Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 279: Amelia Aerin (1)

Taesan spoke calmly.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“…Yeah. I guess I will.”

Amelia controlled her emotions, but the ghost hovering nearby commented as if intrigued by her.

[This is fascinating. She’s strong, but… something feels artificial. Should I call it manufactured strength?]

“What…?”

Amelia’s eyes wavered as she turned her attention to the ghost.

“Why are you here?”

[Huh? You know me?]

“Weren’t you supposed to stop at the 10th floor?”

Amelia’s reaction made it clear she knew the ghost. She appeared startled upon realizing it had been by Taesan’s side all along.

From her expression, Taesan quickly pieced things together.

Amelia, too, must have received quests from the ghost.

It made sense. A talent recognized even by a god wouldn’t have been dismissed by the ghost. At the very least, she would have been offered quests.

But the fact that the ghost had parted ways with her on the 10th floor suggested she hadn’t received quests beyond that.

Such as the quest to defeat the Ogre Sage, obtain critical information, and confront the leadership of the Guides.

The ghost seemed to reach the same conclusion, its voice carrying a tone of amusement.

[Ah, I see now. I had my suspicions, but this confirms it. So, in her case, I ended things on the 10th floor…]

[And I think I know why.]

The ghost chuckled to itself.

[The version of me she met must have judged that she couldn’t reach the leadership. It probably ended things early to spare her a futile death.]

“You—”

Amelia’s face contorted in anger.

Ignoring her, the ghost floated back to Taesan, grinning.

[Interesting. I can feel an intense divine energy radiating from her. That god must have really gone all out for her, huh?]

The ghost had said Amelia likely couldn’t reach the leadership, but that probably wasn’t the real reason. Amelia certainly had the talent to reach the deeper levels.

Rather, it was more likely that the ghost, knowing the true nature of the God of Despair, had been wary of Amelia’s proximity to that god.

“…Hmph. Forget it.”

Amelia turned away, her movements reminiscent of a cat sulking.

“We’ll talk after the fight.”

Her words were sharp as she closed her eyes.

Amelia was someone with immense pride.

But her pride wasn’t unshakable. It seemed solid, but like a sandcastle, it could crumble all too easily. That was likely why the God of Despair had chosen her.

Taesan intended to shatter that pride.

—

Oliver, who had been silently observing, tilted his head in confusion.

“Why is Amelia talking to thin air?”

As a hard-mode player, Oliver couldn’t see the ghost. To him, it seemed like Amelia had been muttering to herself before suddenly becoming angry.

“You don’t need to concern yourself with that.”

“Solo mode sure comes with its secrets. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Oliver Khan, the leader of America.”

He extended a hand for a handshake. Taesan reached out and shook it.

The grip was firm, exuding a decent amount of strength.

Oliver’s face grew serious as he asked, “Do you think we’re cowards?”

Taesan immediately understood what Oliver was referring to.

Using numbers to ensure victory for American players could certainly be considered cowardly. However, Taesan shook his head.

“Many people would think so. But I don’t.”

In a situation where survival was uncertain, desperation was inevitable. For Oliver, as America’s leader, to prioritize his own people’s survival was only natural.

Hearing Taesan’s response, Oliver’s tense expression softened slightly.

“That’s a relief. It means a lot to hear one of the strongest humans say that.”

At those words, Amelia, who had been keeping her eyes closed, opened them. She cast a betrayed look at Oliver before quickly averting her gaze when Taesan turned toward her.

“Taesan,” Oliver continued with a calm demeanor.

“You said we weren’t cowards. So… you won’t think so about what happens next, will you?”

“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

In the end, it wouldn’t matter.

Oliver smirked at Taesan’s indifferent reply.

“Good. That’s reassuring to hear. Amelia?”

“Do as you please. It won’t make a difference anyway,” Amelia replied curtly.

—

Taesan scanned the other players. Most of them regarded him with a mix of wariness and curiosity.

Among them, Amelia was the only one wearing the yellow cloth, signifying solo mode.

“No other solo mode players here?”

“Not everyone in solo mode is as strong as Amelia. While they’re generally stronger than most hard-mode players, they still haven’t reached our level.”

Solo mode offered significant potential for growth, but that was only after progressing past a certain point. In the early stages, hard-mode players, who could collaborate to quickly clear content, had the upper hand.

As Taesan and Oliver conversed, the allotted time came to an end. The players were summoned to the battlefield.

A vast plain.

Taesan found himself sitting on a rock in the middle of it.

From a distance, he could sense multiple presences gathering. All but one converged on him, surrounding him.

Taesan glanced at the faces of those who had appeared and muttered to himself.

“Amelia isn’t here.”

“She said she’d rather withdraw than fight alongside us. That woman’s pride is ridiculous. This isn’t the time to be worrying about that,” Oliver said with a bitter expression.

They were fighting for survival. Pride held no value in this situation.

“Taesan. You said we weren’t cowards.”

Oliver gestured. The 30 players each pulled out a vial from their inventory.

*Crash!*

They smashed the vials onto the ground, releasing a thick, toxic mist.

[Oliver has been poisoned.]

System notifications about the poison appeared one after another. Oliver’s face turned purple as he drew his weapon.

“You’ve made it this far, so you’re obviously strong. But surely, you’ve spent a lot of resources to get here.”

Taesan had fought against Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyuk—two formidable solo-mode players.

While Oliver didn’t have precise information on their strength, he knew from scattered reports that they far outclassed hard-mode players.

Given that, he assumed Taesan must have used considerable energy in those battles.

This assumption stemmed from the fact that Taesan had arrived last. After fighting for over an hour, Oliver believed Taesan’s stamina and mana would have been significantly depleted.

The plan was to poison Taesan and wear him down. The poison would drain 1 HP every 5 seconds—not strong under normal circumstances, but with health fixed at 100, it was incredibly dangerous.

The idea was to let the poison weaken Taesan, forcing him into a weakened state for Amelia to defeat. Either the poison would kill him outright, or Amelia would finish the job.

The toxic mist engulfed Taesan. Oliver was confident of his victory.

[Poison resistance activated.]

[Poison nullified.]

“What?”

Oliver’s pupils dilated in shock.

Despite standing in the middle of the toxic cloud, Taesan’s face remained unaffected, showing no signs of the purple hue that signified poisoning.

“Is this how the system works? Huh, that’s something new to learn.”

Taesan considered the mechanics of poison resistance versus the effects of his Absolute Blessing. Against continuous damage like poison, the system first checked for resistance. If resistance failed, Absolute Blessing would then activate.

The answer was clear: resistance came first.

‘This could come in handy.’

Taesan filed the information away in his mind.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

“Wai—”

[You have activated Marbas’s Pitch-Black Wave.]

As the lingering presences around him disappeared, Taesan began walking toward the sole remaining presence. Soon, Amelia came into view.

Amelia, standing her ground, opened her mouth.

“I am strong.”

She declared firmly.

“I am the strongest. Even if you’ve gone deeper than me, my skills are superior!”

“Is that so?” Taesan responded with a faint smile.

“If that’s what you believe, fine.”

Taesan took a step toward Amelia.

At that moment, a massive force pressed down on the battlefield.

Simultaneously, system notifications appeared rapidly.

[Forced rules are being added.]

[1. Kang Taesan’s shield is set to 1.]
[2. Kang Taesan’s health is set to 1.]
[3. Kang Taesan’s mana is set to 1.]
[4. Kang Taesan’s magi is set to 1.]
[5. Kang Taesan’s strength is set to 1…]

Suddenly, the system notifications glitched, as if immense forces were colliding and canceling each other out.

Taesan opened his status window. His health, mana, magi—all had been reduced to 1.

However, his strength, agility, intelligence, and attack power remained unchanged.

Looking up at the sky briefly, Taesan spoke softly.

“Thank you.”

He expressed his gratitude to the entity that had intervened on his behalf before turning his attention back to Amelia.

“Amelia Aerin. I make this declaration here and now.”

Taesan’s voice carried a weight that felt absolute, as if his words were a truth destined to be fulfilled.

“I will not use a single skill. And with one strike, I will defeat you.”

Amelia’s face twisted in frustration.

She gritted her teeth and drew her sword.

“Go ahead, try!”

[Amelia has activated Fury.]
[Amelia has activated Honorable Duel.]
[Amelia has activated Above All Others.]
[Amelia has activated Minor Divine Blessing.]

A myriad of powers coursed through Amelia. Some of these were skills that Taesan had not obtained.

They were exclusive gifts, granted directly by the God of Despair to Amelia alone.

Taesan nodded in acknowledgment.

“Not bad.”

Amelia was certainly far stronger than Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyuk.

But that was all.

Taesan took another step toward Amelia. She raised her fighting spirit, adjusting her movements to counter his.

Amelia was confident.

She was strong. Even if her opponent was stronger, she believed she could adapt and emerge victorious.

She had done so countless times before, even against those who had delved deeper into the labyrinth than her. None of them had withstood her attacks.

Taesan would be no different, she thought. Even if he had gone further, the difference wouldn’t be insurmountable. She was strong enough to overcome those gaps. She believed this deeply.

And she had the skills to back it up.

[Amelia has activated Path to Victory.]

Path to Victory was a skill she had earned after passing one of the God of Despair’s trials.

It was a skill that allowed her to find a path to triumph, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed.

Even in dire scenarios where victory seemed impossible, Path to Victory had always guided her to success.

As she activated the skill and focused her mind on Taesan, a sudden realization struck her.

Taesan was approaching her at a leisurely pace, his stance completely open. He seemed to have countless vulnerabilities she could exploit.

But her instincts screamed warnings. The moment she struck one of those openings, she would be the one to fall—a certainty as clear as prophecy.

Amelia’s eyes wavered.

“You’re just going to stand there?”

*Step.*

In the blink of an eye, Taesan was standing directly in front of her.

Sweat trickled down Amelia’s cheek.

There was no clear answer.

Despite his apparent slowness and many openings, she couldn’t bring herself to attack. Taesan raised his fist.

“Block this.”

The movement of his fist was unhurried. It was so slow that even an ordinary person could dodge it.

[Amelia’s Line of Death has activated.]

She had to evade.

Then counterattack and win, just as she always had.

But it was impossible.

Path to Victory, which had always assured her success, didn’t activate. It was as if, no matter what methods she tried, no matter how many times she fought him, victory was unattainable.

Countless strategies raced through her mind. Yet all she could envision was each plan shattering against him.

‘…Move!’

Just before Taesan’s fist connected, Amelia managed to move. She twisted her body violently to evade and lowered her stance, closing in on Taesan like a wave.

Her sword cut through the air, leaving dozens of afterimages.

She moved beyond her limits, reaching a level of skill she had never achieved before. In the extreme pressure of the moment, she surpassed herself.

But Taesan simply adjusted his fist’s trajectory.

The dozens of sword afterimages clashed with his fist and were obliterated.

Amelia stared in shock, raising her sword in defense. Taesan’s fist met the blade.

*Crack.*

The sword bent and shattered. His fist broke through her defense and struck her face.

“For now, just lie down.”

Her consciousness faded as everything went dark.