Ascension Through Skills

Choi Junghyeok looked over the large room with satisfaction.

The city hall was packed with so many people that all the rooms were filled to the brim.

But he was using this large room all by himself.

“This is power.”

It was too good.

He had struggled and built up his influence for this.

“You brat, are you enjoying yourself?”

A woman with long hair asked derisively. Beside her, a young boy with a tense expression was biting his lip.

Their bodies were wrapped tightly in thick chains.

Junghyeok scoffed at them.

“Why wouldn’t I enjoy it? It’s a power you ignorant people will never possess.”

“You’re playing around. If it wasn’t for your tricks, you’d be dead.”

Lee Taeyeon gritted her teeth, and Junghyeok nodded in agreement.

“Well, I’ll admit that. You’re strong.”

He was speaking nonchalantly, but it was a miraculous level of strength. With herculean power enough to bend the chains and cause cracks in the wall, he would have been shattered had they clashed head-on.

‘But luck is on my side.’

Junghyeok smirked.

A special quest to go outside of the labyrinth. While everyone was happy, Junghyeok was covered in goosebumps.

He thought he could never meet with those in Solo Mode.

If their posts in the Community were anything to go by, clearing Solo Mode was as challenging as Hard or Normal Mode, making them an appropriate opponent.

So he had openly shown his malice and contempt for them, and in this way, he had come outside.

He didn’t think that all the posts on the Community were true, but if even a part of them were, his own meager power would literally be shattered. He had been worried and tried to find a way, but he ended up coming outside without any particular method.

But if there was a lucky point for him, he had been summoned near city hall, so he was able to enter the place without meeting a single monster.

He quickly realized that the people who were making a fuss about Solo Mode were very weak and quickly captured them. There was resistance, but he suppressed them surprisingly easily.

If the Community was right about the madness, everyone would be focused on surviving.

So he let his guard down. He and Lee Taeyeon appeared, and they tried to capture them by force.

“Monster-like bastards.”

Junghyeok clicked his tongue. These two were different. Junghyeok tried to capture them, but he repelled the Easy Mode players trying to capture them in one blow. With their momentum that was like a bull’s, he had no choice but to run away in surprise.

But he won.

“That’s why people should use their heads.”

The captured Solo Mode users. As he took their lives, hostage, the two had no choice but to be captured obediently.

“Idiots.”

Junghyeok scoffed at the two. The chains wrapped several layers around them, and even they could not escape.

“Whether it’s a hostage or whatever, you should have stepped up. That’s why you guys are getting caught.”

He was different.

He was on the devouring side, even on Earth.

He deceived the foolish people with false contracts, cheated them out of their money, and repeatedly ran away.

He thought of himself as a winner. It didn’t change even when he entered the labyrinth.

“All of you are too stupid.”

They entered the labyrinth into a world without laws or order, where lives were on the line. In that case, it was only natural for people to adapt and live according to that world.

But everyone tried to uphold the law and order from Earth. They all tried to help each other and be together.

He wasn’t that stupid.

Junghyeok quickly entered the labyrinth and figured out the difficulty level. He was the first to realize the separated dimensions and drew a few conclusions.

The number of people who could enter the labyrinth was limited. Even if dimensions were split, there were so many Easy Mode players that there couldn’t be an empty dimension.

In other words, it could be controlled.

Along with that conclusion, he moved quickly.

He absorbed those who were a little ahead of the pack.

There was no law or order.

Just by giving a light push, people tended to go crazy.

So he gathered people and began to control them.

At first, quite a few resisted, but with violence and persuasion, their control soon became commonplace.

Except for a few who resisted, everyone followed his words.

It was too captivating.

“After all, it’s a place where people gather, and it’s as ugly as that.”

Taeyeon scoffed at the sight of Junghyeok leaning back leisurely on the sofa.

“Yeah. You did really well. How long can you survive living so diligently like that?”

Junghyeok snickered.

Certainly, he had chosen Easy Mode. Its limitations were clearly distinct.

Taeyeon and Junghyeok, the players of Solo Mode, were really strong. The Hard Mode players who came from outside also had power incomparable to his.

No matter how strong he got, there was a wall he could never catch up to.

“Power isn’t everything.”

One rule that existed from Earth. Power and position had no correlation.

He was ruling Easy Mode. There was a difference in power, but he had far more numbers. It was the law that the side with more voices won, so he planned to somehow use that as a basis.

These people were for that purpose.

If he could hold onto the other guys from Solo Mode, he could use them to his advantage.

“Scumbags.”

Good people.

But they were weak.

So they had the privilege of being used by someone as clever as him.

“The future is bright.”

“I think so too.”

There was a loud explosion, along with a noise outside the door.

Bang!

“Ah!”

Junghyeok flinched and bent over.

Dust spread out thickly in the air.

“What the!”

A man with a languid face was standing at the door.

A man with a grim expression.

His lean muscles were visible.

Junghyeok.

A familiar face appeared.

And there was another one that he missed in a different sense.

A youthful face that was different from his memory. Her emotions were visibly changing on her face, maybe because she was still immature.

Taeyeon was looking at him blankly, tied with chains.

‘It’s been a while.’

They had spoken several times through the Community, but seeing her in person brought fresh emotions.

For a moment, Taesan turned his gaze away from the girl.

A young boy’s face, blankly staring at him, just like her.

“You’re Kang Junhyeok, right?”

“Ah, yes. Yes…”

Kang Junhyeok, who was tied in chains, hastily nodded. Their gaze was not towards Taesan but to his side.

“That is…”

[Oh? It seems these guys can see me.]

The ghost muttered at the sight of their gaze towards him.

“We’ll talk later.”

Step by step.

Taesan moved forward.

Startled for a moment, Junghyeok held back his laughter.

“I see. You’re Kang Taesan, right?”

“Ah…”

Both Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok exclaimed.

‘He’s younger than I thought?’

While Taeyeon was thinking to herself, Taesan silently stared back at Junghyeok. A chill went down his spine at the intense gaze, but Junghyeok tried his best to ignore it.

He had hostages. Judging from the fact Taesan broke the door, he was definitely strong, but he couldn’t lay a hand on him.

“Hyung!”

Junggeun, supporting Hwiyun, arrived late.

“Ugh… Junggeun, thank you.”

Hwiyun staggered as she stood up. The girl who had been glaring at Taesan momentarily bit her lip as she looked at Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok, who were tied up in chains, and at Junghyeok.

“You…”

“Seems everyone who needs to be here is here.”

Junghyeok leaned against the couch with a nonchalant attitude.

Hwiyeon spoke coldly.

“Enough is enough. If you cross this line further, I won’t stay quiet.”

“What gives you the right?”

Junghyeok instead retorted.

“Did I kill anyone? Did I do anything? I’m just holding them back because we’re all fighting each other. Why are you pressuring me so much?”

“This…”

Hwiyeon clenched her teeth.

She had heard things too. Among the Easy Mode people she had saved, there were those who talked about Junghyeok. There were also mentions of the people he’d taken care of without anyone knowing.

But there was no evidence.

If the opponent was a monster, she could easily deal with it, but with a human, she was at a loss.

In the end, Hwiyeon gave up and asked calmly.

“What is it that you want?”

“What I want?”

“Don’t dodge the question. You must want something, which is why you’re causing such a ruckus.”

At her cold words, Junghyeok smirked.

“Simple. Give me the authority.”

“To you, who’s from Easy Mode?”

“I know you guys are strong. But has anyone here ever commanded anyone before?”

Hwiyun couldn’t respond. As an ordinary college student, her experience commanding people was limited to leading a group project. She obviously had never managed a large number of people before.

“I’ve managed people many times.”

“There must be many people who can say the same.”

“Sure, there may be some among the Annyang people. But have they managed an entire mode like I have?”

Junghyeok spoke confidently.

“I’ve overseen both Earth and the labyrinth; that’s what I’m saying.”

Hwiyeon couldn’t find words to refute him when he put it like that. The fact was that he had managed the entire labyrinth in some way.

“I want one thing. My safety. And authority. Guarantee me these two. Then I’ll release these people.”

Junghyeok spoke leisurely, confident that his opponent would accept.

They had killed monsters, not people. Regardless of how he appeared, he assumed they would only imprison him, not kill him.

Hwiyeon couldn’t reply. The still-young girl couldn’t decide what was right.

“Can I decide this on my own…”

“If you, a Hard Mode person, can’t decide, who will? Are you planning to leave it to those with flimsy power on Earth?”

Hwiyun hesitated. She was still young. It was hard to respond when her opponent asserted so strongly. It seemed like she was about to agree.

“If they assure you, what happens next?”

Taesan, who had been silent until now, spoke up. The interruption in the conversation made Junghyeok’s face contort.

“Do you think that assurance will save your life? If we twist your neck off here, who will be shouting that a promise wasn’t kept? Who will punish your killer?”

Taesan spoke indifferently.

“You are mistaken.”

Junghyeok thought he was smart. He oppressed people without respecting order or law.

But he had forgotten that he himself wasn’t protected by order or law. Taesan took a step forward. Junghyeok flinched at the advancing Taesan.

Seeing the bottomless depths in Taesan’s eyes, Junghyeok realized.

That the man in front of him was not one who adhered to order or law like him. A creepy sensation washed over Junghyeok’s body.

“Don’t come!”

Taesan didn’t answer. Seeing him approach slowly, Junghyeok quickly picked up his radio. He planned to tell those holding the hostages from afar to kill one.

As he was about to speak, the sound of the wind splitting rang out.

Crack.

The radio in his hand was crushed by Taesan.

“What?”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.

The fact that the radio ended up in Taesan’s hand meant he had moved and taken it. But she hadn’t seen anything.

“You, you brat!”

Junghyeok gritted his teeth. He wasn’t just bluffing with a single hostage. He pulled the lever.

Rumble!

With the sound of something collapsing, iron bars fell from the ceiling.

“Die!”

The massive iron bars fell, accelerated by gravity. Taesan didn’t avoid the iron bars that could crack the ground and bring down the building. The iron bars hit Taesan hard.

[Taesan's shield has been activated.] [0 damage to Taesan.] [0 damage to Taesan.] [0 damage to Taesan.] [0 damage to Taesan.]

Kicking aside the fallen iron bars, Taesan moved forward again.

“Wha, what…”

Junghyeok’s mind froze at the system window that appeared in front of him.

Players had defense stats, but not enough to withstand iron bars of that size. He had already tested it. Even those with a defense of 5 took nearly 20 damage.

0 damage? He took no damage at all?

He couldn’t hide his terror and screamed.

“Come out!”

Crash!

The doors inside the building opened, and people rushed in. More were waiting outside, swarming to surround the building.

“Why are there so many?”

Junggeun, who had been watching in a daze, was horrified. Hundreds of people surrounded them.

Junghyeok yelled harshly.

“Kill him!”

Taesan watched the hundreds of people impassively.