Ascension Through Skills

Light poured down. Taesan kicked off the ground to dodge.

The laughter deepened.

[This is fun.] [Enjoyable.] [With this, we won't get bored and send it back.] [No need to worry about dying from not being able to withstand it.] [Let's play with it.]

“Those are some fierce ones.”

Taesan murmured as he continued to move. The lights grazed past him, barely missing.

‘As expected, I can’t feel it.’

These beings wielded such power. He should have been able to sense remnants of their power or aura to locate them, but he couldn’t feel anything at all.

Taesan made up his mind. Even if it meant using a bit of power, he decided to properly identify his enemies.

[You have activated Marbas' Pitch-Black Wave.]

A surge of black waves burst forth.

The ravenous wave engulfed all the trees and bushes around, advancing as the colorful forest began to be covered in deep darkness.

Boom!

In an instant, the trees and bushes in a wide area were erased, clearing the view.

Taesan propelled himself into the air, surveying the surroundings.

Then, he saw tiny humanoid beings.

With a pair of wings, exceedingly beautiful but only the size of Taesan’s palm.

“Fairies?”

And they were much farther away than Taesan had expected. Even if Taesan ran towards them, they would have enough distance to escape.

The fairies widened their distance from Taesan even more.

[A fearsome human.] [Let's be careful.] [Let's play carefully.]

Taesan landed on the ground. The trees and bushes trampled by the wave began to slowly take their place again.

“Fairies. They do fit the mystery.”

[Not like the friends of children in fairy tales, though.]

While they talked, the surroundings quickly filled with straight trees again.

“This is tough.”

Even after using the Pitch-Black Wave, everything returned to its original state. He only managed to identify who was attacking him, without gaining any further information.

Certainly, the difficulty level had changed upon entering the 51st floor.

“What should I do?”

He had received information from Lee Taeyeon, but even that was uncertain.

Taesan began to organize the information, piece by piece.

‘The ones attacking me are fairies.’

And the distance was quite far.

Even a rough calculation showed they were kilometers away when shooting the light. Only now did he understand why he couldn’t sense anything. From such a distance, these tiny beings using power made it impossible to properly identify them.

Swoosh.

Dodging the incoming light again, Taesan surveyed his surroundings.

The forest, once trampled by the Pitch-Black Wave, had returned to its original state.

After checking the position of the trees and bushes, Taesan realized one fact.

‘The positions of the trees and the shapes of the bushes are all the same.’

Before the Pitch-Black Wave damaged it and now, it was perfectly the same.

Suddenly, Taesan moved forward, and the forest began to change.

Taesan stopped walking.

The trees and bushes around him. Their positions were perfectly the same as before he moved.

“Is it like this? No wonder it’s hard to find the way.”

[You noticed? Faster than I thought.]

Taesan concluded.

“The forest is moving with me.”

The positions of the trees and bushes kept moving in the same way. Naturally, it was inevitable to get lost. The location changed, but the scenery remained the same.

This was information Lee Taeyeon didn’t know. She mentioned that after wandering around for days, she suddenly found a way out.

Taesan would probably find his way out after spending several days here as well.

But he didn’t plan to spend his time like that.

The forest adjusted as it followed him.

In other words, if he could make the forest stop following him, he could escape.

Taesan powered up his legs. He invested his aggressive stats into agility and surged forward.

Whoosh!

The wind flattened the bushes and struck the trees, scattering leaves. As Taesan surged forward, the forest began to move.

[He's escaping.] [Let him escape.]

The fairies pursued, casting beams of light at him. Taesan, while sprinting, deflected them.

He poured more strength into his legs.

His pace quickened. He didn’t stop there but pushed himself to his limit.

Gradually, the once monotonous scenery began to shift.

The forest trailing behind could no longer match Taesan’s velocity.

Whoosh!

He pounded the earth beneath him. The ground fractured, and the surrounding trees trembled.

His acceleration continued. The landscape started to blur with speed.

As the forest transformed around him, Taesan focused intently.

He extended his senses in every direction, taking note of everything he passed. In doing so, Taesan detected an unfamiliar energy from afar.

The energy radiating from the forest was enchanting and mysterious. Yet, that specific location exuded a distinctly somber and tangible energy.

That was his destination.

Taesan veered off course. The fairies’ playful laughter gradually became distant.

Rumble.

The forest’s branches ascended. The trees merged and expanded, forming a massive barrier.

A tree, now the size of a small hill, obstructed Taesan’s path.

He launched a punch.

Boom!

A vast hole appeared in the tree. It collapsed, scattering its branches on the ground.

Taesan bypassed the fallen tree and pressed on.

As he neared the source of the gloomy energy, the forest’s hues subtly shifted. From vibrant, almost surreal colors, the trees darkened to brown, and the leaves to green.

A forest grounded in reality emerged.

“This is it.”

This was the first checkpoint. The ghost exhaled in awe.

[You arrived incredibly fast. I expected it to take at least three days. Only possible with your extraordinary stats.]

51st floor. The forest that tailed adventurers.

There was but one solution: time. As time elapsed, the pursuing forest twisted and slowly, a new path would reveal itself.

Until then, one had to wait, but Taesan, with his speed, broke free.

For a typical journey on the 51st floor, this feat would have been unattainable.

[It's the ugly one's territory.] [It's boring there.] [Let's go back.]

The fairies giggled and vanished. Whether they truly disappeared or not, no further lights were directed at him.

Taesan observed the transformed forest for a moment before stepping into it.

[The deeper you go, the more you'll encounter unique, typically unsolvable floors. Such floors usually have a guide. You'll see more of these as you proceed.]

The ghost spoke. True to his words, within the forest stood a small wooden house.

Taesan rang a bell beside the house. A tinkling sound resonated, and footsteps could be heard approaching the door from inside.

“These damn fairy brats! If I catch them, they’re dead!”

The door burst open with a loud noise.

The figure that emerged looked up at Taesan and scowled.

“Who are you?”

“An adventurer.”

Taesan replied.

[You have encountered the grotesque gremlin who has acquired the mystery.]

“Sorry about that. Those fairy brats keep ringing the bell, so I thought it was them again.”

The being, having ushered Taesan into the house, sifted through a drawer. He seized a handful of tea leaves, carelessly tossed them into boiling water, and brought it over.

“It might not look like much, but it tastes good. It’s also beneficial for your health. Give it a try.”

Taesan eyed the tea warily before taking a sip.

[You have drunk tea brewed with mandrake leaves. All your health and mana are restored, and your physical and mental states are enhanced to their optimal conditions.]

“How is it? Tasty, right?”

“…The taste is terrible.”

He couldn’t feign appreciation. The face of the being who had offered the tea dropped.

“I suppose so. The last person who visited said the same thing. When will I ever master such a skill?”

“But the effects are incredible. What is this?”

It restored all health and mana. Moreover, it enhanced physical capabilities and fortified the mind.

It felt akin to the effects of leveling up. And this was offered not as a quest reward, but simply for partaking in the tea.

“Adventurers might not find it, but here, such things are common. It’s nothing special.”

The being sat on a chair made of leaves.

“I’ll give you a few to take with you when you’re done here.”

A non-hostile NPC existing on the 51st floor.

There was one reason for its existence. The being spoke.

“You’re an adventurer. I am a being bound to the labyrinth because I desire something. You know what I might propose to you, right?”

Taesan nodded. The being smiled broadly.

“Good. The previous guy was okay, but he couldn’t get me what I wanted. Same with the ghost behind you. How about you?”

The being leaned back in the chair and asked.

“Be honest with me. What do I look like?”

Taesan looked at the being’s face.

It was grotesque. Only half the height of Taesan. Not only was it short, but its proportions were also distorted, making it look bizarre.

And its face was hideously twisted. It looked partly reptilian and partly human. A mix of two appearances made it extremely strange.

Its ears were wide like a lizard’s, and its eyes were unnecessarily large. Its arms and legs had long, hideous nails and claws.

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“You’re ugly.”

Taesan answered. The being nodded as if it expected that response.

“I look terrible. It’s inevitable due to the characteristics of the gremlin race. However, aside from me, all beings here are beautiful and lovely.”

It was evident just by looking at the fairies. Despite being incredibly cruel, those small beings were as beautiful as the ones in fairy tales.

“Unicorns, sea serpents, the Raplas… they all possess enchantingly beautiful forms. Yes, that’s why they appear in fairy tales and are objects of human longing. But what about me?”

His face contorted.

“I’ve been granted the mystery to stay on the 51st floor, but I’m here all by myself looking like this. I’m the only one who looks bizarre. The fairies always insult me for being ugly, and the sea serpent sends me looks of disdain indirectly. It’s irritating.”

Crunch.

The leaves crumbled in his fist.

“Do you think I wanted to look like this? What am I supposed to do about being born this way? Even if I create my territory and stay there, those fairy brats come to pick a fight almost every day. Just because I’m ugly, just because I look terrible!”

He rose abruptly, unable to contain his anger.

“I am a being of mystery just like them! I should be a being that receives both the fear and longing of humans!”

The gremlin, spewing his distorted anger and jealousy, slumped back down.

“…They persecute me because I’m ugly.”

He smirked, revealing his crooked teeth.

“Then if I become beautiful and they turn ugly, I could persecute them, right? Yes, that’s what I’ll do.”

As the gremlin murmured, a quest appeared.

[Sub-quest start] [The gremlin is a being of mystery. Although he has settled on the 51st floor, the residents here despise and belittle him due to his appearance. Angered by this, the gremlin wishes to become beautiful.] [Condition: Listen to the gremlin's request.] [Reward: A method to clear the 51st floor. And treasures from the mysterious forest, as much as he is satisfied with.]