Chapter 393
[Manifestation of Divine Authority]
[A blessing descends.]
[You have obtained God’s Blessing: [Unwavering Choice].]
A divine blessing fell upon the people of the world. Taesan opened his skill window.
[God’s Blessing: Unwavering Choice]
[If you act on your choice with absolute conviction, without the slightest doubt, all your actions become faster, and both attack and defense increase slightly. In addition, you gain a broader perspective and heightened senses.]
A buff with a prerequisite condition. But fulfilling that condition wasn’t difficult. Any player who had descended into the labyrinth so far could act without doubting their choices.
It was a blessing that increased not just stats, but perspective, senses, and even attack and defense. It would be a huge help in conquering the labyrinth.
People erupted into cheers and joyful shouts.
And Taesan gained another ability.
[Special Activation Skill: Choice Exclusion.]
[You may select and erase one of your opponent’s attacks. This skill can only be activated once per battle and has a one-day cooldown. You cannot erase attacks from those whose rank is higher than yours.]
Reading the skill description, Taesan let out a small exclamation.
A skill that could erase an attack. It seemed like a skill that excluded the opponent’s very choice, erasing the result of an attack—much like Greed of Destruction, and extremely useful.
‘It’s similar.’
Its effect was almost identical to Taesan’s attack nullification. With attack nullification, Taesan couldn’t choose which attack to block, but Choice Exclusion, as an active skill, was even more valuable.
It was too unusual to be considered a simple reward. Maria answered his unspoken question.
[That is part of my authority over choice. Are you satisfied?]
“More than enough. Is it really alright to give such a power to me, who isn’t even your Apostle?”
[You dealt with the Apostle of those troublesome beings. I can at least do this much for you.]
Maria chuckled softly. Taesan accepted her gift gratefully.
Maria’s reward was finished.
Now it was time to assess the powers he possessed once again.
Taesan quietly contemplated himself. What state was he in, now that he had reached immortality?
He had surely reached the realm of immortality.
But that was thanks to the faith of players from Korea, Russia, and India.
There was no doubt he had reached immortality. Even if people’s faith disappeared, his ascended rank would not fall.
But since he hadn’t surpassed it by his own strength, his power itself could weaken depending on the faith of others.
Besides reaching immortality, there was much he had gained this time. It was time to check everything.
[Special Passive Skill: Avenger]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[If you fight an existence who has previously defeated you, all your actions become faster and your attack power slightly increases. If the opponent is stronger than you, all stats increase proportionally.]
A skill obtained from rematching the Apostle. He hadn’t gotten it during the God of Despair’s trial, likely because the Apostle there was based on his memories.
“I probably won’t have to use this again.”
Throughout his current and previous lives, the only being who had ever defeated Taesan was the Apostle of the Old gods. Even his duel with Ainzhar hadn’t been a fight to the death, so it likely wouldn’t activate then.
[Special Passive Skill: Enemy of the Old gods]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[You are now recognized as the enemy of the Old gods invading the world. When fighting beings related to the Old gods, all stats and action speed increase. You are also much less susceptible to their corruption, and can strike more directly at their essence.]
Similar to Demigod’s Bane, but even more optimized for the Old gods. The more always-active skills, the greater the benefit.
[Title: Savior.]
[You saved the world from a being seeking its destruction.]
[When you prevent the destruction of the world, most living beings send you deep trust and belief.]
[The faith and divinity you receive from them is further amplified.]
The Savior title had a very practical effect. Not only for Earth, but as he continued into the labyrinth, there would be many clashes with the Old gods. Most would involve quests to save worlds on the brink of destruction.
In most of those cases, this title would be immensely helpful. That alone made it plenty valuable.
Besides that, the proficiency of many skills had increased. Especially Seed of Life, which had risen by 13% and was now just shy of 40%.
The Apostle of the Old gods had possessed the power to devour others and make them his own. That seemed to be why the Seed of Life proficiency had risen so much.
Divine Power Mastery had also reached 90%.
If he received faith from all the players on Earth, it would probably reach 100%.
If that happened, Earth would become his own domain, and he might even reach transcendence.
It was still only speculation, but it was certainly possible.
And perhaps because he had defeated the Apostle who had become an Immortal known as the Destroyer, he had acquired related skills through Soul Rank Ascension.
[Soul Skill: Destroyer]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[Destroyer of all things. What you shatter and destroy becomes your power and authority. You lack the rank and qualifications to properly wield this power.]
The authority of an Immortal. Its description was similar to King of Machinery.
But there was a difference from before.
Now, it said he only lacked the rank and qualification to fully control it.
It meant he could at least use it to some extent.
He finished confirming what he had gained.
Taesan took a step forward.
Now it was time to find out what he could do.
The first thing to check, of course, was his soul skills.
[Soul Skill: King of Machinery]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[King of Machinery. The authority of the monarch over machines. You lack the rank and qualification to fully wield this power.]
“That’s clear.”
Previously, the description had said he was far too lacking in rank and power to control it.
Soul skills were the authority of an Immortal. But now, Taesan had reached the rank of immortality.
If that was the case, there was no reason he couldn’t wield it.
As Taesan moved to confirm it, he saw Kim Hwiyeon and several people struggling in front of a tractor.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh! Oh! Lord Taesan!”
As he landed in front of them, everyone was startled and bowed deeply. Taesan asked them,
“What are you trying to do with the tractor?”
“We’re starting to hit the limits of cultivation,” Kim Hwiyeon spoke up.
Now, the number of people had become enormous. They had to feed more than a hundred million people.
Makeshift farming could sustain them all, but the amount of land needed for cultivation had grown immense.
Using machines was far more efficient than having people dig by hand, so they were looking for a way to repair the broken tractor.
“But it seems impossible. Even if we somehow find fuel, the internal parts are broken… and we can’t afford new parts,” Kim Hwiyeon said, shaking her head.
Taesan gazed at the tractor.
He reached out his hand.
[Kang Taesan’s Authority Manifestation. King of Machinery activated.]
Kiiiiiing!
Authority was manifested.
The tractor rattled, and its broken parts began to move. People shrank back in shock.
[……Huh?]
The ghost let out a dumbfounded sound.
Taesan didn’t know the structure of a tractor. He had no idea how it worked.
But it didn’t matter.
He didn’t need to know or understand.
The answer just appeared in Taesan’s mind.
Kurururung.
The tractor, which had gone quiet, started up with an engine roar. People’s eyes widened.
“There’s fuel, but it won’t last long. Figure out the rest on your own.”
“Ah, yes……”
People nodded absentmindedly. Kim Hwiyeon stuck out her tongue in disbelief.
“Is something like this possible?”
“It is now.”
Taesan replied roughly and flew out of the city.
He arrived at a ruined power plant.
It was a massive power station that once supplied electricity to an entire city, but now it was all destroyed.
[Kang Taesan’s Authority Manifestation. King of Machinery activated.]
Manifestation of authority.
He didn’t know how a power plant worked, but it didn’t matter. He knew the answer.
Parts floated through the air and moved between machines. They filled in the gaps, and anything unneeded was used as parts for other machines.
Taesan snapped his fingers.
The power plant rumbled and started up.
“So this is authority.”
[This is just ridiculous.]
The ghost muttered. He knew Taesan had gained the authority of an Immortal, but actually seeing him wield it was still hard to accept.
Authority was something built up over a lifetime.
Taesan had not only stolen that outcome but was wielding it as his own power.
[What are you, really?]
“I don’t know either.”
Soul Rank Ascension was also an unknown skill for him.
After running a few more checks, he understood how to use King of Machinery.
“You can’t create entirely new machines or make parts out of nothing.”
For now, all he could do was repair machines. That was it.
The skill’s description said he still lacked rank and qualification. Taesan had only just become an Immortal. There was no way he could perfectly wield another Immortal’s authority. There were still clear limits.
“But it’s still useful.”
The greatest problem in rebuilding civilization on Earth was machinery. In a highly advanced modern society, even skilled engineers would struggle if starting from nothing. It took immense time and effort to restore electricity and recreate all machinery from scratch.
With King of Machinery, he could solve that problem completely.
“I wonder if I can use Law of Discipline too. It’s worth a test.”
[I have no idea.]
The ghost gave a wry laugh. Just thinking about it gave him a headache, so she decided not to bother.
—
After finishing his inspection of soul skills, Taesan was handling the materials he had.
[Crystallized Divine Blood]
[Essence of the World]
These were materials he’d obtained before, but had lacked the strength and qualifications to use.
Now, he could handle them to some extent.
[What are you planning to do with those?]
“I’m still thinking.”
He wasn’t a blacksmith. He couldn’t forge or refine anything.
He’d considered swallowing them and absorbing their power, but that would require a lot of preparation.
For now, he hadn’t thought of a way to use them.
[Do as you like. They’re yours now.]
“That’s my plan… Are you not going back?”
Taesan turned his gaze.
Maria was still quietly smiling there.
[How cold of you. Trying to chase me out already?]
“It’s just that everyone else left right after they finished settling things. I was curious.”
Rakiratas, Mashin, and Beatrice all left Earth as soon as they gave their blessings. In contrast, Maria was still here.
[I still have something left to see.]
“Something to see?”
[You’ll find out soon enough.]
With those words, Maria’s figure vanished.
Taesan couldn’t guess Maria’s purpose.
Time passed after that.
Before he knew it, only two days remained before his return to the labyrinth.
People calmly waited for the return.
Taesan, too, finished all his checks and quietly rested atop Cheonji.
“Hoo.”
Lee Taeyeon climbed up to Cheonji, covered in sweat.
“Oh. Taesan, you’re here?”
“There’s nothing else to do. Were you sparring with Junhyuk?”
“Yes. Who knows when we’ll be able to come back after we return, so I wanted to enjoy the scenery one last time.”
Lee Taeyeon nodded.
It was an initiative she never showed in her previous life.
She had really become strong.
“By the way, Maria is still here…”
“Why? Does it bother you?”
“It’s not that. I can’t explain it, but something feels strange.”
Taesan watched her for a moment, then checked the link that connected them.
What is that?
