Ascension Through Skills

What just happened?

That was Horion’s first thought as he was pinned to the ground, barely able to raise his head. A throbbing sensation was felt in his face.

“You, you一”

By the time Horion barely managed to stand up, Taesan was already rushing in. Horion, startled, drew his sword. Taesan swung two swords.

Clash!

Contrary to Taesan’s expectation to overwhelm his opponent, both of their stats were almost equal.

The fact that Horion was not falling behind in strength and speed, even though the health boosted by leveling up was similar, meant the equipment he was wearing was filling the gap.

He was an adventurer from the 30th floor. Naturally, he would have better materials and equipment from the shops.

Clang!

Swords were repelled. Both retreated to similar distances, and disbelief was in Horion’s face.

“This, this…”

He wasn’t just any ordinary adventurer of the 30th floor, as Taesan expected.

Like the Guides of Sin on the 20th floor, he too was an adventurer who had stopped at the line of the 30th floor. So, he had raised all the levels he could at the 30th floor, bought all the equipment available in the shop, and completed all the refinements using the blacksmith.

He could easily suppress an ordinary adventurer on the 30th floor.

Even if they fought back fiercely, he had the skill to negate any advantage by exploiting openings.

However, he was being pushed back against Taesan, who was on the 24th floor.

Clang.

The repelled sword cuts through Horion’s thigh.

[Horion takes 225 damage.]

“Why is the damage like this!”

Horion was baffled. The equipment difference between the 24th and 30th floors was absolute.

Moreover, he was in a state where he had reached the limits of strength on the 30th floor.

Essentially, he should not have taken any damage.

However, the damage coming from Taesan was unbelievable.

“I’m a special case.”

Aura. A skill that penetrated physical defense. Regardless of how superior Horion’s equipment was, it was as good as non-existent against it.

Considering the ghost didn’t even know of Aura’s full extent, a Guide of Sin of the 3rd rank couldn’t have known about it. Horion gritted his teeth and charged.

“Eek!”

[Horion has activated Counter.] [You have activated Lightning Strike.]

Counter was a skill that avoided a possible attack and retaliated. It was meaningless and was wasted against unavoidable skills. That was the weakness of Counter.

Taesan thrust his sword into Horion’s chest. Since he believed in Counter and charged, his unprotected chest was pierced through.

[Horion takes 67 damage.]

“This, this……”

Horion, clutching his chest, retreated, but Taesan did not stop his steps.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

It was a one-sided battle.

Horion, being of the 3rd rank, was considerably stronger than the 2nd rank. However, Taesan had already defeated those of the 3rd rank when he was on the lower floors.

Additionally, he had become much stronger since descending the labyrinth, so there was no chance for Horion. Horion kept resisting and then tried to flee but was blocked by Taesan’s black magic and magic.

“Gah!”

Soon, Horion was pinned to the ground.

Taesan pressed the tip of his sword against his forehead.

“Got some questions. Answer them, and I’ll make your end quick.”

“You……”

Horion gritted his teeth.

“Who are you! I’ve never heard of someone like you!”

A guide of the 2nd rank overpowering a 3rd rank. It was impossible. To begin with, if he was at that level, the executives would have granted him permission to go deeper.

While poking Horion’s forehead, Taesan answered.

“A friend of yours came up a while ago, remember? And died?”

Horion’s pupils quivered. The 3rd rank guide, Jagan. He crossed Horion’s mind.

“But… I heard his opponent died with him.”

“A blatant lie.”

Horion let out a sarcastic laugh.

A man capable of defeating adventurers from the 20th to 30th floors and was even stronger after descending. Horion never had a chance of winning.

His will broke. There was no need to oppress himself with self-evidence. In exchange for a peaceful death, Taesan asked,

“What are the executives doing now?”

Now, there was no more hiding. The executives would be informed once the adventurers of the 3rd rank died. It was only a matter of time before they would act.

To Taesan’s question, Horion answered with a drained voice,

“They can’t come up now.”

“What?”

“The executives have been stuck on a floor for a long time. I heard they left their positions for a long time to attempt to break through it. They won’t show up for a while.”

[..Hmm.]

The ghost seemed to have a guess.

“Do you know something?”

[Not much. When I was alive, they were also stuck and ranting. Could they still not have gotten past it? This is pathetic.]

“They’re stuck?”

[The deeper you go, the more unreasonable floors appear.]

“For example?”

[Like passing a planet in an hour, facing three enemies of the same class simultaneously, or catching a dragon with basic equipment. Those kinds of floors?]

“That’s… unreasonable.”

Taesan had seen a dragon in Vekveta. He had witnessed its strength and level.

Catching that with nothing, or even a thousand armors and a rusty sword, was laughable.

[Typical floors can be descended without defeating the boss, but in such places, if you don't clear the condition, you can't go down at all. They are probably stuck there.]

Lee Taeyeon also said similar things. There were occasionally absurdly unreasonable floors. It almost cost her life to break through them.

Back then, he thought it was just the usual whining and ignored it, but it seemed there were really unreasonable floors.

Horion, who recognized the warrior belatedly, moaned.

“Dragon… Lord.”

[Hello? We've met before, right? Though I don't remember.]

The ghost chuckled.

[You were just a bystander, so I don't care. But let me ask you one thing.]

“……What do you want to know?”

[Is Societ Garudentia still alive?]

Realizing the implication of the question, Horion nodded with a bitter smile.

“I haven’t heard of her death. So, I suppose she is alive.”

[That's enough. I didn't think a minor character like you would know more, so I'm done.]

“……Then, I hope for a peaceful death.”

“I have no intention of breaking my promise.”

Taesan’s sword pierced through Horion’s heart.

[Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Permanently, Strength has increased by 26, Agility by 24, Intelligence by 22, Health by 120, and Mana by 22.] [The proficiency of Counter has increased by 5%.]

He became stronger in an instant.

“This really pays off.”

Soul Ascension was an excellent skill against monsters, but it revealed its true value when facing other adventurers.

It could rob everything, increase his stats by a large amount, and even obtain new skills or increased proficiency.

Furthermore, it showed a high increase in health points, which couldn’t be obtained from monsters. It was a literal overall increase.

“Status Window.”

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 56] [Shield: 292/292] [Health: 3460/3460] [Mana: 652/652] [Magic: 41/41] [Strength: 1145] [Intelligence: 812] [Agility: 984] [Attack + 145] [Defense + 172] [The subject is in peak condition.] [Truly ridiculous numbers.]

“I’m still far behind.”

Even now, catching up to Lee Taeyeon was a distant goal. The ghost was astounded by Taesan’s words.

[At level 56, do you think these stats and this health value make sense? It'd be worth watching if you can go down the abyss without dying.]

The labyrinth had acceleration. And it would literally explode when you reached the abyss. Lee Taeyeon’s ridiculous stats were mostly acquired after reaching the abyss, the true depths.

“Let’s go down first.”

It was still a far-off story.

But at the same time, it was also a place that could be reached before long.

Taesan cleaned up the corpse and broke through the labyrinth.

The administrators overseeing the adventurers of each hierarchy had life stones given by the executives.

Life stones were connected to the lives of the guides, allowing them to know immediately if they died or were seriously injured.

That was how they knew Horion was dead.

“He’s dead?”

“What’s this nonsense all of a sudden?”

“You know Horion, who said he would go up for a while.”

“Why him?”

A man sitting on a plush sofa snapped his chin. The guides, who could no longer descend, had arranged all sorts of luxury items. It was only natural since there was nowhere to spend money after becoming stronger to their limit.

“He’s dead.”

A light in the jewel held by the handsome young man’s hand was gone.

The man lying on the sofa frowned.

“… He’s dead?”

“Look. It’s gone.”

“Isn’t it wrong?”

“A jewel connected to life itself is wrong? Rather, it’s more likely that he’s really dead?”

“Ok.”

The man reluctantly stood up.

“First, call the others. Then let’s talk.”

Soon, eight Guides of Sin were gathered in one room. A woman with a languid face yawned.

“Why call busy people?”

“What’s so busy about just sleeping with nothing to do?”

“Sleeping is busy. Proper sleep is precious.”

“Do you say that while sleeping two out of the three parts of the day?”

There was no passion or zeal seen among them as they exchanged mundane chatter.

Having been stuck on the 30th floor for a long time, they had used all means to become stronger. And they were the result of that end.

Their strength faded, and there was no one to contend with. If they did not occasionally confront each other, there would be no fighting at all. This was what the Guides of Sin had always been. Having lived for decades in this manner, everything had been broken down.

‘It’s almost as bad as being dead.’

The administrator of the third hierarchy, who had called them, sneered bitterly. They, too, were once passionate about descending the labyrinth. However, they became Guides due to a fear of death, and this was the result.

‘I should have died back then.’

When they were still adventurers.

They might have maintained their purity if they had died back when they still hoped to conquer the labyrinth and dreamed of conquest.

However, that time had passed. They had made their choice, and this was the result.

The administrator, gathering his thoughts, spoke.

“Horion is dead.”

At those words, silence fell for a moment. A young boy with a flushed face spoke in confusion.

“Him?”

“Did he try to go past the 31st floor? And therefore, the Guides of the fourth hierarchy killed him?”

“No. Horion died on the 24th floor. That’s why… I called you.”

The administrator spoke softly.

“If one of us dies, we are the most likely suspects.”

When an adventurer killed an adventurer, their level increased. It was the only way for them to become stronger, whose growth had been blocked.

However, they scrunched their faces in discomfort.

“Who would do such a thing?”

“The level difference would be immediately noticed, and if you try to go down, you’ll get killed. Even if you don’t go down, we will tear you apart. Who would do such a foolish act that leads to death either way?”

“I know.”

A Guide who killed his comrade would be executed at that moment. Since the level was only 1 or 2 higher, it was not significantly stronger, not to the point of resisting an execution. As they said, there was no reason to do it.

“But Horion is dead. An adventurer of the second hierarchy absolutely couldn’t have killed him. So I mentioned it.”

There was a difference in equipment. An adventurer of the second hierarchy could rush and overwhelm Horion, but couldn’t kill him. Even if they hit him, only minimal damage would be dealt, so he could somehow escape.

The Guides of the second hierarchy were not equal to the third hierarchy. After a long period of thinking, someone spoke.

“Isn’t it him?”

“Who?”

“The guy who killed Jagan recently. The one who was said to be accompanied by the ghost of the hero.”

“Oh.”

Belatedly, they realized the existence of Taesan.

“Jagan really did die, didn’t he? He was unsightly but wasn’t weak.”

They disliked Jagan. He possessed the arrogance of the demons and had a low-value view that the weak should be trampled upon. Even in the third hierarchy, Jagan was one to be ostracized.

But Jagan was not weak. The unique black magic of the demon race had a complicated destructive power, and he was middle-tier within the third hierarchy.

The administrator groaned.

“……Right. He had gone up to the 20th floor and died. But he also died with him, didn’t he?”

The adventurer who had been accompanied by Jagan and the ghost of the hero was already eliminated. That was the information they knew.

“What if that’s false?”

“Would the adventurers of the second hierarchy lie?”

“There’s a possibility. They might have thought to resist the guy who took down Jagan, knowing the outcome, just to survive as long as possible?”

“The possibility……exists.”

The administrator’s pupils sank. Either way, this matter needed confirmation.

“Let’s go up together.”

“Do we all need to go just to catch one guy?”

“He’s the one who won against Jagan even while in the second hierarchy. He must have gotten stronger coming down this far. We cannot be careless.”

“Do we all really need to go?”

They expressed reluctance with ambiguous faces.

“After all, he’s just an adventurer from the 24th floor. He might have beaten Jagan and Horion, but that was 1 on 1, right? If more than two go, isn’t it a sure win?”

“True. Three of us going should suffice. No more needed.”

“Is that so?”

The administrator mumbled.

“Then four should go down. If needed, just run away immediately.”

“There will be no need to run.”

“We will settle this quickly and return. I need to get more proper sleep.”

Four Guides of Sin ascended the labyrinth. The rest leisurely started to wait for them.

Their past selves wouldn’t have made such a decision.

The strength of the enemy was unknown, and it was certain that he was stronger than each of them individually. It would have been the correct move for everyone to go down and suppress him.

But they had been lingering around the 30th floor for decades.

That time of powerlessness had made them sluggish.

Their judgment had become clouded, and an excessive confidence also emerged to prevent their ego from being consumed by a sense of powerlessness.

If the second hierarchy obtained arrogance and recklessness after a long period of stagnation, the third hierarchy obtained laziness and a sense of powerlessness.

The Guides of the second hierarchy paid the price.

It was time for the third hierarchy to pay the price as well.