Ascension Through Skills

“That’s it.”

Taesan sheathed his sword. Lee Taeyeon, who was struggling to keep up, lost her strength and collapsed.

“Ah…”

“My, my arm won’t rise.”

Like Lee Taeyeon, Kang Junhyeok was also sprawled on the ground, groaning.

“Is, is it over?”

“You can’t even move, so it ends here. Even if we continue, it seems like nothing will change.”

Using a recovery potion restores health but not mental strength. They had already been dueling for over three hours, so they were likely reaching their limits.

“Phew.”

Kang Junhyeok and Lee Taeyeon sighed in relief, and the ghost seemed very displeased.

［Fools. Do you think it's common for the strong to teach you for free? You don't even think about recovering and fighting, and you've already lost your spirit? Truly weak.]

“That’s…”

Kang Junhyeok closed his mouth. They knew since they had descended far enough.

Every battle was a life-or-death struggle. Gaining a means to become stronger without risk was a definite privilege.

“But…next time.”

Today was no more. Kang Junhyeok hit his head on the ground.

[Tch.]

The ghost clicked his tongue, seemingly displeased, but there was no point in urging those who had reached their limits, so he didn’t say more.

Kim Hwiyeon, who had been quietly watching, muttered.

“He really… has become strong.”

Kim Hwiyeon’s face was full of surprise.

“He was surely similar to us on the last return…”

Since they fought together, Kim Hwiyeon knew well about the strength of Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok.

They weren’t that different from them, definitely strong but not astonishingly so. That was Solo Mode.

So, she thought that Solo Mode wasn’t much different from Hard Mode, considering how outstanding Kang Taesan was.

But this battle broke that thought.

The movements of Kang Junhyeok and Lee Taeyeon were clearly surpassing her level. Taesan said,

“In the beginning, there’s not much difference. But as time passes, the gap widens, and eventually, it becomes uncatchable.”

Indeed, Lee Taeyeon was also similar to a Hard Mode player until the second return in his previous world. It was from the third and the fourth that she became evidently stronger.

“Do you want to try too?”

Taesan swung his sword. Geum Junggeun’s eyes lit up.

“Is it okay?”

“I don’t care today since I have no particular plans.”

“Then, excuse me.”

Geum Junggeun drew his sword.

“Wo! Ah-”

“I’m tired……”

The next day, Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok walked with tired faces. Geum Junggeun wasn’t much different. They were in no condition to exert their full power.

Still, dealing with monsters wasn’t a problem. The monsters appearing now were mostly of the same level, and from now on, they wouldn’t pose a significant threat to those above Hard Mode.

“Eek!”

“Block it!”

But it was different for the Easy and Normal Mode players. They had to do their best even to deal with one monster.

Taking down one took a long time, so the number of monsters they managed to defeat was not large. Most of the monsters were defeated by the Hard Mode players, Lee Taeyeon, Kang Junhyeok, and Taesan.

‘It was like this before.’

It was the inherent limitation of Easy and Normal Modes. As time went on, the difference would only increase.

Taesan sorted his thoughts and dealt with the monsters.

What followed was a repetition of similar events. They advanced while dealing with monsters and rested in suitable buildings. At night, they practiced, calling on Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok and occasionally Geum Junggeun and Kim Hwiyeon.

The more they practiced, the better their movements became.

And three days later.

They were able to arrive at Yongin City Hall.

“We are here!”

“Hooray!”

Seeing the silhouette of Yongin City Hall, people embraced each other in emotion.

“Everyone! We haven’t arrived yet! Don’t let your guards down!”

Lee Taeyeon shouted to calm the people, but her face could not hide the joy.

They arrived earlier than expected. The number of people who died on the move was countable.

It was all thanks to Taesan.

Every time a monster appeared, thanks to him moving quickly and dealing with it, there were no deaths except for those who ran away in fear or sneaked out at night.

“Thank you! Mr. Taesan!”

“Thanks is enough. Let’s go in.”

“Yes!”

Kim Hwiyeon ran in, smiling.

“Wow.”

“It’s huge!”

Yongin City Hall was incomparably larger than Anyang City Hall. There were various buildings on a large site, large enough for all of them to enter with room to spare.

At the entrance of City Hall, there was a guard. Seeing the group, he panicked and raised his spear.

“Who are you!”

“We came from Anyang… huh? Aren’t you Baekun?”

Kim Hwiyeon, speaking with a tired face, was surprised. The man called Baekun also looked surprised seeing Kim Hwiyeon.

“Hwiyeon Noona?”

“What the… You were here too?”

“Yes. Weren’t you here too, Noona?”

“Yes. Lucky you. Being in Yongin, you don’t need to move.”

Kim Hwiyeon sighed deeply. Baekun gave a bitter smile and lowered his spear.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll call the king.”

“King?”

Kim Hwiyeon sent a puzzled look, but Baekun didn’t answer and quickly went inside. A man appeared shortly after.

A stern-faced man with a sporty haircut. Seeing him, Kim Hwiyeon was again surprised.

“Seo Jangsan! You were here too!”

The man with the sporty haircut looked surprised to see Kim Hwiyeon.

“Kim Hwiyeon. Is that you?”

“Yes! Nice to see you!”

Kim Hwiyeon spoke with a joyful face. They seemed fairly close.

But compared to Kim Hwiyeon, Seo Jangsan had a vague expression. He seemed pleased yet uncomfortable. However, he quickly masked it so no one noticed except Taesan. Seo Jangsan extended his hand with a smile.

“Nice to meet you. Welcome to Yongin.”

Hmm.

“But why are there so many? How many are there?”

Seo Jangsan looked at the large group with a bored face. It was a number difficult to count.

“About twenty thousand in total.”

“…Twenty thousand? How?”

Seo Jangsan was baffled. It was a number hard to comprehend with his understanding. Kim Hwiyeon pointed at Kang Taesan, Lee Taeyeon, and Kang Junhyeok with a smile.

“Remember what I mentioned in the labyrinth? There are exceptionally strong Solo Mode people on my side. Thanks to them.”

“Ahh….”

Seo Jangsan’s face twitched.

“The ones frequently mentioned in the Community, those people?”

“Yes.”

“Is that so……”

A strange gaze was directed at Lee Taeyeon, Kang Junhyeok, and Kang Taesan. Kang Junhyeok, feeling momentarily uncomfortable, frowned.

Before he could object, Seo Jangsan clapped his hands.

“You’ve all worked hard to get here. Rest until the quest is over. I will guide you.”

“Yes! Everyone! Please come in!”

The people entered the premises of City Hall with cheers.

As they entered, Kang Junhyeok muttered.

“Why is he looking at us like that?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Didn’t you feel it, Noona? It was a really annoying gaze.”

Kang Junhyeok thought the other party would be happy. The Earth had turned into hell, and he had enough power to significantly influence everyone’s survival.

However, the gaze Seo Jangsan directed at Kang Junhyeok was as if looking at an intruder.

Lee Taeyeon stumbled over her words.

“I, I don’t know. Aren’t you mistaken?”

“It was too clear to be a mistake. Didn’t you feel it, Hyung?”

“I wonder.”

Taesan spoke lethargically. Kang Junhyeok frowned at his lack of concern.

“Is it my imagination?”

“It probably isn’t.”

“So, did I see it correctly?”

Seeking agreement, Kang Junhyeok looked at Taesan.

“Just rest for now. Aren’t you tired?”

“…I am tired.”

Kang Junhyeok rubbed his eyes. They fought monsters while moving and practiced with Taesan while resting, so he was mentally exhausted.

“I’ll go rest for a bit then.”

“I will go meet people. There should be Solo Mode people here, too, right?”

With a tired face, Kang Junhyeok, and with an expectant face, Lee Taeyeon moved.

Taesan also began to move.

There weren’t that many people in Yongin.

Counting them all, there were about ten thousand, less than the average.

And the expressions of the people walking around were of just two types.

The majority had dark, gloomy faces.

A very small number of confident and happy-looking people.

They were very contrasting.

“Ah, Mr. Taesan.”

While moving around, he ran into a cheerful Kim Hwiyeon.

“What have you been up to?”

“I went to hear some discussions about the number of people, the ratio of Hard Mode players, food, and such. I found out where the food storage is. Would you like to come with me?”

Taesan nodded his head.

The food storage was in the basement of the city hall. Inside were countless cans and instant noodles.

Kim Hwiyeon, who looked at each one, muttered.

“Except for canned food, the expiration dates are cutting it close.”

“Expiration dates are for the selling period. You can still eat things like noodles even after six months.”

“Really?”

Kim Hwiyeon’s face brightened.

“Then it’s fine. We can eat this amount for a while.”

“Not really. We are not all who are coming, right? More people will come.”

“Considering those people, it is indeed insufficient.”

Kim Hwiyeon bit her lip. There were twenty cities in southern Gyeonggi. It meant ten times the current number of people would come.

“We might not need that much, but we’re short on food. We need to prepare slowly.”

They both came out after checking. Kim Hwiyeon spoke in a cheerful tone.

“But it’s a relief. It will be manageable since Jangsan is here, right?”

“Do you know each other?”

“He is someone I talked a lot with in the labyrinth. He is among the strongest in Hard Mode and makes calm judgments, so he has a lot of people’s trust. He was a bit aggressive, but it was never a problem.”

Kim Hwiyeon was a Hard Mode player on the same level as Geum Junggeun. That was also the case for Seo Jangsan.

“A bit aggressive?”

“Yeah, sometimes he said harsh things, but when everyone spoke out, he would compromise. There shouldn’t be any big problems, right?”

“I don’t know.”

Taesan knew. What Seo Jangsan did in the previous world, how many people he killed.

But that was a thing of the past. Now, no matter what, they couldn’t accept it.

Kim Hwiyeon would find out soon enough.

A day passed. There were three days left until the special quest was cleared.

Those who had been resting and wandering around realized something strange.

“There are no Solo Mode players.”

Lee Taeyeon said with a baffled face.

“Really, not even one.”

“Did they all die? Honestly, besides us, surviving is hard.”

Most Solo Mode players were weaker than Easy Mode players. They needed considerable luck to survive on Earth.

“Or there might not have been anyone in Yongin. There are fewer Solo Mode players.”

“… Is that so?”

Lee Taeyeon conceded with an uncomfortable face. There was another strange thing.

Walking in the park, Kim Hwiyeon fiddled with documents with a puzzled face.

“The number of Easy and Normal Mode players is too low.”

In fact, having a small number was somewhat expected. Against the monsters on Earth, Hard Mode could easily win, but not Easy or Normal.

But even considering that, it was too low.

The absolute number itself was large, so the ratio had to match, but compared to the ratio in Anyang, it was only 1/3.

“And…”

Kim Hwiyeon turned her gaze with a puzzled face.

The players of Yongin also knew about her. Seo Jangsan told people that she was the administrator of Anyang, so they should treat her well.

“… they are strangely avoiding me.”

Since then, the people of Yongin tried not to meet Kim Hwiyeon’s eyes.

As if receiving punishment for looking directly, like commoners who should not look at nobles, they lowered their heads and hid their bodies.

And all of those people were Easy and Normal Mode players.