[Blessing of the Blue Spirit]

[Rank: ???]

[Proficiency: 18.2%]

[Description: To show his gratitude, the Abyss Turtle is providing one of his subordinates, the Blue Spirit. Because the Blue Spirit was born as a thought, it doesn’t have an identity yet despite having the ability to support multiple roles. Once it develops an identity, it can learn multiple skills and properties can be learned. Its growth depends on its owner.]

[**This is a superior skill. Only those acknowledged by the Abyss Turtle can use it, and it grows according to skill proficiency.

**It doesn’t have an identity, yet. Set an identity so that it can grow.

**The deeper your understanding of spirit magic grows, the faster the spirit’s growth will be.]

Yeon-woo had been using the effects of the spirit, but he hadn’t ever managed to summon it. Now that the quest was over, he thought he would be able to use the spirit now, but it was different from what he’d been expecting.

Spirits grow in wastelands, and most of them are difficult to handle. However, since there are many levels all the way to the highest, King, it’s fun to grow them.

There were famous spirits like the fire spirit, Kasa, and the wind spirit Silf. Although they were weak on their own, with identities, they could grow. Kasa was a Salamander, and Salamanders could become Salists. However, the Blue Spirit didn’t have an identity or even an element. It was up to Yeon-woo to decide the direction its growth would take.

It meant that the spirit had more potential than ordinary ones, but there were also more chances to mess up. ‘I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.’ Yeon-woo smiled wryly at the blue shape floating over his hand. He had no clue how to grow it.

It had the ability to ensure that the powers of the Legendary Beasts didn’t clash, so it wasn’t weak, but he was already busy with the Seventy-Two Bian, Heaven Bracket, and the Yin word. ‘It would be nice to grow it properly, but I don’t have enough time to spend on it.’ He was planning on studying magic and spirit magic at some point, but it wasn’t a priority. ‘Is that the only option?’

Yeon-woo suddenly thought of something. ‘What about giving it an identity?’ What if he led the spirit to grow on its own? He would have to give it an outstanding character and sense of identity. Fortunately, he had a lot of options—there were over a thousand souls in the Soul Collection, and some of them were high rankers. ‘Like Hepburn and Sol Luna.’

But Yeon-woo shook his head. Hepburn was Urd’s Apostle. It would be a shame to waste the soul of a Superior species, but her loyalty to Urd was too strong, and she’d only end up being a bother.

Sol Luna was skilled with the sword and a vampire. ‘But she’s too sly.’ She wasn’t the kind of person he wanted near him. There was only one soul left. ‘Rebecca is the best option.’ The only downside was that she had a lot of pride and wouldn’t be interested in serving anyone.

Also, he didn’t actually have her soul. ‘That’s technically not a problem since there’s a way around that, but I don’t want to become enemies with Cernunnos.’ He could try to put Rebecca in the spirit, but he was sure that would anger Cernunnos.

Yeon-woo considered whether it was worth it to be at odds with a god. ‘I’m already enemies with Urd, and I have a strange relationship with the goddesses Nemesis and Nike. If I’m going to be involved with the gods anyway…I guess it’s worth a try.’

Yeon-woo organized his thoughts and summoned Boo. Boo bowed his head as soon as he saw Yeon-woo. He already knew what Yeon-woo was up to. Although it was dangerous, he didn’t try to convince Yeon-woo otherwise.

“Let’s begin.”

「Yes…Master…」

Yeon-woo opened Intrenian and pulled out Rebecca’s body. Boo raised the black bead and murmured some incomprehensible words, and Rebecca’s body glowed with a mysterious black light.

[Cernunnos is furious as he realizes what you are trying to do.]

[The demons are looking at you with glee. One of the demons announces something about you.]

[The support of the demons has increased. They are cheering for you.]

[Evil element has increased by 15 points.]

[Evil element has increased by 20 points.]

[Your inclination is currently 70% evil and has been changed from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Evil’.]

[You may receive benefits and penalties due to your new inclination. Be aware.]

....

Rebecca’s body quickly regained its form, her skin and bones knitting together and veins and muscles connecting. Her pale face turned rosy, and she looked like someone who was only sleeping.

Yeon-woo felt the air around him grow heavier with murderous intent. It was probably from Cernunnos. However, the gods couldn’t descend from the ninety-eighth floor anyway, and since he’d already made them angry, Yeon-woo was determined to go all the way. He could make it up to Cernunnos later.

Yeon-woo changed the souls in his collection into black energy and gave it to Rebecca. Her body shook as she absorbed the black energy as though she would wake at any moment.

「Wake…up.」 At Boo’s command, the corpse looked as though it were moving, but it was actually an apparition of Rebecca produced from the black energy.

「Where…am I?」 At first, Rebecca could only sit blankly, but after a short while, she began looking around in a more focused way.

“This is the outer section of the Tower.”

「Cain? What—what do you mean?」 Rebecca looked confused. The last thing she remembered was the Monkey King’s palace, and now she was somewhere strange without the constraints of the twentieth floor, and the aftereffects of dying were still clouding her mind. 「Where are Kahn and Victoria? The Monkey King? And…!」 Rebecca suddenly stopped and glared at Yeon-woo coldly. 「You! You did something to me.」

Her memories were returning as her mind grew clearer. She was sure that she’d died and likely returned to Cernunnos. So why was she here? She had several guesses, but the energy of death around her made her face grow pale once more.

Yeon-woo silently nodded. “It’s what you think it is.”

「You’re crazy! How could you think of waking my Baek...?」

It was possible to split a person’s soul in two pieces called Hon and Baek. The Hon was the actual soul that went to the beyond and reincarnated. Baek was the vestige of the person, just like the vestige of the Monkey King. Usually, it scattered away when a body began to rot, but Yeon-woo had tied the Baek into Rebecca and woken it up. It was all thanks to Boo’s superior skill, Soul Summon.

[Soul Summon]

[Rank: BBB+]

[Proficiency: 21.5%]

[Description: Corpses and souls can be summoned from the beyond. Sometimes, it can be used to create the undead.]

[You have learned how to extract the Baek (Vestige) from a dead body.]

[Congratulations! You have learned a new way to control death. With this, your range of power increases.]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 5,000 karma.]

[You have acquired an additional 3,000 karma.]

[Bind the Baek (Vestige) to you in order to receive additional rewards.]

Yeon-woo’s eyes glittered with eagerness as he read the messages. ‘An Apostle is really one-of-a-kind. Baek usually can’t retain their consciousness, but Rebecca still has a clear mind.’

「What…what are you planning on doing with me?」

“I want to borrow your strength.”

「Are you serious?」 Rebecca glared at Yeon-woo with narrowed eyes. It was very rude to wake up the vestige of someone who was returning to a god. Although Cernunnos already had her soul, her soul wouldn’t want to be incomplete.

However, Yeon-woo acted as though there wasn’t a problem. “Is something wrong?”

「What?」

“I’m offering you a contract. Isn’t it better than dying completely? If you have some regrets, I’ll help you with them. In return, you can help me with what I need.”

「This isn’t actually living…!」

“But don’t you have all your emotions and memories? What’s the difference between you and someone who’s alive. Think of it as being resurrected. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Rebecca clenched her teeth. He wasn’t wrong. Her sense of self as Rebecca was still intact even though her soul was gone. Also, what he said about regrets struck a chord with her. Everyone had regrets.

She had managed to become an Apostle after training and thinking that she’d left her regrets behind, but they were still bound to her like chains. A monster had eaten up her family when she was still a child, and she didn’t even remember what happened that well anymore. However, she had come so far because of her determination to meet that beast.

Everyone had ignored her because she was a girl, so she learned the sword on her own and even became an Apostle. But somewhere, she still didn’t think it was enough, and the power of the monster who had devoured her family still haunted her. Perhaps she’d exaggerated its strength because of the trauma of the memory, but she wanted more power, more strength. That was why she’d agreed to help Victoria.

She didn’t know she would end up like this—something she couldn’t even give a name to. Rebecca shut her eyes tightly. As an Apostle, she knew that she wasn’t supposed to have these thoughts. They made a mockery of the god she served and damaged her reputation. But the truth was that she wanted to grab the opportunity that Yeon-woo was offering. Rebecca couldn’t speak for a while.

“If you’re not interested, I’ll return your consciousness.” Yeon-woo had no intentions of forcing Rebecca since she’d be ruined anyway if she were trapped without her permission. However, even if she refused and even though he’d angered a god, he’d gotten something already.

He already knew how to extract vestiges, and so he could do it in the future, although he would be limited to those who had just died.

Eventually, Rebecca frowned and barked, 「You son of a bitch.」

Yeon-woo’s eyes were calm. “I know. But I have to get what I want.”

「Fine. I’ll serve under you.」

Yeon-woo’s expression changed.

「But on one condition.」

“Go ahead.”

「I want freedom of movement and free will.」

“Don’t you feel it already?” A shadow extended behind Yeon-woo, and Shanon and Hanryeong appeared.

「Hehehe, our master is definitely a son of a bitch.」

「Master, I’m fine with Rebecca, but she should show some respect.」

Yeon-woo glanced at the two behind him and asked Rebecca, “Don’t these two look like they have free will?”

「Teeth Wolf, Saber God…」

「Ohh, the Red Apostle has heard of me? What an honor.」 Shanon laughed. Because of his proficiency with the sword, even rankers knew who he was even though he was only a semi-ranker.

Rebecca was silent after finding out that the two were already serving under Yeon-woo. Since the Saber God was already there, her reputation wouldn’t be damaged too much. It might not be that big of a deal, but she was sensitive to it. 「That’s not what I mean.」

“Then?”

「Those two stay in the shadows, right? I want to be able to roam around freely.」

Yeon-woo’s forehead wrinkled.

「Of course, I won’t be able to go far because of our connection, but still, I want to walk the world with my own feet.」

Having free will seemed to be a point of pride to her. 「I want you to make me a new body.」

“I’m not a god.”

「I don’t expect a real one. Even a homunculus is fine.」

Yeon-woo nodded. He couldn’t guarantee anything since she was expecting an outstanding physical body. ‘But I have to gain that much knowledge, anyway since I want to learn the secrets of the Philosopher’s stone and the pocket watch.’ Rebecca also knew that her request wasn’t easy, and so she didn’t set a time limit. “Understood. Instead, in the meantime, how would you like to live as a spirit?”

「Spirit?」