Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 249: Special Passive Skill: Absolute Blessing (2)

In his past life, Taesan had played on **Easy Mode**.

Due to the inherent limitations of his stats, survival until the end was virtually impossible.

The only power that could solve this was through skills.

Thus, Taesan dedicated himself to acquiring skills.

He literally devoted his entire life, to the point where he nearly lost his sense of self.

There were times when he invested years just to acquire a single skill. There were times when he stayed awake for a week, repeating the same action over and over, or did things that were akin to placing his life on a knife’s edge.

And he had also thought about how to block sustained attacks—what is commonly referred to as **DOT** (Damage Over Time).

To resolve the almost sole weakness of **Attack Nullification**, Taesan did everything he could.

First, he thought of a method to completely avoid taking any sustained damage.

The easiest way was to use the **Blocking** skill. The skill that blocked damage below a certain threshold seemed like the best method to block weak sustained damage from a single hit.

But simply blocking sustained damage with **Blocking** wouldn’t lead to the acquisition of a skill. Even if it did, any skill acquired that easily wouldn’t be very effective.

So, Taesan began experimenting in various ways.

He first tried to block sustained damage that **Blocking** couldn’t handle.

The 95th floor of **Easy Mode** was a place where various types of monsters appeared. Beast-types, plant-types, insect-types, all kinds of monsters came at you simultaneously, and it was known as the final hurdle of **Easy Mode**.

And among them, there was a monster that scattered poison.

That monster’s sustained damage was 6 points higher than the threshold Taesan’s **Blocking** skill could handle.

To reduce this difference of 6, Taesan tried many things.

He first experimented with physical methods. He tried covering most of his body and exposing only a small part to reduce the damage, or half-killing the monster to reduce its damage output.

But none of these worked. Even if only part of his body was exposed, the damage remained the same, and although the sustained damage decreased when he half-killed the monster, it didn’t result in anything significant.

After many experiments, Taesan reached a conclusion.

He had to block the sustained damage without affecting the monster.

It wasn’t a theoretical realization—it was more of an instinctual one.

Taesan ransacked the shop. He bought and combined dozens, even hundreds of types of potions, trying every possible method.

Gold wasn’t an issue. The countless efforts to acquire skills had earned him more gold than he could ever use in **Easy Mode**. Besides potions, there wasn’t much worth buying in **Easy Mode**, which contributed to his hoard of gold.

He spent more than a month just experimenting with potions.

As a result, he figured out that **Potion of Enhancement**, **Potion of Blessing**, and **Designated Enhancement Potion** could block sustained damage.

There might have been other methods, but the three-potions combination was the most reliable one Taesan discovered.

With this, Taesan was able to block sustained damage that **Blocking** couldn’t handle.

And yet, he didn’t acquire anything.

Taesan calmly prepared for the next step.

Even though he had wasted tens of thousands of gold and a month of effort, he simply organized his findings without complaint.

Taesan moved on, continuing his search for another skill.

In the meantime, he kept using potions. The cost wasn’t too burdensome, and there was always the slim chance something could happen.

Taesan continued his potion experiments for a year.

By the time he had nearly forgotten the purpose of using potions, half-consciously consuming them, Taesan encountered a monster that used invisible attacks.

A white cube-shaped monster would fire invisible blades whenever its body segments rotated.

Taesan tried to block these attacks.

He had attempted to block invisible attacks many times before but had never gained anything from it. However, this was the first time he had encountered this particular cube-shaped monster.

That alone made it worth attempting.

Taesan studied all of the monster’s attack patterns and the form of its blades. It took him two months.

Then, he began blocking the attacks.

After about ten minutes, a monster that scattered poison appeared. It was a creature that couldn’t affect Taesan while he was using potions, so he ignored it and continued to block the cube-shaped monster’s attacks.

And seven minutes later, he acquired **Absolute Blessing**.

Effort, experimentation, and luck.

All of these elements combined to allow him to acquire the skill. That was **Absolute Blessing**.

Swoosh!

Taesan swung his sword, distorting the trajectory of the poisonous mist and blocking it.

And after seven minutes, it happened.

[You have successfully blocked sustained damage and invisible attacks simultaneously. You have acquired the **Special Passive Skill: Absolute Blessing**.]

Crack.

As the system message confirming the skill acquisition appeared, Taesan simultaneously defeated the Rafflesia.

The ghost muttered in a dazed voice.

[…It really exists. What kind of ridiculous skill is this?]

Though the ghost had perished while descending the labyrinth, it wasn’t due to lack of ability.

He had been somewhat confident. He believed he had grasped a lot about the labyrinth and that he understood it well.

But the more time he spent with Taesan, the more that confidence was utterly shattered.

[I’m speechless. Now I understand why the magician said what he did.]

The ghost groaned.

[Can you show me quickly? I’m curious.]

[I’m curious too. I’ve known about the labyrinth system, but it’s the first time I’ve seen someone acquire a skill this way.]

Both the ghost and Varkaza urged him. Taesan opened his skill window.

[Special Passive Skill: Absolute Blessing]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[Formless energy hovers around the user, automatically defending against sustained damage and invisible attacks. The strength of the formless energy increases proportionally to the user’s defense, attack, health, mana, and strength stats.]

[An automatic defense skill…]

The ghost let out a hollow laugh.

There were many defense skills in the labyrinth.

Some were activated skills, while others were in the form of buffs. There were even rare defense skills capable of blocking dragon attacks.

But such skills came with significant consumption costs proportional to their power.

In general, the greater the effect a labyrinth skill produced, the heavier the cost. The stronger the skill, the higher the mana consumption or the more restrictive the conditions.

That was a big reason the ghost had been astonished by Taesan’s skills. Their penalties were almost nonexistent compared to their effects.

And **Absolute Blessing** was the pinnacle of that concept.

It had no consumption cost at all.

Moreover, since it was an automatic activation, Taesan didn’t even need to be aware of it.

On top of that, if the skill had this much effect with low proficiency, it could likely grow to the point where it could automatically block all attacks once the proficiency increased.

‘There was a similar magic spell to this.’

Probably a high-level intermediate magic spell.

Even that magic had a mana consumption of 500 per minute, a spell that even deep-dive mages found hard to use freely.

[This is absurd.]

Varkaza seemed to be thinking along similar lines and muttered bitterly.

[…Is it possible to gain such abilities from the system? I’ve seen the skills the master has used several times, but… I still find it strange. I can’t accept it.]

Taesan stared at the skill window.

**Absolute Blessing**.

It was undoubtedly a useful skill. He had shouted in joy when he obtained it in his previous life.

But it had been a skill he couldn’t fully utilize.

The reason was simple.

It was because he had been in **Easy Mode**.

The effect of **Absolute Blessing** was that formless energy hovered around the user. And that energy’s strength depended on the user’s stats.

In **Easy Mode**, the stats were extremely weak. In his past life, the **Absolute Blessing** he had acquired barely performed better than **Blocking**.

But things were different now.

In **Solo Mode**, he could fully wield the true power of **Absolute Blessing**.

Thinking about it, it felt strange.

In **Easy Mode**, he had dismissed **Absolute Blessing** as a worthless skill.

He had thought it was something he couldn’t control and therefore held no value.

But now that he had overcome his limitations, he could handle a skill he couldn’t even touch in his previous life.

Something about that was amusing.

Taesan broke through the room.

As he advanced, another Rafflesia attacked. Formless tentacles spewed poison.

The moment the poison approached Taesan, the formless energy surrounding him moved.

It blocked the poison’s approach, deflecting it. Without doing anything, Taesan effortlessly blocked the Rafflesia’s attack.

“So far, so good.”

Even though his stats were overwhelming, the attack from a 57th-floor monster was blocked.

Since there was no sign of the energy faltering, there was still room to spare.

At this rate, there would be no more situations where **Attack Nullification** was wasted unnecessarily. Satisfied, Taesan continued descending the labyrinth.

[Your level has increased.]

[You have obtained the **Radiantly Shining Golden Necklace**.]

[You have obtained **???**.]

After clearing the 57th floor, his level rose to 117. His stats also increased considerably.

He had also obtained some excellent gear.

[Ankle Guards of One Who Lived with the Wind]

[Agility +130]

[Defense +150]

[Movement Speed +4%]

[These ankle guards were used by one who lived a free life in harmony with the wind. They are imbued with the spirit of that freedom.]

This was equipment that defied the conventional wisdom that only helmets and shoes could increase movement speed.

The agility was high, the defense wasn’t low, and since it even had the rare movement speed boost, it was definitely valuable gear.

[Radiantly Shining Golden Necklace]

[A necklace made purely of gold, shining more brilliantly than anything else in the world. Even sages who have transcended material value would be tempted by its lustrous beauty. Its value is immeasurable.]

It was gear designed to be sold at the store. Given that it was equipment from the 57th floor, it was likely worth more than 10,000 gold.

[You have used **???**.]

[A leather armor made from the skin of a giant, filled with the ground horn of a mystical deer.]

[Strength +200]

[Defense +200]

[Magic Resistance +5]

[This armor was made by combining the skin of a giant known for its unparalleled toughness with the horn of a deer that lives in the depths. It offers strong defense and a small amount of magic resistance.]

“Magic resistance?”

It was a stat he hadn’t seen before.

The ghost explained.

[It’s exactly what it sounds like: resistance to magic. The effect is proportional to the magic resistance stat of the equipment, so it’s pretty straightforward.]

“That’s good then.”

It effectively reduced magic damage by 5%.

The 50th floors were almost finished.

Perhaps that was why the equipment stats had risen dramatically compared to earlier floors.

Satisfied, Taesan descended to the 58th floor. The ghost muttered, as if he had just remembered something.

[Now that I think about it, the 50th floors are almost over. I’d forgotten because of everything going on.]

The return to Earth.

And the acquisition of the ridiculous skill, **Absolute Blessing**.

The ghost had momentarily forgotten the current situation in the labyrinth.

‘That won’t do.’

The ghost composed himself.

He was an adventurer who had reached the deeper levels. A strong individual with a real chance of clearing the labyrinth.

The skills and feats Taesan had shown were certainly astonishing.

The skills he had acquired and the methods of obtaining them were unknown to the ghost.

But the ghost still had pride in himself.

He couldn’t keep being surprised. He needed to maintain his composure and stay by Taesan’s side.

Taesan set foot on the 58th floor.

[Quest for the 58th floor begins.]

[Defeat the boss of the 58th floor to proceed.]

[Reward: The Sword that Guards the Line of Death.]

[Secret Reward: ???]

Before advancing through the 58th floor, Taesan opened the community.

The heat of the conversations had significantly cooled.

While the posts were still moving quickly, people were now able to engage in actual discussions.

“Looks like we can finally talk now.”

Taesan looked at the community.