Ascension Through Skills

[Take care! I'll be waiting!］

Taesan left the room, bidding the spirit farewell.

“Is it just… like that?”

It was completely different from any other NPC he had seen. Lee Taeyeon also said that the spirit she had seen was just mad, and the ghost seemed to think the same based on its past encounters.

[It was the same when I was there. It's simply a mad being. Its role is to teach how to deal with the spirits on the 21st floor. That's it. Once the quest is over, you'll never have to see it again.］

Lee Taeyeon had the same experience. She never saw the crazed spirit again after learning how to counteract spirits from it.

‘But is that really true?’

NPCs were beings that made a trade with the archwizard. That spirit must have come here wanting something.

Whatever that was was still unknown.

Following the spirit’s instructions, Taesan moved straight into the fifth room. He then moved to the left three more times.

The room was empty. On the wall, there was a single brick that didn’t have moss.

From the 21st floor onwards, it seemed like nature had taken over, with all the walls covered in green plants.

That must be the room the spirit was talking about.

Click.

Upon pressing the brick, a passage opened. Taesan began descending the stairs.

Rumbling…

The floor echoed. Taesan activated his invisibility and silenced his footsteps.

A secret room appeared at the end of the stairs, and inside was a massive golem made of stone.

[The Flame Spirit King's Ember Golem has appeared.]

Oooong.

Behind the golem was a small, greenish spring. With its red eyes, the golem seemed to guard the spring, its gaze moving to and fro.

‘It’s powerful.’

Taesan could feel an immense power emanating from the golem. A force that felt like it could burn everything in its path. It was probably the power given to it by the Spirit King. Though it may only possess that single ability, its strength was undeniable.

The golem was well beyond the level any player on the 21st floor could handle. Taesan went up the stairs and asked the ghost,

“How did you manage it?”

[Me? I simply ignored it and moved on. The golem stops functioning for exactly one minute a day. If you fetch water from the spring during that time, you're done.]

It was a sure solution. Lee Taeyeon probably did the same to fetch water from the spring.

It was like a predefined answer.

However, Taesan had no intention of taking that route.

“Is it even possible?”

[It's not impossible... but it could be quite risky.]

“Then that’s the right way to do it.”

The reward from the labyrinth diminished significantly the moment you descended to the next level. Even if you became stronger and returned, you wouldn’t get the full reward.

Taesan deactivated his invisibility and descended the stairs. The golem’s eyes lit up upon spotting him.

Wooong.

Its massive arm swung. Taesan dodged the descending arm with a leap, thrusting his sword towards it.

Kagang!

[0 damage dealt to the Ember Golem created by the Flame Spirit King.]

“I keep running into enemies that my attacks don’t work on lately.”

Taesan muttered in frustration, distancing himself. For golems, their core was their vulnerability, and piercing through that was the orthodox approach.

“Since the spirit created this golem, is its core also made of spirit?”

[Probably so?]

Without the skill to confront spirits, obtained from the quest to acquire such skills, the enemy was unbeatable.

[Do you think I just passed by for nothing? There was no way to confront it at all. You might be a bit different, though.]

A blue aura formed around Taesan’s sword.

The aura struck the golem’s arm, leaving a small mark.

[47 damage dealt to the Ember Golem created by the Flame Spirit King.]

“As expected.”

The aura had a defense penetration effect. Taesan slowly began to wear down the golem.

The golem retracted its arm and swung it. With a sound like air bursting, the arm brutally swept across the room.

[Your First Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

Taesan clearly dodged the golem’s attack.

The shockwave alone from the attack caused damage, indicating how powerful the golem’s attack was.

‘If I were hit directly, I’d surely be done for.’

The golem retracted its arm and swung again. Its trajectory was very much the same as before.

While the golem was undoubtedly strong and tough, it was essentially a chunk of rock. Its movements weren’t fluid, so its attack patterns were somewhat predictable.

Taesan dodged a few times, recognizing all of the golem’s attack patterns, and then charged directly.

Kagak.

The sword clashed, sending stone fragments from the golem flying. The golem raised its arm high.

When it made that movement, it would strike downwards. Taesan, having discerned this from past encounters, swiftly moved to the side and struck its flank.

This time, the golem pulled back its arm for a direct thrust. Taesan swiftly ducked.

Observing the movements and predicting the subsequent attacks, he acted accordingly. The watching ghost was awestruck.

Know the strategy, understand the countermeasures, and then repeat.

It sounded easy, but executing it in reality was another story. Those who believed they knew everything often died due to a tiny, unexpected variable.

After all, strategy involved repetition, and repetition would wear down one’s spirit. During the laborious repetition that spans hundreds, thousands, or perhaps even days, one’s mental strength could easily crumble.

In fact, those who knew more often faltered. It wasn’t unusual to see someone do well on their first try when they knew nothing, only to falter on their second attempt when they had gained some knowledge.

However, Taesan moved and attacked like a machine without any hesitation or error in his movements.

[It's like watching someone from the Machine Race.]

An admiring murmur came from the ghost, but Taesan didn’t hear it. He was too focused on devising a strategy against the golem.

Two hours passed this way, and without allowing even a single effective hit against him, Taesan defeated the golem.

[Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has activated. Your strength permanently increased by 34, agility by 22, and health by 102.] [You obtained 1,861G.] [You obtained a Fragment of the Spirit King.] [You obtained the Ore that Protects the Core.] [Through consistent repetitive tasks without faltering, you've achieved results multiple times. You've obtained the continuous activation skill: "Tenacity."] [The proficiency of "Insight" has reached 100%. "Insight" has evolved into the special activation skill "Reconnaissance."]

A smile crept onto Taesan’s lips.

At last, he acquired “Tenacity”. Also, “Insight” evolved into “Reconnaissance”.

Both were skills absolutely necessary for Taesan’s plan.

[Continuous Activation Special Skill: Tenacity] [Proficiency: 1%] [Efficiency improves in repetitive tasks.]

Such a straightforward, simple description.

The effect was simple, too. Literally, when performing repetitive tasks, one would receive bonuses for various things. If one were to repeatedly swing a sword, they’d experience an acceleration in proficiency. If one were to mine ore repeatedly, the speed of mining would increase.

Up to this point, it didn’t seem all that remarkable—just a decent skill to have on hand.

However, for Taesan, this skill was absolutely necessary.

“I finally have everything I need.”

Main skills. Attack Nullification, Endurance, Forced Duel, and so on.

Skills that, even if you only had one, could overpower opponents of the same stats.

Among them, there was a skill called “Addition” that literally doubled the damage.

The term ‘double’ was meant in the most direct sense.

Increased power from a counter, from continuous attacks, and from a critical strike.

All that power was doubled.

The “Add On” skill used by hardcore players added half of the basic attack power. Though it was far inferior compared to “Addition”, considering the few who possessed even “Add On”, “Addition” was an incomparable skill.

And to acquire “Addition”, one absolutely needed “Tenacity”.

Now, he had everything he needed.

Of course, it wasn’t something he could obtain immediately. A specific situation was required to acquire “Addition”.

However, it wouldn’t take that long.

Happily, Taesan checked his other skills.

[Special Activation Skill: Reconnaissance] [Proficiency: 1%] [An evolved form of Insight. Allows one to know strategic information about the target.]

Taesan immediately looked at the ghost.

[You have activated Reconnaissance.]

The ghost’s information was displayed.

[Buried One] [Status: Ghost] [The one entrusted with dreams.]

Beneath the “Ghost,” an unfamiliar phrase appeared.

The biggest change as “Insight” evolved into “Reconnaissance” was the ability to adjust its activation.

When activating Reconnaissance towards an opponent or within a room, the information of the opponent would be revealed, and one could understand the hidden elements within the room.

It was a valuable skill, as one could detect things like traps in advance.

Using it on an opponent would reveal general information, as well as strengths and weaknesses, making it easier to strategize.

[I also only managed to acquire Reconnaissance after passing the 50th floor. You're really fast.]

The ghost expressed admiration. Being one who had ventured deep into the labyrinth, the ghost was well aware of the value of Reconnaissance in this place.

[Tenacity? That's the first time I've seen it.]

In contrast, the ghost didn’t show much reaction toward “Tenacity”. It wasn’t exactly an impressive skill. All it did was increase efficiency in repetitive tasks. It wasn’t that significant.

The reaction would likely change once the ghost realized the ability to acquire “Addition”.

Taesan checked his rewards.

[Ore Guarding the Core] [A special ore that guarded the Golem's core. It can be refined.]

This seemed like something that should be handed over to the blacksmith. And there was one more thing.

[Fragment of the Spirit King] [Contains a portion of the power the Spirit King held. All spirits would desire it.]

Spirits desired it. The crazed spirit would probably be no different.

Taesan took a small sample of the spring water. He then returned to the deranged spirit to complete his quest.

[You have activated Reconnaissance.] [Deranged White Spirit] [Status: Unstable] [A child longing for completeness and desiring revenge.]

Information about the spirit appeared. The spirit greeted him with a smile.

[You're here! How did it go?]

“Here.”

Taesan handed over the sample. Upon receiving the sample, the spirit beamed, opening its arms wide.

[It's done! With this, I can regain a bit of my completeness!]

The white spirit touched the spring water. It was then absorbed into the spirit’s body.

Taesan felt the energy within the spirit rise. But it was truly minuscule. It seemed like it would take hundreds of years to completely fill up.

The spirit, smiling, reached out to Taesan.

[Good! I'll give it to you!] [You have cleared the spirit's quest. You have acquired the passive skill [Spirit Strike].]

A passive skill. Spirit Strike. The effect wasn’t very significant. It simply meant that he could now attack spirits.

[Thank you! Take care!]

The spirit waved its hand. As it was bidding farewell, Taesan opened his inventory.

“And I also got this.”

[Fragment of the Spirit King]

As Taesan took out the fragment, the spirit froze. For the first time, the continuous smile on its face disappeared.

[...You defeated the Golem?]

Taesan nodded. The spirit, with a trembling face, reached out.

[Let me see it for a moment.]

Taesan handed it over obediently. Lost in thoughts touching the fragment, the spirit suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

[Hee, hee-hee! Heeheehee!]

A mad laughter echoed, but unlike before, it now had a clear radiance.

[You! I like you!]

The spirit leaned closer to Taesan’s face.

[You're different from the other visitors! You're incredible! You can help me!]

The spirit began to dance.

Taesan watched with a wary gaze.

[Will you help me, impressive guest?] [Hoo?]

At the spirit’s words, the ghost’s demeanor changed, showing interest.

It became certain.

The deranged spirit wasn’t just a non-playable character (NPC) that granted a skill to deal with spirits.

There was another quest.

The requirement was hunting the golem. Taesan nodded.

“Alright.”

[Then gather cores for me! Cores that can make me a complete spirit! With that, I'll become magnificent!]

Along with its madness, the quest window popped up.

[Sub Quest Initiated] [The deranged spirit wishes to alleviate its instability and yearns to be grander. It entrusts you with this task.] [Reward: Everything that the deranged spirit can offer.]