deep despair.

Taesan realized it. This place was identical to Earth on the verge of collapse.

Polluted air pierced his lungs.

For someone at Taesan’s level, it was not a serious issue. Even for a normal human with no powers, there would be no immediate problem.

But as time passed and the pollution accumulated, the body would deteriorate and the mind would become corrupted.

[This quest, huh.]

“You know about it?”

［You know the Old gods want to destroy this world, right? And that countless life-bearing planets have already been destroyed as a result.］

Taesan nodded. After clearing the quest in Vekeseta, a demon had told him. That 258 worlds had been destroyed by the Old gods.

Time had passed since then, so the number had likely increased.

［The gods don’t just sit back while the Old gods attack. They try to protect the worlds under attack and drive the Old gods away. You’ve done similar quests before, haven’t you?］

The God of Magic—Zervand’s quest. The world of the Arrogant Giant.

That world was being invaded by the Old gods.

[That’s how the gods each defend their worlds. Sometimes they succeed without issue. Other times, the world is destroyed. And sometimes they manage to protect it, but it ends up devastated nonetheless.]

“This is one of those places.”

There wasn’t a shred of hope on the faces of the people walking around. A spirit confirmed it.

[This quest isn’t focused on combat. Restore and stabilize this ruined world. That’s the goal.]

Taesan gathered [Magi] and activated [Leraje’s Domain Detection]. Information about the planet poured into him.

The land where people lived was about the size of a single city. A fair number of people were surviving there.

His [Domain Detection] extended beyond the city.

He couldn’t sense any monsters from the Old gods. Considering the wide range of his detection, it was safe to say there were truly none nearby.

The goal of the quest was to stabilize this place.

Then how should he bring about that stability?

As Taesan pondered the method, someone called out to him.

“You there, young man.”

An old man waved at Taesan from inside a shabby tent.

Taesan approached the old man.

“Who are you? Haven’t seen your face before. Are you from another city?”

“Another city?”

“……You don’t know?”

The old man’s eyes widened.

“You… don’t tell me, are you from outside?”

He was likely asking if Taesan had survived beyond the city and made it here. Taesan nodded.

The old man chuckled and stroked his beard.

“Heh. I thought all the survivors outside the city had died. To think someone was still alive. It must be fate that we met. Come, I’ll tell you about this place.”

The old man led Taesan to a worn-out hut.

“Will you have some?”

The old man handed over a rusty bowl. Unidentifiable lumps floated in something resembling porridge.

Taesan shook his head. The old man laughed and sat on a broken chair.

“A survivor after such a long time. But what rotten luck. You managed to survive only to end up in a ruined city like this.”

“There are multiple cities?”

“Yes.”

The old man spooned the porridge as he spoke.

“This is one of humanity’s last cities. A place where the discarded gather—Berejiak. A city where people live simply because they can’t die.”

He spoke with a bitter expression. From his words, Taesan realized something.

“So the other cities are in better shape.”

“There are five cities in total.”

The old man began explaining slowly.

“Each one is controlled by a different group, and they’re all in conflict. Four of them are nearly equal in power—except for us, of course.”

As the old man spoke, a small presence approached. A young boy entered the worn-out tent.

“Grandpa! I’m back!”

The boy widened his eyes when he saw Taesan.

“……Who’s that?”

“He’s an outsider, came from beyond the city.”

The boy’s eyes grew round.

“An outsider? There’s a survivor out there?”

“I was surprised too.”

“Why’d he have to come to our city of all places? Should’ve gone to another one. What bad luck.”

The boy opened a pouch. Inside was moldy bread.

“Here, Grandpa. I got lucky today and found some bread. It was buried deep underground.”

The boy handed the bread to the old man like it was a real stroke of luck. The mold covered it so completely it was hard to find an edible piece.

“Sorry, but I can’t give this to you.”

The boy glared at Taesan and spoke firmly. It was the kind of determined attitude that said losing this would cost him everything.

Taesan said,

“You’re a group abandoned by the other factions.”

“Old folks and kids like us are useless to them. We were thrown away. Those who resisted or defied them all ended up here.”

The old man rubbed his lower back.

“We don’t have any power. But we survived, and we can’t die for nothing. So we’re doing our best to live.”

Taesan quietly listened to the old man.

Taesan said goodbye and walked around the city.

The inside of the city was even more horrific than he’d imagined.

There was no proper food, clothing, or shelter—people simply survived day by day however they could.

You could barely find any intact land. With no means to produce proper food, they were just barely hanging on by consuming whatever was left.

“What should I do?”

Taesan pondered silently.

His quest was to restore stability to this place.

Stability didn’t just mean survival.

It meant producing food sustainably, raising children, and being able to dream of a future.

To do that, Taesan would have to take the lead in managing the city.

He needed to find a way to expand their territory, purify the air, and create land where people could live.

Taesan realized something.

This quest was also a test of how he would restore Earth after everything ended.