Ascension Through Skills

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.]

[In a few days, you will return to the land you abandoned. Cooperate with others to expand your territory. Then, after overcoming trials, return to the labyrinth. Rewards will be determined based on your achievements.]

[This quest cannot be refused.]

The Return to Earth quest.

Taesan recalled how long each return quest had taken in his previous life and understood.

“It’s faster.”

[What's faster?]

“The return time.”

There have been four returns so far. During those four times, they had gathered people, collecting everyone within the country.

The speed at which the return quests started hadn’t differed much from his previous life. Because of that, Taesan could predict and prepare in advance.

However, the fifth return in his previous life had been significantly delayed compared to the previous ones. Although they didn’t know the reason, they speculated it was because the quest was on a world scale.

But now, the fifth return quest had appeared much faster than in his previous life.

Various variables different from his previous life seemed to have accelerated the return to Earth.

Taesan opened the Community. As expected, the Community was incredibly noisy. Not only Koreans but also Japanese, French, and Americans were all talking, making it hard to read anything properly.

[Lee Taeyeon has invited you to a conversation.]

When Taesan accepted the invitation, there were familiar faces in the conversation.

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: "Ah, Taesan. Hello."

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "Ugh, my head hurts. Isn't it too early?"

[Amelia Aerin [Solo]]: "...Hello."

Taesan casually responded to the quiet greetings. The same people who had gathered before were all present.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "It seems everyone is here, so let's discuss what we should do."

[Oliver Khan [Hard]]: "Even so, we have too little information."

The quests so far had taken place within a single country. Predicting how the quests would unfold wasn’t difficult.

But now, it was a world-scale quest. Predicting the duration and scope was nearly impossible.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "Still, we need to consider all possibilities. That's the only way we can prepare."

They began their discussion.

Taesan watched quietly without participating in the conversation.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "Considering the flow so far, they won't make all the countries meet at once. They’ll probably have only some countries meet."

[Daniel Darmon [Hard]]: "Will it be neighboring countries? Or a specific range?"

[Oliver Khan [Hard]]: "I think it will be by country rather than by range. The size difference between countries is too vast to set a specific range."

For instance, the size of the United States or China was comparable to that of the entire European continent.

[Ichijo Eika [Hard]]: "The quests so far have centered around specific regions rather than size. Won’t it be the same this time?"

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "If that's the case..."

The countries that Korea might encounter were clear.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "We will likely meet Japan."

[Ichijo Eika [Hard]]: "Probably so. Please take care of me."

The atmosphere was not bad. Kim Hwiyeon had already had some discussions with Japanese players. There were few elements likely to cause conflict.

The problem lay elsewhere.

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "If we meet, it won't be just Japan. North Korea or China might also be included."

[Ichijo Eika [Hard]]: "The possibility is high."

[Geum Junggeun [Hard]]: "Has a Chinese player ever used an external community? Not even once, right?"

[Kim Hwiyeon [Hard]]: "No."

There were designated communities where people from specific countries could communicate, as well as communities where everyone from all countries could talk, and communities that could only be used by people from that particular country.

China’s community was very active. They exchanged information and talked among themselves.

But they never stepped outside their community.

[Oliver Khan [Hard]]: "Honestly, it's creepy."

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.