Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 207: 51st Floor, The Forest of Mystical Beings (4)
Taesan gazed out at the lake.
There were at least eighty fairies, all circling the Fairy Queen as if they were guarding her. The lake wasn’t particularly large, but it was still wide enough that if the fairies decided to flee, capturing them all would be impossible.
His goal was to capture every single one of them.
Lee Taeyeon had also taken on this quest to bring back fairy wings.
However, she hadn’t been able to complete the quest properly, only managing to bring back fragments of wings.
The subsequent quests she received were also barely completed, with her collecting only bits and pieces. The gremlin had been so irritated by her efforts that he’d given her a trivial reward.
That reward was the blessing powder made from the fragments of fairy wings.
Despite being a meager reward, the item had an incredible effect, continuously restoring both Health and Mana for a certain period.
So, what kind of reward would the gremlin give if he managed to fulfill the quest to his satisfaction?
Taesan wasn’t content with just learning alchemy.
He needed to prevent the fairies from escaping. That meant he had to capture them all.
As he went over his skills one by one, he realized that none of them were suited for restraining such a large area.
‘*Frozen World* is also tricky.’
The fairies might not be able to withstand it, but the real problem was the Queen. *Frozen World* would instantly freeze everything, but it wouldn’t act as a barrier. If the fairies were determined to flee, they could still manage to escape.
So, what could he use to ensure they couldn’t escape?
‘Twisted Spiritual Force Coordination.’
A skill that twists and harmonizes spiritual energy.
Could he possibly combine it with *Frozen World*?
After thinking it over briefly, Taesan decided against it. Although his proficiency in Twisted Spiritual Force Coordination had greatly increased, there were still limits.
*Frozen World* was a mid-level spell. The skill itself was already high-level.
Trying to infuse spiritual energy into it would likely exhaust Taesan before the battle even began.
‘I need a skill that’s less taxing than *Frozen World* and can still restrain them.’
A specific skill came to Taesan’s mind.
He made his decision and immediately began preparing.
[You have activated Apostle Transformation: *Rakiratas*.]
The spiritual energy infused into Taesan’s body. The intense presence seeped through the powder cloak, radiating outward.
[Huh?]
[Something’s wrong.]
[This feels strange.]
The fairies sensed Taesan’s presence and hesitated, but Taesan clenched his fist.
[You have activated Marbas’s False Flame.]
Whoosh.
Flames erupted.
Taesan focused his mind to control the flames. The fire spread around the lake, rising like a wall and encircling it.
[It’s fire.]
[It’s dangerous.]
The fairies began to panic, unsure of what to do. The Fairy Queen also appeared unsettled, her eyes darting around nervously.
The first step was complete. Now for the next.
Taesan infused the false flames with his spiritual energy.
A wave of exhaustion hit him instantly.
It was only natural since he had to tightly wrap the spiritual energy around the false flames that now surrounded the entire lake.
But he could manage it.
During the trial of Aphrodia, he had significantly increased his proficiency in Twisted Spiritual Force Coordination. Handling spiritual energy had become smoother, and the burden was reduced. As a result, something that would have been impossible before—infusing spiritual energy into such a large-scale skill—was now achievable.
“Whew.”
Taesan exhaled. He had used almost all of his spiritual energy, but he succeeded in enveloping the false flames with it.
[Let’s get out.]
[Let’s find a way.]
The fairies, belatedly, began firing beams of light at the flames. However, the false flames easily absorbed their light without any issue.
[Step aside.]
The Fairy Queen stepped forward.
She raised her finger, and seven lights gathered at the tip before merging into one and shooting out.
Zing.
It was a force on an entirely different level from the other fairies.
However, it couldn’t penetrate the false flames. The issue wasn’t one of strength but of power tiers.
The Fairy Queen scowled.
[Come out, you insolent thing.]
“Hello?”
Taesan revealed himself. The fairies that had attacked him screamed and clung to the Fairy Queen.
[It’s the scary human.]
[He’s the one who killed us.]
The Fairy Queen glared at him with a murderous look.
[Lowly human. Why do you seek to attack us?]
“It’s a bit unfair for you to say that when you attacked first.”
Taesan smirked. The fairies hiding behind the Queen cowered even further.
The Fairy Queen sneered.
[That was a joke. The playful jest of us fairies. A human should accept such things with grace.]
“Yeah, right.”
Taesan scoffed at the Queen’s words.
[Your Majesty.]
The fairies whispered behind the Fairy Queen. Upon hearing them, a sneer appeared on the Queen’s lips.
[I see. You’ve taken up the request of that filthy, wretched creature? So you’ve come to kill us. How fitting for a lowly human.]
“Why don’t you shut up and fight?”
[You have activated Frost Arrow.]
Taesan, with a look of disgust, cast a spell. Arrows of frost shot toward the fairies.
[How foolish.]
The Fairy Queen flicked her hand. Sparkling dust scattered, colliding with the frost arrows. The resulting ice shattered into tiny flakes, falling like snow.
The Fairy Queen smiled.
[You created a curtain of false magic to trap us, but it will only be your undoing.]
The Fairy Queen wasn’t entirely wrong. He had used up nearly all his spiritual energy to create the fire barrier, leaving little to gain from his Apostle Transformation in battle.
“But that doesn’t matter. I can still win without it.”
[Go forth, my children.]
Zing.
Dozens of beams of light converged on Taesan at once. With a smile, he stomped the ground.
“I don’t have time to deal with all of you.”
[You have activated *Frozen World*.]
The false flames consumed spiritual energy and magi. Mana, however, was something entirely different.
He had used false flames instead of directly infusing *Frozen World* with spiritual energy because the latter would be too taxing. But using *Frozen World* alone posed no issues.
Crack!
An extreme cold swept through the fire barrier. The beams of light froze mid-flight and continued on to freeze the fairies that had fired them.
[Kyaaah!]
[Your Majesty!]
The fairies screamed as they froze solid.
The Fairy Queen hastily gathered light.
Zing!
A rainbow-colored light shot out in all directions, shattering the cold that was consuming everything.
The ice only managed to cover half of the lake.
The Fairy Queen, furious, shouted,
[Human!]
“You blocked it, huh?”
[You have activated *Frozen World*.]
Crack!
The cold surged once again.
The Fairy Queen’s expression hardened. She quickly gathered more light and fired it at the approaching cold.
Crack!
But the cold was too overwhelming. The ice began to advance once again.
Taesan activated it once more.
[You have activated *Frozen World*.]
Crack!
The cold intensified further.
The Fairy Queen gritted her teeth and flew into the sky.
[Your Majesty!]
[Please save us!]
The fairies flailed, but they were trapped by the fire barrier with nowhere to escape. Unable to withstand the encroaching cold, they all froze.
Within the fire barrier, the only ones left moving were Taesan and the Fairy Queen.
“Not bad.”
Taesan extinguished the barrier with a whistle. Having wiped out the fairies, he had leveled up twice.
While Taesan was reveling in his progress, the Fairy Queen, enraged, screamed,
[How dare you! My children!]
“If they were so precious to you, you should have protected them with your life.”
Taesan’s words were calm, but his eyes were as cold as ever.
‘As expected, it doesn’t work on those above a certain level.’
*Frozen World* was indeed powerful. As a mid-level spell, very few could withstand it.
However, it was ultimately an area-of-effect spell. It didn’t have as much impact on a single target. Against someone like the Fairy Queen, who was beyond a certain level, *Frozen World* wasn’t as effective.
[Human.]
Her eyes blazed with fury as she glared at Taesan.
[I will kill you.]
The Fairy Queen spread her wings. She began her assault from above, looking down on Taesan as if to pass judgment.
The powder from her wings scattered, shooting at Taesan like bullets.
There were too many to block. Taesan raised his shield.
Crack! Crack!
A heavy impact was felt beyond the shield. Despite the tiny size of the powder, the force was like being struck with a hammer.
Zing.
Rainbow-colored light gathered around the Fairy Queen’s fingers.
Taesan put away his shield and launched himself into the air.
He dodged the incoming light and charged at the Fairy Queen. But she simply flew higher.
[Lowly human. You who crawl on the ground. You cannot reach me.]
“Who said I couldn’t?”
Taesan kicked off a nearby tree.
He leaped from tree to tree, closing the distance to the Fairy Queen. The Queen sneered as she raised her hand.
[A creature that crawls on the ground dares to reach the sky.]
Zing!
Rainbow-colored beams arced toward Taesan from every direction. With the unstable footing provided by the trees, dodging them was impossible.
[Your first attack nullification has been activated.]
The light vanished as if it had never existed.
The Fairy Queen’s eyes widened in shock.
[What?]
Taesan continued to propel himself off the trees, closing in on the Queen. She gritted her teeth and soared even higher.
Now, she ascended to a height far beyond Taesan’s reach. With a frustrated expression, she began to gather light once more.
Taesan, seeing no alternative, pushed off from the last tree with all his strength.
[You have activated Leap.]
Crack.
The tree couldn’t withstand the force and snapped. Taesan’s body shot through the air, closing the gap to the Fairy Queen in an instant.
[Ugh.]
The Fairy Queen gasped and tried to maneuver out of his path. Her body shifted to the left, narrowly avoiding Taesan’s initial strike.
[You’ve tried hard, but this is the end. A wingless creature can only fall after trying to fly.]
Without wings, Taesan had no way to move in the air. The Fairy Queen was confident that gravity would now bring him down.
[You have activated Midair Step.]
Taesan kicked off the air as if it were solid ground.
With this sudden maneuver, he closed the gap between them, seizing the Fairy Queen by the throat.
“Let’s play on the ground, shall we?”
[You have activated Landing.]
[Argh!]
Together, they plummeted toward the earth. The impact was thunderous, and the Fairy Queen choked on a breath, coughing up blood.
[Human!]
She screamed in rage as she lay on the ground, fury radiating from her.
Rainbow-colored light burst forth, a storm of sparkling powder rushing toward Taesan in an attempt to engulf him.
But Taesan didn’t even bother to defend. Instead, he drove his sword into her chest.
[How? Why? Why isn’t my attack working?]
The Fairy Queen was at a loss. Each time her attack touched Taesan, it dissipated, nullified as if it had never existed. Without knowledge of his attack nullification ability, she couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
Taesan grasped her wings and yanked with all his strength. The wings tore from her back with a sickening rip.
[Ingaaah!]
The Fairy Queen screamed in agony, her power surging in one final burst of rage.
She was undeniably strong.
Taesan recognized that she was a foe beyond the typical level of a 51st-floor adversary.
But then again, Taesan wasn’t typical either.
Crack.
Taesan crushed her last desperate struggle underfoot, driving his sword deeper until the Fairy Queen coughed up blood and slumped lifelessly.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have gained an increase in spiritual power.]
[You have obtained the Fairy Queen’s Wings.]
Taesan’s level rose by four. This was an unprecedented leap, something he had never experienced before.
The rewards on the 51st floor were on an entirely different scale. Whether it was quest rewards or level increases, everything was far more significant than before.
“Not bad.”
Taesan collected the frozen fairies’ wings and made his way back.
***
“Oh, oh, oh!”
The gremlin, who had been waiting by the house, greeted Taesan with a radiant smile.
“You’ve brought so many! And even the cursed Queen’s wings! Excellent, truly excellent!”
He laughed heartily, quickly attaching the Queen’s wings to his back. With a dreamy expression, he stroked the wings before turning to Taesan.
“Keep this up. If you complete everything for me, not only will I teach you alchemy, but I’ll also give you whatever else you desire.”
The gremlin’s eyes were bloodshot with excitement.
“Next, there’s a blue serpent deep within the forest. Bring me its scales.”