Ascension Through Skills
chapter-160

Taesan created a distance and thrust his sword into the magic circle drawn on the ground.

Clang!

The sword scraped the ground.

But there was no damage to the magic circle.

‘So this method won’t work.’

“This magic circle is etched into the Labyrinth itself. Without the power to damage the Labyrinth, destruction is impossible!”

Kaziat shouted in anger and charged.

Taesan chuckled lightly.

A magic circle engraved in the Labyrinth itself. It was impossible for a fourth-tier adventurer to do that.

‘So this much interference is allowed, huh?’

Taesan quickly twisted his body.

Whish.

The wind brushed past Taesan.

“Ha ha ha!”

Kaziat burst into excited laughter.

Great power filled his body.

Even the previous five who attacked together wouldn’t match this strength.

‘I am strong!’

With this power, he believed he could kill Taesan.

Kaziat attacked, confident in this belief. A stagnating adventurer who had descended to the 40th floor. His movements became smoother, quickly adapting to the newfound strength and agility.

“Hmph.”

Taesan gripped his sword with both hands and struck down.

[You have activated Strong Blow.]

Boom!

Taesan, who collided with Kaziat’s charging sword, was pushed back five steps.

And Kaziat was pushed back two steps.

Five steps. And then two.

That was the difference between Kaziat and his power.

‘Even with Strong Blow, I’m being pushed back.’

As Taesan calmly assessed the situation, Kaziat was in shock, his eyes wide open.

‘I’m being pushed back?’

The strength of ten adventurers from the 40th floor resided within him. Although there was some degradation in the transfer of power, it was still a force far beyond the 40th floor.

‘Yes… That’s right.’

The opponent was an entity that had successfully dealt with the leaders, even with the Devil’s direct endorsement.

Kaziat calmed his excited heart. With a settled gaze, he charged at Taesan.

[Kaziat has activated Frost Arrow.]

Sizzle.

Extreme cold air drew patterns in the void. Taesan was not flustered by the approaching Frost Arrow. He had already scouted and confirmed that the enemy used both sword and magic.

‘Probably that’s why he was chosen.’

Sword and magic. The ability to use both, allowing him to face any situation, was likely why he was chosen to fight Taesan.

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

Frost Arrow formed in front of Taesan, colliding with the incoming one.

Crash!

Taesan’s Frost Arrow shattered the opponent’s.

Kaziat, who couldn’t have imagined such an outcome, hastily swung his sword.

Clang!

The Frost Arrow shattered upon hitting the sword.

“Even my magic is being overpowered?”

Proficiency in magic was usually correlated with time. Kaziat’s magic proficiency was at 29%, which was not low at all. He was among the top in the fourth-tier adventurers.

Kaziat’s plan to dominate using magic crumbled into pieces.

Taesan raised his sword.

“Definitely stronger.”

His swordsmanship was also not bad. In addition, he also had the ability to use magic and was superior in strength and agility compared to Taesan.

If Taesan hadn’t fought the Apostle of the Forgotten Goddess, he would have had a hard time against him.

But not anymore.

His opponent’s strength and agility were superior. A regular fight wouldn’t do.

Having already defeated the Apostle, Taesan knew how to approach this.

Deciding, Taesan stomped his foot.

The moment Taesan started charging, Kaziat quickly responded.

Boom!

Sword clashed with sword.

Naturally, Taesan was pushed back. The absolute difference in strength couldn’t be narrowed.

However, having strength alone didn’t guarantee victory.

Whirring!

Four arrows sprang from Taesan’s body.

“What is this!”

Kaziat gasped and quickly swung his sword. The arrows dodged skillfully, aiming for his entire body.

“Ugh!”

Kaziat’s agility was superior to Taesan’s. It would be unthinkable for him not to dodge the arrows that even Taesan could evade.

Moreover, with Kaziat’s strength, he wouldn’t be pushed back much. The damage was only 1, so fighting while taking hits wouldn’t be an issue.

But Kaziat didn’t know the arrows only caused 1 damage.

Unaware of this, Kaziat had no choice but to dodge the arrows as much as possible.

And this restricted his movements.

As a result, Taesan was able to pull Kaziat into his preferred range.

Taesan focused all his attention on Kaziat.

Clang.

Their swords collided. Kaziat tried to push Taesan away by putting force into his sword.

Clang.

At that moment, Taesan twisted his arm, redirecting the sword’s path.

Kaziat’s body staggered as he was about to exert force. Taesan didn’t miss this opportunity.

Crunch.

[Kaziat took 753 damage.]

“Grr!”

Kaziat gritted his teeth. He tried to push Taesan away with his shoulder, firmly planting his feet on the ground.

Just as he was about to make a move, Taesan stomped the ground.

His sword dropped towards Kaziat’s head.

Kaziat, who was bracing his shoulder, hastily raised his sword.

Boom!

Kaziat blocked the descending sword and twisted his mouth.

‘In this situation!’

He was much stronger in terms of power.

Moreover, Taesan was in the air, making it difficult to control his body. Kaziat

Kaziat tried to throw Taesan off, exerting force on his sword.

[You have activated Landing.]

Boom!

“Ugh!”

Kaziat groaned. An unbearable weight was transmitted through his sword.

The effect of Landing, transformed by the Ability Sword, was to strike down powerfully when above the opponent.

Due to the effect of Landing transformed by the Ability Sword, Kaziat was caught off guard.

Kaziat eventually had to withdraw. It was a move accepting loss, and he had to pay the price.

Taesan pierced Kaziat’s chest with his sword.

[Kaziat took 840 damage.]

And then slashed at his thigh with another sword. Kaziat, enduring the pain, tried to kick Taesan.

Crack.

But Taesan stepped on Kaziat’s foot first.

No matter how superior in stats, the difference wasn’t that immense. If he stopped the force before it was fully transmitted, that was enough.

‘What!’

Kaziat was furious.

Every time he tried to act, he was suppressed and counterattacked. It was as if his thoughts were being read.

And it was somewhat true. Taesan could see Kaziat’s will.

Kaziat tried to push Taesan away by slamming down his sword.

And Taesan could read his movement before it even started.

Taesan immediately responded. He approached Kaziat, eliminating any space for him to raise his sword. Kaziat, in confusion, tried to punch, but Taesan dodged and stabbed him.

“Argh!”

Eventually, Kaziat had no choice but to retreat with only losses.

Taesan laughed.

‘He’s stronger, yet at a disadvantage.’

The concept skill of reading will ??? wasn’t perfect yet. When Taesan first met the fourth-tier guide, he couldn’t see their will, perhaps due to their lower level.

But Kaziat had received the power of ten fourth-tier adventurers at once.

In terms of simple stats, he was far beyond the 50th floor.

And like the Apostle, the stronger the power became, the stronger the will embedded in it, allowing Taesan to read it.

Then, it became simple. If he could predict the actions, he could strategize against them.

Taesan continued to attack Kaziat.

Of course, Kaziat didn’t just take it passively.

A rotten fourth-tier adventurer. Realizing that Taesan could read his actions, he changed his approach.

Clang clang clang!

Swinging his sword wildly. He cast magic indiscriminately in all directions.

He attempted an unavoidable attack. It was effective. Taesan couldn’t block everything and allowed some hits.

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]

But they weren’t significant hits.

Taking advantage of the moment when nullification was activated, Taesan pierced Kaziat’s neck. Kaziat clutched his throat and retreated.

“What is this! How!”

He yelled furiously.

But nothing changed. The guides who had transferred all their power and were lying down cursed.

“What are you doing!”

“You took our power, and this is what you do?”

“Shut up!”

Kaziat swung his sword roughly.

Taesan dodged and stabbed.

After that, it was straightforward. Kaziat’s attacks, having lost his reason, were very simple. Without needing to read his will, Taesan dodged and stabbed.

After a thirty-minute battle, Kaziat fell.

“My victory.”

[You have won against Kaziat.] [Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated.]

His stats soared. He also gained new skills.

Taesan cleared the system window and moved on.

He stabbed his sword into the chests of those who were yelling.

“You came prepared, right? Then accept it gracefully.”

After finishing off the rest, his level increased by a total of 3.

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 83] [Shield: 1259/1259] [Health: 14520/14520] [Mana: 2105/2105] [Magi: 193/193] [Strength: 3743] [Intelligence: 3373] [Agility: 3505] [Attack Power + 482] [Defense + 343] [The target is in optimal condition.]

His health increased by 2000. Stats nearly rose by 400.

Altogether, they were much weaker than a single Apostle, but the large number possibly contributed to the high increase.

“I wish they would keep coming.”

[Still, it wasn't easy. It would have been much harder if you hadn't read their will.]

“That’s true.”

Reading their will and preemptively suppressing their actions allowed him to gain a lot during the battle.

Without that, victory wouldn’t have been so easy.

[Moreover, you gained stats disproportionate to your skills and couldn't properly collect their will... Congratulations on your victory, but don't let your guard down. As you go lower, you'll meet foes whom you can't dominate like this.]

“Of course.”

Composure was indeed the greatest virtue in the Labyrinth. Taesan calmed his excitement.

[You deliberately didn't use Apostle Transformation, right?]

“I didn’t need to use it.”

There was no value in using Apostle Transformation. Not using it was more beneficial, as it allowed him to learn and gain more.

The ghost watched him with satisfaction.

In truth, it was an extraordinary achievement. Even excluding his previous actions, a 34th-floor adventurer defeating a fourth-tier adventurer, especially one with various buffs, without much trouble was remarkable.

Although he had ???, skills weren’t everything. How the person used them was more important.

It was a feat worth boasting, but Taesan remained coolly self-aware.

[Yes, you keep progressing like that.]

The ghost hoped Taesan would tread paths even the ghost hadn’t and achieve what it couldn’t.

Eventually, the ghost found itself wishing for that more than revenge.

Unknowingly, the ghost was projecting itself onto Taesan.

Taesan checked his newly acquired skills.

[Basic Inheritance Skill: Red Mane Wolf] [Mana Consumption: 30] [Proficiency: 1%] [Transform into a noble-blooded red wolf. Currently unable to transform due to lack of special blood.]

“A skill to transform into a werewolf.”

Like the previously acquired skills, it was currently unusable for him. It was uncertain whether the special blood required could be found in the Labyrinth.

After a brief look, he checked other skills.

[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Power of the Grasp] [Proficiency: 1%] [The power in your fingertips becomes stronger.]

“Was there such a skill?”

[...I haven't seen this one either?]

Taesan skeptically checked the effect of the skill. Indeed, a bit more power was felt at his fingertips compared to before.

“How do you get this?”

Even Taesan, who had acquired skills under various conditions, didn’t know about this one.

“So many different skills.”

Indeed, the Labyrinth was vast. Perhaps the skills he knew were just a small fraction.

What skills could he gain in the future?

He also needed to regain the skills he had lost.

There was much to do.

Taesan continued to check the new skills.

Not long after, the news of Taesan defeating a fourth-tier adversary spread to the leadership of the Guides of Sin.