Ascension Through Skills

The ghost trembled violently.

Despite Taesan’s completion of his quest, he did not fade away.

Firstly, Taesan left the ghost to his emotions and checked his rewards. He started by confirming the 10th-floor clear rewards.

[Ogre Ring] [Strength + 15] [A ring of the ogre. For humans, it's more like a bracelet.]

He remembered seeing similar items in games on Earth. True to the fact that it was used by the ogre, it had a high strength value.

And there were numerous titles he received for perfectly clearing the 10th floor.

[Title: Adapted One] [You've proven that you've adapted by perfectly breaking through a certain number of floors in the labyrinth.] [Strength + 8] [Intelligence + 8] [Agility + 8]

So far, the stat values attached to titles were either low or non-existent, but this was a high value.

And it wasn’t just the title of Adapted One.

[Title: Perfectionist] [You have broken through the labyrinth while deciphering everything.] [Strength + 10] [Intelligence + 10] [Agility + 10] [The reward is enhanced when all aspects of a specific floor are deciphered.] [Title: Wayfarer] [You've walked a significant path to prove yourself.] [Strength + 6] [Intelligence + 6] [Agility + 6] [Movement Speed + 2%] [Title: Proven One] [You have proven meaningful value.] [NPCs and gods have a good impression of you.] [Strength + 6] [Intelligence + 6] [Agility + 6] [Title: Adaptive Challenger] [You have proven meaningful value.] [Your journey is not yet over.] [Strength + 4] [Intelligence + 4] [Agility + 4] [Acceleration is applied to the proficiency of all skills.]

Five titles. All of them had high stat values.

Other players also inevitably received at least three titles when they cleared the 10th floor.

It was a meaningful figure even for Taesan, let alone for regular players.

As a result, players became significantly stronger when they cleared a set of themes like the 10th floor compared to a normal floor clear.

And he also received the red dagger shown by the Ogre Sage when he defeated him.

[Cusp of Calamity] [A dagger forged from destruction. While it's now so old as to be meaningless, the energy of destruction within it hasn't yet disappeared.] [Fixed Attack + 10]

“Heh.”

He didn’t expect to see equipment with a fixed attack so soon.

‘As far as I remember, you had to reach at least the 20th floor to acquire such a level of item.’

It was a weapon that, unaffected by any skill and equipment effects, inflicted a constant 10 damage.

Although it might seem meaningless at a glance, the value contained within was significant.

Fixed attacks, like the one the ghost had suffered, could completely ignore the defense stat.

On top of that, it inflicted absolute damage, disregarding any potential situation and conditions.

Even if the opponent was immune to physical attacks, they were forced to receive 10 points of damage.

Moreover, it penetrated even skills.

It possessed a high level of judgment that would allow it to pierce even through ‘Steadfast,’ one of the definitive damage reduction skills.

The effect of the ‘Essential Strike’ that Taesan used against the apostle in his previous life was similar to the effect that this weapon possessed.

In Easy or Normal mode, one could not even find this type of equipment.

“But it didn’t mean much to me.”

While the judgment of fixed attacks was certainly high, it couldn’t penetrate through Attack Nullification and Endurance.

As Taesan also possessed an essential attack skill, he did not find it particularly attractive.

However, as he didn’t yet have an ‘Essential Strike,’ having it would come in handy someday. He put the dagger in his inventory.

[You used ???] [You obtained the Lance of Subjugation.]

At first glance, the item looked promising from its name, and Taesan was excited to check it out, but his excitement quickly cooled off.

[Lance of Subjugation] [A named artifact created at a lofty wizard's tower.] [It can bind the target for 1 second. A resistance check is attempted depending on the target's level.]

“It’s not bad…”

But it wasn’t good either.

If a regular player had obtained it, they would not be able to hide their joy.

For them, who had no means to stop enemies, it would be a treasured item, allowing them to buy time and create openings.

But for Taesan, it didn’t mean much. He already had numerous crowd-control spells. There was no reason to use it, going through the cumbersome process of drawing and sheathing the spear.

If it was a tower, it probably referred to a magic tower. In that case, it might have great value as a tribute.

Taesan thought to bring it to Lilis and put it in his inventory. Then, he opened his stat window.

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 24] [Shield: 65/65] [Health: 990/990] [Mana: 240/240] [Strength: 406] [Intelligence: 227] [Agility: 332] [Attack + 30] [Defense + 40] [The subject is in peak condition.]

It had been a while since he checked his stats.

His stats were still overwhelming. However, compared to that, his attack and defense were relatively weak.

It was time to start increasing them slowly.

Taesan opened his mouth.

“Are you sorted out?”

[...Mostly.]

The ghost responded with a voice still quivering with emotion but calmer than before.

[Ha, I don't know whether to be grateful or to spew hate.]

The ghost let out a hollow laugh.

[You've received the quest?]

Taesan nodded his head.

The ghost would usually disappear after the 10th floor because that was his quest’s goal.

But a new quest had appeared. It was a quest to kill all of the targets of his revenge.

“It seems to be a bit more.”

[Well... It's not bad. I wanted to see how far you can go. And also, I wanted to see those bastards' heads getting ripped apart.]

The ghost explained in a voice mixed with annoyance.

[They're not that great. They just jump around, considering themselves magnificent.]

The Guides of Sin.

He could understand why they killed the ghost if Lee Taeyeon’s words were true. They wanted to kill all adventurers who were not affiliated with them.

[I'll explain later. We have to deal with things first.]

Light gathered in the ghost’s white hand. An object started to take form above it.

What will he give as a reward?

The hero’s reward was simple. He would decide according to his mood. That was all. The reward could be a pebble or a grand treasure.

As he waited with the feeling of spinning a roulette, a pure white sword revealed itself.

It was simple but smooth. It had an unfamiliar scent of blood. At first glance, it looked valuable.

[Take this. It's a sword I brought from my world.] [Calvert's Relic: The Sword Imbued with Ancestor's Blood] [A relic from a now-destroyed world. It has claimed the lives of countless emperors.］ [Attack Power + 20］ [When facing enemies of noble lineage, Attack Power + 10］

Taesan paused.

The ghost was taken aback by Taesan’s silence as he stared at the weapon.

[What, not good enough?]

“No, it’s the opposite.”

It was too good.

He thought the attack power wouldn’t be low, but he couldn’t imagine it would reach a value of 20. The ghost chuckled when he realized why Taesan had gone silent.

[It was a venerable sword from my empire. Even the founder lost his life to this sword. The labyrinth has many outstanding items, but this is fairly decent.]

It was not just fairly decent. It was outstanding.

He hadn’t expected such a great weapon to appear. Honestly, the quest was simple. Just take the ghost, go down the floors as usual, and defeat the boss. That was all. The result was beyond his expectations.

[When you kill those bastards in the future... I'll give you more valuable things. We'll end up fighting as soon as we meet anyway.]

Hearing that melancholic voice, Taesan switched his weapon. He put the Sword of Lakiratas into his inventory and equipped Calvert’s Relic.

His current attack power was 45. It had jumped up by 50% in an instant.

Satisfied, Taesan went to find Lilis. She was happy to see Taesan but stammered when she saw the ghost.

“Huh?”

[That's how it turned out.]

“Ah. Yes……”

Taesan handed the Lance of Subjugation to the flustered Lilis.

“Can you learn invisibility magic with this as tribute?”

“Wow.”

Lilis quickly forgot about the ghost, and her eyes sparkled as she examined the spear.

“This is an artifact that I can’t even see in my world… It should be enough.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

As Lilis took the spear and began to chant, a great presence filled the room.

Taesan looked at that shimmering power from a distance.

‘It’s different indeed.’

The purple crack he saw on Earth.

In front of his eyes was a being with the same conduit of power.

However, the way the power felt and the discomfort was different.

While Taesan was checking out the presence, Lilis, who had offered the ritual, wiped off the sweat that was trickling down her face.

“Phew! It was close, but somehow we made it.”

[You have obtained Invisibility.］ [Novice Magic: Invisibility］ [Mana Consumption: 20］ [Proficiency: 1%] [Hides the body. Depending on proficiency, you can hide from more things.]

The mana consumption was the highest among the skills he had acquired so far, but it was a skill worth the cost.

“Now you’ve learned all the magic I have, right?”

Lilis murmured with a hopeful face. Now she could also learn new magic depending on the sacrifices Taesan offered.

Since Taesan wasn’t satisfied with just this level of magic, she would be able to get the magic she wanted. Taesan opened his mouth.

“Do you know a way to communicate with the gods?”

The difference between the existence on Earth and these entities. The only sure way to know was to ask directly.

“A conversation?”

Lilis’s pupils grew large, surprised by his sudden question.

“Well… as far as I know, there isn’t? Why do you ask?”

[There is.]

The ghost, seemingly guessing Taesan’s intentions, responded calmly.

[It's quite deep. You have to go near what is colloquially called the depths. But there is a passage there. Normally, the mere attempt to communicate is crazy, but it wouldn't be a problem for you.]

“Heh.”

Lilis nodded as if she had just learned a new fact.

Taesan said goodbye to her and headed to the 11th floor.

The labyrinth changed its theme every ten floors. If the floors until now had been rooms of mossy green, the 11th floor was a room of red.

The walls were speckled with a mix of blood and rust, giving off an unpleasant smell.

[This place is beyond the entrance of the labyrinth.] [Those that won't die even if you stab them live here. There aren't many living things here. The darkness of this place is gradually getting stronger.]

The content of the explanation text had changed.

From the 11th to the 20th floor.

The monsters that came out here were not living but dead.

[11th Floor Quest Start.] [Defeat the boss of the 11th floor and pass.] [Reward: Lion's Ring.] [Secret Reward: ???]

The quest was the same as before. Taesan passed through the room stoically. The dwarf, as always, was waiting for him.

“Are you here already? I thought it would take a few months, but you came sooner than I expected?”

“Well, it wasn’t something that would take that long.”

11th floor.

From here on, the items sold in the shop changed significantly. It was now the time when he could obtain the items that Taeyeon boasted to him in the past.

Taesan looked at the dwarf with a hopeful face.