Ascension Through Skills
chapter-288

“Kiii!”

A centipede visible between the flesh cries out. Then, the heart started beating.

Thump. Thump.

The fierce heartbeat made the mucus tremble. The blood, which was slowly trickling out, started to pour out like a waterfall in sync with the beating heart.

The flowing blood wetted the ground and filled the surroundings.

And then, the blood rose.

“Kiii.”

The centipede cried. Its intent to kill Taesan was clear.

“Easy to understand.”

Kill or be killed. It was either one or the other. There was no need for conversation.

The rising blood floated in the air, taking a solid shape.

And the blood rushed towards Taesan.

It turned into sharp thorns aiming to pierce his entire body.

Taesan raised his sword.

Kagak!

He deflected and blocked the blood thorns, bouncing them off. The blood shattered and scattered in all directions.

But before the scattered blood even touched the ground, it rose again and rushed at Taesan. As the waves of blood tried to bind his entire body tightly, Taesan threw a punch.

Kuuung!

A gust of wind followed his fist.

And the blood split even before the gust reached it.

The blood, avoiding his attack, lunged at Taesan. Taesan stepped back to increase the distance.

The blood moved as if it had a will of its own.

[You activated Essence Perception.] [The blood of the dead Giant King. A centipede is controlling it with its will after eating the heart.]

‘Troublesome.’

The centipede’s power itself wasn’t that significant. In his current state, which surpassed the level of mere strength, Taesan could win without difficulty.

But the movement of the blood was tricky. There was no sign of power. It was almost impossible to read its movements in advance.

In a way, it was natural. That power belonged to a dead being. There was no change or movement anymore.

The centipede was forcibly moving it, so it was impossible to read its trajectory or grasp the manifestation of its power.

“Kii.”

The centipede made a small cry.

At that moment, Taesan sensed a will from the centipede.

Taesan immediately stomped his foot and distanced himself from the blood that was engulfing the ground.

Chwajajak!

As Taesan stomped, the blood on the ground rose violently.

If he hadn’t moved in advance, he would have been skewered. Taesan spread his wings and watched the blood from above.

There were no signs in the blood’s movements.

It was almost impossible to read in advance.

But Taesan dodged by reading it in advance.

‘Concept skill.’

The fallen world of Hafran. A skill obtained there, reading and adjusting the will.

Perhaps because the centipede controlled the blood with its will, the centipede’s will felt stronger than any other enemy Taesan had faced.

And Taesan’s concept skill had reached 60% after defeating the queen ant.

Now, Taesan could project his will into the world.

“Kiii!”

The centipede cried. The blood flowed even more violently. It filled the surface, forming a whirlpool trying to engulf Taesan.

Taesan reached out his hand indifferently.

“Stop.”

Then the blood exploded.

The exploding blood fell on Taesan’s face.

It was a very dangerous situation. The centipede could control the blood in any way. It could make the part of the blood touching Taesan sharp, causing damage.

“Kiii!”

The centipede didn’t miss the opportunity. It tried to control the blood touching Taesan to inflict damage.

But nothing happened.

“Kii? Kiii?”

The centipede was confused. Taesan muttered.

“I can’t control it completely as I want yet.”

Taesan looked at the blood spread on the ground and raised his will.

Then the blood started to rise in response to Taesan’s will.

Taesan stomped his foot. The blood shot sharply towards the centipede.

“Kii!”

The centipede cried. The clashing wills caused the flying blood to burst.

The ghost realized what Taesan was doing.

[……Controlling the blood?]

It wasn’t mana or demonic energy. Nor was it physical force.

Taesan was controlling the blood purely with his will.

“Kiii……”

The centipede couldn’t understand.

It had been here since it first gained consciousness. Though its consciousness was cut off a few times, it had lived its whole life buried in the flesh lump.

Whenever it was hungry, it ate the flesh of the heart and drank the blood. Over countless years, the Giant King’s remains gradually became part of the centipede.

In the end, the centipede gained the ability to control the Giant King’s blood.

The centipede used this power to make many who came here part of itself. None could resist its power.

At some point, no one came anymore, but the centipede lacked the intelligence to understand that.

As time passed, the centipede came to believe it was absolute. As long as this place was filled with blood, it was invincible.

But now, that invincibility was breaking.

“Kiii!”

The centipede thrashed, bursting its will. At the same time, Taesan looked at the blood beneath his feet.

The blood, which seemed to rise, calmed down.

The centipede, which tried to use the blood beneath Taesan’s feet to pierce him, couldn’t understand.

The blood, which always moved according to its will, didn’t move. It felt like someone was blocking it.

[It’s certain.]

The ghost muttered in admiration.

[Will adjustment…… to be precise, materialization? Moving things with will alone?]

“It’s not that grand. I can’t do anything great. But…… it’s enough for now.”

His will moved.

The blood shook. The centipede thrashed, and the blood burst everywhere as its will clashed with Taesan’s.

Taesan rushed towards the centipede.

The centipede tried to resist, but its power was only in the blood. Its own power wasn’t weak, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Taesan.

Kwajiik.

“Kiiii!”

Taesan’s sword pierced deeply into the heart. The centipede, with the sword embedded in its body, screamed.

Taesan then shoved his hand deep into the heart.

He felt a wriggling sensation on his hand. Taesan clenched his fist. With a cracking sound, the long body of the centipede began to emerge from the heart.

“Kiii!”

Taesan slammed the centipede down. The blood on the floor splattered violently.

He trampled on the wriggling body on the ground, driving his sword into it, and slashed it lengthwise.

The centipede struggled a few more times. It moved its countless legs to escape and tried to bite Taesan with its jaws.

Taesan calmly trampled down all its resistance.

“Kiii……”

Before long, the centipede went limp.

[You have defeated the centipede that devours hearts.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Your health has permanently increased by 1021, strength by 150, and intelligence by 300.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. The proficiency of ??? has increased by 2%.] [Subquest completed.] [Starting calculation…]

The ghost asked,

[Exactly how did you do it?]

“Hold on a moment.”

Taesan focused on the blood as he looked at it.

The blood started to rise.

Swish.

The blood whirled around Taesan.

Taesan closed his eyes. The whirling blood fell to the ground.

“So, this is it.”

[Ha.]

The ghost marveled in awe.

Manipulating objects and affecting reality with sheer willpower.

Taesan was now demonstrating the power that transcendents possess.

But Taesan assessed the situation calmly.

“It’s not that impressive.”

The only reason he could suppress the queen ant’s will was that the difference in power between him and the queen ant was enormous. Moreover, the worker ants had no self-awareness, so it was easy to influence them.

The centipede was not much different.

The blood the centipede controlled wasn’t its power. It was manipulating the existing power of the Giant King.

In other words, it was a matter of how and who interfered with the masterless power.

That was why it easily crumbled under Taesan’s will. He couldn’t interfere with those who wielded normal power. His power was far from that of the transcendents.

[Even considering that, it seems like an unbelievable power…]

But the ghost was still astonished. In other words, it meant he could exert almost absolute influence over masterless power.

“We’ll have to check the details. I’ll have to find Haphran.”

Taesan muttered. Simultaneously, a system window appeared.

[Calculation completed.] [You have received the clear reward of the 63rd floor, [Magubania's Red Shoes].] [You have received the secret room reward of the 63rd floor, [Dark Magic Orb].] [You have received the clear reward of the 63rd floor, [???].] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [The Domain of Arrogance has diminished.] [Arrogance invites you to its domain.]

Taesan nodded.

“I accept.”

Kuuung!

Then the world changed. Everything warped as Taesan’s body began to move into the realm of the god.

And where Taesan arrived was before a gigantic door.

A door so massive it seemed impossible to open, larger than any mountain. In the dark space, only the door with an odd color could be seen.

[Are you interested?]

A voice echoed behind Taesan. It was a light voice, neither serious nor heavy.

[You are not qualified to open that door yet. That’s a story for much later. I won’t stop you if you want to try, but do you want to open it?]

“No.”

Taesan shook his head and turned around.

The man standing there had black hair.

A smile spread across his face. The young man, dressed like an adventurer, opened his mouth.

[Nice to meet you.]

“I greet the great god.”

Taesan knelt. Arrogance waved his hand.

[You don’t need to do that. Just be comfortable.]

Arrogance snapped his fingers, and two wooden chairs appeared.

[Sit.]

Arrogance sat on a chair and spoke. Taesan followed his words.

[It’s been a while for you too, hasn’t it?] [……I greet the great one.]

The ghost, who had been quiet, spoke hesitantly. Arrogance, who had been looking at the ghost for a while, muttered.

[I’m sorry about what happened to you. I thought you would reach the end someday.] [Thank you for your words.]

The ghost spoke bitterly. He had already failed. Knowing that even if he had reached the end, he would not have achieved his wish was no comfort to him.

But Arrogance continued.

[How will you respond to the opportunity that has come to you now, having failed?] [……What do you mean?] [Didn’t Zelbando tell you?] [……]

Zelbando had told the ghost. The ghost would have three choices. He told him not to regret making the wrong choice then.

[The time is approaching. So, I’m telling you not to regret it.] [……Thank you.]

The ghost closed his mouth.

Taesan asked.

“Did you see the future?”

[It’s not that grand. Some of those who hate you are making moves. It’s not hard to predict what they’ll do.]

Arrogance shook his head and opened his mouth.

[The reason I gave you this trial was to confirm one thing.]