Ascension Through Skills

In front of the altar, the ghost spoke.

[Although they're called the god of demons, its essence is the magic of demons itself. It is the being that governs the whole demon magic system.]

The Demon God, Lucifer.

Perhaps for that reason, dark magical energy was flowing from the altar. The amount was small, but it was very dense.

[Initial Discovery Bonus] [Intelligence has permanently increased by 3.] [Mana has permanently increased by 10.] [Altar of Lucifer] [An altar made by those who serve Lucifer. It is a passage connected to the god. Lucifer can exercise influence through this place.]

“Do you know what the trial is?”

[Uh......]

The ghost trailed off his words.

[Actually, I don't know.]

“Didn’t you receive it?”

[What you should know is that the god gives a trial suitable to the area that they recommend. So, what trial do you think the god of demons would give?]

Taesan realized something through the ghost’s words.

“So, he’s a god who only gives trials to demons?”

[Not necessarily, but the standard would be impossibly strict for humans.]

The god of victory gave trials of victory, the god of struggle gave trials of struggle, and the god of choice gave trials of choice.

The god of demons would naturally give trials related to demons. And humans had no connection with demons. Naturally, it was highly likely that the god of demons would not find the value of giving a trial.

Although he understood, it was a problem.

“So I can’t receive a trial either?”

He had sought the altar of the god of demons to learn black magic. Yet, it was baffling that he couldn’t learn after coming all this way.

[I didn't receive it, but your story would be different. After all, you've defeated a demon and acquired black magic, so Lucifer should know. Even if not, they would still make contact.]

Taesan had cleared all the enhanced trials given by various gods. Not only that, Maria even showed overt action by directly inviting him.

In such a situation, there was no god who would stand by just because it was not their domain. The ghost thought so.

[The problem is... I can't predict what the trial will be at all.]

“I’ll have to come back later.”

[To strengthen your weapons and go?]

“Because I don’t know what the trial is.”

There was no information. Therefore, he thought it would be good to strengthen everything that could be strengthened before going. Even if the trial was strengthened, according to Taesan, there was clearly a difference in the number of victories and defeats.

Taesan finished the rest of the 19th floor. As it was the floor of the lich, all secret rooms, clear rewards, and secret rewards were magical equipment.

Thinking about taking them all to Lilis at once, he entered the 20th floor.

The monster on the 20th floor was a death knight. It had considerable swordsmanship skills as a knight of death wielding a sword.

Of course, that had no meaning to Taesan.

With a loud crash, he swung his sword, knocking the monster away and piercing the chest. It exploded in a cloud of black energy and scattered in all directions.

Their levels were similar, so Soul Ascension was active, but the gap in stats was too large. Taesan didn’t have to struggle now.

While breaking through the floor, he encountered a Guide of Sin.

He was passing by, or perhaps he saw Taesan while moving rooms and shivered in fear.

“Didn’t I say I won’t kill you?”

“……The weak can only worry about the whims of the strong.”

Gagarat smirked.

“You’re already here……”

“I’m just passing by.”

Taesan brushed past him. Gagarat opened his mouth towards Taesan’s back.

“Are you going straight down to the 21st floor?”

“No. I’m going to stay a bit.”

He planned to descend after upgrading his equipment, meeting Lilis, and clearing the trial of the god of demons.

“Then I have something to tell you before you go down.”

“I know.”

Taesan entered another room, leaving Gagarat behind. He found the secret room, quickly handled the rooms, and then left. Then he entered the boss room.

[The Death Knight has appeared.]

The name was the same, but it was stronger than the floor’s other monsters. The wild sword swings contained power enough to be equal with Taesan to some extent.

Their swords clashed loudly.

However, the result was the same as before. The Death Knight’s sword was thrown away due to Taesan’s strength, and it fumbled as it could not catch up to his speed.

Taesan had been able to defeat adventurers from the 20th floor since he was on the 8th floor. There was no way a boss from the same floor would be an equal opponent once he reached it.

He effortlessly won against the boss.

[Well... It's not supposed to be so easy to get through...]

“Fighting against the Guides of Sin halfway through this theme was a big factor.”

He couldn’t have overwhelmed the boss by this much normally. It was possible because he could raise his stats and level tremendously while dealing with the Guides of Sin.

The system windows popped up steadily. He also became noticeably stronger each time he cleared a quest. For the current Taesan, it was not that significant, but it wasn’t meaningless.

However, Taesan was confirming something while flipping through the system windows.

“Indeed, it’s not here.”

The secret clear was the reward he would have received when he figured out all the hidden elements of a floor.

That system window was not visible.

Taesan carefully examined the room.

[You feel a strong premonition.]

With that premonition, a brick came into Taesan’s view.

That brick was lighter in red color than the other bricks.

Taesan pressed the brick.

With a rumbling sound.

The brick moved into the wall, and a passage was created.

[...Thinking about it, I didn't get a secret reward on the 20th floor either.]

“I knew it.”

From the 1st floor to the 10th floor, there were quite a few monsters with names, the so-called Named. However, from the 11th to the 20th floor, there were only NPCs and not a single Named monster.

He thought there would be at least one on the 20th floor, and his guess was right. Taesan went inside.

There was a Death Knight there.

[Death Knight King Valoran has appeared.]

“Is it a Lord class?”

Lords and Kings were overwhelmingly stronger than the average level of their race. While dealing with Hage-Ha, who couldn’t get out of his chair because of his broken leg, Taesan felt the threat of death several times.

[Your Fair Duel has been activated.]

Valoran opened his mouth.

[You're here.]

A dark and low voice echoed through the room.

[You must be the ghost of a hero.] [You know me?] [The sage often talked about you. He said you were strong but pitiful and weak.] [...You met him?]

There was a considerable difference between the 10th and 20th floors. Valoran chuckled.

[What of it? It's our little secret. I should have some freedom in my bound state.]

Valoran wiped off his smile and shifted his gaze. The red pupils inside the black helmet were directed at Taesan.

[Are you my enemy? You are indeed powerful. There's no chance of winning for me.]

“You seem happy for someone in such a state.”

Even Taesan could tell there was joy in his voice.

[This is a hidden room. Not easy to find.]

With his somber, madness-filled voice, Valoran stood up, pulling out his greatsword.

[It's been hundreds of years since someone found this place.]

Valoran lunged at him. As there was no need for further dialogue, he approached Taesan at a high speed.

Taesan pulled back his arm and raised his sword.

The swords clashed and bounced off each other.

Valoran was strong. It definitely wasn’t something of the level of the 20th floor. If anything, it felt like something from above the level of the 25th floor. It was not a level a normal player could win.

But Taesan was not a normal player.

[Heh!]

With a short shout, the greatsword moved. Despite its large size, it moved with impressive flair.

Taesan moved his hands roughly. The greatsword clashed with Taesan’s sword, creating a loud sound. Sparks flew, brightening the dim room.

The greatsword, unable to withstand Taesan’s power, was pushed back, and Taesan shoved his sword into the gap.

[Valoran took 25 damage.]

Valoran moved his foot. His heavy leg struck Taesan’s abdomen.

This activated Taesan’s attack nullification, and Valoran’s foot was moved back to the state just before the strike.

Taesan plunged his sword into the gap again.

Valoran attacked again, and yet again, it was nullified.

In a blink, Taesan had attacked over ten times. Valoran wildly swung his greatsword, driving Taesan away, and let out a hollow laugh.

[Attack nullification... amusing indeed. What a surprising skill.]

Murmuring gloomily, Valoran charged again.

His sword strike didn’t bear the fear of his attack being nullified again. It was a calm attack that even had a sense of resignation.

While parrying the sword, Taesan noticed something strange.

Valoran was a named monster. Whether it was Flow or Counter, he should be able to use one or two skills.

But in this pressing situation, Valoran only used his sword against Taesan.

His red eyes were seriously looking at Taesan.

“Hmm.”

His thoughts changed. Taesan started pressuring Valoran with only his swordsmanship. The eyes of Valoran, visible between the gaps of the helmet, squinted in a smiling curve.

Clang!

The greatsword exhibited flashy movements. It seemed like that itself was a form of swordsmanship. Taesan moved both his arms smoothly to begin the Dance of the Sword. He diverted the greatsword this way and that, altering its path.

Thud!

Valoran let go of the greatsword with one hand and struck Taesan’s chin with his elbow.

[You take 72 damage.]

A hefty amount of damage came in, and the shock made his brain shudder. Valoran did not miss the chance and held the greatsword in a short grip.

Taesan bit his lip. The bitter taste of iron brought his shaken consciousness back a bit.

He held the sword in his left hand in a reverse grip.

Clang!

He stopped the greatsword just below his chin.

Just like that, Taesan pierced Valoran’s side with his other sword.

The sword penetrated the armor and dug in.

Valoran stepped back, twisted the hand holding the greatsword outward, and slashed. The sword that Taesan used to block the greatsword was pierced, and the greatsword skewered Taesan’s shoulder.

Taesan immediately struck Valoran’s helmeted head. The helmet shook considerably, creating a gap.

In terms of swordsmanship, the opponent was superior. But in terms of stats, Taesan had the upper hand.

So, it was a matter of securing victory based on his advantage.

He roughly brought down both of his hands.

Clang!

Valoran’s arm was slightly pressed down. The Dance of the Sword held little meaning when it came to a power struggle like this. Taesan instead roughly slashed with the Wolf’s Fang.

Valoran didn’t just stand there and take the attack. Using every part of his body, he repelled Taesan’s attacks and perfectly covered his body by holding the greatsword in reverse.

Both of them utilized their respective advantages and engaged in a bloody fight.

And the victor was Taesan.

Thud.

Taesan’s sword pierced Valoran’s chest. The cracked and split armor crumbled perfectly.

Taesan caught his breath. His condition was not good either. Blood flowed from various places throughout his body, and nearly half of his health had been drained.

Valoran let out a laugh as he leaned against a wall.

[Thank you. I didn't expect you to intentionally refrain from using skills.]

“We’re in the same boat.”

Valoran intentionally did not use any skills. Taesan matched him by sealing his skills and continued the fight using only his swordsmanship.

Valoran chuckled.

[I am a knight.]

A knight was a term that referred to those who wielded a sword.

[I didn't want to rely on inexplicable skills that can only be acquired in an inexplicable space like this. I wanted to fight with just my sword. But that was a wish fulfilled only by my obstinacy. I had no intention of forcing a fair fight… Thank you, really. I can leave with satisfaction thanks to you.]

Valoran removed his helmet.

Surprisingly, his face was clean. He seemed to be just turning thirty. He didn’t look very old.

[It's not much of a reward for that, but take this.]

Valoran also had skills, but they were not his main focus. However, for Taesan, skills were his main focus. If he had used his skills, he could have won this fight without serious injury.

But Taesan accepted the damage to himself and did not use his skills.

Valoran, knowing this well, intended to give an appropriate reward.

It was the helmet used by the Death Knight King. Of course, it gave an excellent performance. Moreover, the helmet was a piece of equipment that could only be obtained after reaching quite an advanced level deep in the labyrinth.

Taesan received the black helmet.

[I originally intended to give nothing, but you may consider it a reward for your actions.]

Although he didn’t aim for it, there were results for not using his skills.

[I'd like to say... you're free now, but that's not the case.]

Valoran gave a bitter smile.

[Adventurer, do you know why we, sentient beings, are bound here as monsters?]

“I don’t know.”

[It's simple. This place is a land of opportunity for some. But it's not for others.]

Valoran grunted as he stood up. His staggering body was supported by his sword.

[I regret that I can't reveal the truth. You will probably be able to go down to the depths. Then, you'll naturally learn. Who we are and what kind of beings the magicians are.]

With a bitter voice, Valoran disappeared.

[If it comes to that... show mercy to us who cannot escape. Oh, mighty one.]

With those sad words, Valoran disappeared.

What was left was only shattered armor and a sword that had lost all its power.

[You have won against Valoran, the Death Knight King.] [Your level has increased.] [Your Aura of Bravery has been activated.] [You have acquired Valoran's Helmet.] [You have understood the hidden element of the 20th floor. You have received the reward [???].]

Taesan opened the system window he had closed.

[You have perfectly cleared the 20th floor. You have obtained the title [The One Who Moves Forward].] [You have perfectly understood and cleared all the floors up to the 20th floor. You have obtained the title [The One Who Touched the Speck of Perfection].] [You have entered the labyrinth to a level you can be proud of. You have obtained the title [The One Who Reached the Beginning of the Path].] [Not only have you proven your strength in this place, but you have shown more value. You have obtained the title [The One Who Succeeded in the Challenge].] [You have accumulated countless experiences. You have obtained the title [What Has Been Built]. You have obtained the special always-active skill [Proof of Self].] [Transcendents have begun to take a stronger interest in you.]