Ascension Through Skills

Taesan gazed at the lake.

There were at least eighty fairies, fluttering around their queen as if forming her escort.

The lake, though not vast, was spacious enough. Should the fairies decide to flee, capturing them would be impossible.

His objective was to capture all the fairies.

Lee Taeyeon had also undertaken this quest, armed with the intent to collect fairy wings.

However, she failed to complete the quest as required, returning only with wing fragments.

The quests that followed saw her barely managing to collect fragments. This frustrated the gremlin.

Dissatisfied with her performance, the gremlin awarded her a modest reward.

This reward was a powder made from the fairy wing fragments.

Despite its modesty, this powder was a remarkable item, capable of continuously restoring health and mana for a set period.

What reward, then, would the gremlin offer for fulfilling its true desire?

Taesan was not content with mere alchemy.

The fairies could not be allowed to escape; they had to be captured.

He reviewed his skills one by one, yet none seemed capable of capturing targets across such a broad area.

‘Frozen World is also doubtful.’

It seemed unlikely the fairies could withstand it, but the queen posed a challenge. Frozen World instantly freezes everything in its vicinity, rather than acting as a barrier. Should they choose to flee, they could easily do so.

What could prevent their escape?

‘Twisted Soul Tuning.’

A skill that manipulated and adjusted the soul.

Could it be combined with Frozen World?

He pondered briefly, but the conclusion was negative. Although his proficiency in Twisted Soul Tuning had significantly improved, its limitations were evident.

Frozen World was an intermediate-level spell, demanding in terms of skill level.

Attempting to infuse it with spirit, Taesan would be drained before the battle even began.

‘A skill less demanding than Frozen World. And one capable of capturing.’

A particular skill came to mind for Taesan.

Having made his decision, Taesan immediately began his preparations.

[You have activated Apostle Transformation [Myriad Souls].]

The spirit of the divine took residence within Taesan’s body. A powerful aura seeped through the mantle of powder and dispersed.

[Hmm?] [Strange.] [It's weird.]

At that moment…

The fairies sensed Taesan’s presence and hesitated. In response, Taesan clenched his fist.

[You have activated Marbas's False Flame.]

Flames erupted.

Taesan focused his mind and took control of the flame. The fire, originating from the lake, rose like a barrier, encircling it.

[It's fire.] [It's dangerous.]

Caught off guard, the fairies were thrown into disarray, unsure of how to react. Even the Fairy Queen’s eyes wavered, betraying her panic.

The first step was complete. Now, it was time for the next.

He infused the power of his soul into the fire barrier he had created.

Instantly, he was overwhelmed by a wave of fatigue.

This was a natural consequence of tightly binding the spirit to the false flames that now enveloped the entire lake.

But he could withstand it.

During Aphrodia’s trial, his proficiency in Twisted Soul Tuning had significantly improved. Manipulating the spirit became easier, and the strain lessened. This made it feasible to infuse spirit into such a vast skill, something that would have been unattainable before.

“Sigh.”

Taesan exhaled deeply. He had expended nearly all of his spirit to successfully encase the false flames with spirit.

[Let's get out of here.] [Let's make a path.]

The fairies, realizing their predicament too late, attempted to infuse the flames with light. However, the false flames effortlessly consumed their light.

[Move aside.]

The Fairy Queen stepped forward.

She raised her finger, and seven lights converged at its tip before shooting out as one.

Keeeeeeng.

Her power was on a completely different level from the other fairies.

Yet, it failed to penetrate the false flames. The issue wasn’t power, but rather a matter of levels.

The Fairy Queen’s frown deepened.

[Come out, insolent one.]

“Hello?”

Taesan revealed himself. The fairies, who seemed to have been the ones that attacked him, screamed and clung to the Fairy Queen.

[A terrifying human.] [A human who has killed us.]

The Fairy Queen sent a murderous glance.

[Lowly human. Why do you attack us?]

“It’s pretty cheeky for those who attacked first to say that.”

Taesan laughed. The fairies hidden behind the Fairy Queen huddled even closer.

The Fairy Queen scoffed.

[That was a joke. A fairy's joke. A human should accept it graciously.]

“You’re playing around.”

Taesan mocked the queen’s words.

[Your Majesty.]

The fairies whispered from behind the Fairy Queen. A smirk appeared on the Fairy Queen’s lips upon hearing their words.

[So, you've accepted that ugly and dirty request? That's why you've come to kill us. It suits a lowly human.]

“Can’t you just shut up and fight?”

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

With a fed-up expression, Taesan manifested magic. The arrows of cold shot towards the fairies.

[Despicable creature.]

The Fairy Queen flicked her hand. Sparkling powders scattered and collided with the Frost Arrow. Ice formed and drifted like snow along with the powder.

The Fairy Queen smiled smugly.

[You may have created a curtain of dark magic to capture us, but it will be your noose.]

The Fairy Queen wasn’t wrong. Almost all of his soul energy had been consumed in creating the curtain of fire. It would be difficult to gain a significant advantage in battle using Apostle Transformation.

“It’s not exactly going to strangle me.”

But it didn’t matter. Even without it, he could win.

[Go, my children.]

Keeeng.

Dozens of lights rushed in. Taesan rolled his foot with a smile.

“I have no intention of fighting with the riff-raff.”

[You have activated Frozen World.]

The fake flames consumed magic power and soul. Mana was something entirely different.

If spirit was added to Frozen World, it would be unbearable, which was why the fake flames were used. But using Frozen World alone posed no problem.

Crackling!

Extreme coldness strikes within the flames. The lights flying in freeze, extending to the fairies that shot them.

[Ahhh!] [Your Majesty!]

The fairies screamed as they froze.

The Fairy Queen hastily gathered light.

Keeeeeeng!

A rainbow-colored light shoots out in all directions, breaking through the engulfing cold.

The ice only penetrated halfway across the lake.

The Fairy Queen shouted in anger.

[Human!]

“Blocked it?”

[You have activated Frozen World.]

Crashing!

The coldness striked again.

The Fairy Queen’s face hardened. She gathered light again and shot it towards the incoming cold.

Crash!

But the incoming cold was too much and too massive. The unblocked cold started to invade.

There, Taesan activated it once more.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

Crashing!

The coldness amplified further.

The Fairy Queen ground her teeth and flew into the sky.

[Your Majesty!] [Save us!]

The fairies struggled but were blocked by the wall of flames and had nowhere to run. They couldn’t withstand the incoming cold and all froze.

Within the wall of flames, only Taesan and the Fairy Queen were moving.

“Not bad.”

Taesan turned off the barrier and whistled, he had leveled up by 2 for wiping out the fairies.

While he enjoyed himself, the Fairy Queen shouted in anger.

[How dare you! My children!]

“If they were so precious, you should have protected them with your life.”

Taesan spoke leisurely, but his eyes were colder than anyone else’s.

‘As expected, it doesn’t work on those above a certain level.’

Frozen World was undoubtedly strong. Fitting the name of intermediate magic, very few could block it.

But it was, after all, area-of-effect magic. It couldn’t produce that much power against a single target. For someone like the Fairy Queen, who surpassed a certain level, blocking Frozen World was no issue.

[Human.]

A gaze blazing with anger targeted Taesan.

[I will kill you.]

The Fairy Queen spread her wings, majestically attacking from the sky as if to judge the human.

The powders from the wings scattered, shooting at Taesan like bullets.

There were too many to block. Taesan raised a shield.

Crackling!

A dull impact was felt beyond the shield. Despite being very small powders, the impact felt like he was being hammered.

Keeeng.

A rainbow light lingered on the Fairy Queen’s fingertips.

Taesan put away his shield and kicked off the ground.

Dodging the incoming rainbow light, he rushed towards the Fairy Queen. Then, the Fairy Queen flew even higher.

[Lowly human. A creature that crawls on the ground. You cannot reach me.]

“Who says so?”

Taesan kicked off the trees around him.

Stepping from tree to tree, he quickly approached the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen, with a sneer, raised her finger.

[A creature that crawls on the ground trying to reach the sky.]

Keeeng.

A rainbow light was shot out in curving branches.

The light that could not be avoided came from all directions. It was impossible to dodge in an unstable position from kicking off the trees.

[Your first attack nullification has been activated.]

The light was erased.

The Fairy Queen’s eyes shook greatly.

[What.]

Taesan kicked off the trees and rushed even more towards the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen ground her teeth and flew higher.

She ascended to a height that was absolutely unreachable. The Fairy Queen gathered light with an annoyed face.

Taesan gave a final kick off the last tree and exerted his strength.

[You have activated Leap.]

Crack.

The tree could not withstand the force and broke. Taesan’s body instantly flew towards the Fairy Queen.

[Ugh.]

The Fairy Queen swallowed her breath and moved her wings. Her body moved to the left, dodging Taesan’s attack.

[You've made a decent effort, but this is it. A creature without wings can only fall when trying to fly in the sky.]

Taesan, who had no wings, could not move in mid-air. That’s what the Fairy Queen thought.

[You have activated Mid-Air Leap.]

Taesan kicked off again.

The Fairy Queen, gathering strength, found her neck grasped by Taesan’s hand.

“Let’s play on the ground together.”

[You have activated Landing.] [Cough!]

They crashed to the ground together, making a loud noise. The Fairy Queen gasped for breath.

[Human!]

Having crashed to the ground, the Fairy Queen burst out in rage.

Rainbow light extended from her hands. Sparkling powders poured out like a storm, trying to engulf Taesan.

Taesan, without even defending, stabbed his sword into the Fairy Queen’s chest.

[How! Why are my attacks!]

The Fairy Queen couldn’t understand.

Her attacks continued to be erased as they made contact with Taesan. Unaware that he possessed attack nullification, it was an impossible situation for her.

Taesan grabbed her wings and exerted force. The wings were torn away.

[Human!]

She exploded in rage.

Undoubtedly strong.

Taesan could tell that an enemy of this level was not something you’d typically encounter on the 51st floor.

But it was the same for Taesan.

Crack.

Continuously stabbing his sword, he trampled over the Fairy Queen’s struggle.

Soon, she coughed up blood and collapsed.

[Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated.] [You have obtained the Fairy Queen's wings.]

His level increased by 4. It was an unprecedented level increase he hadn’t experienced before.

Certainly, the rewards from the 51st floor onward had changed. Both the quest rewards and the level increase were much higher than before.

“Good.”

Taesan collected the frozen fairies’ wings and headed back.

“Oh, oh oh oh!”

The gremlin waiting in front of his house greeted Taesan with a bright smile.

“So many! And even the damned queen’s! Good. Very good!”

He laughed out loud, hurriedly attaching the queen’s wings to his back. Fiddling with the wings with a dazed face, he shouted to Taesan.

“Keep doing this. If you do it till the end, I’ll give you not just alchemy but also whatever you want.”

He said with bloodshot eyes.

“Next, locate the blue snake deep in the forest river. Tear off its scales and bring them to me.”