Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 415: 82nd Floor, Lemegeton (4)

Taesan observed the sky, filled with countless spiny spheres hovering above him.

The spheres weren’t living creatures.

They were remnants of the long-vanished demon, Belial, now functioning as automated defense mechanisms. Their only purpose was to eliminate intruders who dared to step into Belial’s domain.

The thorns from the spheres seemed to be triggered automatically whenever something approached within a certain range.

Taesan continued his observations. The servant, who had been watching him in silence, finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

“What exactly are you doing?”

“Nothing that concerns you. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Taesan’s answer was curt, and the servant fell silent again.

The ghost traveling alongside Taesan had figured out what he was attempting.

[Aiming to gain a skill?]

Taesan nodded, and the ghost wasn’t surprised.

After all, Taesan had always made efforts to obtain skills, regardless of the situation. This place was a world left behind by the dead demon Belial—an unusual environment that might hold hidden opportunities.

[Interesting. What skill are you after this time?]

“I have no idea.”

[...No idea?]

“I’ve never tried to get this skill before, and I’ve never even thought of it.”

Taesan answered plainly.

He had calculated and obtained numerous skills through specific conditions. But in his previous life, he had only played on Easy Mode, where his environment and opportunities were very limited.

Conditions like these had never existed on Easy Mode.

So even he couldn’t be sure what kind of skill he might acquire under these conditions. Trial and error were his only options.

Taesan reflected briefly, then resumed his experiments.

Every time Taesan moved, the spheres responded by shooting thorns that engulfed his entire vicinity.

‘Stopping them isn’t hard.’

He could halt the assault with a single Word of Authority, but that wouldn’t yield him anything.

Taesan decided to test some hypotheses.

First, he attempted to suppress the sphere’s power completely, gathering his force to crush it. The thorns failed to emerge, blocked by his overwhelming aura.

But no system message indicated he’d gained a new skill.

He had never expected success on the first try, so he continued experimenting without disappointment.

Next, he tried neutralizing the force from all directions, casting a magical barrier around the sphere to stop the thorns from advancing. The thorns were blocked in front of the sphere, unable to move forward.@@@@

But again, no skill was granted.

Taesan wasn’t discouraged. Acquiring skills through sheer trial and error was a process he was familiar with.

As he continued his various experiments, the ghost asked, curiosity evident in its tone.

[Can you even get a skill here despite the huge difference in power and status?]

“There are a few skills where power and status don’t really matter.”

For certain skills, fundamental conditions rather than power levels determined the chance of obtaining them.

The classic example was “Stacking,” which required consistent attacks without any disruption in stance, regardless of the opponent’s strength.

Taesan was aiming for a similar type of skill here.

After a moment of thought, Taesan took a step forward. The thorns from the spheres shot out as expected, their trajectories filling the space around him.

Instead of dodging or blocking, Taesan simply stood still.

*Boom!*

The thorns viciously pierced the ground.

[...What?]

The ghost was startled.

Amidst the dense thorns, Taesan stood untouched.

It was as if the thorns had intentionally avoided him.

[How did you...?]

“It’s not about movement but intention. This can be done too.”

Reading movement was a matter of interpreting force trajectories and dodging accordingly.

But “intent” was a stage before force even manifested. Taesan read the intent of the spheres, predicting where the thorns would aim, and positioned himself in the gaps they left.

Taesan unleashed Zepar’s Black Storm, obliterating all the spheres. The thorns were consumed and swept away by the dark storm.

“Ahhh!”

“What’s happening?!”

The other contract holders attempting to breach the domain shrieked, quickly distancing themselves from the chaos of the storm.

Taesan noticed them briefly but dismissed them from his thoughts, opening his skill window to inspect his new acquisition.

**[Passive Skill: Hidden in Shadows]**

**[Proficiency: 1%]**

**[Attacks from those unaware of your presence will not hit you.]**

The ghost chuckled.

[You sure pick up all sorts of skills. What’s this one supposed to do?]

“Unaware attacks won’t land, huh.”

The effect seemed straightforward. If his opponent was unable to detect him, their attacks would simply miss.

“Guess this is the limit for it.”

After examining the skill in detail, the ghost seemed to understand what he meant.

[It’s conditional.]

From here on, every opponent Taesan would face was likely to be of immortal level or higher. For such foes to be unaware of him was improbable.

To properly use this skill, he’d need to conceal himself from his enemies—a feat that wasn’t easily achievable.

“It doesn’t matter.”

But Taesan spoke calmly.

“This is still a win.”

Taesan had faced numerous challenges to acquire skills in his past.

After years of effort, he had often obtained skills that proved entirely useless in real battles.

From experience, he had learned which skills to retain, such as “Copy.”

For an unexpected, unplanned skill, this one was satisfactory.

[Guess you’re right.]

In truth, “Hidden in Shadows” was far from a low-tier skill.

It was a passive skill that required no mana. If he could remain concealed, he could avoid attacks from even higher-level enemies. Even the ghost, during its life, would have been thrilled to obtain a skill like this.

The difference was that Taesan had acquired much higher-tier skills thus far, making this seem less significant by comparison.

[My standards must be skewed.]

The ghost chuckled wryly.

Taesan began considering potential uses for the skill.

‘Invisibility.’

With his Ability Sword’s Invisibility effect, he could vanish from sight for a full second

, thus fulfilling the conditions for his new skill.

‘Or perhaps using partial world-shifting techniques to conceal myself.’

If he wanted to maximize this skill’s utility, he had plenty of options. He’d assess its effectiveness as he used it.

Satisfied, Taesan continued forward.

Without hesitation, he advanced, only to encounter a new wave of resistance.

This time, it wasn’t the spheres but tiny living creatures.

They were almost invisible due to their size, with wings and grotesque eyes, like a swarm of locusts. They rushed toward him, ready to kill the intruder in their master’s domain.

Taesan clenched his fist lightly.

*Crack.*

The swarm was crushed instantly, dissipating into nothing.

[Not going to try for a skill this time?]

“I’ve already tested everything that this scenario could yield.”

Taesan replied matter-of-factly. Tiny, nearly invisible foes had been a common factor in his past experiments, and he’d long since exhausted the possibilities of any skills they could provide.

Most of those skills had proven useless in battle.

[So you’ve already done it all.]

The ghost laughed softly as Taesan advanced toward the powerful force he could sense in the distance, moving forward without hesitation.