Chapter 316: The Fifth Return, Earth (12)
Taesan was experimenting with Divinity while managing the ruins of the collapsed world.
[Divinity] [Proficiency: 81%] [The power of the gods. Originally, it had no meaning, but as many people gathered their faith, it became divine. People's faith and beliefs became divine, which could influence the world in various ways.]
As the proficiency reached 80%, it could be used for more than just healing. Taesan gathered Divinity. As the Divinity spread out, it formed a domain enveloped in golden light.
[Sanctuary?]
The ghost murmured. A domain blessed by the gods. That was what had now spread across the ruins.
"Minerva, try hitting it."
"Got it."
Minerva, standing in front of the domain, gathered the wind and released it. The golden light, struck by the wind, remained unshaken.
"I gave it a decent amount of force. It's sturdy."
"The creation of a domain."
It was a domain formed by Divinity, with the power to protect those inside and block external enemies.
Not bad, but somewhat ambiguous. A domain was only meaningful when it protected many people, but it held little value in the labyrinth. Moreover, the amount of Divinity consumed was significant.
On Earth, where people's faith directly imbued it, it could be handled without much restriction, but in the labyrinth, it would be impossible. At least for now, it seemed difficult to use it for anything other than healing.
'Unless it can be combined with another domain.'
A power that spread divine energy to create a domain.
In some ways, it was similar to the Green Witch's magic. It might be possible to link the two powers together to amplify each other.
Taesan extinguished the Divinity.
He planned to return to the labyrinth and experiment with various things.
And from afar, cheers could be heard from all around. Taesan headed towards where they were.
There, Kim Hwiyeon was staring at the flickering flames in the air with a blank expression.
"Did you summon that?"
"Ah, Taesan. Yes..."
Kim Hwiyeon nodded.
The flickering flames in the air clung to her arm, rubbing against it.
Taesan, observing the flames, spoke.
"A low-grade spirit?"
"Seems like it. This feels really strange."
Kim Hwiyeon scratched her head.
The spirit god, Beatrice, had given a reward for Taesan's victory. The power she granted to the people was an affinity with nature.
[Nature Affinity] [Increases affinity with nature, allowing one to form contracts with nature's entities.]
Now, people could make contracts with spirits.
Looking around, many people besides Kim Hwiyeon were also summoning spirits. Thousands, tens of thousands of low-grade spirits were being summoned to the ground.
It was a decent reward. Having an entity to assist the player during battles was a significant change that could alter the way they fought.
"Uh... but now I understand."
Kim Hwiyeon looked at Minerva, who was standing next to Taesan. Not just her, but others around them were also gazing at Minerva in awe.
Now that they had formed contracts with spirits, they could finally understand.
The power contained within Minerva was, literally, the world itself.
The entire world's nature was condensed within Minerva. The people who had been overshadowed by Taesan's power were now noticing her. Minerva looked at her hands, feeling the gazes directed at her.
"It wasn't like this before. I've also gone through several changes recently."
The spirit god had also given a reward to Taesan. Naturally, since the reward was related to spirits, Minerva underwent more changes than Taesan.
[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Direct Contract] [A direct contract with spirits. Contracted spirits can use their full power without being restricted by the contractor's limitations.] [Special Continuous Activation Skill: Spirit God's Blessing] [The blessing of the spirit god. Contracted spirits will not be forcefully unsummoned even if they exhaust their power.]
The effects of these two skills were simple.
Now, Minerva could wield the full power of the spirit king without worrying about being forcefully unsummoned due to energy consumption.
"I didn't expect you to go this far."
Minerva, now able to wield perfect power, waved her hand. A gentle breeze spread out around her.
"So, no more forced unsummoning?"
"Not exactly. If I take damage beyond a certain threshold, I'll still be unsummoned. But that won't happen easily."
Minerva was a spirit king. Despite having power comparable to the deep layers, she hadn't been able to play a significant role due to limitations.
Now that Minerva could fully wield her power, it would be a great help to Taesan as well.
Taesan took out a stone from his inventory.
[Stone of Evolution Imbued with the Power of Nature] [A stone imbued with the power of nature. It enhances the power of spirits by one level.]
"Can't you use it?"
"No. I'm the spirit king. This is the sort of limit that spirits can reach. It's not that it can't be surpassed, but not with that."
If not Minerva, there was only one suitable target. Taesan handed the stone to Barkaza.
[......Is this really alright?]
Barkaza asked in a bewildered tone.
[This is something our god has personally bestowed. Its value is beyond measure.]
The evolution of a spirit was something that rarely occurred even in the history of spirits.
Even if a high-grade spirit worked for hundreds of years, becoming the top-tier was a distant dream, and even after thousands of years of effort, it was nearly impossible to gain the power of a spear and shield.
The stone that allowed such a leap in power in an instant—it was literally a reward that only the Spirit God could give.
Taesan spoke nonchalantly.
"Just take it. I have no one else to give it to."
[......What a generous master. I'm glad I made the contract.]
Barkaza chuckled dryly as he accepted the stone.
The dark-colored stone crumbled as its power began to seep into Barkaza.
[Oh......]
Barkaza let out a quiet groan. The power within him began to evolve to the next level.
"There's no significant change in appearance."
Taesan, watching the process, commented. Barkaza still maintained the form of a golem, but the power contained within him had certainly changed.
[I have become stronger... but it will still be difficult for me to directly intervene in my master's battles.]
He wasn't wrong. Even though Barkaza had become stronger, reaching the level of a spear and shield, the opponents Taesan would face in the future would all be powerful beings surpassing even the Spirit Kings.
[The only consolation is that I am a support spirit, so I can assist Lady Minerva.]
Barkaza clapped his hands, causing a rainbow-colored light to appear around Minerva. When Minerva wielded the wind, its power was noticeably amplified compared to when she controlled it alone.
"Not bad."
[Not bad? Really, Master, you're quite peculiar.]
What Barkaza received was not something that could be given away so easily. In human terms, it was an item that could be worth an entire nation, yet Taesan handed it over as casually as if it were a recovery potion.
Barkaza was left speechless.
In addition, several skills were acquired, and there were changes in proficiency. Taesan began to check them one by one.
[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Twisted Soul Tuning] [Proficiency: 64%] [Twisted beings can manipulate their souls with a twist. By bearing a very small burden, they can control the soul that resides within them or that they possess.]
As the proficiency of Twisted Soul Tuning reached 60%, the burden of controlling the soul almost disappeared.
It was a small but significant improvement. Among the powers Taesan currently wielded, many affected the mind. The disappearance of one of those burdens meant he could focus more on commands and Divinity.
[Special Continuous Activation Skill: Seed of Life] [Proficiency: 1%] [Consumes life and seizes some of the power the existence held. It supports Soul Ascension.]
Originally, the skill Life Devour evolved into Seed of Life due to Soul Ascension. Life Devour was likely a skill bestowed by the Immortal to Zhenlong.
The enhancement of Soul Ascension was a change that, even without much concern, was a great help.
The proficiency of the black skill also rose by 1%, though it was still minimal. The proficiency of the concept skill increased by 3%.
And the proficiency of Boundary Line changed.
[Boundary Line] [Proficiency: ?] [Between laws and beyond laws. Something in between. Draws power from divine and black forces.] [??????] [System Error. Please contact the labyrinth administrator for details.]
Whether it rose, fell, or how much it increased—nothing could be known. Even the proficiency increase window was written in a strange language that could not be understood.
Taesan recalled the previous battle.
Zhenlong, who had been baptized by the Divine Rite, had a strength comparable to a single-digit monster.
Even for the current Taesan, it was a difficult opponent that might require fighting for dozens of hours.
But the Boundary Line easily suppressed such an opponent.
Despite being a force not fully harnessed, as it was forcibly controlled by Divinity.
After using it a few times, Taesan began to grasp its nature.
Boundary Line erased the power of the monster itself.
There were several skills that erased something. Absolute Judgment that erased defense, and Essence Strike that erased hierarchy were among them.
But they all only affected a single concept.
Boundary Line erased not just defense or hierarchy, but literally everything.
It was a power that could affect reality as if it ignored the laws or concepts of the world.
If he hadn't seen it wrong, when he last overused the Boundary Line, it had affected the barrier Beatrice had set up.
It shook the barrier created by a being with a power that mortal beings could neither touch nor understand.
'What is this?'
It was his own power, yet even he couldn't understand it.
"It's no wonder the gods are greedy."
If he could fully control it, no one in the labyrinth would be able to stop him.
But that was impossible.
The only reason he managed to control the Boundary Line this time was that people were directly worshiping him as he fought. Therefore, he could barely suppress the gray power with the ever-increasing Divinity.
In the labyrinth, where the recovery speed of Divinity was limited, such combat would be impossible.
Moreover, his weapon was shattered. It was fortunate that he only used the Boundary Line on the First Sword. If he had made a mistake, he could have lost both swords.
[I've never heard of a weapon breaking in the labyrinth.]
Even the ghost spoke in disbelief.
The risk didn't end there. Divinity was the power of the gods. Taesan, being a mortal, was not yet qualified to wield it fully. The more he tried to handle it, the more the Divinity attempted to consume him.
If mishandled, the Divinity could devour him, turning him into a being with no self, driven only by faith like a machine.
The black power was no different. Neither was a power that Taesan could handle freely at this time. No matter how powerful, it wasn't something to wield recklessly.
"It's still far off. I'm not ready yet."
Taesan muttered.
But there was something that could help him.
A pair of rings had changed. The ring dyed in pure white had gained a soul, and an explanation that it assisted with Divinity had been added.
The change in the ring dyed in black was simple. Its attack power increased by 250, reaching a thousand.
The rings that grew stronger as Taesan did would later be a significant help in handling the Boundary Line.
The overall check was complete.
The people were busy examining the spirits they had just contracted. Those who were delighted with the newfound power cheered Taesan's name.
However, there was no change in Divinity.
The moment it reached 81%, it hit another wall. Taesan, feeling relaxed, helped Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyeok with their training for the remainder of the time.
And a day passed.
[Bonus for defeating monsters +1343] [Bonus for defeating the twisted beings that are no longer living +2121] [Victory bonus +675] [Settlement complete] [4139p has been awarded.]
They returned to the labyrinth.