Ascension Through Skills
Chapter 389: The Sixth Return, Earth (6)

“……You! You! You!”

A Hard Mode player, belatedly regaining his senses, pointed at Taesan.

“You lunatic! Attacking us! Are you out of your mind?”

Hearing the commotion, people began appearing one by one. The Hard Mode players and those of India’s Chandala and Sudra classes, were already surrounding them, watching silently.

“I told you, they wanted to join me. You tried to kill them. I just retaliated.”

Taesan responded in a calm, detached tone, as if questioning what the problem was.

“……This is war!”

The Hard Mode player shouted through gritted teeth.

“It’s war now! You dared to touch us! We won’t let this go!”

The Hard Mode players glared at Taesan with menacing eyes.

They drew their weapons, radiating murderous intent toward Taesan.

Taesan quietly opened his mouth.

“Really?”

“Of course! Here, you will die–”

Those words could not be completed.

The faces of the previously confident Hard Mode players all froze.

“H-heuk, heuk.”

In the forced silence, only the sound of desperate breathing echoed.

“If you really want to fight me, I won’t stop you, but it’s not a wise choice.”

“Ugh… Ah…”

The Hard Mode players began to drool. Their bodies escaped the control of their minds. Some couldn’t endure and collapsed, even shedding tears.

“You are nothing.”

Taesan spoke leisurely.

He wasn’t displaying his full strength or manifesting his will to crush them.

He merely let out a very small, insignificant trace of his aura.

Yet, just that much left the Hard Mode players unable to resist, grinding their faces against the ground.

“Ah…”

Although Taesan’s aura was focused solely on the Hard Mode players, others could still sense it. They knew Taesan was suppressing them with his presence.

“I don’t intend to hold back. Resisting me and being crushed is entirely your choice.”

The pressure weighing on them grew stronger and stronger. It became so overwhelming that they couldn’t breathe, their faces turning pale. Some even fainted.

Then Taesan withdrew his aura.

“Huff, huff!”

The people gasped for air, collapsing. Vomiting sounds echoed everywhere, and tears streamed down their faces.

“Choose as you please. Whatever you want.”

Taesan said casually.

No one dared to respond.

After the clash with Taesan.

India’s Hard Mode players fell silent. Realizing the truth, they understood that resisting Taesan was utterly futile.

Many Indian players watched this unfold.

Rumors spread rapidly. Within less than a day, every player in India knew the truth.

That India’s Hard Mode players could no longer protect themselves.

That Taesan had trampled over them all and possessed the strength to protect himself.

People in India’s faction began to leave en masse.

An uncountable number of people flocked to Korea’s faction. Korean players welcomed them without discrimination.

“Come this way! We have food!”

“Oh, oh…”

“Corn! There’s corn!”

“Even fruits?”

“Food is unlimited! Eat to your heart’s content!”

The discriminated ones naturally hadn’t been provided with adequate food. But Korea had makeshift farms. Satiated with fresh vegetables and fruits, they were deeply grateful.

Hearing this, even more people left at an accelerated pace.

One Hard Mode player, unable to hold back, drew his weapon.

“I’ll kill them all!”

The realization that he, once wielding absolute power, had been crushed by Taesan alone was unbearable. He couldn’t accept it. Even if it cost his life, he wanted to defy Taesan.

Thus, he resolved to kill the people attempting to escape with Taesan. Even if Taesan stopped him, he planned to kill as many as possible beforehand.

As he swung his sword down toward a screaming victim–

A black lightning bolt struck from the clear sky. The bolt pierced him directly, leaving the surroundings unaffected.

He collapsed, charred black.

“Ohhhhh…”

Divine punishment fell upon those who opposed him.

It was as if they had witnessed a miracle of God.

After that, no one dared to interfere with those leaving.

Before long, more than half of the people had joined under Taesan.

From the start, the group was held together by power alone. Loyalty was never part of the equation.

However, a significant number of people still remained behind. These were individuals who doubted Taesan’s power or believed he would treat them worse.

Thus, the next wave began.

[Uoooooooh!]

The monsters rampaged wildly. India’s Hard Mode players resisted but were snapped and flung aside like straw.

Failing to stop the monsters, they fled in panic. Inevitably, the monsters turned toward the Easy and Normal Mode players at the rear.

[Ooooooh!]

“Kyahhhhh!”

“Help!”

Just as the monsters were about to pounce on the people:

[Kang Taesan activated Frozen World.] [Kang Taesan activated Magic Focus.]

Crack-crack-crack!

A chilling frost descended upon the world. The monsters, ready to trample the people, froze in place.

“H-huh?”

Taesan landed on the ground. The people stared at him in awe.

Everything in front of them was encased in ice. Not a single monster remained unscathed, all buried in frost.

The monsters they would have had to risk their lives against, monsters they might not have even been able to defeat, were all dealt with in a single blow.

As the wave ended, even the remaining people began to leave.

Only India’s Hard Mode players remained. Even Hassan had joined Taesan long ago.

“……What should we do?”

They gathered to discuss.

They were out of options. Their power and authority only had meaning if there were subordinates beneath them. Nobles who were not revered by anyone were no longer nobles.

A few of India’s Hard Mode players abandoned everything and joined Taesan.

However, the majority couldn’t bring themselves to make that choice.

They were nobles. Absolute rulers. Whatever they wanted had always been granted to them.

Joining under Taesan would mean abandoning everything they had.

They could never accept that.

They decided to prove their strength in the next wave.

They resolved to demonstrate a force that even Taesan could not ignore, hoping to regain people’s respect and maintain their power.

With this conclusion, no further conflict arose for the time being.

Thus, the situation calmed temporarily.

Those who joined under Taesan integrated smoothly. They mingled with the others, listened to stories of Taesan, and gradually came to trust and rely on him.

However, they did not worship Taesan.

This was only natural. Worship wasn’t something easily achieved.

From the beginning, they were followers of Hinduism, a religion believing in gods who did not physically exist.

They strongly rejected the idea of worshiping a human. While they trusted Taesan, their belief stopped short of worship.

To make them worship Taesan, what would be necessary?

The method wasn’t difficult. They believed in non-existent mythology.

So, he simply had to show them power worthy of myth.

[Special Quest Started.] [The final wave begins.] [Wait Period: One Week.] [Defeat the attacking monsters.] [Rewards will be distributed upon returning to the Labyrinth based on performance.]

The final wave.

People sighed in relief, believing this would be the end.

But Taesan thought differently.

“They’re too weak.”

Up until now, they had only faced a few A-ranked monsters. He had expected at least a couple of double-digit S-ranks, but none had appeared.

The High Gods were pouring everything into this final wave.

Taesan silently prepared for what might emerge.

Time passed, and the day of the wave arrived. People, faces tense, formed ranks and waited.

Ssssht!

The air split open, the rift enormous in size.

[Uoooooooh!]

An uncountable number of monsters appeared.

The scene was literally a flood stretching to the horizon.

[Monster 44 has appeared.] [Monster 92 has appeared.] [Monster 421 has appeared.]

Among them were double-digit-ranked monsters. Just as the people clenched their teeth and prepared for battle:

Crunch.

“…Huh?”

A confused voice echoed.

The monsters weren’t charging toward the people.

Instead, they were rushing toward a tiny black orb within their ranks.

The orb began to grow.

Crack.

The monsters that touched the orb were crushed and absorbed into it. But the monsters didn’t stop. Triple-digit monsters, double-digit monsters—all of them started being drawn into the orb.

Before anyone realized, the number of monsters that had once filled the horizon had drastically decreased.

In proportion to this, the orb grew larger and larger. What had been the size of a grain of rice was now as large as a human.

Even though the monsters were disappearing on their own, no one rejoiced.

An instinctive dread crept over them.

Crack.

The last monster was swallowed, and the orb trembled.

The distorted, shaking orb turned into a formless monster.

Grooowl.

It descended upon the earth. Taesan frowned.

“This is troublesome.”

[!#$!# has appeared.]

“……Huh?”

India’s Hard Mode players froze mid-charge.

When the wave began and the monsters appeared, they had gathered together to charge at them.

They had planned to unleash their strength in one decisive strike, showcasing their power in front of everyone.

Though it would expose them to the monsters, they were confident in surviving as Hard Mode players.

But this was wrong.

The formless entity that had devoured the monsters emitted no discernible power.

Yet, they instinctively knew it was dangerous. It wasn’t powerless—it had reached a dimension beyond their comprehension.

“R-run…”

As they turned to retreat, the monster looked at them.

“Huh.”

The moment its gaze fell upon them, their faces froze.

Their faces turned pale, and their legs gave out.

Blood trickled from their eyes and noses.

“Save…”

The Indian Hard Mode players collapsed.

And they never rose again.

“..Huh?”

The other people, realizing something was wrong, froze in fear.

Lee Taeyeon trembled violently.

“W-what is that?”

She felt a primal aversion.

Something deep within her, lying dormant, screamed in terror.

It was a fear and dread she had never experienced before.

“Agh…”

Taesan glanced briefly at Lee Taeyeon. It wasn’t an incomprehensible reaction.

“Even when time rewinds, some traces remain.”

The formless monster.

Taesan had seen it in his previous life.

That monster was the Apostle of the High God that had killed both Taesan and Lee Taeyeon.

“So, you’ve sent it down directly?”

Taesan bared his teeth, a delighted smile spreading across his face as if he couldn’t contain himself.

The monster looked at them.

[!#$!#’s gaze.] [You will die instantly.]

Its gaze enveloped the people.

Breaths stopped.

Souls began to separate from their bodies.

It was the gaze of instant death—an absolute will that no one could resist, except Taesan.

As Taesan prepared to unleash his divine power to block it, a vast presence enveloped the people.

The gaze of instant death was erased.

“Huff, huff!”

“What is this…?”

“Huh?”

Lee Taeyeon’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Taesan spoke.

“You’re descending already?”

[Given the circumstances, it’s warranted.]

With a relaxed voice, a god revealed themselves.

[The God of Choice, Maria, descends upon Earth.]