Ascension Through Skills
Chapter 386: The Sixth Return, Earth (3)

One week later, the Wave would begin. People’s faces hardened as they prepared for it with tense expressions.

The first step was to exchange information with other groups.

In India’s case, they hadn’t communicated properly, so they needed to first connect with the groups in North Asia. Fortunately, unlike India, these groups readily accepted the proposal.

Kim Hwiyeon, along with several Hard Mode players, Kang Taesan, and a few players from North Asia, met together.

“I am the leader of this group and a Solo Mode player from Russia. My name is Viktor Stanichin. Just call me Viktor.”

“I’m Kim Hwiyeon. I’m a Hard Mode player.”

“Hard Mode?”

Viktor tilted his head slightly.

“I thought there were quite a few Solo Mode players here. How come you’re the leader?”

“I didn’t want to be the leader.”

Taesan said calmly. Viktor looked at Taesan.

“…Are you the one Oliver was talking about?”

“Oliver? Do you mean Oliver Khan?”

“We were friends even before the world turned into this mess. We talked about many things. Most of them were about you.”

Viktor quietly looked at Taesan and spoke.

“We plan to cooperate with you. To be precise, we intend to move according to your will. In this situation, it’s better to follow one clear will than having multiple leaders.”

Kim Hwiyeon’s eyes widened.

“Is that true?”

“After all, our numbers are not large. Compared to you, our numbers are quite pitiful.”

Initially, not many people lived in North Asia. Even though Russia was included, the number was at best similar to Japan. Viktor spoke calmly.

“The bigger group consumes the smaller one. It’s only natural.”

“Thank you.”

Kim Hwiyeon sighed in relief.

Seeing the Indian players reject them, they thought Russia would be the same, but fortunately, they understood each other well.

“But there’s one condition.”

“A condition…?”

“Kang Taesan. The strongest player on Earth that Oliver Khan talked about. I want to test you.”

Taesan looked at him silently. Viktor gave him a look of distrust.

“Oliver. That guy isn’t one to lie, but… frankly, it’s hard to believe.”

Oliver had said Amelia was a monster. She’s someone who couldn’t be defeated even if they all attacked together.

And Taesan, he was such a strong player that even Amelia would be powerless against him.

He said that even if all the players in the US gathered, they wouldn’t be able to defeat him.

Viktor couldn’t believe those words.

“If he’s that strong, why are there so few survivors?”

“That’s…”

Kim Hwiyeon found it hard to answer. Even if he said it was because such a strong monster appeared, Viktor wasn’t in the mood to listen.

Viktor spoke with force.

“We came here with our collective strength. We defeated monsters and arrived here without relying on anyone. We survived as humans.”

His voice was filled with deep pride.

Kim Hwiyeon couldn’t understand it.

“…How did you survive with such pride?”

“What?”

“How do you still have such composure?”

They didn’t have the luxury to feel pride.

In the midst of terrible despair, they were barely surviving, and without relying on Taesan, they would have all gone mad.

“What are you talking about?”

“…Never mind.”

Kim Hwiyeon closed her mouth and looked at Taesan. Taesan nodded.

“It’s fine. What are you going to do?”

“Come over here.”

Viktor stood up.

Where they went, numerous players were waiting.

“All the players here are Hard Mode players. Among them, there are three thousand at the top. You just need to withstand our combined attacks for one hour.”

Viktor said as if making an excuse.

“Don’t think it’s too much. In the end, we have to entrust our lives to you. I want to see all your power.”

“That won’t be enough.”

Taesan muttered and shook his arms.

“Can we start?”

With his unhesitating attitude, Viktor was rather taken aback.

“Do you not need preparation time?”

“Why would I need that? There’s only a week left. Let’s finish this quickly.”

Viktor’s mind was momentarily crossed with the thought, ‘Is this for real?’

‘…No.’

But Viktor quickly dismissed the thought. He was also a strong player who had descended to the 35th floor in Solo Mode, but it was hard for him to defeat even a hundred Hard Mode players.

Let alone now, with three thousand Hard Mode players present here. No matter how strong Taesan was, he couldn’t defeat them all.

“Then.”

[The group duel is established.]

Viktor gripped his weapon with a tense expression. Given the magnitude of the fight, there were many spectators. Players from Southeast Asia and North Asia also watched with excited faces.

[The duel begins.]

Viktor leaped forward. Other Hard Mode players also rushed at Taesan simultaneously.

In an instant, Taesan’s figure vanished.

“Huh?”

Viktor’s eyes widened, and at the same time, his body flew through the air.

He wasn’t the only one. Dozens of Hard Mode players who had charged at Taesan were flying through the air all at once.

“This…”

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Taesan stomped his foot.

At first, the spectators were bursting with exclamations, but as time passed, they fell silent.

In less than ten minutes, all three thousand Hard Mode players were knocked down.

After that, Viktor no longer spoke about Taesan.

“They’re different from us. I told you, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

Kim Hwiyeon nodded with a bitter expression in response to Taesan’s words.

Korea was in a state where the power of the high gods was significantly concentrated.

And because of that, people in other regions had a lot of leisure.

They had the luxury of not giving up the pride and what they had built.

Although they were clearly on the same Earth facing the invasion of the high gods, the situation was completely different.

Players from other regions, who believed they could win if they joined forces, couldn’t understand the players who followed Taesan.

They must have thought that worshiping and relying on Taesan was weak and foolish.

“You can curse me if you want. In some ways, it’s my fault.”

“No. It’s something that would have come up eventually. Thanks to you, we experienced it early, which is rather fortunate. But… India must be rejecting us for the same reason, right?”

“That’s right.”

In the case of Russia, their numbers were extremely small. And their leader was friends with Oliver, so they had already heard stories about Taesan. Some coordination was possible.

But India was different.

Their numbers were not small compared to theirs. There was no reason for them to bow down like Russia did.

And unlike Viktor, they likely had only accessed information about Taesan through the community.

Only now did Kim Hwiyeon understand why the leader of India had acted that way.

“What are you going to do?”

“…But we are survivors who have survived together. If we leave things as they are, it will be dangerous.”

The upcoming Wave would be different from anything before. Kim Hwiyeon clenched her fist.

“We need to talk to them somehow.”

“Good luck with that.”

Kim Hwiyeon kept her word.

She first observed the Indian players who had set up camp at a distance to gather information.

As a result, she could learn a few things.

First, their leader, Hassan, seemed to have very little influence.

He was running around trying hard, but people didn’t really follow his words. Instead, they paid more attention to a few players dressed flamboyantly.

But those players didn’t seem stronger than Hassan.

To understand why, Kim Hwiyeon focused her observation on them and discovered another fact.

“What’s this? They still believe in religion?”

“Hinduism, I think?”

It wasn’t just one or two. Most of the players they observed still seemed to believe in Hinduism. It was something they couldn’t understand at all.

In the end, after much deliberation, Kim Hwiyeon decided. She would go to them personally.

She approached them with Junggeun and several Hard Mode players.

“Everyone! I am Kim Hwiyeon, the leader of Korea!”

She shouted desperately in front of their camp.

“The Wave will start soon! It will be very different from what you’ve experienced! We must prepare by joining forces!”

But no one listened.

Only a few glanced at her, but there was no further reaction. They ignored her as if she didn’t exist.

As if they would be punished just for making contact, they kept their distance.

Just as Kim Hwiyeon was about to continue shouting without giving up:

“It’s noisy.”

One person appeared from among the crowd.

He was adorned very extravagantly. Wearing luxury items and a necklace made of jewels that seemed out of place for the situation, he looked like a nouveau riche.

“…Who are you?”

“I am a Brahman.”

The caste system of India came to Kim Hwiyeon’s mind. The highest class among them was the Brahman.

The man in front of her was someone with influence.

Kim Hwiyeon decided to persuade him.

“You have won until now, I know that. But things are different now. With us…”

“Get lost.”

The man cut her off.

He clicked his tongue, sending a scornful look her way.

“We do not speak with the likes of you, who are weak, cowardly, and infidels.”

“…Huh?”

“Worshipping humans. You have no shame. You dare to speak to us?”

His expression was filled with endless contempt and disdain.

Kim Hwiyeon’s face hardened.

“You are weak, so you only hope for someone to help you. We have no intention of associating with such pathetic beings. Get lost.”

“…You!”

The face of the Hard Mode player behind Kim Hwiyeon turned red.

It was an insult to their lives, their struggles. They couldn’t ignore it.

But Kim Hwiyeon held out her arm to stop him.

With a stern look, she asked:

“I guess there’s no point in talking to you. Where is Mr. Hassan?”

“…You mean that Hassan guy.”

The man frowned.

“I told him to bring back some information, and he came back with useless talk. This is why the lower ones are no good.”

Hassan called himself their leader.

But there was no sign of respect or honor in the man’s attitude now.

“He is our leader. We won’t let him talk to the likes of you. I will not allow it. Go back.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Kim Hwiyeon was dumbfounded. If so, what was the point of Hassan coming to meet them alone?

She wanted to argue, but the man turned away as if he had nothing more to say.

“Anyway, when the Wave starts, creatures like you, who can’t survive without relying on someone, will all be wiped out. I have no interest in talking to ghosts. If you survive, I might listen a little.”

“Ha.”

Kim Hwiyeon burst into a hollow laugh.

Kim Hwiyeon returned without any results.

She wasn’t the only one trying to talk. Other Hard Mode players, Lee Taeyeon, and Kang Junhyeok also attempted to speak with them.

But each time, the flamboyantly dressed men, who claimed to be Brahmans, appeared and blocked the conversation.

They mocked them, throwing out all sorts of contemptuous words, ridiculing them. Even those who tried to stay patient began to accumulate anger.

“Can’t Big Brother do something about this?”

“No need.”

Taesan said indifferently.

He saw no reason to waste his energy on something that would resolve itself over time.

Thus, resentment started to build between them.

“What should we do?”

Kim Hwiyeon bit her lip.

She wasn’t shameless enough to abandon millions of people.

As she was trying to come up with a solution:

Junggeun entered her tent.

“Oh. Junggeun, what’s wrong?”

“There’s someone who wants to see you, noona.”

“…Hello.”

“Ah.”

Kim Hwiyeon’s eyes widened.

The leader of India, Hassan, entered the tent with a gloomy face.

“How did you get here? They wouldn’t let us meet…”

“Even in India, I’m the strongest. I can hide from them for a while.”

Hassan said with a sigh.

With that answer, Kim Hwiyeon realized something.

“You think differently from them, don’t you?”

Hassan nodded in agreement.

“Could you call Mr. Taesan? And the other Solo Mode players too?”