Ascension Through Skills

“Do I need to take all of these roots?”

[You can just cut and take them. They're big, but it won't be a problem since you have an inventory.]

Taesan got ready. At the same time, the forest began to move with a loud noise.

Koong!

The ground collapsed, and the roots rose. The surrounding trees swayed and struck Taesan.

Taesan planted his feet. He trampled the roots, leaped into the air, and landed on the chaotic mass.

Thud!

The chaotic mass shook back and forth, and the branches began to bend in curved shapes. They whipped at him, creating a sonic boom like a slingshot pulled to its limit.

Crack!

Taesan kicked off again and created some distance. The sound of the tearing atmosphere collided with the tree branches and spread out to the outside of the forest.

It was powerful. The force was enough to give him a bruise when hit. Taesan landed a bit further away.

[You have activated Breathless Attack.]

Koong!

The other trees didn’t stay still either. They each moved their branches and roots, trying to entangle Taesan.

[You have activated Repulsion.]

A skill that dispersed opponents by creating formless force around him. Repulsion.

However, the roots only hesitated slightly.

They didn’t stop their momentum and aimed at Taesan.

Realizing that Repulsion wasn’t very effective, Taesan changed his approach. He held his sword and focused all his mind.

[You have activated Mental Acceleration.]

The world’s time slowed down for him.

He kicked away the root that was targeting his left foot. Avoiding the branch trying to pierce his head, he moved his hand. The roots and branches rushing to grab his arms were cut down and fell into pieces.

The ground collapsed, making the footing unstable, but Taesan still had a forced action.

A skill that allowed some degree of movement in situations where his actions were hindered, it was a quite useful skill in situations where the footing was collapsing.

He kept slashing. One of the trees, seemingly unable to stand still any longer, rushed at Taesan, attempting to crush him, but he moved his sword fiercely, chopping it into pieces.

In the midst of battle, Taesan calmly scrutinized everything around him.

‘Is there no ash-colored energy…?’

He hadn’t discovered it yet, or it was not visible. Unlike the cliff, he couldn’t see it.

‘It might be hidden in the trees.’

Regardless, his goal was to chop down the chaotic mass. Having deflected all attacks against him, Taesan charged towards the chaotic mass.

The branches of the chaotic mass were pulled tight again and then exploded.

Zeeeong!

A numbing sonic boom hit Taesan. He grimaced and retreated.

It was a pushback, not a hit judgment, so attack nullification was not triggered, making it too tricky to approach.

Then, he changed his approach. He made the opponent use physical attacks.

Taesan changed his target and turned towards the surrounding trees.

The trees tried to push him away using their roots and branches, but such minor attacks couldn’t stop Taesan. The trees began to be chopped down in an instant.

Zeeeong!

The chaotic mass hit the atmosphere, trying to drive him away. Still, Taesan was able to withstand it since it wasn’t a direct hit, and he was at a certain distance that lowered its effectiveness.

The trees were rapidly chopped down. The small forest noticeably started to thin out.

‘I wonder how it will come out.’

It wouldn’t simply move according to the energy’s command. Seeing that the cliff attacked more fiercely when Taesan got closer, there was a high chance it had its own will.

And Taesan’s prediction was accurate.

The chaotic mass continued to pull its branches back, fiercely swinging at the air, but Taesan kept cutting down the trees without any discomfort. After swinging at the air a few more times, the chaotic mass started to move with a loud noise.

The branches of the chaotic mass gathered into one, forming a massive spike, and stabbed at Taesan.

Taesan quickly twisted his body and blocked with his sword, but he couldn’t withstand the force and was pushed back.

Realizing that its attack was effective, the chaotic mass began to gather its branches and attack continuously.

That was exactly what Taesan was hoping for.

Gruuug.

The moment the branches gathered and fired again, Taesan planted his foot. He charged towards the firing branches.

［Your First Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.］

The branches returned to their state before they fired. The chaotic mass was visibly flustered, enough for Taesan to notice. It quickly regained its composure and fired again, but the same result was repeated.

［Your Second Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.］

Taesan slashed his sword. The chaotic mass was cut in half and collapsed.

［Your Soul Ascension has been activated. ??? proficiency has increased by 1%.］

“So it was indeed inside.”

The movement of the trees stopped simultaneously as the chaotic mass collapsed. Taesan put the root of the chaotic mass into his inventory.

“It wasn’t that difficult.”

[Didn't I tell you? It won't be very hard for someone at your level. It would be better to go back quickly.]

“Seems so.”

Taesan looked up at the sky.

From the stars’ perspective, Taesan’s existence must be quite small and fragile. That was why they wouldn’t have paid much attention.

The sandstorm and the cliff made that clear. Naturally, they targeted Taesan, but there was no deep malice in it.

However, it was different now.

In that ashen space, there was a definite malice directed at Taesan.

Koo-goo-goo-gung……

A tremendous sound resonated from the world itself. An overwhelming sensation began to envelop Taesan.

He knew for sure.

If he continued here, he would die in this place.

“See you next time.”

Taesan waved his hand and plunged into the split in space.

Just as when he had entered, a little time had passed, and he could return to the familiar labyrinth.

“Are you back?”

Hafran greeted Taesan. Taesan opened his inventory.

［Sub Quest Completed］ ［Root of the Chaotic Mass］ ［From the extinct world. Alone, it amounts to nothing. If planted in a suitable environment, it seems like it will grow.］

Taesan handed over the root of the chaotic mass to Hafran. Hafran accepted it with longing eyes.

“It looks like an ordinary root to me.”

“That’s how it would appear to you. You’re not a resident of that world. But it’s different for me… It’s been a very long time since I could make something enjoyable.”

Hafran, who was looking at the root with flickering eyes, said.

“So, what do you want?”

“On the contrary, what can you make?”

“I can make something for any wearable part.”

It meant that Taesan could just say anything he wanted.

Taesan fell into thought.

He didn’t know what level of gear could be created, but it would surely be a considerably good one. Which meant he would likely wear it for quite some time. That was, even if he were to get other equipment later on, there was a possibility that he wouldn’t be able to use it at all.

It wasn’t a loss, but it felt like a loss.

‘I’ve had a similar experience in the previous world.’

Choosing a piece of equipment from a quest in a game, only for a better piece of equipment for that specific part to drop in the next dungeon.

Having had such experiences quite frequently, he instinctively felt a sense of rejection.

After pondering, Taesan came to a conclusion.

“Is it possible to infuse what you’re going to make into a weapon I already have?”

“It’s possible.”

Taesan was surprised.

“Really?”

“Of course, it’s possible. If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t deserve to be called a blacksmith.”

Hafran spoke indifferently. Taesan had asked without great expectations, so he felt like he was gaining an advantage.

In that case, there was only one thing to do.

“Would that be okay?”

［I don't mind. It's yours. You can do as you please.］

He had received the ghost’s permission. Taesan drew his sword.

“Then please infuse it with this.”

［Relic of Calvert: Sword Imbued with Ancestor's Blood］ ［Artifact of a now extinct world. It has taken many royal lives.］ ［Attack + 20] ［When facing an opponent of noble blood, Attack + 10］

The Sword of Calvert. It was the sword the ghost had given him as a quest clear reward. Since he had no plans to replace it for the time being, he intended to use it.

Hafran, who had received the sword, gave the ghost a peculiar look.

“Are you sure about this?”

[It's fine. Do as you wish.]

“If you say so……”

Hafran nodded his head.

“I’ll do it.”

“Do I have to leave my weapon with you?”

“No need. I’ll make it using the root here, and we can combine them later. You can keep it.”

“How long will it take?”

“About…… it’ll take about two days.”

Two days. It was both a long and short time, depending on how you looked at it.

“Then I’ll come back in two days.”

“Take your time.”

With a joyful expression, Hafran bid him farewell, touching the root.

[What will you do?]

“Since I have some time, I’ll go as far down as possible.”

Since he had two days, he had plenty of time to descend to the 20th floor.

Taesan descended to the 17th floor.

The 17th floor was the realm of the Dullahan. He recalled that Lee Taeyeon had almost died on this floor guarded by the headless knight.

‘Come to think of it.’

None of the floors she had spoken about had been without risk of death. She’d said that there was a risk of death on every floor.

Jogging his memory, he continued to descend. The Dullahan was undoubtedly a powerful monster, but as always, it held no particular significance. He cleared up to the secret room smoothly and cleaned up the boss room.

The rewards were earrings, armor, and a shield.

The shield was useless as he didn’t use that kind of equipment, but the earrings and armor were quite useful.

［Earrings of Blood Mist］ [Dexterity + 10] [Defense + 5] [A pair of earrings abandoned in the blood mist. No one knows who their owner was.]

The earrings of a fallen entity. He removed the earrings that increased his Mana by 10. They weren’t very valuable as he had high intelligence and magic proficiency, so he seldom lacked Mana.

[Lava Dew-Soaked Leather Armor] [Defense + 20] [Slightly increases the chance of successful fire damage judgment.] [An armor soaked in dew that forms beneath the lava. It has fire resistance.]

He changed his current armor for this one because it was better.

He finished the 17th floor and headed for the 18th. He met the dwarf, sold the unnecessary equipment, and descended.

“Safe travels.”

The dwarf spoke indifferently. Despite knowing that Taesan had met the blacksmith, he said nothing. It seemed like they were not on good terms.

The 18th floor was similar to the 3rd floor in enemy composition. There were several Skeleton Mages and Skeleton Knights in one place. Naturally, they were of no threat to Taesan. He dealt with them and descended.

What he got was a staff, a shield, and a ring.

[Super Ring] [Attack + 5] [Defense + 5] [Strength + 5] [Super Ring?]

“What’s this?”

[...Who knows?]

The explanation was ambiguous, but the effects were good. He took off the ring that increased his Mana by 5 and put this one on.

His experience points, which had been slow to increase because of his high level, had finally climbed a bit by passing through these floors, and he reached level 42.

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 42] [Shield: 183/183] [Health: 2160/2160] [Mana: 475/475] [Strength: 677] [Intelligence: 459] [Dexterity: 597] [Attack + 79] [Defense + 93] [The subject is in the best condition.]

The Hongyeong ring increased strength, intelligence, and dexterity by 3%. Thanks to this, his strength increased by 20, intelligence by 13, and dexterity by 17. It was a satisfying increase.

The 19th floor.

From here, the increase through Soul Ascension began to trigger a very small amount. It meant that the level of the enemies had gradually risen to a similar level to him.

The monster on the 19th floor was a Lich. It was a bit tricky as it was a monster that used various magic, but thanks to Taesan’s superiority in stats, he swiftly trampled on it and descended. Unfortunately, he could not acquire the magic, either because it was a regular monster or because the magic of the dead was something entirely different.

And finally, he found the altar of a god.

[You have discovered the altar of Lucifer.]