Ascension Through Skills

Taesan gripped the sword lodged in his chest.

［You have activated the Branch of Despair.］

“Urrrggh!”

In an instant, despair engulfed Vishnu’s mind. Vishnu barely held on, swinging her arms.

［Vishnu has activated Exclusion of All.］

Kiiiing.

As Vishnu’s bracelet glowed, Taesan’s body was pushed far away. It wasn’t physical force but a manipulation of space itself, forcibly widening the distance.

［You have activated Random Blink.］

However, the moment Taesan pierced Vishnu’s chest with his sword, he had already branded her. Taesan immediately moved in front of Vishnu. His sword came down, and Vishnu hurriedly blocked it.

Vishnu’s arms were pushed back. As Taesan pressed on to slam her into the ground, Vishnu’s body disappeared.

［Vishnu has activated the Shoes of Spatial Transference.］

［You have activated Acceleration.］

［You have activated Skill Acceleration.］

Tap.

And Taesan arrived directly in front of Vishnu as she landed.

Vishnu barely twisted her body to avoid the direct hit, letting out a gasp of shock.

“How is this possible?!”

“It’s obvious.”

He had already fully grasped the pattern of Vishnu’s spatial leaps, her estimated location, and the principles of her movements. He could see clearly where she would go in any situation.

“You can’t leap anymore, can you?”

He had also figured out the limitation of the Shoes of Spatial Transference. It was rechargeable equipment, allowing up to three consecutive leaps. Once used three times, it required a cooldown period to recharge.

Vishnu had activated the shoes three times in a row. She couldn’t escape anymore.

Boom!

The sword slammed down, pressing her aggressively.

Although Vishnu was being overpowered, she retaliated by swinging her sword to push Taesan away.

They exchanged attacks.

“Ugh!”

Their health was depleting, but Taesan had the ability to forcibly drain his opponent’s health. This exchange was in his favor.

Clang!

Taesan swung his sword, deflecting Vishnu’s blade. As Taesan counterattacked, Vishnu parried and thrust her sword.

［You have activated Counter.］

Taesan’s Ability Sword ignored Vishnu’s sword and pierced her chest.

“Gah!”

He twisted the sword and applied force with his foot.

Boom!

He activated acceleration and slammed her into the wall. Vishnu raised her arm to summon flames.

But only a tiny spark emerged, a mere flicker of flame.

Most of her power had already been consumed.

Ahh, haha…

Vishnu slumped to the floor, coughing up blood. Taesan sheathed his sword.

“You endured well.”

Taesan praised Vishnu.

It wasn’t just flattery. By the time Vishnu could no longer summon flames, her chances of winning had disappeared.

She had to fight purely with her body and sword, but there was no way a spirit like her could outmatch Taesan in swordsmanship. Even their stats were heavily in Taesan’s favor.

Though it was thanks to the equipment from the deep floors, the fact that she had endured this long proved her strength.

“This is humiliating. I was never in a position to receive pity from anyone.”

Perhaps because she understood this, or maybe because it was all over, Vishnu accepted it calmly.

“I am… dying here.”

Vishnu let out a bitter smile.

Spirits did not possess a true sense of self. Spirits who gained self-awareness eventually became corrupted as their consciousness decayed.

That was the death of a spirit.

As a Spirit King, she possessed an immense and immeasurable lifespan, but even she would inevitably face true death one day.

That terrified her.

She didn’t want to die.

That’s why she had abandoned everything and entered the labyrinth, to achieve perfect self-awareness.

But she had been defeated by Taesan.

Her sense of self was slowly fading. Her very being was dissolving, returning to nature.

It was the moment when one of the oldest spirits in existence began to die.

It was the moment she feared most, yet surprisingly, she felt no great emotional turmoil.

“It’s so quiet.”

Instead of expressing anger or fear, Vishnu looked at the ghost.

“Hero. Do you not resent me?”

The ghost had remained silent since the moment he encountered Vishnu.

The ghost spoke up.

［I thought about mocking you... but honestly, we don’t have much of a bad history. So I’ve just been keeping quiet.］

“That makes sense.”

Vishnu and the ghost barely had any interaction, even among the top ranks. They had barely spoken a handful of times. Because of that, the ghost had no real feelings toward Vishnu.

［There’s only one person I truly want to meet.］

“……Societ Garudentia. The Ashen Woman, huh.”

Vishnu chuckled softly.

“It’s a shame I won’t get to see her.”

Vishnu leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

“My god, I return to you.”

With a quiet prayer, Vishnu’s body burst into flames.

The flames dissipated into the air, leaving behind a small orb.

［You have defeated Vishnu.］

［Your level has increased.］

［Your level has increased.］

［Your level has increased.］

［Your Soul Ascension has activated. Your health has permanently increased by 5,011, strength by 629, agility by 532, and intelligence by 643.］

［Your Desire for Victory has activated. Your health has permanently increased by 1,066, strength by 358, agility by 333, and intelligence by 240.］

［The Seed of Life has activated. Your health has permanently increased by 501, strength by 62, agility by 53, and intelligence by 64.］

［Your proficiency in the Green Witch’s Magic has increased by 2%.］

［The proficiency of Partial World Alteration has increased by 3%.］

［Your Soul Ascension has activated. You have acquired the special skill Avatar of Nature.］

［Your Soul Ascension has activated. Elementalism proficiency increased by 5%, Spirit Contract: Spirit King of Wind, Minerva proficiency increased by 6%, and Natural Synchronization proficiency increased by 4%.］

［You have obtained the Core of the Fire Spirit King.］

［You have obtained the Essence of Ancient Nature.］

It was over.

Taesan grasped the orb in his hand.

The fight hadn’t been easy. When the World Alteration of the King’s Realm was activated, Taesan couldn’t do anything and was one-sidedly attacked.

Without the Partial World Alteration, he would have had to risk using his boundaries.

“I made the right call.”

Thanks to it, he had pushed back Vishnu’s realm and faced her on equal footing.

Of course, this time, the situation had been special.

Vishnu’s trump card was the ability to alter the realm.

But Taesan also had the ability to alter realms. And the power Taesan possessed was that of an Immortal.

With similar abilities, Taesan, who held the power of an Immortal, naturally had the upper hand.

But it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

‘The consumption of the catalyst is large.’

In the fight with Vishnu, Taesan had almost used up all the catalysts he obtained from the Green Witch. If he continued using them this way, he would need to acquire more catalysts.

The mana consumption was also high. The more rules he added to counter the opponent’s realm, the exponentially more mana it consumed.

If it weren’t for the insane spirit, his mana would have been depleted in an instant.

‘I’ll need to research this.’

He had to find a way to reduce catalyst consumption and understand the criteria for mana consumption in altered realms, among other things.

It was a skill well worth the effort.

Taesan opened his stat window.

［Level: 141］

［Shield: 7799/7799］

［Health: 90820/90820］

［Mana: 7540/7540］

［Magic Power: 1128/1128］

［Strength: 15939］

［Intelligence: 14441］

［Agility: 16095］

［Attack Power + 5792］

［Defense Power + 3942］

［The subject is in optimal condition.］

His level had steadily risen as he descended through the labyrinth, and after defeating Vishnu, his stats had surged. Now, there was a significant gap even when compared to Lee Taeyeon.

And he had acquired a new skill as well.

［Spirit Skill: Avatar of Nature］

［Mana Cost: 1500］

［Proficiency: 1%］

［Duration: 1 hour］

［Transforms into nature itself, absorbing the surrounding energy as your own power. During this time, you gain dominion over nature, and the caster's abilities and rank are enhanced.］

Avatar of Nature. When Vishnu used this skill, her rank had risen to the point where she rivaled Taesan.

［You have activated Avatar of Nature.］

A surge of energy flowed out.

The surrounding nature began to move according to Taesan’s will. Along with that, his speed, strength, and rank—all of them increased.

“So this is how it works.”

Taesan had previously acquired spirit skills such as Deer Walking on the Wind Path and Tiny Ember.

Avatar of Nature seemed to be the highest-level spirit skill among them.

It was quite useful. Like Apostle Transformation or Vessel of the King, it was a skill that would be a great help in battle.

［Core of the Fire Spirit King］

［The core imbued with the power of the Fire Spirit King. It contains absolute dominion over flames.］

［Essence of Ancient Nature］

［The condensed essence of natural energy that has existed since the creation of the world.］

These were the two material items obtained after defeating the Fire Spirit King.

［You have summoned the Spirit King of Wind, Minerva.］

The wind blew, and Minerva appeared. She seemed almost drained, likely due to the aftermath of the battle, and her power was barely detectable.

“Ugh… Why did you call me? I was resting.”

She mumbled in a nearly lifeless tone, then stared at the two orbs in Taesan’s hand.

“You won. I thought you could win, but still…”

Minerva’s expression became slightly complicated.

“Of course, I’m happy that you won, but… it’s a bit bittersweet.”

Although the Fire Spirit King had been Taesan’s enemy, she was still a Spirit King. As a fellow Spirit King, Minerva couldn’t simply rejoice over it.

Of course, this conversation didn’t hold much meaning for Taesan. He handed the orbs to Minerva.

“Here. Can you use these?”

“The orbs? Let me see.”

Minerva took the two orbs and examined them closely.

“I can use this one right away.”

She pointed to the Essence of Ancient Nature.

“It’s not the will of something grand, just a pure essence of nature. It’s simply the power that reaches its peak after the passage of time, so I can absorb it.”

“Then go ahead and use it.”

“Are you sure? It’s an extremely valuable item.”

“I don’t mind.”

Taesan replied. Minerva wasn’t strong enough to fight against the higher-ups yet. She needed to become even stronger. Minerva obediently grasped the orb and shattered it.

The natural energy contained within began to merge with her. She let out a sigh of awe as the power filled her.

“Ooh…”

Minerva clenched her fist, the wind swirling around her.

“…This is incredible.”

“So now you can use the abilities that Vishnu used?”

“Not quite, but… I’ve definitely grown stronger. Now I should be able to hold my own even if the World of the King is activated.”

That was a satisfying improvement. Taesan pointed to the other orb in her hand.

“What about that one?”

Inside the orb, flames flickered.

Minerva fiddled with the orb, her expression ambiguous.

“This one… even I can’t handle it carelessly. I didn’t even know until now that a fallen Spirit King could leave behind their core.”

For a Spirit King to be defeated by a mortal and leave behind their core was unheard of. Even with all the knowledge Minerva had gained during her rise to becoming a King, she couldn’t provide an answer.

“I don’t know if I can absorb the power of a different attribute. And I’m not sure if my father would even allow it… We’ll have to check first.”

“Then, for now, you hold onto it.”

“Got it. I’ll also take this.”

Minerva opened her other hand, revealing a very small cluster of energy. It was minuscule compared to the Essence of Nature or the Core of the Spirit King.

Taesan immediately recognized what it was.

“The Mad Spirit.”

A small spirit bound to the labyrinth, driven mad by its desire for vengeance, and having fulfilled its wish.

“I thought it was dead.”

“Almost, but… there’s still a strong sense of self lingering. Since you helped, I thought it might be useful.”

“I don’t mind.”

The Mad Spirit had done more than Taesan expected. Minerva smiled slightly.

“Well, I’m off to rest again. See you later.”

Minerva disappeared along with the Core of the Spirit King.

Lastly, Taesan checked his sword.

The Mad Spirit had fulfilled its wish and disappeared.

Thus, the power related to spirits that was stored in the sword was also gone.

Instead, something new had emerged.

［The Mad Spirit has fulfilled its wish within the labyrinth. A reward has been given to you for helping it achieve that.］

［You have obtained the Aggregate of Negativity.］

［Aggregate of Negativity］

［A collection of emotions filled with hatred and anger. It seems it can be used as material to craft equipment.］

Whether it was a personal reward from the spirit or a gift from the labyrinth for fulfilling its wish, it was undoubtedly a valuable prize.

Everything was more or less settled.

Taesan turned his gaze. The sound of applause echoed.

The Broken Man, leaning against the wall, clapped while looking at Taesan with a satisfied expression.