Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 267: The Spear and Shield of the Spirit King (1)

A powerful force surged.

A formidable, intense power. A will emitted by those who had reached a level that even Taesan could not underestimate.

The ghost chuckled.

[So, it’s your turn now?]

[…Warrior.]

[It seems they must have been desperate to bring the king’s spear and shield here. I guess they really want this guy dead.]

[Do not question us. We only follow the king’s orders.]

The one who called himself the shield replied calmly.

Varkaza let out a faint groan under the weight of their presence.

[Hmm…]

[You… you’re a high-ranking spirit, I see.]

Their eyes shone as they looked at Varkaza.

[It seems the fool who seeks to oppose the king has managed to forge a connection. Even contracted with a high-ranking spirit.]

[Silence.]

Varkaza responded indifferently. Although the spear and shield spirits ranked above him, he held no reverence for them.

[You have no right to speak to me. You abandoned your duty and fled here.]

[We merely follow the king’s will.]

The spirit calling himself the spear responded.

[There is no need for us to take your reproach.]

[Indeed, there isn’t.]

In the end, Varkaza was still a high-ranking spirit, so no matter what he said, it wouldn’t reach the spear and shield.

He held his tongue, and Taesan surveyed his surroundings.

No Sixth-Rank adventurers were visible.

‘They really did kill them all.’

What a shame. Defeating them would have allowed him to gain a substantial increase in Soul Rank, making him even stronger than he was now.

They must have killed them to prevent that. Even if they didn’t know about Soul Rank Enhancement, they probably knew that killing fellow adventurers granted the highest gain.

“Well then… so you’re the last ones standing.”

Taesan drew his sword.

They were immensely powerful beings. And there were two of them.

[The opponents are formidable and victory is unlikely.]

As always, the system window appeared, informing him of the situation.

“Names?”

[We have no names to give to the lowly… but fulfilling a dying wish of a soon-to-be corpse isn’t too much to ask.]

[I am Hasan.]

[I am Quaya.]

[We are the spirits who guard the great king.]

The one who called himself the shield was Hasan. The one who called himself the spear was Quaya.

[By the will of the great king, I shall kill you, human.]

Taesan laughed.

“Good.”

In the end, the only thing that mattered was who would emerge victorious.

He raised his sword.

“I’ll leave one to you.”

[You have summoned the Spirit King of Wind, Minerva.]

A gust of wind swept in.

Hasan and Quaya, who were about to charge in, hesitated.

[This power is…]

[Could it be?]

The swirling wind took form, and a woman with blue hair appeared.

She raised her hand.

“Hello.”

[My king…]

“Yes, it seems this day has finally come.”

Minerva stepped forward, a hint of sadness in her expression. The two adversaries were visibly startled by the sudden appearance of the Spirit King.

“Taesan, which one should I take on?”

“That one. The one who calls himself the spear.”

“Understood. Varkaza, let’s go.”

The moment Minerva finished speaking, she struck the air. The wind transformed into a barrage, raining down on Quaya. Alarmed, he cloaked himself in flames.

Boom!

[Ugh!]

Minerva charged at him.

Quaya shouted.

[My king! Why?]

“You’re asking me why?”

Minerva pressed him, smiling.

Taesan raised his sword, pointing it at Hasan.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

[…So, you are the human who contracted with a king.]

“Just now realizing?”

[It doesn’t matter.]

Hasan calmly lifted his sword, which was the size of Taesan’s entire body. He struck the ground with his enormous shield.

[We move only by the king’s command. It doesn’t matter who you have contracted with. So, die.]

The battle commenced.

At that instant, a series of skills for facing formidable enemies activated. Flames licked his body, entwined by wind.

[You have activated Apostle Transformation: Darkness and Chaos.]

[You have activated King’s Vessel.]

Focusing his mind, Taesan fixed his gaze on the opponent before him.

The Spirit King’s Shield. His appearance was less of a spirit and more like massive armor. He was three times larger than Taesan.

It was peculiar that he wielded a sword and shield, unusual for a spirit.

Hasan lifted his foot.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, Hasan’s massive body accelerated, charging at Taesan with his enormous shield.

Though not fast, it was heavy. A charge filled with the intent to crush and obliterate anything in its way.

Taesan raised his sword, preparing to use Deflection to avoid it.

But then, his instincts warned him.

If he blocked, he would die.

Abandoning his plan to block, Taesan stepped back.

Boom!

The charging shield crashed into the wall, shaking the entire floor with the impact.

[You have good instincts.]

Crash!

Hasan charged again, raising his gigantic sword to strike down.

Taesan swung his dual swords.

Clang!

His sword was knocked back.

The powerful impact made Taesan grimace as he maneuvered his body, narrowly dodging and deflecting the slashing sword that seemed to seek to tear him apart.

‘Strong.’

And it wasn’t just that. He felt a peculiar force emanating from the sword and shield of his opponent.

As the sword swung down, Taesan thrust his sword forward.

[You have activated Deflection.]

Hasan was certainly powerful, but not so much as to break through Deflection with sheer strength.

When their swords met, Deflection should have altered the trajectory, but Hasan’s sword pierced through Deflection and clashed directly with Taesan’s sword.

Clang!

Taesan clicked his tongue and created distance. Hasan instantly closed in, bringing his shield forward.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Taesan teleported behind Hasan and drove his sword into his back.

[You have activated Addition.]

[403 damage to Hasan.]

It was a pitiful amount of damage.

Despite the 60% increase in spirit-related damage from his title and the effect of the Maddened Spirit, only 400 damage was dealt.

[Pathetic!]

Hasan roared, raising a golden sword.

[Behold the power of the deep levels.]

[Hasan has activated Golden Destruction.]

A golden aura emanated from the sword, expanding and beginning to engulf everything around it.

Rumble!

Faced with this overwhelming destructive force, Taesan swiftly increased the distance. However, he couldn’t evade it entirely.

[Your first Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

Time rewound.

Both Taesan and Hasan’s bodies reverted to their positions from before the attack.

[Huh.]

For the first time, Hasan’s voice held a hint of surprise.

Taesan activated Acceleration and struck with his sword. Hasan raised his shield.

Clang!

[Your second Absolute Nullification has been activated.]

Taesan’s eyes widened.

Despite him having initiated the attack, his own Absolute Nullification was triggered.

It didn’t make sense. Deflection hadn’t activated, and the attack seemed to have rebounded.

[Absolute Nullification… What a strange skill you have.]

But Hasan seemed equally perplexed.

Through the course of battle, he began to grasp what Absolute Nullification was. It erased the attack itself and even turned back time—an unprecedented skill.

[Now I understand why you’ve survived this long.]

Hasan raised his sword.

And Taesan realized something.

“There was a reason Lee Taeyeon managed to take down an S-rank with such average stats.”

He muttered in frustration. Lee Taeyeon’s stats weren’t particularly high. If he reached the deep levels, he would likely be close to matching her stats in some areas.

At that point, he might stand a chance against a full-fledged S-rank.

But that victory would be precarious, a razor-thin margin.

Despite having superior skills to Lee Taeyeon, it was still so.

The reason was simple.

Lee Taeyeon possessed gear capable of overcoming such skills.

Equipment from the deep levels. Each piece had extraordinary capabilities, items of overwhelming power.

The enemy before him had descended the labyrinth following the Spirit King of Fire. And that king had trodden the deep levels.

Though these beings didn’t have their own strength, they had treaded the deep levels.

In other words, it wouldn’t be strange if they had a few pieces of deep-level equipment.

Boom!

Hasan charged in. Taesan focused his mind and moved his body.

[Grr!]

Quaya exerted his power, unleashing flames in all directions.

But the intent behind the flames felt somewhat feeble. Rather than intending to kill, it seemed more about simply pushing them back.

“You abandoned your duty and fled, yet it seems you still carry a spirit’s heart.”

Minerva murmured as she summoned a gust. Blades of wind spiraled around Quaya’s body.

[Gah!]

Quaya gathered his strength and unleashed it, dispelling the wind with flames.

Minerva clicked her tongue.

“Strong. A bit of a hassle.”

Though she was a Spirit King, her power was limited by her contract with Taesan.

On the other hand, Quaya had no such restrictions. Plus, he had gained more power as he descended the labyrinth. At this moment, Quaya was stronger than her.

But instead of overpowering her, he was focused solely on defense.

Quaya let out a sigh, seemingly deep in thought.

He wrapped himself in flames and expanded them outward, pressuring both Minerva and Varkaza.

[My apologies. I will commit this sin only until the battle on that side concludes.]

A barrier of flames formed, enclosing Varkaza and Minerva.

Minerva tapped it with her fingertip, causing a slight recoil.

[Though His Majesty is immeasurably stronger than that human, he is currently constrained by the contract. Therefore, my barrier will hold.]

“Hmm.”

Minerva tapped the barrier again.

“Do you really believe that he will defeat my master?”

[He is strong. His Majesty would never form a contract with a weakling. However, against us, he stands no chance.]

Quaya spoke with conviction.

[We have set foot into the depths and gained new power. One who has not reached the deep levels cannot hope to defeat us.]

Minerva glanced at Taesan and Hasan’s battle.

The power radiating from Hasan’s sword and shield was unusual. They were not mere tools, but something complete in themselves.

They were akin to Taesan’s ring—powerful items of recognition.

“Well.”

Minerva laughed.

She placed her hand on the flame barrier, while Quaya watched her impassively, unconcerned. He hadn’t considered the possibility of it breaking.

A spirit’s strength comes from the human with whom they contract, and no human could surpass his power.

It was clear Taesan possessed unique skills, given how far he had come, but his power was insufficient against one who had descended into the depths.

Therefore, breaking the barrier should be impossible. That was Quaya’s firm belief.

Crack!

A fracture appeared, radiating outward from where Minerva had touched it. Quaya looked on in horror as Minerva smiled at him.

“I don’t think so.”

Wind exploded, consuming Quaya.

In the meantime, Hasan brought his shield forward, filling Taesan’s view.

Taesan pushed off the ground to evade. Hasan stomped and charged again, shouting.

[Evading won’t lead to victory!]

He lunged forward.

Golden waves emanated from the sword he raised high.

[Hasan has activated Golden Destruction.]

A golden sphere formed around the sword, crushing and obliterating everything in its path.

“Like a wild boar.”

Taesan muttered as he widened the distance.

[You have activated Leap.]

He vaulted to the ceiling, evading the sphere’s range, then dove down.

[You have activated Landing.]

The effect of Ability Sword surged through him, strengthening his blade.

[It’s useless!]

Hasan raised his shield with a roar. Just before the sword touched it, Taesan swiftly cast a spell.

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

[You have activated Magic Acceleration.]

The crystallized Frost Arrow shot forward, colliding with the shield.

But then it bounced back.

As if his own attack was reflected, the Frost Arrow flew back toward him. He twisted his head to dodge it and brought his sword down. A resounding crash filled the air.

[Ugh!]

[103 damage to Hasan.]

Utilizing the recoil, Taesan put distance between them and muttered.

“He’s activating it on time.”

Hasan timed his shield’s activation with incoming attacks, causing them to rebound fully onto the attacker.

Although the exact mechanics were unclear, this was the gist of it.

“Got it.”

Sword and shield—these were Hasan’s cards.

The sword’s ability, Golden Destruction, summoned a sphere of destruction centered on the sword. There was almost no activation delay, and the cooldown appeared brief. Yet, its destructive power was only slightly below intermediate magic.

Then there was the shield, which reflected attacks.

On top of that, his defense absorbed almost all incoming damage.

‘…Is his armor also from the deep levels?’

The golden armor worn by the spirit did not appear to be ordinary, though Taesan hadn’t confirmed it yet.

[You cannot defeat me.]

Hasan spoke confidently.

[These are weapons personally granted to me by His Majesty from the depths. You have not yet reached that level. Surrender to death peacefully.]

“Shall we see about that?”

Taesan braced himself. A golden sword appeared in his hand.

[You have activated Naberius’s Golden Sword.]

Hasan hesitated momentarily. The golden sword in Taesan’s hand exuded a power rarely seen, even in the depths.

[However.]

That was all.

Hasan raised his shield. Taesan did not back down.

[You have activated Blade of Determination.]

[You have activated Addition.]

[You have activated Strong Strike.]

[You have activated Continuous Strike.]

[You have activated Acceleration.]

He charged in, faster and stronger. Hasan sneered as Taesan lifted the golden sword to strike.

[Are you trying to break through with brute force? Foolish.]

He seemed to believe that the shield’s power had no limits. So long as the timing was right, he could deflect even the strength of a Spirit King.

[Self-destruct, fool.]

Boom!

Hasan struck his shield into the ground, triggering its effect just as Taesan’s sword was about to hit.

[You have activated Absolute Judgment.]

Crunch.

The sword connected with the shield.

In that moment, Hasan sensed something was wrong, but it was too late. A fierce impact surged through his entire body.

[45,751 damage to Hasan.]