Chapter 355
Rumble!
Lightning struck down. The wind turned into a raging storm, and the ground crumbled, trying to swallow Taesan whole.
Taesan stomped down, crushing the collapsing earth beneath his feet. He dodged the lightning and shattered the storm with a punch.
He quickly assessed the situation.
At this level, clearing the quest wouldn’t be difficult.
In that case, rather than rushing to complete it, the better approach would be to figure out if there was anything worth gaining from this place.
Instead of heading straight for the objective, Taesan began exploring the surroundings.
[You have activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]
[You have activated Focused Detection.]
Continuously using detection skills, he analyzed his surroundings, scanning both the sky and deep underground to gather a complete picture.
But nothing came up.
This place was truly empty.
“There’s really nothing here.”
[It’s a place where life can’t exist. There are times when even in such places, you can find something of value, but this doesn’t seem to be one of them.]
Taesan moved farther, expanding his search radius.
The abandoned planet grew increasingly irritated by Taesan’s actions.
Filled with rage, it unleashed a lightning strike. Taesan drew his sword.
Clang!
The lightning clashed against the blade and scattered in all directions.
“There’s nothing here either.”
Taesan didn’t pay the planet’s attack any attention.
That only enraged it further.
With its fury, a powerful will erupted.
Rumble!
The ground split apart and collapsed, creating a massive crater the size of a metropolis.
Boom!
Lightning rained down wildly, setting the land ablaze. The storm carried debris, scattering it chaotically through the air.
It was a scene of pure devastation.
Yet, standing atop the collapsing land, Taesan remained utterly unmoved.
A passive skill—Balancing. It allowed him to maintain stability in any situation. A mere tremor like this wasn’t enough to break his stance.
The land, following the planet’s will, rose up again, trying to engulf Taesan.
At that moment, Taesan activated a skill.
[You have activated Earthquake.]
The rising ground was neutralized by the earthquake he unleashed.
In an instant, Taesan moved out of the collapsing zone.
The planet was left looking like a dog chasing a chicken—utterly frustrated.
“This is far inferior to Haphran’s world.”
[That’s what makes it unique. For a star to possess power at an immortal’s level is nearly impossible in the first place.]
Immortals, by definition, were eternal.
They had no lifespan. Unless they were physically or mentally destroyed, they would exist forever.
But all planets had lifespans. From a human perspective, those lifespans were absurdly long, but ultimately, they had an inevitable end.
That meant a planet could never truly reach the power of an immortal.
Haphran’s world had simply been a rare exception to that rule.
[Not that this place is weak, but…]
This was the 75th floor, a deep-layered quest. The fact that it was a challenge for high-level adventurers spoke for itself.
The problem was—Taesan wasn’t just any adventurer.
“For now, let’s keep looking for anything useful.”
Clearing the quest was trivial.
Taesan planned to push the limits of what he could extract from this place.
That thought drove the planet to the brink of madness.
For countless years, it had tormented adventurers who came to clear the 75th floor.
But the outcomes were always the same. Adventurers either succeeded and returned to the labyrinth or died and disappeared.
In the end, the planet was left alone every time.
That emptiness was unbearable.
Eventually, the planet developed a twisted belief.
Mortal beings. Adventurers. They were nothing more than playthings.
Life was weak and fragile. Even the lightest of its attacks would cause them to crumble.
Compared to such pitiful creatures, the planet was far stronger, greater, and superior.
Yes. Life was unnecessary. The planet was perfect by itself. Living beings were nothing more than toys to express its emotions upon.
That was the absolute belief of the wandering planet.
This twisted mindset erased any lingering admiration or jealousy it once had toward life.
It became the pillar supporting the planet’s very existence.
Yet now, it was utterly powerless against Taesan.
It wanted to deny it—but it couldn’t. The truth was undeniable.
Taesan was stronger.
The planet let out a guttural wail.
Its emotions surged wildly, distorting everything.
Until now, the planet had never fought adventurers at full power. Cleaning up the aftermath of such battles was exhausting, even for it.
But this time, it didn’t care about the consequences.
All it wanted was to kill Taesan.
“This is ridiculous.”
Yet, it still couldn’t touch him.
Taesan murmured as he unleashed his power.
Dark magic and magic attacks rained down on him, but he blocked them all.
The land, unable to withstand the force, began to collapse entirely.
At this rate, the planet would take centuries to recover. Worse, if things went wrong, its contract with the magician could break, and it might be expelled from the 75th floor altogether.
But the planet didn’t care about that.
Its only focus was killing Taesan.
[This is a completely different reaction from when I was here.]
The ghost chuckled bitterly. He had been strong, but not to the level of Taesan.
When he cleared the 75th floor, the planet had mocked him, toying with him as it attacked.
He had barely survived, putting his life on the line to succeed.
But now, the planet was baring its full wrath against Taesan.
And Taesan was effortlessly brushing aside every attack.
The time was almost up.
The lap was nearly complete.
Taesan kicked off the ground.
Using acceleration and Skill Acceleration, he surged forward, breaking through the planet’s domain in an instant.
The planet realized Taesan was about to clear the quest and hurriedly gathered even more power.
But it was useless.
It couldn’t even reach him.
Taesan’s speed was too overwhelming for the planet to properly react, carving a direct path through.
He was almost at the finish line.
In the end, the planet couldn’t hold back any longer.
Kiieeeeeng!
With a deafening roar, the ground ahead of Taesan collapsed.
From within it, a pure white will emerged.
Having encountered something similar before, Taesan immediately understood—this was the will of the world itself.
The will gathered its power and detonated.
The compressed force of the planet itself sought to crush Taesan.
But compared to the power of Haphran’s destroyed world, this was laughably weak.
It was more than enough for him to break through.
Taesan swung his arm.
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
Three layers of Starlight Arrow formed, then exploded forward.
[You have activated Magic Liberation.]
[You have activated Forced Amplification.]
The Starlight Arrows fired.
They clashed against the will’s power, turning the entire world white.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-guung!
The planet was in shock.
Even after fully revealing itself and unleashing its power, its attack was being shattered by Taesan’s Starlight Arrows.
The planet made a decision.
There was no turning back now.
Even if it meant its own destruction, it had to kill Taesan.
With that resolve, it moved its true body.
Kuuuuung!
The planet itself began to collapse.
The sphere cracked apart, its core twisting.
The ground rose. The air trembled, and the atmosphere collapsed.
This attack was on an entirely different scale than anything before.
The entire planet was attacking Taesan.
The weight of continents fell upon him. The entire atmosphere condensed to engulf him.
In terms of sheer physical force, this surpassed anything he had ever faced.
But it was not beyond his limits.
Taesan planted his feet and charged forward.
[You have activated Raging Gale Dash.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
Like a storm, he tore through the onslaught.
He stomped the ground.
[You have activated Beyond the Boundary.]
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
He layered Earthquake and unleashed it against the surging land.
[You have activated Magic Liberation.]
The towering wall of earth shattered.
Like a broken cube, it crumbled into fragments, creating a clear path forward.
Tap.
Taesan kicked off the ground.
The planet’s will exploded in rage, unleashing its power.
Taesan swung his sword.
Kagagagak!
Their powers collided, shockwaves rippling outward.
Taesan strengthened his grip and forcibly pushed through.
At the end of his path, the planet’s will was laid bare before him.
It trembled violently.
Its energy raged chaotically, emotions so intense that even Taesan could sense them.
How?!
It was a planet, a celestial body.
Humans were nothing but dust in comparison.
This attack was its last resort, a force so overwhelming that no mere mortal should be able to withstand it.
A human should have been crushed under its might.
And yet—
Taesan had broken through and was standing right in front of it.
Impossible!
A wave of denial so strong it warped reality surged.
The sheer magnitude of its emotion distorted everything around it.
The fluctuations tried to shake his mind, but Taesan simply shook his head and brushed them off.
His sword shifted.
Black and gold intertwined, forming gray light.
The planet did not stop.
And the moment it clashed against the boundary—
Its power collapsed.
Kwaa-jik!
Taesan’s sword pierced the planet’s will.
The gray light erupted, engulfing the world.
[You…]
Balbamaba was speechless.
Taesan sat calmly before him.
[It would have been nice if you had cleared it like everyone else.]
Eventually, Balbamaba couldn’t hold back.
As a manager of the labyrinth, it was something he shouldn’t say, but he had to.
The core floors—74, 75, and the entire structure—had changed because of Taesan.
Never before had three deep floors been altered so quickly.
[I’m the one who has to create new floors and set the themes. Do you have any idea how difficult that is?]
Balbamaba sighed in exhaustion.
He was already struggling to build new core floors, and now he had another one to replace.
And it wasn’t just any floor—it was the 75th.
Since the labyrinth’s creation, this floor had never changed.
Until now.
“All that history, huh.”
Taesan had known this floor existed in the ghost’s time, but he hadn’t expected it to have been there since the labyrinth’s original design.
“What happens to the planet now?”
The quest completion window had appeared the moment he pierced the boundary and ended the battle.
Since he was immediately transported back to the labyrinth, he hadn’t seen the final result.
Balbamaba answered.
[It wasn’t destroyed, but… it suffered irreversible damage. Its consciousness is shattered. It can no longer function as part of the labyrinth.]
The abandoned planet was no longer part of the labyrinth’s floors.
Not that it mattered to Taesan.
He had only defended himself against its attacks.
[Anyway, I’ve got work to do. I need to go figure out how to replace this floor.]
Grumbling, Balbamaba disappeared.
Either way, Taesan had cleared the 75th floor.
And he had received his rewards.
[Ring Forged from the World’s Core]
– HP +2,500
– Mana +500
– Attack Power +150
– Defense +150
– A ring forged by compressing and refining the core of a world itself. The blacksmith’s skills were extremely crude, causing much of its power to be lost, but even so, the strength contained within is formidable.
[Staff of the Demon King’s Contractor]
– Dark Magic +330
– Magi +500
– Casting Speed +15%
– Once wielded by one who had contracted with a mighty Demon King. While those who form contracts with demons often meet tragic ends, such a fate did not apply to the Demon King’s contractor.
The ring was straightforward—high health, mana, and attack power. Easy to understand and undeniably effective.
The hidden reward, the staff, was a Dark Magic staff but wasn’t particularly special.
It would serve well as an offering to the Demon God.
But those weren’t the only rewards Taesan had obtained.
Even though the abandoned planet had seemed devoid of anything valuable, he had gained something.
[Special Passive Skill: Adversary of the World]
– Proficiency: 1%
– One who has fought against the very will of a world itself. When opposing the will of a world, one’s level and all stats are enhanced. Additionally, the intent contained within a planet’s power can be more directly perceived.
It was similar to the Adversary of the Immortal skill he had acquired on the 74th floor—only now, it applied to worlds.
“I can use this in Haphran’s world.”
Even now, Taesan couldn’t say with certainty that he could defeat Haphran’s world.
But with each new related skill he gained and as he continued to grow stronger, he would eventually reach that level.
Taesan stepped toward the 76th floor.
The beginning of the 76th floor.
The Demon God had said they would be waiting for him here.
Brushing past the shopkeeper, Taesan entered the new floor.
Immediately, he sensed many presences.
“Why are there so many?”
Muttering to himself, he moved toward the source of the energy.
There, he saw them—a multitude of the Guides of Sin.
[You have encountered the Black Twins.]
[You have encountered the White Twins.]
[You have encountered the Fist Saint, Altair.]
[You have encountered the Master of the Black Abyss, Cliff.]
[You have encountered the Lord of the Echoing Valley, Esteban.]
[You have encountered Starlight Flash, Floria.]
[You have encountered the Warrior of the Great Saint, Gloria.]
[You have encountered the Most Noble One, Helia.]
