Ascension Through Skills
chapter-22

His goal was to hunt goblins.

There was no longer any need for caution. His stats had risen by an absurd amount from fighting Lakiratas’ servant. Taesan, who had passed through the corridor and arrived at the door, slammed his foot down.

Crash!

Four goblins were startled and looked at him.

“Ki eek!”

[A Goblin wielding a bow has appeared.] [A Goblin wielding a spear has appeared.] [A Goblin wielding a spear has appeared.] [A Goblin wielding a dagger has appeared.]

Taesan calmly pulled his bow and shot a paralyzing arrow at the Goblin wielding the bow.

[You inflicted 12 damage on the Goblin wielding a bow] [The target is paralyzed. It cannot move until it is hit again or for 30 seconds.]

“Kee eek.”

The Goblin jerked back its arm and stiffened. Three remained, and Taesan pulled out his sword and shield.

“Kaaak!”

Taesan pushed with his shield.

[You inflicted 6 damage on the Goblin wielding a dagger.]

“Kee eek!”

Despite the light push, the Goblin was thrown back three steps. The two Goblins wielding spears took this chance to thrust at Taesan.

All of it was within his vision.

Agility also enhanced visual acuity, after all.

Taesan parried the spear on his left with his sword.

The goblin was unable to withstand the force of the counter, and its spear was sent flying.

Taesan then effortlessly avoided the other goblin’s spear and thrust his sword into its neck.

“Kieek.”

[You inflicted 12 damage on the Goblin wielding a spear.]

The dagger-wielding goblin was only now rushing over to join the fray. The other spear-wielding goblin had scrambled off to retrieve its weapon.

It was now a 1:1 situation as the goblin swung its spear desperately.

[You have activated Counter. Retaliate against the next opponent's attack.]

His body naturally evaded and stabbed the opponent.

[You inflicted 30 damage on the Goblin wielding a spear.] [You have defeated the Goblin wielding a spear.]

“Keck, Keeek.”

With just two attacks, that goblin was slain. He had become much stronger compared to when he first entered the second floor. The goblins were now longer a match for him.

What he wanted to verify now was the ‘Mark of Struggle.’

[Your Mark of Struggle has been activated]

His mind cleared instantly. As his fatigue noticeably lessened, Taesan’s face brightened.

“Oh!”

Skills that reduced mental fatigue in the labyrinth were extremely rare. Even if they existed, the effects were so weak that it was unnoticeable. Despite ample physical energy, there were often times when he had to rest due to mental fatigue.

However, the relief of fatigue from the ‘Mark of Struggle’ was noticeably perceptible.

There was also an increase in stats. Taesan opened his status window to check and noted that all of his stats had increased by 1.

His action speed also increased. Taesan moved his hand to verify this.

‘About 5%?’

On top of that, the mana he used was also recovered. It meant that as long as he was fighting goblins, his mana wouldn’t decrease even if he kept using the Counter skill.

This was quite good. Even when overwhelmed by numbers, if he could somehow kill a single enemy, he could rampage freely from then on.

As long as the battle continued, this skill made him unlikely to lose.

“Kieek!”

He dodged the dagger coming in diagonally from the left and grabbed the goblin’s wrist. He pulled the goblin towards him and stabbed its belly.

“Kaaak!”

He smashed away the charging goblin wielding a spear with his shield and then stabbed its belly again.

[You have defeated the Goblin wielding a dagger] [Your Mark of Struggle has been activated]

Once again, all his movements sped up. He charged at the goblin that had been thrown back with its spear. The goblin tried to stab him in panic, but Taesan parried with his shield effortlessly, and the spear went flying.

“Kieeek!”

14, 14, 13.

[You have defeated the Goblin wielding a spear] [Your Mark of Struggle has been activated]

The battle ended swiftly. The Goblin with the bow, whose paralysis had just worn off, didn’t know what to do as Taesan strode towards it.

His sword moved, and the damage window appeared in succession.

“Kiee…”

[You have defeated the Goblin wielding a bow] [Your Mark of Struggle has ended]

The power that was coursing through his body disappears. The difference was so drastic that it felt like a moment of powerlessness.

“This is quite good.”

To put it simply, it provided mental recovery, increased all of his stats, provided an increase in action speed, as well as recovery of health and mana.

There were too many effects for a single skill. Considering that normal acceleration skills only had one of these, the ‘Mark of Struggle’ was the best acceleration skill he had seen.

There were no restrictions. There were no limits.

As long as the continuous combat condition was met, he could fight endlessly.

Depending on the situation, it was a skill that could be of the level of a main skill.

It was very useful, especially in these lower levels, where monsters often swarmed.

It was certainly not a wasted skill.

“They’re giving quite a bit.”

This was different from the Dwarf or Ainzhar. They acknowledged Taesan’s abilities but were very cautious when giving something because they feared he might become complacent due to their rewards.

But Lakiratas gave rewards befitting his achievements.

Having finished checking, Taesan started to organize the rewards.

A 4-point increase in intelligence from the Soul Ascension. A consistent increase.

He then checked his gold. A total of 200 gold, 50 from each goblin. The equipment dropped was a dagger and two arrows.

It was good, but still not enough. Taesan gripped his sword and headed toward the passage.

He casually batted away the desperately fired arrows as he approached. He then bent over a goblin that was about to burst into tears.

“Keeeek!”

[You inflicted 13 damage to the Goblin wielding a bow] [You have defeated the Goblin wielding a bow] [Your Mark of Struggle has ended] [Your level has increased] [You are now in optimal condition] [Your health has increased by 15 as a level-up reward] [Your agility has permanently increased by 2 as a level-up reward. Your strength has permanently increased by 2.] [Your Soul Ascension has activated. Your intelligence has permanently increased by 1.]

Taesan wiped the blood off his sword.

“Maybe this is enough.”

He had cleared six rooms. After defeating twenty-four goblins, his level had increased.

“Status window.”

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 7] [Health: 205/205] [Mana: 22/22] [Strength: 29] [Intelligence: 39] [Agility: 42] [Attack Power: + 7] [Defense: + 7] [Subject is in the best condition.]

The increase in intelligence was more noticeable than the other stats. Originally, it should have increased more, but it repeatedly tried to reach and failed to surpass the barrier of 40.

Still, it was a significant increase. Without Soul Ascension, he would have barely reached that number after only passing the fifth floor.

He had also earned a lot of gold at about 1,200 gold. It could go up to 2,400 gold if he sold the duplicate weapons. He hadn’t just earned money but also found useful equipment.

[Worn Ankle Protector] [Defense: +1] [It seems capable of blocking minor scratches.] [Worn Leather Armor] [Defense: +2] [It seems capable of blocking moderate attacks.]

Though Taesan didn’t pay much attention to it, defense was the foundation for players. The more you increased it, the less absolute damage you took, so there were people who would solely increase their defense.

Six rooms, which brought it to a total of nine rooms, had been cleared. It was about time to wrap up the second floor. But before that, Taesan planned to stop by the store.

As Taesan returned to the store, the dwarf greeted him with a scowl.

“What is it? Why are you back again?”

“I’m here to buy some gear.”

“Gear? Do you think I’m selling anything better than what you’ve got now?”

The dwarf’s face, which had been looking at him as if he was strange, hardened.

“… Airak’s Weapon Technique. Damn it all.”

“Show me some accessories.”

The dwarf didn’t show any of the higher-level gear. He was worried Taesan might get caught up in the benefits and fail to navigate the labyrinth.

But accessories weren’t included in that. The dwarf sighed heavily.

“Alright. I suppose it’s okay for you. Go ahead and take a look.”

The dwarf opened up the space in what seemed like resignation. A multitude of accessories tumbled out. Taesan whistled at the large quantity, well over fifty, and began checking each one individually.

‘Skip the stat necklaces.’

Normally, it would be the first thing he’d get. Stats applied regardless of where you wore them.

But since he had Soul Ascension, this wasn’t so important.

What Taesan needed now were accessories for attack power or defense.

Taesan picked up the iron necklace he had noticed earlier.

[Iron Cross Necklace] [[Attack Power +1] [This is a necklace worn by those who served the God of War. It's useless, but they believed it protected them.] [600G]

Contrary to the description, it was very useful for Taesan. He opened his inventory and took out the duplicate items.

“How much will you give me for these?”

“… You’re selling every single thing?”

The dwarf checked the mountain of equipment with a weary face.

“It’ll be about 1400 gold in total. Are you selling all of them?”

There was no reason to keep items that just filled the inventory. Taesan sold everything cleanly and received the gold.

2600 gold. With a simple calculation, he decided that he could buy four more accessories.

Taesan held the Iron Cross Necklace and continued to search.

As a result, he was able to find three pieces of gear that were perfect for him at the moment.

[Rusty Bracelet] [[Attack Power +1] [It seems like it would break if you hit something.] [600G]

As the description suggested, it was in a state where it might shatter into pieces if used to block something or if it took a hit. But since Taesan only cared about its attack power and had no use for it otherwise, it didn’t matter.

[Gloves with Knuckles] [[Attack Power +2] [It protects your hand. It seems like it would allow you to hurt your enemies a little more.] [900G]

This was an upgrade from the Brawler’s Gloves.

The modifier ‘more’ was added to the item description.

[Leather Boots with Sharp Tips] [[Attack Power +1] [If you aim using the tip and stab, it seems like you can hurt a bit more. It appears completely useless for defense.] [500G]

“I will buy these.”

The total was 2600 gold, which perfectly matched the amount he had.

“Good. Take them.”

After receiving the equipment, Taesan quickly equipped them and checked his attack power.

[Attack Power +11]

Now, even if he wasn’t good against goblins, it would still only take three hits. If he aimed well, he could finish them in two. If it was a counter hit, then one would be enough.

He had become significantly stronger than before. The Airak Weapon Technique was a really good skill. The dwarf grumbled at Taesan, who was feeling satisfied.

“Are you happy?”

“Happy or not.”

“Damn, old man. Why did he give such a thing to him? There’s nothing more to buy now. Go quickly.”

The dwarf waved his hand in an exaggerated manner. It was half as if he was driving Taesan away, but Taesan was already satisfied enough. Without any reaction, he headed for the labyrinth.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Hopefully, I’ll see you on the next floor, huh?”

Taesan didn’t answer the dwarf’s earnest voice.

When Taesan returned to the labyrinth, he roamed around here and there, but there were no more goblins as Taesan had cleared nine rooms. It signified that the boss was just around the corner.

Walking down the corridor without much thought, Taesan spotted a peculiar door.

An orange door was in front of Taesan.

“What’s this?”

The boss room had a red door. He had never seen an orange one. He tried to recall it, but Lee Taeyeon didn’t mention it. Since she avoided places that seemed dangerous, there were gaps in her information.

This was a different room.

And such rooms usually gave rewards.

Taesan opened the door. Inside, there were two goblins. They were impressively clad in perfectly prepared leather clothing and were wielding swords without a speck of rust.

“Gah.”

“Gurk.”

They saw Taesan and drew their weapons. Unlike the goblins so far, they did not rush in immediately. Instead, they kept their distance and remained wary of Taesan.

[Elite Goblin, Atulak has appeared.] [Elite Goblin, Genesis has appeared.]

Named monsters.

They were guarding a small tomb.

[You have discovered the Tomb of the Warrior.]