Chương 244: It's Been A Long Time Coming

All the way back when I unleashed dozens upon dozens of ghosts, I sensed something. It hadn't been reaching out for me, but for my spectres, trying to lure them to itself. In doing so, it alerted me to its position, allowing me to feel a clear, direct trail of phantomatic food leading me to this place. The connection it tried to establish with my ghostly servants was so strong that even the ambient element of misdirection wasn't able to distort. …

Or perhaps it was able to do something like this because it was used to dealing with the misdirection, who knows? All that I know is that this place–This dungeon–Tried to lure over my ghosts to join its force of defenders. The fact that it tried to do so immediately and almost instinctively had made it fairly obvious in my mind that the dungeon was one intrinsically linked with spectres in particular. Therefore, it would have been silly of me not to immediately head for this place.

Not only was it certainly filled with something I had been seeking most dearly, but a place filled with nutrition was also of great utility when in a difficult fight. I had not expected Golden-Face to be capable of forcing me out of my 'Molten Steel Form', but thankfully, he had opened up the way for me ahead of time, so I simply jumped down into the now exposed dungeon, and… Here I was now, feasting upon the ghostly beings populating this place without encountering any resistance.

My adversary did try to follow me, it seems, but he only sent one summon, which I easily dispatched after it got distracted by a certain little bastard stalker–It had been a while since I last caught sight of this guy. He still looked the same, and still appeared not to want to get anywhere close to me. The reason why he was wary of getting close was very simple and obvious.

I was literally in the midst of committing a spectral carnage at the moment–Since this was a dungeon, most of these ghosts were probably beings summoned by the dungeon itself, while some might have been 'recruited' in the manner that it had tried to take my servants. In any case, this dungeon had seemingly thrived in isolation and had more defenders than I could count all over the place.

Some of which were clearly quite, if not very powerful, unfortunately, for them, whether a weakling or not, the moment I got my hands on any of them, they were as helpless as a newborn. Only capable of screaming and writhing as I devoured them whole. I don't know how much time I spent roaming these empty halls and rooms, but I utterly emptied the place of its residents. … The more I think about it, though, this dungeon is a little bit odd, isn't it?

I am no expert, but I remember learning that dungeons use some form of personal energy or stamina to do things, including manifesting their defenders and the like, and they get more of it by having visitors stay for a while, or by killing said visitors. However, this dungeon, until today, seemed to have been completely airtight, with no paths leading anywhere outside, and from what I had heard, the dungeon had truly never been found, so how was it possible for it to develop to such a great extent?

Either it had a lot of visitors somehow, or it had actually been here for so long that even with measly amounts of energy, it had been able to slowly develop into something that very much looks like a well-developed, mature dungeon. Regardless of the truth, I eventually felt that there was only one source my endless hunger was pointing me toward. All of the residents had gone into my imaginary belly.

Now, depending on what type of dungeon this is, the last source I am sensing is either a dungeon master, who could prove to be a problem, or… Nice. It is the second option. I peeked into a wide room and spotted a pale white orb floating slightly above a pedestal–A dungeon core. When a dungeon didn't have a being as its master, it was directly controlled by a core that was said to often be just as intelligent and aware as a sapient being, if not more so. This thing was absolutely radiating deliciousness.

This dungeon seemed to solely specialise in ghosts and the like, so you better believe that the core was packed to the brim with gloriously nourishing food. Although a core was far less capable of defending itself than a dungeon master, it was nonetheless intimately aware of its surroundings and might be capable of attacking, so I didn't rush… Oddly enough, it wasn't acknowledging my presence, despite the fact that, as the core, it should be fully aware of where an intruder like me should be at all times. Mmh…

If I force it a little, I should be able to transform again now. If it gets aggressive, I'll switch form to rough it up a little… Big Sis, I think the core is intimidated. It is definitely more aware of all things having to do with ghosts, so it can certainly feel your Vengeful Spirit side quite clearly… And probably the accompanying hunger for other ghosts and the like Is that so? I began approaching the pale core. It did not move from where it stood.

All it did was send some sort of signal to me, or rather to my Vengeful Spirit side alone. I think… I think it's trying to recruit me for the dungeon. Stolen story; please report. This is very touching, but I really do not have time to be playing guardian for some random dungeon. It might be more interesting if this one were an actually established dungeon with adventurers coming to get themselves killed every other day, then perhaps it could have a way to pay me properly, but this one?

It might be a good investment, but not all investments are worth it, and this one would get in the way of my plans, as such… I grabbed the core with one hand and forced it between my maw, the hydraulics of my jaw activated, crushing the core like I was testing the legitimacy of a piece of gold by pressing on it using my molars. This thing proved to be far more durable than expected, but its surface soon began to crack, and already, I could feel a surge of nondescript ghostly matter and energy flowing into me.

When the core finally shattered, and everything about it was consumed in a single go, I… I blacked out. Didn't I say with the Curse-Blood Tree debacle that I would be careful of my intake in the future? Well, it wasn't like there was another efficient way to consume the core… In any case, I apparently was only out of it for a moment, and still found myself in the same spot I had been in when the core shattered. Nothing of it was left, not even a small shard. All had been absorbed. Suddenly, I felt very energised.

This dungeon core must have been ancient. It had far more energy stored within it than I expected… Immediately after Nara spoke up, the system showed up. You have gained one choice of upgrade Congratulations! Your nature as a Vengeful Spirit and your nature as a Living Curse have reached their limits. You may start evolving when you see fit Oh boy… This core alone was enough for my ghostly side to catch up to my curse side? It really must have been packed.

Unless there is something I don't know, I think it would be best for me to evolve once I am back at the tower. What do you think, Nara? It would be best, but I would, however, recommend that you pick a spot underground to evolve. This second evolution might have some external effects. Especially since you've completely maxed out on how much you can improve your two natures. It is completely unpredictable what might happen, so it is best to be careful and hide during the evolutionary process I see…

Well, let's get the hell out of here then. On the way out, I made sure to check if the man in red wasn't planning an ambush, but it seemed like he had made the choice to retreat for today. It made sense. I had to assume that the stunts he pulled had had a certain effect on him, especially when he went right through my stream of molten steel… That fucker came out of it spinning like he was a circus performer.

I'll admit, it was very stylish, but being on the receiving end of a flashy move like that did not feel good in the least. It was like getting hit by a random spin attack during a swordfight. It did not feel right at all. Oh wow, I didn't realise, but I really messed up the landscape, huh? Not only had I started a massive forest fire that was not showing any signs of going away, but I had covered a wide area in now hardened steel. Of course, it wasn't steel that I could actually consume.

I hadn't paid much attention the last time I used this form, but it seemed like the molten steel I spewed, whether it was flowing or cooled down, did not disappear at all once I left the form. It would just stay in place… If it can be used to forge stuff, I guess people will be happy. … With all this smoke, will a giant beast even be able to come here without suffocating…?

"Mommy!"

"Ah, are you–ou alright–right, Xlown? Did–did you get h–hurt, Pumpkin Pie?"

"I am perfectly fine, Mommy! But we should leave quickly! I wanted to finish off the mean mister while he was injured and didn't know I was here, but just a little while ago, he ran into two other people who seemed quite strong and who said they would heal him!"

"I–Is that right? Well th–then…" I stepped away from Xlown and transformed into the 'Wire Mess Form'. I made sure that the automatically activated 'Artificial Storm' was subdued to a minimum, and then ceased all lightning flow through my body before picking Xlown up and putting her on my back. Using the wires to extend my reach, I sped away and climbed out of the valley from the opposite way Xlown told me my opponent had gone to–When it came to speed, this form had a clear edge over all of the others.

It was rather light due to mostly being made out of wires, and with the way the arm could extend, I was able to catch hold of the ground to propel myself forward. It would definitely shine better in a closed environment where I would be able to hold onto the walls to change elevation as I pleased, but even in an open field like the rockland, it was proving to be a great utility.

I kept going until we were out of the rockland, hiding ourselves inside of a rather nice blue forest filled with lots of bioluminescent mushrooms. The mass of smoke from the valley was still visible all the way from there.

"Al–Al–right. Let's call our–our ride" I had given Xlown the item made to call over the winged beast for safekeeping, so she pressed it as I sat down on the ground. Very well, it has been a while since I picked an upgrade from this menu thingy. What does it offer me today? Now that I have access to another method of acquiring upgrades, I need to pick something that I think Mari wouldn't be able to grant me on her own.

So something incredibly complicated or esoteric, or simply something that would require resources that she doesn't have. Hopefully, what entity is in charge of deciding what upgrades are available to pick from won't just shove the most basic nonsense available… Say, Nara, if I don't want to pick anything from the list, I will see, and I then go on to gain all of the upgrades offered through another way, what would happen? The list would be refreshed … interesting.