Taboo (6): Reverse Mutation

It was a reverse mutation.

Just moments ago, it had been a shattered pile of corpse chunks, but now it stood there silently exuding an overwhelming aura of menace.

Blood mist billowing from the cross-section of its neck added a touch of badass flair.

I'd imagined zombies or ghouls when I first heard about necromancy.

But to think it'd turn into something decked out in such cool armor.

Of course, we'd have to part ways soon.

I'd handle the elevator alone and leave it on the previous floor.

"Whoa..."

The thought alone put me in such a good mood.

Finally.

Truly finally.

The moment had arrived when I no longer had to worry about that door suddenly bursting open.

At the very least, I could prepare for it now.

At first, I'd hoped for a simple scarecrow with an alarm function...

But seeing this guy's visuals, it looked like it could serve as a solid breakwater.

Now it was time to test just how strong it was.

"You follow verbal commands, right?"

I extended my index finger and pointed into the empty air.

"Go...! Attack!"

Whoosh! The Blood Knight's form vanished from my sight.

Right after.

BOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sound hit first.

Then a massive gust of wind whipped my silver hair around.

Whooosh-!

"......"

I was speechless.

Insane... Turning to the source of the noise, I was left dumbfounded. On the far wall of the marble cavern, the Blood Knight stood with a massive crater punched into the marble by a single fist.

"It... broke the tower's wall...?"

Of course, it was common knowledge that the innermost walls of the tower were made of ordinary stone, but this was the first time I'd seen one damaged like that with my own eyes.

I swallowed hard.

Strength, agility. At minimum, those two physical stats were leagues above mine.

My hands trembled slightly.

It wasn't intoxication from the power of my summoned undead.

Sure, this was the perfect moment to revel in it, but...

A thought crossed my mind.

"I was really in danger..."

According to NecroNick the necromancer's explanation, the Spirit Blood Tea Ritual drew out about 90% of the corpse's pre-death prowess.

In other words...

I'd been fighting something even stronger than this.

...Even now, it was a miracle I hadn't exchanged a single blow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the swordsman. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was just proven that without Instant Death, I never could've won.

"..."

I stared blankly at the Blood Knight.

After gauging its physical abilities, its empty hands suddenly looked pitiful.

"Yeah... it needs a sword."

I opened my inventory and pulled out the greatsword the man had wielded in life.

"Here, take this."

As I held out the greatsword, the headless knight thudded over to me on foot, then knelt on one knee like a knight receiving a holy relic. It carefully accepted the blade with both hands, as if deeply honored.

Sching-. The Blood Knight rose to its feet again.

"Give it a swing."

That was the moment I realized I'd been underestimating this knight until now.

A chilling killing intent, incomparable to before, began to rise.

My Sense stat screamed in warning.

'An opponent I absolutely cannot beat.'

It hammered that intuition into me relentlessly.

I shook my head.

"No..."

No need to find it chilling.

It was my subordinate now, after all.

And.

"If it's stronger than me..."

I could leave the elevator to it.

All the experience from monsters it defeated would come to me anyway, so there was no reason not to.

The downside was that the floors I'd have to solo afterward might get tougher without it...

But I could just handle those with Death Verdict - Slash.

"...Let's head up together for now."

Before that.

I pulled up the gallery to report my successful Spirit Blood Tea Ritual.

It was definitely tricky.

The blood hovering in the air had felt like it might spill any second.

There was that kind of risk, huh.

Makes sense—no one had ever explained Blood Command to me before.

Anon(702F) was basically exploding with rage.

Why? I'd thought they'd be happy.

Seemed like they called it that when you necromanced a corpse with almost no form left.

That was when it happened.

Yudong, who'd commented while I was circulating my circle, showed up.

It was a bit chaotic then.

The Spirit Blood Tea Ritual expert who'd guided me here appeared.

Her tone was intensely emotional.

Laced with guilt.

She continued.

So that was the backstory...

From my perspective, since it worked right away, I could only thank her for sharing.

"Nice."

One more teacher secured.

Unlike some, her gentle tone was appealing.

Imda (Cup of tea).

Step 3 of the Spirit Blood Tea Ritual. Literally "drinking tea," but actually an excruciating process of absorbing spirit blood into the body's three apertures.

"Not attracted to that at all..."

Seemed like a misunderstanding. The thought of doing it again made me dizzy.

I couldn't fathom likening it to pleasure.

Time to steer the conversation.

Heading to 61F.