Ascension Through Skills

[You finally made it?]

“I’m an expert in finding the Secret Rooms, aren’t I? Got here in one shot.”

Lilis said this boastfully as the ghost chuckled softly.

[Then you must have met the old man too, what did he say?]

A hint of unease crossed Lilis’s face.

“Well……he hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw him. It’s a wonder. I don’t know why he chooses to live such a life.”

Lilis muttered. It seemed like the dwarf looked down upon her too. She looked at Taesan with glittering eyes.

“Wow. Looks like you really did defeat it…… It seemed pretty formidable from afar.”

She was probably referring to the boss on the 5th floor. She must have passed it without fighting. It wasn’t strange, considering she had the invisibility magic. Lee Taeyeon would have proceeded in a similar manner if the floor was deemed impossible to clear.

But it wasn’t a good method.

If the goal was to clear each floor, skipping the 5th floor would mean missing out on its reward and incurring divine contempt, making it the worst choice. However, as Lilis’s goal wasn’t clearing the floors, she could proceed without any burdens.

Taesan glanced at the box behind Lilis. Noticing his gaze, Lilis clapped her hands.

“Oh, right. You can take that. I found it first, but without you, I wouldn’t have been able to get here.”

“Well then, thank you.”

The reward for the Secret Room. Missing it would’ve been quite regretful, but things turned out well.

“Alright then.”

She dusted off the chair and plunked down, crossing her legs and propping up her chin.

She looked down at Taesan as if she were a grand archmage. However, she seemed quite laughable, as she lacked the power to match the image. The ghost, too, seemed to find it amusing as it asked, along with a chuckle.

[What are you doing?]

“I’m getting in the mood. Hmm. Shall we start now?”

Taesan nodded.

The reason he came here was specifically to learn magic. Lilis grinned.

“Shall we start with the explanation? What is magic?”

“What’s your name?”

“Kang Taesan.”

“Kang Taesan. Then I’ll call you Taesan. Taesan, you have skills, don’t you? How did you acquire them?”

“I replicated their effects, to an extent.”

“Exactly.”

Lilis nodded.

“The way to obtain skills is just that. Use the effects without the skills. It’s kind of a paradox. Magic, on the other hand, is bestowed or gained. Therefore, there are things in magic that are not in skills.”

To acquire skills, you were required to replicate similar effects. So, skills that were physically impossible cannot be obtained. That was the general idea.

She waved her hand. The flames flickered gently.

“Creating fire, cutting through space, distorting time. Magic can do things that are impossible with skills. It may sound absurd coming from me, who hasn’t even passed the 10th floor, but the value of it in this place is not small. Like the invisibility magic, I use. This can’t be obtained as a skill, you know?”

He knew. Even the Robe of Invisibility, which only lasted for a second, could only be acquired after diving deep into the labyrinth. The simple fact that one can use invisibility without any other restriction was enough to prove the effectiveness of magic.

The ghost also chimed in.

[Magic that's not used for combat, like buffs or enchantments, can be incredibly helpful. They're similar to skills, but they provide a different kind of power. Their value is beyond measure.]

“Exactly. That’s magic! And I’m going to teach you that.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s nothing else.”

She twiddled her fingers.

“Well, I know you are much stronger than me, but I’m the one who’s teaching, right? So that… you’re my student, right? Correct?”

Seeing that she was desperate for agreement, Taesan nodded his head.

“If you say so, then it is.”

Taesan didn’t care about such a title. Lilis was satisfied when he readily agreed and carefully said,

“So, listen. Since you’re my student, you shouldn’t treat your teacher casually, right? I mean, you should also add honorifics, right?”

“You want me to use honorifics?”

“…It would be nice if you did!”

She was desperate for him to agree, and Taesan laughed quietly.

If she wanted him to use honorifics, he didn’t mind. He wasn’t bothered by such titles or honorifics. If learning magic required using honorifics, then it was a win-win situation.

The silent ghost opened its mouth.

[You're getting honorifics while I'm not?]

“Uh, what?”

Lilis froze for a moment.

“Well, since the ghost isn’t teaching…”

[But I promised to teach this guy swordsmanship, didn't I?]

Lilis’s pupils dilated.

“Really? But he has refused all this time.”

[That's my problem. Why are you trying to receive honorifics when even I can't?]

“Why not. Will you ask for it?”

[I don't need it.]

The ghost rejected it, and Lilis’s pupils shook violently, then sagged as if giving up.

“Alright. You don’t have to use honorifics…… I could have been addressed with honorifics for the first time. Why reject it when he also…”

[What are you mumbling about?]

“No, it’s nothing.”

The previously grumbling woman quickly pulled herself together and resumed the explanation.

“Let’s start with the basics. What do you think magic is?”

“A gift from gods and skills.”

At Taesan’s answer, Lilis nodded as if it were the correct response.

“Right. It’s literally a mystery. But here, it exists as the concept of skills. That’s why even someone like me can learn it. Look.”

She spread her hand, and flames burst out.

“What do you see here?”

Taesan, who had been observing for a moment, shook his head. To him, it was just a ball of fire.

“There’s nothing there.”

“That’s what magic looks like to those without talent. It just looks like a natural phenomenon.”

“Do I also lack talent?”

“That might be a bit different?”

Lilis snuffed out the flame.

“You came from a place without magic, right? Those who came from there didn’t know. It’s natural for those who don’t have it not to know, right?”

“I see.”

It wasn’t a particularly interesting story to him.

Lilis brought up the main point.

“Now, when it comes to learning magic, the method is simple. You just have to make a contract with the god of magic.”

“A contract?”

“Yes. After struggling here for a few months since I arrived, the god of magic suddenly appeared. And they bestowed magic upon me. Since then, I’ve been able to use magic.”

“……So I also need to make a contract to learn?”

It was an uncomfortable proposition for Taesan, who had refused all the contracts of apostleship. Fortunately, Lilis negated Taesan’s assumption.

“No, you don’t have to. I’m here.”

She proudly stated.

“Those who possess magic can teach it to those who don’t. That’s the advantage of the labyrinth. After all, how often do gods teach directly? The Hero was quite surprised to see me, right?”

[They only show interest in the strong or the mad. Because your interest in magic is madness, even the god of magic would be interested.］

“Hehe.”

[That wasn't a compliment, you know?］

Lilis gently put her hand on Taesan’s shoulder, wearing a soft expression.

“I’ll teach you right away.”

Power flowed into Taesan.

[You have received magic from a pitiful person who desires magic. You have acquired [Magic]］ [You have acquired [Magic Enchantment].］ [You have acquired [Magic Extraction].］

“Check if you’ve learned it properly.”

Taesan opened his skill window.

[Magic] [Proficiency: 1%] [You can use magic. For now, you seem to be only able to create a spark.] [Magic Enchantment] [Proficiency: 1%] [You can enchant magic.] [Magic Extraction] [Proficiency: 1%] [You can extract magic.]

It was a simple description. Lilis waved her hand again and created a flame.

“How is it?”

“…… It’s different.”

He could see something within the flame. A sensation that he had never felt in his previous life that felt new.

This was magic.

He had tried various things, but what he ended up not learning was magic, and now he learned it so easily.

“Actually, it’s not very important here. You’ll learn it anyway through skills. Now, I should explain how to learn magic.”

Merely possessing magic didn’t cut it.

One needed to possess magic that suited them.

“There are several ways, but the easiest is learning from objects with magical power. Magic wands or magical tools. Extracting from those is the easiest, right?”

“This one?”

Taesan pulled out the Staff of Flames. Lilis was slightly surprised.

“You already have one? You can extract from there. Try it.”

Taesan placed his hand on the Staff of Flames.

[You have activated Magic Extraction.]

The power within the staff moved into Taesan’s hand. Slowly, it permeated his entire body.

[You have acquired the basic magic [Fireball].] [Staff of Flames] [A staff used by novice magicians. The magic power that was contained within has been drawn out.]

The explanation of Fireball, which was contained in the staff, had disappeared.

“Skill window.”

[Basic Magic: Fireball] [Mana consumption: 3] [Proficiency: 9%] [Launches a fireball. Enemies without immunity suffer great damage. Attempts to inflict the status abnormality [Burn] on the target.]

The content was the same as when he used the Staff of Flames. Taesan put away the staff and stretched out his hand.

[You have activated Fireball.]

Boom.

Flames flared into the empty air.

“So, that’s the concept.”

“Exactly, you got it?”

Lilis watched with a satisfied expression. Taesan also extracted the magic from the Staff of Random Spells.

[You have acquired the basic magic [Random Mental Attack].] [Basic Magic: Random Mental Attack] [Mana consumption: 5] [Uses detrimental mental magic at random on the target. Attempts to inflict a status abnormality on the target.]

He had learned two types of magic.

“That’s great.”

Even without a staff, he can use magic. This was a significant advantage. It meant that he could freely use magic during battle, creating variables as he wished.

In simple terms, an opening would be created if he used Random Mental Attack repeatedly after an engagement. It meant that the delay was gone.

But he wasn’t satisfied yet.

“How do I learn the rest?”

There were still many truly good types of magic left.

“One, from someone who has learned magic. And the other is by paying a price to the god of magic. That’s why I haven’t been able to learn any particular magic. The Invisibility spell was obtained only after all sorts of hardship, you know?”

She grumbled and gave Taesan a quick glance.

“So, since you’re my disciple, if you gain something as you descend, you should come back to me……”

“I intend to do so.”

As Lilis learned magic, she could acquire another new magic. It was a mutually beneficial deal. Lilis suddenly stood up.

“Great! Finally, I can learn new magic! This tiresome 10th-floor limit is coming to an end!”

She spun around as if dancing, her cheeks flushed with excitement. Watching her nearly mad with joy, Taesan asked,

“So, are there any spells you can learn right now? You have spells I want to learn.”

She had used the Invisibility spell. And it was not just that one. He could learn quite a few useful spells from her.

But Lilis made a vague face.

“Um… This is a bit different. I told you, right? A price is needed.”

“It’s not the price for you to learn magic?”

“It’s a bit different. The only thing I can teach without a price is the skill known as magic. However, teaching the basics or types of specific magic becomes a different story.”

Lilis twisted her hair.

“If you had a contract with a god, that would be correct. You can just learn. But it’s not like that when you have to learn from me. I can teach you magic itself, but… I can’t just freely teach the specific magics since I also received them.”

“Do you need a price for that?”

“Yes. I have to get permission to teach you after offering a sacrifice. Only then can you learn the magic.”

Taesan summed it up.

“So, to learn the magic you don’t know, we need double sacrifices: one from me to the god and one from you for learning?”

Lilis answered a bit nervously.

“Uh… I guess that’s how it works?”

“You’re a big eater.”

Still, magic was worth that much.

“What can be a sacrifice? Materials too?”

“No, not materials. A special weapon. A unique, valuable weapon. That’s what can be a sacrifice.”

“Weapons or equipment?”

“You can say that. The more valuable it is, the better magic you can get.”

Then it wasn’t bad news.

In terms of simple value, materials were more expensive. Equipment couldn’t fetch its full price when sold in shops.

There was no blacksmith, and there was no room in the inventory, so he had been just selling them. Disposing of them at a low price was a waste, but now there was a solution.