Ascension Through Skills

[…Even so, becoming a sword doesn't sound all that appealing.]

"Of course, your senses and such will change. You'd be reborn not as a human, but as a sword. But your identity and free will won't disappear."

[How do I know you won't pull something shady in the middle of it?]

"I am Koslun, the dwarf. I swear upon my wish and everything I've built—there will be no restrictions placed upon you."

Koslun declared immediately.

"If I violate this vow, I will suffer eternally without ever achieving any of my desires."

It was a declaration made in his own name. With this, the possibility of Koslun pulling any tricks was eliminated.

[…Well, damn.]

There was nothing more to say. With all concerns resolved, the only thing left was the Ghost's choice.

The Ghost was confused.

He couldn't make a decision easily.

[Give me a moment.]

"Take your time."

Koslun didn't rush him.

"Think it over as much as you need. I'll be doing other work in the meantime. Let me know once you've made up your mind."

Only Taesan and the Ghost remained in the cave.

[What should I do.]

He thought everything was over, yet suddenly a new choice was presented.

The Ghost calmed his mind and objectively assessed the conditions.

[So I'd become a sword.]

He would become a sword rather than a living, breathing body.

It was an idea that instinctively repelled him, but according to Koslun's explanation, it wasn't as horrifying as it sounded.

He could act freely as a sword. Literally, only the vessel holding his soul would change.

Of course, there were definite drawbacks. He'd no longer feel the warmth of life. He wouldn't be able to hold someone, or exchange deep emotions with others.

And it wasn't even certain that Koslun would succeed. This was his first time trying to turn a soul into a weapon, so it wouldn't be surprising if problems occurred.

But he'd be able to live again.

He could talk to others, experience new things, and grow stronger.

Perhaps he could even achieve his dream as a sword.

With both pros and cons clear, the Ghost couldn't make a decision easily.

[What should I do?]

In the end, the Ghost asked Taesan.

"You can't leave this decision to me. This is something you have to choose for yourself."

No one else should interfere with a decision that could change the Ghost's future. The Ghost agreed.

[You're right. In the end, the decision is mine.]

"But…"

Taesan trailed off.

The Ghost waited for him to speak.

After a moment, Taesan said,

"I think it'd be better if you lived on, even as a sword."

[…I see.]

The Ghost smiled softly. It was a smile as if he had finally let something go.

[I've made my decision. Even if I regret it someday… it was my choice. I'll have to accept that.]

Taesan called out to Koslun.

Koslun looked eagerly at the Ghost, waiting for an answer.

[I accept, dwarf.]

"Good! I'll make sure you never regret it!"

—

[So, what do I do now?]

Turning a living soul into a sword—no one had ever heard of such a thing. It was easy to guess that it would be extremely difficult. Even Koslun, who had been so excited, now looked unsure.

"I've got the general idea, but I've never actually embedded a soul into a sword, so I'll need to run some tests. How much time do we have left?"

[About… two weeks. After that, I'll have to leave.]

"Two weeks, huh. Tight."

Koslun furrowed his brow and began thinking quickly.

"First, instead of making a new one, I'll need a weapon with a deep connection to you. Since I'm using it as a vessel, the basic compatibility has to be good. Can you get the sword you used in life?"

[That's easy. Taesan.]

Taesan brought out one of Cabert's relics.

It was the sword the Ghost had used before entering the labyrinth, the one he had kept until his death after entering it. A sword he had spent his life with.

Koslun's eyes lit up as he received the relic.

"I can feel a strong bond with you. This is more than enough. It's overflowing, actually. I'll hold onto this for a while."

After storing the relic, Koslun continued.

"And I'll need a vessel with great willpower. I need to create space within the sword to house the soul. But the weapons here don't have enough will… I'll need to gather and sort them all."

"There's no need for that."

Taesan took out a [Fragment of Will] from his inventory.

Koslun's eyes widened.

"This is…"

"The Will of the World. A fragment of it. This should be enough, right?"

"More than enough."

Koslun let out a hollow laugh.

"This is more than enough. Where did you even get something like this…"

"And I've got this too."

Taesan showed him Bardray's keepsake. Koslun let out a gasp of admiration.

"I can feel a strong link to the soul from this. Theoretically, one sword would be enough, but the more of these we have, the higher the success rate."

Koslun smiled with satisfaction.

"Perfect. Now there's hardly any problem left."

As if it had all been prepared from the beginning, the conditions were being fulfilled one by one.

"We've got the basic materials. Now I need to get a feel for it. Adventurer, bring me as many weapons as you can from outside the cave. Break their will."

"How many?"

"As many as possible. As many as your abilities allow."

Koslun grinned.

"I have a feeling we'll need a lot."

Taesan nodded and stepped outside.

He intended to fulfill Koslun's request as much as possible.

Standing on the earth where countless weapons were embedded, he raised his hand.

"Gather."

[You have activated Declaration of Condensation.]

Clang!

The weapons were pulled from the ground all at once and flew toward Taesan. Though they resisted, seemingly confused by a situation that went against their will, the command crushed all resistance and brought them into Taesan's hands.

Taesan declared again.

"Submit."

[You have activated Declaration of Submission.]

There was no need to exert pressure through status or might.

One sentence was enough.

The declaration, imbued with his will, engraved itself into the world. The weapons stopped resisting and submitted to Taesan.

Taesan continued to move.

In less than an hour, he gathered more than hundreds of weapons.

"This should do, right?"

"…It's enough for now."

Koslun spoke with a dazed expression.

"I didn't expect you to bring this many…"

"You told me to bring as many as possible, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but this is impressive. Thanks to you, we can speed things up a lot."

Koslun carried the hundreds of weapons into the cave.

—

Koslun continued to conduct various experiments.

He fused weapons, refined them, and extracted the will contained within.

Though Taesan, unfamiliar with the process, couldn't understand the details, it was clear that it was a very difficult task. Koslun's eyes darkened and his cheeks grew hollow with each sword he refined.

But Koslun looked genuinely happy.

Even as his body reached its limits, he didn't stop working. In less than two days, he had used all the weapons Taesan had brought.

"Think it'll work?"

"I've got the feel for it now. But I'm still missing a few parts. I need more. Just as much—or even more—than before."

Taesan agreed without hesitation.

As before, he gathered weapons in an instant.

Koslun used them all and once again requested more weapons from Taesan.

The weapons, once countless, began to disappear. Soon, he'd have to travel quite far to gather more.

During that time, Taesan's only task was to collect weapons.

While Koslun ran experiments, Taesan had free time. It gave him a bit of breathing room.

So Taesan spent that time talking with the Ghost.

They didn't share any grand stories. The Ghost talked about when he first met Revensia, when he obtained Cabert's relic, and the things he experienced growing up.

Taesan shared stories about his time on Earth—what he did before entering the labyrinth, and the kind of life he lived. Most of it was simple, mundane daily life.

Then ten days passed.

"I've mostly got everything sorted out."

Koslun spoke with a tired face.

"But I'm still missing one final ingredient. The last material. The quest reward for this floor. The [Ego Soul]. Bring it to me."

Taesan agreed.

He flew quickly toward the location of the King's Sword, which he had already identified.

There, embedded in stone, was an extravagant, ornamental-looking sword standing alone.

Clang!

The King's Sword was drawn.

Unlike the other weapons, it showed no hostility or intent to reject.

It only exuded a powerful will to test Taesan.

The King's Sword moved. It gathered its power into its blade and swung.

The energy became sword aura and flew toward Taesan.

Taesan raised his sword and met the attack.

Boom!

The battle began.

The King's Sword, moving on its own without a master, pressured Taesan. The power it held reached the pinnacle of mortality, bordering on the immortal.

But for Taesan, it wasn't a problem. He had already reached the Immortal state.

It would have been different for Lee Taeyeon.

She wouldn't have even survived, let alone subdued the King's Sword.

'So she overcame this.'

The quest condition for this floor was to subdue the King's Sword. Judging by the presence it gave off, it was unlikely that any loopholes were allowed.

It meant she had cleared the 100th floor purely with her own strength.

She must have been an incredible person.

'I'll have to ask her what happened after she returned to Earth.'

Taesan cleared his thoughts and focused on the battle.

Clang!

He put strength into his sword and swung hard. The King's Sword couldn't withstand it and was pushed back.

Because of the difference in status, he didn't gain any mastery or skills from it. There was no need to hold back. Taesan subdued the King's Sword in an instant. He grabbed the hilt and planted it in the ground.

Then he infused it with his presence.

The King's Sword shuddered briefly as if throwing a tantrum, but it didn't last long. Its energy slowly settled. The King's Sword quietly rested in Taesan's hand.

[You have subdued the King's Sword.]

[86th Floor Cleared.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[You have obtained Ego Soul.]

[You have obtained ???]

[Ego Soul]

[An artificially created vessel for a soul. Empty and can be filled with something.]

[You have used ???.]

[You have obtained King's Pommel.]

[King's Pommel]

[Strength +200]

[Agility +200]

[Attack Power +200]

[Defense +200]

[Pommel of the sword once wielded by the King of the World.

Can be attached to any sword.

Perfectly balances the sword.]

The 86th floor was cleared.

Taesan returned to Koslun with the [Ego Soul]. Koslun greeted him with a smile.

"Just a moment. Just a little bit more. I'll finish up quickly."

Koslun took the [Ego Soul] and went into his private space.

And two days later—

"It's done."

Koslun returned.

All preparations to turn the Ghost into a sword were complete.

"Let's begin. You're ready, right?"

[Yeah.]

The Ghost answered calmly.