Chapter 152: Outside. Battlefield of the Gods (8)
As he looked at the lines of system messages, Taesan spoke.
“What’s all this?”
[Why is there so much?]
The ghost muttered in bewilderment, and Taesan felt similarly.
He had known that the reward wouldn’t be a single item.
It was a conflict between the labyrinth and the outside world, after all.
Given its considerable scale, he had expected various rewards.
But this was too much, even considering that.
[Many gods respect the opinions of a few gods.]
“Many gods?”
[…Ah.]
The ghost seemed to have an inkling and spoke with realization.
[Is it that concept? How interesting. I’ve heard of it, but it’s my first time seeing it in person.]
“If you know, explain it. What’s going on?”
[It’s not that complicated. It said their areas of influence decreased, right? You know when that happens.]
“It appears when gods reduce their areas of influence to do something.”
Every time Taesan had cleared an enhanced trial and received a reward, such messages had always appeared.
[Look at the gods whose areas of influence have decreased. They’re all the ones who have directly given you trials. They decided to give you rewards, and other gods questioned that decision but respected it.]
“So, it’s that kind of concept.”
While it wasn’t a difficult story, there was one thing that bothered Taesan.
“So, what did they give me?”
[…Indeed.]
A reward that even gods found curious.
[It’s a good thing, but… a bit scary.]
Taesan started to check the system messages one by one.
“How many lines are there?”
Dozens of lines of text filled his view.
“Let’s clear this up first.”
Given how much there was, he felt calmer. He decided to check each one methodically. First, he looked at what he had obtained.
[Special Activation Skill: Apostle Slayer]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[One who has slain a god’s apostle. In battle with an apostle, it forcibly lowers their status.]
Lowering status. From Taesan’s experience, it meant one thing.
“So, it means I can deal proper damage.”
Those with the power of apostles received significantly reduced damage from those without such power.
It was a skill that alleviated the issue of not being able to land proper attacks due to the difference in status.
“That’s nice.”
Though he had the Apostle Transformation, its duration was only ten minutes. Even this time, he had barely won, so a skill like this would allow for longer battles.
“What’s this supposed to be?”
[Holy Power]
[Proficiency: 6%]
[The power of a god. It is a grace bestowed when you believe in and follow someone. It seems meaningless for now.]
After defeating Cain, his Soul Power had also increased his proficiency in Holy Power.
It remained a skill of unknown use.
[Concept Skill: ???]
[Proficiency: 24%]
[The power of will summons ???. Synch ???. Acquired ???.]
The Concept Skill had also added the phrase “synch.”
This too seemed to require more proficiency to understand fully.
“Let’s see what each of these rewards are.”
He started with the God of Choice.
The God of Choice, Maria, was the first god to appear to him.
Her reward had been the special activation skill, Freedom of Choice, which allowed for the exchange of designated stats.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t use it much.”
The only notable use had been to avoid the collapsing cliff in Harfran’s destroyed world. It had seemed minor at the time, but increasing the proficiency to improve the ratio would have been useful.
Maria seemed to have considered this, as her reward was an upgrade to Freedom of Choice.
[Special Activation Skill [Freedom of Choice] has evolved into Special Permanent Activation Skill [Selfish Choice].]
Evolution from an activation skill to a permanent activation skill was rare. Taesan opened his skill window.
[Special Permanent Activation Skill: Selfish Choice]
[Increases a designated stat.]
The description was simple. There was no need to ponder the effect. It was his skill, so he decided to test it directly.
Taesan designated his attack power and checked his stats.
[Attack Power +361]
His original attack power was 328. An additional 33 had been added.
That meant a 10% increase. Taesan’s face showed surprise.
“That’s useful.”
If it was indeed a percentage increase rather than a fixed value, it was a valuable skill even in the deeper levels.
Moreover, being a permanent activation skill meant that once designated, he wouldn’t have to worry about it as long as the skill remained, providing an unconditional advantage.
[This is really… unbelievable.]
The ghost was also at a loss for words. He hadn’t seen many percentage increase skills, even in the deep layers.
“It lives up to its name.”
Selfish Choice. It was a skill true to its name. Smiling, Taesan moved on to the next skill.
The God of Proof, Fabsha, had also evolved his skill.
[Special Permanent Activation Skill [Proof of Self] has evolved into Special Permanent Activation Skill [Three Proofs].]
[Special Permanent Activation Skill: Three Proofs]
[You have proven yourself to yourself, to the gods, and to the world. What you have accumulated manifests and affects the material world.]
The explanation had changed significantly, but the core remained the same: material influence.
Taesan tested it immediately.
[You have activated Three Proofs.]
Power swirled around Taesan.
The effect was noticeably different from before. While not visible, a physical pressure was spreading around him.
To the weak, merely being near him would be suffocating.
Taesan deactivated the skill.
“This isn’t that impressive.”
Though it had a physical influence, it was negligible against enemies who could stand up to him. As a gift from the God of Proof, it felt lacking.
[…Do you really think so?]
But the ghost thought differently.
Merely revealing himself, affecting both the mind and the physical world.
The implication wasn’t small. Taesan had nearly died when the Spirit King’s fury triggered flames that responded to her emotions.
Though it seemed insignificant now…
If Taesan grew stronger and reached the level of the upper echelon…
That skill could become a calamity in itself.
Like Selfish Choice, the ghost thought it was a skill that shouldn’t have been obtainable here.
Unaware of the ghost’s thoughts, Taesan continued to check the rewards.
Next was the God of Victory.
The God of Victory’s previous reward had been the Victory Token, which increased designated stats. It had been a highly useful skill.
Contrary to initial expectations, it didn’t raise stats by 1 for each monster defeated. The increases slowed as the mana rose.
Still, it had helped him nearly reach 1000 mana.
Mana growth was typically agonizingly slow.
Without additional skills or items, or the use of permanently increasing mana potions sold in shops, it was difficult to increase.
Those potions were prohibitively expensive, so he hadn’t used them often in his previous life, constantly suffering from a mana shortage.
But this time, he had never struggled due to a lack of mana.
It was a testament to its effectiveness.
[Title: Power of Victory]
[One who has never been defeated.]
[Strength +200]
[Agility +200]
[Intelligence +200]
[Attack Power +50]
[Defense +50]
“Wow…”
[Wow…]
Taesan murmured in amazement.
“This is easy to understand.”
The God of Victory, Valtazaha’s reward was simple.
But the numbers were exceptionally high. The ghost chuckled.
[200… That’s insane.]
Additionally, his attack power and defense had increased by 50. Even in terms of pure numbers, he had grown over 10% stronger.
[Even though it’s a fixed value, this is understandable. It’s nice.]
Of course, the number 200 was significant even in the deep layers, but the ghost tried to ignore that fact.
The next reward he checked was from the God of Swords, Ahili.
[You have obtained the sword of one who has now vanished.]
[Sword of the Vanished One]
[Attack Power +70]
[A noble snow mountain. The sword used by the lord of that place. It was left in a land without a master.]
[A weapon used for a long time possesses a weak will and synchronizes with its master.]
Taesan gripped the sword. A peculiar sensation enveloped him.
He could understand the trajectory, flow, and balance of the sword.
“This is… good.”
All swords had different balances and weights, making them hard to adjust to initially.
But this sword allowed Taesan to wield it perfectly from the start.
Taesan, who used dual swords, decided to pair it with Carver’s sword.
[This is dangerous. Is my sword going to be discarded?]
The ghost groaned.
Carver’s relic was a good weapon, but its performance was lacking as it was acquired in the 10th floor.
It had been enduring through various enhancements, but its position was becoming precarious.
[This won’t do. I need to retrieve the swords I used quickly.]
The ghost mumbled, beginning to plan.
While the ghost schemed, Taesan checked the Demon God’s gift.
[Magic Power has permanently increased by 100.]
[Black Magic proficiency has increased by 10%.]
“That’s straightforward.”
Simple but definite enhancements.
Magic power increased even slower than mana. Despite the Demon God’s special skill to increase magic power, it had only reached the 70s.
Now, it had increased by 100 at once.
Moreover, black magic’s power grew with more magic power, enhancing both convenience and strength.
With black magic proficiency also being hard to raise, the increase in proficiency was highly valuable.
The Demon God’s system message also had an additional line, unlike the other gods.
[The Demon God expresses dissatisfaction with the choices of other gods.]
“Dissatisfaction?”
It was a puzzling system message.
Not deeming it important, he moved on to the next god’s reward.
[Special Permanent Activation Skill: Frenzy of Battle]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[As you continue to fight, your movements become faster, and your strength increases. The effect disappears when the battle ends.]
The God of Strife and Death, Rakiratas, had given a reward fitting his domain, a continuous battle bonus. It would be useful as he continued to face stronger foes.
Next was the God of Magic’s reward.
[Title: Qualification of Magic]
[You have gained the qualification to learn deeper mysteries.]
[Mana +50]
The title seemed to signify qualification for intermediate magic. Additionally, he had acquired a beginner-level magic spell.
[Beginner Magic: Domain of Regeneration]
[Mana Consumption: 50]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[Within a certain range, restores the health and mana of all chosen by the user.]
“Healing?”
Taesan’s interest was piqued.
He now had another means to recover health and mana outside.
The phrases “within a certain range” and “all chosen” stood out.
Upon returning to Earth, health and mana were always in short supply.
Being able to restore not only his own but others’ as well made this skill invaluable.
“Ha.”
Taesan laughed in disbelief.
He spent dozens of minutes checking his rewards.
It was the first time he had spent so long checking rewards.
“This is beyond my imagination.”
He had expected considerable rewards.
But he hadn’t anticipated receiving this much.
[That’s why other gods questioned it.]
The achievements were significant, but the rewards seemed excessive. That was likely the other gods’ judgment.
[But the gods who met you didn’t think so.]
They judged the rewards as sufficient. That was the decision of the gods who had met Taesan.
[Moreover, it’s not entirely incomprehensible. Although incomplete, you did kill an apostle.]
An apostle’s position was directly bestowed by a god, requiring significant divine power. Apostles were essentially proxies of the gods.
Taesan had killed such an apostle.
Given that significance, the rewards were justifiable.
“It’s still not over.”
The rewards given by the gods were individual gifts, reducing their areas of influence.
The special quest clear reward was still left.