Ascension Through Skills

He had a face that belonged to someone who was barely twenty. Age usually corresponded with strength. If he had practiced martial arts in his twenties, it wouldn’t even have been for more than ten years.

“We four had to come for this brat.”

The white-haired man snorted.

“Do you think I came here because I wanted to?”

They were the Swordmasters, the strongest people in this world. Even a mage tower master could not match them.

Yet, they had to gang up to face one person. It was a matter of bruised pride.

Furthermore, they belonged to different countries. It was not pleasant having to join forces from a competitive relationship.

The blue-haired man spoke calmly.

“It’s a direct command from the Lord. Don’t complain.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The white-haired man blew out a nose in discomfort.

“Ho-ho!”

The blond man lighted up his eyes, looking at Taesan.

“Are you the knight protecting the princess? You’re brave!”

Unlike the other Swordmasters, he sent a gaze of admiration towards Taesan.

The red-haired man took a rough step forward.

“Move aside, Atria.”

“Hmm? Do you plan to do it alone?”

“Or should we all attack together? Against this runt?”

“That would feel bad.”

The blond Swordmaster called Atria obediently stepped back.

They knew that Taesan was a mage. And if they were Swordmasters, they could gain the upper hand even if their opponent was a tower master.

“I’ll go first.”

“As you wish.”

The other Swordmasters also retreated.

The red-haired man drew his sword. It was a long sword with no particular features. A blue light surged over it.

It was deeper and larger than Garant’s. The red-haired man took a stance.

“Shall we try it?”

“Nice.”

Taesan smiled.

Aura. He was now finally seeing its proper usage.

Bang.

The red-haired man struck, and Taesan moved his arm.

Clang!

The swords clashed. The red-haired man’s momentum increased slightly.

“A famed sword, huh.”

Despite the clash of Auras, Taesan’s sword did not have the smallest chip. Greed surfaced on the red-haired man’s face.

“I’ll have to take it as a trophy.”

Crash!

A blue light flickered, aiming at Taesan’s entire body. It was much faster than Garant.

‘This isn’t physical speed.’

It seemed like he had enhanced his physical abilities with something like Aura.

But it wasn’t that impressive. It was a speed that could be entirely countered with leisurely movements.

“Ho, you’re impressive.”

The red-haired man spoke in admiration, not knowing that Taesan was controlling his strength.

“I heard you were a mage, but have you also trained your body? Nice.”

The red-haired man chuckled.

“I should get serious, too.”

Crack.

Five swords at the back of the red-haired man were unsheathed. The swords wrapped in blue light floated freely in the air.

“I heard rumors. You can erase attacks. But how many times can you do that?”

The swords accelerated. They moved freely and aimed at Taesan’s entire body as if they were alive.

Following that, the red-haired man charged towards Taesan.

‘Ether Sword?’

A technique from martial arts novels, where the swords were freely controlled, a sword technique that didn’t seem like one.

That was being shown now.

Taesan moved. He kicked the ground, avoiding a sword that was aimed at his legs, and twisted his waist to let it pass. Then, he parried the sword.

Clang!

However, he couldn’t block all the attacks. He allowed attacks from all sides.

[Your First Absolute Nullification of Attack has been activated.]

The blue sword returned to its previous state before it struck his body.

“It truly feels like time is reversing.”

The red-haired man admired and controlled the sword with a youthful face.

This time, he targeted the upper body, lower body, and head. He bent his body and moved the sword to block, but like a living thing, the blue sword followed Taesan’s evasion and attacked.

“Heh.”

The attack nullification had all run out. Taesan roughly moved his body to fend off the swords aiming at him, but one sword grazed his shoulder.

[You have taken 52 damage.]

‘There’s no significant difference in damage.’

If the red-haired man’s weapon dealt the same damage as Garant’s, even though it was much more refined, it meant that the damage was coming from the Aura itself, not the weapon.

“Is the end of that magic limited after three times? What are you going to do now?”

The red-haired man laughed deviously while continuously pressuring Taesan. Taesan roughly moved his sword.

Clang!

With a loud sound, the red-haired man was flung back.

“What?”

The red-haired man clenched his numb hand. He would have been knocked to the ground if he hadn’t momentarily enhanced his body with Aura.

Taesan looked at the red-haired man with interest.

“Is this Aura?”

It was interesting and tricky. Without magic or skill, he couldn’t fend off the five blue swords that moved as if they had life.

“It seems more like a skill rather than a sword technique. It’s peculiar.”

But it wasn’t impossible for him to counter it.

“I’ve understood the concept.”

[You have activated Acceleration.]

With a speed incomparable to before, he charged at the red-haired man.

Taeasn moved at a speed that broke the air, hard to follow with the eyes, but the red-haired man was a Swordmaster. A person who had trained in the sword his whole life. Reflexively, he raised his hand and tried to plunge the blue sword into Taesan’s body.

Taesan roughly swung his sword. The blue sword shattered like glass.

“Wha, What?!”

The red-haired man tightly clenched his fist. New blue swords appeared again, aiming at Taesan.

Completely blocking or dodging was close to impossible.

Then, it was a matter of taking the hits with the body.

Taesan fended them off once again, but the swords that he couldn’t block were lodged into him.

Whoosh.

The red-haired man’s face lit up for a moment, then distorted grotesquely.

“What!”

Taesan’s speed didn’t decrease at all. Although swords were lodged in his arms and legs, he charged at the red-haired man as if there was no issue.

Clang.

Their swords collided. The red-haired man was pressed down.

Taesan fended off the red-haired man’s sword. His sword pierced the red-haired man’s heart.

“I, I!”

The red-haired man exclaimed while vomiting blood.

That was his last word.

[Your Soul Ascension has activated. You have obtained a special, always activated skill [Qualification: Proof of the Sword].]

“If it’s this level, I can get Heroic Strike.”

Seeing that he didn’t gain any stats, it seemed like it was a very close call in the difference of their strength.

Taesan lifted his head.

The Swordmasters were looking at him with astonished faces.

“Th, this.”

“…I heard he was a wizard.”

“He’s faster and stronger than us?”

The red-haired Swordmaster was from a nation opposing theirs. His death was something to be glad about, but it was hard to simply be happy when the power Taesan displayed was of such a high level.

“… He’s as strong as a monster.”

Having a physique that surpassed a swordmaster while using magic. It was a level of strength that was unacceptable.

What was more, Taesan didn’t even use magic. The blue-haired man let out a hollow moan.

“Where did a guy like you come from?”

“The labyrinth.”

“The labyrinth?”

The blue-haired and white-haired men looked puzzled. However, the blonde Swordsmaster called Atria seemed to have an idea of what Taesan meant.

“Labyrinth… Could it be?”

Taesan took notice of his reaction. The blue-haired man bit his lip.

“Let’s attack together. It hurts our pride… but he’s much stronger than us. He won’t say it’s cowardly, will he?”

“Do as you please.”

They got ready and began to surround Taesan.

The moment the blue light appeared, they charged.

Clang!

Taesan moved his twin swords to deflect and block. The first sword movement, the Wolf’s Fang, and the second sword movement, the Dance of Swords. Taesan alternated between them, putting pressure on the Swordmasters.

‘So he’s even superior in swordsmanship than us.’

The blue-haired man swung his sword roughly with a gloomy face.

Clang-Clang!

A crescent moon-shaped aura flew from the sword. The Aura that Taesan couldn’t respond to in time struck his arms and legs.

[Your First Attack Absolute Nullification has activated.]

The fired Aura returned and came flying again. Taesan quickly increased the distance.

Boom!

The Aura shattered the trees. The blue-haired man’s eyes darkened even more.

“…As the rumors say, the magic that turns back time seems to apply individually. Where on earth did he learn such magic?”

The blue-haired man was disappointed, and Taesan was surprised in his own way.

He never imagined he could fire Aura.

“Hop!”

Atria moved the great sword with an interested face. The Aura inscribed on the great sword was several times larger than the sword itself.

Whoosh!

The great sword, as large as a tree trunk, collided with Taesan’s sword. Taesan, pushed back by the force, took a step back.

The white-haired Swordmaster struck down at Taesan. The blue Aura clinging to the sword rippled like a snake, aiming for Taesan’s neck.

[You have activated Repulsion.]

An invisible force spread out from Taesan. As the white-haired man was pushed back slightly, Taesan increased the distance.

‘This is totally a martial arts novel.’

Taesan let out a hollow laugh while avoiding the incoming Aura.

He overwhelmingly excelled in power and speed. The Swordmasters were of the level of the adventurers he had been killing so far on the 20th floor of the labyrinth.

It was astonishing that the Swordmasters had become so strong without the assistance of the system, but it wasn’t threatening. He could trample them at any time if he just considered their power and speed.

However, they were quite tricky.

An Aura that shot out like sword energy. An Aura that moved like a creature from the sword.

And Aura that surpassed the great sword, growing to the size of a building.

Due to the peculiarities of Aura and the damage that surpassed his defense, Taesan was not able to suppress them easily.

He couldn’t break through unless he was willing to take damage.

Zap!

The Aura was fired like a storm. Taesan widened the distance and deflected, but he could not completely block it.

An Aura struck Taesan’s thigh.

[56 damage to you.]

“Hop!”

A giant sword made of Aura swung through the air. Taesan blocked it but was pushed back and hit a tree.

‘Similar to me.’

Taesan had been winning against enemies who had superior stats by responding with information and skills.

They were the same. Although their stats were inferior to Taesan’s, they were pressuring Taesan using an excellent technique called Aura.

However, there was a decisive difference between Taesan and them.

[You have activated the Robe of Obscurity.]

The Robe of Obscurity hid the physical body for one second. The moment it was activated, Taesan’s body disappeared.

When even the trace vanished, the Swordmasters were flustered and stopped their swords.

During this, Taesan positioned himself next to the white-haired Swordmaster who used the great sword.

Whack.

“Ugh!”

The white-haired Swordmaster, who reflexively sensed danger, created a shield out of Aura, and Taesan’s sword was repelled.

Taesan swung his sword again.

[You have activated the Heavy Strike.]

Crack!

The Aura shattered. The white-haired Swordmaster was left defenseless.

“No!”

Even though they were three, they could not suppress him. If one died, the outcome was clear.

The blue-haired Swordmaster swiftly fired countless auras, but they were deflected by Ice Arrows.

However, not all were blocked, and some struck Taesan’s body. His shoulder was brutally pierced.

Taesan calmly held his sword.

[You have activated Unyielding Will. You can ignore injuries and fight for 10 seconds.]

Taesan’s sword pierced the white-haired Swordmaster. The white-haired man spat out blood and fell.

The blue-haired one growled out.

“Why won’t you die!”

His Aura pierced through Taesan’s entire body. Despite the brutal injury, Taesan did not fall.

“I’m different from you guys.”

With a somber voice, Taesan charged towards the blue-haired one, who gritted his teeth and used his Aura.

The Aura that cut everything in its path flew, drawing a crescent in the air.

Taesan’s response was simple. He avoided attacks that were aimed at the head and heart and charged while accepting the rest of the attacks.

Unable to stop Taesan, who ignored defense, the blue-haired Swordmaster died.

“It hurts.”

Pulling out the sword stuck in his stomach, Taesan checked his health.

[Shield: 0/192] [Health: 1522/2250]

“It has worn down quite a bit.”

Taesan would not die even if a sword pierced his head or heart. He was practically immortal as long as his health was not at zero.

In contrast, they had incredibly frail bodies that would die if their chest was stabbed or their head was decapitated.

The difference was clear.

“But that’s fine.”

On the contrary, it meant that he had to fight against an endlessly weakening enemy, risking health loss due to a single blow of Aura.

Of course, Taesan was not at full strength either. If he had fully utilized his skills, he could have suppressed them more easily.

For instance, if he had just activated Forced Duel, it would have been a 1:1 situation and much easier to handle.

But there would have been a definite consumption of health. Learning about Aura was worth that much.

“Only you are left.”

Taesan pointed his sword at the blonde-haired Swordmaster. Atria. Atria smiled lightly and raised his hand.

“I surrender.”