Ascension Through Skills

“Be devoured by me, mortal!”

Emotions surged, spreading throughout the room.

And those spread emotions began to penetrate Taesan.

“Hahaha!”

Valencia was confident of his victory.

He had swallowed an immeasurable amount of emotions. Merely coming into contact with the fragments of emotions he released could drive a person mad.

He unleashed all those emotions at Taesan at once.

“It’s over!”

Survival was impossible.

Even if one somehow managed to keep their sanity, they would be overwhelmed by a wave of emotions that could reduce them to idiocy.

Of course, Taesan had been gathering pure emotions without any issue until now.

But even with that level of mental fortitude, he couldn’t block Valencia’s power now.

He smirked. Now, by using Taesan’s body as a sacrifice to gather the emotions together, everything would be over.

As he expected, a tumult of emotions was raging inside Taesan’s head.

Anger. Pleasure. Regret. Emptiness.

All those emotions hammered at his head as if being struck by a hammer.

And Taesan calmly accepted these emotions.

A violent torrent.

A wave that would crush and erase everything about the one who had swallowed it.

But that was it.

Compared to the despair he felt in his previous life, this was infinitely weaker.

Taesan threw a punch. Valencia, coming at him, was blown away by the force of the punch.

“How, how could this be!”

“Because you’re weak.”

Taesan simply answered and charged at him. Valencia hastily gathered emotions and launched them at Taesan.

Once again, a multitude of emotions crashed down.

But they were easily shaken off with a light shake of the head.

Valencia screamed in denial.

“Why!”

“What’s the use of having so many? Those emotions are utterly worthless.”

It was, perhaps, an obvious outcome.

The emotions Valencia had swallowed were all from those who had given up and stopped halfway.

The gathering of such emotions could never have any significance. They were just numerous in quantity, nothing more.

“Eeeek!”

Valencia gritted his teeth.

He kept releasing emotions, but none took effect.

Valencia’s eyes began to shake violently. And then slowly began to calm down.

He stopped running away.

Taesan’s sword pierced through his chest.

Valencia, with blood dripping from his mouth, looked into Taesan’s eyes.

Holding onto Taesan’s head, he shouted.

“Your mind! Show me what you’ve got!”

[A Mind Fusion check is attempted.] [Checking……]

With the judgment window, the world changed.

In front of Taesan, a world of ash unfolded.

Taesan instinctively realized that this place was the world of the mind.

“Is this how it is?”

They called each other to the world of the mind. And then they captured the mind itself.

If that’s the case, this place must be inside Valencia’s mind.

Taesan walked through the world of the mind.

There, fragments that seemed to be Valencia’s memories were scattered.

Through them, Taesan could understand Valencia’s life.

He was a person from an ordinary world. Born as the son of a tax officer in the medieval era, he lived his life dealing with tax-related work.

Taesan found it strange. It was literally a smooth life, and he was living it contentedly. Why he went mad, what he wanted the transcender’s mind for, Taesan couldn’t understand.

Then, a fragment of memory caught Taesan’s eye.

The fragment was a dark, murky color.

As Taesan approached the fragment, the memory it contained began to reveal itself.

Taesan grimaced.

There was only destruction.

The city was on fire. People were dying, and knights were riding horses.

Dragons flew in the sky. A transcendent power.

Began scattering towards the horizon.

It looked as if it was blocking something.

Kooong!

And with a wave of a massive power, everything crumbled.

Knights were trampled, and dragons bled as they fell to the ground.

The world was ending.

“Immortal?”

Taesan squinted his eyes.

The power that trampled the world felt like an immortal’s.

Valencia frantically ran away from that place.

Something approached him as he ran, consumed by fear and despair.

Valencia closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face.

Crack.

And it was over. The fragment of memory shattered into pieces.

“This is.”

Taesan narrowed his eyes.

While Taesan delved into Valencia’s mind,

Valencia was doing the same, advancing into Taesan’s mind.

“If I just swallow this place!”

The one who controlled the body was ultimately the mind. If he swallowed Taesan’s mind, Taesan’s body would become his.

He spread his mind in all directions, his eyes filled with madness.

He would swallow everything to make it his own,

“Eh, what?”

But soon, he realized. The power of the mind he was spreading couldn’t reach far.

“Darkness?”

Then it dawned on Valencia.

He was engulfed in darkness.

A darkness so pitch black that he couldn’t see an inch ahead, an endless darkness that even swallowed his existence.

Valencia advanced in panic.

But the darkness did not recede.

He scattered his power, but all of it was devoured by the darkness and disappeared.

Valencia was horrified.

He realized.

This place was Taesan’s mind and soul. But he saw nothing.

The reason was simple.

His spirit was infinitely inadequate to interfere with Taesan.

He, who had devoured the spirits of tens of thousands, couldn’t even touch a fragment.

[Judgment Success!]

Crash!

The world shattered.

Taesan, returning to the labyrinth, frowned.

‘Immortal?’

The being that trampled over Valencia’s world and subdued him.

It bore the unmistakable aura of an Immortal.

“Why does this exist?”

It wasn’t merely a fragment. It meant the Immortal had directly crushed Valencia’s world.

And the energy that approached Valencia at the end.

Probably an Immortal. But then,

There was a question. Why was Valencia here?

He wanted to inquire about it, but Valencia was not in a normal state.

“Ha, haha. Hahaha……”

With a sword embedded in his chest, he offered no resistance.

“You are… that kind of thing.”

He looked at Taesan, his voice hoarse as he spoke.

“Yes. You must have brought a pure core. Originally, I possessed a status unaffected by such things… more formidable than anyone. I wanted to take revenge on the Immortal who made me this way, but… how vain. How utterly vain…”

Years, perhaps decades, centuries passed.

The madman, who had settled in the labyrinth dreaming of becoming transcendent, died just like that.

[Your level has increased.] [Your level has increased.] [You have acquired the special always-on skill [Emotional Interference].] [Your spiritual ascent has been activated. You have acquired the special always-on skill [Torrent of Emotions].] [The special always-on skill [Torrent of Emotions] has been integrated with the special always-on skill [Three Proofs].]

The skills have integrated.

[Special Always-On Skill: Three Proofs]

[You have proven yourself to yourself, to the gods, and to the world. What you have built up and your emotions become phenomena, surrounding you and having a material impact.]

The aspect that not only what is built up in the Three Proofs but also emotions become phenomena has been added.

“It’s become a bit stronger.”

Not just in status, but now including emotions. The power of the emotions shown by Valencia was not weak, merely overshadowed by the status of the sage. The Three Proofs have been strengthened.

[Special Always-On Skill: Emotional Interference] [Proficiency: 1%] [You can interfere with others' emotions. Or you can imbue your attacks with emotions to attempt a mental judgment on your opponent. The stronger the mental strength, the less effective it is.]

“Let’s see.”

Taesan activated a frost arrow. And when he used emotional interference, the torrent of emotions shown by Valencia began to frost over the frost arrow slightly.

“It’s not bad.”

If one were to argue, every attack could be considered equivalent to inflicting a status ailment. Although this wouldn’t work against the truly strong, it would prove quite useful against enemies that relied on sheer numbers.

But it didn’t end there.

[You have reached the destination desired by the designer of the labyrinth. A reward will be given accordingly.]

Clank.

The floor bricks began to rise, fitting together like a puzzle, starting to form a shape.

[It's you again.]

“Hello, Balbamba.”

The administrator of the labyrinth, Balbamba, appeared. He murmured as he looked at Taesan.

[It's unusual for an adventurer who hasn't even entered the depths to meet me so frequently.]

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

[It depends on how you see it. For now, I must do what I need to do.]

Balbamba’s body clicked. The corpse of Valencia began to descend into the depths of the labyrinth.

Clank.

And in its place, a small spherical object appeared.

It seemed to be a temporary NPC replacing Valencia’s role.

[The guides who have been with the labyrinth for a long time on the 21st floor, and also the 41st floor, have both disappeared. And that too, by the hands of a single adventurer.]

“Should I be sorry?”

[There's no need. Their disappearance means that, in some way, their wishes have been fulfilled.]

Balbamba’s body clicked and clashed.

[We had a contract with them. Accordingly, they took their place in the labyrinth. The fulfillment of that contract and the end of their role is a good thing in itself. The hero behind you would agree.] [...Maybe.]

The hero’s voice trailed off at the end.

[My task here is done. Now, it's time to give you your reward.]

Balbamba’s body clashed, and power began to descend.

[You have reached the second realm that the magician of the labyrinth desired.]

“Level 100, huh.”

[If expressed in numbers, yes. The magician has prepared a reward for you.]

At level 55, Balbamba had appeared and offered him choices.

‘What were they?’

Equipment, skill proficiency, stat increase, knowledge of the labyrinth, hidden truths, and desired information.

That’s what he remembered.

This time, as Taesan pondered what to receive, Balbamba spoke.

[It seems you are pondering, but this time there are only two options.]

“It’s less than last time.”

[Do not ask me. It's what the magician decided.]

Balbamba spoke in an annoyed tone.

[This time, what you can receive is either precious equipment or a skill. Choose.]

The choice was obvious.

“Give me the skill.”

Equipment can be replaced eventually. But skills, not so much.

Balbamba clicked, as if he knew this would be the choice.

[Receive it. This is the gift the magician bestows upon you.] [You have acquired the special activation skill [Adventurer's Will]] [Special Activation Skill: Adventurer's Will] [Mana Consumption: 50] [Only adventurers who descend into the labyrinth possess the will to endure. A firm will and spirit ignore all judgments inflicted upon oneself for a certain period.]

“An immunity skill to status ailments?”

Taesan’s face lit up with interest. Ignoring all judgments meant everything, including cold or burn judgments, emotional judgments, instant death judgments, confusion judgments, etc., were all included.

Although Taesan had never experienced a mental judgment, he knew that being immune felt different from successfully resisting.

[You have descended to a level satisfactory to the magician. Then, a reward fitting your achievement must be given. Are you satisfied?]

Taesan nodded. Balbamba’s body began to crumble away.

[Then I must return to my duties due to my busy master. Such is the life of a servant.]

Balbamba grumbled as he was about to leave, but Taesan stopped him.

“Wait. Just one more question.”

[That is not permitted for you.]

“It’s nothing grand. Just a simple confirmation.”

Balbamba’s disintegration stopped.

He asked,

[Speak. What is it?]

“Is the floor’s clearance reward guaranteed upon clearing any floor?”

[So that's what you were asking.]

Balbamba replied in an annoyed tone.

[Of course. That's the purpose of floor rewards.]

“Understood.”

Taesan nodded, and Balbamba’s body completely disintegrated.

[Then, let's meet again next time.]

Having confirmed his question, Taesan descended further.

[This place leads to the deeper parts of the labyrinth.] [This is a place where beings filled with mystery reside. The corrupted and the uncorrupted coexist in harmony.] [51st Floor Quest Start.] [Defeat the boss of the 51st floor and pass through. [Reward: Anklet of the Broken-hearted.] [Secret Reward: ???]

The blacksmith on the 51st floor greeted him.

“You’ve finally made it here.”

He looked at Taesan with a sentimental face.

“Your speed is incomparable to others. From here, the labyrinth changes once again. Various beings will appear. How you relate to them is entirely up to you.”

He briefly advised. Taesan took the advice to heart and turned into the passage.

‘Then.’

The Demon God had said that the Guides of the fifth order were waiting on the 51st floor.

And Lee Taeyeon said that the 51st floor was quite unique.

Creak.

Taesan opened the door.

What appeared was a vast city.

Numerous medieval-style buildings were placed along the streets, and one or two expressionless people were walking around.

Monsters were nowhere to be seen.

It was more like a village than a floor.

“It’s real.”

[It's been here a long time too.]

Many adventurers have come to the labyrinth.

And among them, some descended to the depths, while some died on their way.

However, such individuals were extremely rare.

Most who came to the labyrinth gave up descending.

The despair of being able to die even with their talent, the skepticism that they couldn’t descend any further, etc.

Many who faced these emotions gave up on conquering and settled in the midst of the labyrinth.

This was the 51st floor.

A city where the broken-hearted gathered.