Ascension Through Skills

The Guides resisted the oncoming chill. The black-and-white twins channeled each other’s powers by holding hands.

[The Black Twin activated an Unchanging Bond.]

[The White Twin activated an Unchanging Bond.]

A powerful wave surged from the black-and-white twins. It was a force they could wield only together, crushing and trampling everything in its path.

“Hup!”

Altia took a stance and threw a punch.

[Altia activated the Primordial Fist.]

Though it was an ordinary punch, it contained a power that no one could underestimate.

It embodied all the essence of martial arts Altia had gained before and after becoming a martial sage, condensed into a single fist.

Helia hardened the blue blood encasing his entire body even further.

The skills they were activating now were everything they had accumulated in the labyrinth. It was the power that symbolized who they were.

Crunch.

But at the moment of impact with the ice, it shattered to pieces.

“Ahhh!”

The severe chill engulfed their emotions. The icy force broke Altia’s punch, filled with everything he had, and overwhelmed him.

Crack, crack!

And the blue blood surrounding Helia’s entire body began to break.

“This can’t be! It can’t be!”

He shouted in denial, but the chill swallowed him up without a care.

Crack.

As the chill surged, silence filled the room. Taesan exhaled.

The Apostle Transformation and Partial World Alteration ended simultaneously. As the overwhelming power and vigor left his body, a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

The freezing air that blanketed the world started to pierce through Taesan’s entire body.

[What a power...!]

The ghost groaned. The domain’s energy had been fully invested in the frozen world. A power from beyond the boundaries of mortality had been summoned, further amplified by magical overlays and forced intensification.

As a result, the Guides of Sin engulfed in the frozen world were left on the verge of death.

Crack.

The ice shattered, revealing the black-and-white twins. Both collapsed with pale faces, no longer capable of continuing the fight.

“Hah, haha…”

Altia, frozen from the waist down, let out a hollow laugh.

He wasn’t much different from the black-and-white twins. Continuing to fight was impossible. He was, in fact, slowly dying.

“You’re a monster. Truly a monster.”

He alone had defeated the eight Guides of Sin.

Even though the forced duel created a one-on-one scenario, it was thanks to Taesan’s strength that he managed it.

“With such a complete defeat, there’s nothing more to say. The victory is yours, adventurer.”

Altia accepted it calmly and closed his eyes.

Taesan pierced his chest.

[You have defeated Altia.]

The black-and-white twins also did not resist. They acknowledged their defeat and quietly met their end at Taesan’s hand.

“Only one remains.”

The noblest one. Helia.

His condition was even more pitiful than Altia’s or the black-and-white twins’. The blue blood covering his entire body had gone berserk, leaving his limbs broken.

“…I cannot accept this.”

He spoke, staring blankly into the void.

“I cannot accept this! I… I…”

He cried out in denial.

“I have received the blood of the gods!”

He was fundamentally different from mere mortals.

He poured out the pride he held deep within his heart.

“Someone like you! Someone of your kind could never defeat me!”

Taesan raised his sword.

“You’ve lost. Just die quietly.”

“No! I haven’t lost! I…”

Even as he was dying, Helia continued to deny it to the end.

Taesan’s sword pierced his chest.

“I haven’t lost…”

And he died.

“A case of total denial to the very end.”

[He was arrogant, more so than any other Guide. Even more than me.]

The last of the Guides had fallen.

Taesan had won.

It felt as though a satisfied chuckle was echoing from beyond the space.

[You have reached the optimal state.]

The restrictions on recovery were lifted. The exhaustion and fatigue that filled his body vanished in an instant.

Taesan leaned against the wall.

---

Leveling up restored both physical and mental fatigue.

Yet somehow, he still felt tired. Taesan closed his eyes, trying to take a brief rest.

[Are you settled?]

“More or less.”

Taesan opened his eyes. The ghost chuckled softly.

[As I remember, there were about twenty leaders of the Guides. You’ve defeated eleven of them.]

The majority had met their end at Taesan’s hands.

[In essence, the Guides of Sin as a group are finished.]

For an incalculable amount of time, they had held their place in the labyrinth, controlling and managing adventurers who entered. Now, they had been obliterated by Taesan’s hand.

The rest would either flee from fighting Taesan or find their own way.

[I hope she neither runs nor gives up.]

The ghost murmured.

Taesan had defeated the Guides. Not just one but eight.

The reward for that was considerable.

[Level: 155]

[Shield: 15,800/15,800]

[Health: 173,277/173,277]

[Mana: 18,641/18,641]

[Magic Energy: 1,528/1,528]

[Strength: 33,245]

[Agility: 34,685]

[Intelligence: 30,141]

[Attack Power + 8,695]

[Defense + 6,052]

[The subject is in an optimal state.]

“Ha.”

Taesan couldn’t hold back a laugh.

All his stats had surpassed 30,000.

He lifted his sword and swung it. The sword, cutting through the air with a sharp whoosh, was clearly much faster than before.

It would now be difficult to find an opponent superior to him in terms of speed and strength.

With stats like these, there was practically no situation where he’d be outclassed physically.

Of course, this didn’t mean he was the strongest.

Pure stats alone could be overturned by various factors in battle. If there was a significant difference in rank, high stats would mean little.

The gap in rank would play an even more crucial role, so it was hard to say he had become purely stronger simply due to increased stats.

Still, stats were undeniably an important metric. Since they represented his base physical abilities, the higher they were, the easier it was to gain an advantage in combat.

However, the most crucial aspect wasn’t the stats—it was the skills he’d obtained through Soul Ascension.

The opponents he had defeated numbered eight.

Soul Ascension had granted him eight skills in total.

[Special Activation Skill: Designate Mark]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Mana Cost: 500]

[Designates a mark at a specific location. Currently, up to three marks can be designated. Once set, a mark cannot be reset until a day has passed, and there are limitations on travel distance.]

As a standalone skill, it was useless. However, when combined with other skills, its value increased exponentially.

[Special Activation Skill: Designated Mark Acceleration]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Mana Cost: 5]

[Uses the Designate Mark skill to accelerate movement to a designated mark. You can choose which mark to move to. Has a cooldown of 1 minute after activation.]

He had acquired Designated Mark Acceleration, a skill used by Floria.

Taesan tried it out himself. He designated three marks and activated the skill.

[You have activated Designated Mark Acceleration.]

His body accelerated.

In an instant, Taesan moved to the designated mark.

“It’s pretty fast.”

Even with a proficiency of just 1%, he moved at a speed that his usual self couldn’t catch up with. To a low-level opponent, it might even appear as though he had teleported.

Additionally, the cooldown was only a minute, making it highly useful in multiple ways.

Of course, there were limitations. Unlike a random, restricted blink, this was merely a movement skill, so if a space was blocked, movement was restricted. Nevertheless, it was still a decent skill.

[Special Passive Skill: Faith Deeper than Anyone’s]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[An intense collection of near-madness-like faith. Continuously restores one’s divine power.]

The skill of the Great Saint’s warrior was obtained by defeating Gloria.

Its effect was the recovery of divine power. What Taesan possessed was technically his own divine power, so it was ambiguous to call it “divine.” Initially, he wasn’t sure if the skill would activate, but upon testing, it was recovering correctly.

“It’s quite fast.”

Even though the amount of divine power Taesan had wasn’t insignificant, it was recovering at a very rapid pace.

With this, he could use divine powers more frequently, even without direct faith.

Divine power was a crucial force for future battles. Once expended, it took a long time to recover. This skill, which helped in that regard, was highly valuable to the current Taesan.

[Special Passive Skill: Child of Destruction]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[A fragment of destruction obtained by absorbing remnants of destruction. Allows for freer control over the power of destruction.]

Taesan had two skills related to destruction: Embers of Calamity and Call of Destruction. Both were powerful, but because Taesan hadn’t mastered them, he hadn’t been able to utilize their full potential.

This skill allowed him to wield those powers more freely and strongly. That’s how he interpreted it.

The next skill was acquired after defeating Esteban.

[Special Activation Skill: Forced Recall of All Summons]

[Mana Cost: 1,000]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Forces all summons within a certain range to return. Doesn’t differentiate between friend or foe, and summons strong enough can resist.]

It was the skill Esteban had used to reverse-summon Minerva in the end.

For now, with a proficiency of 1%, the effect might be limited, but considering it even reverse-summoned a Spirit King, it seemed worth investing in.

[Special Activation Skill: Mental Burden Transfer]

[Mana Cost: 300]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[For 30 minutes, partially transfers mental burden to the body.]

It was easy to understand. While his powers related to darkness and divinity placed stress on the body, the mental burden was even greater. This skill seemed useful for critical moments.

The skills used by the core of the Guides would be significant in both quantity and quality.

‘As expected.’

Each skill of the deep adventurers was immensely valuable.

Taesan checked the remaining skills with satisfaction.

[Special Activation Skill: Two as One]

[Mana Cost: 1,000]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Fuses two equal entities into one.]

A brief description.

That alone was enough for Taesan to realize it was a skill he couldn’t use.

The twins had used this skill to fuse and become one.

As a result, without needing to use other skills, their strength and speed increased enough to match Taesan.

There was no cooldown, risk, or even duration. As pure reinforcement, it was an almost perfect skill.

It was undoubtedly an excellent skill, but the conditions were far too demanding. Creating two equal entities was close to impossible unless, like the twins, they were born that way.

But Taesan quietly analyzed the skill.

Two equal entities.

That was the one condition.

Therefore, it wasn’t entirely impossible.