Chapter 4
Tae-san did his best against the Apostle.
With the little mana he had recovered, he used every skill and item at his disposal to buy time, searching for even a sliver of possibility.
But he lost.
“Damn it.”
Tae-san cursed with a distorted face.
“So this is how it ends.”
His appearance was dire. Half of his lower body had melted away, and it felt like his internal organs had oxidized; he couldn’t feel anything inside.
If it weren’t for his pain-blocking skill, he would have been screaming in agony.
“I lost.”
Even in the best conditions, he couldn’t have guaranteed victory against such an opponent. In his near-death state, there was no chance for him to overcome.
[Your health has reached 0. Indomitable activates. You are forced to survive for 1 minute.] The system window obstructed his view. Tae-san dismissed it with an annoyed face.
“Let’s go quietly, shall you?”
Indomitable was not a recovery but a delay of death. Without a means to heal, he would die in a minute.
The Apostle, knowing this, calmly observed from beside Lee Tae-yeon’s body.
Tae-san looked up at the sky. Monstrous creatures were continuously emerging from a giant rift.
“Useless fools.”
What was the point of being a Hard or Solo mode player, or the only one of your kind?
They were all weaker than Tae-san, an Easy mode player. If there were just two Tae-sans, humanity could have lasted much longer.
“Focused on clearing without gaining real strength.”
However, Tae-san’s limits were clear. The growth limit set by each difficulty level existed, and as an Easy mode player, he had reached his given limit but ultimately couldn’t overcome the limitations of his stats.
“This sucks. Really.”
He felt wronged.
If only he hadn’t chosen Easy mode.
Even Normal mode would have been better.
He wouldn’t have died like this.
He could have won against the Apostle.
A single choice twisted everything. He didn’t express it, but inside, he was twisted with rage and frustration.
Why were you so weak even after choosing Normal or Hard mode?
Why did you advance through the labyrinth so poorly and gain such feeble power?
If they had followed even half of Tae-san’s path, humanity could have won.
“…Is it over?”
Tae-san smirked bitterly.
After all, it was the past, and his choice. Blaming others was pointless. He composed himself.
Humanity was at its end.
Players would continue to appear, but without a city, they couldn’t do anything significant. Essentially, humanity was as good as extinct.
As he resignedly accepted his death, something caught his eye.
“What’s that?”
Lee Tae-yeon’s right hand was clutching something. The tightly clenched fist indicated it wasn’t ordinary.
And the Apostle was right beside Lee Tae-yeon’s body.
As if it was guarding something.
“Ugh.”
Tae-san crawled towards it. As he approached, the Apostle attempted to kill him.
“Stay still.”
[You have activated Last Chance. You can use one skill without any conditions. This skill cannot be activated again for a year.] [You have activated Temporary Time Stop. Time stops for 2 minutes within a 100m radius centered on you.] Tae-san reached Lee Tae-yeon’s body. Opening her right hand revealed a dark stone.
“…Check.”
[The Gallstone of Ouroboros] [The gallstone of a god governing the cycle of everything.] [Can revert the time of one person once.] [Unused.] “What?”
Reverting time. That sentence stopped Tae-san in his tracks.
“Could it be…?”
Why Lee Tae-yeon had this and didn’t use it until her death remained a mystery, but the question quickly faded.
“…”
Tae-san stared at the stone intently.
[The sky cracks open, and monsters emerge.]
The power emanating from the monster enveloping the sky was beyond the Apostle.
Even at his best, Tae-san would have struggled to win.
With a smirk, he clenched his fist.
“See you next time, kid.”
[Item used.] [Time interference.] The world flipped.
The collapsing world vanished.
In its place was a worn-out studio apartment.
Tae-san’s pupils dilated.
“…This place.”
An old computer. A stained blanket. Mosquito blood smeared on the walls.
This place was in his memory.
Before everything crumbled, when the world was as we knew it. When status windows were a joke.
It was his studio apartment.
“Status window.”
He muttered the usual term, but nothing appeared.
He looked at his body. It was lean but filled with muscles. To survive the dreadful labyrinth, he had no choice but to train.
But now, his body was frail and weak, typical of an ordinary man.
“Huh.”
Tae-san chuckled.
It was clear.
He had returned to the previous world.
“Delivery!”
The delivery person shouted at the door of the studio apartment. Moments later, a man appeared.
“Thank you.”
“Uh, yes…”
The delivery person shivered momentarily.
The man’s eyes were calm, resembling a monk who had practiced for years.
The man calmly asked the stunned delivery person.
“Hasn’t it been paid for already?”
“Oh, right. Yes. Enjoy your meal.”
The delivery person snapped out of it and hastily left. The man brought in the pizza box.
Opening the box, a smile formed on the man’s lips.
“How long has it been since I had pizza?”
He couldn’t remember. Carefully taking a slice, he savored the taste of cheese and toppings.
The taste of civilization. It was moving. In a world on the brink of destruction, there was no time to make pizza. The only things he had eaten were monster carcasses and potatoes, making this moment precious.
The man, Tae-san, chewed each slice thoroughly. After about four slices, he felt full.
“Phew.”
His stomach was satisfied. While waiting for the pizza, he had assessed the situation.
‘There was an item to reverse time.’
The labyrinth contained all sorts of things, but this was unexpected.
Since he knew everything about the Easy difficulty, it must have been an item unique to Solo difficulty. Considering the equipment Lee Tae-yeon had used, it wasn’t unbelievable.
Tae-san was puzzled.
“Why didn’t she use it until the end?”
Having such a means, she must have said something to him at the end.
But why she saved it and died to the Apostle was a mystery. Knowing her, she would have escaped long ago.
“Thanks to that, I got it.”
Consumable items become unbound upon death. Thanks to that, Tae-san could acquire her item after she died.
“Who knows.”
But now it was his.
Tae-san quietly looked at the clock.
‘January 1, 2020.’
Precisely at the start of the New Year, the sky split open, and monsters appeared.
Now it was December 31, 2019. 11:30 PM.
In 30 minutes, the world would change.
Tae-san recalled that moment.
In a world where monsters appeared, the system window said,
The world will be destroyed.
Monsters will appear.
But you have a chance.
Gain strength in the labyrinth and save your world.
Amidst confusion and fear, choices of Easy, Normal, Hard, and Solo difficulties appeared.
Everyone chose in a panic. It was the only way to escape the collapsing world.
Choosing the difficult path was rare. Tae-san had chosen Easy mode.
It was his weakness.
‘You’re useless.’
A phrase he heard from his parents since childhood.
Parents are supposed to believe and nurture their children, but Tae-san was different. To his parents, he was just a stress reliever.
He was a victim of violence from a young age. Eating once a day was common, and verbal abuse was routine. If not for the pity of some merchants, he might have died.
Why were you born, they said. You’re useless, they repeated.
In such an environment, Tae-san became inhibited. He believed he was worthless and useless, just as they said.
‘I didn’t know my talent.’
In the labyrinth, a place where life was at stake, Tae-san awakened his talent.
He was stronger than anyone.
Despite being an Easy mode player, he surpassed Hard mode players, breaking the basic concept that one’s skill is limited by difficulty level.
Tae-san checked the clock.
58 minutes.
2 minutes left.
He stepped outside. The night sky, adorned only by the moon, was beautiful. He had lost memory of such skies.
1 minute.
At this moment, everyone was counting down. Hoping for a good year.
30 seconds.
Unfortunately, with the New Year, the world collapses.
15 seconds.
A precursor appears.
A crack forms in the black sky. It’s so subtle that only those with keen eyesight might notice.
5 seconds.
Boom!
A loud sound echoes. The crack widens enough for everyone to notice.
People murmur from all sides.
“Did you hear that noise?”
“Is someone selling fireworks?”
And 1 second.
The world collapses.
As the world crumbles, Tae-san alone looks up at the sky.
Crack.
The crack widens. Now, no one can ignore the anomaly. Everyone screams and looks up.
“Aaaaah!”
Growl…
Monsters emerge from beyond the crack.
A black monster with reptilian hands peers down at the earth from the crack.
At that time, it was just panic, but now he knows. It’s a B-class monster. A level a Hard player can handle without much trouble.
Unaware of this, people panic and flee. But there’s no safe place on the ground, and there won’t be any safe places to go.
‘About time.’
Tae-san’s prediction comes true as the system window obscures his view.
[Hello.] “What?”
“What’s this?”
Even those fleeing stop at the sudden appearance of the window. Unperturbed, the system window continues to appear.
[Your world will be destroyed by invaders. The weapons you’ve worked hard to build are useless against them.] Guns and nuclear bombs were ineffective against the monsters. They were creatures from another dimension. To attack them, we needed to gain power from another dimension.
[But don’t worry.] [A benevolent being, feeling pity for you, offers you a chance.] Tae-san scoffed.
‘Benevolent my foot.’
He still didn’t know the exact nature, but he had a rough idea.
It wasn’t a benevolent being. Just a being amused by our plight.
[We offer you a choice. Choose where you wish to go! Enter the labyrinth. Clear it to gain power.] [And come back to save your world.] Choices appear before Tae-san.