Ascension Through Skills
chapter-296

“Dead.”

A cold voice echoed, but within it was an undeniable tremor.

“Dead.”

The Archmage grimaced while staring at the extinguished jewel.

“Shaman is dead.”

“…Really?”

“The jewel does not lie. You should know that. Shaman no longer exists in the labyrinth.”

Groans erupted from all sides. Ambracia scratched his head with a bewildered look.

“Should we hold a funeral?”

“We are adventurers who risk our lives descending into the labyrinth. We decided not to have moments of silence for each other’s deaths.”

“Well, yes, but that’s when we die while descending the labyrinth. But this…”

Ambracia couldn’t continue his sentence. The King of Fire Spirits closed her eyes. The Lion King’s eyebrows twitched.

“…I don’t understand. How?”

His voice was tinged with confusion.

“No, it’s one thing for Shaman to be defeated. But it hasn’t even been a day since Shaman descended. Did someone break through his defense in just a day? Is that really possible?”

The Lion King looked around and asked.

“Is there anyone among us who can break through Shaman’s defense in a day?”

No one among them raised their hands easily. Societ spoke up.

“I might have a chance.”

A cold, yet beautiful voice echoed.

“And Lion King. You also have a chance. Both of us are focused on offense. The Archmage might be able to if fully prepared. Isn’t it also possible for the King of Spirits?”

“I can’t. Shaman’s defenses are specialized against spirits.”

The King of Spirits spoke quietly. Shaman had acquired many defensive skills against spirits through duels with her. Even she couldn’t break Shaman’s defense.

“And even if you have a chance, it’s practically impossible.”

Societ nodded quietly.

If Shaman didn’t respond and purely endured their attacks, it might be different. But the moment Shaman responded seriously, he could hold out for days.

A Guide of Sin.

One who boasted absolute defense.

The weight of that title was not light.

But now, Taesan had defeated Shaman in less than a day.

“This is troubling.”

A voice mixed with groans echoed.

“Very troubling…”

They hadn’t thought Shaman would lose, unlike other Guides before.

Shaman was their comrade, with whom they had sparred thousands, tens of thousands of times, and tackled the depths together.

Having watched Shaman’s strength closely for a long time, it was hard to believe he’d be defeated by an adventurer who hadn’t even reached the depths.

Ambracia scratched his head.

“Um… let’s regain our composure. It’s already happened, hasn’t it?”

“…Yes. We should.”

Their eyes quickly regained composure.

In the labyrinth, unimaginable things could happen. Rapidly regaining composure in unexpected situations was a virtue anyone who reached the depths should possess.

“We pay our respects to Shaman. I won’t stop anyone who wants to personally mourn. Especially you, King of Fire Spirits. You were fairly close to Shaman, weren’t you?”

The King of Fire Spirits nodded.

Her eyes were darkened.

They had spent an immeasurable amount of time here. Even if they weren’t close enough to risk their lives for each other, they had formed bonds to some degree.

“Then let’s start the investigation.”

They still lacked information about Taesan. The Demon God had blocked information acquisition to ensure a fair fight.

But now they could guess.

Shaman, not another Guide, had been defeated. That itself was information.

“Even though none of us could defeat Shaman, he was chosen.”

The Demon God did not like fights with no chance of winning. She wanted to see bloodshed between those who were somewhat equal.

In other words, only Shaman among them was a suitable opponent that Taesan could defeat.

“Does he have a defense-penetrating skill?”

“But simple defense penetration wouldn’t be enough. Shaman has skills to counter even defense penetration.”

“Besides, Shaman was equipped with multiple defensive gears. No matter how high the penetration rate, could an adventurer who hasn’t reached the depths break through in just a day?”

The silent Societ asked the Archmage.

“Is it possible with magic?”

“It’s possible. Magic is a great power. But it requires a lengthy preparation process.”

The Archmage shook his staff.

“Creating a magic circle, dominating the space, preparing for the magic’s manifestation. It takes at least a few days of preparation. He should have met him immediately after clearing the 64th floor. Then it’s impossible.”

“Shaman also had recovery skills. So, he might also have skills to reduce recovery.”

“Ambracia. Didn’t you say he had a skill that nullified attacks when you fought him? Tell us more about it.”

They started to discuss. They began to uncover information about Taesan.

“They must be talking loudly about it now.”

[About what?]

“The leaders.”

[…Aha.]

The ghost realized. He chuckled.

[Of course.]

Taesan had defeated Shaman. The Guide with absolute defense.

Even if the Demon God blocked information, that itself was information.

They would be discussing how Taesan broke through Shaman’s defense and how he won.

And in that process, they would guess that Taesan could break through their defenses.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Anyway, if Taesan fought the higher-ups, they would know eventually. He had anticipated this.

What mattered was that Taesan would become stronger faster and more certainly than they expected.

Taesan conquered the 65th floor. He quickly cleared the monsters and reached the boss room.

[A part of the vines covering the world has appeared.]

The boss room was entirely covered in vines.

The vines thrashed wildly, trying to engulf Taesan. Taesan opened his mouth.

“Burn.”

Flames started at the tips of the vines and began to burn them entirely.

Ignoring the throbbing pain, he cast magic. Light and cold swirled around.

Rumble…

[You have defeated a part of the vines covering the world.] [You have obtained the Green Witch's Staff.] [Green Witch's Staff] [Magic +160] [Mana +1500] [Intelligence +1000] [The staff used by the Green Witch who ruled the northern forest of the world during her mortal days.] [Greatly enhances power when handling the witch's magic.]

“Witch’s magic?”

It was a term he had never seen before. To him, magic only meant the magic of the god of magic.

The ghost spoke.

[Considering it mentions her mortal days, she must be a being that has transcended mortality. There are quite a few beings who have created their own magic after transcending mortality. However…]

“Is it inferior compared to the magic of the god of magic?”

[Most likely, yes. The god of magic is the god of magic itself. Still, the magic of a great being holds significant value, but this is the labyrinth. Its relative value is diminished.]

The clear conditions were met. The path to the 66th floor was open.

However, the secret reward was not obtained.

The reward ??? that could be gained by identifying the hidden elements of the floor.

Something he had never missed before, he failed to find this time.

“There was no secret room visible.”

Taesan frowned. As he broke through the floor, he meticulously examined the labyrinth. But the secret room was nowhere to be found.

He thought there might not be a secret room on this floor, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“I need to find it.”

[What are you doing?]

“Searching for secrets.”

Taesan wandered around the cleared 65th floor. At first, the ghost remained silent, but after an hour, two hours, three hours, and eventually a whole day passed, it had to speak.

[I understand your intention. It's a shame to miss the secret reward when you've been collecting everything so far.]

The secret reward was obtained when the entire floor was cleared.

The secret reward was superior to the simple floor-clear reward. Moreover, perfecting the floor’s exploration and clearing the labyrinth awarded a title.

Taesan would not give up easily. He would persistently search for it. That’s why the ghost had remained silent.

But with so much time passing, it had to speak.

[Isn't it a type of secret reward that can't be obtained?]

Taesan’s reconnaissance and essence perception.

Both were detection skills difficult for adventurers on this floor to possess.

Moreover, Taesan had detection skills in black magic and magic.

It was virtually impossible for him to miss anything, but it wasn’t showing up, meaning one of two things.

Either the system itself was lying.

Or it was impossible to identify it in the usual way.

[The system doesn’t lie.]

Skills were absolute. The system only spoke the truth, and stats could not be denied.

It was the trust in the labyrinth that those who descended it naturally had.

[In other words, it’s a secret room that must be found in an entirely different way. If that's the case, you might never find it.]

It might require a special bloodline.

Or a relationship with someone within the labyrinth.

Or possession of a special skill.

There were quite a few rewards in the labyrinth that required certain conditions to be met. Taesan finding and gaining rewards from the Forgotten Goddess’s room was such a case.

[You can't obtain everything.]

The ghost said.

The secrets of the labyrinth were unfathomable. This place created by transcendents and mages was beyond mortal comprehension.

In other words, some things had to be given up.

[Of course, it's difficult to miss without knowing the conditions for conquest…]

Simply clearing the labyrinth was not enough. To achieve one’s wish, the labyrinth must be conquered.

So what did conquest mean?

Taesan, not knowing this yet, couldn’t miss the secret reward.

[However, if it truly requires certain conditions to be met, obtaining it might be impossible. If so, even missing it might not affect the conditions for conquest.]

A type of secret literally impossible to obtain. Could one truly say the labyrinth was conquered only if all such secrets were obtained?

The ghost didn’t think so. The mage he had seen didn’t seem to desire such things.

“No.”

But Taesan shook his head.

“It’s only been a day.”

It was too early to give up.

Taesan continued his search, and the ghost respected his choice.

For an entire week, Taesan stayed on the 65th floor.

“It’s not appearing.”

Taesan waved his hand. Despite meticulously examining each brick, nothing appeared. The fact that Taesan, with reconnaissance and essence perception, couldn’t find it meant it truly wasn’t there.

As the ghost said, it likely required a special condition to be met.

However.

Though he couldn’t express it in words, he felt something was there.

It was intuition and instinct. The sense of possibility Taesan had developed through acquiring numerous skills.

‘The witch’s domain.’

This place was said to be the witch’s domain.

Then who was this witch?

A being involved with the floor.

Most likely the owner of the wrist guard Taesan possessed.

Then how strong would she be?

Could she create equipment useful even now, just before reaching the depths?

[You have activated Apostle Transformation: Chaos and Darkness.] [You have activated the King's Vessel.] [Oh?]

The ghost was surprised as Taesan suddenly activated his skills. Taesan, elevating himself to a higher level, observed his surroundings.

Nothing had changed.

It was still the same ordinary, foliage-covered 65th floor.

He gathered his will. It became words, influencing reality.

“Open.”

[You have activated the Declaration of Release.]

Boom!

The space split apart.

A hidden place within the floor began to reveal itself.

[Reconnaissance proficiency increased by 4%.] [Essence Perception proficiency increased by 3%.] [Word of Command proficiency increased by 2%.] [Oh?]

“This is what a secret means.”

Taesan clicked his tongue. A place that could only be reached with the Word of Command.

Indeed, it was a secret that no one but Taesan could know.

The floor began to change. Bricks disappeared, and various vegetation filled the space.

A thick, deep scent permeated.

At the same time, a force enveloping the entire domain was felt.

Before long, Taesan found himself in the middle of a deep, dense forest.

[You have arrived in the Green Witch’s Domain.] [You have identified the hidden elements of the 65th floor. Obtained reward [???].]