Chapter 459
“Curious, aren’t you? Check it now. I’ll explain a few things too.”
Taesan didn’t refuse. He opened his skill window and confirmed what he had acquired.
[Advanced Magic: Teleport]
[Mana Cost: 5000]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[Allows movement to a desired location within a designated range.]
The first advanced magic he had acquired was [Great Collapse].
Its performance had been incredibly satisfactory. While it had lost some luster against the Old god, it remained one of Taesan’s strongest offensive skills—on an entirely different level from intermediate magic.
And now he had gained another skill of equal tier.
Zervand smiled and nodded toward him.
“Try it.”
“Thank you.”
The description stated that he could move to any desired location. Taesan recalled a place in his mind.
[You have activated [Teleport].]
Mana gathered.
Space opened, and Taesan’s body leapt through the air.
He arrived exactly where he had hoped.
“…It really works.”
Though now ruined and unrecognizable, the place he arrived at was exactly where he had first chosen the Solo mode path.
Taesan closed his eyes and visualized another place.
This time, Antarctica.
He had never been there before, but he imagined what he had seen through media and activated the spell.
[You have activated [Teleport].]
And Taesan arrived in Antarctica.
Though it was a bit different from the image in his memory, he could tell it was the right place.
After conducting several tests, Taesan confirmed the range and conditions of [Teleport].
‘No cooldown.’
[Random Blink] and [Restricted Blink] had a 10-minute cooldown. Their use required great caution.
But [Teleport], living up to its name as an advanced magic, had no cooldown.
The mana cost was still high, so it needed to be used wisely, but the absence of a time constraint was a huge advantage.
Taesan even managed to teleport to places he hadn’t seen in pictures or media.
By vividly imagining the location and details, he could travel to a similar place.
So what was the maximum range?
He imagined deep space and activated [Teleport].
And Taesan saw the blue planet.
He had reached outer space.
‘Somewhere near the atmosphere?’
Taesan returned to Earth. Zervand, who had been waiting patiently, asked,
“How was it?”
“Excellent.”
It wasn’t without limitations.
You had to clearly and concretely visualize the desired location, which meant some preparation time.
And the spell wasn’t instant-cast either.
Mana had to gather and space had to open, which took several seconds. Not exactly ideal for real-time combat.
Still, a no-cooldown teleportation skill that allowed travel anywhere on the planet—this was the ultimate movement skill. Its value as an advanced spell was undeniable.
“Normally, this isn’t something I grant to mortals. But you’ve long surpassed that.”
Taesan then checked his title.
Those who carried the title of [Archmage] had always possessed overwhelming magical ability.
Even Shayan, who he once fought, could wield advanced magic to some extent as a mortal. The mages of the Magic Tower also had magical talent that Taesan couldn’t match.
But in the end, Taesan had obtained the title.
[Title: Archmage]
[A great and outstanding mage. You possess unparalleled talent.]
[Magic +200]
[Mana +10,000]
[Intelligence +3,000]
[Proficiency gain for magic-related skills is doubled.]
[You may interfere with Zervand’s magic within his permitted domain.]
As expected from a mage title, the stat boosts were immense.
But the real surprise was the next effect.
Proficiency gain was doubled. A short sentence, but the value it held was immeasurable.
Gaining proficiency in magic was notoriously slow. Even his most-used spell, [Frozen World], hadn’t reached 60%.
If that was true for intermediate spells, advanced magic was even worse. [Great Collapse] still hadn’t passed 10%. Honestly, he hadn’t expected to hit 100% even by the time he cleared the Labyrinth.
But now, he had a title that doubled that growth speed.
“Is this really okay?”
“If you’re going to wear the name Archmage, that much is expected. Don’t worry about it.”
Zervand said it like it was obvious. Taesan gratefully accepted it.
“About the magic interference…”
“Mages created all sorts of modifications to my spells.”
He seemed to be referring to effects like spell layering and spell liberation, developed by the mage Akisha to take revenge on Shayan.
“You’ll probably be able to do similar things now. It’s nothing too fancy. You’ve already created [Magic of Negation], so think of it as something like that. Now that you’ve received my blessing, you’ll be able to handle it more stably.”
“Thank you.”
Now he could manipulate divinity and [Boundary Line] more reliably within his spells. That alone was a highly satisfying reward.
“That’s all I can give you. My role ends here.”
Zervand’s presence began to fade.
He was returning to his own domain.
“Didn’t you say there was more to talk about?”
“Nothing too serious.”
Zervand spoke casually, as if it weren’t a big deal.
“Taesan, you defeated the seventh fragment of the World Destroyer. That’s a huge feat, no doubt… but it wasn’t impossible.”
For transcendents, handling a fragment of an Old god wasn’t that rare.
“But you did something no one else has ever accomplished. Do you know what that is?”
“…Blocking the power transfer?”
“Correct.”
Zervand grinned.
“It’s not like a monster or an apostle. That was a fragment of the Old god itself. Its power must be reclaimed directly by the Old god.”
When Taesan defeated the fragment,
The power inside tried to return to the other side of the world.
To be reabsorbed by the true World Destroyer.
But Taesan blocked it with [Boundary Line] and [Spirit Rank Ascension].
“We tried blocking it before. Not a single transcendent could stop it. [Immutable Self] is something that exists beyond laws. But you stopped it and stole the power.”
Zervand looked genuinely delighted.
“You’ve scratched the Old god’s immutability.”
Zervand’s face was full of excitement.
Among the transcendents, he was known for showing emotions often, but there was always a sense of distance—as if a god were merely pretending to be human.
But not now.
Now, Zervand was showing his true emotions.
“You may be the only one who can end this wretched war. It sounds like a dream, but it’s not impossible.”
He waved his hand with a bright grin.
“Well then, see you next time.”
With those words, Zervand disappeared.
Taesan silently stared at the remnants.
*
*
Zervand had said a lot, but Taesan wasn’t going to worry about that right now. Just like Zervand had said—it was a distant concern.
What he needed to do now was confirm what he had acquired.
[Blood of the World Destroyer]
[Blood of an Old god. It shouldn’t exist in this world, but was forcibly materialized by a special power.]
The power contained within it was massive and deep.
Even Taesan, who had become the God of Earth, couldn’t fully comprehend it.
But if he used [Boundary Line], he might be able to create something with it.
“Hm.”
Taesan thought about the materials he had.
Blood of the World Destroyer.
Crystallized Divine Blood.
Fragments of the Old god and fragments of divinity.
Almost as if they were meant to be paired, the materials matched.
“Guess I’m finally able to handle this.”
He pulled out the divine blood and gently caressed it. Everything about it, which he hadn’t understood before, now came clearly into his mind.
Now, he could handle divine blood as a material.
And though not perfectly, he could also manage the Old god’s fragments and divine fragments to some degree.
‘What can I make from all this?’
The materials were of such high rank that it was almost difficult to decide.
After a moment of thought, Taesan put them away. He planned to visit Haphran and Koslun. Though the materials were likely beyond their capacity, as blacksmiths, they might still have some insights.
[Special Passive Skill: Resistance to the Beyond]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[Grants resistance and rejection against forces beyond natural law. Provides limited resistance against things that distort fundamental principles.]
The Old god fragment had interfered with Taesan’s skills.
[Attack Nullification] had activated strangely. [Forced Fall] had been canceled entirely.
This new skill seemed to grant resistance to such effects. Since he would inevitably face the Old gods again, it was a valuable asset.
[Transcendence: Immutable Self]
[Proficiency: M]
[Grants resistance to @!% and strong rejection of [system protected]$. Currently incomplete due to being a mere fragment of “$$”.]
This was the authority he had stolen from the fragment of the World Destroyer. Transcendence [Immutable Self].
It was his second transcendence, after [Black].
[Eternal and Undying Faith] was also a transcendence skill, but of a different category.
Since this one was directly related to the Old gods, it was difficult to decipher.
But he could guess some of the effects. From the moment he obtained it, his body had felt subtly different.
Taesan called for Diana.
“I’d like you to attack me with full force.”
“…Attack you?”
“There’s something I need to verify.”
Though she was a little taken aback, Diana obediently raised her weapon.
“But I doubt my attack would have any effect on you…”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Taesan completely suppressed the [Divinity] surrounding him.
He was now in an unprotected state.
Diana hesitated for a moment, then followed his instruction. She also knew about [Attack Nullification].
“Fuu…”
She took a breath, activated all her skills, and attacked Taesan with her full strength.
Her ultimate strike—powerful enough to defeat even an S-class monster in one blow.
Even with [Divinity], Taesan should have taken damage in this state. Diana was one who stood on the edge of [Boundary Line].
Her blade touched Taesan.
And in that instant, she felt a powerful backlash.
KLANG!
“Ugh!”
Her sword bounced off. Diana was pushed back, unable to withstand the force.
She held her wrist, staring blankly at Taesan.
“…Lord Taesan? Something… something’s not right.”
It wasn’t just a matter of being overpowered.
Something was off.
It was a sensation she had never felt before.
“Thank you.”
Taesan used [Divinity] to heal her.
Then he visited Beldenkia. He asked for a full-force magical attack.
Beldenkia agreed. He launched his most powerful spell at Taesan.
Wind, fire, and flame—all kinds of elemental magic combined and surged toward Taesan.
Taesan calmly reached out and grasped it.
FWOOOOOSH!
Beldenkia’s magic distorted and vanished, leaving only fragments behind. His pupils widened.
“W-what?”
It wasn’t that his magic had been overpowered. This wasn’t a matter of strength.
“…So that’s how it works.”
Taesan glanced at his body, then approached Beldenkia.
“Defense magic.”
“O-okay.”
Beldenkia reflexively activated his defensive spells. Magic circles overlapped and formed a strong barrier.
A defense strong enough to withstand even an immortal’s full-force attack.
Taesan reached out toward that magic.
VMMM.
The circles distorted from that alone.
“W-what is this…”
Beldenkia couldn’t understand. He knew Taesan was strong. He knew even his strongest spells could be blown away by a punch.
But this wasn’t that.
His magic distorted and warped just by touching Taesan.
It was rejected.
The weaker power and rank had no right to interfere with Taesan’s body—they were denied and nullified.
Taesan clenched his hand. The magic circles distorted as if being sucked in and disappeared.
There were no shockwaves or aftereffects.
As if it simply wasn’t allowed to exist—Beldenkia and Diana’s powers were nullified the moment they touched Taesan.
[Immutable Self].
Its effect was a denial of the laws of the world trying to interfere with the caster.