Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 211: The Wolf That Destroyed the World (1)
“It’s already too late.”
The power emanating from beneath the village was dense and overwhelming, as if preparations had been underway since the moment he left. There was nothing he could do now to stop them.
So, he decided to enjoy himself first. He was curious to see what they had prepared and how they intended to capture him.
Darien led him to the village tavern. Inside, adventurers greeted him with awkward expressions.
“Hello!”
“Nice to meet you!”
They approached Taesan. Their act was so unconvincing that even a three-year-old wouldn’t be fooled.
Taesan barely suppressed a laugh as he accepted their hospitality.
“Here, we prepared this with great care.”
They brought out some dishes.
The meal was quite lavish. Roasted chicken legs, a well-prepared vegetable salad—dishes he hadn’t seen when he passed through before.
Taesan sat down at a chair set before the spread. Darien urged him on with a smile.
“Dig in!”
Taesan took a bite of the salad.
Ptooey.
He spat it out.
“Poison, huh? Not a strong one. A paralytic poison. So, you just need to buy some time?”
“W-what?”
“Unfortunately, poison of this level won’t work on me.”
Darien’s face hardened into a grim expression.
“So, you figured it out.”
“I thought about playing along a bit longer, but your acting was so bad it was embarrassing.”
Taesan placed his hand on the table. With a slight push, the table shattered, spilling the food all over the floor.
“So, these are the rewards for cooperating with the Guides of Sin, I take it?”
The lavish food was something even Lee Taeyeon hadn’t mentioned. It wasn’t likely these villagers had hunted monsters themselves. This must have been one of the things the Guides gave them in exchange for their cooperation.
“You’re nothing!”
Darien shouted in rage.
“The 51st floor is just the middle of the labyrinth! It’s nothing! The moment you defied the Guides, you were as good as dead!”
“Those fools think they can kill me?”
Taesan sneered.
With a burning gaze, Darien drew his sword.
“Shut up and die!”
Thud!
They all rushed at him at once. A woman drew a dagger, and a burly knight swung down a greatsword.
Taesan stomped his foot.
He grabbed the greatsword, twisted it out of the knight’s grip, and sent it flying. He kicked the dagger wielder and sidestepped another swinging sword, countering with a downward slash of his own.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
“Aagh!”
In a single breath, all five of them were simultaneously knocked down. The others who had charged with furious expressions suddenly hesitated.
“W-what?”
“Why… how?”
“You must’ve thought that just because I’ve cleared the 51st floor, I’m about as strong as you, but that’s a mistake.”
Right now, even if dozens of them charged him simultaneously, Taesan could handle them without issue.
“If you knew that, you wouldn’t have accepted such pitiful rewards and taken the Guides’ offer. Were you that eager to kill me just because I kept moving forward?”
“Shut up!”
Enraged by the taunting words, Darien lunged at him with a shout. Taesan deftly avoided the wildly swinging sword and grabbed Darien by the neck.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
The tavern floor cracked as Darien was slammed into it.
“I’d love to play around more, but I don’t think I have the time. Let’s finish this quickly.”
[You have activated Addition.]
A one-against-many battle began, but it was completely one-sided.
Taesan swiftly began to take them down one by one. They resisted, but with the combination of forced duels, his overwhelming stats, and skills they couldn’t even comprehend, they fell one after another.
“Aaagh!”
They started to flee in panic.
It was hard to believe these were people who had once risked their lives to descend into the labyrinth.
It meant their spirits had been completely eroded and worn down over time.
Crunch.
[Your level has increased.]
He had only dealt with about ten of them. Instead of chasing those who ran, Taesan began preparing for the next fight.
Rumble!
The ground started to split open.
A massive presence began to emerge from below.
An aura so potent it could kill the weak just by existing.
Taesan clicked his tongue.
“They’re serious about this.”
[Oh… what is that?]
Crack!
The floor collapsed. Those who had lost their will screamed and fled in a panic.
[Awoooooo!]
Boom!
The ground exploded with a howl, and something emerged.
It was on fire.
Blazing red flames enveloped its body, scattering intense heat in all directions. The moisture in the air evaporated instantly, leaving his mouth parched. Unfortunate souls who stood nearby found their health rapidly depleted by the heat and staggered away in desperation.
[Awoooooo!]
It howled with the mouth of a beast.
[A Fragment of the Wolf That Destroyed the World has appeared.]
“Wolf?”
A monstrous wolf was burning in flames.
Its size was enormous, far larger than any normal building.
“Ugh!”
From the split ground, several figures emerged, screaming.
They weren’t those who had lost their spirit; they were the Guides of Sin. Recognizing this, Taesan quickly grabbed one of them and pulled him over.
“T-thank y—”
“No need to thank me.”
“Y-you’re…!”
Realizing who Taesan was, the man’s face turned pale. Taesan pinned him down and asked.
“What did you do?”
The aura it exuded. The spiritual energy it emanated.
Even Taesan couldn’t easily guarantee victory against it. No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t a monster that should appear on the 51st floor.
The captive spoke with a despondent expression, as if he had given up on everything.
“…We can’t defeat you.”
“That’s obvious.”
He had descended beyond the 50th floor and even defeated Kwaned, who could take down all of them. And Taesan had grown much stronger since then.
No matter what they did, they couldn’t beat him. Both Taesan and the Guides knew this, as did their superiors.
“So, the higher-ups didn’t provide us with any support. They probably intend to use higher-ranking Guides to deal with you. But we didn’t want to just disappear like that.”
“So, you called upon something like that?”
“…One of us had it. When we mentioned it, the higher-ups agreed to support us.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Their circumstances weren’t Taesan’s concern.
“What is that?”
“…A fragment of the Wolf That Destroyed the World.”
He bit his lip.
“One of us came from a world that was destroyed. His world was annihilated by a burning wolf. At the last moment, heroes gathered and managed to kill the wolf, but the world was already consumed by fire and destroyed. Before leaving that dying world, he found the wolf’s corpse and took a fragment of it.”
“So that’s what that is.”
A wolf that burned everything just by existing.
Even if it was just a fragment, it seemed to possess a portion of the power that had destroyed that world.
“That damn fool. He boasted that he could control it, but the moment he summoned it, he got devoured…”
It seemed their plan had gone awry. Having gotten the answers he wanted, Taesan raised his sword.
“Goodbye.”
Crunch.
The man closed his eyes with a gloomy expression.
A Guide of the 50th floor. Outside, he would have been praised as one of the best.
Yet his death was utterly meaningless.
Taesan turned to face the wolf.
[Growl…]
The wolf seemed confused.
It was a creature born to destroy worlds. That was its mission since the dawn of creation, and it had lived solely for that purpose.
When the time came, it rose and destroyed the world.
Though it was eventually killed, it died content, knowing it had fulfilled its mission.
But suddenly, it found itself in a strange place.
And with only a fraction of its previous power.
[Grumble.]
The wolf’s eyes gradually calmed.
Much had changed, but nothing was different. Its mission was still the destruction of worlds. Thus, it only needed to destroy this world.
The wolf instinctively focused on Taesan.
It sensed that he was the most dangerous presence here, the one who could kill it.
As soon as it realized this, the wolf howled.
[Awooooooo!]
“Aaagh!”
Those hiding behind buildings clutched their ears. Some couldn’t bear it and coughed up blood.
Taesan also felt a sharp sensation that shook his mind and body simultaneously.
The wolf’s presence grew even larger with its howl.
And along with it, the wolf’s flames intensified.
“Ah, ahhh…”
“S-save me…”
The village started to burn. Not only did the flames dry out their lips, but they also began to burn their flesh.
The surviving adventurers slowly succumbed to the heat, dying one by one.
Even Taesan couldn’t remain unaffected by the heat.
[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]
[Your Second Attack Nullification has been activated.]
[Your Third Attack Nullification has been activated.]
[You take 205 damage.]
[You take 207 damage.]
Not only were his attack nullifications rapidly consumed, but he also took continuous damage every few seconds.
“So, I’m already forced to use this.”
Taesan pulled out the fairy powder he had received from the Gremlin and sprinkled it on himself.
[You have used the Blessing Powder made from Fairy Wings. Your Health and Mana will regenerate continuously for a certain period.]
After using the powder, he noticed a significant reduction in his health loss. While it was still decreasing slightly, it wasn’t enough to meaningfully affect the battle.
The spirit let out a sigh.
[They even brought out something like that. They must have been desperate.]
“What exactly is it?”
[Remember when I said my world was destroyed by a demon lord?]
“Yeah, I remember.”
[It’s similar to that. A creature that exists solely to destroy worlds. It’s only a fragment, but… it’s still not a weak monster.]
A monster on par with a demon lord.
“We’ve come a long way.”
Taesan chuckled and prepared for battle.
[You are facing an impossible foe.]
[Battle Lust has been activated.]
[Honorable Duel has been activated.]
[Proof of Limits has been activated.]
[Giant Killer has been activated.]
[You have activated Contempt for the Strong.]
As all of Taesan’s abilities enhanced, the wolf’s gaze became more intense and cautious.
The wolf howled.
[Growl!]
The howl swept over Taesan, who stomped his foot to shake it off.
The wolf then launched itself at him, moving with surprising speed for its massive size.
As the wolf’s claw, as large as its body, came crashing down, Taesan raised his sword.
Clang!
He barely managed to steady his knees, which almost buckled from the impact.
He realized the wolf possessed much greater strength. The wolf moved its other paw, and Taesan leaped back to evade.
[Growl!]
The wolf howled again. From its open maw, fiery spheres shot out one after another.
“Does it think it’s a dragon or something?”
Taesan grumbled. The spheres of fire were quite large and numerous, making them difficult to dodge by just moving.
[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]
Flap!
Fairy wings unfolded from Taesan’s back.
He accelerated into the air, dodging the incoming fireballs. From the sky, Taesan activated his skill.
[You have activated Frost Arrow.]
Frost Arrows continued to fire. Dozens, then hundreds of Frost Arrows materialized above Taesan, clustering together.
A massive ice meteor formed.
“If it’s a flaming wolf, it should be weak to ice.”
Taesan extended his hand, sending the ice meteor crashing down toward the wolf, freezing everything in its path.