Ascension Through Skills

[You have activated the Apostle Transformation [Lakiratas].]

A divine power descended into Taesan’s body.

Simultaneously, the Apostle completed its transformation.

What appeared was a human figure draped in a robe.

It was holding a massive scythe.

The Apostle, in human form, swung the scythe.

Despite the distance, it swung as if Taesan were right in front of it. At the same time, Taesan stomped his foot.

Crack!

The space where Taesan stood split open. Had he remained still, his neck would have been severed.

The Apostle was a shapeless entity. It had no fixed form.

Thus, the Apostle transformed into numerous forms, utilizing different abilities.

It’s uncertain, but it likely appeared in the forms of beings it had devoured while trampling numerous worlds.

In his previous life, he was defeated by the Apostle in this transformed state.

Taesan bared his teeth.

[You have activated Apostle Slayer.] [The Desire for Battle has been activated.] [A Fair Duel has been activated.] [The Proof of Limits has been activated.] [You have activated Contempt for the Strong.] [Pantheism has been activated.] [Giant Killer has been activated.]

Whoosh!

He charged. The Apostle slowly moved the scythe.

Simultaneously, dozens of spaces split apart all at once. As the severed spaces attempted to cut everything in their path, Taesan clenched his fist.

Boom!

He hurled a punch filled with soul energy forward. The soul’s power shattered the split spaces.

Crack.

Taesan stomped his foot. The ground cratered and collapsed.

As Taesan approached, the Apostle transformed again. It turned into a knight clad in sturdy armor, wielding a sword as large as a house.

Taesan swung his sword.

Boom!

A heavy sensation traveled up the blade. Taesan twisted his wrist on impact.

[You have activated Flow.]

The pressure of the sword momentarily twisted.

Crack!

Twisting the blade, Taesan moved closer to the Apostle once more. Without changing form, the Apostle swung its giant sword like a tempest.

It sliced through the ground and air, dominating everything with its sword force.

It was a sword technique perfected to resemble a storm’s scar.

Crack!

Taesan moved his hands deftly, drawing arrows to block and deflect all the sword winds as he slowly advanced.

Vroom!

The Apostle slammed down the handle. Instead of blocking, Taesan twisted his body.

[You have activated the White Rune Shield.]

The white rune collided and shattered instantaneously. The slammed handle demolished even the shapeless armor surrounding Taesan.

Taesan narrowly dodged and thrust his sword into the Apostle’s neck.

Crack!

The Apostle tilted its neck. The blade shattered the armor encasing the Apostle’s body.

Though the attack failed, Taesan grinned.

The Apostle had deliberately dodged his attack.

This indicated that Taesan could now land effective hits on the Apostle.

“Indeed.”

The Apostle’s form changed into myriad shapes. However, that seemed to deplete its energy, rendering its defense relatively weaker.

In his past life, he couldn’t breach that defense, but now it seemed feasible.

Crack!

Taesan, closing the gap, continued to swing his sword. The Apostle countered with its giant sword.

Groan.

The Apostle, slightly pushing Taesan back with its shoulder, transformed again.

It morphed into a giant muscular man, swinging his fist wrapped in gauntlets. Taesan raised his sword.

[You have activated Flow.]

The trajectory of the fist momentarily twisted but soon corrected itself.

Eventually, Taesan had no choice but to block with his sword.

Boom!

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]

The force of the punch overpowered Taesan’s nullification.

Taesan clicked his tongue at the pressure felt beyond the handle and increased the distance between them.

As Taesan widened the gap, the Apostle’s form changed once again.

This time, it was a woman holding a bow as big as her body. The Apostle, a formless entity, strung an arrow and pulled the bow with great force.

Groan.

The bowstring was pulled taut. No matter where Taesan moved, the bow kept tracking him, not allowing him any escape.

The one with the scythe. The one with the giant sword. The muscular man and the woman with the bow.

All of them must have been adversaries of the Apostle at some point.

And like the previous Taesan, they would have been defeated.

Perhaps, without the Ouroboros’ Heart, the previous life’s Taesan would have met the same fate.

“Indeed troublesome.”

The Apostle, with its ability to freely change its appearance and abilities, was a challenge he couldn’t strategize against in his previous life. His stats were too imbalanced to handle various situations, while the Apostle unveiled dozens of abilities.

But now, it’s different.

Taesan stopped.

As he ceased moving,

An arrow was shot.

Incredibly fast, to the point where dodging or defending was unthinkable.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Taesan blinked beside the Apostle. The arrow flew past him, piercing the horizon.

Before the Apostle could change its form, Taesan drove his sword into it.

[You have activated the Blade of Fighting Spirit.] [@#!%[redacted] damage.]

The Apostle’s body twisted momentarily.

The Apostle quickly widened the distance. In an instant, it transformed into a barbarian warrior wielding dual axes.

Whoosh!

The axe was swung violently, crushing everything in its path with ferocious movement.

However, the strength itself wasn’t that great. Having figured out the attack pattern, Taesan swung his sword.

[You have activated Flow.]

Using Flow consecutively, he twisted and distorted all the trajectories of the swinging axe blades. Taesan then plunged his sword deep into its abdomen once again.

Then, the Apostle’s form changed again. This time, it was an old man with a long beard.

The Apostle raised its staff, and ominous magical energy began to gather. Immediately, Taesan took out a flute.

[The Flute that Invokes Silence has been activated. For 10 minutes, all use of magic within a certain range is prohibited.]

The gathering magical energy vanished.

Taesan knocked the staff away and tripped the Apostle. Just as he was about to thrust his sword into its neck, the Apostle’s form changed once again.

It was a young woman, not yet an adult by appearance. She waved her finger while lying on her back on the ground.

Then, formless entities arose in the air. They started to rush towards Taesan like flames.

Realizing it was a form using elemental power, Taesan immediately responded.

[You have activated The Deer Walking on the Wind Path.] [You have activated A Small Spark.]

Wind enveloped the flames, rising up. It began to trample and suppress the formless entities.

Elemental.

Dark Magic.

Magic.

Swordsmanship.

Skills.

Now, he had almost omnipotent abilities, able to respond to any situation.

No matter how the Apostle changed its form to exploit Taesan’s weaknesses, he could respond to all.

Taesan stabbed his sword into the Apostle’s body.

Groan.

The Apostle momentarily transformed into a gigantic form and pushed Taesan away.

And again, as the Apostle’s form twisted, Taesan chuckled derisively.

“What, are you trying to be an Asura Count?”

The Apostle, with its left and right forms now different, charged at him.

From the left came ferocious swordsmanship, and from the right, rapier-like sharp sword strikes.

Taesan concentrated his mind.

Boom!

With one hand, he deflected the ferocious swordsmanship from the left. And with the other hand, he countered the sharp sword strikes from the right.

The appearance was ludicrous but could not be underestimated.

Attacks of entirely different types poured in from both sides, necessitating a completely different method of defense simultaneously.

Crack!

He couldn’t block everything. In an instant, his attack nullification vanished, and his body bore slight wounds.

Seeing this as Taesan’s vulnerability, the Apostle intensified its assault.

The damage gradually accumulated, yet Taesan remained unfazed.

Now, his physical strength was significantly enhanced. Unlike in his previous life, he could easily withstand a few experiments or errors.

He concentrated his mind without end.

He broadened his field of vision and differentiated the movements of his body.

Taesan’s sword, too, began to exhibit completely different maneuvers on each side, mirroring the Apostle.

Boom!

Taesan, having deflected attacks from both directions simultaneously, thrust both swords forward.

The Apostle’s body convulsed violently. Cracks emerged in the soul constituting its body.

Gurgle.

The Apostle’s form contorted severely.

Taesan instinctively knew. This transformation was its final form.

The transformed Apostle resembled a young man.

Adorned in neat armor.

Wielding a magnificent double-handed sword.

And cloaked in a flamboyant cape.

He bore the semblance of a hero. The Apostle advanced. Its speed was markedly faster than before. Taesan reacted instantly but failed to block the attack.

[You received 3423 damage.]

“Tsk.”

Taesan clicked his tongue and tended to the wounded area.

This iteration of the Apostle, transformed from its predecessors, was undeniably stronger, a foe of a different caliber.

Even with all his resources at his disposal, Taesan couldn’t assure victory against this adversary.

Taesan summoned his soul energy.

Boom!

Sword met sword. The Apostle skillfully maneuvered its blade, targeting Taesan’s armpit. Taesan countered with his elbow, deflecting the sword.

Crack!

He swung his sword.

Employing Flow, he parried the opponent’s blade. Yet, the Apostle swiftly regained its posture and blocked.

[You have activated Strong Blow.]

The swords collided. Taesan, determining that using Strong Blow would prevent him from being pushed back, clenched his fist.

[You have activated the Thorns of Eligor.]

Hellish thorns rained down from the sky.

The Apostle evaded all of them, continuing the fight without showing any openings.

Therefore, Taesan decided to create an opening.

[You have activated Marbas' Pitch-Black Wave.]

Whoosh!

A black wave surged. The Apostle, holding the sword with both hands, lowered its stance as if praying.

Then, formless entities, like beams of light, stretched out and suppressed the pitch-black wave.

Taesan didn’t stop.

[You have activated Frozen World.] [You have activated Particle Diffusion.] [You have activated Tracking.]

Coldness surged. Small ice particles formed and rushed towards the Apostle.

Crack!

The Apostle, moving its sword to deflect everything, seemed slower due to the cold.

Boom!

Taesan didn’t miss the opportunity. He swung his sword, disrupting the stance and pressing forward. The Apostle resisted but began to be pushed back.

Screeching.

A small formless entity coalesced in the Apostle’s hand being pushed back.

A terrifyingly strong power emanated from there.

Taesan didn’t evade. Instead, as if he had been waiting, he plunged his sword into the Apostle’s chest.

The Apostle, in turn, stabbed the formless entity into Taesan’s heart.

Crack.

[You received 50432 damage.] [Your Endurance has been activated. Attacks that would lead to death have been nullified. All damage becomes 0 for 1 second.]

He had just 1 second.

Taesan twisted the sword. With a strong pull, he yanked it out.

Crackle!

The Apostle was split in half.

The formless entities making up the human shape began to collapse.

[You have overcome your despair. The reward will be given by Aphrodia upon returning to the Labyrinth.] [Skill proficiency of Ability Sword has increased by 3%.] [Skill proficiency of Prolonged Battle has increased by 4%.] [Skill proficiency of Airak Weapon Technique has increased by 1%.] [Skill proficiency of Clear Mirror Still Water has increased by 1%.] [Skill proficiency of Magic has increased by 1%.] [You have demonstrated entirely different movements as if your body and mind were separated. You have acquired the special continuous activation skill [Mind Separation]. Since you are outside the Labyrinth, the skill is temporarily sealed.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. You have acquired the special activation skill [Spreading Curse Branches].] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Proficiency in Twisted Soul Tuning has increased by 12%.]

“Ha.”

Taesan couldn’t help but laugh.

He had triumphed over the monster that had killed Lee Taeyeon and, in effect, destroyed Earth.

Although it was only a replica, lacking even a fraction of the original’s power, it was a definitive victory.

If Taesan could grow stronger and reach the end, it meant he could also defeat the real one.

That thought alone made his journey back in time all the more meaningful.

Taesan turned and made his way back to the city.

There, Lee Taeyeon was staring at him with vacant eyes.