Chapter 50: Eighth Level - The God Of Trials, Oman (4)

[Now this guy, who just entered the 8th floor, somehow managed to win against someone who was on the 20th floor... what an absurd occurrence.]

“Indeed.”

Taesan was also surprised. While he was currently strong, he had assumed his limit would be around the 15th floor, given that each floor exponentially increased in difficulty.

However, he was able to win against an adventurer from the 20th floor, which was more than twice as difficult.

“I might have been able to go further... but I guess I should stop here.”

He might have had an easier time if the opponent were a monster with no real intellect.

But the shadow was an adventurer who had broken through Solo Mode.

They were the ones who had broken past the 10th floor of this crazy place without any knowledge or information.

They would have more information about this place than Taesan.

They were not only strong but also quickly responded to Taesan’s skills with their accumulated knowledge and experience, so it was better to stop here.

Regardless, he achieved victory against enemies up to the 20th-floor adventurer. With the Soul Ascension, victory rewards, and enemy judgments, he became incredibly powerful when all these were combined.

“Status window.”

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 21] [Shield: 50/50] [Health: 835/835] [Mana: 215/215] [Strength: 332] [Intelligence: 170] [Agility: 268] [Attack + 24] [Defense + 29] [The target is in the best condition.] [Huh.]

The ghost laughed hollowly.

[What an absurd growth.]

“The growth rate is no joke.”

The acceleration was no joke, either.

Comparing it to the growth rate in Easy Mode, he almost felt ashamed.



He might soon catch up with Lee Taeyeon’s stats at this speed. She avoided all the trials, so it wasn’t impossible.

[The trial wasn't supposed to make you this strong. You would normally become just strong enough... but due to your crazy skill and Oman's capriciousness, you've become like this.]

“Anyway, it’s quiet.”

The trial had ended.

But the reward hadn’t arrived yet.

The power from the altar was subtly shaking. It appeared the god was dealing with a complex emotion as if it was confused.

After a moment, a system message appeared.

[Oman's influence range has diminished.]

The power was shaking subtly. Taesan could feel that the total amount of power had decreased. It was a decrease he hadn’t felt from Lakiratas or Balthasar.

[Your mind must be complicated right now. Whether to be happy or sad.]

The ghost mumbled as if it found the situation amusing. He seemed to enjoy seeing the deity having its domain reduced.

[Oman rewards you. You've received [Ring of Proof].] [You've cleared the enhanced trial. Additional rewards follow.] [You've acquired a special continuously active skill, [Proof of Limits].] [Oman offers you the Apostle's Pact.]

“I decline.”

As always, he refused the Apostle’s Pact. At this, the power beyond shuddered. It seemed like it was grumbling.

But nothing more was seen. The trembling power, as if it were sulking, slowly disappeared.

[Oman promises the next encounter.]

Taesan, who had been quietly observing, murmured.

“They’re not hostile, at least.”



This god showed a variety of emotions. He thought refusing the Apostle’s Pact might disadvantage him, but there were no such signs.

[Gods have strong pride, so if you had clumsily excelled, maybe. But you've far exceeded that line. Plus, you're a crazy transcendent being that even Lakiratas and Balthasar are wary of. At least Oman isn't one of those.]

It seemed that there were power struggles among the gods as well.

Taesan, who had sorted out the information, started checking his rewards.

His stats had about doubled.nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

Originally, as the ghost said, it wouldn’t have been this much. As the 8th floor was the limit, he would have just gotten appropriately stronger.

But due to the Soul Ascension and his other skills, he managed to reach the 20th floor and achieved crazy growth.

He checked the rewards of the trial.

[Ring of Proof] [Strength + 5] [Defense + 5] [A ring that can only be worn by those who understand their own strength. It seems that the god has granted a speck of power.]

“Not bad.”

Considering his current stats, it was a bit disappointing, but thinking of it as the basic reward, it was a good ring. Both strength and defense had high values, so it was okay.

Especially now, given his lack of defense, it had value, if not a lot.

And now for the enhanced trial reward.

[Sturdy Ankle Guard] [Defense + 6] [Agility + 3] [Light and robust. It's hard to find any shortcomings.]

A minor increase in defense. The agility was a bonus.

Taesan cleared the floor, but no other altars or rooms were found.

“This is the end of this place.”

He had found everything there was to find on the 8th floor.

Taesan entered the boss’s room.

“Screech!”

[Markanda Rutia has appeared.]

A red bird, twice as large as the normal monsters appeared. It flapped its sharp beak and tough wings to attack Taesan.

Taesan swung his sword lazily.

The sword crushed the bird.

“Screech.”

The bird flapped around in a struggle. It tried to dodge and somehow deal damage, but it was too slow for Taesan. Having blocked all its attacks and then countering them, he emerged victorious without a scratch.

[You have won against Markanda Rutia.]

“This isn’t even a challenge.”

It was too easy.

The struggles he had faced until now seemed laughable.

[That's what happens when you perfectly clear a god's trial. There's nothing on the surface to stop you. You roughly know, right? How this place is structured.]

“I do know, indeed.”

Hidden rooms. The trials of the gods. Doors of completely different colors. NPCs.

In the Solo Mode, there were a variety of existences. The relationship formed with them and the manner in which progress was made could cause a significant difference.

A prime example was Lee Taeyeon.

She had abandoned all the trials and descended. She appeared strong from the outside, but listening to the warrior’s words, her level wouldn’t fill a castle.

In other words, a ghost who descended to the 80th floor could be stronger than Lee Taeyeon, who had cleared the whole thing.

But then there was one problem.

“You went down to the 80th floor, right? And you were especially strong.”

[Right. I was often negligent, that's why. But I was strong.]

The ghost smirked. Lacking caution to the point of losing his life on the lower floors, yet going down to that level alone proved his strength.

“Objectively thinking, do you think you could have cleared it?”

[Maybe... I could have.]

The ghost agreed.

[But what's the point of that? Clearing it and coming out of here isn't a victory. There's no reason to do so without fulfilling the wish.]

“I see.”

It was confirmed.

Clearing and conquering the labyrinth were completely separate things.

‘What’s the difference?’

Whether it was a meeting with the god and NPCs, the permission of the shopkeeper, or even the decision of the dungeon’s wizard, the precise concept was still hard to understand. But there was a being here who could provide an answer.

“What’s the difference? Between clearing and conquering.”

[Uh...]

The ghost hesitated.

[Actually, I'm not sure either.]

“So why didn’t you clear it? You could have just gone down and tested it.”

[Well, it was like... a sort of intuition? Revelation? Something like that. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to fulfill my wish just by descending. These intuitive feelings tend to be quite accurate here, so I investigated them one by one.]

“Hmm.”

There was no way to know for now.

He was planning to go down further and find out from other NPCs.

Taesan checked the reward for the 8th floor.

The Rune of Marnius. The effect was simple.

It gave attributes to weapons.