Ascension Through Skills

The wind became a blade and let out a blasting sound. Taesan swung his hand widely in response.

Kaang

The blade broke, and the air exploded. Taesan leaped into the void, avoiding the attack coming with a mid-air jump, and landed above Kashpa’s head, striking down with his sword.

The moment the sword almost touched Kashpa’s horn, the wind exploded and pushed Taesan back.

Taesan landed on the ground and moved his hand. The wind that was being shot like cannonballs disappeared as it collided with his fist.

“This is tough.”

Taesan turned his hand. There was no significant damage as he had blocked everything with Reconnaissance. Still, he also wasn’t causing any particular harm to the spirit.

Taesan had obtained a skill that could attack spirits from the crazed spirit, making it possible for him to attack spirits as well.

However, if the attack didn’t land, it was meaningless.

[That is your limit. Human.]

The spirit in the form of a deer spoke arrogantly.

[I admit you are remarkable. Lower and middle spirits cannot stop you.]

Immunity to attacks, acceleration, and many other magics.

The power and abilities shown by Taesan were of a level rarely seen, even by Kashpa. It was too much power for an adventurer on the 23rd floor to possess.

Honestly, while continuing the battle, he had secretly admired him.

[But that's it. Your power can't touch me.]

“You can say the same.”

Kashpa also couldn’t inflict any significant damage on Taesan. Kashpa seemed indifferent.

[Your purpose is to kill me. I just have to drive you out of here. It's clear who has the upper hand.]

“Humph.”

Taesan chuckled but didn’t refute.

In reality, that was the case. His attacks didn’t reach Kashpa.

Whenever he tried to approach Kashpa, the wind would explode, pushing Taesan back. He tried to stick to him using acceleration, strong blow, and flow, but most of the attempts failed.

Magic was also not particularly useful. The frost arrow was blocked by the wind, killing its acceleration, and the Blazing Orb couldn’t be manifested, possibly due to the flow of the wind.

Only the lightning bolt was useful, but the mana usage was too high for the damage it dealt.

‘It’s more focused on defense than attack.’

At least with his current stats, it was a defense he couldn’t break through.

[Go back and reflect on your arrogance. Human.]

“Don’t want to.”

Kashpa chuckled at Taesan’s manifestation of refusal.

[Vulgarity is like a symbol of adventurers. Good. Feel the powerlessness.]

The wind surrounding Kashpa intensified. Even without invoking Reconnaissance, a dense wall could be confirmed to have formed.

Taesan shook the tip of his sword. Everything he had used and experienced up to now didn’t work against this opponent.

“I wanted to practice more, but I can’t help it.”

Mumbling, Taesan planted his feet. Seeing Taesan rushing towards him, Kashpa showed a scornful laugh.

[Just like a moth.]

The wind swept in pieces around the room. The burnt grass was cut and flew around like petals.

Taesan rushed towards Kashpa. The darkness expanded behind him.

[You have activated the Distorted Life of Decarabia.]

Dozens of giant tree roots sprouted from the darkness. Kashpa, who had been waiting leisurely, was startled.

[This!]

Koo Goo Goo Gung!

The roots began to fill the room as they swayed. The pieces of flying wind were blocked by the roots and disappeared.

[You shouldn't be a demon!]

Kashpa, along with a denial, released blades of wind. Instead of blocking them with his sword as Taesan had done before, he hid his body behind the roots.

Ka-Ga-Gak!

Blade marks appeared on the roots. They were quite deep but not enough to break the roots. Normally, with the power contained in the wind, they should have been chopped off.

‘As expected.’

Magic, auras, and skills couldn’t damage the spirit, but only black magic could. From the 21st floor, he had a vague guess, and now he was certain.

Black magic had a natural advantage over spirits.

With this, the odds of winning shifted greatly. Taesan moved between the roots, avoiding the wind, and got closer to Kashpa.

[What a futile effort.]

The wind around Kashpa became stronger. The wind, beginning to accelerate, soon became a storm and unfolded in front of Taesan. Taesan touched the storm.

[You have activated the False Flame of Marchosias.]

A substance in the shape of flames pours out, hitting the storm violently and releasing harsh heat.

“False flames are substances in the shape of flames. They give continuous damage. How far can you block them?”

Ki-I-I-I!

With a tearing sound, the storm shook violently. The false flames rose like living beings and swallowed the power of nature.

[How dare! Contaminating spirits with twisted power!]

Along with an angry voice, Kashpa gathered his strength. The room shook violently due to the wind’s power, seemingly ready to explode.

[You have activated the Emotional Disturbance of Raum.]

In the previous battle, when he activated a random mental attack, Kashpa had not been affected at all, even scoffing at it.

[Argh, ugh!]

But this time, it was different. Kashpa visibly started to become confused.

The explosive wind settled down, and the false flames continued to melt the storm.

Finally, a small gap appeared in the storm. Taesan activated acceleration and ran quickly, inserting his sword through the gap.

The storm was torn apart, revealing Kashpa defenseless. A blue flame appeared on Taesan’s sword.

[Human!]

“Stop calling me.”

[210 damage to Kashpa.]

The sword moved, and a damage window appeared smoothly. Kashpa roared, gathering the wind once more.

[How dare a human, a creature of nature, hurt a spirit!]

“So noisy.”

While pushing, Taesan activated the False Flames of Marcoshias again. The substance in the shape of flames swallowed and destroyed the concentrated wind.

He knew the countermeasure. He also succeeded in approaching. From here, it was one-sided.

He used the sword to inflict damage and black magic to block the opponent’s actions. Spirit skills didn’t show system windows, but being this close, he could read the signs.

Kwajik.

Finally, the spirit fell. It didn’t take long, as the spirit had lower health than expected.

[Ha, hahaha.]

Kashpa let out a hollow laugh.

[To think a human...a human!]

Regret soon turned to anger. A voice filled with hatred resonated through the room.

[Human! Our king will judge you! You will pay for daring to touch a spirit!]

“Is there a spirit king here, too?”

[He resides in the deep, deep strata! To oppose us for such a crazed spirit! You will pay for your arrogance!]

“You don’t have to worry about it. We were going to be enemies anyway.”

Taesan delivered the finishing blow. Kashpa’s body dispersed into the air, and the power within him flowed into Taesan.

[You have defeated the Advanced Wind Spirit, Kashpa.] [Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Permanently increased Strength by 32, Intelligence by 22, and Mana by 60.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated.] [You have acquired the Spirit Skill [Walking the Wind Path Deer].] [You have acquired the Core of an Advanced Spirit.] [You have acquired the Unbound Spirit Energy.]

His level increased, and his stats also rose significantly due to the Soul Ascension. However, what caught his eye first was the skill.

[Spirit Skill: Walking the Wind Path Deer] [Mana Consumption: 10] [Proficiency: 1%] [Duration: 30 minutes] [Spirits born from the wind itself can move their cradles. They can influence the wind during the duration.]

The mana consumption was quite high, but there was a description about the duration.

He understood why no system window appeared when Kashpa controlled the wind; once activated, it became a sustained skill.

Taesan tried to use it immediately.

[You have activated Walking the Wind Path Deer.]

For a moment, a strange sensation enveloped him.

He could feel the flow of the air, which he had never cared about before, through the skin of his entire body. He could know the direction and trajectory of the wind according to his movements.

Taesan, recalling the method used by Kashpa, tried to create a curtain of wind. The wind condensed and formed a bluish curtain around him.

However, it was very weak and unstable, trembling as if it would break at any moment.

Taesan clenched his fist. The wind that made up the curtain exploded and strongly hit the room.

“Is this all? It’s still hard to use.”

Taesan mumbled, feeling the strength of the wind.

Whether it was because he wasn’t a spirit or due to lack of proficiency, it wasn’t at the level to use for attack or defense.

However, it wasn’t completely unusable. The point that it was a sustained skill was significant. It was sufficient in assisting movement as he could use it freely for 30 minutes.

Against weaker enemies, just the spirit skill would be enough.

It was a usable skill. Taesan, with such judgment, checked the items he had acquired.

[Core of an Advanced Spirit] [A core of a spirit. Pure and strong. If nature without ego possesses it, it will become a spirit.]

It seemed to be a quest item. He would have to take it to the frenzied spirit. Taesan also checked the other one.

[Unbound Spirit Energy] [Spirits are not bound. Wind spirits especially have the attribute of flying in the sky without being bound. If used on certain equipment, it seems to gain a special power.]

“This is also a refining item.”

It was around the time the refining of the materials he had entrusted to Hafran should be finished he had more reasons to visit.

Having finished checking, Taesan cleaned the room and left. While heading to the boss room, he asked the ghost.

“Have you seen the Spirit King?”

Kashpa had talked about their king. He said he resided in the deep stratum, and the ghost was also an adventurer who had descended to the deep stratum.

[I have seen him. But I had no interest.]

“Why?”

[He was a Guide of Sin.]

The ghost said indifferently. It was an unexpected statement.

“Was he an adventurer, not a monster or NPC?”

[Spirits are also a race like demons or humans. There's no reason for him to enter the labyrinth as a monster. I don't know why he came. I had no interest in the weak.]

A faint anger was contained in the indifferent voice.

[Come to think of it, did he also contribute to my death? Then, I have a goal. I will tear him apart.]

“Let’s postpone that.”

Taesan arrived at the 23rd-floor boss.

The boss was an Intermediate Wind Spirit. Of course, he dealt with it easily. Having defeated an Advanced Spirit, an Intermediate one was no match for him.

[Your level has increased.] [Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Permanently increased Strength by 15, Agility by 18.] [You have acquired a Snake Skin Belt.] [You have acquired ???] [Your level has become 55.] [You have reached the beginning level of a magician using the labyrinth system. The magician who rejoices in your growth grants you a special privilege.] [Choose your reward.] [1: Provision of special equipment.] [2: Increase in proficiency of a specific skill.] [3: Permanent increase in a specific stat.] [4: Overall knowledge about the labyrinth.] [5: Part of the hidden truth of the labyrinth.] [6: One piece of information you want. However, there are conditions and restrictions.]