The Evening Primrose

The moment Hajun cleared the 3rd floor's Ascension Exam, a system message bloomed across the trial grounds.

A message unlike any that had ever appeared before. Everyone standing before it wore the same bewildered expression.

"A legendary record?"

"Huh? What? Whoa — Unknown just took first place?"

At those words, everyone rushed to check the Hall of Fame.

There it was — Unknown's name, proudly seated at the very top of the 3rd floor Ascension Exam's Hall of Fame. It was a staggering result, all the more so because the overwhelming majority had written it off as impossible.

And it wasn't even an ordinary first place.

"It's — it's Gold!"

"Insane!"

"A Gold rating actually dropped!"

"No way! An actual Gold grade?"

Gold. It meant one thing, and one thing only: Unknown had reached the summit before the golden pillar vanished from the 3rd floor's Ascension Exam. He had accomplished what every one of them had declared impossible.

The entire internet went wild over Hajun's new record. But the shocking news didn't end there.

The reveal of the Legendary Flower lit a fire under everyone's curiosity. Theories flew back and forth by the hundreds, but no one could produce a definitive answer.

Just as the conversation drifted from Unknown's exploits into his private life, yet another piece of news dropped — one that wrung bitter, hollow laughs out of countless Koreans.

With China's declaration thrown into the mix, the news about Unknown set the media ablaze all over again.

FLASH!

The instant I hit Level 21, I set foot on the 3rd floor. And the very first thing I checked after passing the Ascension Exam was—

'Confirming the Legendary Evening Primrose.'

What exactly was this Legendary Evening Primrose I had just obtained from the trial?

'Oh?'

It was an evolution item!

My eyes lit up. Evolution items for familiars were so rare that money alone couldn't buy them — and this one was Legendary grade, no less.

As it happened, I had two familiars.

'Snikle and Dryas.'

Eyes gleaming, I shifted my position to summon them.

'Summon Snikle.'

FWOOSH!

First, I called forth Snikle. Dark demonic energy coalesced out of thin air, sketching the shape of a small imp.

"GYAHAHAK! HUK! M-Master! I am not a mana potion! I am a proud and magnificent being of noble bl—"

"I know. My apologies about that. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Snikle was trembling from head to toe the instant he materialized, shouting up at me with tears welling in his eyes. He seemed to be grieving his fate as a living, breathing mana potion.

'I do feel a little bad about it.'

Come to think of it, he was a person in his own right. I'd probably been treating him too carelessly just because he happened to be a demon.

"From now on, I'll only borrow your mana when it's truly necessary."

"R-Really? You promise, Master?"

"I do."

Snikle, who had been sulking with a wounded look, gradually brightened at my words. A smile tugged at my lips.

'So he has a cute side too.'

Watching him stare up at me unblinking, I decided it had been a while since I last checked his information.

He had reached Level 21 upon ascending to the 3rd floor, same as me.

'Every time I look at this, it hits me — his base stats are overwhelming.'

Snikle's pure stat total came to 199. Comparing it against my own:

The same Level 21, yet my pure stat total was only 129 — a gap of a full 70 points.

'He really does come from an extraordinary bloodline.'

The difference stemmed not only from Snikle being a demon — a higher-order race — but from his innate lineage. And his current trait was apparently still unawakened, displayed only as Bloodline of the ??? King (??). Should that trait ever bloom, his pure stats could climb even higher.

"Whose blood flows in that child, I wonder — truly fascinating. I would wager he is descended from one of the Seven Lords of the Demon Realm, or perhaps the bloodline of the one hundred and one Demon Kings."

The monarchs and kings who ruled the vast Demon Realm. If their blood truly ran in Snikle's veins, it meant his potential was staggering.

'And yet his actual skill set is pretty underwhelming, honestly.'

These were the skills Snikle currently possessed. His trait hadn't awakened, so he had no special skills at all, and his common skills were nothing but crude trinkets.

'His magic stat is already a monstrous 72, and he has no means of putting it to use.'

All show, no substance — a peach blossom with no fruit beneath it. At this rate he really was nothing more than my personal, living mana potion… ahem.

In any case, after appraising Snikle's middling skill set, I asked him:

"Snikle. When's your next evolution?"

"The current level bracket — 20 and above — is the zone for my next evolution. If the conditions are met, I can evolve this very instant."

So saying, Snikle tilted his head and asked back:

"But why do you ask?"

"Because of this."

I drew the Legendary Evening Primrose out of my subspace ring — and Snikle's eyes went perfectly round.

"Th-that! That's—!"

"Do you know what it is?"

"O-of course I do!"

Honey practically dripped from the imp's eyes. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the primrose.

Gulp!

The sound of him swallowing carried all the way to where I stood.

'That's surprising, actually. If he'd wanted it, I figured he'd throw a tantrum begging for it.'

He was less reckless than I'd given him credit for.

'Can't I check his evolution tree?'

The moment I thought that while gazing at Snikle—

SHWAAAA!

A translucent window rose above Snikle's head.

Oh.

I could actually use the Evening Primrose on him, couldn't I? It seemed like a perfectly fine match for Snikle.

I stroked my chin in thought for a moment, then summoned Dryas as well.

KWAAAAAAA!

Emerald light gathered in the empty air — the crisp, refreshing spirit power of a forest.

"N-no way. That power is…!"

Snikle, able to recognize spirit energy when he felt it, wore a stunned expression. It was probably because contracting with a spirit was itself such a rare feat.

"We meet again so soon, Master."

"So we do."

I blinked at the Dryas who had appeared before me. I had expected it, but he looked quite different from before. In the Ruined Forest's Maze, he had been a majestic, supreme-tier spirit radiating dignity—

'Whereas now… he's an adorable little sprite.'

Barely the size of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a palm. And where his form had once been a slender, eight-heads-tall humanoid, he now stood at two heads tall, wrapped head to toe in a straw cloak woven entirely of grass.

Dryas, too, boasted impressive base stats. And his trait was a full nine stars (★★★★★★★★★) — fitting, perhaps, for a supreme-tier spirit who had once dared covet the title of Spirit King.

And yet his base stats were lower than Snikle's.

'Seriously, what IS Snikle?'

Don't tell me the little guy really is the bloodline of a Monarch — not just a Demon King, an actual Monarch? For a moment I thought: handled well, Snikle might be an unscratched lottery ticket.

I turned to Snikle, who was still sneaking glances at the primrose clutched in my hand, and spoke.

"Snikle. Do you want to evolve using this?"

"Huh? O-of course! Can I really use it, Master?"

He zipped right up in front of me, gazing up with bright, sparkling eyes. If he'd had a tail, he'd surely have been wagging it like a metronome.

'Ellaon — would using this on Snikle be the right call?'

"In my judgment, it is. After all, the Evening Primrose can only be used on beings whose fundamental nature carries negative energy."

'Beings with negative energy?'

"Indeed. Demons, yokai, undead, vampires, dark elves — races of that ilk."

Ellaon's words settled my decision.

'I can't use it on Dryas anyway, so rather than holding out for a future familiar, strengthening my forces now by evolving Snikle is the wiser judgment.'

My meeting with James was scheduled for after the 3rd floor's Proof of Qualification. I would need to reinforce my power with a high-grade 3-Star skill before facing Tiamut — and to manage that, I'd have to aim for results good enough to earn a Mythic-grade skill in the Proof of Qualification as well. That made it all the more sensible to evolve Snikle now and shore up my strength, even a little.

'All right.'

I would use it on Snikle.

Okay. Use it.

With my will as the trigger—

KWAAAAAAAAAAA!!

An aura of mingled gold and pitch-black erupted explosively from Snikle's body.