Chapter 3: Germination

The Great Labyrinth of Sia Kalt.

The identity of this place, which I discovered while uncovering the Proten ore, was clearly the labyrinth mentioned in Shadow Symphony.

I had no idea that a single mineral found in the cold soil would bring such a great shock.

I knew that this was the Great Labyrinth of Sia Kalt through the information in the status window, but the problem was that I knew almost nothing about this labyrinth in the game.

As a former gamer, this ignorance made me extremely anxious.

I knew nothing about it other than that it was an ice labyrinth and that it was one of the eight great labyrinths.

The five stages I played were probably not even tutorials compared to the vast world of Shadow Symphony.

Each great labyrinth was known to have its own characteristics and rulers.

The most notorious of them were the two great labyrinths of the Demon Lords, which were directly ruled by the Demon Lord.

Fortunately, the Great Labyrinth of Sia Kalt was not one of them, but that didn’t mean I could feel safe.

‘I guess it’s fortunate that it’s not a great labyrinth ruled by the Demon Lord…’

I wouldn’t want to become the Demon Lord’s subordinate and join the red team.

In the game world that I still remember vividly, I didn’t want to become enemies with the characters I had raised with great care.

Although this wasn’t one of the two great labyrinths ruled by the Demon King, that didn’t mean it was safe.

It was clear that there would be powerful monsters swarming around.

The problem was that since I was a seed, the fact that it was an ice labyrinth was even more fatal.

‘Ah… where can I get water?

Deep in this labyrinth that I had never seen before in a game, I was now in a situation where my life depended on a single drop of water.

Ironically, in this place where all sides were ice, I couldn’t find the water I really needed.

A labyrinth where it couldn’t rain.

This was literally a labyrinth of eternal winter.

Even if someone found me and gave me water, it was impossible to expect such a miracle in a labyrinth where only the most adventurous could survive.

In the end, there was no other way than praying to God.

The name of the God of Light in Shadow Symphony was definitely Mikel, right?

I’ve never believed in God, but there must be a God in this world.

I had seen the sight of the holy magic used by the 5-star hero, Saint Seraphina, turning monsters into dust of light so many times.

‘Merciful God of Light, Mikel, please have pity on me, a worthless creature, and grant me mercy!’

I continued to pray earnestly.

The seed’s prayer, unable to even look up to the sky, simply sank heavily into the cold earth.

At first, I prayed with a respectful and devout heart, just like Saint Seraphina had done.

I didn’t have proper etiquette, but my heart was earnest.

Time passed…

Perhaps there was no distinction between day and night for the seed in the ground.

In the endless darkness, my prayer became more and more desperate.

‘Mikel… Please… Just one drop…’

Time passed again.

I couldn’t tell how many moments of consciousness had gathered together.

My prayer became a plea.

‘Mikel… Please save me… Please…’

After what felt like an eternity, when I could no longer even gauge the passage of time, my polite speech completely crumbled.

‘Mikel, give me some water!

How long are you going to let me live like this!’

Before I knew it, it was Mikel who had become the target of my anger.

It was a prayer that would have terrified a priest, but I think it was praiseworthy that I didn’t curse a god who didn’t respond to countless fervent prayers.

It felt like an eternity had passed, but the status window still said that I was 0 years old.

In the meantime, my perception skill had risen to level 6, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t gain any new skills.

“Thud!”

In the darkness that felt like an endless abyss, the ground suddenly shook violently.

“Huh? What the heck!?”

It was definitely not the sound of water falling.

It felt like something huge had fallen to the ground.

In the midst of the confusion, my perception radar saw dark red blood soaking the ground.

“Blood, blood!? I don’t know! I can’t stand it anymore!

I have to eat this!”

I felt a momentary aversion to drinking blood, but did I, who was no longer human, need to be bound by human ethics?

Survival came first.

And strangely enough, to me, who was now a seed, blood felt like just another nutrient.

Soon, the blood wrapped around my surface, and I began to naturally absorb it, feeling its hot warmth.

It wasn’t the taste of blood I remembered.

It was sticky but sweet, like warm sunlight.

‘Ah… so delicious…!

My first meal after being reincarnated as a seed was so ecstatic.

The moment I savored the taste, I felt my energy increase.

The “Hibernation” skill has disappeared.

As soon as the “Hibernation” skill disappeared, I felt myself moving.

I had no regrets about the disappearance of hibernation.

Because the germination I had longed for began.

Thin, slender stems and roots emerged through the surface.

Finally!

“I acquired the “Blood Absorption LV1” skill.

“Blood Absorption” – Grow by absorbing blood.

Even though I only had blood, I gained a proper skill.

It was only natural since I sucked blood.

Using the newly grown roots, I began to fiercely suck up this delicious blood.

The level of the “Blood Absorption LV2” skill has increased.

The level of the “Blood Absorption LV3” skill has increased.

It began to grow so quickly that I wondered if this was even possible.

As the roots grew one by one, my sense of the world expanded along with it.

My appearance growing in the cold earth felt like I was searching for light in the darkness.

Now I could truly feel that I was alive.

Before I knew it, I had four roots, and the stems were quickly growing toward the ground.

When I could sense the ground through the growth of the stems, I was able to figure out who this blood belonged to.

☆☆ Frost Drake LV77

I thought the status window that revealed the identity of that indescribable blood clot was amazing, but that wasn’t what was important.

‘Level 77!? A Drake at that!?”

Before I died, the level of the heroes I had raised with a lot of money was only around 80.

But a Drake, whose level was comparable to theirs, died so miserably.

Furthermore, a Drake was much stronger than regular monsters of the same level.

It was terrifying that there was something in this labyrinth that could dispose of such a being without a trace.

What was even more shocking was the complete silence around him.

Even though I widened my detection range to the max, I couldn’t find any traces of battle or other living creatures other than Drake’s corpse.

The surroundings were so clean, as if a giant corpse had fallen from the sky.

“What on earth… happened…?”

My doubts and fears about the secrets of the labyrinth were intertwined, but I thought that since I was a plant, there was nothing I could do.

“Since there seems to be no one around, I’ll just drink all this blood.”

As I sucked up all of Drake’s blood, my blood absorption level rose to 7.

At the same time, the stem grew just below the ground, and the roots spread out in all directions like spider webs.

But at the same time, as the warm blood that had been wrapping around my body disappeared, a sharp cold air enveloped my whole body.

“Ugh!”

For the first time, I felt the bitter cold of the ice labyrinth vividly.

The coldness that momentarily dimmed the light of life penetrated my whole body.