Ascension Through Skills

“Wait! We haven’t agreed yet!”

Seo Jangsan protested as he stood up. Taesan laughed heartily and raised a finger.

“It’s simple. You guys aren’t the players with the qualifications that the system speaks of.”

In the previous world, there was no event where the king was replaced. Many tried, but none succeeded.

Easy and Normal, even Hard Mode players, including Lee Taeyeon, thought it was a meaningless provision since none could change it. So, Choi Junghyuk once insulted someone by calling them an Easy Mode player when he was about to kill Seo Jangsan.

Only players with the required qualifications could request a change of king. And the criteria for these qualifications set by the labyrinth were incredibly high.

Not just those who cleared a divine trial, but those who passed even the enhanced trial that pleased the hearts of the gods.

Thus, neither the Hard Mode players nor Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyuk had the qualification. Even though they passed the divine trials, they weren’t to the level that pleased the gods.

The only one who did was Taesan.

Taesan clapped.

“Now, we can change the king. Makes things simple, right?”

Kang Taesan looked at Seo Jangsan with amusement in his eyes.

Seo Jangsan, getting goosebumps, abruptly stood up.

At the same moment, Taesan moved. As the chair broke, Taesan appeared right in front of Seo Jangsan.

“You!”

Seo Jangsan was startled and tried to draw his weapon, but Taesan effortlessly slapped it away and grabbed him by the throat.

“Cough cough!”

He was then slammed against a wall. The surrounding Hard Mode players quickly drew their weapons to attack Taesan.

[You have activated Repulsion.]

An intangible force struck them all.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

Those who charged were thrown as if they were flies hit by a swatter, rolling on the ground and crashing into walls.

In the now chaotic conference room, Taesan spoke leisurely.

“I could end this now… but that wouldn’t be fun, would it?”

“Gasp!”

Seo Jangsan swung down his weapon.

Taesan just caught it and tossed it aside.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Amidst the wreckage, Taesan stood tall and dignified.

“So, I’ll give you a chance. Struggle a bit.”

“Very generous of you.”

In the city’s park, Taesan whistled.

“Is this all?”

“Yes. This is all who follow me.”

Seo Jangsan declared confidently.

Behind him stood around a hundred players.

And all of them were Hard Mode players.

“All of you…”

Kim Hwiyeon bit her lip. Indeed, all of the Hard Mode players in Yongin were following Seo Jangsan’s intentions. Whether explicitly or implicitly, it meant they were in agreement with Seo Jangsan’s purpose.

“You’ll regret giving me this chance.”

Taesan had told Seo Jangsan to bring everything he had, all his strength. To try his best.

Seo Jangsan heeded those words. Standing in front of Taesan, his expression was bright. With this many in number, even if Taesan was strong, they had a good chance of winning.

“Shall we begin right away? You remember the conditions?”

“Set the defense to 0 and have a non-lethal duel against everyone. I know.”

Almost all the players in Yongin were watching their fight, and most of them anticipated Taesan’s defeat.

Hard Mode players were truly formidable. No matter how strong, it was believed that an individual couldn’t defeat a group of a hundred of them.

“Begin!”

The first to move was a Hard Mode player.

He rushed at Taesan with his shield raised.

‘They said his attack power was 50!’

When Taesan attacked a Hard Mode player earlier, the registered damage was 51. Seo Jangsan remembered this and told everyone.

Certainly, it was high damage, but not unbearable. He planned to block the initial attack and then counter.

“Sorry to break your hope, but I didn’t give you a chance for any other reason.”

It was to trample them, rather.

Taesan raised his sword towards the approaching shield.

[You activated an enhancement.]

With a thud.

The opponent flew into the air like a baseball hit by a bat.

[453 damage to Kim Minjung.] [Kim Minjung has been neutralized.]

“He flew quite far.”

Looking at the man who crashed at the far end of the viewing area, Taesan swung his sword with satisfaction.

The other Hard Mode players who were moving hesitated.

“What?”

“If you won’t come, I’ll go.”

Taesan started running. He charged towards the closest man, who was startled and drew his sword.

Facing the man who tried to block with his sword, Taesan struck down with indifference.

With a thud.

The man crashed into the ground with the sword crushed. Sand and dust scattered, and the man lay still as if unconscious.

[443 damage to Kim Guhan.] [Kim Guhan has been neutralized.]

It was a one-hit takedown. Seo Jangsan, now alerted, shouted.

“What’s with that damage! Stop joking!”

Seo Jangsan remembered seeing a damage of 51 when Taesan attacked them.

In response to Seo Jangsan’s outcry, Taesan said,

“I had to work hard to control it.”

He had attacked very slowly, almost without strength and without even using the sword, just his gauntlet.

“Ah, I see.”

Seo Jangsan realized it belatedly.

He had believed without a doubt that the damage at that time was Taesan’s full strength. 51 was a considerably high damage, incomparable to theirs. It was hard to imagine he was holding back.

That was why he believed they had a chance. If Taesan’s damage was that much, they could withstand a few hits, and with a defense of 0, any successful attack would cause damage.

However, the power Taesan showed now shattered that assumption.

“Is the cleanup done?”

Taesan moved. He slapped a player, who was dazed, on the side of his neck. With a loud noise, the player crashed into a building.

Then, he swung his sword in the opposite direction. A player with a spear tried to block in panic, but he was thrown aside, along with his spear.

Four were down in an instant.

“Don’t joke around!”

It was only then that Seo Jangsan, finally regaining his senses, shouted.

“We, we have to play in Hard Mode! We risk our lives to become stronger!”

Confidence and self-esteem, everything that kept him going, was in those words.

“So what about it?”

Taesan casually dismissed his outcry.

Seo Jangsan gritted his teeth.

“We play in Hard Mode.”

They couldn’t lose so effortlessly. They were strong. The idea of them losing despite being hundreds in number was unthinkable.

“Get a grip, everyone!”

With his fervent shout, the Hard Mode players struggled to stand, glaring at Taesan with eyes filled with determination.

‘No matter how strong!’

They, too, risked their lives to venture into the labyrinth, and they were among the best players.

Those who came to their senses started to move, aggressively pressuring Taesan.

“Hah!”

A man holding a two-handed shield charged with thudding sounds.

[Park Daein activated Defense Boost.]

Defense Boost. A skill that reduced the percentage of damage taken. It was a lesser skill than Solid Defense but still pretty useful.

Taesan swung his sword down.

The man, along with his two-handed shield, was slammed into the ground.

[Park Daein took 394 damage.]

“I, I held on!”

The man on the ground exclaimed with relief. It was close, but he survived.

“What did you even hold on to?”

Taesan kicked him disdainfully. Along with hundreds of damage, Park Daein was incapacitated.

“… Don’t think of just taking hits!”

Seo Jangsan, who had been watching the fight, shouted.

Park Daein had the highest health among them.

The fact that he couldn’t withstand more than two hits, even with his Defense Boost, meant they’d get taken down in one hit.

Taesan moved leisurely, breaking through each of them one by one.

“Haah!”

A man with long hair let out a powerful yell and thrust his spear.

Taesan parried it carelessly and attempted to counter.

“Got you!”

[Li Sehan activated Feint.]

Feint. A skill owned by only a few among the Hard Mode players, and Li Sehan was one of them.

Using this, Li Sehan had won numerous battles. He charged confidently towards Taesan’s sword.

Taesan’s sword stopped.

He dodged the spear and flicked Li Sehan’s forehead with his finger, dismissing the Feint, and swung his sword.

Thud.

[Li Sehan has been incapacitated.]

“Uh!”

Li Sehan collapsed.

It looked so fluid, like flowing water. To those watching from a distance, it looked like Li Sehan simply charged in a suicidal manner.

Taesan’s sword moved grandly. Everyone charging at him was squashed and thrown aside.

Taesan didn’t stop.

A man rummaged through his inventory with hesitation. Upon seeing Taesan standing in front of him, the man’s face turned pale, and he hastily threw something.

Flash!

A violet powder spread out swiftly. The man exclaimed with a brightened face.

“It worked! Everyone, attack!”

What he threw was a powder of enchantment, an item that dispersed the minds of sentient monsters.

It was worth a whopping 2000 gold, and the man had to spend his entire fortune to obtain it.

[Trying to confuse Kang Taesan...] [Judgment not needed!]

“Why are you trying something so pointless?”

Taesan brushed off the powder with an annoyed expression.

“Huh, wha-?”

His sword pierced through the bewildered man.

The fight that followed was one-sided.

“Ah, ah…”

Seo Jangsan couldn’t believe what was happening before his eyes.

Hard Mode players, those who ventured into labyrinths with only a 1% survival rate, each had their hidden ace up their sleeves. All those who were falling now had unique abilities and strengths and should not be so easily defeated.

But they were all being taken down in a single blow.

“We’re halfway through.”

The only annoyance was visible on Taesan’s face, as if he was dealing with a child’s tantrum.

And to him, they were the children.

“You Hard Mode players think you’re so strong and grand. What’s the difference between you and the Easy Mode players I always hear you belittling?”

To him, there was no difference. Whether it was one or many, none affected him.

Crash.

Another Hard Mode player fell.

The fighting spirit of the others darkened.

And the onlookers couldn’t hide their astonishment.

Even those from Anyang, who knew of Taesan’s strength to some extent, were shocked. The surprise of the people from Yongin, who didn’t know at all, was beyond words.

Hard Mode players could easily handle monsters that were tough for others, and even if a hundred others charged at them, they wouldn’t win.

They were, in essence, the rulers of this world.

And yet, they were falling powerlessly, just like the others.

It seemed like a fantasy.

“Huh… Really.”

Lee Taeyeon muttered in astonishment. Kang Junhyeok gave a wry smile.

He wasn’t weak, either. If he fought against a Hard Mode player, he was confident he would win in a 1:1 situation. Even in a 1:2, he believed he had a chance.

But compared to Taesan, he was insignificant.

It was as if Taesan could fight the entire human race and still stand. Junhyeok knew Taesan was strong, but he hadn’t imagined this level.

‘…Will I ever reach that level?’

He and Taesan were players of the same mode. It wasn’t impossible.

But it felt very far off, beyond even his imagination.

As everyone was lost in their thoughts, the battle continued.

And then, it was nearing its end.

Among those who were rendered powerless, Taesan stood, not a drop of sweat on him. His breathing remained steady, and there wasn’t even a tiny scratch on him.

It was a sheer display of dominance.

“You’re the last one?”

Taesan said to Seo Jangsan, who stared at him blankly.