Ascension Through Skills

He wanted to leisurely check his skills, but there was no time to spare. The gray sky was flickering as if lightning was about to strike.

Taesan quickly entered the ruins.

Krung!

Kukugung…

A massive noise came down the passage, but the inside of the ruins was unaffected.

Even as the world was perishing, this place remained intact, meaning it was very sturdy, physically or magically.

“It’s somewhat safe here.”

Now was the time to check his skills.

[Special Activation Skill: Leap] [Mana Consumption: 3] [Proficiency: 1%] [Can leap very high and far.]

Taesan smiled with satisfaction.

Being able to jump very high was literally what the skill entailed. If he increased his proficiency, it would be a skill that could jump higher than the clouds.

If used in conjunction with acceleration, he could cover long distances in an instant. There were times when he traveled back and forth between regions to block the waves on Earth, and it was useful then.

However, it wasn’t a skill without disadvantages. If he floated in the air, he would take significant damage when falling. Moreover, it was a difficult skill to control, making it hard to land in the desired place.

But he had also acquired a skill to solve that problem.

[Special Activation Skill: Landing] [Mana Consumption: 20] [Proficiency: 1%] [Can land safely at the desired place when in the air.]

Just as the skill said, it landed you safely at the desired place when in the air.

Naturally, there was no damage. Even if you fell from higher than the clouds, you wouldn’t take any damage as long as you activated the skill in time. It was a very good skill.

And there was another reason Taesan wanted this.

‘Will it link with the mid-air leap?’

A magic that allowed the user to move once more in the air.

If it could be linked with that, it would be very valuable.

However, this place was an enclosed indoor area, so he couldn’t experiment there. Taesan decided to try it later and went deeper into the ruins.

The blacksmith called this place a ruin. Ruins had mechanisms to block intruders. The floor Taesan stepped on pressed down, and a loud sound rang out.

Taesan waved his hand and caught the arrow that was shot.

More frequent and complicated traps appeared as he went deeper, but they were too crude to stop Taesan. Finally, he arrived in front of a gigantic door.

“This is it.”

Taesan clenched his fist. The door cracked open, revealing the inside.

There was a coffin with a person buried inside. And behind it was a red gemstone.

That must be the item the dwarf wanted.

As Taesan was about to go grab it, he stopped in his tracks.

Slosh.

Gray slime was dripping from the ceiling of the ruins. The droplets that fell on the floor gathered together to form a shape.

It didn’t take long for it to take on a human form.

The shaped slime raised its head towards Taesan.

At the same time, a burst of energy exploded.

A gigantic burst of rage was trying to crush Taesan.

Taesan drew his sword and made some distance.

“What is this now?”

[It's like a collective of wills?]

“A collective?”

[A strong will can take a physical form. It's neither a mediocre existence nor the will of the world. It's quite possible. Think of it as a kind of incarnation.]

The incarnation of a star.

That was what was showing anger towards Taesan.

Creak!

The ruins trembled uneasily, and the coffin shattered. The thickened air blocked the breath, and the sensation of needles pricking all over the body was overwhelming.

A mere emotion was bringing about a physical phenomenon.

“Is it some kind of deity?”

Taesan’s eyes grew serious as he gripped the sword in his hand.

The ash-colored existence raised its arm. Taesan saw the formless energy wavering in its hand.

He quickly stamped his foot.

Crack.

At the same time, the space where he was standing was distorted. The dimension literally twisted and warped.

‘Spatial distortion?’

If he was hit by that, it would be hard to stay alive regardless of his physical strength. If his field of vision hadn’t evolved to synchronize with his eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to avoid it.

Crack.

Once again, the space distorted, and Taesan narrowly dodged it.

The incarnation of the star was incomparably stronger than Taesan. It had the power to kill him dozens of times over.

‘But it’s clumsy.’

The way it manifested power was quite slow and clearly visible.

Raising its hand seemed to be the keyword to activate its ability. It also took a considerable amount of time to activate once. He could see the signs, so as long as he was careful, he could avoid all of it.

Thud.

Taesan charged towards the incarnation. The incarnation raised its arm and manifested its power in the direction Taesan was charging. But at that moment, Taesan twisted his body to dodge and charged forward.

Crack.

His sword pierced through the chest of the incarnation. Energy exploded, and the flesh of the incarnation scattered.

[Your Soul Ascension has been activated. The proficiency of ??? has increased by 5%.]

At the same time, his senses changed.

He couldn’t express it in words, but he could feel something he hadn’t felt before.

[I can see we've gained something, but it might be better to leave the mausoleum quickly?]

“Yes.”

But there was no time to check.

The ruins were creaking. It meant that an overwhelming power was pressing down on the ruins from the ground above.

Taesan held the red gemstone and returned to the labyrinth.

The dwarf welcomed him back.

“You succeeded again.”

[Sub Quest Completed.] [Scarlet Gemstone] [A thing of the ruined world. The king held onto this gemstone until the last moment, believing it would save him from death. The gemstone contains strong power but wasn't enough to save the dead king, so his hope was in vain.]

“Here.”

Taesan handed over the gemstone. Hafran received it with a joyful face.

“It’s really good. You can make it possible.”

“What can be made from it?”

“Various things. You can make new equipment or strengthen existing equipment. What do you want?”

“Can’t it be used for the dragon’s claw?”

The claw from the dragon that was given to him in Vekveta. It was still with the dwarf.

At Taesan’s words, Hafran hesitated. He stroked his chin as if it was interesting.

“It’s possible… Something fun could be made.”

“I’ll ask for that.”

“But this one alone is not enough. At least five more are needed to make something decent.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

It was rather a benefit if a piece of equipment that could be used until clearing the labyrinth was made.

“Then good. Take good care of it.”

Hafran, who happily received the ruby, sent a strange gaze to Taesan.

“But something has changed. Did you gain something there?”

“I don’t know.”

Taesan looked at his hand.

“I’m thinking of checking it.”

[Concept Skill: ???] [Proficiency: 20%] [The will's power ??? descends. ??? gained.]

As the proficiency reached 20%, the content “??? was gained.” was added.

Certainly, something was gained.

But what it was, was unknown.

“Hmm.”

Taesan crossed his arms in the middle of the room and felt the power quietly.

A power unknown until now was felt. Not only the body but also the walls, floors, and even doors of the labyrinth could be felt.

“What is this?”

[I don't know.]

When in doubt, it was time for an experiment.

Taesan broke through the next room. The dark spirit greeted Taesan.

After easily fending off the attack, Taesan tried to confirm the change in the power he felt. After about ten minutes of trying, he gave up.

“Is this something you can feel or not?”

There was something. The power changed every time the dark spirit moved.

But that was the end.

What it meant or how it was used was unknown.

The ghost watching in silence asked.

[Does it change every time the spirit attacks?]

“Yes. I don’t know what it is, but.”

[Then, what if you attack?]

“I have to try.”

Taesan immediately attacked the spirit. At the same time, some movement of power was felt from Taesan himself.

“It changes when I attack, too.”

But still, what it was, was unknown. Taesan looked puzzled, but the ghost seemed to have some guesses and sighed.

[Did it really happen... Is it true?]

“Do you know what it is?”

[Try attacking once more. And check whether your physical body attacks first or the power... Let's simply call it willpower. See which one moves first.]

Taesan complied willingly. Once again, he took his stance and swung his sword at the spirit.

Insight.

The spirit fell. Taesan nodded his head.

“The will moves first.”

There was a very small difference just before he moved his body, but the force the ghost called ‘will’ moved first.

[It's real.]

The ghost chuckled mockingly.

[You've obtained this without eons of training?]

“What’s it?”

[It's a kind of state. What do you do before you move to attack something?]

“I take a stance and choose how to attack.”

Whether to aim for the head, counterattack or target the vitals.

First, he had to decide that and then move accordingly.

[Exactly. You read the movement of the sword, the movement of the muscles, and the opponent's gaze, going beyond that to read their mind. That's the story that comes out when expressing the state.]

“Is that the power I’ve gained?”

[It's exactly the same as what I've heard in stories. Since you've taken away the will of the world, you should understand it as reading the will of all things.]

That made sense to him.

The walls of the labyrinth were also created by the magician for a purpose. Therefore, if the will could be felt from it, then it was valid for the will to be felt from everything that was seen. The ghost grumbled in disbelief.

[I can't believe it. I haven't even reached that state yet...]

“Honestly, I’m not sure how useful it’ll be.”

There was almost no delay between the movement of the body and the movement of the will. It was impossible to read and move first in the middle of a battle.

[Once you get used to it, the story will change. Do you know how absurd the power you've obtained is?]

It was similar to reading the opponent’s mind. It meant that he could read and counterattack before the opponent even moved.

‘…No. Is it just that?’

The ghost fell into deep thought.

Of course, it was an excellent state to be in. It was at least up to the limit that humans could reach.

But considering that Taesan had taken the will of the world itself, it was definitely of a lower class. He had taken the power of a transcendent being and barely reached the limit of mortality.

Moreover, if that was all, then it didn’t explain why his proficiency had increased when he had defeated the high god’s monster.

If his proficiency became 100%…

Then it wasn’t just about reading the will, but also materializing it.

‘That can’t be.’

The ghost organized its thoughts. That was an impossible task.

With will alone, one could directly affect the physical world. That meant that even without a body, mental interference, in reality, was possible. That power was granted only to transcenders.

But upon closer consideration, taking something from the world’s will itself didn’t make sense. As the ghost saw it, Soul Ascension was a skill that infinitely surpassed the rank of mortals.

‘I don’t know.’

It was mysterious. He couldn’t know.

And he was curious. How far Taesan could go. What kind of existence he would become at the end of his journey.

The ghost hid its emotions and urged him.

[Shall we go down now?]

“Yeah.”

Taesan nodded his head and dealt with the spirit. He hadn’t been able to go down the labyrinth for a long time.

He would go down from the 25th to the 29th floor without stopping, clear the spirit’s quest, and then deal with the Guides on the 30th floor.

Having set his goal, Taesan began to break through the labyrinth at a fast pace.