Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

”...Yes,” Blank lamented, closing his eyes and letting out a long, heavy sigh. ”I had no idea it was this bad... why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

”Well, there were a lot of things I wasn’t sure about and I didn’t know the full picture yet,” she replied quietly. ”But after getting my phone back and then after reading the soul and mind of Jester, everything finally connected. I was able to put together a much clearer image of what had really happened. Sorry for keeping it from you.”

”Hm, so this is all because his body stayed here and raised a bunch of questions,” Sailor sighed, crossing his arms. ”Look, I am not someone who worries about things that are still far away from me. I’ll worry when I actually get there. And well, what are you planning to do with that body anyway?”

”Yeah,” Elayne said with a small nod. ”You’re not wrong, Sailor... we’re still here, fighting and growing stronger every day. We killed a Death Apostle, and a very strong one at that. A Player who could endlessly revive and could even control the element of Chaos itself.”

”It’s a big win, and a serious blow to the Demon King’s forces,” Blank smiled with a firm nod. ”His defeat brought me plenty of levels as well, something I haven’t experienced in years. Growing stronger... I haven’t done that in a long time. My power reached such a high ceiling that I simply stayed stagnant for the majority of the time.”

”You’re so strong and yet you still needed help to defeat a mutated Hollow?” Mark asked, raising an eyebrow. ”Were you strong enough that you could have killed Jester on your own too?”

”...I am,” Blank answered with a confident look in his eyes. ”My power has remained dormant for a long time. I am only slowly letting it all out now. I could have killed him over and over again, but his powers... I don’t think I would have been able to overcome every single one of his tricks. In a pure one-on-one fight I would have eventually lost.”

”Hmm... Hmph,” Mark nodded slowly. ”I guess you aren’t that strong then.”

”Tsk! I said I am!” Blank roared, his voice rising with sudden fury. ”I did not need Elayne’s help either. I could have slain that Hollow on my own. I could have destroyed every Hollow in the area if I wanted to!”

”Well, actions speak louder than words,” Mark said while crossing his arms tightly. ”I cannot trust you with Elayne’s safety if I don’t really know whether you’re actually as strong as you claim. The only thing I’ve seen is you being slow at taking down foes, which makes it feel like you’re not as powerful as you say you are... It honestly feels like you’re a fraud to me.”

”What?!” Blank’s aura surged outward in a sharp wave of pressure. ”You truly want to do this right now?! You want to test me this instant?!”

”Ugh, why are you always trying to fight...” Elayne sighed, rubbing her forehead. ”Stop it. Show us your power later, in another way, Blank. Not like this, and not right now. As for Jester...”

She smiled faintly and raised one hand.

”Rise.”

RUMBLE!

The corpse on the ground rapidly began to stitch itself back together. Mycelial roots spread from all the spores she had carefully placed inside it earlier. Layer upon layer of mushroom roots started to parasitize the remains, creating a dense colony within the body. They revitalized the dead tissue, fused the broken cells together, and imbued everything with nether energy until an Undead form took shape.

Or rather, something that existed somewhere in between. The Sporeborns were a unique type of creature. Their corpse was never just an inanimate object. It was reanimated into an Undead state by the parasitic fungus spreading through every fiber, forming a living colony.

The fungus itself was also one of Elayne’s Familiars, and the Undead it created counted as a Familiar as well. On their own, however, they would possess little real power. The Undead lacked a complete soul, and the colony of fungus was simply that — a colony and nothing more.

Only when they joined together in a symbiotic relationship did they become a single powerful entity. The Undead received the nether it needed to exist, while the fungus received the mana produced by the undead body. Despite how delicate the balance between host and parasite might sound, they functioned as one complete being. There was no true barrier between the parasite and the undead, much like how a human body is composed of countless individual cells that live together to form something far greater.

Jester’s form continued to regenerate under Elayne’s careful control. His torn clothes remained in tatters, yet his body evolved through the sheer force of her immense magic power. Flesh and mycelial roots melded together into dense new muscles. Bones made of hard, dark wood regrew and filled every missing area. Fresh layers of bone, rotten flesh, and skin spread across the frame until the figure stood whole once more.

A huge mushroom cap covered the top of his head, and a thick veil of black mucus draped over his malformed face. Only half of his original mask remained attached to the undead form as it slowly rose to its full height. Everyone present stared at the gigantic figure in silence.

The small remaining fragments and particles of Jester’s soul, still fused into the leftover flesh by Elayne’s command, began to infuse the entire corpse with residual power. Eventually a new soul started to form, phantasmal in nature, just like the other Sporeborns she had created before.

Elayne did not enslave living souls. Jester’s original soul had already died, consumed by a demon — a fitting end for his wickedness. The corpse itself had been left completely soulless, yet it slowly began to generate a new soul through the gathering of phantasmal energy and the small spirits and ghosts that lingered in the thick, nether-filled air of the Netherworld.

”You will become my third named Sporeborn,” she spoke clearly. ”Your name will be Trickster.”

It was truly fascinating to watch. The science and magic behind the entire process had become something Elayne was rather proficient at weaving together in order to create these unique beings.

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