Ascension Through Skills
chapter-267

Power surged.

A fierce and strong force. A will that even Taesan couldn’t disregard—a force of those who had reached the peak.

The ghost chuckled.

[Is it you this time?] [……Hero.] [They must have been quite desperate. Bringing in you, the spear and shield of the king. Did they really want to kill this guy that much?] [Do not question us. We merely follow the king's orders.]

The one who called himself the shield spoke calmly.

Barkaza let out a small groan at their momentum.

[Hmm…….] [Are you…… a high-ranking spirit?]

A peculiar light shone in their eyes as they looked at Barkaza.

[So even a foolish one aiming to oppose the king has managed to form a connection. Contracting with a high-ranking spirit, no less.] [Be quiet.]

Barkaza spoke indifferently. Although the spear and shield could be considered higher-ranking spirits, there was no respect evident.

[Those who abandoned their duty and fled here have no right to speak to me.] [We merely follow the king's will.]

The spirit who called himself the spear responded.

[There is no reason for us to take your advice.] [I suppose so.]

Barkaza was ultimately a high-ranking spirit. Whatever he said would not reach the spear and shield.

Barkaza swallowed his words.

Taesan looked around.

No matter how he searched, he couldn’t see the adventurers of the 6th rank.

‘They really killed them all.’

It was unfortunate. Defeating them would have gained him much through Soul Ascension, making him even stronger than now.

They must have killed them to prevent that. Though they might not know about Soul Ascension, they would at least know that killing a fellow adventurer yields the most rewards.

“Anyway…… you are the last ones, then.”

Taesan drew his sword.

They were very powerful beings. There were two of them.

[The opponent is a difficult one to defeat.]

As always, the system window appeared, informing him of the situation.

“Your names?”

[We have no names to answer a lowly being like you… but I suppose we can grant the dying wish of a soon-to-be dead man.] [I am Hasan.] [I am Kueya.] [We are the spirits guarding the great king.]

The one who called himself the shield was Hasan. The one who called himself the spear was Kueya.

[According to the will of the great king, we will kill you, human.]

Taesan laughed.

“Fine.”

In the end, what mattered was who won.

Taesan raised his sword.

“I’ll leave the other one to you.”

[You have summoned Minerva, the King of the Wind Spirits.]

The wind blew.

Hasan and Kueya, who were about to rush in, hesitated.

[This power…] [Could it be?]

The gathering wind took shape. A woman with blue hair appeared.

She waved her hand.

“Hello.”

[Oh, King…]

“Yes. So it has come to this.”

Minerva stepped forward with a bitter expression. The opponents were startled by the sudden appearance of the spirit king.

“Taesan, who is my opponent?”

“That one. The one who calls himself the spear.”

“Got it. Barkaza, let’s go.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Minerva struck the air. The wind turned into a bomb and poured onto Kueya. Kueya panicked and surrounded himself with flames.

Boom!

[Argh!]

Minerva charged at him.

Kueya screamed.

[Oh, King! Why!]

“Are you asking me why?”

Minerva smiled and pressured him.

Taesan pointed his sword at Hasan.

“Let’s do this.”

[...I see. So you are the human contracted with the king.]

“You just realized?”

[But it doesn't matter.]

Hasan calmly raised his sword, as large as Taesan’s body. He struck the ground with his full-body shield.

[We move according to the king's orders. It doesn't matter who you are contracted with. So, die.]

The battle began.

At the same time, skills against formidable enemies were activated in succession. The wind wrapped around his body, and flames filled the area.

[You have activated Apostle Transformation [Darkness and Chaos].] [You have activated the Vessel of the King.]

Taesan focused his mind and stared at the enemy before him.

The Shield of the Spirit King looked more like a giant armor than a spirit. It was three times larger than Taesan.

What it wielded was unusual for a spirit, appearing as both a sword and a shield.

Hasan lifted his foot.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, Hasan’s body accelerated. He charged at Taesan, intending to crush him with the giant shield.

Though not fast, it was heavy. It was a charge full of intent to smash and destroy everything in its path.

Taesan raised his sword toward the charging shield, planning to deflect it using Flow.

At that moment, his instincts warned him.

Blocking would result in death.

Taesan kicked off the ground to avoid the attack.

Boom!

The charging shield crashed into the wall. The entire floor shook violently from the impact.

[You've got good instincts.]

Bang!

Hasan charged again, raising his gigantic sword to strike down.

Taesan swung his dual swords.

Clang!

Taesan’s sword was deflected.

He grimaced and moved his body, dodging the sword that aimed to tear him apart.

‘Strong.’

And that wasn’t all. There was a peculiar force emanating from his opponent’s sword and shield.

He raised his sword towards the swinging blade.

[You have activated Flow.]

Hasan was indeed strong, but not enough to break Flow with sheer force.

The moment Taesan’s sword touched Hasan’s, the trajectory should have twisted, but Hasan’s sword pierced through Flow and clashed with Taesan’s sword.

Clang!

Taesan clicked his tongue and created distance. Hasan quickly closed in, thrusting his shield forward.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Taesan, now behind Hasan, drove his sword into Hasan’s waist.

[You have activated Addition.] [403 damage to Hasan.]

It was a very insignificant amount of damage.

Despite the effect of titles related to spirits and the berserk spirit increasing spirit damage by 60%, only 400 damage was inflicted.

[Pathetic!]

Hasan roared, raising his golden sword.

[Behold, the power of the depths.] [Hasan has activated Golden Destruction.]

Kiing.

Golden energy seeped out of the sword, materializing and beginning to engulf everything around it.

Rumble!

Taesan quickly created distance from the overwhelming destructive power. However, he couldn’t completely avoid it.

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Time rewound.

Both Taesan’s and Hasan’s bodies returned to their pre-attack states.

[What……]

For the first time, Hasan’s voice contained bewilderment.

Taesan accelerated and struck with his sword. Hasan raised his shield.

Clang!

[Your Second Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Taesan’s pupils dilated.

Despite his attack, his attack nullification was activated.

He couldn’t understand. Flow didn’t activate, and his attack was reverted as well.

[Attack nullification…… you have a strange skill.]

But Hasan was also bewildered.

From the series of battles, he could roughly guess what attack nullification was. It erased the attack itself and also turned back time. It was a skill of an unheard-of level.

[Now I see why you have survived until now.]

Hasan raised his sword.

And Taesan recalled one fact.

“Lee Taeyeon had a reason for defeating an S-rank with such stats.”

Taesan muttered. Lee Taeyeon’s stats weren’t that high. Currently, if he reached the depths, his stats could almost reach a similar level.

And at that time, he could possibly defeat a proper S-rank.

But that victory would be a precarious, close call.

Even with skills far superior to Lee Taeyeon’s, it was the same.

The reason was simple.

Lee Taeyeon had equipment that could overcome such skills.

Equipment from the depths. Each piece had overwhelming performance that was on a different level.

The enemy before him was a being who followed the King of Fire Spirits and had descended into the labyrinth. And that king had traversed its depths.

Although it wasn’t their own power, they had descended into the depths.

Thus, it wasn’t strange if they had one or two pieces of equipment from the depths.

Boom!

Hasan charged. Taesan focused and moved his body.

[Argh!]

Kueya exerted his power. Flames exploded, scattering in all directions.

The power seemed somewhat clumsy. Rather than trying to kill the enemy, it seemed to simply push them away.

“For someone who abandoned their duty and left, you still have a spirit’s heart.”

Minerva muttered, stirring up the wind. Blades of wind swirled around Kueya’s body.

[Hup!]

Kueya gathered his strength and burst it out. The wind clashed with the flames and disappeared.

Minerva clicked her tongue.

“Strong. Annoyingly so.”

She was the Spirit King, but her power was limited due to her contract with Taesan.

On the other hand, Kueya had no such limitations. Moreover, he had grown stronger as he descended into the labyrinth. At this moment, Kueya was stronger than her.

However, Kueya was not overwhelming her but rather was on the defensive.

[Oh, King……]

The reason was simple.

She was the Spirit King, and Kueya was not.

Moreover, he was the king’s spear and shield. Even if Minerva wasn’t his king, he couldn’t attack someone in the role of protecting a king.

After a moment of hesitation, Kueya made a decision.

He surrounded himself with flames. Then he spread them out wide, pressuring Minerva and Barkaza.

[I'm sorry. I will commit a sin only until the battle over there ends.]

Kiing.

A barrier of flames formed, encasing Barkaza and Minerva.

Minerva touched it with her fingertip, causing a reaction.

[The king is far stronger than such a one, but due to the contract with a human, you won't be able to escape my power.]

“Hmph.”

Minerva prodded and asked.

“Do you believe that boy will win against my master?”

[I know he is strong. The king wouldn't contract with a weakling. But still, he cannot win against us.]

Kueya spoke with confidence.

[We have stepped into the depths. We gained new power there. Those who haven't reached the depths cannot defeat us.]

Minerva glanced at Taesan and Hasan’s battle.

The power felt from Hasan’s sword and shield was unusual. It wasn’t just a tool; it was something complete in itself.

Even a strong person recognized by everyone wouldn’t be able to handle that equipment properly. It was similar to the ring Taesan had. Minerva was also surprised.

“Well, we’ll see.”

But Minerva smiled.

She placed her hand on the barrier of flames. Kueya stared at her blankly. He didn’t think the barrier would break at all.

The power of a spirit comes from the contracted human. And a human couldn’t possibly be stronger than himself.

Given that he had descended this far, he must have unique skills. But he had traversed the depths. In terms of pure strength, he was superior.

Therefore, he believed his barrier couldn’t be broken. Kueya believed so.

Crack!

Cracks spread from Minerva’s hand across the barrier. She smiled at the startled Kueya.

“I don’t think so.”

The wind exploded, engulfing Kueya.

Kueya hastily gathered his power.

Boom!

The shield filled his vision.

Taesan kicked off the ground to avoid it. Hasan stomped his foot with a roar and charged again.

[Avoiding alone will not win you anything!]

He rushed in.

Golden waves emanated from the sword raised high.

[Hasan has activated Golden Destruction.]

Kiing!

A golden sphere formed around the sword, crushing everything in its path.

“You’re like a wild boar.”

Taesan muttered as he created distance.

[You have activated Leap.]

He touched the ceiling of the labyrinth, escaping the range of the sphere, and then descended.

[You have activated Landing.]

The effect of the Ability Sword activated, imbuing his weapon with great power.

[It's useless!]

Hasan raised his shield with a roar. As the sword was about to touch the shield, Taesan quickly chanted a spell.

[You have activated Frost Arrow.] [You have activated Magic Acceleration.]

The materialized Frost Arrow swiftly flew toward the shield and collided with it.

And it bounced back.

As if the attack itself was returning, the Frost Arrow flew toward Taesan. He twisted his head to avoid it and struck with his sword. A loud noise echoed.

[Ugh!] [103 damage to Hasan.]

Using the recoil to create distance, Taesan muttered.

“So, it activates in response to timing.”

He activated the shield’s effect in response to the opponent’s attack. Then the next attack was completely reflected back at the opponent.

He wasn’t sure of the exact effect, but it seemed roughly like that.

“I get it.”

The sword and shield. Those were Hasan’s cards.

The effect of the sword was Golden Destruction. It summoned a sphere of destruction centered around the sword. The activation delay was almost non-existent. The time required for reuse didn’t seem that long either. Despite that, its destructive power was just below that of intermediate magic.

And the shield that reflected attacks.

On top of that, the defense itself barely took any damage.

‘……Is the armor also equipment from the depths?’

The golden armor worn by the spirit. It didn’t seem like ordinary equipment, but he hadn’t confirmed it yet.

[You cannot defeat me.]

Hasan spoke confidently.

[These are weapons bestowed upon me by the king himself, from the depths. You, who have not reached that place, have no chance of winning. Accept your death quietly.]

“Let’s see about that.”

Taesan kicked off the ground. A golden sword appeared in his hand.

[You have activated Naberious's Golden Sword.]

Hasan momentarily hesitated. The golden sword materializing in Taesan’s hand exuded a power not easily seen, even in the depths.

[But.]

That was all.

Hasan raised his shield. Taesan did not back down.

[You have activated Blade of the Fighting Spirit.] [You have activated Addition.] [You have activated Strong Blow.] [You have activated Continuous Attack.] [You have activated Acceleration.]

He charged in even faster and stronger. Seeing Taesan about to strike with the golden sword, Hasan sneered.

[Do you think you can break through with force? Foolish.]

He probably believed there was a limit to the shield’s power. But the shield had no such limit. As long as the timing was right, it could even deflect the power of the Spirit King.

[Destroy yourself, fool.]

Boom!

Hasan struck with his shield. Seeing the sword swing down, he activated the shield’s effect.

[You have activated Absolute Judgement.]

Crack.

The sword touched the shield.

At that moment, Hasan realized something was wrong, but it was already too late. The intense impact engulfed his entire body.

[45751 damage to Hasan.]