Ascension Through Skills

“Land where immortals fought and died?”

[Yes.]

Taesan frowned.

“That doesn’t sound like a place I’m supposed to clear.”

Immortals. Beings that had transcended mortality.

Taesan, who was said to be on the borderline of mortality, had not yet reached their level.

[Calm down. That’s all in the past. Now, it’s merely a land of death.]

Balbabamba spoke slowly.

[A long time ago, a few immortals gathered and started a war. They chose a world called Valhaluni as their battlefield, where they tried to kill each other.]

[Even though they have transcended, they remain unstable beings. Their personal greed and emotions are not so different from those of mortals.]

Balbabamba continued.

[What began as a trivial conflict escalated as the war dragged on. Their emotions intensified, and they started involving other immortals, moving in earnest to kill one another. Dozens of immortals fought and clashed. You can probably guess how it ended.]

“They all died?”

[Correct. All those dozens of immortals fell. The place became a land of death that no one could approach.]

“And what am I supposed to do there?”

[Your task is simple. Although the immortals have died, their remains have not disappeared. Finding those remains is the goal of the 74th-floor quest.]

Taesan shook his head at Balbabamba’s words.

“That sounds impossible.”

Though they had died long ago, the remains of an immortal would still hold immense power. Taesan, still a mortal, didn’t believe he could meddle with that.

[You don’t need to retrieve the remains. Just locate where they rest.]

Balbabamba handed black banners to Taesan.

[Once you find the remains, plant the banners in the ground. That’s all you have to do.]

Enter a world called Valhaluni, find the remains of the immortals, and plant the banners. That was the entire quest. At first glance, it seemed quite simple.

But Taesan could tell. This quest was precisely why the Guides were stuck here.

[The fools before you took a very long time even when they worked together. It was agonizingly frustrating.]

Balbabamba’s grumbling confirmed Taesan’s thoughts. He glanced at the ghost.

[Considering that, you were somewhat decent. At least better than those fools.]

[It would be offensive to compare me to those who got stuck.]

The ghost responded, and Balbabamba continued.

[By the way, there is no fixed reward for this quest. The more remains you find, the greater the reward. No one has found more than two remains, but you might be able to.]

Taesan quietly accepted the banners. Seeing this, Balbabamba spoke.

[I suppose I can explain to you. This quest was commissioned directly by the gods.]

“As expected.”

Finding the remains and marking their locations.

It was almost as if the quest was designed to protect the remains of the immortals.

[Originally, the gods had no intention of interfering with Valhaluni. They planned to leave it as it was. But, beings from beyond began to take an interest in the abandoned power.]

The beings from beyond could only mean the ancient gods exiled from the world.

[The place is unstable, with space itself distorted by the clash of the immortals. If beings at the level of transcendence were to intervene recklessly, it could collapse, providing an opening for the high gods to meddle.]

Thus, a mortal who could endure the power scattered throughout Valhaluni was sent to locate the remains. That seemed to be the reason behind the design of the 74th floor.

[These types of quests will likely increase. You can consider this the starting point. Any other questions?]

“How many remains of the immortals are left?”

[If all the remains were left after a normal battle... there should be five.]

Five. Taesan nodded.

“Wait a bit.”

He had used even the Apostle Transformation skill while sparring with Ariel and now needed to wait for the cooldown of that skill.

After a day passed, Taesan spoke to Balbabamba.

Balbabamba activated his power. The space began to collapse and teleport.

[By the way, you can return at any time during this quest. Even those who cleared it before repeated countless challenges and returned, so act as you wish.]

Taesan nodded.

His body was transported to Valhaluni.

Taesan looked around.

All he could see was an ashen force.

There was no sign of living beings, just an overwhelming force drifting in the air.

And Taesan was wrapped in a blue veil, seemingly cast by Balbabamba.

[You can step outside the veil. I’ll wait for your completion.]

With that, Balbabamba’s presence disappeared.

Taesan stepped beyond the veil.

Immediately, a force began to crush Taesan.

“Ugh…”

Taesan groaned.

The distorted space tried to crush his entire body. The fragments of the immortals embedded in the atmosphere trampled on his mortal mind.

Simply standing here brought a sense of collapse that enveloped his entire being.

He couldn’t endure it with just his bare body. Quickly assessing the situation, Taesan gathered his spirit.

[You have activated Apostle Transformation [Darkness and Chaos].]

With the gathered force and spirit, the pressure that was crushing his body eased a bit.

‘It’s completely different from Hafran’s world.’

In Hafran’s world, the very will of the world opposed Taesan, trying to kill him.

But the force scattered throughout Valhaluni wasn’t trying to expel him.

It was just there.

And yet, just its presence exerted tremendous pressure on his mortal mind and body.

Taesan gathered his spirit and will, enduring the force.

He moved slowly, step by step.

Taesan moved.

This was where countless immortals had clashed, trying to kill one another.

As a result, the place became a space similar to the realm of the immortals.

Taesan gathered his magic, opening a path to the demons and activating black magic.

[You have activated Leraje’s Territory Detection.]

Kiiing.

Dark energy surged from Taesan’s body, attempting to gather information about his surroundings.

But it couldn’t emerge.

The moment it tried to leave his body, it was extinguished by the force permeating the space.

“Even black magic doesn’t work properly.”

The entire area was already filled with a power much stronger than black magic. Simple dark energy couldn’t spread out.

Magic would likely be the same. Clicking his tongue, Taesan gathered his spirit and will once more.

The space was filled with the territory of the immortals.

But there was no owner of that power.

In that case.

“Step back.”

[You have activated the Declaration of Exclusion.]

With the Word of Command, the force permeating the space receded slightly. Taesan didn’t miss the opportunity and gathered the dark energy once more.

[You have activated Leraje’s Territory Detection.]

[You have activated Forced Amplification.]

Only by doing so was Taesan able to finally release the dark energy according to his will.

However, it wasn’t much different. The dark energy could only advance to where the Declaration of Exclusion had pushed back, but beyond that, it was crushed and vanished.

‘This won’t work.’

Even in the depths of the Shadow Realm, he couldn’t use Territory Detection effectively.

Back then, he at least managed to learn that the shadows devoured everything. So, he attacked by gathering the shadows and spreading detection beyond what they could consume.

This time was different. It was impossible to read the forces embedded in the space without removing them entirely.

The Word of Command, which exerted absolute effects on power without an owner, was also less effective due to the sheer difference in force.

Even progressing was a matter of life and death.

The power of detection didn’t work, and unlike before, it was impossible to exploit any gaps.

‘No wonder they were stuck here for so long.’

Even though the Guides of Sin worked together, they remained stuck here for tens, even hundreds of years.

Given how this floor was, it made sense. They must have cleared it by gradually gathering information through repeated attempts and retreats.

Taesan asked the ghost.

“How long did it take you?”

[Me? About… three years, I think? I finished it quickly.]

Considering the ghost had done it alone without anyone’s help, it was indeed an exceptionally fast time.

“I need to change my approach.”

Taesan thought.

The power was spread without an owner.

The territory of the immortals.

And the remains of the immortals held great power.

Could Taesan read that power?

It was worth trying.

[You have activated Nature’s Avatar.]

[You have activated the Vessel of Kings.]

His force and power increased.

Taesan even drew the power stored in his ring and wrapped it around himself.

And then he observed.

He wasn’t trying to spread his power.

He aimed to read the force pressing down on him and locate the remains that were emitting power.

For a simple mortal, it would have been impossible.

But the current Taesan was both mortal and immortal, standing on that borderline. It was entirely feasible.

Closing his eyes, he calmly perceived the force pressing from all directions.

As a result, he could tell that in the direction to his left, unlike the force that was simply spread throughout the space, there was something actively exerting a direct force.

He had found it.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Taesan opened his eyes and began to move.

The further he advanced, the more intense the pressure of the force became. At certain points, the space twisted and absorbed everything that approached.

Taesan managed to fend off the pressure with his power and will, barely reaching the remains of the immortal.

It was a decayed, rotted corpse in human form.

Even without approaching closely, the poisonous energy it emitted tried to seep into Taesan, while the distorted power of the immortal raged wildly.

Deciding it was too dangerous to get any closer, Taesan pulled out a banner.

As soon as the banner was planted into the ground, a massive veil formed around it.

[Quest completed.]

The ghost let out a scoff.

[Not even an hour.]

This quest had taken the ghost three years, and the Guides of Sin an incalculable amount of time. Taesan had completed it in less than an hour.

But at the same time, he understood.

The Guides of Sin had invested significant time in conquering the 74th floor.

Throughout that process, they had grown stronger.

Vishnu learned to use the King’s Realm, and Shayan succeeded in using the Five Shots of Doom, even if only in a limited manner.

As a result, they eventually managed to clear the 74th floor.

And the current Taesan was stronger than the strengthened Guides of Sin.

Given that he had already reached the borderline of mortality, it was only natural that he could clear the 74th floor with ease.

“Hm.”

The quest was completed.

But Taesan did not return to the labyrinth.

Balbabamba had mentioned there were five remains of immortals here.

Taesan had found only one so far.

And with his current abilities, he was confident he could find all five.

But there was a problem.

‘The duration is too short.’

The duration of Apostle Transformation was two hours. Nature’s Avatar lasted one hour, and the Vessel of Kings wasn’t much longer.

Without these three skills, Taesan wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure here.

To find the rest of the remains, he would need a different approach.

After contemplating for a moment, Taesan thought of one particular skill.

A transcendent skill. The Black.

The power of the ancient gods, beyond all laws and conventions, that devours everything.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

Taesan gathered the Black.