Ascension Through Skills

And Taesan, still at the forefront, was crushing the monsters.

Kuwoong!

He stomped his foot. The earth collapsed, and the bodies of the monsters fell underground.

He swung his sword to chop them up and then stomped his foot again.

[You have activated acceleration.]

[You have activated skill acceleration.]

Kwaah!

Like a ballista, his accelerated body pierces through the monsters.

Dozens of monsters vanished with a single strike.

Cheers burst from around.

“Lord Taesan!”

“Oh! Please protect us!”

Among those who worshiped Taesan were also players from China. A significant number showed respect and admiration towards him.

[Your divine power proficiency has increased by 1%.]

Divine power also began to slowly rise. Already, a significant number of Chinese players were worshiping Taesan. Naturally, most of them were Easy Mode players.

Chinese Easy Mode players were given the status of serfs, living practically like slaves. They worshiped Zhenlong because of his overwhelming power.

But Taesan showed even greater power than Zhenlong and protected his followers, unlike Zhenlong.

It was natural that their faith was shifting to him.

Serfs talked among themselves about Taesan. The story spread, and even those who had never seen Taesan began to believe in him.

And Minerva and Barkaza were also scattered on the battlefield, defeating monsters.

The power they showed was monstrous, which strengthened the faith directed towards Taesan, their master.

Zhenlong watched this trend and gritted his teeth.

“Pathetic creatures.”

He wanted to kill them all, but he couldn’t. They were still following Zhenlong’s orders not to interact with players from other countries.

It wasn’t a direct violation of the rules; they simply worshiped Taesan.

But his anger was boiling.

The anger and irritation towards Taesan grew stronger. After defeating the monsters, Zhenlong returned to his abode and called the players.

“What brings you here, Emperor?”

Following Zhenlong’s command, the Hard Mode players who came to his abode swallowed their saliva.

They were not as strong as Zhenlong’s personal guards, the top Hard Mode players, but they still took pride in their strength. In fact, Zhenlong’s personal guards could not easily defeat them.

However, they were trembling now. There were rumors among the nobility about people who went to meet Zhenlong and never returned.

People said it was just a rumor. They must have died fighting monsters, but fear lingered in their hearts.

Zhenlong, sitting on the throne, spoke to them.

“Become mine.”

His power exploded.

A dense power engulfed the tent. They tried to run away in fright, but it was useless. They were all buried by Zhenlong’s power without any resistance.

Gururuk.

A sound as if something was being swallowed followed, and the power was retracted.

The power of the Hard Mode players he swallowed mixed inside him.

—-eu.

Zhenlong shook his head, storing the power. His head felt like it was going to break. Ever since a certain point, he felt nauseous every time he swallowed a life.

Zhenlong calmed his headache and wielded his power.

The power that exploded was significantly stronger than before.

With this power.

Zhenlong bared his teeth.

But still, it did not reach.

[Kang Taesan has activated Marbas' Pitch-Black Wave.]

The black wave that seemed to swallow the whole world trampled and crushed all the monsters.

All eyes turned to Taesan. They burst out in astonishment and cheers.

Right next to them, Zhenlong, who had been smashing dozens of monsters, was completely forgotten.

Zhenlong’s face hardened.

People’s faith was gradually shifting to Taesan.

And the proficiency of divine power noticeably increased, reaching 60%.

[Divine Power]

[Proficiency: 60%]

[The power of God. Originally meaningless, but as many people's beliefs gathered, it became divine. People's beliefs and faith have become divine, able to exert a meaningful influence on the world.]

“Faster than I thought.”

He didn’t expect it to reach 60% yet, as it had only been four days since the quest began. As expected, the number of Chinese players was overwhelmingly high, so the rise was very fast.

Kim Hwiyeon, who had been resting, approached Taesan, who was checking his skills.

“Mr. Taesan, what are you doing?”

“Checking skills.”

“Skills?”

Instead of answering, Taesan raised his hand.

Kiing.

Golden light materialized over Taesan’s hand. Kim Hwiyeon’s eyes widened.

“Uh… what?”

The light itself was not surprising. The light of the starlight arrow Taesan showed before seemed bright enough to burn one’s eyes.

In contrast, the current golden light seemed fragile, as if it would go out soon.

Her surprise was for another reason.

“No activation window?”

Usually, before using a skill, the activation system window must appear. But now, even though Taesan clearly created golden light that seemed like a skill, no activation window appeared.

“And…”

Kim Hwiyeon was mesmerized by the golden light.

A very weak, tiny light that seemed to go out if covered with a hand.

But something swelled up in Kim Hwiyeon’s heart as she looked at the light.

Pure admiration. And a feeling of faith emerged. She wanted to bow and worship the light.

There was no compulsion.

It was just what her heart wanted.

“…What is it? I’ve never seen it before.”

It wasn’t a typical skill. A sensation she had never felt before was coming from the golden light.

Taesan responded.

“Your faith. Strictly speaking, it’s not the first time you’ve seen it.”

Lakiratas and the Demon God also descended on Earth. However, Kim Hwiyeon was too weak to properly feel their divinity, so she thought it was something new.

“Huh? What is that…”

Kim Hwiyeon, not understanding, was about to ask again but closed her mouth.

“…people’s faith?”

“You catch on fast.”

“Heh.”

Kim Hwiyeon chuckled sarcastically.

“It’s hard to believe. Was that originally possible?”

“It would normally be impossible, but I’m an exception.”

He had gained divine power by defeating a god’s angel in Vekveta. That’s why he was able to receive people’s faith and gather that power together.

Otherwise, like Zhenlong, the power of people’s faith would have been scattered without direction.

What could he do with this golden light then?

Taesan looked at Kim Hwiyeon. Her face looked tired as she trembled slightly from muscle fatigue.

“Did you come here to rest?”

“Ah. Yes. I’m a bit exhausted.”

She massaged her arms. Kim Hwiyeon and other Korean Solo and Hard Mode players had been literally fighting monsters with all their might. They must have come to rest after reaching their physical limits.

“Just stay still for a moment.”

Taesan sent the golden light towards her. A faint pillar of light enveloped her entire body.

“What are you doing now… Huh?”

Kim Hwiyeon’s eyes widened.

Her dark complexion began to turn pinkish. The trembling muscles stopped shaking.

Her exhausted mind regained vitality, and her energy returned.

“Uh…”

And the stamina she had lost in battle was restored.

Kim Hwiyeon was very bewildered.

“No way. This.”

Physical and mental fatigue were almost impossible to recover without leveling up or drinking water from the Labyrinth’s fountain.

Taesan watched her transformation with interest.

“A recovery of stamina and fatigue. It seems not everything has recovered.”

It wasn’t like leveling up where all stamina and fatigue were restored. But she was now able to fight again.

After observing Kim Hwiyeon for a moment, Taesan manifested his divinity again. The golden light appeared, though it was weaker than before.

‘I can’t use it too often.’

The total amount wasn’t large. Additionally, the amount consumed seemed to vary depending on the recipient’s strength. It wouldn’t be a problem for a hundred Kim Hwiyeons, but for someone at Taesan’s level, it would almost be depleted with just one use.

As long as he continued to receive faith, it would refill over time, but it would take quite a while.

However, even considering that, it was a powerful force. During the battles in the Labyrinth, it was not easy to create an opportunity to use potions. But with divinity, he could restore his stamina at least once.

The specific effects would need to be checked after entering the Labyrinth, but it was excellent. Even the ghost was astonished.

[A level of divinity that should only be permitted to gods, and yet this undeveloped one handles it. Really ironic.]

“That’s amazing, Mr. Taesan…”

Kim Hwiyeon muttered blankly.

“You really are a god of Earth.”

Even Kim Hwiyeon, who did not regard Taesan as a god, felt a reverential power in him.

Seeing her reaction, Taesan stroked his chin.

Her response indicated that merely witnessing the divinity evoked awe and worship.

What would happen if he used divinity while moving around the battlefield?

The contemplation was brief, and his action was swift. Taesan spread the power of divinity while defeating monsters. Those at the front lines, about to collapse from exhaustion, regained vitality from the golden power.

“Ooooh!”

“God! Our God!”

People cried out at the power of the golden light. Stamina was restored, and fatigue vanished. And from the light came an overwhelming sense of awe.

Even those who had been skeptical of Taesan’s power bowed their heads in respect after seeing his divinity. Their faith in him strengthened even more.

“Master. At this rate, you might as well possess true divinity.”

Minerva chuckled at the sight as Taesan’s divinity grew stronger.

And upon hearing this news, Zhenlong was on the verge of madness.

“Shut up!”

Zhenlong shouted harshly at the one who brought him the news. He trembled violently as he suppressed his anger.

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

“If you have committed a death-worthy crime, you should die!”

Energy burst forth.

The frightened man was swallowed up on the spot.

“Huff. Huff.”

Zhenlong breathed heavily.

No one was around him anymore. Those who always flattered him, and those he had always favored, had slowly distanced themselves as Zhenlong became increasingly violent.

His teeth ground together.

The respect and worship in the eyes of the people looking at him were fading.

Fear and distrust were filling their place.

That made Zhenlong unbearably angry.

“How dare they!”

Foolish beings!

They had forgotten who had been protecting them, seduced by such power!

The power mixed inside him insidiously eroded his sanity.

Zhenlong was going mad.

He was still maintaining his sanity by a slim margin, but that was also nearing its limit.

He had even swallowed up his own personal guards, whom he had always kept close.

The power he had gained swept away the monsters, but the people’s fear of him only grew larger. Just yesterday, his personal guards who had been summoned by Zhenlong to his abode had never returned.

Until now, he had managed to keep rumors from spreading, but now he no longer had the sanity to discern.

As days passed, rumors about the disappeared players spread.

And so time passed until the last day arrived.

No monsters appeared. It was eerily quiet, as if everything had ended.

But no one was happy.

Instead, they held their weapons quietly in fear.

Then a passage opened.

Dark, dense passages appeared endlessly beyond the battlefield.

“Everyone, get ready!”

Kim Hwiyeon shouted harshly. The cracked passages expanded, and monsters appeared.

[Monster 351 has appeared.]

[Monster 121 has appeared.]

[Monster 945 has appeared.]

Dozens of Grade-A monsters appeared. People’s faces turned pale. They did not know the strength proportional to the numbers, but they could feel the formidable power emanating from the monsters.

Kuwoong!

The ground trembled.

A mountainous black giant appeared.

Holding a club in one hand, the giant looked down at the humans and opened its mouth.

Shouts rang out. People covered their ears in pain. Their bodies, tempered in the Labyrinth, couldn’t withstand it and trembled.

[Monster 14 has appeared.]