As Taesan showed interest in the wrist guard, the shopkeeper spoke.
"That's a fine piece of equipnt. Are you interested?"
"I don’t have enough money."
The wrist guard was priced at two million gold. Taesan only had one and a half million gold. Even if he sold all the spare equipnt he had, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.
‘It’s a sha.’
A piece of equipnt that could halve all incoming damage without any conditions. Its value was imasurable.
When combined with the Sturdy effect, the damage taken would only be 25%.
It was certainly valuable, on par with the equipnt Lee Taeyeon wore.
But he lacked the gold. With his return to Earth coming up, he couldn’t afford to gather more.
‘Even if I could buy it, would it still be worth it?’
The wrist guard was the problem. Taesan already had the Wrist Guard of World Alteration.
The Wrist Guard of World Alteration, which interfered with the laws of the world, didn’t fall behind the Dark Silver Wrist Guard in terms of value.
But it was still a regret. Taesan shook off his thoughts and looked at the other equipnt.
After scanning the available items, one piece caught his attention.
‘An accessory.’
Specifically, a ring.
With the rging of the twin rings, he now had room to wear another ring. That spot needed to be filled.
Taesan focused on the rings and selected one.
[Ring of Revenge Revisited]
[Strength 10%]
[Agility 10%]
[Intelligence 10%]
[Attack Power 500]
[A ring given by the one who governs the realm of revenge, to their favored.]
[The damage you receive is accumulated within the ring, and it can be triggered to release at your command. It resets after the battle.]
[1,500,000G]
The basic stats were already superior, and it had a special effect. The damage Taesan took would be accumulated and could be unleashed as a force when needed.
Taesan’s current health exceeded 300,000, so accumulating that much damage and releasing it would have the power to deliver a devastating blow, like a finishing move.
"I’ll take this one."
"Is that so? Fine."
Taesan paid the gold and purchased the ring. As the shopkeeper began to tidy up, he shook the Dark Silver Wrist Guard.
"You seed interested in this one."
"I don’t have enough gold, and the slot for it is a bit awkward. It’s fine."
"Well, let know later. Depending on what you do for , I might just give it to you."
The shopkeeper grinned.
Taesan left him behind and opened the community chat.
There was very little ti left before his return. The community was bustling with conversations.
Humanity’s union.
People seed excited about the news.
Taesan participated in the discussions.
As the leaders of various factions and solo players were talking about matters on Earth, Oliver Kan posted sothing with a curious tone.
[Oliver Kan [Hard]]: "I know this sounds like old news, but humanity is finally united."
[Daniel Darmong [Hard]]: "...It seems so."
Among the surviving nations, there were so that had been hostile toward each other.
But under the threat of the High Gods, they had all co together.
[Oliver Kan [Hard]]: "Once we crush all those invaders, will we finally find peace?"
[Alia Erin [Alone]]: "Stop spouting nonsense. Do you even know how many have died and been killed to get here? That’s not going to happen."
[Oliver Kan [Hard]]: "I guess a little hope is okay. But I just think... even after everything ends, there’ll be more fighting. It’s exhausting."
The conversation continued.
They organized their thoughts and discussed strategies.
It wasn’t a short conversation. It lasted a long ti.
And now, the ti for the return to Earth was truly almost here.
[Oliver Kan [Hard]]: "Then I guess it’s ti to wrap things up. Let’s all survive and see each other again."
[Kim Huiyeon [Hard]]: "See you later, Taesan."
[Lee Taeyeon [Alone]]: "See you on Earth. I’ve got a surprise to tell you."
[Alia Erin [Alone]]: "I’m looking forward to it, Kang Taesan. I’ll show you the power I’ve gained!"
Taesan chuckled briefly.
[Kang Taesan [Alone]]: "I’ll be looking forward to it."
He gave a short reply.
At the sa ti, the world twisted.
The labyrinth grew distant, and his world—Earth—ca into view.
Taesan did not resist the pull that drew him.
And he arrived on Earth.
[Special Quest: Start]
[You have two days to prepare. Establish order and get ready for the upcoming travels and battles.]
[The more influence you have, the more points you will earn when you return to the labyrinth.]
"Two days, huh."
Taesan turned his gaze.
What he saw were the ruins of the world and the people.
They were not panicking. They had steeled themselves and were moving quickly.
It seed they had already made plans, as a few groups began to gather around specific individuals.
After so many returns, people had beco seasoned experts.
And soon, they noticed Taesan.
"Oooh!"
"Taesan-nim!"
They cried out as they rushed toward him. They tried to offer their prayers, but hesitated.
"Why are there so many of you?"
"Is this your world... it’s filled with an awful aura."
Beldenkia clicked his tongue, and Diana, with a somber face, looked up at the sky.
The sudden appearance of the clearly out-of-place pair bewildered the crowd.
***
Kim Huiyeon quickly gathered people and compiled information.
She then brought together the people who would lead.
However, they hesitated to speak.
They glanced at Taesan, who stood beside them.
Standing next to him were Beldenkia and Diana.
"Quite different," Beldenkia muttered as he observed them. Kim Huiyeon cautiously asked.
"U-um, Taesan, who are the people next to you...?"
It was obvious they were not ordinary people.
Beldenkia appeared to be of European descent, but there was sothing about him that suggested he was from a completely different world. He didn’t seem like he belonged to humanity.
Diana was even more striking. With her long blonde hair, she was extrely beautiful and exuded an aristocratic air.
She looked like a princess.
Most of all, there was an undeniable presence about her.
Though they were trying to suppress their powers as much as possible, it was clear that they weren’t ordinary beings.
Taesan answered.
"Allies."
"Allies...?"
"In Alone Mode, there are NPCs. I made a contract with them. We asked for their help during our return to Earth."
"Hmm, so they're aliens?"
"From our perspective, yes."
A ripple of surprise spread among them.
NPCs only existed in Alone Mode. They had heard about them from Taesan and Lee Taeyeon, but this was the first ti they had seen them in person.
"I knew we weren’t the only ones in the universe, but it feels strange to et them like this."
"No need to be startled. We’re here to help you," Diana said with a soft smile. Her warm expression montarily distracted everyone.
Lee Taeyeon watched them with a look of so concern.
Kim Huiyeon quickly composed herself and bowed.
"I look forward to working with you."
"Let’s overco this together," Diana said, and Kim Huiyeon nodded.
"Now, let’s get organized. Fortunately, not many have died while descending through the labyrinth."
Once they reached a certain depth, people rarely suffered serious injuries or death. The difficulty of the labyrinth increased, but because they were in large numbers, they were able to manage.
"So, how many floors have you reached?"
"Hard mode players have reached the 77th floor," ca the answer from one of them.
"I’m at the 58th floor," another replied.
"I’m at the 72nd floor," said Lee Taeyeon.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Lee Taeyeon.
"Really... that fast?"
"There are people faster than . What about you, Taesan? What floor are you on?"
"87th floor."
Taesan answered.
A hushed gasp spread among them.
"...That’s not far off."
"As I said before, we don’t know. The difficulty will increase once we reach the 90th floor."
With that, they had roughly confird the situation.
The rest of the conversation focused on leadership and strategy, so Taesan didn’t intervene. He took Beldenkia and Diana and moved toward the outskirts.
"You were right. It’s truly different than I expected," Beldenkia said, clicking his tongue.
"You’ve reached the 77th floor? I couldn’t even reach your level. The labyrinth has beco so segnted. It’s beyond even the God of Falling. What is this High Gods power capable of?"
Taesan explained to them about Easy, Normal, and Hard modes.
However, he didn’t ntion that Alone Mode had also been copied.
The idea that the NPCs had been copied might be too difficult for them to accept. Since the magician had found a thod, Taesan planned to leave that matter to him.
That’s why there had been so miscommunication when Taesan t Lee Taeyeon.
"Wow... this is strange when I see it like this."
Lee Taeyeon gave Beldenkia a curious look.
She had t Beldenkia in both her past and present lives.
But she had never been able to fulfill Beldenkia’s wish.
Now, Beldenkia had realized his wish and was here, so Lee Taeyeon couldn’t help but feel a strange emotion.
Beldenkia seed to have sensed this and asked Lee Taeyeon.
"You’re quite impressive. No, you’re at quite a high level."
"Of course. I’ve actually cleared the labyrinth," Lee Taeyeon said with pride.
"Huh? But I don’t rember eting you."
"Well, there were circumstances that prevented it."
Lee Taeyeon awkwardly changed the topic.
She then started talking to Taesan.
"You said 87th floor? Are there any floors I might recognize?"
"No. Most of the floors have changed."
"I see... Well, considering your current strength, I can clear the floors I’ve already cleared pretty easily. That much is to be expected."
"If you’re on the 72nd floor, you must have encountered the Pathfinders."
"I did. Fought them. Won."
Lee Taeyeon said proudly.
Taesan was a bit surprised.
From his judgnt, Lee Taeyeon hadn’t yet reached the level where she could defeat the Pathfinders.
"Who did you fight?"
"The Fire Elental King. Vishnu."
"You managed to handle the King’s Domain?"
"I have Maria’s authority. I erased it with that."
"...Choice Exclusion."
Vishnu wasn’t particularly formidable, except for his King’s Domain.
Taesan had struggled only after Vishnu used the King’s Domain. Before that, Taesan had the upper hand without using any special cards.
But even so, winning was impressive. Lee Taeyeon had definitely grown stronger.
"Why don’t you try fighting Beldenkia over there? He’d be a suitable opponent for you."
"I don’t think I can beat him... but I’ll try."
Lee Taeyeon responded sowhat reluctantly.
She went up to Beldenkia and challenged him to a fight, which Beldenkia accepted readily.
The battle began, and Lee Taeyeon fought desperately but ultimately lost.
However, she imdiately challenged him again.
"That’s impressive."
Kim Huiyeon, who had been watching their battle, couldn’t help but express her admiration.
"Is it true that Diana is even stronger?"
"Much stronger. Even if Lee Taeyeon and Beldenkia tead up, they wouldn’t stand a chance."
"Really? That’s amazing."
Kim Huiyeon clenched her fists.
"With those two around, we should be able to survive without too much trouble."
Taesan didn’t say anything.
Both his past and present lives had changed significantly. The quests on Earth were no exception.
It was likely that the mories of his past life would no longer be very useful.
The High Gods would now actively target Taesan, and they would try to kill people.
But they would win. Just like always.
And so, after two days.
A new quest began.
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