Ascension Through Skills

Lee Taeyeon assumed a defensive stance, gripping her sword with both hands and bracing her body firmly.

Crack.

Taesan forcefully broke through her defense.

Lee Taeyeon rolled on the ground as Taesan swung his sword in succession. Kang Jun-hyeok, rushing in, managed to block it with his sword but was sent flying far away due to the overwhelming difference in strength.

“Find the answer. Otherwise, you’ll die.”

Taesan stamped his foot.

Clang!

He broke through Lee Taeyeon’s defense and cut her leg. She created distance with a short cry.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

‘Strength alone won’t work.’

No method, whether speed, swordsmanship, or any other, could counter it.

Kang Jun-hyeok had a similar thought. They began to use their skills for the first time.

“Hup!”

With a short shout, Lee Taeyeon charged at Kang Taesan. Simultaneously, Kang Jun-hyeok aimed for Taesan’s back.

As both rushed at him from the front and back, Taesan casually swung his sword.

Seeing the sword flying towards her, Lee Taeyeon put more strength into her feet.

[Lee Taeyeon activated Flow.]

A skill that twisted the opponent’s attack trajectory, Flow.

The skills of the labyrinth were absolute. Even Taesan couldn’t ignore them.

And indeed, it wasn’t a wrong assumption. Taesan’s sword, heading toward Lee Taeyeon, suddenly deviated from its path.

But that was all.

Taesan exerted more strength in his sword.

Like the fallen apostle he had faced before, the deviating trajectory was forcibly corrected by strength.

Lee Taeyeon hastily raised her sword to meet the descending blade.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Her knees hit the ground. Shock filled Lee Taeyeon’s eyes.

‘Flow was ignored?’

When she first acquired the Flow Skill, she had cried out in joy.

A skill that definitively evaded the opponent’s attack. She believed that with this, she would hardly die and could somehow survive.

But now, the skill she had firmly believed in was completely countered.

Ignoring the shocked Lee Taeyeon, Taesan rushed toward Kang Jun-hyeok.

As the sword swung down, Kang Jun-hyeok activated his skill in panic.

[Kang Jun-hyeok activated Counter.]

A skill that automatically retaliated against an opponent’s attack.

It was a skill Taesan also found quite useful.

However, there was one flaw in that skill.

Taesan exerted more power into his sword. The blade flew with incomparable speed to what came before. Sensing something wrong, Kang Jun-hyeok hurriedly moved.

Crack.

Kang Jun-hyeok was sent flying.

Taesan nodded.

“That’s the right answer. Relying on Counter and charging in would have killed you.”

Counter automatically retaliated against attacks directed at oneself.

But it did not activate properly against attacks too strong to counter or dodge.

This was a disadvantage if the opponent was several levels stronger, but such enemies were not rare in the labyrinth.

“Keep going.”

Taesan stamped his foot.

Drenched in sweat, Kang Jun-hyeok clenched his teeth.

His heart pounded.

Here was an opponent who rendered even the last skill he trusted meaningless.

A being with insurmountable power.

Such an opponent was now attempting to kill him.

His health had already dropped below 20%. Taesan was truly attacking them with murderous intent. The fear of dying if this continued flashed through his mind.

Despite being faster and more precise than usual, he was now unknowingly pushing his limits.

Kang Jun-hyeok’s mind raced.

He couldn’t rely on skills. Neither blocking nor countering were options.

There was only one answer. He had to become even faster and more precise than now. Kang Jun-hyeok focused his mind.

Lee Taeyeon was in a similar state. With sunken eyes, she kept her distance while Taesan laughed with satisfaction.

Taesan charged at Lee Taeyeon. Seeing the swinging sword, she raised her own.

Clang.

The moment their swords touched, she twisted her arm, diverting the force’s trajectory.

Just as Taesan’s sword nearly struck the ground, he flicked it away with a forceful motion of his arm.

Clang!

Lee Taeyeon was sent flying but quickly landed, her gaze steady.

Kang Jun-hyeok attempted the same maneuver, trying to deflect Taesan’s sword with all his might. Although countered like Lee Taeyeon, Kang Jun-hyeok did not relent.

“Teaching a skill is really hard,”

Taesan muttered, persisting in his sword swings. The movements of Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok grew increasingly precise.

Thus, they continued their combat for another hour.

Finally, their efforts bore fruit.

[Kang Jun-hyeok's Ability Sword proficiency increased by 1%.] [Lee Taeyeon's Ability Sword proficiency increased by 1%.]

“Haa.”

Kang Jun-hyeok gasped for breath. They both stared at the system window that materialized before them with dazed expressions.

Observing their reactions, Taesan halted his sword.

“Now you’ve got it.”

Despite their exhaustion, Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok began sparring.

Their high stats notwithstanding, the accumulated fatigue made them yearn for rest, yet they couldn’t resist verifying their newfound skills.

Lee Taeyeon charged at Kang Jun-hyeok.

[Lee Taeyeon activated Flow.]

As Kang Jun-hyeok swung his sword, its path wavered just before clashing with Lee Taeyeon’s.

“Uh!”

He scrambled to correct its course but ended up conceding a hit.

“Wow…”

“This is…”

Their admiration was unmistakable.

“Let’s try again.”

They delved deeper into the Ability Sword they had just grasped. With Flow, Strong Blow, and Counter now confirmed, their belief was cemented.

“This is really great.”

The skill they had acquired was unlike any they had previously mastered.

Taesan, who had silently observed their sparring, spoke up.

“Now, you probably won’t die so easily.”

[You two are really lucky. Where else would you find someone giving away advanced swordsmanship for free?]

The ghost grumbled. Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok had learned the Ability Sword too easily, without any cost. Though Taesan had chosen to do so, the ghost respected that decision but felt a tinge of jealousy, knowing the value of the Ability Sword.

“Thank you, Taesan.”

Lee Taeyeon bowed her head. Taesan chuckled.

“Don’t thank me too much. If you hadn’t learned, I would have really killed you.”

“But even though you say that…”

Lee Taeyeon was aware. Taesan could have killed them several times.

From the middle of the battle, Taesan started deactivating his equipment one by one, only attacking just enough not to kill them. She hadn’t realized it during the frantic fight, but Taesan had made many considerations for their learning of the Ability Sword.

Taesan waved his hand.

“Enough, go rest. Tomorrow is going to be tough.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, brother.”

The two kept bowing as they left.

Taesan stared blankly into the air.

He had anticipated their learning of the Ability Sword, given their talents. He believed that they would pick it up on their own by throwing them into the right situation.

But this was unforeseen.

[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Authority of the Creator] [Proficiency: 1%] [Those who learn the swordsmanship you created have emerged. As they increase their proficiency, your proficiency in your advanced swordsmanship, the Ability Sword, also increases.]

This skill appeared the moment they improved their Ability Sword proficiency. Taesan was astonished, having never heard of such a skill from the ghost.

“What’s this?”

[...Hmm? I didn't know about this either.]

“You’ve never encountered this skill before?”

[I did create the Stormscar Sword, but I never taught it to anyone, so I had no way of knowing. That such a thing existed…]

The ghost mused.

[Not bad, right? It's not entirely free. If you teach this well to many people, you could increase your proficiency without doing anything.]

“That’s impossible.”

Kang Jun-hyeok and Lee Taeyeon had barely learned Ability Sword in the face of death. It seemed unlikely that others could learn it.

The ghost seemed to realize this, too, and clicked its tongue in disappointment.

[Still, it's not bad. It would be interesting to see these half-baked ones learn your swordsmanship.]

He had achieved what he wanted.

Now, all that was left was to wait for the Wave.

The next day, Kim Hwiyeon and Choi Baram appeared with tired faces. They seemed exhausted from arranging the personnel, both looking worn out.

They began to deploy people widely on the outskirts to prevent monsters from entering the safe zone.

“Is this enough?”

“I don’t know. We can’t tell how strong the monsters will be.”

Kim Hwiyeon bit her lip. Even with as many as eighty-five thousand people, the defense wall was quite solid.

However, the strength of the monsters was a concern. The defense would be breached instantly if they were so strong that even Normal Mode players would struggle.

To prevent this, they placed Hard Mode players intermittently, but it was hard to gauge their effectiveness.

“We can’t be sure what will happen.”

Choi Baram grumbled. There was nothing to do but try to stop the monsters from entering the safe zone. Without information on the consequences of failure, both Kim Hwiyeon and Choi Baram were anxious.

“It’s not looking good for us. We just have to do our best to stop them.”

“That’s true.”

Choi Baram cast a doubtful glance.

“But is it really okay over there?”

His gaze rested on a completely empty outskirts area where not a single person was visible.

In contrast to the crowded areas, its emptiness made it stand out.

Kim Hwiyeon nodded.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

“Since someone who saw it directly says it’s okay, I guess it’s alright…”

Choi Baram couldn’t help but feel uneasy as he had never witnessed Taesan defeat monsters before.

Suddenly, power began to gather in the air.

Even players in Easy Mode could sense the dense concentration of power.

“…Everyone, get ready!”

Choi Baram clenched his teeth, and at that moment, space split open.

Rumble.

Monsters poured out of the rift.

[Monster 5422422335 has appeared.] [Monster 5422422336 has appeared.] [Monster 5422422337 has appeared.]

Similar numbered monsters emerged rapidly, alarming the onlookers with their sheer number.

“There are so many!”

The monsters filled their entire field of vision.

Even a rough count easily exceeded one hundred thousand. As the stationary monsters began to crawl slowly toward the people, they clenched their teeth in anticipation.

The battle commenced.

The people thrust their swords into the monsters, who retaliated by moving their arms and tentacles.

Kim Hwiyeon, having defeated a monster, shouted out instructions.

“Those who have lost stamina, fall back! Recover with any potions you have, and if not, recover enough through natural healing before returning to the fight!”

The people fought with all their might and rapidly dispatched the monsters.

Kim Hwiyeon’s expression lightened.

The monsters were not as strong as they had feared. It seemed they would soon be able to eliminate them all. Taesan was also vanquishing monsters.

Taesan extended his hand.

Crack.

A monster charging at him was crushed in his grip.

After shaking off his hand lightly, Taesan threw a punch.

Dozens of monsters charging toward him burst apart.

[You have activated Wind Explosion.]

Wind explosions ripped through the bodies of monsters one after another.

“Wow, amazing!”

“Indeed!”

The spectators exclaimed in admiration.

Taesan alone was dominating hundreds of meters of space.

He did so with ease and without any sign of struggle.

Taesan dusted off his hands after he burst a monster’s head.

‘Too weak.’

The people had grown stronger. It wasn’t just in stats or levels but also in rich combat experience. Now, no one was flustered by these trivial monsters.

But it couldn’t end just like that.

As soon as Taesan finished his thought, space split open again. This time, winged monsters emerged with a scream.

[Kyaaah!]

Seeing the flying monsters, Choi Baram shouted in panic.

“How are we supposed to stop those?”

There were hardly any people with the means to attack airborne enemies. Choi Baram urgently called out.

“Those with bows deal with the monsters in the sky!”

People belatedly noticed the monsters flying toward the safe zone. A few with bows quickly shot arrows, but they were far too few compared to the number of monsters.

[Kiee!]

A considerable number of monsters entered the safe zone.

Then, their bodies began to twist. Their wings grew larger, and their bodies transformed into more muscular forms.

[Kyaaah!]

The mutated monsters screamed and plummeted toward the people gathered on the ground. The faces of those directly below turned pale.

“Dare to come down here?”

Taesan dropped down onto the head of an incoming monster.

Crack.

He stomped on the monster’s head and leaped, throwing a punch. The mutating monsters burst simultaneously.