Chapter 409
“I’m satisfied with the reward, but I have one question.”
Taesan spoke as he looked at Zervand.
“This quest—just how long did you plan to keep me trapped in the Magic Tower?”
Wirad was strong.
His authority—dimensional definition alone made victory difficult, and he even wielded dimensional separation. If Taesan hadn’t obtained negation magic, it could have taken years.
Zervand surely knew that as well. He answered leisurely.
[That place is the Magic Tower. Only magicians I acknowledge are allowed in, and they research magic there. In other words, it’s the optimal place to learn magic.]
“So you wanted me to study magic?”
[That was the original plan.]
Zervand’s goal was to have Taesan invest years in magic, raise his magic proficiency, and learn many spells.
He wanted Taesan to understand the essence of magic, develop new spells, and perhaps, in the end, become so immersed that he’d become Zervand’s apostle… but things hadn’t gone as he wished.
Zervand murmured with a hint of regret. Taesan shook his head at his reaction.
The gods were certainly selfish.
They might be fond of Taesan, but that didn’t always mean it benefited him. Taesan was reminded of this once again.
[But don’t resent it too much. Without a trial like this, you couldn’t have obtained advanced magic.]
Taesan didn’t deny it.
He had tested the advanced magic, Great Collapse, against Wirad. The power it held couldn’t be obtained through ordinary trials.
“Advanced magic… it’s a power at the level of law, isn’t it?”
[Exactly.]
Zervand smiled.
[It’s not just ordinary magic. It’s a power that delves into the essence of the world itself. That’s why it could neutralize even Wirad’s white points.]
The quality of the power contained in such magic was truly on another level. Even Taesan hadn’t expected it to be this strong.
[But for you, who already obtained negation magic, maybe it’s not so surprising. That’s a shame.]
Zervand clicked his tongue.
Negation magic contained a mix of powers beyond law and the law itself.
Taesan quietly waited for Zervand to continue.
The magic he wielded was Zervand’s power.
He blended it with black and created a new magic. And Zervand was a god in opposition to the Old gods.
It wasn’t hard to guess that Zervand might not like negation magic.
But Zervand showed no particular reaction.
[I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t care. That’s just a new path in magic. If those things had meddled with my magic directly, that’d be different… but I don’t mind what you do with it.]
“Thank you.”
His only source of anxiety was gone. Taesan expressed his thanks. Zervand leaned back in his chair with a relaxed look.
[If you want to obtain more advanced magic, just offer tributes as you’ve done before.]
“It’ll probably take a long time.”
Even just mastering intermediate magic required a fair amount of tribute. Advanced magic was on another level.
[If you keep making tributes, you’ll get it someday. No need to go through Lilith. She seems to be having fun with the one on the 61st floor.]
Beldenkia. An NPC in the labyrinth. His wish was to rescue the princess held by the God of Ruin.
And the God of Ruin was waiting on the 83rd floor.
The god who treated Beldenkia’s princess and Amelia as toys.
It wouldn’t be long before they met.
[Do your best. I’ll be watching.]
“Understood.”
[Then, that’s it, right?]
Zervand waved his hand to send Taesan back to the labyrinth. Taesan, as if remembering something, opened his inventory.
“Is it only things related to magic? Are things like these impossible?”
Taesan was holding materials like the Essence of the World and crystallized divine blood.
Zervand shook his head.
[No. They’re certainly valuable, but I’m the God of Magic. They’re of no use to me. The Demon God would probably say the same.]
“I see.”
He’d have to use these materials himself. Having checked everything, it was finally over.
[Then, see you next time, if there’s an opportunity.]
With those words, Taesan returned to the labyrinth.
Though it was shorter than Zervand had planned, quite a bit of time had passed. He’d spent over a month in the Magic Tower.
Taesan opened the community to check on the other players. Most were progressing through the labyrinth without any issues.
Lee Taeyeon, in particular, was incredibly fast.
She had already reached the 62nd floor. Kang Jun-hyuk and Kim Hwiyeon were worried, and Amelia was flustered.
[Geum Jung-geun [Hard]: Hyung, are you sure it’s okay?]
[Kang Taesan [Solo]: It’s fine.]
Taesan wasn’t concerned. He knew about Lee Taeyeon. Even though her attitude had changed, her core hadn’t.
She was still proceeding with caution. Reaching the 62nd floor wasn’t even particularly fast by Taesan’s standards. There was no problem.
[Special Passive Skill: Path of Magic]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[One who pursues higher-level magic. By understanding the essence of magic, you gain the qualification to wield advanced magic.]
[Blue Mana Earring]
[Health + 1,000]
[Mana + 3,000]
[Strength + 30]
[Agility + 300]
[Intelligence + 1,000]
[Magic + 100]
[Defense + 40]
[An earring formed from pure blue mana condensed into shape. The mana contained within is purer than anything.]
It had no attack power, but the magic stat increase was extremely high.
Since it was directly related to magic’s power, it was far more valuable than most attack stats.
After confirming even the things he’d missed, Taesan moved.
But not downward—upward.
He went to see Haphran. Haphran, who welcomed him, flinched.
“…Why can’t I feel any power from you?”
“Ah, it’s still sealed.”
Taesan released the authority seal. In that instant, an overwhelming sense of presence and status surged out.
“Ugh.”
Haphran’s face turned pale.
Taesan slowly reined in his presence.
After some time, the barely-composed Haphran let out a hollow laugh.
“Truly… unbelievable. I thought you’d get there someday, but to reach it this soon…”
Taesan was a monster.
Just seeing how he conquered Haphran’s destroyed world made that clear. Haphran had expected he’d transcend mortality eventually.
But he never imagined Taesan would achieve it already, barely past the 80th floor.
Haphran laughed and pounded his hammer.
“A real monster. So, what brings you here this time?”
“For confirmation.”
Taesan took out a pair of rings and showed them to Haphran.
One white, one black. The rings Haphran had made for him.
After inspecting the rings, Haphran nodded.
“They’ve completely submitted to you.”
“You said these rings are twins, equal to each other. Then, is it possible to combine them into one?”
Haphran fell silent.
After a moment’s thought, he answered.
“Impossible. They’re already twins. Combining them again can’t be done…”
“What if there’s a skill that allows it?”
“What?”
If he had the Both as One skill earned by defeating the twins, he could merge the rings into one.
After hearing the explanation, Haphran fell silent again.
“…Then it’s not impossible.”
He finally came to a conclusion.
“But the problem is, the materials’ personalities were so strong that I had to make them twins to prevent conflict. To merge them and maximize the effect, you’d need materials strong enough to completely suppress those personalities…”
Before Haphran could finish, Taesan showed the materials.
Essence of the World, crystallized divine blood, Proof of Struggle, Thread of Collapse.
Materials nearly impossible to obtain except by surpassing the deep floors. Haphran was speechless.
“Are these enough?”
“…More than enough.”
Haphran shook his head.
“But there’s still a problem. Unfortunately, I’m not skilled enough to handle these materials.”
He’d said this before.
He was a master blacksmith, but ultimately mortal. He couldn’t handle materials beyond his own level.
Taesan already knew this.
But Taesan couldn’t forge the materials himself, nor could he offer them as tributes.
He had no intention of letting such materials go to waste.
So, he thought of a way.
“If I became your hands and feet, would it be possible to handle these materials?”
Haphran’s eyes widened.
Haphran could forge equipment, but lacked the level to handle the materials.
Taesan had the level to handle the materials, but couldn’t forge equipment.
So Taesan would become Haphran’s hammer and anvil.
“Would this method work?”
Taesan asked Haphran.
“It’s possible.”
After quietly thinking over Taesan’s words for a while, Haphran suddenly spoke.
“An immortal becomes the hands and feet for forging. Rare, but it’s happened before. If we do it that way, even if I can’t handle the materials alone, we can succeed. With you as you are now, there’s no problem…”
He mumbled nonstop, searching for a solution.
At last, his words stopped, and he grinned.
“That will work. It will definitely work! With that, I can create the greatest thing in the world!”
His voice was filled with madness and a lifelong wish.
“I can fulfill my wish!”
Haphran shouted passionately. The deep, intense ripple of emotion shook the room.
—
Haphran gladly accepted Taesan’s proposal.
“But there’s a condition. While making the equipment with you as my hands and feet is possible, I also need to accept some of your power. Otherwise, it’s not truly using your hands and feet, just another person. For that, we’ll need a material.”
“What kind?”
“You know it well.”
Haphran raised his finger. Then, he pointed to himself.
“My destroyed world. The will of that world. It certainly surpasses mortality, but I was a resident of that world. Even though it destroyed us, that fact hasn’t changed. If we use that, it’ll form a link between you and me.”
Haphran spoke rapidly, excitement in his tone.
He grinned.
“The problem is, it’s the will of the world itself. It surpasses mortality.”
When Taesan encountered the will of the world itself, he was prepared to die.
Just being targeted by the world’s will caused harm.
If not for the boundary, he might have actually died there.
But now, Taesan was immortal.
He had reached the same rank as the will of the world that had once pushed him to the brink of death.
“This is my last quest. Go to my destroyed world and defeat its will.”
[Subquest Start.]
[Haphran has proposed his final quest. Enter his destroyed world, defeat the world’s will, and bring back its core. Succeed, and you will be rewarded.]
[Reward: Haphran’s complete faith and trust. This will grant you access to various equipment.]