Ascension Through Skills

In theory, if one defeated another immortal, they could also seize their powers.

It was possible for a mortal to hold multiple immortal powers.

It was truly a ridiculous notion.

The power of an immortal was the essence of everything they had accumulated in their life. To seize it, especially as a mere mortal—how absurd.

‘Or is it?’

The ghost reconsidered.

It wasn’t strange for a mortal to possess a skill like Soul Ascension.

What was unusual was that, despite possessing such a skill, this individual still remained a mortal.

‘Perhaps he’s absorbing power as he seizes it?’

In many ways, he was an anomaly. At least, that was beyond the ghost’s comprehension.

Taesan checked his remaining skills.

A skill he acquired while standing at the threshold: Beyond the Boundary.

［Special Activation Skill: Beyond the Boundary］

［Cost: ???］

［Mastery: 1%］

［A person at the edge between mortality and the beyond can wield a fraction of the power beyond the boundary. It can be used in conjunction with an attack or skill.］

“The power from beyond…”

It seemed like a skill he would understand better if he tested it directly.

[You activated Beyond the Boundary.]

Suddenly, Taesan was enveloped by a peculiar sensation.

It was as if he were floating, drifting in midair. He felt a strange sense of distance from the world around him.

Taesan gathered his mana.

[You activated Frozen World.]

Crack!

Cold energy surged within the labyrinth.

Frozen World was an intermediate magic spell Taesan often used.

He had a perfect grasp of its power and mechanics.

But this time, Frozen World felt different.

The raging frost began freezing everything.

Taesan was no exception.

From his fingertips to his arm, the cold spread, freezing his body.

His entire body became rigid with frost, and a biting chill pierced his lungs.

This Frozen World was qualitatively different from the one he usually used. Taesan canceled its activation and created distance.

Crack.

Even though Taesan canceled it, Frozen World continued to expand as if it defied his control.

[The force contained within this version of Frozen World is entirely different.]

Even if he used all his skill overlays and forced amplification, it couldn’t match this level of power.

The power was indeed overwhelming. No ordinary mortal could withstand it.

But the risk was also clear.

“Control is difficult.”

Because he was summoning power from beyond the boundary, it was challenging to wield it as he wished. If misused, it could backfire on him.

“Dangerous… but useful.”

Though control was difficult, it wasn’t impossible. Thanks to his utmost restraint, he avoided taking damage.

It could be considered an ace up his sleeve, slightly more stable than standing at the boundary. That was a reasonable way to interpret it.

Finally, everything was confirmed. Just as Taesan was about to descend to the 75th floor…

A dark portal opened. Thick, black energy spread throughout the labyrinth, paving a path for its master.

Taesan halted his steps. He addressed the one who appeared.

“It’s been a while, Demon God.”

A figure appeared, resembling a young girl. The Demon God smiled as she approached Taesan.

[Thanks to you, I saw something quite entertaining again.]

“Were you watching?”

[I didn’t interfere, but I was observing.]

The Demon God smirked.

[It was an exceptionally rare sight. Even the ones outside were probably astonished. And they’ll be even more intrigued by you.]

Although I have no intention of yielding. The Demon God murmured softly.

[I appeared this time because I have something to convey to you.]

A black chair materialized behind her. She sat and spoke.

[On the 76th floor, the Guides of Sin will come to fight you. And unlike before, their numbers will not be limited to just one.]

“Several, then.”

Taesan nodded. It was an anticipated development, so he remained emotionally unmoved.

The Guides could no longer face Taesan alone. Thus, they resorted to numbers. It wasn’t unexpected.

However, there was another question.

“Even so, they won’t be able to defeat me.”

[True. In your current state, you’d likely win no matter how many of them come.]

The Demon God acknowledged this.

[I lifted the restrictions on them because the fights were no longer balanced.]

Until now, the Guides were overwhelmingly stronger than Taesan. Watching a one-sided battle wasn’t entertaining, so the Demon God placed restrictions on the Guides. The same would apply to the opposite situation.

[Taesan, I intend to place a restriction on your level-up.]

“Level-up?”

[In the labyrinth’s system, leveling up restores all your states.]

Health, mana, even mental power—all were fully restored. Taesan had won several battles using that mechanism.

[The restriction I’ll place on you is that you won’t recover upon leveling up during battles against the Guides.]

Leveling up would no longer restore his state.

Taesan asked.

“Is it mandatory?”

[No. Unlike those fools, you can choose to accept or decline my restriction. It’s entirely your choice. However, if you accept... I’ll give you an appropriate reward.]

Taesan’s decision was quick. He nodded.

“I’ll accept.”

For the Demon God to impose such a restriction on him implied he still had a reasonable chance of victory.

If he could gain additional rewards, there was no reason to refuse. The Demon God grinned.

[Good. Then I’ll look forward to it. Grow stronger. And one day...]

With those words, the Demon God vanished.

Taesan resumed his steps toward the 75th floor.

[75th Floor Quest Started.]

[Complete the world in under an hour.]

[Reward: A ring forged from the core of the world.]

[Secret reward: ???]

“What’s this?”

The ghost looked pleased after seeing the quest requirements.

[So, the 75th floor quest is still this one? It’s been so long, but it hasn’t changed. How nostalgic.]

“It must be a quest you’ve cleared before, too.”

[Yeah, I told you before. There’s a floor that requires you to complete the world in under an hour. This is that very floor.]

Taesan stepped onto the 75th floor.

In the room on the 75th floor, there was a distorted space that seemed endless. As he entered, the space shifted.

Taesan arrived on a desolate planet.

[You activated Leraje's Territory Detection.]

Dark energy spread across the ground.

What he could sense was that there was no one else here.

As he looked up, he saw the vastness of space. This planet had almost no atmosphere.

There was nothing visible in space.

This planet was truly abandoned.

It was an environment where life could not thrive—a world that had ended, in a different sense than Hafran’s world.

“So, I just have to complete it without any specific conditions?”

The size of the world didn’t seem that vast. Judging by its visible radius, it was much smaller than Earth. Even for other adventurers, as long as they were prepared, it seemed manageable to complete.

[It can’t be that easy, can it?]

No sooner had the ghost finished speaking than the system window appeared.

[Complete the world in under an hour, overcoming all obstacles.]

Slowly, a presence began to manifest across the entire planet.

“So, this is what they mean by obstacles.”

Taesan nodded and kicked off.

The world’s will rose to block Taesan’s path.

---

This tiny, wandering planet had been devoid of anything from the beginning.

Abandoned in a corner of the universe, unable to belong anywhere, it was destined to drift through space, cold and fading.

Normally, a planet like that wouldn’t possess any will.

But this wandering planet was unique.

As it drifted through space, it passed by countless planets teeming with life, and perhaps because of that, it gradually began to develop a faint will.

The first emotions this sentient, wandering planet felt were anger and hatred.

Why was it abandoned like this?

Why did it have to disappear, lonely and desolate?

Why couldn’t it harbor life?

Emotions resonated throughout the entire planet.

But there was no life to feel those emotions.

Although it had gained a will, it didn’t have the power to sustain life.

So, this wandering planet continued to roam the cosmos, endlessly burning with rage.

The fact that it developed a will was the greatest misfortune for the wandering planet.

After countless eons adrift in space, destined to continue like this forever, someone arrived on the planet.

“You really found a place like this, Balbabamba. I’ll have to praise you later.”

The man, who appeared by leaping through space, muttered to himself. The eternally enraged planet paused as it sensed a living being in its world.

A living creature.

The wizard who would one day create the labyrinth smiled and waved.

“Nice to meet you.”

As soon as those words reached it, the planet showed its intent to kill. The anger accumulated over eons had long since twisted into hatred for all living things.

The ground rose to crush the wizard, and the atmosphere transformed into poison.

The wizard sensed all this killing intent, one by one.

“So, this much? Not bad.”

Once he grasped its power, the wizard clapped his hands.

Instantly, the raging ground subsided. The air, which had turned to poison, quickly calmed.

The world had slipped from the planet’s control. Just as it was about to panic, the wizard spoke.

“Do you hate all living things?”

Although it was spoken language, the planet could understand the meaning within.

The planet stirred, affirming the question. Its feelings were severely distorted, having never communicated with anything before, but the mage understood easily.

“Then, would you like to make a contract with me?”

The wizard proposed to the planet.

If it connected as a floor of the labyrinth, adventurers would periodically come to visit it.

It didn’t matter what it did with the adventurers. It could kill them or ignore them.

But if an adventurer met the conditions, they would move on to another place.

Although the planet didn’t fully understand the contract, it accepted willingly.

Life would come to this abandoned land. And it could do whatever it wanted with those lives.

There was no reason to refuse.

Thus, the planet became the 75th floor of the labyrinth.

Countless adventurers visited. The planet tried to kill them.

Some couldn’t endure and died, while others barely survived and returned.

The planet wondered about this new life.

How much of its power could they withstand?

The will of the planet smiled quietly. At some point, tormenting and killing adventurers had become the purpose that sustained its will.

First, gently. The planet gathered its power.

---

Rumble!

The ground formed a massive wall and surged toward Taesan.

Not only did the weight of the earth bear down, but the planet’s will was embedded within it, making it incredibly difficult to withstand.

This wouldn’t kill him. The planet, now the 75th floor, had an overall grasp of the adventurers’ strength.

Sure enough, Taesan emerged from the earthen onslaught.

But it was different from what the planet had expected.

It thought he would emerge but with some wounds. Every adventurer had been that way before.

However, Taesan emerged without even a speck of dust on him.

Despite throwing various forces at him after that, Taesan took no damage.

As things weren’t going as planned, the planet irritably summoned a gust. The winds swirled into a massive storm.

It was the planet’s ultimate storm, the power that had killed the most adventurers.

Normally, it would toy with them for a while, only using this storm just before they reached their goal. But in its frustration, it unleashed it immediately.

This time, the planet was convinced it could inflict significant damage on Taesan.

Facing the raging storm, Taesan clenched his fist.

Boom!

The storm dissipated with a single punch.

The planet paused. Taesan dusted off his hands.

“It’s not very difficult, is it?”