Chapter 5: Battle Against King

As I walked west, I noticed how deep I was going—it was getting darker and eerily silent.

"It's starting to get chilly in this place," I muttered while continuing straight.

The deeper I went, the darker it became. After a while, I reached a place where there was no sunlight, just pure darkness.

"What is this place...?" I asked.

[You are in the end part of the TEOD. If you go beyond this, there is only the ocean,] Aries replied.

"So... where is this SSA-rank thing?" I asked.

[The amount of magical energy in this area is far greater than in any other place. You are heading in the right direction,] she responded.

I kept walking, but suddenly, I felt something unusual.

"This place is too quiet..." I murmured.

[It seems like the sound in this area has been canceled,] Aries said.

"Ehhh??? How can someone cancel sound??" I asked.

But before I could process it, I sensed something coming toward me. I tried to dodge, but it was way too fast. In an instant, it sliced me in half. My body was separated from my root and fell to the ground.

Shock and confusion filled me.

"Ehhhh—!!!"

[Regeneration activated.]

My severed parts started to grow back, reattaching to the ground. I sighed in relief.

[If you didn't have regeneration, you would have died,] Aries remarked.

"I know... but my body should be pretty tough. What could possibly cut it like that?" I said.

I looked around seriously, but the darkness obscured everything. Suddenly, Aries spoke.

[From above.]

Quickly, I created a shadow barrier around me. Boom! A creature appeared. It had a human-like body, but its pale skin was riddled with holes, revealing its disgusting, exposed organs.

"D-Disgusting..." I muttered before activating—

"Fire Breed!"

Fireballs materialized around me, launching toward it. But the moment they reached it, the creature vanished, leaving behind faint lightning particles. I didn't hear any sound.

"So fast!! What is that thing?!" I exclaimed.

[True Appraisal: It is an Undead. Not a normal one—it's a King-rank Undead. It has Lightning Magic and seems to be using sound cancellation to erase all noise, including the sound of its lightning. It appears we made a mistake in guessing its rank. It's not SSA... It's SSSS.]

"EHHHHHHHH?!"

[Death Vines won't work on it because it's already dead.]

"That's... not good news," I muttered.

Suddenly, it appeared behind me at an insane speed, striking my barrier. It stopped momentarily but then began attacking it repeatedly at an incredible pace, cracking the shield. Then, it raised its hand, summoning a lightning strike that shattered my barrier into pieces.

I was stunned and tried to react, but before I could do anything, it slashed me multiple times. My body parts fell to the ground.

[Regeneration.]

Just in time, my body regenerated back.

Again, it slashed me to pieces.

Again, I regenerated.

Again, it cut me apart.

Again, I regenerated.

"Damn it, I don't even get a chance to do anything... Wait—!" I realized something.

As it came in for another attack, I manipulated the ground—spikes of earth shot up and impaled it from the middle.

"Heh, earth magic," I smirked.

But the Undead released a powerful lightning wave, shattering the spikes.

"Earth Wall!"

A circular stone shield formed around me. The Undead started punching it repeatedly, and soon, the wall cracked.

"Hehe, I slipped through underground," I whispered from behind.

The Undead turned to attack, but I grinned.

"Look up, Mr. Undeadddd!!!"

A massive, burning lava rock plummeted from the sky.

"Magma Smashhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

The rock crashed onto the Undead, smashing it.

"I hope that did it," I said, looking at the impact zone.

But the rock suddenly cracked and exploded, sending fragments flying toward me.

I quickly activated my shadow barrier to protect myself.

"That didn't do it either!" I said in panic.

[Use Explosion Creator,] Aries suggested.

"Oh yeah, the new skill!"

I backed up a little and launched a small seed from my flower. It landed near the Undead and—

BOOM! A massive explosion erupted, though there was still no sound.

As the smoke cleared, I saw it lying on the ground, its right arm missing.

"It got damaged!" I grinned.

I fired more seeds. The Undead tried to escape using its lightning speed, but I launched them rapidly, causing explosions everywhere. The trees, the ground, everything was getting destroyed.

[You have infinite mana growing inside you, so you can launch as many explosion seeds as you want without stopping,] Aries noted.

"Hell yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" I screamed, unleashing a barrage of explosions. Finally, one hit, sending the Undead flying back.

"Yes!!"

Two massive earth boulders rose from the ground and smashed together, trapping the Undead between them, leaving only its head visible. It struggled, releasing lightning waves, but each time the boulders cracked, I replaced them with new ones.

"Finally caught you," I smirked. "You were tough and fast, but not strong enough."

I summoned a fireball in front of me. It took the shape of a flat plate and—

Shing!

The fire slashed through the Undead's head. It fell to the ground and turned to dust. The sound in the area returned.

I exhaled deeply and screamed—

"FUCKKKKKKKKK YESSSSSSSSS!!! I DID ITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!"

The boulders collapsed, and the Undead's remaining body fell lifelessly.

I walked over and grinned.

"It feels good after killing the Undead—" Then I paused. A realization hit me.

"Uh... Aries?"

[Yes?]

"I can use Vitality Absorption on corpses, right?"

[Correct.]

"...Then… isn't an Undead technically a corpse?"

[You are correct again.]

"...So couldn't I have just used Vitality Absorption the moment I saw it?" I asked

[Wow, you're on fire today Yes, you could have.] She replied

I clenched my vines.

"You BITCHHHHHHHH!!! Then why didn't you tell me earlier?! I COULD HAVE DIED YOU KNOW!!!"

[Well, you looked excited to fight, so I didn't say anything.] She said

"EXCITED MY ASS!!" I yelled, then sighed.

I turned to the Undead's remaining body and used Vitality Absorption.

A green light enveloped it, reducing it to dust.

[New skills acquired.]

Lightning Magic

Lightning Magic Immunity

Mind Control Immunity

Sound Cancellation Magic

Death Communication

[Auto Skill Combiner activated.]

[Combining Lightning with Fire and Shadow.]

[New skills acquired.]

Dark Lightning

Red Lightning

"Eh? Death Communication?" I asked.

[Not very useful—you can just talk with the dead,] Aries replied.

"Ohhh, I see," I nodded.

[Notice: You have met the requirements for evolution. Would you like to proceed?]

"Finally!!"

"Okay, do it!"

[Notice: There are two evolution forms.]

"Ehhh forms???" I asked

[1. Caton Form (A 20-foot flower with spikes)

2. Flitz Form (A normal-sized flower that grows fruits)]

"Well, I don't wanna be a big ass 20 foot flower so I'll go with Flitz thing," I decided.

[Evolution process started. Estimated time: 5 days.]

The earth formed a protective shell around me.

[Sleeping mode activated.]

I closed my eyes and drifted into dreams...

In my dreams, I saw myself—my old self—sitting in the chair of my office, working endlessly. At that time, I didn't care about my appearance or how others saw me. I was just wasting my life…

When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by darkness. Slowly, I sat up and noticed something different. I was slightly taller, my stem was greener, and my flower head was blooming more beautifully.

"Oh, I remember now! I was still in the dark side of TEOD… and…" I paused, realization hitting me.

"I EVOLVED!!" I shouted in excitement.

"Well then let's see what new skills i have gained hehehe"

[Evolution Successful]

[Evolved from Baby Flower to Flitz Flower]

[New Skills Acquired]

Instant Regeneration

Fruit Creation

Cotton Art

Wind Magic

Wind Magic Immunity

Weapon Creation

Bond Blessings

Weather Control

Spy Eye

Investigation Zone

Teleportation Magic

Appraisal Protection

True Owner

"Woooohhh! Let's see what these new skills do!" I said eagerly.

"Aries can you explain the skills I don't know about"

After that Aries speaks

[Fruit Creation: You can create fruit that tastes according to your will. As long as you have mana, you can create an infinite amount of fruit.]

"Wait, I can make infinite food?! That's insane!"

[Cotton Art: You can create clothes or other cotton-based items by imagining them in your mind.]

"OH! I can make clothes!! Tho I can't wear them cause I'm a flower"

[Weapon Creation: You can create weapons from your roots. These weapons are extremely tough and can be enhanced with any magic you know.]

[Bond Blessings: A special skill exclusive to Veromu flowers. You can bless someone with your soul, granting them a blessing that increases their magical power and strength.]

"Ohhh, kinda like Gods Blessing or Devine Blessings!"

[Weather Control: You can change the weather anywhere, anytime, according to your will.]

[Spy Eye: Allows you to see through walls and other obstacles. You can zoom up to 50 meters.]

[Investigation Zone: You can scan a 500-meter area, detecting anything through magical energy, souls, or temperature. You can also teleport anywhere within this zone using your teleportation magic.]

[Appraisal Protection: Prevents others from using appraisal on you.]

[True Owner: All of your abilities and powers are directly connected to your existence. They cannot be copied, sealed, stolen, or canceled—no matter what or who it is. If someone wants to destroy your abilities, they have to destroy you completely.]

I blinked in shock.

"Ehh-"

[With this, you can go to dungeon.] Aries said.

"Ohhh yeah! The final boss of this land!" I said

[Uhh… you can say that] She replied

"Then what are we waiting for?! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed, dashing forward toward my next battle