Following the arrow created by the [Flower Compass] made navigating the maze almost laughably easy.

What was supposed to be the defining challenge of the [Flower Labyrinth]: getting lost, backtracking endlessly, and running into dead ends, simply ceased to exist.

Karl didn't have to think. He didn't have to hesitate. He just walked.

Each turn was obvious, each path correct.

The arrow guided him forward with absolute certainty, stripping the labyrinth of its identity.

Without the maze aspect, and with the added fact that none of the monsters roaming the area could even begin to threaten him anymore, the journey felt almost peaceful.

Still, Karl didn't rush. He moved at a steady pace, staff in hand, senses alert, but his mind was already drifting elsewhere.

After everything that had happened: the [Danger Zone], the witch, the wyvern, the keys, it felt like a good moment to pause.

And so, just before moving further, Karl stopped.

"It's been a while," he muttered.

With a thought, he pulled up his status panel.

---

[ID: Oblivion]

[Class: Heir of Oblivion (Tier-2)

[Talent: Infinite Evolution (SSS)]

[Level: 45 (57,000/600,000)]

[Lives: 12,249]

[Constitution: 230 (+1,780)]

[Strength: 230 (+250)]

[Agility: 300 (+1,150)]

[Spirit: 360 (+797)]

[Free Points to Allocate: 20.]

[Current Evolution Points: 117.]

---

"Hm."

Karl scanned the panel slowly, taking in every number.

There was no doubt about it, his current stats were far beyond what he had possessed at this stage in his past life.

Not only that, but he had reached this level much faster, with far better skills and equipment waiting for him once he met their requirements.

It was almost absurd how different things were.

Without hesitation, Karl allocated all twenty of his free stat points directly into [Spirit].

There was no debate there. Spirit was the foundation of his build, and boosting it further would only widen the gap between him and everyone else.

Once that was done, his gaze shifted downward.

[Evolution Points: 117.]

Karl frowned slightly. To him, hoarding Evolution Points was pointless.

They weren't like rare consumables that needed to be saved for a perfect moment. Evolution Points existed to be used. Not spending them immediately was, in his eyes, nothing short of stupid.

Power delayed was power wasted. And right now, he had more than enough.

He opened his skill panel.

---

[Skills: Blazing Meteor (Ancient), All-Powerful Magic Barrier (Mythical), Permafrost Crystals (Mythical), Storm of Lightning (Mythical), Eclypse Beam (Mythical), Bloom Curse (Legendary), Hand of Oblivion (Mythical)]

---

Karl studied the list.

Most of his offensive skills were already at mythical rank, with [Blazing Meteor] having reached ancient. Pushing them further would certainly make him stronger, but was that necessary right now?

He tilted his head slightly.

"Hm… I think I'm strong enough, right?"

At his current level, with his current skill set, Karl was confident he could defeat any monster in the [Blooming Lands] without much trouble. Raw combat power wasn't the issue anymore.

So instead, his thoughts shifted toward something else: one skill in particular: [Hand of Oblivion].

This skill had already proven its worth many times. Extra loot. Extra rewards. Extra lives. Extra Evolution Points. The value it provided scaled infinitely as long as he kept killing stronger monsters.

Improving that skill didn't just make him stronger now—it made every future battle more profitable.

That made the decision easy.

Fwish!

A confirmation panel appeared.

[Do you wish to consume 100 Evolution Point to evolve "Hand of Oblivion"?]

"Yes."

Karl didn't hesitate.

Ding!

[You have evolved "Hand of Oblivion" (Mythical) to "Hand of Oblivion" (Ancient).]

[Current Evolution Points: 17.]

The moment the evolution completed, Karl opened the skill description.

---

[Hand of Oblivion (Ancient): Can be used on monster corpses, granting a 100% → 125% chance to obtain another loot/reward. In addition to that, if the loot is an item, there is a 25% → 40% chance to increase the rank by one.]

---

"DAMN!" Karl burst out laughing, unable to hold it in. "But wait… what does 125% even mean?"

He stared at the description, brow furrowing slightly.

A chance above one hundred percent wasn't something you saw often.

For a few seconds, Karl thought it over.

Then his eyes lit up.

"…Oh."

A grin slowly spread across his face.

'That probably means I'm guaranteed one extra loot,' he thought, 'and on top of that, there's a twenty-five percent chance to get yet another one.'

It was the explanation that made the most sense.

And if that was true…

That meant every strong monster he killed now had a real chance of dropping not one, not two, but three sets of rewards.

More items. More Evolution Points. More lives.

And on top of all that, the chance for an item's rank to increase had jumped from one in four to almost one in two.

'Amazing,' Karl thought, satisfaction clear on his face. 'Evolving this skill was definitely the right choice.'

Before moving on, another thought crossed his mind.

He hadn't actually checked how expensive it would be to evolve an ancient-rank skill further.

Curious, he checked.

Fwish!

[Do you wish to consume 250 Evolution Point to evolve "Hand of Oblivion"?]

"…Damn."

Karl whistled quietly.

Two hundred and fifty Evolution Points was no small amount. That was an absurd cost by any standard.

But even so, he didn't dismiss the idea.

'It's possible,' he thought. 'As long as I keep fighting bosses and zones like this… I can get there.'

Satisfied, Karl closed the panels and resumed walking, still following the arrow from the [Flower Compass].

The maze continued to bend and twist around him, but it no longer mattered. Every turn was correct. Every path led forward.

And after roughly twenty minutes of steady movement—

Ding!

[You have entered the "Final Labyrinth Clearing".]

The notification had barely finished appearing when—

SLASH!

A sharp, violent sound cut through the air.

Karl's eyes widened as he instinctively twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding a massive blade that sliced through the space where his head had been a moment earlier.

"Holly hell."

The blade slammed into the ground behind him, sending petals, dirt, and energy scattering in all directions.

If his reaction time had been even a fraction slower, that could have been bad. Very bad.

Of course, with over twenty thousand HP, it probably wouldn't have killed him outright. But the thought alone was enough to make his focus sharpen instantly.

Karl straightened and looked forward.

That was when he saw it.

A gigantic figure stood in the center of the clearing, towering over everything around it.

---

[Flower Behemoth (Level 50)]

[Rank: Legendary (Zone Boss)]

[HP: 2,800,000]

---

Karl's gaze slowly traveled up its massive form.

The [Flower Behemoth] was enormous—easily five meters tall. Its body was composed of thick, twisted plant matter, layered with hardened petals and vines. Multiple gaping mouths were embedded across its torso, each one opening and closing as if breathing.

Its head bloomed into a massive crimson flower, petals spread wide like a crown of blades.

In its hands, it held a colossal flower-shaped sword, the same one that had nearly taken Karl's head off moments ago.

Even standing still, it radiated danger.

'About as strong as the [Gardener],' Karl assessed calmly.

Unlike the [Gardener], though, this thing didn't roam the maze. It stayed here, guarding the exit.

Still, it was a zone boss through and through.

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