Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 56: Earth, Return (4)

“Alright, everyone, get up.”

Rubbing their eyes, the people wearily rose to their feet. After checking the number of people, Junggeun spoke softly.

“This is the last stretch. Let’s hurry.”

The journey began once more.

The expressions on their faces were bright. Though slow, they had been moving for nearly two days already. They would reach the city hall soon.

And then, a problem arose.

Gurgle.

[Monster 8995421675 has appeared.]

In front of them, a monster resembling a snake appeared. Junggeun halted the group and drew his sword.

He could handle a single monster. Everyone was waiting without tension.

Gurgle.

“Huh?”

A second monster with the same number of digits showed itself.

But the people were not overly alarmed.

There had been instances of a second monster appearing before, but they were always resolved in ways unknown to them. They were under the vague impression that it would be the same this time.

Gurgle.

However, when a third monster appeared, the situation changed.

“Wha, what?”

“Hold on.”

Three monsters surrounded them. Junggeun swung his sword harshly to fend off the monsters and shouted.

“Run!”

Two were somewhat manageable.

But three were absolutely impossible.

People screamed and ran.

A life-or-death race had begun.

Gurgle.

The monsters targeted the backs of the people. As one attempted to crush the head of a child lagging behind, Junggeun rushed in and blocked it.

Kwoong!

“Ugh!”

Junggeun gritted his teeth against the brute force.

People were desperately trying to escape, but they were bound to be caught by the monsters eventually.

He had to buy them time until they reached the city hall.

Three monsters simultaneously attacked Junggeun. He held his breath.

[You have activated the skill Breathless Attack. You will have freedom of breath for the next 10 seconds.]

Cack.

He gained the freedom of breath. Moving his arms and legs, he parried the monsters’ attacks and quickly opened his inventory.

He threw blue powder.

Boom!

The powder exploded, forming a physical barrier.

Powder of Tranquility. An item that would explode and form a physical barrier upon contact with the enemy. It was a pricey item worth 500 gold.

Despite the tears welling up in his eyes thanks to the explosion, the monsters were pushed back, creating a gap. One of the monsters, with its long arms writhing, struck Junggeun.

Instead of avoiding the attack, Junggeun blocked it with both arms.

[6 damage to Geum Junggeun.]

“Ugh!”

He took damage, but it allowed him to propel his body backward. Junggeun immediately ran toward the people.

His response was astonishingly perfect. If he could buy a little more time, they could reach the City Hall.

As Junggeun was moving in the direction of the people, he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened in confusion.

“Why?”

People were lingering, unable to move forward. Soon, Taesan also understood the reason.

Gurgle.

[Monster 5123198777 has appeared.]

Two monsters were blocking the people’s path.

“This, this is…”

“Mr. Junggeun!”

“Please, save us!”

Cries laced with tears echoed, but Junggeun couldn’t respond. Three monsters were closing in from behind him.

They were surrounded by five monsters.

Junggeun gritted his teeth.

‘So they’re determined to kill us.’

Gurgle.

A monster with large tentacles moved. More people were about to be swept away, and Junggeun rushed in to block them.

Kwoong!

Junggeun’s body was pushed back. The other monsters targeted him.

He desperately blocked the attacks, but he couldn’t handle even two from the start. Injuries started to appear all over his body.

In the face of despair, Junggeun’s mind made a clear assessment.

‘I absolutely can’t win.’

Even if he put everything on the line, the outcome would not change. If he held on here, the only possible result was everyone’s death.

Then, could he alone manage to escape?

The answer came quickly. It was possible. His strength and speed were nearly equal to the monsters. If he struck quickly and moved, it wouldn’t be difficult.

His sword moved roughly.

Kaang!

A monster was pushed back momentarily. Another monster filled the gap.

Junggeun’s face contorted roughly.

He had to abandon them.

Over a hundred people.

Those who had followed him and trusted him.

And that, too, by his own will.

Junggeun felt sick.

He was a good person.

He had led over a hundred people to the City Hall. He took it upon himself to work hard to save them.

Some might say it was his duty, but in a world where no one was doing their duty, he could be considered a good person.

However, he was a person who could assess reality coldly. He was not so good as to sacrifice his life for others.

And that pained him immensely.

Everyone felt the same way, but it was more intense for him. He found it abhorrent that he couldn’t abandon them even though he knew he couldn’t take responsibility until the end, nor could he coldly abandon them.

If he was going to abandon them like this, wasn’t the right answer not to save them in the first place? If he was going to save them, shouldn’t he save them until the end?

He barely managed to steady his trembling hands and turned the line of attack around.

The desperate gazes of over a hundred pairs of eyes looking at him.

The faces of those who relied on and put their hopes in him alone.

He had to abandon them all. He had to ignore the cries of those dying and the resentment directed at him.

‘If I sacrifice my life for them instead…’

Then it would be extremely simple. Just dying together would solve the problem.

However, Junggeun was not the kind of person who could do that. He couldn’t choose death in the end.

He had calmly accepted death in the previous world partly due to such experiences adding to his accumulation of self-loathing.

‘If I had the power.’

To protect all of them.

If he had the power to defeat the monsters and move forward.

But he didn’t have such power. Junggeun stopped fighting. His still and standing figure made the people falter.

“Mr. Junggeun?”

“Why are you doing this?”

He looked at the people forlornly. Fear crept onto their faces as they sensed something ominous.

It was time for Junggeun to make a decision.

“Should we go?”

Taesan spoke.

Junggeun, who was about to make a move, paused. Taesan was looking at him blankly. Even in a situation where everyone was dying, there wasn’t an inch of wavering.

Taesan mumbled.

“So, it’s come to this.”

Junggeun, who had returned alone to City Hall in the previous world, refused to converse with anyone and was shut in.

He came to his senses only after the second return.

Junggeun gave a bitter smile when he realized that Taesan had guessed what he was going to do.

“Are you going to criticize me?”

“Why would I?”

Junggeun was taken aback by his casual reply. Taesan’s face showed that he had no reason to do so.

Growl.

A monster moved its arm as if displeased with their conversation. Junggeun reflexively tried to block the attack that was aimed at Taesan’s head.

Crack.

But before he could even move, the monster was crushed.

[60 damage to Monster 5123198777.]

“Huh.”

“60?”

The eyes of those who were in despair widened. Junggeun hesitated. Taesan shook off the slime-covered sword.

“I won’t blame you no matter what choice you make. I was just curious.”

What had happened? He had followed him because of that one thing.

It gave him something to do.

Taesan’s arm blurred. The moment he saw its form disappear, the monsters’ heads exploded.

“Wha, What?”

Junggeun was astonished. He had barely managed to take down one. From the second monster onward, he couldn’t do anything but run away.

But five such monsters were deleted at once. He couldn’t even see how the sword moved.

“Could it be that you…”

That was the moment his suspicion became a certainty.

Growl.

[Monster 45677521 has appeared.]

An eight-digit monster showed itself. It looked bigger and stronger than the others.

An E-rank monster. A monster that could only be encountered deep into the Easy Mode.

Taesan moved his sword lazily.

“Woah…”

“Finally, we’ve reached City Hall……”

The people arrived at City Hall, their voices choked with sobs. A woman who had volunteered to guard the place widened her eyes in surprise.

“Uh, why are there so many?”

The woman was frantically looking after the nearly a hundred people. Then she saw Junggeun and let out an exclamation.

“Ah, Junggeun! You’re here too.”

“Yes. Hello, Hwiyun noona.”

Junggeun greeted her with a bitter smile.

Kim Hwiyun. She was one of the few who had a close relationship with Taesan as a Hard Mode player.

She had died during her third return to Earth.

“Wow…… this is the first time I’ve seen such a large group.”

She couldn’t hide her admiration as she looked at the crowd. She had watched people coming into the City Hall, but the most she had ever seen at one time was five. Such a large group was astonishing.

She looked at Junggeun with pride on her face.

“You protected them?”

“No, it wasn’t me……”

As he tried to mention Taesan, the latter slightly shook his head. Junggeun closed his mouth.

“Huh? You said it wasn’t you?”

“……No. It was thanks to everyone’s help.”

Hwiyun tilted her head but did not probe any further.

“Then, let me guide you. Come this way.”

She showed no particular interest in Taesan. She just thought of him as one among the hundred.

She led the people into City Hall. Junggeun was amazed.

“There are…… so many people.”

There were quite a lot of people gathered outside City Hall, but inside, there was barely enough room to lie down.

“All the people of Anyang have gathered. Considering that, it’s actually a small number.”

Hwiyun clicked her tongue. Understanding what she meant, Junggeun’s expression darkened.

The population of Anyang was half a million. It was a number that couldn’t fit in just one city hall.

The fact that it was filled meant that many people had died.

“We survived, though. We did.”

She comforted Junggeun.

“Thanks to you, a hundred more people survived. You should be proud.”

“Haha……”

Junggeun smiled awkwardly, sneaking a glance at Taesan. He changed the subject.

“But who’s the representative if there are so many people?”

There were hundreds of thousands there. With everyone only wanting to say their piece, it would be ear-splitting. Someone had to lead and manage them.

“Ah……”

Hwiyun made a vague face and clicked her tongue.

“My head hurts because of that. Those strange guys keep talking nonsense…”

“Strange guys?”

“They are making a fuss, fighting amongst themselves. I want to scold them, but I can’t…”

She sighed deeply and waved her hand.

“Just rest for now. You must be tired. I’ll explain later.”

“Okay.”

Junggeun nodded obediently, though curious. He was really tired. He had been fighting for two straight days without sleep and felt like he could pass out at any moment.

Hwiyun stroked Junggeun’s head with a friendly smile.

“I’ll take the others to their families. You rest.”

The hundred or so people sought out their own families. They embraced each other tearfully.

“Brother!”

An Jeonghui hugged a man who looked like her, shedding tears. Taesan watched the scene from a distance.

Even though they could all die, it wasn’t a bad sight.

Noticing him from afar, An Jeonghui thanked him through her tears.

Taesan moved on.

Not everyone had found their families. Some had heard of death and despaired; others held onto hope, biting their lips.

Everyone would adjust as time passed.

Taesan left City Hall and looked outside. He could feel one or two signs of life heading this way.

Soon it would be more than half of the remaining survivors.

A new quest would begin.

“You’re here.”

Taesan answered the voice that spoke behind him.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Junggeun, looking tired, was staring at Taesan.