Ascension Through Skills

“What in the world…”

Malesten kept gazing into the void, unable to contain his amazement.

“Who are you?”

Taesan’s avatar had all his stats and skills intact. Malesten had seen all of them, so it was no wonder he was surprised.

“How can one have these stats at such a low floor?”

Malesten, an adventurer who had delved deep into the labyrinth, knew the standard of adventurers at the lower levels.

So, he was naturally surprised. Taesan’s stats far surpassed what one could typically achieve on the 22nd floor. As far as Malesten knew, there was no way to raise them this high.

“Did you accept multiple apostle contracts? Even then, it’s challenging… this is perplexing.”

But that wasn’t the main point. While the stats were indeed impressive, they weren’t unreachable. In other words, anyone could attain such stats by reaching the 30th floor.

However, the skills were a different story.

“How did you learn Black Magic?”

Taesan was human. Yet, among his skills, there was Black Magic. Malesten knew it was impossible.

“The Demon God doesn’t care about anything but her own. She wouldn’t grant dark magic to humans…”

For Malesten, who didn’t know how Taesan cleared the quest from the Demon God, this was unbelievable.

Moreover, Black Magic wasn’t the end of Taesan’s skills.

“You even learned normal magic?”

Taesan, with permission from the God of Magic, was learning from Lilis quite easily. But for the average adventurer, this was practically impossible.

The God of Magic was extremely discerning when evaluating adventurers. Even renowned geniuses in the world entered the labyrinth, but there were cases where the god didn’t respond even once.

That genius ultimately died in loneliness, forgotten by all. Even Malesten had forgotten his name.

Only a very select few were granted permission to learn this skill: magic.

“Endurance? Nullify Attack? What are these?”

Malesten eventually let out a dry laugh. Even he, who had ventured deep into the labyrinth, was unaware of these skills’ existence.

“How did you learn the Elemental Skill? And a hereditary skill like Werewolf? One cannot learn it unless it’s in their bloodline. How did you manage this?”

Each skill, every single one of them, was a mystery. While looking at them with a mix of admiration and confusion, Taesan realized a peculiar thing.

‘He’s surprised by the Elemental Skill and Werewolf?’

Taesan had a Soul Skill. Soul Ascension existed. From its description, it could take the power of opponents, so it could be roughly guessed that Soul Ascension might have stolen the skill.

However, Malesten showed no signs of such awareness. It was as if Soul Ascension did not exist among the skills Malesten knew of.

“Hmm.”

After visibly struggling to hide his surprise for a while, Malesten finally composed himself.

“This shouldn’t be. It’s quite disrespectful to Lord Pavsha.”

Malesten gripped his sword. It was the Relic of Calvert, the same as Taesan’s. He smirked.

“This will be a surprising and delightful experience.”

He stomped his foot, and an icicle formed behind him.

[Malesten activated Frost Arrow.] [Malesten activated Magic Acceleration.]

Seeing the incoming arrows, Taesan was now certain. Indeed, Malesten was fighting him using the same stats and skills he possessed.

Taesan stomped his foot to dodge the Frost Arrows. Malesten stomped the ground again.

[Malesten activated Acceleration.] [You activated Aerial Leap.]

He quickly jumped, avoiding Malesten, who was charging through the air. Following the leap, he launched a Frost Arrow, piercing through Malesten’s back.

[Malesten's First Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

“This is strange. It’s an odd skill. I’m not used to it.”

Perhaps unsettled by the sensation of the nullification, Malesten, with a grimace on his face, charged at Taesan.

Clang!

Their blades clashed. From Malesten’s hand was shown the Stormscar Sword, identical to Taesan’s. Taesan, in turn, used his primary sword, the Wolf Fang, to aggressively counter.

“Ho”

With a serious expression, Malesten maneuvered his hand. The sword, held inversely, brilliantly targeted Taesan’s armpit.

Swiftly, Taesan pulled his arm away. Malesten bent his waist to the side, spun, and, like a hurricane, began to barrage Taesan with blows.

Clang, clang!

With the sound of blades scraping, Taesan was pushed back.

“What was that?”

[What are you doing?]

The ghost scolded, seemingly annoyed.

[Why are you mixing someone else's swordsmanship with your own?]

“Just because I have a new body doesn’t mean the experiences etched in my soul disappear. I was intrigued by the hero’s swordsmanship, so I tried combining it. Seems it doesn’t work well.”

As Malesten spoke, he rushed forward once more. His moving blade left no gaps.

Crash!

Taesan was forced back.

Malesten was undoubtedly powerful. The ghost had mentioned that he was an adventurer who primarily honed his swordsmanship. Despite Malesten using the Stormscar Sword for the first time, he was wielding it more smoothly than Taesan.

‘He’s strong.’

He was on a different level from the adventurers he had encountered so far.

But that was all.

Swoosh.

Taesan dived downwards. Immediately, Malesten swung his sword downward.

[You activated Flow.]

The sword strike was evaded. However, Malesten was unfazed. He had been in the depths; there was no way he didn’t know about Flow.

[Malesten activated Counter.]

A forced retaliation skill. Even when the body’s posture was off due to the direction of force, it adjusted the posture, a technique Taesan often used.

And having used it frequently, Taesan knew its weaknesses. He distanced himself and activated a Blazing Orb. Expecting Taesan to charge immediately, Malesten was momentarily surprised and deflected the Blazing Orb.

In the process, the Counter was nullified. Taesan again lunged and thrust his sword.

“Ugh”

[Malesten activated Flow.] [You activated Thunder Strike.]

Concurrent with the evasion, the Thunder Strike countered Flow. Trusting in his Flow and charging forward, Malesten’s chest was pierced by Taesan’s sword.

Although taken aback, Malesten immediately reacted. The moment he raised his sword to counter-attack, Attack Nullification was activated.

[Malesten's Second Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

Taesan’s form reverted to before the attack, immediately evading the counterblow.

Unaware that Attack Nullification erased the attack, Malesten’s strike cut through thin air, and Taesan didn’t miss this opportunity.

Malesten’s Third Attack Nullification was activated.

Finally recognizing the mechanism of Attack Nullification, Malesten charged at Taesan. However, Taesan had already distanced himself.

The Thunder Strike remained, inflicting damage on Malesten.

“Uh”

A look of perplexity never left Malesten’s face.

Taesan planted his feet, activating Acceleration to clash with Malesten’s sword. Their stats were equal, neither giving ground to the other.

[You activated Freedom of Choice.]

Freedom of Choice from the god of choice. As a reward from Maria, one could change their stat values.

Taesan shifted agility to strength. For a brief moment, his strength gained the upper hand, pushing Malesten back. Malesten, too, realized and activated a skill, but it was already too late.

[You activated Marcosias's False Flame.]

A flame-like substance engulfed Malesten, inflicting continuous damage on him.

Taesan distanced himself and charged again.

What followed was a repetition. Malesten tried to pin Taesan down with his swordsmanship and skills, but everything was countered and reversed by Taesan.

[Well, I guess it's come to this.]

The ghost muttered calmly.

Flow, which completely evades an attack, and Counter, which retaliates against an opponent’s move, were both excellent skills. They were almost essential, heavily favored by the majority of adventurers who ventured deep and by Hard Mode players.

However, Taesan had multiple skills that overshadowed even those two. Each skill, on its own, could overpower an opponent of the same rank.

Of course, having powerful skills and being able to use them effectively were two different things.

Malesten was a case in point.

Having ventured deep, he effortlessly wielded the newly acquired skills. After all, if he couldn’t, he would have died before descending—such was the nature of the labyrinth.

Yet, even such a Malesten could not offer any significant resistance against Taesan.

Even if he had perfectly grasped Taesan’s skills before the battle, the outcome would have been similar.

Such was the extent of Taesan’s skill proficiency.

Unless Malesten retrieved the power he once wielded in his lifetime—the skills he used, which he had mastered near perfection—he could not hope to gain the upper hand.

The ghost let out a chuckle.

It was a rather amusing thought.

A 22nd-floor adventurer mastering his power as perfectly as an adventurer from the depths who had honed his skills over decades.

‘…What if it were me?’

If he battled Taesan, what would be the outcome?

Malesten was strong, but he was weaker than the ghost. The ghost was the only adventurer allowed the title of “hero” in this place, widely believed to soon conquer the labyrinth before his untimely death.

Taesan’s proficiency with skills surpassed that. But the ghost had his swordsmanship.

Suddenly, a forgotten competitive spirit ignited within the ghost but quickly subsided.

It was impossible. He was already a deceased entity.

The ghost silently watched their battle.

The duel went on for quite a while. Taesan had high stamina; it would take over ten direct hits just to affect him. Over time, Malesten grew more accustomed to Taesan’s skills, being able to adeptly handle them by the time he lost half his stamina.

However, the gap between him and Taesan was evident.

[Malesten's Endurance activated. Attacks leading to death are nullified. All damage becomes 0 for 1 second.]

“Ugh, figures.”

Malesten sneered.

“This is the first time I’ve felt so powerless in defeat since I lost to the hero.”

Simply put, Taesan surpassed him. Ironically, the 22nd-floor adventurer before him had already achieved mastery in the concept of skills.

His mastery came from his activities in the Easy Mode of his previous life and the prolonged battles on Earth. Still, to Malesten, who didn’t know that, it was simply astonishing.

“I seem to have disappointed Pavsha.”

Suddenly, the dark space surrounding them trembled. Malesten smirked as if he had heard something.

“That’s kind of you to say. Thank you. Oh, deity.”

Malesten slowly rose to his feet.

Though he could endure another hit using Endurance, he seemed to have no will to fight any longer.

“If it were you, I assume Pavsha would offer you the same proposal as he did to me. Have you considered accepting it?”

“Sorry, but I have no intention of doing so.”

The fate of an adventurer who accepted the apostle’s contract after death.

Malesten was the living proof. Bound to the will of a deity after death, moving as the deity wished. Taesan had no intention of enduring such a fate.

Perhaps knowing that Malesten didn’t press the offer further.

“It becomes comfortable once you get used to it. Pavsha is merciful. Once you become his, he takes care of you… well, I can’t really force you.”

Malesten laughed lightly. Taesan’s appearance blurred and revealed the visage of a wise old man.

“It’s been a while since I had such fun, adventurer.”

[Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has activated. The proficiency of all skills, excluding the 'Soul Ascension', has increased.]

A system window with an unexpected message appeared. Before he could fully understand, a series of system notifications popped up.

[You have passed Pavsha's trial. Rewards will be given according to Pavsha's evaluation.] [Pavsha is very pleased with your performance. He wants to reward you accordingly.] [Pavsha's interference area has reduced.] [Pavsha rewards you. You have received the 'Dagger of the Proven'.] [You have cleared an enhanced trial. Additional rewards are granted.] [You have obtained a special passive skill: 'Aura Strike of the Proven'.] [Pavsha offers you the apostle's contract.]