Since this was his first return, the remnants of civilization were still present, unlike prior to his regression. Taesan looked up and saw a giant skyscraper that was piercing the sky.
[Wait. Wait. What's this?!]
The ghost muttered in a voice full of astonishment.
[...Where is this?]
“My world.”
The world he had lived in and was chased out from. Earth.
That place was now welcoming Taesan.
[How am I here? Why am I here?]
The ghost was still apparently flustered.
Taesan quietly waited.
A few minutes later, the ghost, who had barely managed to calm down, began to organize his thoughts hesitantly.
[...Is this what you meant by leaving?]
“That’s right. It’s a form of being forced out in the form of a quest.”
[Since I'm an entity tied to you... is this possible?]
“I was also doubtful.”
The ghost was tied to Taesan due to the quest. He could not leave until the boss on the 10th floor was defeated.
Then what would happen to the ghost’s existence when Taesan descended back to Earth?
Things from the Labyrinth belonged to the Labyrinth. However, when descending to Earth, there was a way to bring all the items with him.
The ghost was no different from the items. He belonged to the Labyrinth, possessing self-awareness but no freedom.
In other words, from a judgment standpoint, the player’s ownership takes precedence.
He had thought there was a possibility.
However, items and lifeforms were fundamentally different. He was more inclined to the idea that it would be impossible, yet there was no issue in bringing him to Earth. The ghost also organized his thoughts.
[I was bound to you by a quest and forced to follow, huh? This is interesting. So there was such a judgment...]
Looking at Taesan, the ghost admired his new surroundings.
[So this is your world.]
The ghost looked around as if he had found it interesting.
He then swallowed his breath at the sight of the skyscraper.
[How was that made? Is it a building made by demonic beings? Are there followers of the demon king in your world too?]
“It’s just a building.”
It was a unique statement to say that the building belonged to the followers of the demon king.
[A building? What's that?]
“A tall structure.”
The ghost was a being who lived in a fantasy world. It was quite plausible for such architecture to be absent there.
“You can think of it as a regular structure.”
[A regular building like that...]
A voice filled with awe echoed through the air.
Concrete.
Walls made of bricks, assembled without an inch of error.
Uniquely shaped objects.
The lines of telephone poles extending to the sky.
The ghost, who verified each one, couldn’t hide his admiration.
[You said there's no magic in your world. To think you created all these with just human strength... And what's that?]
The ghost, who was fluttering around, pointed at a car.
“Would you understand if I say it’s a carriage that moves without horses?”
[No horses? But how does it move?]
“I don’t know about that either.”
Most people did not know how a car’s engine worked to move its frame. With Taesan’s words, the ghost realizes one fact.
[...There are quite a lot of them.]
Cars were placed on every road.
[In my world, there were carriages that worked on magic, but they were very few, and only the nobility could use them. So, cars are common items that even commoners can use, right? The fact that you don't know how they work means that the technology here has developed quite a bit. What a wonderful world.]
A voice filled with awe echoed.
Taesan couldn’t help but laugh at the typical reaction of a character from a fantasy world in a novel when exposed to modern civilization.
“That’s how it used to be.”
Now it didn’t matter. They had lost their civilization to the monsters.
Taesan looked up at the sky.
There was a wide-open hole peeking between the clouds.
“Do you feel anything?”
[Huh?]
The ghost, who had barely calmed down, belatedly noticed the hole in the sky.
[... What's that?]
“That’s what is trampling on our world.”
In 2020, at the start of the New Year, the sky split, and the monsters appeared. From there, monsters emerged and trampled upon the earth.
[Hmm... It feels different. I can feel a completely different energy. I think I'll need to get closer to understand it.]
“…”
Taesan didn’t have a skill that would allow him to ascend to the sky right now.
Not even mentioning Big Leap; he didn’t even have Leap right now. There might be helicopters left, but Taesan was just an ordinary person. He didn’t know how to operate them.
‘I should move first and see.’
Cracks were present not only in the sky but also on the ground.
Taesan looked around. It was a familiar landscape of countless one-room quarters.
When the selection box suddenly appeared, he returned to the location from where he had left his house.
At that time, there were people making a lot of noise, and there were also those screaming.
However, now, he didn’t feel any signs of life around him.
It was the same as before.
At that time, he was flustered, thinking he was left alone, but now he knew the reason.
The selection box appeared to them as the sky shattered, but not all humans made that choice.
In the first place, there were few who clicked on the suddenly appearing selection box.
They chose to remain on Earth, hiding themselves, hoping that the government would rescue them.
‘They must have all died.’
The selection box disappeared over time.
The place where he was now was Anyang, in Gyeonggi-do.
Out of a population that exceeded 500,000, only 100,000 survived during the first return.
[But what are we supposed to do here? Just survive?]
“No.”
Whether the one who sent the monsters had a conscience or it was for a more enjoyable direction, they gave at least a minimum guideline.
A system window appeared.
[Special Quest Initiated] [Head to Anyang City Hall.] [Condition: Arrive alive.] [Reward: Differential payment depending on success when returning to the labyrinth.]
A quest had appeared. Everyone in Anyang would have received the same quest window.
Taesan started to move. He slowly moved his steps towards the road.
He couldn’t feel any sign of life.
There was no sign of monsters either. He casually strolled into a convenience store that was still in good shape.
A nauseating smell wafted from items like bananas and sandwiches.
About three months had passed, so anything that could spoil had spoiled.
Taesan picked out some Spam from the selection. As a canned product intended for long-term storage, it was still fine amidst the foul smell.
He picked up a few items and walked outside. He opened the Spam and extended his hand.
[You have activated a fireball.]
Whosh.
A fire flickered above his hand.
He placed a piece of the cut Spam on it.
Sizzle.
The Spam cooked in the air, releasing a delicious smell. He put a piece of properly cooked Spam in his mouth.
He laughed.
He didn’t particularly like Spam. He thought it was cheap food with a ton of salt sprinkled on it.
But now, it tasted so good.
In that spot, Taesan finished off a can of Spam. The ghost, who had been silently waiting, asked.
[Are we moving now?]
“Let’s get going.”
Something would legitimately start once they arrived at Anyang City Hall. They needed to move first.
Taesan began to move.
The distance to the city hall wasn’t far.
It was within the city limits.
It wouldn’t take long for an average person to reach it by foot; with his current stats, it wouldn’t even take five minutes. Not just Taesan, most people would arrive quickly.
But the enemies wouldn’t stand still.
Groan.
A monster revealed itself.
[Monster 4516233121 has appeared.]
Its form was similar to a slime. Its black color and the numerous short tentacles at the bottom were the only differences.
A ten-digit monster.
As a contracted monster, it was one of the weakest and appeared earliest. Even players in Easy Mode could easily defeat hundreds of them.
Groan.
The monster crawled on the ground and rushed towards Taesan, attempting to grab his head with its short tentacles.
Taesan reached out his hand.
Grab.
Groan. Gurgle.
The monster was caught. It struggled to escape, but Taesan’s firmly grasping hand didn’t even flinch.
A repugnant sensation could be felt across his hand.
“What is this thing?”
[Hmm......]
The ghost scrutinized the monster from all angles.
[A servant of a god? Although it feels somewhat different.]
“You said your world was also destroyed.”
[Mine was destroyed by a Demon King. It was the end caused by an entity belonging to the world itself, not by something external. This is fascinating.]
The ghost mumbled in a peculiar tone.
[Invaders of the world? Are there really entities that would go to such lengths?]
The grumbling ghost arrived at a small conclusion.
[One thing is certain, the master of these beings is a considerably strong entity. It seems to be even stronger than Lakiratas.]
“Is that so?”
A transcendent. And one belonging to a considerably strong group. That was the identity of the enemy.
Indeed, bringing the ghost was the right decision. The ghost figured out information that he wouldn’t have known on his own. Realizing this, the ghost burst into laughter.
[Did you bring me here for this?]
“Not a bad deal either for you, right?”
[Well, yes. Knowing such a world exists is a gain for me.]
Taesan tightened his grip.
Splat.
The monster burst.
Taesan brushed off the slimy substance stuck to his arm with a sentimental expression.
‘I had to struggle so much to catch it before.’
It was not this easy in the previous world.
Even though players in Easy Mode could defeat hundreds of them, it was a story for after they had cleared the game. A player in Easy Mode, just three months into the game, would only have stats around 11.
Back then, they really fought while risking their lives. Since it was the early stage, they didn’t have any particular skills, and there were times they almost died.
Gurgle.
[Monster 4516242121 has appeared.]
He threw a punch.
The shockwave struck the monster.
Crack.
Now, they burst with just a mere gesture. He felt a big difference in these little things.
Taesan looked up at the sky.
From the opened hole, only small monsters jumped out.
‘As expected, they are not here.’
The B-class monsters that appeared when the sky first opened. They were not on the ground. Only weak monsters were showing up now, and progressively stronger ones would appear as time passed.
“The transcendent like to see mortals make an effort, right?”
[Hmm? Most of them do, yes.]
They sent enemies suitable for him one step at a time, and they got progressively stronger.
Just like a game.
Taesan began to walk.
The journey monsters constantly blocked Taesan’s path, as if trying to stop him from reaching the City Hall. Their movements were consistent.
Of course, they were not much of a match for him.
The enemies were calibrated to the average strength in the game. He casually fended them off and moved forward.
The ghost asked in a puzzled tone.
[Is it far away?]
“It’s close.”
With Taesan’s current stats, it would take less than five minutes, but he was walking leisurely.
[Why are you going so leisurely?]
“I have someone to meet.”
[Ah, I see.]
The ghost seemed to understand
[You're meeting those guys you've been teaching. I was curious about who they might be since you go through so much trouble teaching them. You want to find and help them?]
Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyuk. Both of them lived in Anyang.
He could find them right away if he wanted to, but Taesan shook his head.
“Not them. There’s no need to rush; we’ll meet them anyway.”
Both of them were strong. They would be able to dodge the monsters in their path and reach City Hall.
‘Around here.’
Taesan was walking, recalling the words he had heard in the past.
He felt a presence.
A human was approaching him. It was fast. Comparatively, the person seemed like a worm compared to Taesan, but generally, the speed was high.
“Hello?”
The man who appeared had a friendly smile. With a pleasant smile, he greeted Taesan.
Taesan nodded. For a moment, the man was taken aback by his composed demeanor.
“Ah, you seem calmer than I thought. Haven’t you encountered any monsters?”
“I did.”
“Oh, really?”
Whether the man recognized Taesan’s strength or not, he reached out his hand with a bright face.
“Seeing you for the first time, you don’t seem to be in Hard Mode… Maybe Normal Mode? I am Geum Junggeun of Hard Mode.”
Junggeun, who seemed more youthful than Taesan remembered, smiled warmly.
“Please take care of me in the future.”
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