Ascension Through Skills - Chapter 215: 51st Floor, Alchemy (2)

The gremlin, an NPC who despised his own kind, lived in solitude.

He was ignored by all, not recognized as a sentient being.

Slowly, he was dying from desiccation.

The mystical beings that had settled in this place deemed him inferior and repulsive, unworthy of equal treatment.

Passing adventurers saw him only as a means to obtain quests.

Thus, the gremlin was pushed to his breaking point.

To steal what the fairies and mystical beings possessed and become like them was sheer madness, a testament to how far the gremlin had been driven.

“I didn’t believe transforming into them would actually make them accept me. That’s why the gremlin is too smart.”

[Then why embark on such a quest…….]

The ghost fell silent.

[Could it be?]

“He must have made his decision. Rather than live as the gremlin, he preferred to die resembling a fairy.”

The gremlin was desperate enough to actually prefer that.

[…Was that it? That’s why I didn’t notice.]

“It’s a choice beyond your imagination.”

The ghost had ventured into the labyrinth, risking his life with a steadfast resolve to save his own world.

For him, the desire for acknowledgment by others was unfathomable.

[How did you…….]

Realize it?

The ghost was about to inquire but then realized.

[No need to ask.]

“There are actions only a coward can undertake.”

Lee Taeyeon, labeled a coward, managed to connect with the gremlin’s heart. She understood his desires and what he ultimately sought.

She remarked that the gremlin was similar to her.

Initially, she couldn’t grasp what that meant, but now she did.

Lee Taeyeon, who had conquered Solo Mode yet still felt inadequate and alienated, plagued by self-hatred.

The gremlin, possessing intelligence atypical for his species, was driven to madness by the discord and the reactions of those around him.

In a sense, they were alike. That’s why she wished to aid the gremlin.

However, she couldn’t. The gremlin refused her help, and she, too, was mentally overwhelmed.

Preoccupied with her own problems, she considered returning to speak with the gremlin when she had more time.

But when she returned to the depths and emerged again, the gremlin was already dead.

“It’s merely self-satisfaction.”

The gremlin was not Lee Taeyeon. They were similar, yet distinct entities. Saving the gremlin would not have impacted Lee Taeyeon directly.

Nevertheless, Taesan wanted to save the gremlin for Lee Taeyeon’s sake.

He spread his wings.

He enhanced his senses to perceive everything around him.

Eventually, Taesan could sense the gremlin.

He was in the domain of the fairies.

Taesan rushed towards that location. Soon, he could see the gremlin.

Taesan frowned.

“Fairy?”

There was a fairy covered in wounds, but the aura was unmistakably the gremlin’s. The ghost caught his breath.

[Physical transformation? Achieved through alchemy, which is difficult even with magic?]

How he did it remains a mystery, but that fairy was undoubtedly the gremlin.

The gremlin exclaimed,

“See! As you all said, I have become like you! Accept me now!”

As he shouted, the fairies attacked him.

Squeal.

Light pierced through the gremlin’s legs. the gremlin fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

[The ugly one tries to mimic us.]

[It was a joke.]

[He really believed it.]

[He became one of us. Disgusting.]

The fairies giggled and swung their lights. The wounds on the gremlin’s body multiplied.

Sitting on the ground, the gremlin just laughed.

“Of course. There was no way you’d accept me.”

As he continued to laugh, the fairies’ laughter gradually faded.

[Boring.]

[Let’s kill him.]

The lights converged. As the gremlin sensed his impending death and closed his eyes, Taesan acted.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

Crack.

He pierced through the chest of the fairy in front. The fairy spat blood and was sent flying.

“You!”

[Terrifying human!]

The gremlin’s pupils dilated. Taesan directed his sword towards the straight line of light flying at him.

Squeal!

The light collided with the sword and scattered in all directions.

The fairies raise their voices.

[He’s the one who killed us!]

[He’s dangerous!]

Taesan raised his finger. Spirit energy started to emanate and materialize from him.

[You have activated the Kin of the Wolf]

A translucent wolf appeared.

Taesan commanded.

“Bite.”

[Arrgh!]

The wolf howled and charged at the fairies. The fairies screamed and shot light at the wolf.

[Arrrooogh!]

The wolf howled. The lights warped and grazed past the wolf. The wolf devoured the fleeing fairies.

[Run away!]

[Run away!]

The fairies quickly dispersed.

Taesan stomped his foot.

He followed the fairies into the forest. The gremlin watched his back blankly.

After a while, Taesan returned, covered in fairy blood.

“Do fairies naturally generate here?”

[This floor is unique. Killing them all won’t last long; they’ll all reappear. Their revival speed here is much faster than on other floors.]

[Growl.]

Taesan stroked the wolf that was rubbing against him. The fairies were caught and eaten without any resistance. It performed beyond expectations.

Taesan sent the wolf away and looked at the gremlin.

The gremlin was sitting on the floor, blankly looking up at him.

“You are…ugh!”

The gremlin’s body twisted.

His wings fell off, and his skeleton grew.

In just a few seconds, the gremlin had returned to his original form.

“The duration has ended, hasn’t it?”

[Since he became a completely different being. It couldn’t have lasted long. Still, it’s amazing. To achieve actual physical change through alchemy, not just an illusion…]

Amazement was unmistakable in the ghost’s voice.

The gremlin, covered in blood, blankly looked up at him.

“Why did you save me…”

His words trailed off. The gremlin’s body collapsed. Taesan caught him as he fell.

“He’s nearly dead.”

[If we don’t heal him quickly, he’ll actually die.]

Taesan took out fairy dust from his inventory and sprinkled it on the gremlin. The gremlin’s wounds began to heal rapidly.

Taking the healed gremlin, they returned to his house.

About two hours later, the gremlin woke up.

Regaining consciousness, he was puzzled.

“Am I alive?”

“Did you think I’d leave you to die?”

The gremlin hastily turned his head. Taesan was sitting on a chair, keeping vigil beside him.

Only then did the gremlin realize. When he was about to die, Taesan had saved him.

Taesan asked the confused gremlin.

“Did you know you might die when you asked for that quest?”

The gremlin silently looked at his hands.

Ugly fingernails.

Realizing he had returned to his original form, the gremlin let out a hollow laugh.

“It’s over.”

“Why did you do it?”

Taesan asked. The gremlin, seemingly having given up on everything, began to talk freely.

“Nobody accepts me.”

the gremlin shook his head sadly.

“My own kind despise and reject me. Humans do the same. They treat me as a clown in a circus because I’m a gremlin. I thought it would be different here, in the Labyrinth where everything is drawn in…but it wasn’t.”

The gremlin laughed. A hollow laugh dispersed into the forest.

“You saw, didn’t you? The fairies mock me. The sea serpent despises me as something lowly. The adventurers passing through here don’t see me as an individual. They don’t see me as a being but only as a tool to give them quests, just like the hero behind you.”

[That’s… I have nothing to say.]

The ghost fell silent. The gremlin snickered.

“What value does a life that’s not recognized by anyone have?”

[So you became a fairy.]

“They said it. If you become like us, we’ll accept you.”

[You believed that?]

“Of course not. Who would believe the words of such beings? I didn’t believe them, but why I did it… I have nothing to say.”

The gremlin laughed bitterly.

“I just thought, what if. I wanted to grasp at straws.”

“Is that how desperate you were?”

“Because nobody wants me. I’m just a tool, that’s all.”

The ghost, who had been listening quietly, spoke.

[I indeed didn’t see you as an individual. Just as part of a quest. That’s probably true for those who came before me too.]

“Yeah. That’s how you all were. You saw nothing in me.”

The gremlin’s face grew even more sullen.

The ghost spoke up.

[But this guy seems different.]

At the ghost’s words, the gremlin fell silent.

[If what you say is true, you’re just a tool for completing quests. Once the quest is over, there’s no reason to see you. But even after everything was finished, this guy came to save you, didn’t he?]

Taesan had heard everything about the quest’s reward and the way to the 52nd floor from the gremlin. He had no further business with the gremlin.

Yet, he was here now.

The gremlin examined his body. It was smooth, without a single wound.

“The fairy dust…”

The gremlin realized that it had been used on him, the reward from the quest.

Taesan spoke up.

“I don’t harbor any special feelings towards you.”

Taesan cared for people like Lee Taeyeon, Kang Jun-hyeok, Kim Jung-geun, or Kim Hwiyeon—those he had lived with. Having seen too many deaths, he didn’t place much value on most humans.

“But I don’t think of you as just a tool either. If I did, I wouldn’t have come to save you in the first place.”

He viewed him as a life.

At those words, the gremlin was deeply confused. Taesan continued.

“Can’t believe it?”

A wounded animal feared humans. Lee Taeyeon also said something similar to the gremlin, but he didn’t believe her and kept his distance.

But Taesan was different. Even after the quest was over, he helped the dying gremlin, used fairy dust on him, and even brought him home.

That’s why the gremlin was confused.

He had always wanted to be acknowledged by someone. He wanted to be recognized not as a tool but as a living being.

He had lived his life solely for that.

“Me, I didn’t do anything? And you’re accepting me?”

Suddenly, the being in front of him says he recognizes him. All he did was give Taesan quests without making any effort.

Taesan replied indifferently.

“Of course, there are certainly those who don’t deserve respect. Among humans, that is.”

Easy Mode. Choi Junghyuk. Like him, whose very existence was a bane to the world.

“But not you. I don’t care what your species is. And you have enough ability. I think you, as an individual, deserve to be treated.”

“Ah…”

The gremlin belatedly realized he had been accepted by Taesan.

He let out a hollow laugh.

“…For such an insignificant thing. To go through all this trouble, to live such a life…”

“So, you feel it’s all in vain?”

“No.”

The gremlin shook his head. He chuckled lightly.

“It’s absurd. Nothing has changed, yet it feels like the world has.”

There’s someone who acknowledged him.

There’s someone who accepted him as an individual.

That very ordinary fact felt incredibly new to the gremlin.

The gremlin laughed.

“What’s your name?”

“Kang Taesan.”

The gremlin had never asked Taesan for his name. He, too, had not viewed Taesan as a living being but as a tool for his purposes.

“Am I the same?”

He opened his mouth with a smile.

“My name isn’t the gremlin. I am Bariza. The name I gave myself when I left my kin and entered the forest. But it’s a name that no one has called me by.”

Bariza’s eyes trembled with unease.

“Can you call me by my name?”

“It’s not hard. Bariza.”

Taesan said. At those words, Bariza smiled brightly.

“Then don’t die and live quietly. I’ll come by occasionally.”

“Ah. You’re leaving?”

“I have my own goals.”

Bariza wanted to be acknowledged by someone.

And Taesan’s goal was to conquer the Labyrinth. He couldn’t be tied down here.

Knowing that, Bariza didn’t try to stop him but looked regretful.

After a moment of thought, Bariza spoke as if he had just thought of something.

“You saved my life. And the Labyrinth requires a payment in return. You. You’ve learned alchemy but don’t know how to use it, right?”

Taesan nodded. Bariza clapped his hands as if pleased.

“Then it’s good. This is my repayment for saving my life. Alchemy. A power that can even reach the magic created by the great gods. I’ll teach you the proper way to use it.”