Ascension Through Skills

A gigantic round table. This was the conference room of the Guides of Sin. A woman was sitting there.

Fiery red hair. This was not a metaphor since it was actually burning. Flames flickered, lighting up the room brightly.

The woman was nonchalantly tapping the table with her fingers.

Thud.

The door opened, and a perplexed voice echoed inside.

“What’s this? Only an old lady here?”

A middle-aged man, dusting off the dirt on his clothes, slumped into a chair. Towards the man, who was smiling with arrogance, the woman spoke.

“You have arrived, young one.”

“I’ve aged enough to be old. At least shouldn’t you say I look young?”

“Compared to me, you are still young.”

“Who wouldn’t be when compared to an old lady like you.”

The man grumbled.

The woman with burning hair, her identity was a fire spirit. Spirits existed from the birth of a star and continued until the flame of the star was extinguished. Compared to such a woman, the man who hadn’t lived even a hundred years was like a newborn.

The man lay down on the table.

“Where are the other guys? Those who were always stuck here, where have they gone?”

“They said they were attacking the 74th floor.”

“Really?”

The man’s eyes sparkled.

“What do you think will happen?”

“It seems like they will fail again.”

Disappointment flitted across the man’s face.

“Well, it’s not surprising. Is it a lack of power or a lack of qualification…They had been unable to pass through the 74th floor for a very long time.”

The woman spoke softly.

“Both could be the case. We lack something.”

“Tch.”

The man furrowed his face.

“What about the guys upstairs? The devil’s child is still in the third rank, but he’s worth seeing, right?”

“He has talent. He also has skills and is objective about himself. However, reaching our level is a different issue.”

Even those who had everything had to invest decades of time to barely reach the depths.

The man, who was resting his chin on the table, mumbled.

“Should we shift our focus entirely…”

“To the enlightened ones?”

They were adventurers not affiliated with the Guide of Sin. They were few but certainly existed. The leaders of the Guides of Sin referred to them as the enlightened ones.

The woman gave a faint smile.

“Ainzhar. Are you thinking of calling him?”

“Don’t even mention that old guy. It’s annoying.”

The man scowled deeply.

A few days ago, Ainzhar passed them by. Since it was seemingly at a good timing, he smacked each one of them and sent them a look of contempt.

‘I suspected, but you indeed have no value.’

That was what Ainzhar had said.

“Why did he come down here all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know. He might have found a purpose.”

The woman spoke dispassionately.

“Anyway, it’s strange. We won’t be able to pass the 74th floor for decades more if we continue like this.”

“Ugh.”

The man groaned.

“Should we have not killed the hero…”

“No.”

The woman shook her head in rejection of this.

“Do you think he would have listened to us?”

“Well, no.”

The man also promptly answered, not having said it seriously. The man, who had been deep in thought for a moment, opened his mouth as if he had an idea.

“Speaking of which, there was a problem in the second ranks. Do you know about it?”

“Second rank? I don’t know. I’m not interested.”

The second ranks only had permission up to the 20th floor. They were weak beings. The woman, who had passed the 70th floor, had no interest in them.

“An adventurer came in.”

“A newcomer after a long time.”

“And one from the second rank died. Looks like a useful one came in?”

“Ho?”

A faint glow appeared in the woman’s eyes.

“A mid-10th floor adventurer beat a second-rank adventurer?”

“I don’t know the details, but it must be so?”

“Not bad.”

“But he refused us.”

Those who did not accept the offer were all killed. That was the law of the Guides of Sin.

“Pity… but what can we do?”

“Shall we decide among us, being the only two?”

Decisions were made when all of the leaders gathered. The woman spoke lazily.

“Just a matter of the second-rank people. It’s not something to gather everyone for.”

“That’s true.”

The man nodded.

“Then let’s put a bounty on him for now. Let them kill him in the second rank.”

A casual statement.

This piece of news went up and up, reaching even the people of the second rank.

“What are we going to do?”

Adventurers of the second rank gathered and murmured among themselves. About twenty people were discussing this with faces filled with anxiety and anticipation.

“Kill him?”

“But he’s the guy who beat Levabas. Shouldn’t we be careful?”

“Humph!”

A beast-like man with gray hair, larger than the others, snorted.

“That guy got weaker! That’s why he died!”

“I don’t know.”

A woman with long black hair sneered.

“He must have been stronger than you, right? Both in skill and strength.”

“What?”

The beast-like man contorted his face.

“How dare a lowly one talk like that?”

“I know you’re arrogant because you’re from a noble background, but you still need to know your place. Being a beast and barely comparable to us, why are you so talkative?”

The woman laughed mockingly at the man. Their relationship was never good. Especially between the woman and the beast-like man, it was so bad that even the others were used to them having their own conversations.

The beast-like man twisted his mouth.

“Come to think of it, you were always hanging around Levabas. The sight of lowly ones clinging to each other is truly ugly.”

“…Are you asking for a fight?”

A threatening aura flooded the area. The man did not back down and instead bared his teeth.

A young man, who seemed to have a headache, pressed on his forehead and heaved a sigh.

“Enough.”

A small voice echoed. The beast-like man ground his teeth but slowly released his tension. The woman also scowled, but she collected her strength.

While all of them were adventurers of the second rank and similar to each other, there were always those who were exceptionally strong. The young man with a charismatic appearance was such a one.

“We’re all at the bottom anyway. Let’s get along.”

The young man gave a bitter smile.

“None of you seem willing to back down.”

“Of course!”

The beast-like man bared his teeth.

“The High Council issued a bounty themselves! If we succeed, we can even go to the third rank. Who would give way!?”

They wanted to become stronger. Having accepted the offer in despair of the labyrinth’s power, their fear had faded over time.

Moreover, they were all people who were scoffed at outside of this place. Forced to stop at the second rank by the High Council, they had no intention of being satisfied at the bottom.

“Then, as always, it’s the same.”

The young man took out a 36-sided dice from his pocket.

“The person who gets the highest number has the priority. Does everyone agree?”

Twenty heads nodded. One by one, they started throwing the dice.

Clatter.

And finally, the number 36 was revealed.

“You go first, Aldoata.”

The beast-like man, Aldoata, bared his teeth.

While they were discussing this matter, Taesan was descending into the labyrinth.

Nothing major changed. As always, he searched for secret rooms and gathered rewards.

[Deep Sea Maw: Earring] [Defense +8] [An earring crafted from a life form living in the deep sea. It has a faint fishy smell.]

“There really are all sorts of items.”

Still, its high defense value made it worth an upgrade. He removed the Baltha earrings he had been wearing and put on the new ones. His strength decreased by 5, but his defense increased by 8.

“I’m starting to want to learn a new skill.”

Taesan flicked his fingers as he pondered this.

So far, he had learned numerous skills in the labyrinth. Including magic, his skill count was around 50. It was a considerable amount considering that Lee Taeyeon had 50 when she cleared Solo Mode.

However, there were still many skills he hadn’t acquired.

Among them, there were several main skills.

“I’d like to get multiplication, or at least addition or essence strike, even absolute judgment…”

The ghost muttered as if he was being absurd.

[...You want to get more here?]

“If it’s possible.”

The conditions for acquiring powerful skills were tricky. So, Taesan thought he would obtain them after descending to at least the 40th floor.

But contrary to Taesan’s expectations, the rate of stat growth was very high. Not only that, the items and consumables available in the shop were things he couldn’t easily get yet.

“It’s impossible for now anyway.”

There were several conditions needed, and few of them were met. But he could definitely start preparing now.

Now only the boss remained. Taesan met the boss.

[A Zombie Horde has appeared.]

“Uuughh.”

The boss was not a single entity but a horde of zombies numbering in the hundreds. With such an overwhelming number, it was impossible to face them head-on. Probably, the designer intended for the players to annihilate them using traps or fire.

“How annoying.”

Taesan dove in with a sulky expression.

He shook off dozens of reaching zombie hands and swung his twin swords. Zombie limbs were severed and scattered about.

After thirty minutes, Taesan succeeded in clearing the stage.

[You have won against the Zombie Horde.] [Your level has increased.] [You have defeated the 13th-floor boss. You have obtained the basic reward [Ring of Severance].] [You have understood the hidden element of the 13th floor. You have obtained the reward [???].]

Just as Taesan was about to check his rewards,

“Hahaha!”

A loud laughter echoed. The reverberation hit his ears and made Taesan scrunch his face.

A figure emerged from the stairs leading to the 14th floor.

“So you’re the nobody who defeated Levabas!”

“And what if I am?”

“I’ll have to kill you then!”

With a wild laugh, Aldoata rolled his shoulders menacingly as he glared at Taesan.

Aldoata’s body disappeared with a loud noise. He kicked off the wall, swooping down at Taesan as he pondered.

‘He’s just on the 13th floor, after all!’

There was a world of difference between the 20th and 13th floors. Although Levabas was defeated, Aldoata believed that it was because Levabas was overly complacent, not because he was physically overpowered.

Aldoata swung his clenched fist like a hammer.

With an annoyed expression, Taesan lazily swung his fist.

In an instant, the fist disappeared.

Crunch.

Aldoata’s face distorted as he was thrown backward. Watching Aldoata squirming on the ground, Taesan asked nonchalantly.

“What’s with this guy?”

[Uh... hold on.]

The ghost tried to recall.

[I think there was a noisy guy named Aldoata. He's not particularly remarkable.]

“A Guide of Sin, huh? He’s arrived sooner than expected.”

[I thought they'd take at least two days because you would be underestimated by the second rank. Is it closer?]

Barely regaining consciousness, Aldoata staggered to his feet.

What just happened? Aldoata couldn’t understand. He lost consciousness the moment he noticed his opponent’s fist swing.

“You!”

He had been hit by some cowardly move. Aldoata, with a flushed face, got up and rushed to Taesan. Lazily, Taesan swung his fist again. Aldoata was sent flying once more.

“This, this…

“Even more stupid than Levabas. And weaker.”

His face contorted endlessly under Taesan’s contemptuous gaze.

A man who had yet to get past the 13th floor was mocking him? Comparing him, who was of noble birth, to a wretch like Levabas!

“How dare you! You lowly creature!”

In his fury, Aldoata’s body began to swell. His clothes ripped, and hair sprouted all over his body.

“Ho?”

Taesan’s eyes showed a glint of interest. Aldoata, who had been in human form despite his immense size, disappeared, replaced by a werewolf.

“A beastman? So such transformations are possible?”

It was the first time he had seen this. A monster taking on the form of a different monster.

Overall, he seemed stronger.

“You lowly…”

Aldoata gritted his teeth. Turning into a werewolf was a big risk, and he didn’t use it often, but he had no chance of winning without it.

“I admit your strength. But this is the end!”

Aldoata, now a werewolf, charged.

He was faster than before.

His claws sliced through the wind, aiming for Taesan’s head.

Taesan’s fist swung through the air.

Crunch.

Aldoata’s chest was crushed.

This time, he didn’t fly back.

His chest caved in, and he vomited blood.

“You’ve gotten a bit faster, but is this all you’ve got?”

With that final punch, Aldoata’s consciousness faded away.