Ascension Through Skills

Cutting through the wind, Taesan charged towards Vishnu. Vishnu swung her arm. Flames erupted, obscuring the view.

Taesan infused his sword with spirit power and slashed toward the surging crimson flames, cutting them apart and creating a path.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Taesan rushed forward. Vishnu roughly waved her hand, launching a spear of flame through the explosion.

Taesan swung his sword, altering the trajectory of the spear.

Fwoosh.

Vishnu continued to unleash flames. The fire, as though intent on burning the world, divided the space between Taesan and Vishnu.

Taesan halted his charge, calmly assessing the situation.

This was merely a probing match. Both Taesan and Vishnu had many hidden cards. Rather than revealing his hand first, it was more efficient to wait for Vishnu to make her move and then respond accordingly.

‘A foe who controls flames to dominate the space and press me.’

Yet, thanks to the difference in their ranks, it wasn’t difficult to fend off the flames.

“Apostle Transformation, and the vessel of a king…”

Vishnu frowned. Taesan’s rank was clearly higher than hers at this moment.

Still, she sneered.

“I am the Spirit King. The mere rank of a human cannot reach me.”

[Vishnu has activated Nature’s Incarnation.]

Fwoosh.

Flames began to rise from her body. As if she had become fire itself, her entire form blazed.

Vishnu waved her hand, causing an explosion of flames. Taesan swung his sword.

Clang!

These flames were different from before. Taesan’s sword couldn’t easily push them away.

Crack.

Instead, the flames began to press against him as if they carried weight.

Taesan kicked off the ground to widen the distance, and Vishnu gathered more power.

Whoosh!

The flames began to engulf everything around them. The Broken Man distanced himself with an annoyed expression. The entire space was enveloped in fire.

“Can’t you do something like that?”

Taesan asked Minerva, who was trying to push back the flames with the help of Barkaza’s wind.

“That’s a method of drawing power by identifying oneself with nature. Sorry, I can’t do that yet. I haven’t lived that long.”

Minerva groaned.

“Spirits usually get stronger the longer they live. And the spirit before us is likely one of the oldest I’ve ever known.”

“Surrender, human.”

Vishnu declared proudly. The flames became tangible, trying to devour Taesan and the surrounding space.

[You have activated Strong Blow.]

Taesan scattered the flames with a powerful slash. Minerva burst through with a gust of wind, creating a path.

Yet the flames still pushed back. The space was dominated by fire, and the blaze obscured his vision.

It felt as if he had fallen into a world made entirely of fire.

In a pure contest of strength, Taesan was being overwhelmed.

But it wasn’t an insurmountable challenge.

“Minerva.”

[You have activated Frozen World.]

A freezing cold stormed forth. Though it melted instantly against the flames, the continuously activated Frozen World began to cool the surrounding heat.

And within that moment, Minerva unleashed her power. Wind surged, fiercely pushing the flames away and creating a path to Vishnu.

Taesan charged forward.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

Vishnu detonated more flames, but this time Taesan did not stop.

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[You have activated Frozen World.]

[You have activated Magic Focus.]

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Shatter!

Frost spread ahead, cutting through the weakened flames as Taesan brought his sword down toward Vishnu.

Vishnu raised a barrier of flames. Taesan applied more force to his sword.

[You have activated Absolute Judgement.]

The moment his sword touched the barrier, it disappeared.

Vishnu’s pupils widened. Taesan swung his sword fiercely. Just as he was about to cleave her head, Vishnu’s body vanished.

[Vishnu has activated Shoes of Spatial Transference.]

“Humph.”

Vishnu landed far away, sending a cold glare his way.

“So that’s why Shaman lost… You have a skill that ignores defenses, huh?”

She had suspected as much. Given that Shaman, who boasted unparalleled defenses, had been defeated so quickly, it was inevitable.

But for her barrier to disappear without any resistance at all?

“How does someone like you, who hasn’t even reached the deeper levels, possess such a skill?”

Clicking her tongue, Vishnu condensed the flames. The red flames gathered, changing color as they did.

There was no reason for Taesan to simply watch, so he immediately leaped, intending to pierce Vishnu’s chest with his sword.

[Vishnu has activated Shoes of Spatial Transference.]

But once again, Vishnu’s body disappeared far into the distance. Taesan frowned.

“No cooldown?”

“The exploration is over. Your power isn’t all that special.”

While undeniably powerful and formidable, its foundation lay within the Labyrinth’s system. Unlike the Spirit Kings or dragons, Taesan didn’t fully command his own power.

In that case, overwhelming force would be enough.

“Witness.”

The condensed flames had turned white.

“This is the world granted to the Spirit King… my world.”

The white flames exploded, consuming the space.

[Vishnu has activated King’s World.]

The space warped. The very laws of the world twisted, and the air changed.

Taesan instinctively realized.

This place. The 70th floor of the Labyrinth had now become Vishnu’s world.

[Your opponent is an unwinnable enemy.]

Vishnu calmly stated.

“Perish.”

Flames rushed toward him.

[Your First Attack Nullification has activated.]

The nullification was consumed. Taking advantage of the gap, Taesan swiftly gathered demonic energy.

[You have activated Marbas’ Pitch-Black Wave.]

The demonic energy surged.

A pitch-black wave, capable of swallowing everything, rushed toward the flames. Vishnu frowned and snapped her fingers.

“You’ve got quite the arsenal.”

The flames opened their jaws and swallowed the pitch-black wave.

The wave dissipated instantly, like fire trying to rise in water, vanishing without a trace.

Vishnu’s entire body momentarily became flame and disappeared. Sensing danger, Taesan swung his sword fiercely to his left.

“You’ve got good instincts.”

Vishnu descended next to Taesan and grabbed his sword.

With her fingers made of flames, Vishnu held onto Taesan’s sword, preventing it from advancing.

“But that’s all.”

The flames erupted, engulfing Taesan.

[Your Second Attack Nullification has activated.]

“Second? You have multiple skills of that level?”

Vishnu was baffled. Minerva hastily gathered wind, but with a simple wave of Vishnu’s hand, it dissipated.

“You are of no consequence anymore, young Spirit King.”

Minerva’s entire form trembled. She began to lose her shape, quivering uncontrollably.

“This is the domain of flames I created. No other force of nature can exert its power here.”

“Eek!”

Minerva tumbled to the ground, the wind that had surrounded her body slowly being consumed by the flames.

“Surrender, mortal.”

The flames filled the entire world.

“This is the power of a king.”

After using the King’s World skill, Vishnu became monstrously powerful. Taesan, who had been evenly matched with her earlier, was now being overwhelmed in an instant.

And Taesan understood what had caused this shift.

‘Dominance of the domain.’

The space of the 70th floor itself had become hers.

It was similar to Taesan’s partial world transformation. She had turned a certain range of the area into her world, imposing her laws onto it.

Vishnu was the Spirit King, and spirits are beings of nature. She had forcibly imposed her world onto this realm, twisting nature and turning it into her domain.

Taesan gathered his rank to push away the encroaching flames.

It was only natural that he was being pushed back. This entire space was her domain. Everything was determined by her laws and will.

Without his Absolute Protection, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the depletion of his health.

Taesan silently moved his body, focusing on evasion and defense rather than counterattacking.

[You have activated Mental Acceleration.]

Unless he could conquer this domain, victory was impossible.

So, how could he conquer it?

To maintain King’s World, where she overlaid her world onto the labyrinth created by the gods, must require a significant cost.

There had to be a time limit, but how long it would last was unknown. Simply waiting for that time to pass was clearly not an optimal strategy.

Even hiding wouldn’t work. The space itself was her domain, so there was nowhere to escape.

Word of Command was also ineffective. It worked well against attacks without will, but not in this case.

The Boundary Line was his final card. He couldn’t reveal it just yet.

What he needed was the most optimal method to counter her, a way to exploit her abilities while maintaining an advantage without suffering losses.

He endured the surging flames with the Aegis Shield. As soon as its duration ended, he used Random Blink to escape, but the flames surged once again.

Gathering his rank, Taesan spoke as he swung his sword.

“Minerva.”

“Ugh, yes?”

Despite being relentlessly pushed back by the flames, Minerva and Barkaza managed to hold on. Taesan addressed her.

“Can you buy me some time?”

“…How much?”

“A few minutes.”

“A few minutes?”

Minerva gave a bitter smile. She didn’t want to admit it, but the Fire Spirit King was clearly stronger than her. The young Minerva couldn’t handle Nature’s Incarnation combined with King’s World, making it difficult to hold on.

Still, Minerva spoke confidently.

“That’s enough. Leave it to me. Barkaza!”

[As the king commands.]

A burst of rainbow light and wind exploded forth.

Vishnu gazed indifferently at the charging Minerva.

“You’re making a foolish last stand.”

“I am still a king. I can’t leave without doing anything!”

Minerva’s wind condensed.

The wind, containing all of her power, burst out. The flames were slowly but surely pushed back.

Meanwhile, Taesan extended his senses.

He analyzed every detail of the domain controlled by Vishnu and the twisted laws of her world.

With the vast amount of information he gathered, Taesan used a catalyst on his wrist guards.

Seeing this, Vishnu swung her flames aggressively.

But Minerva wasn’t easily pushed back.

‘Annoying.’

Even though Minerva was young, she was still the Spirit King. As the ruler of the wind itself, she could hold her ground in the domain of flames when she gathered all her strength.

And Taesan was also a thorn in her side.

‘Why isn’t he taking any damage?’

This place was her domain. Any unauthorized being should have suffered horrendous damage just by standing in it.

Yet Taesan wasn’t taking any damage at all.

It was only possible to protect his body through Absolute Protection and the twisted tuning of spirit energy, but Vishnu, who was unaware of this, found it extremely bothersome.

‘I can’t give him any more time.’

She didn’t know what he was doing, but it wouldn’t be something that would help her.

She decided to end it quickly.

Vishnu gathered flames.

The fire that had been spreading as if it would burn the world suddenly surged, sweeping over everything like a storm.

“Ugh!”

Minerva wrapped herself in wind to protect Taesan and then exploded outward. The violent gusts scattered in all directions.

Taesan also activated a skill.

[You have activated Greed of Destruction.]

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A fierce power surged from the bracelet on Taesan’s arm, swallowing the flames.

Though the flames couldn’t withstand it and were crushed and broken, they were steadily devoured by the bracelet’s jaws.

Vishnu frowned.

Despite consuming a considerable amount of power, neither Taesan nor Minerva had fallen.

“Ha, haha…”

Minerva slowly collapsed. Her entire form began to disintegrate, unable to withstand the overwhelming power, and she was forcefully unsummoned. Barkaza had already been unsummoned.

“This should be enough… right?”

“It’s enough.”

Taesan nodded. Minerva grinned widely.

“Then that’s fine. Good luck.”

With those words, she disappeared.

Vishnu floated arrogantly in the air, looking down at Taesan.

“Is your final struggle over?”

Although it was impressive that they had endured, her power was still intact. On the other hand, Taesan had lost the Spirit King, Minerva.

The situation was still overwhelmingly in her favor.

“In that case, die there.”

The flames rushed forward.

Every part of his vision was filled with crimson fire.

“This is the first time I’m using this like this, so it was a bit tricky.”

Taesan muttered as he watched the approaching flames.

He had the knowledge in his head. But knowing and using it were two different things. Moreover, analyzing the Spirit King’s domain and activating the corresponding skill took a considerable amount of time.

However, thanks to Minerva’s efforts, he was able to finish everything.

The roots wrapped around Taesan’s arm squirmed. He swung his arm forcefully.

[You have activated Partial World Transformation.]

Suddenly, the roots surged.

The laws of the world, which had been under Vishnu’s control, began to distort. Vishnu’s expression hardened.

“…What is this?”

The world she had overlaid and the twisted laws she had imposed were being pushed back by another world. The flames gradually died down, and her domain started to disappear.

“What is this madness!”

She was shocked. The space she had created was vanishing.

“I am the Spirit King! This is my domain!”

“So what?”

Vishnu explosively unleashed her flames. Taesan responded accordingly.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

Crack!

A freezing cold stormed forth.

The power it contained was clearly different from before.

The rushing flames were frozen in their tracks as the cold consumed the space. The walls of the labyrinth froze instantly.

Vishnu, sensing the cold approaching her, hastily covered herself in flames and detonated them. The ice couldn’t reach her.

However, the air around her froze in an instant.

Ice and fire divided the 70th floor.

At first, Taesan had to activate Frozen World multiple times to push back Vishnu’s power.

But now, things were different.

Vishnu, on the contrary, had to expend her strength just to fend off Frozen World.

“What is this?”

Taesan raised his sword. The Spirit King was indeed strong.

In terms of pure strength, she surpassed Taesan.

But what he had unleashed was, though incomplete, the domain of an immortal who transcended mortality. In terms of rank, he was clearly above the Spirit King.

Taesan spoke to the bewildered Vishnu.

“And there’s someone who holds a grudge against you.”

He unleashed what had been simmering within his sword ever since he encountered the Spirit King.

[You have activated Wrath of the Acknowledged One.]

The insane spirit that had long slumbered within began to awaken.