Before the training started, Neifil said I should learn more about spirit lights. She explained that spirit lights can be categorized into three parts:

First are the spirit lights themselves; every living being is filled with them, and the more you have, the more existence you have in this world. The only exceptions are monsters.

Second is spirit mana; when you start wielding spirit lights, they turn into spirit mana, which can be used for various purposes. Although spirit mana comes from the spirit lights within your body, some geniuses can use the spirit lights from their surroundings.

Third is the substance monsters are made of: Koha. Although monsters are created via spirit lights in the surroundings, they don’t possess them once formed. It’s like the lack of spirit lights itself. Monsters can use this energy to perform feats that are impossible with only spirit mana.

Neifil said she could teach me to use spirit mana, but only my soul and the eyes she gave me possess spirit lights; the rest of my body is full of Koha.

"Hmm, this will probably hurt, but let me see what happens if I start sending spirit lights into your body," said Neifil.

"Okay, here we go," she said with a sadistic smile, clearly eager to inflict some pain. That smile made me shudder, but I knew I had to focus on my training. When Neifil started sending spirit lights into my body via contact, the Koha didn’t react. However, the moment there was more spirit mana in my body than Koha, it started ravaging me. It felt like my insides were bursting. If I had flesh, it would have started to burst open. At the same time, I felt my existence start to disappear, prompting Neifil to take some of the spirit light back.

“As expected,” Neifil said with a smirk. “Taking away the space of the Koha also takes away your existence, but I didn’t know how much you could handle. Normally, just a tiny amount of spirit light would kill a monster at your level, but here you stand as if nothing happened.”

I wouldn’t say nothing happened. I expected the training to be as hard as what my master put me through, but this felt more like torture, making me feel like a lab rat. I was furious to learn that she did this, knowing a tiny amount could kill a normal monster.

“So you did this with the possibility of it killing me?” I shouted.

“Well, you didn’t die. If you had, there would be no point in teaching you spirit mana and no way for me to escape my prison,” Neifil said nonchalantly.

I understood her logic but was curious about how I could help her escape if only I could pass the barrier. So, I asked her what the plan was.

Neifil excitedly explained that she wanted to separate her soul from her body and fuse it into my body. My soul's spirit light was much smaller than the Koha within my body. Now that my body was also full of spirit light, I didn’t understand how this plan would work without destroying me. So, I asked her how she planned to do that without ending my existence.

“In the past, I would have sent my consciousness into your soul and overtaken it, but after thousands of years, I grew bored and wanted someone to talk to. Instead, I propose a binding pact so we can trust each other. The pact is as follows: I’ll rip a tiny part of my soul so you can still handle the spirit light. After that, I transfer my consciousness into it and put it into you. Our souls will remain separate, allowing me to escape my prison inside you. All you have to do is get stronger and kill the ruler of the 100th floor,” Neifil explained.

This was easier said than done. In my time, humanity alone had only reached the 40th floor, and with the help of other races, we reached the 59th floor. But I didn’t see another way to survive without her help, so I agreed to the conditions and the binding pact. As I agreed, Neifil began looking for a spell role, chanting the spell to create the binding pact. At the last second, she added the condition that if either of us broke the pact, we’d die on the spot. She pressured me into agreeing, saying it was her last spell role and stopping now would break the spell role.

The vow was complete, and she laughed like the devil, making me feel like I got tricked again.

Neifil said that for me to learn to use my Koha, I had to manage it carefully. Using too much Koha, to the point where there’s more spirit light inside me, would kill me. So, if I used more Koha, I’d simultaneously have to expel the spirit light from my body. My training resumed; I had to use spirit light and turn it into spirit mana to strengthen my body, while Neifil provided me with spirit lights like a convenient battery. Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.

Though she said I couldn’t use my Koha at will, I didn’t know how to use it at all. So, I asked Neifil how monsters use their Koha.

With a smug smile, she replied, “I don’t know how monsters use their Koha. I just see it being used like spirit light when they use their skills. You know, I’m a spirit, not a monster. But you will figure it out somehow.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Neifil mentioned that skeletons have the ability to hide their presence completely and send signals to others. They mostly use it to communicate with other skeletons or trick their prey. The easiest thing to do was to hide my presence, a skill I learned when I was 16 while hiding from my master’s harsh training. Although he would still find me.

I hid my presence, but Neifil said I was using my spirit lights and that my presence was still noticeable. She explained that this was the difference with Koha. Though monsters use it naturally at birth, the Koha allowed skeletons to hide their presence completely. It’s like a void, which should be impossible. You can make your presence only smaller and try hiding with the environment, but with Koha, the skeleton can achieve the complete lack of presence.

But in my luck, Neifil had a plan to awaken my skills. If monsters are born using Koha instinctively, she needed to bring it out of me. So, my true training began. I had to hide from her while she searched for me. When she found me, she unleashed so much spirit light into me that it slightly overtook my Koha, leaving me at the brink of death and in unimaginable pain.

This went on for more than two days, during which I learned to use spirit lights better. I also started using my spirit mana to improve my vision and my movements in this awkward body while running away from Neifil. Suddenly, when Neifil almost detected me again, I felt a power I had never felt before. It was like grabbing onto nothing but still feeling something there. I lost a part of my Koha, making my presence disappear, but it also allowed more spirit lights inside me than Koha. This time, the difference was more than Neifil would allow, and I screamed in pain, although only with my soul since I didn’t have lungs.

Neifil noticed my screams, rushed over, and started absorbing the excess spirit light, genuinely worried about me for the first time since we met. I survived but got scolded for not using my spirit light while using Koha as she had explained previously.

I admitted that I was fascinated by the feeling of Koha and lost myself, apologizing to Neifil. I thought she was scared that her escape plan would fail, but it seemed she was genuinely worried about me, which made me feel differently about her.

After the scolding, I tried to use Koha while managing my spirit light consumption. Despite hiding my presence completely, Neifil still found me, which annoyed me.

How do you keep finding me?” I asked in frustration.

Neifil, with a smug face, explained that if she knows a presence is hiding, she ignores everything else and looks for the void where I should be.

Though I was impressed, I was still annoyed that I couldn’t win even one round.

After 30 days of harsh training, Neifil said I should at least be able to hide from monsters onwards.

While using my Koha with my other abilities, the Koha itself started forming in larger quantities, like building muscle—it grows the more you use it, though slower.

Neifil said that it is time for her escape plan and started getting ready for her part.

Neifil started separating a part of her soul that made her let out a chilling scream. I couldn’t imagine how it felt to rip apart a piece of oneself. After she succeeded, she guided it into my body, making my cold body feel slightly warmer.

Neifil transferred her consciousness into the part of her soul in my body, leaving her real body limp. I now heard Neifil inside my head.

She said she was astonished that it worked and that she didn’t die from ripping her soul apart.

I was shocked and felt she didn’t want me to hear that. When she realized I heard her, she quickly explained that there was a 90% certainty it wouldn’t kill her, though I didn’t like the 10% chance of failure. I scolded her for being so reckless.

Neifil responded that we were even for my recklessness earlier, and I couldn’t argue with that, so I let it go.

Now that Neifil, my “battery,” was inside me, I would never run out of spirit lights, and the precision of spirit use was much higher.

Now that Neifil, my “battery,” was inside me, I would never run out of spirit lights, and the precision of spirit use was much higher. Neifil said she had a present for me in her room and told me to open the treasure chest next to her bed. Inside was a slightly broken-down armor with blue accessories. Although the material was frost iron, a very sturdy metal with spirit mana infusion properties, the armor looked rugged.

“This armor belonged to my first disciple. He left it for me before the great battle against my family in which he died. I want my newest disciple to have it instead of letting it rot in a chest,” Neifil said with a touch of sadness.

I gratefully accepted the gift, happy that she trusted me with something so precious. Now, we headed to the entrance of the 98th floor, and I was a bit nervous about whether it would really succeed. But thinking about it wouldn't change anything, so I started walking through the barrier.

"We did it!" Neifil said joyfully. We had finally succeeded in breaking her out of the barrier, and the door to the 98th floor was right in front of us.

Without thinking twice, we walked through it. But the moment I did, everything turned white, and I heard a voice devoid of emotion say:

"Error: challenger cannot be categorized. Error: monster cannot be categorized. Calculating further course of action. Calculation complete. Start deleting entity progress 2%."

I felt my being slowly disappearing.

"Error: God King entity noticed. Deleting failed. Error: start process again. Error: start process again. Error."

Suddenly, the voice disappeared, and the white light was gone.

When I looked around, I was in a big grassy field. Although the sun was shining brightly, the spirit lights oozing out of it looked more like the light on the 99th floor. I was disoriented and confused by the sudden change of scenery. The grassy field seemed endless, and the air felt heavy with an unfamiliar presence. I took a moment to gather my thoughts, trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Neifil, where are we?" I asked, hoping she had some answers.

"I don't know," Neifil replied, her voice echoing inside my head. "We need to stay alert."

Suddenly, I couldn’t move. Everything came to a standstill.

“Neifil, what do I do?” I called out, but there was no response. “Are you there?” I asked again.

No answer came. Instead, a new voice spoke, deeper and more commanding than my own. A silhouette approached me, revealing a figure dressed in dark, elaborate clothing. The person had strikingly blonde hair and a face that was both masculine and feminine, blending the two in an almost ethereal way.

“Who are you?” I shouted.

“Who I am is not important,” the figure replied smoothly. “What truly matters is who you are going to become. Will you be the hero given a second chance, or will you embrace the monster within?”

Confused, I struggled to gather my thoughts. “Where is Neifil?” I demanded.

“Oh, the failed God King inside you?” the figure said with a hint of disdain. “She’s not with us at the moment, but don’t worry, you’ll be reunited soon enough.”

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Well, your situation is simply fascinating,” the figure responded, their tone almost playful. “I wanted to add a twist to make things more interesting. Your partner isn’t aware of the true challenges of the 98th Floor, and in her current state, she can only assist with your spirit light intake. But I’m giving you both a chance to start anew.”

“Why do all higher beings speak so vaguely?” I wondered to myself.

With a final farewell, the mysterious figure vanished, and I found myself in a different location. It looked similar to the dungeon, but in the distance, I saw a small city.

“What happened?” Neifil asked. “We were just in that grassy field, and now we’re here.”

I recounted the encounter, but Neifil had no clue about the figure’s identity.

“Never mind that,” I said with renewed determination. “We need to focus on our mission. Now, the real challenge begins.”