Ascension Through Skills

“It’s already too late.”

The force emanating from beneath the village had grown very dense and strong since he had left. Even now, no matter what he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop them.

So, his first thought was to enjoy it. To see what they had prepared and with what they intended to catch him.

Darien led him to the village tavern. There, adventurers with awkward faces greeted him.

“Hello!”

“Nice to meet you!”

They approached Taesan. It was acting so poor that even a three-year-old child wouldn’t be fooled.

Taesan barely suppressed a chuckle as he accepted their hospitality.

“Look. We’ve prepared something special with great care.”

They brought out the dishes.

The food was quite plentiful: roasted chicken legs, a well-prepared vegetable salad, etc. All were foods he hadn’t seen on his way through before.

Taesan sat down at a table laden with dishes. Darien urged him with a smile.

“Go on, eat up!”

Taesan started with the salad, chewing thoughtfully.

Ptooey.

And then he spat it out.

“Poison? Not a strong one, though. A slow-acting poison, right?”

“……What?”

“Unfortunately, this kind of poison won’t work on me.”

Darien’s face turned cold.

“You noticed.”

“I thought about pretending to be fooled a bit longer, but the acting was so bad it was embarrassing.”

Taesan placed his hand on the table. As he exerted force, the table shattered, and the dishes crashed to the ground.

“Were these lavish dishes also part of the deal you made with the Guides?”

Lee Taeyeon hadn’t mentioned the lavish dishes. These people wouldn’t have hunted the monsters themselves. It must be one of the things given by the Guides as part of their cooperation.

“You’re nothing!”

Darien shouted angrily.

“Even if it’s the 51st floor, it’s just the middle of the labyrinth! It’s nothing! The moment you defied the Guides, you were dead!”

“Them? Kill me?”

Taesan sneered.

Darien drew his sword with blazing eyes.

“Just die quietly!”

Boom.

They all charged at once. A woman drew a dagger, and a sturdy knight swung his greatsword.

Taesan rolled his foot.

He grabbed the greatsword, twisted it out of the way, kicked the owner of the dagger, and narrowly avoided the swinging sword to strike down with his own.

Crash!

“Cough!”

“Aaack!”

In a single breath, all five of them were laid out. Their faces flushed with anger as they rushed in, then halted abruptly.

“Uh, what?”

“Why is this?”

“It seems you thought I was similar to you guys, having just cleared the 51st floor. That’s a misunderstanding.”

He could handle dozens of them rushing at him without any trouble now.

“Indeed. If you knew, you wouldn’t have accepted the Guides’ offer for such meager rewards. Did you really want me dead that much?”

“……Shut up!”

Provoked by the mocking words, Darien charged with a shout. Taesan easily dodged the wildly swung sword and grabbed Darien’s neck.

Crash!

“Cough!”

The tavern floor collapsed, and Darien was smashed into the ground.

“I’d like to play more, but it seems I don’t have the luxury. So let’s end this quickly.”

[You have activated Addition.]

It was one against many. However, a one-sided battle began.

Taesan quickly started dealing with them one by one. Despite their resistance, forced duel, overwhelming stats, and dealing with skills they couldn’t even imagine, they had no choice but to die one by one.

“Aaaaah!”

They started to scream and run away.

It was unbelievable that these were the people who once risked their lives to descend into the labyrinth.

It meant their spirits had been completely worn down by time.

Crack.

[Your level has increased.]

He had only taken care of about ten people. However, instead of chasing the fleeing ones, Taesan began to prepare for battle.

Rumble!

The ground began to crack open.

A massive presence began to emanate from that place.

A presence that could lead the weak to death merely by existing.

Taesan clicked his tongue.

“They’re serious.”

[Uh... what is that?]

Crackling!

The ground collapsed, and the heartbroken ones screamed, scrambling away.

[Howwwwl!]

Rumble!

The ground exploded, revealing itself with a cry.

It was ablaze.

Surrounded by blazing flames, the fire scattered high temperatures in all directions. The moisture in the air evaporated instantly, drying up the mouth. Unfortunately for those nearby, the heat drained their strength, forcing them to flee desperately.

[Howwwwl!]

It cried out with the mouth of a beast.

[The fragment of the wolf that brought destruction to the world has appeared.]

“A wolf?”

A monster, in the shape of a wolf, was burning.

Naturally, its size was immense, larger than a typical commercial building.

“Aaaaah!”

Several figures screamed and leaped out from the cracked ground.

They were not the heartbroken ones but Guides of Sin. Realizing this, Taesan quickly moved and captured one of them.

“Th-thank… ……”

“No need to thank me.”

“……You!”

The face of the one who recognized Taesan’s identity paled. Taesan pressed down on him and asked.

“What are you guys doing?”

The aura being emitted. The sensed level of the soul.

Taesan couldn’t easily guarantee his victory against this being. Clearly, it was not a monster that should be emerging from the 51st floor.

The subdued figure began to speak with a defeated expression, as if resigning to his fate.

“……We cannot defeat you.”

“That’s obvious.”

Quaned, capable of taking down everyone even beyond the 50th floor, also died by his hand. And Taesan had become much stronger since then.

No matter what they did, they couldn’t beat him. That was a fact known to Taesan, them, and even their leadership.

“So, the leadership didn’t support us at all. They probably plan to have Guides from a deeper hierarchy deal with you. But we didn’t want to disappear like that.”

“So, you called that thing?”

“……One of us had it. Mentioning it got the leadership to agree to support us.”

“That’s not really important.”

Their circumstances were none of his business.

“What is that?”

“……It’s a fragment of the wolf that brought destruction to the world.”

He bit his lip.

“One of us came from a destroyed world. His world was destroyed by a burning wolf. In the last moment, heroes gathered and managed to defeat the wolf, but the world was already burnt to ruins. Before leaving his doomed world, he found the wolf’s corpse and took its fragment.”

“So, that’s what it is.”

A wolf that burned everything merely by existing.

Even as a mere fragment, it seemed to possess part of the power that destroyed that world.

“That damned fool. He was so confident he could control it, but as soon as he summoned it, he was devoured……

It seemed their plan had gone terribly wrong. Gaining the answer to what he was curious about, Taesan drew his sword.

“Farewell.”

Crack.

The Guide closed his eyes with a forlorn expression.

A Guide from the 50th floor. Outside, he must have been praised as one of the best.

Such autonomy, yet such a futile death.

Taesan looked at the wolf.

[Grrrrr......]

The wolf was confused.

It was born to bring destruction to the world. That had been its mission since creation, the only purpose it had lived for.

Thus, when the time came, the wolf arose and brought destruction to the world.

Even though it died in the end, the wolf was satisfied that it had fulfilled its mission.

But suddenly, it found itself in a strange place.

And with only a fraction of its former power.

[Growl.]

The wolf’s pupils dimmed.

Much had changed, but nothing was different. Its mission was the destruction of the world. So, it would just have to destroy this world.

The wolf, assessing its surroundings, instinctively looked at Taesan.

That being was the most threatening thing here…

One who could kill it.

As soon as it realized, the wolf howled.

[Howwwwl!]

“Aaaah!”

Those hiding behind buildings clutched their ears. Unable to withstand it, they vomited blood.

Taesan also felt a tingling sensation that shook both his mind and body.

With its howling, the wolf’s presence grew even larger.

And along with it, the wolf’s blazing flames also intensified their heat.

“Uh, ugh.”

“Save me……”

The village began to catch fire. Not only did the heat dry out their lips, but it also started to burn their flesh.

The barely surviving adventurers began to die one by one.

And even Taesan couldn’t remain unscathed by the heat.

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.] [Your Second Attack Nullification has been activated.] [Your Third Attack Nullification has been activated.] [You have taken 205 damage.] [You have taken 207 damage.]

Attack nullifications were quickly depleted, and continuous damage started to pour in at an alarming rate.

“I didn’t expect to use this so soon.”

Taesan took out the fairy dust given by the Gremlin from his inventory and sprinkled it on his body.

[You have used the blessing powder made from fairy wings. Your health and mana will continuously recover for a certain period.]

After using the powder, he noticed a significant decrease in the loss of health. Although it was still gradually decreasing, it was not to an extent that would meaningfully affect the combat.

The ghost exhaled sharply.

[You even summoned that thing. It must have been a close call even in the presence of the Demon God.]

“What exactly is it?”

[I told you before, didn't I? My world was destroyed by a Demon King.]

“Right.”

[That thing is similar. It exists only to bring destruction to the world. It seems to only have a fragment of that power but... it's not a weak monster.]

A monster on par with a Demon King.

“I’ve come a long way.”

Taesan chuckled and prepared for the battle.

[The opponent is an unbeatable enemy.] [Desire for Battle has been activated.] [A Fair Fight has been activated.] [Limit of Naming has been activated.] [Giant Killer has been activated.] [You have activated Disdain for the Strong.]

As everything about Taesan was enhanced, the wolf’s wary gaze intensified.

The wolf howled.

[Choking!]

The howling overwhelmed Taesan. He rolled his feet to shake it off.

Then the wolf kicked off. Despite its size, it moved at an incredible speed towards Taesan.

Taesan raised his sword to meet the wolf’s claw, which was as big as his own torso.

Crash!

He barely managed to hold his knees from buckling.

Taesan realized the wolf possessed much stronger power than him. The wolf moved its other foot, and Taesan kicked off the ground to dodge it.

system_end

[Krrrkk!]

The wolf howled again. A series of flame spheres burst forth from its open maw.

“What, does it think it’s a dragon?”

Taesan muttered. The spheres of flame were quite large and numerous, making them tricky to dodge.

[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

Flutter!

Fairy wings sprouted from Taesan’s back.

His body accelerated into the sky, dodging the incoming flame spheres. From the air, Taesan activated a skill.

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

Frost Arrows continued to activate. Dozens, then hundreds of Frost Arrows materialized above Taesan, beginning to converge.

A giant ice meteor formed.

“If it’s a flame wolf, it should be weak against ice.”

Taesan lowered his hand. The ice meteor, freezing everything around it, began to fall towards the wolf.