Ascension Through Skills

“……That’s enough.”

Umberak nodded his head belatedly.

“That should be sufficient.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Taesan returned to the village.

Umberak, having taken care of the injured, returned to his domain with the soldiers.

Due to the sudden increase in the strength of the monsters and the ensuing aftermath, Umberak stayed up all night with wide-open eyes.

When everything was somewhat settled, he sought out Taesan.

“Hmm. I apologize. I was too flustered at that time. Therefore, I couldn’t show proper manners.”

Umberak bowed his enormous body.

“Thanks to you, no one had to die. I express my gratitude.”

Considering the strength of the monsters, it wouldn’t have been strange if some giants had died on the battlefield. However, thanks to Taesan, everyone’s life was saved, which was very grateful for a lord.

However, his eyes were complex when he looked at Taesan.

“May I have a moment to talk?”

“Feel free.”

The giant sat down. Nevertheless, due to the difference in their sizes, Taesan had to lift his neck to face him.

“We are… giants. We believed that there was no one stronger than us in the world.”

Taesan was strong, but they thought his strength couldn’t match theirs.

That’s why they thought they had to protect him when taking him to the rift.

“But it was a vain thought. A foolish judgment.”

Umberak chuckled bitterly.

“Firstly, your strength qualifies you to meet our king. As I said before, closing the rift is impossible without the strength of a great warrior. You have shown that strength, so now it’s my turn to help.”

Taesan nodded his head. Umberak continued.

“However, it might take some time. The royal palace is far, and the king is busy.”

“That’s fine.”

He had anticipated waiting a few more days from the start.

After a moment of silence, Umberak spoke.

“How did you become so strong?”

“By continuously fighting and winning.”

Taesan answered. Umberak, with a complex look, asked again.

“Outside… are there many as strong as you?”

“There aren’t many, but there are quite a few stronger than me.”

Umberak’s eyes shook greatly.

“Stronger than you?”

“For now.”

He would catch up eventually, but at the current moment, the leaders of the guides were beyond his power to contend with.

Umberak let out a hollow laugh.

“What are we even fighting for?”

A sense of futility and the shock of his known and believed world crumbling overwhelmed him.

Staring blankly at the ground, he spoke.

“In the distant past, there was a giant who headed to the labyrinth. A warrior stronger and bigger than anyone. He went into the labyrinth, and for a long time, there was no news of him. We thought he had conquered the labyrinth but…”

Umberak smirked bitterly.

“If what you say is true, then that’s not the case. He must have fallen in the labyrinth.”

“I was surprised too. I heard that you fought with gods.”

Compared to that story, the current giants seemed too weak.

“We know that story too. It’s about how giants from all over the world gathered to defeat a transcendent being who tried to trample the world.”

The level of power Taesan knew about the transcendent beings made it seem nearly impossible. The idea that the descendants who achieved such a feat couldn’t even handle a B-class monster was laughable.

“Everyone thought that story was just a legend. No one really believed it. But if it’s true… it means we have forgotten something.”

Umberak, stroking his chin, asked,

“You said you were brought to our world by the god of magic.”

“That’s right.”

“But we don’t know anything about magic. Not just me, but most giants don’t. When you think about it, it’s strange.”

Umberak furrowed his brow.

“A long time ago, I read an almost decayed ancient text. It mentioned giants who practiced magic.”

It was something he had forgotten until he heard Taesan’s words and managed to recall. Umberak realized something was amiss.

“The existence of such a text suggests that we once dealt with magic. But now, no one knows about it. Why?”

Umberak was puzzled, but Taesan had a guess.

‘Every time magic is cast, it has some negative effect.’

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

A very flustered maid entered the room. Umberak stood up.

“What’s the matter?”

“My Lord…”

The maid swallowed and said,

“The great warriors have arrived.”

“Hmm?”

Umberak looked noticeably confused.

“It’s only been a day since I contacted them, and they’re already here?”

It was too fast.

The messenger wouldn’t have even reached the royal palace yet. The speed was incomprehensible.

The maid nodded.

“Yes. And not just one, but four of them.”

Umberak’s eyes widened.

Umberak hurriedly ran out.

Following him to the reception room of the lord’s castle, Taesan saw four giants.

All the giants were blindfolded. Seeing them, Umberak hurriedly knelt.

“Great warriors!”

The blindfolded giants looked at Umberak for a moment and then turned away. Although they were blindfolded, there was no discomfort in their gaze when looking at Taesan.

“Human. Our king has summoned you.”

Taesan nodded.

The great warriors, leaving behind Umberak’s hospitality, prepared to leave for the royal palace immediately. Umberak had no choice but to calm his regret.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t even properly treat a great warrior like you.”

With a regretful face, Umberak handed Taesan a small ore. Of course, it was small from his perspective, but it was the size of Taesan’s torso.

“This is a precious ore that can only be found in our world. It can be alloyed with any ore and is harder than steel, yet elastic. Take it.”

“Can I accept this?”

“You saved our lives. This is a small price to pay for that.”

Umberak smiled warmly. He saw off Taesan as he departed.

“I wish I could see you again, little warrior.”

The great warrior and Taesan left the city behind.

“How long will it take to get to the royal palace?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The blindfolded great warrior extended his hand, and a mystical aura began to envelop them.

It was magic.

The great warrior clenched his fist, and their bodies leaped through space.

“We have arrived, human.”

The surrounding scenery had completely changed.

Taesan found himself inside a building so vast, he felt like an ant.

Taesan frowned.

“I heard you had forgotten magic.”

According to Umberak, the royal palace and his domain were quite far apart. Yet, they had leaped that distance in an instant.

It was a spatial leap incomparable to Taesan’s Blink. The great warrior casually responded.

“We paid a price for that. We blindfold and limit our senses to prevent interference.”

The great warriors began to retreat one by one. Before they disappeared, they left Taesan with a final message.

“Our king is waiting for you inside.”

Taesan was left alone in the vast corridor.

The ghost muttered.

[That was fast. Seems quite urgent, doesn't it?]

“It’s not bad for me.”

Taesan approached the massive door and pushed it gently.

Creak.

The door, making a noisy sound, opened to reveal a vast hall inside.

At the end of the hall, on a throne, sat an aged giant.

The giant, appearing very weary, still radiated an undeniable powerful aura that filled the hall.

Taesan instinctively knew.

The giant before him was an immortal.

Naturally, Taesan took a combat stance. Having bad memories associated with immortals, it was a natural precaution for him.

Seeing his stance, the giant king spoke softly.

“There is no need for caution. I have no intention of harming you.”

He leaned his chin tiredly.

“Rather, I am thankful to the god of magic for this opportunity.”

The giant king showed no signs of hostility. As Taesan relaxed, the king continued.

“That gauntlet looks familiar.”

His gaze turned to the gauntlet Taesan was wearing.

The gauntlet, which the god of magic said he used himself, had its mystical seal unlocked.

“Long ago, there was the strongest being in our world. He was more brutal than anyone, but no one dared to stand against him.”

The giant king spoke as if he were an old man recounting an ancient tale.

“And there was one among us, the weakest and the size of a human. Everyone ignored and mocked him. But he didn’t give up and grew stronger. Eventually, he overthrew the tyrant, shattered his gauntlet, and forged it into his own trophy. Now, it’s all an old story.”

Who the strong one was remained unclear. But it was possible to guess who the weak one was.

‘The god of magic.’

The god of magic was a giant.

The giant king, gazing intently at Taesan, murmured.

“Indeed, you are an agent of the gods. Otherwise, the god of magic wouldn’t have sent you here.”

“Agent?”

“The gods each have their own domains. Even for gods, it’s not easy to interfere in other domains, especially those who reside in the labyrinth.”

Taesan was aware of this fact. Until he conquered the gods’ battleground, the gods of the labyrinth left the gods of the outside world alone.

“I heard they disappeared after occurring once a long time ago. To reappear now, those fastidious beings must really approve of you.”

The giant king stood up.

“Are you curious? Why we became so weak. Once we even defeated a transcendent being, but now we are so frail.”

Taesan nodded.

The giant king left the hall and headed somewhere. Taesan followed.

Despite the immense height difference between them, Taesan could easily keep up, perhaps due to some magical adjustments within the castle.

The giant king spoke.

“We were mighty beings. Not only physically strong but also close to the mysteries. This reached its peak when the smallest giant became the god of magic.”

The magic possessed by the god of magic was of a different caliber. This was evident from the magicians of Vekveta who claimed to use magic. Their most advanced magic was merely elementary in the labyrinth.

“We were strong. We even repelled a transcendent being who tried to trample us and make us his subjects. But you know well how we are now.”

“Quite.”

Barely able to defeat B-class monsters. Certainly not weak, but nowhere near their past glories.

“We lost our magic. Only those born with it can sacrifice all senses and receive my protection to block interference. You must guess why.”

“The High Gods.”

Taesan muttered. The advancing giant king gave a bitter laugh.

“The High Gods are cunning. Judging it difficult to destroy us with power alone, they made us forget our strength over the span of a thousand years.”

Soon, they arrived in front of a transparent curtain deep within the royal palace.

“Look at this.”

Inside the curtain was a massive black sphere.

Numerous tendrils writhed on the sphere, creating a repulsive sight.

[A monster??? has appeared.]

“The monster itself isn’t very strong,”

the giant king said.

“But the problem is the wave it emits.”

The giant king furrowed his brow in pain. A faint power seeped through the transparent curtain from the writhing monster.

“Thousands of years ago, this monster descended into our world. Since then, it has exerted influence over the entire planet, hindering our use of magic.”

The giant king suddenly turned his gaze to Taesan.

“The closer you get to this monster, the stronger the wave it emits. Even the strongest and most exceptional giants, except for me, would collapse approaching this far. But you seem fine.”

“It doesn’t bother me much.”

The giant king laughed at Taesan’s words.

“Our ancestor sealed this monster with magic and built the royal palace over it, managing the monster generation after generation. But even in its sealed state, we couldn’t completely eliminate the monster’s wave. Even I, an immortal, can only suppress it with power. Yet, you, a human, still a mortal, are unaffected by these waves. Don’t you find that strange?”