Ascension Through Skills

In the Guides of Sin conference room, people were sitting around the circular table. A brash man who had been lazily watching the noisy chatter suddenly spoke as if something occurred to him.

“Speaking of which, didn’t he die?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Well, you know. The one with wide-open eyes that I mentioned last time.”

“Ah, that one.”

The memory surfaced, and a fire sprite’s voice was filled with fascination. Those who had been arguing amongst themselves stopped and listened to their conversation.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing much. It’s an already finished story.”

The impudent youth spoke lightly. A sturdy, muscular man who had heard the explanation frowned.

“Didn’t we agree to discuss such matters after the meeting?”

“Who would bother holding a meeting about an adventurer from the 13th floor?”

“But we should at least talk about it. If the stories get mixed up, it might cause an incident.”

The man just gave a light piece of advice and did not speak seriously. At most, it was an adventurer from the 13th floor. There was no need for them to be interested.

“So what happened?”

“He got killed by those below.”

“An obvious outcome.”

The difference between the 13th and 20th floors was clear. Everyone thought that Taesan died on the side of the 20th floor, but the cheeky man shook his head.

“No, he didn’t die to those on the 2nd rank.”

“Hmm?”

“Rather, it was the 2nd rank who lost their cool and died to him.”

Silence fell for a moment.

Interest was sparked on their faces.

“The 13th-floor adventurer triumphed over the 2nd rank?”

“Is that such a big deal? I’ve done it too. It’s not hard against those without talent and broken spirits.”

“That’s because you were a strong existence from the outside. I don’t know about the guy in the story. And even you couldn’t have faced the heat.”

“That’s something you know once you try.”

“That’s why I said it’s unknown. Are you deaf?”

They prattled on. For these people, who had lived unchanged for a long time, Taesan’s story was an interesting one.

“So he eventually died to the 2nd rank?”

“No? I heard he had a stand-off with the 3rd rank.”

The muscular man furrowed his brow.

“Someone from the 30th floor?”

“Yes.”

Huh.

The brash man nodded his head.

Silence fell once again.

“….Is that even possible?”

“Yes.”

Sounds of disbelief filled the room.

They were surprised but somewhat convinced when they heard the story of an adventurer winning against the 2nd rank. It was something they could see as feasible.

But the story became very different if it was against someone of the 3rd tier.

“….It seems it would be difficult for me as well.”

“If it’s the 20th floor, it’s possible. But the 30th floor… It’s impossible. I wasn’t that strong when I was on the 13th floor.”

“Could he be a dragon’s child?”

“No. According to the story I’ve heard, he’s just an ordinary human? Besides, if he was a dragon’s child, there’s no way the 3rd ranker would have died to him, right?”

“Hmm…”

Defeating someone on the 20th floor and defeating someone on the 30th floor were entirely different problems. In this place with accelerated growth, even a single-floor difference was by no means small.

Yet he died against someone who was 17 floors behind him.

“What a waste.”

There was regret in that voice. An adventurer of that level could have also been a great power for them. The fire spirit spoke impassively.

“Anyway, he’s the one who rejected our proposal. He would have ended up being hostile in the end.”

“Then who died?”

“A demon child. A guy named Jagan.”

“Demon…”

The blue-haired woman’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Is that the one you said was useful?”

“No, it’s a different one.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The interest quickly vanished from her voice. The surprise was that the 13th floor beat the 3rd rank, but the 3rd ranker itself was an adventurer of no interest to them.

The fire spirit spoke.

“He’s a dead man. Regardless of the circumstances, without the resurrection of the lion, there will be no chance of meeting him again.”

“Speaking of which, he was said to have received the hero’s quest and was on his way, wasn’t he?”

At the brash young man’s words, their gazes gathered in one place.

The ashen-haired young girl spoke in a curt tone.

“What’s that about?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Under a tacit agreement, they turned their conversation away.

The talk about Taesan had come to an end.

“It’s not the one who died, as the Fire Spirit said, that’s important. We need to discuss what’s to come.”

The burly man banged on the table.

“Strategies for the 74th floor. Let’s discuss that again.”

“Is this the two hundredth time?”

“Exactly 234 times, to be precise.”

They started the conversation with serious faces while laughing between themselves.

Taesan, having cleared the 14th floor, checked his rewards. He hadn’t been able to check them due to the continuous appearances of the Guides to Sin.

The standard clear reward for the 14th floor was an anklet.

[Anklet of the Valley] [Magic + 4] [Defense + 3] [An anklet made deep within the valley. It carries the power of the depths.]

“Looks like this will be used for donation.”

Unless the magic items were extremely good, he intended to donate them all.

And the secret reward was a bracelet.

[Bracelet of Six Hundred and Seventy Patterns] [Strength + 10] [Defense + 4] [In this small bracelet, countless patterns are engraved. It seems they were all carved by human hands.]

Not a bad piece of equipment.

Taesan equipped it.

The secret room reward was two Intelligence Runes. After using them, his intelligence increased by 10.

And then he descended to the 15th floor.

[15th Floor Quest Start.] [Defeat the boss of the 15th floor and proceed.] [Reward: Sapphire Staff] [Secret Reward: ???]

“Passing through.”

He greeted the dwarf and immediately descended.

The 15th-floor monster was a Skeleton Knight. A monster that used rough swordsmanship and swift speed with a body made of mere bones.

Taesan pulled at his opponent’s arm.

Crunch.

The bones shattered, and the skull flew off into the distance.

Taesan cleared the room.

There were rooms where two would appear at once, but the result was unchanged. He crushed the sword in one blow, destroyed the chest, and flung the head away with a swing of his fist.

Too easy.

He was indeed overwhelming. Even if it was a 15th-floor monster, if it were Lee Taeyeon or Kang Junhyeok, they would need to stake their lives to win. But for Taesan, they were too weak.

Even ordinary monsters could not match him, and his stats had risen unbelievably by defeating fellow adventurers. Taesan didn’t stop his steps and continued to defeat the monsters.

His level didn’t increase. Taesan’s current level was 41, almost the same as someone who was on the 20th floor. The 15th-floor monsters didn’t even give him proper experience.

Similarly, the increase from Soul Ascension wasn’t working properly. He smashed and trampled them without any particular thrill, as it was only natural.

Based on the information he got from the Guides of Sin, he immediately found the secret room.

He disabled the trap and dealt with it. And then…

He killed the boss.

It took less than twenty minutes to reach that point.

The reward for the secret room was a ring.

[Frost Ring] [Defense + 4] [1% chance to inflict freeze status on the opponent during an attack.]

And the clear reward, the Sapphire Staff.

[Sapphire Staff] [Magic + 14] [Sapphires have been hailed since ancient times as excellent gems for gathering magic power. A staff embedded with such a sapphire is likely to be of considerable value.]

And the secret reward.

[Bow Made of Troll Tendons] [Attack + 17] [Accuracy + 50%] [Troll tendons are incredibly tough and elastic, and they also have regenerative properties. They have been perfect materials for bow strings since ancient times.]

Although he didn’t use a bow due to the existence of magic, there was no harm in having it.

Taesan collected the rewards and went to find Lilis. She was still struggling to move her belongings to the 14th floor.

“… You’ve already gone down to the 15th floor?”

She looked at her half-moved belongings with a forlorn face.

Ignoring her struggles, he offered her the two items he brought back, and he learned the beginner magic she had learned.

[Beginner Magic: Slow] [Mana Cost: 12] [Proficiency: 1%] [Slows down all speeds of the target. The reduction in speed varies depending on the target. The judgment can fail.]

“I’ll show you how it’s used.”

Lilis casted Slow on Taesan.

[No judgment needed! Taesan shook off the Slow.]

“…It didn’t work?”

“I guess I’ll have to use it.”

Taesan then casted Slow on Lilis. Unlike with Taesan, it succeeded immediately without any judgment.

“He..re.. it.. fe..els.. we..i..rd..”

It felt like the speed of a video that was forcibly reduced. Lilis was flustered.

“It doesn’t slow you down that much.”

“I.. c..an.. n..ot.. m..ove.. e..as..ily..”

Looking at Lilis’ movements, she seemed to have slowed down by about 20%. It was likely that the stronger the opponent, the higher the probability of failure, and the reduction in speed would also decrease.

But even considering that, it was good magic. Speed was significant in any level of fight.

Moreover, the target of the judgment was not just the enemy but all targets.

Perhaps it would include things like magic or objects.

‘I’ll have a fun time finding out.’

The scope of its application and how much judgment was allowed.

Finding out about these things was quite enjoyable for Taesan.

Lilis spoke with a frustrated face.

“Pl..ease.. r..e..le..ase.. me..”

“How do I release you?”

“W..hat..?”

“I don’t know because this is my first time learning this magic. I don’t have any skill to dispel it. Don’t you know how?”

“…I.. do.. n’t.. k..now.. e..ith..er..”

Lilis’s face turned pale. Even the speed of her face turning pale was about 20% slower, which was somehow funny.

Fortunately for Lilis, the Slow naturally wore off after about 10 minutes. She was greatly surprised, but it was a gain for Taesan because he figured out the duration.

Taesan immediately headed for the 16th floor.

[16th floor quest has started.] [Defeat the boss of the 16th floor and pass through.] [Reward: Hammer] [Secret Reward: ???]

The monster of the 16th floor was a Wraith. Taesan then said,

“They’re your friends.”

[Shut up.]

He made a light joke as he made his way through the floor. They were somewhat troublesome monsters that did not take physical attacks, but they were not trouble for Taesan, who had learned magic. He quickly advanced, firing dozens of Frost Arrows.

Before long, he found the room mentioned by the adventurers.

A blue door, different from a regular door.

Taesan went inside.

A warm heat blew out of the door as the sound of crackling flames echoed. The walls of the 20th-floor maze were generally red, but it was even redder here.

Clang. Clang.

The sound of hammering echoed cheerfully.

A man was there.

He was not a human but a dwarf. However, he was different from the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was half the height of Taesan and had a bushy beard, a typical dwarf appearance. The dwarf in front of him was the exact opposite.

Firstly, he was tall. He was not as tall as an ordinary human, but one head taller than the shopkeeper.

He had a smooth chin with no beard, and his entire body was covered in a rough color as if smeared with ash.

[You have encountered Uduna, the Dream Refiner.]

Clang.

Along with the system window, the sound of hammering stopped.

“Are you an adventurer?”

A voice too thin for the man in front of him echoed, and Taesan nodded. The dwarf who had been looking at Taesan turned his gaze to the ghost.

“Are you here too?”

[Not surprised?]

“I figured the fool wouldn’t leave without telling the truth, so he would come down one way or another. It’s been a while.”

[It has been quite a while since I was alive.]

The fool in their conversation likely meant the Ogre Sage. It seemed that NPCs or monsters with intellect interacted with each other.

After a moment, the dwarf, who had been looking at the ghost, glanced at Taesan without much interest.

“So, he’s the one who accepted your quest this time?”

[Yes.]

“That’s surprising. I thought he’d clean up because it has been so noisy recently.”

[Well, he didn't just stay idle. This guy killed them all.]

The dwarf’s eyes widened for the first time at the indifferent answer.

“That’s impressive. To win against the adventurers of the 20th floor…”

[Well, it's not just that...]

The ghost swallowed the rest of his words. The dwarf reached out his hand.

“What’s your name?”

“Taesan. Kang Taesan.”

“You don’t need to be formal. We’re on equal footing.”

The blacksmith.

Lee Taeyeon received a lot of equipment from him. She said she couldn’t have reached the deep levels without him.

“I am Hafran. Nice to meet you.”