Ascension Through Skills
chapter-213

The wolf was incredibly fast, its speed unparalleled compared to before.

It charged at Taesan, leaving him no time to dodge. Quickly, Taesan activated a skill.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

In an instant,

Taesan was above the wolf.

With his wings, he plunged his sword into the wolf’s back.

The damage displayed in the system window was a mere 64.

Even with Spirit Strike imbued, the damage was significantly lower than expected. The wolf expelled flames from its back, forcing Taesan to distance himself.

[Keuheng!]

The wolf howled as it charged again.

It swung its claws wildly, demolishing half the village. The already crumbling village began to completely fall apart.

Kagagagak!

Taesan barely managed to block with his sword. However, he couldn’t avoid losing health from the aftermath and attempted to use a potion while flying.

[Keuong!]

The wolf howled, refusing to watch passively. The howl echoed, spreading through the air.

Since the howl contained significant force, Taesan had no choice but to block it instead of drinking his potion.

Even after blocking the howl, he didn’t get a chance to drink his potion. The wolf bent its hind legs and then shot towards Taesan like a bullet.

Paang!

Eventually, Taesan gave up on using the potion.

He angled his wings down to dodge the approaching wolf. Then, as the wolf passed over him, he swung his sword at it.

Kagagagak!

He tore through the wolf’s belly. The recoil almost made him lose his grip on the sword, but he held on with strength.

KaeuI!

He managed to make a long gash across the belly, but it was only a superficial cut, not deep enough to reach under the flesh.

The attack didn’t work properly because it was blocked by flames.

[Awooouu!]

The wolf howled towards the sky. Then, part of the flames forming the wolf dispersed and began to take shape.

Several small wolves made of flames appeared.

They charged towards Taesan.

“Tch.”

Taesan clicked his tongue and moved his wings. However, the flame wolves kicked the air and rushed towards him in the sky.

“Are they trying to make it impossible for me to use potions?”

With a serious expression, Taesan put strength into the swords he held in both hands.

Kaang!

He struck down at the first wolf that charged at him. However, instead of disappearing with the recoil, the wolf bared its teeth.

Each of these small wolves was a flame that made up the larger wolf. They were not weak beings.

Taesan imbued his sword with Spirit Strike and exerted more strength.

The smaller wolf was split in half.

And other wolves charged at him.

His sword moved. He repelled the charging flame wolves. But it wasn’t easy. Each of these small wolves possessed a strength that couldn’t be ignored.

And the main body of the wolf wasn’t staying still either.

The wolf opened its jaws. Spheres of flame scattered like sparks and began to rain down like rain.

Taesan focused his mind.

Kagak!

He blocked the attacking wolf’s charge.

And then he deflected the sparks falling from the sky.

He did both at the same time. The wolf trying to bite his left arm was pierced through the head with his right-hand sword, and the wolf attempting to grasp the sword with its teeth was thwarted by twisting the sword itself.

Purbeobeobeong!

He swung his sword long to deflect the sparks pouring from the sky.

Then, swinging the sword, he struck the head of the wolf trying to claw at him with the handle.

And blocked the sparks from the sky.

Up until now, there was a trade-off assuming he could drink potions, but now the wolf did not give him a chance to drink at all.

Fairy dust had been sprinkled, allowing for continuous recovery, but relying on it was difficult as thousands of damage came in at once.

So, in reality, he had to block all attacks.

[You have activated Marbas' Pitch-Black Wave.]

He charged the wave with Soul Strike. The flame wolves disappeared as they collided with the wave.

A few that didn’t fall bared their teeth, and Taesan moved his fingers.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

Jejejeok!

A chill rushed in. Most of the wolves charging in couldn’t resist the freeze and disappeared.

[Keuheng!]

And the wolf moved.

It swung a gigantic paw, pressing down on Taesan. Taesan raises his sword to block.

Kwaaaang!

The ground crumbled like dust, creating a crater. Taesan barely withstood the pressure and twisted his sword. He deflected the claws and slashed through the foreleg.

Kagagak!

However, as before, no significant injury was made. Despite Taesan’s counterattack, the wolf seemed unfazed and slammed its front paw down.

Kwaang! Bang!

The ground was smashed and crushed. The entire village became desolate.

Kaang!

Taesan barely swung his sword to create distance.

“Hoo.”

Taesan caught his breath. His eyes sank deeply.

He focused more intensely.

Taesan charged at the wolf.

Kwaaaang!

Dodging the descending claws, he burrowed into the wolf. The wolf repeatedly tried to crush Taesan by slamming its forelegs down.

He narrowly dodged all attacks by reading their intentions with a conceptual skill. However, the damage accumulated from the aftermath was inevitable. Taesan embedded his sword into the hind leg he had been attacking.

Kwajik.

As he had been attacking that part continuously, the sword penetrated quite well, but it wasn’t significantly meaningful. It seemed nearly impossible to target that spot.

Though one method was blocked, Taesan moved his body calmly without much disturbance.

The wolf shook its body to kill Taesan, who was attacking from its side. Flames scattered in all directions like sparks.

Dozens, hundreds of sparks.

Taesan moved his sword.

The smoothly moving sword deflected all incoming sparks and changed trajectory.

However, the deflected sparks collided with each other and grazed past Taesan’s side.

[You take 3452 damage.]

Enduring the pain, he swung to widen the distance and avoid the incoming foreleg.

[Kreung!]

The wolf infused its claws with flame and swung them directly. Blades of flame charged towards Taesan at high speed.

Blades of flame were coming at him, with nowhere to dodge.

[You have activated Flow.]

He moved his sword to deflect one of the blades and squeezed his body into the very small gap created.

[Keuheong!]

After Taesan dodged, the wolf charged at him again.

Taesan raised his sword against the wolf, who was trying to engulf him with its entire mouth.

Kagagagak!

His body started to be overwhelmingly pushed back. Deciding it’s impossible to withstand, Taesan quickly released his grip on his sword and escaped.

His sword flew far away. Seeing that Taesan had lost his weapon, the wolf charged at him.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

He dodged the charging wolf and shifted his position. Quickly, he kicked off the ground and caught the flying sword.

[Keuheng!]

Kaaang!

And using that interval, he blocked the attacking wolf’s claws. However, unable to withstand the force, the claws deeply grazed his shoulder.

[You take 5443 damage.]

“Hu.”

Taesan breathed deeply and created distance. His body was soaked with sweat.

There’s no leeway. Most of his mental strength was consumed by blocking and dodging the wolf’s attacks.

‘What should I do?’

Kwaaang!

Dodging the charging wolf, Taesan thought quickly.

As the battle continued, the flames surrounding the wolf gradually decreased in intensity. Taesan also became faster and stronger with his combat continuity skills.

But it wasn’t a meaningful change. The flame of the wolf would only significantly weaken when

Taesan’s transformation was about to end, and no matter how fast he became, the basic spec difference was too great, making it meaningless.

Continuing this fight would eventually lead to his death.

He had to make a decision. Whether it’s a gamble or anything else.

The wolf’s jaws opened. Flame poured out. As he dodged that, it tried to bite and swallow Taesan with its gigantic teeth.

Kaaang!

Taesan, swinging his sword, barely blocked the attack and continued thinking.

The hind legs could not be targeted.

That left the inside of the wolf’s mouth.

Unlike the outer skin, the protection inside was significantly weaker. Observing while blocking incoming attacks, he noticed the flesh seemed much weaker than the exterior.

But it couldn’t be considered the right answer. Attacking deep inside the mouth meant Taesan would also be in a vulnerable state. It was essentially a gamble.

However, sometimes you have to take a gamble.

You couldn’t always make safe choices. Taesan gripped his sword tightly.

To gamble, he first needed to prepare.

[Keuheong!]

The wolf charged in. Taesan blocked the attack and was relentlessly pushed back.

The wolf kicked at Taesan, who had been pushed back.

Kaaang!

Taesan continued to be pushed back. At the end of being pushed, Taesan’s back hit the wall of the labyrinth.

[Krrrr…….]

The wolf was certain. That human couldn’t escape. More precisely, he didn’t even show the intention to try.

The wolf gathered its strength, envisioning a certain victory.

[Awoooo!]

Flames erupted, consuming everything around. Curtains of flame stretched on either side of Taesan, blocking his escape routes.

Only a short path remained open towards Taesan and the wolf.

[Kreung.]

The wolf scraped the ground with its front paws, readying to sprint. Taesan calmly laid down his weapons.

Kwoong.

And then, the wolf charged.

The movement was too fast for the eyes, leaving only afterimages.

Taesan couldn’t respond to this movement either. He could only move in advance, relying on his conceptual skill and senses.

As the wolf sprinted, Taesan charged with his dual swords.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

With acceleration, and even spreading the Fairy’s Wings, he dashed at a speed incomparable to before.

The wolf’s teeth dug deep into Taesan’s back at the same time Taesan’s sword pierced deep into the wolf’s throat.

[You take 16444 damage.] [The wolf that destroyed the world takes 4532 damage.] [Keugh!]

The wolf’s breathing halted momentarily.

Taesan poured all his Spirit Strike power into the deeply embedded sword tip. A massive force began to imbue the sword.

And he unleashed it.

The entire Spirit Strike of his Apostle form exploded inside the wolf through the sword.

[The wolf that destroyed the world takes 23042 damage.] [Ke, Keuheng!]

The wolf howled and slammed its claw down. As the sword was deeply embedded, Taesan couldn’t escape either.

And Taesan had no intention of dodging.

[You take 13232 damage.] [Your Endurance is activated. A lethal attack has been nullified. All damage becomes 0 for 1 second.]

He gained just 1 second.

That was enough. Taesan pushed the sword deeper and pulled. A sensation of flesh tearing and a crackling sound followed.

Taesan exerted his strength.

The wolf’s entire jaw split.

[The wolf that destroyed the world takes 6432 damage.] [Ke! Ke!]

The howl of the wolf, with its jaw split in half, could not continue.

Before the duration of Endurance ended, Taesan created distance.

He took out a potion. The wolf, writhing in pain, wasn’t in a state to pay him any attention.

The gamble was a success.

It was time to reap the rewards of success.

Taesan charged at the wolf. The wolf swung its foreleg wildly in resistance, but the attack was clumsier than ever before. Dodging the attack, he plunged his sword again into the split jaw.

[Keoooeoong!]

The wolf howled.

A howling filled with pain hit the entire village. Even Taesan, who was nearby, couldn’t bear it, and blood trickled from his ears.

But he didn’t care and continued to drive his sword in.

The wolf started flailing wildly. Taesan kept his hand on the sword, deeply embedded in the wolf’s throat.

This was essentially his last chance. If he couldn’t bring down the wolf during its frenzy, he wouldn’t win.

Kwadeudeuk.

He clung tightly to the rampaging body of the wolf, driving his sword in even deeper.

Soon, the wolf’s throat opened.

Taesan inserted himself into that spot.

[Ke, Keugh!]

Trying to expel Taesan, the wolf exhaled. But nothing came out.

[Keoooeugh!]

The wolf was in agony, something inside it started to stir violently.

[Keooo…….]

Finally, the wolf collapsed.

As its faint breath slowly faded, the wolf’s belly began to split open from the inside.

“Hu.”

Taesan, drenched in the wolf’s blood, emerged.

[You have defeated the wolf that destroyed the world.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Desire for Victory has been activated. Your health permanently increases by 1543, strength by 143, and agility by 111.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Your health permanently increases by 3443, strength by 283, and agility by 252.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. You have acquired the special activation skill [Ember of Calamity].] [Your ??? proficiency has increased by 3%.] [You have defeated a beast embodying the will of the world. You have acquired the special constant activation skill [Opposer of the Great Will].] [You have fought in terrible heat. You have acquired the special constant activation skill [Resistance to Fire Damage].] [You have acquired the Will of Destruction.] [You have swallowed the true blood of the wolf that destroys the world. You have acquired the special activation skill [Kinship of the Wolf].]