Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 12

First Floor (5)

TL: handCream

There was no reason for Lee Tae-yeon to lie to him. That dwarf must have treated her very poorly. 

But that wasn’t the case for him. 

“Is it because of the condition?” 

Lee Tae-yeon ran away without killing Big Rat. Whereas, he only returned when he killed the Big Rat. 

That could be the cause of the dwarf’s change in attitude. He still wasn’t sure, so he headed towards the fountain of life. Putting the rusty sword back into his inventory and grabbed the tower shield with both hands. 

As he walks through the labyrinth, Big Rat appears. 

[Big rat is here] 

With a squeaky sound, Big Rat undeniably notices him, and immediately Tae-san lifts the shield. 

Agility increased by 2. Even a small difference could create a big impact in the beginning. 

In short, it was now possible to respond to Big Rat’s movements. Though it still isn’t perfect, rather than just blocking the attacks by observing its muscle movements. It was now possible to inflict damage by predicting its movement. 

Tae-san purposely raised his shield and showed his ankle, setting up a trap.

Big Rats don’t have enough intelligence to tell if it’s a trap 

Big Rat was rushing in. 

[4 damage to you] 

As soon as he saw the damaged window, Tae-san put down the shield.

When Big Rat tries to withdraw itself out, the shield presses against its torso. A high-pitched scream breaks out.  

“Squeak! Squeak!” 

[Your Attacks]

[Big Rat is disabled. Taking in more damage.] 

[4 Damage to Big Rat]

[4 Damage to Big Rat] 

…..

[You won against Big Rat] 

[Acquired a lot of experience points]

[Health recovered by 5]

[Acquired 33 gold] 

[Acquired Big Rat’s leather] 

[Acquired Big Rat’s meat]

He thoroughly enjoyed his rewards in the system window that came onto his view.

“As expected, of the shield. 

The pitch black area was narrow, so in battles many attacks are very likely to be missed. 

However, in the case of Tower Shield, all he had to do was slam it down. Big Rat, who doesn’t think much about defence, would fall for such an attack.

It was the perfect strategy for the player’s with the lowest stats. Just get enough money and purchase the tower shield. 

In addition, beginners are mostly afraid of being hurt, so the tower shield had a great advantage in terms of high defense. Since he posted this strategy to the community, beginners have been carrying the tower shield.

Recalling that time, Tae-san checked his system window. 

[Your level has risen] 

[You are at your best condition] 

[Health has increased by 10 as a reward for leveling up.]

[Agility has been permanently increased by 2.]  

[ [Soul Raiser] has been activated. Agility permanently increases by 1.] 

[Basic skill [Shield Art] has been acquired]

[The skill of foresight has increased by 1%.]

“Status window.” 

[Kang Tae-san]

[Level : 2] 

[Stamina: 110/110]

[Mana: 10/10]

[Strength: 10]

[Intellect : 10] 

[Agility : 15]

[Attack +1]

[Defense +7] 

[User is hungry] 

Taesan, who checked his stat, smiled happily. 

He didn’t clear the first floor and his [Agility] is already 15. Looking at his stats, it was similar to that when he reached the 10th floor in easy mode.

The difference between 10 and 15 may feel like nothing, but even a small difference in stats can create a large gap here. 

If players with strength 10 and strength 15 fought, the latter had five times the force than the former. 

That’s why hard mode players were able to survive in this crazy world. With a 1000 stats, players had the power to cut through the mountains. 

And now Tae-san too, can have such power. He was overjoyed. Tae-san ran through the labyrinth.

***

After that, he met Big Rat, but he was able to handle all of them without any problems. 

Now, the difference in stat was too big. After handling those rodent monsters without any damage, he finally reached the fountain of life.

” Hmm…” 

Tae-san opened the map. The bright light was in front of his location, meaning the fountain of life was within reach after one passage. 

Taesan pushed himself into the last aisle. 

‘It’s longer than I thought.’

A door was visible from a distance. It was only a five-minute walk to get there. He thought that it would be unnecessarily long, Tae-san walked. 

About halfway through, the system window appeared. 

[Big rat has appeared] 

Tae-san swiftly raised his shield without hesitation. He often met monsters in the passage but Tae-san raised his eyebrows once he saw the next window.

[Big rat has appeared]

[Big rat has appeared]

 “Squeak! Squeak!” 

“Squeak!” 

Their cries overlapped with one another. Three big rats were approaching Tae-san. 

One was in front of Tae-san while the other two were behind him. 

[You are in a difficult situation] 

[You are in a state of confusion…］ 

[Fear is sensed…］ 

There’s almost no space to move. He was totally surrounded by those three Big Rats. It could be dangerous for Tae-san, but his expression remained unchanged. 

[…] 

He wasn’t agitated. Although he knew he could do it, he had seen countless people who died due to sudden changes. Tae-san had no intention of making the same mistakes.

[You have made a good decision] 

[You’ve endured it with outstanding wisdom]

[All stats has risen] 

[You’ve acquired unshakeable resolute] 

[The skill [Coolheaded] increased by 1%]

Due to the effect of level-up, now all conditions were perfect. The width of the aisle is the same as the height of an average apartment’s stairwell. With this level he might be able to move around his body.

 [The skill [Securing Visibility] has increased by 3%]

With the success of all his judgement, all stats had risen. If it is the current stats, he can compete with Big Rat at the accelerated speed. 

Breaking the odds. 

[The skill [Detection] has increased by 1%.]

He picked up his shield. This time, he didn’t show his ankle. He quietly stares at the Big Rat in front of him.

“Squeak! Squeak!”

 “Squeak!” 

Big Rats screamed joyfully. Three of their kind surrounded a large human. Even with poor intelligence, they could see their win. 

And that idea made them careless.

 Kwoong!

Tae-san took the step first. He rushed toward the Big Rat in front of him.

 “Squeak! Squeak!”

The Big Rat runs away in surprise. Taken aback by the sudden charge, it runs away. The distance grew between them, so the monster will take some time to get back to him.

 “Squeak! Squeak!”

The Big Rat behind him, smirked quietly, rushed in. Then, as if Tae-san was waiting for it, he quickly turned around. 

“Squeak! Squeak!”

Suddenly, Big Rat comes to a stop while the shield blocks him. However, an accelerated body doesn’t stop that easily. Tae-san’s shield crushed the Big Rat.

“Squeak!”

[You won against Big Rat] 

[Your level has risen] 

Tae-san removed the noisy system. Continuing, Tae-san runs towards the other rodent.

“Shit!” 

But this time, it wasn’t easy to deal with. He quickly widened the distance. 

And the Big Rat, who ran away at that time, runs towards him. Tae-san with his back showing, the rodent thought it was a perfect opportunity to attack him. 

 Spinning around.

Tae-san stopped chasing Big Rat and turned around. The other Big Rat, who was rushing in, freaked out and stopped, but it was too late. 

Crunch! 

“Squeak!”  

[You won against Big Rat] 

He caught the two Big Rats in an instant and removed them. It was overwhelming. Tae-san headed for that Big Rat who was cornered by the shield.

 “Come on.” 

“Squeak!” 

[Big Rat is overwhelmed by you]

[Big Rat’s thinking getting dull]

Big Rat felt like it saw the devil. It was scary and so it’s movement became very easy to read. Tae-san took the shield out at the perfect time 

Crunch! 

“Squeak! Squeak! 

[Your Attacks]

[Big Rat is immobilized. Takes in greater damage.] 

[8 damage to Big Rat] 

[9 Damage to Big Rat] 

[You won against Big Rat] 

‘Good!’

Tae-san smiled. He’s already dealt with a lot of Big Rats. Now he knows everything about those rodent monsters. If the monster runs in, he has to step away. Turning his back, so that the monster without hesitation attacks him. And accordingly, attack then finally defend. 

The information he gathered here was by no means small. Tae-san reopened the window he exited. 

[Your level has increased] 

[The user is in the best condition]

[Health has increased by 10 as a reward for leveling up.] 

[Agility has been permanently increased by 3.] 

[[Soul Raiser] has been activated. Agility is permanently increased by 3.] 

[Even in a desperate situation, you’ve won without any distress. Intellect is increased by 1]

[The skill [Coolheaded] has increased by 5%]

[The skill [Securing Visibility] has increased by 3%] 

[[Detection] is increased by 2%]

“My level is rising.” 

Agility is over 20. It was ridiculously fast considering that before it was quite difficult to increase proficiency by 1%. 

In addition, he acquired a lot of gold, leather, and meat. If he sells it to the store, he could earn a lot of money.

Tae-san walked through the aisle with a smile. This time, the monster did not appear.

 A square room. There was a small spring in which no fish lived. 

[You are the first one to discover the fountain of life]

[First Discovery Bonus]

[Intellect has permanently increased by 1. Mana has permanently increased by 2.] 

Both are good for his stats. As intellect increases, it basically decreases mana consumption. So it’ll allow him to use more skills. Not to mention the increase in the amount of mana. 

[This is the resting place of the labyrinth. Your enemy cannot enter this place on their own will. The serenity of this place makes you lethargic.] 

Monsters can appear in most places in the labyrinth. The exceptions were mostly stores and these resting places. It was a kind of safety zone.

 Tae-san brought the spring water near his mouth with his hands. The cold liquid passed over to his throat. 

[You’re in the best condition] 

Any remaining fatigue suddenly disappeared. It felt like he slept as much as he wanted. Tae-san sat next to the fountain. The floor was made of warm sand, not with hard gravel, so he wanted to lie down for a bit.

 The fountain water brings out a player’s best condition, but there is nothing they can do about the mental fatigue that has  accumulated little by little. For that a quiet break is essential. 

“Has the day already passed?” 

Looking at his empty stomach, he thought it must be around that time. Now it was the time to look up the community.

 “Community.”