Ascension Through Skills

Taesan could feel from their aura and energy that they were incredibly weak.

Comparing them to the labyrinth, they were at the level of a 20th-floor adventurer, far too weak for Taesan.

‘The outside level is this low?’

Malakas momentarily showed a surge of anger in his eyes at Taesan’s gaze but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to die.

Taesan rested his chin on his hand.

“Which god do you believe in?”

“The Sun God, born from the heavens. The great one who governs the lofty skies.”

“We believe in the Sea God, born from the earth. The only god who defied fate and ruled the seas.”

“Like Harmon.”

All had prefixes to their names, a difference from the gods of the labyrinth.

Taesan shifted his gaze.

“Who do you believe in?”

“…I believe in the god of blue foliage.”

“Okay. Green.”

Taesan placed a hand on the man’s head. The man looked up at Taesan with an anxious face.

“Tell me honestly. What level are you and those guys at?”

The man glanced briefly at the red and blue ones. Taesan laughed at his gaze.

“Who should you really be afraid of?”

The man regained his senses and spoke.

“We’re at the bottom. The weakest three factions here. Even the strongest person here could take us all down.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. If it’s just this level.”

There would’ve been no need for him to come down. Even an ordinary 30th-floor adventurer could deal with them all.

It meant Vargan had the strength worthy of searching for people.

At Green’s words, Malakas’s face reddened. Unable to contain his heat, he shouted angrily.

“I won’t tolerate any more insults!”

“What are you going to do if you can’t tolerate it?”

“We will stake our lives! And defeat you!”

The man drew his sword with a clang.

Those behind him did the same. They glared at Taesan with menacing eyes.

“This villain!”

“We won’t forgive you!”

“How annoying.”

Taesan frowned.

Not just the reds but also the blues rushed at Taesan, seeing it as an opportunity.

Taesan waved his hand.

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

Crackle.

Fragments of ice formed in the air. They pierced the armors with a sharp noise.

“Aaah!”

“Ugh!”

They tried to block with shields and swing swords, but it was futile. The shields were pierced, and the swords shattered.

They approached Taesan, stepping over bodies. Taesan pulled back his arm. The sword drew an arc, and all those approaching were slashed and fell.

Defense, attack, and self-sacrifice, all crushed by overwhelming power. Malakas cried out in denial.

“This can’t be!”

In his world, he was a very strong being.

As the great warrior of the Sun God born from the heavens, even kings of nations couldn’t dare face him with his immense power.

However, in the Battlefield of the Gods, he was a very weak being. He struggled to overcome followers of other gods, continually defeated, and ended up with only the smallest land.

Still, he never lost his pride.

He believed he lost the land not because he was weak but because those who believed in him and followed him were weak.

In reality, it wasn’t entirely false. He wasn’t that weak here, possessing an average level of strength.

‘I am not weak.’

‘It’s not my fault.’

But his feeble mental victory was now utterly shattered.

“Haaap!”

Crack.

His sword split in two with a mere gesture. With one last look of disregard, his consciousness faded.

Taesan calmly dusted off his hands. All those who rushed at him lay defeated.

[You have eliminated all the followers of the Sun God born from the heavens. The Sun God born from the heavens has been expelled from the Battlefield of the Gods.] [You have eliminated all the followers of the Sea God born from the earth. The Sea God born from the earth has been expelled from the Battlefield of the Gods.]

Taesan looked up at the sky.

Two strong and dark energies were sucked into the sky’s rift.

‘That must be the power of the gods.’

[The gods of the labyrinth are pleased with your achievements. Appropriate rewards will be given upon your return to the labyrinth.]

“Killing all the followers is all it takes to end it?”

His goal was the conquest of the battlefield. It seemed that merely eliminating everyone was enough to fulfill the condition.

But that couldn’t be all. Taesan walked towards the collapsed green.

“I want to ask the rest to you, but—”

“……What.”

The voice of the Green was devoid of strength. Speaking with a resigned expression, he said,

“What do you want to know?”

Although the Sun God and Sea God were at the bottom here, the violence of numbers couldn’t be ignored. Combined, they could challenge the middle-ranked followers.

Yet, he defeated them all without allowing a single attack.

A monster.

‘Maybe even to those at the very top… He is an unstoppable force.’

The Green had given up on survival. Alone, it was now impossible for him to do anything.

“If you promise to send me back to my god’s side, I’ll answer.”

“I’ll do that, so talk. Those guys rushed at me earlier, so I couldn’t hear everything. There’s a difference in levels among you, right?”

“There is. Do you see the giant pillar at the far right of the sky?”

Taesan turned his gaze. As the Green said, a black pillar was visible in the distance.

“That is a conduit through which gods can communicate or exert their power. The closer they are to there, the stronger the groups are.”

“So, this is the bottom.”

The place where Taesan now stood was the farthest from the pillar.

“What conditions are needed to conquer this place and drive out the gods?”

“…Not many. Like you just did, either kill all the followers or destroy the statue.”

“Statue?”

“In each god’s territory, there’s a statue made in the image of the god. Destroying it expels the god, and the followers lose their god.”

“A game of capturing land.”

The rules were simpler than he thought. Either kill everyone or destroy the statue.

Taesan’s quest would probably end with the destruction of all the gods’ statues.

Taesan stroked his chin.

“Tell me everything you know about the gods here.”

The Green, seemingly having given up, spilled everything.

About the gods present and their positions.

“The next god is the God of Self-Proof.”

“Yes. A god who succeeded in proving himself and ascended to godhood. His followers also have strong pride in him.”

“Sounds familiar.”

Taesan laughed.

There was also a god of proof residing in the labyrinth. Pavsha held a very similar domain.

A certain solution came to Taesan’s mind.

He nodded.

“Good. I’ve learned everything I wanted to know.”

“Then…”

The Green closed his eyes.

Taesan swung his sword.

[You have eliminated the last follower of the God of Blue Foliage. The God of Blue Foliage has been expelled from the Battlefield of the Gods.] [The gods of the labyrinth are pleased with your achievements. Appropriate rewards will be given upon your return to the labyrinth.]

Once again, an energy escapes through the rift in the sky.

Taesan stands up.

[Are we going now?]

“I don’t want to stay here long.”

An artificial world. A battlefield created by gods.

It was unpleasant.

“But I can’t just leave right away.”

Taesan moved. Approaching the pillar, he felt a massive energy.

An energy that boasted its presence.

It seemed to be the domain of the God of Self-Proof.

[Easy. Just destroy the statue, and it's over. Could be finished quickly, right?]

“No.”

Taesan shook his head.

“I’m not going to end it like that.”

[Huh? What else will you do? Kill them all?]

“I don’t plan to do that either. Just something more.”

[Why?]

“For more.”

Taesan spoke softly.

“The gods said they’d reward me based on my achievements, right? I thought of something after hearing about the God of Self-Proof.”

A way to satisfy the gods as much as possible.

A method where they would be so pleased they’d offer more than the initially planned reward.

Taesan arrived in front of the domain of the God of Self-Proof.

There was a fairly large mansion. The surrounding outer wall was very long, and the gate was big enough for a giant to pass through. The building beyond the wall was lavishly decorated.

“It’s quite extravagant.”

Taesan flicked his finger at the jewel-encrusted gate.

Kwaang!

The gate shattered into pieces with a massive noise, flying towards the building.

Fragments of the shattered gate embedded in the building rumbled unsteadily.

Taesan walked forward.

Soon, numerous people frantically ran towards him.

“Intruder! Everyone, gather!”

They shouted and rushed towards Taesan. Taesan, without stopping, waved his hand.

With a light gesture, armors crumbled, a flick of his finger broke necks, and a light kick sent them flying far away, crashing into the building.

“We, we can’t stop him!”

Realizing they couldn’t stop him, they cried out.

“Go and bring the Saint! We can’t stop him ourselves!”

Some entered the building while the rest continued trying to block Taesan.

Taesan broke through them all, step by step.

As he almost reached the building’s entrance, a man in dignified clothing appeared. Stronger. At least stronger than anyone Taesan had beaten so far.

“Are you the Saint?”

“Yes.”

The Saint looked at Taesan with a calm gaze.

“Who are you?”

“Would you know if I said I came from the labyrinth?”

“The labyrinth?”

The man’s eyes wavered.

“You seem to know.”

[It seems like he's the representative of the God of Self-Proof. You've had a talk, right?]

“Then it’s easier to talk.”

Taesan approached the Saint. The Saint, regaining his composure, raised his mace and cross shield.

“Even so!”

The Saint charged with the shield. The mace, powerful enough to break walls and topple waves, swung towards Taesan.

Taesan reached out his hand.

Grab.

The mace was caught in Taesan’s hand.

“Wh-what!”

The Saint’s eyes wavered. The caught mace wouldn’t budge, like a sword stuck in stone.

“Just above the bottom? Not much difference, though.”

Taesan swung his fist.

The cross shield crumbled, and the Saint was slammed to the ground.

“See you later.”

Taesan passed the unconscious man.

[Aren't you going to kill him?]

The ghost asked in surprise. Taesan hadn’t killed a single follower of the God of Self-Proof.

“I told you. I’m going to gain more.”

[You have activated Repulsion.]

“Ugh!”

The followers were flung away as if the air itself exploded.

At this level, Repulsion alone was enough to deal with them all.

Walking through, he approached a place radiating power where a giant statue stood.

It was like an ancient Greek statue depicting a man with long hair, like a woman, emanating a divine aura.

“So, I just need to destroy this?”

Taesan lightly tapped the statue, which was solid but not indestructible.

“You, you!”

The Saint, having woken up, rushed over.

“Stop! You’ll receive divine punishment!”

“Why would I?”

Taesan shrugged.

“I came here as your gods wished. I’m just doing my job. Why would I receive divine punishment?”

The Saint stuttered. He was the Saint of the God of Self-Proof. He had been informed about the conflict between the labyrinth and the outside gods. That was why he knew why Taesan was sent to the battlefield.

“If anyone should receive divine punishment, isn’t it you? You failed to protect your god. And you knew this could happen, right?”

This was the Battlefield of the Gods. Where each god’s followers killed and were killed.

Taesan was simply doing what should be done on the battlefield.

Taesan placed his hand on the statue. The followers nearby screamed.

“But I’ll give you a chance.”

Taesan removed his hand.

The Saint, with shaky eyes, asked,

“……A chance?”

“Your god is the God of Self-Proof, right? I’m giving you a chance to show that.”