Varian was bombarded by a near endless torrent of emotions and thoughts that weren't his.
The violent attacks intertwined to form a much more dangerous attack than what was individually possible.
"N-No!"
Varian jolted awake and looked at the chaotic surroundings with a tense heart.
Maria was fighting the beasts and he was also fighti—
"Huh?"
'Varian' was fighting instinctually against the hordes of beasts.
'I am in my soul form again?' The glittery silver form with sparks of gold said he was right.
The spiritual attacks stopped aiming for his body and directly reached his soul. Without the protection of a physical body, Varian was much more vulnerable.
The attacks, individually appearing like golden, blue, black, and white threads quickly mixed together and formed a net.
"I can see where this is going…"
Varian wanted to leave but the net was faster than he anticipated and trapped him like a beast. The net of concentrated spiritual power flared and drowned him in its torrent of attacks.
'I'm royally fucked!'
Varian's soul defense was still high and the Aether Pendant on his neck was blocking any fatal injuries.
So, the attacks took on a clever and long-term approach that's likely to succeed.
The world around Varian sped up to an unimaginable pace. Then, Varian saw himself waking up as a baby.
'The empire has got a prince!'
The royal medical room, the maids, the man with a crown, and the tired noblewoman explained it all.
Varian held onto his sense of self but as he grew up and gained friends and family, the past life turned into a fading dream.
The life of an emperor in a world with no magic was unsettling but somehow, deeply satisfying. It was the pinnacle of power.
But despite his good intentions, his empire saw consecutive famines and the superstitious society revolted against him and pulled him to the guillotine.
Looking at the blade hanging over his neck, Varian closed his eyes. 'So this dream ends, huh. I wonder if I'll wake up after this…'
The blade fell and Varian found himself in a dirty street, begging for alms from the martial artists that walked by.
He was crippled—with no arms, deaf and dumb. His meridians were crushed during his childhood by a rogue martial artist and his parents abandoned him.
'Oh…parents abandoning, no, my parents would never abandon me.' Varian knew that this life was going to be tough.
Weeks went on an empty stomach. The hunger gnawed on him and nearly drove him insane. He could've picked an easy way out and killed himself.
But he decided to survive. Even if it put him through horrifying experiences, he persevered. He snatched food from the dogs, got beaten up by fellow beggars, and was almost kidnapped by a mad scientist.
Even after all these hardships, he made the choice to live.
What he didn't know was that had he chosen to commit suicide, he'd have incurred a major injury to his soul and would've risked dying or falling into an eternal spiritual slumber.
In the real world, the status screen continued to flash.
[+100 XP
<You've survived a soul attack and didn't lose yourself in the dream>]
[+100 XP
<You didn't kill yourself>]
After ten years, the 'beggar' died from the diseases and a malnourished body.
Next was the life of a failing merchant. Then came the life of a war slave with a weak body.
It went on for what seemed forever.
When Varian opened his eyes, he saw corpses of demonic beasts around him. By the time he controlled his own body, his instincts cracked open the head of the last beast.
"…Is this still the real world?" Varian sighed.
He encountered several of these 'returning to the real world' lives. They were all perfect fakes. In some of them, he died in the tower. In others, he returned to earth and was killed by unknown entities trying to protect humanity.
'Yo, System!'
[Hello, host.]
Varian's tense shoulders relaxed and he let out a relieved chuckle. "So I'm finally back, eh."
[Yes, congratulations on surviving that onslaught.]
'Not so simple, buddy.'
[Check your spirit power.]
"Hm?" Varian's eyes glowed and his focus turned to his mind.
The demonic beasts waiting for a chance noticed he was distracted and broke Maria's line of defense. The woman herself was occupied by a rank 6 beast and could only shout. "Careful!"
The beasts pressed their back legs, ready to jump at him and tear his body into pieces.
Varian's spirit power instinctively attacked them with a spiritual wave. It was much stronger than before. The beasts hesitated for a moment but decided to keep on.
That was when Varian's powers fused into Binder and pushed it one rank further.
"Halt." Varian's eyes glowed with a silvery light and the beasts found their bodies stumble and crash into the ground.
The dynamics flipped.
The 'guardians' were no longer active and looked at each other in hesitation. Of the group, Only five peak rank 5 beasts stepped forward.
[Spirit Rank 3 —> Binder Rank 4: 300/1000 [+300]
<Your soul has now bound with your body to a fundamental level. Your soul cannot inhabit other bodies. Instead, your soul powers have amplified to a great degree.
You are a master at damaging souls. Your own soul has undergone a great change and is greatly resistant to any soul attacks. Your body has also undergone a strengthening.]
Varian commended the bravery of the beasts and clenched his fists. The beasts were confident of their physical capabilities and jumped at him at once.
The Adept aura from Varian disappeared as they approached, replaced by the Binder aura.
The beasts panicked mid-air and hurried to set up protect their minds but Varian was a step faster.
He pushed his palm forward and slapped the air.
The eyes of the five beasts blanked out and like puppets that had their strings cut, the peak rank 5 beasts crashed head first into the ground, right in front of Varian's feet.
Varian could see their souls running around like headless beasts, trying to get back into their bodies.
But his own power as well as the Aether Pendant worked together to devour those unfortunate souls.
Thanks to the operation, his own soul power improved considerably.
"This is interesting." Varian's palm hovered over the beasts and a suction force enveloped them.
The bodies struggled instinctually against the danger but as the space around them froze, their chances of escape vanished.
A second later, only piles of bones were left.
Witnessing this horrifying scene, the remaining guardian beasts stepped back. Varian chuckled and turned to Maria. "Need help?"
"I doubt you could do much. This is a rank 6—"
The rank 6 beast's eyes lost focus for a brief moment as its soul was violently pushed out of its body. But it quickly merged back into its body.
However, the gap did appear.
Maria had no idea what happened but she used the chance and dealt a fatal blow. Soon, the rank 6 beast became her supplement.
"How did you do that?" Maria continued towards the Chief Tree. But was no longer walking in front of him. Even if she didn't say it outright, he could sense her vigilance.
"Do what?" Varian asked with a cheeky smile.
"Is that another treasure of yours?" Maria asked with a solemn expression. "And I thought you were an Adept, but you devoured the beasts…you're an Assimilator!"
Varian shrugged.
"What the hell, Baldur? I can't understand a thing about you."
"It's better if you don't." Varian smiled and pointed to the large tree in the distance. "The Chief Tree. You're still luring out the chief guardian, right?"
"Y-yeah, I am." Maria nodded after a moment of hesitation.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
While Maria did the heavy lifting, Varian collected the black water without any interruptions.
"It really went smoothly?"
They met up after an hour and both of them couldn't believe it.
"Someone is targetting us," Varian said, his gaze scanning the surroundings before shaking his head. "Not here. Not in a million-mile vicinity. But this is all planned."
"Of course, it is. No one gets this unlucky for three consecutive floors." Maria nodded vigorously.
Varian pursed his lips and didn't comment on her reaction. It was obvious from the 2nd time but whatever.
"Is it the skeleton guy?"
"Probably." Maria's face was ashen as she rubbed between her brows. "My mission is…supposed to be a big secret. As if you tagging along wasn't enough, I have a killer after me."
"Will they imprison you for your negligence?"
"No, but why are you smiling imagining that?"
"I'm not. But you know, prisons are good places to write poetry. The labor helps maintain your physique and the free time without any other entertainment unleashes your inner poet."
"You look experienced."
"I spent a few centuries in the prison." Varian grinned and went onto the 34th floor.
"You're lying. You're not even a century old!"
"My life experience is enough for you, your father, and your grandpa."
"You bastard!"
They headed to the 34th floor. Varian was looking forward to the shortcut out to the 60th floor once they got the final ingredient.
