Ascension Through Skills

The Third Floor(2)

TL: handCream

“Is it good or bad?”

[It’s not bad. Of course, you can have as many abilities as the gods are fond of. They can give you something better than what you got as a reward. It will help you a lot to clear the labyrinth.]

Proof of Struggle, Ritual Sword was one of the best. But he could achieve something better. If he were to accept it, he could clear the 10th floor without stopping.

“Then, what about the disadvantages?”

A contract with God. There can’t be only advantages. The ghost replied.

[Your soul would belong to that one god. But many of them don’t really like each other, now do they? And not to mention, there are many gods in the labyrinth. Each has different criteria of what they desire]

While Lakiratas is a God of Struggle and Death, Revinenoff is the beloved goddess.

There is no way that such contrasting characters would be friendly with each other.

[Lakiratas is a god with a lot of enemies. And there are quite a few gods who don’t like free-spirited movements from their contractors as it could lower their dignity. During the journey down, something annoying would happen on the way down, one way or the other. As long as they give you strength, you must follow the revelation of the gods. Well, I can’t deny how unreasonable it is.]

There are quite a few drawbacks.

More than anything else, it turned out that there was a lack of freedom in action. It means that if God wants, he could be driven to his limbs.

Moreover, it would be even more dangerous if he were to form a contract with a fickle god, like Lakiratas.

[There were a few who tried to form a contract with me but I didn’t answer. Though you’ll get stronger, it will also create limitations for growth. It wasn’t a bad choice, but it’s not an attractive choice for a player like us.]

“You really hate them, don’t you?”

Hate was seen in all the mentions of the dwarf from the ghost. Tae-san couldn’t understand why the ghost hated him so much.

[He’s so proud of himself for being a slave, quite prideless I must say. Would you really like it? You’d better ignore what he says. Because he’s an enemy to people like you and me.]

This ghost was a warrior. The one who died while trying to conquer the labyrinth.

And this man right here was calling the storekeeper an enemy.

“I get what you are saying.”

The intention to receive the Apostle’s Contract has disappeared even more. He doesn’t know if it’s really urgent, but he was going to delay it even more.

Another question arose.

[This place is a labyrinth created by a great wizard a long time ago, and there is a rumour that the one who conquered it, would have their wish granted.]

When Tae-san entered the labyrinth, the system window exactly mentioned this. At that time, he let it go, but it was strange to think about it again.

Conquest meant clearing the labyrinth. Lee Tae-yeon cleared the labyrinth. But he didn’t hear anything about her wish coming true.

‘Could Urboros’ stone be considered a wish?’

A stone that turns time. In return for the wish, it was plausible, but Tae-san denied his conclusion.

Lee Tae-yeon, the one he knows, would either ask for a safe place or get rid of the monster, so she wouldn’t be satisfied with turning back time.

It was seriously a mystery.

Tae-san continued to go down the labyrinth. He knocked down the running goblin by kicking it with his feet.

[7 damage dealt with the goblin with a staff.]

[You have defeated the goblin with a staff]

[Huh?]

The ghost stopped.

[Do they really take damage when they are kicked? How? Did you learn that from Einzhar?]

“Perhaps!”

[He’s an old friend who also went down the labyrinth, every day looking for his beloved god. He was a noisy crying mess.]

It looked like the warrior’s ghost has lived inside the labyrinth for quite a long time.

And Einzhar lived inside the labyrinth longer than the ghost. He muttered as if he didn’t like Einzhar.

[He’s a damn picky guy. I also asked him, I wanted to learn too, but he said he didn’t want to teach me.]

“You weren’t taught?”

[No…I wasn’t.]

The ghost said as if he was still offended.

[Anyways, No matter how good you are or have all the information, the reality is a different matter. Now that you’re on the third floor, don’t be arrogant.]]

“I know, I have no intention of ignoring you.”

[Huh?]

This ghost was a player who has cleared till the 8th floor. Unlike Lee Tae-yeon, if the ghost had followed the standard, he may be stronger than Lee Tae-yeon who has cleared the labyrinth, at that time.

If it were in the past, perhaps even he was likely to be defeated by the warrior. Seeing him acknowledge the ghost, he continued, energetic but confused.

[Umm, O-Okay. Anyways though active skills are important, I had my swordsmanship with me.] 

“Swordsmanship?”

[Yes, the swordsmanship of our Empire! There were a lot of knights, but none of them could beat me. I even received the title of the Honorable Sword Master!]

Swordsmanship.

It was a skill that he thought was unnecessary in his previous life. However, he changed his mind after he faced the Servant of Lakiratas.

Here, not only the Active Skills but also the Swordsmanship were important.

“Can you teach me?”

[Huh?]

The ghost, who was somehow delighted, groaned.

[…I’m sorry, but I can’t. Even if you ask me in return for a bet, it doesn’t matter. This can only be taught to those whom I acknowledge.]

“Restrictions from the labyrinth?”

[You are right.]

Tae-san observed that the ghosts have no restrictions over information, but there seemed to be restrictions on teaching skills.

In a way, it was natural. If there are no such restrictions, it means that anyone could freely spread the highest level of skills according to their will.

[Don’t worry, you’re fine. Your skills are in good condition. I grumbled because I was being too sharp. As of now, you are strong enough.]

The ghost remarked in a calm voice.

He was calming down. His annoyed posture from before was disappearing from what Tae-san had observed. 

[But it’s not enough to be acknowledged by me yet. You haven’t proven your strength yet.]

Though the ghost saw Tae-san in fights where he was overwhelmingly strong. However, he didn’t see Tae-san deal with a strong opponent. Tae-san asked.

“What happens if I prove myself?”

[I’ll be able to teach you then.]

“Then that’s all that matters.”

10th floor.

There was a lot of time. Tae-san continued walking through the floor.

He strolled around without being irritated. Unlike the second floor, the third floor neither had any Altar of God nor an orange door, so it was almost an hour before he was getting bored.

And finally, it was time to go back to the store.

[Your inventory is full]

“You are right.”

The inventory consisted of a total of 20 compartments. And 15 of the compartments were filled with the collected item. Wandering around the labyrinth, he had almost filled up all of his spaces. 

[Are we going back now?]

“Of course.”

Taesan returned to the store. The dwarf looked at him and made a face.

“Please, show me all the equipment.”

The dwarf sighed at the calm words.

“Oof, this isn’t good.”

[Who are you to judge whether it’s good or not?]

The dwarf narrowed his eyebrows at the pale ghost. But instead of fighting, he opened up his space.

“Open, Golden Door!”

Numerous pieces of equipment fell off.

“Now, take a look around and decide for yourself..”

Tae-san began to inspect them one by one. Since entering the third floor, he could see better equipment than before.

[Necklace of the Strong]

[Attack Power + 2]

[A necklace to be worn by the strong. The user might gain strength.]

[1000G]

Though the price was more on the expensive side, it was worth it. Tae-san opened the inventory.

“How much would you pay for these?”

“…Huh.”

The dwarf burst into laughter when he saw all the equipment poured out by Tae-san. As if he had given up soon, he began to examine them one by one.

“This will be about 3000 gold in total.”

“I’ll sell them all.”

He had collected quite a few Staffs, but they were all Staff of Delusion. And that was considered to be the lowest level of mental magic. As long as he had the Staff of Random Minds, he doesn’t have the use of the other. 

Right now he possesses 5500 gold, including 2500 gold he obtained. He was overflowing with joy. Because that means he had enough money to buy all the accessories for the whole body.

Tae-san began to choose equipment. After 30 minutes, he finalized his items.

[Metal ring]

[Attack Power +1]

[Your hand will hurt more]

[600G]

He brought two of those metal rings. Rings could be worn on all fingers. It couldn’t hurt him to be always be prepared, so he brought a lot.

[Ring of Thorns]

[Attack Power + 2]

[There is a thorn in the ring. Nobody knows why it was made]

[1000G]

I wanted to buy more rings, but offensive tools are very non-mainstream. I searched all of them, but I found only three.

[Necklace of the Strong]

[Attack Power + 2]

[A necklace to be worn by the strong. The user might gain strength.]

[1000G]

He brought these four ornaments. A total of 3200 gold. And the total increase in offensive power was 5.

[Attack Power +16]

The current attack power he had accumulated. Now Goblin has two rooms. It was not a figure that could reach the third floor. The ghost who was watching muttered as if it were in spirits.

[What kind of skills do you have?]]

A skill that is close to being impossible to be obtained even for the ghost who had cleared the depth of the labyrinth. That’s Ahirak Weapons Techniques. The remaining gold was 2300 gold.

Tae-san looked for more accessories, but nothing stood out. There were only a few expensive ones with a small amount of attack power.

Tae-san changed his plans. He lifted a shield made of bronze.

[Bronze Shield]

[Attack Power +1]

[Defense Power +5]

[It can stop a lot of attacks. Even an attack that is too strong can be blocked at once.]

[1500G]

It’s a one-hand shield and it was the same as the Heavy Tower Shield. Though the price was about three times higher, it was worth buying.

Currently, his total Attack power was 17, and his Defense Power was 9.

It was a satisfactory growth. All he was left with was 800 gold. He looked around the store some more, but couldn’t find anything to buy. Tae-san didn’t buy anymore and withdrew.

“Then see you next time.”

“Okay, bye.”

The dwarf gave the ghost a cold gaze. The ghost smirked.

Tae-san ignored the two and left the store.

***

Two sword clashed. The goblin with the shield clenched its teeth and tried to stop it, but the shield was thrown off.

“Kiek!”

[20 damage was dealt with the goblin with a shield.]

[You have defeated the goblin with a shield]

[You have leveled up.]

Tae-san grabbed the sword.

“Is it over?”

[Probably? Well, I can see the Boss room over there.]

“There’s nothing much here.”

Unlike the first and second floors, there were no treasures or hidden rooms. But thanks to that, it was over pretty quickly but he was a little bored.

[There are only a few Gods or beings like me, at least they are not enough to fill all the floors. Sometimes there are empty floors like this one.]

He had already heard about this from Lee Tae-yeon and knew. She said she was very grateful to the floors like this one. However, on the contrary, it was very boring for Taesan.

Still, he wasn’t being idle. He was able to increase his offensive power by selling the obtained equipment to the store.

And also his level increased.

[Kang Tae-san]

[Level: 9]

[Health: 245/245]

[Mana: 44/44]

[Strength: 34]

[Intellect: 55]

[Agility: 50]

[Attack Power + 17]

[Defense + 9]

[The user is in the best condition.]

Even if the experience level didn’t increase enough, the goblin with the staff had a considerable amount of experience as he uses magic. So, his level went from 7 to 9.

“I’ll have to find it soon.”

Tae-san looked around the labyrinth. The ghost realized at a seemingly meaningless walk.

[Secret Room? You’re only going to waste your  time again.]

“But it will be worth it.”

Fire wand. Mana Increasing Ring.

Everything obtained from the secret room was an item that couldn’t be obtained from the floor rewards. It was worth investing an hour or two.

However, with time he was getting bored. As it was a really meaningless repetition, he had no choice but to give up on that thought.

Tae-san continued to walk around the labyrinth, but so far, he haven’t seen any secret room.

“This is bothering me.”

Tae-san frowned.

A secret room is usually hidden in an empty, one-way room, but there are always exceptions. There were quite a few cases where it was just hidden in an ordinary room.

This might be the case again.

In this case, it’s safe to say that he couldn’t actually find it because he was looking in the wrong direction all along. Now, he had no choice but to look at the entire floor.

With this thought, Tae-san came out of his disappointment.

[You have a strong hunch]

Tae-san spotted a brick. A brick that has no difference on the surface, it wasn’t worth paying attention to.  

But he could tell.

That’s the passage of the secret room.

Tae-san pushed the brick with his alert senses.

Rumble!

The bricks were pushed in and the passage was revealed.

[Detection has been increased by 5%]

The ghost murmured.

[… this is cheating. Why did my hunch fail every time I tried to find the secret room?]