Ascension Through Skills

“What’s the matter, Ambracia?”

A woman with flaming hair asked leisurely.

“Why have you called us all here?”

“Just wait. I’ll explain once everyone’s here.”

Ambracia spoke. The woman with flaming hair waited, sitting in a chair.

Soon, one by one, people entered and took their seats.

“Is this everyone?”

“All twenty-one of us.”

A muscular man with lion-like hair spoke bluntly. Ambracia clicked his tongue.

“It sure has decreased a lot.”

Originally, their number was twice this. However, due to duels among themselves and sacrifices in the labyrinth conquest over the years, their numbers had halved.

“Then tell us. Why did you call us?”

An annoyed middle-aged man spoke. The woman with flaming hair replied.

“There’s only one reason. The adventurer with a ghost that you went up to handle. It’s to deal with him, right?”

“Yeah. Right. That’s it. He’s here now, you know?”

“…What?”

A moment of silence followed. The man with lion-like hair frowned.

“Did he use the secret key?”

Ambracia nodded. The man’s face contorted in anger.

“You wasted a precious key on this? I clearly told you to kill him without talking.”

“Calm down, Lion King. There’s a reason.”

Ambracia raised his hands, signaling for peace. The Lion King leaned back in his chair, simmering down.

“Explain, Ambracia. Every one of those keys is precious, considering our goal. There must be a reason for using it.”

“I’m going to explain, so calm down.”

Ambracia touched his chin ambiguously.

He explained that Taesan had become an apostle of Lakiratas and was even using the demon god’s black magic.

The woman with flaming hair, the Fire Spirit King, groaned upon hearing the explanation.

“A human receiving favor from the demon god?”

“And an apostle of Lakiratas? That finicky, self-centered one?”

Ambracia’s words left them all baffled.

“Why would the demon god bestow black magic upon a human?”

“How would I know? The whims of the gods aren’t new, are they?”

Ambracia shrugged.

The silent Lion King spoke up.

“The Black Veil of Obscurity…”

“It’s impossible. How could a rookie from the 30th floor get equipment only available after the 50th?”

The Lion King fell silent.

“Now you see why I used the key and brought him here? You all didn’t want to go up, so I did, but I’d appreciate no more complaints.”

“That makes sense. Sorry.”

The Lion King offered an easy apology. They were equals among each other. No one was a leader, and there was no hierarchy. Ambracia waved his hand.

“Good, you understand. Now, let’s discuss from here.”

An adventurer favored by two gods.

Someone then spoke.

“Is it thanks to the ghost?”

“Probably.”

The Fire Spirit King agreed.

“The ghost himself is a talented one who has been continuously offered the apostleship by the gods. With his help, it’s not impossible. He could go beyond his own talent.”

“What a thing. To think he’s clinging to a weak adventurer just to kill us.”

“Wouldn’t you do the same? You faced betrayal in an alliance when your wish was so close. It’s a justified grudge.”

The leaders concluded that Taesan gained his current strength with the ghost’s help. Rather than a newcomer adventurer they had never met, their focus was on the ghost whose strength and talent they had witnessed directly.

“Really now?”

Ambracia tilted his head.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, it doesn’t quite seem like it.”

The Taesan he saw was different. Rather than relying on the ghost, he seemed to act on his own.

“But it’s impossible alone. We couldn’t do it either.”

“…Maybe?”

Ambracia reconsidered his thoughts. They were called the Guides of Sin, and even the heroes stronger than them couldn’t do it alone.

“So, what will we do?”

They returned to the main point but remained silent for a long while.

While they were discussing, Taesan was checking each brick on the 70th floor’s wall.

“What are you doing?”

The ghost, unable to hold back any longer, asked. Taesan, feeling the bricks, replied.

“I’m looking for a hidden room.”

[There's a hidden room here? On the 70th floor? The 70th floor! Surely they have scoured it all? Simple secret rooms may appear, but there shouldn't be any here.]

The Guides of Sin were stuck on the 74th floor. Having spent a long time here, they would have surely found everything that could be found.

[And what about Reconnaissance? Use it.]

“It won’t show up.”

[You have activated Reconnaissance.]

Reconnaissance. A skill that lets you understand what your eyes can see. It could reveal secret rooms, but nothing out of the ordinary appeared.

[See, there's nothing more here.]

The ghost said there was nothing more to find, but Taesan didn’t stop checking the bricks.

“There is one.”

A piece of information unknown to the ghost and the Guides of Sin.

Only Lee Taeyeon had discovered it.

“It should be around here…”

Taesan touched every crevice of the brick on the bottom right side of the room.

Then, something caught his fingertips. Something akin to a small rod was wedged in the gap.

Taesan pressed down with force.

Click.

The brick floor opened.

Without any noise or operating sound, a small passage was revealed.

[Wha, what?]

The ghost raised its voice in surprise, unable to hide its confusion.

[What's this?]

Taesan calmly descended the stairs. The ghost, barely regaining composure, questioned him.

[Secret room? Seems like it. How did you know about this place on your first visit?]

The ghost couldn’t understand. Taesan’s actions were full of confidence.

“I heard about it. From someone.”

[Someone?]

“Someone who is no longer here.”

Taesan chuckled.

Lee Taeyeon’s discovery of this room was not particularly impressive.

In her previous life, she had endured various trials and hardships to reach the 70th floor. There, she felt pride, joy, and fear simultaneously.

She had barely reached this place, surviving numerous life-threatening situations. She might have been dead long ago if her luck had been slightly less.

The future held only more difficulties. That fear paralyzed her steps.

As a result, she stayed motionless on the 70th floor for over a month. Taesan knew this well, as he had been monitoring her in real-time through the Community.

With nothing else to do, she eventually started searching every corner of this place. This was the location she discovered after wasting time.

Later, after returning to Earth, she mentioned the labyrinth she had conquered. She had luckily found a secret room hidden in the right wall.

I didn’t pay much attention then, not knowing it would come in handy like this.

[Wow. But I've never seen such a secret room. A secret room that even Reconnaissance couldn't find? Is there a reason it remained undiscovered?]

Reconnaissance provided information within sight. Naturally, it included secret rooms.

Thus, she didn’t struggle to find secret rooms from the moment she learned Reconnaissance. A simple activation in a room revealed everything.

But this secret room was undetectable even by Reconnaissance.

The leaders, failing to detect it with Reconnaissance, likely concluded it held nothing.

‘She’s a lucky woman.’

Without luck, she couldn’t have cleared Solo Mode.

Taesan smiled and descended the stairs. Soon, a small room appeared.

[You have discovered the statue of a nameless goddess.]

There was a small statue in the room, light enough to be held in one hand.

The statue of the goddess, long neglected, was so corroded that it would turn to dust if touched.

Taesan knelt before the statue, clasping his hands.

The statue disintegrated into dust as he prayed, and its power inhabited him.

[You prayed to the forgotten goddess everyone else has forgotten. You have received the goddess's blessing [Rebirth Blessing of the Nameless Goddess].] [Special Quest: Forgotten Goddess] [You found the statue of a goddess forgotten by the creators of the labyrinth, the gods, and even their followers. The forgotten goddess, awakened by your prayer, wishes for you to save her.] [Those blessed by the goddess can sense the aura of the hidden goddess statues in the labyrinth.] [Find them and pray. Reward: Goddess's Grace]

The ghost, witnessing this process, was astonished.

[Was there such a quest?]

Even the ghost, who had conquered the labyrinth and the Guides of Sin, knew nothing of this quest.

“Good.”

Taesan clenched his fist and checked his skill.

[Divine Blessing: Rebirth Blessing of the Nameless Goddess] [It's the goddess's blessing. Your regeneration of all kinds noticeably increases. However, it's still too weak to be considered a true divine blessing.]

Instead of proficiency, it was marked in stages. It meant one thing: the stages would increase as he found more goddess statues and prayed.

Recalling Lee Taeyeon’s words, it was indeed a valuable skill. Health and mana regenerated at an excruciatingly slow pace, making natural recovery during combat almost impossible.

But with the Rebirth Blessing of the Nameless Goddess, it was a different story.

The recovery speed increased nearly tenfold. While health wasn’t a significant concern, mana was different.

Ordinarily, only 10 or 20 units of energy would recover in an hour, but now it meant a tenfold increase.

Furthermore, Taesan had additional costs like a protective shield and magic energy. By simple calculation, his efficiency was about twice that of Lee Taeyeon’s.

[Hold on. But if it's in stages, does that mean I have to find each one? Then… If I find it late, I can't even complete the quest properly.]

“That’s right.”

The moment you descended a floor in the labyrinth, the rewards of the previous floor almost entirely changed.

This applied to quest rewards as well.

That was why Lee Taeyeon only obtained the Rebirth Blessing of the Nameless Goddess and the Blessing of Life. There must have been statues of the Nameless Goddess on floors before the 70th.

“That’s fortunate.”

Taesan had the chance to obtain most of the goddess’s blessings.

After tidying up the room, Taesan stepped back outside.

Despite the considerable time that had passed, there was no one to be seen.

“They still haven’t arrived? It’s taking a long time.”

[It must be a headache.]

The ghost chuckled.

After about an hour more of waiting, they finally arrived.

“Is this everyone?”

“I intended to bring everyone, but some didn’t want to come. So, I only brought those who agreed.”

Ambracia said this as Taesan glanced at their faces. There were three in total.

One was Ambracia. The guide he had been talking to all this while was not particularly special. Taesan examined the others.

A man with golden, lion-like hair and a muscular, sun-kissed complexion.

He was glaring at Taesan with golden eyes that matched his hair.

“That’s intimidating.”

Taesan muttered, casually releasing his energy. The man’s eyes sparkled as he effortlessly absorbed Taesan’s formidable aura.

“You’re strong.”

It wasn’t a full display of strength, but an ordinary third-tier challenger would have been rendered breathless and unable to control their body. The fact that he handled it without any burden indicated that the rumors about his power were true.

“Not as much as you guys.”

Taesan shifted his gaze.

The first thing he saw was flaming hair. Not metaphorically, but literally burning like flames.

A woman wrapped in flames.

“A spirit king?”

“Do you know me, young one?”

“To some extent.”

At the same time, the sword trembled. The power within it stirred and asserted itself.

‘Quiet.’

Taesan exerted force in the hand holding the sword.

Not now.

Not yet.

The spirit king, who had been silently observing Taesan, wavered.

“…Why do I feel my energy in you? My children’s power resonates in this boy. The power of the child I cherished and granted a domain to is within you.”

“I’m making good use of it.”

[You have activated a small spark.]

Taesan flicked his finger, and a flame sparked.

“…You killed them.”

The spirit king’s eyes darkened.

“They all entered the labyrinth prepared for death. They knew they might be killed someday.”

Flames surged in the spirit king’s eyes.

“But I am angry.”

Suddenly, the room’s temperature soared.

The heat was so intense that it was nearly impossible to breathe. His skin burned red, and his immunity to attacks quickly dissipated.

[You have taken 3069 damage.]

It wasn’t a direct attack. Merely a change in emotion. The being in front of him could kill Taesan with rage alone.

Yet, Taesan laughed.

“Trying to kill someone you invited. How impressive?”

Taesan taunted the spirit king amidst the searing pain of burning flesh.

“Going to kill me? Do as you wish if you can handle it.”

“Stop.”

The lion king grabbed the spirit king’s arm. Simultaneously, the heat subsided.

“Restrain yourself. If this leads to death, it cannot be reversed.”

“That’s right. It’s too hot.”

Taesan dusted off his clothes. His nonchalant demeanor caused the lion king’s eyebrows to twitch.

“Let’s end this obvious charade.”

Clearly, they were strong.

They could kill Taesan with a flick of a finger.

But at the same time, they absolutely couldn’t kill him.

“I don’t want to waste time, so let’s get to the point.”