Ascension Through Skills

[Rune of Marnius] [Imparts a random attribute to a weapon.]

As before, the explanation was concise. This rune could be overlaid with the Engraving Scroll and used for different purposes.

This led to a question.

“Is Marnius also a god?”

An existence that inserted its own name into an item. Previously, he didn’t care much about gods, but his thoughts changed as he saw the many gods here.

[He's not a god, he's a transcendental being.]

“What’s the difference?”

[There isn't a big difference. Is there a domain they govern? Or did they wish for it themselves? That's about the extent of the difference.]

It seemed he had no intention of explaining in detail.

[Just know that such things exist. They're not all involved in the labyrinth. If I were to explain each one, I'd have to spend days just explaining, right?]

“I see.”

There seemed to be more transcendental beings than he had thought.

Taesan put the Rune of Marnius in his inventory. It was about time to discard the weapon of Lakiratas. He had used the weapon obtained on the 2nd floor up to the 9th floor, truly a long time of usage. He was planning to use it until he acquired a new weapon.

And then the random reward.

[You have acquired the special always-activated skill, [Touch of Plunder].]

“Does the random reward also give skills?”

He didn’t know. There was never a time when it gave a skill in Easy Mode. Lee Taeyeon hardly ever received any secret rewards, so she didn’t know either.

First, he checked the effect.

[Special always-activate skill: Touch of Plunder] [Proficiency: 1%] [Absorbs a certain proportion of health every time damage is inflicted on the enemy.]

“For longer battles, I guess.”

This was the first time Taesan had seen such a type of skill. He would need to know what the ratio was, but given that it was a secret reward, its value was likely not small.

Taesan went down to the 9th floor. This time, he didn’t encounter Lilis. As the bird monster used its beak as a weapon, it didn’t drop any particular items. The only real drops were materials.

[9th floor quest starts.] [Defeat the boss of the 9th floor and pass through.] [Reward: Boots of Swiftness] [Secret Reward: ???]

The dwarf greeted him.

“You’re here. Already on the 9th floor, huh? You’re almost there.”

“Yes, I am.”

In many ways, he was indeed almost there. The ghost quietly closed his mouth.

“There’s nothing to buy this time, either. Hurry down. I hate seeing that annoying face.”

“There’s something I need to say before that.”

What kind of reaction he would get was unknown, but he still had to confirm. The dwarf grumbled.

“What is it? Surely you’re not saying you’re going to stick around until that guy kicks the bucket?”

“No. I’m probably going to be out for a while.”

“Out?”

The dwarf’s pupils dilated.

“From here?”

“Yes.”

[What do you mean?]

The ghost, who had been silent, asked in surprise.

[You're going out of the labyrinth?]

“It’s not that I want to leave. I’m going to be forced to.”

“……Is that possible?”

The dwarf scratched his chin with a puzzled expression on his face.

“It sounds like something is interfering… but nothing comes to mind.”

“Do you not know?”

“I’m stuck here, completely ignorant of the outside world. Of course, I wouldn’t know. The gods of this place wouldn’t do such crazy things……”

The dwarf also seemed not to know what entity had summoned Taesan to this place.

‘So it’s not a god.’

The pondering dwarf asked,

“How long will it take?”

“I’m not sure.”

It was a question Taesan couldn’t definitively answer either. Depending on how things unfolded, it could end quickly or take a long time.

“I think it will take about one or two months.”

“That’s not too long. I don’t know what it is, but it seems like you can’t avoid going even if you don’t want to. Take care.”

The dwarf spoke frankly. Taesan nodded and headed towards the 9th floor.

The ghost, who had come to its senses a little late, began to ask questions.

[Where are you going?]

“Outside.”

[Outside? Outside the labyrinth? The place that broken man is guarding? What's there?]

“Not there, I mean really outside.”

[Huh?]

The ghost was taken aback.

[What 'outside' are you talking about?]

Taesan did not respond. It wouldn’t be long before he found out anyway.

He looked at the ghost.

An existence that disappeared once the 10th floor was cleared. An entity bound by a quest.

In other words, as long as the quest was maintained, it would always be by his side.

[Why are you looking at me like that?]

“No reason.”

He averted his gaze. For now, everything was just a possibility. There was no need to say anything since he didn’t know how the labyrinth would react.

Taesan moved to the next room. The monsters of the 9th floor appeared.

“Caaak!”

[A hobgoblin wielding a spear has appeared.] [A hobgoblin with a shield has appeared.] [A hobgoblin wielding a bow has appeared.]

It was the same arrangement as on the 2nd floor. The difference was that the goblins had evolved into hobgoblins.

“So, these are stronger than the lizardmen?”

While hobgoblins were a higher species than goblins, they were below lizardmen in terms of strength by species.

Taesan soon found out why they were considered stronger.

“Kieeek!”

The hobgoblins swung their weapons. Their actions were restrained and neat, not something that could be achieved with a day or two of practice.

“Whoa.”

Taesan deflected the attack with his sword and stepped back. The goblins coordinated their attacks.

“This is interesting.”

No matter how much they had trained, the basic stat differences were significant, and Taesan was also learning swordsmanship. He had no issues dealing with them.

What surprised him was that the hobgoblins were stronger than he had anticipated.

“So, this kind of enhancement is also possible.”

There were no differences in the strength of monsters in each mode. The goblins he met here were at the level of goblins encountered in the Easy Mode, and it was the same with lizardmen and orcs.

The orc warriors were different, but given that they were enhanced as a part of a divine trial, they were exceptions.

Taesan had encountered hobgoblins in the Easy Mode before, but the ones he was facing now were distinctly stronger.

The ghost responded.

[There are limits, but some degree of training is possible. You need someone to teach you, but you already know that, right?]

In other words, on the 9th floor, there were named monsters.

There were Named.

Taesan extended his hand, and the hobgoblins attacked Taesan.

When his shield was completely depleted and his health started to decrease, Taesan swung his sword.

Crack.

“Cough!”

The hobgoblin trying to block Taesan’s sword was crushed along with its shield.

The Touch of Plunder.

It recovered a certain proportion of the damage.

The shield was not a judgment of health,

He had no choice but to take hits. When Taesan checked, he had recovered 3 health points.

“The ratio is about 5%.”

Even though it was just acquired and at the base proficiency level, it already was at 5%. It would become quite useful if he consistently increased the skill’s proficiency. It was a skill that could help him gain the upper hand in long battles.

The fact that it was always activated was also a plus. It meant that it would activate without him having to worry about it. These little things collectively created significant variables.

Taesan quickly regrouped and started breaking through the labyrinth. In the next room, four hobgoblins were waiting, and Taesan had eliminated them all in less than a minute.

Taesan had fought against an adventurer of the 20th floor. The monsters on the 9th floor were no longer a match for him. He continued to clear the rooms without stopping.

He searched for the secret room. The effect of Perception was activated, and he quickly found it. As always, he disarmed the trap and claimed the reward.

[A Thick Shield] [Defense +15] [Purely for defense. It seems useless on its own.]

Its defense attribute was the highest he had ever seen.

The drawback was that it was a two-handed shield.

As described, it wasn’t handy by itself.

Taesan had Soul Ascension, so he could use it to some extent, but defense wasn’t what was important right now.

The problem was that his attack power was too low compared to his stats.

Before long, he was able to encounter the boss.

“Caw!”

[A Hobgoblin Chieftain has appeared.]

This chieftain used both magic and sword at the same time. He attacked Taesan with magic and sword strikes, wielding his sword and staff.

Taesan approached as if walking into a breeze.

[You activated the Robe of Invisibility.]

His body disappeared in an instant, causing the chieftain to halt. Taesan thrust his sword into the chieftain’s throat.

“Cough, caw.”

Surpassing the inherent resistance, he thrust his sword in. It didn’t take long for the chieftain to fall.

[You have defeated the Hobgoblin Chieftain.] [Your level has increased.] [You are in peak condition.] [As a reward for leveling up, your health has increased by 60.] [As a reward for leveling up, your Strength permanently increases by 12. Agility permanently increases by 15. Mana permanently increases by 8.] [You obtained the Staff of Fading.]

He checked it right away.

[Staff of Fading] [Magic +5] [A magical staff that now only remains as a fragment. It seems to have been quite valuable once.]

It was worse than the Staff of Calm he currently possessed. But since it could be used as a tribute, it was better than poor-quality equipment.

[You're disgustingly fast.]

“You can’t make things difficult.”

Now it was the 10th floor.

However, Taesan didn’t go down and looked around the boss room.

Before long, he was able to find a peculiar decoration forming a pattern.

Taesan pressed the decoration.

With a rumble, the wall moved inward, revealing a passage.

“There it is, as expected.”

Taesan entered. The pattern was reminiscent of the Goblin Lord’s secret location. Like last time, the interior was decorated luxuriously.

“An adventurer, huh?”

At the end, a goblin was seated on a throne.

[You have encountered Goblin Lord. Root-La.]

Unlike Hage-Ha, there was no title for ‘Chief.’

That meant this was a true Goblin Lord.

The Lord, watching him, opened his mouth.

“Did you meet Hage-Ha?”

Taesan nodded his head. Root-La laughed.

“Having faced a warrior like you, he must have gone to the afterlife satisfied.”

Root-La rose to his feet, held his spear, and pointed at Taesan. Taesan nonchalantly drew his sword.

Now Taesan was at the level of an adventurer who had reached the 20th floor. Even if Root-La held the title of Lord, the odds of victory were clear. Perhaps Root-La also felt this as he gave a bitter smile.

He held his spear as if betting his life.

“I knew someday this would come, but it’s a peculiar feeling.”

“You must have defeated Hage-Ha.”

“Yes, I won a fair battle and claimed the seat of the Lord. It was a fight for life.”

“Why did you do that?”

From the conversation, he appeared fully aware of his own nature. He was a monster destined to be defeated by adventurers.

Root-La casually answered.

“If I’m destined to fall anyway, shouldn’t I leave some sort of result behind? Death as a Lord rather than one of the countless goblins seems more magnificent.”

‘Was it greed?’

He had challenged Hage-Ha for a more glamorous death.

In the Easy Mode, monsters were creatures that moved purely on instinct, rarely exhibiting intelligence.

But here, even those called monsters were living according to their own values and beliefs.

The NPCs came here for their own desires.

Then, why did the monsters exist here?

“Let’s fight, warrior.”

The Lord charged with his spear raised.

He was fast and strong. Even the shadow from the 20th floor couldn’t move like that. Even without any skill, purely through his movements, he was superior to anyone he had seen.

Taesan moves both of his hands.

The sound of the wind tearing resonated through the room.

Clang!

The goblin’s arm was pushed back, and Taesan kicked on and charged aggressively.

“Oh!”

The Lord gritted his teeth as he hit the ground. Desperately lowering his posture, he raised his spear towards Taesan and thrust.

[Root-La has activated Strong Blow.] [Your First Attack Absolute Nullification is activated.]

The attack was nullified.

Taesan counterattacked. With a determined face, the Lord activates his skill.

[Root-La has activated Deflection.] [You have activated Strong Blow.]

The deviating sword corrected its trajectory again. Root-La gritted his teeth and blocked it, causing the spear to shake violently.

“What’s this? I can do nothing.”

Root-La chuckles to himself.

“Even my skills can’t compete, nor can my movements. Even my swordsmanship can’t be considered superior. I didn’t expect to be pushed back this much by an adventurer on this floor.”

Root-La was strong.

An ordinary player would have just enough power to face him upon reaching the 14th floor. He was a monstrous being. Taesan raises his sword.

“Do you want to give up?”

“I can’t do that.”

Root-La gripped his gleaming spear with both hands.

A storm raged.

The spear created afterimages, piercing ten places at once. The freely moving spear formed a circle, gently pulling in the air.

Such an extreme mastery of a weapon.

Taesan raised his sword.

Whoosh!

He destroys the skill with pure strength. The sword strike cut through all directions like a storm.

Root-La had given his best.

Five minutes later, the Lord slowly retreated with a sword embedded in his chest.

“So, this is it.”

“You lasted longer than I thought.”

Normally, it would have ended in about three minutes.

However, Root-La hung on until the very end. The result of clinging to the ground and discarding his weapon earned him a little bit of time.

It was a meaningless difference. After all, there was no chance of victory.

But Root-La looked satisfied.

“Well, fine. I don’t know if I’ll remember this result, but I’m satisfied for now.”

Root-La threw his spear. Taesan caught it.

[You have acquired a makeshift spear.]

“Use it as you wish. Warrior.”

Root-La closed his eyes.

[You have defeated Root-La.] [You have defeated the Lord of the Goblins. You have earned the title [One Who is Cursed by Goblins].] [You have defeated the leader of a race. You have earned the title [King Slayer].]