Novice Reincarnator

The Crystalline Caverns had not changed one bit from what I remembered. The overwhelmingly dark, open cavern was lit only by faintly glowing crystals. Visibility was extremely low and one never knew where a Crystalline Colossus would suddenly appear.

A flurry of notifications appeared in the corner of my vision and my viewer count started to climb as people found my broadcast. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone.

“Mute notifications. Minimize broadcast.”

The transparent windows in my vision all vanished, leaving me alone in blissful silence. The broadcast hadn’t actually stopped, but the notifications and menus from it would not appear in my vision again

“Summon Pepper.”

My contracted Will-O-The-Wisp appeared from my shadow while wrapped in a mini-Lime. There was no other way to store Pepper in my shadow when the Wisp was its own light source. The once dark room was immediately revealed by Pepper’s bright flame. I wasn’t done yet.

“Summon Skeletons.”

A horde of skeletons began to wander around the brightly lit cavern. Everyone knew that the easiest way to get past a deadly trap was to have someone else trigger it first. The skeletons I summoned fulfilled the role of scouts and death fodder.

My heart thundered in my chest and my palms were wet with sweat. There would be no going back once I encountered a Crystalline Colossus. All that would be left was a life or death battle. I would either live or I would die.

I forced myself to follow my skeletons deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Seconds ticked by while my stomach was busy forming knots. I desperately wished I had taken some stomach medicine before heading to the dungeon.

My body jolted at every large sound. Even the clacking sounds of my skeletons walking across the stony floor was enough to rattle my nerves. Please appear soon, I desperately prayed to myself. At the same time, I prayed that nothing would show up. My cowardly nature hadn’t changed since that day long ago.

A harsh grating sound like rocks scraping against each other echoed throughout the cavern. I could never forget that sound as it haunted my dreams every night. My gaze shot in every direction as I frantically searched for the source.

A sickening crunch echoed throughout the cavern as a Crystalline Colossus broke out of a cavern wall and squashed one of my skeletons.

“Spread out!”

My skeletons moved according to my commands. Those at the frontline clawed at the colossus with their hands, but it was no use. They couldn’t inflict any damage. A single swipe from the Crystalline Colossus instantly killed my frontline.

Pepper appeared behind me and placed the colossus under my shadow. I summoned some more skeletons to attack from behind, but it was waste of time. The colossus ignored them and continued to amble towards the master of the skeletons. Me. It was like I was back in my nightmares.

“No, stay back!”

A blanket of terror shrouded my mind. All of the plans I had made vanished like smoke. My breath came in ragged gasps and dread raced through my veins. No matter what I threw at it, that colossal monster was on an entirely different level from me.

I had to run away. My trembling feet were rooted to the ground. Move! Move! Move! No matter how desperately I screamed to myself, my feet wouldn’t move.

“Ah…”

The gleaming blue eyes of the crystalline monster shined with a cruel light as it wiped out the last of the skeletons between us. The colossus took another step towards me and I fell on my butt.

This scene overlapped from that day back then, igniting my trauma. I could hardly breathe. Tears blurred my vision and overwhelming helplessness dominated my mind.

I wanted to live. This monster wouldn’t permit that. I wanted to spend my life without hiding in fear. This monster wouldn’t permit that. I wanted to change my fate and dance under the bright sun. This monster wouldn’t permit that.

The Crystalline Colossus raised its fist in preparation to end my sorry life. This was the end.

Ice cold terror robbed me of my control over my body. A hot liquid leaked uncontrollably from my crotch, wetting my thighs and forming a puddle under my butt. I hadn’t felt this sensation since the day I formed a contract with Lime.

That was right. Unlike that time, I was no longer alone.

“Bones! Ruin!”

At my shout, my strongest skeleton fell from the shadows of the ceiling with a shining black blade. A truly ominous aura bellowed out from the blade as it beheld the giant underneath it.

The Crystalline Colossus was out of position to react in time. Bones, with the Giant Slaying Sword of Ruin in hand, fell onto the colossus like a meteor and struck at the colossus’ core.

A loud metallic ring filled the otherwise silent cavern. A gust of wind from the collision tousled my hair. The Crystalline Colossus froze in place. The various large crystalline rocks that made up its body began to fall.

“Pepper! Summon Lime!”

Pepper cast my shadow over the falling Colossus Core and Lime suddenly appeared directly on top of it. Before the paralyzed Colossus could react, Lime’s body swallowed the core whole. That wasn’t enough.

It was impossible for a low level slime’s absorption to damage a level 35 Crystalline Colossus’ core. That was why, I used the last skill I possessed to turn the tides.

“Shadow’s Refuge!”

Lime immediately began to sink into my shadow, bringing the Crystalline Colossus with it. White hot pain wracked my body. It was like I was trying to fit something overwhelmingly too large into a tiny space. It wouldn’t fit. A tearing sensation split my mind.

My body and mind screamed in protest as I forced the Lime wrapped Colossus core deeper into my shadow. There were no other options. This was my only path of survival. I would die the moment the Crystalline Colossus regained control of its body.

The ripping sensation in my mind grew bigger. A coppery taste filled my mouth. It was as if I was drilling a huge hole in my body. The Colossus core started to vibrate when it was only halfway into my shadow. I was out of time.

Desperation filled my heart. I did not care how much damage I took. If I was going to go down, then I was bringing this nightmare down with me.

My shadow covered the entire core. Since that was the case, there was no need to limit myself to absorbing the core from a single direction.

“Swallow it!”

I imagined that my shadow was one giant mouth and with a single, greedy bite, my shadow swallowed the Colossus core whole. My mind exploded in pain as the tiny space that occupied a corner of my mind instantly expanded several times over again. All of the cells in my body screamed as they were crushed by an incredibly oppressive weight.

I lay there dying, unable to lift even a finger. It was incredibly difficult to breathe amidst the pain. There was nothing I could do but watch as my strength and life slowly drained away from me.

A distant rumbling sound reached my ears. I watched in disbelief as another Crystalline Colossus showed up. Apparently the noise of our battle had attracted it. It had killed me to handle one Crystalline Colossus and now another one had shown up.

“Hahahaha.”

Weak, raspy laughs leaked out of my mouth. It was too funny. I wouldn't be able to use the same strategy to neutralize this new, approaching challenger. Lime, Ruin, Bones, and Pepper could not defeat another Crystalline Colossus. I sharpened my fading mind and did the only thing I could. I spoke my signature words.

“Become mine!”

Such words hit the approaching Crystalline Colossus and bounced off harmlessly. There was no way a level 35 monster would agree to such a one-sided contract with me when it could easily squash me like a bug. That was fine. The approaching Crystalline Colossus wasn’t the target of my words. A new link formed in my mind and I activated my other skill.

“Summon Berry!”

The oppressive weight crushing my body disappeared. A new monster reappeared from my shadows. The fallen Crystalline armor shot towards Berry to create a new towering figure that rivaled the approaching one. My voice grew cold.

“Berry, Bones, Ruin. Kill it.”

My contracted monsters obeyed my command and attacked the lone Crystalline Colossus. The furious roar of combat filled the Crystalline Caverns. The oppressive weight on my body had lifted, but that didn’t suddenly heal my deep wounds.

If I previously had 5 minutes to live, then I now had 10 minutes left. It was that kind of sensation. I glanced at my status from the corner of my eye. I was at max level. I could reincarnate with all of my wounds healed whenever I wanted.

My heart still trembled when looking at the clashing Colossuses. Once wouldn't be enough to wipe out my trauma. No, I wasn’t ready to reincarnate just yet. I wouldn’t reincarnate until I had completely stamped out my fear and slaughtered every last Crystalline Colossus in this damn cavern.

Bones found an opening amidst the clashing Colossus and stabbed the core with Ruin. Once the enemy core was paralyzed, Berry raised its crystalline first high up in the air. My lips tugged up into a vindictive smile. I watched in glee as my ally’s fist came down and destroyed the enemy Crystalline Colossus.

An intense wave of heat burned my body as the experience from the defeated monster hit me. It didn’t grant me any extra strength because I was at max level, but I did find it slightly easier to breathe afterwards. The slightest amount of power returned to my limbs and I managed to stand up on my own two feet.

“Kneel, Berry.”

My Crystalline Colossus returned to my side and kneeled like a knight before its princess. It was an intoxicating feeling to make the source of my trauma kneel at my command. Following my intention, Berry allowed me to step onto its hand and raised me up to its shoulder. Once Berry rose to its full height, I saw just how tiny the world below looked.

My stained shorts reminded me of what I needed to do.

“It is time to pay back this dungeon for a month of trauma and humiliation. Kill them all!”

What followed next was a massacre. My side only grew stronger and stronger the more we fought. I didn’t lift a single finger from my position on Berry’s shoulder while my contracted monsters fought. It wouldn’t have mattered if I did. I was capped at level 10.

My contracted monsters did not possess the same limitations that I did. The powerful heat of an experience rush allowed my allies to grow and evolve.

We fought and fought and fought. We continued to fight even after my [Weak Bladder] stopped tingling whenever I saw a Crystalline Colossus. We fought until all of my anger and humiliation at wetting myself in front of millions had been buried along with the countless Crystalline Colossus.

In reality, my rampage only stopped once we had cleared the entire first floor of Crystalline Caverns and there were no more enemies left to find. More would reappear after some time, but there was no point in waiting for that.

My entire being hurt and every part of me ached. My head was heavy and my chest was painfully tight. Both my body and my mind were on the verge of shutting down. I had slaked my thirst for revenge and now I wanted nothing more than to soak in a hot bath and then sleep for a week afterwards. I called out to my companions.

“Everyone, it is time to go home.”