Karl stepped closer to the corpses of the [Danger Wyvern] and the [Blooming Witch], his gaze sweeping over the chamber as several items lay scattered across the cracked floor.

The fight was over, the danger gone, but the lingering energy of the battle still hung in the air.

He didn't rush. Loot mattered. Especially loot like this.

Karl crouched near the wyvern's massive body first. Even in death, it was imposing, its crimson scales dull yet still radiating a faint pressure. Two items lay near its claws, both glowing with a clear legendary light.

He checked the first one.

---

[Wyvern Claw Dagger (Legendary): +10,000 Strength, +3,000 Agility, Attacking Speed +80%. Requirement: Level 50.]

[Wyvern Slash (Active): Slash your dagger forward, and summon several claws that will strike your opponent.]

---

Karl blinked once. Then twice.

"…That's insane."

The raw stats alone were absurd. Ten thousand strength on a single weapon, paired with agility and attack speed that would let any close-range fighter turn into a monster. And on top of that, it came with its own active skill.

Even though Karl didn't use daggers himself, he immediately understood how valuable this was. In the hands of a high-level rogue or warrior, this dagger would be devastating. It was the kind of weapon that could decide battles instantly.

He stored it without hesitation.

Then he moved to the second item.

---

[Danger Wyvern Scales Robe (Legendary): +6,000 Spirit, +3,500 Constitution, +3,000 Agility. Requirement: Level 50.]

---

"DAMN."

Karl didn't bother hiding his reaction this time.

The moment he saw the stats, his heart skipped a beat. Six thousand spirit. Just from a single piece of equipment.

That was absurd.

Spirit was the core of his strength. Every point directly translated into spell damage, and overall magical output. With this robe equipped, Karl was certain he'd be able to crush level 50 monsters without even trying.

Even level 60 monsters would struggle against him.

The robe didn't even sacrifice survivability either. Constitution and agility were stacked on top of the spirit bonus, making it a perfectly balanced piece of gear.

For a mage, this was a dream item. Unfortunately, reality caught up quickly.

'Requirement: Level 50.'

Karl sighed quietly.

"It'll take some time."

Still, he wasn't impatient. He knew he'd reach that level eventually. And when he did, this robe would become one of the pillars of his strength.

In due time, he'd be strong enough to crush anything standing in his way.

He carefully stored the robe in his inventory, making sure not to forget it.

Then Karl turned his attention to the [Blooming Witch].

Her body lay where it had fallen, her staff shattered nearby, the crimson flower from [Bloom Curse] still faintly glowing on her chest. Three items rested beside her, each one shining with promise.

He checked the first.

---

[Blooming Witch Hat (Legendary): +3,000 Spirit, +1,000 Constitution, +500 Agility. Requirement: Level 50.]

---

"Oh."

Karl stared at it for a moment longer than he expected.

He was currently wearing the [Moon Crown] he had obtained from the [Moon Skeleton King]. It had served him well. But compared to this…

There was no comparison. This hat was infinitely better.

Three thousand spirit alone was massive. Combined with his other equipment, equipping this would push his spirit bonus to nearly ten thousand.

'That means…' Karl grinned. 'That means I'd be dealing millions of damage instantly.'

Some players would call that overpowered. Karl didn't care. That was exactly what he wanted.

Power wasn't something to shy away from. In a world like [Gods Ascension], power decided everything. If he had the chance to become overwhelmingly strong, then he would take it without hesitation.

And now that he had that hat too, he wasn't even sure if Level 60 monsters could even get close to him.

Being able to deal millions of damage at once would mean he could pretty much one shot any normal monster.

And as for the bosses, even if they survived the first few barrage of spells, Karl's cooldowns weren't high at all.

Which meant... that soon enough, he'd be able to dominate.

"I need to be able to equip that thing before the attempting the [Flower Challenge]," Karl thought, "Also, I think I'll be strong enough to speak to the [Floral King] now."

The [Floral King] usually killed all of those speaking about the "Death" flower or doing things that annoyed him.

But with his current strength... what could the king even do to Karl?

Once again, the level requirement stopped him from equipping it right away, but that didn't diminish its value.

He stored it. Then he moved on to the second item, as it didn't seem to be an equipment piece that he could wear.

And so as he crouched to look at it... Karl's eyes widened.

"…A skill book?"

---

[Skill Book: Vine Cataclysm (Epic): Mage-type skill book. Requirement: Level 50.]

---

"Nice," Karl's eyes lit up slightly.

A mage-type skill book was always valuable, but coming from a zone boss like the [Blooming Witch], it was guaranteed to be strong. Even if it was only epic-rank, it could easily synergize with his current build, especially considering how much spirit he would have later.

Unfortunately, just like everything else, the requirement was too high.

It was expected to be honest, since both the [Danger Wyvern] and [Blooming Witch] were Level 50 monsters.

Karl shook his head with a faint chuckle and placed the book into his inventory.

"Soon enough."

Overall, he was more than satisfied. Equipment, weapons, a skill book—this run had already paid off tremendously.

Then he moved to the third and final item.

And the moment he saw it, his expression sharpened.

---

[Key of the Witch: Can be used to unlock one of the seals of the "Death" flower.]

---

"As I thought."

Karl exhaled slowly.

The [Blooming Witch] really did possess one of the keys.

This was confirmation.

The key required to unlock the gate at the base of the [Death] flower wasn't something random. It was guarded. Hidden. Locked behind content that most players couldn't even reach, let alone clear.

And since nobody else could find or conquer the [Danger Zone], it made sense why no one had accessed it yet.

Karl turned the key over in his hand, inspecting it carefully.

'Is this linked to the [Gods Continent] though?' he wondered. 'Maybe.'

He couldn't be sure.

But whether it was directly connected or not didn't matter right now. His curiosity alone was enough reason to continue. The system mentioned something about a [Flower Challenge], and that was the only concrete lead he had.

And Karl wasn't the type to ignore a lead like that.

He believed that every major region had something tied to the [Gods Continent].

The [Moon Plains] had the [Crystal Key], which he already possessed.

And the [Blooming Lands]…

He didn't know yet.

But he would.

Karl stored the [Key of the Witch] carefully in his inventory, making sure to remember everything he needed to check once he reached level 50.

Only then did he notice something else.

A crimson portal had appeared in the center of the chamber, slowly spinning, its surface rippling like liquid glass.

'I guess that's my way out.'

Karl didn't hesitate.

He walked toward the portal without fear, but just before stepping through, he glanced back one last time.

The witch's body remained on the ground, unmoving. The crimson flower from the [Bloom Curse] was still there, faintly glowing.

Unlike players, NPCs didn't revive instantly.

Sometimes it took an hour.

Sometimes an entire day.

'[Bloom Curse],' Karl thought as he stepped into the portal. 'Will it really be useful in the future?'

As the skill evolved, the number of lives it could absorb would increase.

And at its peak…

Would it be able to steal hundreds of thousands of lives?

Or even kill instantly?

Karl didn't know.

But if he kept moving forward like this, he would eventually find out.

Fwoosh!Ding!

In an instant, Karl was pulled through the portal.

The world shifted, and he emerged in front of the wall that concealed the secret zone. The same wall. Untouched. As if nothing had ever happened behind it.

Karl turned around.

The wall remained perfectly intact.

He didn't bother breaking it again.

There was no reason to ever return.

Everything he needed from the [Danger Zone] was already his.

Now, he had only two goals left.

The first was to reach the end of the [Flower Labyrinth] and defeat its boss.

And the second… The [Key of the Maze].

Now that he had the [Key of the Witch], he only needed to find the location of one more key. Once he did, he could gather them all and challenge the [Death] flower itself.

"Well," Karl said quietly, "I guess I should move, then."

He pulled the [Flower Compass] from his inventory and held it firmly.

"Show me the exit of the [Flower Labyrinth]."

Immediately, a clear arrow formed in his mind, pointing forward.

Karl followed it without hesitation.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.