Ascension Through Skills

A blue light ran along the sword. An energy that shimmered like flames covered Garant’s sword.

“Is that what they call Aura?”

[How the hell did you know about that?]

“Because there was something similar.”

Since there was magic, there was no reason why there wouldn’t be Aura. Taesan’s curiosity was piqued.

“Come at me.”

Taesan clapped his hands with an interested face. Garant twisted his mouth corners.

“Die!”

Garant swung his aura-covered sword. Taesan moved his sword placidly, and Garant scoffed at it.

‘What a stupid barbarian!’

A sword with Aura boasted absolute sharpness. Unless the opponent used a legendary sword, it could never block an aura sword.

Clang.

But the sound of swords colliding rang out.

“What?”

The sword, showing no trace of Aura, stood firmly against the blue one. The blue light roughly engulfed Taesan’s sword, but the sword, seemingly unaffected, didn’t have a single scratch.

Clang.

Garant hastily retreated. He looked at Taesan’s sword with eyes full of astonishment.

“What the….”

“This sword doesn’t break so easily.”

[It's one of the best swords in my world. Do you think it'll be shattered by such a level of Aura?]

The ghost grumbled.

[Even without that, a weapon influenced by the labyrinth system does not lose in terms of toughness. It's difficult to scratch it even with Aura.]

“You, you!”

Garant, denying the unfolding phenomenon in front of him, charged again. The blue Aura growled like a beast.

Taesan didn’t stop him.

[Your first attack absolute nullification has been activated.]

“Huh?”

Annetsha’s pupils widened as she was caught off-guard by the sight.

In her eyes, Garant had stabbed Taesan, but it seemed as if time was rewinding, and he returned to his previous attack posture.

‘A magician?’

Naturally, she could only think of that.

‘…A magic that messes with time?’

It was a level of magic that was difficult to find, even in the grand magic tower.

Garant, who was the opponent in this fight, was more confused than Annetsha. He certainly stabbed Taesan. However, when he regained his senses, he returned to the position he had taken before said action.

“Th-this……”

He stabbed with his sword again.

[Your second attack absolute nullification has been activated.]

And he returned again.

Garant’s face became miserable.

Taesan moved his arm lazily, and Garant moved his sword reflexively.

[Your third attack absolute nullification has been activated.]

Even that reflexive counter was erased.

“Nullifying attacks also seems like a task.”

Judging from their reactions, it seemed that the system window was not visible to the people there.

Garant’s face was increasingly becoming deathly pale.

His attacks, his movements, all of them were erased. Having experienced firsthand that even the result of his attack disappeared, Garant was able to understand.

A being that manipulated time. To Garant’s knowledge, only the great wizards of the Magic Tower, those who have accessed the realm of magic, could do this.

No, even they couldn’t do this. Limited interference was possible, but even a grand magician could not erase the result of an action like this.

‘It’s a monster!’

No matter what he did, he was destined to die. Terror struck, and Garant swung his sword, screaming.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Garant swung his sword wildly, without any swordsmanship. Taesan casually dodged and reached out his arm.

Squeak.

The sword imbued with Aura grazed past his arm.

[You have taken 63 damage.]

“The damage is fine.”

The damage penetrated his defense.

Simply calculated, it meant that this weapon had nearly 200 attack power.

Garant’s sword looked good, but it wasn’t a legendary sword.

This means it was pure damage from Aura.

“I’ll have to test various things.”

[You have activated Feint. The next attack is enticed.]

Taesan charged at Garant, who was in despair.

Taesan used all kinds of skills to fight against Garant. Garant, not wanting to die, forcibly lifted his powerless body and responded.

Having used Feint, Counter, and all kinds of magic to counter the Aura, he was able to gather various pieces of information.

“It seems it can’t ignore skills.”

Feint and Counter. Both representative attack response skills were activated normally. Endurance also reduced the damage normally. This meant that there was no judgment beyond attack for the Aura.

“It doesn’t seem to be able to change form, and there is no enhancement of mind or body? Just a high cutting force. Nothing particularly new.”

At this level, it seemed that was the limit.

But the cutting force was quite useful. Garant had been able to effortlessly cut through the Frost Arrow, a magic that freezes the air itself, which Taesan fired as a test. This meant that he could cut through any ordinary attack.

“Not bad.”

Taesan muttered, and Garant had completely dead eyes.

His attacks suddenly twisted, and the sword didn’t hit properly. Arrows of coldness, freezing his whole body merely by appearing nearby, flew at him while all sorts of mental interferences occurred.

Even his movements couldn’t be traced. Even while casting magic, Taesan was faster and stronger than Garant, a swordsman.

‘Something beyond a Swordmaster…… There’s no way I could win against such a person!’

Garant then asked in despair.

“Who are you……?”

“Let’s talk about that later.”

Taesan pressed on Garant’s throat. Garant, deprived of his breath, fainted.

Annetsha, who had been watching, suddenly came to her senses and approached.

“You’re, you’re strong……”

“What’s this guy’s level?”

“……A swordsman who is acknowledged by the king, respected wherever he goes.”

She looked up at Taesan blankly. She had been watching the battle right next to it, so she was able to calmly judge Taesan’s strength.

He was literally strong.

An excellent swordsman. A physical ability that even a swordsman who used Aura couldn’t catch up with. And a magician who commanded even time and freely used extreme cold.

Even if he did just one of those things, he would be known throughout the world. But he was doing both.

“I was hired to escort you.”

Taesan said calmly.

“My job is to protect you.”

Protect.

Upon hearing that word, Annetsha’s face trembled.

She had lived alone for these eight years. Every living being she encountered was her enemy, showing only greed for her existence.

Taesan’s words soaked deeply into her heart.

Gurgle.

“Ah…”

The tension in Annetsha’s belly loosened for a moment, and her stomach growled. Her face turned red.

“Are you hungry?”

Annetsha nodded slightly. Taesan waved his hand in the air.

[You have activated food production.]

A bowl of gray porridge appeared. Annetsha’s eyes widened.

“Eat. It won’t taste great, but it should fill your stomach.”

“……Can you make food too?”

“Yes.”

Annetsha let out a small gasp.

Even with her limited knowledge of magic, she knew it was no easy feat.

Unless one delved deeply into creation magic, it was difficult to even summon the simplest water, let alone produce proper food. It was hard to believe.

“Let’s go in and rest for a while.”

Taesan took her into the cave.

Annetsha followed him like a little lamb.

Taesan lit a fire and brought more bushes to make a makeshift bed.

“You must be tired. Get some rest.”

“……Where are you going?”

“I’m not going far. Just going to check around.”

Taesan waved his hand and went out of the cave.

The woman who was blankly staring at him then put the gruel in her mouth.

“…… It’s tasteless.”

But it was warm. The heat of the campfire relaxed her tense body. Sleep came in an instant. She closed her eyes slowly.

“This is going to take a while.”

He knew it was a tough situation, but it was more than what Taesan expected.

It was hard to find a living demon.

Even most of the demonkind had gone extinct, and the survivors had bounties on their heads.

The quest that Taesan received was to take her to a safe place.

But at this point, there was no safe place.

It wouldn’t happen overnight. It could take several months. Perhaps it meant that Taesan himself should create a safe place.

It would take time, but Taesan’s face wasn’t that dark. The reward was worth it.

He could also earn extra income.

Taesan approached the unconscious Garant.

Aura. The blue flame contained in the sword.

It would be very useful if he learned it.

“Did you learn Aura too?”

[No? There was no such thing as Aura in our world.]

“So, there are worlds with it and worlds without it.”

[Isn't it the same in your world? There is no magic, no aura, no monsters. It's similar. I don't know either. It was rare for anyone to come down to the depths, and those who had Aura were even rarer.]

“I guess I’ll have to ask directly.”

Taesan flicked his finger on Garant’s forehead.

“Ah!”

With a scream, Garant grabbed his forehead. He felt terrible pain along the impacted area.

“Hello?”

Garant, who had regained his senses, bit his lip, looking at Taesan.

“So, how should I go about it……”

Taesan had no intention of sparing him. Letting this one live would be a bad idea, unlike the hunter he had let go earlier.

Since he couldn’t negotiate with his life, Garant wouldn’t easily spill out information.

Taesan, who was considering this for a moment, belatedly recalled a skill.

“Why doesn’t this activate?”

[Special constant activation skill: Self-Proof] [What you have accumulated becomes a phenomenon around you.]

It was a kind of momentum-like skill acquired when clearing the 20th floor, but no one he faced here could feel the pressure. Taesan realized it after a brief look.

“This can be turned on and off. If it’s like this, it’s an activation skill. Why is it a constant activation skill?”

Taesan, who had complained for a moment, activated the skill.

“Eh!”

A gasping sound echoed from in front of him. Taesan looked down at Garant. Garant’s face had turned pale, and he was panting.

The skill went beyond making one feel overwhelmed and blocked the breath itself, leading to death. Taesan stopped the skill’s activation. Garant exhaled the breath that had been blocked roughly.

“I can’t use this.”

He intended to frighten them with the pressure, which would make them easily spill information. But if they died before that, that was a reversal of the order.

“Ha, ha.”

Fear was visible in the eyes of Garant as he looked up at Taesan.

“Who are you……?”

The moment Taesan activated his Self-Proof, Garant had seen something enormous.

It wasn’t a small concept like a human or a demon. It was something absolute that subdued everything by just existing and choked the breath of living things.

Desperately, Garant opened his mouth.

“W-what do you want from me?”

“Huh?”

Interest sparked on Taesan’s face.

“I’m curious about something.”

“A-ask me anything. I will answer everything.”

Garant said this with a face filled with terror. He seemed ready to spill even what hadn’t been asked.

‘What’s this?’

The skill could not be constantly activated. It was a skill that needed to be sealed because it didn’t just overwhelm. It literally choked those affected and led to death.

But it seemed he felt something different. Garant, who had been silent, was desperately trying to spill everything.

‘Can I use it this way?’

Taesan opened his mouth.

“Everything you know about Aura. Spill it out.”