Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 461: The Seventh Return, Earth (13)

Amélia readily accepted.

Taesan immediately began the apostolic contract.

[You have proposed an apostolic contract to Amélia.]

“I accept.”

Amélia nodded. As the contract was completed, the two of them began to connect.

“Hmm.”

“Huh?”

A voice echoed. Taesan groaned, and Amélia, startled, reacted.

It was a strange sensation.

They were connected. Taesan’s power and rank enveloped Amélia.

“Ugh.”

Amélia groaned. A thick, strong, and foreign power settled within her soul and body.

“...Is this the feeling?”

Taesan clenched and opened his fist repeatedly. He, too, felt a sense of discomfort, much like Amélia.

Amélia was inside him.

Though he could grasp her thoughts and feelings through the will of all things, now he could even comprehend what was deeper within her.

[You have obtained Apostle [Amélia Aerin].]

[She has sworn eternal loyalty to you.]

[You have created your first apostle. She will protect you and carry out your will, capable of many things.]

[You can give commands to your apostle. If you genuinely desire it, the apostle cannot refuse.]

There were countless system windows that couldn’t be seen in one glance.

Amélia, too, was quickly scanning the air.

Amélia had become Taesan’s apostle.

Once the confirmation was complete, Amélia looked at Taesan with a slightly puzzled expression.

“Uh, Taesan...-nim?”

“Why the formal speech all of a sudden?”

“Well, since I’ve become an apostle, I thought I should address you properly.”

“No need. Just treat me as usual.”

“...Got it.”

Though Amélia looked uncomfortable, she spoke casually as she normally would.

“Calling you informally feels weird. Is this some kind of blasphemy?”

“Does it matter?”

What mattered wasn’t the attitude. What was important was what she had gained and what she could do.

“So, how does it feel to become an apostle?”

“It’s strange. It feels like part of you has settled within me.”

“Then let’s test it.”

Taesan drew his sword. Amélia grinned and readied her weapon.

Whoooosh!

The two engaged in a spar.

Taesan held back a bit, observing her movements. What he learned was:

“There’s not much change after all.”

Amélia had become faster and more precise. With this alone, Amélia before becoming an apostle could not have defeated the current version of herself.

But it wasn’t a massive transformation for someone who had become an apostle. Amélia spoke.

“They say I’m still not qualified to fully wield the power of an apostle. But I did get the skill Apostlehood.”

“Try using it.”

It was a skill Taesan also had. He prompted her to activate Apostlehood.

[Amélia has activated Apostlehood.]

“Ugh.”

Amélia let out a small groan.

The rank and power of Taesan that resided within her instantly amplified and enveloped her entire body.

In the blink of an eye, she reached a level she had never attained before. Taesan gestured for her to come back.

“Come back.”

“Ah, okay.”

Amélia stomped her foot.

Clang!

She became faster and stronger. At this point, even facing an S-class monster would be within her reach.

The duration, like Taesan’s, was one hour, with a cooldown of one day. Considering that Taesan was able to defeat formidable opponents with the help of Apostlehood, this was a significant change.

“This is amazing.”

Amélia couldn’t hide her admiration.

She had surpassed a level she couldn’t reach before, jumping past a previously blocked threshold in an instant.

And now she could wield divine power.

Compared to Taesan, she was a mere firefly before the sun, but being able to recover during battle made it highly useful.

However, she didn’t gain any greater power. Other apostles could handle certain divine abilities, but Amélia had gained nothing else.

“There’s no such thing as divine power. What I got is just Apostlehood and divine power, that’s it.”

Taesan tried to use his own energy to grant her a divine power.

What he intended to give her was the soul skill Destroyer.

But Amélia couldn’t accept it. She groaned in pain, unable to handle the power. Eventually, Taesan gave up on bestowing her the power.

“Is it a restriction?”

[You have not yet fully mastered your strength and rank as a god. There are restrictions to your divine powers.]

He had become the god of Earth.

But he was still in an incomplete position, influenced by people’s faith.

Maybe when time passed, and people’s faith stabilized and Taesan reached a higher level, he could fully control his divine powers. It seemed that’s why even though Amélia had become an apostle, she still had limitations with the Apostlehood skill.

Once he was fully qualified, Amélia would surely gain her full powers as an apostle.

But Amélia was satisfied.

“This is enough for me. Honestly, it’s the best skill I’ve gotten so far. But I don’t think you could give me this level of power for nothing. Did you feel any energy drain?”

“There is, but it’s negligible.”

It was an extremely small, almost negligible drain. Given the gap between Taesan and Amélia, it was virtually nonexistent.

The apostolic contract.

Though there were restrictions now, they would disappear with further growth.

Then, it wouldn’t just be Amélia. He would be able to form apostolic contracts with other players in the Arlon mode as well.

As Taesan finished confirming the new abilities he had gained, Amélia, while examining the system windows, tilted her head.

“This seems strange. Why is it empty?”

“What’s empty?”

“Your divine name, I guess? The part with your name is blank.”

“...Explain in more detail.”

Taesan asked seriously.

Amélia’s explanation was simple.

She had received a system window showing who her contracted god was.

But the first part of Taesan’s name was missing.

[ Kang Taesan ]

“This is how it is.”

Taesan stroked his chin.

The god of Bequeseta. Hamon was the god of light born from the earth.

Levinof was the goddess of love.

The divine name signifies the essence of a god.

Right now, he was the god of Earth.

But that was a state reached through the faith of the masses. It couldn’t be called his true essence.

The fact that it was empty meant one of two things.

Either he hadn’t obtained his true essence as a god.

Or the system of the labyrinth itself couldn’t comprehend the essence that Taesan held.

My essence.

He focused on understanding it. Taesan set his next goal.

“Alright. Let’s go back then.”

“Yeah.”

Taesan stomped his foot. Thanks to Taesan matching his speed, Amélia was able to follow without difficulty.

She stared blankly at Taesan’s back.

...It’s so vast.

Now that they had entered the apostolic contract, she could sense Taesan’s power deeply.

Taesan was enormous.

He was like the sun, a force so intense that it could reduce someone like her to ash in an instant.

Amélia was feeling the same emotions that Taesan had felt looking at the transcendents up until now.

...Hmm?

As Amélia examined Taesan’s power, she discovered something.

Deep within the heart of Taesan. Something was settled there.

She was Taesan’s apostle, the closest being to him in this world.

But even she couldn’t understand what it was.

Amélia tried to observe it more closely, but in the blink of an eye, that something vanished deeper into the abyss.

What is that?

She tilted her head but couldn’t figure out what it was.

There were four days remaining until their return to Earth.

During that time, Taesan used the Demon Realm to create some black magic spells that could be useful to people. Though the mana consumption was very low, they filled the gaps that people had, and they were deeply moved by it.

In addition, he gave advice on acquiring skills and strategies. People listened to Taesan’s words with serious faces.

Amélia, along with other Arlon mode players, continued to spar.

Among them, the one showing the most significant change was Amélia.

Clang! Clang!

“Hoh.”

Diana let out an exclamation.

“You’ve become stronger.”

“I’m an apostle now. I should be able to do this much.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. You’ve really gotten stronger.”

Diana had always thought that Amélia was exceptional, but her talent didn’t reach Diana’s level.

But now, the movements she was showing were entirely different.

Having let go of her doubts about herself, she had begun to awaken her talent.

“I can’t just stand by, can I?”

Diana gripped her sword with a serious expression. Lee Taeyeon, who was standing beside Taesan, muttered.

“Amélia is an apostle. It seems fitting. It looks like her inner struggles have been resolved.”

“Did you know?”

“That’s my specialty, isn’t it? Doubting oneself and eating away at one’s own talent.”

Lee Taeyeon said proudly. Taesan chuckled lightly.

“That’s not really something to be proud of, is it?”

“From the outside, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I’m glad you solved it.”

She suddenly let out a laugh.

“So, you made an apostle... You’re truly a god. You’ve come so far.”

“I have come far. But the road ahead is long.”

And on the last day before returning to the labyrinth.

Taesan began to prepare.

Kiiying!

Divinity covered the entire Earth. People let out gasps of awe.

Taesan, who had exerted a great influence, declared:

“Die.”

[You have activated the Declaration of Death.]

Crack!

Divinity exploded.

The monsters remaining throughout the Earth were crushed and flattened. Though they struggled, the divinity that enveloped the world trampled them as though it were divine punishment.

In an instant, all the monsters left in the world were obliterated. People erupted into cheers.

After handling the last monster, Taesan gathered the divinity together.

He then released it toward the black hole in the sky.

Kwoooosh!

The clash of powers.

Space distorted and the world trembled.

Taesan grimaced.

The hole in the sky remained unchanged, as though mocking him.

It’s still insufficient.

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But next time, it would be different.

Taesan contained his power. The people’s bodies began to return to the labyrinth.

Lee Taeyeon waved his hand.

“Well then, see you next time.”

Taesan nodded in response.

And then, they returned to the labyrinth.

[Monster Disposal Bonus + 2443]

[Apostle Defeat Bonus + 3154]

[Fragment of the High God Defeat Bonus + 6814]

[Victory Bonus + 1115]

[Settlement Complete]

[15,876 points have been granted.]

As soon as they left Earth and returned to the labyrinth, Taesan’s high rank and divinity began to fall.

He was the god of Earth. When he left Earth, his powers became restricted. With the fall of his rank, his omnipotence disappeared. Taesan quietly assessed himself.

I’m barely hanging on as a transcendent.

His rank had been reduced to the point where even the powers of a transcendent couldn’t be fully used.

But I’ve surpassed immortality.

He was still a transcendent. This was less than what he had expected.

Taesan checked the link with Amélia. She was settled in the labyrinth, checking her points.

[Can you hear me?]

[Huh?]

Amélia startled, looking around.

[...Taesan?]

[I can hear you.]

The apostolic contract was a transcendental privilege that ignored even divergent dimensions. While it didn’t matter much due to the community, the ability to check in real-time was quite appealing.

[This is amazing.]

[Keep going down. If you need me, just pray and call me.]

[Yeah. Thanks.]

Taesan checked his earned points.

15,876 points.

Adding to the points he had earned before, it exceeded this amount.

Now, what should he use this points for? Just as he was starting to think about it, the labyrinth began to shake.

“Balbabamba.”

Perhaps because he had become a transcendent, he immediately sensed the gathering and consolidation of power. Soon, the labyrinth’s administrator, Balbabamba, appeared.