—–

I decided to check my evolution options…

…

[Shadow Ghost]

A Dark Ghost that has embraced the shadows of the night can evolve into a Shadow Ghost, a being that can embrace the shadows and become shadows themselves, mixing with them and gaining power in the night. But they become weak at day due to the intense light damaging its shadows. It possesses potent offense at night and great stealth.

[Wailing Ghost]

A Wailing Ghost is a ghost that attacks by screaming. Its screams can damage foes and even inflict negative status effects such as Confusion, Madness, Paralysis, and more. Wailing Ghost emerges in scenes where people were murdered horribly. The soul of that person, who died screaming in agony, becomes a Wailing Ghost who constantly haunts the area by screaming loudly.

[Abyssal Ghost]

A mysterious ghost that doesn’t have many sightings. Its origins are mysterious, but it is said that it’s a special type of ghost that inhabits the underworld realm of Helheim, born from the abyssal and primordial darkness of the abyss. They possess powerful Curse, Life Draining, and Shadow and Dark Manipulating capabilities. Their Abyss can also confuse targets who look upon their figures for too long, and they are dangerous beings that masterful priests can only defeat.

…

All three options are very interesting… Shadow Ghost, Wailing Ghost, and Abyssal Ghost.

What should I pick?

Shadow Ghost seems to be able to fuse with shadows and bring a boost while at night… but you’re weak at day.

Wailing Ghost is… screaming. Probably wide long-ranged sound-based attacks that can inflict all sorts of negative status effects… Not bad… but wouldn’t it be too loud? Enemies would definitely find me like that, and I prefer to be as sneaky as possible.

And lastly… there was the legendary Abyssal Ghost. It came with a little bit of everything. The description also praised it as a strong Ghost.

So I guess I will pick the obvious choice here.

Ding!

[You’ve chosen [Abyssal Ghost]!]

FLASH!

Darkness suddenly encompassed my entire being as the pure abyss consumed me.

Within this abyssal darkness, I was able to see through somewhere else.

For a split of a second, I found myself in a completely different place, an enormous, boundless cave-like structure that extended endlessly across my vision.

Enormous creatures of all shapes and sizes inhabited the hellish place. Zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and many other Undead creatures roamed the site.

The ground was gray, and enormous pits flowed with blue flames.

Where am I?!

Wait… is this the underworld?

“A fitting one. You’re not from here, aren’t you?”

I heard a woman’s voice and as I glanced in the direction of it, what greeted me was a woman, an old woman sitting on a throne of bones.

“Ueh? W-Who are you, grandma?”

“Bold enough to talk so casually with the Goddess of Death? I like you… Your Skills are interesting. Your potential is… endless. Good. You will become a fitting successor…”

“Goddess of Death?!”

“Now go back. You’re not ready yet.”

FLASH!

After the darkness dissipated, I had evolved, and I was back inside the Dungeon.

My entire body gained more “mass” than before, and my phantasmal body felt more “solid” yet even more phantasmal than ever.

I felt like I could easily stretch myself to unprecedented lengths. And the darkness within my soul had become greater, abyssal, even.

Ding!

[You’ve acquired the [Hel’s Divine Protection] Skill]

[Due to the effects of your Divine Protection, you’ve evolved into the [Abyssal Ghost Queen] Superior Unique Species]

[All your stats have increased]

[The Levels of several Skills has increased]

[You learned the [Abyssal Body: Lv1], [Shadow Manipulation: Lv1], and [Summon: Lv1] Skills]

[You acquired the [Undead Queen: Lv1] Title Skill]

Say what?!

This is more than I can take…!

I evolved and received a Divine Protection!? From that old grandma? Wait, was she Hel? Hel… Hel… she sounds familiar. Wait, isn’t that the Goddess of the Underworld from Norse Mythology? Or was it Death? Or both? Well, that was it!

Eh? So this world has Gods… and I just met one leisurely? What kind of plot twist is this?

This is not even a plot twist. It’s just an asspull! I never thought I had it in me, honestly. Maybe I am really fitting of being an egocentric protagonist… fufufu.

I quickly checked my stats and found remarkable changes.

…

[Name: [Maria Fuentes Belles]

[Race: [Abyssal Ghost Queen]

[Level: [12/20]

[Rank: [D]

[Status: [Strengthened, Cursed]

[HP: [160/160]

[MP: [860/860]{+170}

[Attack: [86]

[Defense: [82]

[Magic: [770]{+82}

[Agility: [160]{+30}

Characteristic Skills:

[Unique Skill: Supreme Magic]

[Unique Skill: Mana Siphon]

[Unique Skill: System]

[Unique Skill: Goddess] (Sealed)

[Undead: Lv–]

[Dark Element: Lv–]

[Death Element: Lv–]

[Fiend Language: Lv3]

[Shadow Sneak: Lv4] (Level Up!)

[Abyssal Body: Lv1] (New!)

Resistance Skills:

[Status Effect Immunity: Lv–]

[Magic Damage Resistance: Lv4] (Leve Up!)

[Darkness Resistance: Lv3] (Level Up!)

[Fear Resistance: Lv3] (Level Up!)

Normal Skills:

[Ghost Touch: Lv5] (Level Up!)

[Lesser Curse: Lv5] (Level Up!)

[Life Drain: Lv5] (Level Up!)

[Possession: Lv4] (Level Up!)

[Dark Sphere: Lv6] (Level Up!)

[Fake Life: Lv4] (Level up!)

[Stealth: Lv5] (Level Up!)

[Dark Gale: Lv5] (Level Up!)

[Shadow Manipulation: Lv1] (New!)

[Summon: Lv1] (New!)

Title Skills:

[The Dark Witch: Lv–]

[Bringer of Misfortune: Lv3] (Level Up!)

[Undead Queen: Lv 1] (New!)

Divine Protections:

[Hel’s Divine Protection]

…

Oh my, everything went up! Though my Attack and Defense still suck, my MP and Magic are insane… And my Agility has gotten pretty nice as well.

Also, pretty much all skills leveled up… Now I wonder what these new Skills do…

…

[Summon: Lv1]

Grants the ability to summon your subordinates near you for battle. Each summon consumes a quantity of mana comparable to their strength. As long as a being is recognized as a subordinate, it can be summoned. Of course, the subordinate must also be willing to be summoned. The higher the level, the less mana cost compared to the summon’s power.

…

Eh? This one is convenient if I plan to build an army…

—–