Ascension Through Skills

Taesan returned to the entrance and took a step forward.

Swoosh!

A single arrow flew toward him. Taesan caught it without much difficulty and came to a conclusion.

The arrows were being replenished.

“Good.”

Taesan confidently stepped forward. Two more arrows flew towards him. He caught them and put them in his inventory.

Then he took a step back. He caught the identical arrows flying at him and stored them in his inventory.

And then another step forward. Two arrows flew at him, and he caught them.

Once again, he stored them in his inventory.

The number of arrows he had now was seven. A strikingly small number. But buying arrows was too expensive. At 10 gold per piece, buying just fifty would cost 500 gold.

So, he decided to gather some here.

“About a hundred should be enough.”

Taesan murmured as he caught the incoming arrows.

As he kept repeating this process, different types of arrows occasionally appeared.

[Poison Arrow] [Attack + 2] [A chance to inflict a poison condition on the target. Depending on the level and stats, it may fail.] [Paralysis Arrow] [Attack + 2] [A chance to inflict a paralysis condition on the target. Depending on the level and stats, it may fail.]

“All kinds of things are flying at me.”

He quickly placed them in his inventory. Both were types of arrows he didn’t have because he couldn’t afford them. After about half an hour, he was able to gather about a hundred.

He had managed to collect quite a few.

Taesan sorted out his inventory. Eighty regular arrows. Ten poison arrows. Ten paralysis arrows.

The same items could be stacked up to twenty, and the inventory had a total of twenty slots. He had used up six slots. It was a satisfying result. With this amount, he could make do until the next floor.

“This is quite good.”

It was a sort of trick.

The labyrinth was designed to prevent users from taking the arrows from the traps. The moment an arrow shot from a trap hit something, it was programmed to shatter. No user on the first floor could catch an arrow, and once they got past the first floor, there was no reason to waste time in such a place. So, it was a reasonably fair mechanism.

But Taesan’s agility was at 25. Even in Solo Mode, it was a stat that couldn’t be achieved normally on the first floor. He was already approaching a quarter of his previous life’s stat total. Catching one or two arrows was no big deal. Thanks to this, he was able to collect quite a few.

‘Now then.’

Taesan took a small breath. It was time to break through the arrow trap.

If he only thought about breaking through, it would be incredibly simple. Taesan had a tower shield. He could just hold it up and proceed.

However, his goal was not just to receive a reward. He had to draw more out of the process.

Tap.

Taesan stomped his foot. He didn’t plan to take slow, measured steps. In an instant, he stepped to the middle of the trapped floor.

Peep, peep, peep, pik!

A whistling sound resonated as five arrows flew at him.

He dodged an arrow aimed at his head by tilting it. He kicked away one aimed at his leg. With both hands, he caught one arrow in each.

The remaining arrow was aimed at Taesan’s abdomen. With the hand that caught the arrow, Taesan slapped it away. The arrow pinged as it hit the wall.

He leaped again. As he stepped on the floor, nine arrows shot out at once. Listening to the sharp whistling sound, Taesan took a deep breath.

[You have activated the Breathless Attack. You will be able to breathe freely for the next 10 seconds.]

Breathing does not interfere with movement. Hence his movement was maximized.

[The proficiency of your Field of Vision has increased by 2%.] [You confirm everything visible to the eye. Your field of vision, which should have narrowed in combat, appears to widen.]

Three in front. Two on the left. Three on the right. One aimed at his feet. It was difficult to avoid them all.

[Your Proficiency in Perception has increased by 2%.] [Your Proficiency in Calmness has increased by 1%.]

Yet, his heart did not waver.

[You have heightened your senses in a crisis situation. You have gained a special constant activation skill: Enhanced Senses.]

His senses were sharpened. He could sense where the arrows were coming from without seeing them.

The arrows did not all shoot at once. There was a slight delay. He first avoided the ones closest to him. He tilted his head and felt the arrow graze his hair.

Now there were eight left.

He moved his leg to fend off an arrow. He caught one with each hand.

Now there were five left. One on the left. Three in front. One on the right.

All of the remaining arrows were aimed at his chest. It was impossible to completely block them all as they flew from different directions.

So, he ignored what he should ignore. The arrow from the right was the fastest.

[You have activated Deflection. The next attack will be deflected.]

The arrow coming from the right twisted right in front of Taesan’s waist.

“Damn!”

The arrow from the right grazed his skin but did not pierce him.

[You have taken 8 damage.]

The damage was bearable. Moreover, ignoring the arrow from the right had given him some leeway in his movements.

He grabbed and knocked away the arrows from the front. He cleared them all together as their paths overlapped. He also immediately knocked down the arrow from the left. The arrow broke as it hit the ground.

Tap.

And finally, Taesan stepped on the floor again.

Peep

Taesan’s eyes flickered. Fifteen arrows were shot at him.

‘Crazy.’

The number of arrows shot depended on the number of bricks on the floor. He had expected ten at the end, but suddenly five more were added. Taesan clicked his tongue and quickly moved his arm.

[You have activated the Counter Attack. You are free to counterattack for the next 10 seconds.]

Fortunately, as there were many arrows, the majority of their trajectories overlapped.

He grabbed an arrow coming from the left with his left arm and threw it. The thrown arrow collided with another one, and both flew off in strange directions.

He tilted his head to the left to dodge an arrow and immediately turned it to the right. Two arrows that came with a slight delay hit the distant wall.

The arrows from the right perfectly overlapped in their trajectory. This meant that he could fend them all off with a single move. He shook his right arm, and three arrows dropped.

He moved his foot and stepped on two arrows.

Still, five were left. But there was no room to block them. The arrows had already reached him.

Then he might as well not block them. Taesan pulled his arms back, and the arrows struck them.

“Ugh…”

Taesan groaned. The sharp sensation of the arrows digging in was incredibly unpleasant.

Five separate damage windows showed 16 damage, and a system window appeared together.

[You have become disabled.] [You have started bleeding. Your health continues to decrease.]

“Damn.”

Blood flowed down his arm. The pain from the arrows having seemingly struck the bone traveled up his spine.

“Hurts like hell.”

If he hadn’t experienced this several times in the past, he’d be rolling on the floor by now.

[You have experienced terrible pain. You have gained a special constant activation skill: Pain Reduction.]

Gaining the skill slightly reduced the pain, but there was not much difference. There were usable skills and unusable skills depending on the level of proficiency, and Pain Reduction was the former.

Still, it wasn’t bad. Sweating cold sweat, he broke the notch of the arrows.

[Health: 54/140]

There was enough health left. He could afford to take the hits since he had already determined that the damage wouldn’t kill him.

He could fully recover once he reached the Fountain of Life, so he just needed to move slowly, even in a disabled and bleeding state.

There was still something to be gained.

‘If I had avoided everything, I would have been hit deliberately on the way back, but that’s no longer necessary.’

Taesan pulls the lever next to the box. The sound of something breaking echoed from inside the wall.

Now the arrows would no longer be fired. And it was time for the reward.

Taesan opened the box with a throbbing heart. Inside it was a red staff.

Taesan was so surprised that he even forgot the pain.

“A staff already?”

Staves were used for healing, summoning water, creating flames, obscuring vision, or hypnotizing targets.

A staff could be used for magic and held a variety of powers. Even having just one made navigating the labyrinth considerably easier. It was a valuable item.

And in Easy Mode, this item would barely make an appearance after passing the twentieth floor. Even in Hard Mode, it would not show up until after the tenth floor, at the least. It was hard to understand that it had shown up right from the first floor, regardless of being in Solo Mode.

“Could it be a blunt weapon disguised as a staff?”

Taesan checked the staff with some skepticism.

[Flame Staff] [A staff used by novice magicians. Basic magic [Fireball] can be used.]

“…… It’s real.”

And it was the Flame Staff, which was much more valuable than other magics in the early game.

‘Is this the average for Solo Mode?’

There was no comparison since Lee Taeyeon rarely broke through the secret rooms. If this was the average, things would be much easier in the future.

However, the reward was not without cost. The fifteen arrows that flew at him at the end were only blockable because he had gained so much; an ordinary human would have been instantly killed.

Perhaps there were those who found this place in their past lives, but they died without breaking through, so it never became known.

Taesan picked up the staff and turned around. It was time to return to the Fountain of Life.

“Squeak! Squeak!”

On his way back, a Big Rat appeared and attacked him. Although he couldn’t use one arm, his stats were good enough that it was not a problem.

However, Taesan did not immediately kill the creature and prolonged the fight. Around the time the Big Rat was becoming exhausted, a system window appeared.

[Despite being in a disabled state for a long time, you had no issues with your actions. You have obtained a special activation skill [Unyielding Will].]

“Good.”

It was a skill that could be obtained when one fought for a long time while disabled. He had obtained the skill he wanted, and so Taesan then stepped on the Big Rat.

“Squeak!”

[You have defeated the Big Rat.]

He cleared the windows that appeared. There was no reason to check them all since he was not leveling up, and there were no stat increases.

[You are now in peak condition.]

Upon returning to the Fountain of Life, Taesan restored his health and checked the skills he had gained.

[Special Passive Skill: Pain Reduction] [Proficiency: 1%] [You become somewhat numb to pain. However, your senses do not become numb.] [Special Passive Skill: Sensory Enhancement] [Proficiency: 1%] [Your senses are enhanced. For now, you may only notice a slight difference.]

Both were decent skills. They may not be of great use right now. Still, as their proficiency increased, they exponentially became more beneficial and powerful. Increasing the proficiency was not difficult as it naturally increased by simply fighting and progressing through the maze.

[Special Activation Skill: Unyielding Will] [Mana Consumption: 1] [Proficiency: 1%] [All manner of injuries and wounds cannot halt your fighting spirit. During battle, you can ignore injuries and fight for 10 seconds.]

It was a skill that was a lower-tier version of Unstoppable Power. It allowed him to ignore all status abnormalities.

Being able to ignore injuries even temporarily was a fairly useful skill.

And the skill attached to the Flame Staff, Fireball.

[Basic Magic: Fireball] [Mana Consumption: 3] [Proficiency: 1%] [Shoots a fireball. It deals more damage to enemies without immunity. Attempts to afflict the target with the abnormal status [Burn].]

It was the same skill that he had seen before.

“This is awesome.”

There were endless ways to use it. With a joyful face, Taesan placed the staff into his inventory.

“Is it about time to end?”

It seemed that he had gained everything he could from the first floor.

It was time to descend.

Taesan stood up and walked through the labyrinth. The path leading to the second floor could be found in no time.

The door, which was a crimson color, made it clear that this was a different place. It was hard to mistake it.

This was the path leading to the second floor.

And, as always, there was a boss guarding each floor’s threshold.

Taesan raised his shield and opened the door. A staircase leading down appeared. And a monster guarding the place was also visible.

“Squeeeak.”

Its basic appearance was similar to the Big Rat. Black, sharp fur. Ugly, protruding teeth.

But it was bigger. A rodent the size of a human was in the room. Its red eyes were sneakily targeting him.

“So this is the boss of the first floor.”

A formidable boss whose sharp claws had killed quite a few players. It had been the boss of the 10th floor in Easy Mode.

“Squeeeaaak!”

[A Giant Rat has appeared.]