“Looks like we lost.”

The Sinful Guides gathered in one place, their leaders present.

Under the Demon God’s permission, they could observe the battle between Taesan and Shayen. They witnessed every process and outcome firsthand.

“What should we do now?” someone asked.

No one responded.

Silence hung heavy among the Sinful Guides.

The Lion King wore a tense expression, while Societ remained silent. Ambresia scratched her head with a perplexed look.

The others shared a similar sentiment. All were in shock, their mouths closed.

“Well… let’s tidy things up first,” Ambresia finally spoke.

“The first to go after Taesan was Shaman. His defeat was surprising, but I could understand it.”

Shaman, renowned for his absolute defense. Few among the leadership could breach his protection. They believed that since Taesan hadn’t descended far enough into the labyrinth, he wouldn’t be strong enough to overcome Shaman, thus trusting he would return victorious.

However, Shaman had lost to Taesan. That fact stunned them all.

“It was shocking… but on the other hand, Shaman’s power was heavily focused on defense.”

It was nonsensical, but if there were skills that could entirely disregard defense, defeating Shaman wouldn’t be particularly difficult. The Demon God permitting only Shaman to challenge Taesan surely had its reasons.

“Next up was Vishnu.”

The Flame Spirit King, Vishnu.

They believed this time they would win. Her offensive power was among the highest in the leadership. Few could withstand the force she unleashed when activating her *King's Domain*.

Yet, Vishnu had also fallen.

“Even so, up to that point, it was acceptable. It was understandable.”

They had received permission from the Demon God to observe after Shaman's battle. Vishnu had fought without any prior information about Taesan.

Moreover, Taesan had contingency plans against Vishnu. Utilizing *Partial World Alteration* against her *King's Domain*, his victory was not unexpected.

They accepted the defeat of the Spirit King.

The next challenger was the Archmage, Shayen.

After witnessing Vishnu's fight, they had perfectly grasped the strength Taesan possessed.

And Shayen was a magician. Having descended to the 73rd floor ahead of time, he prepared numerous magic circles in anticipation of Taesan’s arrival.

They had no doubt that this time victory was assured. Shayen had been regarded as the strongest among them due to his meticulous preparation.

Yet Shayen had also fallen.

This meant none among them could defeat Taesan in a one-on-one confrontation.

Ambresia wore a bitter smile.

“What do we do now?”

“...Do we really need to fight him?” someone asked, fear tinged in their voice. The Lion King grimaced.

“He has already killed three of us. Are we just going to let someone like him roam free?”

“Ultimately, we’re blocked on the 74th floor; we only came together to break through there. There was never a strong camaraderie among us. You were the peculiar ones.”

“You…” 

“If we try to join forces, the Demon God is watching us. It’s impossible.”

“If one can’t do it, we can send two. In fact, we have someone specialized against him among us.”

“If it’s the twin of black and white, there might be a chance… but it remains risky.”

“So, you want to perish together?”

“No. It’s simple. We just need to hide.”

He suggested running away, and the Lion King's anger boiled over.

“Have you no pride?”

“The moment we decided to band together to conquer the 74th floor, we lost any semblance of pride!”

The one opposing the Lion King smirked.

“Lion King, you are not the great king you once were. Recognize that.”

The Lion King’s face twisted in fury.

Power surged as tensions escalated. Voices rose as they began to argue amongst themselves.

“It’s a mess,” Ambresia remarked, clicking her tongue as she observed them.

The Lion King and the one raising their voice had never been on good terms, but this was the first time they had clashed so directly.

It signified that they were now in a precarious situation.

They had reached the 77th floor of the labyrinth. Although there was still some distance from Taesan, given his power, he would likely arrive soon.

“Is this where it ends for us?” Ambresia muttered with a bittersweet smile.

---

---

The lich stood before him in its initial form once again.

The lich clicked its jaw, casting magic.

> **[Malacos activates Mana Crystal Torrent.]**

Shards of mana cascaded down.

Taesan dodged, leaping out of the way of the spell.

“Reviving again, huh?”

Taesan murmured briefly, gathering strength into his legs.

He deflected the rain of mana shards and swiftly closed the distance to Malacos.

> **[Malacos activates Wave of Liberation.]**

Condensed mana erupted forth, pushing Taesan back. As he created distance, Malacos cast another spell to pressure him.

*Clang!*

Taesan parried the Frost Arrows.

> **[You activate Starlight Arrow.]**

> **[You activate Magic Concentration.]**

Just as Malacos attempted to deploy his protective wall against the charging arrow.

> **[You activate Magic Explosion.]**

The Starlight Arrow detonated, sending powerful energy toward Malacos, who had tried to manifest his wall of protection.

Taesan charged forward, swinging his sword at the staggering Malacos. He soon fell.

Once again, the scattered bones began to rise.

> **[The Withered Lich, Malacos, has resurrected.]**

*Clatter.*

With a click of its jaw, it resumed casting spells just like before.

Taesan observed as he dodged.

> **[You activate Reconnaissance.]**

> **[You activate Essence Understanding.]**

> **[A lich that hides its life externally.]**

> **[As long as its life isn’t destroyed, the lich continues to resurrect.]**

“Is it a Life Vessel?”

No matter how many times he defeated the lich before him, it was meaningless. The lich's life was anchored elsewhere.

Taesan quickly discerned the location.

In the cave's wall, a minuscule crack shimmered.

He could see something undulating inside.

That was the lich's Life Vessel. With its position identified, if he ignored the enemy before him and destroyed it, he would clear the 73rd floor.

But Taesan didn’t do that.

Dodging the relentless magic, he quietly watched Malacos.

The enemy before him continued to revive.

He noticed that its responses slightly changed, suggesting it retained memories from before its resurrection. It appeared to possess some degree of self-awareness.

“So, a lich means it can resurrect infinitely until that is destroyed, right?”

> **[Correct?]**

If so, it could be possible.

Taesan gripped his sword tightly.

First, he needed to clearly grasp the situation and conditions. He rushed in to take down Malacos again.

> **[The Withered Lich, Malacos, has resurrected.]**

And once again, Malacos stood reborn.

It seemed to mock Taesan, as if laughing at his futile efforts.

Malacos appeared to possess a certain level of will and self-awareness.

> **[Malacos activates Frozen World.]**

A blizzard surged. Taesan leaped, sensing the power contained within the Frozen World.

It was exactly the same force Malacos had first unleashed. It meant that there was no loss of strength upon resurrection.

Taesan pushed off the ground, evading the frigid magic and casting his own.

> **[You activate Starlight Arrow.]**

> **[You activate Magic Concentration.]**

With Starlight Arrow enhanced by Magic Concentration. The previous Malacos had tried to counter with the Wall of Protection, which Taesan had countered with a Magic Explosion.

How would he respond this time?

Malacos raised his staff.

> **[Malacos activates Frozen World.]**

A chilling wind surged. The Starlight Arrow shattered the frost, but its power noticeably diminished from the collision.

> **[Malacos activates Wall of Protection.]**

*Boom!*

Thus, the Wall of Protection succeeded in blocking the Starlight Arrow.

This confirmed it.

Malacos revived, retaining its prior memories.

Unless the Life Vessel was destroyed, it would resurrect infinitely. There was no loss of strength in that process.

It revived with all memories intact, possessing the self-awareness and will to mock Taesan’s futile attempts.

Taesan was certain.

He could acquire the special activation skill: Copy.

---

---

*Clang!*

From that moment on, Taesan’s approach changed.

Instead of focusing solely on defeating Malacos, he began to prolong the battle, coaxing out all of Malacos’s powers.

Thus, Taesan carefully identified each of the spells Malacos used.

*“Frozen World, Wave of Liberation, Wall of Protection, Magma Burst, Frost Arrow, Mana Crystal Torrent, Resonance of the Earth.”*

That made a total of eight spells. Even as he continued to pressure Malacos, the lack of additional spells indicated this was likely all it had.

The previously silent ghost asked curiously.

> **[What skill are you trying to acquire this time?]**

The ghost had observed Taesan acquire numerous skills.

Nullification of attacks, Addition, Absolute Judgment, Absolute Blessing, and more.

Skills of immeasurable value. Not just one but several had been obtained. The ghost had now reached a point where it enjoyed watching what skills Taesan desired and how he would acquire them rather than simply being shocked.

> **[The condition is an endlessly resurrecting enemy. That seems to be

 it for now. What happens next? Does it have to be a magician?]**

“It’d be easier if it were a magician, but it doesn’t strictly need to be,” Taesan replied.

“Copy.”

> **[Copy?]**

After pondering for a moment, the ghost asked.

> **[…Does that mean copying attacks?]**

“You've understood well.”

> **[What?]**

The ghost chuckled.

> **[Copying means taking everything involved in that attack, including skills and power, right? For example, you would copy an attack that activates the *Blade of Determination.*]**

Taesan nodded.

Confirming the ghost’s suspicion, it shook its head.

> **[That’s absolutely absurd.]**

Currently, with transformations and additions, and using the *Blade of Determination*, Taesan could unleash over 100,000 damage in a single blow.

To double that without any conditions or restrictions was indeed astounding.

While the ghost was intrigued by that effect, it was even more interested in another question.

> **[How do you fulfill that condition?]**

Skills in the labyrinth were obtained by similarly replicating the effects of other skills. *Addition* required leveraging stamina to double attack power, while *Absolute Judgment* necessitated attacking as if the opponent had no defense despite their changing defenses.

Then what needed to be fulfilled for Copy?

The ghost could only guess at the conditions.

“Keep watching, and you’ll get a sense of it.”

Taesan said briefly, then leaped into action. He charged at Malacos, who was in the midst of casting magic.