Ascension Through Skills

As Taesan descended the floors, he thought of Hafran.

“Should I start heading over?”

It had been quite some time since he had given him a commission. He considered checking on the progress, but the ghost dissuaded him.

[It might be best not to go. He's probably at his wit's end right now. You'd only be a distraction.]

“Is that so?”

[He's never made equipment of that level before. It's a task that requires him to surpass his limits, so he won't have the luxury to focus on anything else. It's better for you, too, to visit later.]

With the ghost advising against it, Taesan had no intention of going out of his way to visit. The shopkeeper on the 39th floor asked him.

“Isn’t it about time you bought something?”

“Well? The items you’re selling are useful, but they aren’t exactly necessary.”

The items the shopkeeper was selling were all top-notch, but none of the equipment Taesan had was of lesser quality.

“I’ll consider it if something better comes in.”

“Understood.”

Taesan passed the shopkeeper and moved forward.

Upon entering the room, he encountered a knight wielding a greatsword.

With a more powerful force than any knight he had encountered before, the knight swung the greatsword as if to split Taesan’s head.

Taesan deflected the greatsword with his own and then, seizing the staggering knight’s arm, swung him around.

The knight flew and crashed into the wall.

Staggering to his feet, the knight was finally subdued by Taesan with a final blow.

The knight fell.

Taesan calmly made his way through the labyrinth.

No one could stop him.

As he dispatched a knight’s arm, Taesan muttered,

“I want to learn a new skill.”

[Even more here?]

The ghost spoke reluctantly.

[Isn't what you have enough?]

In the labyrinth, the value of skills was incredibly high, but equally difficult to obtain. There were instances where one could complete an entire area without acquiring a single skill.

Considering such cases, the number of skills Taesan had acquired was unbelievably high, even from the perspective of the ghost, who had explored the depths.

[Don't you have like a hundred skills now?]

“I haven’t counted exactly, but it should be around that number.”

[...Well, that's something.]

The ghost chuckled dryly.

Now, Taesan possessed many more skills than when he first entered the deeper levels.

Yet, he felt it wasn’t enough.

[Isn't that too greedy? Being content is also important.]

“Not for me.”

Taesan was still not satisfied.

“The recent ones were all rewards from quests.”

Intermediate magic. It was certainly excellent, as was black magic.

However, all of these skills were granted after passing the trials of gods.

They weren’t the skills he had newly created while navigating the labyrinth.

Skills like Temporary Time Stop, Multiply, and Absolute Judgement, which he had developed in his past life, held absolute value.

He yearned to acquire those.

But the higher the value of the skills, the more difficult they were to learn. It wasn’t just about the difficulty level; meeting the conditions was challenging as well.

To learn Addition, one had to swing a sword in the same posture without moving, using perseverance to double the damage.

And there was a condition that required facing numerous monsters targeting Taesan, not just ordinary ones.

The other skills were not much different. No matter how superior Taesan’s stats were or how well he knew the method, they were not easily learned.

That’s why, despite being much stronger than in his past life, he had yet to learn most of the skills.

With a feeling of regret, Taesan continued to conquer the labyrinth.

After easily clearing a secret room, Taesan obtained a reward.

[Parum's Ritual Sword] [Attack Power +50] [A sword used to offer sacrifices to the ancient god Parum.] [Due to the ominous energy imbued in the blade, wounds inflicted by this sword do not heal easily.]

The ability to prevent wounds from healing was attached to it. Since there had been no need to recover amidst battle so far, Taesan, who hadn’t felt a great need for it, stored the sword in his inventory.

“It feels increasingly difficult to obtain useful equipment.”

[Considering the equipment you currently possess, that's understandable. Some of them can even be used up to entering the deeper levels.]

As they had this conversation, they continued on.

And then, they arrived at the boss.

[A knight consumed by the deep abyss has appeared.]

A knight emitting black energy appeared.

Upon spotting Taesan, the knight let out a fierce war cry.

The entire room shook with the roar, and Taesan murmured,

“So noisy.”

As if the knight heard him, the shouting stopped abruptly. Then, he charged at Taesan with a leap.

The charge was like that of a beast and significantly faster than any knight encountered before…

But that was it.

Taesan struck down the charging knight with his sword. Unable to dodge the attack, the knight was slammed into the ground.

[2453 damage to the knight consumed by the deep abyss.] [The damage is unbelievable, as always.]

The ghost was amazed. Taesan’s attack power, linking many skills like Strong Blow, Critical Hit, Addition, was beyond imagination. Hence, the knights boasting solid defense on the 30th floor couldn’t withstand a few hits.

Despite the fierce attack, the knight got up immediately. Taesan struck down with his sword again.

The knight was slammed into the ground once more.

But again, the knight charged at Taesan immediately.

Taesan tilted his head, watching the knight charge as if it hadn’t suffered any damage.

“This is strange.”

He parried the knight’s sword and plunged his own deep into the knight’s chest. The damage exceeded three thousand. For an ordinary monster, it would have been enough to bring it to the brink of death.

However, the knight’s movement showed no change.

Just like the first encounter, it continued to charge.

Taesan kicked the knight away.

“Let’s see.”

Taesan looked intently at the knight. Despite the damage inflicted, there appeared to be no impairment in its movement.

[You have activated Essence Perception.]

As soon as he activated the skill, he could understand everything about the knight.

‘Knight consumed by the abyss.’

Deep in the unfathomable depths, the knight was consumed. Upon its return, it had lost its intelligence, transforming into a beast-like existence.

Thus transformed, the knight became an indomitable entity that would not stop under any circumstance, nor die.

However, even such a knight had a weakness.

‘A small part on the nape of the neck.’

When it fell into the abyss, something prevented the erosion of its spirit, leaving only the nape untouched. That part seemed to be the weakness of the 39th-floor boss.

[It seems you've noticed. It's hard to miss.]

The color of the nape was different. It was something anyone could notice with a bit of observation.

Targeting that spot alone made the 39th floor not so difficult. The ghost thought Taesan would immediately deal with the knight and move down to the 40th floor.

However, Taesan lowered his sword.

And began to calmly dodge the charging knight’s attacks.

[What are you doing?]

“There might be something to gain if I do well.”

Taesan analyzed the knight’s movements one by one: the pattern of movement, the type of swordsmanship, speed, and power. He checked everything.

‘It’s possible.’

Taesan completed the final verification process.

[You have activated Vital Point Designation.]

He targeted the critical spot on the chest and stabbed his sword there. The knight was knocked back.

The knight charged as if it hadn’t been hit at all.

Even after changing the location of the critical spot with Vital Point Designation, it seemed that except for the nape, no damage was taken.

It was possible.

Taesan gripped his sword and concentrated.

The ghost, seeing Taesan’s movements, realized.

[Are you trying to acquire a new skill?]

Having gained skills this way several times before, the ghost could well guess. Taesan nodded slightly.

[What's this time? I'm curious.]

“Sure Hit.”

[Sure Hit?]

The ghost paused, pondering the meaning contained within.

[...Is it what I think it is?]

“Probably.”

The knight charged.

Taesan quickly deciphered the knight’s movement. He read the trajectory of the swinging sword and activated the skill.

[You have activated Vital Point Designation.]

He targeted the critical spot on the knight’s shoulder.

Then, dodging the attack, he precisely hit the designated critical area.

The knight’s body staggered significantly from the thousands of damage inflicted, but as if unaffected, it charged again.

Taesan dodged again and targeted a critical spot.

And he struck the designated critical spot.

The knight was pushed back.

“Now, three times.”

Taesan quietly counted the number.

The knight charged again, and once more, Vital Point Designation was activated.

[Do you have to hit the critical spot?]

“Yes.”

[Is it similar to Addition... How many times?]

“I don’t remember exactly, but about a hundred times.”

The ghost chuckled dryly at Taesan’s statement that he had to hit the critical spot a hundred times.

[What about interference or skills other than attacks?]

“Of course not. It’s the same as failing if you subdue the knight while only aiming for the critical spot.”

[This is madness. It's going to take a while.]

Taesan’s sword struck the knight. The fourth time. And so, Taesan quietly recited.

A skill that could be obtained by hitting the critical spot a hundred times in a row. Sure Hit.

But most enemies died before reaching that number. The critical spot itself dealt significant damage, and no monster could withstand being hit there a hundred times.

The only exception would be monsters like the knight before him, which could only be killed under specific conditions.

There was no telling when another monster like this would appear. Thus, he was determined to secure Sure Hit this time.

Taesan continued to swing his sword.

He repeatedly targeted the critical spot and struck it. Since he had to start over if he blocked an attack, he absolutely avoided them.

He managed to successfully hit about ten times quite easily.

Then, the knight’s movements changed.

It moved erratically, trying to dodge Taesan’s attacks or deflect the strike point.

“Does it have intelligence?”

[Whatever it is, it seems to have figured out your aim.]

It wasn’t particularly unusual. Most monsters here possessed some level of intelligence. And Taesan was repeating a visibly obvious action of targeting and attacking the critical spot.

The monsters could sufficiently respond to such actions.

Taesan targeted the critical spot again, aiming for the abdomen this time.

Then, the knight lowered its body as if sticking to the ground. A normal attack couldn’t hit the knight’s abdomen.

Even if he targeted the critical spot again, the knight would act the same. If he targeted the arm, it would protect the arm; if the leg, then the leg. It was a clever response that made it difficult to attack.

But it didn’t matter.

If the knight before him had the intelligence to respond to his attacks, he just needed to adapt his strategy accordingly.

Determination flowed from Taesan.

The knight could feel Taesan’s intent to target its nape. Instinctively twisting its body to protect the nape, it naturally exposed its abdomen.

Taesan struck the exposed abdomen.

The knight crashed into the wall with a loud noise. Taesan murmured,

“Eighty-nine more to go.”