Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 513: Floor 94, Easy Mode (6)
The space was so distorted that it was nearly impossible to perceive anything with the naked eye. Though Taesan possessed vision-related skills, the limitations of his Easy Mode body were clear.
So he relied on his memory.
He etched fleeting memories into his body, operating like a programmed machine. He recorded the spores' positions and the required actions for each loop and executed them flawlessly.
Crash-crash-crash!
[You dealt 1546 damage to a spore.]
Without Physical Time Acceleration, or the ability to enhance the overall speed of his body, even such mechanical precision would not have sufficed to keep up with the acceleration.
For now, he managed. His mind raced without pause as he deflected a spore lightly to the side. Despite the seemingly gentle touch, the spore was hurled away as if struck by a truck, thanks to his acceleration.
He swung his sword. The deflected spore was split apart by the next loop’s Taesan.
His damage output began to approach 2000.
And then, the problems began.
‘Keeping up is becoming difficult.’
He was making the best decisions and executing the best actions possible. Yet, processing the spores was gradually becoming harder.
[What are you even doing?]
Bardray had long since given up trying to understand Taesan’s actions. Even adventurers who had reached the deepest levels of Alone Mode wouldn’t be able to grasp his current movements.
Slash!
Taesan slashed through a spore and immediately shifted his stance. His movements were as precise as a delay-free machine.
Clang!
The outcome was close, far too close. A spore barely brushed past his sword. A moment of hesitation, even a fraction, would have resulted in failure.
Even with perfect judgment, his speed couldn’t keep up with his acceleration.
‘How did I even manage this before?’
Taesan found himself astonished at his past self. Despite having all the knowledge and experience now, acquiring this skill felt nearly impossible. Yet, his Easy Mode self had achieved it.
‘At this rate...’
He wouldn’t be able to acquire Multiplication.
His current attack power was 49. To activate Multiplication, he needed to deal 2401 damage. He was only in the low 2000s—an achievement that was already near-impossible—but it wasn’t enough.
‘...I have no choice.’
After a brief moment of deliberation, Taesan made a decision. He wasn’t sure how the system would interpret his actions, but it was better than outright failure.
He called upon a fragment of what he once had, a part of his original self that lay dormant within him.
Ssssmirr.
The world responded instantly, attempting to intervene. The labyrinth, as if rejecting his existence, tried to expel him.
‘Get lost.’
Taesan crushed the interference.
An almost omnipotent sense filled his entire being. In an instant, he could perceive the entirety of the labyrinth through pure intuition.
The time it took to reach this state was so brief that it was imperceptible to any human. With his eyes closed, Taesan moved.
Crash-crash-crash!
[You dealt 2087 damage to a spore.]
He didn’t see. He didn’t calculate. He didn’t analyze possibilities.
He simply moved, relying solely on his instincts.
Slash!
And with that alone, the spores were cleaved one by one.
No matter how fast calculations were or how optimal his decisions, there was always a delay between thought and action.
But the current Taesan bypassed such limitations. He acted purely on instinct and sense.
That was enough to handle the spores.
Boom!
He fell like a meteor—or even faster. At speeds that would incinerate any physical matter, he plummeted again and again.
Slice, slice, slice. His damage continued to rise.
His body began to struggle to keep up with the speed of his descent. Yet it didn’t matter. His near-omniscient senses acted like foresight, anticipating every move.
The spores were split apart.
His body forcibly kept pace with his senses. Loop after loop, dozens of times, he repeated this process. Finally, he reached his goal.
Crash-crash-crash!
[You dealt 2402 damage to a spore.]
He surpassed 2401.
At that moment, the system window filled his vision.
[You have raised your damage to the squared threshold. The special activation skill Multiplication has been acquired.]
[You have controlled your environment and forcibly manipulated the situation to achieve your desired outcome. The special activation skill Forced Reach has been acquired.]
***
He had done it.
Taesan quickly retrieved a potion.
[You have used a Potion of Physical Reset.]
BOOM!
A tremendous recoil surged through Taesan’s body.
Without the system’s assistance, the force alone would have killed him outright—a force potent enough to harm even an S-rank monster if properly utilized.
Tap.
Suppressing the shock, Taesan landed on the ground.
“Good. That worked out.”
What he had summoned wasn’t physical power or higher capabilities but purely his sense. Since only his perception had been invoked, his physical abilities remained unchanged, ensuring the skill acquisition conditions weren’t violated.
Even so, invoking such a sense was a gamble. He couldn’t predict how the altered variables might impact Multiplication’s acquisition requirements. Thankfully, it worked without complications.
“Phew.”
Taesan exhaled deeply as the omnipotent sense that had overwhelmed him faded away.
His body, however, was in terrible condition.
Though he had avoided receiving direct damage, the speed of his descent had pushed his body to the brink of disintegration. While his stamina hadn’t been depleted, his physical exhaustion was another matter entirely. His body trembled, barely holding itself together.
His razor-sharp focus, like an overheated machine, collapsed under its own weight.
Yet, Taesan’s emotions burned more fiercely than ever.
Despite his attempts to mask it, his expression betrayed the profound feeling of accomplishment.
He climbed back up to the upper floors and drank from the Fountain of Life.
Opening his skill window, Taesan confirmed the fruits of his labor:
[Special Activation Skill: Multiplication]
[Mana Cost: 30]
[Effect: Squares your damage. Cooldown: 1 hour.]
A powerful card—one capable of delivering damage exceeding billions.
At last, Multiplication was his.
[...You actually did it.]
Bardray, who had finally collected his thoughts, muttered in awe.
[Multiplication. Wow. Truly incredible.]
Though Bardray trusted Taesan completely, even he had been skeptical this time. Utilizing Landing to leverage acceleration and achieve squared damage while successfully attacking during each loop—the conditions were absurdly demanding.
Yet, Taesan had done it. Even if he used a workaround at the end, the achievement remained remarkable.
Akasha, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.
[Master... what exactly are you?]
“Why?”
[I mean... this is just... this is... astonishing.]
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“Now that I think about it, this is your first time seeing something like this.”
Since obtaining Akasha, Taesan hadn’t seriously attempted to acquire a skill. Bardray had seen skills like Addition and Forced Duel before, but this was Akasha’s first encounter with Multiplication.
[Do all skills require such feats to obtain?]
“Not all, but it’s similar.”
[Master, you are...]
Akasha fell silent for a moment, then spoke again, her voice filled with reverence.
[You are extraordinary.]
“It’s nothing special. Just desperation to grow stronger.”
Despite his modest words, Taesan himself was slightly surprised.
‘Was it always this intense?’
Even with the penalty of invoking his original sense, it had been a perilous challenge.
To think he had achieved this skill in the past with such meager stats and no combat experience—it was astonishing.
Of course, the method back then had been different. Without any time constraints, he had continuously purchased Physical Reset Potions.
And then he attempted, and attempted again.
Waiting for the miracle where the spores perfectly aligned with his movements.
‘I think it took me decades.’
He couldn’t even remember the exact duration. By the end, he had been half-insane from the repetitive attempts.
Now, he had compressed what took decades into a mere month.
“Ha.”
Thinking back on it, it was absurd.
At the time, he hadn’t known if the skill would be useful or even attainable. Yet, he had invested a lifetime’s worth of effort into it.
And it wasn’t just Multiplication. Many other attempts had consumed similar time spans, often yielding nothing.
Still, he had never faltered.
He simply repeated the process and tried again.
“I wasn’t exactly normal either.”
[Not ‘exactly.’ You were absolutely not normal.]
Taesan chuckled. Still, it wasn’t bad. By acquiring the skill differently this time, he had also gained something new.
[Special Activation Skill: Forced Reach]
[Mana Cost: 50]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[Effect: Achieve your desired result through force. However, impossible goals cannot be achieved, and all penalties incurred during the process must be borne by you. If the penalties exceed your capacity, the skill will fail.]
“What kind of skill is this?”
The description made it sound omnipotent.
Of course, there were clear limitations. Impossible outcomes couldn’t be achieved, and the risks and penalties had to be endured.
What exactly did “achieving through force” mean?
To understand, Taesan focused on the far end of the 80th-floor room. It was quite expansive. With his current physical abilities, it would take him several seconds to reach the other wall, even at full speed.
He desired to reach the opposite wall as quickly as possible.
[You have activated Forced Reach.]
The skill activated.
Taesan prepared to dash forward, but an intense pain enveloped him.
His entire body surged with pressure. Veins burst as his muscles swelled. His heart pounded at an impossibly rapid pace, nearly exploding.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, Taesan reached the wall. Or rather, he collided with it.
[What?!]
Bardray was startled.
Taesan’s movement rivaled that of an adventurer in Alone Mode at the 50th floor.
While that level of speed wasn’t extraordinary in itself—even Easy Mode Taesan could achieve it with skills like Super Acceleration and Physical Time Acceleration—what was shocking was that Taesan had used no speed-related skills.
His current body had stats barely exceeding 100.
Yet, with just those stats, he had reached a speed comparable to a high-level adventurer.
Splat!
Blood vessels across his body burst. His muscles tore, and his heart felt on the verge of exploding.
Blood didn’t merely stain the floor; it pooled into a sizable puddle.
Taesan grimaced.
His limbs trembled, his body drenched in blood. Torn muscles barely kept him upright.
[You have taken 5 damage.]
[You have taken 8 damage.]
[You have taken 7 damage.]
The damage persisted, rapidly depleting half his health.
Dragging his battered body, Taesan approached the Fountain of Life.
[You are now in perfect condition.]
“Phew.”
All his injuries vanished as the healing took effect. Taesan massaged his sore muscles.
‘...This is.’
His eyes darkened.
Having spent more time in the labyrinth than anyone else, he could tell—when he activated Forced Reach, his body temporarily exceeded the boundaries imposed by the system itself.
