Episode 177

The giants were strong. Even those who had not undergone special training could easily defeat C-class monsters.

But Taesan couldn’t be certain.

Whether they had the power to fight transcendents like those in legends was unknown.

The God of Magic had told him that the giants once delved deeply into the mysteries of magic. But now, they could not remember themselves.

This was evident from the Lord’s reaction. The city, even by the standards of the giants, was quite large. Assuming the giants’ civilization level was similar to Earth’s medieval era, it was a solid territory.

Even the Lord of such a place did not properly understand magic.

That was strange.

At first, Taesan thought these giants were suppressing magic and denying the god of magic.

So he thought it was a quest like in the battlefield of the gods, where he had to confront those who were hostile to the god of magic.

However, the giants were not hostile towards magic.

They had simply forgotten about magic itself.

Taesan stretched out his hand into the air.

As the frozen arrow materialized, a judgement was made.

This judgement always came when using magic.

‘Is it because of this?’

The reason the giants, who once deeply researched magic, had forgotten it. It was just a theory, but it seemed highly plausible.

Taesan canceled the Frost Arrow. Finding out why magic was forgotten seemed important, but he had to address the immediate issue first.

The most important goal was to earn the right to meet the king.

And as a foreigner, he had to achieve a feat to meet the king.

After pondering for a moment, Taesan stood up. There was a limit to thinking while sitting quietly in a room. Such matters required action to find a solution.

The night passed, and the next day, Taesan went out to the fortress and waited for someone. Soon, he met Umberak, who was sweaty and had a relieved expression.

“Phew. It was an enjoyable fight today as well.”

“Hello.”

“Hm? A human?”

Upon discovering Taesan, Umberak looked concerned.

“I won’t stop you from wandering, but it’d be better to be careful. If you’re unlucky, you might get stepped on.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“Indeed. You’ve already defeated the Black Plunderer, so being stepped on shouldn’t kill you.”

Umberak grinned. His armor was roughly beaten, and his hair was disheveled. Taesan asked.

“You’ve been fighting?”

“I’ve been dealing with the monsters from the rift you saw yesterday. Those annoying creatures. Enjoyable fights are satisfying, but they’re tiring.”

Umberak narrowed his eyes. It was problematic for him, the territory lord, to deal with them every day despite being able to defeat them without issue. There was no telling when another problem might arise.

Hearing this, Taesan realized something strange.

“Can’t you block the rift itself?”

Taesan had already blocked a purple rift on Earth.

But upon hearing Taesan’s words, Umberak shook his head.

“Temporary measures are possible, but we lack the power to completely block it. Only the king’s great warriors can do that. And they are too busy to come to a remote territory like this.”

From Umberak’s words, Taesan realized what he needed to do to meet the king.

“When will the next rift open?”

“It opens twice a day on a regular schedule. It seems like it will open again tonight.”

“I’ll go with you then.”

At Taesan’s words, Umberak’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. It’s not impossible, right?”

“It’s not impossible, but… are you sure?”

Worry filled Umberak’s gaze.

There was no trace of disdain or insult, just a look truly concerned for Taesan’s safety.

Taesan smiled.

“There’s no need to worry.”

That night, Taesan arrived at the site of the rift following the giants.

Many giants at the rift site looked at Taesan with worried eyes.

Taesan felt an emotion similar to what he had sensed from Umberak but calmly ignored the giant’s gaze.

“The rift will open in a few minutes. Sigh. Since you insist, I can’t stop you.”

Umberak sighed. He had planned to continue the festival with the foreigner for a few days, but now he worried about the foreigner’s life. Naturally, he was concerned.

Unfazed, Taesan asked a question.

“That’s a rift of the ancient gods, isn’t it?”

“Hm? Do you know about it too?”

“I came from the Labyrinth.”

“…Ah, now that I think about it, gods reside there. That makes it easier to explain.”

Umberak said.

“As you said, the ancient gods opened this rift to ruin our world. They continually send monsters to attack us. Quite annoying creatures.”

Umberak snorted in derision.

He seemed completely accustomed to it now.

“When did this start happening?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that it has been there since before this territory was established. They’ve been a constant nuisance for over a thousand years.”

Annoyance was evident on Umberak’s face.

“They’re not a significant threat, but they’re relentless and bothersome.”

“Are rifts only here?”

“There’s at least one rift near every territory.”

That was strange.

The giants were undoubtedly strong. The fact that they would be able to clear Normal Mode without special training or risking their lives, was remarkable in itself.

But their power wasn’t that extraordinary.

For instance, they could defeat a B-class monster, but they would also have to fight for their lives. It wasn’t a matter to be brushed off as merely ‘annoying.’

‘Is there some kind of limitation?’

At that moment, the rift split open.

But the opening of the rift was odd. It seemed as though something was forcing its way through a narrow space, causing the rift to shake violently.

Umberak, too, had never experienced this before. And then, monsters started to emerge one by one from the twisting rift.

With a crackling sound.

Some of the monsters, having forcibly squeezed through the rift, were mangled or severed.

However, some crossed the rift intact and stood up.

“Hmm?”

Watching the emerging monsters, Umberak’s eyes flickered.

Something was off.

The power emanating from these huge monsters was qualitatively different from the usual ones.

And then, a system window visible only to Taesan appeared.

Five-digit numbered monsters.

They were B-class monsters.

The monsters were exuding a killing intent towards Taesan.

“Quick to respond, these creatures.”

Realizing Taesan’s presence, they seemed to have sent down stronger monsters than usual to kill him.

“Hmm?”

Umberak, sensing the unusual aura of these monsters, hesitated to charge in. Impatient, some giants rushed towards the monsters with a battle cry.

“Uaaaah!”

The monster moved its gigantic arm.

It shattered the giants’ clubs and struck their chests.

“Kuhack!”

Giants screamed and fell. Those who rushed in later, seeing the different scenario, involuntarily stopped.

The monsters began to slowly advance.

The giants’ eyes turned red.

“How dare you!”

“Exiled beings like you!”

These mere monsters had defeated the great giants. The giants burst into rage and charged at them together. Umberak joined in belatedly.

“Huup!”

He swung his sword fiercely.

The monster, with its square-shaped arms, deflected the sword.

Clang!

They were repelled from each other. Umberak’s eyes wavered.

The monsters he had encountered until now could not properly block his sword. However, this one had almost equal strength.

The monsters had become stronger.

But Umberak laughed heartily.

As a lord, the existence of the rift was annoying, but he was a giant who revered strength and loved battle.

The enemy becoming stronger was a reason for joy, not panic.

Not just him, but the other giants felt the same. They fought against the monsters, shouting battle cries despite bleeding.

They were not afraid of death.

But there were clear limits.

The opponents were several B-class monsters. The only one who could fight a monster one-on-one was the strongest, Umberak. The other giants also attacked the monsters together but continued to sustain injuries, big and small.

Seeing this, Taesan started to move.

Umberak, who was enjoying the battle, became alarmed.

“Human! Back off! It’s dangerous here!”

Unlike the usual monsters, there was no room to protect him. He urgently shouted, but Taesan did not stop his steps.

As soon as Taesan appeared on the battlefield, the monsters’ behavior changed. Pushing away the giants they were fighting, the monsters rushed towards Taesan.

Three monsters, rivaling the giants in size, charged at Taesan. Umberak tried to help Taesan but couldn’t shake off the monster in front of him.

The monsters attacked Taesan.

Taesan lightly thrust his fist forward.

With a crushing sound, the monsters were sent flying. Umberak’s eyes widened in shock at this sight.

“Now B-class is just routine.”

He had already defeated A-class monsters during his previous return.

Even if several B-class monsters attacked him, it wouldn’t pose a significant problem.

“Did they think this would be enough, or was this the best they could do?”

Considering the forced way the monsters had entered through the rift, the latter seemed more likely.

Taesan kept moving.

Drawing his sword, he dived into the midst of the monsters.

With a crushing sound.

He plunged his sword in. Dodging the descending arm of the monster, he launched a frost arrow, piercing through it. At the same time, an unpleasant sensation crept into his mind, but he shook it off.

‘So it’s these things after all.’

The discomfort he felt every time he used magic had intensified.

But it wasn’t significant enough to hinder him, so Taesan continued to confront the monsters.

Umberak and the other giants watched Taesan’s battle with dumbfounded expressions.

’What is this…

They knew Taesan was strong, but they thought he was just at the level of a weak foreigner, far below that of a giant.

They believed he had defeated the Black Plunderer by exploiting its carelessness due to its small size, not in a serious fight.

That wasn’t just his own thought.

All the giants believed so.

They were the strongest beings in the world.

The Labyrinth, where gods resided, was of no importance to them.

Magic was nothing to them.

They looked down on the outside world, devaluing its level. With no interaction with the outside world, their prejudices gradually became their reality.

But now, right before their eyes, that perception was being shattered.

Lightning pierced through the monsters. The very magic they had disdained was dealing effective damage to the monsters they struggled against.

With a crushing sound.

One monster fell like that.

Umberak, snapping back to reality, clenched his teeth.

“We are giants.”

They couldn’t just stand by and let a human handle everything. Shaking off his shock, he shouted.

“Giants! Are you going to just watch this small human handle everything?”

The giants’ eyes lit up.

Their pride lifted them.

After that, it was simple. Even Taesan alone could have defeated them all, but with the giants joining in, the monsters were swiftly eliminated.

Thanks to defeating several B-class monsters, his total proficiency increased by 4%.

It was a decent harvest.

Umberak looked at Taesan with wavering eyes.

“You are…

“Before that.”

Taesan stood in front of the purple rift.

Umberak had said that only the king’s great warriors could stop the rift.

Taesan thrust his sword into the rift. The rift twisted wildly, resisting Taesan. It was an eerie sight, as if the rift itself screamed, but Taesan overpowered it with his strength.

Eventually, the twisting rift surrendered to Taesan and vanished.

The giants, watching this, were struck with astonishment.

“Is this enough to meet your king?”