Ascension Through Skills
Chapter 433: 85th Floor, The Ashen Woman. Societ Garudentia (1)

“The seal that banished the High Gods may be weakening, but it’ll take a very long time to completely break. As long as a single bright star shines, we’ll hold on just fine. But if you use the Boundary Line, the story changes.”

If it was Taesan’s Boundary Line, he could forcibly break the seal.

“That’s something not even the transcendent beings of this world can do. And that’s not all. You do know what the High Gods are aiming for, right?”

“The death of all transcendents.”

The avatar of the Hollow Horror had declared this as the one condition it could never compromise on.

The wizard nodded.

“They despise the very existence of transcendents. They want to erase us completely from this world. But it’s not easy with just their own power. No matter how much they corrupt us, beings like Levynenoff can endure.”

Levynenoff had her domain polluted, and even her body had been contaminated, but she did not perish.

She held together the corruption that gathered within her.

“Especially gods as powerful as Lakiratas or Maria may not allow corruption in the first place. But… if you’re involved, it might be a different story.”

The wizard gave Taesan a curious look.

“The Boundary Line you possess denies and breaks the rules. If it’s the Boundary Line, it might be able to erase the transcendent realms themselves from this world.”

“I don’t have that kind of power.”

“Of course not yet. But what if the High Gods lend you their strength? And what if the other gods have grown as weakened as Levynenoff? Would it still be impossible?”

Taesan did not respond.

Even he could not deny it easily.

The wizard shrugged.

“To be honest, even we don’t fully understand the Boundary Line. We know everything within the scope of permitted laws, but what lies beyond is beyond our grasp. The High Gods might know… but they would never answer.”

A figure flickered through Taesan’s mind.

The Archdemon. Baal.

A being closest to the High Gods.

‘He called me the “Mixed One.”’

He seemed to know something about Taesan.

He might hold the answers.

But he wouldn’t tell.

If he had any intention of answering, he would’ve done so already.

There was no relying on Baal.

The wizard spoke with a vague expression.

“What’s certain is this: you have the power to collapse the current world. That’s why so many transcendent beings wish for your death.”

“They’re too interested for my taste.”

But he understood.

A being who could summon back the High Gods they had struggled to banish.

Taesan was an intolerable thorn in their eyes.

The wizard grinned mischievously.

“Several transcendents who rule the universe want you dead. How does that make you feel?”

“Not great.”

Not just the High Gods, but now a whole group of unidentified transcendents to worry about.

A weaker mind would’ve already gone mad.

“Don’t worry too much. There are those of us, myself included, who care for you. We’ll hold them off. There won’t be any major issues.”

“You intend to protect me too?”

“I don’t plan on partaking in something so foolish. They’re transcendents and yet think so one-dimensionally.”

There was deep interest in the wizard’s eyes as he looked at Taesan.

“You can release the High Gods. You can kill gods. You might even be able to destroy the avatar of a High God that even we could only banish, or purify the corruption of a goddess we sealed because we couldn’t resolve it.”

There was still so much unknown about the power of the Boundary Line.

The wizard bared his teeth in a smile.

“So, I wonder—could it be possible to exile them forever, to stop them from ever interfering in this world again?”

The curiosity in his eyes bordered on madness.

“What if, using your power, you could kill the High Gods we couldn’t?”

The wizard chuckled.

“You… can bring about change. You might be the first step into a new era. Trying to eliminate such a being just because it’s dangerous… There’s a limit to foolishness.”

The wizard derided the transcendents with contempt.

In the end, everything had begun with the Boundary Line.

And the trigger for gaining that power was Soul Ascension.

[You have entered the state of Mindless Absorption. Your body and mind are unified.]

[A miraculous power is etched into your soul. You have obtained the soul skill [Soul Ascension].]

That was the message window that had appeared when he obtained Soul Ascension.

“What even is Soul Ascension?”

A soul skill that stole the powers of High Gods and immortals.

“To be honest, I don’t really know either,”

The wizard answered with a puzzled face.

“I know you gained Soul Ascension by reaching a lofty realm, but I can’t grasp what kind of realm that was,”

The wizard shook his head.

“To acquire a skill like Soul Ascension, it couldn’t have been a low level. But you didn’t retain that realm. You reached it, but even the traces disappeared. Was it an immortal’s realm? A transcendent’s? Or something else altogether… I don’t know.”

If what the wizard said was true, then Taesan, in his past life, had reached a sublime realm, and from that, he acquired the skill Soul Ascension.

But that realm no longer remained within him.

Only Soul Ascension was left.

“The Boundary Line obscures it, but to me, that’s the bigger mystery. What stopped you from retaining that realm? And if it was possible—how did you do it?”

There was an undeniable curiosity in the wizard’s gaze.

“You should keep thinking about it yourself. It’s your power. You’ll find the answer eventually.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s enough. I’ve told you everything I know. So now—what will you do?”

“Nothing’s changed,”

Taesan said calmly.

He was still an adventurer of the labyrinth.

He would continue to descend the labyrinth. and grow stronger.

The affairs of the gods and the High Gods were not a major concern on his path.

The wizard smiled.

“I won’t stop you. You can keep descending the labyrinth, just like now. That’s enough.”

Rumble—

The domain crumbled.

Taesan’s body returned to the labyrinth.

“Show me, if you will—what lies at your end.”

With those final words, Taesan arrived in the labyrinth.

[What’s this? Is the story over?]

“Pretty much.”

[You even kicked me out for it. Must’ve been quite the secret.]

“Can’t deny that.”

Taesan clenched his fist.

He had learned many new things, but nothing fundamental had changed.

That was enough.

He was unshaken.

[Well then. What did you talk about to make you kick me out like that?]

sysetm_end

The Green Witch’s voice came through.

Taesan shook his head.

“I cannot tell you.”

[Hmm... well. If it was something the wizard arranged, I suppose it was worth keeping secret. That’s a shame, but I understand. I’ll keep watching.]

She must have seen something special in Taesan to form a contract with him.

Even now, having reached the midpoint of the 80th floor, her wish was still a distant one.

‘I’ll probably find the answer as I continue down the labyrinth.’

Organizing his thoughts, he opened his skill window.

[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Twisted Soul Tuning]

[Proficiency: 82%]

[Twisted beings can manipulate their own soul. You can now control the soul embedded within yourself or that you possess. You can also directly influence the world using soul tuning.]

The proficiency of Twisted Soul Tuning had reached 82%.

The newly added effect was the ability to affect the world through soul tuning.

Indeed, his perception of tuning had changed.

Taesan wielded his soul tuning—not merely channeling it through his body, but projecting it outward into the world.

RUMBLE—

Soul tuning cloaked the world around him.

Taesan immediately understood what he had just triggered.

“It’s similar to partial world alteration.”

[You have activated Frost Arrow [Negation].]

CRACKLE—!

Even without triggering Partial World Rewriting, he was able to use negation magic.

He had forcibly elevated his dominion over mana through soul tuning.

Now, even without components, he could invoke effects similar to Partial World Rewriting within a certain range.

And if he combined it with the actual use of Partial World Alteration, he would be able to exert an even more overwhelming influence.

And then—the black.

[Transcendence: Black]

[Proficiency: 20%]

[Cost ???: ???]

[?#[fdsfed]!! #[eghsveed]# @#@! [bvb43dfd]#! !!]

Finally, its proficiency had reached 20%.

The description remained unreadable, but his control over black had clearly improved.

Taesan scattered the black.

It spilled across the labyrinth floor, beginning to consume the space.

[……That looks a little dangerous.]

The ghost let out a groan.

The space tainted by black could hardly be called part of the labyrinth anymore.

It was no different from the domain of the High Gods.

“So this is what it feels like.”

Taesan retracted the black.

He was now able to control it—not just to coat his body or weapon, but to scatter it broadly.

‘……Could the Boundary Line be used this way too?’

Until now, Taesan had only used the Boundary Line as a weapon.

Sometimes, he’d used Boundary Recoil to surround his whole body, but it never extended far beyond himself.

Now, he could manipulate the black across a wide area.

Then—could he use the Boundary Line to create and control his own domain?

It seemed entirely possible.

But it was too risky to try it immediately.

The labyrinth could collapse, and something like Balbabamba might charge in—so he decided to wait and try it when the time was right.

‘Even without the Boundary Line…’

Demons were akin to the High Gods.

Using black in the domain of demons, he could blend it with the magic of negation or mix it with demonic energy.

The applications were endless.

Taesan sorted his thoughts and checked his other skills.

[Soul Skill: Sword of the World]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Summons and wields a sword formed of the world itself. Due to the user’s insufficient resonance and qualification, once used, the sword requires time to recover before it can be summoned again.]

The same massive sword wielded by the avatar—like a mountain.

It seemed he could now summon it.

Given its power, this was a significant skill.

Even if it vanished after a single swing, that alone was enough.

[Weapon Engraving]

[An engraving applied to a weapon. Though it bears no visible symbol, it contains a resonance that cannot be concealed.]

An item applied to a weapon.

Taesan embedded it into Cavert’s Relic.

[Cavert’s Relic: Sword Soaked in the Blood of Ancestors]

[A relic from a now-destroyed world.

It took the lives of many royal descendants.]

[Attack Power +1000]

[Additional +150 Attack Power when fighting any enemy]

“Hooh.”

His attack power had increased by 500.

That was more than what you’d gain from swapping out an entire piece of gear.

As for the secret reward, he decided to offer it as a tribute, to use it as a reagent for black magic.

[Special Activation Skill: Purification of the Unclean]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Cost ???: ???]

[Purifies unclean things that taint the world. The types that can be purified are still limited.]

He had gained this skill after purifying the corruption of a goddess.

It appeared to be a skill capable of purifying the corruption left by the High Gods.

But what its actual effect would be—he’d need to use it on a corrupted target to know.

After a brief inspection, Taesan took out a shard of black.

“What should I do with this?”

[Fragment of a High God]

[A piece of a High God, existing beyond the laws.]

A fragment of a High God.

It wasn’t a material to be handled lightly.

Come to think of it, the crystallized divine blood was also still resting in his inventory.

What should he do with these two?

Taesan mulled over the possibilities and placed them back into his inventory.

He began walking toward the 85th floor.

But the system window that usually announced the quest for the next floor didn’t appear.

Instead, another system window appeared before him.

“So it’s time.”

[Special Quest Started]

[Return to Earth.]

[One month from now, you will return to the land you abandoned. Survive there, and return again. Rewards will be determined based on your performance.]

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