Upon returning to the eighty-first floor, the first thing to greet me was the Primordial Staff’s voice, tinged with light lethargy.
“Good work, Scream Sky. I thought you might lose this time, but you still killed the Constellation Murderer,” the Primordial Staff said, leaning her broken staff on her shoulder.
The world was still dark. In this void that would one day become my holy ground, the mage looked like a white orchid in bloom.
“You were too busy fighting to notice it, weren’t you?”
I sighed. “Busy? I wasn’t just busy. Had Raviel hesitated even slightly, I would have been trapped here forever.”
“Yeah, since you’re unaware of what’s going on outside this stage, every Constellation now in the Tower is flabbergasted because of you. The Constellation Murderer’s death was announced just moments ago.”
I shrugged. “In truth, this isn’t the first time I leave them flabbergasted. The Constellations better get used to me by now.”
“So full of yourself… You seem to be even more arrogant when I’m near. Am I imagining it?”
“Anyhow, I want to ask you something.”
The mage sighed. “You’re changing the topic. Still, losers must bear their shame. What’s the question? Is it related to the holy ground?”
“It’s about one of my Skills, Monster Legion Reincarnation.” I opened my hand. “Unlock the Skill Card.”
Whoosh—
Golden dust spilled out from the center of my palm, forming a card.
Monster Legion Reincarnation
Class: SSS
Effects: You are able to summon those you killed as monsters. The deceased won’t have their original abilities. However, if you wish, the deceased will have their memory and appearance. If not, they are summoned as monsters like goblins, orcs, zombies, and skeletons.
The mage looked at my card and nodded. “Right. It’s your trademark Skill, the Skill you’ve used the most. So what is left there for you to ask me about?”
“Yes, it’s about this part. ‘If not, they are summoned as monsters like goblins, orcs, zombies, and skeletons.’”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Can I decide what kind of monster they become?”
The mage blinked.
“Well… Hmmm. Give me a moment. Let me think about that.” She rested her chin on her hand for a moment, then glanced at me. “I don’t know why you’re asking this, but when you summon your legion as monsters, they show up as skeletons. Obviously, that’s a way to keep things balanced. Imagine if you could summon a bone dragon just because it’s another type of monster. The balance system is screwed then, so you can’t decide what kind of—”
“Ah, the balance system won’t be a problem,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I plan to summon them as something weaker than a skeleton.”
“Weaker than a skeleton?” The mage narrowed her eyes, having no idea what my plan was. “If that’s true, then it’s not a problem, but why? What are you planning? If it’s weaker than a skeleton, the only thing I can think of is a slime. How is that related to you building your holy ground?”
I smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s define what a monster is first. A lifeform lacking intelligence—would that suffice?”
“It won’t be a problem, but… don’t try to play with words again. Remember, the Tower master has already shown you favor regarding your Skills. Never forget that.”
“Of course.”
“Very well. I’ll change your Skill temporarily.” The mage tapped the floor with the tip of her staff.
[Changing Monster Legion Reincarnation.]
[Warning.]
[The changes are temporary.]
Even though I had defeated her and her staff got broken, it seemed she could still handle a matter like this on her own.
I closed my eyes. As I felt my mind calming down, I cupped my hands together as if washing my face. The thirteen killing puppets came to mind, cast out and broken across their world not too long ago.
The more vividly I recalled them, the darker the shadows grew beneath my feet. Just as when I raided the Constellation Murderer’s holy ground, the same pitch-black arms crawled up my ankles. The only difference was the number of arms—there were thirteen pairs.
Climb a little higher.
I let the arms be. It was unclear if they sensed my intent or were driven by the shadow’s basic instincts. Still, the arms climbed up my body. I focused all my senses, guiding them to one place. The shadow arms grasped my hips, climbed up my elbows, clung to my wrists, and finally crawled into the palms of my hands. At that moment, all thirteen shadows pooled within my palms.
I said my prayer. “Monster Legion Reincarnation.”
[Activating the Skill.]
Jet-black shadows drawn into my palms swirled and gathered into one, slowly taking shape bit by bit.
The Primordial Staff, puzzled, watched me with parted lips. She was wondering what monster I was trying to summon, but what showed up before her was something unexpected.
“A flower?”
It was a lily of the valley, but it was rotten. Withered and shriveled, its thirteen buds drooped from the stem.
“Yes.”
I set the rotten flower down carefully so I wouldn’t hurt it. The ground of the eighty-first floor, covered with mud-like darkness, gently accepted the flower.
“This flower is alive. If the condition I need to meet to activate my Skill is to summon a lifeform that lacks intelligence, I don’t need to stick with summoning an animal.”
I planted the flower with its thirteen buds, which I had gotten from the world that ended not too long ago, to this world that had nothing but darkness yet.
“From now on, I’ll either revive them as humans or flowers.” I turned to face the mage. “This world will bloom with the rotted, decayed flowers that couldn’t bloom in other worlds. It’s only one flower now, but soon there will be hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of flowers rotting here.”
The mage was quiet.
“A garden of withered flowers.” I smiled. “That’s my holy ground.”
The mage was probably not the only one who heard my vow.
[Renaming your Skill.]
The Tower master always watched over me. She extended her touch again, as if blessing me. White light enveloped my Skill Card, revealing my Skill’s ultimate form.
Myriad Flower Garden Reincarnation
Class: SSS+
Effect: You are able to summon those you killed as monsters. The deceased won’t have their original abilities. However, if you wish, the deceased will have their memory and appearance. If not, they are summoned as a flower.
Someday, ten million flowers would dream of rebirth in this place.
✦ ✦ ✦
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