Chapter 81 . Mythical Beast (4)
『Thank you, human . 』
“No problem . ”
『But what happened to those pathetic humans who took my child?』
“They’re dead . I burned their corpses just in case there was someone behind their actions . ”
『That is a shame . I should have ended their lives myself . 』
As it turned out, the Phoenix was going to go after the treasure hunters once her eggs had hatched .
But that being the case, the treasure hunters could have run off to a different floor and she would not have been able to find them . And even if she found them and retrieved her lost child, the hatchling would have had a hard time recognizing her as its mother .
In many ways, it was lucky for her that Yeon-woo was there to help her bring her egg back before it hatched .
『But that does not matter for my child has returned to me and it was all thanks to you . 』
The Phoenix stared at Yeon-woo with attention . Yeon-woo’s figure was reflected in her large yellow pupils .
『Now, it is time to fulfill the promise I made . I will grant you what you need . Is it the Flame of Life what you need?』
“Yes, it is . ”
『But do you know what that is?』
“I know that it’s the power of your very existence . ”
The Phoenix is a creature that both originates from the fire and withers in it . The flame symbolizes the Phoenix’s resurrection and regeneration .
That is the Flame of Life, also commonly known as ‘Holy Fire(聖火)’ .
『Also, if you have a god or a demon that you serve, you must say so before I grant you my flame . It will harm you if you are serving any of them . 』
“I don’t have any . ”
It was also the reason why Yeon-woo had refused Hermes’ offer .
The Holy Flame holds holy energy that cannot coincide with that of a god’s . Because the energy of the Phoenix is ‘raw’ whereas that of the gods is ‘complete’ .
『Good . Is this for the beast egg you have?』
“Yes . ”
『I see . Now, I have to test all those who want the Flame of Life . but since you have already proven yourself to me, I will grant you the flame directly . Besides, I believe you would have passed the test with ease even if I gave you one . 』
“Thank you kindly . ”
[You have received ‘Phoenix’s favor’ . ]
[Intimacy with the Phoenix has increased by 200 . The Phoenix will be less cautious towards you . ]
[You have received ‘Qualification for the quest Flame of Life’ . ]
[Hidden quest (Phoenix’s test) completed . ]
[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished . Additional Karma will be provided . ]
[You have acquired 1,500 Karma . ]
[You have acquired 1,000 additional Karma . ]
If things were the way they were supposed to be, Yeon-woo would have had to complete a difficult quest .
Though the quest, as Phoenix said, wouldn’t have been too big of a deal for him, it would have still consumed a considerable amount of time .
Being able to skip such unnecessary quest was very welcome news for him .
『But if you wish to receive the flame, you will need to craft a suitable vessel to contain it . 』
[You have received a new quest]
[Hidden Quest / Fireworks of Life]
Description: The Flame of Life, the source of Phoenix’s unlimited power, requires a special vessel to carry befitting its inextinguishable property . Gather materials from monsters scattered around the dream world and complete the vessel to carry the Flame of Life .
* List of required items
1 . Albatross’ Egg (0/5)
2 . Shadow Snake’s Apple (0/80)
3 . Lesser Dragon’s Heart (0/1)
Time limit: None .
Reward:
1 . Phoenix’s favor
2 . Flame of Life
Yeon-woo clicked his tongue as he looked at the list .
‘So it’s true that it’s harder to make the vessel than to pass the test itself . ’
There were about 50 different items required for the vessel . All of them were obtainable on the 11th floor, but some of them were quite difficult to acquire .
Still, if he could get the Flame of Life, it was worth the effort .
『Now, if you are finished, let me be alone with my children . Come back when you are ready . 』
It was now time the egg should hatch .
Yeon-woo silently stepped back with a bow .
Yeon-woo set up his base camp not far from the Phoenix’s nest .
Then, he began to make a ‘nest’ for his beast egg .
Although it was just an egg, it was somehow sensitive to external influence and could be affected by it . So in order to hatch a good beast, the first thing I did was to create a quiet, comfortable, and stress-free environment .
Yeon-woo gathered all the best ingredients available written in the diary and built the nest .
He built a solid foundation out of twigs of Alkas Trees and laid leaves of Airy Bushes on its floor . To prevent other beasts from approaching, he spread the sap of carnivorous tree on the ground around the nest and washed the egg with the water he drew from a nearby spring .
And he made all these efforts in hopes of hatching a great Mythical Beast .
‘Can’t believe I’m doing this . ’
Yeon-woo drew a heavy sigh from doing something he wasn’t cut out for .
Just then,
*Woong*
He felt his egg trembling for the first time .
Surprised by the sudden reaction, Yeon-woo flinched a little, but he soon got back to building the nest .
A faint smile rested on Yeon-woo’s lip .
Yeon-woo placed the nest on the edge of a giant tree so that his egg could feel the breeze .
Though he couldn’t read its thought, he felt like the egg also liked the place .
‘Well, that’s enough for the egg . ’
Yeon-woo shook the dirt off his hands and stood up .
At last, It was time to check the artifacts from his rewards .
‘There should be… eight items if I remember correctly . ’’
Ring of Ice, Skull Crest, Kratuca’s Bamboo Spear, and so on .
Yeon-woo took out the rewards and started examining the artifacts with Draconic Eyes .
A few minutes later .
‘There’s nothing useful… except for this . ’
Yeon-woo grabbed an earring with small skulls attached to its bottom .
The fingernail-sized skull was holding a tiny piece of jewelry in its mouth .
[Skull Crest]
Classification: Auxiliary Equipment
Rating: D
Description: An earring made from the skull of a player who was a Witch Doctor during his life . It was once a great artifact when it was first made, but time has worn off its past greatness . However, it is possible to return it to its past glory if taken to a skillful blacksmith .
* Scream of the Witch Doctor
The soul of the witch doctor has been bound to the skull, constantly screaming out painful cries . Its scream can slightly amplify dark element mana .
Skull Crest wasn’t the best item among all the items he received on the 10th floor . In fact, it was the worst .
Even for Yeon-woo who could handle dark element mana, an artifact with such a small buff had barely any meaning to him .
Yeon-woo, however, focused on a different aspect .
‘The soul of the witch doctor is bound inside… . ’
It was a great opportunity to test the changed options of the Black Bracelet .
‘Well, it’s not exactly a bracelet anymore . ’
Yeon-woo chuckled as he glanced at the black chain coiled around his right arm .
Without further delay, he once again activated Draconic Eyes and focused on the Skull Crest .
「Kyaa」
As he expected, there was a horribly distorted soul lurking around the surface of the earring .
A soul that had been stuck in the earring for so long that it had lost everything except for its resentment .
Yeon-woo clenched tightly on the earring .
He then opened his Magic Circuit, converted about 30 of his 150 collected souls into dark element mana and injected mana into the earrings .
As the dark and murky energy permeated the Skull Crest, the worn out skull was dyed black and the jewel studded into the skull’s mouth shone brilliantly .
And the grotesque cries of the soul grew louder and louder .
「Kyaaaa!」
Then suddenly,
*Flash*
A sudden burst of cold light shot out from the jewel,
*Fshsh*
Then the Skull Crest crumbled to dust . A sudden gust of wind started to blow from all over the place, then soon gathered into the place where the earring had shattered .
A ghost appeared in the center of the whirlwind .
It was his time creating a Spirit Familiar using the second option of the Despair of the Black King .
The still horribly distorted face was letting out a cold dim light .
「Ahh… . 」
The Witch Doctor’s soul was still screaming in pain even after being converted into Yeon-woo’s Spirit Familiar .
「Ah… Aaah!」
It seemed like the Witch Doctor’s mind hadn’t recovered from the damage accumulated during its time trapped inside the earring .
He found that the spirit was shaking as if it were seeing something terrifying . Perhaps he had been eaten by a monster when he was alive .
Realizing the spirit wasn’t in its normal state, Yeon-woo’s forehead wrinkled in anguish .
But knowing that there was no going back, he sighed and slowly approached the spirit .
‘I hope it works . ’
Yeon-woo raised his hands and clasped the head of the spirit .
The spirit struggled to try to get away from his grasp, but Yeon-woo forcefully brought his head in front of his face and forced his eyes to meet Yeon-woo’s eyes .
“Obey me . ”
「Aaah!」
“Obey me . ”
「Aaaaaah!!!」
Yeon-woo injected his mana into the spirit and repeated the command over and over again .
The spirit then struggled more furiously as if he was having some kind of fit .
By the time Yeon-woo started to think it wasn’t working,
「I don’t want to die . I don’t want to die . I don’t want to die!!!」
The spirit started to scream with discernable words .
“Obey!”
Seeing a ray of hope, Yeon-woo once again shouted the command out loud .
Then suddenly, the spirit’s scream and struggling stopped .
And before he knew it, the color of the spirit changed from a murky white into complete black .
His now clear eyes were staring back at Yeon-woo .
It seemed like he had succeeded in putting him under his control .
Though he couldn’t see it, Yeon-woo felt a string connecting him and the spirit .
‘So this is what it feels like to have a Spirit Familiar . ’
Yeon-woo looked at his newly created Spirit Familiar and gave him an order .
“Sit down . ”
*Tsss*
For a second, the spirit started blankly at Yeon-woo, but he soon lowered his posture .
With eyes filled with curiosity, Yeon-woo gave out a few more orders .
“Stand up . ”
Ranging from simple orders,
“Do a spin . ”
“Go touch that tree and come back as fast as you can . ”
To some movement commands,
“Do you see the fruit hanging on that tree? Pick it and put it in my bag . ”
And more complex and detailed orders .
“Check novelupdates for the original translation . ”
The Familiar Spirit followed Yeon-woo’s every command without any complaint .
Notably, when he asked the spirit to pick a fruit hanging up high on a tree, it even cast a simple spell to carry out his order .
Though he couldn’t higher-tier magic anymore, it seemed like he could use lower-tier magic without a problem .
Neither did the Familiar Spirit show any sign of defiance, nor express his opinion in any way . It seemed like it really had become Yeon-woo’s loyal servant .
Yeon-woo did a few more experiments on his Familiar Spirit .
First, he checked his speed .
His maximum speed was only a little slower than the speed of Yeon-woo with Shunpo .
Then, he checked the range .
He listened to Yeon-woo’s command within the range of a little over a hundred meters .
And as Yeon-woo tested this aspect, he noticed that the invisible string connecting him and the spirit getting thinner as the distance between themselves increased . When it got so far that he almost couldn’t feel the string, the Familiar Spirit didn’t listen to his command .
Of course, that didn’t mean that the spirit stopped doing what it was doing or broke free from the spell . He merely didn’t respond to his next command .
‘I need to find a way to strengthen this string . ’
Yeon-woo named this string ‘puppet string’ .
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