Chapter 94: Ghost~ Ghost~
Night looked at them with a blank expression that told them exactly how happy he was with what had just happened.
But the others simply pretended not to notice, suddenly admiring the muddy ground, the grey sky and the dull trees with intense fascination.
Then, Night received a system notification.
[Ding!]
[You have cleared a Level 30 Dungeon: The Sleepy Panda Forest]
[You may leave after collecting your rewards]
A small white gate suddenly opened in the air. Five items flew out from it and floated gently above the ground as the small gate closed behind them.
[Please collect your rewards]
Looking at the glowing loot, Night stepped closer. The others eagerly gathered around as well, despite the previous awkwardness of the boss kill.
Lucy looked especially nervous, shifting like a kid caught red-handed stealing candy from the refrigerator in the middle of the night.
Death spoke first, nonchalant, as if nothing had happened. "Master, please feel free to take what you like quickly."
She then added with a visible shudder of anticipation, "...so that we can go safely home and try... try that again."
Shaking his head in exasperation, Night looked at the floating rewards.
[Skull Collar (Rare) (Lvl. 30)]
[The Skull Collar passively enhances the senses of the user.
It allows the user to sense dangerous beings approaching ahead of time.
Skill: Death Stare - When used, the target will feel as if they are about to die.]
It looked like a thick leather dog collar with a small skull hanging dead in the center.
He immediately tossed it to Lucy, as it was easily the reward most suitable for her.
Lucy eagerly equipped it around her neck and immediately ran over to a nearby, murky water puddle to check. Her reflection barely visible.
After a moment, she ran back happily. It looked like she had taken a liking to the artifact. Though it was nothing compared to the divine chessboard strapped to her back, this collar was something practical she could use right away.
Night moved on, checking the next artifact.
[Nanobots (Mech ZE001212) (Rare)]
[Created in the ancient Machine Empire, these nanobots can be shaped however the user wishes.
It has almost an ’n’ number of practical uses.
Its overall effectiveness depends entirely on the skills of the user.
Skill: Barrier - It is built-in with a barrier spell that can be used with almost all types of Aspects. The barrier’s raw strength depends on the energy output of the user.]
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his thumb and index finger, he mused.
It’s as if the System calculated and gave the most suitable artifact for each of us, providing what we need to power up immediately.
He casually waved his hand, and the Nanobots artifact, which looked like a small metallic ball floated directly toward Eve.
Upon realizing exactly what it was, she was so happy that her robotic blue eyes flashed rapidly in joy.
She immediately started playing with it.
As soon as she bonded it with her Electric Energy, the smooth ball released a bright current and burst apart. Then, like moths drawn to a bright flame, a cloud of tiny nanobots circled around her as she clapped her metallic hands cheerfully.
Looking at her sister, Lilith was both happy and slightly envious. She was glad her twin got something so amazing, but she wanted one too.
Looking hopefully at the remaining floating rewards, Night continued. The next one was exactly as he had guessed.
[Nanobots (Mech ZE001211) (Rare)]
[Created in the ancient Machine Empire, these nanobots can be shaped however the user wishes.
It has almost an ’n’ number of practical uses.
Its overall effectiveness depends entirely on the skills of the user.
Skill: Corrosion - It is built-in with a corrosion spell that can be used with almost all types of Aspects. The impact of the corrosion depends on the energy output of the user.]
It was extremely similar to the previous one, but it possessed a skill that Lilith would prefer.
With another gentle wave of his hand, it flew toward Lilith, who already looked excitement as it approached.
As soon as she bonded with it, something similar happened. The metallic ball burst apart as it released a wave of darkness, making the cloud of small nanobots look like they were absorbing the surrounding light... or rather, as if they were actually emitting darkness themselves.
Looking at Lilith surrounded by her dark nanobots, Night fell into thought.
He had previously assumed that only light sources could actively emit... well, light. But as he looked closely with his [Mystic Eyes], he could vividly see dark rays being emitted by the nanobots.
It was interesting.
In the foundational scientific knowledge he had directly inherited from Levi Rose’s memories, ancient human scientists had declared that darkness was merely the absence of light.
But these magical nanobots proved that claim wrong.
Darkness was just as physically present as light and in this specific situation, it was more dominant.
Shaking his head in awe, Night looked at the final two rewards. One must be for Death and the other one for me.
[Undead Knight (Rare) (Lvl. 30)]
[The Undead Knight was refined using a mysterious method secret to the Lifeless Kingdom of God. It is a semi-finished puppet refined to be finally completed upon binding with it.
The original owner of the bones was once a valiant knight from the Deathless Kingdom who butchered the Undeads left and right.
This puppet carries most of its original records.
Note: It can level up with the user at the cost of Energy]
Night watched as a small, humanoid puppet floated quietly in front of him. It wore matte black armor forged from some unknown metal.
The intricate armor looked incredibly cool; it featured a full helm, breastplate, pauldrons, gauntlets, an armored skirt, and heavy boots.
Based on the structural design, the original knight was clearly female. Unlike what he had initially expected, it didn’t just have bare bones like Death, it actually possessed flesh and skin as well.
It wielded two short swords and carried a shield strapped to its back.
He waved his hand, and the puppet flew toward Death, who did not look too happy to receive such a useful reward.
Looking at it, he could easily tell Death was seriously contemplating whether to just throw it away or give it back to him.
After all, the description didn’t mention that one needed the Death Aspect to bond with it.
But in the end, he heard her mutter something under her breath that he didn’t quite understand. "I’ll use your strength to finish them off first... then I’ll let you go."
Shaking his head at her mumbling, he returned to the last reward, which was undoubtedly tailored specifically for him.
He had secretly been hoping for a skill like [Axe Proficiency]. Just having a normal axe artifact was not of much practical use for him, especially since his legendary [Stone Creation] skill was incredibly versatile and more than enough to handle his weapon needs right now.
[Nightmare Fire Spirit (Rare)]
[The Nightmare Fire Spirit is a mystical flame with a developing consciousness of its own. Alone, its raw strength is very pitiful, even compared to other normal Fire Spirits of its grade.
Note: It is easy to actively bond with. As it is a direct reward from the System, this specific Fire Spirit is one which has sought out a bond and will seamlessly bond without any effort.
Requirement: User must concurrently possess the Nightmare and Fire Aspects.
Warning: It can be incredibly dangerous to attempt to bond if the user does not possess one or both of the required Aspects.]
Night looked closely at the Fire Spirit and was completely stunned.
He didn’t expect to receive a Fire Spirit, especially one so suitable for his. He doubted his Dream Aspect would create any internal conflict with it, either.
Normally, he would have literally jumped with joy and been excited to bond with it, completely ignoring the System description blatantly stating it was pitifully weak.
After all, his [Nightmare Domain] was already practically on the level of the divine. He definitely didn’t need a boost from a Fire Spirit in that regard.
The only single thing that actively made him hesitate... was exactly how it looked.
Sporting two small, black spiral horns, its body looked like a round, pear-shaped white blob, almost like a cheap, old white Halloween bedsheet with two eyeholes hastily cut out.
It had a wavy bottom edge with soft, rippled folds.
It featured a simple face with two big black dots for eyes and a single, simple curved line for a smile. It possessed no legs, casually hovering a few inches off the ground.
It looked similar to a goofy cartoon ghost.
Looking directly at him blankly, it softly moved its little mouth.
"Ghost~ Ghost~"
～～( ꒪ ⌓ ꒪)～～
It looked nothing like a Fire Spirit. If anything, it literally looked like a marketable cartoon mascot!
How on earth is this cute blob supposed to help me with refining? Night wondered.
Suddenly, in his head, he heard uproarious laughter.
[Blaze] howled, "Hahah! Hahaha! Hahaha! It even speaks... ’Ghost~ Ghost~’! Hahaha!"
When the God saw Night’s annoyed, deadpan look, he struggled to calm down.
Wiping a non-existent tear from his eye, [Blaze] wheezed, "Sorry, sorry! Haha... haha... I’m sorry!"
At that moment, the people living on the distant planet [Blaze] currently resided on experienced a rare phenomenon.
Their entire surrounding sky rapidly started blinking in and out of existence like a faulty cereal light, as if their God had randomly decided today was a good day for a light show.
From [Blaze]’s view, the situation looked hilarious.
The sheer look of betrayal on Night’s face when he first laid eyes on the ’Nightmare Fire Spirit’ was priceless.
"Haaha....hahah... Seriously, I’m sorry... it really is an incredibly interesting Spiritual Fire," [Blaze] finally managed to gasp, desperately trying to control himself lest he completely lose all his remaining prestige as a Primordial God.
Already, the snobby kids in his own family constantly looked down on him for his antics.
He didn’t want his brand-new Chosen to join that shameful list.