Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 335

Levantia was carrying Bardray’s child.

The revelation shook the ghost to his core.

[She… is carrying my child…]

“You didn’t know?”

[…I didn’t.]

The ghost’s voice trembled.

[I was too busy fulfilling the prophecy. I never returned to the imperial capital. I never got to see Levantia again. And when I finally did return…]

By then, the empire had already fallen to the Demon King.

[I… I…]

The ghost swallowed hard.

He had accepted the end of his world. He had made peace with it.

And yet, his emotions were now in complete turmoil.

[Just… just give me a moment.]

The ghost barely managed to speak.

[Let me be alone for a while.]

With those words, he vanished.

It wasn’t like when he was expelled during encounters with gods—this time, the ghost had hidden himself of his own will.

For the first time in a long while, Taesan was alone.

‘The God of Regret…’

This trial was truly fitting for his domain.

—

The ghost had made a contract with a magician.

That was why, even after death, he continued to exist within the labyrinth as a ghost.

His role was to guide adventurers, give them quests and rewards, and fulfill his final wish.

And the wish the ghost had bound himself to was revenge.

To witness the deaths of the Guides of Sin.

In other words, once Taesan defeated them, the ghost would cease to exist as a concept.

There was nothing a dead man could do.

Taesan couldn’t interfere either—it was a contract between a magician and a ghost, beyond his reach.

Even though the ghost was nowhere to be seen, Taesan could still feel his presence beside him.

But he didn’t call for him.

There was nothing he could do right now.

The only thing left was to let the ghost sort through his own emotions.

—

Meanwhile, time continued to move forward.

People trained harder, preparing for the inevitable battle.

Taesan examined the power that had imbued his sword after fulfilling the prophecy.

[Kabert’s Relic: The Bloodstained Sword of the Ancestors]
– A relic from a world that has now perished.
– A blade that claimed the lives of countless royals.
– Attack Power: +500
– +150 Attack Power when fighting against all enemies.
– As the world’s prophecy is fulfilled, its power has now manifested within the sword. When facing the being that brings ruin—the Demon King—the wielder shall be granted the strength and authority necessary to strike him down.

His base attack power had increased by 200.

But more importantly, a new special effect had been added.

An overwhelming force resided within the relic.

It wasn’t just power—it felt more like a will to defy annihilation itself.

He wouldn’t know its full potential until he faced the Demon King.

—

But the Demon King did not appear.

Waiting idly was dull.

So Taesan moved.

He traveled the world, visiting various locations—not to sightsee, but to search for places where he could acquire new skills.

Taesan had already gained many skills, including some he had never obtained in his past life.

However, he had yet to reclaim all of his past abilities.

Some of the most crucial ones remained missing:
– Replication
– Partial Time Stop
– Multiplication
– Designated Skill Reset
– Essential Strike

Among them, Essential Strike was at least obtainable—it required mastering both Essence Identification and Critical Point Designation to 100% proficiency.

The condition wasn’t particularly difficult.

But the other four were a different matter.

Replication, Partial Time Stop, Multiplication, and Designated Skill Reset.

The conditions to acquire them were incredibly demanding.

Even for Taesan, who had already amassed numerous skills, regaining them was not a certainty.

They had originally been obtained through extreme circumstances—a mix of sheer luck, quick thinking, and precise execution in the heat of battle.

“…Nothing.”

After traveling across half the world, Taesan gave up.

As expected, the ghost’s world lacked any opportunities to acquire the missing skills.

For now, the best course of action was to keep descending the labyrinth and search for potential opportunities along the way.

If what Lee Taeyeon had told him was true, and the lower floors still existed, he might still have a chance to recover some of his lost abilities.

Returning to the imperial capital, Taesan quietly continued strategizing ways to regain his missing skills.

—

For an entire week, the ghost did not appear.

And then, it arrived.

—

“A noisy affair,”

A man clicked his tongue inside the royal palace.

The empire had repeatedly sent envoys.

They warned that the Demon King would soon descend and urged cooperation to save the world.

But the ruler of this kingdom refused to ally with the empire.

“There is no such thing as a Demon King in this world.”

The old king scoffed.

The Demon King was a being of ancient legends.

For such a being to descend and destroy the world—such a notion was laughable.

He believed the empire was fabricating this crisis to tighten its grip over the world.

Thus, he rejected every offer of cooperation.

Even when his citizens grew uneasy, even when some tried to flee, he remained unwavering.

And then—

“Y-Your Majesty!”

The doors burst open.

The captain of the knights entered, his face stricken with anxiety.

“There… There is someone at the kingdom’s gates.”

“…Lead me to them.”

Clicking his tongue, the old king stepped outside.

At the entrance of the kingdom, a man stood alone.

He was young.

His skin was deathly pale, devoid of any color.

Draped in black, he held a greatsword in his grasp.

A foreboding presence radiated from him—a physical manifestation of dread.

The knights trembled, barely able to stand.

But the old king remained indifferent.

“The empire has prepared quite the spectacle.”

He scoffed.

To him, the man before him was nothing more than a pawn of the empire, meant to spread fear and reinforce their fabricated tale.

The king did not doubt this for a second.

“Cut off his head and hang it at the castle gate. That will keep the empire from interfering.”

“Y-Yes…!”

The soldiers hesitated as they approached the man.

Even as their sharp spears drew closer, the pale man remained still, staring blankly ahead.

“…Why am I here?”

His quiet murmur sent a chill down the soldiers’ spines.

“I should have already destroyed this place.”

His indifferent gaze swept over them, and they instinctively flinched.

“Ugh…”

None of them could move any closer.

The old king, watching from afar, shouted in frustration,

“What are you doing?! Strike him down!”

Even under the king’s command, the soldiers could not advance.

They were faced with a terror beyond human comprehension—something instinct told them not to approach.

The pale man studied them before nodding.

“This place is false.”

He understood it instinctively.

He had already completed his duty.

Which meant that this world was nothing but an illusion, fabricated by some external force.

“But my purpose remains the same.”

As he murmured, his presence grew stronger.

The soldiers’ faces turned ashen.

“Uaahhh!”

One of them, unable to bear the fear, shut his eyes and thrust his spear forward.

The tip of the spear touched the darkness surrounding the man.

And then—

It vanished.

“Ack!”

The soldier was swallowed whole by the darkness.

He simply ceased to exist.

The old king stumbled backward in horror.

“H-How dare you harm the soldiers of my kingdom?! Empire’s pawn! I will not stand for this—”

“Silence.”

The man spoke softly.

And darkness spread.

“O-Oooooh!”

The entire kingdom was consumed.

—

The towering walls, the grand palace, the bustling villages—

Everything vanished into darkness.

Even the sound of the wind was swallowed.

Enjoying the eerie silence, the Demon King moved forward.

—

The Demon King had arrived.

Rumors spread like wildfire—an entire kingdom had been erased overnight.

His monstrous army began its onslaught.

The Empire took action.

Kingdoms that had allied with the empire mobilized their forces.

Knights and soldiers from all across the land gathered.

And yet—

The Demon King continued forward.

—

He spread his deep, thick darkness, making no effort to conceal himself.

Everyone knew where he was.

And as always, in times of crisis, fools emerged.

“Demon King! I am the Hero who will defeat you! Prepare to die by my blade!”

A young man stood proudly before the Demon King.

The Demon King wordlessly swung his darkness.

The young man charged forward with a battle cry—

Only to be erased from existence.

The so-called hero was gone in an instant.

—

The Demon King reached the next kingdom.

Inside the castle, he could sense the chaos.

Like the previous kingdom, they had dismissed the rumors as nonsense and refused to cooperate with the empire.

They were unprepared for battle.

Soldiers panicked, their terror making them flee in disarray.

“Not even worth my time.”

Darkness spread.

It devoured the kingdom, leaving nothing behind.

Fear, despair—all were absorbed into him.

The Demon King stepped over the ruins, his face filled with disappointment.

“You truly are fools.”

Even knowing of my existence, even understanding the world’s impending doom,

They still refuse to unite.

Despite standing before a threat of extinction,

They bicker over selfish interests.

Truly, fools.

The Demon King sighed deeply.

“I had hoped for something different… but nothing has changed.”

Even in this fabricated world, they remain the same.

—

The Demon King resumed his march.

—

He arrived at another kingdom.

As he prepared to unleash his darkness, he paused.

This time… something was different.

Terror and fear were still present inside the castle—

But they did not retreat.

Despite their crude formations, despite their trembling hands,

They stood their ground.

The Demon King withdrew his darkness.

He stepped forward, stopping at the castle gate.

“All units! Fire! For the world!”

With a cry of determination, arrows and boulders rained down.

Boiling oil was poured onto him.

But the darkness surrounding him swallowed everything.

Even as their attacks failed, the soldiers did not surrender.

Desperate to harm him in any way, they launched relentless assaults.

The Demon King watched in silence.

Then, he grasped his sword.

—

In the past, when he destroyed the world,

He had never once drawn his sword.

Because the world was never worth it.

But this time was different.

With a single slash—

Rumble!

The castle walls split apart.

As they collapsed, the Demon King stepped forward.

“Kill him!”

“For the world!”

The soldiers rushed toward him.

This was not a desperate, meaningless charge.

They were truly risking their lives to defeat him.

The Demon King smiled faintly.

He swung his sword.

Soldiers fell, but those still standing pressed on.

Even against overwhelming power, they did not yield.

He cut them down one by one, advancing toward the throne room.

There, a man stood—

A king, gripping his sword with grim resolve.

“You must be the Demon King… A true monster.”

“You will die.”

“It does not matter.”

The king’s voice did not waver.

“I stand here, fully prepared to die.”

The Demon King had arrived earlier than expected.

The gathered warriors of the world needed more time.

And so—

This kingdom had chosen to stall him.

They had gathered warriors willing to sacrifice themselves to hold him back.

“Even if I perish here—humanity will prevail.”

The king charged forward, his belief unwavering.

The Demon King chuckled softly.

His sword descended.

The king fell, but on his face—

Was absolute faith in victory.

—

“Something… has changed.”

The Demon King sheathed his sword.

In the past, there had been resistance—

But none of them had understood what he truly was.

They thought him merely strong and attempted to overcome him through force.

But this time was different.

They knew exactly what he was.

And yet, they still believed.

They truly believed that humanity would prevail.

A deep smile spread across the Demon King’s face.

He was the Demon King.

The instrument of destruction.

And yet—

What he truly desired was not merely to destroy.

He wanted to witness humanity’s will.

To see them unite, to see them place their faith in their hero,

To see them resist annihilation with everything they had.

That was the one wish he had,

Despite being born solely for destruction.

“I understand your will.”

“But I am still the Demon King.”

He would crush that will,

He would bring destruction,

For that was his purpose.

The Demon King stepped forward.

From within the darkness—

Monstrosities emerged.

—

[Uoooooooh!]

Creatures of all shapes and sizes descended upon the world.

Some were as large as mountains.

Others were as small as insects.

All of them—

Were the Demon King’s army.

And they charged forward, ready to devour the world.