Ascension Through Skills

Rumble!

A bolt of lightning struck down. The wind transformed into a violent storm, and the earth shattered as if it intended to swallow Taesan whole.

Taesan stomped his foot, crushing the crumbling ground beneath him. He dodged the lightning and punched away the storm with his fist.

Taesan quickly assessed the situation.

Clearing this level wouldn’t be difficult.

In that case, rather than obsessing over an immediate clear, the right answer was to identify anything valuable he could obtain.

Taesan began to explore his surroundings instead of heading to his destination.

[You activated Leraje's Territory Detection.]

[You activated Concentrated Detection.]

But nothing appeared.

This place was truly empty.

“Absolutely nothing here.”

[It’s a place where life cannot exist. There are times when you can find something in such a space, but it doesn’t seem to be the case here.]

Taesan moved to explore a wider area.

And the abandoned planet became immensely irritated by Taesan’s actions.

The planet, filled with rage, struck down a lightning bolt. Taesan raised his sword.

Clang!

The lightning collided with his sword and scattered in all directions.

“Nothing here either.”

Taesan paid no attention to the planet’s attack.

The planet grew even angrier at his indifference.

With its emotions, a powerful will surged forth.

Rumble!

The ground split and collapsed. A vast city-sized area sank, creating a massive hole.

Rumble!

Lightning poured down furiously, scorching the ground. The storm hurled the shattered debris of earth through the air.

It was, in every sense, an apocalypse.

Yet Taesan stood on the crumbling ground without a single tremor.

With the help of his special Continuous Activation skill, Balancing, he could maintain his posture with ease, unaffected by this level of tremor.

The earth continued to collapse under the planet’s will. The ground, which had been breaking apart, rose with the planet’s intent, attempting to engulf Taesan. In that instant, Taesan activated a skill.

[You activated Earthquake.]

The ground, which had been trying to swallow him, was neutralized by the earthquake Taesan triggered.

He escaped the collapsing terrain in an instant.

The planet was left frustrated, like a dog chasing chickens in vain.

“It’s much weaker than the world of Hafran.”

[That place is unique. In the first place, it's nearly impossible for a star to wield power at an immortal level.] n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Immortals were, as the name suggested, beings without death.

They had no lifespan. They continued to exist until met with physical or mental annihilation.

However, planets all had a lifespan. From a human’s perspective, it may seem unfathomably long, but, conversely, it meant there was an inevitable end.

Thus, planets could never achieve the power of an immortal.

Hafran’s world breaking that rule is a very rare exception.

[Not that this planet is weak, though...]

Floor 75. The fact that this was a quest in the deep floors said it all. Ordinary adventurers would not be able to overcome a planet’s will.

But Taesan was far from an ordinary adventurer.

“Let’s keep looking around to see if there’s anything worthwhile.”

Completing the floor wasn’t an issue.

Taesan intended to push the limits of exploration to see if there was anything valuable to obtain.

The planet, watching Taesan, was losing its mind.

The planet ceaselessly tormented the adventurers who gathered here to clear the 75th floor.

But the outcome was always the same. Either the adventurers succeeded and returned to the labyrinth, or they perished and disappeared here.

In the end, nothing remained beside the planet.

It was all so empty.

Unable to bear it, the planet developed a particular worldview.

Mortal beings. Adventurers were nothing more than toys to it.

Living beings were weak and fragile. Even a slight whim from it would leave them broken and defeated.

Compared to those insignificant creatures, it was far stronger, larger, and superior.

Yes. Life was unnecessary. Life was nothing more than a toy for expressing its perfect self.

This was the planet’s absolute belief.

Twisted emotions had even robbed it of the admiration and envy it once felt toward life. This belief became the pillar supporting the planet’s psyche.

Yet now, the planet found itself unable to do anything to Taesan.

It was undeniable, no matter how much it wished otherwise. It felt with certainty that Taesan was stronger than itself.

The planet let out a furious roar.

The emotions surged, and everything began to fall apart.

Until now, the planet had never unleashed its full power against an adventurer. Cleaning up afterward was also challenging from the planet’s standpoint.

But this time, it had abandoned all restraint, determined to kill Taesan.

“What a mess.”

Yet still, it couldn’t touch him.

Taesan murmured, unleashing his power. He blocked the planet’s attacks of darkness and magic swirling like a storm.

The earth, unable to withstand the force, began to collapse.

At this rate, it would take at least several hundred years to recover. If things went poorly, its contract with the wizards could break, and it could be expelled from the 75th floor.

But the planet only thought of killing Taesan.

[This reaction is so different from my time.]

The ghost let out a bitter laugh. Though he had been strong, he was nothing compared to Taesan now.

When he cleared the 75th floor, the planet had mocked and toyed with him as it attacked, and he had barely survived by risking his life.

But against Taesan, the planet was showing all its emotions, intent on killing him.

And Taesan lightly blocked every single one of its attacks.

The time was almost up. It was nearly time to finish.

Taesan launched himself forward, accelerating and using his skills to swiftly break through the planet.

Realizing Taesan was about to clear the floor, the planet hurriedly mustered even more power.

But it couldn’t reach him. It couldn’t respond properly to Taesan’s sprinting speed as he carved a path forward.

Taesan was nearing his destination.

In the end, the planet couldn’t hold back.

Shriek!

With a deafening roar, the ground in front of Taesan collapsed, revealing a pure white will within.

Having seen it before, Taesan immediately recognized it. That white will was the will of the world itself.

The will gathered power and burst forth. The strength of the world itself condensed, intending to crush Taesan.

But compared to the power of the destroyed world of Hafran, it was ridiculously weak.

This much could be broken through. Taesan swung his arm.

[You activated Magic Overlay.]

He layered the starlight arrow three times. Then he detonated it.

[You activated Magic Release.]

[You activated Forced Amplification.]

The starlight arrow was fired.

It collided with the force of will, turning the world white.

Rumble!

The planet was shocked. Even after revealing itself and using its power, it was being shattered by Taesan’s starlight arrow.

The planet made a decision.

Having come this far, there was no turning back.

Even if it meant collapsing, it would kill Taesan. With that resolve, it moved its true form.

Boom!

The planet began to disintegrate.

Its shell cracked, and its core twisted.

The ground rose up. The air trembled, and the atmosphere crumbled.

The scale of this attack was fundamentally different from before.

Literally everything on the planet was attacking Taesan.

The weight of the continent crashed down on him, and the planet’s atmosphere compressed to swallow him whole.

In terms of sheer physical force, it was beyond anything Taesan had ever faced.

But it wasn’t something he couldn’t overcome.

He braced himself and charged forward.

[You activated Gale Sprint.]

[You activated Skill Acceleration.]

He moved with the force of a storm, crushing the advancing ground beneath him. Taesan stomped.

[You activated Beyond the Boundary.]

[You activated Magic Overlay.]

He layered the earthquake and directed it towards the advancing ground.

[You activated Magic Release.]

The advancing ground shattered like a wall.

It scattered like broken pieces of a ruined cube, clearing a path.

Thud.

Taesan stomped his foot. The planet’s will exploded in a fit of rage.

Taesan swung his sword.

Crash!

Power clashed, and shockwaves spread in all directions.

Taesan forced the planet’s power back with his sword.

At the end of his charge, the planet’s will was directly visible.

The will trembled violently.

The power surged madly, expressing emotions so intense Taesan could even sense them.

How could this be?

It was a massive star. A planet. To it, humans were less than dust.

It had unleashed power with the intention of its own destruction. This speck of a human should have been crushed to death under its force.

But Taesan had broken through and was now right before it.

This was impossible!

With an overwhelming wave of denial, it gathered its power.

The ripples of its emotions shook his mind, but Taesan easily brushed them off with a shake of his head.

Black and golden colors overlapped on Taesan’s sword, forming a shade of gray.

The planet didn’t stop either.

And the moment he crossed the boundary line,

The planet’s power warped.

Crack.

Taesan’s sword pierced through the planet’s will. The gray color burst forth, painting the world.

[You...]

Balbabamba could not finish his sentence.

Taesan sat calmly in front of him.

[If only you had cleared it like everyone else.]

Finally, Balbabamba couldn’t hold back and spoke. It was something a labyrinth manager should never say, but he couldn’t help but voice it.

The core floors, 74th and 75th, had been changed because of Taesan.

It was unprecedented for two deep floors to change in such a short period.

[It’s me who designs the locations and concepts fitting for each floor. Do you know how hard that is?]

Balbabamba spoke in an exhausted tone. He was already extremely busy creating new core floors, and now an additional floor had been added to the pile.

Moreover, it was the 75th floor. Since the creation of the labyrinth, it had never changed until now, when Taesan forced them to find a new one.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t just go easy on it.”

[I understand. It’s just a complaint. I went through so much trouble to find that planet during the labyrinth’s design phase, and now it’s useless.]

“So it was such an old floor.”

Taesan was a bit surprised. He knew it had been around even in the ghost’s era, but he hadn’t realized it was a quest set up since the design stage.

“What will happen to the planet now?”

Just before the boundary pierced its will, a completion message for the quest had appeared.

Thanks to immediately returning to the labyrinth, Taesan didn’t know the outcome. Balbabamba responded.

[It wasn’t annihilated, but it suffered damage that will be hard to recover from. Its consciousness is likely broken. At the very least, it can no longer function as a floor in the labyrinth.]

The abandoned planet could no longer remain as part of the labyrinth’s floors.

This story had little relevance to Taesan. He had only defended himself against the planet’s attacks.

[Well then, good luck. I need to quickly go investigate.]

Muttering grumpily, Balbabamba departed.

In any case, Taesan cleared the 75th floor. He received his rightful reward for it.

[Ring Refined from the Core of the World]

[Health +2,500]

[Mana +500]

[Attack Power +150]

[Defense Power +150]

[A ring crafted by compressing and refining the world’s core. The craftsman was very inexperienced, so much of its power was lost, but the strength it contains is still immensely powerful.]

[Staff of One Who Contracted with the Demon King]

[Dark Magic +330]

[Magic Power +500]

[Chant Speed +15%]

[A staff once wielded by one who contracted with the Demon King of the demon realm, who was once one of the mightiest. It’s said those who contract with demons meet a miserable end, though this didn’t apply to the Demon King’s contractor.]

The ring simply offered high health, mana, and attack power. Its effects were straightforward, and its performance was solid.

The secret reward, a staff for dark magic, wasn’t particularly special. It could be sacrificed as an offering to the Demon God.

But these weren’t the only things Taesan gained.

Even though there had been nothing on the abandoned planet, he had acquired something.

[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Opponent of the World]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[One who battled against the world itself. When opposing the will of the world, enhances personal rank and all stats. Additionally, it allows a more direct reading of the will imbued in a planet’s power.]

It seemed like an upgrade of the Immortal Opponent skill he obtained on the 74th floor, applied to a world-level opponent.

“I’ll be able to use it in the world of Hafran.”

Even Taesan couldn’t guarantee he could conquer Hafran’s world yet.

But by obtaining skills related to it and gradually becoming stronger, he would one day reach that level.

Taesan headed to the 76th floor.

The beginning of the 76th floor.

And the Demon God had said they would be waiting here.

Taesan brushed past the shopkeeper and entered the 76th floor.

There, he felt numerous presences.

“Why are there so many?”

Murmuring, Taesan walked toward where he sensed the presences.

There, numerous Guides of Sin awaited.

[You encountered the Black Twin.]

[You have encountered the White Twin.]

[You have encountered the Fist Saint, Altiar.]

[You have encountered the Lord of the Abyss, Cliff.]

[You have encountered the Master of the Echoing Valley, Estevan.]

[You have encountered the Starlight Flash, Floria.]

[You have encountered the Warrior of the Great Saint, Gloria.]

[You have encountered the Most Noble One, Helia.]