Nyx's New Vessel
Nyx, who had taken possession of the homunculus's body.
With a wave of her hand, the hem of her dress—woven like the night sky itself—covered her bare form.
Same as when I saw her at the lake.
“So this is what it feels like to obtain a physical body.”
Nyx examined her new form with curious eyes, taking in every detail.
Her beauty remained as breathtaking as ever—impossible to look away from.
I hadn't felt this way before.
When I saw Nyx at the lake, I had been overwhelmed by her divine presence, struck by awe.
Now, the thought that came to mind was whether the very concept of beauty had taken human form.
“You have not taken your eyes off me for some time.”
“No extra arms or legs appeared, at least.”
“Dost thou mean to say this body might change?”
“No, just checking.”
“Then be at ease. It seems nothing of the sort shall occur.”
Nyx smiled seductively.
Even I, who had endured countless hardships, found myself momentarily entranced.
I would have to accompany her whenever she went out.
Otherwise, she would attract all sorts of unsavory attention.
“Wait, about that dress.”
“So thou hast finally noticed.”
“It is not made of Polar Night, is it?”
“How dull thou art.”
Which meant—
“So even the homunculus body can wield Polar Night.”
“Indeed. Though the power is feeble, the fact that it can be wielded at all is what matters.”
The spare homunculus.
To think it could even replicate a god's authority.
Truly—
“This is incredible.”
I never expected such a reward in the tutorial.
Was no one else able to obtain it?
A hidden element even the explorer Laurent had missed.
I thought I knew most of the Tower of Babel.
“What troubles thee so?”
“Ah, nothing.”
“I have descended in mortal flesh.”
Nyx crossed her arms and turned her head sharply.
“Thou still find time to think of other things while I stand before thee.”
When she had been a spirit, I had found her simply adorable. But now, clad in the homunculus body, everything felt different.
“By the way, can you check your stats?”
“The status window, was it?”
Nyx mimicked my tone, then let out an impressed sound.
“It truly works.”
“Share it with me.”
“As thou wish.”
* Due to the homunculus's limitations, the target's full power could not be replicated.
* Most of the homunculus's original physical capabilities were consumed to anchor the target's soul.
* The target's rank is identical to the user's.
The first thing that stood out was her race.
A mixed race.
The spare body prepared by the Tower could not fully accommodate Nyx's divine stature.
That was why her physical stats remained at ordinary human levels.
Next, something else caught my eye.
“Even the goddess has levels now.”
“So I too can raise my level as thou dost?”
“According to the system, yes.”
“If the children who designed the Tower learn of this, they may attempt to strip me of my authority.”
“Don't worry. The Old Gods are not omnipotent.”
The Tower system had been designed by the Old Gods.
Yet even they could not freely interfere with its operating principles.
It was a space woven from countless myths, legends, and traces of worlds.
The Old Gods had been driven out by the current generation of deities, losing both their authorities and their names.
That was why they had created the Tower using various loopholes, the help of constellations, and slumbering ancient gods like Nyx.
The Old Gods could only act within the rules of the Tower of Babel.
Until the synchronization between the Tower and the world reached 100%.
“The fact that you can level up is probably a built-in function of the homunculus.”
Even the Tower rank linked to the user—me—was proof enough.
The message had said to inject someone's soul and make them a companion.
“Does this mean I have become thy companion?”
“Why? If you don't like it—”
“How could that be! To think I can now aid thee with a physical body!”
Nyx gently stroked my forehead with her right hand.
It was the same gesture she always made.
Uh, uh-oh.
This was getting dangerous.
I recited the Heart Sutra in my mind before lightly pushing Nyx away.
“Try to restrain yourself a little in front of others.”
“Thou art acting strangely today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Thy heartbeat seems far too rapid.”
Damn it. That was entirely her fault.
Nyx was so unpredictable that it only made things worse.
If I let my guard down, I would be completely at the goddess's mercy.
“Where art thou going?”
“Now that you've got a body, I want to test your abilities.”
“Oh? Thou wouldst spar with me as thou dost with the others?”
“If you're scared, feel free to back out.”
“I shall show thee my greatness.”
Whew. Nyx's interest in sparring had successfully shifted the conversation.
Besides, I needed to test her power anyway.
The third surprising point I hadn't mentioned yet was that Nyx had gained an Internal Energy stat.
And not only that—the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword I had received from the Sky's Evil had been passed on to her as well.
It seemed to have transferred because we were contracted.
I would need to test whether the goddess could actually use internal energy in real combat.
* * *
When we descended to the training hall, everyone inside turned to look at us.
More precisely—
“Is there something on my face?”
They were staring at the goddess.
After regressing, I had been the one drawing attention.
Having that role taken away felt strangely unsettling.
Jiyoung paused her training and approached.
“Is the person beside you a guest?”
“Well, about that—”
Just as I was about to explain Nyx's identity—
“Child, why dost thou not recognize me?”
“Wait. That way of speaking sounds familiar.”
“Call me a summon as thou always have.”
She was really enjoying this.
She must have been holding a grudge about being called a summon by Jiyoung.
Blink, blink.
Jiyoung's eyes widened and narrowed repeatedly before her mouth fell open.
“Th-th-th-tha—!!!”
She could only scream.
“Speak properly.”
“The summon lady who used to follow Master around?!”
Nyx smiled in satisfaction at the reaction.
“Indeed. This is who I am.”
“Wow, I thought some celebrity had shown up. This is insane!”
Jiyoung made a fuss.
The others didn't speak, but they were clearly curious about Nyx's identity, their eyes and ears perked.
No need to give them more information here.
Information was power.
There was no reason to reveal high-level secrets that would remain unknown even in the age of destruction.
Maybe later.
For now, I would keep it hidden and release it strategically.
“Jiyoung, I'm going to spar with Nyx, so give us some space.”
“Understood, Master!”
Ping Lei, Karla, and Kim Youngsoo also stopped their training.
Now they were openly planning to watch.
“With so many spectators, my spirits rise of their own accord.”
Nyx made no effort to hide her excitement.
“You still need time to adapt to your new body, so let's take it slow.”
“I have no need for such consideration.”
“You might end up embarrassing yourself.”
“We shall see.”
She was confident.
Well then, let's see just how capable Nyx had become with her mortal body.
I extended my right hand.
“As expected, thou begin with a ranged attack.”
Darkness Dominion
The dress covering the goddess's body rippled and transformed into armor.
At the same time, Nyx kicked off the ground.
By the time my Fireball was ready, the distance between us had already halved.
Her physical stats should have been at ordinary human levels.
What an absurd charging speed.
It wasn't on the level of Ping Lei or Karla, but it far surpassed any ordinary person.
“Even if you know it's coming, you'll still get hit.”
Since she was charging straight at me, landing the Fireball was easy.
Whoosh!
The moment the fireball struck Nyx head-on—
A portion of the Polar Night enveloping her body opened wide and swallowed it whole.
Pop— A small explosion echoed.
“She blocked the mana from spreading to reduce the explosion's power.”
“As expected of my contractor, thou notice at once.”
Once Nyx closed the gap to thirty meters, she began to fully unleash her Polar Night.
Shraaaraak!
Dozens of pitch-black spears, twisted like skewers, came rushing in.
I deployed my own Polar Night and tried to mimic her, but every spear was deflected.
“Same power, but I can't match her.”
“This power was originally mine. Thou still have far to go before thou canst keep up.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Polar Night was only one of the many powers I possessed.
I hadn't even shown my true strength yet!
“Haaaaah!”
A resounding roar.
While Nyx furrowed her brow, I immediately used my next move.
Mark of Weakening
Skull Hand
Blessing of Greed
Multiple debuff skills activated simultaneously.
The bone hands, empowered by the Blessing of Greed, grabbed Nyx's ankles.
Marks were engraved upon the Polar Night that served as her armor.
“This is troublesome.”
The moment Nyx's feet were bound—
I used Fierce Charge and rushed straight at her.
“You know how powerful this skill is, right, Goddess?”
“I cannot simply stand and take it.”
Nyx clenched her fist and raised her right arm high.
Shhhhhh!
Polar Night gathered in her clenched hand.
A sword of darkness formed from Polar Night appeared.
“Thou art well aware of this sword's power, art thou not?”
Insane.
Was this what it felt like to give an inch and lose a mile?
Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword.
When used with Polar Night as its base, it was a divine technique on par with the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts.
Even if I used the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts at my current level, I couldn't be sure I could block that sword.
And there was an even bigger problem.
I was currently using Fierce Charge.
Without the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts, a simple charge wouldn't be enough to stop Nyx's single strike.
Cloud Flow Steps
I gritted my teeth and altered the trajectory of my charge.
Shwaaaak!
The dark sword fell from above.
Though the swing wasn't particularly fast, it generated tremendous wind pressure.
The blade missed me by a hair's breadth.
The aftereffects of barely changing direction left me stunned for five seconds.
But I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
“Wielding the energy known as qi is quite a novel experience.”
How carefree.
Someone had just risked their life changing direction.
Being stunned, I couldn't even open my mouth to complain.
The power of Polar Night, split into dozens of strands, struck my body like blades.
Clang! Clang!
“Harder than I expected.”
The thorn armor that had blocked the Polar Night's power.
If I hadn't used it in advance, this would have been quite the disaster.
Wait a second.
Nyx's armor seemed a little… shorter than before?
[Stun has been lifted.]
The moment the penalty from Fierce Charge ended, I raised both arms.
“Wait. Time out!”
“Having experienced my greatness, dost thou wish to surrender?”
“Ah, no, it's about your clothes, Goddess. Your clothes.”
“Thou knowest they are made of Polar Night.”
“Which means the more Polar Night you use, the shorter your clothes get.”
When the sparring began, her Polar Night armor had been close to full plate.
After she used the Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword, it had visibly shrunk.
And that wasn't all.
The ends of her arms and legs were now bare skin.
“Thou ask the obvious.”
Oh, this goddess!
“Sparring is over.”
“Oh? Thou must give me a reason—”
“I said stop for now!”
I cut off Nyx's reply and headed upstairs.
Sparring could wait.
First, I had to get her some proper clothes!