Episode 607
607. Easy mode. After the third return (1)
[Monster Disposition Bonus + 12]
[First Wave Bonus + 1]
[Second Wave Bonus + 0]
[Third Wave Bonus + 2 ]
[Fourth Wave Bonus + 3]
[Fifth Wave Bonus + 4]
[Special Victory Bonus + 0]
[Suppression Bonus + 0]
[Victory Bonus + 1]
.
.
.
[Settlement completed]
[23p will be paid.]
A familiar scene appears with a system window blocking the view.
A narrow space made of gray bricks.
There were a lot of people there.
“Ahh….”
“I survived. He survived…”
Sighs of relief and cries are heard. People sit down. The joy of surviving and the despair of surviving fills the space.
Taesan also sits down with a sigh.
‘For now, I survived.’
However, I couldn’t accomplish anything.
He closed his eyes.
Third return to Earth.
After trampling on countless deaths, they survived and returned to the labyrinth.
* * *
One day.
A peaceful New Year moment when everyone looked forward to the future.
The sky split open and a monster appeared.
A terrible monster that looked like something out of a movie began trampling and destroying the ground.
In the midst of panic and confusion, the translucent window revealed the cruel truth.
Your world is being invaded.
If things continue like this, they will perish.
But I’m giving you a chance.
Build strength and take back the Earth.
And the four choices given to them.
Easy and normal hard alone modes.
Taesan chose easy mode.
Not only that, but the vast majority of people chose Easy Mode. It was natural. Very few people run down the thorny path in confusion and fear. Caught in a narrowed field of vision due to fear, you will run out onto the open road.
Without even knowing it was a trap.
Abandoned from their motherhood, they fought for life.
For the first time in my life, I risked my life to defeat monsters.
At first, Easy Mode players thought their choice was the right one. As a result of communicating through the community, we learned that other modes were very difficult.
Easy mode may become difficult, but there was no significant risk to life. If you didn’t get confused and kept your cool, you could have survived.
They began to have hope.
And those hopes were dashed after returning to Earth.
Taesan closed the system window. 23 points. It was a truly miserable point.
Still, he’s probably in good shape. Most other people in easy mode will have single digit points.
Well, it’s still meaningless.
Taesan leaned his back against the wall.
For now, I survived.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive the next return.
Eating with a bitter smile. The only advantage of Easy Mode was that there was no shortage of food.
As I was eating slowly, I heard crying around me.
“I don’t like it….”
“I want to get rid of everything now. “Why are you doing this?…”
A gloomy sound that scratches the emotions of the listener.
They were in despair and had no intention of getting out.
After finishing his meal, Taesan opened the community. The purpose was to check the status of other modes after returning.
But ultimately, it was the wrong choice.
[Cho Min-jun [Easy]: Everyone has worked hard so far. I will try to get out of this hell.]
[Kim Si-woo [Easy]: Ye-eun. My brother will be there beforehand.]
[Lee Jun-seok [Easy]: Parents. I’m sorry.]
What you see is a suicide note announcing my death.
It wasn’t just one either.
It was well over a hundred.
It was the last trace left by those who chose to die.
“That sucks.”
Taesan clicked his tongue and turned off the community. There were people who left a suicide note every time they returned, but this time it was especially severe.
‘but. ‘They all died.’
“Choi Jung-hyuk is like a dog.”
Taesan sighed.
A player who dominated Easy Mode and influenced other modes beyond it.
In his second return, he waged war against hard and normal mode players, killing numerous hard mode players, including Seo Jang-san.
Afterwards, Taesan killed him directly in the labyrinth, but the aftermath was already serious. The most powerful people died in droves in the internal strife, so there was no way things could go back to normal. On their third return, they had to pay a heavy price.
Taesan got up from his seat and went up the stairs. No matter how high you go, all you see are desperate players. Taesan passed them by without thinking and approached a woman.
“Choi Jiyoung.”
“…ah. “Taesan.”
A tired-faced woman in her late twenties welcomes Taesan.
After Taesan killed Choi Jung-hyuk, Easy Mode was confused. For better or worse, he was the master of easy mode.
A manager was needed to sort out the confusion.
Taishan was impossible. In the process of catching Choi Jung-hyuk, he killed quite a few Easy Mode players. Although it may be inevitable, he is ultimately a murderer. I couldn’t become a manager.
Choi Ji-young was the person who took responsibility and sat in that position.
“How is the situation?”
“It’s the worst. what.”
Jiyoung Choi smiled bitterly.
“Too many have died. There are countless people committing suicide now. “I can’t handle it.”
Even though she always looked exhausted, she had an unwavering hope.
The hope that one day I will survive and live a peaceful life.
That’s why he took on the role of manager of Easy Mode after Choi Jung-hyuk’s death.
But the hope was no longer visible on her face.
“How many people died… I don’t know. “I don’t even want to know.”
“That’s your role.”
Sorting out the dead and identifying the layers of the labyrinth. That is the manager’s role.
Jiyoung Choi lowered her head.
“Is it meaningful? no. doesn’t exist.”
Her face was infinitely distorted as she answered herself.
“It means nothing. No matter how desperately we try, we’re in easy mode. It doesn’t even work as a meat shield properly! “Everything we do is like playing house!”
Jiyoung Choi shouted in a desperate tone.
“You actually did that! Kim Hwiyeon is dead! Because we are not doing our job! “The girl who trusted us is dead!”
“….”
Taesan listened to her cry without saying a word. After a while, I asked her when she calmed down.
“So you’re giving up?”
“…I don’t know.”
Jiyoung Choi was exhausted.
“I don’t know. nothing.”
There was no spirit for conversation. Taesan went down the labyrinth and opened a community.
Numerous wills were sent down, and now normal conversations are starting to appear little by little.
[Lee Taeyeon [Alone]: Ah. hate. I don’t like it… I have to go down the labyrinth again….]
Taeyeon Lee. As an adventurer in Alone mode, he couldn’t even play Easy Mode in the beginning, but now he is gradually becoming a player who stands out.
As far as Taesan knew, she hadn’t even gone down the 10th floor yet.
In contrast, Taesan had descended to the 50th floor. The difference was more than five times.
Nevertheless, Taeyeon Lee had a strength that could not be compared to Taesan.
“…Status window.”
[Kang Taesan]
[Level: 27]
[Stamina: 431/431]
[Mana: 140/140]
[Strength: 31] [
Intelligence: 30] [Agility:
40] [
Attack + 12]
[Defense + 22]
[Target is in a depressed state.]
The stats are truly miserable.
I started laughing without realizing it.
Even if you clear the labyrinth, there won’t be much difference in your current stats.
It’s probably barely enough to take down even the weakest monster.
That is a limitation of Easy Mode itself.
Taeyeon Lee and the hard mode players were complaining about the difficulty of the labyrinth and having a hard time, but even Taesan was very envious of them.
Can’t you become stronger?
Isn’t there a way to become stronger if you work hard and risk your life?
I have nothing.
Even if you conquer the labyrinth, you won’t even be able to reach their feet.
Because he’s in easy mode.
A sense of inferiority, helplessness, and anger surround him. Just one choice distorted everything.
“…how will we do it.”
I lean my back against the wall blankly.
I wanted to go down the labyrinth, but there was no point. Even if you reach the 100th floor, you won’t be able to achieve anything.
This was the cradle.
A cradle of death that gently embraces them and blocks all paths of growth.
Taesan spent his time like that in a daze.
And not long after, news came that Choi Ji-young had committed suicide.
* * *
“Stupid woman.”
In her role as Easy Mode’s administrator, she committed suicide, leaving behind a short suicide note.
She never lost hope, but in the end she couldn’t hold on.
Taesan was not very sad about that fact.
Rather, I understood it. If you are going to die in despair and pain, taking your own life would be the right answer.
This is a labyrinth. Death is as familiar as life. Although someone’s death is not special, a small funeral is held since they were managers.
“We can’t do it anyway. Let’s just enjoy this place until our next return.”
Everyone silently agreed with what someone said. Easy mode is the cradle. At least here, the threat of death is low.
People wasted their time in a daze.
And among them was Taesan.
‘Enjoy yourselves until your next return.’
In a way, this is probably the correct answer.
Even though they are in easy mode and try their best, their limits are clear in the end.
When I return next time, I won’t even be able to become a meat shield and will die without any meaning.
At first, Taesan also thought that he could become strong enough even in easy mode. I believed that when I quickly went down the labyrinth to build up my strength to defeat Choi Jung-hyuk.
But the third return completely shattered his belief.
He was just a slightly strong easy mode player.
Even the weakest monster could not be dealt with.
If it wasn’t for Kim Hwi-yeon, I would have definitely died.
A stronger monster will appear on the next return.
Even in normal mode, it would have been difficult to survive, not to mention those in easy mode.
So give up.
Just enjoy it for now and calmly wait for death to come.
There is no other way. Because he’s just an easy mode player.
but.
Crack.
Taesan clenched his fist. My fingernails dug into my flesh.
