Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 404: Floor 81, Advanced Magic (4)

Taesan gathered all his strength.

The opponent before him was an immortal.

Unlike the beings who had lost their sense of self, like the King of Mechanical Devices, or those who used corrupted power like the Apostles of the High Gods, this was a pure immortal, without any penalties.

Both had reached the same level of power. But Taesan’s skills, aside from his magic, were sealed. The odds were extremely slim. Taesan spoke up.

“How many times can I challenge you?”

“Of course, as many as you want. I didn’t think you’d win on your first try anyway.”

“Then I’m ready.”

Taesan had no intention of being satisfied with the first round. He completed his preparations, and Wirad raised his staff.

“Let’s start lightly.”

*Keeying.*

A black dot appeared on Wirad’s staff. He waved the staff.

The dot turned into a line.

There was no wave of power, no tremor. The black line moved toward Taesan with calm force, as if drawn onto a canvas—so quiet it didn’t even feel like an attack.

Taesan stepped back, his foot scraping the ground. His skills were sealed, but his stats remained. Moving quickly, he evaded the black line.

*Boom!*

The black line struck the brown floor, dissipating with a soft noise.

*‘Not that fast.’*

Even with his delayed reaction, it wasn’t difficult to evade. If this was the full extent of the speed, he could dodge any attack.

“You’re pretty fast. At this pace, no matter how many times you attack, you won’t land a hit,” Wirad said, realizing his attack had been evaded.

He raised his staff again.

The previous attack had been just a test.

Now, the real challenge began.

The dot appeared again, and once more, it turned into a line.

The speed was the same as before. Just as Taesan moved to evade again and close the distance to Wirad—

*Keeying.*

The line split.

Dozens, hundreds of lines shot out, racing through the space like lightning, swallowing everything in their path.

There was no space to avoid them. In that moment, Taesan drew his mana quickly.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

[You have activated Starlight Arrows.]

[You have activated Magic Focus.]

The freezing cold and starlight arrows shot forward.

This was intermediate magic, wielded by an immortal like Taesan. Its power was on an entirely different level. Even a light strike could be enough to cripple the higher-ups of the Labyrinth’s leadership.

However, as the black lines collided with the magic, they were shattered.

The Frozen World scattered as shards of ice, and the Starlight Arrows were crushed by the black lines, losing their light.

Taesan twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the impact as the black lines hit the ground.

*Boom!*

Taesan didn’t take any damage. While the Frozen World and Starlight Arrows couldn’t fully block the black lines, they altered the trajectory, giving Taesan enough space to evade.

Taesan clicked his tongue.

Even intermediate magic wasn’t enough to counter Wirad’s power; it barely managed to alter the path of the attack.

But conversely, this meant that, at his current level, Taesan could at least respond somewhat to the immortal’s power with intermediate magic.

“Not bad,” Taesan muttered.

With a quiet voice, Wirad drew another black dot.

This time, it wasn’t one. It was five.

The lines shot out all at once. Taesan swung his hand roughly and began gathering his mana.

* * *

*Boom!*

The black lines swallowed the world, crushing everything that stood in their way as they consumed space.

Yet, Taesan didn’t stop moving.

*Keeying!*

A black dot appeared right next to Taesan. As Taesan instinctively gathered his mana, the dot sent out lines in all directions, like sea urchin spines.

[You have activated Twisting.]

[You have activated Forced Exclusion.]

Taesan twisted the trajectory of the lines and forcefully pushed them back with his formless power. With his double-casting ability, Taesan could handle two spells simultaneously.

But there was no time to relax. Hundreds of lines shot from the black dot in the air, surging toward him.

[You have activated Magic Overlap.]

[You have activated Eternal Firebird.]

[You have activated Magic Liberation.]

The overlapped Firebird manifested, scorching everything in its path and blocking the lines.

Taesan quickly surrounded himself with the Shield of the Guardian and used Concentrated Detection on Wirad and the black dots.

*Keeying!*

But the magic was blocked. The mana barrier surrounding Wirad prevented the Concentrated Detection from activating. Wirad casually waved his staff.

“Other magicians might be able to detect that, but not me.”

*Boom!*

The lines pierced through the Eternal Firebird. The Firebird, which had been struggling to hold on, was eventually obliterated.

Wirad raised his staff. More black dots appeared in multiple spaces.

The lines came crashing down like a storm.

And yet, there was no disturbance of power or ripples, making them hard to detect. Normally, with his Harmonizing Eyes and Sensory Enhancement, Taesan could easily pinpoint the source. But both skills were sealed.

He had no choice but to sharpen his senses and expand his vision, physically observing and dodging the attacks.

‘There’s no answer at this rate.’

He was putting all his energy into defending against the relentless black lines, with no chance of approaching Wirad. Mana was also being drained steadily, and at this rate, defeat was inevitable.

He tried using Limited Blink, but Wirad didn’t allow it. For the first time, Taesan realized that a top-tier magician could actually block the activation of Limited Blink.

It was time to take a risk.

With a decision in mind, Taesan’s body leaped through the air.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Taesan didn’t know where he would land, the teleportation being unpredictable. The black lines immediately shot toward him, but there was a slight delay.

Quickly, Taesan began overlapping his magic. He gathered the Frozen World and exploded it.

*Crash!*

The freezing cold spread out, scattering the black lines momentarily.

Taesan seized the opportunity and unleashed his magic all at once.

[You have activated Eternal Firebird.]

[You have activated Starlight Arrows.]

[You have activated Earthquake.]

The magic erupted in rapid succession, engulfing everything in its path. With the help of his Continuous Chanting skill, the speed and power of his magic grew exponentially, gradually pushing back the black lines.

“Is this your strategy? Not bad, but it’s not the solution.”

Wirad waved his hand again. The black lines surrounded Taesan from four directions.

*Crash.*

The lines merged and began forming a maze-like shape.

A physical barrier was being created that Taesan could not escape from. Wirad intended to suffocate Taesan.

However, Taesan had already predicted Wirad’s actions.

*Boom!*

Magic poured relentlessly.

In an instant, dozens of different magics flooded Taesan’s vision. The seven magicians watching from other locations gasped in awe.

“Wow...”

“What’s that?”

They could handle intermediate magic, but the power of the magic Taesan was using was on a completely different level.

“Is this the level needed to receive Advanced Magic...?”

They all realized just how far away their desired path was.

Even Wirad was overwhelmed by the unrelenting barrage of Taesan’s magic.

“How much mana does he have?”

Even as an immortal, no one could wield intermediate magic as recklessly as Taesan was doing. When it came to pure mana, Taesan was clearly superior to Wirad.

Magic after magic poured out, far surpassing Wirad’s predictions, and the mana scattered, briefly obscuring Taesan’s figure.

The black lines veered off course, and Taesan seized the opportunity.

He exploded the Starlight Arrows that had been prepared, and the light filled the world as the arrows shot toward Wirad.

Wirad tried to block it with the black dots, but Taesan activated his skill in that moment.

[You have activated Magic Separation.]

The arrows of light split into hundreds of individual shots.

The black lines were powerful, but they were still lines. As long as they weren’t an attack that occupied space, they couldn’t block the split arrows. Taesan, seeing Wirad’s reaction, immediately prepared his next attack.

‘Excellent.’

Wirad couldn’t help but be impressed.

With all non-magic powers sealed, Taesan was clearly weaker than him.

But Taesan wasn’t giving up. He was observing for any gaps, and was on the verge of exploiting them.

“I wasn’t planning to show you all of this from the start.”

Wirad muttered as he waved his staff.

The line extended, and finally, it formed a plane.

A black plane surrounded Wirad’s body. The Starlight Arrows collided with it.

*Boom!*

A deafening sound echoed, and light illuminated the area.

When the light dimmed, Taesan clicked his tongue.

The black plane that protected Wirad was unscathed.

“My magic is the dot, line, and plane.”

Wirad raised his staff, and dozens of black dots appeared in the air.

“As long as you can’t overcome these three, it’s impossible to push me out of this space.”

With a calm voice, the black lines descended.

* * *

“Have you come?”

When Taesan entered the library, Elia was waiting with a face full of admiration.

“You really are strong.”

“Even so, I didn’t win. He

’s strong.”

“I told you, didn’t I? We’re different from him. The old man reached his level with his own magic. You’re definitely monstrous in strength, but so is he.”

Even without the restrictions placed on Taesan’s use of non-magic skills, a guaranteed victory was still uncertain. Wirad had that much power.

To face such a strong opponent, Taesan had to rely solely on magic. At this moment, the chances of winning were slim.

‘But it’s not like I’ve gained nothing.’

Wirad’s magic. The units of matter.

There were no premonitions of power, no sense of pressure. The way he used magic was incredibly simple.

‘Compressing mana to its limit.’

By compressing mana over and over again, a single black dot was created. He stretched that compressed power into a line, and then expanded it into a plane.

The theory was simple, but the power was evident. Since the mana was compressed to the extreme, the power didn’t leak out, making it impossible to read the prelude to the magic activation. The compressed mana itself was formidable.

The disadvantage was the limited range of the power, but the use of planes solved that problem.

It was a highly useful and intricate magic.

But it wasn’t a method Taesan could replicate.

His magic had been granted by the God of Magic. While some modifications were possible, handling mana like that was out of the question.

And, truth be told, Taesan wasn’t even interested in doing so.

The reason Wirad’s magic was so powerful was that he had devoted his entire life to it.

In contrast, Taesan wasn’t a magician.

He was an adventurer.

He gained strength from various sources and used them as tools. Unlike magicians, he didn’t obsess over magic itself.

So, he took only the best parts.

Taesan stood up.

* * *

Taesan continued facing Wirad.

They had fought dozens of times, and all of them had ended in defeat.

“Your loss.”

Wirad pointed at Taesan with his staff. Taesan accepted his words without any visible change in expression.

Outside, Elia consoled him.

“Another failure today... It’s okay! You’ll reach it soon!”

Taesan nodded silently. Elia looked back at him with a sad expression.

They had been amazed by Taesan’s first battle.

The power of his magic. His use of it. They no longer doubted him and respected him as an excellent magician, even in the face of Wirad.

But the subsequent battles were strange. Unlike the first one, the time to defeat Taesan became shorter, and he couldn’t even put up a proper counterattack.

Was he hoping for luck, since he couldn’t win conventionally? Elia was worried.

“Old man. What happened to Taesan? Is he giving up and hoping for luck?”

Elia went to ask Wirad. He answered quietly.

“Do you think he’s giving up?”

“No? It’s strange. He’s losing so quickly and not even putting up a proper fight.”

“No. Quite the opposite. He’s actually searching for the answer.”

Wirad waved his staff.

“It’s amazing. Is that the adventurer of the Labyrinth? His approach to strategy is perfect.”

“Eh?”

Elia was surprised by the completely different evaluation.

Wirad said, remembering the gaze Taesan had directed at him.

“Quick losses were part of his plan. Think back. Were the battles ever the same?”

“Um...”

Elia paused as she recalled the battles.

It was as Wirad had said.

In dozens of battles, there was never the same pattern repeated.

Elia silently gasped in shock.

“Could it be...”

“He intentionally put himself in danger to test my reactions. I didn’t plan to accommodate him, but the battles unfolded that way. He’s brilliant at tactical play.”

Quick defeats were expected. He had deliberately thrown himself into danger to provoke Wirad’s response.

“And that wasn’t all.”

Wirad recalled the gaze Taesan had directed at him.

He had been observing not only his responses but also his entire approach to handling power.

It was as if Taesan was trying to learn something.

Wirad’s magic was his creation, the magic of an immortal. No one could steal it.

But Taesan’s gaze suggested he thought it was natural to learn from it.

That intrigued Wirad as a magician.

“What means will he use? How interesting.”

Wirad smiled. At this moment, Taesan could never defeat him. But at the same time, Wirad was deeply curious about how Taesan might bring him down.

Several days passed.

Taesan came to Wirad again.

“Can I try the trial again?”

Wirad looked at Taesan. His face was different this time. There was a certainty that he could win.

Wirad nodded.

“I accept. Adventurer of the Labyrinth.”