Ascension Through Skills

A god descended upon the earth.

The players from the Three Kingdoms, who had already experienced such events, weren’t as shocked. They kneeled and showed their reverence to the god.

However, players from Russia and India couldn’t accept it so easily.

"Oh, oh..."

"God..."

They gazed at Maria in astonishment. The towering woman exuded an aura as if she were from another dimension.

With reverence and fear, they trembled and lowered their heads.

Maria spoke lazily to them.

[Do not worry. I did not come here to harm you. Rather, I have come down to protect you.]

Maria’s power surrounded the people. The death-inducing gaze that could kill just by looking at them was blocked by Maria’s power and disappeared.

"Thank you."

Taesan quietly expressed his gratitude. While the death gaze had no effect on Taesan, it was dangerous for the other players. It had been quite a headache, but thanks to Maria, the problem was resolved.

[They've really made up their minds. They’ve already sent that thing down.]

"Do you know what that is?"

[Of course I do.]

Maria cast a glance at the formless entity and spoke.

[It’s hard for Goshin to directly intervene in the world. So, they sent an apostle to destroy the world in their place. That creature is one of Goshin’s apostles.]

"Apostle..."

Lee Taeyeon murmured as she listened to the conversation. Maria's voice could only be heard by Taesan and Lee Taeyeon.

Maria continued.

[Especially that one, it’s an apostle that has survived for a long time. While its power is not that great compared to other apostles of Goshin, its abilities are quite tricky to deal with, which is why we’ve had trouble with it. It’s always been a thorn in our side.]

Maria looked at the apostle with a scornful gaze but then smiled softly.

[But that thorn will end today. Like the others, I do not plan to intervene in the battle.]

Maria quietly stepped back and spoke to Taesan with an expectant voice.

[Now then. Show me. Your power.]

"I will."

Taesan took a step forward. The people held their breath, watching him.

**Rumble.**

The apostle silently watched as Taesan approached. He turned off the system prompt that would notify of the death-inducing attack.

"I knew this day would come eventually, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon."

The monster that had killed Lee Taeyeon and pushed him to his own death.

It had played a decisive role in the world’s destruction.

Taesan bared his teeth. The ghost by his side was slightly startled. She had been with him for a long time, but this was the first time she had seen him show such intense emotion.

"I don’t know if you remember me... but it doesn’t matter. This is my revenge."

Taesan turned back time.

In a way, his anger and emotions could be seen as misguided. After all, it hadn’t happened in this world.

But it didn’t matter. This was his revenge. Taesan gathered his strength.

The opponent was the monster that had defeated him. He wouldn’t let his guard down. From the very beginning, he would fight with everything.

[The opponent is a difficult enemy to defeat.]

[You will face the creature that defeated you and fight with your life again. You have gained the special, continuously activated skill [Avenger].]

[Your Avenger skill has activated.]

[Your Destroyer of Doomsday skill has activated.]

[Your Demi-God’s Blessing has activated.]

[You have activated the Immortal Opponent skill.]

---

The skill activation prompts flashed one after another. In an instant, Taesan’s body and strength surged to a level far beyond what it had been before.

[You have activated the Avatar of Nature.]

[You have activated the King’s Vessel.]

[You have activated the Apostle Transformation (Darkened Chaos).]

His strength and body amplified again.

He realized that he was just one step away from the level of an immortal.

"Then... let’s do this."

Taesan stomped the ground. The monster responded by shaking its massive body.

The clash of their powers caused the ground and sky to tremble, and the world itself began to break apart.

---

### *Aftermath of the Clash*

"Ooohhh..."

"Lord Taesan..."

People were in awe as they prayed.

Everything was being destroyed.

The sky split open, mountains vanished, and the earth cracked, creating massive craters.

It felt as though Taesan could really destroy the world itself with his power.

Players from the Three Kingdoms prayed to Taesan. Russia and India were in shock.

And Lee Taeyeon, with a nervous expression, glanced at Maria.

Maria silently gazed down at her. Lee Taeyeon felt a sense of unease from the god’s gaze.

[The passage of time is truly mysterious.]

"Y-yes?"

[No. For now, let’s just watch. That’s the next part of the story.]

"Ah. Yes..."

Lee Taeyeon turned her attention back to the battle, and Maria did the same.

Right now, the key point was the battle between Taesan and the Apostle of Goshin.

[Hmm.]

A huge sound echoed, and everything was being destroyed.

Their power wasn’t that great. While it was powerful enough to touch immortality, it still fell far short when compared to Maria herself.

But the issue wasn’t their power.

It was the type and direction of their power.

Taesan was unique.

He had created his own domain while contemplating the world. He was an existence that even gods who had lived for eternity couldn’t perceive.

[How can such a being exist?]

The voice of doubt was drowned out by the thunderous sound of the battle.

**Boom!**

Taesan swung his sword. The apostle’s form was shaken by the powerful impact.

Taesan was overwhelming the apostle. As the apostle struggled, its form began to change.

The apostle had the ability to change its form into one that had previously defeated Taesan. Now the true battle was beginning.

**Clang.**

The apostle’s body transformed into a scythe-wielding reaper.

The scythe swung toward Taesan. At the same time, the space around Taesan began to distort.

Space distortion.

In his previous life, Taesan couldn’t counter this and had to use all his attack negations to survive.

But now, that wasn’t the case. Taesan gathered his mana.

[You have activated the Twisting skill.]

**Kaang!**

The clash of space distortion and twisting energy caused the distortion to break. Taesan backed off and swung his hand.

[You have activated the Storm Arrow of the Irreversible Storm.]

A line of black storm arrows shot toward the apostle.

The arrow pierced through everything in its path. The apostle’s form shifted into that of a giant warrior holding a massive shield. The shield clashed with the arrow.

**Kaang!**

With a crashing sound, the apostle was sent sliding backward. The apostle used its arm to push the shield forward. The shield broke, and the arrow exploded.

In that moment, Taesan had already moved behind the apostle.

The apostle’s form shifted again. This time, it took the shape of a barbarian wielding two axes.

The clash of sword and axes.

[You have activated the Acceleration skill.]

[You have activated the Power Strike skill.]

**Ka-Gak!**

Metal clashed, sparks flew, and the sight was obscured by the flames. Taesan didn’t falter and met the apostle’s attack head-on.

In his past life, he would have been overwhelmed by both the speed and strength of the transformed apostle. He would have had to dodge for his life.

But now, he could face it.

Taesan’s sword glowed with a golden light, imbued with divine power. He swung the sword at the apostle’s axe, causing a crack to form in the axe.

**Kaang!**

The apostle’s body was sent flying backward. Taesan immediately dashed forward.

[You have activated the Acceleration skill.]

The apostle’s body transformed again. This time, it took the form of a mage holding a staff and wearing a robe.

Taesan responded instantly.

[You have activated the Magic Overlap skill.]

[You have activated the Frozen World skill.]

[You have activated the Starlight Arrow skill.]

[You have activated the Unyielding Flame Phoenix skill.]

Cold, light, and flame combined and condensed. Taesan unleashed the combined energy.

[You have activated the Magic Liberation skill.]

[You have activated Magic Focus.]

A burst of magic exploded toward the apostle.

The apostle’s staff moved, and a torrent of thick mana poured out. The clash of powers began to destroy the space around them.

[You have activated the Restricted Blink skill.]

Taesan moved above the apostle’s head, then rapidly fell.

[You have activated the Landing skill.]

The apostle tried to shift its form to counter Taesan’s attack, but Taesan’s sword was already close. The apostle tried to use its staff in desperation, but Taesan’s sword cut through it cleanly.

[!#$!# takes !@!! damage.]

**Thud.**

A painful shockwave rippled through the air.

In an instant, the apostle’s body began to grow large. It started to gather energy as though it was about to explode.

Finally, the energy erupted

, sweeping everything around it, but Taesan had already moved out of the blast radius.

[You have activated the Marked Exclusion skill.]

Taesan moved out of the explosion’s range as if he knew exactly where it would spread. And indeed, he did.

"Sorry, but this is the third time."

Once in his previous life.

And once during the Trial of the God of Despair.

Taesan had fought the apostle multiple times already. The memories and experiences of those battles were fresh in his mind.

He knew exactly what powers the apostle used and what tactics it would employ.

**Thud.**

The apostle changed shape again. It became something grotesque, its mere gaze warping reality. All kinds of mental attacks were thrown at Taesan.

"Doesn’t work."

Taesan shrugged off the attacks and charged at the apostle again. @@novelbin@@

[You have activated Gaph’s Sturdy Boulder.]

The sky opened, and the massive boulder fell toward the apostle like a meteor.

The apostle transformed again, this time into a woman holding a giant bow. She drew the bowstring tightly and shot an arrow at the boulder.

**Thud!**

The boulder shattered as the arrow pierced through it.

Amidst the breaking debris, Taesan rushed forward.

The apostle pulled back the bowstring again and fired another arrow at Taesan.

Taesan used his legs to propel himself forward, charging straight at the arrow.

[You have activated Forced Exclusion.]

**Screech!**

The mana exclusion force pushed the arrow away. The arrow struggled, but it was quickly deflected.

Taesan reached the apostle and swung his sword. Now, he no longer needed to rely on essence strikes. But that didn’t matter. Now, he could land a blow.

**Crack.**

[!#$!# takes %@#! damage.]

The apostle staggered.

Taesan bared his teeth.

It was certain.

Now, he was strong enough to defeat the apostle. He could take down the creature that had defeated him in his previous life.

Now, he was strong enough.

Taesan gripped his sword tightly and aimed for the apostle’s opening.

At that moment...

The apostle transformed again. This wasn’t unusual, as it had been changing constantly.

But Taesan had to stop.

This transformation was different.

The apostle now had blue skin, a disquietingly serene smile, and four arms.

It was an appearance that couldn’t be called human. It was a change that Taesan had never seen before.

And that wasn’t all.

This new form radiated an entirely different level of power.

"Ah..."

The faces of the Indian players turned pale. They knelt, overwhelmed by despair.

"Ts."

Taesan clicked his tongue.

"Yeah. It couldn’t just be that simple."

Maria had said this apostle had destroyed many worlds and had been a thorn in their side for a long time.

But Taesan had not yet reached the level of an immortal. While he could temporarily reach that power, he had not used it yet.

Even Taesan, who was still not immortal, couldn’t fail to notice that this creature, which had destroyed multiple worlds and survived the gaze of gods, was a force that could still outclass him.

"In my past life, I didn’t use the Immortal’s power because I could defeat you with just a mortal’s strength."

Even in his previous life, Taesan had been strong, but he hadn’t touched the power of an immortal. There was no reason to use it.

The Trial of the Fallen God was based on his memories, so he hadn’t seen this transformation of the apostle.

The apostle could change into the form of someone it had killed.

And the apostle was a being that destroyed worlds.

There were immortals among the guardians of worlds.

The apostle had now transformed into the form of an immortal it had killed during the destruction of the world.

[The opponent is an impossible enemy to defeat.]