"Are you the one who wants to become my master?"
Who is this…?
"Ah, I am the core of the Parasitic Sword Puppeteer of Guts and Machination ."
The one who spoke like this was an entity that could only be described as a monster. One might even call it an aggregation of darkness, with eye and mouth parts scattered in the darkness.
"I see, the core of the Parasitic sword. Where is this place?"
The surrounding scenery was also strange.
In the darkness, flickering flames were scattered about. Was this such a sight?
"This is your deep inner world, I suppose."
My interpretation of it being in my mind is probably not far off.
Well, the exact location doesn't matter much.
More importantly…
"I have a request. I want you to lend me your power."
I am currently powerless.
I'll acquire the power no matter whose power it is.
"Alright."
It was surprisingly easy.
"Is it really okay for you to agree so easily?"
"That's a strange response. You were the one who brought it up, right?"
"Well, that's true."
I couldn't help but be suspicious because I had expected to be rejected.
"No, you see, there's a familiar scent coming from your soul. So I thought it would be okay for me to follow you."
"A familiar scent…"
Even though I've been resetting my deaths, I've been taken over by the Parasitic sword multiple times. Maybe that's what it meant by a familiar scent.
"Anyway, please take care of me, my master."
With those words, my consciousness awakened.
When I opened my eyes, there was the vampire Judite sitting in a chair.
"Oh, I never expected you to succeed."
Vampire Judite had wide eyes.
It seemed that she didn't expect it to work. I just followed her orders, though.
"Well, it's alright. Please come with me."
She seemed to be going somewhere.
"Um, what are we going to do?"
"I told you. If you pass the test, I'll make you my disciple. From now on, I will train you."
◆
"How many skills do you possess?"
"Just one."
In reality, I had two skills: "Provocation" and "Save & Reset," but I kept the latter hidden.
"And if I were to inquire about that skill?"
"It's 'Provocation.'"
"It's quite disappointing."
"I'm aware of it."
"Well then, would you like to acquire another skill from now on?"
"Huh? Can you do something like that?"
"Oh, do you not know who I am?"
"You are the great vampire Judite."
"That's true, but I've been living in this dungeon for nearly a thousand years. So I know everything about this dungeon."
She said this as she pointed to her head.
"Of course, I know the locations of all the treasure chests where skills can be obtained."