Ascension Through Skills

[How can an adventurer like you wield the king's power!]

The skeleton screamed and harshly raised its bone-formed arm. A red sphere materialized there.

The heat clung to Taesan’s cheek.

It was literally a miniature sun. It had enough power to instantly turn this narrow space into ashes.

But.

Daring!

To bring such a toy!

A lowly power before an apostle of the gods!

A voice filled with rage echoed in his head. Taesan laughed in response.

His self was not consumed by the power engulfing his head, but he somewhat sympathized with it. Information related to the status of an apostle was in his mind.

‘Fragment of the Spirit King.’

A power the Spirit King divided from himself and bestowed upon spirits.

It was a very strong power. A being that could claim to be the king of a race could reach the very edge of mortality. Such a fragment had the power to destroy worlds and entangle them in terror.

But that was all. It was woefully insufficient compared to the stature of a transcendent being.

Taesan swung his fist towards the exploding flame.

The flame could not defend. The skeleton let out a hollow laugh.

[Impossible!]

It wasn’t a lack of power. The adventurer before it had received the apostle’s power, but it shouldn’t be easy to block its flames like this.

What was lacking now was status.

The apostles, the god’s authority, trampled the very status the Spirit King’s fragment held.

Boom!

The flame grazed Taesan’s shoulder. But there was no pain like the heat one would expect. If anything, it felt like splattering hot oil.

[You receive 303 damage.]

The damage was just at that level. With the activation of Solidification, damage that would normally be in the thousands was reduced to 300.

Due to the difference in status, all damage was reduced.

The skeleton roared.

[I received the king's power! The power of our king!]

“So what?”

Taesan taunted.

The power of the Spirit King was indeed strong. If handled properly, it could be considered reaching the limits of power attainable by mortals.

Having obtained that fragment, the skeleton must have reached the level of the 50th floor at least.

But that was it.

Once reaching the level of a transcendent being, status became much more important than power itself.

Taesan raised his hand.

[You activated The Deer Walking on the Wind Path.]

A gentle breeze blew. A light wind, enough to rustle hair, easily swept away the flames burning the forest.

The Deer Walking on the Wind Path was a skill of a high-ranking spirit. Compared to the Spirit King, there was an enormous difference in power. Normally, it wouldn’t have stood a chance and would have been crushed.

However, due to the Apostle Transformation, all statuses were elevated, and even the power of a high-ranking spirit could now deflect the Spirit King’s power.

[Unacceptable! How can a weak adventurer like you!]

The skeleton cried out in denial. It knew the apostle’s status was far higher than the Spirit King’s fragment. However, it expected Taesan, being weak, to not fully harness it.

But that wasn’t the case.

Taesan might not fully understand the apostle’s power, but he was almost completely drawing out its status.

‘Surprising, but well, it’s becoming the norm now.’

The ghost thought calmly. The existence of Soul Ascension, the skills it had stolen, and the reactions of the gods to Taesan were becoming clear.

If that was really the case, then it wasn’t strange for a 30th-floor adventurer like Taesan to fully draw out the status of an apostle. It was almost natural.

Taesan raised his sword.

“Sorry, but I don’t have the luxury of being surprised right now.”

The duration of Apostle Transformation was 10 minutes. He had to finish within that time. Taesan charged at the skeleton, slicing through the flames with the wind. Soon, he was in front of the skeleton.

[But even so!]

The skeleton, with flame-imbued eyes, swung its arm. Taesan’s sword clashed with the skeleton’s bone.

A dull sound echoed. The skeleton roughly clacked its jaw.

[No matter how high your status, your body isn't on par!]

“That’s true.”

Taesan calmly agreed. Maybe due to his low level, aside from the status itself, he hadn’t become much stronger about a 30% enhancement.

“But that’s enough.”

Taesan’s sword resonated. It moved along the bone, striking the skeleton’s neck before it could react.

[653 damage to the spirit dwelling in bones.] [You wretch!]

The skeleton resisted. Realizing its power from the Spirit King was no longer of much use, it tried to hit Taesan with a piece of bone.

And the movement was very clumsy.

Like someone who had never fought before, Taesan easily dodged and counterattacked.

Crack.

[This, this……]

Unable to properly respond to the second attack, the skeleton faltered. Taesan did not stop and continued his assault.

He knew, or rather, came to know it. Various information about spirits settled in his mind with the Apostle Transformation.

“You borrowed the bones of an already dead adventurer to receive the power of the artificial sun, but you never moved a body to fight, did you?”

Spirits were beings of nature. They didn’t possess physical bodies and attacked enemies using their attributes, so it was natural for them to be unskilled in physical movement.

[You…….]

“Then you should die.”

He dodged by tilting his head and thrusting his sword.

The spirit resisted. It was almost a struggle of desperation. Trying to create distance and use flames to blind and counterattack, but all of it was blocked.

“This is the end.”

Taesan turned and swung his sword at the skeleton’s neck. With a cracking sound, the neck bone started to split.

Activating Strong Blow, he cut through with even greater force. The head of the skeleton flew into the air.

[1563 damage to the spirit dwelling in bones.] [Unacceptable! For a lowly creature to defile our world!]

“Shut up.”

Taesan frowned and stabbed the skeleton’s jaw. After a moment of trembling, the flame in its eyes faded away.

[You have won against the spirit dwelling in bones.] [You have destroyed the world of spirits. You have gained the title [Antagonist of Nature].] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension is activated. Permanently increased Strength by 56, Agility by 65, Intelligence by 54, Health by 350, Mana by 40.] [Your Soul Ascension is activated. Gained the spirit skill [Small Spark].] [You have won against a tremendously powerful enemy without significant harm. Gained the special always-active skill [Giant Killer].] [You have acquired a Burnt Black Seed.]

It was a significantly meaningful reward. His level had risen by 3, and the stat increase due to Soul Ascension was quite high. Additionally, he had obtained two skills.

He wanted to check the skills, but there was something else to do first.

The skeleton, in its last struggle, used all its power. Flames spread around, turning the small world of the spirit into ashes.

No more signs of spirits were felt.

“How ridiculous.”

The small world the guardian wanted to protect was destroyed by its own hands.

The giant tree at the center was also turned to ashes.

Taesan dug through the ash. There, he found a root, blackened but still maintaining its form.

[Small World Tree Root] [A root mimicking the World Tree. Provides a sanctuary for spirits and calms their turmoil.]

“This should do it.”

[Probably? It's not about the outer appearance, but what's inside that matters.]

Then there was no problem. A faint but potent energy was felt from the blackened root.

Taesan collected the root and headed outside.

Now, it was time to check the rewards.

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 68] [Shield: 424/424] [Health: 4780/4780] [Mana: 856/856] [Magic: 62/62] [Strength: 1715] [Intelligence: 1311] [Agility: 1569] [Attack Power + 188] [Defense + 233] [The subject is in the best condition.]

His stats had increased by nearly 200 in an instant. Taesan looked at the stat window with satisfaction.

“Seems like coming down here has sped up the gains.”

This was just the edge of the 20th-floor range. He was excited to see what the 30th floor would be like.

He had also gained a title for the first time in a while.

[Title: Antagonist of Nature] [You have destroyed the world of spirits. Your infamy has spread among them.] [All damage to spirits +20%] [The favor of spirits towards you decreases significantly.]

“Nice.”

Favorability with spirits, who were not NPCs, didn’t matter. At this point, it was like having crossed a point of no return.

20% extra damage to spirits was a low price for that trade-off.

[Burnt Black Seed] [A seed that contained the king's power. Most of its power has been depleted, but it still holds the power to burn everything.]

It seemed like a crafting item. The effect was unknown, but it wasn’t ordinary as a seed containing the Spirit King’s power.

It might even be a material for the Dragon’s Claw. He planned to take it to the blacksmith first.

[Spirit Skill: Small Spark] [Mana Consumption: 30] [Proficiency: 1%] [Duration: 10 minutes] [Summons a very weak spark that spirits have from birth and embeds it within oneself. During the duration, one can exert a significant influence over flames.]

The skeleton was engulfed in flames due to using this skill. Flames that could easily turn grass and trees into ash. While the proficiency was low, making its power limited, it was clear the skill would still be useful.

[Special Passive Skill: Giant Killer] [Proficiency: 1%] [Increases attack power and defense when facing difficult or impossible enemies.]

As the name suggested, it was a skill that provided buffs when facing formidable enemies.

The effects were an increase in attack power and defense. The exact level was unknown, but considering the boost from other difficult enemy status bonus skills, it was certain to provide at least a 10% effect.

For an ordinary adventurer, it was a skill that could enable them to descend at least one floor beyond their limits.

It was a satisfying outcome. Perfectly fitting as a reward for overcoming an enemy that was hard to guarantee victory against.

This thought naturally led his attention to the skill that had enabled him to achieve this.

[Special Activation Skill: Apostle Transformation [Lakiratas]] [The first power bestowed by the god of struggle and death since his birth. For 10 minutes, you gain a part of the power that the apostles of Lakiratas possess. This skill cannot be used again for one day after activation.]

Taesan recalled the moment he activated Apostle Transformation.

It was a very peculiar feeling.

Along with the power came all sorts of information. If he had been weak-minded, he could have been swept away and lost himself in that tide.

Things about gods and spirits he had never known.

Worlds he had not perceived.

Sceneries never reached by human sight.

“So this is the perspective of an apostle.”

The things one gained in exchange for offering their soul to a god.

It was quite appealing. Thanks to it, he learned that the skeleton was originally a flame spirit, too weak to receive the Spirit King’s power, and had borrowed the body of an adventurer to reside there, yet it was still vastly insufficient.

Even if limited, it provided information about the opponent. Apart from other abilities, this alone had value.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

The heat of the flames used by the spirit could make the bottom of a river visible and turn a sizable forest into ashes.

In terms of damage, it would have been in the thousands.

But Taesan only received about 300 damage. Including Solidification, it was nearly a tenth of the damage.

[It's a difference in status. To put it extremely... the moment you used Apostle Transformation, there would be almost no being capable of inflicting proper damage on you.]

The ghost commented.