Ascension Through Skills

A being that protected Vekveta. A dragon.

Sometimes, adventurers in the labyrinth mistook Taesan for a dragon. It meant that he was a being with such strength.

And Taesan finally understood why they thought so.

‘Isn’t there little to no difference from a god?’

At least the power he felt outwardly was hard to distinguish from the gods he had seen.

It was hard to believe that it was a mortal being. A soft strength was flowing from the golden dragon.

Despite Balbenares seemingly reducing his power in consideration of Taesan, this level meant that even if hundreds of the current Taesans attacked him, they couldn’t win.

Taesan, who had been feeling the power for a few moments, asked.

“Why did you call me?”

From the time Taesan showed himself on the mountain, he felt a prickly force touching him.

“You’re not trying to kill me according to God’s will, are you?”

[Of course not.]

The dragon smiled.

[I'm a dragon entrusted with the role of guarding the land. What the gods want is a story that has nothing to do with me. So, I did not touch the children of the Demon God who settled in my land.]

The dragon quickly turned his eyes. Balbenares, who was looking outside the cave, muttered.

[Well, that will also be meaningless now. The reason I called you is to satisfy my last curiosity.]

“Curiosity?”

[I'm a dragon guarding the land. In other words, I'm bound to this world. So, I've always been curious. About the huge labyrinth that magicians made and great gods that took their places.]

The reptilian eyes turned toward Taesan. Balbenares, who was examining Taesan, couldn’t hide his admiration.

[You're indeed amazing. I understand why the Demon God was willing to bear the humiliation.]

The Demon God did not give quests to anything that wasn’t hers, not even to demons. The fact that she gave a direct quest to Taesan, a human, would have meant she bent her pride.

[It would mean that the demons existing in this world were of such value to her.]

Balbenares said with a regretful face.

[But now, that is over, too. It's truly sad that they are going to be destroyed due to fanaticism.]

“What do you mean by ‘over’?”

[The young Demon God is angry.]

Balbenares continued to speak calmly.

[About this world where her things are dying. She has been silent because her things are still left, but it won't last long. The world will shatter. It would have fallen long ago if she wasn't the type to cling to her own things.] [Excuse me, I'm a little confused.]

The ghost intervened. As a being of the labyrinth, the ghost could neither be felt nor heard by beings outside of it.

But Balbenares asked quietly.

[What is it, dead one?] [Is Harmon a god born in this world?] [Yes. Over a hundred years ago, a mortal became a transcendental. He is called by the name Harmon.] [Then Harmon can stop it, right?]

A god within their own domain was very strong. Even the Demon God could not touch them. That was what the ghost had been saying so far.

[Even if the Demon God is angry, she can't interfere, can she?]

Balbenares looked at the ghost and laughed.

[You, you're strong.] [I was pretty strong.]

The ghost grumbled, and Balbenares affirmed it.

[If you were still alive, you could have defeated me. But you don't know about gods.] [I've met more than a handful of gods.] [You only saw their outward appearance.]

Balbenares said calmly.

[You'll understand soon enough.] [Hmm.]

The ghost didn’t seem to accept this but didn’t say anything more. Balbenares once again looked at Taesan.

[You satisfied my curiosity. And you are the first mortal I've met. So, I'll grant you a small favor.]

The golden dragon raised its front claw. The tip of its claw broke off and flew towards Taesan.

[This is a dragon's claw. If there's someone who can refine it, it will be a great help to you.]

“Thank you.”

Taesan accepted the unexpected reward obediently.

Dragon’s Claw.

If it was the labyrinth’s blacksmith, they might be able to refine it.

[Goodbye. This will likely be our first and last meeting. Now, I'm off to prepare.]

“Prepare?”

The dragon raised its front paw. A magical energy began to gather.

[I mean my final struggle.]

With a calm voice, the dragon disappeared.

The giant cave was left empty, with only Taesan remaining.

Taesan went outside.

He put the claw in his inventory and descended the mountain. When he arrived at the village, he saw Annetsha looking startled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Taesan!”

Annetsha’s face brightened when she saw Taesan.

“Where have you been!”

“I had someone to meet.”

“Somebody?”

Annetsha tilted her head. Taesan had never talked about any acquaintances while he had been with her.

The demon known as Atunekia appeared a bit later.

“Oh, weren’t you leaving?”

Atunekia was noticeably taken aback upon seeing Taesan. Annetsha also spoke with a somewhat hurt face.

“I thought you had left without saying anything…”

“I would have said something if I were leaving.”

“Oh… are you going to stay for a while then?”

“Probably.”

He didn’t know when his quest would be completed, but it didn’t seem like it would be anytime soon.

Upon hearing Taesan’s answer, Atunekia became even more flustered. His confusion was evident in his eyes.

Noticing Taesan’s gaze, Atunekia regained his composure and cleared his throat.

“Then we will prepare a room for you. Since you saved the princess, we should certainly treat you well.”

In his eyes, Taesan could read both confusion and determination.

Lying down in the provided room, Taesan looked up at the ceiling.

He could see sunlight that shouldn’t be visible beyond the ceiling. The rough wooden floor was hard and bumpy, causing discomfort on his back, and if he glanced to the side, he could see a few bugs crawling up the wall.

“I’d be more comfortable up in a tree.”

The house was not serving its purpose.

Still, he had no intention of complaining. Compared to houses with half-open roofs, this was relatively better.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of knocking echoed through the door. Taesan got up and opened it.

“What is it?”

“Ah, Taesan, are you okay?”

Annetsha asked hesitantly, shaking a wooden bottle in her hand.

“I thought we might have a drink, if you’re okay.”

“What’s with the alcohol?”

“They say it’s a liquor made through trial and error in the village. I received one from Jolla.”

She gave a small smile. She seemed brighter than before, perhaps because she had found a place to stay.

Taesan moved aside.

“Come in if you want.”

“Thank you.”

She took out two wooden cups.

Taesan drank the liquor she poured.

[Judgment for poisoning…] [Judgment failed. You are in a slight state of being poisoned. Your health decreases by 5 every second.]

“Are you okay?”

She asked with a worried expression.

Taesan nodded.

“Not bad.”

“Hehe. I’m glad.”

She also poured some liquor into her own cup and drank.

Taesan studied her face, but it didn’t seem particularly affected.

‘Is it a poison that only affects humans?’

Taesan swallowed the liquor and opened his mouth.

“The state of the village is pretty harsh.”

“It is.”

Annetsha made a grim face.

The demons had fled, unable to take even a decent tool with them. It was impossible to build a proper village from scratch on bare ground.

The result was these barely-standing houses.

‘I think they said there were originally two hundred.’

Unable to endure for five years, only fifty remained from those who had made it here.

“But… still, it’s a village where my kin live.”

Annetsha spoke with a determined face.

“I will also live here and help everyone. If we live with all our might, one day a day to rest will come.”

Her smiling face settled into a solemn expression. Annetsha bowed respectfully.

“Thank you once again. Thanks to you, Taesan… I was able to meet my kin again.”

She spoke in a trembling voice.

Annetsha thought she would always be chased, eventually caught, and killed. Meeting the old connections she thought had died was something she couldn’t have imagined, even in her dreams.

All of this happened because of Taesan.

No words were enough to express her gratitude to him.

“Even if you received sufficient compensation, I’m still not at ease. So…”

Annetsha bit her lip. Her face turned red as she tightly closed her eyes.

“If you wish, Taesan, together with me here…”

“It’s fine.”

Taesan pushed her head away. She fell backward, holding her forehead and blankly looking up at Taesan.

“Don’t say such foolish things. You will live here. And I will leave.”

Annetsha bit her lip.

“Are you… going back to the labyrinth?”

“That’s the only place for me.”

Vekveta was just a place he was passing through due to a quest.

No matter who he met and what relationship he formed, everything disappeared once the quest was completed.

Annetsha didn’t give up and stood up.

“A peaceful life here, too…”

“That’s not what I want.”

Taesan shook his head.

He didn’t choose Solo Mode for a peaceful life.

“You’re still young. Live here, grow older, and get married. That’s the compensation you can give me.”

With that, Taesan left the room.

Annetsha reflexively reached out her hand, but Taesan was long gone.

Annetsha dropped her head.

Taesan entered the forest. The quiet ghost opened its mouth.

[Isn't it a pity?]

“Shut up.”

[I think such a life is also okay. You're extraordinary, but... the labyrinth is a place where even such a person dies.]

“I don’t care.”

He was not going to fear death now.

“And a clean cut is also good for her.”

The ghost realized it.

[I felt it before, but your heart is weaker than I thought.]

“I told you to shut up.”

[I don't intend to interfere. I've seen a lot of humans who are only cold-hearted, but they all died. Thanks to that, I can stick around, which is a good thing. And it wasn't the time for that.]

Taesan’s refusal was not only for personal reasons.

[Are you okay?]

Taesan checked his health at a glance.

[Shield: 42/192] [Health: 2250/2250]

“There’s no problem.”

But the shield was reduced by 150. It meant the poison was quite strong.

They must have prepared something stronger upon hearing that Taesan killed a Swordmaster. If Taesan were an ordinary inhabitant of this world, he would probably have been taken out already.

“There’s no way it ends like this.”

[You need to receive more rewards for this.]

The Demon God’s request was to take Annetsha to a safe place.

Depending on where the safe place was, the meaning of the quest changed a lot. Taesan thought the place where the demons had fled and settled was the goal of the quest, and Annetsha also believed so.

But the quest was not cleared yet.

This meant that this place was not safe for Annetsha at all.

Boom!

A loud noise rang from beyond the forest.

A formidable presence was getting closer. Not only the total amount of power but also the type of power it felt was different from ordinary adventurers or monsters.

It was close to the divine power he had seen so far.

Crash!

The trees were uprooted, and the rough soil rushed at Taesan like a tidal wave.

[You have activated Repulsion.]

The soil trying to swallow Taesan was pushed away.

The repelled soil and the onrushing sediment collided and scattered. Taesan punched the flying dirt. A hole was opened at the front with the sound of a blast.

“It’s noisy.”

Between the gaps, a golden light could be seen. Among countless pieces of scattered brown dirt, there were wings that had not a speck of dust on them.

A beautiful angel with eight wings revealed itself. It was incredibly large, many times the size of a human.

[You have encountered an angel of Harmon.]

“You must be the last one.”

This was probably Harmon’s last resistance.

He couldn’t forgive the demons. It must be his final line.

The expressionless angel wielded a golden sword.

[The opponent is a very difficult enemy.]

It had been a while since he faced a difficult enemy. And the word ‘very’ was also added to it.

It meant the angel’s level was just below an impossible enemy.

Taesan took out his twin swords and put his strength into his whole body.

“Let’s do this then.”

Taesan stomped his foot.