Ascension Through Skills

“Is it a double-digit monster?”

Taesan calmly observed the giant.

People clenched their teeth.

Players from Korea had seen it before, but for Japanese and Chinese players, it was their first encounter with a double-digit monster.

The power emanating from the monster was beyond their ability to handle.

Just looking at it threatened to break their spirits, and their bodies trembled.

They all knew instinctively that they couldn’t win, even if they attacked together.

But it didn’t end there.

From the opened passage, countless triple-digit monsters appeared.

Each of these triple-digit monsters was too strong to be defeated even if dozens of Hard Mode players attacked together.

Hundreds, thousands of these monsters were surrounding them.

However, they did not despair.

Their faces set, they grasped their weapons—an existence with absolute power, guarding and defeating monsters for them.

Taesan’s presence prevented them from falling into the terror of death.

They could win.

People sent such a look of belief towards Taesan.

“Minerva. Barkaza. You know?”

“Got it. I’ll go help elsewhere.”

[Do not die. Master.]

“I won’t die to such enemies.”

Minerva and Barkaza disappeared, and people exclaimed.

And Zhenlong looked on with a face full of displeasure.

“Lowly creatures.”

But at the same time, it was an opportunity. If he could defeat the monsters that the lowly creatures feared, he could regain their worship.

Zhenlong moved quickly. He charged at the monster.

Bang.

An A-grade monster at the forefront rushed at Zhenlong. Zhenlong pulled up his strength, showing his teeth.

Kwaang!

Power exploded.

The full power of the A-grade monster and Zhenlong collided.

This was not the mediocre A-grade he had seen before. This was a real A-grade who had killed numerous Hard Mode players in the dying Earth.

Kagagagak!

Zhenlong was not pushed back by such a monster.

Instead, he was overpowering it.

“Heh!”

Zhenlong, forgetting the surroundings, focused on the fight.

The power inside him burst forth, engulfing the monster.

The monster tried to resist and counterattack but was slowly pushed back.

“Die!”

Zhenlong clenched his fist.

The released power compressed and crushed the A-grade monster.

“Huh.”

Zhenlong wiped off the sweat flowing down and smiled in victory. He had defeated a triple-digit monster without much difficulty.

“Look!”

He spread his arms roughly, like a ruler.

“I am your master!”

He grinned and turned to see people’s reactions.

And then he hesitated.

He had been fully engaged in fighting a single A-grade monster.

He had no idea what was happening around him.

He saw dozens of fallen A-grade monsters in his view.

He hurriedly looked around. Taesan had already passed him and was running ahead.

Koo-woong!

Dozens of A-grade monsters rushed to kill Taesan.

Taesan, holding swords in both hands, stepped forward.

[Kang Taesan activated Gale Slash.]

Kwajik.

The sword moved. The sweeping sword wind caused a storm, shredding everything around it.

Dozens of blocking A-grade monsters were sliced at once.

“Ooooooh!”

“Yeah, as expected!”

People who were fighting also exclaimed at the sight.

The sight of Zhenlong defeating a single A-grade wasn’t even noticed by them.

“This, this.”

Zhenlong stuttered, unable to contain his rising emotions. Meanwhile, Taesan had reached right in front of the giant.

[----!]

The giant roared, raising its arms. A club charged with earth-shattering power slammed down.

Taesan raised his sword.

Zheeeeeeng!

“Aaaagh!”

The ensuing whirlwind sent people flying. Monsters were no different. Just the collision of simple power made all beings nearby roll on the ground.

Zhenlong was no exception.

“Ah••••••”

Zhenlong, covered in dust from rolling on the ground, blankly watched the fight.

“Uh”

— —I.

With a groan, Lee Taeyeon swung her sword. The smoothly curved trajectory of her sword deflected the monster’s attack.

Kagagagak!

In the created gap, Kang Jun-hyeok stabbed. The monster wildly swung its body, responding to their attacks.

Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok planted their feet with firm resolve.

Kagagagak!

Sword and monster flesh collided.

Minutes later, their combined attack brought down the A-grade monster.

“This really makes no sense.”

Lee Taeyeon caught her breath. She and Kang Jun-hyeok possessed power unrivaled by anyone except Zhenlong and Taesan. They were confident they could win easily, even if ten Hard Mode players attacked them.

However, this triple-digit monster was not easy to bring down, even with their combined efforts.

“This is not good.”

“Exactly.”

Lee Taeyeon muttered, glancing around.

“Aaaagh!”

“Kill it!”

People and monsters collided.

And the only ones falling were the players.

Hundreds in Easy Mode charged at a single A-grade monster. When the monster violently shook its body, they all fell away, never to rise again.

Kwaang!

An A-grade monster with a massive body charged across the battlefield. A few Hard Mode players tried to block it but were scattered like dominoes.

The situation was dire.

With only Easy Mode, combat was not sustainable, and even with Hard Mode’s combined attack, it would take the deaths of at least hundreds to barely bring down one monster.

No exchange was possible.

Minerva and Barkaza were probably defeating monsters, but the numbers were overwhelming.

“Hoo.”

She steadied her breath.

Her body trembled. She wanted to flee and hide right then and there.

But she gripped her sword tightly and moved forward.

Kaang!

Her sword clashed with the monster. Pushed back, she quickly moved to counter the monster’s attack. Kang Jun-hyeok supported her from behind.

Kagagagak!

“Kill it!”

“Crush it!”

People shouted.

Despite countless people dying, their morale did not decrease; it only grew.

Koo-woooong…

The earth trembled as if an earthquake had occurred. The collision of forces split the sky.

“Is that the power of the depths… It’s unimaginably powerful.”

“We can reach it too, though it’ll be a while.”

“I guess so. Still hard to grasp, though.”

Lee Taeyeon shook her head, holding her sword.

Though the battlefield with Taesan and the giant was far away, they could still feel the power waves from there.

With each vibration of that wave, people’s morale grew even stronger.

Taesan was battling a giant that seemed unbeatable, where even all of humanity combined could not prevail.

They could win.

Shouting Taesan’s name, they charged.

Even those who did not worship Taesan began to sing his praises, swept up in the heated atmosphere and extreme conditions.

Millions of new believers began to emerge.

Taesan continued to clash swords with the giant.

Zheeeeng!

The vibration spread across the earth. The force felt through the sword made Taesan increase his distance.

A-grade monsters ranged from 1 to 99. The monster before him was clearly an S-grade.

However, even within the S-grade, the power difference between numbers was significant.

From 1 to 9, and then from 10 to 99, there was an insurmountable gap between S-grade monsters.

This meant that if it were a two-digit S-grade, Taesan could win quite easily.

The High Gods must have known this too.

So why send such a monster?

Taesan glanced back.

On the battlefield, many players were being killed by monsters.

And the giant was quietly watching Taesan.

Rather than attacking first, it merely countered Taesan’s moves.

“Just like before.”

Tie down Taesan, and meanwhile, target the other weaker players.

It was a simple but very effective method.

Then Taesan’s course of action was clear.

Faster than anyone, sparing no expense to bring down the giant.

Taesan accelerated towards the giant. The giant swung its club.

Kwaang!

It only grazed the ground, but the earth collapsed. Still, an S-grade is an S-grade. Taesan had the strength to withstand it head-on.

But he was overwhelmingly faster. The giant had no special abilities, only wielding its club.

The strategy was simple.

Taesan planted his feet. As he charged, the giant swung its club down at him. Taesan planted his feet again.

The ground where the club and earth collided collapsed.

It shattered like a puzzle, revealing its innards. The aftermath spread even to those fighting far away.

“Woaaaah!”

Lee Taeyeon staggered greatly as she blocked a monster, sending a look of incredulity.

“What the—”

A flat plain had split into cliffs.

It was literally a battle that changed the map.

Taesan ran across the collapsing earth. With his balancing skills, unstable footing was no issue for him.

The giant, seeing Taesan charging, swung its club fiercely. A whirlwind swirled, forming a massive storm.

Kagagagak!

Taesan swung his sword fiercely towards the storm.

[You have activated Gale Slash.]

The wind created by the swinging sword enveloped Taesan.

He pierced through the storm.

Wind collided with wind, scattering.

The giant’s strength was not a special ability but physical power.

Meaning, without footing, it struggled to attack properly.

[You have activated Earthquake.]

Kurung!

The already crumbling earth began to accelerate its collapse. Taesan spoke.

“Collapse.”

His declaration, filled with will, penetrated the earth, and the earth obeyed.

The ground caved in. Their bodies began to fall.

The falling giant moved its arm, but without footing, the swung force was not strong. Taesan spread his wings.

[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

[You have activated Landing.]

[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]

Kwaang!

His body accelerated, striking the giant’s club.

The club shook violently, and the giant’s body began to fall faster.

Taesan clung to the giant, swinging his arm.

[You have activated Partial World Alteration.]

Karak.

The root of the wrist guard ruggedly expanded.

Everything around was shattered. The debris of the earth turned to sand and vanished as the giant’s club was roughly hewn away.

Zheeeeng!

The giant’s body opened up. Taesan wielded his sword.

[You have activated Vital Point Targeting.]

[You have activated Acceleration.]

[You have activated Transformation.]

[You have activated Addition.]

[You have activated the Blade of Fighting Spirit.]

[Monster 14 takes 105,480 damage.]

With a pain-filled scream, the giant’s body was driven even deeper into the ground.

Kwaang!

How far had it fallen? With a loud crash, the giant hit the ground.

The giant rose again, swinging its club wildly.

Taesan, who had easily dodged the attack, held a pitch-black wedge in his hand.

[You have activated Amon's Pitch-Black Wedge.]

Kwaang!

The giant crashed into the earth again.

Taesan wielded his sword against the suffering giant.

Kwajik.

[Monster14 takes 26,840 damage.]

[——!]

The giant, pierced deeply in the chest, let out a roar.

The muscles throughout its body hypertrophied, and the giant regained its vigor, starting to attack wildly.

But Taesan was no longer there.

“Is this the berserk pattern?”

The giant-type’s berserk mode. When health drops below a certain percentage, power and speed momentarily increase.

This meant that the giant’s health had significantly decreased. It seemed to have taken considerable damage during its fall into the depths.

[You have activated Sabnock's Thread of Agony.]

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Kwaang!

Black threads exploded, shredding the giant’s body. Taesan, having moved to the sky through Random Blink, landed and accelerated, trampling the giant.

[You have activated Vital Point Targeting.]

Taesan pierced the sword through the giant’s chest. The giant swung its arms at Taesan with a roar, but it was futile.

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]

The giant, a monster that attacked using only physical strength, was thus an opponent against whom Taesan could almost perfectly utilize attack nullification.

During the three activations of attack nullification, Taesan drove dozens of sword strikes into the targeted vital point. A continuous stream of damage appeared.

Frost swept through. Roots that penetrated the world stopped the giant’s movements, and flames that could burn the world scorched the giant.

Mana and magical energy rapidly depleted.

But that was no problem. Taesan raised his divine power.

Mana and magical energy were replenished.

Taesan continued to manifest magic.

Once mana and magical energy had depleted again, the giant fell.

[You have defeated Monster 14.]

[Your Soul Ascension has been activated. Your proficiency in Twisted Spirit Adjustment has increased by 4%.]

“Sure has a lot of health.”

Mana and magical energy were completely drained. Defeating it wasn’t difficult, but the giant’s health was incomparably greater than any labyrinthine entity.

However, the giant-type, though high in health, had nothing special otherwise, allowing for a quicker-than-expected victory.

With Soul Ascension, the proficiency in Twisted Spirit Adjustment now exceeded 60%.

Taesan looked at the fallen giant’s corpse.

The giant was certainly strong. In terms of holding Taesan back, the giant had fulfilled its role.

But something was lacking.

The gods showed greed towards Taesan.

They targeted Taesan personally.

It seemed unlikely that such greedy and powerful beings would hold back from killing people just to target Taesan.

Taesan emerged from the collapsed underground and headed towards the battlefield.

There, people were still risking their lives against A-grade monsters.

Taesan stomped on a monster’s head. Those who saw him were brightened.

“Lord Taesan!”

“You have triumphed!”

Instead of responding, Taesan moved.

With Taesan joining, the monsters quickly perished. People also shouted his name as they fought against the creatures.

After some time.

[Special Quest Cleared.]

The quest completion window appeared.

They had won.

The people cheered joyfully.

“We won!”

“Hurrah!”

They looked at Taesan with eyes filled with joy.

“Lord Taesan! Thank you!”

“The Great One!”

Everyone praised Taesan. Even players from China were loudly calling his name.

The strength of the double-digit monster was felt by everyone on the battlefield.

They had sensed imminent death, but against such a monster, Taesan returned victorious.

And without a scratch.

No one doubted Taesan’s power anymore. Without him, they all would have perished. Everyone began to call his name in worship.

[Your Divine Power proficiency has increased by 1%.]

[Your Divine Power proficiency has increased by 1%.]

[Your Divine Power proficiency has increased by 1%.]

Divine power surged steeply.

Taesan looked at the people.

All eyes were on Taesan alone.

And looking at that scene, Zhenlong’s face twisted endlessly.