Ascension Through Skills

Charge and Rage.

These were skills that hadn’t appeared until now. If it were anyone else, they would have been taken aback and hesitant because of their unknown effects, but Taesan was different.

He had knowledge.

Taesan immediately charged at Latran. At this, Latran was rather taken aback.

“Huh?”

Presumably, he thought that Taesan would hesitate in front of an unknown skill; the orc’s sword’s point wavered. However, he immediately regained his composure and drew his sword.

Clang!

A strong force could be felt from across the sword, and his arm was pinned down instantly.

‘Indeed, this is absurd.’

This much of a difference was unthinkable. It was monstrous strength. This was quite literally not a monster who belonged on the 5th floor.

It was equivalent to saying that a normal player should not fight it.

But Taesan was not a normal player.

Three skills were activated as soon as he started fighting Latran.

‘Thirst for Battle’ improved all action speed, attack power, and defense when dealing with formidable enemies, and ‘Despising the Powerful’ also granted a stat bonus when dealing with formidable enemies.

Because it was a 1:1 situation, ‘Fair Duel’ was also activated, which increased his stats.

The Goblin Lord had granted him many things.

Taesan confirmed the increase in his stats. Due to the activation of the three skills, all of his stats had risen by about 20.

This was almost a 30% increase. Taesan rushed towards Latran.

Clang.

This time, he didn’t back off. Their strength was perfectly equal.

“Hah!”

Latran swung his greatsword wildly. His movement was as if he was inviting an attack, and Taesan responded in kind. There was no reason to miss an opportunity to attack without any burden.

The damage window began to scroll. In an instant, over 200 damage was inflicted.

Latran’s eyes shone.

The greatsword moved quickly. Grasping it with both hands, he struck down in a straight line.

[Latran has activated Heavy Strike.] [Latran has activated Ignore Offset.]

It was the same strike as before.

It even had a large gap. It was a clumsy attack that could cause significant damage if blocked and counterattacked.

However, Taesan did not block it and immediately created some distance. The greatsword fruitlessly sliced the air, and Taesan took out his staff.

[You have activated Fireball.]

A flame shot towards Latran. Fireball was a good spell, but it was more of a story in the early stages. With Latran’s stats, he could easily avoid it.

“Uh?”

However, Latran unnecessarily dodged the Fireball. Taesan, as if he knew it would happen, had already drawn his bow.

Beep-beep-beep!

Arrows were shot.

With agility exceeding 100, dozens of arrows filled the space between them in an instant.

In this rain of arrows, where there was no room to dodge, Latran was forced to move his sword.

Clang-clang!

With one movement of the greatsword, all the arrows fell. Although his attack failed, Taesan remained composed. It was Latran who wore a bewildered expression.

“Do you know something?”

“Maybe.”

Taesan put away his bow.

Charge was a skill that allowed the use of specific skills. And Rage, which dealt more damage the more hits it landed.

Heavy Strike was a skill that could be used to deal unimaginable damage at the moment of impact.

Moreover, Ignore Offset. Normally, no damage was judged when weapons collided, but the Ignore Offset skill could bypass this.

If Taesan had blocked it normally without knowing anything, he would have lost half his health.

However, Taesan knew.

He knew he must not block it.

Even if he blocked a minor attack like an arrow, the Heavy Strike would be wasted.

“Hmm.”

Latran nervously held his weapon. He would have gained a significant advantage normally, but due to Taesan’s perfect response, he was the only one who suffered damage.

“This tactic won’t work.”

From here on, it was the real deal.

Latran moved his sword with a serious face, and a near-perfect swordsmanship unfolded.

Taesan counteracted and, after several rounds, Latran realized.

“You don’t have any sword skills.”

Latran grinned and moved his sword. A technique at its limit revealed itself.

As he said, Taesan did not have proper skills.

However, Taesan had faced beings with more than nine skills. He had developed sufficient countermeasures.

Taesan threw his body towards the trembling end of Latran’s sword.

[You have activated Counter.]

His body moved automatically to respond to the opponent’s skill. He took advantage of the gap and stabbed the opponent’s thigh. Latran’s face was colored with surprise.

“Oh?”

The duration of the Counter ended. Instead of blocking the sword aimed at his head, he dodged.

[You have activated Flow.]

The attack twisted its trajectory and slammed into Taesan’s shoulder. A wound appeared on Latran’s chest.

[You received 43 damage.] [45 damage to Latran.]

Damage was exchanged. A smile appeared on Latran’s lips as he roughly pulled back his greatsword.

[Latran has activated Heavy Strike.]

Heavy Strike was a skill that could not be ensnared by Flow.

Taesan created distance as the sword whizzed perilously close to his nose, and he immediately planted his foot down.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

With twice the speed, he plunged into Latran, who still hadn’t recovered the momentum from his swing. He stabbed his sword into Latran’s chest.

[56 damage to Latran.]

Kagang!

Admiration crept onto the face of Latran, who had pushed Taesan away.

“You use skills as if they were sword techniques.”

Skill activations were perfectly timed, without an inch of gap, as if they were his own limbs. It was truly an ideal use.

“I’ve been using them for half my life.”

Taesan answered and slashed down with his sword. Latran swung to deflect.

[Latran has activated Heavy Strike.] [You have activated Heavy Strike.]

Jeong!

Both used Heavy Strike, and the one who used more mana and skills would prevail.

Taesan pressed down on Latran and continued his health.

There was no depletion of health. Mana was also plentiful. If he won here, he would level up and completely recover.

Then there was no need to save mana. Taesan, who made his decision, rushed in. He stabbed with his sword, struck with his shield, and pushed with his shoulder.

Latran also responded. He thrust with the handle of his greatsword and pressured with his bulky body. Taesan’s health dropped at a fast pace, but Latran’s decreased at an even faster rate.

Taesan deflected the weapon that Latran swung.

Teong!

“Eum!”

The effect of the Engraved Spell Scroll. Latran’s arm was raised high. Taesan plunged his sword directly into his chest.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

He charged from his current position as Acceleration was judged even in this entwined state. Latran was pushed back by Taesan’s force and eventually hit the wall.

Ku-eung!

“Cough!”

Latran vomited blood, and Taesan pulled out his sword and stepped back.

The battle was over.

Regret filled Latran’s face.

“I should have fought purely. I tried something cheap and only suffered a loss.”

It would have taken more time if Latran had not used Charge and Rage and only responded purely with swordsmanship and Heavy Strike.

However, Taesan, knowing all the skills, could easily counter.

That was why it was even simpler.

“But it was a fairly satisfying fight. This is a death that’s sufficiently honorable.”

Latran, with a cheerful laugh, threw a single orb.

“Thank you. This is a reward for the victor.”

Life disappeared from Latran’s face.

“Go. Warrior. Seize the victory……

Latran closed his mouth.

His soul departed from his body.

[You have slain the 5th-floor boss.] [You have obtained the base reward [Spectacular Decorative Sword].] [You have understood the hidden elements of the 5th floor. You have obtained the reward [???].] [Your level has increased.] [You have obtained a Rune of Strength.] [Balthasar is greatly pleased.]

He had won.

The 5th floor was now over. He had cleared Balthasar’s trial.

In response to this, numerous messages popped up in front of him, and Taesan began to sort them out carefully.

Firstly, level-up rewards. Health increased by 30, Strength by 7, Agility by 5, and Mana by 4. Since he mainly dealt with orcs, the increase in strength and health was noticeable.

Then, the reward for defeating enemies. Health increased by 20, Strength by 5, and Agility by 5.

The bonus for Soul Ascension was Health 10. Strength 6. Agility 4. Mana 3.

And with the Desire for Victory, Health increased by 20. Strength 4. Agility 4.

The total was Health 80, Strength 22, Agility 18, Mana 7. It was an incredible increase for a single victory.

And Latran was a Named monster that used skills. The Soul Ascension bonus was activated again.

[Your Soul Ascension bonus has been activated. The proficiency of Heavy Strike increases by 5%.] [Your Soul Ascension bonus has been activated. You have obtained the Special Activation Skill [Charge].]

The proficiency of Heavy Strike increased, and he also obtained the Charge skill.

[Special Activation Skill: Charge] [Mana Consumption: 4] [Proficiency: 1%] [You can enhance the power of a specific skill.]

A brief description. It could be used in conjunction with other skills, and it was a skill that became useful from the mid-stages of the game.

And the basic reward for the 5th floor.

[Spectacular Decorative Sword] [Attack Power + 5] [Decorative Sword. Pointlessly sharp.]

Its attack power was 5, so it was on par with Lakiratas’s sword. Moreover, it was small enough for one hand.

That meant he could use swords on both hands.

“Not bad.”

Honestly, there was no big need for a shield right now. Rather, it was more beneficial to increase attack power by wielding two swords and killing enemies faster.

Satisfied, Taesan checked the other rewards.

He decided to put off the secret reward. It was common to check such rewards last.

There was an entity that had been restless because it couldn’t give out rewards.

[Balthasar is greatly satisfied. He wants to give you a worthy reward.]

It could be seen that even through the system window, he was pleased. The ghost grumbled as if it was ridiculous.

[Yeah, of course, he's happy. Who else could pull off something like this?]

Monsters on the 5th floor with over 100 in all stats.

If it wasn’t Taesan, a normal player would have died without even clearing the 4th floor.

[Balthasar's influence area has decreased.] [Balthasar gives you a reward. You received the [Belt of Fighting Spirit].] [You've cleared the enhanced trial. Additional rewards follow.] [You have obtained a Special Constant Activation Skill [Proof of Victory].] [Balthasar proposes a contract of apostleship to you.]

“I won’t accept it.”

Taesan immediately refused. Rather, Balthasar seemed elated by this response.

[Balthasar is pleased with your choice.]

This could mean that he thought the fish that escaped appeared bigger or that he might prefer those he acknowledged to not accept too readily.

[Balthasar is waiting for your next meeting.] [You have received the title [Recognized One].]

The huge presence was leaving. The ghost took a small breath, and Taesan began to check.

[Belt of Fighting Spirit] [Attack Power +3] [Defense Power +3] [Each time you pay respect, health, and mana recover by 5.] [A belt that Balthasar bestows only on those he acknowledges.]

“Of course, it’s good.”

A belt. It was a piece of equipment that you could get quite late. Furthermore, many of them often have mediocre stats, making it difficult to find a good one.

With a satisfied face, Taesan put on the belt. The gods were beings that gave definite rewards. It was worth the hard work.

And the constant activation skill. The Proof of Victory.

[Special Constant Activation Skill: Proof of Victory [Proficiency: 1%] [You have overcome and proved your strength. Choose a stat to constantly increase.]

“Does this mean that my stats will increase each time I win?”

Although the exact content needed to be verified, it seemed to mean that. If so, the skill he needed to set this skill to was clear.

“Mana.”

[Proof of Victory is set to Mana.]

Mana was always better in greater quantities. For Taesan, mana was more important than strength or intelligence, unlike other players.

Although the ratio had to be checked, it was definitely a win. A skill that increased things on its own without worrying about it was always the correct choice.

Then, the reward from the secret room.

With the labyrinth changing, a box was placed in the boss room.

Inside was a small dagger.

[Blade of Self-Harm] [A reverse blade that only hurts the wielder.] [You can consume health to store it.] [Health 0/500]

“Is it a kind of potion?”

Taesan immediately cut his arm with it. As the blood started oozing out, the blade quickly absorbed it.

[Health 20/500]

Consumed health: 20. Stored health: 20. A 1:1 ratio. Considering the losses, this item was top tier.

It could be very useful in emergencies if it was filled in advance.

It was quite satisfactory as a reward from the secret room.

He spent a long time checking the rewards.

But it was not over yet.

There were still many rewards left. Taesan checked the Rune of Power that Latran had given him last.