Ascension Through Skills

“I’ll tell you more than that.”

Lee Taeyeon asked Taesan in surprise.

“Are you going to tell others too?”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No, it’s just that……”

Lee Taeyeon glanced uneasily at Oliver. Oliver flinched and stepped back.

“I can’t have goodwill towards that guy at least. Is it okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. I won’t tell everything anyway.”

Honestly, Taesan wasn’t interested in what kind of tricks the U.S. pulled in this quest. The important thing was survival.

Survival. Surviving and returning to Earth.

At those words, their expressions became serious. Lee Taeyeon also turned away from Oliver as if agreeing.

“Before that, let me ask first. Will you cooperate with us to deal with the monster?”

“Yes.”

“Coming this far, there’s no thought of refusing.”

“It’s better to combine our strengths than to be alone.”

Each nodded affirmatively. Taesan tapped the table with his fingertips.

“Then let’s make one contract before that.”

[Kang Taesan proposes a Silence Contract to everyone in the space.]

[Condition: Silence on specific information from this place.]

[Acceptance and rejection. Two choices are available.]

A Silence Contract. One of the few rights players had, like dueling. Taesan spoke up.

“If the contents I’m about to share get out, it could become troublesome. So, make sure to keep it secret.”

About the gods. And about the labyrinth.

One day, everyone would need to know, but not yet. At least until people reached the stage where they could guess. If the truth was revealed all at once, it would only cause chaos.

Oliver asked cautiously.

“What happens if we break it?”

“Nothing. It just notifies me that it’s been broken. And you’ll pay the price when you return to Earth.”

“……I see.”

With a calm response, Oliver swallowed and spoke.

“I accept.”

“Me too.”

“Yes.”

Finally, Amelia nodded quietly, and everyone accepted.

Taesan spoke up.

“What do you think about how we entered the labyrinth?”

About the gods. About the high gods. And about the labyrinth.

Taesan explained the information he had discovered to them.

These people had risked their lives, leading others and surviving until the end, or died before that.

Everyone here had done their best to survive. They had the right to know the truth.

Of course, he didn’t reveal everything.

He didn’t explain the reason for the labyrinth’s separation and difficulty. It would only reduce their morale.

But he explained most of the important core.

By the end of the conversation, their faces were filled with shock.

“……I had vaguely guessed.”

Daniel spoke with trembling eyes.

“Really…… there was the involvement of gods.”

“The sudden destruction of the world. And the labyrinth. If it happened by coincidence without the interference of transcendental beings, that would be scarier.”

“Amelia had talked about gods, so I knew there was something like that…… I thought it was only related to Solo Mode and didn’t pay much attention. But it is directly related to us.”

Oliver murmured quietly. Everyone was in shock.

For Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok, who had already experienced the trials of gods in Solo Mode, the shock was relatively less, but it wasn’t absent. They also didn’t know that Earth was being invaded by high gods.

“The gods said they were opposing the high gods. So, are they friendly to us?”

“No.”

Taesan shook his head at Eika’s question.

“They don’t care about each mortal individually. They only favor those they like.”

Taesan glanced at Amelia.

“The god of descent doesn’t favor as much as they look for toys…… they don’t even give that much attention to other humans.”

At Taesan’s words, Amelia flinched.

But she didn’t refute or show anger. She just quietly thought about something.

“By now, you should understand why Korea has become like this.”

Taesan, overwhelmingly strong. But very few survived in Korea.

Oliver spoke with a trembling voice.

“……Are the high gods trying to kill you?”

“Yes. They are giving me more attention than I deserve. I wish they would just leave me alone.”

Everyone was in awe at Taesan’s grumbling.

Beings that could crush planets. Immortal transcendents far beyond human perception.

And the human who had their attention.

They realized anew how amazing Taesan was.

“This…… we definitely can’t spread this.”

Kim Hwiyeon spoke with a sigh. It was too big a secret. If revealed now, uncontrollable chaos would ensue.

“Anyway, it’s best to prepare. The quests on Earth have expanded from countries to the world, and now the high gods will also be interested worldwide.”

Everyone nodded with determined faces.

Taesan clapped his hands.

“The information that can’t be shared ends here. Now, I’ll share information that can be spread freely. It’s about skills.”

The heavy atmosphere dissipated. Everyone eagerly awaited Taesan’s words with bright eyes.

No one underestimated the importance of skills. Survival chances vary greatly depending on the skills one has.

Taesan, the strongest player on Earth. It was important to memorize every word he said about skills.

Taesan began his explanation.

Unyielding Will, Counter, Vital Point Attack, Breathless Attack, Continuous Attack, Mitigation, etc.

He first explained skills that anyone could acquire with effort. Those who already had them but didn’t know how to acquire them marveled, and those who hadn’t obtained them eagerly absorbed the information.

“Breathless…… it sounds really good. How long do you have to endure?”

“Until just before you die.”

Just because he explained it didn’t mean everyone could understand it. Anyone could acquire it with effort, but that effort was not easy.

However, if it was shared with all players, some would obtain it. Seeing them, others would think they could get it too and would challenge themselves.

People would gradually become stronger that way.

That was what Taesan wanted.

“It seems difficult, but it’s worth the effort. How did you find all this out?”

“I’m curious too. You told us right after we first entered the labyrinth.”

“……Right after entering?”

Amelia muttered quietly. Her voice was so low that no one but Taesan heard her.

Taesan ignored her and continued.

“Next is Leap and Landing. The effect is that you can jump high and take no damage from any fall, no matter how high.”

“How do you obtain it?”

“You need to land on the ground from a height that would normally be fatal.”

Everyone fell silent.

Taesan spoke.

“That’s all for skills that anyone can obtain.”

Oliver was taken aback by Taesan’s words.

“Anyone can obtain them? It sounds like only a few people could get these.”

“Anyone can get them, as long as they put in the effort.”

From here on, the skills were ones that couldn’t be easily obtained.

Taesan made a gesture.

“Then, Lee Taeyeon, Kang Jun-hyeok, and Amelia.”

“……Me too?”

“Yes.”

Taesan nodded.

“Everyone else, please leave. The skills I’m going to talk about now are not for everyone.”

Originally, he had considered sharing skills like Attack Nullification and Endurance.

What Taesan wanted was not the strength of an individual, but the survival of as many people as possible. There was no reason to hoard skills.

But he didn’t trust individual humans completely.

Skills like Forced Duel and Absolute Judgement could cause significant trouble if learned by someone with a malicious disposition.

Taesan remembered. When he returned to Earth, there were those who tried to satisfy their desires by killing other players.

Of course, it was almost impossible for them to obtain these skills. Even in his previous life, he had shared this information with everyone through the community, but only Lee Taeyeon had obtained them. Just one person.

And even she had only obtained Addition and Sure Hit.

But there was always a possibility. There was no reason to leave room for potential trouble.

Moreover, considering the conditions for obtaining these skills, many might die trying to get them. The harm of sharing them outweighed the benefits.

‘Besides.’

Unlike in his previous life, quite a few Solo Mode players were still alive.

If they learned skills like Endurance and then encountered the Guides, what would happen?

At the very least, it wouldn’t be a good outcome. There was also the possibility that they might reveal all the skills Taesan had taught them to the Guides for their own benefit. Or they could be captured, tortured, and killed for their skills.

Power not suited to one’s abilities was always a poison.

Even though the space was separated, he didn’t know what kind of impact it would have. He planned to release the core skills later, after further filtering.

“Ah. Okay.”

“Got it.”

Just before they left, they bowed to Taesan.

“Thank you so much.”

They knew too. The information Taesan had shared was invaluable, worth more than gold. It wasn’t strange at all for Taesan to keep it to himself.

He had given it to all of them without any compensation. They all knew how tremendous the opportunity was, regardless of the conditions to obtain it.

Taesan replied.

“If you’re grateful, survive to the end. That’s the only way you can repay me.”

“……I guess we can’t afford to die.”

They left. Taesan spoke to the three who remained.

“First, Endurance. Kang Jun-hyeok and Lee Taeyeon, you should know this.”

“Ah……”

“Yes, we know it. But we couldn’t get it.”

Both spoke reluctantly. Taesan addressed Amelia.

“The effect is immunity to all damage for a certain period when you receive a fatal blow.”

“……There really is such a skill?”

A skill that gave you a chance when you were about to die. It was incredibly valuable.

Taesan replied.

“You need to perfectly block multiple fatal attacks without taking any damage.”

“……What?”

“And next is Attack Nullification. The effect is that it erases the attack itself at the moment it hits. To obtain it, you must avoid all damage in a situation where you’re guaranteed to take damage, without wearing any armor.”

“Can you use defensive skills?”

“No. You must purely avoid the damage through movement. The only allowable aid is the Powder of Blessing that increases luck.”

You had to respond to an attack, deflect it as much as possible through movement, and nullify the reduced damage entirely using the Powder of Blessing.

With a protective shield, it wouldn’t be difficult, but that was a trick only Taesan could use, having passed the enhanced trials. These people couldn’t.

The ghost, listening quietly, grumbled.

[They’re unbelievably lucky. There are countless people who would give everything for just one of these skills you’re talking about, and they’re getting it for free.]

The skills of the labyrinth were absolute. Nullification could erase any attack, no matter how strong the opponent, and Forced Duel was something even the Spirit King couldn’t interfere with.

If he told the Guide leaders about Attack Nullification, they would literally give up everything to get it. The skills Taesan was talking about were that valuable.

Getting them for free was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I’ve heard this before, but aren’t these skills impossible to obtain?”

“Is it really possible to get them? No matter how I hear it, it sounds impossible.”

Kang Jun-hyeok and Lee Taeyeon looked confused. They trusted Taesan, but the conditions he mentioned sounded absurd.

Amelia was the only one staring at Taesan with a shocked expression.

A fire began to burn in her eyes.

Taesan, noticing this, spoke up.

“I’m not forcing you to learn. But keep the conditions in mind. The difference between knowing and not knowing the conditions is significant.”

Taesan continued his explanation.

Addition, Absolute Judgement, Forced Duel, Sure Hit. Each one was as valuable as a main skill.

He shared this information.

“Ugh… My head hurts…”

Lee Taeyeon held her head, trying to memorize the information. Amelia looked at Taesan with a shaken gaze.

“Lastly, the Blade of Determination. Its effect is tripling the damage. Cooldown is one hour.”

“That sounds unbelievable…”

“To obtain it, you must fight to the death against an unbeatable opponent and survive.”

Lee Taeyeon was startled by the condition.

“Then shouldn’t Jun-hyeok and I have met the condition? We fought Taesan.”

“Did you get it?”

“No. Jun-hyeok, you?”

“I didn’t get it either.”

Taesan looked at Amelia.

“Amelia, you?”

“…I didn’t get it either.”

She said quietly. After thinking about the conditions for a moment, Taesan spoke.

“That wasn’t a proper battle.”

In the trial of the god of descent, they didn’t die but became incapacitated. Since the premise of risking their lives was broken, it was natural they didn’t get it.

“Then when we fought to get the Ability Sword…”

“You weren’t fighting to win then.”

“Ah.”

Lee Taeyeon muttered blankly.

“Getting these skills is really hard…”

“Did you think it would be easy? But as long as you know the conditions, you’ll have a chance to get them as you go down the labyrinth.”

Taesan stood up.

“That’s all I have to tell you. The rest you can discuss among yourselves. Amelia.”

“Me?”

“Come with me; I have something to tell you.”

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