Chapter 480
The quest was complete.
At the same time, Taesan’s body collapsed as the tension left him. The burden of resisting an overwhelming power came crashing down all at once.
He sank to the ground. His condition could hardly be called good. While he hadn’t sustained physical injuries, his body had been pushed to its absolute limit by the immense strain.
The puppet creaked and fell apart. A spatial rift opened, and the Magician appeared.
“Well, that was fast. I thought it would take you at least a few months.”
It wasn’t a puppet or a fragment—this was the Magician’s true body.
He reached out, intending to use his creator’s authority to heal Taesan.
But the healing wasn’t complete. Only part of the Magician’s power seeped into Taesan’s body.
“You really are operating on your own now.”
The Magician let out a small laugh.
“I can’t restore you anymore. Just rest for a bit.”
Taesan nodded and closed his eyes.
His depleted divinity and black energy quickly began to refill.
The speed was incomparable to before. His body was rapidly returning to normal.
Before long, Taesan’s condition had stabilized. Watching him recover, the Magician couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“So that’s the new power of the boundary line you discovered when you uncovered your origin?”
“Yeah.”
Taesan confirmed, and the Magician chuckled.
The true nature of the boundary line wasn’t to destroy laws—it was to ‘intervene, alter, and distort.’
Using that power, Taesan had harmonized the divine blood and the World Breaker’s blood, then used it to twist the Magician’s own domain and pierce through it.
“So that’s the essence of the boundary line, huh? I knew it wasn’t just about destruction, but this is beyond what I imagined. With your current power, you could probably drive a blade into other Transcendents too.”
“Hardly.”
It was a genuine compliment, but Taesan shook his head.
“In actual combat, that’s nearly impossible.”
He could alter laws—just as he had done to the Magician—by interfering with a Transcendent’s domain to force open a path.
It was an incredible feat, something no one else could do. In a way, it was almost an unavoidable strike.
But in the end, the blade still had to reach its target.
Even with [Call of Chaos] activated, he could only maintain stability for a short time, and the range of alteration was limited to his body and his sword.
It meant he would have to engage a Transcendent in close combat—and they would never allow that easily.
Moreover, the strain was enormous. Forcing his way into forbidden territory caused an invisible weight to crash down on his body and soul the moment he altered a law. It was a trump card he could only use once in a battle.
“Even so, that’s still a ridiculous power.”
But the awe in the Magician’s eyes didn’t fade.
The boundary line’s previous effects had been powerful but not impossible to counter. Methods used against the Old Gods had been enough.
However, if Taesan could interfere with and ‘alter’ laws, none of those countermeasures would matter. No defense could protect against someone who could rewrite the foundation of your very domain.
If Taesan managed to get close, even the strongest Transcendent in the universe would be forced to gamble with death. That alone was a feat beyond imagination.
The Magician’s gaze narrowed.
The boundary line was far stranger than he had thought.
He knew it could purify the corruption of the Old Gods and even free them—but to actually ‘rewrite’ laws and create new ones was unthinkable.
It was a power that denied the universe itself.
Such power couldn’t come from chance or sudden enlightenment. It had to be built up through everything a being was—rooted in their very essence.
‘So it’s begun.’
The Magician had his own suspicions about Taesan’s true nature.
After gathering his thoughts, he clapped his hands.
“Well, you did well. You cleared the quest and achieved what I hoped for. So, it’s only right that I reward you properly.”
The 90th floor was cleared.
Clearing the final floor of a theme always came with a reward worthy of the feat.
As if waiting for that moment, countless system windows appeared before Taesan.
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
[You have obtained the Magician’s Hat.]
[You have obtained ???.]
[You have reached the 90th floor. Title [One Who Reaches for Greater Heights] obtained.]
[You have perfectly cleared the 90th floor. Title [One Who Steps Into Another Realm] obtained.]
[You have mastered every floor up to the 90th. Title [The Perfect One] obtained.]
[You have cultivated countless powers and abilities to reach this place. Your accumulated experience has materialized into strength. Title [Enlightened in Skills] obtained.]
[You have stepped deep, deep below. From this point forward, the beings you face will be cosmic in nature. You must face them with only your own power. Special Passive Skill [Alone and Whole] obtained.]
[Many beings across the universe are watching your actions.]
“And this one’s a bonus.”
The Magician waved his hand. His authority flowed into Taesan.
[You have escaped the labyrinth’s system and gained your own. The labyrinth’s framework is no longer bound to the Magician and has begun to synchronize with you. Special Passive Skill [One’s Own] obtained.]
“Check it out.”
The Magician gestured casually. Taesan opened his status to review his rewards.
“…This is.”
[Title: One Who Reaches for Greater Heights]
[Few can reach such rarefied heights.]
[Health +5000]
[Mana +2000]
[Strength +3000]
[Attack +1000]
[Defense +1000]
The numbers were tremendous.
The other titles—[One Who Steps Into Another Realm] and [The Perfect One]—were of similar scale.
Taesan glanced at the Magician, who replied as if it were obvious.
“You’ve reached the end of the labyrinth. Naturally, the rewards must match.”
“Does everyone who reaches the 90th floor get this?”
“Of course not. Your labyrinth’s difficulty is especially high, so consider it a special service.”
That made sense. Taesan had cleared every quest from the 86th to the 90th floors.
In truth, it could be said that he had already cleared the original labyrinth long ago. Strengthened rewards were only natural.
[Special Passive Skill: Alone and Whole]
[Mastery: 1%]
[Unaffected by any external interference. Greatly resists all forms of manipulation.]
“All forms”—it truly meant everything.
It seemed to be a universal resistance skill. Subtle in effect, but invaluable to have.
[Title: Enlightened in Skills]
[Your understanding of what you’ve built deepens.]
[All skill mastery limits have been removed.]
“…What?”
Taesan turned to the Magician.
“The labyrinth’s system was originally meant for mortal beings.”
The Magician smiled wryly.
“It could barely handle Immortals—but now, you’ve reached the realm of Transcendence. Under normal circumstances, your skills’ mastery would have hit a ceiling due to the system’s limits.”
The very system meant to support adventurers had instead become a shackle for him.
“Now, that restriction’s gone.”
“That’s good.”
Taesan nodded.
He had already suspected something like this. His skill mastery hadn’t been increasing as much as it should have.
He opened his skill window.
With the restrictions lifted, accumulated experience surged forward—many skills had increased in mastery. Some by over 10%, others by only 3 or 4%. What mattered was that ‘nearly every skill’ had improved.
Some had even evolved after reaching 100%.
“This one too—it removes limits, right?”
“You could say that.”
[Special Passive Skill: One’s Own]
[Mastery: 1%]
[The skills you gained through the labyrinth have been freed from the Magician’s domain and now belong to you. For now, your influence is limited.]
“The skills you once received through the labyrinth are now yours entirely,” the Magician explained.
“They’ll fully synchronize with you, guided by your will and imbued with your essence.”
For now, the effect was weak—but the foundation had been set. As Taesan’s level and rank rose higher, those skills would completely detach from the Magician’s control and become wholly his own.
That, too, was a welcome change.
Skills like [Addition] and [Replication], which relied on the labyrinth’s laws, couldn’t truly be called ‘his’ before. Though he had earned them through effort, full ownership had been ambiguous.
Now, those skills belonged entirely to him.
“See the details for yourself,” the Magician said.
“Are you leaving already?”
“I’ve got plenty to handle. Things outside need attention, and I have to prepare for the upcoming floors. Very busy, you know.”
He opened a portal.
“You’ll see me again on the 91st floor. You’ll need an explanation there.”
“Got it. …And thanks.”
The Magician had intentionally taken charge of the floor’s quest to push Taesan toward self-realization. It was thanks to him that Taesan had awakened this new power.
“No need to thank me. I only set the stage. Even I wasn’t sure it would work—you were the one who achieved it.”
Half-stepping into the portal, the Magician looked back.
“You used the divine blood and the World Breaker’s blood this time, right? But you have more, don’t you?”
“I do.”
The fragments of the Old God and the shards of divinity he’d obtained from Levinenov still rested in his inventory.
“But it feels too early to use them. I’ll wait and see for now.”
Even managing his body as it was took all his focus. He planned to handle matters of essence once he had grown stronger and gained deeper understanding of himself.
“But this did make me realize something.”
“What’s that?”
“I can’t reach the same realm as you.”
The certainty in his voice made the Magician stay silent.
Taesan was twisted.
He had harmonized divine blood and black blood to elevate his body to new heights—something utterly impossible for any being of this universe.
“I’m distorted.”
His distortion lay at his core.
At his beginning.
That was where the answer lay.
The Magician smiled.
“Then keep searching. I’ll help however I can.”
He stepped fully into the portal and vanished.
—
Taesan didn’t descend to the 91st floor right away.
He first needed to review everything he had gained.
The first thing to check was obvious—
His skills.
Many of them had increased in mastery, and some had changed. A good number had even reached 100%.
As a result, Taesan was able to reclaim several of the skills he had once possessed in his previous life.