Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 303: 67th Floor

The power without an owner could not reach Taesan. To put it extremely, such traps could never pose a threat to Taesan, and that wasn’t limited to traps alone.

Even if a natural disaster occurred, where the sea rose to swallow the continent, a volcano erupted to overturn the world, or the earth cracked open to drag everything into the abyss.

Like in Hafran’s world, when it’s not an intentional action by the world itself but just a natural phenomenon, it could be calmed down with just a word.

The power of words, the ability to project one’s will onto the world, held such meaning.

Taesan advanced once again. As he did, the walls opened up, and countless traps sprung forth.

“Clear.”

[You have activated the Declaration of Negation.]

Kugugung!

The traps were crushed under Taesan’s will and disappeared. The ghost whistled.

[That's overwhelming.]

Even the ghost was amazed. There was no particular consumption of power for Taesan. The only cost for using the power of words, his mental strength, also seemed unaffected.

[So, this is what the immortals or transcendents have... Truly astonishing.]

“That’s probably why they created such a place.”

[That's true.]

Taesan continued forward and discovered a statue of a goddess.

He sat before it and offered a prayer.

[You have prayed to the forgotten goddess. You have received the blessing of the Will of the Nameless Goddess.]

[Divine Blessing: Will of the Nameless Goddess]

[It is the blessing of the goddess. Your will becomes stronger and more resolute, making it difficult even for the great ones to subdue you. However, it is still a very weak state to be considered a true divine blessing.]

The blessing of will. Taesan tested it by using his power of words to summon flames.

As a result, his headache was noticeably reduced compared to before he received the blessing.

Taesan, having obtained the blessing he needed, smiled in satisfaction. This made it three blessings from the goddess.

“Next is the deep layer.”

Just as Taesan thought this and was about to leave, a system window appeared before his eyes.

[Your repeated prayers have restored some of the goddess's divinity.]

[Special Quest Initiated.]

[The goddess who was forgotten by all, even by herself, has regained some of her divinity through your repeated prayers. However, she is still too weak to be considered a true deity and cannot exert any significant influence on the world. The goddess, with a childlike consciousness, desires to recover her power.]

[Condition: Find those who worship the forgotten goddess and restore her faith.]

[Reward: Complete Divine Blessing]

“So this is how it is.”

Taesan’s eyes gleamed.

Repeated prayers. Through them, the goddess found herself and sought to regain her power.

It seemed that the quest would progress in that manner. Taesan checked the quest conditions.

‘Someone who worships the forgotten goddess?’

The goddess had said she was forgotten by both mortals and gods. It seemed impossible that anyone would worship such a goddess.

The ghost spoke.

[It seems like a quest you can't do anything about for now. It looks like it will proceed once the conditions are met.]

“In the end, it’s the deep layer.”

First, he had to reach the deep layer. It wasn’t far. He was on the 67th floor, just four floors away from reaching the deep layer.

Taesan set the quest aside in his mind and stepped outside again.

He advanced by defeating the knights.

He searched for secret rooms, organizing and confirming there were no hidden elements. Taesan continued to conquer the 67th floor in this manner.

And when everything was settled, leaving only the boss, a quest window appeared.

[Special Quest Initiated]

[Return to Earth.]

As the quests expanded to a global scale, people were very excited. Realizing that they weren’t the only survivors, they hurried to communicate with people from other countries.

Some countries banned communication with the outside world to prevent chaos after the excitement died down, but those were few and not strictly enforced. Occasionally, people from different countries shared various stories in the unified community.

But China was the exception.

Chinese players had never once left their community.

And they ignored all questions and invitations.

A player’s country was determined by where they were when they were summoned. There were many Chinese players who were born and raised in China but held different nationalities.

But even they refused all invitations and conversations. Even from their families.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]]: "It's so alien. If China is involved, it could be tough."

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "Well... we have to try."

[Ichijo Eika [Hard]]: "What about North Korea?"

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "There's no conversation in their community either. I'm sure there are survivors since I've seen their community, but there's no communication at all."

[Oliver Khan [Hard]]: "That sounds like a headache. But we're not much different. In Mexico, the cartels are still active. It’ll be a challenge to deal with that too."

They exchanged predictions and information with each other. A question was directed at Taesan.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "Taesan, do you have any predictions?"

[Kang Taesan [Solo]]: "Pretty much the same as you. Nothing new."

Taesan had memories from his past life. But it was hard to believe things would go exactly as they had before.

Too much had already changed. The timing of the return had accelerated, and various other changes had occurred. Anything he said would likely have little meaning.

So Taesan focused on what he had to do.

[Kang Taesan [Solo]]: "How far have you all gone?"

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: "Jun-hyeok and I just reached the 30th floor."

The 30th floor. That was an expected level for Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok. But Amelia was a bit different.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]]: "I'm on the 42nd floor."

[Kang Taesan [Solo]]: "That's fast."

Taesan was slightly surprised.

The deeper one descended into the labyrinth, the more rapidly the difficulty increased. Of course, Amelia was strong enough to skip floors, so it wouldn’t be too difficult, but the story changes when divine trials are involved.

Amelia had escaped the clutches of the God of Descent. This meant her soul had been freed, but it also meant she had lost much of her power.

He thought her progress would be delayed, but at that level, there wasn’t much difference from before. Amelia puffed up with pride at Taesan’s words.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]]: "Who do you think I am? I'm Amelia, the strongest player in America. Even without the god's support, my power never diminishes."

After a brief silence, Amelia added.

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]]: "...Actually, the information and skills you gave me helped the most."

Taesan chuckled.

What was on the 42nd floor? As far as Taesan could remember, there wasn’t anything special. After thinking for a moment, Taesan realized.

The 44th floor.

The God of Despair was there.

So, what would Amelia’s despair be?

[Kang Taesan [Solo]]: "Hang in there."

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]]: "Huh? Oh, thanks."

Amelia responded, surprised by the sudden encouragement. After sharing some more stories, Taesan closed the community.

Divine trials differed from person to person. It wasn’t the kind of information that could be shared. Amelia would have to overcome it on her own.

‘A few days from now, huh.’

Return to Earth.

The trials that awaited there.

They would be conducted in a completely different manner from his previous life.

Until then, he would gain as much as possible and return. Taesan gripped his sword and began breaking through the labyrinth once again.