Ascension Through Skills

[Kang Junhyeok [Solo]: Bro. Isn't this different from the story you told?] [Kang Taesan [Solo]: What are you talking about suddenly?] [Kang Junhyeok [Solo]: The paladin. He didn't just spit and leave, right?]

“Alright! There’s no reason to delay. Let’s start right away.”

Ainzhar began to explain the skill.

“There are countless skills in the labyrinth.”

There really was a lot. There must have been thousands of skills that Taesan hadn’t acquired because he didn’t need them. If you include the skills he didn’t know, it would be tens of thousands.

“But I think the technology of Levynenoff is the best skill I can confidently mention. It may not look flashy, but it’s honestly useful. It’s a skill even the goddess has personally praised.”

Ainzhar spoke with a proud expression.

“Do you know what the basic skills are?”

“They’re the easiest skills to acquire in the labyrinth. You can obtain them with just one action.”

“You are well-informed.”

Ainzhar looked at Taesan with an admiring face.

“It’s the most basic information, but it’s not something adventurers on the first floor would notice. Like learning to endure, it seems that your world is well-informed about this place.”

“Yes.”

A world that knew about the labyrinth. Taesan appropriately responded and stored the information in his mind.

“But since I’m the one teaching, I’ll give a brief explanation. If you don’t know any information, feel free to ask.”

Ainzhar cleared his throat.

“Taesan. What basic skill are you learning?”

“Swordsmanship and shield techniques.”

Ainzhar nodded approvingly.

“Traditional indeed.”

“When you handle a sword, you learn Swordsmanship. When you handle a shield, you learn Shieldmanship. When you handle a spear, you learn Spearmanship. That’s basic.”

Basic Skills.

Skills that would be automatically obtained when a player handled a weapon. The more proficiency increased, the more knowledge and applicability of that particular weapon would also increase. They were skills that all players would fundamentally learn.

And to Taesan, these skills were meaningless. He was a player who battled with skills, not with gimmicks. The applicability of the spear and sword was irrelevant, so he never bothered with their proficiency.

But it was different now.

Since he could gain stats again, adequately improving his basic skills would be good.

“Levynenoff’s technique, we call it the Airak Weapon Technique. Its effect is the integration of basic skills.”

“……I see.”

Taesan’s face cooled. Ainzhar gave a thin smile.

“You must think it’s meaningless now.”

“Even if the skills combine, there won’t be any change.”

One could misconceive it as good since proficiency can be raised altogether. It would indeed have been good for other skills. But not for basic skills.

That was because, due to system issues, the use of many weapons didn’t hold much significance.

Ainzhar, seemingly knowing what Taesan was thinking, opened his mouth.

“What’s your additional attack power now?”

“It’s 1.”

“……A cute number. That should be about 4.”

“With basic attack power, it would be around there.”

“Good.”

Ainzhar stood in front of Taesan.

“That is probably the attack power of that shield. Try attacking me with it.”

“It won’t even inflict damage, though.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Ainzhar chuckled and activated a skill.

[Ainzhar has activated Target Lock. Ainzhar will receive all attacks as fixed damage.]

“Go on, try it.”

If that’s what he wanted.

Taesan struck Ainzhar’s head with the edge of his shield.

Crack!

[Ainzhar took 4 damage.]

“……Did you really need to hit my head?”

“It was an accident.”

“Well, if you say so……”

Ainzhar, with a wary look on his face, spoke again.

“This time, try hitting me with your fist.”

He held out his chest as if to say, Hit me here and not my head. Anticipating his reaction if Taesan struck his head again, Taesan obediently hit him in the chest.

[Ainzhar took 2 damage.]

“Do you realize what I’m trying to say?”

“Do you mean the change in damage depends on the weapon being used?”

“Exactly. You’re quick to understand. It’s precisely because of this that adventurers only use one weapon.”

It was a simple issue.

Each weapon had its own attack power + value. While it was negligible now, like a value of 1, it would later grow to the hundreds or even thousands.

And the bonus attack power would only apply if you attacked with that specific weapon.

“For instance, if you’re equipped with a gauntlet with an attack power of 50 and a sword with an attack power of 20, only the 20 attack power applies when you hit with the sword. Conversely, only the 50 attack power applies if you hit with the gauntlet. You can never have 70.”

“That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

If the attack power of two weapons was combined when equipped, every player would be carrying a plethora of weapons. They would probably have a dagger for each finger.

However, that was not the case, so they only used one main weapon and focused on improving their proficiency with that weapon.

Ainzhar grinned.

“But isn’t that inconvenient? To use only one weapon during battle! What an absurdity! If it were anyone else, they might not understand, but you should get what I mean!”

“That’s true.”

A battle was a life-or-death action and naturally involved all parts of the body. You didn’t just wield a sword. You also kicked, punched, and shoulder-bashed.

Each time he did so, only a weak amount of basic damage applied, which was rather inconvenient. However, nothing could be done about it since it was a system issue.

“The sect that I served under Lord Levynenoff disliked that. My body is a weapon, and a weapon is my body. There should be no difference in how they are handled. Thus, after long research, we developed the Airak Weapon Technique. I put a lot of effort into it.”

Ainzhar chuckled as he spoke.

“The effect in the labyrinth is simple. Integration of basic skills. And integration of damage from all equipped gear. Just these two things.”

Taesan’s eyebrows twitched.

“The sum of attack power?”

“You seem to understand correctly. In other words, if you’re equipped with a sword of 20 attack power and a gauntlet of 50, the total would be 70.”

“…… What’s the scope of the application?”

“Of course, it applies to every part of your body! Whether you hit with your arm, bash with your shoulder, or kick, the 70 attack power applies!”

Taesan groaned. It was basically like his entire body becoming a weapon.

Players tended to use only one weapon. After all, only the attack power of one applied.

But with the Airak Weapon Technique, there was no need for that. You could wear a gauntlet for unarmed combat and a polearm simultaneously and apply the attack power of both.

Various types of armor and rings that increased attack power, which had been discarded as unnecessary, could all be equipped.

Right now, it may not have significant value. Still, as you progressed through the labyrinth and acquired more gear, its value would increase exponentially.

“That’s a good skill.”

It was a level of utility difficult to describe as merely ‘good.’ Taesan also hadn’t been able to acquire this skill in the past. The Airak Weapon Technique was worthy enough to be considered a main skill.

“To someone like you who already possesses such resilience, it might not be surprising, but it’s a skill of a value that a regular adventurer would not be able to acquire even with a lifetime of effort. Are you considering learning it?”

“Of course, I’ll learn it.”

At his answer, which was devoid of any hesitation, Ainzhar smiled in satisfaction.

“Good. Then I’ll give you the Airak Weapon Technique. Relax your whole body and accept it.”

“You can give it to me like that?”

“This is a skill that I have mastered and learned differently from other skills. There’s no problem in passing it on. This alone is enough.”

Ainzhar placed his hand on Taesan’s shoulder.

“Ohhh.”

Taesan let out a small groan as something flowed into him. The type of technique, how to control it, and a plethora of other information.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

[You have received the Airak Technique from its creator. You have acquired the top-level skill [Airak Weapon Technique].] [The basic skill [Shield Technique] has been integrated into the Airak Weapon Technique.] [The basic skill [Sword Technique] has been integrated into the Airak Weapon Technique.]

“How does it feel?”

“……Surprisingly simple.”

“That’s because my proficiency with the Irak technique is at 100%. If it wasn’t, you would have had a hard time for quite a while.”

Ainzhar chuckled. From his words, Taesan gained new insight.

‘Physical techniques created by oneself can be easily passed on.’

This was information that he had not known in his previous life. Users just worked hard to learn the basic skills and did not create anything by applying them, so the existence of advanced skills was not even known.

“Let’s try it out once.”

Taesan opened the skill window.

[Top-Level Skill: Airak Weapon Technique] [Proficiency: 1%] [It's a technique that handles weapons and physical strength. It seems that there may be a loss in power transmission because it is still immature.]

“As your proficiency increases, your handling will become more adept, so it would be good to train every day without fail. And I’ll give you this too.”

Ainzhar handed him a rusted ring.

[Faded Ring] [Attack Power +1] [It's a ring that someone has used for a long time. It seems it used to have considerable value.]

“I can only give you this so that you don’t lose the important value due to benefits. I’m sorry.”

“That’s more than enough.”

In the past, he would have discarded it as useless. After all, you can’t hit with a ring. But now that he had learned the Airak Technique, the value of this ring was equal to a rusty sword.

Taesan accepted the ring and put it on.

“Hmm. I’ve handed over everything I need to… but it’s a bit regrettable. You can’t go down to the depths just yet anyway…”

After pondering for a moment, Ainzhar made up his mind.

“How about a duel?”

Ainzhar drew his sword.

“You just learned the technique. Shouldn’t we test it out before actual combat?”

“Sounds good.”

There was no reason to refuse. Taesan held up his shield.

Every action taken in the labyrinth was evaluated.

Even if it was a useless room, if you carefully examined it and found something, your detection skill proficiency increased, and if you continued to block the opponent’s attacks, your shield skill proficiency increased.

Therefore, fighting against a strong being was a meaningful act in itself.

Ainzhar began to spar with Taesan for two full days, and Taesan gained a lot.

First of all, one skill.

[Special Constant Activation Skill: Battle Endurance] [Proficiency: 3%] [[You can continue fighting for a long time. You don't get tired easily.]

It was a constant activation skill that enabled long-term battles, and there was a distinct difference in endurance depending on whether you had it or not. The reason he could fight an S-class monster for several days was thanks to this skill.

However, he had half given up on acquiring this skill here. It could only be acquired by fighting other players, and Solo Mode was solo play.

According to Lee Taeyeon, there were more adventurers around, but it was not the time to leisurely spar.

Thanks to Ainzhar, he was able to acquire it.

In addition, the proficiency of most skills also increased.

“Is that enough?”

“It’s more than enough.”

The results of the two days were incredibly substantial. Taesan sincerely thanked Ainzhar. Ainzhar waved his hand dismissively.

“It was something I wanted to do. And it was also a pleasant experience for me.”

Ainzhar looked at Taesan with an amazed face.

“Unbelievable sense and skill for a first-floor adventurer… indeed, I have a discerning eye.”

He opened his mouth with a satisfied smile.

“Taesan. Promise me two things.”

“Please tell me.”

“Now that you have learned the AirakTtechnique, you can teach it to someone. But if that person is worthless or a piece of trash, never teach them. If you break this, I will come to kill you myself.”

He seemed serious as he was emitting an intense aura. Taesan nodded his head.

“I understand.”

“And the other thing, if you discover any information about Levynenoff, be sure to let me know.”

“The chance of meeting you again in the labyrinth is low.”

That was what Lee Taeyeon said. After the first floor, she hadn’t seen Ainzhar. Ainzhar gave a bitter smile.

“I’m not hoping for much anyway. I’m just clinging to a miracle.”

He looked extremely worn out. He likely spent a considerable amount of time here, unable to find anything.

And in the end, he probably only found a dead goddess.

If Ainzhar had succeeded in finding the goddess, he would have protected her or died with her. But neither happened.

In other words, unless a major change occurred, this meant that Levynenoff would be assassinated by someone before Ainzhar could find her.

To inform him or not to inform him.

It was a branching point.