Ascension Through Skills

[Kang Junhyuk[Solo]: Can I get it too?] [Kang Taesan[Solo]: Lee Taeyeon would refuse even if it was offered, but you're proactive. It should be possible. But I don't really know. What I received might be something different.] [Shut up.]

The ghost spoke sharply. However, his voice lacked the force it had previously. It seemed as if something was missing.

The dwarf, who noticed this, suppressed a snicker.

“You are a halted existence. Don’t forget that.”

“Stop that already.”

Taesan waved his hand with an annoyed face.

“Why do you two have such bad chemistry?”

“Do you expect us to hold hands and play house here? This place is inhabited by those driven to their limits from the beginning. It’s hard to find anyone here with a good relationship.”

The dwarf shrugged with a look of annoyance.

“If you have nothing else to do, you should go down. I’m tired of looking at that guy.”

“Understood.”

There was nothing to buy for now, anyway. Taesan went down to the labyrinth. The ghost said nothing.

The fourth floor.

He knew about this place from Lee Taeyeon.

‘She said it was the floor of the orcs.’

Rats were followed by goblins. Goblins were followed by orcs. It was a rather conventional arrangement.

Orcs.

Players called them a warrior race. Each one possessed a robust physique and strength and demonstrated excellent combat movement.

That didn’t mean that their intelligence was lacking. They were also quite agile. These all-around monsters, rare to see in the labyrinth, were seen as bosses from the middle floors in Easy Mode.

Now they roamed the entire floor.

The way Lee Taeyeon passed the 4th floor was simple. She favored using Molotov cocktails and oil. She used them on susceptible targets until she ventured quite deep.

Taesan arrived at a room.

In it was a single altar.

[You've discovered the Altar of Balthasar.] [First Discovery Bonus] [Your Intelligence has permanently increased by 1. Your Mana has permanently increased by 2.]

‘Just as I heard.’

He confirmed it without being surprised since he had heard about it from Lee Taeyeon. A high and lofty spire reaching up to the ceiling was noticeable as Taesan placed his hand on the altar.

[Altar of Balthasar] [An altar created by those who serve Balthasar. It is a passage connected to the god. Balthasar can exercise his influence through this place.]

The basic content was the same as the Altar of Lakiratas. Balthasar. If Lee Taeyeon’s words were correct, his domain was victory.

[God of Victory. Balthasar, huh.]

“Do you know about him?”

[He's not a bad god. Nor is he good, either. Just an average god?]

Power was gathering at the altar, and I felt something from beyond the space. It was looking down at this place.

It wasn’t as dark and sticky as Lakiratas. It was a collection of violent power that didn’t permit anything.

[Sub Quest Start] [Balthasar wants to test you, who have come to his altar. If you accept, a trial will come to you. If you overcome it, there will be a reward.] [Reward: Balthasar will determine based on your achievements.]

There was no information about the trial either, as Lee Taeyeon had avoided all altars.

However, there was no reason to refuse.

Taesan accepted the quest.

[Sub Quest Start] [Balthasar rejoices in your choice.] [Balthasar is reading your experiences.]

Taesan grimaced at the system window that followed.

“He’s reading?”

[As he's the God of Victory, he reads your memories and experiences to evaluate your worth. If he deems you unworthy, he won't give you a quest or will dismiss it. But you won't have any problems.]

It was as the ghost said.

A moment later, the power beyond vibrated violently. It was as if the happy shaking of an excited force had eventually stabilized.

Then, another window popped up for Taesan.

[Balthasar's area of influence decreases.] [Balthasar proposes an enhanced trial to you.]

Taesan paused. The ghost seemed to expect that.

[Ha. He reduces his area of influence and offers a trial? Well, there's no way Balthasar would dislike you.]

Taesan pondered as he looked at the system window. From his experience with Lakiratas, he realized that gods were fickle. It would be hard to readily accept an enhanced trial.

The ghost resolved his dilemma.

[Are you worried about the enhanced trial?]

“I’ve already had one with Lakiratas.”

[...So, he offered that to you too. And you survived.]

An indiscernible emotion was contained in the ghost’s voice. Then, he began to speak calmly.

[It's okay to accept. You're more than capable of clearing it now.]

“I nearly died during Lakiratas’s trial.”

[That's because it's Lakiratas. That god is capricious. Even if you fought and died, it would be satisfactory for him, and it wouldn't have mattered.]

Lakiratas governed over struggle and death. Even if Taesan fought and died, both elements were satisfied. The opposite was also true.

That was one reason why Lakiratas could act freely.

[Did your trial suddenly get tougher while you were in the middle of it?]

“How did you know?”

[Well, that's because he's a capricious one. I expected it, but I didn't know he'd really do it.]

The ghost said with a touch of unease.

[Gods fundamentally hate to break agreements. Even for humans, who are like ants to them, or perhaps especially because of that, they dislike breaching the contract. The moment they lie, they feel that their dignity diminishes.]

So, the ghost’s judgment was that there should be no problem. After a moment of contemplation, Taesan nodded his head.

“I accept the quest.”

The rewards of the gods were certain. Despite its difficulty, Lakiratas had provided ample rewards.

If he accepted, he could become significantly stronger. If the ghost’s words were true, the gods would try not to lie. If that’s the case, there was no reason to refuse.

[Sub-quest initiated.］ [Balthasar is greatly pleased.］ [Balthasar's area of influence decreases.］ [Balthasar gets the consent of the residents of the 4th and 5th floors.] [. . .] [Approval 20. Disapproval 1.] [The 4th-floor changes.]

A system window popped up, and with it, a violent crashing sound reverberated through the floor. The ground shook for a moment. Taesan quickly bent his body to stabilize himself.

Boom! Boom!

The intense sound kept resonating.

The vibrations felt through the floor, and the walls suggested that something significant was happening.

“What’s happening?”

A few seconds later, the vibrations disappeared. The system window appeared.

[Balthasar's Trial: Conquer the transformed 4th and 5th floors.]

“Transformed?”

[Uh... this is my first time seeing this too.]

Even the ghost seemed taken aback as if he had never encountered this before. Taesan opened the door and moved into the next room. Only then did he realize what the vibrations were.

[Wow.]

This whole place was a labyrinth. Passages connected to each other, and rooms were organically linked. The 4th floor probably wouldn’t be much different.

But now, changes have occurred here.

A passage was visible at the far end.

“It transformed into a straight line.”

The 4th floor had transformed from a labyrinth into a series of connected rooms in a straight line.

The labyrinth itself had transformed. Not just one room but the whole floor.

“Is this even possible?”

Taesan knew how solid the walls of the labyrinth were. Through many experiences, he realized how solid the concept of a ‘floor’ was in this place.

But even he had never heard of an entire floor changing like this.

[The adversary is a god who participated in creating the labyrinth. It's not impossible... but it's surprising. He was capable of this?]

The ghost also seemed quite taken aback, as if it was his first time seeing this. Taesan looked around the room. There was no significant change in the room itself.

“Good.”

Then his task hadn’t changed either.

The ghost was surprised as Taesan headed toward the room.

[You're going in just like that?]

“There’s nothing to do if I just stay put here, is there?”

[... That's true.]

Taesan passed through the room and entered the next one. There was an orc there.

“That’s big.”

It was three times the size of an average person. The orc, sitting down, opened its eyes. Seeing Taesan, it curved the corners of its mouth.

“Grunts.”

The orc extended its sword.

[An orc wielding a sword has appeared.]

There was only one orc in the room. It seemed as though it wanted a fair fight.

‘Agreement.’

Twenty in favor. And one against.

He seemed to understand the meaning.

Taesan pulled out Lakiratas’ sword and his shield. The orc, seeing that he was ready, stomped its foot. It seemed to say that nothing more was necessary as it swung down its sword.

Clang!

Their swords clashed, and Taesan pushed back immediately. The orc was pushed back, but it quickly regained its stance.

It was definitely stronger than a goblin. Even in terms of strength, it didn’t fall far behind Taesan.

“Grunts!”

The orc swung its sword. Taesan blocked it with his shield.

[You took 4 damage.]

With over 400 health points, that damage was largely insignificant. Taesan quickly opened the status window to check.

[Protective Shield 6/10]

His protective shield had been scraped off. Confirming that the shield took damage before health, Taesan moved his sword. The orc reacted by moving against him.

“Stronger than I thought.”

There were no openings. He had fought against orcs in the previous world, so he knew. They were definitely stronger now.

[A divine trial. It seems you have to fight one on one and win till the end. Of course, the enemies would also be equally strengthened.]

Clank.

Taesan’s arm was pushed down as the orc exerted great force. Taesan pulled his arm back momentarily and then pushed back immediately.

Thunk!

“Grunts!”

The orc was thrown back, and Taesan immediately closed the gap.

[You have activated a continuous attack. The next attack will be used twice.] [You have activated a powerful strike. The next attack will cause significant damage.] [You caused 34 damage to the orc wielding a sword.] [You caused 22 damage to the orc wielding a sword.]

The continuous attack only added a basic attack. Thanks to this, he could definitely confirm the difference in damage from a powerful strike.

Taesan used 6 mana, and the damage was 34.

‘So, 2 per 1 mana spent.’

Not a bad ratio. The ratio would increase as his proficiency level rose.

“Grunts!”

The orc pushed Taesan back and swung its sword. He dodged lightly and thrust at its neck. After swinging his sword a few more times, the orc fell.

“Grunts…”

A satisfied expression was on its face.

[You have won against the orc wielding a sword.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Your strength permanently increases by 1.]

Given that it was an orc, the strength increase was plausible.

“It’s not that hard.”

[If it's hard with your current stats, that would be a problem. It looks like it's a staircase style, so it'll get harder the further you go.]

It was a sort of stage. The first orc was the weakest enemy. As he passed through each room, increasingly stronger orcs would appear.

Considering the number of approvals, there should be ten rooms on each floor.

Taesan moved further in.

A sword was thrust at him. Despite its massive body, it was fast enough to leave afterimages. It charged towards Taesan.

Taesan, with a calm expression, swung his sword, deflecting the orc’s blade and piercing its chest.

“Grunts!”

[You have won against the orc wielding a sword.] [Your level has increased.] [As a reward for leveling up, your health has increased by 20.] [As a reward for leveling up, your strength has permanently increased by 3. Your agility has permanently increased by 4. Your mana has permanently increased by 1.]

Five orcs. After clearing a total of five rooms, his level increased. Perhaps due to the divine trial strengthening the orcs, the experience also seemed to have increased.

“Not as much trouble as the noise suggested. I was unnecessarily startled.”

Although they had been strengthened, they were not enough to stop him. As the labyrinth had changed into a straight path, unnecessary movements were eliminated, enabling faster clearing. The spirit spoke as if it was absurd.

[So that's how you talk about divine power. Goodness.]

“Isn’t that right?”

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

So far, nothing significant has changed in the labyrinth for Taesan. Strictly speaking, only the path had changed. There wasn’t much thrill since his regression, as he had been in a similar situation before.

The spirit grumbled. Taesan checked the equipment he had acquired.

[Thick Ankle Guard] [Defense + 3] [It seems like it can block many attacks. It doesn't seem like it can block weapons.]

Defense 3. That was quite a high value. The ankle guard he was currently wearing was 1, so this was an increase of 2.

And then, the weapon.

[Crude Spear] [Attack + 4] [It's a spear. It looks like it would hurt quite a bit if you got stabbed.]

It was exactly as the description said. His first spear and it had quite a high attack power.

The variety of weapons in this place was also a significant benefit. There were definitely occasions when he would need to use a spear. Taesan put the spear into his inventory and checked his status window.

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 13] [Shield: 12/12] [Health: 450/450] [Mana: 78/78] [Strength: 72] [Intelligence: 72] [Agility: 62] [Attack + 18] [Defense + 14] [The subject is in perfect condition.]

The shield had increased to 12. An increase of 2.

“So the ratio is 1/10. That’s good.”

This means that if his health was one hundred thousand, the shield would be ten thousand.

The ratio would also gradually increase as proficiency increased, so it was quite a good skill.

However, the shield’s value was not just in terms of his overall health.

Taesan confirmed it in the first battle.

The shield depletes before health. The two had different judgments.

In that case, there was something to be gained.

A main skill that could only be gained when taking damage that would reduce health without actually losing health. It was a paradox that needed to be solved, but it was a skill worth that effort.

“This really seems possible.”

If he could just raise the shield a bit more, it would be feasible without any trouble.

He thought he could only do this after significantly preparing various potions, equipment, and skills, but it was a pleasant miscalculation.