Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 452: The Seventh Return, Earth (4)

The European players who followed Taesan were utterly stunned.

With blank faces, or expressions like they were staring at a deity, they gazed at Taesan.

After finally coming to their senses, Daniel Darmont spoke to Taesan with a trembling voice.

"I knew you were strong, but I never expected it to be to this extent... With you here, we can survive."

"No."

Taesan shook his head.

"The enemies won’t allow that. They’ll give us quests to stop us."

All the players on Earth gathered in Las Vegas.

The conditions for the quest had been met, and a new quest was issued.

[Special Quest Begins]

[Choose your representative.]

[The designated player will become your representative and will be able to issue orders and direct your actions.]

[In order to become a representative, the majority of the players must agree.]

As people read the quest, their gazes naturally turned toward Taesan.

"What is this... Looks like it’s only going to be Taesan, right?"

"There’s no room for disagreement."

Taesan didn’t refuse. Given the conditions, there was no one else who could take the role of representative.

While it would make sense for someone like Kim Hwiyun or Oliver to become the leader based on efficiency, the players from other continents wouldn’t accept them as their representative.

It had been the same in their previous lives.

People from each country had strongly argued that their leader should be the representative of humanity, and that had led to bloodshed.

Since the representative had to be accepted by the majority, it was inevitable that Taesan had to take that position.

Taesan spoke to them.

"I won’t lead people directly like I did before. The leaders of each country will still be issuing orders, as they have. You need to coordinate with each other and come up with a consensus."

The people nodded. The leaders of each country had done their best to guide them up to now. No one would refuse if they coordinated the plan.

A conclusion was reached, and a new quest appeared.

[Special Quest Begins]

[Monsters will swarm you.]

[Preparation time: 20 days.]

[Defense zone: The continental U.S., excluding Alaska and islands.]

[For a month, defeat the incoming enemies and protect the pillars that are generated in each region.]

[You will suffer penalties in the next quest depending on how many pillars are destroyed.]

Boom!

At the same time, a deafening sound rang out. A blue pillar rose from the ground into the air.

"Wh—?"

"Wait, what? The continental U.S.?"

The players who read the quest were shocked. The quest conditions themselves weren’t particularly special. It was just another defense quest, something they had been doing all along.

But the scale was the problem.

The entire U.S. mainland. That was the quest’s battlefield.

Even though Alaska and the islands were excluded, it was still an impossibly vast area. People murmured in disbelief.

"How are we supposed to stop this?"

"What kind of ridiculous quest is this...?"

Complaints and confusion spread like wildfire at the near-impossibility of the quest. The people were overwhelmed with uncertainty. Negative emotions spread, like paint running across a canvas.

It was then that the leaders, including Kim Hwiyun, tried to calm the people.

"Silence."

Taesan spoke.

His soft voice echoed across all of humanity.

In an instant, the chaos subsided. The people fell silent, all eyes fixed on Taesan.

"We can win."

It was a statement without any proof or logic.

But those words silenced the confusion. A belief began to settle in the eyes of everyone that they could indeed win.

A strong, unwavering faith began to flow from them to Taesan.

Having gathered their faith, Taesan spoke again.

"Now that you’re calm, let’s begin."

"Ah, yes."

Kim Hwiyun quickly nodded.

***

The first thing that was needed was to assess the number of players. It was important to determine how many survivors there were and what the distribution was among the different modes.

Given the sheer number of survivors, it took an entire day just to complete that task.

And then the conclusion was reached.

"Total survivors are... well, meaningful combat forces from the Early Mode are less than a hundred, so we’ll exclude them. Hard Mode has 30 million. Normal Mode has 70 million. Easy Mode has around 100 million."

"100 million, huh."

Oliver muttered with a bitter smile. It wasn’t a small number. But humanity’s total population had surpassed 7 billion. With that number reduced to 1/35th, it was only natural to feel a sense of solemnity.

However, Taesan’s expression was not dark.

Even if only 50 million had survived, he would still consider it a success.

The Earth in their past life had been that precarious and despairing. After several returns, stability had been restored, but before that, the number of deaths was incalculable.

At this point, the result exceeded what he had initially expected.

They quickly regained their composure. Now that they had determined the number of survivors, it was time to address the basics: food, shelter, and clothing.

There were no issues with food. Makeshift cultivation was almost all-encompassing when it came to food.

But the issue was with shelter.

"Hmm..."

"Where are we going to sleep... with this many people?"

For those who had become superhumans, discomfort in sleeping arrangements wasn’t a major issue, but human psychology was important. Since they hadn’t completely shed their human minds, the state of their living quarters would still have a huge impact on their mental well-being.

The number of people was too large to fit into the city of Las Vegas. They would have to scatter across many cities, but that would cause management difficulties.

Taesan, as if mocking their struggles, solved the issue simply.

"Rise, take form."

[You have activated the Declaration of Formation.]

Boom!

The earth twisted. People screamed as they staggered.

"An enemy?!"

Oliver quickly drew his weapon, ready for the monster he thought would appear.

But the shaking earth created something he couldn’t have imagined.

Boom!

The ground rose and began to take form. Hundreds, thousands of gigantic buildings appeared simultaneously across the vast plain.

In the blink of an eye, massive buildings materialized, centered around Las Vegas.

At first, the people, unsure of what was happening, hesitated, but soon realized that it was Taesan’s doing and began to enter the buildings.

And they couldn’t help but be amazed.

The interiors of the earthen buildings were perfect. The rooms were divided into several sections, and there were many structures that appeared to be beds.

Despite being made of earth, the beds were incredibly soft. Those who had gained shelter cheered loudly.

Taesan didn’t stop there. The buildings were large and tall. They seemed vulnerable to monster attacks.

[You have activated the Creation of Sacred Grounds.]

A golden domain manifested. On Earth, where direct worship was received, there would be no shortage of divine power. The divine power rising again was fully transferred to the sacred grounds. The size of the sacred grounds grew to its maximum limit, as allowed by the abilities.

As a result, the sacred ground extended beyond Las Vegas, surrounding all the buildings Taesan had created.

"Whoa..."

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People groaned under the golden light that surrounded them, like something out of a myth.

Even Diana and Beldengia couldn’t hide their astonishment.

"Sacred grounds... How is he creating this without being a transcendent?"

Taesan then expanded his senses, increasing the range of his influence.

"Rise."

[You have activated the Declaration of Barriers.]

Boom!

A massive barrier appeared, surrounding the pillars created across the U.S.

When the barrier surrounded the pillars near Las Vegas, the people gasped and stepped back in surprise.

"It should buy us some time."

It was a declaration filled with strong will. Even S-rank monsters wouldn’t easily be able to break it.

The people couldn’t regain their composure.

Buildings were created, massive barriers formed to protect the pillars, and a golden domain gently embraced them.

It was as if the powers of creation itself were being wielded.

"Taesan... My Lord."

Even the players from America and Europe, excluding Asia, began to fumble with their praise for Taesan.

Those who had survived up to this point didn’t believe in gods.

The reason was simple.

Such miracles didn’t exist.

They had sent off their families and friends without being able to do anything. People died carelessly. The gods they had longed for had not saved them.

Those who had escaped to non-existent gods did not survive.

But now, Taesan was showing them powers that were nothing short of miraculous and granting them blessings.

Those who had lost faith began to find it again.

And that faith was directed at Taesan.

[Your divine power proficiency has increased by 1%.]

***

"Mm."

A strong faith enveloped Taesan. A deep, unwavering belief filled his mind.

Taesan quietly gathered the faith and began to move. His destination was Beldengia.

"How's it going?"

"No major issues."

Beldengia was drawing a magic circle.

Taesan had asked him to create a teleportation spell. Given the large number of survivors, the quest’s scope was wide, and that proved to be correct.

108 pillars had appeared across the U.S. They needed to be protected one by one, which required a lot of attention, and immediate means of transportation were necessary.

Beldengia’s magic could handle it.

"The location is fixed, so it’s easy to make. Try it out."

Beldengia stepped back after completing the magic circle.

The magic circle was enormous. It was large enough to transport thousands of people at once.

Taesan placed his foot inside the circle.

In an instant, the magic surrounded him, and when the light faded, he was in a different location.

"New York, huh."

After assessing the location, Taesan returned to Las Vegas via the magic circle.

"How is it?"

"It works well. Can you make these in every city with a pillar?"

"That’s impossible. I have to draw the circles myself, and there’s not enough time. I’ll try my best, but I think I’ll only manage about half of them."

"Then spread them as far as you can. We need to move quickly."

"Got it."

The means of transportation were set. They could now move directly to the cities that were falling behind.

However, to make this possible, a communication method was needed to warn them of the dangers.

For that, many scientists and technicians had gathered to discuss communication solutions.

They were brainstorming how they could still communicate in a world where everything had fallen apart.

If there were functioning cell towers, they could communicate across the U.S., but most of those towers had been destroyed. Repairs could be done, but they only had 20 days to work with, which wasn’t enough time.

Taesan solved their problem.

He combined his powers and made a declaration.

"Establish communication."

[You have activated the King of Mechanical Devices.]

[You have activated the King’s Declaration.]

Beeeeep!

Although he didn’t know much about mechanical devices, the nature of his powers was different.

Countless devices regained their original form. The destroyed cell towers began to function again.

"That should do it."

"Yes..."

The people nodded in a daze.

The communication issue was also resolved.

Every time Taesan moved, the impossible things they had believed could never be solved were being addressed one by one.

The people’s faith grew stronger. And that faith was directly empowering Taesan.

With every increase in divine power, Taesan realized that the level and quality of the divinity he held had surpassed what it had been before.

And beyond that, he saw something else.

It was a higher realm, one he had not yet reached.

[Your divine power proficiency has increased by 1%.]