Ascension Through Skills
chapter-250

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Whew. People have finally calmed down.]

She posted a message of relief. Until moments ago, the pace was so frenetic it was impossible to even pinpoint the person she wanted to address.

The fervor had died down somewhat, no longer reaching its previous intensity.

Normally, she would have demanded silence, but this time, she had a reason to refrain.

[Geum Junggeun [Hard]: Everyone who wanted to talk has had their say. It's about time things quieted down.]

After entering the labyrinth and returning, players were transported back to their original locations.

For an American traveling in Korea, entering the labyrinth meant participating as a Korean player. There were also a few individuals from other countries among the Korean players.

They fervently reached out in the community to ascertain the safety of their surviving family members. The leaders of each country weren’t heartless enough to ignore them.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Now that things have settled, shall we start inviting people? If anyone wants to join the conversation, please let me know.]

The community grew, facilitating conversations with people from various countries.

It wouldn’t just end with mere discussions.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: It's me.] [Daniel Darmon [Hard]: Please include me too.] [Ichijo Eika [Hard]: M-me too...] [Amelia Aerin [Solo]: Invite me too. And all your Solo Mode players.] [Lee Taeyeon [Solo]: Us too? We don't really talk much about that... but if you want.] [Kang Taesan [Solo]: Are things sorted out?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Yes, Taesan.] [Kang Junhyeok [Solo]: I thought you were strategizing quietly. Were you watching?] [Kang Taesan [Solo]: It seemed to have calmed down. If there's going to be a group chat, invite me too.] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Sure.]

Kim Hwiyeon began organizing the participants.

Representatives from other countries also selected and arranged their representatives.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Then I'll create it.] [Kim Hwiyeon created a group chat. Do you accept the invitation?]

Taesan accepted.

A group chat with dozens of people was created.

[Daniel Darmon [Hard]: It's better now. We can have a relaxed conversation.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: Indeed. Let me ask you something. Which country are you from? We are from the USA.]

The main topic was quickly brought up. Kim Hwiyeon answered.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: We are from Korea.] [Daniel Darmon [Hard]: We are from France.] [Ichijo Eika [Hard]: We are from Japan.]

USA, Korea, France, Japan.

People from four countries were gathered.

Seeing their names, Taesan thought.

‘As expected.’

The others were all people Taesan remembered. The only place directly influenced by the High Gods was Korea. Other countries didn’t seem to have changed much.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: This is strange. I expected it, but it's peculiar to be able to talk with people from other countries while surviving.] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Indeed...]

Contact with other countries was entirely impossible. They even thought they were the only ones who had survived.

But that was not the case.

Many people were still alive around the world, and they were descending their respective labyrinths.

That fact gave them great strength.

After a brief moment of reflection, they introduced themselves to each other.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: I am the leader of the USA. As you can see, my name is Oliver Khan, and I'm in my forties. The people actively participating in this conversation are the leaders of each country, right?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: That’s correct.]

The others from different countries nodded in agreement. Oliver grumbled.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: I don't know which bastard ruined the Earth, but if they were going to open the community, they could at least have separated it by country. Why didn't they do that, unlike the difficulty levels? It's so confusing.] [Daniel Darmon [Hard]: I agree.] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Still, the conversations themselves are happening without issues. I was worried we might have to learn all the other languages, but fortunately, that’s not the case.]

Among the foreign players bound to Korea, some didn’t know Korean. However, all of them were able to communicate without any problems.

Although they had expected it to be possible, there was still a bit of anxiety about the unknown.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Is this it? Where are the other people from other countries?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Hmm... Let’s try calling them and see if they come.]

They left the group and called out to people in the community.

Ten minutes later, they returned empty-handed.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: ...More people died than I thought.]

As the community expanded, various channels similar to chat rooms emerged.

There was the integrated community where all the people of Earth gathered.

And there were national communities where people from each country gathered.

The absence of a national community meant that there was no one to use it. In other words, that nation had been annihilated.

And there were only about a hundred national communities.

Earth had a total of 206 countries. This meant that less than half had survived.

It was expected. The monsters were strong, and humans were weak.

And in the midst of chaos, instead of uniting to survive, people distrusted each other and worked to fulfill their desires.

It wasn’t surprising that some nations were wiped out.

But the shock of facing the actual outcome was different from what was anticipated.

[Daniel Darmon [Hard]: It seems that people from other countries are talking among themselves. But... more nations than expected refuse to cooperate, saying they don't trust us, or they use their community but completely ignore our questions...]

Even among the survivors, not everyone was cooperative. Quite a few nations distrusted other countries.

And there were nations that completely ignored others.

Through the national community, people from different countries could enter and converse. Daniel Darmon attempted to communicate within the Chinese community.

However, no response came.

Not a single person from China replied to him. It was as if they were unable to see him.

It felt eerie.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Forget about those who don’t want to talk. What I want are people willing to unite for survival.]

Oliver’s words were harsh. Taesan laughed.

It reminded him of the past.

Except for Kim Hwiyeon, the other three had also conversed in this manner after the community expanded in his previous life.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Let's get serious from now on.]

Their conversation began.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Has there been any major change in your labyrinth?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: No. The labyrinth hasn’t expanded or altered in structure.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: So we can't meet in the labyrinth...]

Only the community had opened up. The labyrinths remained separated by mode and country.

[Daniel Darmon [Hard]: It seems we can only meet on Earth.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: Then what's important is our return. Are you and your country willing to cooperate?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Yes.] [Ichijo Eika [Hard]: I have no intention of refusing after coming this far.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: Good. Let's each share the number of survivors and their difficulty levels.]

It was a logical request. To unite for survival, understanding each other’s strengths was essential.

They began to share their numbers.

Korea had a total of 46,000 survivors, with about 4,000 being Hard Mode players.

Japan had a total of 520,000 survivors, with 120,000 in Hard Mode.

The numbers for the USA were astonishing.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: 1.5 million Hard Mode players. A total of 12 million survivors.] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: That's a lot...]

Kim Hwiyeon was astounded. The population of the USA was originally about seven times that of Korea.

Yet, the number of survivors was incomparable.

Taesan was also surprised. In his past life, not that many had survived.

‘Is it because the focus is on Korea?’

The High Gods’ power was clearly being invested more in Korea than in his past life. It seemed that other countries had relatively more leeway compared to before.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: There are so many of you...]

But Kim Hwiyeon, unaware of this, was overwhelmed. Overall, there were far more survivors than in Korea.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Korea has lost many... it must be tough.] [Ichijo Eika [Hard]: Stay strong.]

People left messages of sympathy. Kim Hwiyeon had nothing to say, so she remained silent.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Still, the fact that you've endured with so few means that those who survived must be strong. How far have your Hard Mode players progressed? We're at the 30th floor.] [Daniel Darmon [Hard]: Oh. As expected of the USA. That's high. We're at the 28th floor.] [Ichijo Eika [Hard]: We're at the 27th floor.] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Oh?]

Kim Hwiyeon was flustered.

Oliver Khan asked with interest.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: What floor are you on? 30th? 32nd?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Uh... 38th floor.]

There was a brief silence after Kim Hwiyeon’s message.

After a long pause, Oliver Khan posted in shock.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: 38th floor...? Is that true? You're not lying, right?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Why would I lie about this? If it were a lie, we wouldn't have survived.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: That's true... but how? No, more importantly, how did only 4,000 survive to the 38th floor?] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: Ah, that's...]

Kim Hwiyeon spoke ambiguously.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: It's a bit complicated to explain. Anyway, that's how it happened.]

Kim Hwiyeon also realized belatedly that Korea was in a unique situation in many ways. And that Taesan was at the center of it.

But it was awkward to mention this. Taesan was too special to talk about with people from other countries.

Even if he explained, they wouldn’t accept it, and it would likely cause more conflict. So, Kim Hwiyeon didn’t go into detail.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: Maybe it's because there are fewer people? That could be it. We have so many people that it actually made us safer.] [Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]: If you need help with strategies, just ask. If it's okay, I'll answer.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: Thanks. Let me ask right away. We're stuck on the strategy for the 30th floor boss. Can you help?]

The conversation continued. People from France and Japan also joined, seeking information.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: So that's how it's done. Not bad.]

Oliver Khan posted a cheerful message, seemingly satisfied with the information he had received.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]: If you've already reached the 38th floor, you'll be a great help when we meet later. I'm looking forward to it.]

As the conversation was winding down, a certain woman interjected.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]: Is it over?] [Amelia Aerin [Solo]: Ugh, boring and tedious. Listening to it was torture.] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: Amelia...] [Amelia Aerin [Solo]: What? Are you going to say something? At least I recognized your authority and kept quiet until the conversation was over, right?] [Oliver Khan [Hard]: Sigh. Do as you please.]

Oliver posted wearily. Although he controlled the American players as a leader, it seemed that the player named Amelia didn’t follow his words well.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]: In the end, only the strong can survive. And the strong only come from Solo Mode.]

Overwhelming confidence.

And she had the power to match it.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]: Surviving with just 4,000 Hard Mode players means there are strong individuals. Who were the Solo Mode players invited earlier?] [Lee Taeyeon [Solo]: Um... who are you?] [Kang Junhyeok [Solo]: Who are you calling?] [Amelia Aerin [Solo]: As expected, they’re here.]

She continued.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]: The strongest human in the world. The one recognized by a being called a god as strong.] [Lee Taeyeon [Solo]: A god?]

Lee Taeyeon was the strongest Solo Mode player in Taesan’s previous life.

The reason was simple. She was the only Solo Mode player who had survived. She alone had cleared Solo Mode.

But there was a time when she wasn’t the strongest.

When people from each world were descending into Solo Mode. At the time when others, besides Lee Taeyeon, were making significant progress. When they were still alive.

Amelia Aerin.

Until her death in the labyrinth, she was the strongest Solo Mode player.