Ascension Through Skills

[Kee Kee Kee Keek!]

Maniacal laughter echoed. The deranged spirit that had once dwelled in Taesan’s sword appears.

[Aah! You have arrived! I have met my king!]

The deranged spirit shouted with crazed laughter. Vishnu grimaced.

“…That thing.”

Vishnu hadn’t forgotten. The spirit was nothing more than a tool she had created to preserve the consciousness of the spirits when she brought them into the labyrinth.

“Did that thing also make a pact with the magician of the labyrinth?”

[Aah! My King!]

The spirit cried out. Its voice, brimming with emotion, reverberated through the floor.

“Go fulfill your wish.”

[Kakak! Thank you! Thank you!]

The deranged spirit flew away.

[Aah! My great king! The king I respected and loved! I have come to see you!]

“Get lost.”

Vishnu coldly spoke to the deranged spirit that was wailing. Flames erupted and consumed the deranged spirit.

The deranged spirit was weak, not even a low-tier spirit. There was no way it could withstand Vishnu’s power. Vishnu sneered.

“Is this the trump card you brought?”

“Yes.”

Taesan nodded.

The deranged spirit emerged from the flames unscathed, showing no signs of damage.

“What!”

[You despise me! I understand!]

The deranged spirit shouted with a distorted face.

[Because I feel the same!]

The spirit clung to Vishnu’s body, spreading over her and beginning to oppress her.

“Urgh!”

Vishnu groaned. The emotions and madness that the deranged spirit harbored began to stir.

The deranged spirit itself started to merge with her.

As Vishnu writhed in agony, Taesan raised his sword.

[You activated acceleration.]

His body accelerated instantly, moving toward the suffering Vishnu in a flash. Vishnu, startled, unleashed her flames.

A wave of fire rushed toward Taesan as if to crush him. Taesan gathered his mana.

[You activated Marbas’ Pitch-Black Wave.]

The pitch-black wave emerged.

Previously, when used against Vishnu, the wave had vanished without doing anything.

But this time, it was different.

The black wave collided with the flames and started devouring them voraciously.

“Damn it!”

Vishnu gritted her teeth and intensified her flames.

Finally, she managed to push back the pitch-black wave, but by then, Taesan had already closed the distance.

Vishnu was about to escape through the flames.

[Kee Kee Keek!]

The deranged spirit laughed. Its twisted emotions suppressed the flames, halting her movement. In the end, Vishnu allowed Taesan to land a strike.

“Argh!”

[Vishnu activated the Shoes of Spatial Shift.]

Vishnu’s body moved.

Taesan immediately identified her location and gave chase.

Suppressing her dizziness, Vishnu gritted her teeth.

Flames flickered. Once again, Vishnu unfurled her king’s domain.

It was a power that literally altered the laws of the world. In this place, Vishnu was akin to an absolute being. It was only natural for someone like Taesan to be engulfed and collapse instantly.

Boom!

But she was blocked by Taesan’s domain. Unable to devour him, they clashed head-on.

‘How is this possible!’

Vishnu couldn’t accept it.

Changing the laws of the world was not a power granted to mortals.

It was something only possible for her, the Spirit King who had lived longer than any other spirit and held supreme control over nature.

Even among the Guides who had reached the brink of mortality, she was the only one capable of it.

Yet Taesan had now made the world his own domain.

And this world was colliding head-to-head with her, the Spirit King’s domain.

Vishnu couldn’t comprehend it. The absolute advantage she had was gone.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

Vishnu flared up her flames violently. It was a force that would burn and turn anything it touched to ash, yet the deranged spirit clinging to her remained unscathed.

Woosh.

Flames clung to her body. Normally, flames would be a familiar power to Vishnu, the Spirit King of Fire, like a cradle, but not this time. Now, the flames were trying to harm her.

Vishnu violently shook her arm to cast off the flames.

The deranged spirit clinging to her was slowly damaging her very essence and power.

That was the reason she couldn’t evade Taesan’s attack with her flames, even in her own domain.

“How am I bound by such a low-tier spirit?”

No matter how much the deranged spirit had dedicated itself to taking revenge on Vishnu, the difference in rank and power was clear. There was no way it could influence her to this extent.

Vishnu read the power contained within the deranged spirit that was binding her.

Her eyes trembled.

Within it was the energy of the Spirit God.

The Spirit God had imbued the deranged spirit with the power to kill her.

‘The Spirit God?’

Though it was a reward the Spirit God had given Taesan for rescuing Arulia, Vishnu didn’t know that, and she was shocked.

In the meantime, Taesan had reached her. As he swung his sword, she hurriedly countered.

She waved her hands frantically. The flames began to take shape.

“Burn. Firebird.”

[Vishnu activated her Fire Familiar.]

[Scree!]

A phoenix lunged at Taesan. Taesan didn’t evade it.

[You activated the Seed of Calamity.]

A flame capable of burning the entire world rose and collided with the phoenix.

[Screech!]

The phoenix pressed down on the flames. The Seed of Calamity, crushed by the overwhelming power, gradually began to lose its strength.

Taesan gathered his strength and fueled the flames further.

[Kii Eek!]

The Seed of Calamity that had engulfed Taesan’s aura grew larger and devoured the phoenix.

Having eliminated the phoenix, Taesan thrust his sword into Vishnu.

“Kugh!”

Flames burst out.

Taesan cast a spell to pierce through the flames, carving a path forward. Vishnu was slowly being pushed back.

Drip.

A fine line appeared on her body.

Red blood started to flow.

“The blood of the Spirit King is the same color.”

Taesan muttered as he charged.

Vishnu gritted her teeth.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the situation was not in her favor. The domain was split in half, and she couldn’t control it as she wished. The deranged spirit’s interference further hindered her movements.

A decision had to be made. Her eyes settled.

She stomped her foot. Flames erupted. Faced with a wave of flames filling the space, Taesan had no choice but to dodge rather than charge.

With the time she had bought, Vishnu gathered her inner strength.

[Aaaah!]

The deranged spirit, feeling the immense power directed at it, let out a crazed laugh.

[You wish to kill me, don’t you, my King! You want to erase me, the one you abandoned! I understand!]

The deranged spirit did not evade either. Instead, it violently poured its emotions into Vishnu.

[But in return, you must take all of me!]

The deranged spirit screamed fiercely.

[Human!]

Taesan immediately activated a skill.

[You have activated Forsaken Blade.]

He activated the second skill, one of the two skills he obtained when the deranged spirit merged with his sword.

The emotions stored within the deranged spirit wildly amplified, swirling inside Vishnu.

Vishnu bit her lip, gathering more strength. Amid the violent clash of powers, Taesan raised his sword.

[You have activated Naberious’ Golden Sword.]

[You have activated Addition.]

[You have activated the Blade of Fighting Spirit.]

[You have activated Absolute Judgement.]

Thud.

Taesan charged forward. At the same moment, the condensed power within Vishnu exploded, but Taesan’s sword pierced through her.

[Vishnu has activated the Brand of Twisted Recovery.]

[Vishnu took 71,040 damage.]

[Vishnu has recovered 35,520 health.]

[Your Third Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Rumble…

Even though the attack was nullified, Taesan’s body was pushed back by the series of explosions.

The Spirit King’s domain began to shake uncontrollably. As the explosion subsided, Vishnu’s figure reappeared.

Half of her body was in tatters.

A ring on her finger snapped and fell.

“As expected, the deep-floor equipment is a nuisance.”

A damage amount of 70,000 was enough to defeat Vishnu, but she had survived using deep-floor equipment. Taesan smirked.

“You killed the spirit that called out to you like that? That’s harsh.”

“…You.”

Vishnu’s enraged gaze focused on Taesan.

Crash!

The space shattered.

The king’s domain that Vishnu had unfolded crumbled under the strain.

Taesan’s partial world alteration ended simultaneously. Since it was a power triggered by consuming a catalyst, its duration was limited.

‘I’m out of mana, too.’

His mana was nearly depleted. He wanted to use a potion, but Vishnu wasn’t giving him any opportunity.

Wrrrr.

Taesan unleashed his divinity. A golden light spread around him, almost completely restoring his mana and magic power.

Vishnu let out a hollow laugh when she saw the light.

“I was mistaken.”

She had thought that while Taesan was strong, he was still just a mortal bound by the labyrinth’s system.

But she was wrong. Taesan wasn’t bound by the system. Instead, he was using it to surpass his limits.

Taesan was a monster.

Vishnu’s aura intensified further. Taesan’s eyes grew calm.

By altering the world partially, he had erased her advantage. He had inflicted great damage by using the deranged spirit.

He had even reduced her stats with the necklace of depravity he obtained from the Quest of the Fallen God.

But despite all that, the Spirit King had not lost her strength.

This was the true power of someone who had reached the deep floors.

Vishnu gathered flames. The intensity of the flames was noticeably weaker.

Vishnu gave a bitter smile.

How long had it been since she had been driven to this point? It was something that hadn’t happened even when she was conquering the labyrinth. Possessing the king’s domain, she had always been one step removed from death.

“It’s been a while.”

Vishnu spread her arms. All the flames began to gather in her hands.

[Vishnu has activated Agni’s Flame Sword.]

A long sword of flame appeared in her hand.

The flames contained within it were her remaining strength, burning the air and drying her lips.

“I admit it. You are stronger than me.”

The arrogant and great Spirit King finally spoke.

“So I will face you as a challenger.”

“As you wish.”

Taesan stomped the ground. Agni responded. The flaming sword clashed with Taesan’s sword.

The flaming sword exploded, trying to burn and melt everything it touched.

Taesan stepped forward, twisting his waist as he swung his sword.

Clang!

The swords collided. Taesan activated his Foresight skill. The trajectory of Vishnu’s sword faltered, revealing an opening.

Just as Taesan was about to plunge his sword into her, Vishnu’s body shifted.

[Vishnu has activated the Shoes of Spatial Shift.]

“So annoying.”

Taesan immediately charged forward, pressing down on Vishnu. Their swords collided, and Vishnu was pushed back.

“Kugh!”

Vishnu was the Spirit King. She wasn’t familiar with wielding a sword or moving her body in battle. She couldn’t help but be continuously pushed back by Taesan.

But Vishnu was barely holding on.

All thanks to her deep-floor equipment. The most bothersome one was undoubtedly the Shoes of Spatial Shift.

With no activation delay and an extremely short cooldown, it allowed her to teleport freely, easily escaping any pressure Taesan applied.

Vishnu’s eyes hadn’t lost their light. Even as she endured Taesan’s attacks, her determination to find an opportunity was evident.

But Taesan was no different.

Clang!

He couldn’t read her intentions. Against an opponent of Vishnu’s level, it was impossible to perfectly conceal one’s will.

So he pressed Vishnu, analyzing her behavior patterns, the timing of her spatial shifts, and her location relative to him each time she activated it.

Crash!

Taesan swung his sword harshly. Vishnu was pushed back. As his sword aimed for her chest, Vishnu activated her spatial shift.

[Vishnu has activated the Shoes of Spatial Shift.]

And Taesan had been waiting for that moment.

[You have activated Forced Descent.]

Whoosh.

All of Vishnu’s stats dropped. Caught off guard by the sudden change in her senses, her reaction was slightly delayed compared to before.

[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

[You have activated Acceleration.]

[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]

Taesan’s body left an afterimage. Just as Vishnu, who had landed far away, was about to turn her gaze, Taesan was already right in front of her.

As his sword pierced her chest, her pupils widened.