Ascension Through Skills

The ghost had always grumbled from the moment they met.

He showed dislike for Taesan and constantly talked down to him while stating the kind of person he was.

Whether that was the jealousy of the dead or not was unknown, but they were definitely not on good terms.

However, the ghost’s attitude had suddenly changed.

‘Ever since I defeated the Goblin Lord.’

After that, he became quiet and answered Taesan’s questions without hesitation. He no longer boasted about his own greatness.

“Why are you acting like this?”

[I just saw the possibility.]

The ghost said in a bitter tone.

“Atonement?”

[Forget it. I'm going to help you with what you're going to do from now on. There's nothing wrong with that, right?]

He had a similar attitude to the dwarf. No matter how much he was asked, he wouldn’t answer.

‘…Fine.’

The face Lillis showed when he asked for magic didn’t seem like she would easily give it up. Thanks to the ghost, he had easily passed that hurdle.

Taesan then joked,

“Then, will you also teach me swordsmanship?”

[With your current stats, even if I teach you, you can't learn it. Originally, you would barely be able to do it when you reach the 10th floor... considering your growth rate, yes, on the 7th floor. It would be possible. I'll teach you then.]

The ghost obediently answered. Taesan, who thought the ghost would refuse as he was very protective of his own swordsmanship, was even more surprised.

‘What?’

Although perplexed, it wasn’t a bad thing for Taesan, as the ghost said. It was rather good. If he fully cooperated, it would make navigating through countless problems easier.

Thinking that what was good was good, Taesan checked his rewards. He had the weapon that he acquired when he defeated the warrior.

[Heavy Greatsword]

[Attack + 7]

[It's extremely heavy. It seems difficult for an ordinary person to even lift.]

If the attack power was 7, it was higher than Lakiratas’ sword. However, he had no intention of changing it.

The weight itself wasn’t a problem. If a weapon was hard for Taesan to lift now, it wouldn’t be because of its shape. The problem was that the greatsword was incredibly large.

It was over twice the size of Taesan. There would be constraints depending on the situation or conditions. On average, Lakiratas’ sword was undeniably better. It was nonsensical for a long sword to only have an attack power of 5.

But still, it was a good weapon. As the attack power was higher, there might come a day when he could use it.

And the reward for clearing the 4th floor.

[Ashen Wrist Guard]

[Defense + 5]

[Ash has been sprinkled on it. It doesn't seem to have any significant meaning.]

“Huh.”

For a wrist guard, the defense was 5. It was on par with the shield he was holding. It wasn’t the expected performance for a simple floor clear reward.

Taesan switched out the wrist guard that he had been wearing happily. The ghost, who had been watching him closely, opened his mouth.

[I recognize that one.]

“The gatekeeper gave it to me.”

He had given Taesan the wrist guard. Taesan thought it was just basic wristguard equipment and had been using it quite efficiently.

[Right. That stingy one did that.]

The ghost murmured softly.

Taesan changed his equipment and checked and saw that his defense was now 19. It was slowly becoming higher than his attack power.

“Not bad.”

He didn’t care much, but defense was also an important value, so it was good that it was increasing.

And then there was ???.

It seemed that he was rewarded for finding an NPC or a secret room.

[You used ???]

[You obtained an Engraving Scroll.]

It was a satisfying reward, as expected.

“I already got a scroll.”

Unlike the wand, there were types of magic in the form of buffs. They were named scrolls.

[Engraving Scroll]

[It endows special power to equipment.]

Taesan used it immediately. It was hard to obtain on the lower floors, but it could be easily found on the middle floors. There was no need to save it.

Of course, it wasn’t that it had little value. In this early stage, the value of a single scroll was greater than equipment.

The equipment he used it on was naturally Lakiratas’ Sword.

[You activated the Engraving Scroll on Lakiratas' Ritual Knife.]

[Lakiratas' Ritual Knife]

[Attack + 5]

[Recovers 5 health when the target is killed.]

[Has a certain probability of knocking back the target.]

The effect of knocking the target with a certain probability was added. Taesan, after checking it, smiled in satisfaction.

The Engraving Scroll had random effects. It could infuse the weapon with the attribute of lightning or refill health with every attack, among various other effects.

Among them, there were effects close to being duds. Effects that could even harm the user.

The knock-back effect he obtained was close to being a jackpot, providing a helpful variable during combat. Given the number of enemies in this place, it belonged to the higher-tier effects.

“As expected, secret rewards are good.”

It was only possible to obtain these by finding all the secret rooms and hidden elements. Therefore, the things you could obtain there were only those that you couldn’t find on any floor. Hence, Taesan was trying to obtain them, even if it meant wasting time.

Having finished his preparations, Taesan went down. The dwarf, who had been waiting, was surprised to see Taesan.

“You’re already here? That’s quick.”

“The labyrinth has changed.”

“Ah. I wondered why it was so noisy. It must have been Balthasar meddling. Well, of course, you’d have been involved.”

Like the ghost, the dwarf seemed to take it in stride that Balthasar had exerted his power.

The ghost didn’t say anything. As if feeling it was needless to say anything, the dwarf also ignored it.

“So, what are you going to buy?”

“Yes.”

He had now accumulated quite a bit of money as he had gained 100 gold per orc. As they were an elite minority of monsters, the supply of gold from them was a little less than the goblins.

Still, including the rewards from the boss fight, he had a total of 1,500 gold. He also planned to sell what he had.

“How much is this worth?”

“About a thousand gold.”

A thousand gold. A total of 2,500 gold. The dwarf casually opened the space and showed his goods.

“My recommendation is this.”

“Inventory Expansion Ticket?”

“…How did you know about this?”

The dwarf was surprised as Taesan checked what he had offered.

[Inventory Expansion Ticket]

[Expands inventory by five slots.]

[1,000 G]

“I’ll buy it.”

Twenty slots in the inventory were starting to become insufficient. It was better to buy the expansion ticket right away as it only went on sale at certain times.

Now, 1,500 gold remained.

Taesan checked the goods.

As he descended a floor, better items were available, but it was hard to decide quickly.

‘It’s all about the same.’

Even if he bought something, the difference would only be an increase in attack power by 1 or 2. It was hard to make a significant change as he had already bought all the basic equipment. An increase was an increase, so it wasn’t bad, but something felt lacking.

As Taesan continued to check, something caught his eye.

A silver glittering powder was contained inside a transparent bottle.

‘Why is this here?’

Taesan, surprised, checked it.

[Blessing Powder]

[Rumored to be a powder that comes from fairy wings. It is rumored to bless the user.]

[500G]

He was certain, and Taesan was bewildered. The dwarf noticed his expression and picked up the Blessing Powder.

“Were you looking at this?”

“Do you know what it is?”

“I don’t know either.”

The dwarf shrugged his shoulders.

“Fairy powder. There’s a lot of talk about it granting blessings. But no one knows if it’s true. There was a guy who bathed in it to get good luck, and he ended up busting his head open. Strangely, it has high value and is expensive. But it’s useless.”

“Don’t you know?”

[I don't know. I've never bought it.]

The ghost also appeared not to know.

‘I guess that’s natural.’

In his previous world, countless players had bought the Blessing Powder. This was because the phrase’ it grants blessings’ was incredibly attractive.

However, no one had ever felt its effect. Until Taesan discovered its secret, it had become a discarded item for everyone.

Blessing Powder.

Its effect was the adjustment of minute probabilities.

“Give me three.”

“Huh?”

The dwarf looked surprised.

“Are you really buying this?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t stop you but… really? You know this thing doesn’t have any effect, right?”

“It’s fine.”

It was not that it had no effect. Others just didn’t know how to use it.

“Do you have any more?”

“For now, that’s all I have.”

He couldn’t get more. It was a pity, but this was enough. He wouldn’t have to wait long before he could put it to use. The dwarf gave him a strange look.

“Why are you buying that?”

But Taesan was satisfied. He believed he would soon reap the benefits.

Now, all his money had been spent. There was nothing more for him to see in the shop.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Alright. Be careful.”

The dwarf waved him off.

[5th Floor Quest begins.]

[Defeat the boss of the 5th floor and pass through.]

[Reward: Splendid Decorative Sword.]

[Secret Reward: ???]

Another window appeared as he entered the floor.

[Balthasar is pleased with your achievements. He looks forward to giving you a satisfactory reward.]

It was a subtle nudge. The ghost also seemed to have seen the system window and let out a chuckle.

[Those bothersome ones who are figuring out their weight, not only do they cut into my territory, but they go this far too. A bothersome person remains bothersome.]

“Is the influence area that important?”

[Important? Gods only know about their own territories. Many who have found this place, the brave warriors who have gone through their trials, the loyal followers who call their names, they do not use what is my territory. They package it as if it's something valuable while giving a measly reward. That's what gods are.]

The ghost spat out as if he was saying something disgusting. However, Taesan had a dark face. From his perspective, all the gods tried to give him something while reducing their influence. He didn’t think it was such a big deal.

The ghost spoke with bitterness.

[They're using you because you're worth it. You can be proud.]

“I’m not sure about that.”

He thought of clearing their trials only if there was a reward.

Taesan arrived at the first room.

“Heh, heh.”

[An Orc Warrior has appeared.]

“Starting with a two-hander.”

The warrior raised his spear. With that, he thrust straight forward at Taesan. Taesan swung his shield.

Clang!

The force he felt impacting the shield was not inferior compared to the boss of the 4th floor.

Kang!

Instead of immediately pushing back, Taesan took some time. The sword, shield, and spear collided. Suddenly, the warrior’s body was pushed back.

“Heh, heh!”

The warrior let out a perplexed cry as his body moved involuntarily. Taesan immediately charged in and pierced his chest. The warrior pushed him away with a rough swing.

“Heh, heh!”

Once again, their weapons clashed. After exchanging about ten blows, the warrior was once again repelled.

Taesan stabbed his chest. The warrior fell. A powerful strike and continuous attack. Because he used his abilities in succession, he could finish quickly.

“Definitely useful.”

The effect of the Engraved Spell Scroll. It had a certain probability of pushing back the opponent. As sudden as the pushback was, it could create a big variable in battle. It seemed to occur once every ten attacks.

This would have taken quite some time if it weren’t for the spell scroll. The warrior had that kind of strength.

The difficulty level suddenly increased upon entering the 5th floor. If the first one was this tough, the fifth, eighth, and tenth ones would definitely be much stronger.

“Not bad.”

However, Taesan had a joyful face. So far, his descent had been rather boring. He had only managed to defeat one; hence there was a sense of regret somewhere.

The stronger the opponent was, the more one gained.

The most important thing was to secure a victory.

Taesan began to pass through the rooms.