Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 68: Eleventh Level - Penalty Play (2)

The dwarf, seeing the ghost, grimaced for a moment.

“This tiresome fellow has followed you all the way here.”

He wasn’t surprised by the fact that the ghost had arrived. Rather, he seemed like he had expected it somewhat, and with an indifferent attitude, the ghost spoke.

[You knew, didn't you.]

“I knew. So what?”

His indifferent words echoed through the shop. Instead of expressing anger or annoyance, the ghost clicked its tongue and retreated as always.

The dwarf also didn’t react much and turned his gaze to Taesan.

“At last, you’ve stepped into a real labyrinth. It’s not that everything until now was false, but it’s said that those who pass the 10th floor are a rarity even among a hundred challengers.”

In the dwarf’s eyes, looking at Taesan, there was a proud glow.

“So, from here on out, I can show you items that are worthy of this level. Check it out.”

The dwarf opened his space and took out equipment.

The equipment’s shape, color, and aura were all in a different league from what he had seen so far.

Taesan whistled as he checked each one. He picked up a dark chainmail armor.

[Unused Dark Chainmail Armor] [Defense + 33] [Damage from enemy weapons - 5] [Armor that has never been shown to the world from the craftsman's warehouse. The reason for this is only known to the craftsman.]

“Huh.”

Taesan couldn’t help but laugh.

What a crazy performance level.

His current armor only provided a defense of 10 and agility of 2.

It wasn’t low-tier equipment. In Easy Mode, he would wear his current leather armor until he cleared it.

But armor that was incomparable to it appeared in the store.

Moreover, it reduced damage from weapons by 5. Considering it was not conditional on a situation, it was a much better effect than +5 defense.

Equipment that could be obtained only in the deeper levels, even in Normal Mode.

Such things were appearing from the 10th floor here.

As expected, the price was not cheap.

[30,000G]

It wasn’t just ‘not cheap’. Taesan lost his words after checking the price. The dwarf chuckled.

“Isn’t it good? That’s on the cheaper side.”

“…… I’ll look around more.”

He also checked other equipment, but all of them had outstanding performance.

[Orator's Gauntlet] [Attack + 34] [Additional Damage + 5] [A gauntlet used by a lowly gladiator. A mage, who was his fan, blessed it.] [50,000G] [Star-calling Shoes] [Defense +2] [Movement Speed + 15%] [Shoes imbued with the breath of nature. The energy of an entire forest is contained here.] [40,000G] [Armor-Piece: Helmet] [Defense +30] [Strength + 10] [A helmet from the set crafted by the Dwarf King in jest. Hidden features are revealed when the set is completed.] [70,000G] [Book of Death] [Magic + 20] [A book containing death.] [66,000G]

“What is this…”

No matter how much he looked around, there were only pieces of equipment with crazy performance, and their prices were equally absurd.

“There’s even a set item.”

The pieces of the Armor-set.

Even one piece alone had a decent performance, and there was a hidden feature on top of that. It would be worth collecting, if it weren’t for the fact that the price was outrageously high.

That was exactly the problem.

The prices were far too high.

Right now, Taesan only owned 15,000 gold. Even if he spent all of it, he couldn’t buy the cheapest item.

While continuing to look around, Taesan chortled at one ring.

“What is this?”

[Purple Ring: Hongyeong] [Strength + 3%] [Intelligence + 3%] [Agility + 3%] [A ring that has been bathed in sunlight for the time it takes for a falling droplet to make a hole in a rock.] [100,000G]

A boost to all stats by 3%. It was an item with a percentage increase applied, and it wasn’t even armor or a weapon but a ring. One could wear ten of a ring, each with a 3% buff attached.

The price was significantly higher than the other pieces of equipment, but it was worth the cost.

He wanted to buy it.

But he had no money.

As if guessing Taesan’s feelings, the dwarf gave a hearty laugh.

“Do you want to buy it?”

“I want to buy it, yes.”

It was just that he didn’t have the money. It was a pipe dream.

“There is a way you can buy it.”

“What?”

Taesan looked surprised at the dwarf. The dwarf grinned mischievously and began to speak.

“Of course, you can’t just buy it. I’m not showing you this for nothing on the 10th floor. There’s a way.”

“What way?”

This was something he hadn’t heard from Lee Taeyeon. The dwarf laughed heartily and continued speaking.

“You can think of it as a kind of challenge. Whenever you accomplish something, I’ll reduce the price accordingly.”

“…What kind of challenge?”

“Simple.”

The dwarf raised a finger and pointed towards the entrance.

“It’s a kind of penalty play.”

The dwarf began to explain, and Taesan listened with a serious face. A moment later, after the explanation had ended, Taesan stroked his chin.

“So I have to sacrifice my stats.”

“I like when you adventurers take on challenges. The harder the challenge, the better. You may risk your life, but in doing so, you’ll become stronger.”

He wasn’t wrong. At the end of life-risking battles, they did become stronger. The problem was losing their lives in these challenges.

“Considering who you are, you don’t have to worry about that, do you?”

The dwarf said with a laugh. Taesan shrugged in response to the trust-filled words.

“That could be true.”

“Then, I haven’t misjudged the person.”

The dwarf chuckled. He was smiling more than usual.

Penalty play.

The dwarf’s words were simple when summarized.

When you opened your stat window, you could see several figures.

To simplify, the numbers that directly affect combat are Health, Mana, Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Attack Power, and Defense Power. Seven stats in total.

The dwarf said to choose from the numbers that could be made into basic stats, and he promised to lower the price for each number.

“How much for one?”

“10%”

10%. It wasn’t a small percentage. But considering the cost, it couldn’t be considered large either.

If Health was lowered to the base stat, you would die after just a couple of hits.

If Mana was the base stat, you could only use skills two or three times.

If Strength changed, you couldn’t even wield a sword, and if Agility changed, you couldn’t avoid your opponent’s attacks.

Not to mention anything about Attack Power and Defense Power.

‘I can see why he didn’t mention this to Lee Taeyeon.’

He was sure she wouldn’t accept his proposal.

Even if it wasn’t her, almost no one would accept.

This place was Solo Mode.

Everyone risked their lives to barely clear one floor; no one was crazy enough to sacrifice their stats in such a situation.

‘What?’

But Taesan looked at the dwarf with a bewildered face. The dwarf was still smiling broadly.

Taesan realized that the dwarf had misunderstood something.

“I will sacrifice it.”

The dwarf’s laughter deepened even more.

“What will you sacrifice?”

“Can I also sacrifice the protective shield?”

“That? Since that’s also a stat, sure.”

“I will sacrifice the Protective Shield, Health, Mana, Intelligence, and Defense Power.”

The dwarf, who had been laughing, paused for a moment.

“……five stats?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m okay with it, really?”

“Yes. Please do it.”

When Taesan urged him to do it, the dwarf extended his trembling hand. Something with tremendous power took its place.

[The transaction is complete. Your Protective Shield, Health, Mana, Intelligence, and Defense Power has dropped to their base stats.]

A moment of exhaustion overwhelmed Taesan. When he checked his stats, they showed really disheartening figures.

[Kang Taesan] [Level: 24] [Shield: 1/1] [Health: 100/100] [Mana: 10/10] [Strength: 406] [Intelligence: 10] [Agility: 332] [Attack Power + 45] [Defense Power + 0] [The target is in the best condition.]

“When you clear a floor, your stats return to normal. The stats that increase in the meantime will normally rise when you clear, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

They were very poor stats. He would be in danger just after taking two hits.

But Taesan headed for the labyrinth with a happy face.

“I will be going now.”

“……Wait. Speaking of which, that guy’s stats…”

The dwarf mumbled something after realizing late, but Taesan had already passed through the door.

“What a jackpot.”

He passed through the room with a cheerful face.

Before long, he was able to meet the enemy of the 11th floor.

[A Skeleton Warrior has appeared.]

A fleshless monster appeared with a rattling sound.

From the 11th to the 20th floors, the dead appeared. It was a monster fitting for that theme.

Clink.

The skeleton swung its rusted sword at Taesan. It was a reasonably decent sword strike.

‘They’re definitely strong.’

As soon as you entered the 11th floor, the enemies became much stronger than the previous rate of enemy growth.

It was amusing that a monster with only bones left was stronger and faster than an Ogre, but since that was the case, it was hard to say anything.

But that was just it. It had just gotten stronger.

Taesan placed strength into his sword.

The skeleton’s sword broke, and its joints shattered.

[80 Damage to the Skeleton Warrior.]

The attack included a critical hit. It was easier because it was a critical hit, as the joints shattered instantly.

With another strike, he knocked it down.

[You have obtained a Piece of Joint.] [You have obtained 453G.]

“That was easy.”

[Of course.]

Changing health and defense to basic values meant nothing. He wouldn’t get hit in the first place.

Returning mana to the basic value also had no meaning. There was no problem even if he didn’t use his skills.

Because his stats were overwhelming overall, there was no problem with the penalty.

While clearing the labyrinth, Taesan defeated skeletons. During that time, his sixth sense activated, and he quickly found the secret room and received the reward.

[Bracelet of Retribution] [Defense Power + 5] [1% chance to retaliate against an enemy's attack.]

For a bracelet, it had a defense power of 5 and a special effect attached. It wasn’t a bad piece of equipment. He could wear two bracelets, so there were no items he needed to remove.

After that, he looked around for various things, but the 11th floor, as a new theme, didn’t have anything particularly special, whether it was consideration to adapt slowly or just coincidence. So he promptly entered the boss room.

[A Skeleton Knight has appeared.]

It was a Knight, not a Warrior. It was much faster and stronger in comparison.

But it was just at the level of a boss on the 11th floor. He dealt with it without any problem and received the reward.

[Lion's Ring] [Damage + 3 to Undead] [A ring that once led the dead.]

Damage increased by 3. It wasn’t bad. With this ring, he had equipped rings on all ten fingers.

And a secret reward.

[You have used ???] [You have obtained Anklet Guards made of skeleton leaves and filled with a magical potion.] [Anklet Guards made of skeleton leaves and filled with a magical potion.] [Defense Power + 12] [Agility + 7] [Anklet guards that the Magic Merchant was trying to sell but couldn't due to the high price.]

It was a good item. It was anklet guards with high defense power and a high agility stat attached. The secret reward was worth it.

With the arrival of the 11th floor, overall rewards were also strengthened.

While the dropped items from the monsters were not significant enough to use, they were noticeably better than the acquired items.

It was a satisfactory achievement.

He also gained 2 levels, and thanks to his various skills, his stats also increased significantly.

Taesan descended to the 11th floor.

[Quest Started: 12th floor] [Defeat the boss of the 12th floor and proceed.] [Reward: Necromancer's Staff] [Secret Reward: ???]

It didn’t take even an hour to clear one floor. He reached the 12th floor and encountered the dwarf. The dwarf’s face immediately turned sour.

“Five of them, so it’s 50%, right?”

“…Yeah, that’s right. Damn it.”

The dwarf looked at Taesan with an expression similar to when he realized Taesan had a protective shield. After a moment, he burst into laughter.

“Why are you so smug? I knew you were strong, but I never imagined you would be this powerful.”

[Now you see?]

“Yeah. You damned guy. You got this for almost nothing?”

He complained incessantly, but Taesan was pleased. He had obtained a chance to get a 50% discount at almost no cost.

“He’s incredible.”

While Taesan was enjoying himself, the dwarf couldn’t help but admire him. Although he acted cool on the surface, he was in a quite miserable state.

From his experience, Taesan’s stats were something unimaginable at the moment.

“Is this even possible?”