Everything around me was enveloped in a blinding light, whiting the place out.
The light died down, and I was able to see the core of the Ancient Flower and what it looked like.
The dryad’s red HP bar shrunk from right to left until it vanished entirely.
We won.
The dryad’s core, in the shape of a human, had a smile on its usually unchanging face.
Hey, why is it smiling?
The first thing that came to mind was “form change,” a typical phrase applicable to RPG final bosses. But, betraying those thoughts, the Ancient Flower had a kind expression on its face.
It turned to me and said, “Thank you...for killing me.”
Ah, right...
That’s the story of the Ancient Flower. It’s of a species not native to this planet, having flown down from space.
It was a strange being that couldn’t even really be defined as a monster.
The first place it planted its seed in was the garden of an old couple, alchemists who lived in the grand forest. It then immediately set out to devour the whole planet, as it had done to countless other planets.
But on a whim, it decided to wait awhile before growing. For you see, the old alchemist couple took interest in the Ancient Flower for being a never-before-seen type of dryad. After a mutual understanding with it, they came to treasure it. Before long, the three of them became a sort of pretend family.
The Ancient Flower had lived alone in space for most of its life. This brief period of time had been filled with happiness.
However, by nature, the Ancient Flower was a terrible being, only intent on eating planets, birthing the next seeds, consuming the life forces of all around it, then moving on to the next celestial body. In the end, it wasn’t able to fight against its natural instincts, to lose all reason and devour the entire region, eventually consuming the entire continent.
With one last string of reason, before it consumed the entire planet, it transformed itself into a seed and flew into space. After it searched for a planet full of life, it ended up returning to this one, leading to “Raid Event: The Ancient Flower Foretells a Sweet Death.”
Perhaps the reason why it had granted living beings sweet dreams and ecstasy before stripping them of their lives is because, ever so faintly, the memories of its happy times remained in its heart. Maybe the sweet deaths were a twisted representation of that.
While I was lost in thought, the huge body of the Ancient Flower became completely wrapped in light. It dispersed into countless shining fragments and melted into the air.
—Raid Event: The Ancient Flower Foretells a Sweet Death has ended.
—Your EXP reward has already been granted to you by OBSERVER: TM.
So that sudden surge of EXP was my reward being given to me in advance?
I would’ve died without those level ups.
And what in the world is “OBSERVER: TM”?
“Well, whatever. A win is a win.”
I flopped on the ground with my arms out, letting my exhaustion take over.
“I’m just...tired.”
†
Alice Cecil
—You leveled up!
—You leveled up!
The voice rang in my head as I made sure the two A-rank adventurers were fully immobile, and I was finally able to take a breather.
It’s kill or be killed.
It might have been in self-defense, but that didn’t mean I felt nothing.
But I don’t want to be a burden on Master Shinobu anymore.
I didn’t have time to stand around in a place like this.
I turned to my shadow and spoke to it. “You can come out now, Lady Tsukuyomi.”
A hand slid out of the shadow, followed by Lady Tsukuyomi’s cold, prim face.
“When did you notice, Alice?”
“Well, believe it or not, I know that Master Shinobu is a worrywart.”
“Is he?”
“Yes. Those two men had been glancing at me suspiciously from time to time. Master Shinobu isn’t stupid enough to think they wouldn’t attack me.”
Lady Tsukuyomi raised her eyebrows, impressed. “But, how did you know it was me?”
“It definitely helped that I’ve been training my magic flow this past month. I knew you could hide in shadows and that you’re generally the best suited for stealth operations. And these past few days, whenever I looked at my shadow, I could feel the magic wavering.”
She smiled at me. “Seventy points.”
“What do you mean?”
“The me right here is just a shadow of the real thing that can only wield the lowest Grade 4 spells. Just a puppet, in other words. So, it’s not right to call me Tsukuyomi. You still can, though, as I’m sure it would get confusing.”
“...Grade 4 sounds pretty impressive to me.”
Ignoring my sulking, Lady Tsukuyomi continued to speak, as loftily as ever. “I was the one who provoked those men in the first place, so I accepted Shinobu’s request to make up for it by doing this.”
She put her finger to her chin and licked her lips. I’d been thinking this for a while, but even though this person didn’t look that different in age from me, her mannerisms were all rather sexy.
“By the way, Alice, what level are you now?”
“26.”
Lady Tsukuyomi gave a big nod and smiled wide. “Indeed. You’re still a shockingly shitty small fry.”
“That’s pretty mean, you know.”
“Even the maids at Izanach who peel the potatoes are at least level 30.”
Okay, hold on. A normal person at that level would be considered a super talented A-rank adventurer. I chuckled at the absurd difference in worlds we lived in.
“But, well, I suppose I’ll praise you. Now you’re finally good enough to get close to even our lowest level maids.”
“Is that really a compliment?” I was genuinely confused.
She looked shocked and covered her mouth with both hands. “Did it not sound like one? You’ve been upgraded from a mere pet in Izanach to someone who’s allowed to peel potatoes. You evolved from unproductive to productive. It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s revolutionary for your reasons to live.”
“Uh... Is that really a compliment?”
“Yes, it is, Alice,” she giggled. “Now you’re a true member of Izanach! Rejoice, as I’ve come to accept your existence.”
Her smile was so pure, kind, and beautiful that anyone would have gasped seeing it.
The same went for Master Cerberus—these people seemed insane at first but would sometimes let these little moments of the kindness within them peek through. It was rather unfair.
“Oh, it looks like my main body successfully exterminated the Ancient Flower as well.”
“Of course they did. Master Shinobu is there.”
Her next giggle sounded a bit bitter. “He may look like an undefeatable superman to you, but he actually panics quite often.”
“What? There’s no way. He’s like a god.”
“Looks like he still has some work to do with you,” she shrugged. “Ah, right. You’re level 26 now?”
“Yeah, seems so.”
“Shinobu leveled up sixteen times during this extermination.”
“...All at once?”
“That’s right. So now he’s level 99.”
Wow.
Just when I thought I’d gotten a little closer to him, he went off even further ahead.
All I could do was laugh.