Ascension Through Skills

“He lost.”

The Guides of Sin. Their leaders were gathered in one place.

With the permission of the Demon God, they were able to observe the battle between Taesan and Shayan. They had all witnessed firsthand what transpired and how it concluded.

“What will you do?”

Someone spoke.

No answer came back.

Silence lingered among the Guides of Sin.

The Lion King’s face was stiff, and Societ remained silent. Ambracia scratched his head with a grim expression.

The others were no different. All were silent, shocked expressions on their faces.

Ambracia barely opened his mouth.

“The first one to go after Taesan was Shaman. His defeat was surprising, but understandable.”

Shaman, who boasted absolute defense. Even among the leadership, not many could break through his defense. Since Taesan had descended less deeply into the Labyrinth than them, they thought Shaman would return victorious without any issue.

However, Shaman lost to Taesan. That fact shocked them all.

“It was confusing… but, on the other hand, Shaman’s power was focused solely on defense.”

If there was a skill that ignored defense itself, it wasn’t so difficult to defeat Shaman. They believed there must have been a reason the Demon God only allowed Shaman to be sent from the leadership.

“Next was Vishnu.”

The King of Flame Spirits, Vishnu.

They believed this time they would win. Vishnu’s attack power was among the top within the leadership. Few could withstand her power when she invoked the King’s World.

But Vishnu also lost.

“Even then, it was fine. We could understand.”

They had only been allowed to observe the battle after the fight with Shaman. Vishnu had fought without any information about Taesan.

Moreover, Taesan had prepared countermeasures against Vishnu. Even her King’s World was countered with a skill that partially altered the world, so Taesan’s victory wasn’t too surprising.

They accepted the defeat of the Spirit King.

Next to step up was the Grand Mage, Shayan.

After the fight with Vishnu, they had perfectly grasped Taesan’s power.

Shayan, being a magician, had ascended to the 73rd floor in advance, preparing numerous magic circles while waiting for Taesan to arrive.

This time, they were certain they would win. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Shayan was one of the strongest among them.

However, even Shayan was defeated.

That meant none of them could defeat Taesan in a one-on-one fight.

Ambracia smirked bitterly.

“What do we do now?”

“…Do we really need to fight him?”

Someone spoke, their voice tinged with fear. The Lion King’s face twisted.

“He’s already killed three of us. Are we going to just leave him alone?”

“Anyway, we’re stuck at the 74th floor, and we only joined forces to break through it. We never had a strong bond of camaraderie to begin with. You were the odd ones.” ꞦＡꞐÖꞖÈṨ

“You bastard…”

“Even if we try to fight together, the Demon God is watching. It’s impossible.”

“If one won’t work, we can go in twos. We even have someone specialized in that among us.”

“If the Twin Whites team up, there might be a chance… but it’s still dangerous.”

“So, what, you want us all to die together?”

“No. It’s simple. We just hide.”

They planned to run away. At those words, the Lion King’s aura flared.

“No pride at all, huh.”

“We gave up our pride the moment we decided to tackle the 74th floor together.”

The one opposing the Lion King sneered.

“Lion King, you’re no great king right now. Recognize that.”

The Lion King’s face twisted in anger.

Power surged in all directions as tension escalated. Voices rose, and the two began to argue fiercely.

“This is a mess.”

Ambracia clicked his tongue as he watched the scene unfold.

The Lion King and his opponent had never been on good terms, but they had never clashed so openly before.

It showed how cornered they were.

They had reached the 77th floor of the Labyrinth. Although they were still some distance from Taesan, they knew it wouldn’t be long before he arrived.

“Is this the end for us?”

Ambracia smiled bitterly.

The lich stood there, unchanged from the beginning.

The lich’s jaw clicked as it cast its magic.

[Malakas has activated the Surge of Magic Crystals.]

Shards of mana rained down.

Taesan dodged the magic by leaping.

“Resurrecting, huh?”

Taesan murmured briefly, then put strength into his legs.

As the shards of mana fell, he deflected them with sheer force and closed the distance to Malakas in an instant.

[Malakas has activated the Wave of Liberation.]

Compressed mana burst out, pushing Taesan back. As he temporarily widened the gap, Malakas cast magic again, pressing Taesan.

Crash!

Taesan deflected the frost arrows.

[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

[You have activated Magic Focus.]

Malakas hurriedly deployed the Wall of Protection to block the charging star arrow.

[You have activated Magic Explosion.]

The Starlight Arrow exploded. Power surged toward Malakas as he tried to deploy the Wall of Protection.

Taesan approached the staggering Malakas and swung his sword. Before long, Malakas collapsed.

But the shattered bones on the ground began to rise again.

[The decaying lich, Malakas, has been resurrected.]

Click, click.

The lich’s jaw moved as it cast magic again, just as before.

Taesan dodged and observed his opponent.

[You have activated Reconnaissance.]

[You have activated Essence Perception.]

[A lich that has hidden its life force externally.]

[Unless its life force is destroyed, the lich will continue to resurrect.]

“A life vessel, huh.”

No matter how many times he defeated the lich in front of him, it was meaningless. The lich’s life force was hidden elsewhere.

And before long, Taesan figured out where that was.

The cave wall. A very narrow crack.

Something was flickering inside it.

That was the lich’s life vessel. Now that he had identified its location, Taesan could ignore the enemy in front of him and destroy it, clearing the 73rd floor.

But Taesan didn’t do that.

He dodged the incoming magic and quietly observed Malakas.

The enemy in front of him continued to resurrect.

It seemed that Malakas retained his memories from before each resurrection, as the way he responded subtly changed. He also seemed to have a degree of self-awareness.

“A lich endlessly resurrects unless that thing is destroyed, right?”

[That's correct.]

If that was the case, it could be possible.

Taesan gripped his sword tightly.

First, he needed to clearly understand the situation and conditions. He swiftly rushed forward and struck down Malakas once more.

[The decaying lich, Malakas, has resurrected.]

And once again, Malakas resurrected.

It was as if he was mocking Taesan’s fruitless efforts, his jaw clattering together.

It appeared Malakas had a certain level of will and self-awareness.

[Malakas has activated the Frozen World.]

Frost surged forward.

Taesan leaped, gauging the power embedded in the Frozen World.

The first Frozen World Malakas used. It was exactly the same as before.

This meant that Malakas did not lose any strength with each resurrection.

Taesan kicked off the ground, avoiding the Frozen World, and unleashed his magic.

[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

[You have activated Magic Focus.]

Starlight Arrow with Magic Focus. Previously, Malakas had tried to respond with the Wall of Protection, so Taesan had countered with a magic explosion.

This time, how would he respond?

Malakas raised his staff.

[Malakas has activated the Frozen World.]

Frost surged forward again.

The Starlight Arrow shattered the frost, but the clash of forces significantly weakened its power.

[Malakas has activated the Wall of Protection.]

Boom!

Thus, the Wall of Protection was able to block the Starlight Arrow.

Now it was certain.

Malakas resurrected with all his memories intact.

Unless the life vessel was destroyed, Malakas would resurrect infinitely.

And in the process, he lost no power.

He resurrected with all his memories, and with the will and self-awareness to mock Taesan’s futile efforts.

Taesan was now certain.

He could obtain the special activation skill, Copy.

Click!

From that point, Taesan’s movements changed.

Instead of focusing on defeating Malakas, he intentionally dragged out the fight, provoking Malakas to use all his powers.

In doing so, Taesan began analyzing each of Malakas’s spells one by one.

‘Frozen World, Wave of Liberation, Wall of Protection, Scorching Orb, Frost Arrow, Surge of Magic Crystals, Earthquake.’

There were eight in total. Even after further pressure, Malakas didn’t reveal any more spells, so Taesan assumed these were all he had.

The ghost, who had been quietly observing, asked curiously.

[What skill are you trying to get this time?]

The ghost had watched Taesan acquire numerous skills.

Attack Nullification, Addition, Absolute Judgement, Absolute Blessing, and more.

Priceless skills. And not just one, but many.

By now, the ghost had reached a state where he enjoyed seeing what skill Taesan wanted and how he would obtain it, rather than being shocked or amazed.

[The condition seems to be an enemy that resurrects infinitely. That’s what it looks like so far. After that, I’m not sure. Does the opponent have to be a magician?]

“If it’s a magician, that’s convenient, but it’s not strictly necessary.”

Taesan responded.

“Copy.”

[Copy?]

The ghost pondered the meaning of the word for a moment before asking.

[…You mean copying the attack?]

“You got it right.”

[What?]

The ghost let out a hollow laugh.

[Copying means you also take the skill and power contained in that attack, right? Like copying an attack activated by the Blade of Determination.]

Taesan nodded.

The ghost shook his head, realizing his guess was correct.

[That’s just ridiculous.]

At present, Taesan could achieve over a hundred thousand damage in a single strike using techniques like Transform, Addition, and the Blade of Determination.

Copying that without any conditions or restrictions would mean doubling that damage.

While the ghost was impressed by the effect, there was something even more intriguing to him.

[What condition do you have to meet for that?]

Skills in the Labyrinth were obtained by replicating the effects of a skill in some way.

Addition required him to double his attack power through sheer persistence, and Absolute Judgement required him to attack an ever-changing opponent’s defense as if it didn’t exist.

So what was the condition for obtaining Copy?

The ghost couldn’t even guess what it might be.

“You’ll understand as you keep watching.”

Taesan replied briefly and continued to move.

He dashed toward Malakas, who was chanting a spell.

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