Selection

Her refined voice was as elegant as ever, but the words themselves were completely unintelligible, like a foreign language.

Whether I listened or not, she continued her monologue.

“□□ □□□ □□□ □□□□. □□□ Michel □□□□ □□□ □□ □□?”

‘Huh! Michel-nim!’

It was a string of incomprehensible sounds, but I clearly caught the name Michel in there.

‘Ah… Michel-nim, is that you…? I can only admire you…’

Another moment where my life was indebted to Michel-nim.

Is it right to receive such divine love?

Perhaps the name of this trait should be changed from [Michel’s Encouragement] to [Michel’s Favor]?

“□□ Prostia. □ Shia Kalt □□□□.”

‘Huh? An introduction…?’

I recognized Prostia, the name of the ice dragon from my status window, and Shia Kalt, the name of this place.

The ice dragon Prostia, presumed ruler of the Shia Kalt labyrinth.

She seemed to have just introduced herself.

She must be trying to take me in.

‘Of course! You’re my master!’

As a companion-no, a companion plant-to the ruler of the labyrinth, this is a position anyone would envy.

Who wouldn’t want to be a pampered cat in their next life?

“□ □□ □ □□.”

She spoke with a determined look in her eyes.

It was all too obvious.

‘Yes! Butler-nim! Please take care of me!’

Then it happened.

Her white fingers wrapped around my stem.

Was she going to pull me out?

‘Wait… Wait a minute!’

But naturally, she couldn’t hear me.

How could a flower like me speak?

“□□ □□□ □□.”

Prostia smiled softly and said.

It was as graceful as moving a flower from one pot to another, but for me, it was the worst pain imaginable.

‘Ahh… It hurts!’

Sharp pain pierced through my entire body.

My roots, deeply embedded in the ground, clung tightly to the soil in resistance.

“□□…?”

Her expression turned slightly puzzled.

She pulled again, this time with a bit more force.

『 “Pain Resistance LV1” skill acquired. 』

‘Ahhhhh! Butler-nim! No! Master!!!’

What’s with the butler and cat analogy?

The future of a master and servant flashed before my eyes.

The performance of the skill that suddenly appeared was pathetic.

Her white eyes sparkled with surprise.

“□… □□ □□□□.”

This time, she muttered with a serious expression.

She stretched out her hand, and a blue light formed at her fingertips.

‘Master… Are you really taking me in…?’

The blue light, filled with immense energy, overflowed with a wild fragrance.

‘Huh!?’

The ground around my roots froze instantly and shattered like glass.

『 “Pain Resistance LV3” skill level increased. 』

『 “Pain Resistance LV4” skill level increased. 』

‘Kiyaaayyyaaaah!’

Unbearable pain engulfed me.

Pain resistance? Useless!

My deeply rooted stem lost its grip and was lifted into the air.

“□□!”

Prostia smiled, seemingly satisfied, and lifted me with one hand.

It was an elegant motion, like taking a flower out of a pot, but for me, it was pure agony.

‘Haa… I think I’m going to die…’

My consciousness began to fade.

My health must have been depleted, with the backup battery empty.

『 HP : 27/514 + (0/400) 』

‘Did she really intend to kill me…?’

The last thing I saw was Prostia’s calm smile and her eyes shining like stars.

Then, everything went black.

***

Prostia frowned as she watched the flower losing its vitality.

The delicate red petals, which had once shimmered so beautifully, now hung limp and lifeless, and the deep crimson stamens no longer moved like a serpent’s tongue.

“Did I pull too hard?”

She tilted her head in thought.

But soon, she shrugged it off.

After all, it wasn’t just any ordinary plant-it was a powerful monster that had survived the middle layers by feeding on the blood of other monsters. It wouldn’t wither and die just because its roots were damaged.

Prostia returned to the deepest layer and planted the flower in a corner of her lair.

Gently burying the black stem in the icy cave floor, a gentle smile formed on her lips.

She was pleased that such a beautiful decoration had been added to her domain.

She decided to remain in her human form for a while, lest her true, massive form trample the flower.

“Um… What should I name you…?”

“Lycoris. Yes, let’s call you Lycoris.”

But her joy was short-lived.

‘…Huh?’

The petals began to tremble like leaves in the wind.

The deep crimson stamens drooped completely, dragging against the icy floor, and the red petals grew increasingly pale.

“Why is this happening?”

Prostia’s white eyes filled with confusion.

As an ice dragon born and raised in the Shia Kalt labyrinth, she had never considered that a plant might feel the cold.

Unlike the monsters here, which had strong cold resistance, this flower from the middle layers, with only “Frost Block,” had lost all consciousness due to the extreme cold of the deepest layer.

She stared at the flower for a long time before an idea struck her.

‘Ah! Of course!’

The memory of the flower in the middle layer, unscathed amidst the carnage, flashed through her mind.

This flower, Lycoris, must have grown by absorbing the blood of monsters in the middle layer.

She quickly stood up.

Her silver dress rustled as it cut through the cold air.

She hurried toward the deeper layers.

As she passed, frost flowers bloomed and withered in her wake.

Soon, she returned with a bowl of blood from the monsters.

Each vial contained the blood of a monster that humans would call an S-rank beast.

Precious blood that even an alchemist would sacrifice their soul for was carefully poured around the flower.

As the flower absorbed the blood through its roots, it regained some vitality, but the radiant glow it had shown in the middle layer still didn’t return.

Prostia gazed at the flower with a puzzled expression.

She couldn’t understand why it was still wilting in her perfect lair.

Each time the flower absorbed the blood, it only regained enough vitality to survive, but the radiant glow from the middle layer never returned.

Prostia hunted monsters in the lower layers every day to bring back blood, but the flower’s radiant glow remained absent.

…

Three years passed like this.

‘It’s already been three years…’

Prostia suddenly realized the passage of time.

For her, who had lived for thousands of years, three years were but a moment.

Yet, the encounter with the flower, which felt like yesterday, had already been three years.

She was taken aback.

“Lico, how can you regain your health?”

‘Plants need…’

Only then did she realize.

Plants need light.

Even with the nourishment from the monsters’ blood, without light, it couldn’t truly thrive.

Prostia carefully lifted the flower.

This time, unlike before, she moved gently, as if handling delicate glass.

The cold wind of the Shia Kalt Mountains rustled her silver hair.

She headed toward the higher peaks.

She climbed through the perpetual snow until she reached a suitable height.

“Here…”

She carefully planted the flower.

It was a resilient flower that could survive even in the cold ice, so she thought it would thrive here.

As time passed, the flower slowly regained its vitality.

The deep crimson stamens began to move again like a serpent’s tongue, and the red petals gradually regained their luster.

Yet, a lingering doubt remained in Prostia’s heart.

‘But there was no sunlight in the middle layer either…’

She gazed at the flower with her cold eyes, deep in thought.

‘What’s going on?’

She couldn’t fathom why the flower had wilted in the deepest layer, where the cold was less intense and its consciousness had returned.

***

‘Where am I…’

A warm sensation, unfamiliar to me, caressed my petals.

Instead of the blue light I had seen in the ice cave, a golden glow poured down on me.

‘This… This is sunlight!’

For a flower born and raised in a cave, this was an entirely new sensation.

Each petal absorbed the warmth, and even my stem glowed faintly.

As I spread my detection ability as much as possible, I sensed a gentle presence nearby.

It was Prostia.

She stood beside me, watching the scene unfold.

Her silver dress fluttered elegantly in the mountain breeze, and her endless silver hair shimmered under the sunlight.

Her white eyes, cold as ever, gazed at me as I faced this new world.

‘Hiiik! M-master…’

The memory of losing consciousness flashed back.

‘No! Don’t doubt it! I’m a plant, so of course you’d give me sunlight!’

Calming down, I spread my detection ability again.

A breathtaking sight unfolded before me.

Endless white mountains stretched out.

The snow-capped peaks under the sun shimmered like the back of a gigantic dragon reaching for the sky.

Under the crystal-clear sky, the snowy plains filled every corner of my vision.

‘Such a world existed…’

The chill of the labyrinth’s ice caves was replaced by a refreshing coolness.

Distant peaks, visible through the clouds, sparkled like shards of white jewels.

I had taken root at a high point in the mountain range.

Looking down, the depth was dizzying.

The entrance to the labyrinth was far below, somewhere in the distance.

‘Have I ever been this close to the sky…’

The vast landscape, unimaginable in the labyrinth, left my petals trembling in awe.

The cold mountain wind carried snowflakes that danced elegantly like blooming flowers.

Prostia’s lips curved into a faint smile.

It was the expression of someone who had finally met a long-awaited moment.

‘Thank you, Master…’

Just then, the status window chimed.

『 “Photosynthesis LV2” skill level increased. 』

‘Oh! It’s rising already!’

With the increase in photosynthesis, I felt a strange change within myself.

‘Huh? Is this me? Why do I feel so strong?’

Confused, I opened the status window.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.