Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 476: 90th Floor: The Wizard (2)

“Even now, your growth is remarkable,” the wizard remarked. “Honestly, across the entire universe, it’s rare to see anyone progress as quickly as you.”

It hadn’t even been ten years since Taesan first entered the labyrinth.

And yet, he had already surpassed the Immortals and reached the realm of transcendence.

“Barring a few extremely exceptional cases, no one has grown as fast as you. It’s impressive—extraordinary, even. But... from this point onward, talent and speed alone won’t be enough.”

Taesan stared at the wizard, his expression calm yet focused.

The wizard shrugged.

“Well, let’s see what you’ve got.”

With a wave of his hand, the wizard’s authority enveloped Taesan. His health, mana, and demonic energy were restored to their peak.

Taesan steadied his sword.

“Is there a time limit?”

“There isn’t one. Take as long as you need. Use whatever means you can—be it ingenuity, brute force, or outright trickery. The method doesn’t matter. All that matters is breaking through me.”

The wizard’s presence grew more distinct. His immense authority and domain unfolded, filling the space with an overwhelming aura.

Taesan had encountered this domain once before, but at the time, his strength had been insufficient to comprehend its full nature.

Now, he could see it clearly.

The wizard’s domain wasn’t just an extension of himself—it was the labyrinth itself.

The space Taesan had traversed, filled with countless mechanisms, traps, and systems, was an extension of the wizard’s will.

“I am the wizard of the labyrinth, the one and only creator and ruler of this place.”

The wizard spread his arms, his grin widening.

“Show me everything you’ve got.”

Taesan clicked his tongue, his expression hardening with determination.

Then, he moved.

***

What followed was an exhausting battle.

After the initial attack failed, Taesan resorted to trying as many approaches as possible to find a way through.

He poured everything he had into breaching the wizard’s defenses, while the wizard countered effortlessly.

[You have activated Addition.]

[You have activated Blade of Resolve.]

[You have activated Copy.]

His attacks, amplified to their peak, carried damage in the hundreds of thousands. Yet, the wizard simply waved his hand, unbothered.

“Those who achieve transcendence alone wield control over laws. You need to understand the meaning of that.”

A strange ripple spread from the wizard.

Taesan’s sword, bolstered by Addition, Copy, and Blade of Resolve, lost its power in an instant.

The enhanced strength returned to its original state as if nullified completely.

The wizard then flicked his fingers. Pieces of the labyrinth’s walls materialized and shot toward Taesan like meteors.

The speed was overwhelming, making them nearly impossible to dodge entirely. Taesan moved swiftly, but a few fragments still struck him.

[You have taken 111 damage.]

[You have taken 111 damage.]

Taesan’s eyebrows furrowed as he noticed the damage notifications.

Even his Absolute Defense Nullification failed to activate.

The wizard spoke leisurely, his tone almost conversational.

“To control laws and concepts means to wield them entirely as one’s will dictates.”

The labyrinth was the wizard’s domain.

Within it, all laws and mechanisms operated under his will, and nothing born from the labyrinth’s system could defy him.

“Unless you protect yourself with your own domain, labyrinth skills won’t work on me.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Taesan muttered.

If this were Earth, the situation might have been different. On Earth, Taesan’s domain would offer some resistance to the wizard’s interference.

But here, within the labyrinth—the wizard’s domain—skills tied to its system were utterly ineffective.

That meant Taesan had to rely on something outside of the labyrinth’s framework.

[You have activated Asmodeus’s Chains of Corruption.]

Chains shot forward. Taesan layered spells and black magic on top of them.

Unlike the labyrinth-based system, these abilities were derived from the Demon Lord and Zervand, unrelated to the wizard’s control.

[You have activated the World’s Sword.]

A massive sword manifested, its size adjusted slightly to fit within the labyrinth but still towering in its might.

Taesan swung the blade.

The wizard nodded in acknowledgment.

“Correct. If your power comes from outside my domain, I can’t erase it at will.”

The wizard stomped lightly on the ground.

With just that small gesture, Taesan’s powers crumbled. The World’s Sword shattered into countless fragments.

“But if the difference in strength and authority is too vast, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Damn it,” Taesan clicked his tongue.

He had expected this outcome.

He recalled Harmon, the god who had once ruled over Vegueseata.

Harmon had been a transcendent.

And yet, when the Demon Lord had clenched his fist lightly, both Harmon and his domain had been obliterated in an instant.

Transcendents who governed laws were lofty beings. Even when facing just a puppet of the wizard, the gap between them wasn’t something that could be bridged so easily.

That meant ordinary labyrinth skills, spells, or black magic wouldn’t work.

He needed divine energy and ashen power.

“This is going to take a while,” Taesan muttered, quietly gathering his strength.

Both divine energy and ashen power regenerated at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Since even the wizard couldn’t replenish them, Taesan had no choice but to wait.

The wizard stood silently, showing no impatience.

After some time, Taesan gripped his sword and rose to his feet.

The wizard greeted him with a smile.

Taesan’s body was now completely cloaked in Boundary Line.

As the wizard lightly flicked his fingers, an overwhelming force of pressure and authority descended upon Taesan.

Grinding his teeth, Taesan endured. The Boundary Line surrounding his body flared as he forcibly pushed back against the wizard’s might.

The wizard didn’t press further. He simply observed, as though curious about what Taesan might attempt next.

Finally, as Taesan closed the distance, he spoke an incantation laced with power.

“Stop.”

Buzz!

The black energy of Boundary Line swallowed the world.

Time ground to a halt.

The falling debris.

The scattering ripples of energy.

Everything froze in place.

Even the wizard’s puppet was caught within the frozen world.

Taesan charged forward. The duration of the time stop wasn’t long—he had to finish it within that window.

As his sword thrust toward the puppet, its body trembled.

It was as though the puppet was resisting the frozen time, flickering with afterimages. Taesan pressed harder, aiming to pierce through.

Crack!

With a sound like shattering glass, the wizard’s puppet moved.

“You’re too late.”

With a firm grip, the wizard caught Taesan’s sword mid-thrust.

Though the Boundary Line exploded outward, trying to erode the puppet, the protective domain surrounding the wizard constantly regenerated, filling every gap.

“You wield the authority of an Old God. Freezing the world’s time is a powerful ability.”

The wizard exerted strength, forcing Taesan to slide backward.

“But I’ve fought the original owner of that power.”

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A long time ago, there had been a war between the transcendents and the Old Gods.

And the transcendents had emerged victorious.

“The One Who Walks Through Time... That Old God obliterated the concept of time itself, collapsing both the past and the future to transcend temporal boundaries. Compared to that, what you’re doing now is unimpressive.”

“How reassuring,” Taesan muttered, steadying himself.

Boundary Line, Chaos Domain, and even the time freeze—all of it had failed.

The wizard smirked.

“Keep trying.”

***

Taesan didn’t give up.

He threw everything he had into the fight, combining every skill and ability at his disposal to try and break through the wizard’s defenses.

It was a relentless effort, filled with countless attempts to find even a sliver of hope. Taesan pushed himself for over a week, meticulously exploring every possible avenue to victory.

And in the end, he reached a conclusion.

It’s impossible.

He had believed there would be a weakness somewhere—a gap he could exploit. After all, the labyrinth’s trials always allowed for even the slimmest chance of success. That’s why he’d tried everything in his power.

But no solution emerged.

Taesan had faced trials before that seemed insurmountable, yet he had always prevailed, achieving monumental feats. He believed in his ability to overcome any obstacle.

If there were no clear path to victory, he would create one. If no options were available, he would find an alternative.

But this time was different.

Although the opponent was just a puppet, unlike the Seventh Fragment of the Worldbreaker, this puppet was directly linked to the wizard. Its power was a slightly diminished version of the wizard’s own—arguably indistinguishable from the real thing.

In essence, what stood in Taesan’s way now was one of the strongest beings in the universe.

At least in his current state, victory was utterly out of reach.

Taesan closed his eyes.

How could he win? No, how could he even reach such heights?

This isn’t a quest I can clear through simple combat.

That didn’t mean the quest was entirely unwinnable. The labyrinth was designed so that even the faintest possibility could lead to success.

Taesan looked at the wizard.

The wizard said nothing to the now motionless Taesan. He simply smiled quietly.

It was clear that the wizard wanted something from him.

What does he want from me?

Taesan replayed the wizard’s words in his mind.

The wizard had said that from this point onward, he would face gods and transcendent beings, and that he needed to meet a certain standard to proceed.

Taesan had agreed with this assessment. While he had grown strong and become exceptionally skilled, there were always those who stood higher. The gap between him and those who could influence the universe itself was undeniable.

The wizard also mentioned that Taesan had grown rapidly, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to reach their domain.

The tone wasn’t one of merely needing more black energy or a stronger Boundary Line.

Taesan pondered deeply.

If he continued on his current path—absorbing power through soul elevation and relying on the labyrinth’s system—could he reach the same level as the wizard?

The answer was clear.

It was possible.

The Boundary Line and soul elevation were irregularities, powerful enough to allow him to consume the strength of countless strong beings and dramatically increase his power. If he did so, he could eventually grow powerful enough to confront even the wizard who created the labyrinth.

But another answer also emerged.

It’s far too inefficient.

The wizard’s level was extraordinarily high. Reaching it by consuming the power of countless others would take an astronomical amount of time—far more than what it had taken to descend through the labyrinth so far.

While this method would undoubtedly allow him to reach the wizard’s level, it was an inefficient and clumsy approach. Witnessing the wizard’s strength firsthand made this glaringly apparent.

Taesan opened his eyes.

The wizard was silently watching him.

Was this what he wanted to show me?

That the methods Taesan had relied on so far wouldn’t suffice to reach the heights above?

Does he want me to realize something?

And it wasn’t something physical.

Taesan closed his eyes again, falling deep into thought.

The wizard observed him quietly, a faint smile playing on his lips.