light pours forth from the spirit stone.

Thump, thump—the chaotic stone studded with stars comes to life.

The glow transforms into light, flowing out.

Colorful rays spill from the stone, and with a strange pulse, the heat radiating from it rises as if alive.

"This is my second time using it... it feels just like giving life to the stone..."

It's as though I'm pouring life itself into the stone, and the spirit energy drawn from my body is far beyond ordinary spirit magic.

The intense, overflowing light gathers, swelling denser and denser.

I let go of the stone.

Instantly, the stone begins forming a green-colored figure, solidifying into the shape of a single monster.

"…………"

The Mantis Zombie stands quietly there.

The flickering of rising spiritual energy—was it due to the effect of the spell?

When I dispelled Darkness Fog, the Mantis slowly walked toward the Lizardman.

The Lizardman immediately assumed a combat stance.

For some reason, the Mantis Zombie seemed to recognize it as an enemy. The tactic of pretending to be allies among monsters—like stabbing them in the back—clearly wouldn’t work here.

At that instant, the two monsters began close combat—

"Shadow Bind!"

Trapped by shadowy tendrils, the Lizardman was swiftly overwhelmed by the Mantis's rapid strikes, collapsing in an instant and transforming into a spirit stone.

Though the outcome was surprisingly quick, I was slightly surprised. Still, the Mantis possesses greater individual combat strength than Refreia. So, this result was to be expected.

Conversely, if the combination of Mantiss and me can't achieve such results, then it would be impossible to descend to the fourth layer with Reflair. Simple as that.

「…………」

The battle was over, yet the Mantiss zombie remained there.

Unlike during the previous "Homura Shishin" encounter, when it disappeared instantly, this time it stayed—perhaps because my spirit magic has grown stronger, or maybe due to the dungeon's unique environment enhancing the spell.

Either way, it's a reliable ally.

I picked up the short blade and the Lizardman's spirit stone, then used Dark Sense to scan the surroundings.

"There's a giant club ahead. Let's go."

「…………」

Mantiss is incredibly silent, but it seems capable of understanding intent, following me without a word.

And despite having done no training at all, our coordination was flawless, allowing us to easily defeat even giants like the Giant Club.

"Hmm, maybe it's because they're undead I created?"

Probably, we were able to communicate without speaking.

In a battle where situations change from moment to moment, that was a significant advantage.

We went on to defeat several more Lizardmen and Giant Clubs, but it seemed that aside from those two, no other monsters were lingering near the entrance.

The remaining monsters that would appear on this level were four in total: "Sahagin," "Mantis," "Lamia," and "Scylla." I'd wanted to fight a Sahagin, but they're half-fish and might be hiding underwater.

Besides, I was afraid of running into a Scylla too deep inside.

Scylla is a monster of the fourth and strongest layer.

I couldn't possibly beat her even if I stood on my head.

"Well... I've already pushed myself to the limit, though."

I mutter to myself, but the mantis zombie won't respond. A loyal warrior created solely for my sake. While dark attribute is honestly quite bland, I've once again confirmed that the eighth technique is truly exceptional.

The mantis zombie disappeared during the sixth battle against a monster.

It's been about an hour, give or take. As a single Chaos Spirit Stone's worth of support, it was definitely quite useful. So it's no surprise the eighth technique was hidden for a reason.

Incidentally, one Chaos Stone dropped from the lizardman I defeated alongside the mantis, meaning I could summon that one if needed.

The ability to summon a proper warrior—indeed, one I can afford to sacrifice!—its value is immeasurable.

It's getting cold... Now I understand what Refreia meant. It's not just the temperature—apparently, the spray from the waterfall is soaking my clothes."

Even though I've only explored near the entrance on the fourth layer, my clothes are completely drenched, and combined with the low temperature, my body is already quite cold.

Also, since I've relied entirely on the mantis zombie for combat, I haven't been moving much myself.

If this continues, I might catch a cold. Falling ill during the viewership race would be no joke.

Well, I do have some resistance to illness, and if needed, I can always exchange potions. Still, I should probably change clothes.

I use Dark Sense to confirm there are no monsters nearby, then change into my spare outfit.

Perhaps that's why Reflair said a spirit mage of fire or water was essential—this area must be the reason. I can't possibly change clothes every time I get slightly wet, so I suppose they'd use fire or water spirit magic to dry off.

I don't know if such magic actually exists for fire or water, though.

Checking the status board, it had been only about an hour and a half since arriving on the fourth floor.

I'd like to keep hunting for another four hours or so.

"Hunting alone is fine, but to get used to the fourth floor, I think I'll use Create Undead once more."

Taking out the Lizardman's "Chaos Spirit Stone."

"Create Undead!"

A sparkling, chaotic light envelops the Lizardman, reviving him.

A warrior with imposing muscles. It's strange he's equipped with a sword and shield, but perhaps that's just how monsters are.

"Well then, since undeads have a time limit, let's keep moving forward quickly."

The lizardman zombie shouldn't be able to manifest for long.

It's convenient for short-term battles, but unreliable for escort duties, like moving across the field. The chaotic spirit stone rarely appears, but from monsters that are strong and "mixed" like lizardmen or mantises, it does appear at a decent rate.

I advanced deeper, combining Dark Sense with my movements.

"It's a lizardman... two of them... no, three. This looks serious."

Two might be twice as strong, but not necessarily.

Usually, it'd be several times more troublesome.

With three of them, the chances of being overwhelmed and losing increased

significantly. Even ogres and trolls had a two-unit limit, so the idea of three lizardmen appearing at once was unthinkable

... (Well, one I’ll take down myself, another will be defeated by the undead lizardman, and maybe the last one will be

dealt with by chance.) That’s how I planned

it. No, it wasn’t really a strategy—more like a desperate, hit-or-miss approach. "Darkness Fog...!" There was no option to run

. I might have avoided it alone, but there

was the undead lizardman with me. Fleeing now

would make using the Chaos Spirit Stone pointless. I moved forward into the darkness, accompanied by the lizardmen.

Just like with the Mantle Undead before, strangely enough, the undead I created seemed to see ahead even in the darkness. They followed me closely, as if connected by some kind of spiritual link. A warrior visible in the dark would be

nearly invincible, but maybe it's just that they're staying near me. Fighting in the dark would be too reckless. I should've tested with weaker monsters first. "Only one is slightly apart—let's target that one." Even

though it's only about ten meters away, that distance makes a big difference

. The echoing sound of the waterfall inside the cave masks our footsteps and

breathing. The fourth layer is generally dim, and near the waterfall, there's a strange light source making it as bright as the first layer, but in the side tunnels, it's just as dark as the second layer.

In other words, my Darkness Fog can conceal my form almost perfectly.

From here on, even the slightest misjudgment is unacceptable.

The opponent is superior. I must maximize the advantage of the first strike and launch my attack immediately.

"Summon Night Bug"

— as soon as I generate the bug, I charge the three Lizardmen, plunging all three into the Darkness Fog. Since Lizardmen can't withstand darkness, this at least buys me a few seconds.

"Shadow Bind!"

— as I pull one of them from the shadows, I bind it instantly.

Without hesitation, the undead immediately severs the core of its life force.

(One!)

Binding can't be used while its effect is active, but if the target dies, that changes everything—immediately, it can be reused. Approaching the lizardmen without binding is frankly terrifying.

However, now the situation is even: two against two.

The two lizardmen are swinging their swords at the knight bug, making it dangerous to get close.

I further manipulated the darkness, pulling one of them out from the shadows nearby.

Immediately, combat began between the undead and the lizardman.

Even though they are both lizardmen, they quickly recognize each other as distinctly foreign "enemies"—just how does that work? Do they sense each other through stench?

"Shadow Bind"

At the instant the attack motion begins, tentacles burst forth from the darkness, wrapping around the lizardman’s limbs.

No matter how powerful a monster may be, as long as it has a weakness, a single moment of opening will result in a fatal blow.

The second one fell instantly from an undead's thrust, dropping a spirit stone.

"I'll handle the last one myself."

I kept the undead on standby and observed the lizardman stealthily in the darkness.

It still hasn't grasped the situation, continuing to attack the buzzing nightbug erratically.

Its sword speed is sharp—taking a direct hit would split me in two.

In this floor, I'm a human who dies in one strike if hit.

But if I strike its weakness, I can take it down in one hit too.

There's no reason I can't do it. Risk level-wise, it's no different from any other monster.

It makes no difference whether I take a hit from an ogre, a troll, or a crab—I’d still die instantly.

"Shade Shift. Phantom Warrior"

Shade Shift is only a minor comfort, but I’ll use it anyway.

I manipulate the darkness so that only the Phantom Warrior is visible, and quietly circumvent my opponent to circle behind.

The lizardman stops swinging his sword, having halted his movements to prepare for battle against the phantom warrior.

I silently approach from behind and use Shadow Bind to strip the lizardman of his freedom.

Then, at the base of the neck—the core of his spirit energy—I drive the dagger with all my strength.

Quietly. Without revealing my presence. In silence, everything is completed.

The lizardman also silently transformed into a spirit stone, falling to the ground with a soft thud.

"...This is the Chaos Spirit Stone. We've recovered what was lost, then."

While speaking calmly, my heart pounded like a drum.

The binding curse is not absolute. There's always the risk of being freed and struck in one blow. I wondered if the lizardman realized it, or whether it was truly immobilized by the binding.

There's only one way to know—either I defeat my opponent... or else I pay the price myself.

From the three lizardmen, I obtained one Chaos Spirit Stone and two Water Spirit Stones.

Since this is the waterfall stage on the fourth floor, perhaps water spirit stones are more commonly dropped by monsters here.

After that, I didn't get too involved, continuing the battle solo while occasionally summoning a Lizardman using Create Undead.

Slimes, Giant Claws, Lizardmen, Sahagins.

Since I could reliably defeat a Lizardman one-on-one by coordinating timing, it was more than enough for scouting the new floor.

The Sahagin is a half-fish humanoid that bursts out from underwater, but once you know they're there thanks to Dark Sense, they're easy to handle. They're about as strong as a Hobgoblin, though they carry a trident, which might make them slightly troublesome.

After a series of intense battles, I couldn't even care how I appeared to others, but viewership had grown significantly.

Maybe it was actually a good idea that I took the Lizardman's attack at the very beginning.

Of course, it wouldn't make sense to die, so avoiding death is a given, but there's no room for slack.

Yet, the viewership momentarily reached first place.

Overall, it still hasn't secured first place, and the remaining days are few. Something else is needed to act as a catalyst.

Should I fight Scylla?

Or should I sneak through the darkness and break through the fourth layer, descending into the fifth?

Or is there another way?

There's no longer time to ponder—

【 Shadow Spirit Art 】

Second Rank Technique

・Void of Darkness 【Shade Shift】 Mastery Level 12

・Coffin of Darkness 【Shadow Bind】 Mastery Level 93

・Call of Darkness 【Summon Nightbug】 Mastery Level 77

Third Rank Technique

・Sight of Darkness 【Dark Sense】 Mastery Level 8

・Darkening [Phantom Warrior] Mastery Level 14

・Dark Absorption [Shadow Storage] Mastery Level 6

Fourth Rank Technique

・Dark Manifestation [Darkness Fog] Mastery Level 92

Special Technique

・Dark Return [Create Undead] Mastery Level 4

[Full Transmigration Viewer Rate Race Midway Progress]

Transmigrant Number 1000 Kurose Hikaru

○ Instantaneous Viewers 1 / 714

○ Total Viewing Time 4 / 714