Ascension Through Skills
chapter-284

“…Did you say you found the princess’s soul?”

Veldencia spoke in a trembling voice. Taesan shook his head.

“I’m not sure if it’s exactly the princess. I entered the realm of the God of Descent, a place where the souls of suffering mortals gather.”

Only tormented souls existed there.

Hundreds of souls. They were all souls that had been betrayed after expecting something from the God of Descent.

“Most of them seemed to have completely lost their identities and were blackened, but one soul was still gray. Despite being corroded by the surroundings, it seemed to still retain its identity.”

Veldencia’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know if it’s the princess you’re looking for. But if the God of Descent hasn’t interfered with mortals since the princess, it’s likely that the princess was captured by the God of Descent relatively recently.”

“Ha, hahaha.”

Veldencia laughed. His eyes were full of hope and expectation.

“Yes. That’s probably it. As far as I know, the God of Descent hasn’t shown himself since the princess.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because since I’ve been here, no adventurer chosen by the God of Descent has come here!”

Veldencia stood up, unable to contain his emotions.

He wept and sobbed.

“Oh… Princess. Even while being consumed by a transcendent being, you haven’t lost yourself. Please wait a little longer. I will move to save you…”

Taesan waited for him to calm down. After thirty minutes, Veldencia finally calmed down and scratched his head with an embarrassed look.

“Sorry. I got a little excited.”

“It’s alright.”

Veldencia had been trapped in the labyrinth for hundreds of years, solely to save the princess. It was unknown if it would be possible even after hundreds of years.

Considering the purpose of opposing a god, it might take thousands of years.

And if so much time passed, there was a high possibility that the princess would be completely destroyed.

Veldencia had probably given up deep inside while hoping for the princess’s salvation.

But now, he saw hope. He confirmed that the princess hadn’t lost her identity yet.

It was something to be very happy about.

“But it seems her body has already been lost.”

“I knew that. To a god, a mortal body is worthless, so they probably separated the soul. It’s alright. I’ve prepared for that.”

Veldencia grinned.

“Have you tried using the music box?”

“No. I was right in front of the god, so I didn’t have the chance.”

“Then it can’t be helped. You faced the god directly and came back in one piece…”

Veldencia looked at Taesan with eyes filled with awe. He soon grinned.

“Alright. I’ll look forward to it.”

[You have cleared the 61st floor.] [You obtained the Emperor's Ring.] [Secret room reward, you obtained the Staff of the Lazy Mortal.] [You obtained the ???.]

It seemed the secret room reward was automatically given when clearing the 61st floor. Veldencia stepped aside.

“Take your time to check.”

“Thank you.”

Taesan sat down and checked the rewards he obtained.

This was the 61st floor. The rewards had changed to a higher level.

[Emperor's Ring] [Health +1000] [Mana +200] [Attack Power +80] [Defense +80] [A ring used by the emperor who ruled over all continents. No one could oppose him, and everyone knelt before him. Until the immortal broke the world, the emperor was truly an absolute being.]

“Ohho.”

Taesan’s lips curled into a smile.

It wasn’t a secret reward or a quest reward. Despite being just a floor clear reward, it had excellent performance. It was equipment worth looking forward to.

[Staff of the Lazy Mortal] [Magic +200] [Mana +1200] [Intelligence +500] [The staff of a lazy and idle mortal. Though he had the talent to become a transcendent if he trained his whole life, he chose to die as a mortal.]

A magic stat of 200.

It also had 1200 mana. It was an unimaginable staff.

Considering Taesan’s combat style, he didn’t have much use for a staff. It would make a good offering for mid-level magic if dedicated to the god of magic.

‘If the staff is this good.’

What about the sword?

Taesan soon found out.

[You used the ???.] [You obtained the Sword of the Best in the World.] [Sword of the Best in the World] [Attack Power +250] [Supreme above all. The sword of a swordsman that no one could surpass.]

The effect was very simple. The description was also simple.

But it was a very powerful weapon. An attack power of 250. It was 100 points higher than the weapon he was currently using.

“Nice.”

Taesan swung the weapon to get a feel for its balance. After a few swings, he got a rough sense of it.

Although the 61st floor rewards ended here, there was still more to check.

The God of Descent. The points and a piece of equipment obtained by clearing that trial. And a skill.

It was probably prepared by the God of Descent for Amelia, but now it belonged to Taesan.

[Necklace of Abominable Baseness] [Strength +100] [Agility +100] [Intelligence +100] [In battle, continuously reduces all the opponent's stats by a certain percentage.] [Those at the bottom would rather pull others down than climb up themselves.]

As expected from the God of Descent, it was quite a unique piece of equipment. Taesan wore the necklace and handed a sword to Veldencia.

“May I spar with you for a moment?”

“Huh? I can’t give you any more rewards.”

“I know. I just need to check the equipment effect.”

“Hmm… Alright. Considering what you’ve done, that’s the least I can do.”

Veldencia waved his hand.

Taesan kicked the ground.

Avoiding the flying magic, he swung his sword at Veldencia. Having experienced Absolute Judgement, Veldencia chose to evade instead of blocking.

And as the battle continued, Veldencia’s expression grew puzzled.

“Huh?”

His movements gradually, yet noticeably, slowed down. The speed at which he cast spells also decreased slightly, though it was hardly noticeable.

“Is this equipment that curses the opponent?”

“It seems so. By how much did your stats decrease?”

“Hold on.”

Veldencia made a gesture as if opening a status window. Looking into the air, he spoke.

“About 5%.”

“I see.”

Taesan sheathed his sword. If that was the case, it was quite a decent piece of equipment.

The opponents Taesan would face next were the Guides of Sin, their upper echelon. The deeper he went, the closer their stats would be to his, or even higher.

Reducing an opponent’s stats by 5% would definitely have significant meaning in such battles.

[Special Activation Skill: Forced Descent] [Mana Cost: 20] [Proficiency: 1%] [Reduces the opponent's stats by a certain percentage for a set duration.]

A simple description. It was easy to understand. Taesan asked for Veldencia’s permission and activated the skill.

[You have activated Forced Descent.]

“Ooh.”

Veldencia groaned. He swung his arm and spoke.

“My stats have definitely dropped. This level of impact would certainly be significant in combat.”

“Good.”

It was a skill that could be activated at the start of a battle. Both the equipment and the skill were focused on weakening the opponent rather than strengthening oneself.

Veldencia looked a bit reluctant. For someone who opposed the God of Descent, using a skill given by the God of Descent must have felt unpleasant. However, since it was a power Taesan obtained, he didn’t interfere.

“Then.”

It was time to use the points.

2,410 points. Quite a large amount.

The first place to use them was already decided.

[Special Passive Skill: Double Casting] [Proficiency: 1%] [When using powers that consume mana, magic, or other energies, you can use two skills simultaneously. However, the implementation speed of the powers significantly slows down.]

He immediately consumed the points. As the proficiency approached 50%, the point consumption increased exponentially. Only then did Taesan stop increasing the proficiency.

[Special Passive Skill: Double Casting] [Proficiency: 49%] [When using powers that consume mana, magic, or other energies, you can use two skills simultaneously. The implementation speed of the powers has significantly increased.] [You have activated Frozen World.] [You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

Two spells were implemented simultaneously. Ice surged, and an arrow of light formed in Taesan’s hand.

Veldencia, watching, opened his mouth in surprise.

“Simultaneous casting of spells? Could it be Double Casting?”

Veldencia was a wizard who had descended to the deep layers. Naturally, he possessed Double Casting. Therefore, he was even more astonished.

Double Casting was something that even wizards who delved deeply into magic could barely acquire. And even if they did, it held little value until they increased its proficiency.

But once a certain level was reached, it became extremely valuable. Being able to implement more than two spells simultaneously was a crucial power needed in the deep layers, where one had to respond to various situations.

And now, Taesan’s Double Casting proficiency had increased to the point where casting speed was significantly faster.

It was practical enough for real combat. Taesan was satisfied and smiled.

Even when he cast two spells simultaneously, there was no significant difference in speed compared to when he cast one.

Then how about this? Taesan simultaneously used both magic and mana.

[You have activated Frozen World.] [You have activated Naberious' Golden Sword.]

Frozen World was activated. A golden sword was summoned through the created portal and swung.

A golden diagonal line was drawn in the labyrinth.

To properly handle black magic, a portal needed to be opened with magic. Creating the portal took a considerable amount of time, so he had to create an opportunity to use it.

But now, thanks to Double Casting, he could create that opportunity as he wished. The utilization of black magic had become much more convenient.

The results were better than expected. Now, the issue was how to use the remaining points.

There was nothing particularly appealing. Most of the skills he could upgrade had already reached a certain level, and further upgrades consumed too many points, reducing efficiency.

Taesan spent the remaining points on various miscellaneous skills. Thanks to that, several skills reached just before the level where their content would change, and Leap and Landing reached 20%, changing their content.

[Special Activation Skill: Leap] [Mana Cost: 30] [Proficiency: 20%] [You can jump very high with the next leap. You can also jump farther.] [Condition: Advanced Swordsmanship Ability Sword] [You perform a powerful upward slash from a lower position than the opponent.] [Special Activation Skill: Landing] [Mana Cost: 20] [Proficiency: 20%] [Allows you to land on the ground from an airborne position.] [Condition: Advanced Swordsmanship Ability Sword] [When your sword is in a higher position than the opponent's weapon, you perform a powerful downward strike.]

In the case of Landing, increasing proficiency didn’t bring significant changes, but Leap was different. Depending on the proficiency, Leap could really allow one to jump to the sky’s limit.

Landing also gained meaning in increasing proficiency thanks to the effect of Ability Sword.

“Then, farewell. I look forward to seeing you again.”

It was all over. Veldencia waved his hand. Taesan descended the labyrinth.

[Quest for the 62nd floor has started.] [Conquer the maze of the 62nd floor and defeat the master of the maze.] [Reward: Athena's Crimson Bracelet.] [Secret reward: ???]