Fenrir: omgomgomgomg what is that little cutie???
ㄴ Fenrir: AAAAAH!! I want one too!! I want a kid like that too!!
ㄴ Fenrir: necromancers are so freaking lucky… I'm the only one without a pet…
ㄴ Fenrir: what's its name????
ㄴ Anon(91F)(OP): named it Sword Wolf.
ㄴ Fenrir: post 30 more pics of Sword Wolf RIGHT NOW! it's a crime if you don't!! aaah I wanna pet that fur!!!
ㄴ Anon(641F): yikes.
ㄴ Anon(297F): this one needs to be neutered immediately.
ㄴ Anon(431F): so impure…
ㄴ Anon(188F): ugh, disgusting.
The wolf-race regular was going completely feral.
ㄴ Anon(643F): hey if you're the same species can't you at least give the newbie some useful info?
ㄴ Fenrir: oh right! let me tell you what wolves like!
The regular excitedly started typing out a wall of text.
*
I read the whole thing.
But.
"This is no different from a regular dog…"
As a dog person myself, I already knew everything they'd written.
Whatever happened to explaining a wolf's wild instincts.
And it wasn't even particularly useful information.
ㄴ Anon(91F)(OP): is there any way to make it stronger?
ㄴ Anon(436F): yeah give us something actually useful instead of this endless nonsense…
ㄴ Fenrir: hmm… but that might be tough. not sure if Sword Wolf can even do mana cultivation.
ㄴ Anon(397F): what do you even know.
ㄴ Anon(687F): thought you were finally gonna be helpful for once but nope, completely useless lmaooooooo
That's when it happened.
A comment from the Floor-702 Necromancer appeared.
ㄴ Anon(702F): like that's gonna work…that thing isn't a wolf, it's an undead summon, what do you mean mana cultivation;;;
Anon(702F): and this furball is pulling this crap on newbies now too. back in the day giving out photos wasn't the deal… nearly threw up when they were begging for side dishes with that.
ㄴ Anon(465F): wait that was actually what it was for?
ㄴ Fenrir: whimper…whine
ㄴ Anon(702F): shut your mouth please!
ㄴ Anon(456F): let's not with the insults.
ㄴ Anon(598F): isn't "mouth" fine since it's a beast though?
ㄴ Anon(702F): and that's not even the point right now!!!
ㄴ Anon(266F): ? what is it then
Seemed like there was something important to say.
Anon(702F): okay so elevator-floor mob corpses disappear in under a minute right. but you're saying you pulled off the Spirit Blood Tea Rite in that window?????? newbie is this actually true???
ㄴ Anon(534F): isn't that how you made your summons too?
ㄴ Anon(702F): nope I recycled summons I already had;; the first time I used the Spirit Blood Tea Rite on elevator-floor mobs was like 10 years later.
ㄴ Anon(246F): the talent gap is genuinely sad lmaooo
ㄴ Anon(463F): probably harder since it was a floor-600 mob lol
ㄴ Anon(702F): nope…once it's already a corpse it's the same.
ㄴ Anon(235F): defense failed lol
ㄴ Anon(436F): so they started from the same place and one of them took 10 years lmao
ㄴ Anon(702F): what the newbie did makes NO SENSE!!!! how does someone on day TWO of the Spirit Blood Tea Rite knock one out before an elevator-floor mob disappears!!
This was a familiar routine by now.
Going on about how what I'd accomplished was no ordinary feat.
But it seemed like that wasn't all.
One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: My, my… Floor-702. I don't think that's actually the surprising part.
ㄴ Anon(702F): Pardon?
One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: It looks like there's something built into the summon. Newbie, that thing around the child's neck… how exactly did you do that? ^^
I answered, still a bit dazed.
ㄴ Anon(91F)(OP): I used Blood Command to clump the fur and blood together and made it into reins. controlling it directly like that is way easier.
The moment that reply went up.
One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: Oh my… goodness… truly, truly remarkable, newbie…! To come up with an application like that on your own…
Right on the heels of my teacher's admiration, Floor-702 started foaming at the mouth again.
ㄴ Anon(702F): wait you used Blood Marionette Control?!!!
ㄴ Anon(643F): god you're loud lmaooooooo
ㄴ Anon(312F): what the hell.
ㄴ Anon(702F): it's a method of directly operating summons by linking the caster's mana and blood…think of it as the starting point of advanced summon control
Blood Marionette Control.
I'd never heard the term before, but I had a feel for what the technique was.
It seemed to be a method for controlling summons with extremely fine precision.
Apparently my use of it had resulted in exceptionally high synchronization.
Come to think of it, it had felt like moving my own body.
But hearing the word 'summons'—plural—gave me a slight chill.
"You can control… multiple summons simultaneously…"
That sounded like it could blow my head apart.
I was already struggling to manage just one.
Floor-702 looked different to me now.
All that fuss about my talent being frightening—but at that floor count, they were a monster in their own right.
Not someone to underestimate.
ㄴ Anon(702F): WHY does this one do everything on day 2!!!
ㄴ Anon(431F): everyone except you knows why.
ㄴ Anon(188F): lmaooooo
Floor-702 fumed and called out to the necromancer regular.
ㄴ Anon(702F): Teacher, doesn't this mean the newbie can use Spirit Blood Enhancement too?
One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: That's right. With the mana control and Blood Command proficiency the newbie has right now, attempting Spirit Blood Enhancement should be entirely within reach. ^^
Enhancement, huh.
ㄴ Anon(91F)(OP): what's Spirit Blood Enhancement?
ㄴ One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: Exactly what it sounds like—a technique that makes your summons stronger. By extracting spirit blood from another creature and merging it with or feeding it to your summon, they can absorb a portion of that creature's stats. ^^
ㄴ Anon(348F): but if you knew you could extract spirit blood this fast, shouldn't you have been doing it way earlier?
ㄴ Anon(702F): like we knew that was even possible…and anyway the efficiency drops the more you enhance. at some point it might be better to just swap them out.
Extract blood from other monsters, turn it into spirit blood, and feed it to the Blood Knight and Sword Wolf.
Like the growth-type earring, it meant I could develop my summons too.
And if all I needed to do was produce the spirit blood, there was no need to go through the agonizing three-stage process.
"Let's go, you two."
I closed the hologram panel and got to my feet.
Crreeeak—
[Floor 93 Dark Golem: Defeated]
[Floor 94 Dark Skeleton Knight: Defeated]
[Floor 95 Hell Hound: Defeated]
Floors 93, 94, and 95 were nothing short of a clean sweep.
The monsters were noticeably beefier, sure, but my formation held firm.
Some monsters got cleaved in two by the Blood Knight before Death Mark even hit 4 stacks, and the ones that managed to hold out for 39 seconds against the Blood Knight's assault crumpled the moment the 4th stack landed.
As I cleared each floor, I took the stat points earned and gradually put them all into Intelligence.
That shaved just over a second off Death Mark's cooldown.
The returns diminished with each point, but Death Mark's cooldown had come down to 12 seconds.
"Blood Drain."
From the monsters that had bodily fluids, I extracted spirit blood.
"This is basically a factory."
I fed the spirit blood floating in the air to the Blood Knight and Sword Wolf in turn.
The Blood Knight absorbed it through the cross-section of his severed neck, while Sword Wolf had it shoved into his maw to drink.
Sword Wolf went wild with excitement, and the Blood Knight, overcome with gratitude, dropped to one knee as if he didn't know what else to do.
After that, I opened the door to floor 96.
Crreeeak—
[Defender: Griffin Corrupted by Darkness (96F)]
SCREEEEEE—!
A black griffin spread its wings wide and let out a piercing shriek.
A single beat of those wings sent the air inside the chamber surging.
I could feel it instinctively. This one was no ordinary creature.
Flash—!
[—]
One stack the moment I laid eyes on it.
"A flying-type monster… of course it had to be the most annoying kind."
Airborne enemies exploit every blind spot while Death Mark's cooldown ticks down.
And because they move in three dimensions, it was tricky for the Blood Knight—anchored to the ground—to provide proper defense.
"Blood Knight, front! Sword Wolf, break to the flank!"
I yanked hard on Sword Wolf's reins.
BOOM—!
The Blood Knight crushed the marble floor beneath him and launched upward.
Based on all my data so far, flying-type monsters had weak defense.
If the Blood Knight's attack connected, it wouldn't be able to take it.
WHOOSH—!
The griffin shot upward at an abnormal speed.
The Blood Knight's greatsword carved through empty air, missing completely.
Then it folded its wings and dove straight down at the airborne Blood Knight.
SWOOOM—!
"Blood Knight, block it!"
The Blood Knight twisted his body mid-air and brought the flat of his greatsword up to meet the griffin's beak.
CRAAACK—! CLANG!!!
The Blood Knight's greatsword snapped in two.
"…!"
He dropped and landed on the floor.
'Ah…'
The Blood Knight was completely unharmed, but the sword was gone.
I'd made a mistake.
What SSS-Rank Gear Chaser had said when appraising that sword came back to me.
— 'It's just an iron ore sword with slightly higher purity than usual.'
There was a reason it broke.
It was a bad sword to begin with, so I had no attachment to it—but the Blood Knight being disarmed right now was a problem.
"Blood Knight! Fall back! Create some distance for now!"
I pulled the Blood Knight back and, riding on Sword Wolf's back, kept my eyes locked on the griffin.
[— —]
2 stacks.
The griffin pulled up before even touching the ground, beat its wings, and shot back into the air.
Its maneuverability as it circled at an unreachable height was on par with Sword Wolf's speed.
That was a moment to be impressed by Sword Wolf. No wings on this side.
I kept retreating, counting silently in my head.
10, 11…
12.
Flash—!
[— — —]
3 stacks.
The griffin folded its wings again and came screaming down in a dive.
"Right…!"
Grrrrr!
Following my command, Sword Wolf kicked off the wall and leaped diagonally.
The griffin's talons grazed the spot where we'd just been and slammed into the marble.
Flash—!
[— — —]
The moment 3 stacks landed.
The griffin shot back into the sky.
'Still 10 seconds until the next stack…'
Judging by the speed of its circling, the next dive would come before that.
'Should I use Slash…?'
My grip tightened on the scythe.
Using the ribbon's teleportation to drive *Sentence of Death – Slash* into it would make this easy.
But…
'This isn't floor 100 yet.'
Floor 96 was too early.
The scythe had to be kept as an absolute last resort, no exceptions.
That's when it happened.
SHREEEEEE—!
The griffin launched into another ferocious dive.
Its gaze and trajectory were aimed at the Blood Knight in the distance.
'The Blood Knight doesn't even have a weapon…!'
I was about to wheel Sword Wolf around to help—
WHOOSH—!
The griffin snapped its wings open mid-air and wrenched its trajectory a full 90 degrees.
A feint.
We were the real target.
"Sword Wolf! Dodge!!"
I screamed and yanked the reins like mad.
But the griffin's charge was too fast.
We were caught in the middle of a counter-movement.
"Black Shift!"
WOOM—!
Black mist bloomed, and I blinked 10 meters back through space.
I managed to dodge the griffin's attack that way.
But…
…Sword Wolf took the hit dead-on.
SLASH—!
YELP—!!
Sword Wolf screamed as it landed and rolled across the floor.
"Ngh…"
Thirteen!
I triggered Death Mark immediately.
Flash—!
[— — — —]
4 stacks landed.
But the griffin didn't die.
"It's tanking 4 stacks—?!"
Floor 96. A different weight class entirely.
The griffin landed with ease and beat its wings again.
'One more. I have to hold out 12 seconds.'
The moment the griffin raised its beak toward me again—
BOOM—!
The Blood Knight, who'd been standing far off, dropped the handle of his broken greatsword and grabbed the griffin's scruff with his bare hands, locking on like a vice.
SCREEEEEE—!
The griffin thrashed in a panic.
The Blood Knight refused to let go.
5 seconds… 6 seconds…
The griffin beat its wings and tried to launch itself into the air with the Blood Knight hanging from it.
10 seconds… 11 seconds…
"Hold on!"
12 seconds!
FLASH—!
The final stroke completed, and dark crimson characters finished forming across the griffin's chest.
[⬛]
Thud—!
The griffin's heartbeat rang out loud—and then it simply collapsed.
[Floor 96 Griffin Corrupted by Darkness: Defeated]
[Promotion Reward: 9,500G acquired!]
[Level Up! 96Lv → 97Lv]
[3 Stat Points acquired!]
I hurried over to Sword Wolf, who had fallen to the floor.
"Sword Wolf…"
The condition was bad.
There was a serious wound on the torso.
The back was already dissolving into a pool of blood.
I'd never treated injuries at this level before.
"…"
I turned my head.
At the end of my gaze lay the griffin's corpse, sprawled where it had just fought to the death.
Flight capability. Overwhelming speed. Enough vitality to tank 4 stacks of Death Mark.
With an 11-floor gap between them, it was a monster with a clear stat advantage over Sword Wolf.
"Should I swap…"
With only 2nd circle, I could only maintain two summons anyway.
If I dropped Sword Wolf and took the griffin instead, the remaining journey to floor 100 would be far smoother.
I could even feed it Sword Wolf's spirit blood.
So if I was thinking about efficiency, swapping was the right call.
The time left before the corpse disappeared was a matter of seconds.
"…"
I quietly rose to my feet.
I started walking toward the griffin…
And stopped dead.
"Should I give it a shot…?"