Chapter 490
“…What is that?”
“Ouroboros’s Scale.”
Taesan replied simply. The Magician shook his head.
“No, I mean—the system explained that much already.”
His expression, as he stared at the scale, was filled with disbelief and confusion.
“…Can I take a closer look?”
Taesan handed it over without hesitation.
The Magician held the dull scale in his hand and let out a faint groan.
“How in the world did you get this?”
“Ouroboros gave it to me.”
“Ouroboros did? That’s…”
The Magician laughed dryly, his expression growing even more perplexed as he turned the scale in his hand.
“…A Scale of Cycles. I didn’t even think something like this could exist in the universe.”
“It’s different from a Divine Stone, then?”
“Completely. A Divine Stone rewinds an individual’s time—nothing more. We can’t modify or redirect its function. But this… this contains Cycle itself.”
The Magician stared at it, as if entranced.
“Maybe Ouroboros intervened directly. If so, we might be able to handle it. Still, only a handful of transcendents—myself included—could possibly do it. And you want me to use this to create what you desire?”
“Yeah. Think you can?”
“That depends on what you’re asking for. Tell me.”
Taesan described what he wanted.
As he listened, the Magician’s face twisted oddly.
“I see what you’re aiming for… but I’m not sure it’s even possible.”
The Magician frowned, rolling the scale between his fingers. Then, as though making up his mind, he gripped it tightly.
“I’ll give it a try. Though the result might be… far from what you expect.”
“That’s fine.”
He hadn’t expected perfection.
The scale was a material on a level beyond his comprehension—something neither Haphran nor Koslun could handle.
Only the most powerful beings in the universe could manipulate it.
Leaving it to the Magician was his best option.
“I probably can’t do it alone. I’ll need other transcendents.”
The Magician smiled faintly, like a scholar who had found a new mystery.
“This will be fun. I never thought I’d get to work with Ouroboros’s power itself. Oh, right—Taesan, can you give me your used Divine Stone too?”
“It’s already spent. There’s no power left.”
“I can still read its flow. Ah, and another thing—”
The Magician extended his hand.
“The Flute of Return. I’ll need that as well. I know it’s one of your rewards, but it’s important for this.”
“Alright.”
Losing one reward was a small price to pay if it led to something greater.
Taesan handed over both the Divine Stone and the Flute.
The Magician smiled wryly.
“You’re handing them over awfully easily. You do realize how valuable these are, right?”
They could keep the scale for themselves and never return it.
Taesan’s answer was calm.
“You don’t strike me as stupid enough to try something like that.”
The scale was priceless—something that didn’t exist anywhere in the universe.
But Taesan’s value far surpassed it.
It was an arrogant statement—but the Magician didn’t deny it.
He actually looked pleased.
“You’re right. The scale’s valuable, but it’s not on your level.”
He clenched the scale tightly.
“I’ll have to meet with a few people. There’ll be plenty interested in this. We’ll talk later.”
With that, the Magician vanished from the Labyrinth—moving so fast it was as if he couldn’t wait another moment.
Taesan leaned against the wall.
This wouldn’t happen overnight. It might even fail.
Transcendents were powerful, but not omnipotent.
But if they succeeded—
He could reclaim what he had once lost.
‘Let’s just wait patiently.’
Until the Magician returned with the results, all he could do was grow stronger.
Taesan quietly examined his condition.
—
His state was far from ideal.
Even though leveling up usually restored him to peak condition, the backlash from [Absolute Resistance] hadn’t healed completely.
[That’s a first—something even leveling up can’t fix.]
The Labyrinth’s system couldn’t restore it.
He would have to recover slowly on his own.
It would take about a week for him to return to normal.
He had plenty to do in the meantime—starting with analyzing the new powers he’d gained.
[You have activated [???].]
[You have obtained [Magician’s Ring].]
[Magician’s Ring]
[Magic +100]
[Health +2000]
[Mana +1000]
[Attack Power +1500]
[Defense +30]
[A ring once worn by the Magician before he became what he is now. A faint trace of his original essence remains within.]
“This is…”
Taesan chuckled quietly.
An attack power of 1500, with equally high magic stats.
No ordinary ring could contain such numbers.
He was now in the 91st floor—the deepest part of the Labyrinth.
The rewards had clearly reached a higher tier.
“Not bad.”
Raw stats no longer meant much to him; rank and authority mattered far more.
But at this level, it still held value.
Now it was time to check the most important thing—the ability that could determine his path forward.
[Special Active Skill: One’s Essence]
[View yourself. Observe your essence to maintain perfect stability of body and rank for 10 minutes.
Cooldown: 1 day.]
Essential’s authority—the [Essence of Self].
Its effect was stabilization through self-observation.
He had used it to reduce the backlash of [Absolute Resistance].
‘But that wasn’t all.’
He had sustained a god-tier rank far longer than possible, far beyond what the skill’s description implied.
That was something no normal authority could accomplish.
Even Essential’s power shouldn’t have made that possible.
The reason he could—was because of the thing inside him.
That presence had stepped aside for him.
And in that moment, he had temporarily, yet stably, reached a god’s rank.
What exactly was that thing?
Taesan waited a full day and then activated [One’s Essence].
[You have activated [One’s Essence].]
He read his mental world, diving deep into his inner world.
It was the same as before—distorted, blackened.
But now, he couldn’t see it.
The unidentified being he had once seen was gone, as if hiding from view.
“Hmm.”
When the skill ended, Taesan frowned.
‘What are you?’
The only confirmed facts were that something resided inside him—and that its rank was extremely high.
Nothing more.
He explained everything to Akasha and Bardray.
Bardray spoke first.
[Whatever it is, it seems to be on your side, doesn’t it? It helped you, after all.]
[I’m not so sure,] Akasha replied calmly.
[If it were truly benevolent, it wouldn’t have hidden itself from you. Watching from within your body is hardly trustworthy behavior.]
Taesan agreed.
For now, it had helped him—if it hadn’t yielded that day, he might not have been able to defeat the Worthless One.
But was it truly an ally?
If it meant him no harm, it would have revealed itself like the Demon God or Maria.
Instead, the moment he searched for it, it hid.
It didn’t want to be seen.
‘I can’t trust it.’
At the very least, it wasn’t pure goodwill.
He didn’t know what it was, or what it wanted.
How could he trust something that had secretly been inside him all this time?
[…One question,] Akasha asked quietly.
[Do you know when it first took residence within you?]
“No. I only found out recently.”
[Then when do you think it began?]
“…I don’t know.”
It could have been there long before time itself rewound—
Watching him silently, hidden, all along.
[Creepy,] Bardray muttered.
“Yeah. No idea.”
He decided not to think about it for now.
He’d confirm it when Essential returned.
The battle with the Worthless One had also drastically increased several of his skill proficiencies.
[Partial World Alteration] had reached 99%.
Only 1% more to max it out.
He didn’t know what would happen at 100%, but it wouldn’t be minor.
He would surely grow stronger.
Then, his newest divine power—
[Transcendence: Worthless]
[Proficiency: %$&…]
[#%@—%]
He couldn’t read the description, like the other godly powers.
But he could feel how to use it.
The power of the Worthless—
A force based on the color black.
Ssss—
Black energy rose above his hand.
As he focused, the black slowly faded—
until it became a colorless, formless aura.
This was the [Worthless].
Taesan snapped his fingers.
The invisible energy touched the Labyrinth wall.
In an instant, the space warped.
The bricks lost form and crumbled.
The entire system of the Labyrinth began to collapse.
[Stop that!]
A panicked voice echoed as the floor rippled.
[Balbabamba has activated #0045()1!]
The spirit hurriedly struck the wall, using its authority to repel the Worthless energy.
The Labyrinth twisted violently, rejecting and expelling it.
Kugugugung!
But the Worthless didn’t dissipate.
Instead, it clung to Balbabamba’s power, spreading rapidly across the room.
[This is absurd!]
Balbabamba shouted in disbelief.
Taesan waved his hand.
The expanding energy vanished instantly.
[You… you—]
“So this is the level of its power.”
Even Taesan was surprised.
The Worthless One’s authority hadn’t seemed that dangerous when they fought, since it couldn’t interfere with the [Boundary].
He had underestimated it.
‘A transcendent fueled by faith would have to go all out just to suppress this.’
It wasn’t that the power was weak—
It was simply that Taesan’s resistance was unique.
At this level, it could be quite useful.
Though limited in total output—he could probably use it once per battle at most.
Balbabamba muttered irritably.
[Don’t use that kind of power inside the Labyrinth. The Magician’s gone, and if something breaks, I can’t fix it alone.]
“Sorry about that. You said the Magician’s gone?”
[Yeah, he suddenly took off, left me to deal with everything. Said something came up.]
He had probably gone to process the scale.
Taesan smiled faintly.
“Understood. So… can I move to the next floor without him?”
[It’s fine. You’ve already completed all the required objectives.]
Balbabamba’s tone was calm.
[Someone you know well will be waiting.]
“Got it.”
The spirit vanished.
Taesan collected his powers.
He now possessed several divine authorities.
Including the black, there were four in total.
No one else could handle that many simultaneously.
‘I wonder if I can mix them.’
The thought came suddenly.
He could already merge black and divine power.
So could other authorities be combined as well?
Could he create something new by blending them?
He shook his head. Too early for that.
For now, it was just a distant idea.
He rested quietly, browsing the community and reflecting on his new powers.
A week later, fully recovered, Taesan rose and descended the stairs.
[92nd Floor Quest begins.]
[Fulfill the Shopkeeper’s Wish.]
[Reward: Shop Equipment.]
[Hidden Reward: ???]