Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 203: 50th Floor, The Madman (2)
“Be consumed by me, mortal!”
Emotions surged, flooding the entire room.
As the emotions spread, they began to penetrate Taesan.
“Hahahaha!”
Valencia was certain of his victory.
He had devoured countless emotions. Anyone who even brushed against the fragments of his emotions would lose their sanity.
And now, he unleashed all those emotions at Taesan.
“It’s over!”
There was no way Taesan could survive.
Even if he somehow managed to maintain his sanity, the tidal wave of emotions would reduce him to a hollow shell.
Of course, Taesan had previously collected pure emotions without any issue.
But even that level of mental fortitude wouldn’t be enough to withstand Valencia’s current power.
Valencia smirked. Now, all he had to do was use Taesan’s body as a vessel to gather more emotions. Then, everything would be complete.
As expected, Taesan’s mind was being assaulted by a torrent of emotions.
Rage. Ecstasy. Hatred. Despair.
All these emotions hammered at his mind as if struck by a sledgehammer.
And yet, Taesan calmly accepted them.
A fierce torrent.
A wave that could shatter and erase everything it engulfed.
But that was all.
Compared to the despair Taesan had experienced in his previous life, this was nothing.
Taesan raised his fist and struck. Valencia, who had been rushing towards him, was blown away by the force of the punch.
“H-how?!”
“Because you’re weak.”
Taesan responded simply and charged at him. Valencia hastily gathered more emotions and hurled them at Taesan.
Once again, a myriad of emotions surged forward.
But Taesan merely shook his head slightly, brushing them aside.
Valencia shouted in disbelief.
“Why?!”
“What’s the use of having a large number when those emotions are utterly insignificant?”
In hindsight, it was an obvious conclusion.
All the emotions Valencia had devoured belonged to those who had given up and faltered halfway through their journey.
Even when such emotions were gathered, they were meaningless. They were merely numerous.
“Damn it!”
Valencia gritted his teeth.
He continued to hurl emotions at Taesan, but none of them had any effect.
Valencia’s eyes began to tremble violently. Then, slowly, he stopped resisting.
He ceased his futile attempts to escape.
Taesan’s sword pierced his chest.
Valencia coughed up blood and looked into Taesan’s eyes. Grasping Taesan’s head, he cried out.
“Mind, show me what you’ve got!”
[A Mental Unity Check is initiated.]
[Initiating check…]
As the notification appeared, the world around Taesan changed.
The entire world had turned to ash, stretching endlessly before him.
Taesan instinctively knew that this was a mental world.
‘So that’s how it is.’
They had drawn each other into their mental worlds, intending to seize each other’s minds.
If that was the case, then this was Valencia’s mental world.
Taesan began to walk through this mental world.
There were fragments of memories that seemed to belong to Valencia.
Through these, Taesan could glimpse Valencia’s life.
He had been an ordinary man from a normal world. The era was medieval, and he was born as the son of a tax collector, living his life dealing with tax-related matters.
Taesan was puzzled. It had been a smooth life, and Valencia had lived contentedly. Why had he gone mad? What was the reason for his obsession with obtaining the mind of a transcendent?
At that moment, Taesan noticed a fragment of memory that caught his eye.
It was a dark, murky piece.
As Taesan approached the fragment, the memory it held became visible.
Taesan frowned.
It was a scene of nothing but destruction.
The city was in flames. People were dying as knights on horseback charged through the streets.
A dragon flew in the sky. Transcendent power began to rain down on the other side.
It was as if something was being defended against.
*Boom!*
And then, everything was obliterated by a massive wave of power.
The knights were trampled, and the dragons bled as they plummeted to the ground.
The world was being destroyed.
‘An Immortal?’
Taesan squinted his eyes.
He could feel the presence of an Immortal in the power that was destroying the world.
Valencia was frantically fleeing from the scene.
Tears streaming down his face, he ran, consumed by terror and despair.
And then something approached him.
Valencia closed his eyes in tears.
*Crunch.*
And it ended. The fragment of memory shattered into pieces.
“What is this?”
Taesan narrowed his eyes.
While Taesan was in Valencia’s mental world, Valencia was doing the same. He was advancing through Taesan’s mind.
“If I can just consume this place!”
In the end, it was the mind that controlled the body. If Valencia could consume Taesan’s mind, then Taesan’s body would become his.
With eyes filled with madness, he spread his mind everywhere.
Just as he was about to consume everything and make it his own…
“W-what?”
But soon, he realized something. The mental force he was spreading was barely going anywhere.
“Darkness?”
Finally, Valencia understood.
He was in darkness.
Pitch-black darkness that swallowed everything, even his own presence, leaving nothing behind.
Valencia advanced in a panic.
But the darkness did not disappear.
He unleashed his power. But all of it was swallowed by the darkness.
‘This is…’
Valencia was horrified.
He realized what was happening.
This was Taesan’s mind. But he couldn’t see anything.
There was only one reason.
His mental power was far too weak to interfere with Taesan’s mind.
He had devoured the minds of hundreds of thousands, yet he couldn’t even touch a fragment of Taesan’s mind.
[Check successful!]
*Crash!*
The world shattered.
Taesan frowned as he returned to the Labyrinth.
‘An Immortal?’
The being that had trampled Valencia’s world and subdued him.
That was undoubtedly the presence of an Immortal.
“Why is something like this here?”
It wasn’t just a fragment. It meant that an Immortal had personally crushed Valencia’s world.
And the presence that had approached Valencia in the end.
It was likely an Immortal. But then, there was a question. Why was Valencia here?
He wanted to ask about it, but Valencia was in no condition to answer.
“Haha… hahaha…”
With a sword piercing his chest, Valencia offered no resistance.
“You are… that kind of person.”
He looked at Taesan with a hoarse voice.
“Yes, you must have brought a pure core. You possess a level of mental fortitude that’s unaffected by such things… I wanted to become someone great and take revenge on the Immortal that did this to me… but it’s all in vain. So… in vain…”
For years, perhaps decades or even centuries, Valencia had been a madman dreaming of transcendence, taking root in the Labyrinth. And so, he died.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have obtained the special passive skill *Emotional Interference*.]
[Your Spiritual Force Enhancement has activated. You have obtained the special passive skill *Torrent of Emotions*.]
[*Torrent of Emotions* has been integrated with *Threefold Proof*.]
A skill integration had occurred.
[*Special Passive Skill: Threefold Proof*]
[*You have proven yourself to yourself, to the gods, and to the world. What you have accumulated, along with your emotions, now manifests in the physical world, exerting material influence.*]
The description of *Threefold Proof* now included the manifestation of not only what Taesan had accumulated but also his emotions.
“It’s been enhanced a bit.”
It wasn’t just his Spiritual Force, but also his emotions that were now included. The power of emotions that Valencia had shown wasn’t weak, just overshadowed by the power of an Apostle. *Threefold Proof* had become even more powerful.
[*Special Passive Skill: Emotional Interference*]
[*Proficiency: 1%*]
[*You can interfere with others’ emotions or imbue your attacks with emotions to attempt mental interference. This does not work on those with strong mental fortitude.*]
“Let’s see.”
Taesan activated his Frost Arrow. When he used Emotional Interference, the torrent of emotions that Valencia had shown began to slowly infuse the Frost Arrow.
“Not bad.”
It was similar to how every attack could now inflict a status effect. While it wouldn’t work on extremely powerful opponents, it would be quite useful against enemies who relied on numbers.
But that wasn’t all.
[You have reached a point desired by the Labyrinth’s designer. You will be rewarded accordingly.]
*Rumble.*
The bricks on the floor began to rise. They rearranged themselves like a puzzle, forming a shape.
[It’s you again.]
“Hello, Balbamamba.”
The Labyrinth’s overseer, Balbamamba, appeared. He looked at Taesan and muttered.
“It’s rare for an adventurer who hasn’t even reached the deep layers to meet me so often.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It depends on how you see it. Anyway, I have a job to do.”
Balbamamba’s body clicked. Valencia’s corpse began to sink into the Labyrinth’s floor.
*Rumble.*
In its place, a small spherical object appeared.
That was likely an interim NPC to replace Valencia.
[*The Labyrinth has long been accompanied by two guides on the 21st and 41st floors. Both have now vanished. And all because of a single adventurer.*]
“Should I apologize?”
“There’s no need. The fact that they’ve disappeared means their wishes `0have been fulfilled in some way. That’s a good thing. The hero behind you will eventually have the same fate.”
[…Maybe.]
The hero trailed off.
[My task is done. Now it’s time to give you your reward.]
Balbamamba’s body clicked as a powerful force descended.
[You have reached the second level desired by the Labyrinth’s magician.]
“Level 100?”
“If you express it in numbers, yes. The magician has prepared a reward for you.”
At level 55, Balbamamba had appeared and offered Taesan a choice.
‘What was it again?’
Equipment, skill proficiency, stat increases, Labyrinth knowledge, hidden truths, and desired information.
That’s what he remembered.
As Taesan considered what to receive, Balbamamba spoke.
[*It seems you’re thinking, but this time there are only two options.*]
“That’s fewer than last time.”
“Don’t blame me. It was the magician’s decision.”
Balbamamba spoke in a weary tone.
[*This time, you can either receive a precious piece of equipment or a skill. Choose.*]
The choice was obvious.
“Give me a skill.”
Equipment could be replaced eventually. But skills were different.
Balbamamba clicked his body, as if he had expected this.
[*Take it. It is a gift from the magician.*]
[*You have obtained the special activation skill *Adventurer’s Will*.*]
[*Special Activation Skill: Adventurer’s Will*]
[*Mana Consumption: 50*]
[*Only adventurers who descend the Labyrinth can possess this will. For a certain period, your strong will and mental fortitude will allow you to ignore all incoming status effects.*]
“A status immunity skill?”
Taesan’s interest was piqued. If it could ignore all status effects, then it would likely include cold, fire, emotion-based attacks, instant death effects, confusion, and more.
Although Taesan hadn’t experienced many mental attacks, the feeling of being immune versus simply resisting was different.
[*You have descended far enough to satisfy the magician. You deserve a reward fitting your achievements. Are you satisfied?*]
Taesan nodded. Balbamamba’s body began to disintegrate.
[*Then I must return to my duties. This is exhausting work, thanks to my busy master.*]
Taesan stopped Balbamamba as he was grumbling and leaving.
“Wait. I have one more question.”
[You are not permitted to ask.]
“It’s nothing grand. Just a simple confirmation.”
Balbamamba’s disintegration paused.
He asked.
[Speak. What is it?]
“When it comes to floor-clear rewards, no matter which floor it is, if I clear it, I will always receive the reward, right?”
[*So that’s what you wanted to ask.*]
Balbamamba answered in a weary tone.
[*Of course. That’s what floor rewards are for.*]
“Got it.”
Taesan nodded. Balbamamba’s body completely disintegrated.
[*Then, until we meet again.*]
Having confirmed this, Taesan continued to descend.
[*This is the path to the deeper parts of the Labyrinth.*]
[*Here lies a place filled with mysteries. A place where corrupted and uncorrupted beings coexist in harmony.*]
[51st Floor Quest Start.]
[Defeat the boss on the 51st floor and pass through.]
[Reward: Anklet of the Broken Spirit.]
[Secret Reward: ???]
A blacksmith awaited him on the 51st floor.
“So, you’ve finally made it this far.”
He looked at Taesan with a face filled with emotion.
“You’re descending at an incredible pace, unlike anyone else. From here on, the Labyrinth will change once again. Many things will appear. How you deal with them is entirely up to you.”
He offered some brief advice. Taesan absorbed the advice and continued through the passage.
‘Well then.’
The Demon God had mentioned that the 5th Hierarchy Guides were waiting on the 51st floor.
And Lee Taeyeon had said that the 51st floor was a rather unique place.
*Creak.*
Taesan opened the door.
What he saw was a vast city.
Countless medieval-style buildings lined the streets. Expressionless people walked along the roads.
There were no monsters in sight.
Rather than a floor, it looked like a village.
“It’s real.”
[It’s been a while since I’ve been here too.]
Many adventurers had ventured into the Labyrinth.
Some of them had descended to the deep layers, while others had died along the way.
But such people were rare.
Most who ventured into the Labyrinth eventually gave up on descending further.
Despair at the realization that they could die despite their talents. The doubt that they could ever reach the deepest layers.
Those who encountered such feelings and gave up on the Labyrinth would settle somewhere in the middle.
This was the 51st floor.
A city where the broken-hearted gathered.