– Volume 4, Chapter 11
86. The ruined world of Hafran (1)
The gray desert. A world of achromatic sand where nothing can be seen.
Taesan stepped into it.
The moment I set foot in the desert, my skin dried up. With every step he took, the sandy bottom sank like a swamp, and the little bit of oxygen was reduced even more.
If I hadn’t acquired resistance, it would have been quite difficult. Taesan
reduced her breathing even more and wrapped her body in a robe.
‘How much is left.’
Looking at the map, it was halfway there.
Taesan moved slowly.
You can’t run, you just breathe and move forward. The star has yet to show any significant movement. Maybe that’s why Taesan, who was a little bored, asked what he had been curious about.
“What is the difference between adventurers and you?”
[Are you talking about contractors?]
“Maybe that’s it.”
An NPC that exists in the Labyrinth. They seemed to call themselves contractors.
contractors and adventurers.
While similar, the two are different.
[Are you guessing? The difference between those who are bound and those who are not bound.]
The ghost said.
[Adventurers can go outside with you. Freedom exists. But contractors can’t. It’s because I made a deal with the wizard and
was bound in the labyrinth.]
Contractors live in the labyrinth and give quests and help to adventurers.
[It’s a contract of sorts. I have the opportunity to fulfill my wish and instead end up in the labyrinth.]
“Wish?”
[I was shot in the back of the head by an ogre sage and died. I made a contract to avenge that. Lilith has contracted to walk the path of magic. The old god-seeking father made a pact to find his own god.]
Everyone was craving something intensely.
[The dwarves in charge of the store must also want something. Hafran is no different. I am taking on the role of a blacksmith because I wish for something.]
That wish must be here where Taesan is located.
“So is it a quest?”
[Because I can’t leave the labyrinth. I’m asking an adventurer like you instead.] If he
could overcome the pressure of the guide of sin,
he would at least be stronger than Mount Taesan. However, instead of returning to the world that destroyed itself, he asked Taesan in the name of a quest. If it was bound by a contract, the question was resolved.
‘I can roughly understand.’
The labyrinth is a deep and difficult place. Every time you go down the floor, various monsters try to kill you, and the gods are very cruel and cold.
There is a high probability that even the adventurers you meet occasionally will be hostile to you. In
a situation where there is not even a place to rest or even an ally,
it is difficult to endure even if the heart is like iron.
So, it would be nice to have someone who shows goodwill without confrontation. It would be even better if it was linked to interests and could never be betrayed.
If there is an existence that gives a reward for passing through an appropriate trial, it will be a great power.
That’s probably why the wizard created the existence of the contractor.
[I don’t know if it’s mercy or not, but it wasn’t a bad story to me either, so I accepted it. Because it’s better than dying as it is
.]
The ghost muttered as if he was embarrassed.
Taesan asked.
“What about the contractor?”
[It will be different. I was visited by the wizard himself. If you accept, you become a contractor or not.]
“Who is that wizard?”
The one who made the labyrinth. It was helped by the gods, but it was a space of this size. Maybe even stronger than the Transcendentalists.
The ghost was silent for a moment.
[I can’t answer.]
“Is it a secret?”
[Similar. If you go downstairs, you’ll find out naturally.]
It wasn’t an urgent matter right away, so I didn’t ask.
About halfway through the desert, a wind suddenly came up in front of Mount Tai.
The wind engulfed the sand and gradually increased its body, eventually forming a huge sandstorm.
‘Are you seriously trying to kill me?’
Kagagakak!
I made up my mind to avoid it, but it was too big. A mountain-sized sandstorm quickly engulfed Mount Tai.
The strong wind tries to blow away the body, and the sand hits Taesan’s body.
[You activated Shedding.]
[You activated Hardiness.] I
used skills, but there was no meaning. Most activated skills exert great power with a single attack. It didn’t mean much to an infinite number of attacks like a sandstorm.
“It doesn’t pass.”
It had endured for a long time, but the sandstorm still engulfed Mount Tai.
[It’s only meant to kill you, so there’s no need to go anywhere else.]
In the end, I had to get out myself or erase the sandstorm. Taishan activated a frost arrow and blew it towards the center of the sandstorm, but nothing came out.
I picked up the sword and tried to swing it, but only sand hit it, and there was no special phenomenon.
“I can’t kill you.”
Although it is a natural phenomenon, I thought it could be life as it is a special case, but it was not.
Then I had no choice but to get out. Taesan activated her magic.
[You activated a slow.]
The speed of the sandstorm slowed down a bit.
‘The target skill works.’
Kwajik.
Taesan kicked his feet.
[You activate acceleration.]
Charge with the wind at your back. Haste can only be activated when there is a target. The target this time was the sandstorm itself.
The storm, which has slowed down a little due to the slow, and the acceleration that raises the speed overlap, causing the body to run.
step on the ground again
[You activate acceleration.]
The body quickly escapes the sandstorm. The sandstorm belatedly tried to chase Taishan, but Taishan had already escaped the sandstorm.
“after.”
Taesan, who was out of the safe zone, brushed off the sand on his body. The sandstorm was raging here and there, not knowing what to do.
The distance was already too wide to chase after Taesan. The difference in speed was obvious. The sandstorm that shook for a while made a decision.
“Is it going away?”
[It must be that there is no value unless it fulfills its purpose.]
The power of the sandstorm
was slowly fading. Eventually, it disappeared, leaving only the scattered sand.
And within that, something entered Taesan.
[Huh?]
[Your spirit level has been activated. I got the concept skill [???].]
Tae-san muttered nervously at the system window that suddenly appeared.
“what?”
“Why is this triggered?”
spiritual rise. When killing an opponent, take the opponent’s power. It was written like that, and the activation was like that. That’s why Taesan thought that Spiritual Rise was a skill that could only be activated against life.
However, there was an activation that negated the idea so far.
[Uh.]
The ghost looked bewildered.
[…The sandstorm was meant to kill you. And I couldn’t kill you So it’s understandable that it went like you’ve won… Why did the spirit rise?]
“You know it’s me?”
Taesan was also embarrassed.
“Rather than that, what skill is this?”
[Concept skill: ???]
[Proficiency level: 3%]
[???]
There was only ??? written on it and nothing. The only information that could be known was the concept skill.
“What is Concept Skill?”
[It’s the first one I’ve seen.]
It’s a skill that even ghosts don’t know about. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if the ghosts that went down to the depths didn’t know, most of the adventurers in the labyrinth didn’t know.
The troubled ghost groaned.
[No way…]
“Does anything come to mind?”
[There is, but…]
The ghost shook his head.
[Not sure yet. I’ll let you know when things get sorted out.]
He seemed unsure. I was taken aback because it was so sudden, but looking at it calmly, it was an easy way to acquire a new skill. It wasn’t a bad thing for Tae-san.
Taesan went even further. As a result of leaving the desert and passing the fields without any problems, I was able to see a huge cliff.
Quadduk.
The cliff collapsed. The falling debris escaped from the influence of gravity and began to fly towards Taesan like a cannonball.
‘I’ve tried all sorts of experiences.’
To think that the cliff was collapsing and attacking himself. It was something to be talked about forever.
[You activated Mental Acceleration.]
Taesan swung his sword with serious eyes. It knocks down flying stones and sends them away.
While properly mixing the dancer’s dance and wolf teeth, she removes them one by one. As much as all the cliffs
collapsed, it poured like rain, but I used my coolness, mental acceleration, and sword skills to beat it.
They cut it off without too much trouble, but there were too many of them. My fingertips started to tingle. Taesan waved his hand with a frown on his face.
Kwajik.
A block of stone the size of a house breaks into fragments. There is a slight scratch on the back of the hand.
It’s not just a boulder. Perhaps because of the will of the world, it can break through even Taesan’s defenses.
Taesan, who was blocking it with his tongue, saw something.
“What is that?”
There was a circular aura of gray inside the collapsed cliff.
[yes? What?]
“The one on the cliff over there.”
[…I can’t see it?]
It seemed that only Taesan could see it.
‘Is it because of the skill?’
Sandstorm disappeared and gained ??? It could have been because of the skill.
After thinking for a moment, Taesan gave strength to his feet.
[You activate acceleration.]
Charge toward the falling stones like meteorites. He waved his sword and kicked it with his feet. Avoid what can’t be stopped, hit what can’t be avoided, and quickly approach the cliff.
The stones poured down violently, as if telling them not to come any closer, but it was already too late.
Taesan stabbed the gray aura with his sword.
The stones that were pouring down with willpower fell under the influence of gravity. At the same time, energy was absorbed by Taesan.
[Ohhh?]
[Your spirit level has been activated. ???’s mastery has risen by 2%.]
Certainly. The gray energy was attacking Taishan.
Maybe something related to the stars. Seeing that it was invisible to the ghost, there was a good chance that the locals didn’t even notice it.
“What kind of skill is this?”
[Concept skill: ???]
[Proficiency level: 3%] The word
[will of will ???]
has been added, but the unknown remains the same. Taesan calmly closed the skill window and the ghost groaned inwardly.
‘Will… is it?’
The ghost did not see the gray aura, but it was vaguely guessed. The world of Hafran was destroyed
because the star itself tried to kill the world.
The collapse of the sandstorm cliff that appeared to kill Taishan this time was also an extension of that.
It was the will of the stars that did not allow them to be alive.
Against such will, Taesan overcame it. In a sense, it was safe to say that he had won.
That is, they extort power from defeated enemies. When you think about it, it wasn’t a story that made no sense at all.
‘But…
the ghost was perplexed.
‘Is this power allowed to humans?’
I was astonished when I learned about the skill of raising the spirit. Every time you defeat an enemy, your stats go up. In addition, if you win against an adventurer, your skill will be taken away.
It wasn’t meant lightly. A skill is something that can only be acquired through a lot of effort and talent. The spirit level increase meant that those skills could be robbed at random.
Simply put, if Taesan
defeated the person who learned the Airak weapon technique, he could have obtained the Airak weapon technique.
However, there was a limit to defeating the enemy.
That’s why the ghost thought that the spirit elevation was a skill to kill an enemy who possessed something, whether it be a physical body or a spiritual body, and steal what was inside. In that way, it was also a clearly defined skill.
‘But… it’s higher-level than that.’
The sandstorm and the collapse of the cliff are the will of the stars and, in a way, the world itself.
Taishan has won against the will of the world.
So, the spiritual rise has usurped the power of the world.
It meant a skill that was not simply stolen from the body, but also robbed in concept.
And if the stealing skill is low, you can’t steal anything.
In other words, the elevation of the spirit had a higher level than the will of the star itself.
‘This is rather than a power granted to mortals.’
above.
Granted only to transcendentalists…
“Hey there’?”
[Huh?]
“Is that the destination? It just looks that way.”
Taesan looked at the map. A small forest of achromatic colors was visible.
The ghost, who came to his senses, answered.
[that’s right. I also took my roots from a place like that.]
The ghost erased his thoughts. If he had really reached that level,
he would not have been trapped in a mortal body.
‘Still, is it going to be just below that level? This makes me more curious about the past.’
While the ghost was thinking alone, Taishan went deep into the forest. Achromatic trees creaked and made menacing noises, and Taesan didn’t pay any attention.
“Is that it?”
About halfway through, there was a huge tree. It was so huge that you wouldn’t think it was a tree.
Unusually, the roots of the trees
were sticking out and the shape was irregularly disturbed.
I could tell at a glance.
That was the root of randomness.
Level up with skill
