Ascension Through Skills

It was heavy.

It had been quite some time since he had felt this numbing sensation. Although he could withstand it for a while, there was a difference in power that gradually pushed him back as time went by.

‘It’s not to the point of being an enemy that caused judgment.’

Taesan deflected the sword and moved. He drove at it with the Storm Scar sword. The shadow, bewildered by an uncounterable sword technique, made a decision.

The shadow figure stabilized its posture and struck down. It was an attack that smashed down with sheer force, able to destroy all sorts of sword techniques and tricks.

“Hmm.”

Taesan calmly retreated. His opponent had higher stats. It also had skills.

[The shadow has activated Strong Blow.]

It charged with a rough momentum as if intending to finish everything in a single strike. How should he deal with such an opponent? Taesan asked himself this question and drew out an answer.

The opponent was a shadow. It was an avatar of those who had traversed the labyrinth. Each one had a different pattern and movement. It seemed to have a bit of intelligence too.

Then it was simple.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

Taesan charged toward his opponent. It was a rush that completely disregarded defense. The shadow paused for a moment at the act that seemed akin to suicide.

However, it was only for a brief moment. The shadow promptly thrust its sword. If it was naive enough to neglect such an obvious flaw, it wouldn’t have made it here in the first place.

But this time, it was a miscalculation.

[Your First Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

The attack disappeared. The shadow’s body returned to the state before it swung its sword.

Shock seemed to resonate even beyond the darkness. Taesan moved his sword into the first sword, Wolf’s Tooth.

Only after dozens of damage windows appeared did the shadow barely manage to regain its senses.

Kagak!

Deflecting the sword, the shadow aimed for Taesan’s throat. This time too, Taesan didn’t block it.

[Your Second Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

The attack disappeared, and Taesan moved his sword. Over 200 damage points were inflicted in an instant.

[Seventeenth Trial passed. As a reward, Strength increases by 8, Agility increases by 9, Intelligence increases by 3, Mana increases by 10.]

He turned off the reward notification entirely. He was tired of seeing similar words.

The watching ghost smirked.

[A selfish skill that can't be found in the labyrinth. There's no way to counter it, right?]

Absolute Attack Nullification. It erased the attack itself, but by itself, it couldn’t be considered a particularly remarkable effect.

If one thought about it, both Parry and Counter had similar effects by forcefully repelling the attack.

There were quite a lot of skills that interfered with the result of an attack.

Of course, Absolute Nullification, in erasing the result of an attack itself, deviated from the other skills, but that wasn’t the most important factor.

The biggest advantage of Absolute Nullification was that it’s an always-on skill.

When a skill was activated, a system window popped up. As it was also visible to the opponent, they could anticipate and respond to it.

Just like what Taesan did.

He quickly distanced himself from elite goblins using Parry and countered them with arrows and fireballs.

Against the Hage-Ha, who used Strong Blow, he activated his Counter to respond.

Against the goblin chieftain who used magic, he disrupted the activation with his Mental Magic every time the activation window popped up.

All this was possible because the activation of the opponent’s skill was visible.

How quickly each side responded to the other’s skill was also important. Maybe the labyrinth designer considered this, too, as most of the skills that could interfere with the situation were activation skills.

But Absolute Nullification was an always-on skill.

It was a skill where the system window appeared after the result.

Unless the opponent knew the information in advance, there was absolutely no way to counter it.

And Absolute Nullification was a hidden skill that even the ghost did not know.

Practically speaking, unless Taesan explicitly told them, it was fair to say they would inevitably be hit by it.

The shadow of the 18th floor appeared, but it wasn’t much different this time either. The opponent attacked using all sorts of skills, and Taesan abandoned defense.

[Your First Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

The attack disappeared, and he poured everything into the puzzled shadow. The shadow regained its senses and attacked again, but it disappeared once more.

Again, it attacked.

But this time, it didn’t fall.

Having grown significantly stronger than the 17th floor, it withstood the damage.

[You have activated Parry.]

But there wouldn’t be a problem. He stuck to the retreating shadow, slashing at it. He used magic and skills to pile on the damage.

The shadow fell.

And the shadow of the 19th floor appeared.

It rushes in just like before. The shadow attacked, and the attack disappeared due to Absolute Nullification. Taesan landed a sword strike. In an instant, damage windows blocked the view.

The shadow paused for a moment. But it attacked again right away.

The second attack was nullified.

This time, without even pausing, it immediately attacked again. Taesan retreated, clicking his tongue.

He attacked based on the nullification but couldn’t inflict as much damage as before. It was because the opponent, instead of hesitating, attacked right away.

‘This is where it gets serious.’

As someone who had survived up to the 19th floor in Solo Mode, the shadow’s judgment was quick.

The shadow made a dash and swung its sword at a speed that was hard to react to.

Ka-aang!

Taesan’s arm was pressed down, and his body started to be slowly pushed back.

It was strong. He could feel a significant enough difference that a battle of strength would result in his defeat.

[The opponent is an enemy that you cannot defeat.]

The ‘hard enemy’ judgment appeared. Taesan used a strong strike to push it back and made some space.

[Judgment unnecessary! You didn't lose heart against an enemy you cannot defeat.]

A ‘hard enemy’ judgment bonus.

[Your Fair Duel has been activated.]

A skill that increased his stats during a 1v1.

[Your Thirst for Battle has been activated.]

A skill that enhanced everything when facing a ‘hard enemy’.

[You have activated Despising the Strong.]

A skill that gave him a judgment bonus when faced with a ‘hard enemy’.

Taesan struck his sword again.

Ka-gak.

He did not get pushed back like before. A somewhat equal match was possible.

Being Taesan, who had countless skills he could use against ‘hard enemies’, this situation was more favorable. He drove back in using his increased stats.

[You have activated Blazing Orb.]

He used magic, and an explosion covered the view. The shadow retreated and swung its sword wildly.

[The shadow has activated Heavy Strike.]

The sword left a trail, slashing in all directions.

A skill that forced the body to move and slash at a 270-degree angle.

The downside was greater, but it wasn’t a bad skill when visibility was compromised.

Taesan knew all the conditions and patterns of that skill. It couldn’t slash behind it, and its range was limited to the upper body.

And that it couldn’t be stopped midway.

He lowered his posture as if crawling on the ground. The sword barely grazed the tip of his nose.

[40 damage to the shadow.] [30 damage to the shadow.]

He thrust his sword into the shadow’s ankle. Although the shadow shuddered as if screaming, its hand did not stop. Taesan went behind it and pierced its chest.

[You have passed the 19th trial. As a reward, your Strength increases by 10. Agility increases by 12. Intelligence increases by 5. Mana increases by 10.]

Add to that the bonus from Soul Ascension, the ‘hard enemy’ victory reward, and the Thirst for Victory skill.

He became stronger in an instant. But it wasn’t that easy.

The opponent didn’t flinch at the Absolute Nullification of Attacks and attacked immediately. From the 19th floor onwards, it meant they had the ability to quickly find the correct answer even to sudden variables.

According to Taesan’s estimation, the next one was his limit.

The shadow appeared.

The adventurer of the 20th floor.

The shadow raises its great sword toward Taesan.

[The shadow has activated Complete Victory.] [Judgment unnecessary! You have repelled it with your strong willpower.]

Complete Victory. A skill that imposed an intimidation judgment when facing an enemy with an overwhelming gap. Naturally, a ‘hard enemy’ judgment appeared.

Like he did against the shadow of the 19th floor, Taesan activated skills to increase his stats. After observing Taesan for a moment, the opponent raised its great sword.

Vroom.

A greatsword, longer and thicker than a person, seemingly filled the room.

Clang!

His arm was pressed down, and his body was pushed back. Even with skills raising his stats, the gap was too wide. Taesan put strength into his arm and dug in his feet.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

Clash!

With their swords separated, Taesan closed in on the shadow. It swung its arm, attempting to hit Taesan’s head with the hilt. Taesan did not slow down and rushed in.

[Your First Attack Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

The attack was erased, and Taesan drove his sword into the shadow’s chest.

The shadow attacked with a gauntlet-clad fist.

This attack was also erased. The damage indicator obtrusively obscured the view.

The shadow swung its elbow, and Taesan activated the Dodging skill. The elbow swung past, brushing his shoulder.

[The shadow has activated Repulsion.]

“Huh.”

An intangible force pushed Taesan away. Forced to widen the distance, Taesan admired it.

“You have Repulsion?”

A skill that pushed away using an intangible barrier proportional to one’s stats.

It was a skill that Taesan learned quite late. But it didn’t end there.

[The shadow has activated Continuous Attack.]

The shadow’s hand moved. The greatsword formed afterimages as it rapidly swept the room.

“It also has Continuous Attack.”

An upgraded version of Random Attack. It rapidly attacked, unlike Random Attack. It had no restrictions on actions or range.

The sweeping sword strikes formed a kind of defense barrier. Taesan narrowly dodged and cast a spell.

[You have activated Madness.]

Hesitation.

The interference with the shadow’s mind caused the sword’s tip to waver. Taesan seized the opportunity and dug in his feet.

[The shadow has activated Repulsion.] [You have activated Acceleration.]

He pierced through the intangible barrier with pure speed. As much as it was based on stats to push the enemy away, it was possible to break through depending on the conditions.

The shadow activated the Dodging skill, but Taesan pierced through it with a strong strike. The opponent lashed out with the sword hilt.

[You take 152 damage.]

An enormous amount of damage came in. As expected, a 20th-floor adventurer hurt significantly.

As the fight continued, Taesan realized one thing.

‘It’s not a monster.’

Those who came from the outside must attack with a weapon with attack power for damage to be applied. The opponent did not push with their feet or shoulder. It meant it could not deal damage using those parts of its body.

The opponent had a greatsword. The advantage of reach was on his side.

Then it became simple. Just stick to it and don’t give it any distance.

[You have activated Sturdiness.] [You have activated Evasion.]

He pre-activated the skills and started the battle. Unlike the shadow, Taesan, who possessed the Airak Martial Arts, could deal damage using any part of his body. He made good use of this advantage and gradually wore down his opponent.

But the opponent also didn’t just take this passively. It wasn’t likely that an adventurer who went down to the 20th floor in Solo Mode would be so weak.

The opponent sheathed its greatsword and drew a longsword.

He didn’t expect that he could change weapons, too, so Taesan was momentarily taken aback.

The shadow swung its sword in its present state.

[The shadow has activated Heavy Strike.] [You have activated Heavy Strike.]

Clang!

With this clash, Taesan was pushed back. As both of them had used Heavy Strike, the outcome depended on their basic stats and the amount of mana consumed.

While blocking the sword, Taesan activated a spell. Frost Arrows were drawn in the air.

Whoosh!

The shadow narrowly tilted its head. Seizing that opportunity, Taesan made his move.

[26 damage to the shadow.]

He calculated the damage. So far, he had dealt nearly 1,000 damage. The health of the 19th-floor shadow was around 1,100.

The end was near.

Taesan abandoned defense, and the shadow’s longsword pierced through Taesan’s shoulder.

[You take 210 damage.] [You have activated Unyielding Will.]

Instead, he pushed his body forward, deeply impaling himself on the sword. Ignoring the sharp pain, he manifested magic and swung his sword.

The shadow drew its greatsword.

Taesan activated Strong Strike.

Clang!

With a blow that almost exhausted all his mana, the greatsword was lifted and pushed away.

The shadow tried to push him away with Repulsion, but he stuck close using Acceleration.

His sword pierced the shadow. The shadow counterattacked, but Taesan fluttered his robe.

[You have activated the Robe of Darkness.]

The Robe of Darkness.

The effect was to apply invisibility for 1 second.

As his body disappeared, the shadow’s sword stopped.

He took advantage of this moment of hesitation.

As a series of system windows appeared, the shadow disappeared.

[20th Trial passed. As a reward, Strength increases by 12. Agility increases by 13. Intelligence increases by 10. Mana increases by 14.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Your Strong Strike proficiency increases by 7%.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. You have obtained the special activation skill [Repulsion].] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Strength permanently increases by 8. Agility permanently increases by 8. Mana permanently increases by 10.] [Your Thirst for Victory has been activated. Strength permanently increases by 8. Agility permanently increases by 9. Vitality permanently increases by 10.]

Victory.

The system window popped up loudly. Another shadow appeared beyond it.

Clank.

Its sword was raised.

An intense pressure engulfed Taesan. In terms of pure intimidation, it was larger than anything he had seen before.

Taesan smirked.

“That’s far enough.”

It was too much. Breaking past a theme made it incomparably stronger. It was hard enough on the 20th floor. There was no chance of winning against the 21st floor.

His current limit was the 20th floor. He had clearly understood that.

[The Trial of Oman ends.] [Oman is silent on the outcome.]