Chapter 79: Ascension (1)
Blue light released Misha onto familiar ground.
Her boots sank slightly into damp soil. Twisted trees crowded around her.
A familiar window appeared before her.
Ding!
「 〔 FLOOR QUEST 〕
Goblin Extermination (0/100)
Time Limit: 72 Hours 」
Misha slowly looked around. The last time she stood here, she had not been alone. Nyxie was there along with Gerbaut, Jules and Elyes. Yara had smiled as though betrayal had never crossed her mind.
For one dangerous moment, the memory pressed harder than the floor itself.
Misha’s chest tightened. The forest blurred slightly around the edges, and she had to remind herself that this was not the past.
「 Constellation Soul within the Aries Chamber Requesting Authorization. 」
Misha stared at it for a moment, then the corner of her lips lifted. "Of course."
The request pulsed impatiently. Nyxie had apparently decided one second was long enough to wait.
Misha opened her storage and pulled out Starfall. The massive claymore appeared in her hands, its weight dragging her arms down for a second.
"Let’s do this."
「 Authorization Accepted. 」
「 Possession Initializing... 」
The world shifted and Misha’s soul slipped free.
「 Control Transfer Complete.
Possession Time Remaining: 00:25:00 」
Amber light ignited in her body’s eyes.
Then Nyxie grinned. The expression looked strange on Misha’s face. It was too broad, too eager, and far too delighted by the goblin shrieks echoing through the forest.
Nyxie rolled her shoulders, stretched one arm across her chest, then tested Starfall’s weight with a lazy swing.
"So you decided to start here huh?" Nyxie asked as she peered into the trees.
Misha floated beside her own body. "I wanted to start climbing properly again."
"Properly?" Her grin widened. "You gave me a claymore and twenty-five minutes. This is my floor to clear."
"That is not a permission to destroy the entire forest." She folded her arms, though the gesture felt much less impressive without a physical body.
"No promises. I’m going to break my record! Twenty-five minutes is more than enough!"
The bushes ahead rustled.
A goblin emerged with a rusted knife raised over its head. Its yellow eyes widened when it noticed the enormous blade resting on Nyxie’s shoulder.
It did not survive long enough to regret its decision.
One moment, Misha’s body stood beside her, the next, Starfall tore through the goblin and the tree behind it.
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
A second goblin screamed, then a third.
System notices began appearing one after another.
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
The goblins did not need to be hunted. Nyxie made enough noise that they came looking for her.
The forest became a trail of startled cries, flashing steel, and bodies collapsing into the ground. Starfall passed through crude shields, thin trees, and anything else unfortunate enough to stand in its path.
Nyxie was far stronger than when she was alive. She tore across the battlefield like a wild ram.
Misha tried counting the number of times Nyxie allowed her body to be splattered with green goblin blood. She gave up after eleven.
The quest counter reached one hundred before twenty minutes had passed.
「 〔 FLOOR QUEST COMPLETE 〕
Goblin Extermination (100/100)
Time Remaining: 71:40:18 」
「 〔 FLOOR QUEST REWARD〕
EXP +548
Tower Coins +65
<Items Obtained>
Goblin Ear x200
Goblin Fang x18
Crude Mana Crystal x5
Minor Healing Potion x1
<Contribution Bonus>
EXP Bonus: +2135」
「 〔LEVEL UP〕
Lv. 13 —> Lv. 14
—
Current EXP: 454/2975 」
「 〔ATTRIBUTE GROWTH〕
Strength +3
Agility +1
—
Current Attribute:
Strength ....... 24 (D)
Agility .... 28 (D) 」
A portal opened between the trees.
Nyxie turned toward it with blood smeared across her body’s cheek and an expression that suggested she had only just begun enjoying herself
Misha crossed her arms as a sigh escaped her lips. "If you’re finished, can I have my body back now?" She looked pointedly at the blood dripping from Starfall.
Nyxie glanced toward the possession timer.
「 Possession Time Remaining: 00:05:11 」
"But I still have five minutes." Nyxie tightened both hands around the claymore.
"Yes, and I need those five minutes to clean myself." Misha floated closer. "Elyes isn’t here to do it for us."
Nyxie laughed, loud and familiar.
For one brief moment, the sound made the forest less empty.
"I’m sorry..."
Nyxie groaned. "Oh, don’t start."
"You died while we were together and I should’ve–"
"Been stronger? Faster? Smarter?" Nyxie counted each one on her fingers. "Maybe learn to see the future while you were at it?"
Misha fell silent.
"We lost. I died." Her grin returned. "Then you apparently stole my soul from the Tower. Very possessive of you."
"..."
"A lot has changed. I’m taller now."
"You’re using my body."
She chuckled. "Exactly."
「 Aries Constellation Soul has relinquished control. 」
Misha dropped back to her body with a stagger.
Weight crashed over her all at once. She drove Starfall into the soil to keep herself upright.
The weight of her body settled over her all at once. Heat, breath, aching muscles, and the sharp smell of goblin blood came rushing back.
"Ugh... please warn me next time before doing that."
After placing Starfall back to her storage, she wiped her cheek with the back of one hand. "You could have avoided getting blood on my face."
Misha stepped into the portal.
===
「 〔 FLOOR QUEST 〕
Hunt the Chief Goblin (0/1)
Time Limit: 48 Hours 」
「 Time Accumulated From Previous Floor: 71:40:18 」
「 Total Remaining Time: 143:40:18 」
Misha stared at the accumulated time before dismissing the window.
The first time she had crossed this floor, Gerbaut had been beside her. Now she was alone. Physically, at least.
She crouched near a set of tracks pressed into the mud. It was fresh. Too many footprints surrounded the large print for it to belong to a wandering goblin.
Misha ran one finger along the indentation. "Chieftain patrol."
King floated beside her in his larger form, his tails swaying lazily behind him. [It’s north nya.]
Misha glanced at him. "I thought you were a guide, not a tracker."
[I possess eyes nya.] He began drifting north.
"How impressive." She followed him.
[I also possess superior intelligence, excellent instincts, and flawless spatial awareness nya.] King floated over a fallen branch rather than going around it.
"And, of course, an inspiring amount of humility." She stepped across the branch.
King raised his chin. [Humility is an invention of lesser creatures intended to make excellence feel guilty nya.]
Misha stared at the back of his head. She had no response for that.
Unfortunately, King would probably take her silence as agreement.
They followed the trail for almost an hour and on their way, she found a stream and cleaned herself there before they went on. The trail eventually led toward a crude encampment hidden between low cliffs. Dozens of goblins crowded around sharpened stakes and poorly constructed shelters. At the center sat the Chieftain, larger than the others and wrapped in scraps of armor.
Misha watched the camp from behind a rock. She knew she could fight them herself. She had already killed dozens of Goblin Chieftain. But that would be wasting time if she wanted to speedrun until Floor 10.
"Gramps..." The word escaped before she decided to say it.
A request appeared the moment she mentioned him.
「 Constellation Soul within the Cancer Chamber Requesting Authorization. 」
Misha swallowed. He had been listening.
A small smile appeared on her lips. "I’ll leave this to you then."
「 Authorization Accepted. 」
「 Possession Initializing... 」
The shift was quieter than Nyxie’s possession. There was no sudden burst of excitement or hunger for battle.
「 Control Transfer Complete.
Possession Time Remaining: 00:15:00 」
Her body merely straightened, her shoulder relaxed and her breathing slowed. Amber light filled her eyes once again.
Tobias looked down at Misha’s hands and flexed her fingers one at a time.
"Well," Her voice came roughened by an age her body did not possess. "These are less wrinkled than I remember."
"Grandpa Tobias..." She floated beside him.
"It’s been a while, lass." A familiar, catlike grin spread across her face. "You called?"
Misha looked away before the sight could hurt too much. "There’s a Goblin Chieftain." She pointed like a child showing who her bully was despite knowing he couldn’t see her.
"You don’t have your cane... Will it be alright?"
Tobias looked down at his empty hand. "Guess we’ll have to find out."
He stepped out from behind the rock with her arms behind her and continued walking directly toward the camp.
The nearest goblin spotted her body, its eyes widened. Then, a cry tore through the settlement.
Dozens of goblins reached for weapons. The Chieftain pushed itself from its seat, grabbed its club, and released a roar that shook dust from the shelters.
Tobias stopped outside the barricade.
Since he did not have his cane, he raised one foot instead, then he brought it down.
The ground collapsed.
A deep crack split through the camp. Enormous stone hands erupted from below, their fingers closing around shelters and goblins alike.
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
「 You have killed a Goblin!
EXP +3 」
The Chieftain managed one startle roar before an earthen palm slammed down over the entire center of the encampment.
Dust rolled through the cliffs in a thick wave.
Misha lifted one arm over her face out of instinct, though the dust passed harmlessly through her soul.
When the air cleared, nothing remained standing. Only a crater.
「 You have killed a Goblin Chieftain!
EXP +20 」
「 〔 FLOOR QUEST COMPLETE 〕
Hunt the Chief Goblin (1/1) 」