Power without a master could not touch Taesan. To put it bluntly, such traps posed no threat to him, and this extended beyond mere traps.

Even in natural disasters—whether it be an ocean rising to engulf the continent, a volcanic eruption overturning the world, or the ground splitting to plunge everything into an abyss—Taesan could calm it with a single word, as long as it lacked a deliberate, guiding will like the world of Hafran.

Such was the nature of the power of the Word—a force that allowed Taesan to project his will upon the world.

Taesan advanced again. As the walls opened, countless traps sprang out.

“Clear.”

---

**[You have activated Declaration of Denial.]**

---

*Boom!*

The traps were crushed under Taesan’s will and disappeared. The ghost whistled.

**[Impressive.]**

The ghost was amazed. Taesan exerted no effort. His mental strength, the only cost of using the Word, remained unaffected.

**[So, this is the kind of power Immortals and Transcendents wield... Incredible.]**

“Which is why they created places like this.”

**[That makes sense.]**

Taesan continued forward until he found the statue of the forgotten goddess.

He knelt and prayed.

---

**[You have prayed to the forgotten goddess. You have gained the divine blessing: Will of the Nameless Goddess.]**

---

**[Divine Blessing: Will of the Nameless Goddess]**

**[The goddess's blessing strengthens your will, making it unbreakable even by the mightiest foes. However, it remains quite weak for a divine blessing.]**

---

The Blessing of Will. Taesan decided to test it by using the Word to summon flames. The headache was noticeably less intense than it had been before receiving the blessing.

Satisfied with the well-timed blessing, Taesan smiled. This was his third blessing from the goddess.

"Next stop, the Deep Floors."

As he prepared to leave, a system window appeared in front of him.

---

**[Your repeated prayers have restored a portion of the goddess’s divinity.]**

**[Special Quest Started.]**

**[Forgotten by all and even by herself, the goddess has regained a fragment of her divine essence through your repeated prayers. However, she is still too weak to exert any influence on the world. With the mind of a child, the goddess now wishes to restore her strength.]**

**[Objective: Seek out a worshipper of the forgotten goddess and revive her faith.]**

**[Reward: Full Divine Blessing]**

---

“Is that so?”

Taesan’s eyes sparkled.

Through his repeated prayers, the goddess had found herself and was seeking to reclaim her power. The quest’s flow was aligned with this theme. Taesan reviewed the quest’s objective.

*A worshipper of the forgotten goddess?*

The goddess had said she was forgotten by both mortals and gods alike. It was hard to believe any worshippers remained.

The ghost commented:

**[Looks like a quest you can’t act on right now. It’ll probably activate when the conditions are met.]**

"So, it all leads back to the Deep Floors."

His next destination was the 71st floor. He was close—only four more floors to go before reaching the Deep Floors.

Taesan pushed the quest to the back of his mind and headed back outside.

He advanced by taking down the knights, clearing hidden rooms, and scouring for any concealed features as he conquered the 67th floor.

When he had nearly cleared everything and only the floor boss remained, a new quest window appeared.

---

**[Special Quest Started]**

**[Return to Earth]**

---

---

**[Special Quest Started]**

**[Return to Earth]**

**[In a few days, you will return to the land you left behind. Work with others to expand your territory. Overcome the trials and return to the labyrinth. Rewards will be determined based on your achievements.]**

**[This quest cannot be refused.]**

---

The Return to Earth quest.

In his previous life, Taesan recalled the duration and details of each return quest.

“It’s happening sooner.”

**[What is?]**

“The time for the return.”

There had been four returns in total. During those four, they had gathered survivors from the entire country.

The pace of the return quests had not differed greatly from what he remembered, allowing Taesan to anticipate and prepare.

The fifth return, however, had been significantly delayed. Though the reason was unclear, they had speculated that the quest was expanding on a global scale.

But this fifth return had appeared much sooner than expected.

Several factors differed from his past life, and it seemed these changes had sped up the timing of the return to Earth.

Taesan opened the community. As expected, it was lively, with conversations not just among Koreans but also Japanese, French, and Americans, making it hard to read anything clearly.

---

**[Lee Taeyeon invites you to join a conversation.]**

---

Accepting the invitation, Taesan found himself with familiar faces.

---

**[Lee Taeyeon (Solo): Ah, Taesan, hello.]**

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Ugh, this is giving me a headache. Isn’t this too early?]**

**[Amelia Erin (Solo): ...Hi.]**

---

Taesan responded briefly to the subdued greetings. It was the same group that had gathered before.

---

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Looks like everyone’s here. Let’s discuss our plan of action.]**

**[Oliver Khan (Hard): We don’t have enough information to make any decisions.]**

---

Until now, the quests had been confined to a single country. Predicting how the quest would unfold hadn’t been difficult.

But now it was a global quest. Estimating its duration, scope, and specifics was almost impossible.

---

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Still, we should consider all possibilities. That way, we can be prepared.]**

---

They began to discuss the potential scenarios.

Taesan observed silently without participating.

---

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Judging by the progression so far, I don’t think every country will meet all at once. Likely, only a few will encounter each other.]**

**[Daniel Darmon (Hard): Maybe neighboring countries will meet? Or within a certain radius?]**

**[Oliver Khan (Hard): I think it’ll be by country. A fixed radius wouldn’t make sense, considering how much nations vary in size.]**

---

In terms of landmass, the U.S. or China was comparable to the entirety of Europe.

---

**[Ichijo Eika (Hard): So far, quests have been region-based rather than area size. I suspect it will follow a similar pattern this time.]**

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): In that case…]**

---

This made it clear which countries South Korea would likely encounter.

---

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): It’s likely that we’ll meet Japan.]**

**[Ichijo Eika (Hard): Probably. Let’s work together.]**

---

The atmosphere was cooperative. Kim Huiyeon had already established communication with Japanese players, so there were few factors that might incite conflict.

However, another issue loomed.

---

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Japan may not be the only one we meet. North Korea or China might also be included.]**

**[Ichijo Eika (Hard): That’s a strong possibility.]**

**[Geum Junggeun (Hard): Has any Chinese player used an external community? Not once, right?]**

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Right.]**

---

In the community, players could communicate within designated national channels, an international channel, or national-exclusive channels.

The Chinese community was very active, exchanging information among themselves.

However, they never ventured outside their community.

---

**[Oliver Khan (Hard): Honestly, it’s eerie.]**

---

As the quest expanded globally, people were initially excited. Realizing they weren’t alone, they eagerly reached out to other nations.

While some countries imposed restrictions on external communications to prevent disorder, this was rare and not enforced. Occasionally, players from various countries would chat in the shared community.

But China was an exception.

Chinese players had never left their community.

They ignored all messages and invitations.

Even players who were Chinese citizens raised in the U.S. or elsewhere didn’t respond to outreach from their own families.

---

**[Oliver Khan (Hard): If China’s included, it could get complicated.]**

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Well… we’ll have to manage.]**

**[Ichijo Eika (Hard): What about North Korea?]**

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): There’s no communication from them. I know they have a community, so someone must be alive, but there’s been absolute silence.]**

**[Oliver Khan (Hard): That’ll be troublesome. Not that we’re any better. Apparently, the cartels are still active in Mexico. Sorting things out will be tough.]**

---

They exchanged speculations and insights, eventually turning to Taesan with a question.

---

**[Kim Huiyeon (Hard): Do you have any predictions, Taesan?]**

**[Kang Taesan (Solo): Not much different from yours. Nothing new to add.]**

---

Taesan had memories of his past life, but it was hard to rely on them this time.

Too much had changed. With the return coming sooner, many things would likely unfold differently. Sharing his memories wouldn’t be useful.

He decided to focus on his priorities.

---

**[Kang Taesan (Solo): How far have you all gotten?]**

**[Lee Taeyeon (Solo): Junhyuk and I have reached

 the 30th floor.]**

---

The 30th floor. This was expected for Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyuk, but Amelia’s case was different.

---

**[Amelia Erin (Solo): I’m on the 42nd floor.]**

**[Kang Taesan (Solo): That’s fast.]**

---

Taesan was a bit surprised.

The labyrinth’s difficulty intensified drastically as one descended. Though Amelia’s power allowed her to clear multiple floors, things could change when divine trials were involved.

Amelia had freed herself from the God of Ruin’s grasp, liberating her soul, but at the cost of a significant amount of her power.

Despite this, she seemed to be progressing at a pace similar to her previous state. Taesan’s comment prompted a confident reply from Amelia.

---

**[Amelia Erin (Solo): Who do you think I am? I’m Amelia, the strongest player in America. Even without divine support, my strength hasn’t waned.]**

---

After a pause, Amelia added:

---

**[Amelia Erin (Solo): …Honestly, it’s mostly thanks to the information and skills you shared.]**

---

Taesan chuckled.

The 42nd floor… and the 44th?

That floor housed the God of Despair.

What, he wondered, would be Amelia’s despair?

---

**[Kang Taesan (Solo): Good luck.]**

**[Amelia Erin (Solo): Uh, thanks?]**

---

Amelia seemed flustered by the sudden encouragement. They chatted a bit more before Taesan closed the community.

Divine trials varied for each person. It wasn’t the kind of test he could assist her with. All he could do was hope Amelia overcame it.

*“So, in a few days, huh?”*

Returning to Earth.

And there, waiting for them, the bitter gods.

It would unfold differently from his past life.

Until then, he would gather as much as possible. Gripping his sword, Taesan resumed his exploration of the labyrinth.