Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 208: 51st Floor, The Forest of Mystical Beings (5)
[Most of the creatures bound to this place are twisted, but that one is especially so.]
The ghost spoke as Taesan searched for the river.
[Everyone here entered the labyrinth seeking something. But I still don’t understand what the gremlin’s purpose is.]
A hero seeking revenge. Lilith, desiring magic. Ainzhar, searching for a god.
All of them had clear, understandable goals. But the ghost couldn’t figure out what the gremlin wanted by entering this place.
[He’s rejected everyone and immersed himself in his own world. And now, he wants to become like the others he despises, even though it’s strangling him. At this rate, he won’t last long before he dies.]
There was no rule preventing the beings within the labyrinth from harming each other. Lilith, for instance, had feared for her life when she was forcibly moved to a room with an orc.
In other words, the inhabitants of the 51st floor could easily kill the gremlin if they chose to.
[What could he possibly want?]
“I think I have an idea,” Taesan replied, causing the ghost to tilt his head in curiosity.
[You know? You understand that madman’s mind?]
Even though the ghost had cleared the 51st floor and completed the gremlin’s quests, he still couldn’t comprehend what the gremlin desired.
Taesan muttered,
“I’m pretty good at figuring these things out.”
Lee Taeyeon.
While clearing the 51st floor, she had learned much about the gremlin.
In her past life, she had shared bits of this knowledge with Taesan, so he knew why the gremlin had entered this place.
“The gremlin’s alchemy is remarkable, isn’t it?”
[Uh… to be honest, there’s no one who can match him. If he put his mind to it and had the right materials, he could survive even in the deep levels. It’s crazy that a gremlin has such talent. The world really is coming to an end.]
The ghost clicked his tongue, his voice laced with an underlying disdain for the gremlin.
[A gremlin is a bottom-tier monster with no real intelligence. They’re worse than goblins. That one’s an anomaly.]
“And that’s exactly the problem.”
Their conversation was cut short as they discovered a vast river stretching endlessly before them.
“So this is it.”
[You have activated Fireball.]
Flames erupted repeatedly, exploding into the river. In an instant, the water began to boil violently.
Rumble.
The water trembled, and soon, a massive creature emerged.
It was a serpent with shimmering sky-blue scales.
[A Blue Serpent has appeared, residing in the deep river.]
[Human.]
The serpent flicked its tongue, glaring at Taesan.
[This is sacred ground. A place not meant for humans. Leave at once.]
“That’s not for you to decide.”
Taesan drew his sword. The serpent’s eyes narrowed to slits.
[So, you seek death!]
Boom!
The river responded to the serpent’s rage, rising violently as if to flood the forest and swallow Taesan whole.
[Shraaaa!]
The serpent opened its jaws wide and lunged at Taesan. He blocked the attack with his sword.
Crash!
With a loud impact, Taesan was pushed back. The serpent had enough strength to overpower him in a direct clash.
[You have activated Parry.]
Taesan deflected the serpent’s attack and leaped forward.
[You have activated *Frozen World*.]
Crack!
The surging river froze over. The serpent recoiled in surprise as the sudden cold overwhelmed it.
[A mere human with such power!]
Taesan pushed off the frozen ground and charged at the serpent.
The serpent’s sky-blue scales were beautiful, and its power was formidable. The scales were tough, and the only way to defeat it was to strike the reverse scale on its forehead.
The serpent, aware of this, did its best to protect its forehead.
But Taesan didn’t particularly care about that.
[You have activated Strong Strike.]
[You have activated Addition.]
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Consecutive Attack.]
With enhanced force, Taesan slashed at the serpent’s side. With a resounding crash, the massive serpent’s body wavered.
[You inflicted 503 damage on the Blue Serpent.]
[H-how is this possible!]
The serpent’s defense was solid, but only by the standards of the 51st floor. Taesan’s power far exceeded that, making it easy to penetrate the serpent’s defenses.
Rumble!
The serpent thrashed wildly, devastating everything around it. Taesan dodged the fierce attacks and drove his sword into the serpent’s tail.
[Shraaaa!]
The serpent screamed as Taesan tore through its flesh, causing blue blood to splatter.
[Cursed human!]
The serpent writhed in pain and tried to retreat into the river. Taesan followed it into the water.
[Foolish human! This is my domain! A filthy land-dweller like you cannot survive here!]
The serpent thought it had the upper hand, but Taesan moved through the water as easily as he did on land, unaffected by the resistance.
Crack.
[Kyaaa!]
With skills like Forced Action and Breathless, Taesan wasn’t hindered by being underwater.
The serpent struggled desperately to survive, but Taesan crushed its every effort. Before long, the serpent succumbed to its injuries.
[Shraaaa…]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your spiritual power has increased.]
[You have obtained the Blue Serpent’s Scales.]
The second quest was now complete.
Taesan returned to the gremlin with the scales, and the gremlin couldn’t contain his laughter.
“That arrogant serpent! The one who mocked me every time I fetched water! Dead!”
He eagerly gathered the scales and the fairy wings together.
“With this, I can finally become one of them! I’ll be one of their kind!”
[Yeah, right.]
The ghost scoffed. There was no way the creatures of the forest would welcome the gremlin who had caused such destruction.
But the gremlin continued to smile.
“I’ll be accepted. They laughed at me because I’m a gremlin. They mocked my hideous appearance. But if I become one of them, they’ll accept me.”
[He’s insane.]
The ghost shook his head, unable to understand the gremlin’s delusions.
Taesan, who had been watching the gremlin quietly, spoke.
“Do you really think they’ll accept you?”
The gremlin’s smile faded.
“You won’t gain anything from what you’re doing.”
“…Shut up!”
The gremlin shouted angrily.
“You don’t understand anything! You don’t know what I want! Why I’m here! Why I give you these quests!”
[Whoa?]
The ghost was shocked. He had never seen the gremlin lose his temper like this.
It meant that Taesan’s words had struck a nerve with the gremlin.
The gremlin growled, waving his hand dismissively.
“Just focus on completing the next quest. Go and pluck the leaf from the flower that dwells in the dark green forest.”
“Fine.”
Taesan complied without argument.
As he left, the gremlin watched him with a troubled expression.
[Is it just me, or was that reaction really unusual? I’ve never seen him act like that.]
Taesan wandered through the forest, searching for the place the gremlin had mentioned.
There, he found a massive flower spewing poison, spreading it throughout the area.
“It’s a rafflesia.”
[You have activated Breathless.]
Taesan stopped breathing. The rafflesia moved its tendrils, trying to ensnare him.
Crack.
He cut them all down with his sword, then unleashed a series of fireballs at the rafflesia, setting it ablaze.
The flower’s petals began to singe and curl.
The poison thickened, now affecting his skin directly.
Attack nullification was quickly drained, and his health began to decrease slowly.
There was no benefit in dragging this out.
[You have activated Adventurer’s Will.]
Taesan dodged the tendrils that shot toward him and drove his sword deep into the flower’s core.
[You have activated Critical Strike.]
[You have activated Wedge.]
He used *Frozen World* to freeze the tendrils and then brutally drove his sword into the designated weak point.
[You inflicted 4,589 damage on the Rafflesia.]
The rafflesia’s body shuddered violently.
Taesan crushed its resistance and delivered the final blow.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your spiritual power has increased.]
[You have obtained the Leaf of the Dark Green Flower.]
Taesan swiftly completed the third quest as well.
With these quests, Taesan began to realize something.
“It’s a kind of test.”
The first quest: Subdue the fairies who attacked from a distance you couldn’t reach.
The second quest: Defeat a serpent in its home terrain, underwater, and retrieve its scales.
The third quest: Overcome a foe that dealt continuous damage simply by being near it.
Even if one couldn’t defeat these enemies like Taesan, they still had to succeed in retrieving the necessary items. The meaning was clear: you had to use the experience and skills you had gained so far to overcome various environments and enemies.
“No wonder those people are stuck in the village.”
Lee Taeyeon had mentioned that it took her nearly a year to clear this floor.
As Taesan headed back to the gremlin, he muttered,
“The guides were hiding in the village.”
[You noticed?]
“There’s no way they could survive out here.”
The Archfiend had mentioned that the guides had been waiting on the 51st floor. So when Taesan didn’t see them in the village, he initially thought they were hiding somewhere in the forest, waiting to ambush him. It seemed like the perfect environment for such a strategy.
But after experiencing the forest firsthand, Taesan realized something.
This was not a place where one could hide.
The forest was a treacherous environment, so dangerous that even surviving was a challenge for an adventurer from the 50th floor. The fact that the guides weren’t out in the open meant that they were likely hiding in the village, waiting for Taesan to pass through.
Why they were hiding was unclear, but that was something Taesan could investigate directly.
When Taesan returned to the gremlin, he was met not with the previous outbursts of anger but with a complicated expression.
“…So you managed to kill that cursed plant too. You’re fast. Good. It’s all done now.”
“Is the next target the unicorn?”
“Yes. Once you take down that wretched beast, it will all be over.”
The gremlin handed Taesan a small pouch of powder.
“Take this.”
[You have obtained Seductive Powder.]
“Sprinkle it on yourself and wander through the forest. It will help you find the unicorn.”
“Any idea how long it’ll take for the unicorn to appear?”
“I don’t know. That beast is notoriously capricious. But it should show up within a few days.”
Taesan sprinkled the powder over himself. Immediately, a rainbow-colored aura began to envelop his entire body.
“This is a bit too flashy.”
“It’s what that creature likes. Nothing can be done about it.”
Having passed on all the necessary instructions, the gremlin fell silent, watching Taesan quietly. Then, with a somber tone, he spoke again.
“…You said earlier that you know why I came here.”
“Yes.”
Taesan nodded. The gremlin’s voice lowered even more.
“Then tell me. What do I need to do? What must I do to achieve what I desire?”
“I don’t know that. But I can tell you this much: what you’re doing right now won’t get you anything. You know that yourself, don’t you?”
The gremlin’s eyes wavered at Taesan’s words.
He remained silent, retreating back into his house.
Taesan watched him for a moment before moving on.
Although this was the last quest, there wasn’t much for him to do immediately. The task was simply to wander around until he encountered the unicorn, so he no longer had a specific goal to pursue at that moment.
With time to spare, Taesan decided to search for a location Lee Taeyeon had mentioned.
As he meticulously examined the trees, the ghost asked,
[You’re looking for that place she mentioned?]
“If I can find it, it’ll be a huge advantage.”
[Hmm… Does that place really exist? I passed through the 51st floor too, but I never found anything like that. I always thought there weren’t any secret rooms here.]
“She wouldn’t lie about something like this. Besides, I’ve seen the proof myself.”
Lee Taeyeon had told him about a very special secret room on the 51st floor. She had mentioned that she found something valuable there, and she had even shown Taesan what she had acquired.
[If that’s the case, it might be worth searching for, but it could take a while.]
“I’ll just have to check everything carefully.”
Taesan recalled the information Lee Taeyeon had shared.
‘Two trees intertwined, with ashen-colored bark.’
Taesan strengthened his resolve and began to navigate the forest with purpose.
[You have activated Mental Acceleration.]
The scenery blurred as Taesan sped through the forest.
Despite moving at such a high speed that most would struggle to process their surroundings, Taesan’s keen senses allowed him to take in everything—the shapes of passing trees, the placement of bushes, and every little detail.
[Mental Acceleration proficiency increased by 1%.]
[Synced Vision proficiency increased by 1%.]
He continued to push forward, scanning every inch of the environment.
After about five minutes of this high-speed search, Taesan finally found what he was looking for.
Two ashen-colored trees were intertwined with each other, their trunks twisted together. In a forest full of vibrant, colorful trees, these gray trees stood out, but only to someone who knew what to look for. The ghost muttered in amazement.
[It’s really here… How on earth did she find this?]
“She’s got a knack for things like this.”
Lee Taeyeon had been the one to discover the Forgotten Goddess’s relic as well.
She had a distinct talent for finding hidden things in confined spaces.
Taesan placed his hand on the tree.
At first, there was no response. But knowing what to do from Lee Taeyeon’s instructions, Taesan exerted pressure on the tree, channeling mana into it.
The tree greedily absorbed the mana like a parched animal, gradually restoring its original color and appearance as the mana revitalized it.
Taesan continued until the intertwined trees began to untangle themselves, revealing an opening between them.
Beyond the opening was a transparent pathway.
Taesan stepped into it.
[You have discovered the Secret Domain of the 51st Floor.]
[First Discovery Bonus: Mana +50, Intelligence +50]
The secret room was vast.
It was so large that he could barely see the end of it, making it unlike any other secret room he had encountered so far.
[A sub-quest has been initiated.]
[This is a place created by a mysterious dragon as it passed through the mystical forest. The dragon wishes to gift you a mystery for finding this hidden domain.]
[Condition: Use the fairy wings to cross the chasm.]
[Reward: Fairy’s Wings]
[A mysterious dragon?]
The ghost’s voice was filled with surprise.
“You know of it?”
[I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard of it. It’s said to be a being that resides deep in the labyrinth… I can’t believe it created a place like this.]
“Maybe it did it for fun.”
Whether it was for fun or some other purpose, Taesan would receive a reward. As soon as he accepted the quest, a new skill was granted to him.
[You have obtained the special activation skill *Fairy’s Wings (Temporary)*.]
[You have activated *Fairy’s Wings (Temporary)*.]
Rainbow-colored wings sprouted from Taesan’s back. As he looked at the vibrant wings, he muttered in dissatisfaction,
“These are way too bright.”
[Is now really the time to complain? You’re being given fairy wings?]
The ghost chuckled.
[Damn, I wish I’d found this place too.]
The ghost sighed in envy. This secret room was indeed valuable.
There was no skill that allowed someone to fly freely through the air.
Even if the conditions to obtain such a skill existed, Taesan, despite all his efforts, had never managed to get one. Instead, he had to rely on skills like Leap, Midair Step, Landing, and Random Blink during aerial battles.
While he could manage, it was inconvenient and came with significant limitations. When he had fought the Fairy Queen, if she had decided to abandon the fight and fly far away, he would have had no way to pursue her.
Many monsters were capable of flight, leaving players at a serious disadvantage without the means to follow them.
But Lee Taeyeon had been different.
With the Fairy’s Wings, she had been able to deal with flying monsters swiftly. On several occasions, Taesan had focused on ground-based monsters while she took care of the aerial threats.
All of this had been thanks to the Fairy’s Wings she obtained on the 51st floor.
“There’s no way I’m leaving without these.”
The ghost remained silent, likely realizing that even in the deeper levels of the labyrinth, there might not be any skill allowing for true aerial movement.
[But it doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy.]
The secret room was enormous, and in the distance, Taesan could see what appeared to be the destination.
However, there was no visible path leading to it.
Instead, a seemingly endless chasm stretched before him.
[First Quest.]
[Use the Fairy’s Wings to cross the chasm and reach the next point.]