"Die, vermin!" the witch screamed as her own crimson beam exploded outward.

The two beams collided mid-air.

The impact caused a massive explosion, sending shockwaves through the chamber and pushing everyone back several steps.

Stone cracked. Dust filled the air.

Karl dug his feet into the ground and held his staff steady.

One second passed. Then another.

Slowly, unmistakably, Karl's beam began pushing forward.

The witch's eyes widened. After another second, her beam was completely overwhelmed.

"H-How…?" she gasped. "This is…"

BOOOOOM!

Karl's beam slammed into both the witch and the wyvern, striking them for three full seconds.

-100,000! -100,000! -100,000!

The damage itself wasn't overwhelming, but it was more than enough to disrupt them.

And that was all Karl needed.

He immediately followed up with another barrage of spells, chaining them together without hesitation, dealing even more damage while they were staggered.

The wyvern roared in pain, its movements growing sluggish and uncoordinated.

"Argh!" the witch screamed furiously. "This useless toy—just ATTACK HIM!"

The wyvern obeyed. It lunged forward again, claws slashing rapidly in a desperate assault.

But with [Slowness] still active, its movements were noticeably slower. Karl dodged with ease.

The witch fired several spells of her own, but either Karl's barrier absorbed them or he avoided them entirely.

Then—

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning!

Boom!

The final spells struck true.

The wyvern let out one last roar as its HP dropped to zero. Its massive body collapsed, crumbling onto the stone floor.

The chamber fell silent. Only the [Blooming Witch] remained.

"Haha…" the [Blooming Witch] laughed softly as her final toy collapsed onto the ground, lifeless. The massive body of the [Danger Wyvern] lay broken and unmoving, leaving only her standing in the ruined chamber. "Not expected."

Karl didn't reply.

He simply raised his staff and pointed it straight at her.

The witch still had a large amount of health remaining, but Karl knew better than anyone that it didn't matter. He had already dealt the vast majority of it. One more proper barrage, just like the ones before, and she would fall exactly like the wyvern did.

There was no tension left in the air. Only inevitability.

"I suppose I should have known," the witch said as she slowly shook her head, her tone oddly calm. She pointed her staff forward, mirroring Karl's stance. "After the sheer amount of damage you dealt… I never truly stood a chance, did I?"

Karl stayed silent.

He looked into her eyes for a brief moment. He couldn't deny it, she was beautiful. Her features were sharp, her expression confident even now, her presence almost enchanting.

But it didn't matter. This was a fight. And it was already over.

"Do you have the [Key of the Witch]?" Karl asked plainly. "I need it."

At those words, the witch's pupils dilated. Then she laughed.

"Haha… I see," she said, her grin widening as realization dawned on her. "You're trying to challenge the [Death Flower], aren't you?"

"Perhaps."

"Idiotic." She shook her head again, amusement dancing in her eyes as she pointed her staff forward once more. "You won't be able to win."

"We'll see about that."

Karl didn't waste another second.

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning!

The two spells were cast instantly. The witch didn't even bother raising a barrier.

The meteor crashed down first, followed immediately by the deafening thunder of lightning ripping through the chamber.

-458,800! -275,280!

Her body was thrown backward as the spells tore through her remaining health.

"Too… many… things… are… beyond… you…" the witch muttered weakly as her voice faded.

Her body crumbled to the ground, motionless. Karl rolled his eyes slightly.

'Why's she being so dramatic?' he thought. 'She'll revive anyway.'

That was the annoying thing about NPCs, and players as well.

Both sides knew the other could revive as long as they still had lives. Killing someone didn't always mean much. Most of the time, it just delayed things.

But even so, there was still meaning behind it. Principle mattered.

And more importantly… taking lives mattered.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Danger Wyvern (Level 50 Legendary-Rank Unique Boss)"]

[You have killed "Blooming Witch (Level 50 Legendary-Rank Zone Boss")]

[You have gained 1,170,000 experience points!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 44 + Level 45!]

[You have gained 10 points in all attributes, and 10 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 76 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 1,479 Lives!]

---

Karl exhaled slowly as he read through the notifications.

Because the [Lives Loss Rate] inside the [Danger Zone] was set to 1,000, the [Blooming Witch] had suffered the same punishment upon death. That alone granted him a massive amount of lives.

On top of that, he had leveled up twice in a single fight and gained an enormous amount of Evolution Points.

It was an absurd haul. But he wasn't done yet.

Hand of Oblivion!

Karl lifted his staff.

Two spectral hands emerged from it, pale and translucent, radiating eerie power as they drifted toward the two corpses lying before him.

One of the hands plunged into the body of the [Danger Wyvern].

Ding!

[You have gained 29 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 398 Lives!]

"Perfect."

Karl nodded in satisfaction.

In a single battle, he had gained over 100 Evolution Points and nearly 2,000 lives. It was, without a doubt, the most profitable fight he had experienced in this new life.

Then he looked toward the second [Hand of Oblivion].

It hovered in front of the [Blooming Witch]'s corpse.

Normally, the hand would claw into the body without hesitation.

But this time… it stopped. It hovered there for several seconds. Then it faded away.

Ding!

["Hand of Oblivion" can only be used on monster corpses.]

"Oh."

Karl immediately opened the skill description again.

---

[Hand of Oblivion (Mythical): Can be used on monster corpses, granting a 100% chance to obtain another loot or reward. If the loot is an item, there is a 25% chance to increase its rank by one.]

---

From the start, it clearly stated that it only worked on monsters.

NPCs and players were excluded. Still… Karl wasn't disappointed.

Because he had another skill. One he had never tested before.

Bloom Curse!

---

[Bloom Curse (Legendary): Use on a player or NPC's corpse within five seconds of death to curse them with the "Flower".]

[The "Flower" will grow on their body and absorb their lives for 30 seconds at a rate of 1 life per second.]

[The flower has 500 HP. If it is destroyed before blooming, the user gains nothing.]

---

Karl rarely had the chance to use this skill. Most of the enemies he encountered were monsters.

He could have used it back in the [Moon Tower] against the Moon Sect members… but he didn't have the skill at the time. The [God of Oblivion] had only granted it to him after his second advancement task.

That meant something important. The [Blooming Witch] was the first NPC he could ever use it on.

Karl acted immediately. Less than five seconds had passed.

He pointed his staff at her corpse and activated the skill.

Ding!

[The "Bloom Curse" has been planted on the "Blooming Witch's" corpse.]

A thin vine emerged from her body, forming a small, unopened flower bud.

[Bloom Curse Flower: 500 HP]

At this stage, even a single hit would destroy it, leaving Karl with nothing.

But there was no one else here. No enemies. No players. Only silence.

Karl waited.

The flower slowly absorbed energy from the witch's corpse. The bud trembled slightly as it fed, gradually beginning to bloom.

'Beautiful,' Karl thought. 'But creepy.'

The idea that it stole lives was unsettling… even for him.

Thirty lives wasn't much at all to Karl at this point. It was practically nothing.

But if the skill could be evolved… perhaps it would become overpowered.

At a rate of one life per second, the flower continued absorbing energy.

After thirty seconds, the bud fully bloomed, revealing a crimson flower.

Ding!

[Your "Bloom Curse" has taken 30 Lives from the "Blooming Witch".]

"Nice."

It wasn't much, but at least it worked.

[Lives: 12,189]

His lives continued to grow steadily.

Satisfied, Karl finally turned his attention toward the loot scattered across the chamber.

But before he could take a single step—

Ding!

A notification rang out. Not just for him. For every player in the world.

---

[Congratulations to player "Oblivion" for being the first player in the world to conquer the "Danger Zone" of the "Flower Labyrinth"!]

[You have gained 20 Prestige Points!]

---

"What the fuck?"

"Alright, Oblivion HAS to be a transmigrator!"

"Stop reading so many novels, there's no such thing."

"I mean, the world turned to shit, anything is possible."

Discussions filled the air, and even those at the very top of [Gods Ascension] now paid close attention to Oblivion.

They kept seeing that name, and the fact that he had reached the [Flower Labyrinth] and completed a challenge even they hadn't seen meant a lot.

He was simply getting strong WAY too fast.

"Phew."

Just like that, Karl was officially the first to defeat the [Blooming Witch] and thus conquer the [Danger Zone].

"I guess I'll check the items now."

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