Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 265: Special Activation Skill, Absolute Judgment (2)

“Floor 59. I’m obtaining it faster than I thought.”

[What are you getting now? What’s it this time?]

The spirit asked, sounding weary. Taesan replied.

“Absolute Judgment.”

[That name sounds… ominous. What does it do?]

“It completely ignores all defensive measures of the opponent.”

[…]

The spirit fell silent, at a loss for words.

Taesan began his preparations to acquire the skill.

In this world, there was such a thing as rank or *essence*.

Those with higher essence could take little to no damage from those who lacked it.

In his past life, he had played on an easy mode.

The concept of essence practically didn’t exist.

It was incomprehensible back then why S-ranks or apostles hadn’t taken any damage from him, but now he understood it was because he lacked essence.

Yet, he had still managed to defeat S-ranks and land effective hits on apostles.

The skill that had made this possible was *Essential Strike*, and *Absolute Judgment*.

“Here we go.”

The aberration focused on defense. Taesan recalled the information Lee Taeyeon had shared with him.

The cowardly, eyeless aberration.

‘A monster that prioritizes defense.’

It defended against anything—be it magic or physical attacks—adapting accordingly. With high vitality, it tired out its attackers as they wore themselves down.

It was a monster that slowly ground its opponent down.

Taesan swung his sword. The clang of steel on steel echoed through the room.

[987 damage to the cowardly, eyeless aberration.]

Crack.

The hard shell covering the aberration grew tougher.

When Taesan swung his sword again, the damage registered was only 500. The repelling force also increased, requiring more strength to wield his sword.

Crack.

The carapace surrounding the creature became even harder.

Interlocking tightly, it created a shield that deflected attacks.

Clang!

Taesan’s sword struck again.

The strong repulsion sent his weapon flying back. This time, the damage was only 300.

“Let’s see.”

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

An arrow of cold pierced the aberration. The brittle sound of its carapace shattering echoed out.

[1,087 damage to the cowardly, eyeless aberration.]

This time, the damage was normal.

The aberration’s form changed again. The skin surrounding its body began to radiate heat. When Taesan shot another Frost Arrow, the damage fell to 700.

Taesan used a spirit skill next. He pressed the aberration with *Small Ember*.

This time, the creature’s skin transformed into a rocky texture. The damage inflicted gradually diminished.

“This would be a hassle for anyone else.”

No matter what attack was used, it would adapt accordingly. But for Taesan, this wasn’t a problem.

He had black magic, spells, swordsmanship, and spirit skills—all at his disposal.

Adding the powers of the Old Gods and divine energy that he couldn’t fully control yet, he had even more to choose from.

For someone like him, an opponent that adapted was meaningless. If it countered one attack, he would simply use another.

Or, as he had done with mid-level black magic, he could simply overpower it with sheer force. There were numerous ways he could defeat it.

But for those with only one or two types of power, this monster would be exceptionally tricky.

Clang!

[887 damage to the cowardly, eyeless aberration.]

[You have won.]

The creature fell.

“Around 13,000 damage, huh.”

It took that much damage to defeat it. Its vitality was notably high.

‘Now I understand why Lee Taeyeon almost collapsed from exhaustion fighting it.’

Taesan chuckled and proceeded to the next room.

He started removing his weapons and gear one by one.

[Are you trying to lower your attack power?]

“It’s too high.”

He needed to meet the conditions for *Absolute Judgment*.

The spirit let out an exasperated groan.

[What’s the condition? I know I should figure it out myself, but I’m dying to know.]

“You’ll see in a bit.”

A new monster appeared. Taesan, now stripped of most of his gear, gripped a single sword and charged.

Clang!

The damage was 98.

The aberration’s skin adapted, becoming harder with a layer of carapace.

Taesan focused his mind.

[You have activated Essential Strike.]

[You have activated Insight.]

He analyzed the creature’s information, learning about its altered skin, its structure, and the methods to counter it.

Taesan charged again.

He read the flow of the hardened skin and pierced precisely through a gap.

Crunch.

This time, the damage was 97.

Crack.

The creature’s skin changed again.

It became slick and smooth, making it appear as though attacks would slide off.

[You have activated Insight.]

Information flooded his mind.

The changed structure, its effects, and an overall understanding of the creature’s condition were imprinted in his mind.

As a result, he noticed something—small protrusions within the smooth surface.

Taesan ran.

The protrusions were tiny, the size of dots. He focused and thrust his sword.

His blade met the exact spot of a protrusion.

Clang!

99 damage.

The spirit, after watching the sequence, spoke.

[You’re keeping the damage consistent?]

“Exactly.”

[What’s the margin for error?]

“From what I’ve gathered so far, about plus or minus 5%.”

[…]

The spirit’s voice was mixed with amazement and disbelief.

This meant that if Taesan dealt 100 damage, the range had to stay between 95 and 105.

[How many times do you need to do this?]

“Over a hundred.”

[You’re testing this on these creatures because they change their defensive method with each attack, right?]

“You’re sharp.”

The spirit let out a dry laugh.

[That’s insane.]

[Master seems out of his mind.]

Even Varkaza commented dryly. Although he wasn’t deeply familiar with the labyrinth’s mechanics, he could grasp the level of difficulty in what Taesan was attempting.

A creature that adjusted its defense each time it was attacked.

To make such a creature take the same level of damage every time meant countering all its adaptations flawlessly.

Varkaza couldn’t even fathom the difficulty of this feat.

The spirit, who knew the depths of the labyrinth and the challenges within it, was even more stunned.

[This is as crazy as what you did with *Addition*.]

*Addition* required repeating the same stance, strength, and trajectory without a single mistake to build up damage and unlock the skill.

*Absolute Judgment* was the complete opposite. It demanded breaking through the opponent’s constantly changing defense over a hundred times with precise, varying methods.

One thing was clear.

Both were insane feats.

Crack.

The carapace split like dry earth. Taesan read through the changed defense.

Clang!

[96 damage to the cowardly, eyeless aberration.]

[You’re actually hitting the mark. What are you, exactly?]

“I’ve practiced. A lot.”

Hundreds of thousands of times. Maybe even more. He had worked tirelessly to obtain *Absolute Judgment* before.

Countless experiences had taught him just how much force to apply based on the enemy’s response.

Taesan kept attacking the aberration. The creature, which had been changing its carapace, suddenly covered its face with its arms.

Buzz.

Instead of changing its carapace, a blue barrier formed around the creature.

This was a completely different type of defense.

Using Insight, Taesan learned only that it was a protective blessing over the body, with no detailed information available.

Taesan dashed toward the barrier.

He pushed his sword forward, pressing down with all his strength.

The moment his sword touched the barrier, he felt an unexpected repulsion.

A force trying to push his sword away. Taesan instinctively pressed harder. The barrier cracked, and his sword pierced the creature.

[93 damage to the cowardly, eyeless aberration.]

Failed.

Taesan withdrew his sword. He hadn’t expected to succeed on the first try, so he wasn’t discouraged.

He tightened his grip and pressed forward.

He continued to assault the creature surrounded by the barrier, aiming to consistently deal 100 damage. After several attempts, he managed to stabilize the damage output.

The creature kept changing the repulsion strength of the barrier, but that didn’t matter. Taesan calculated the force needed and adjusted accordingly whenever his sword met the barrier.

As a result, he identified the creature’s pattern.

‘First, the carapace changes.’

Next, it generated a blue barrier with repulsion.

Third, the creature’s body itself hardened. Unlike the carapace, it had no gaps and needed to be overpowered with raw force.

The fourth pattern was covering itself in a slippery liquid, reducing damage by making attacks slide off.

The fifth pattern was erratic movement, closer to berserk thrashing than actual attacks. It was difficult to land precise hits as it flailed.

These five patterns were all the creature had.

When it didn’t display any new patterns after being hit repeatedly, Taesan finished off the aberration and moved to the next room.

Now, the real challenge began. Taesan charged at a new aberration.

Clang!

He struck with his sword.

The aberration adapted its defense using the carapace method, but Taesan suppressed it with the same approach as before. When it changed its defense, he adjusted accordingly.

Buzz.

A blue barrier formed.

Taesan pressed forward, overcoming the barrier pattern. Next, the creature hardened its entire body.

Then, it covered itself in liquid, and finally, it began thrashing about.

From this process, Taesan confirmed that if he attacked in the same manner, the creature’s pattern remained unchanged.

So, what would happen if he changed his approach?

Taesan proceeded to the next room. He started dealing 100-level damage to the creature again.

But this time, he used a different approach. Instead of targeting the gaps in the carapace, he overpowered it with sheer force.

The creature adapted.

Crack.

Its body hardened.

It skipped past the initial carapace change and directly switched to the third pattern.

It didn’t follow a mechanical sequence but instead adapted based on Taesan’s methods. This meant Taesan could fix the pattern of the creature by altering his own strategy.

Step by step, he was carving out a path to counter the creature’s patterns. Taesan summoned dark energy and opened a pathway.

[You have activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]

Buzz.

The dark energy scattered throughout the labyrinth, mapping out the room locations and their numbers.

“There are about 20 left.”

In other words, he needed to obtain *Absolute Judgment* within these 20 creatures.

Taesan moved to the next room.

The first creature was for confirming the findings. He observed its patterns and confirmed that it responded the same way when attacked in the same manner.

Satisfied that he hadn’t missed anything, he moved to the second creature.

He began systematically dissecting the patterns.

First, he perfected his understanding of the carapace. He repeatedly struck it, dealing consistent damage, and identified an optimal method for breaking through the defense.

Then came the third creature. He focused on the barrier pattern, noting that varying the damage output would prompt the creature to maintain the barrier pattern longer. He learned to sustain and counter this pattern.

The fourth creature was for studying the hardening pattern.

This one was relatively simple. It only required an understanding of when and how the body hardened. Repeated strikes allowed him to predict the timing and density.

He completed his analysis of three of the five patterns.

The fourth was the slippery liquid pattern.

This one gave him significant trouble. The creature would switch patterns mid-battle based on cumulative damage. Taesan realized he needed to maintain a tighter margin than the typical ±5%.

Already difficult, it became even more so. He had to adjust his body, manage the damage, and learn the liquid pattern’s nuances. It wasn’t until the ninth creature that he mastered it.

And finally, the berserk pattern.

This was the hardest. The erratic movements made it tough to predict its behavior. At first, it seemed like random chaos.

It wasn’t until the eleventh creature that Taesan discerned the hidden pattern within the seeming randomness.

He then began to break it down.

How to move to make the next strike easier, the optimal force to use, and the adjustments needed to exploit the pattern all took him fifteen creatures to master.

At last, Taesan had analyzed every pattern.

Now, it was time for repetition.

He inputted the patterns into his mind and attacked the creatures. He moved like a machine, reducing any errors with each successive strike.

[This is… unbelievable…]

The display made Varkaza gasp. Taesan’s mechanical repetition was almost inhuman.

Taesan continued.

And finally.

At the nineteenth creature, with only one left to go:

[You have perfectly shattered your opponent’s defense, landing consistent damage until the opponent collapsed. You have acquired the special activation skill *Absolute Judgment*.]