Chapter 51: An Unholy Kind of Bloom (Review Bonus)

Chapter 51. An Unholy Kind of Bloom (Review Bonus)

"Honored guests, please take your seats!"

A royal attendant’s voice rang across the viewing platforms.

The nobles began settling beneath the canopies. Servants hurried to collect empty glasses, and the guards cleared the space before the hunting ground’s gates.

Soon, only five of us remained in front of the barrier.

Me.

Garr.

Darius.

Elia.

Raven.

What a charming little reunion.

My wives, unfortunately, had to join the spectators.

Ariel was the first to step away, though she squeezed my hand before releasing it. Lily followed after making me promise, for the third time, that I wouldn’t do anything reckless.

An unreasonable demand.

I was a researcher.

Recklessness was practically an occupational qualification.

Seris gave the four heroes one last look before leaving. If looks could kill, the hunt would’ve ended before the gates opened.

Liora adjusted my collar. "Remember what you promised."

"I’ll come back."

"In one piece."

"Now you’re adding conditions."

She sighed but left anyway with Nia.

Nia started toward the viewing platform.

Three steps later, her fox ears twitched.

She stopped.

Turned.

And hurried back.

"Rey!"

"I told you not to worry about me," I reminded her.

Nia gave me the sweetest, most innocent smile imaginable. "No. I need the boxes Lily gave you earlier."

I blinked. "Huh?"

"We’ll need snacks while we’re waiting."

...

My wife had returned to me at the entrance of a potentially lethal monster hunt because she’d remembered the refreshments.

I huffed. "As expected of you."

I reached into my Dimensional Storage Ring and retrieved the boxes Lily and Ariel had packed for our journey. They appeared in my hands, stacked high enough to obscure part of my face.

Nia accepted them with obvious satisfaction. "Thank you, darling."

Then she rose onto her toes and kissed my cheek.

In front of the king.

The nobles.

My former comrades.

Everyone.

Before I could say anything, she turned and walked away, carrying the boxes with the effortless confidence of a Foxkin princess who knew the entire world would simply have to accommodate her.

Her tail swished happily.

I watched her go.

That woman.

I adored her.

Whispers rose from the viewing platforms.

A few noblewomen smiled. One elderly lord looked as though he’d just witnessed an entirely new branch of magic.

King Aldric merely chuckled.

Well, yes.

A supposedly cold, unstable Royal Magus receiving an affectionate kiss from his wife wasn’t exactly what the audience had expected.

I turned toward the barrier.

And caught Elia staring at me.

Again.

This time, her expression was different.

Hurt.

Almost heartbroken.

I scoffed under my breath.

Seriously?

She’d abandoned Rey when he was suffering, and now she looked wounded because his wife had kissed him?

I nearly laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because the sheer audacity was impressive.

"The rules are simple!"

The attendant raised his voice.

"You will have one hour to hunt as many monsters as possible!"

An official approached us carrying five identical bracelets.

Each was made from silver-colored metal, with a small recording crystal embedded in its surface.

I accepted mine.

Interesting.

A detection formation.

And... A spatial transfer mechanism.

Not bad.

"The bracelets will identify the monsters you defeat and record their tiers," the attendant continued. "The number and quality of your kills will determine your final results."

Garr looked pleased.

Naturally.

"The king will award prizes according to those results. All defeated monsters will be transported automatically for counting and harvesting."

My interest sharpened.

Monster cores.

Materials.

Excellent.

Perhaps this competition wouldn’t be a complete waste of—

"The harvested resources will then be distributed to citizens and communities in need."

...

Hah... There went my monster cores.

What a shame.

I examined the bracelet again.

So that was Aldric’s plan.

He’d taken Garr’s ridiculous proposal and turned it into a way to clear out an overcrowded hunting ground while gathering supplies for people who needed them.

Monster meat.

Hides.

Bones.

Materials that could be sold, processed, or used to support struggling settlements.

I glanced toward the king.

He was speaking quietly with one of his attendants, apparently giving further instructions about the distribution.

The man really was something.

He’d managed to turn a public attempt to expose my supposed madness into a charitable resource-gathering event.

I respected that.

Still wanted those monster cores, though.

Was that so unreasonable?

Apparently.

The gates opened.

A deep mechanical rumble rolled across the courtyard as the barrier parted.

Beyond it lay a vast stretch of uneven terrain, dense woodland, rocky slopes, and patches of grass tall enough to conceal something unpleasant.

The air smelled of damp earth.

Leaves.

And monsters.

Lots of monsters.

Garr entered first.

Darius followed.

Elia stepped through beside him, while Raven slipped inside without a sound.

I went last.

The gates closed behind us.

The barrier sealed.

And suddenly, the noise of the audience became distant.

Muffled.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Garr adjusted the strap of his sword.

Darius rested a hand near his weapon.

Elia glanced at me.

Raven stood almost motionless.

Then they all looked at me again.

Were they expecting a speech?

A complaint?

Perhaps a desperate plea for them to protect me?

Sorry, I wasn’t particularly interested in conversation.

I looked toward the trees instead.

A branch snapped.

Something grunted.

Then a massive boar emerged from the undergrowth.

Another followed.

Then a third.

I narrowed my eyes.

No.

More than three.

The bushes shifted.

Heavy hooves struck the ground.

Within seconds, an entire group of monstrous boars had surrounded us.

Their tusks curved upward like crude ivory blades. Thick bristles covered their backs, and their eyes glowed with an unpleasant reddish light.

I activated my skill.

[Abyssal Hunter’s Domain.]

The world sharpened.

Mana signatures unfolded across my vision.

I examined the nearest boar.

Then the next.

And the next.

That was interesting.

They resembled the species normally classified around D or C tier.

But these specimens?

B-tier.

Their mana cores were unusually dense, and their muscles carried signs of accelerated development.

Had the hunting ground’s long period of disuse allowed them to evolve?

Possibly. I’d have loved to examine one.

Unfortunately, the king had already claimed the corpses.

Tragic.

Darius glanced at the monsters. "These are just low-tier monsters." His smile appeared. "You can handle them alone, right, Rey?"

I understood. He wanted me to use magic. Enough of it to aggravate the curse.

Then, when I collapsed or lost control, he could point at me and announce that he’d been right all along.

What a thoughtful friend.

"No problem."

I raised one hand.

[Abyssal Water Manipulation]

Water gathered in the air.

Dark, translucent streams twisted around my fingers, carrying the dense energy of my evolved spell.

They stretched.

Sharpened.

And became lances.

Dozens of them.

I flicked my fingers.

The lances shot forward.

Several struck their targets, piercing shoulders, flanks, and thick hides.

Others missed.

One shattered against a boar’s tusk.

Another buried itself in the ground.

The monsters shrieked.

But they didn’t fall.

A few staggered.

Several continued moving.

And the largest boar lowered its head before charging straight toward us.

Garr smirked. "You’re weaker now, huh, Rey?" He drew his enormous sword. "Is the curse finally getting to you?"

I looked at him.

Coldly.

Then raised two fingers.

"Bloom."

The water lances changed.

Instantly.

Ice spread through the wounds.

Not outward in simple spikes.

The frozen mana branched.

Curled.

Unfolded.

Enormous crystalline flowers erupted from the boars’ bodies, their translucent petals expanding with brutal speed.

But the flowers weren’t blooming only on the outside.

The water lances had already pierced deep into the monsters’ flesh. Now, the mana inside them froze and expanded, forming crystalline blossoms through muscle and organs alike.

One monster froze where it stood.

Another collapsed beneath a massive ice blossom.

The charging boar managed two more steps before the flower inside its shoulder burst outward.

A sharp crack split the air.

Then another.

And another.

The flowers blooming inside the monsters expanded until their bodies could no longer contain them. Flesh split, organs ruptured, and the trapped blood burst through the wounds alongside the exploding ice.

The entire clearing erupted into a garden of ice.

A very ugly garden.

Blood sprayed across the grass and the ice.

Across my cloak.

Across Darius’s polished armor.

A crimson streak splashed over Elia’s white gown.

Garr’s enormous sword received a generous coating.

Even Raven’s hood caught a few droplets.

How considerate.

The monsters fell.

One after another.

Their bodies vanished moments later as the bracelets’ transfer formations activated, leaving shattered ice flowers scattered across the clearing.

[Evolution Progress: 37%]

The recording crystal on my wrist flashed repeatedly.

I glanced at it.

Then at my former comrades.

Nobody moved.

Darius stared at the blood on his armor.

Elia looked down at her gown.

Garr’s smirk had disappeared.

Raven’s eyes remained fixed on the frozen flowers.

The original Rey preferred clean kills.

Precise spells.

Minimal damage.

Efficient execution.

Me?

I liked experiments.

And I’d just discovered that Abyssal Water made absolutely magnificent flowers.

I brushed a fleck of ice from my sleeve.

Then met Garr’s widened eyes.

A slow, twisted smile spread across my face. "Yeah." I tilted my head. "The curse got me."