Ascension Through Skills

The Secret Room (1)

TL: handCream

PR: Kasaix

Einzhar looked tired. He probably spent a considerable amount of time without finding anything. 

And imagine this, at the end of his road, he finds his goddess to be dead. 

 If Einzhar had succeeded in finding the goddess, he would have either protected her or died together, but neither was true as his body was not there. 

In other words, Revinenoff was killed by someone before Einzhar found her and unless a big variable occurred she couldn’t be saved. 

‘Can someone tell me if this was a joke?’

It was a kind of crossroad.

If Tae-san didn’t reveal the location of the goddess, Einzhar would live in despair. 

And if he told the location of Revineoff, Einzhar would be grateful and do anything as a favour.

But Tae-san couldn’t imagine the consequences after that.  

There was a possibility that Einzhar, after discovering Revinenoff, would be hostile towards him. And there was a good chance that the goddess herself would hate him. 

As a fanatic, Einzhar wouldn’t be able to think straight. He would not be able to make a judgement on whom to prioritise. The goddess or Tae-san. He could even suspect Tae-san of killing his beloved goddess and attack him. 

There were endless possibilities. 

Einzhar was obviously stronger than Lee Tae-yeon. An NPC against whom he couldn’t win against for certain. 

If he was hostile towards Tae-san, it would be a problem during his conquest of the labyrinth. 

“…. “

After contemplating for a while, Tae-san finally opened his mouth. 

Einzhar did a lot for him. Ahirak Weapons Technique. The Faded Ring. And all the help he was given during the process. It was too much to give for someone who has met Tae-san for the first time 2 days ago. 

‘I must repay him back.’ 

“Revineoff. Do you want to know the location of the goddess you devote yourself to?” 

“Yes. She is the source of my belief.” 

“I know of her.”

“What?” 

Einzhar’s face shook. 

“I know where  she is, Revinenoff…” 

“…You must be joking.” 

Einzhar frowned in displeasure. Of course, he didn’t seem to believe Tae-san.

 “I’ve also been around the labyrinth for a long time, but I haven’t found her. So, how can you, an adventurer from the first floor, know her location?” 

The trust he had before has disappeared and only displeasure was seen on his face. It was a natural reaction. In Einzhar’s view, Tae-san was just a newbie entering the labyrinth. He for various reasons wouldn’t believe Tae-san’s words. Especially when it’s something he had been searching for with his whole heart. 

Taesan thought about it, too. 

“I have an item in my world. A map.” 

“Nonsense. The labyrinth has no such map.” 

“You know, it is not a map of the entire labyrinth. But one for a specific location.” 

“. . . . . . ” 

Einzhar closed his mouth and looked at Tae-san with dilated pupils. 

“…The Flute that Calls Upon Gods.? Is that what you are talking about? 

“Yes.” 

It’s actually different, but Tae-san went along.

“An item that tells the location of each god. It is an item that can be obtained from the labyrinth.”

“How can you…?” 

“My family already has figured out all the information about them. We have figured out the locations of the gods.” 

Of course, it’s a lie. 

It was impossible to know such information about the labyrinth from his world. 

What he was talking about was the information Lee Tae-yeon had given him.

The Flute that Calls Upon Gods. The effect of this item was to locate Gods. It was an item that Lee Tae-yeon got from the 89th floor. 

But she couldn’t use the item because most of the gods mocked and made fun of her. They refused to help her.

As a result, ‘The Flute that Calls Upon Gods’ became an item stuck in her inventory. 

Taesan was also aware of the existence of the flute, because she complained that the gods were all rude to her. He thought it was meaningless information but still put it in a corner of his head, not forgetting it. He didn’t know he would ever need to use this information in such a situation.

“78th floor. The Library. It is the 24th secret room.”

Einzhar’s eyes are shaking. 

“That’s the location of Revineoff’s location.” 

“…Oh. Yes, I have heard of this library, filled with books. I haven’t checked out there yet.…” 

When he even told the floor and in what room she was located in, Einzhar seemed convinced of Tae-san’s words. His eyes gleamed with joy.

“Yes, I know of it.”

“It seems that this is enough for me to repay you.”

“Haha. It’s more than enough. Don’t be so cold brother.” 

Einzhar burst into happiness and grabbed Tae-san’s shoulder. 

“I’m so thankful. I’ve never felt more grateful to anyone other than myself. You’re my saviour!”

There was pure madness in his  eyes. Tae-san said, getting to know the feelings of a major fanatic.

“Ouch, my shoulder hurts…” 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I couldn’t control my emotions.”

Einzhar stepped back with a smile. 

“Are you going to go right away?”

“Hmm… this might be a bit difficult. If it is the 78th floor, that’s pretty deep inside. And this labyrinth is also a very dangerous place, so I’ll have to get ready.” 

Still, Einzhar had an energetic face. Now that he can finally achieve his goal. That in itself will be fun.

“Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. No, it is not something that should be expressed in words. I want to repay you somehow…”

Einzhar pondered for a bit. He didn’t dare to make Tae-san extremely powerful. As it might become the cause of his death due to his arrogance and self-conceit.  

However, he had received too much from Tae-san to just give him something trivial and worthless. After desperate consideration, Einzhar made a decision.

 “If you are talented enough, you’ll be fine. Here, take it.”

There was no reason to refuse something that was given. Tae-san kindly received an old ring.

[Copper Ring]

[Health: +20]

[It seems to be a possession given to priests by a certain denomination. As of now they have been destroyed and only one person has it.]

Tae-san couldn’t help himself but admired it. One ring that automatically increases the  Health by 20. In Easy Mode, even a player from the 30th floor would have to be lucky enough to obtain it. 

“Originally, I had no intention of giving this up to the adventurers on the first floor, but… I think I’ll trust my judgement that you’re an adventurer who wouldn’t become insolent. I hope that I am not wrong.” 

“Don’t worry.” 

Tae-san already knew how this would all end. So, he didn’t have the time to be lazy or stray away from his path.   

Einzhar smiled. 

“That’s a relief. Thank you so much for everything.” 

“Are you gonna go now?” 

“Yes. I need to get ready. I can’t stay on the first floor anymore.”

Einzhar rushed towards the door as if he didn’t want to wait any longer. But before he left, he turned around and waved. 

“Thank you and see you again”. 

“Goodbye.” 

“Hahaha, my Goddess. I’m coming. The only one who remembers you is heading towards you!” 

With a delirious laugh, Einzhar left.

Will he be able to find the goddess? If he found her, would he meet a dead goddess or a living one? 

Whatever it was, Einzhar’s journey began. It would take quite a long time to meet Tae-san again.

Tae-san raised his shield. 

* * * 

He got enough rest and again continued his solo journey to clear the labyrinth. Tae-san started to wander around the first floor again. 

Big Rats attacked him, but it’s no longer a problem. The reason why he had such a problem facing them was because he could not follow their movement due to the lack of his Agility stat. But now Tae-san’s agility stat have increased by 22.  

He was able to respond properly. He continued to increase his Agility by killing more Big Rats.  When his agility was increased by 3 or so, a system window appeared. 

[Your opponent and your ascension in stats are mismatched. The gap between you and your opponent is too big. You would not be able to increase your stats anymore. Your opponents are too weak!] 

“Hmm?” 

Taesan paused and checked the following content.

And then he realised, if the gap in the stats becomes too big, killing the same type of monsters wouldn’t help him raise his stats. .

‘Now, no matter how many Big Rats I catch, it seems my agility will not increase.’

Though unfortunate, it was still something within his expectations. He already realised that if a player could increase their stats on the first floor itself. Every player would achieve more than a thousand agility, here alone. Such a level up system neither made sense nor was it necessary.  

Of course, the creator of the labyrinth would block this variable. But even with these restrictions, his skill remained the same. His stats increased every time he killed a monster. Honestly, it was better than any other skill he had ever gotten.

As long as he had this skill, no matter how hard the others in the Solo Mode tried, they would never be able to catch up with him.

 However, eventuallyi his growth on the first floor had stopped altogether. The increase in experience had already stopped at some point. 

It was slowly time to head to the second floor. 

Still, instead of looking for a way towards the second floor, Tae-san went back to the first floor again. He carefully searched the room, looking for an aisle. 

In the labyrinth, unknown to many, there was a place known as the secret room. Usually, one hidden on each floor. The players who were able to find those would achieve greater rewards than those who could not. 

Magic Wand, Levitating Ring, Permanent Stat Increase Potion, etc. These were items that brought immense power to the players on their journey to clear the labyrinth.

The competition was severe because only one player could enter. The creators of the room was very strict about it.