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“I won’t return.”

It was an unexpected answer. Kim Jin-Woo had been expecting Morrigan to choose to return given the choice. After all, she had a bad habit of always talking about her glorious past.

However, she had broken his expectations and chosen to remain in the Fortress. The entire plan he’d had in his head just fizzled. He could only ask, “Why is that so? Do you not miss your old master?”

“I only learned the pride of being a warrior from my old master. Let’s just say that my feelings towards my old master aren’t the same as the kind of longing I would have towards my parents,” Morrigan answered.

“Ah…” How had Kim Jin-Woo only noticed this now? Morrigan had always looked at him with an unwavering gaze. And the expression on her face right now was one of rebuking him for testing her loyalty.

“And the Master I know is an extremely tenacious being who will never let go of anything that is in his grasp, even under the threat of Parthenon. I never expected him to even entertain the thought of letting me go,” Morrigan added.

Kim Jin-Woo had forgotten one critical point. Even before she was known as a fierce warrior, Morrigan was a highly skilled tactician. What he had just witnessed in front of his eyes only further solidified this point.

He’d had no desire to let her go in the first place. The only reason he had asked such a sensitive question was to lay a trap, to further strengthen her loyalty to him. But not only had she completely read his mind, she had already made up her mind from the start to stick with Kim Jin-Woo until the end.

She must have decided that if she was unable to leave, then she would at the very least protect her pride.

“Plus, it sounds more fun to fight from this end.” Morrigan smirked as her face lit up proudly.

“Hmph.” Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation. There was something maddening about the battle-frenzied crow’s bewitched expression that tired everyone around her. Thus, he quickly got over the fact that he wasn’t able to execute his own plans.

“Please give me something exciting. No matter what battlefield I may be deployed to, I’ll be sure to savor it.”

Kim Jin-Woo eventually surrendered to Morrigan’s will and left. He was certain he would be infected by her contagious madness if he continued to stay.

He returned to Dominique and said, “Let’s just pretend that our surveillance on Morrigan never happened. She’s decided to remain with us.”

“But how can you trust her words…” Dominique started to retort, but one look by Kim Jin-Woo was all it took for her to shut her mouth.

“However, continue to monitor Heimdall. We have no idea what he may be thinking,” Kim Jin-Woo added.

Unlike Morrigan, Heimdall was sure to leave the labyrinth if given the choice, so Kim Jin-Woo decided to control the narrative surrounding Ustus and the One-Eyed Lord’s fragments.

Thanks to Kim Jin-Woo’s actions, Heimdall had no idea what was happening to the world around him, and he only stared endlessly into the blank darkness of empty space with each passing day.

Having more or less completed most of the outstanding tasks, Kim Jin-Woo sat on his throne, carrying a bunch of summoning stones and down gems. He had belatedly remembered the parasite after seeing Uther guzzle the stones down.

The parasite had once eaten the Blood Leopard’s heart, and Kim Jin-Woo was certain that it wouldn’t react any differently to the down gems and summoning stones.

“Upgrading the parasite will definitely be of big help to Master,” Dominique advised as she looked at him. She was rather optimistic as well about the prospects of feeding the parasite with the down gems and summoning stones, and the upgrades that could result.

After all, the capabilities displayed by the parasite thus far were more than sufficient to justify the usage of the down gems Kim Jin-Woo had set aside for it.

“But still, this guy is a worm, so it feels kind of a waste,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. His body shuddered as he recalled the time when the parasite had squirmed before crawling into the back of his hand. His hand curled into a fist around the down gem he held.

[The parasite has consumed the middle-grade down gem.]

[The parasite has extracted all the energy stored within the middle-grade down gem. As a result, the down gem has reverted to an ordinary stone.]

[The parasite is pleased at the indulgence.]

[However, the energy consumed by the parasite is insufficient for evolution. As it once consumed the Blood Leopard’s Heart, the energy from a middle grade down gem has proven unsatisfactory to the parasite.]

[In order to evolve the parasite, a higher quality down gem must be provided.]

It was as expected. Kim Jin-Woo hadn’t expected the parasite to evolve with just one middle-grade down gem in the first place. He started to feed the parasite with one down gem after another from his pile, not changing his expression one bit.

[The parasite has consumed the middle-grade down gem.]

[The parasite has extracted all the energy stored within the middle-grade down gem. As a result, the down gem has reverted to an ordinary stone.]

[The parasite is pleased at the indulgence.]

[In order to evolve the parasite, a higher quality down gem must be provided. The parasite is not yet satisfied.]

One by one, the down gems started being depleted. All the middle-grade down gems were exhausted and Kim Jin-Woo had moved on to feeding it high-grade down gems, but the parasite still seemed unsatisfied, leading Kim Jin-Woo to wonder when it would ever evolve.

“Sure is one greedy bugger.” Kim Jin-Woo let out a bitter laugh as he talked to himself.

By now, even the high-grade down gems were completely exhausted, and he was left with only the highest-grade down gems and the summoning stones. By now, the sheer amount of down gems used to boost the overall strength of the 9th Floor was unfathomable.

The military funding and spoils of war received from Anatolius had already run out, so the Naga’s Fortress was not as prosperous as it had once been in terms of its stockpile of resources.

Kim Jin-Woo contemplated whether to use the highest-grade down gems or the summoning stones, before grabbing the latter.

[The parasite has consumed the summoning stone.]

[The parasite has extracted all the energy stored within the summoning stone. As a result, the summoning stone has reverted to an ordinary stone.]

[The parasite is very pleased at its first taste of a summoning stone.]

[Small visible changes can be noticed on the parasite.]

[It will not be long before the parasite evolves.]

It almost felt like taking a huge gamble. Kim Jin-Woo realized that his feelings toward the sheer amount he had invested into the parasite already was probably no different from those of a desperate gambler. And it didn’t help that the messages he was seeing seemed to be nudging him towards increasing his investments.

With a lot weighing on his mind, he looked at his left hand, only to find the back of it itching for some reason. Taking it as a sign, he decided to feed the parasite all the remaining summoning stones.

And once the parasite consumed the last summoning stone, large changes started to appear on its body.

[The parasite has consumed the summoning stone.]

[The parasite has extracted all the energy stored within the summoning stone. As a result, the summoning stone has reverted to an ordinary stone.]

[The parasite is pleased at the indulgence.]

[The parasite has consumed energy that exceeds what its body can withstand. In order to receive all the energy for its growth, it has now entered a metamorphosis.]

[Until the parasite’s metamorphosis is complete, you are unable to utilize the parasite’s abilities ‘Guidance’ and ‘Devil’s Sight’.]

[The ‘Camouflage’ ability, which is the basis of the ‘Stealth’ ability, is temporarily disabled. The ‘Stealth’ ability is also disabled.]

Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t be more pleased at the timing of the messages. If the parasite had still refused to evolve despite such heavy investment, he would have had no choice but to start using the precious highest grade down gems.

He wasn’t too wary about the cost of the investment in and of itself; rather, he was worried about the circumstances the Fortress was in due to its war preparations. Thus, he couldn’t help but cheer at this development.

“Master?”

“Finally! The parasite has started to evolve!” Kim Jin-Woo punched the air triumphantly as Dominique looked on with a puzzled expression.

***

“Thank you, my King.” The Naga Worker Valicius stood in front of Kim Jin-Woo with a tearful expression.

“This is to reward you for all the hard work you’ve done so far.” As promised, Kim Jin-Woo wanted to reward Valicius.

Having proven his loyalty by creating the 300-odd Army of the Dead, Valicius was no longer the King of the Dead of the past that had tried to backstab him time and time again. Despite having been forced into loyalty by being made to take over a Naga Worker’s body, Valicius was now completely one with the Naga’s Fortress. Thus, Kim Jin-Woo decided to reward him with a new host body.

The new body was in fact a filthy Naga corpse. Despite its limbs being severed and its body being half-burnt, Valicius still seemed rather satisfied. That was because despite how it looked, the body belonged to an Advanced Naga Sorcerer that had  been killed in an explosion caused by one of their reckless experiments.

Of course, it was nothing in comparison to his former body fitting of a king, but it was undoubtedly better than that of a Naga Worker, which severely prohibited the usage of any spells due to its limitations.

Valicius even started showering Kim Jin-Woo with endless words of gratitude for the reward, but Kim Jin-Woo cut him off. “Cut the crap and take over the body. I’ve kept it in the chiller to try and preserve its integrity, but its condition still isn’t the best, so time is of the essence.”

“As you wish!” Valicius quickly got on all fours and consumed the down gem he was holding in his hand.

It seemed he needed help from the down gem to transfer into another body, probably due to the limitations of the Naga Worker’s body. Instead of being pessimistic about his wretched situation, Valicius was excited by the prospect of a new body.

“Mm…”

Shortly after, Valicius’s body went limp, and the corpse of the Advanced Naga Sorcerer that lay beside him stood right up.

Was it a success? Kim Jin-Woo squinted as he thought to himself. The Advanced Naga Sorcerer’s body looked at Valicius’ old body for a moment before starting to cheer.

Looks like it was, Kim Jin-Woo thought. Of course it was. If it had been a failure, then the Advanced Naga Sorcerer’s body would have continued to stay dead on the ground.

[The Advanced Naga Sorcerer (Ordinary)’s body has evolved into Advanced Naga Sorcerer (Hero-Grade).]

[The Advanced Naga Sorcerer’s body has received Valicius’ spirit and has transformed into a new entity.]

[The Advanced Naga Sorcerer has become a ‘Necromancer’.]

[The Advanced Naga Sorcerer is just sufficient for Valicius to utilize his abilities.]

[He is able to use the Necromancer’s ‘Spirit Magic’ skills.]

[He is able to use the Necromancer’s ‘Summoning’ skills.]

[He is able to use the Necromancer’s ‘Necromancy’ skills.]

[He has maintained his ability to use the Necromancer’s ‘Create Dead’ skills.]

From being the King of the Dead, Valicius had become a Naga Worker, then a Mortician, and finally a Necromancer. He was beyond joyful that he had finally regained some of his identity.

“My utmost, complete loyalty to the King!” Valicius finally stopped his celebration as he belatedly got on his knees and bowed deeply to show his loyalty.

But Kim Jin-Woo, knowing that Valicius would never be sincerely loyal to him as long as he remained trapped in a Naga’s body in one form or another, paid no attention to it and waved a hand dismissively. “Focus your efforts on creating a better, stronger army for you to lead. I have plenty of corpses for you to research on.”

Having wiped the 9th Floor clean, Kim Jin-Woo promised an endless supply of corpses for Valicius.

“I will ensure that even Death itself will kneel before the might of Milord!” Valicius, already excited at the thought of being able to create an even bigger and stronger army, excitedly proclaimed as he rushed back into his research.

“Urgh. I’m a little worried since he took over the body of a Naga Sorcerer, after all. I just hope he won’t end up as crazy as they are right now,” Kim Jin-Woo said anxiously after seeing Valicius’ strangely lightened demeanor.

Dominique just shook her head in response. She too wasn’t certain that Valicius wouldn’t follow the same route into madness that the other Naga Sorcerers were taking.

After all, the body provided to Valicius belonged to one of the troublesome Naga Sorcerers who had led the insane research into the synthesis of Labyrinth Cores and summoning stones, so who knew what would happen to him?

As Kim Jin-Woo was hurriedly wrapping up the matter with Valicius, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand.

[The parasite’s evolution is complete.]