[Lirra's POV]
I was floating over a flower bed; half of it was rotten, and half was lively with colors, but the rotten flowers didn't stay rotten and turned into colorful flowers, and the colorful ones turned into decayed flowers.
This was not haunting to me; I always dreamed of death by rotting or some form of decay of my life. However, this was strangely comfortable, like I was in control to choose which flower would become colorful or which would decay.
I kept doing this, feeling euphoric to see something that had haunted my entire life under my control and doing my bidding.
In the next instant, I opened my eyes as the cocoon I was in completed its work. All the previous signs of rituals and clashes of different elements, and the thorns all over my body, were gone. The pain, which I carried from the time I remember anything, was replaced by strange calmness.
I also received some memories and instincts like they were always there. I instinctively knew that I had evolved into a new species, Bloomshade, and I was the progenitor of my species.
It was overwhelming, to say the least, the transformation, new knowledge, instincts, and all the details about my race. I didn't even need the system panel to know about it.
I fully came out of the cocoon; my dress has also changed. Flowers covered my body like a second skin, and all previous dirt, grime, and smell were gone, replaced by the sweet fragrance of flowers.
I sensed all the changes in my body, then I looked ahead at the man responsible for this change in me.
Emotions within me ran wild; I hurried toward him to give a hug as a thanks for breaking me out of my vicious loop. He was startled by my response.
I also distanced myself from him and lowered my head and said, "Thank you. When I signed the contract, I never thought I would be freed from my living hell this early."
I felt a warm sensation on my cheek as I wiped my tears, which automatically started flowing. He replied, "It's okay, I promised that in my contract, so that's a given. You don't have to thank me for fulfilling my promise."
"Wow, you hugged the boss. I didn't even get to touch him properly, and I have been with him for three days now. Well, what to do next, Boss? How to earn RI so we can clear the floor? Wait, will she come along with us now? Is she a player in the Tower now?" Fiona commented and then asked a flurry of questions.
"According to the system, we can form a party; that way, earning RI will be easier, but it has its obvious con, so I wanted your and our newest member's opinion before forming a team," Max answered some of Fiona's questions.
I also answered, "Yes, Tower considers me a player now. I know a few easy ways to gain a high reputation, and I will be honored to join you guys if you will have me. I am also progenitor to my new species, so I will have to think about propagating my species."
"Pump your brakes, lady; one hug and you want to settle into a kingdom with Boss to 'propagate' your species." Fiona reacted.
The word "kingdom" brought back the memories that got buried under a heap of this happiness, the one responsible for my state.
I became silent for a few seconds, then responded, "We should leave this place as quickly as possible. This king of this kingdom may come for me and, by extension, for you. I don't want to put you guys in tough situations."
"How powerful is this king of yours, and why would he come for you?" Fiona asked.
"He is rumored to be B-rank, and he is the one who experimented on me and is responsible for my state. I am sorry; I should have told you before I signed the contract, but I was only thinking of how to get rid of my pain." I answered and apologized for my selfishness.
Fiona opened her mouth to answer, but Max spoke first, "You have to stop saying 'sorry' in every third sentence; you are the progenitor of your species. Never lower yourself for anybody.
Don't worry about your king; if he comes, I will handle him. Now any suggestions for the name of our party? Apparently we can't create a guild until we reach SSS-Rank."
"Yeah, you haven't seen Boss Fight; well, even I haven't. He usually keeps his hands in pockets 99.9% of the time." Fiona voiced her thoughts.
Her words intrigued me. Is he a mage? He has a well-built body too, but I diverted my chain of thoughts to the king of the Favela kingdom, Hidayat 'The RotKing.' Also famous as the Tyrant of Favella, and here they are treating him as a joke.
I wanted to warn them about it, but Fiona spoke again, "Boss, do you want to create a guild? As for the name of the party, how about 'Invincible Party'?"
He nodded and looked at me. I swung my head in denial and said, "I don't have any idea; I just joined you guys."
I thought about warning them again, but somewhere something in me had changed. Previously I would have been terrified, but now as a progenitor and seeing their nonchalant attitude about a possible threat. I also got an inkling that maybe everything will be fine.
He also nodded at my response and said, "Our party name will be 'The Paradox Collective,' okay?"
"But Invincible Party is a simple and powerful name." Fiona objected; she looked slightly disappointed at the name.
"Well, I chose that name for a reason. Lirra here is a paradox, wielding both the life and decay elements. You also have a paradox of talent and affinity, and I don't even know what I am. Hence the name." Max explained the reasoning behind his name.
"Well, when you put it that way..." Fiona nodded.
"So, let's go clear the labyrinth of this city," Max proposed.
"But what about our Reputation Index?" I objected.
"You both can check your profile," he hinted.
I looked at my newly minted profile, and there I noticed
[Affiliation: The Paradox Collective]
[Members:]
Max, Fiona Everhart, and Lirra Bloomshade
[RI – 10000, Tier 0]
"Isn't that too much? How do we...you have so much RI?" I questioned my own sanity for a moment after looking at it.
"This has become a regular Tuesday for me; you should start by making yourself habitual of such things with Boss." Fiona commented like she expected something like this to happen.
We travelled to the outskirts of the Favella city to the Labyrinth. This labyrinth featured 10 floors. At the entrance, Max asked, "Have you ever fought?"
I responded negatively, "No."
"Okay, stay behind with Fiona and observe how she fights," he suggested. I nodded in agreement, and we entered the Labyrinth.
I was still somewhat scared inside, so I stayed close to Fiona. She probably understood and comforted me and said, "Don't worry, very few monsters will come here, and that's also if Boss allows it."
She also had spoken earlier about his fighting style, and now this. I focused my eyes on him, and I understood everything she meant.
Monsters from multiple sides tried to assault our group, but Max was walking with his hands in his pockets like he couldn't care less about the monsters around him.
Ten violet-black orbs hovered around him like they had their own mind. Whenever a monster came in the vicinity, the next second, a blade would emerge from the orbs and slice the monster in half after a step.
He walked with leisure, and monsters kept falling due to the smashing of orbs, slashes of shadow blades, and strings of shadow.
I looked at Fiona to see any surprise or any other emotions, but she was busy fighting two monsters simultaneously, which Max left. This continued until we reached the boss chamber on the 10th floor of the labyrinth.
Strangely, none of us felt any tiredness; I chalked this up to my new species but i couldn't point out the reason for their absence of fatigue. I waited to see a fight between him and the boss monster.
Unfortunately for the boss monster, as he entered, the monster stirred and lunged at him. All the orbs spread apart, and chains formed, which connected each orb.
The chains tightened around the monster, and before it could even shriek properly, multiple blades emerged from the orbs and obliterated the boss monster in an instant. It was hard to say who was the boss monster here.
One question echoed in my mind: just how powerful is Max?
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