Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 425: 83rd Floor, Essence of the God of Fall (7)

The Apostle hesitated for a moment.

Taesan’s face showed confidence.

Confidence that he could obtain the power of the God of Fall that the Apostle had demonstrated.

With a voice devoid of doubt, the Apostle, too, briefly thought that Taesan’s words had credibility.

“Bullshit!”

But the Apostle quickly denied his own thoughts.

It was impossible. Taesan's power could never reach him.

He clenched his fists with confidence and charged forward.

Taesan met him with equal resolve.

Crack!

The battle's course didn’t change. Taesan still overwhelmed the Apostle.

But the outcome didn’t change either.

The Apostle did not fall.

Instead, he began to respond more effectively to Taesan's power.

“Wait...”

“This is...”

Only then did the onlookers realize something was wrong.

The power that Taesan had displayed was clearly superior to theirs.

Even compared to the princess who had opened the Colosseum just days ago, he had reached a far higher level.

And the Apostle was an opponent on the same level as the princess.

There was no way he could block Taesan’s attacks.

But the Apostle, though precarious, continued the battle without major damage.

It was as though it had been designed that way from the start.

“Ah...”

“This is...”

In that moment, despair spread throughout the audience. They, too, had realized the truth of the Colosseum.

“Tch. No need to pretend anymore.”

“They probably tried to hide it on purpose, but too bad.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The Apostle sneered.

“It may be a little early, but he’ll be satisfied. Those who believed there was an escape route will now realize the truth and fall off the cliff. This is exactly the kind of picture that Essence loves.”

The Apostle let out a mad laugh.

“Above all! You can’t give up! Even if there’s nothing at the end of the rope, you cannot let go of the only hope!”

The Apostle slammed his fist down.

“Come! Feel your own helplessness!”

Taesan casually drew his sword.

The battle continued. Taesan unleashed a great deal of power, and the Apostle responded to all of it.

Confidence appeared on the Apostle’s face, and joy spread across Taesan's.

No matter how many attacks he made, the opponent wouldn’t fall.

It was a perfect opponent to increase his proficiency.

Taesan used numerous skills to level up his proficiency.

Even if their power was roughly on the same level, the difference in strength was immense, so Taesan couldn’t increase his proficiency by much.

But it was enough to satisfy him. Taesan had meaningfully increased his proficiency in magic, black magic, and various other skills.

And during that process, he kept analyzing the Apostle’s power.

Once Taesan had a rough understanding, he sheathed his sword.

“That's it. I concede.”

“...What?”

Boom!

As the participant acknowledged defeat, the Colosseum came to an end. When Taesan suddenly gave up, the Apostle was taken aback.

“You’re giving up like this?”

“I’ve figured out everything I needed to.”

Taesan nonchalantly moved his body.

In the midst of confusion and chaos, Taesan disappeared without a word.

The Apostle stood there, dumbfounded.

***

Taesan used his remaining points to secure a decent room.

He hadn’t expected to win from the very first battle.

What he wanted was information and strategies. He had obtained plenty of what he desired. His proficiency had also significantly increased, so after recovering, he could try again.

'It's a shame I didn't gain any new skills.'

None of the skills he remembered met the required conditions. A few new skills came to mind, but the risks involved were significant. Since he hadn’t fully grasped the Apostle's power, there was no need to take any unnecessary risks.

Taesan organized his thoughts.

The Apostle was an unbeatable boss.

No matter how much health was drained, it would just refill. The Apostle gained new power in response to Taesan’s skills.

“And it even responds to the boundaries.”

This was the first time Taesan was directly intervening with the boundaries.

But he wasn’t particularly surprised.

The boundaries were powerful, but they weren’t omnipotent. He knew that transcendents and immortals could break through them. There was no reason to be surprised now.

On the contrary, the fact that he could obtain powers capable of interfering with the boundaries was exciting.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of knocking echoed. It was Princess Diana. She entered.

“Taesan, are you okay?”

“Why do you ask?”

Diana, who had entered, was flustered.

She had thought Taesan might be mentally shaken.

But Taesan’s face showed no sign of change.

“It’s nothing. I doubt you’ll need my advice.”

Diana, with a composed face, asked,

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’m thinking.”

He had grasped the basic structure and principles.

But he still hadn’t figured out how to break through them.

The problem was ultimately the power of the God of Fall. He had to find a way to break through that power. Why did the God of Fall have such confidence in his victory? Because he would use his power.

Powers were something built up by the existence itself.

It wouldn’t be surprising for Essence, a transcendent, to have absolute confidence.

[Is there no way to break through with a loophole?]

“It would be difficult.”

This was the domain of the God of Fall. No loopholes would be allowed here. Even skills beyond the boundaries, and the immortal faith skill, were sealed.

Taesan thought deeply. Diana also groaned as she tried to figure it out.

The damage to the Apostle was normal.

As Taesan had predicted, his health didn’t drop below 1. Once it reached 1, it would heal.

If that was the case, the way to win was simple.

He just needed to force the health that wouldn’t drop below 1 to 0.

Taesan had a card for that.

The boundary. A power that shattered order and ignored laws.

With this power, he could defeat the Apostle.

The God of Fall knew this too, so he blocked the boundary with his power.

In other words, the God of Fall had revealed that the boundary was the answer.

'Transcendent's power.'

That had to be broken through.

But it was the transcendent’s own power. A mortal like Taesan, who had fallen to a lower tier, could never break through it.

Even if it wasn’t a complete power.

If it was the power of a transcendent, then a boundary created by a fallen Taesan could probably be disregarded entirely.

But that didn’t happen.

The one who wielded the power was still the Apostle. No matter how much of a god’s Apostle he was, he couldn’t perfectly wield a transcendent’s power. There was certainly a limit.

'I need to break through that limit.'

But how would he break through the limit?

The power of the God of Fall interfered with the boundaries as well. It was one of the highest laws among the laws. It couldn’t be broken through by the power within those laws.

Taesan had previously defeated an Apostle who wielded a transcendent’s power, but he couldn’t say he had broken through the power. He had only exploited the fact that his opponent couldn’t fully control it.

Essence, judging that Taesan could never break through the power with any means, had likely imposed this trial.

So, what if he used other abilities that the God of Fall didn’t know about?

Taesan came to a conclusion.

***

The next day, after fully recovering his spent energy and gathering points, Taesan opened the Colosseum again.

Once again, the audience seats were packed, but the faces of the spectators lacked the same trust and expectations as before.

Everyone sat with half-empty expressions, as though they had been drained.

“...Princess.”

“Ah, Reynaldo.”

Reynaldo approached Diana with a gaunt face.

“Are you alright? Your expression doesn’t look good.”

“It doesn’t matter here. What meaning does health have in a place where death is impossible?”

Reynaldo forced a bitter smile.

“We were fools. We had no idea, and we acted recklessly. Did you... know from the beginning?”

Diana nodded. Reynaldo’s face twisted in regret.

“...I’m sorry. I didn’t know, and yet I said foolish things to you, Princess.”

“No. Thanks to you, I was able to clear my head. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I’m grateful for that.”

After collecting his thoughts, Reynaldo looked at Taesan.

“I thought the Colosseum wouldn’t open for at least a few years... but did you come up with a way?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Don’t you know, Princess?”

“He didn’t give me a proper answer. When I asked why, he said the God of Fall might be watching.”

“That makes sense.”

This was the God of Fall’s domain. There was no way he wouldn’t know what was happening in his own domain.

“But... if there’s a possibility, then he must have chosen to challenge it.”

Reynaldo’s eyes gleamed with a spark.

Then the Apostle appeared. He glared at Taesan with a displeased expression.

In the previous battle, Taesan had declared his defeat. But there was no sense of victory, only the feeling of being used.

“I’ll kill you.”

The Apostle gritted his teeth.

Taesan raised his sword with a blank expression.

The battle began.

The setup of the battle was no different than before. Taesan overwhelmed the Apostle, and the Apostle barely managed to block him.

But no one cheered. The realization that this was all a predetermined show made the audience’s faces fall even further.

“Hahaha!”

The Apostle swung his fist and blocked Taesan’s sword with a laugh.

“You can never defeat me! It’s meant to be this way!”

“Maybe not.”

Taesan placed the materials into his wrist guards. The wrist guards eagerly absorbed all the materials.

Then Taesan changed the world.

[You activated Partial World Alteration.]

The world itself wasn’t being altered.

Taesan was changing himself.

What he desired was control over mana.

[You activated Frozen World [Negation].]

An icy cold, as dark as midnight, swept through. The Apostle’s face froze momentarily.

“Ugh!”

The Apostle clenched his fist and swung it.

Boom!

Until now, the Apostle had continuously gained power that surpassed his opponent's strength.

But this time, it didn’t work.

The magic of Negation was a fusion of black and magic. It fundamentally had the upper hand in all interactions with the forces of this world.

In the end, the Apostle was engulfed by the pitch-black cold.

Crackle!

“...What is this?”

The Apostle, whose entire body was frozen, grimaced.

“You’re using a rather unusual power. But it doesn’t matter.”

After breaking free from the ice, the Apostle spoke with confidence.

“With this, you can’t kill me.”

“I know that.”

The power of Negation had absolute dominance in the laws of interaction. It couldn’t completely disregard the laws.

However, the Apostle couldn’t fall, but he couldn’t counter it either.

That was enough.

Negation magic was a spell that fused with the high divine powers.

It couldn’t be considered a force within the law.

Taesan’s sword mixed black and gold, then a grayish ash appeared.

Taesan swung the boundary line.

“Hahaha! Foolish!”

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The Apostle mocked Taesan.

“God! Grant me your power! Drop everything that dares to oppose you into the abyss!”

The Apostle’s power struck Taesan. At the same time, Taesan activated a skill.

[You activated Choice Exclusion.]

The ability that erases the opponent’s choices, Maria's power.

But nothing happened. Taesan clicked his tongue.

“Is it not an attack, or does it not work on powers?”

Whatever it was, the power of the God of Fall engulfed Taesan.

It interfered with him, nullifying all the forces he controlled and making them meaningless.

The boundary line was included in that.

In an instant, the boundary lost its power. The blackness and divinity began to separate.

At this rate, Taesan couldn’t defeat the Apostle.

Taesan knew that fact as well.

From here on, it would be the real fight.

[You activated Frozen World [Negation].]

[You activated Mana Storm [Negation].]

[You activated the Everlasting Firebird [Negation].]

He consecutively activated the powers of Negation.

As all of them manifested along with the boundary, they began to fall. The power was erased meaninglessly.

The power of the God of Fall still surrounded Taesan. It was impossible to break free.

Yet Taesan didn’t stop.

Instead, he gathered even more mana and poured out his strength. The black and divinity mixed again to create a new boundary.

Endlessly, powers capable of collapsing the world began to emerge.

“...You?”

The Apostle’s face hardened. He realized something was wrong.

[You activated Great Collapse [Negation].]

A distorted sphere manifested in the world.

The power of the God of Fall swallowed the Great Collapse and sent it crashing down.

Crackle.

But something was different.

Through the gaps in the power that surrounded Taesan, strength slowly began to leak out.

It was as if the limits of the power had been surpassed.

“...You!”

Only then did the Apostle realize what Taesan was aiming for.

“How dare you! Are you trying to confront the power of the great one directly? Don’t make me laugh! He is a transcendent! Someone like you could never touch him!”

Transcendents rule concepts themselves.

They possess an appropriate realm for their divinity, and within it, they exert near-absolute influence.

The God of Fall was a transcendent who ruled the concept of fall.

Essence’s power over fall was the very law of the world itself, like how an apple falls to the ground or how air moves from high to low pressure areas.

To break such a power, the opponent had to have a concept and intervene in the laws as well.

In fact, it was impossible to respond unless you were also a transcendent.

But now, Taesan was trying to break Essence’s power with his strength.

“That’s not for you to decide. It’s for me to decide.”

This wasn’t enough.

What he was trying to do now was deny the very laws of the world with his power.

Even though he used both the boundary line and the magic of Negation, he still wasn’t at the level to break the power of the God of Fall.

So, one more thing.

He needed a power that could surpass immortality, a power that could reach a transcendent.

Taesan opened his demonic powers. But it wasn’t the black magic of another demon.

It was Taesan’s own black magic.

[You activated Kang Taesan’s Domain Liberation.]