Ascension Through Skills

There were no other shadows around. They had long fled in terror.

“What kind of thing is this?”

Minerva waved her hand with an incredulous look. A massive wind gathered and transformed into a storm, hurtling towards the shadow.

Kagagak!

The massive shadow was shredded by the storm. Its entire body twisted as pieces fell off like clay.

But the Shadow Maw opened its mouth even wider.

Kwaduk.

The storm began to get swallowed by the shadow. A great force exploded from within, shaking its entire body, but it did not falter. Instead, it absorbed the storm into its belly.

[Kyarrrrrk.]

A satisfied laugh echoed. Minerva let out a dry chuckle.

“This is really absurd.”

The shadow charged. Barkaza clapped his hands, and Minerva stomped her foot. A barrier of wind and rainbow appeared before them.

Kwoooong!

The shadow collided with the barrier. Minerva’s defense, supported by Barkaza, was nearly impenetrable. Even Taesan would struggle to break through it without absolute judgment. The shadow couldn’t destroy the barrier either.

Crack.

But the shadow rubbed its body against the barrier and opened its maw.

The barrier of wind that Minerva had created was gradually being absorbed into the shadow.

“Master, that thing seems weird.”

Minerva frowned. They had dealt a considerable blow. No matter how strong a monster was, it should have been enough to bring it down.

But the shadow was fine.

Not only that, but its body had grown larger than before.

“It’s devouring everything.”

Attack, defense—it swallowed everything whole without leaving a trace. Even as its health was whittled down, it recovered by devouring, leaving no other options.

The shadow, having devoured all of Minerva’s barrier, rushed forward.

Taesan extended his hand. Magic materialized above it and took shape.

[You have activated Amon\'s Pitch-Black Spike.]

Kwoooong!

The shadow collided with the spike and was thrown back. But it quickly got up and charged again, aiming to swallow Taesan whole.

“You two, get back for now.”

[It can\'t be helped.]

“This is useless. My pride is taking a hit.”

Minerva and Barkaza couldn’t deal with that shadow. Instead, their power was being devoured, making them more of a hindrance. Minerva shook her head and retreated.

“Unbelievable things keep showing up. See you later, Master.”

The two of them disappeared. The shadow let out a small cry, disappointed.

[Karrk.]

Taesan stared at the shadow.

A monster that devoured attacks and made them its own.

[What will you do?]

“I’m thinking about that now.”

The shadow grew even larger, covering Taesan like a tidal wave. It filled the surroundings, leaving no place to escape.

[You have activated Limited Blink.]

Taesan moved above the shadow and, as he fell, raised his sword.

[You have activated Landing.]

[You have activated Strong Blow.]

[You have activated Addition.]

[You have activated Absolute Judgment.]

Kwoooong!

A tremendous noise erupted as the shadow crashed into the ground.

[You dealt 16,043 damage to the Shadow Maw.]

Sixteen thousand. It was a decent amount of damage. But Taesan’s expression remained calm.

Gullllk.

The scattered shadow began to reform its original shape.

It had absorbed Taesan’s attack and mitigated the damage.

“Even Absolute Judgment doesn’t work, huh.”

Since it wasn’t defending but devouring attacks, it made sense. The shadow let out a sinister laugh. Its body split into dozens of parts and rushed toward Taesan.

Kugugugung!

Taesan waved his hand.

[You have activated the Spark of Catastrophe.]

“Let’s see if it can devour this.”

Flames exploded like a bomb. The power of the beast that once scorched and devoured the world enveloped the shadow.

Perhaps even the shadow couldn’t swallow it properly, as its entire body was consumed by flames, writhing in pain. Taesan was about to charge with his sword when suddenly—

The shadow violently expanded.

It absorbed the flames that were covering it back into its body. The flames that once destroyed the world vanished without a trace.

“It devours everything.”

[Kyarrrrrk.]

The shadow laughed.

It was happier than ever.

No matter how much it devoured, the hunger that had never been satisfied was now being quenched.

But it wasn’t enough.

There was still more it could devour. Its stomach was still empty.

It could devour that thing.

If it swallowed that entirely, perhaps its eternally empty stomach could finally be filled completely.

Dark energy dripped from the shadow like saliva from a ravenous beast.

The shadow swelled.

The dozens of parts split off like rain and poured down.

[You have activated Flow.]

Taesan moved and swung his sword. The trajectory of the shadow twisted upon contact with the blade, scattering in all directions.

Kwoooong!

The shadow, irritated that Taesan wasn’t being swallowed, grew more ferocious. Thousands of shadow pieces began destroying everything around them.

[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

He spread his wings and soared. Reading the trajectory of the attacks, he dodged each one.

As he endured, he gathered his thoughts.

‘What should I do?’

Taesan thought through each method he could use to suppress the shadow.

Partial World Alteration was impossible since he had used all the catalysts to bring down Vishnu.

Handling the boundary was dangerous. While it was certainly powerful, it was also a threat to Taesan himself. Without the direct divinity of others, it could only be used once, so it had to be saved for a sure situation.

After contemplating for a moment, Taesan made his decision.

“Let’s keep it simple.”

[Wung‘?]

Kwoooong!

Taesan dodged the swinging shadow and created some distance. The shadow laughed, expanding its presence slowly.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

[You have activated Magic Focus.]

Jjeojeojeok!

The extreme cold surged toward the shadow. Its entire body froze, but it soon shattered.

[Dealt 10,143 damage to the Shadow Maw.]

The shadow gleefully began to devour the frozen world.

Taesan quietly observed.

He had figured it out when he used the Spark of Catastrophe. The Shadow Maw was taking damage normally from the attacks.

However, after taking damage, it absorbed the attack to restore its health.

Moreover, it took some time for the shadow to devour the attacks.

[You have summoned Minerva, the King of the Wind Spirits.]

[You have summoned the multicolored shield, Barkaza.]

Taesan summoned the spirits once again. Minerva, seeing the same situation as before, was startled.

“Why did you summon us again? We won’t be of much help here.”

“I changed my mind.”

Taesan gathered both mana and demonic energy. The two forces surged simultaneously.

[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

[You have activated Decarabia\'s Twisted Vegetation.]

Kwoooong!

The Starlight Arrow pierced through the shadow. Twisted roots arose, pressing down on it.

The shadow laughed, swallowing the power being poured onto it.

And Taesan drew even more mana toward it.

[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

[You have activated Forced Amplification.]

The maximized Starlight Arrow materialized. Taesan clenched his fist.

[You have activated Magic Acceleration.]

Kuuuung!

The accelerated Starlight Arrow collided with the shadow and exploded. The shadow’s body shook violently.

[Starlight Arrow proficiency increased by 1%.]

Kuguguguung…

The shadow slowly opened its maw.

It started absorbing the power directed at it, but the speed was slower than before.

“…Ah. It’s a simple but effective method.”

Minerva finally realized what Taesan was trying to do and grinned.

She spread her arms. A storm of wind pierced through and crushed the shadow. The shadow tried to devour the power, but it couldn’t keep up with the sudden influx.

“Barkaza, assist me.”

[As the king wills.]

A rainbow-colored light was woven into the wind.

With a delighted expression, Minerva began to unleash her power. Taesan also released both mana and demonic energy simultaneously.

[You have activated Eligos\' Thorny Rose.]

[You have activated Frozen World.]

[Magic proficiency increased by 1%.]

Jjeojeojeok!

A tremendous force enveloped the shadow.

Before it could fully digest the power that had already been inflicted, yet another wave of power hit the shadow.

The shadow finally realized something was wrong.

No matter how much it devoured, the power being inflicted upon it had no end.

Taesan unleashed another wave of power.

[You have activated Marbas\' Pitch-Black Wave.]

[Marbas\' Pitch-Black Wave proficiency increased by 1%.]

[Black Magic proficiency increased by 1%.]

“What is this?”

The proficiency of both Black Magic and regular magic was rising rapidly.

Despite using Frozen World frequently, its proficiency had yet to even reach 20%.

But now, with the pressure he was putting on the shadow, the proficiency of both Black Magic and Magic was increasing at an unprecedented rate.

It wasn’t because of the shadow’s strength.

Before long, Taesan realized the reason.

[Title: The Entitled One]

[A mark given to those who have descended the labyrinth, using many means and acquiring strength on their own.]

[Attack Power +100]

[Greatly increases the proficiency rate of all skills.]

It was a skill he had obtained upon clearing the 70th floor. Its effect was a drastic increase in skill proficiency.

“This much of a difference, huh?”

The proficiency was increasing at double the previous speed. The ghost spoke up.

[It’s a reward for reaching the depths, so the effect isn’t insignificant. But… interesting? I thought the proficiency increase would be relatively slow since it\'s affecting all skills, unlike my title, which only improved proficiency in specific concepts like swordsmanship or magic.]

The ghost had only obtained proficiency increases for sword-related skills through the Entitled One title. For a wizard, it would have only affected the proficiency of magic.

However, Taesan’s title applied to all skills.

Given its versatility, it should have had a weaker effect, but it was nearly as effective as the ghost’s.

“So that’s how it is.”

Taesan smiled slightly.

He gathered his demonic energy.

[You have activated Naberius\' Golden Sword.]

The golden sword appeared in Taesan’s hand. He charged toward the shadow, which was still slowly absorbing the power.

Kwoooong!

The shadow shook violently with a thunderous sound.

[Naberius\' Golden Sword proficiency increased by 1%.]

A proficiency increase notification appeared.

The shadow was still holding on.

Given its ability to devour power, it wouldn’t fall easily.

That made things more exciting for Taesan.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

[Frozen World proficiency increased by 1%.]

Magic surged once more.

Taesan unleashed countless spells and Black Magic.

When his demonic energy was depleted, he used divinity to recover. When his mana ran out, he used potions. Hundreds, thousands of skills were unleashed, repeatedly striking the shadow.

But the shadow did not fall.

No matter how much it devoured, it only grew larger.

For Taesan, this was a fortunate situation.

In the end, the proficiency of many of his skills increased, and their effects evolved. He even gained a new skill.