Chapter 78: Animal Spirits

In a world of eternal gloom, a castle of dark stones was built upon hills. An enigmatic woman sat at the edge of the castle wall. Her black tight outfit melded her in the shadows. A pair of red eyes scanned a massive tower that loomed over the castle. Her castle. Spirits of the old clung to the newly constructed mysterious structure as though trying to possess it.

“Who made it?”

The Ruler of the Land of Shadows couldn’t see through the tower since an invisible wall blocked her perception. The woman killed spirits of demigods daily. Yet, the hidden barrier refused to budge under her relentless assault. On occasion, she saw spirits pass the barrier and enter the tower. As if an entity allowed them to enter its boundaries. An entity beyond the realm of Divine Spirits.

“I must get to the bottom of this.”

The tower reduced her workload of calling spirits. However, she felt uneasy about a conscious tower rampaging inside her domain. She had to enter the tower and meet the owner.

No one was allowed to show off in her territory.

***

Semiramis arrived at the mysterious location. The overwhelming sorrows far above any battlefield filled with corpses—she could feel every bit of darkness lingering in the melancholic corridors.

“It’s a different world.”

This was all she could think to describe this place.

Haruki nodded at Semiramis’s assumption. “It is.”

The Land of Dead had the convenient manifestation of the mobs on the floor and bosses having their separate rooms. He believed it to be a world created by Arch for training him. He had a hunch that it was more than just a training ground. The giant tower and System had to be built with a greater purpose.

“How did my master get the key to this dimension?”

Medea was also curious about the answer, but she didn’t pry too much into Haruki’s secrets. Semiramis was of the opposite mindset. If there was a mystery, she wanted to get to the core of it.

“Sheesh, stop with the interrogation. I’ll reveal everything when the time is right. Let me focus on fighting now.”

Haruki walked ahead and stumbled into a new creature around the corner. A hound with rotten flesh clinging to its skeleton.

The hound pounced at him with open jaws. Haruki strengthened the spear with reinforcement and casually swung it. The hound’s jaw shattered from the overwhelming force before it spun three times in the air and crashed on the ground.

Haruki stomped on the canine’s head.

[Awakening Progress: 5.3%]

‘It’s rather weak for a 6th-floor mob… or I am far stronger than the last time.’

“It’s the latter, young one. These are spirits of dead animals mutated with time,” Arch said. “If I’m being honest here, you can’t go past the 30th floor with your current strength.”

‘I can surpass Artoria’s stats with reinforcement. You’re telling me that I can’t go beyond the 30th floor?’

“Can you fight Heracles alone?”

Haruki barely kept his calm. ‘What is this fucked up difficulty? What is the boss of the last floor then? Cthulhu?’

Arch giggled playfully. “I’m the final boss.”

‘You are the final woman I have to conquer? Okay, bring it on. I can’t be a real dragon without a dragon mate.’

“...”

As expected of the shut-in goddess, Arch couldn’t one-up him in a battle of words. At least not in this fashion. Things might have turned out differently if they talked inside Arch’s room where she showed more confidence. She owned that place and acted like it.

Haruki stomped his way through the hordes of different household pets, skeleton warriors, and wraiths. Medea almost cried out every time he killed small foxes and cats. Semiramis went out of her way to torment undead kittens, much to Medea’s despair. Frankly, the mobs were no match for him or his yet-to-be-named Mystic Code. He was glad he didn’t bring Artoria. The King of Knights would be overkill on these piss easy floors.

In less than two hours, he was standing before the door leading into the 10th-floor boss room. Semiramis held a massive bag filled with magical essences. She didn’t look displeased to work as a supporter of the group.

“Should we stop for a bit?” Medea asked, handing Haruki a water bottle. “The boss could be a strong one.”

Semiramis winked at him. “My master can borrow my lap if you want~.”

“And why would he do that when his lover is here?” Medea shot down Semiramis with pure, unadulterated facts. “Don’t you ever feel embarrassed?”

Unfazed, Semiramis smiled. “A monarch cannot survive without a thick skin.”

Haruki gulped down the water without paying attention to the bickering women. Their fights only amused him. Semiramis had earned Medea’s respect after their work together with Sakura’s condition. Likewise, Semiramis appreciated Medea’s knowledge in magecraft. The pair wanted to get along, but they had too much pride to admit it.

Medea, especially, didn’t want Semiramis to get closer to Haruki.

‘They probably never had a close friend… Arch, show me my status.’

[Haruki Hayashi]

Species: Dragon [Current awakening progress 5.7%]

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Height, Weight: 183cm/76kg

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

[Parameters]

Strength: 30 (C)

Endurance: 30 (C)

Agility: 28 (C-)

Magical energy: 70 (EX)

Luck: 10 (E)

‘EX-rank mana. Not bad indeed.’

With the reinforcement spell, there wasn’t any difference between him and a top-class Servant. The only difference was in skills and experience. He was still a novice compared to Artoria who trained since she was young and spearheaded wars for more years than his current age.

“Mages will kill their families if they could have your mana,” Arch said. “Your next authority will help with perception. You already know that I suppose.”

‘I guessed as much.’

Haruki crushed the water bottle, forcing Semiramis and Medea to pause their battle. “Let’s go.”

He kicked open the door and furrowed his brows. A three meters tall red lion-headed beast rested in the center of the room. He was very familiar with the hybrid of lion and dog, an offspring of Tiamat, the Goddess of Beginning. Also known as Beast II.

“It’s not an ordinary Uridimmu,” Arch said. “It’s a beast that feasted on the resentment in the Land of Sh—Land of Dead… it’s stronger than the one you remember.”

Haruki almost missed her stumble on the Land of Dead. He already doubted this place to be inside the Land of Shadows. Arch just confirmed those doubts.

‘Scáthach Onee-sama.’

The death-seeking warrior was one of his favorites, if not the most favorite Heroic Spirit. He naturally hoped to get along with her and possibly become her disciple. Only Chiron came close to her in the matters of teaching combat.

‘Imagine I have to fight Scáthach at the top.’

“...”

Uridimmu stepped forward and howled, shaking the very air in the room.

“Haruki-sama—”

“I got this.” Haruki pecked Medea’s lips before he rushed at the impatient beast.

He cut off his momentum with a sudden left turn and flanked the beast with a vicious kick. With a dash, he caught up to the monster barreling through the air and drove the glowing spear through its spine. For extra measures, he strengthened his leg with the reinforcement spell and precisely kicked the spear shaft. Instead of nailing the monster on the ground, as he imagined, the spearhead slowly dragged the monster, scratching the ground with ear-piercing sounds.

[Awakening Progress: 5.81%]

Haruki landed on the ground and dusted his hands. “Whew, larger monsters are fun to beat.”