Ascension Through Skills

Kuuuuung!

Amelia crashed to the ground. Taesan dusted off his hands.

“You’re useful… but that’s it.”

Amelia was certainly strong.

With this level of power, she surpassed the 40th floor.

But Taesan now possessed the strength to reach even the deeper layers.

No matter how much Amelia struggled, she couldn’t withstand even a single blow from him.

Taesan looked indifferently at the fallen Amelia. Her limp body disappeared.

[Quest Complete]

[You have become the winner.]

[Calculating results...]

[You gained 1,250 points.]

[Forced invitation activated.]

[You are being moved to the realm of gods.]

Suddenly, the space around him distorted.

A massive force crushed everything and forcibly moved Taesan’s body.

Phwoosh!

Under the immense pressure, Taesan surveyed his surroundings.

Dark, muddy darkness spread everywhere. It quivered, emitting sounds akin to screams.

Taesan frowned.

He could feel it. What this mud-like darkness was.

It was human souls. Not just one. Thousands of them.

And the emotions of these souls were filled with despair and betrayal.

‘This is…’

Mortals. A place mixed with their souls and emotions.

Taesan quietly looked around and saw a glowing darkness.

The soul hadn’t completely collapsed yet, as it wasn’t black. It was closer to gray.

But the gray soul was being eroded by its surroundings, trembling as if it could be tainted at any moment.

‘That is.’

[You.]

As Taesan approached the gray soul, a booming voice echoed.

A massive presence began to press down on Taesan.

[How dare you, insignificant being.]

It was shining more brightly than anything in the mud-like darkness.

Souls touched by the light screamed and fled. The enormous being bared its teeth at Taesan.

[How dare a mere mortal disrupt my plans.]

An emotion of rage directed at Taesan.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. His whole body was engulfed in fear.

[You activated Apostle Transformation [Darkness and Chaos].]

[You activated the Vessel of the King.]

A barrier enveloped his body. His breathing returned, and the trembling of his body subsided.

Taesan spoke.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this. God of Descent. Essence.”

He smiled.

“I won by following your rules. I haven’t done anything to offend you.”

[Wretched being.]

The voice of the God of Descent was filled with annoyance.

[A mortal with no worth or meaning dares to believe in their petty power and rampages. Die.]

With the declaration, power flew towards Taesan. The power of a transcendent aimed to kill Taesan.

“No.”

Taesan denied his words.

“I’m not acting because of my own power, but because I believe in something else. Demon God.”

As soon as Taesan finished speaking, the space cracked. A small, white hand appeared.

[That’s enough.]

[How?]

There was astonishment in the God of Descent’s voice. The Demon God appeared with a slight smile.

[Hello, Essence.]

[...Demon God. Young god.]

The God of Descent spoke with a voice mixed with annoyance.

[This is my domain. How did you enter here?]

[Yes. It was quite difficult to penetrate your domain. But... I have a fated mortal here.]

The Demon God glanced at Taesan. Anger spread across the God of Descent’s face.

[Are you saying you’ll confront me to protect a mere mortal?]

[Such words are disheartening.]

The Demon God smiled.

[We’ve never been on good terms from the start, have we? And he has far more value than someone like you.]

[Demon God!]

[While I have no intention of interfering in another god’s affairs... isn’t this too disgraceful?]

The Demon God’s face was full of ridicule.

[You supported her openly just to toy with a mortal, and now that it’s failed, you’re taking out your frustration? I know actions of transcendent beings are meaningless, but still, you’ve gone too far.]

[Silence, Demon God.]

The God of Descent growled.

[You’ve also given everything to the mortal you favor.]

[No. What I gave him was a fair reward for his efforts. I didn’t create excuses to give rewards like you.]

The Demon God continued.

[And I merely observe. Unlike you, I don’t move directly to play tricks.]

The Demon God’s power began to envelop Taesan.

[I don’t intend to speak at length. Essence. He is a mortal I cherish. I won’t let you touch him.]

The Demon God smiled.

The God of Descent seethed with anger.

Responding to it, his power went berserk. The powers of the two transcendent beings began to collide.

A force capable of destroying the world multiple times surged.

And it was the Demon God who showed superiority.

The mud-like darkness began to retreat before the pure blackness.

In the trembling space, the Demon God waved her hand.

[Then, I hope we don’t meet again. Farewell.]

[You!]

The space closed.

The pure black darkness appeared in the world.

[Be careful. Gods don’t just favor those with abilities. There are also gods who, like immortals, act on their whims.]

“Thank you, Demon God.”

The Demon God said to use her name, but Taesan never imagined she would descend directly to protect him.

The Demon God smiled.

[Then, will you become my apostle?]

“No, I won’t.”

Taesan cut her off sharply. The Demon God seemed to ignore his words, not taking it seriously.

[I just moved first. Even without me, there are many gods who would have stopped him.]

There were not only a few gods who favored Taesan. They would have moved to block the God of Descent.

[It’s something you built up in the labyrinth. So, there’s no need to thank me. It’s an achievement you earned.]

The Demon God spoke while looking at Taesan.

The Demon God waved her hand. The space began to distort.

[Then, farewell. I look forward to seeing you again.]

“Before you go, may I ask one thing?”

[What are you curious about?]

“If I approach the God of Descent, how will he react?”

[He will dislike it greatly and impose harsh trials on you... but he won’t avoid giving you the trial itself. Trials of the deep layers are necessary even for gods. And he won’t be able to openly try to kill you. I have declared that I am protecting you.]

The Demon God lifted the corners of her mouth.

[Is it because of that poor child on the 61st floor?]

“I received a quest. I can’t ignore it.”

[You don’t need to worry. There won’t be any issues related to that. And it’s the same for the girl named Amelia.]

Taesan looked at the Demon God.

“Did you know?”

[The actions of the God of Descent are quite well known on our side. He doesn’t have a good reputation.]

Thinking about it, it was unlikely that other gods would like him.

Reaching the deep layers of the labyrinth meant possessing significant talent and strength.

To use such a mortal as a toy and discard them… Given the reasons why gods resided in the labyrinth, it would be strange if they did not reject him.

[The God of Descent values talent and ideology. The moment either of these fails, he loses interest. So, depending on what you do, she could be abandoned by the God of Descent.]

The Demon God smiled with her eyes.

[Destroy him. I’ll enjoy watching.]

“Thank you.”

As the space mixed, Taesan’s feet touched solid ground.

He also heard the surrounding noise. Looking around, he saw countless people gathered together.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Of course, they must be desperate to survive. But so are we. With so many people, what’s the point?”

Oliver, making excuses, and Kim Hwiyeon, criticizing him, came into view. Not only her but other countries also looked unfavorably at the American player.

America openly joined forces to eliminate players from other countries to secure their victory.

It was a situation where a fight could break out at any moment.

“I’m sorry.”

Oliver raised his hands and apologized. Quietly listening, Lee Taeyeon spoke.

“Where is Taesan?”

“Wha-?”

“Where did Taesan go?”

Her voice was devoid of emotion.

At her ice-cold tone, Oliver hesitated.

“Well… we don’t know.”

A sudden surge of energy emanated from Lee Taeyeon. Startled, Oliver waved his hands frantically.

“We asked the returned Amelia, but she was in a daze and couldn’t answer. We think he’s receiving some sort of reward since he was the final winner.”

“So, you don’t know despite causing such trouble?”

Lee Taeyeon tightened her grip on her sword. Oliver’s face turned pale.

“What’s happening?”

“Huh?”

Lee Taeyeon turned her head in surprise. Seeing Taesan, the coldness from before was nowhere to be found.

“Taesan!”

Her voice drew everyone’s attention to him.

[Colosseum Ended.]

[Final Winner: Kang Taesan]

[Country with the most surviving players: USA]

[Rewards are given to those who achieved results.]

[Quest Ended. Adventurers from Korea, USA, France, and Japan gather at the meeting plaza.]

[After two days, return to your respective labyrinths.]

The quest ended. But if it had ended like this, everyone would have been dissatisfied.

In the end, they had met people from other countries for the first time, only to fight and determine a winner.

So, after the quest, two days were given for people to talk. They could see each other’s faces and exchange information for two days.

‘Originally, this place was meant to boost Amelia’s pride.’

Not anymore.

Everyone’s attention was on Taesan.

A young man with gray hair approached. With clear features like a model, he greeted Taesan.

“Hello.”

“Daniel Darmon?”

“Huh? You know me?”

Daniel’s eyes sparkled. Taesan responded.

“Roughly.”

“Right. There were discussions about me in the community. So, you know about me.”

Daniel concluded, nodding alone. But that wasn’t it. Taesan knew him because they had talked quite a bit in a previous life.

“Oh. Hello.”

A woman with short hair to her shoulders, looking somewhat older, approached with a bow. Kim Hwiyeon, seeing her, exclaimed,

“Are you Ichijo Eika?”

“Yes…”

She scratched her head shyly.

Among the many people, the leaders from each country had gathered.

“You look much younger than I heard. Is it because you were an idol?”

“Please don’t mention age.”

Eika, startled, waved her hands. Quietly laughing, Daniel spoke,

“Anyway… we came to question you.”

Their gaze turned to Oliver.

Oliver spoke hesitantly,

“Can I explain?”

Daniel smiled,

“No, you can’t.”

“Let’s talk in detail later. Right now… there’s something we need to check immediately.”

“…Right.”

Daniel and Eika’s gaze turned to Taesan. There was awe in their eyes.

“We knew you were strong, but this…”

He defeated dozens of Hard Mode players. And even Amelia, who was called the strongest in Solo Mode in the USA.

In their countries, there were Solo Mode players, but most were similar to Hard Mode. Rarely did anyone surpass it.

Taesan and Amelia were stronger, but they didn’t think the gap was that big.

But from what they heard, it was more than that.

Oliver shook his head,

“I’m also surprised.”

Taesan was stronger than Amelia.

By a large margin.

Overwhelmingly so.

Even the speed at which the final winner was decided after his elimination showed that Amelia couldn’t even be his opponent.

“How strong are you?”

It was pure curiosity as a fellow player. Except for the Korean players, everyone’s eyes sparkled at his words.

Taesan turned around,

“You’ll see soon.”

He got permission from the Demon God. Taesan started walking. The people watching made way with awe.

Amelia, who was on the other side, saw Taesan approaching and shrank back. She gave him a cat-like glare,

“…What? Did you come to mock me?”

Taesan answered with action instead of words.

[Kang Taesan has challenged Amelia Aerin to a duel. This duel will be fought under perfectly equal conditions.]