Chapter 1313

Shwooooom!

The Annihilation’s Grasp shot toward the falling meteor like a missile.

“Let’s smash those meteors!”

“Fireee!”

“We’re all dead if even one of those crashes!”

The Adventurers didn't just stand still.

The meteor was so massive that it could devastate an entire planet, which meant that everyone would die the moment it made impact.

Due to that, the Adventurers threw everything they had out of desperation.

“Three! Two! One! Fireee!”

Seung-Gu summoned every single Iron Golem he could and ordered a focused barrage on the meteor. Gosran imbued her arrows with maximum destructive powers and fired them nonstop into the sky.

The magicians unleashed their most powerful destructive spells, the supports spread protective shields across the battlefield, and those with ranged skills poured out everything they had.

Everyone threw everything they had at the oncoming meteor as a last-ditch effort.

Unfortunately, destroying a meteor so colossal was simply impossible. No matter how much they tried, their efforts were akin to trying to crack a massive boulder by pelting eggs at it.

“Please...!” Siegfried desperately prayed, hoping that the Annihilation’s Grasp would pull it off. He charged up his most powerful single-target offensive skill, Touch of Death, into the Annihilation’s Grasp, so there was a possibility that it could shatter the meteor.

‘I need to prepare for the worst-case scenario,’ Siegfried thought.

He watched closely while prepared to use the World of Despair on himself and Hamchi the moment things went wrong. Even if everyone else perished from the meteor strike, he had to survive and continue raiding the Void.

What seemed to be an eternity ticked by in mere seconds.

Shwiiiik!

The Annihilation’s Grasp struck the falling meteor.

Three, two, one...!

Flash!

A bright streak of light flashed before engulfing the entire sky with a blinding light.

KAAABOOOOOOOM!

The colossal meteor exploded into countless fragments.

Charged with Touch of Death, the Annihilation’s Grasp unleashed enough power to obliterate a meteor the size of a large city.

“W-What the hell?!”

“Hey, did that guy just... intercept a meteor?”

“Was that even possible?”

“I didn’t know that could be done...”

The Adventurers were stunned speechless by Siegfried’s absurd display of might.

After all, intercepting a meteor by throwing a weapon at it simply defied all reason and logic.

In the eyes of the others, he could no longer be considered a gamer. He was more like someone who was playing with a hack program or a Game Master with maxed-out stats.

However, the danger was far from over.

Shwoooom! Shwoooom!

The meteor broke into countless pieces and rained down on them.

Since the original meteor was so colossal in size, each individual piece was practically the size of an average meteor.

In other words, the meteor broke off into smaller pieces, creating a Meteor Swarm in itself.

“I-It’s coming for us!”

“Run for your lives!”

“Ah hell naw!”

“...I think I’m done with this game.”

The Adventurers scattered like insects.

“Kyuuuu! What do we do, owner punk?!” Hamchi shrieked in horror.

Siegfried gathered his Primordial Force and replied, “What else? We fight.”

Woooong!

A storm of energy whirled outward from him, and hundreds of thousands of aura blades appeared.

Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain was unleashed at its full power.

Shwiiiiiiik!

The aura blades zoomed toward the sky and intercepted the falling debris.

With Flying Sword at max level, Siegfried did not even need to guide the aura blades, as they hunted the debris on their own.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each time an aura blade struck a meteor, an explosion would follow, shattering it into even smaller debris.

However, even small debris falling from such a height would still be lethal.

Of course, Siegfried was prepared for that, too.

Ssseuuuu!

A green mist poured outward from him and spread across the area.

Green Hell Magno!

It was a terrifying skill that inflicted deadly radiation poisoning on his enemies.

Of course, that wasn't the only effect of this skill.

It nullified most long-range attacks and protected all allies within it.

Psss! Tsss! Tsss!

The broken fragments of small debris hit the green barrier and disintegrated.

“...!”

Every witness of the sight was so shocked that they couldn’t utter a single word.

As if throwing a weapon to destroy a colossal meteor and eliminating all of the meteors that broke off using aura blades wasn't enough, he even blocked the debris using some kind of green fog.

The fact that a single person had done all this in quick succession was simply absurd.

“Han Tae-Sung is... a god...”

“Even an Ancient Dragon won’t be able to do what he did...”

“Could we even win against him...? I think we will still lose even if the whole world ganged up on him.”

“Phew!”

Siegfried immediately pulled out the Infinite Flask and replenished his drained Primordial Force. No matter how much he had grown, using such powerful skills in succession still drained him.

***

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

While he was drinking from the Infinite Flask to replenish his Primordial Force, a notification, followed by another one, popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have cleared the second stage!]

[Alert: You have cleared the third stage!]

However, there was something strange about the notifications.

The falling meteor was the second stage.

However, the third stage hadn't even appeared yet, but it was already cleared?

‘What?’

But the confusion did not last long.

Kyaaaaah!

A high-pitched shriek reverberated in the distance.

Siegfried turned toward it and saw a pitch-black alien creature causing havoc—only to be hunted down by the Adventurers.

[Ainoph]

[A lifeform that exists solely to reproduce, survive, and kill.]

[They are extremely powerful creatures with exceptional reproductive abilities, and destroying an entire planet is nothing more than child’s play to them.]

[They remain hidden deep inside a meteor before bursting out once it crashes onto another planet.]

It turned out the colossal meteor Siegfried had destroyed just now was infested with those alien creatures called Ainoph.

Normally, Siegfried and the others would have faced millions of Ainoph as soon as the meteor crashed.

However, Siegfried took care of even the tiny meteors, so he unknowingly ended up clearing the third stage, too.

‘That seriously gave me chills just now...’ Siegfried thought, trembling in horror.

From the first stage to the third stage, nothing about the Void was easy.

Now that they had reached the fourth stage, he was certain that it would be far more difficult than the previous three stages. To make things worse, there was no real way to prepare for it, as they had zero information about the Void.

All he could do now was restore his HP, Stamina, and Primordial Force in preparation for the next stage.

[Alert: Entering the next stage!]

[Alert: 10 minutes remaining until the next stage!]

[Alert: Prepare yourselves!]

[Alert: You will move on to the next stage in 9 minutes and 59 seconds!]

Ten minutes passed like that.

[Alert: Prepare yourselves!]

[Alert: The fourth stage will begin in 10 seconds!]

[Alert: 10! 9! 8! 7...!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: 3! 2! 1...!]

[Alert: The fourth stage shall now begin!]

Once the countdown ended, the name of the fourth stage appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

[Void: Downpour]

Dark clouds gathered over the previously blue sky, followed by a torrential downpour.

Shwaaaah!

The rain was so intense that he couldn’t see Hamchi properly, even though he was standing right next to him. Visibility was well below five meters, making it impossible to see even a short distance in front.

Not only was their visibility hampered, but even moving became difficult, as the downpour weighed heavily on them as well.

Of course, it only applied to ordinary Adventurers.

Siegfried could simply unleash his Primordial Force and create a barrier that protected him from the rain.

‘Are we supposed to fight in this downpour?’ Siegfried wondered, tightly gripping his weapon and keeping watch.

Fighting in this downpour would be extremely difficult, and they would surely be at a disadvantage if they faced an opponent adept at fighting in the rain.

Even after five minutes had passed, nothing had happened.

Ten minutes later, it remained mostly the same except for a small change.

“Huh?”

“Hey, why is it raining so hard?”

“When is this going to stop?”

The Adventurers grumbled upon noticing that water had already risen past their ankles and up to their calves.

A bit of water was not a big deal for them, as all of them had physical abilities beyond those of an ordinary human being.

However, what if the water was at their waists or chins?

‘It's already so high?!’

Siegfried shot into the air after noticing that the water level had risen past his waist and up to his chest.

The grassland was already flooded, and muddy, raging rivers formed.

However, the rain showed no signs of letting up.

The water kept rising and rising until the entire grassland turned into a gigantic river.

Just then, a notification appeared.

[Alert: Prepare yourselves!]

[Alert: The Ark will appear soon!]

[Alert: Anyone who fails to board the Ark will not escape death!]

With that notification, a large wooden ship, one that resembled Noah’s Ark, appeared in the distance and began sailing toward them.

***

The Ark appeared.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Gwaaaak!”

However, the Ark was not the only thing that appeared along with the flood. Massive crocodiles and hippos emerged from beneath the water, attacking the Adventurers.

Some of the Adventurers fell victim to the crocodiles and hippos dragging them into the water.

That was not all...

A swarm of piranhas numbering in the hundreds of millions jumped out of the waters. They latched onto anyone they could reach and mercilessly ravaged them.

The Adventurers were helpless against them, but it wasn't because the creatures were strong.

For some reason, the Void Crocodiles, Void Hippos, and Void Piranhas were considered untargetable neutral creatures. Due to that, the Adventurers couldn’t attack or deal damage to them.

The Adventurers fortunate enough to possess flight abilities were able to escape, but those who lacked the ability to fly were not so fortunate.

Ding!

A quest notification appeared.

[Life or Death]

[Board the Ark and escape the flood!]

[Type: Optional Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: Unknown]

‘I should go check that Ark out first,’ Siegfried thought.

He placed Hamchi on his back and flew toward the Ark.

The Ark was enormous and big enough that there would still be plenty of room left over even if all of the Adventurers boarded it, but...

“...!”

The vast Ark was already filled with NPCs and animals from somewhere, leaving no space for even a single person to board. He could probably land on the roof somehow and cling to the railing, but there was absolutely not enough space for all the Adventurers to climb aboard.

“Wh-Who are you?!”

At that moment, an elderly man appeared and shouted at Siegfried.

“Hello,” Siegfried landed on the deck and greeted the old man. Then, he walked toward him and introduced himself, “We are Adventurers. And we are currently clearing the Void—”

“Void? Adventurers? What nonsense are you speaking of?”

The old man, an NPC who went by the name Menahem, did not seem to understand what Siegfried was trying to say. Well, it was no surprise, as there was no way he could converse properly with an NPC found inside the Void.

“I have already warned you! I told you a great flood is coming and that we should all prepare in advance!” Menahem exclaimed.

Siegfried tilted his head in confusion, “Eh?”

“What do we do...? What do we do...” Menahem muttered worriedly.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

“I got you! Let me pull you up!”

“Get on, quickly!”

The Adventurers without flight abilities swam over and began climbing up onto the Ark one by one, each desperate to get out of the infested waters.

Creak...!

The Ark slowly tilted to one side, and it tilted more and more as time went on.

It was already filled to the brim with no room for extra passengers, so the Ark’s center of gravity collapsed the moment the Adventurers clung to it.