NABC Chapter 374: (Side Story). The Dying Earth. Lee Taeyeon (4)
Chapter 374: (Side Story). The Dying Earth. Lee Taeyeon (4)
“Ughhh...”
“It hurts. It hurts. It hurts...”
“My arm!”
The air was filled with the cries and groans of the wounded.
Lee Taeyeon clenched her fists, her face hardening.
They had barely managed to defeat the monsters.
But it was a victory riddled with losses. Half of the players had perished, and many of the survivors were severely injured.
The refuge she and the others had struggled so hard to create was now in ruins.
“Ugh...”
Lee Taeyeon suppressed a surge of emotion. She had witnessed countless horrors, and she thought she had grown accustomed to it, but that was a delusion. The stench of death and fear still filled the air, thick and unrelenting.
Grinding her teeth, she set to work.
She pulled out her items.
She purified the toxic land and reorganized their territory. She treated the wounded and eliminated the remaining monsters.
After a grueling effort, she managed to bring an end to it all.
“Ugh...”
“What... What is this...?”
However, the confusion hadn’t yet dissipated. Those who had clung to hope, looking to her for strength, now found themselves facing monsters that even she struggled to fend off, and despair had returned to their faces.
Just as she was struggling with what to say to them, Taesan spoke in a cold, detached tone.
“Get a grip. You survived by risking your lives, and now you plan to die wallowing in despair?”
His harsh words cut through to the survivors.
“Stand up. We are the last survivors on Earth. We’ve endured countless deaths to get here—are you really going to give up over something like this?”
“...”
People clenched their teeth. Gradually, despair and sorrow began to subside.
Taesan stepped back.
“It’s your turn now.”
“Ah, right,” Lee Taeyeon said, calming the people and rallying them to start rebuilding.
They reconstructed the damaged buildings. They fortified the protective barriers, making them stronger and larger than before, so that they would be more prepared for future attacks.
They also redefined their approach to dealing with monsters. Until now, whenever a powerful monster appeared, they had relied solely on Taesan and Lee Taeyeon.
But S-class monsters were a different matter; even the two of them could not guarantee victory. While they dealt with such monsters, the other players needed to devise ways to hold their ground.
There were numerous discussions.
“Were there waves even before I arrived?”
“Once. Many died then too.”@@@@
“So, this is the second one...”
---
Time continued to pass.
Players kept returning from the labyrinth. Given the long time that had passed, especially those on hard mode began to make their way back.
And so, the third wave began.
The monsters invaded.
Hundreds of A-class monsters and multiple S-class monsters attacked.
“Aaaaargh!”
Lee Taeyeon let out a scream of rage.
“Die!”
She used all the valuable items she had been saving.
Humans and monsters slaughtered each other.
In the end, they won another victory filled with losses.
“Damn it...”
Lee Taeyeon collapsed, coughing up blood. This time, they had barely made it. Despite knowing the strength of their enemies and preparing thoroughly, she had been pushed to the brink of death.
She forced herself to stand on her shaky knees. Survivors cheered weakly, struggling to celebrate even though many had died and their territory lay in ruins.
Crack.
The sky distorted.
With a pale face, Lee Taeyeon looked up at the crack in the heavens. From within, she could feel a gaze bearing down upon her.
“Ah...”
A shiver ran down her spine.
The power emanating from beyond the crack was terrifyingly strong.
She wasn’t the only one who felt it. The Easy and Normal mode players collapsed, unable to endure the gaze. The Hard mode players barely managed to withstand it, trembling uncontrollably.
And then...
The gaze vanished. People collapsed, gasping for breath.
“...What was that?” Taesan’s voice echoed, his expression grim.
---
They managed to repair the damage.
Staggering, she returned to their shelter.
The people awaiting her arrival cheered when they saw her.
“Oh! Miss Taeyeon! You’re back?”
“How was it this time?”
She stared at them for a moment before speaking.
“...Where’s Taesan?”
“Taesan? He’s training a newly returned Hard mode player right now.”
“...I see.”
She walked past them slowly. The man who had answered looked at her, puzzled.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke.
“Tell Taesan to come see me tomorrow.”
---
The ticking of a clock echoed in her room.
She stared vacantly around her space, filled with trinkets and decorations meant to mask her feelings.
Now, they held no meaning. It was all over, anyway.
‘There’s no way we can win.’
There was no chance of victory. Knowing this, she activated a skill.
[You have activated Ten Thousand Possibilities.]
Is there a possibility of victory in a battle against a Herald?
The skill sought an answer.
Every outcome led to her death.
[You have activated Ten Thousand Exclusions.]
[You have activated Ten Thousand Possibilities.]
[You have... ]
Over and over, she activated the skill. Hundreds, thousands of times, she repeated it, seeking an answer
through countless deaths.
But no other result appeared.
Exhausting all her mana, unable to activate the skill any longer, she was left with nothing but death.
Her trembling hand clutched her chest.
In a week, she would die.
Her breathing grew labored. The fear she had tried so hard to suppress washed over her.
“Haha...”
She reached into her pocket, gripping a solid object.
The Ouroboros Stone.
It would allow her to turn back time once.
If she used this item, she could survive for now.
But she couldn’t bring herself to use it.
Would she really go back and clear the labyrinth again? That hellish place?
Turning back time would reset her abilities to what they were in the past, reducing her to her weaker, former self.
She couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to conquer the labyrinth again. Her initial success had been nothing short of a miracle.
And even if she did clear it again, she’d end up back on Earth. She couldn’t abandon the survivors here to live her life in the labyrinth.
Yet the thought of dying here terrified her.
Unable to decide, she remained there, grappling with an endless, unsolvable dilemma.
Would she meet her end here?
Or would she return to the labyrinth?
Her mind was in turmoil, unable to tilt toward either option.
While she was lost in thought, she sensed someone approaching.
She realized it was Taesan.
“Didn’t I tell him to come tomorrow?”
She checked the time and realized she had been agonizing over this for an entire day.
‘No!’
She couldn’t face Taesan like this.
Quickly, she forced herself to appear calm.
Creak.
The door opened, and an exasperated voice echoed.
“Seriously, haven’t you given up on that weird habit?”
“I don’t care to hear your opinion on my tastes.”
Her mouth moved automatically.
Thanks to her years of practice, she had become an excellent actor. Though she hadn’t reached a decision, she greeted Taesan with a perfect mask of composure.