Chapter 389
“…You! You! You!”
A Hard mode player who came to his senses late pointed a trembling finger at Taesan.
“You crazy bastard! You attacked us! Are you insane?!”
The commotion drew attention, and people began to emerge—Hard mode players, and those labeled as Chandala or Shudra, encircling and watching the scene.
“I told you. They wanted to become my people. And you tried to kill them. I only retaliated.”
Taesan answered with an indifferent voice, as if nothing was wrong.
“…This means war!”
The Hard mode player clenched his teeth and shouted.
“This is war now! You dare lay hands on us?! We won’t let this slide!”
The Hard mode players glared at Taesan with bloodshot eyes.
They drew their weapons and sent waves of killing intent toward him.
Taesan spoke quietly.
“Really?”
“Of course! You’re going to die he—”
But the words never finished.
The faces of the previously confident Hard mode players all froze.
“H-Hrk.”
Only the ragged sound of forced breathing could be heard amidst a suffocating silence.
“If you really want to fight me, I won’t stop you… But it’s better if you don’t.”
“U-ugh… ahh…”
The Hard mode players drooled helplessly. Their bodies moved without their minds’ consent. Some collapsed and began sobbing.
“You’re nothing.”
Taesan said leisurely.
He hadn’t shown direct strength, nor unleashed his will to suppress them.
He merely released a tiny fragment of his presence—a mere sliver.
That alone left the Hard mode players grinding their faces into the dirt with no resistance.
“Ah…”
Though Taesan’s presence was concentrated solely on the Hard mode players, the others could still tell—he was overwhelmingly dominating them.
“I’m not going to meddle. Whether you resist and disappear, or not, is your choice.”
The pressure grew heavier. Their faces turned pale as they could barely breathe. Some even fainted on the spot.
Taesan calmly retracted his aura.
“Huff…!”
People collapsed, exhaling violently. Retching sounds broke out all around, as tears streamed down their faces.
“Choose freely. Do as you wish.”
Taesan spoke calmly.
No one answered.
—
After the clash with Taesan—
India’s Hard mode players went silent. They had realized that resisting him was futile.
And countless Indian players had witnessed it.
Word spread quickly. Within a day, every player in India knew the truth:
India’s Hard mode players could no longer protect themselves.
Taesan could crush them all and had the power to protect everyone else.
People began leaving the Indian formation in droves.
Literally uncountable numbers flocked to Korea’s formation. Korean players welcomed them without discrimination.
“This way! We have food!”
“O-ohh…”
“Corn! There’s corn!”
“Even… even fruit?!”
“We have unlimited food! Eat as much as you like!”
Those who had been discriminated against hadn’t even received proper rations.
But Korea had [Makeshift Cultivation] and plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. After eating their fill, they felt joy like never before.
And upon hearing that, even more rushed out.
One Hard mode player, unable to endure it, drew his weapon.
“I’ll kill them all!”
He, who once held absolute power, had been crushed by a single man—Taesan.
He couldn’t accept it. Even if it cost him his life, he wanted to spite Taesan.
So he decided to kill the people trying to escape with Taesan.
He knew Taesan would try to stop him, but planned to kill as many as he could before that.
Just as he raised his sword to strike—
A black bolt of lightning crashed down from the clear sky.
It pierced him cleanly—without touching anything else. His body burned pitch-black as he collapsed.
“Oooohhh…”
Heavenly punishment upon those who defy him.
It was like witnessing a divine miracle.
From that moment, no one dared to touch those who fled.
Before long, over half the population had joined Taesan.
It had always been a power-based society.
Loyalty meant nothing.
And yet, many still remained.
Those who doubted Taesan’s power, or believed he would discriminate against them even more.
Then the next Wave began.
[Uwooooooh!]
Monsters rampaged. India’s Hard mode players fought back, but they were snapped like twigs and sent flying.
Unable to stop the monsters, they fled in panic.
Naturally, the Easy and Normal mode players behind them were left exposed.
[Ooooooh!]
“Kyaaaah!”
“Help us!”
Just as the monsters pounced—
[Kang Taesan has activated Frozen World.]
[Kang Taesan has activated Magic Focus.]
Crackkk!
A wave of frost descended upon the battlefield.
The monsters trying to crush the people froze in place.
“Wh-what…?”
Taesan landed.
Everyone stared blankly at him.
Everything ahead was frozen solid.
Not a single monster remained unfrozen, all entombed in ice.
The monsters that required risking one’s life to fight, those that might be unbeatable—
Taesan had ended them in one blow.
As the Wave concluded, even the remaining people began to flee.
Now, only the Hard mode players remained in India.
Even Hassan had joined Taesan’s camp long ago.
“…What do we do?”
They gathered to discuss.
There was no answer.
Their so-called power only had meaning if others existed beneath them.
A noble unacknowledged by others was no longer a noble.
A small number of India’s Hard mode players abandoned everything cleanly and joined Taesan.
However, most of them couldn’t bring themselves to choose to come under Taesan.
They were nobles. Absolute beings. Whatever they desired, they attained.
To go under Taesan would mean giving all of that up.
They had no intention of doing so.
They made a decision—to demonstrate their strength in the next Wave.
They resolved to prove themselves with a level of power Taesan couldn’t ignore, shift public perception, and reclaim their authority.
With the conclusion reached, further clashes stopped.
The situation gradually settled.
Those who had joined Taesan blended in without difficulty. They mingled with others, listened to Taesan’s words—
And slowly began to trust him.
But they didn’t worship him.
It was natural. Worship wasn’t something that came easily.
They had believed in Hinduism—the worship of gods that didn’t actually exist.
The idea of worshiping a fellow human was something they instinctively rejected. They trusted Taesan, yes—but worship was still beyond their reach.
So then—what would it take to make them worship Taesan?
The method wasn’t complicated.
What they believed in were myths that had never manifested.
All Taesan needed was to display power that could only be described as mythic.
[Special Quest Begins]
[The Final Wave begins.]
[Countdown: One week.]
[Eliminate all incoming monsters.]
[Rewards upon returning to the dungeon will vary based on performance.]
The final Wave.
People sighed in relief, thinking it was finally over.
But Taesan thought differently.
“Too weak.”
So far, only a few A-class monsters had appeared. He expected at least a couple of S-class ones, but they hadn’t even shown up.
The Old Gods were pouring everything into this final Wave.
Taesan quietly prepared for the enemy to come.
Time passed—and the day of the Wave arrived.
People lined up with tense expressions, waiting.
Crack!
The sky tore open. The rift was massive.
[Uwooooooh!]
Countless monsters appeared.
So many that they filled the horizon entirely.
[Monster 44 has appeared.]
[Monster 92 has appeared.]
[Monster 421 has appeared.]
Among them were double-digit monsters.
Just as people gritted their teeth, ready to fight—
Crack.
“…Huh?”
A confused voice rang out.
The monsters weren’t charging toward the players.
Instead, they were rushing toward a small, dark orb that had appeared among them.
Crunch.
Any monster that touched the orb lost its form and was sucked into it. But the monsters didn’t stop.
Three-digit monsters, even two-digit monsters, were all pulled into the orb.
Before anyone realized it, the number of monsters filling the horizon had greatly diminished.
And proportionally, the orb grew larger. What had once been the size of a grain of rice was now as large as a person.
Though the monsters were disappearing on their own, no one felt joy.
A primal sense of dread overwhelmed them.
Crackkkk.
The last monster was devoured, and the orb trembled.
The writhing, pulsating orb became an unidentifiable creature.
Grrrrk.
It descended upon the earth. Taesan frowned.
“This is troublesome.”
[!#$!# has appeared.]
“…What?”
India’s Hard mode players froze mid-charge.
They had planned to rush in together when the monsters appeared—to unleash their power at once and prove themselves.
It meant exposing themselves to the front lines, but they were confident in their survival as Hard mode players.
But something was wrong.
From the creature that had devoured all the monsters, they felt no energy.
Yet, they instinctively knew it was dangerous.
Not that it lacked power—rather, it existed on a level beyond their perception.
“R-run…”
As they turned to retreat toward the other people, the creature looked at them.
“Ah.”
The moment its gaze met theirs, their faces froze.
Their skin turned pale. Their legs gave out.
Blood streamed from their eyes and noses.
“Help…”
India’s Hard mode players collapsed where they stood.
They never rose again.
“…Huh?”
Only then did others begin to realize something was horribly wrong. Their faces turned grim.
Lee Taeyeon trembled.
“W-what is that…”
It triggered an instinctive sense of rejection.
Something deep inside her screamed in terror.
It was a fear and dread she had never experienced before.
“Aah…”
Taesan glanced at the shaken Lee Taeyeon. It wasn’t an incomprehensible reaction.
‘So something still lingers even after time rewinds.’
The unidentifiable monster.
Taesan had seen it in his previous life.
It was the Apostle of the Old Gods that had killed him and Lee Taeyeon.
“So they sent that thing down directly?”
Taesan bared his teeth.
A delighted grin spread across his face, as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.
The monster turned toward them.
[!#$!#’s Gaze]
[You will die instantly.]
Its gaze swept over the people.
Their breath stopped.
Their souls began to slip from their bodies.
It was a gaze of instant death—an absolute will that no one but Taesan could resist.
Just as Taesan was about to release [Divinity] to block it—
A powerful presence enveloped the people.
The gaze of death vanished.
“Hah… hahhh!”
“This is…”
“Huh?”
Lee Taeyeon’s eyes widened.
Taesan spoke.
“You’re descending already?”
[Given the circumstances, I figured I should.]
With a relaxed voice, a god appeared.
[Maria, the God of Choice, descends upon Earth.]
