Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 474: Floor 89: The Old God’s Outpost (7)
[Did you get it?]
At Bardray’s question, Taesan nodded. Bardray let out a dry laugh.
[Hah... How many of the Old Gods’ authorities have you obtained now?]
“Two, excluding the ashen power.”
Self-Stabilization and Time Interference. Both were obtained in a short span of time. Bardray groaned.
[It’s good that you’re getting stronger, but this is too unsettling to celebrate. Honestly, I have no idea how the gods are going to react to this.]
The authorities of the Old Gods were powers that could shake the very laws of the world.
At this rate, Taesan was effectively becoming a being akin to the Old Gods. Even with the protection of transcendents who favored him, it wouldn’t be surprising if some, like the God of Death, decided to intervene directly.
“We’ll see,” Taesan replied.
He had already considered this possibility. However, it wasn’t something within his control, and he wasn’t overly concerned.
“Zervand said they would help us.”
Surely, that didn’t just mean creating challenges suited to the floor’s level.
[I hope they do... It’s still worrisome.] Bardray trailed off. Taesan shook his head.
“We’ll deal with it later. For now, let’s focus on the task at hand.”
It was time to examine what he had gained.
Having shattered the authority of possibilities head-on, he had acquired a new skill after a long while.
[Special Activation Skill: Possibility Denial]
Proficiency: 1%
Mana Consumption: 1,000
Effect: Your next attack excludes possibilities that do not lead to victory. The number of possibilities excluded is currently limited. This skill has a cooldown of one hour.
The effect of Possibility Denial resembled the authority Paradise had wielded.
Though its power was significantly diminished in comparison, it was still an unconventional and powerful skill. Taesan was satisfied.
And then there was the skill he had targeted from the beginning—the authority of the Old Gods.
[Transcendent: Time Interference]
Proficiency: !@
Consumption: ???
Effect: Related to time. Allows you to manipulate ^%&*... Additionally, !%뷁쉑읽붥...
As usual, the skill description was fragmented and unreadable.
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However, he already understood how to use the authority from his senses and his battle with Paradise.
It was time to test its effects and applications.
There were still many minions left in the outpost of the Old Gods. They had watched from a distance as Taesan fought and defeated the envoy. Realizing their inability to help, they were now fleeing in a panic.
His objective was to clear out the outpost.
There was no reason to spare them.
Taesan stretched his hand into the air.
[You have activated Teleport.]
His body leapt through the void, reappearing in front of a fleeing minion.
“Gah!”
The minion screamed, instinctively swinging his sword at Taesan.
What Taesan saw intrigued him.
The sword approaching him began to slow, almost imperceptibly at first.
Taesan stepped aside effortlessly, watching as the blade embedded itself into the ground.
“What?”
The minion’s pupils dilated as he realized he had slowed down.
Taesan didn’t retaliate. He simply spread his arms wide, as if inviting the minion to try again.
Fear overtook the minion’s face.
“A-Argh!”
The sword swung again, empowered by the minion’s authority, aiming to strike Taesan down.
But it never connected. Taesan evaded every attack with simple, minimal movements.
While Taesan’s strength far surpassed the minion’s, such flawless evasion was only possible thanks to his new authority, Time Interference.
Taesan danced around the minion, alternating between creating distance and closing in, testing the range and effects of his new power.
The results were clear.
The foundation of the authority was the same as when Paradise had used it. It influenced a set area around Taesan, causing time to slow as one approached him.
The effective range was roughly half of what Paradise had demonstrated.
At close proximity, time slowed to about 20% of its normal speed.
“Impressive,” Taesan remarked with satisfaction.
Though it was inferior to Paradise’s version—Paradise had been able to reduce Taesan’s speed to that of an ordinary human—it was still significant.
A 20% reduction in time meant that, in close combat, Taesan could always move 20% faster without consuming any resources.
By slowing the flow of time in the surrounding area rather than targeting specific enemies, it also made dealing with projectiles and teleportation far easier.
Taesan concentrated briefly. The slowed time reverted to normal. He had forcibly deactivated Time Interference.
“I can control it, too. Excellent.”
Taesan hummed in approval.
There was one more effect he wanted to test, but it wasn’t possible at the moment. His ashen power hadn’t fully recovered yet.
For now, he turned his attention to another skill.
Facing the panting minion, exhausted from his desperate attacks, Taesan gripped his sword.
[You have activated Possibility Denial.]
He swung.
The speed of the attack wasn’t particularly fast. If the minion focused, he could have blocked it. And indeed, the minion’s eyes widened as he shifted his stance to defend.
But the sword twisted mid-swing.
Taesan observed closely.
The trajectory of the blade continuously adjusted itself, veering toward an unguarded angle each time.
Crunch!
“Gah!”
The minion failed to block the attack, coughing up blood as he collapsed.
“I’ll need more testing.”
One use wasn’t enough to fully grasp the skill’s potential.
Fortunately, the outpost still held many minions for him to experiment on. With each cooldown, Taesan tracked down and used Possibility Denial on fleeing enemies.
By the end of the day, he had a general understanding of the skill.
Paradise’s authority rewound time to forcibly find the correct answer, while Possibility Denial adjusted and recalculated paths in real time.
While the methods differed, the underlying concept of ensuring a specific result was the same.
Unlike Paradise, who relied on a single weapon, Possibility Denial wasn’t tied to any specific tool. However, the number of adjustments it could make was limited.
While Paradise’s bullet could repeat endlessly, Possibility Denial could only modify up to ten possibilities in a given scenario.
"But even that’s enough."
Being able to adjust a situation ten times meant that Taesan could significantly influence the outcome of a battle, even against an evenly matched opponent. It was far from a trivial skill.
Taesan was pleased with its utility. It was strong enough to be a primary skill.
Now, only one effect remained to be tested.
After a day, Boundary Line had recharged sufficiently. While not at full capacity, it was enough for testing.
Taesan activated Teleport and approached a hiding minion. The minion panicked, unleashing his authority in desperation.
Taesan summoned his ashen power. Concentrating it to its limit, he invoked its command.
“Freeze.”
Screech!
A strange noise echoed as ripples spread outward.
In an instant, the world stopped.
The swirling winds, the faint ripples of dark energy in the air, the minion’s attack—all froze.
Time itself had stopped within a certain range around Taesan.
[This is unreal.]
[Master... this power...]
Taesan let out a chuckle.
He could now replicate the effects of Temporal Stasis with his own power.
“Not bad.”
Taesan drove his sword into the frozen minion’s chest. As the blade pierced through, time began to flow again.
“Huh?”
The minion’s eyes widened.
“Wh-What is...?”
He couldn’t finish his sentence before collapsing, dead.
The effects of Time Interference were twofold.
The first was its passive effect—interference with the flow of time in the surrounding area. The closer enemies came, the slower their movements became. Like Self-Stabilization, it required no additional resources.
The second was the ability to stop time within a specified range by consuming ashen power.
While similar to Temporal Stasis, its specific mechanics differed greatly.
"This might even work against Old Gods."
Skills from the labyrinth could be resisted by beings at the level of the Old Gods. Taesan had witnessed this when many of his abilities failed to affect the Seventh Fragment of the World Breaker. It was why he had considered Temporal Stasis impractical.
But Time Interference was an authority of the Old Gods.
Depending on his proficiency and power, it could potentially affect both Old Gods and transcendents. It far exceeded labyrinth skills in rank.
However, it had a major drawback.
Stopping time required the consumption of ashen power.
And it wasn’t a small amount. Even after a full day of recovery, using all his ashen power only allowed for about ten seconds of stopped time.
"I won’t be able to use it freely."
Ashen power was one of Taesan’s core resources, essential for many of his abilities. With its current capacity, he could only afford to stop time for one or two seconds during combat.
"I’ll need to increase my total capacity."
That was the immediate problem he needed to address.
Having completed his experiments, Taesan leapt into action. In moments, he had cleared out the remaining minions.
Crunch.
“Urgh!”
As he finished off the last of them, a notification appeared.
[Quest complete.]
The 89th-floor quest was finished.
Taesan returned to the labyrinth.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have obtained the Echoing Ring of Eternal Resonance.]
[You have obtained ???.]
***
Reviewing the Rewards
After a long while, Taesan finally received new equipment as a reward.
[Echoing Ring of Eternal Resonance]
Health: +2000Mana: +1000Demonic Energy: +500Attack Power: +300Defense: +300"Its resonance never ends."Increases the power of magic and dark magic by 10%.A simple yet powerful effect. While it was unclear whether the boost applied to divine or corruption-based magic, if it did, the ring would be an excellent piece of equipment.
And then there was the mysterious item:
[Belt of Something Beyond the Laws]
Strength: +1000Agility: +1000Attack Power: +800Defense: +500"A plain belt with no markings. Only a transcendent could have created such an item. It contains something foreign to this world."Slightly increases resistance to powers beyond the laws.“A countermeasure against the Old Gods, perhaps?”
Although he couldn’t gauge its full potency, the fact that it was made by a transcendent suggested that it offered decent resistance. For Taesan, it was a perfectly tailored piece of equipment.
It was time.
Taesan prepared to descend further into the labyrinth.
Balbabamba did not appear this time. It was as if the administrator no longer considered this floor within their jurisdiction, leaving the responsibilities beyond to another entity.
Taesan placed his foot on the stairs leading downward.
The 90th Floor
The beginning of the end for this theme, and the gateway to the next, awaited him.
[90th Floor Quest Initiated.]
Pass the Wizard's Trial.Reward: Wizard's HatSecret Reward: ???
