Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 514: Floor 94, Easy Mode (7)
Muscle tears. Such a thing shouldn’t happen when the system provided support to the body. No matter how fast one ran, their muscles shouldn’t rupture.
This skill could surpass the boundaries of the system.
After a brief contemplation, Taesan activated the skill again.
[You have activated Forced Reach.]
This time, his wish was to fly.
Nothing happened. A silent stillness settled, indicating the impossibility of the request.
“So, that’s off the table.”
Impossible desires couldn’t be fulfilled. Currently, Taesan had no way to achieve flight, so the skill refused to activate.
He drank from the fountain and tried once more.
[You have activated Forced Reach.]
This time, his desire was for his left and right arms to move in completely different ways.
As soon as the skill activated, his arms moved independently, like two entirely separate entities controlled by different minds. Their movements, speed, and patterns were perfectly distinct.
The skill ended, and Taesan returned to his usual state. There was no notable strain.
“So, no penalty for something like this.”
Moving his arms differently was something he could accomplish with a bit of focus, even without the skill. Achieving such a goal didn’t seem to incur any penalties.
Next, Taesan tested another scenario.
[You have activated Forced Reach.]
This time, he wished to double his mental processing speed.
As the skill activated, the world around him seemed to slow.
His thoughts spun at an incredible pace, making everything feel sluggish. A few moments later, the skill ended.
Drip.
Blood trickled from his nose, a sharp pain throbbed in his head, and a wave of fatigue washed over him. Taesan quickly drank from the fountain.
“So, that’s how it works.”
Clearly impossible goals, like flight, couldn’t be achieved. However, anything that pushed his physical or mental limits was possible.
The issue was that Forced Reach didn’t benefit from the system’s protections.
For example, the speed he had achieved earlier could have been matched using skills like Super Acceleration or Physical Time Acceleration, and doing so wouldn’t have caused any harm to his body.
Skills drawn from the system didn’t typically strain his body or mind to dangerous levels. Without that safeguard, Taesan wouldn’t have survived the accelerative forces required to acquire Multiplication.
But Forced Reach was different.
It allowed him to surpass his limits, but the resulting strain was borne directly by his body and mind, not mitigated by the system.
The penalties were severe.
However...
“It’s worth it.”
Forced Reach had no intrinsic restrictions. As long as the penalties were manageable, most goals could be achieved.
In essence, the skill operated beyond the system’s limitations.
This raised an intriguing possibility: if Forced Reach could transcend the labyrinth’s rules, could it also influence powers and forces not derived from the labyrinth? Perhaps it could manipulate spells, skills, or even boundaries otherwise untouchable.
Taesan would need to explore the skill’s full potential upon returning to his original world. If his calculations were correct, Forced Reach wasn’t just a top-tier skill—it might even surpass that status.
And because the skill was earned through his own effort, like Multiplication, it would remain with him after leaving the labyrinth.
“This is good.”
With both Multiplication and Forced Reach acquired, Taesan was satisfied.
[Are you going to go for another skill?]
Bardray’s tone was brimming with curiosity. It was time to attempt acquiring Designation Skill Reset.
Taesan’s expression, however, was uncertain.
“Not sure if it’s possible.”
[Huh? Why not?]
“Let’s just see.”
The skill Designation Skill Reset could be acquired on the 76th floor. Taesan began ascending, as always, cutting through the monsters that blocked his path.
[GRAAAHH!]
A massive black bear charged toward him, and Taesan calmly raised his sword.
[You have activated Addition.]
[You have activated Multiplication.]
[You dealt 9,784 damage to the Black Bear.]
CRASH.
The bear was obliterated without even managing a scream. Taesan walked on without a second glance.
[...Really?]
Bardray muttered in disbelief.
[You’re casually dishing out nearly 10,000 damage like it’s nothing.]
Such damage wasn’t something to scoff at. Even in Alone Mode, Taesan hadn’t reached such output until around the 79th floor.
For Taesan to achieve this with a pitiful attack stat of 49 was remarkable. Bardray couldn’t even fathom how high his damage would climb when he returned to his original timeline.
But that was a concern for later.
For now, the priority was Designation Skill Reset.
Arriving at the 76th floor, Taesan found himself in a volcanic region.
Molten lava scorched the ground, volcanic bombs erupted into the air, and the heat seared his skin.
This was the 76th floor—a volcanic zone.
The quest was to navigate the unstable terrain and volcanic eruptions to reach the next floor. It was also where Designation Skill Reset could be obtained.
Taesan scanned his surroundings. The volcanoes were actively erupting, burning everything in their path and reshaping the landscape.
He clicked his tongue softly.
‘It’s not going to work.’
The defining feature of the 76th floor was its variability. Sometimes the volcanoes were relatively calm, while at other times they erupted violently, creating chaos.
The conditions for obtaining Designation Skill Reset required the latter scenario:
When the ground was too unstable to stand on, volcanic ash obscured visibility, and volcanic bombs rained down like a storm.
But the current state was far from that.
The ground trembled but remained stable enough to traverse, and volcanic bombs were sparse. Even a standard Easy Mode player could clear the area with minimal risk.
It wasn’t impossible to acquire the skill—it just required waiting.
If he waited a few years, the conditions would inevitably change, and the opportunity to obtain Designation Skill Reset would arise.
But there was a problem.
Taesan didn’t have years to wait.
A creeping, oppressive force loomed over him, a will that sought to expel him.
You do not belong here.
Return to your world.
The force was stronger now, likely due to him invoking his original senses to acquire Multiplication. Taesan calculated that he had, at most, one week before he would be forcibly ejected.
“I guess I won’t be getting any more skills.”
No skill that required more than a week to obtain was feasible.
Still, Taesan had no regrets. He had anticipated leaving with only Multiplication. While Designation Skill Reset was valuable, Multiplication was far more critical.
Additionally, Forced Reach, an unexpected bonus, made his journey even more rewarding than anticipated.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
As Taesan clenched his fist, footsteps echoed behind him. Turning, he saw Grandpa Deoksu ascending the stairs, greeting him warmly.
“Taesan! Fancy meeting you here. What are you up to?”
“What about you, Grandpa?”
“Oh, just gathering some gold. Trying to earn a living, you know. Are you after another skill?”
“No. Already got it.”
“...You got it? Ha! Impressive as ever.”
Deoksu rubbed his chin in admiration.
“So, what’s next for you?”
“Tidying up a few things.”
“Tidying up?”
Deoksu looked puzzled, about to ask further when the atmosphere shifted.
A surge of power emanated from Taesan. The dormant strength within him, his inherent nature, and everything he possessed was unleashed.
“What?”
Deoksu’s pupils dilated as the oppressive presence filled the labyrinth.
Throughout the labyrinth, players froze, shivering as Taesan’s overwhelming existence rippled through the air.
Simultaneously, the force attempting to expel him grew hostile. The will, which had been gently pushing him out, now turned openly antagonistic, pressing down on him with immense strength.
“Just hold on a bit longer.”
Taesan’s voice was calm.
Gray energy began to seep out, dispersing and destabilizing the will that sought to drive him away.
“I’ll leave after I finish my business.”
“Ta-Taesan?”
Deoksu Grandpa staggered backward, overwhelmed.
Something about Taesan had changed drastically.
He had reached a state beyond comprehension, an existence Deoksu couldn’t fathom. He stood frozen, staring at Taesan in awe.
The sheer weight of his presence and the overwhelming pressure—it was akin to facing a god.
“Ah...”
Deoksu fell to his knees. A lifelong skeptic, both on Earth and in the labyrinth, he now found himself instinctively clasping his hands together in reverence.
“I hope we meet again someday.”
Taesan placed his hand on the labyrinth’s wall.
With a deliberate motion, he gathered the boundary and shattered it.
BOOM!
The wall of the labyrinth collapsed, revealing what lay beyond:
A void painted in shades of black and white.
An infinite expanse of emptiness stretched endlessly in all directions.
Without hesitation, Taesan stepped into it.
Darkness engulfed Taesan. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed the power of the boundary, obliterating the darkness surrounding him.
What came into view was something profoundly alien.
Fragments of the labyrinth—broken, twisted, and shattered remains—floated in the void.
This was the leftover energy from creating the labyrinth, discarded and forgotten.
Staring silently at the remnants, Taesan quickly realized something.
Though these fragments resembled the materials of this world, they were not truly of this world.
They belonged to a Divine Being.
The remnants mimicked the labyrinth’s laws and matter, deceiving the world into accepting them as its own. The illusion was crafted so cleverly that it would have been almost impossible to detect. But for the current Taesan, it was as plain as day.
Amusingly, the alien energy didn’t feel distant to him.
On the contrary, it felt familiar—almost nostalgic.
WHIRRR!
As Taesan observed the remnants in silence, a deafening roar erupted. The alien space began to bind him.
“Get lost.”
BOOM!
Taesan swung his arm, shattering the constraints with a resounding crack.
SCREECH!
Something alien revealed itself—a manager overseeing the Easy Mode’s anomalies.
Its gaze bore no emotion.
It wasn’t sentient, merely a mechanism with one purpose: eliminate foreign contaminants.
The gathered hostility was palpable. Blackness, infused with divine energy, filled the alien presence.
And then, it struck.
Taesan casually raised his sword.
BOOM!
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Gray energy collided with the black void, and Taesan charged forward.
CRASH!
The alien entity shattered instantly, breaking apart under his power.
Though powerful—beyond even the level of an apostle—it wasn’t enough.
Unless it was a god itself, nothing could stop the current Taesan.
“No intelligence. Just a machine fulfilling its predetermined role. I’m not interested in you.”
SLASH!
With a single strike, he pierced its core and examined its energy.
The truth became clear.
“A copy of Balbabamba?”
Its operational mechanics and energy bore similarities to Balbabamba, the labyrinth administrator.
But it was no more than an imitation. It lacked true intelligence and had no adaptive measures for unforeseen variables. Likely, its purpose wasn’t to fix anomalies but merely to prevent their exploitation.
The concept of “repairing” bugs didn’t exist for this entity. It was a broken machine, nothing more.
“Hmph.”
CRUNCH!
The twisted form crumbled completely. Taesan watched it with cold eyes.
“Who is your master?”
The mimicry of the labyrinth was impressive. Even Bardray had been convinced that this was a typical labyrinth. Taesan himself might have believed it was part of this world had he not encountered multiple divine beings before.
And among the gods Taesan knew, only one could achieve such a deception.
“Your master... is it the Usurper?”
Taesan murmured quietly.
