Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 248: Special Passive Skill: Absolute Blessing (1)

“Stay still.”

[Understood.]

[You have activated Essence Identification.]

[Formless and Transforming Rafflesia.]

[The formless tentacles scatter invisible poison in all directions. The poison from the tentacles can vary in both quality and concentration.]

As Taeyeon had explained to him, Taesan could feel the intangible movements around the Rafflesia.

Those must be the tentacles described in the explanation.

“Let’s take a look.”

Taeyeon had told him many things—what was on each floor, which monsters were waiting, and what was hidden.

Taesan didn’t remember everything, but he had stored the more interesting details in his mind.

The Rafflesia in front of him was one of them.

A monster that could allow Taesan to obtain a skill.

The Rafflesia, having recognized Taesan, began scattering its poison.

Invisible, formless forces surrounded Taesan’s entire body.

[Your first attack nullification has been activated.]

[Your second attack nullification has been activated.]

[Your third attack nullification has been activated.]

The attack nullifications were quickly consumed.

Then, the damage started coming in.

[You have taken 10 damage.]

[You have taken 10 damage.]

“About 10, huh?”

His health began to steadily decrease.

But this wasn’t nearly enough to kill Taesan. He approached the Rafflesia.

In response, the Rafflesia moved its formless tentacles.

The concentration of the scattered poison changed.

Taesan focused his attention.

He expanded his senses and read the altered flow of the poison.

‘I can read it.’

He grasped the trajectory and quality of the poison, then swung his sword.

Swoosh!

The poison dispersed in the gust from his sword strike. The Rafflesia moved its tentacles again. The poison surged like flames in all directions.

Taesan didn’t dodge.

Instead, he moved his sword.

Swoosh!

He generated wind, manipulating the flow of poison by creating gusts with his punches, redirecting the poison’s trajectory.

His rapidly moving hands scattered all the poison.

“It works.”

He could discern and completely deflect the invisible attacks performed by the Rafflesia.

‘And now for the proficiency…’

[Special Passive Skill: Blocking]

[Proficiency: 23%]

[Blocks damage below a certain threshold. However, damage above 3 cannot be nullified.]

The effect of **Blocking** was to block damage below a certain amount.

It didn’t reduce 100 damage by 2 points; rather, it nullified any damage below 2 entirely.

2 points.

That’s doable.

Having confirmed this, Taesan turned his back on the Rafflesia, which was about to scatter more poison.

[Huh? Where are you going?]

“I’m heading to the store. There’s something I need to buy.”

When Taesan returned, the shopkeeper asked with a grumble.

“You just went down. Why are you back already?”

“I need something. Can I see your potion selection?”

“Got it.”

The shopkeeper, though puzzled, opened the space and showed the potions. Taesan inspected each one until he found what he was looking for.

[Potion of Blessing]

[Negates 3 points of sustained damage.]

[Cost: 1,000G]

[Potion of Enhancement]

[When mixed with a specific potion, the effect of the potion increases.]

[Cost: 1,200G]

[Designated Enhancement Potion]

[After using the potion, designate a skill, and the proficiency of that skill increases by 2% for a limited time. Cannot be used on high-level skills.]

[Cost: 1,500G]

The ghost, who had been looking at the potions, asked.

[I’ve always wondered, why do they sell stuff like this? It’s absurdly expensive and completely useless.]

A potion that reduces sustained damage by 3 points.

The effect itself wasn’t bad, but reducing damage by just 3 points felt insignificant.

It was practically meaningless, yet it cost 1,000 gold.

[The Enhancement Potion also increases by a fixed amount instead of a percentage, making it useless.]

If mixed with a health potion, a 50% recovery would only become 52%.

For 1,200 gold, it was more cost-effective to simply buy another potion.

[And the Designated Enhancement Potion? It’s all show. You can only use it on low-level skills like Slash, and it’s way too expensive. Plus, the effect only lasts 10 minutes. Isn’t that completely useless?]

It couldn’t be used on skills that could significantly affect battles.

All three potions were considered duds in the labyrinth, purchased only by curious adventurers who soon learned their folly.

“Don’t ask me. These potions were part of a contract. They’re basically unsellable, just taking up space.”

The shopkeeper clicked his tongue and urged Taesan.

“So, what are you buying? Hurry up and pick.”

“I’ll take two Potions of Blessing, one Potion of Enhancement, and one Designated Enhancement Potion.”

Taesan pointed to the Potion of Blessing, the Potion of Enhancement, and the Designated Enhancement Potion.

‘They’re all here.’

Fortunately, everything he needed was available.

That was to be expected, as these were items even available in **Solo Mode**.

[Huh?]

“…These?”

The shopkeeper was visibly perplexed by Taesan’s choices.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I doubt they’ll be useful. Still, if that’s what you want, I’ll sell them.”

“Thank you.”

Taesan handed over the gold. As he genuinely made the purchase, the shopkeeper gave him a strange look, as if he were witnessing something odd.

“I never thought I’d see those things sell.”

Taesan returned to the labyrinth.

The ghost, who had been silent, asked.

[Are you trying to learn a new skill?]

“You figured it out?”

[Whenever you do something weird, you always end up learning some insane skill.]

[May I ask what you’re talking about?]

Varkaza asked, and the ghost responded.

[It’s simple. The labyrinth is supported by a system created by the gods. Adventurers can acquire skills based on their actions.]

[…So, the master is trying to acquire a skill?]

“That’s right.”

[What skill are you trying to get this time?]

The ghost asked in an intrigued tone.

Whenever Taesan did something that seemed absurd, he ended up with a new skill.

**Attack Nullification**, **Forced Duel**, **Addition**, and more—each one was at a level that was beyond imagination.

Even the skills he had already acquired were astonishing, yet it seemed there was still more for him to gain. The ghost was curious about what it could be.

Taesan answered.

“Nullification of sustained damage.”

[Sustained damage?]

“You must have noticed by now. The weakness of **Attack Nullification**.”

[…Sustained damage.]

The ghost realized.

**Attack Nullification** was an absurd skill.

It erased all incoming attacks, turning back time to before the attack had even happened.

With such a skill, even an average adventurer could easily descend three more floors.

But its one weakness was sustained damage.

Like when facing the Wolf of Destruction, if a prolonged confrontation caused continuous damage, **Attack Nullification** became useless.

The battle with Rafflesia earlier had shown this weakness clearly, with all of Taesan’s attack nullifications being used up immediately as the fight began.

[You can fix that?]

The ghost was bewildered.

[How? A skill that nullifies sustained damage? How do you get something like that?]

To acquire a skill, one had to first draw out its effect, even slightly.

Taesan replied.

“Watch.”

He arrived before the Rafflesia again.

[You have taken 10 damage.]

Another 10 damage ticked down.

Taesan pulled out the Potion of Enhancement and the Potion of Blessing.

[You have mixed the Potion of Enhancement and the Potion of Blessing. The Potion of Blessing has transformed into a Potion of Protection.]

[Potion of Protection]

[Negates 5 points of sustained damage.]

[You have used the Potion of Protection. Sustained damage of up to 5 points will be nullified.]

[You have taken 5 damage.]

The poison damage decreased by 5 points.

Taesan pulled out another potion.

[You have used the Potion of Blessing. Sustained damage of up to 2 points will be nullified.]

[You have taken 3 damage.]

[Huh?]

The ghost was startled by the reduced damage.

[I thought using the same potion again wasn’t possible?]

“It’s not if they’re the same potion. But this is Protection and Blessing. Different potions can be stacked.”

By mixing the potions, he had created a different one.

The ghost, surprised by this, let out a sound of admiration.

[Is such a thing possible? That’s interesting. Though it doesn’t seem all that significant.]

The ghost didn’t seem too interested. There weren’t many potions that could be stacked for great benefit, and 1,200 gold was a hefty sum for adventurers who hadn’t reached the deeper floors. The cost made it too burdensome to be practical.

Finally, Taesan took out the Designated Enhancement Potion.

[You have used the Designated Enhancement Potion. The proficiency of the Blocking skill will increase by 20% for 10 minutes.]

[Special Passive Skill: Blocking]

[Proficiency: 43%]

[Blocks damage below a certain threshold. However, damage above 4 cannot be nullified.]

At 20% proficiency, **Blocking** could nullify 2 points of sustained damage.

Now, at 40% proficiency, the damage was further reduced.

The Rafflesia’s sustained attack inflicted 10 damage, which was reduced by 7 due to the potion’s effects.

At the same time, the damage notifications, which had been constantly appearing, stopped altogether.

The sustained damage had been completely blocked.

The ghost gasped.

[Could the Designated Enhancement Potion really be used with Blocking? This is… fascinating.]

Damage that couldn’t originally be blocked had now been completely negated, all thanks to potions that were thought to be useless.

Taesan swiftly approached the Rafflesia, plunging his sword into it.

He took it down in an instant and moved on to the next room.

[A new Formless and Transforming Rafflesia has appeared.]

Another Rafflesia appeared.

It scattered poison, but no damage came through.

Thud!

The Rafflesia moved its tentacles, writhing as it expelled another invisible poison.

This was a different kind of poison, one that dealt damage in a way that couldn’t be ignored if hit.

Taesan expanded his senses.

Without dodging the scattered poison, he swung his sword, deflecting it all and distorting its trajectory.

“The conditions are met.”

Taesan continued blocking the scattered poison.

He steadily repelled the invisible attacks.

[This is getting interesting. What exactly are the conditions for acquiring the skill?]

The ghost was observing and had a rough idea.

The first condition was that the enemy must deal sustained damage, and the second was that the sustained damage must be negated. The third was that the enemy must use invisible, intangible attacks.

But beyond that, the ghost couldn’t figure out the rest.

As Taesan blocked the poison, he spoke.

“First. The enemy must deal sustained damage.”

“Second. You must be able to block that sustained damage, though not with your own abilities.”

“Third. Even with **Attack Nullification**, it must not activate.”

“Fourth. The enemy must use invisible, non-physical attacks.”

“Fifth. Those invisible attacks must constantly change.”

“Sixth. All these conditions must be met, and you must not take any damage for over seven minutes.”

The ghost fell silent after hearing this. Taesan continued blocking the poison.

[What… is that?]

The ghost finally spoke.

[Are those really the conditions? That’s ridiculous.]

The conditions were absurdly difficult.

Even knowing how to acquire the skill, it was nearly impossible to fulfill them.

“I don’t know. That’s just what I thought after I met the conditions and got the skill.”

Perhaps **Attack Nullification** wasn’t even necessary. Maybe the attack didn’t need to change constantly.

But under those conditions, Taesan had acquired the **Special Passive Skill: Absolute Blessing**.

“It was the hardest skill I’ve ever acquired.”

Skills like **Multiplication** or **Simple Time Stop** were difficult because of the circumstances required, but once those were met, obtaining the skill itself wasn’t that challenging.

**Absolute Blessing** was different. Meeting the conditions themselves was difficult.

In terms of difficulty, it was probably one of the hardest skills he had ever obtained.

The ghost let out a hollow laugh.

[How on earth did you get it?]

“I didn’t even know at the time.”

The insane things Taesan had done to acquire skills.

It had taken him decades of effort—truly, a product of time.

A coincidence upon coincidence had led him to barely acquire it, but due to the stat limitations of **Solo Mode**, he hadn’t been able to use it at all.

That skill was **Absolute Blessing**.