Ascension Through Skills
chapter-253

“Uh……”

Her long, semi-wavy hair, grown down to her waist, swayed.

Her eyes moved around restlessly, unable to find their path.

Anetsha had grown slightly more since Taesan’s last memory of her.

Not much time had passed, but perhaps due to the numerous events, she appeared oddly mature.

“The one the Demon God mentioned…… was you, Taesan?”

“Hey, do you two know each other?”

Quaned asked in surprise. Anetsha nodded, flustered.

“Oh ho. How did you find out? Did the Demon God give you a trial or something?”

“Quaned, you know Taesan too?”

“Yes.”

Quaned affirmed.

“I told you before, remember? The one who saved me in the labyrinth. That was Taesan.”

“Ah……”

Anetsha realized how they were connected. Quaned was also amazed.

“So Taesan is the person the princess mentioned. Oh, then……”

“Qu-Quaned. Please be quiet.”

Anetsha hastily stopped Quaned’s words.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

“Taesan…… it’s been a long time.”

“Yeah.”

“Nice to see you.”

She bowed respectfully.

Amidst the confusion in her eyes, there was visible joy.

Anetsha seemed to have a lot to say to Taesan.

But she restrained herself. Suppressing her desires, she sat down across from him and spoke.

“First, shall we exchange information? You came to the demon world on the Demon God’s request, right?”

Taesan nodded.

“And that request is to deal with those who believe in the old Demon God?”

“You know?”

“The Demon God appeared in our dreams yesterday and informed us as well.”

“Yesterday?”

Anetsha confirmed.

“Yes, yesterday.”

If it was yesterday, it was before Taesan received the Demon God’s quest.

This meant the Demon God had no doubt that Taesan would accept the quest.

“Continue.”

“The Demon God said a helper would come for you. We are that helper.”

She pointed to Quaned. Quaned smiled and raised his hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

Taesan looked at Quaned.

“You. You’ve gotten weaker.”

It was evident from the first glance. Quaned was once a strong adventurer who had surpassed the 50th floor.

But now, Quaned’s strength was only at the 20th-floor level. Outwardly, he appeared immensely strong, but compared to the strength he once had, it was pitifully weak.

“I can’t help it. You helped me break Patricia’s contract, but I lost some power in the process. The Demon God said there was nothing she could do since it was stolen.”

Taesan could guess the reason.

Breaking Patricia’s contract involved Soul Ascension.

In other words, Taesan had taken some of Quaned’s power.

It seemed he lost his strength as a result.

‘I feel somewhat sorry.’

The strength of someone on the 50th floor had diminished to the 20th-floor level. It must have been mentally exhausting.

But Quaned leisurely sipped his tea.

“It’s disappointing, but not bad. Living peacefully like this is also nice.”

Thinking about it, Quaned had been looking for someone to acknowledge him. That’s why he got caught in the ridiculous contract of the guide.

In such a situation, the Demon God personally took care of him, and he met Anetsha. Considering Anetsha’s personality, she wouldn’t treat him badly.

Since he didn’t desire power, he seemed satisfied with the current situation.

“Even though I’m weaker, I can still hold my own in the demon world. Don’t worry. I can survive on my own.”

“Anetsha, what about you?”

“You don’t need to worry about me either.”

Anetsha spoke calmly.

“I painfully felt my helplessness back then and have since gained strength. I won’t have any problems without your help, Taesan.”

In fact, the aura emanating from Anetsha was significantly stronger than the last time he saw her.

Although making meaningful progress in the labyrinth was difficult, she seemed capable of taking care of herself.

“Those who believe in the old Demon God… there’s been talk about them for a long time.”

Anetsha continued as if reciting a fairy tale.

“A long time ago, there was a tyrannical Demon God. Unable to tolerate his tyranny, a girl led the demons and drove the Demon God away, becoming the Demon God herself.

They were thus banished from the Demon World. However, those who believe in the old Demon God have not disappeared. They reside in the abandoned land, waiting for their master to return.“

“The abandoned land?”

“There is a place in the Demon World where demons cannot live.”

Quaned said.

“A twisted place. And a place where bizarre things exist. A sealed location for us. It’s an old story that they are staying there.”

Taesan had an idea of where it was.

The Demon God had mentioned that during the process of banishing the old Demon God, not all of his powers were expelled.

It seemed that the space where the old Demon God’s powers remained was called the abandoned land.

“Then we should head there. Where is it?”

“Beyond the Demon King’s castle.”

“The Demon King’s castle?”

Taesan’s eyes sparkled. Anetsha nodded.

“Beyond the Demon King’s castle. The sealed northern end. That’s the abandoned land.”

Once their destination was set, they began preparing to leave. Anetsha and Quaned gathered the village elders and spoke to them, while Taesan waited from a distance for their conversation to end.

“The Demon King.”

Taesan muttered expectantly.

It was said that the Demon King destroyed the ghost’s world.

If he was strong enough to destroy a world, he must have been formidable.

And this was the Demon World, the stronghold of demons.

How powerful would the Demon King be?

Perhaps he was an immortal. Facing a transcendent being directly was an experience in itself, so he looked forward to it.

“Ah…”

“Princess…”

“I’m sorry, everyone. I have to leave now.”

Anetsha apologized to the elders with a sorrowful face. The elders shook their heads.

“No, thanks to the princess’s grace, we were able to live in our old bodies. You don’t need to worry about us.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Anetsha clasped her hands together.

A pure black light emanated from her, enveloping the elders.

“Oh, oh…”

Vitality returned to the elders’ faces. Their bent backs straightened, and their white hair turned slightly black.

After a bit more conversation, Anetsha approached Taesan.

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

Anetsha nodded.

“Let’s move now.”

They began their journey in a carriage.

The carriage moved using magic instead of horses, so no coachman was needed. Anetsha, Quaned, and Taesan sat inside the carriage.

“How far is it?”

“It will take about ten hours.”

Ten hours.

It wasn’t a short time.

Taesan considered grabbing Quaned and Anetsha and running, but dismissed the thought.

The Demon God had called them helpers.

It was unlikely that the trial was meant for Taesan to do everything alone.

Anetsha, who had been quiet, opened her mouth.

“How have you been since then, Taesan?”

“I’ve been descending the labyrinth.”

“How far did you go?”

“The 58th floor.”

“Oh, wow.”

Quaned exclaimed.

“You’re fast as always.”

The last time Quaned met Taesan, he was on the 40th floor. This meant he had descended 18 floors since then.

“At that pace, you’ll soon meet the Guide’s leaders. Are you ready?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He was prepared for it.

“What about you?”

“Me?”

Anetsha answered calmly to Taesan’s question.

She had settled in the Demon World under the guidance of the Demon God.

But she didn’t know what to do.

Everyone she knew was dead. In the end, those she trusted betrayed her, and she parted ways without even saying goodbye to the one who protected her until the end.

She was confused.

She had survived, but it was survival without achieving anything she desired.

It felt like walking aimlessly through an endless plain.

The Demon God cared for her, but this was an issue of her heart that even the Demon God couldn’t help with.

So she decided to first find a purpose.

While wandering around the Demon World, they arrived at a village. It was a place where all the young people had left, leaving only the elderly to slowly die.

She settled there.

She found meaning in life by taking care of the elderly.

In the midst of this, Quaned appeared. She treated and cared for him as he was dying.

Once he regained consciousness, Quaned helped Anetsha cultivate the village.

“While living like that, the Demon God gave us an order. He said that soon, a being would descend and that we should help him remove those who believe in the old Demon God.”

“This makes me feel sorry.”

In a way, it was because of Taesan that Anetsha’s small peace was broken. But Anetsha shook her head.

“No, I’m actually happy now.”

She smiled brightly.

“Just the fact that I can see you again, Taesan, is a joy.”

It was a pure and clear smile. Quaned whistled.

“The atmosphere is good, but there seems to be something we need to take care of first, Princess.”

The carriage, moving with Quaned’s magic, stopped.

Looking outside, they saw black beasts approaching the carriage.

“They’re monsters.”

Anetsha said.

Monsters were beings similar to animals. They lived in the Demon World and attacked passing demons like beasts.

“I’ll take care of it. Taesan, you can stay put.”

Anetsha stood up energetically.

“Princess, should I stay still too?”

“Yes, I’ll handle it alone.”

She stepped outside the carriage.

The monsters were similar in shape to tigers. They approached Anetsha slowly, baring their sharp teeth.

Anetsha waved her hand.

A black wind gathered there.

Crack!

The wind swirled and shot out in all directions. The monsters leaped to dodge the blades.

Anetsha calmly controlled the wind.

Boom!

The wind condensed and spread out, pushing the monsters away. Then, it grabbed and subdued them like a hand.

Taesan watched with interest.

The black wind Anetsha controlled was Seir’s Black Wind, a black magic that Taesan also possessed.

However, Taesan couldn’t control that black magic as well. Anetsha was using the black wind to manage both offense and defense simultaneously.

In terms of pure skill, her proficiency in black magic seemed higher than Taesan’s.

Crunch.

The wind split the monsters apart.

Having dealt with them all, she took a small breath and turned around with a smile.

“Are you alright?”

She looked like a child wanting to show off her growth.

Taesan nodded.

The carriage moved on.

There was night in the Demon World too. Soon, it became dark. Quaned stopped the carriage.

“It’s getting dark, so let’s rest for the night.”

“Okay.”

They started preparing for a meal.

As Anetsha took out a pot, she chuckled.

“It reminds me of old times. Back then, we had meals like this with you, Taesan.”

“The situation is a bit different now.”

“Although they were terrible and painful memories, I still enjoyed being with you, Taesan.”

She smiled.

Suddenly, Anetsha clapped her hands.

“Oh right. Taesan, can you use black magic?”

“I can now.”

After clearing the quest on Vekveta, he could use black magic properly.

“Then, to what extent can you control it?”

“I can use many types of black magic, but my proficiency isn’t very high.”

[You activated Seir’s Black Wind.]

A wind gathered above Taesan’s hand.

Unlike magic, black magic’s power varied with the amount of magical energy consumed.

But he couldn’t do more than that. He couldn’t control the black wind as freely as Anetsha had just shown.

His proficiency in black magic had reached a bottleneck. It seemed that only by becoming more skilled in its use could he increase his proficiency.

“As expected… Black magic is originally for demons. It’s hard for a human like you, Taesan, to master it.”

She brightened as if it were a good thing.

“In that case, if you don’t mind, would you like to learn from me? The way you handle black magic can make a big difference.”

“I’m okay with it, but are you?”

“Of course, I am. You saved me, Taesan. Think of it as my way of repaying you.”

“I’ve already received a reward from the Demon God.”

“No.”

Anetsha shook her head and smiled gently.

“This is a personal repayment from me.”