Reincarnator – Chapter 303 : Transcendent (1)
It was important to keep some cards hidden in order to survive in this world.
One couldn't show everything at once.
.........
"Phew. What are you going to do now?"
Misun stopped shouting and asked.
He was still the leader.
He chose the direction they went.
'Hmm.'
Taesang thought for a moment about the mysterious man from before and then replied.
"It's time to go back."
Lauren then asked.
"The man from before? Will that be enough?"
Though they had shot an arrow to help him, it wouldn't be close to enough.
She didn't know how he had been abandoned in these plains by himself but a human being would not be able to survive long without enough Beynol powder.
'Fucking hell.'
As Misun made a worried expression.
Taesang shook his head and replied.
"No. I'm not going to care about him anymore."
"…You aren't?"
Of course it was the smart thing to do to ignore a stranger in a dangerous situation like this.
But the Taesang they knew thought a bit differently from others.
And as he received strange looks from the others.
Taesang smiled bitterly.
"He probably wouldn't need our help."
Just as they shot the arrow flying.
He saw the man's smile.
A face full of leisure.
He realized that what he had been thinking was not correct.
And the moment the man looked towards himself.
He was even more sure of it.
An expression full of curiosity.
Though he had always thought that his decisions were always correct, he regretted his action the moment he saw that mysterious man's expression.
He had helped the man and piqued his interest.
'Dangerous.'
From his experience, if a man looked at him with great curiosity then he should be very wary of that man.
Curiosity meant that the man didn't know much about him.
A human should be wary of mysterious things.
But the man wasn't on guard against himself at all.
Which meant that he was confident.
He wasn't running away from the Dakramas, he was running away from that man.
Taesang looked around him and spoke out.
"We put out the fire for now so we'll stand by for about an hour and then move out. Everyone cool down the overload on your mana pools and double check the Beynol powder."
"…Fuck. He must be dangerous as hell then."
An hour was not a short period of time in the plains swarming with Dakramas.
A whole hour to see if the man could survive or not, this proved how highly he thought of the man.
Misun complained but eventually nodded.
But at that moment.
Lauren's expression froze.
"Ah…"
As she started to speak.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiip!
The sound of something ripping was heard from outside the cave.
And Taesang cursed the moment he heard this noise.
"Fuck!"
Then.
"Nice to meet you again. Thank you for the assistance just now."
Hansoo walked into the cave after he destroyed the barrier outside the cave.
And the moment the group of four saw this.
"Ah… Fucking hell."
The tremendous pressure that had started to bore down upon them the moment the barrier ripped apart.
The slight pain on their skin was telling them.
'I can't win.'
Their body instincts were shouting at them.
Misun grinded her teeth.
'Fucking bastard. Why wasn't he letting out this aura just before?'
Misun cursed inwardly as she realized that Hansoo was suppressing his own strength in order to catch them.
If they knew he was like this then they would've never approached him.
A powerful person was someone dangerous even if they were close with them.
Like how a zookeeper would still be wary of a lion even if they had raised it from birth.
But if a stranger was that powerful, they were dangerous beyond reason.
'Where the hell did this guy pop out from…'
The four kept their guard up.
They couldn't just die standing still.
Kiiiiing!
As lights of various colors exploded out from their bodies.
The man who had appeared before their eyes spoke.
"Don't be so on guard against me. I'm not trying to hurt you."
Hansoo shrugged his shoulders.
His words were true.
'I like how they helped me despite the danger.'
Them taking the box was a problem but it wasn't like there was an owner or like it would take a long time to catch up to them.
'It's nice that I don't have to beat the hell out of people the moment I come out.'
It was nice since there was a mountain of people he would need to beat up, starting out like this was good.
He smiled at Taesang, who seemed to be the leader behind all this, and spoke.
"The box you took before? Give me that."
"…You're the owner?"
"Mmm… I'm not the owner but it was given to me."
Hansoo nodded at Misun who dared to speak to him in a situation like this.
This girl reminded him of somebody.
'Saying whatever she has on her mind, reminds me of Enbi Arin.'
A normal person would be scared out of their wits but this girl was staring right back at him.
Anyways, he just needed to get the box from these guys.
Since his plans only included the transcendents and not these normal beings.
And if he could hear how the world had changed, it would be perfect.
'It would go smoothly, at least I hope.'
At that moment.
"Mmm…"
"Uh…"
Hansoo frowned.
'…During that short moment?'
Hansoo didn't realize these guys were this capable.
But his worries came true.
"That… We sent it away already. To the main base…"
"Ha…"
Hansoo sighed deeply.
.............
After the Abyss opened.
The world became filled up with mysteries.
Though the man called Kang Hansoo had told them a few things, the things that came out from the elevators far surpassed their knowledge.
Of course the information Hansoo gave them was precious beyond reason.
He had left behind instructions on how to tame the
'He should've been called a savior from just this…'
Taesang mumbled inwardly.
Anyways.
Though they had been able to put out the most urgent flames, the elevators kept spewing out strange and mysterious creatures.
And they spread out over the entire world.
Due to the increasing amount of casualties when attacking these races without any knowledge, an unspoken rule started to appear among the adventurers.
First, if they cannot bring the trace or pieces back then memorize the coordinates and report it.
Second, if they can bring it then immediately send it over using the
They couldn't make sure that they wouldn't get killed on the way there anyway.
The egg belonged to the former while the mysterious box belonged to the latter.
'…Seeing as they have a proper societal system, it seems the survivors are doing well.'
Though it wasn't bad up to this point, it became annoying that he had to do more work.
"So you're saying the box is at the main base."
"…"
Taesang carefully nodded.
Though the man didn't get annoyed or called out their mistakes, the silence was even more terrifying.
But Hansoo only pondered for a bit and then got up.
"Take me there."
"Huh?"
Hansoo shrugged his shoulders.
"Why are you so shocked? I need to get it back right?"
There was no guarantee that these guys would bring it back so he would need to go personally.
And it wasn't that bad either.
Since it would be safer in the main base than with these guys.
The
'I'm a bit curious about how people are living as well.'
Two birds with one stone.
But Lauren clenched her teeth.
This man was too mysterious.
And she was not in the situation to ask.
Even if she did, a proper answer might not be given.
But taking this man to the main base?
'…If this is the plan of the Dark King then we're all dead.'
It was better to just finish it all here than taking him there.
She was fed up of her friends being hunted down by the Dark King.
'Fucking… Monster.'
But as Lauren was about to speak.
Clench.
Taesang grasped her hand tightly..
"…?"
A powerful grip, as if he was stopping her.
And Lauren was shocked at this.
'…Taesang.'
Lauren fell into silence.
While looking at the terrified expression of Taesang, a clicking noise was created from Taesang's hands discreetly.
A morse code created by muscles during emergencies.
And she knew what he was telling her.
'You want to listen to him…?'
As Lauren looked at Taesang.
Taesang's eyes were fixated on something else instead of her.
At the tip of the mysterious man's hands.
Whooooosh.
Something dark red.
The aura the man was letting out was powerful but not quite dangerous in any way.
But this was different.
It sent chills down their entire back and made their souls scream in fear.
"I actually made this for the bad boys, not people like you."
Then.
Taesang's expression froze up as he saw the dark red light slowly brighten up.
Reincarnator – Chapter 304 : Transcendent (2)
From the day he had come to the 4th zone from the 3rd zone.
He had always thought to himself.
Do I have the right to lead these people?
I am afraid.
One day if I make a single, wrong choice.
Everybody could get killed.
.................
'I guess…This is the moment.'
Taesang thought of the question he had been pondering over all the way until now.
His entire body was shouting at him.
Do. Not. Resist.
The moment he did, the man would use that thing on his hand.
Without a single bit of hesitation.
'I have made 2 mistakes until now.'
First, taking the box.
Second, helping this man.
Well, it wasn't a mistake really.
Since there was nothing wrong with his choice nor anything strange.
But the result was unequivocal.
His decisions, brought them a terrifying monster.
There was no reason to make a third mistake.
"Yes, I will lead you."
Taesang walked ahead of his comrades and Hansoo smiled at Taesang.
"Yes. Good. This is pretty good for you guys as well, don't worry."
Though it seemed like he had become the bad guy here, it was still a good deal for them.
Since they can cross the plains swarming with Dakramas with him around.
'And…'
If they were worried about their main base, it meant that there was somebody aiming for it.
And the fact they were on guard against a human like him meant that the target was also a human.
Hansoo continued to stare at Taesang who was squirming his fingers around.
Tiing.
Ssssk.
With every movement of the finger, a tiny and miniscule shockwave spread out.
A method of communication.
"Dark King?"
"..!!!!"
Taesang freaked out at the words from the man.
'…He read the shockwaves?'
It was something that was impossible without a cheat sheet of some sort.
Hansoo spoke as he stared at Taesang who was looking at him in fear and shock.
"There's no time so let's talk while we move. There's a lot I want to ask."
The past 2 years.
He was curious as to how it changed.
How the road from the 1st to the 3rd zone, which his past self had painstakingly set up, had changed.
And how the 4th zone and above had changed as well.
'I could just ask the ones through the Soul Fragment but…'
There's still a lot of restrictions so he didn't want to waste it on just these simple questions.
And at those words.
'…What the hell is he? Why doesn't he know this?'
Taesang and the others were confused.
..........
The world had changed a lot because of Hansoo.
And in between the lower Red, Orange, Yellow zones and the upper Blue, Indigo, Violet Zones, there was the Green zone.
The Green zone of the past, which was the 4th zone now, was much different than the floors below and above as it was the center.
"Since you tell me that you're a member from before the Great Change, you wouldn't know anything about the floors below huh. And you tell us that you have A.M.N.E.S.I.A."
Misun emphasized the amnesia part after having been almost killed just before.
Hansoo shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, I don't remember anything so it would be great if you guys can explain it to me in detail."
And Misun grinded her teeth at Hansoo's attitude.
'Fucking bastard.'
But Misun and the other three knew.
That they had to follow this man's orders.
'There's nothing we can do.'
This guy was just too damn strong.
But at that moment.
"Careful…!"
Lauren, who had been running as fast as she could, suddenly cried out.
Then.
Boooooooom!
Something exploded out from beneath the ground.
And Misun freaked out.
'…Kang-Kion!'
Misun hurriedly raised her blade at the 2m large hunting dog which had jumped out from the ground to bite her head off.
This was one of the greatest changes the opening of the Abyss had brought.
The Abyssal races had been fully released.
And these monsters were one of the two greatest factors that changed the humankind.
Monsters that were hard to deal with the basic logic they had.
Look.
Lauren's perception was powerful enough to scan around a radius of numerous kilometers.
But because of the assimilation of the lands, she could not detect the Kang-Kion which moved underground.
This monster didn't have a physical body.
It simply phased through the ground beneath as a form of spirit and then used the surrounding materials to create a body when needed.
And even Lauren couldn't detect it until it got within 10m of her.
'Fucking… How did they come all the way here!'
Misun grinded her teeth at the rough breath of the monster on her face.
But that was it.
Misun wasn't afraid in the slightly despite being seconds away from her neck being ripped apart.
She knew what would happen next.
And as she expected.
Crunch!
Something shot out from the space between her neck and shoulder and stabbed into the monster in front of her.
Roooaaarr!
The Kang-Kion, which had formed itself from dirt and ice, disappeared into powder.
This thing was not something that died this easily.
It wasn't just some random dirt and ice.
The dirt and ice that the Kang-Kion had formed its body with was countless times stronger than even the special weapons from the floor below.
But somehow, this thing had been killed in just a single strike.
'Who the hell is he?'
But Misun shook her head.
Whether he had amnesia or not, it just meant that he didn't want to talk about himself.
And since he was safeguarding them back to the main base, there was nothing to lose from not asking.
Clank.
As Hansoo withdrew his spear, something made a clanking noise and fell on the ground.
And Misun's eyes shone at this.
'Abyssal Crystal.'
The Abyssal Crystal.
The single object that the new Abyssal Race gave them.
But Hansoo merely picked up the crystal and threw it to Misun.
As if he didn't care about it.
"Well, take it as a form of payment for the information. Continue."
Money always talked.
Misun stopped for a second but soon nodded as she took the crystal.
'…We really need this for the main base as well. There's nothing to lose from this, this is an equivalent exchange.'
"I'll continue."
.........
From the 1st to the 3rd zone.
These zones had been surprisingly successful in defending against the invaders of the Abyss.
And not just successful, they had done it perfectly.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd zones were different.
The 1st zone had the World Tree which supplied them with vast amounts of mana.
The 2nd zone had the Akadus which managed the humans as well as the Akarons.
Same for the 3rd zone.
The 3rd zones had had the legacy weapons of the past, the Satellite Fortresses.
But just this wouldn't have been enough.
The Abyssal Race from the elevators couldn't be dealt with just pure strength.
But the information that Hansoo had given them before he left had filled the gaps.
And because of this.
The 21st and 22nd year rookies who had just come up had been able to climb through the zones in relative safety despite having to fight the beings from the Abyss every day.
And they were the clear example of this.
"We haven't even been here for 2 years. Well, the reason why we had been able to come this far was thanks to a man called Kang Hansoo."
"Hmm."
Hansoo was shocked at the four in front of him.
For them to be barely 2 years old.
'I didn't waste my strength huh.'
Hansoo smiled contently.
Before, it would've taken 9 years to get to the Green zone on average and maybe 6 or 7 years if they were fast.
But thanks to his setup, these people had been able to climb up here this quickly.
The reason why it took so long to climb up was largely attributed to things like the Five Calamities or the Gragos as well as the other humans who would constantly backstab them.
Since he had gotten rid of all this as well as giving them benefits such as the World Tree, they just had to gather runes to climb up.
'…Why is he happy? Could he be Kang Hansoo or something?'
Misun was confused at first but then was in shock.
'…Wait.'
Kang Hansoo.
A superhero in the zones below.
He was so famous that the three rulers of the zones had spread out pictures and information about Hansoo to all the rookies.
And they, the rookies, couldn't go against their owners.
They all knew his traits.
But Misun soon shook his head as she stared at Hansoo.
'The sizes are different.'
Their sizes were too different.
There was a limit of how large and small a human being can become.
And another thing.
'…Why are there so many guys impersonating him.'
And most of the impersonators were bastards.
Just like the man in front of him.
Then.
"So where's the main base of the 4th zone? Is it the War Fortress?"
"…Don't you have amnesia."
"I remember a bit here and there. Don't rebuke."
Misun spat as she continued to speak.
"It was like that in the past. But not now."
"The past?"
Then.
The four all clenched their teeth.
"Yeah. In the past. Most of the humans who had been in the War Fortress… Have been killed when that fucking Dark King blew it apart."
The two disasters that had appeared with the Abyss.
First was the Abyssal race.
Second was…The transcendents.
A type of people completely different from the normal beings.
Their numbers and how they came to be were all a mystery but they were extremely powerful.
It would be a huge benefit if they stood up for the humans.
But sadly, most of them were like demons.
'Fucking bastard.'
Misun grinded her teeth as she thought of the Dark King.
..........
Rummble.
"Good…Very good."
The top of the War Fotress.
A chair sat on top of the castle.
A man and a huge beast sat here.
"Yes, good kitty. Good kitty."
And the creature that had its neck held by the man in the chair was a Kang-Kion.
The Kang-Kion, whose sole reason of existence was to feast upon other creatures such as the humans, was growling dispirited.
Then.
A man approached and spoke to the man sitting on the chair.
"So… Are you just going to ignore it."
The man sitting on the chair stood up as he spoke.
"It's time to set off."
The man's figure was clearly seen as he stood up.
A golden spear and a silver set of armour.
From the small ring on his hand to the huge size of his body.
'…He really imitated him well. What did he say? He got the same outfit because he respected the man?"
The man mumbled as he looked at the Dark King standing in front of him.
Reincarnator – Chapter 305 : Transcendent (3)
4th zone.
The cold and brutal world that the recently graduated students had to face.
............….
Rumble.
"Hmm. He destroyed the War Fortress?"
Minsun slammed onto the ground and spoke after breathing in and out.
"Yeah. We all spread out from that event."
The countless adventurers who had climbed up through the elevator from the 3rd zone.
And the scenery they had seen was extremely shocking.
<…It's a bit barren isn't it?>
They had heard the stories.
That the upper zone would be different and much more dangerous.
But most adventurers ignored the warnings of the three rulers.
Since they were basically supernatural beings compared to themselves 1 to 2 years ago.
Beings that could topple cities back in their real life.
They could ignore bullets much less being able to dodge them as even missiles would merely tickle them.
Maybe the only thing that threatened them were the nukes.
Which meant that they had become beings that wouldn't fear anything other than weapons of the same calibre as nukes.
But the moment they climbed up to the 4th zone they realized.
That this was the beginning.
<…It seems we just graduated from the tutorial.>
There were no rulers to control them nor protect them.
There were no seniors who, despite always complaining about how hard the previous life had been before the change, generously taught them the experiences they had gone through and fought on the vanguard.
There was only one thing they saw.
A vast plain covered in snow.
A barren world.
And as the people were filled to the brim with worry at this new and unfamiliar land.
A few people, the strongest and the most talented people, shouted out to lead the others.
Thanks to these words, a lot of people regained their confidence.
And it was partly true.
They had countless more people than the people before.
They had gone through simulations as to what to do when they came up to this zone as well.
Though there was no organization that welcomed them, there were no monsters charging towards them from the start as well.
At those words.
Like the pioneers of the past.
The newly ascended adventurers started to dream.
They had to collect enough Abyssal crystals to go up to the next zone anyway.
With the War Fortress as the main base, they gathered the others who came up from the elevators.
They researched the methods to deal with the monsters that came out from the elevators and slowly and carefully advanced through the 'Green Zone' while collecting the Abyssal crystals at the same time.
Everything was going well and according to plan.
Until that day.
The day the monster the 4th zone had given birth to had visited them.
A single person.
Of course the rookies who were in the War Fortress laughed at him.
But with that laugh.
The War Fortress, the main base of operations against the Abyssal race, collapsed.
"…Now we've hidden in various places and survive day by day. Thankfully, this world is large."
And Hansoo knew what kind of person it was.
Since there was only one possibility.
'A transcendent.'
They were different from the normal people who slowly climbed up the stairs to reach the violet zone.
People who had climbed over the destroyed ceiling and had gained the rights to become stronger than anybody else.
But even though they had stepped onto the road towards becoming a transcendent, they were nowhere close to Tiamet who was infinitely close to the end.
Since there were a lot of hurdles to cross before becoming a true transcendent.
But the fact that they had taken that first step made them different from everyone else.
'It's possible.'
Transcendents weren't invincible.
But one thing was clear.
That the newcomers who should be soaring was being stopped at the 4th zone.
This was not what Hansoo wanted.
Though he had found himself, his original goal still remained the same.
He fought and fought.
Against the beings of the Abyss.
But nothing changed.
His friends and allies died.
The ones close to him had all died.
Their numbers never increased, only continuously decreasing.
In movies or dramas shows, when a close person died the main character would be enraged or be filled with new vigor but the reality was different.
Or at least, it was different for Hansoo.
Everyone someone died, something broke inside his heart and he wanted to fight less and less.
What was he fighting for?
Who was he fighting for?
Everybody he had wanted to protect had died.
Everybody who had given him joy had died.
Everybody who fought beside him had died.
And to prevent this from repeating.
He had to become strong.
He had to win.
He had broken through the shackles of Eres, he had merely changed the path towards the final goal.
His final goal was the same as the one of Eres.
But this wouldn't do.
This was, in the same, a gamble as well.
In order for more transcendents to be born, more variables were needed.
More rookies needed to climb up faster to fight in more dangerous places so they can become stronger even faster.
But if they were being stopped in the 4th zone like this, they wouldn't be able to grow properly.
Whoooosh.
'…Too many weeds have grown while I have been gone. I guess I'll need to organize a bit.'
It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.
He just needed to pull them out.
That was the only way to grow a proper field.
A field to grow his desired crop.
Hansoo mumbled as he looked at the giant elevator and the vast plains that hid the various monsters and countless adventurers.
............…
Tatata.
Tadadatak.
"Eat this. It's tastier this way."
Hansoo cooked the meat of one of the normal beasts, the Ormadals, with a bit of flame from his hands and gave them to Taesang and Misun.
Taesang frowned as he looked at Hansoo who killed off a monster, which would be at around level 250 in the past, with a single strike and was now cooking its meat.
'How laid back.'
And it wasn't only Taesang who thought this way.
Hansoo chuckled at the strange gazes of the four.
"Don't look at me that way. I don't really like resting like this. And aren't you going to eat? It's really tasty."
"…Haa."
Taesang sighed as stared at Hansoo chewing onto the meat.
His words weren't wrong.
Their main base was continuously on the move and they, the scouting team, had to constantly communicate with them to follow them.
And they could only wait in the promised location while they awaited for the reply from the main base.
But even if they were in the same situation, their attitudes were different.
Hansoo was the only one who was laid back.
The four others were just mindlessly eating.
And Misun muttered in annoyance.
"I guess you also starved since you lost your memory. Look how well you're eating."
Talking to Hansoo about the past, she remembered things she had forgotten about.
The memories of her missing allies that had been pushed aside because of her survival.
The hundreds of thousands of her allies who had split up from the War Fortress and were now in hiding.
How could she eat in a situation like this?
Hansoo looked towards the elevators while Misun and the others were thinking of the past.
'We've come closer.'
The elevator.
And the War Fortress.
The place where he had fought with Arthus Krancheska and Tiamet.
At that moment.
"I have a request."
"…?"
"It's not hard. And I don't have thoughts of asking you to do it for free…"
Hansoo was shocked as he stared at Lauren who was walking towards him.
He had heard about it already.
'Look at these guys.'
Hansoo made an amused expression.
.........
Rumble.
The giant elevator.
Though many were amazed at the tall scene.
The elevator spread deep into the earth as well.
It wasn't just limited to the surface.
The great maze.
The elevator stretched deep into the great maze of the past where the Ains had previously lived.
But surprisingly, there were people living here now.
Though they weren' in the greatest shape.
Slap!
"Uaaak!"
"Bastard! If I kept you alive then you need to show results!"
Amidst the swarms of people working.
A single person kept a laid back posture.
He didn't care whether his underling kicked and the one being kicked screamed.
And there was nobody within a 30m radius of the man.
Everyone feared this man.
Roooarr.
The man petted the head of the Kang-Kion next to him and smiled as he looked at the melted wall in front of him.
"Did he do this before the great change."
The entire surrounding area had melted down.
Traces of two tremendous powerhouses clashing.
One could see the person when looking at the traces.
And the stronger the person was, the clearer the image was.
The Dark King could see it clearly.
The image of the existence who had been pushed back continuously but had managed to triumph over the flaming existence.
'Unbelievable. He's still in this world. He didn't go up?'
He thought that the man had gone up.
He hadn't thought that a man who was that strong 2 years ago would've stayed behind here.
'I wish…I get to meet you soon. I have a gift for you as well…'
The Dark King caressed the traces of the battle between Hansoo and Arthus Krancheska as he trembled at the shocking fact that person had told him in the past.
Reincarnator – Chapter 306 : Transcendent (4)
In the past.
There was a king who had annihilated an entire world with a single ungodly skill.
And this king who had erased the entire world with viruses was sure.
That his strength was not something that was so easily obtained.
............…..
Lauren spoke after thinking for a short time.
"…Watch us fight. To see what is wrong."
She didn't know what level the man in front of her had reached.
But one thing was clear.
It was that he had far more experience than them and was much stronger as well.
'…And he doesn't seem to dislike us that much at least. Isn't this doable?'
Hansoo laughed.
"Sure. You told me it wouldn't be free, so what will you give me?"
Lauren flinched but then carefully spoke.
"We'll judge it after we hear what you want. Since there might be things you want other than the box. And… There would be more things we can do once we get to the main base as well. There must be something we can do for you."
Hansoo thought for a bit.
'They must be a bit influential.'
If they were weaklings in the main base then they wouldn't be able to speak like this.
Of course he could clearly see the power level of these four.
'…About level 255?'
Of course the Body Enhancement Surgery, Mana Pool and the Spirit were taken into consideration.
Since they hadn't reached the limits with their runes, they would become even stronger.
And even more so if he helped them a bit here.
'…They were just kids with a powerful weapon.'
It was the same in games as well.
The same character would have the difference of heaven and earth depending on who used it.
These were just like that.
Though they were strong and though they had gained a powerful character, their judgement ability, reaction speed or battle experience were all pretty inferior.
'Though it's not bad for just being in here for 2 years… It's still a bit lacking.'
Which meant that there was still a lot to polish.
But that was a good thing.
Hansoo spoke with a bored expression.
"I just want to go the main base as quick as possible. There's really nothing else I want I right now other than the box."
Well, he had things he wanted but these guys could not help him.
And at Hansoo's words.
"…Then there's nothing we can do then. Let's go."
Lauren made a depressed expression but then backed off.
There was no method since this man didn't have anything he currently wanted.
'No need to annoy him.'
That would be dangerous.
As Lauren started to walk away.
Hansoo asked with an amused expression.
"You're just leaving? Without trying further?"
Misun was at a loss for words.
'The hell? Is he playing around with us?'
Didn't he say he only wanted the box?
Which meant that arriving at the main base as quickly as possible was the best thing to do.
Misun didn't really like that man.
No, she just didn't like how such a strong person stayed by them.
The thing Misun regretted the most was getting tangled up with him.
Though they might be able to become stronger if they learned from him, she didn't want to wag her tail and suck up to him just for that.
"We'll manage on our own. Let's just focus on getting to the main base. That was our previous trade."
They would guide him and give him information.
Hansoo would protect them and get the box.
But from her words.
Hansoo's smile turned bigger and bigger.
"Though you guys can't help me, there is something you can give me right?"
Lauren then turned around in confusion.
But then she instantly regretted it.
She regretted turning around.
The eyes that scanned her and Misun's body.
These were eyes that she had seen too many times in the 2 years she had been here.
The days when she had been forcibly dragged into the tutorial.
As order and law disappeared and strength became everything, those were the eyes of the males around her.
And as she saw those eyes.
The trauma that she had hidden away while growing through the Red, Orange and Yellow zones reappeared.
Then.
"What are you doing!"
Taesang and the other man, Ben, rushed up in front of Lauren and glared at Hansoo.
And Hansoo smirked at the two's actions and smiled.
"Why? It wouldn't be a bad trade. Even if I just fiddle a bit, you would become much stronger than now. Which means you guys would be able to survive in a situation where you would definitely die with your current abilities. Is that really a loss?"
"Look at the logic behind this bastard's words."
Misun, who had been enraged, stomped up to Lauren and clenched her teeth.
Though there was nothing as precious as a human life, one couldn't throw away everything for it.
"You bastard. We've lived well until now. We will live our life our own way so…Just focus on the one trade we agreed upon."
At these words.
The smirk of Hansoo was raised to the brim.
"You won't be able to live well like how you have been up until now. And… Even more so now the world has changed."
Then.
Whoosh!
Hansoo's hands reached out and grabbed ahold of Taesang and Ben's necks.
A tremendous amount of speed and strength.
Ben and Taesang wanted to resist but the attack was sudden and the speed the attack came at was not something they could react to.
They could only watch themselves being lifted up from the ground by their necks.
"Kuhuk…!"
"Arrgh!"
"Fucking bastard!"
Lauren and Misun freaked out and tried to attack as well.
But then.
"Woah, woah."
Hansoo shook the two men in front of him as shields.
As if he was daring them to attack.
"What a scoundrel!"
Hansoo merely stared at Misun with cold eyes despite her anger.
"Don't worry, the contract hasn't ended. My offer still stands. If you give me what I desire…You guys can become strong right? I will even release these guys."
"…Bastard."
'…Was he always like this?'
Misun was extremely troubled right now.
The lives of the four of them depended on her next choice.
And she could choose either side.
Either to give up her body.
Or her life.
And she knew the answer.
But it did not come out easily.
Whilst Misun was hesitating, Lauren stepped up and spoke.
"…Release them. I'll do as you say."
"What! How can you trust this guy!"
Lauren merely replied coldly to Misun
"…Whether you believe it or not, there's nothing we can do."
"…Fuck."
Misun was at a loss for words.
Lauren's words weren't wrong.
The lower floors had rules and laws as well as the main headquarters in this Zone.
Of course they knew that strength ruled over these so called 'rules'.
Since they had seen it with their own eyes, the acts of the transcendent.
But they had treated this as a catastrophe and had always thought that they could just slowly become stronger while dodging such cases.
But it seems their thoughts were wrong.
"You cursed monster…"
Misun started to remove her armor pieces one by one while making a dejected expression.
Then.
"I believe you know how it feels to be weak now."
Taesang and Ben's bodies dropped onto the ground.
"Ugh."
"Ahh…"
The guys both touched their necks but there weren't even bruises there.
And as they all made confused expression.
Hansoo continued to speak.
"You don't become strong when you get the opportunity to. Don't hesitate to use any methods to become stronger. There aren't kind teachers and exams that match your own pace here."
This wasn't a game.
One could find a suitable opponent for themselves in a game.
But this place was reality in itself.
A place where a level 100 could pop out in front of a level 1 out of the blue.
One needed to always be thankful of their luck for not meeting such an opponent and always be ready just in case.
Living in constant fear of the future.
But the attitudes of these guys were fundamentally wrong.
And Misun grinded her teeth.
Since she realized what Hansoo had done.
"You bastard… Who are you to test people?"
Though they had passed, it didn't feel good at all.
But Hansoo merely scoffed at her.
"What's so bad about a test? A test is a very good method created to give you guys a taste of the real deal before it actually comes to get you. Your thoughts will be very different if you start seeing your friends die out before you can even take a test."
"…Bastard."
"Be aware. If there's even the slimmest chance to become stronger, do whatever it takes to grasp it. That's the way to keep your friends by your side longer."
At least, this was how he had lived.
Though he couldn't argue that his own thoughts were correct, he had survived like so.
And these guys were way too weak to even voice their opinions in this world.
'Become stronger… And live the way you want.'
Hansoo liked these guys too much to let them just die.
And Misun spoke towards Hansoo in a frosty manner.
"So what? You want us to lick your boot or something?"
Hansoo chuckled.
"No, I'm a bit kinder. And… There's only one thing you can help me with, remember?"
"Hmm?"
"I told you, I want to get to the box faster. It would be faster with your help."
And with Hansoo's smile that followed this.
Everybody started to feel uneasy.
.............
Boooom!
Misun screamed after a clash against the scorpion-like creature from the Abyss, the Echiton-Filer race.
There were hundreds of these scorpions all around them.
'Fuck…I need to back up!'
But just as she was about to move back.
"If you back up then what about your friends behind you? They will barely be able to move from lack of space."
Boooom!
Hansoo smashed away four scorpions with a single strike and then released a cloud of darkness into the air.
The Dark Cloud he released penetrated into Misun's body and spread out all over inside her.
Then.
The seven skills within Misun's body got activated instantly as Hansoo controlled Misun to move forwards.
Though a complete control was impossible, due to the huge difference of strength it was more than enough to control her with the Dark Cloud.
"Ahhhhk!"
Misun was flustered but didn't resist as if she was already used to this.
Crunch!
Boom!
Hansoo smashed apart a few more Echiton-Filers as he spoke.
"Remember this flow. And don't always focus on yourself. It's not you killing as many as possible but rather the four of you killing as many as you guys can and still remaining intact.."
Hansoo laughed as he continued towards the main base in a straight line.
"Isn't it much faster since you guys are cooperating? See how fast you're improving."
Whoooosh.
"Fuck…"
Taesang cursed out of the blue.
Their abilities were indeed improving at a rapid pace.
Even he didn't know that he was this strong.
The skills he had exploded out controllably one by one.
Though he had always focused on getting powerful skills and a powerful body, he realized something after experiencing it for himself.
Though a sharp and heavy sword was good, the most important thing was the ability of the controller.
But there was something else that was getting on his nerves.
'But why the hell are your words different from your actions?'
Shouldn't he be looking for the box?
Though this man was strong, he shouldn't be at the pinnacle.
If he was then he would be at the old violet zone or the current 7th zone.
The land where the people who have reached the apex resided in.
As Taesang looked towards Hansoo.
Hansoo was also looking at himself.
..........
In a white space.
A single man was seated in a lotus position.
At that moment.
Squirm
The space distorted and ripped apart as it spat out a person.
'Did he come again?'
The man made an annoyed expression.
Though he was just a wisp of consciousness of the seed and the newcomer was the owner of this space, it was still annoying.
This was why the man was annoyed at the owner of this space.
"How greedy. If you've received something nice then just keep it. Why are you even looking over at my things."
The owner of the space, Hansoo, smiled towards the original creator of the Pandemic Blade.
"From what I hear there are a lot more powerful beings on this land, I need your strength."
Reincarnator – Chapter 307 : Transcendent (5)
The original creator of the Pandemic Blade.
The transcendent, who could be anywhere in the Abyss or even somewhere other than the Abyss, shook his head towards Hansoo.
"Though I'm not my true self…I'm still far from your level."
The man who had been sitting in a lotus position slowly raised his finger that had been resting on his right knee.
Then.
From the end of the man's finger.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiing.
A much more brilliant and thicker light than Hansoo's red powder exploded out from the man's finger.
[Final Thoughts]
A skill that had been created through the entire lifetime's worth of the creator's memories, pain, tests, experiences and regrets.
This being was not a living thing but rather a wisp of consciousness within the skill of Annihilation.
'Much stronger than me for sure.'
Boooooooom!
Along with a huge noise, the seven colored powder within the tip of the man's finger exploded out.
Chiiiiiiiiik!
Soon the skill, Final Thoughts, started to devour and gnaw away at the Hansoo inside this space.
............…..
Huuududuuk.
"Haaa…"
'I guess I'm still a bit far from breaching the 2 star boundary.'
Hansoo made a bitter smile as he sensed the result of what had happened inside his mind while slicing a Echiton-Filer into two.
Though he had conquered a single fragment of the Demonic Dragon Reinforcement and was continuously trying, it seems that he was still a bit far from it.
'But I can't give up.'
Although that 2-star transcendent shouldn't be remaining in this 4th zone, many of the transcendents were insane which meant it was still possible.
This was why he had to defeat the fragment of the Pandemic Blade in case he met a 2-star transcendent.
But since he had lost, he wouldn't be able to try again for a while.
Hansoo felt one of his two split souls being destroyed as he focused again on the outside situation.
Uuudududuk.
"Kuhuuk…."
"Haa…Ugh."
Taesang and the others had dealt with the Echiton-Filers and were gasping for breath.
Lauren's legs were on the brink of giving out as she seemed like she wanted to sit.
'No can do.'
Whoosh.
The Dark Cloud fixed her stature.
"If you can't block a sneak attack from your side then your friend Misun's head will be cut off. Don't let your guard down."
Then.
Lauren, who had been barely standing, frowned.
"Fuck…Then when can we rest! Do you only have thoughts of killing and fighting in your head?"
And Hansoo replied in a simple manner.
"Of course."
There was only one moment in this world that allowed you to stop thinking about fighting.
Only a single moment.
'Death'
If you have not reached the state of eternal rest then you have to keep fighting.
Because you were alive.
This was the price of staying alive.
Then.
Whooosh.
A golden ball of light came out from Hansoo's fingers and flew towards Lauren.
Well, past her body to be exact.
The golden energy exploded out behind Lauren.
Along with a scream.
Kyaaaaaak!
"….Kang Kion."
Misun and Taesung were at a loss for words when they saw the parts of the creature flying out from the explosion.
It had sneaked past Lauren and had approached herself who had an injury to the ankle.
If that damned bastard hadn't found it and destroyed it first then it would've succeeded in taking her life.
Hansoo shrugged her shoulders.
"If you don't want to worry then not doing so is also a good choice, those things will help you stop thinking about such things. Forever that is."
"…Damn."
Misun then spoke towards Hansoo quietly.
"…I'll repay you. Tell me if you need anything at the main base. I'll get it or you."
Misun then kept up her guard while treating her injuries and headed towards her comrades.
And Hansoo smiled at this scene.
'At least I won't have to tell her about one thing.'
There was another reason to reduce the amount worry one had about fights.
That is finding comrades to worry about it together.
And it seemed like they were doing this well anyway.
'I wonder how they're all doing.'
Hansoo thought back to the comrades from 2 years ago but then shook his head.
If they were doing well then he would meet them while climbing up the tower.
'Anyways, the Echiton-Filers are only 3rd grade monsters. Were the monsters that were released only at this level?'
Hansoo mumbled.
Echiton-Filers
A hierarchy type race, though they were dangerous they didn't have outstanding skills and had limited strength so they were rated as 3rd grade.
Dark-Ramas.
Self ruled race type, they were far beyond 5th grade if one wasn't prepared but if one was sufficiently prepared then they were even lower than Echiton-Filers at 2nd grade.
And Kang-Kion were rated 4th grades as they were hard to deal with even if you knew how to deal with them.
All the abyssal races he had seen up to this point were quite weak.
Though Taesang the 3 others didn't speak for everyone in the 4th zone, he was still shocked at their lack of sense.
But if all the abyssal races were around this level, then it wouldn't be weird.
While Hansoo had been lost in thought.
A voice was heard.
"We're almost there. Right past that hill."
Hansoo looked towards the location where Taesan had been pointing towards.
And Hansoo made a shocked expression.
'…That is.'
The place these guys decided to hide was not far from War Fortress.
It was a similar distance away from the Great Maze as the War Fortress of the Keil Kingdom was.
The Korin Kingdom's Fortress.
Though it was still dozens of kilometers away from the War Fortress, it was not a long distance for that Dark King.
And as if Taesang had read Hansoo's mind, he replied.
"Even if we want to go far, there are just too many abyssal creatures so we cannot go far. And…This is the only way to recruit even a small amount of people who come up."
"And for some reason, the abyssal creatures don't come to that place. It's the safest spot."
If you ignore that crazy bastard, then the most dangerous thing were the abyssal creatures.
Since the crazy bastard is holed up in the War Fortress for some reason, the safest spot was anywhere where the abyssal creatures didn't come to.
Like this fortress.
And Hansoo frowned.
'They don't approach it.'
Of course the abyssal creatures weren't everywhere.
But they would go anywhere the humans went.
There weren't many exceptions to this and far less of them were beneficial to humans.
Hansoo clenched the golden spear in his hand.
.........…..
Rummble.
As Hansoo approached.
He could feel the auras within the Fortress.
Thousands of well-organized auras.
But Hansoo frowned.
'It's too loose.'
The aura of a person didn't only tell how strong one was.
It also showed their current condition as well as their emotions.
And it became even more apparent if the opposing side was weaker.
Though they were well organized, they were also very relaxed.
And Misun spoke in an embarrassed manner after seeing Hansoo's expression.
"Don't be like that. It's because we almost gathered enough of the Abyssal Crystals."
Abysstal Crystals.
In the beginning, this crystal which dropped from the abyssal creatures, brought huge battles in the beginning because of its mysteriousness.
Since there was nothing that didn't have a meaning after a fight in this world.
They thought that it could make them stronger as they madly chased after it.
Until they found out that it didn't have any effects of making them stronger.
But despite that, it was still one of the most important resources of this world.
Since this was the only thing that allowed the elevators to activate.
Only when they had a sufficient amount per person could they go up.
This was why they had to continue fighting against the Abyssal Creatures.
Since if not, they would have to remain in this world.
And the four leaders who had escaped with their respective groups made a decision.
To go up.
Though there were higher chances of danger, they had hopes in another factor.
The people who went before.
There were over 10 million people who had went up in the past two years.
And everybody agreed to this.
Since that Dark King was too much for them to continue staying here.
A natural disaster should be dodged.
Misun turned around and glanced at the man.
'…I hope things go well.'
They weren't monkeys.
It was 99% clear that this man was a transcendent as well.
They could feel the traces of transcendent aura from time to time.
The issue was the people inside the fortress.
The people inside were deathly afraid of transcendents.
None of them wanted to befriend a transcendent.
Misun carefully spoke towards hansoo.
"Could you just stay here?"
"Stay?"
Misun nodded.
"…There's no need to create issues right? Your objective was the box anyway. We'll get it for you after we go in."
They had been dragged here because of fear and relief at the fact that the man didn't treat them half badly.
But she woke up after seeing the fortress.
There was a high chance of issues occurring if they took this man inside the War Fortress.
They just needed to give back the box.
According to her thoughts, this man had nothing to do with them as long as they gave back the box.
Then.
Whoooosh.
Something cut through the air and headed towards them rapidly.
'What the…No way!'
Misun looked up to see if it was an attack.
But it wasn't a weapon that she saw.
Boooom!
The object which had been thrown made a huge noise as it landed on the ground.
Hansoo picked up the object as he chuckled.
"It seems I've gotten it back a bit too easily."
'Too easily.'
Hansoo picked up the box and looked towards the man who was looking at him with a stern expression.
Reincarnator – Chapter 308 : Nursery (1)
He spent a long time thinking in the egg.
His battles were already set in place.It was his destiny.
He couldn't avoid the invasion of the Abyss.
To become the evil king was also part of his destiny.
Since it was the most efficient path.
But then a question arose in his mind.
The path and goal were both set.
But as for me…
What am I fighting for?
...............…..
"Damn…those crazy bastards. What the hell did they drag over?"
'How could he bring in something like that after knowing what happened to us with the last transcendent?'
Akran, one of the four leaders, gulped as he looked down from high atop the castle.
Out of curiosity, he'd wanted to open the door on a whim, but then quickly gave up that idea after hearing Taesang's voice.
He didn't want to get involved with things like this.
'Damn… I don't know what's inside, but hopefully, it's what he wants.'
Akran gulped.
There were clear traces of his attempts to open the lid.
If that monster didn't find what he wanted inside that box, he'd be the first person they'd blame.
Because he might've tampered with the box's contents.
And because of Akran's attitude, everyone else inside the fortress looked confused.
"Is there an issue?"
"You said that in the scout's report, there was nothing wrong."
"Did the Kang-Kions come back? They seem to be hanging around this area lately."
'Damn.'
His face had shown how flustered he felt.
Akran frowned; he'd hid the fact that a suspected transcendent had arrived.
Though he had dispatched a hundred people to various places with just a brief message, he hadn't informed the general public due to the possibility of it bringing further panic and chaos.
Some might say his methods were foolish, but he did not regret his actions.
After all, the opponent he was facing was not someone he could safely go up against.
It was better to do this rather than piss the guy off.
And the people behind him were already very fearful of transcendents.
"No. Just focus on distributing the crystals. We'll…head up soon."
Akran's words seemed to ease their perturbed expressions, and he re-focused his attention back to the man opening the box.
C-c-c-crrackk—
'That… That easily?'
The box that he'd tried so hard to pry open was opened in a brief moment.
But at the same time, it further aroused his curiosity.
'…What could it be?'
It was an item that even a transcendent was looking for.
And it was stored in such a hard case.
It wouldn't be a simple object.
Akran's focused his exceptional eyesight—though not as impressive as a transcendent's—at the insides of the box.
'…What the hell?'
A simple letter was tucked inside.
'Just a letter?'
Akran grinded his teeth.
As his expectations were high, so too was his disappointment.
But his disappointment wasn't a big deal—if the other party was disappointed, then that would be a huge issue.
'I should prepa…'
Akran noticed the man's expression and immediately froze.
The man was smiling.
............…
The box contained a letter.
Hansoo mumbled the name of the man written on top of the letter.
'Sangjin'
The man he had picked out.
And the man he was forced to part ways with after things had gone south.
'He had looked for me… But why just a letter?…'
Many more questions bubbled up inside him, but there was nothing more to confirm because he'd checked it out himself.
Hansoo continued to read the letter Sangjin had left behind.
The letter had been written around two years ago.
"…"
Hansoo's grip tightened for a moment from the emotions that sprang up inside him from the letter.
But he continued to read; there was too much he needed to know.
It wasn't just Sangjin's thoughts contained within this letter.
It was all of them.
Hansoo clenched his teeth as he read on.
'Why didn't they just give up and leave…?'
He had followed the restrictions placed on him while his memories were also sealed, and he had focused solely on his objectives.
Though he'd made some friends during the tutorial stage where the restrictions were weaker, he had started to focus more and more on his objectives when he entered the Red Zone.
In the Yellow and Green Zone, this shift had been more apparent.
So much so that nobody would go near him.
Because he had acted like a machine and discarded his relationships, he'd thought that Sangjin and Mihee would've forgotten about him as well.
But apparently, that hadn't been the case.
This was not what Hansoo wanted.
He'd wanted them to leave him behind and to quickly move on.
'…Let's just read on and see what happened.'
There were still some parts left in the letter.
Hansoo decided to continue reading.
The scenes they saw weren't of monsters of the abyss attacking humankind.
It was a human.
A human who looked like them and should be on their side.
That human was attacking them.
A single human.
And once they saw this disgustingly powerful being, only then did they realize.
That the change hadn't only come to the beings of the Abyss.
The existence that would change the hierarchy.
Transcendents.
The elites of the elites had banded together, only to barely defeat one.
And after realizing that sheer numbers weren't enough to deal with this person, only then did they realize.
That this being hadn't been born of chance.
And that there was more than just one.
In the vast world where the three Kingdoms and the one Empire ruled over.
This sole beast was slowly expanding his power.
Even stranger was that they weren't really doing anything with them.
They just created these monsters and spread them around with only a single message left behind.
Anyways, it didn't matter who was in the west.
They realized that the unity of humankind would only be possible after they became transcendents themselves.
Uniting humankind would normally be an impossible feat, if not for the threat of the transcendents constantly being born.
Which meant that if they could become transcendents on their own, they would be able to resist the attacks of the other transcendents.
And because they realized this, they decided to give up searching for Hansoo.
One went up.
Since they needed to stop those who were causing chaos above.
Though it would be for the better if the other transcendents stayed on this floor, the chances of that not happening were greater since they would naturally like to keep climbing up.
The other team remained in the Green Zone and headed towards the west to deal with the villainous group.
If they didn't create a safe passage, they wouldn't be able to go up even if those above had created a safe haven.
But sadly, they had settled around the elevator.
They couldn't deal with the beings of the Abyss as well as the transcendents at the same time.
Samuel and the rest had left with countless others, and so they didn't have enough power to do so.
But other than the two teams, there was one person who decided to act by himself.
The letter stops briefly, and after a short pause, it continues.
<…Farewell.>
After finishing the letter.Hansoo re-reads it once again.
He re-reads the parts listing what humanity did and decided upon in the past two years he'd been gone.
Then Hansoo grits his teeth.
'I… I've been asleep for too long. I am sorry.'
Hansoo thought of the people above.
Risking their lives for his sake.
Hansoo's grip on his spear tightens.
'Wait for me.'
Reincarnator – Chapter 309 : Nursery (2)
The War Fortress.
The sounds of explosions were occurring.
All from the hands of one man.
-Rumble-
"Hmm. I hope they like this."
The Dark King hummed as he continued to move his hands around.
How could he not be happy?
For the man he had respected so much to have remained in this world.
'It's a good thing I settled around the elevator.'
He continued to hum.
The existence who had created them had left them alone in this world.
Without asking for anything in return.
But a human mind was complex; it could change at a moment's notice.
Because of this, every one of the transcended chose to settle down far from the elevator, in fear of that being.
Since they'd only get caught if they were found loitering around the elevator.
But he was different.
If he stayed near here.
He would be able to meet Kang Hansoo again.
"Good! I hope he likes this."
After working on it for so long, the thing the Dark King had created was none other than Hansoo's statue, which towered over hundreds of meters.
He had created it by shaving apart the mountain located next to the War Fortress.
'Well, I don't know what he actually looks like, but I'll know so long as he has the spear, the ring, and his armor.'
But sooner or later, Hansoo would come looking for him.
But after making all this, he started to worry.
Though he himself respected Hansoo, what if…
'…What if he doesn't like me?'
Though he respected Hansoo, he did not want to die just yet.
He merely wanted to be with him, fighting alongside him.
Like those who had climbed up with Hansoo.
And after some time, the Dark King came to a decision.
'This won't do, I must get stronger.'
The being that had created them had even taught them how to become stronger.
It wasn't hard.
Since it was the same as how he'd been born.
'Yeah, this isn't the time to dilly-dally.'
No.
If that Hansoo guy didn't like him and decided to kill him, and he didn't have the power to resist, how sad would that be?
He needed to win the fight, first.
If he could beat Hansoo, then Hansoo might reassess his strength again.
'Yeah, I must win first.'
The Dark King rose up.
He then called for his underlings in the distance.
"Hey, guys. Throw out the bait. It's time."
"…Understood. Shall we use a smaller piece of bait this time around?"
The underlings working for the Dark king replied while trembling in fear. The Dark King merely shook his head.
"No, there's no need to delay it anymore. Just use it all."
And from these words.
The underlings trembled in fear because they knew who the 'bait' would be.
............….
Hansoo carefully folded the letter, putting it safely underneath his armor, and fell into deep thought.
And now he had another thing he needed to do.
But in the end, his goals hadn't changed.
Actually, the total amount of work had lessened.
He needed to find his old comrades and deal with the transcendents created by the unknown.
He also needed to find those who were fighting in his place.
'I've dawdled for too long.'
Though his overall job hadn't changed, his mindset had.
'Wait for me.'
First, he needed to chase after those who'd gone to the west to fight in place of him.
He didn't know who had gone since it hadn't been written in the letter.
But there would surely be a trail.
Fights between transcendents weren't a simple matter.
'I just need to kill the man who created them.'
It would make things easier if the transcendents were to let the world know of their location, but it would still take an extremely long amount of time to find them all and kill them off one-by-one.
It was more important to kill the one making them rather than deal with the creations.
Hansoo decided to head towards the west.
Misun then asked Hansoo.
"Are you leaving?"
Hansoo nodded.
"I need to go west."
Taesang pondered for a bit and then finally decided to speak out.
"Can you not help us instead? The Dark King must be killed."
They had never even thought of going against the Dark King until now.
After all, they lacked the power to deal with the Dark King himself, even if they could deal with his underlings.
But the man in front of him was also a transcendent.
If this man could handle the Dark King, they could handle the rest.
But the reason why he'd waited until now to ask the question was because even transcendents had their differences.
Even if they had similar strengths, it was clear that danger still existed since it would be unknown who would come out as the victor in the end.
But Hanso had always given the impression that he was far, far stronger than what the Dark King had shown them so far.
'I had to at least ask.'
Taesang clenched his teeth.
This was the best chance they had to rescue the people being captured, as well as saving the ones who would come up through the elevator.
Maybe the last chance they would get.
If they foolishly allowed this man to leave, then they would regret it forever.
And before Hansoo could even reply.
-Rumble-
-Boom!-
"…Hmm?"
The ground trembled slightly as everyone looked around.
And at that exact moment.
Hansoo sensed the cause of the earthquake.
Thousands of beings were moving quickly on the ground.
Through the ground below.
As well as through the snow.
Towards the War Fortress.
And as he felt this.
Hansoo realized what was going on.
"…I see. So he ran a nursery."
It seems that no matter how much time passes by, some things remained unchanged.
A new variable had now occurred.
Hansoo looked towards the War Fortress in the distance.
............
"Hahahahaha! Good! Good!"
The maze beneath the War Fortress.
Through the giant hole that Arthus Krancheska had made in the past.
The underlings of the Dark King were kicking people into the hole.
"Ahhh!""Ugh!"
The people had thoughts of resisting but soon gave up.
They had clearly seen what happened to the people who resisted.
It was better to fall into the hole.
But one of the newcomers didn't seem to have realized this as he strongly fought back.
"You bastards! What are you doing?!"
-Boom!-
Apparently, he had been quite famous below; the skills shooting out from his hands were not normal.
But the newcomer should've realized.
As to why the underlings of the Dark King weren't holding them down.
Then—
-Boom!-
A bright orb flew at the newcomer's head.
"Wha—"
As if he were trying to prove his proficient skills, the newcomer tried to quickly protect his body, but everyone was already turning their heads away.
Since they knew what was going to happen.
-Boom!-
The bright orb went past his hands, through his head, and into the distance.
-Whoosh-
"Ugh…"
The others gritted their teeth as they watched the body fall into the hole.
The Dark King, who had shot out the orb, grinned as he continued to rile up his underlings.
"Though it's good that the bait is lively, it shouldn't try to bite the hand, right? Continue throwing them in."
"…Yes."
The underlings, white with fear, continued to kick the people into the hole.
Though they were called underlings, they clearly knew what they really were in the Dark King's mind.
No, they were probably in a worse situation than the people being kicked into the hole.
-Whoosh!-
-Thump!-
"Argh!"
"Ugh!"
The people continued to fall into the hole, but a mere drop of a few hundred meters wasn't enough to kill them.
-Tat-
-Tatatat-
The people who got kicked in used various skills to land on the maze below.
"Ugh."
Then—
'Wait…? Can't we just run away?'
The eyes of one of the newcomers shone.
The Dark King was far above them, and the maze spread out in all directions.
Even if the Dark King was strong, how could he catch them all if thousands of them ran in different directions?
The newcomer quickly mumbled after making the observation.
"Hey! Let's all run away! If we all run…won't at least half of us live?"
A few mumbled in agreement, but a man who looked like a veteran clenched his teeth and spoke.
"If we separate, then we'll all die. Stop speaking nonsense and group up. As long as we stay in a group and fight, some of us will survive."
"What?"
Then—
-Roaaaaaarr-
A strange noise reverberated throughout the maze.
And from this noise.
The veteran screamed to everyone.
"Get away from the ground as much as possible! Kang—"
But before the man could even finish his words.
-Boom!-
The Kang-Kion leaped out from the wall and ripped apart the veteran's neck.
............….
Ahhh.
Uaaaaaahk.
After hearing the scream from below.
The underlings of the Dark King made terrified expressions.
Kang-Kion.
Beings that ate humans and used them as nutrition to repopulate.
And because their way of repopulating was quite grotesque, not many liked to witness it.
But the man in front of them, the Dark King, treated them as pets and even raised them.
All the nearby Kang-Kions knew.
That food constantly fell down around this time, at this exact spot.
The tens of thousands of Kang-Kions swarming below were proof.
And the worst part was.
They ate the humans and were constantly increasing their own numbers.
There were way more than the actual number of Kang-Kions nearby.
'Damn… Why do they keep increasing their numbers?'
And despite the complaints of the underlings.
The Dark King merely smiled as he looked at the swarming Kang-Kions.
'Yeah. I was merely thinking too much. He's still just a transcendent.'
The Dark King hummed.
The method they had taught him.
One of the methods of becoming a transcendent was very simple.
The Abyssal beings came from outside the Otherworld.
Beings that already had the power to go past the limits.
The crystals that the Abyssal beings left behind after being killed was a code.
If you continued to mix the code of the humans who could not go through the limits with the ones of the Abyssal beings, the human body will forcibly reach the level of a transcendent.
Without any enlightenment or physical strain.
'A very easy method.'
He was basically performing modern alchemy.
Changing the humans, who were useless to him, into crystals that the Abyssal beings dropped when killed.
'Please come quickly, Mr. Hansoo. I have a gift for us to enjoy together.'
-Roar-
Kwaaan!
Uwaaak!
How could Hansoo not like him?
It was the fastest route to becoming strong.
This would be a great gift for him, the one he respected so much.
The Dark King continued to smile as he heard the screams below.
Reincarnator – Chapter 310 : Nursery (3)
—Rumble—
'…it seems he raised quite a lot.'
Hansoo mumbled, sensing the number of the Kang-Kions.
The number of Kang-Kions approaching were rising at a steady pace.
Towards the War Fortress where the so-called 'Dark King' would be at.
As the number of Kang-Kions rose, the number passing through that area had also risen.
Of course, the Kang-Kions wouldn't just eat the humans in the War Fortress off in the distance.
Kyaaaa!
Kuooo!
"Ah…!"
"What's going on?!"
The Kang-Kions pondered for a moment, then decided to head towards the walls of the fortress where the refugees were currently hiding behind.
The people had been preparing to go up through the elevator, but seeing the Kang-Kions approach the walls, they immediately panicked and quickly started to retaliate against the Kang-Kions.
And soon.
—Rumble!—
"Dammit! Kill them!"
"Group up! Be wary of the ground and the walls, and spread out the Lantanol powder!"
The Kang-Kions were not simple.
How great would it be if they could simply defend against them just by being prepared?
The Kang-Kions had already drilled through the walls and the ground; their bodies were so tough that not even well-sharpened swords could cut through them.
Soon the inner parts of the fortress were filled with screams and the sound of the clashes between the Kang-Kions and the refugees.
Uaaaaak!
"Kuhuk! Block them!"
"Ugh…Damn!"
"What the hell is happening?!"
Every member next to Hansoo, including Lauren, were shocked at the scene and all started pulling out their weapons.
Since the Kang-Kions wouldn't leave the four unscathed.
Kyaaaak!
The Kang-Kions quickly transformed into leopards, leaping out from the ground beneath and rushing towards them.
'…Damn!'
Taesang grit his teeth, quickly surrounding himself with skills.
Then—
Hansoo lifted his foot, and then slammed it down.
—Boooooooom!—
A huge, explosive sound rang out as the ground beneath them cracked open, fissures spreading outwards, web-like, in all directions.
Dust flew up alongside the huge noise and created an enormous dust cloud.
The Demonic Dragon Reinforcement that had spread out from Hansoo's foot hadn't stopped shaking the surface, and continued to burrow deeper into the ground, continuously producing shockwaves.
It didn't only affect the beasts above the ground, the Kang-Kions' true bodies underground were hit as well.
Kyaaak!
Roar!
The Kang-Kions, which had been created from the dirt but possessed bodies stronger than steel, broke back into dirt.
The true bodies of the Kang-Kions had also started to disintegrate.
Every Kang-Kion within a hundred-meter sphere around Hansoo had died from a single kick.
Not only on the surface, but also underground.
—Clank—
—Clank Clank—
Countless Kang-Kions in mid-air turned into violet crystals, falling down to the ground.
Kiiiik.
Karrrk.
The other Kang-Kions started to tremble in fear at this sight.
It was that being again.
A mutant born from those animals they treated as food.
That thing looked just like the other things beside it, but it was on a completely different level of its own.
Maybe the other beings of the Abyss—those that they sometimes met in the west and the south—might be able to deal with it.
Their race couldn't even dare to go up against such a thing.
But there was one good thing about them.
Some of those mutants didn't even bother protecting their own kind, and even crossed the line by treating their own race worse than how the Kang-Kions treated them.
Kirrrrk!
The Kang-Kions ran away in fear, and instead headed towards the fortress full of refugees.
"…They're running away."
"…"
Taesang stared at Hansoo in a daze after hearing what Lauren had said after checking the surroundings.
He knew that Hansoo was strong.
But not to this extent.
For him to be able to make them run away with a single step.
In that moment, something started to burn inside his mind.
A desire.
No.
A fervour.
'If only I could become like that too…'
Taesang continued to stare at Hansoo in a daze.
'…I guess I'll need to deal with this quickly.'
Hansoo mumbled, as he looked at the Kang-Kions causing chaos.
Dealing with this chaos wasn't the main issue.
This was nothing more than a small step in the Dark King's quest to become stronger.
'If he knows the method of becoming stronger through the Abyssal Crystals, then…'
A transcendent, who already had the possibility of going over the limit, would only become stronger with each crystal they collected.
Though it was one of the more efficient and weaker ways of becoming a transcendent, it was one of the fastest ways to raise one's strength.
Like how an adult could still beat a kid to death even if they themselves were bad at fighting.
The level of strength increasing in itself meant a lot.
'If one devoured all the Kang-Kions here…'
If that person became a 2-star transcendent then it would be more than just annoying.
No, he wouldn't be able to beat them in the first place.
Since the difference between a 2-star and a 1-star transcendent was like the difference between a transcendent and a normal being.
If that was actually the case then thankfully, there weren't enough Kang-Kions nearby to actually reach that level.
But of course it wasn't anything to scoff at either.
It wasn't enough to go from a 1-star to a 2-star transcendent, but one could still become terrifyingly stronger.
If the person was given enough time to continue with his
He needed to deal with this person before he ate up all the Kang-Kions in the area.
'I guess… I'll need to prepare something else.'
Hansoo came to a decision and then looked at Taesang.
"You guys said that you collected crystals to climb up, right?"
Taesang, who was still staring at Hansoo in a daze, nodded absently at the question.
"Yes."
"Hmm…"
Hansoo sensed the number of people inside the fortress and nodded.
Close to 8,000 people.
If there were enough crystals for all these people to go up, then they must've worked long and hard to collect them, going through countless dangers to acquire them.
Precious, precious crystals.
But they wouldn't be using it to climb up.
'…8,000 is a bit low, but these should be useful.'
At the same time, he commanded.
"Follow me."
"Huh?"
Even before Taesang could figure out what was going on.
"Huh?…Ahhhhh!"
The four of them, including Taesang, started to float upwards.
Then—
—Swooooosh!—
Hansoo, who was holding onto their clothes, jumped onto the fortress.
.........
—Booooom!—
—Boom!—
'F***ing hell… The amount of casualties are too high!'
Akran, one of the four leaders of the refugees, grit his teeth as he looked around at the fortress swarmed by Kang-Kions.
Quite a large number of Kang-Kions, all heading towards the Dark King's War Fortress, had started to swarm into this place after realizing that there was a large amount of food.
'F***…it's the Dark King!'
Even these beasts cared for their own kind.
Calling each other to share any food available.
But that bastard Dark King, he drove his own kind to the very corners of the world.
Though a transcendent being had no reason to defend the other humans, they had no reason to attack them either, right?
Akran, after cursing the Dark King for quite a while, stood up.
Danger brought with it opportunities.
Though they had collected quite a large amount of crystals so far, they hadn't the courage to go near the elevator because the Dark King had settled next to it.
But if this chaos was caused by the Dark King, then there was a high chance that he wouldn't be able to keep his attention on the elevator.
Since there were many more Kang-Kions than usual for some reason.
'Yeah… To hell with it.'
Akran clenched his teeth.
Normally they would've needed more time to collect enough crystals for everyone, but since this was the case, it didn't matter anymore.
Since a lot of people had already died.
Akran shouted out loud.
"Everyone retreat! Maintain formation and head towards the elevator!"
'Charge through to the elevator like this!'
The survivors would use the crystals to go up.
As Akran shouted.
The other three leaders swung their spears and slowly started to create a battle formation to valiantly retreat valiantly to the front.
'Good.'
Looking at the formation that was barely holding on, Akran clenched his teeth and ran.
Since he had another job to do.
'Crystals…I must get the crystals.'
Without the crystals, there would be no exit for them even if they reached the elevator.
He needed to quickly retrieve the crystals and distribute them to everyone.
As long as they could reach the elevator, and even if they were seperated, the crystals would help them go up.
Akran dashed madly towards the storage area holding the crystals.
Then—
—Boom!—
—Boom! Boom!—
Explosive sounds could be heard behind them, causing Akran to turn around in shock.
'It's him!'
The moment something rose high above the walls of the fortress, Akran's expression brightened up.
'If he could help us…'
Then they would be able to lessen the number of casualties even further.
And as he expected.
—Boom!—
Kyaaaak!
Kurrrrr!
With every step, the Kang-Kions died screaming.
Though he moved over dozens of meters with every step, every Kang-Kion in a radius of a hundred meters were killed off every time his foot made contact with the ground.
And thanks to this, the people who had been fighting in the nearby area were able to help their comrades in other places.
A simple walk had changed the battlefield.
'If only we could have a person like that…'
Akran made a depressed expression but soon shook his head.
An uncontrollable bomb was better than nothing.
If that man suddenly changed his mind, what would happen to them?
He could not possibly understand the thoughts of a transcendent since he didn't have the strength to treat all other human beings as ants like they did.
'But…this is still good enough.'
But then—
Akran's expression suddenly turned for the worse.
He had realized where the man was heading to.
'No….NO!'
Akran roared in despair as he looked at where Hansoo was heading.
"NO! NO! YOU BASTARD! NO!"
—Boom!—
Akran continued to roar as he madly dashed off in the same direction.
Towards the storage area the man was currently approaching.
But sadly, Hansoo's speed was much greater than that of Akran's.
Extremely so.
—Whooosh!—
Hansoo arrived at the storage area first.
And by the time Akran caught up to him, the doors were already being ripped apart.
"You f***ing bastard…Stop!"
'Wait…Could it be? No way!'
He'd had a strange suspicion once.
That maybe the Abyssal Crystals were the secrets of the transcendents.
But he didn't know how to use them in the first place, plus these things were too precious to use without solid proof.
But sadly it looked like his previous guess was correct.
Hansoo merely shook his head at Akran.
"I'm not trying to use it for myself."
He wouldn't use the crystals to strengthen himself.
Well, he could, but it would be very inefficient in the long run.
"What?"
Akran replied dazedly, but Hansoo merely walked into the storage area. There was no time to explain everything to this person one-by-one.
—Whooosh—
Hansoo collected the violet crystals into a single area and looked towards the War Fortress in the distance.
.........…..
—Crunch—
—Crack—
'Good…very good.'
The limitations inside his body were breaking apart.
The very rules that bound everyone in this world shattered apart as it changed for him and him alone.
A change that allowed him to become the center of the world.
'Damn…Is this how you felt as well?'
The Dark King felt the energy from the violet light being sucked into his body. He smiled as he thought of the transcendent in the past.
The man who had turned him, a normal human, into a transcendent.
Reincarnator – Chapter 311 : Nursery (4)
Hansoo mumbled as he looked towards the giant storm above the War Fortress in the distance.
'…Hold on.'
As he looking at the crystals in front of him, Hansoo thought about those who were fighting in his place.
It wasn't enough to create a transcendent from scratch.
It wasn't enough to break past the wall.
But it was enough to bring up somebody who had reached their limits.
Hansoo then turned around to look at the four behind him.
Lauren Bell, Taesang and Misun.
The first people he'd met after being born.
And Akran, who was staring at him from the distance.
'Hmm.'
Hansoo swept past them and then started to create something in his hand.
—Ssssk—
Something dark, and blood-red in color appeared.
Everyone looked confused.
They didn't really feel anything.
'…What about it.'
But there was one who reacted differently.
—flinch—
Hansoo saw Taeasng flinching at the sight of his hand. He pointed at him.
"You'll do."
"…What do you mean?"
Hansoo replied, as he crushed a crystal in his hands.
"As a transcendent being."
"Huh?"
Akran was shocked.
Transcendent?
'…Was it that easy to become one?'
No, let's say becoming one was easy.
But why did it have to be Taesang?
Taesang was talented, yes.
Though being in the top 10 might be a stretch, he was definitely in the top 20.
It was why he'd been picked as a scout, one of the more dangerous jobs.
But if it were up to his choice?
Taesang would not fit the criteria.
Akran couldn't hold back and asked.
"Why does it have to be Taesang? Could you tell us the requirements?"
Though he was a bit sad that it wasn't him, that wasn't the main reason why he asked.
What if there was a special trait one needed to become a transcendent?
And what if he could acquire the method of creating one?
'Then…Then I could pick them out personally and raise them.'
People who had the potential to become transcendents through the most efficient and quickest manner.
Kuooo!
But Hansoo never replied to Akran's question.
Since Hansoo was completely focused on grinding the crystals apart.
He should be grinding them even finer, but there was no time to do so.
He needed to do this as quick as possible.
—Rumble—
With Hansoo at the center, a storm was brewing inside the storage area.
And the countless violet crystals started to melt, merging into a single strand of smoke which then merged into the storm.
The overflowing energy turned to lightning, striking nearby surfaces.
—Crack!—
"What the…"
"Woah!"
Everyone retreated from this scene.
—Boom!—
A bright light exploded out from Hansoo's hands and something came into sight.
Something similar to an amethyst; a tiny gem the size of a fingernail.
Everybody stared at this beautiful gem.
Hansoo spoke to Taesang.
"Digest this and then go to the War Fortress once you're done."
It actually took time for a person to fully absorb and get used to their new strength.
And there wasn't enough time at hand to wait until Taesang was finished.
Since the other party was growing stronger at an even faster rate.
"You mean, you want me to come help?"
If the opponent was too strong and he needed a helper, then making a transcendent made sense.
Since two was better than one.
'But then… I will also…'
Hansoo scoffed at Taesang who seemed to be in high spirits.
"Of course not."
Taesang might be able to become a complete transcendent, but the amount of crystals here weren't enough for him to fully cross the wall.
He might barely be of use if he crossed the wall entirely—he'd be useless if he stopped at the halfway point.
There was another reason why he'd made this gem and given it to Taesang.
"Let's just say… you're insurance."
"…Pardon?"
—Poof—
Before Taesang could even react, Hansoo smashed the violet gem into Taesang's heart.
But despite flying in so fast it could have shredded through Taesang's ribs and heart, the gem was merely absorbed into the flesh.
Then—
—Thump—
"Huh?…What?"
'…What the hell?'
Taesang exclaimed out loud as he felt the energy flowing out from his heart.
Like paint spreading through water, the violet light soon covered Taesang's entire body.
Covering everything from his intestines, his muscles, his bones, and his skin.
As if his entire body was being infested.
Then—
'…What is this?'
Taesang was shocked at the strange sight happening to his own body.
The change was too abnormal for him to gladly accept.
The numbers that had strengthened his body.
The runes that he'd fought for with his life to become stronger were being erased.
Well, it was more like the runes were being altered.
The eight different runes, such as strength or agility, were breaking apart.
The strength runes broke down and mixed with the agility runes, the vitality runes also broke down and merged with the mana runes.
Like this, the eight different runes began to merge into a single point.
Then—
'Ah…AHHHH!'
A tremendous amount of pain.
As if his soul was being ripped apart from his body.
Well, that was really the case.
His consciousness was becoming blurry.
As if his soul was being forcibly sucked up to a higher place.
A strange but comfortable feeling.
And as Taesang slowly closed his eyes.
He heard the voice of the man who had caused all of this.
"Remember. After the end…Come."
And with these words.
Taesang lost consciousness.
............….
—Boom!—
Hansoo blew apart the Kang-Kions as he ran towards the War Fortress in the distance.
—Crunch!—
—Crack!—
Before this, he'd been careful not to hurt other people, but since he had nobody to look out for anymore, he was free to create an even stronger shockwave beneath his feet.
And then reflected in his eyes.
The distant War Fortress quickly becoming larger.
And the violet storm above the War Fortress slowly being sucked into it.
Into the maze below.
Hansoo heard the thunderous noise as he lifted up his Forked Lightning.
Then—
—Rumble!—
A tremendous amount of energy rose from his heart and started to surround his body.
One.
Two.
Three.
The dragons continued to crawl out until the number reached five.
The dragons now displayed an even deeper color, and looked larger than before he'd gone into the egg.
And as these dragons converged onto the tip of Forked Lightning.
—Booooooom!—
From where Hansoo had been standing, all the way to the underground area beneath the War Fortress.
A giant tunnel, several kilometers in length, had been created.
—Crackle!—
The ground cracked apart as the walls of the maze fell down.
The tunnels of the maze, that even Arthus Krancheska could barely melt even after a long period of time, were all punctured through in an instant.
The dark sphere that had created the giant hole continued to penetrate the ground, burrowing towards the Dark King who was devouring the crystals extracted from the Kang-Kions he massacred.
Then—
—Boom!—
The violet storm dispersed in an instant.
It wasn't just because of Hansoo.
—Swooosh!—
Something dashed out from beneath the maze at an extreme speed.
Even faster than Hansoo.
"Hahahaha! You have come! Welcome!"
Laughing out loud, the thing that had rocketed into the sky started to slowly float down.
His existence alone was awe-inspiring.
His laughter alone shook the heavens and made the earth tremble.
The Dark King landed on top of the statue and smiled.
"It's good that I waited below, otherwise this statue that I had so painstakingly created would've been destroyed, right?"
"A statue… I see."
Though they were several kilometers apart, they spoke as if they were standing right next to each other.
Hansoo looked at the giant statue; the man had created it by shaving apart the mountain next to the fortress.
Though the face was left blank, his armor, ring and spear were incredibly detailed.
Hansoo then remembered what Taesang had said.
The Dark King laughed as he looked at Hansoo.
"Man, why couldn't you have come a bit earlier? I…I might've left some for you. How could I not give even that much as a gift to the person I respected the most?"
Respected.
Hansoo smirked at the past tense.
"I see that you're standing on top of the person you respect."
"Oh my, what a mistake."
The Dark King smiled apologetically, but then smashed apart the statue with his foot.
—Boooom!—
And from the shockwave, the giant statue became a humongous rock avalanche, which fell in a flood towards the War Fortress that was barely maintaining its shape.
"Uwaaaak!"
"Nooo!"
The surviving refugees who were still fighting against the Kang-Kions screamed, and the Dark King laughed when he heard them.
'Good. Good.'
The Dark King made a satisfied smile as he looked at the scene below him.
And as Hansoo looked at him, he also looked back at Hansoo.
It was stronger and larger than the shockwave that Hansoo guy had created.
The time he'd spent here dealing with small fries hadn't been a waste.
Hard work will never betray oneself, they say.
And this was the result of that hard work.
'Yes…Strength is the best.'
The Dark King thought back to the time when he once respected Hansoo, then smiled.
"How about it? Am I not better? I believe… We don't need two Kang Hansoos in this place."
And from these words.
Hansoo merely smirked coldly.
"Of course. Don't worry about it. I don't have any plans of killing you."
............…
Don't even dream about dying.
I'm going to squeeze out every last drop.