Ascension Through Skills

Taesan stared blankly at the quest window.

The ghost, reading along with him, spoke up.

[……Are you kidding?]

“No. I’m serious.”

[Then you must have lost your mind. They gave you this as a quest?]

The ghost spoke sharply. There was a clear sense of caution and hostility directed towards Veldencia.

[The condition is to encounter and trade with Essence? Are you insane? Do you know what that means?]

Veldencia remained silent.

The ghost spat out harshly.

sytsem_end

Taesan had made deals and received quests from gods before, but this was different.

Previously, the gods had shown favor to Taesan first. They were fond of Taesan and wanted to give him a lot.

Thus, deals with Taesan were made.

But the God of Descent was different. It was unknown whether he liked or disliked Taesan.

Asking for a deal with a god who might hate you was a suicidal act in itself.

[Moreover, if it’s the God of Descent...... I can roughly understand the situation. Ha. Do you know how insane it is to ask to return a god’s possession?]

“No.”

Veldencia denied it.

“It’s not like I’m asking without any plan. Kang Taesan. You are favored by the Demon God. It’s not an ordinary favor. They might be favoring you enough to make you an apostle.”

Handling demonic power as a human. Not stopping there, he freely wielded intermediate black magic, a power even demons could hardly obtain.

The Demon God had a deep interest in Taesan.

“The Demon God’s authority is high among many gods. Even if it’s the God of Descent, he can’t easily touch someone favored by the Demon God.”

[Do you really think so?]

But the ghost sneered at Veldencia’s words.

[The opponent is a god. They don’t act according to the plans of mortals. What if the God of Descent decides to kill him and confronts the Demon God?]

Veldencia fell silent again.

He lowered his head with a troubled face.

He knew it too. This plan was full of problems. There were countless issues to resolve.

“But!”

Veldencia clenched his fist fiercely.

“What do you want me to do? I tried my best too! I did everything to save the princess and change the God of Descent’s mind!”

He shouted with bloodshot eyes.

“I prepared offerings to exchange for the princess’s soul. I descended into the labyrinth, risking my life! I tried for hundreds of years! But nothing worked! That damn god never returned the princess! I even tried to offer myself, but the God of Descent didn’t even respond!”

He sobbed. Despair was evident in his voice.

“I… I can’t give up. I have to save the princess.”

For that one reason, he made a contract with the magician of the labyrinth.

For countless years, he settled on the 61st floor, quietly waiting. Waiting for someone who could save the princess.

The ghost clicked his tongue.

[Well... I understand. I was the same.]

If not for Taesan, he would have been similar. He might have waited buried in a tomb for hundreds, maybe thousands of years… Even if he finally met a worthy adventurer, the top leadership of the Guides might have already been dead by then.

Most of those bound here were similar. They made a contract with the magician for what they couldn’t achieve on their own. All they could do was pray for a strong adventurer to come.

To Veldencia, Taesan would seem like his first and last chance. He wouldn’t let go easily.

[For now, that’s the risk of the quest. The decision is yours.]

The ghost stepped back. Taesan, who had been quietly watching the conversation, spoke.

“Veldencia.”

“Y-yes?”

Veldencia quickly raised his head. His gaze at Taesan was filled with anxiety.

“I have one question. How did the God of Descent approach you?”

“…We were descending the labyrinth. It was tough and difficult at first, but we slowly made progress together.”

Veldencia was the greatest magician in his world, and the princess was the best swordsman in the empire. Unlike Taesan, who came from Earth, they had power from the beginning. Although it was challenging, they didn’t find the labyrinth too difficult to break through.

“When we reached about the mid-ten floors… the God of Descent descended directly before the princess.”

The descent of the God of Descent.

It was exactly like Amelia Aerin.

Taesan’s eyes darkened. Veldencia continued.

“He praised the princess, saying she was an excellent and outstanding human, and provided all kinds of support. Thanks to that, the princess was able to descend the labyrinth more easily. Until then, both the princess and I were deeply grateful to the God of Descent.”

Veldencia bit his lip.

“And then, we reached the place where the God of Descent resided.”

Floor 83.

That was around the time Amelia’s contact was cut off.

“I can’t tell you more than that now. But the princess’s journey ended there.”

Veldencia muttered gloomily. Taesan closed his eyes and thought.

Opposing a god. Confronting an existence that could disrupt and collapse the world itself.

The princess’s soul was in the hands of the God of Descent. Rescuing it would never be easy.

It wasn’t a decision that could be made lightly.

Veldencia waited with an anxious face. A few minutes later, Taesan opened his eyes.

“Alright.”

[Sub Quest Accepted.]

“R-really?”

Veldencia’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected Taesan to accept it.

[Are you sure?]

“It’s a god we’re likely to confront anyway.”

Taesan answered the ghost’s question.

Amelia Aerin was probably in the same situation as Veldencia’s princess. The God of Descent approached her, praised her, and ended it when she reached him.

And Taesan intended to crush Amelia Aerin’s pride.

The God of Descent wouldn’t like that. The chances of them confronting each other were high.

“And I knew this day would come someday. It’s just sooner than expected.”

From the beginning, he knew not all relationships with transcendents would go smoothly. Some transcendents would definitely oppose and try to crush him.

The God of Descent was likely one of them.

If it was something that would happen eventually, it was better to accept it now when there was something to gain.

[Well, that’s true.]

“Really?”

Even after checking the system window indicating acceptance, Veldencia asked in disbelief.

“Really, you’re accepting?”

“I wouldn’t deny it after coming this far. But the reward must be sufficient.”

“Haha, hahaha! Hahahaha!”

Veldencia burst into laughter. His face, twisted with emotion, was filled with joy.

“Don’t worry, even I, Veldencia. Though I’ve stepped into the higher ranks, I couldn’t save the princess.”

He slammed his staff on the ground. Mana took the form of a contract and pierced into Veldencia’s heart.

“This cursed life of mine holds no meaning. Once you complete the quest… I will leave everything to you.”

The quest was accepted. They chose to confront the God of Descent.

But nothing changed immediately.

“We need to go deeper first.”

“Since the God of Descent resides there. Unless the god directly appears, we can’t solve this immediately.”

And that was impossible. Veldencia added.

“The God of Descent is a god who shows himself to those he’s interested in from the beginning of the labyrinth. But since he hasn’t appeared before you, you’ll have to enter the deeper layers and find the altar yourself.”

“We’ll see.”

Taesan replied doubtfully.

There was also the possibility of encountering him before that. He would soon meet Amelia anyway.

For now, what he had to do was the same as always: get stronger. The next day, Taesan challenged the trial again.

“This time, it’s a trial of magic.”

A magic circle was drawn, and a lich-like being appeared. When it gestured, dark magic manifested and scattered in all directions.

[You activated the Frozen World.]

[You activated the Starlight Arrow.]

And the dark magic shattered into pieces due to light and ice.

“Intermediate magic?”

Veldencia was once again impressed. Although magic was easier to obtain than black magic, it was still relative. Intermediate magic was a power that those who reached the deeper layers barely acquired.

Yet, an adventurer on the 61st floor possessed such power. Moreover, judging by his proficiency, it seemed he had acquired it long before.

This indicated that the God of Magic also favored Taesan.

Veldencia’s certainty and expectations grew even more.

Boom!

[Starlight Arrow proficiency increased by 1%.]

[Frozen World proficiency increased by 1%.]

[You passed the third trial.]

[You obtained the Elixir of Supreme Mana Enhancement.]

[Elixir of Supreme Mana Enhancement]

[Increases mana by 1000 permanently.]

From the third trial onward, the rewards seemed to have increased significantly, with an elixir that raised mana by 1000.

Now, unless he used intermediate magic dozens of times in a row, he wouldn’t feel the mana consumption.

Though he wanted to move on to the next trial immediately, there was a one-day restriction. With nothing else to do, Taesan continued his conversation with Veldencia.

“So, the princess felt sorry for the mad spirit on the 21st floor. She wanted to help it, but… unfortunately, she couldn’t.”

“She couldn’t deal with the golem?”

“Yes. We tried magic, and the princess aimed for its weak points, but it was all in vain. So while she confronted it, I quickly fetched the spring water.”

Lee Taeyeon took advantage of the golem’s inactive time, and Taesan took down the golem itself.

Since they had two people, they could employ such methods.

The conversation wasn’t bad. It provided an opportunity to learn how other adventurers descended the labyrinth. Veldencia’s stories made Taesan think of methods he hadn’t considered.

“It was tough, but it was very enjoyable.”

Veldencia murmured quietly. His eyes were filled with memories.

The 21st floor. For Veldencia, it must have been something from hundreds of years ago, yet he remembered.

That meant the memories with the princess were precious to him.

Taesan, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it? Ask anything. I’ll answer.”

“You said you wanted to save the princess.”

“Yes. That’s my wish, which binds me here.”

“Then why did you give up the conquest and make a contract with the magician?”

Taesan asked. The ghost, finding it curious as well, opened its mouth.

[Come to think of it, unlike me, you’re not dead, right? And it’s not like you lacked the ability to conquer the deeper layers.]

Taesan still remembered the system window that appeared before him when he entered the labyrinth.

[This place was created by a great magician long ago. It is said that those who conquer it will have one wish granted.]

Fulfillment of a wish.

It certainly wasn’t of trivial value.

“……That’s quite close to the answer.”

Veldencia nodded.

“If you conquer the labyrinth, the magician of the labyrinth will grant you one wish. Since it’s stated in the system, even the god residing in the labyrinth can’t refuse that wish.”

[Then you could save the princess’s soul with that, right? Though you’d have to risk your life, that’s always a given.]

“Yes. At first, I thought so too. To conquer the labyrinth and save the princess.”

But Veldencia shook his head with a bitter smile.

“But… it was impossible.”

[The conquest?]

“No. It’s a problem before that. Even if I reached the end of the labyrinth… I wouldn’t be able to make a wish.”

[……What do you mean? Are you saying it’s a lie?]

“It’s not a lie. It’s just that we all misunderstood.”

Veldencia spoke softly.

“The system said ‘conquest of the labyrinth.’ Simply reaching the end and… conquering are very different matters.”

He smiled bitterly.

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