I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 44: First Spirit

"Form a bond with a spirit..." Vale lingered on the words.

It sounded like some kind of summoning magic—but with two crucial differences. He could only summon spirits he had personally defeated, and they had to be willing.

"What kind of monster would willingly bond with a human?" he muttered.

Before he could answer his own question, something shimmered at the corner of his vision.

He turned toward it.

There, above the scattered remains of the Tower Keeper’s shattered armour, something was pulsing faintly with light, small and almost invisible.

Curious, Vale strolled toward it.

Just as he drew within a meter of the largest pile of armour shards, a rectangular window, nearly identical to his status screen, appeared before him.

*****

[ Spirit Available ]

[ Form a Bond? ]

[ Yes ] [ No ]

*****

His eyes widened.

If he could form a bond with the Tower Keeper...

Images of the ruthless, relentless knight flashed through his mind. Having him as an ally would push his overall strength to a completely different level.

Without hesitation, he focused on the Yes.

Particles of mana began swirling around the shattered armour, faster and faster. Then, as if caught by an invisible wind, the fragments skidded across the marble floor, gathering in front of him.

Just as the armour began to reassemble, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

*****

[ The Spirit of the Tower Keeper stirs from his eternal slumber. ]

[ He deems you worthy. The Tower Keeper heeds your word. ]

The voice lingered for a few moments before continuing.

[ You have successfully formed a Bond. ]

The voice faded just as the final pieces clicked into place.

Standing before Vale was the Tower Keeper, fully reformed—an exact replica of the knight he had once fought.

Same towering frame. Same dark, imposing armour. Same crimson eyes burning with power.

Vale instinctively took a step back, his heart hammering in his chest.

Fear? Excitement? Perhaps both.

The Dark Knight’s gaze locked onto his.

Behind him, he could hear the scrape of steel—his companions had summoned their weapons, confusion and tension radiating from them.

Vale, however, did not move.

He simply watched, ready, but unwilling to summon his weapon just yet.

The Spirit of the Tower Keeper lingered for a moment—then dropped to one knee, bowing his head in silent respect.

Gasps echoed around the hall.

The eyes of everyone in the group widened—everyone but Vale’s.

He grinned at the sight.

"Rise, Knight," he commanded.

Without hesitation, the Dark Knight rose, standing silently at attention, awaiting his next order.

"What’s going on?" Ayla’s voice pierced through the stunned silence. Her hand landed heavily on Vale’s shoulder, tense and demanding answers.

Vale sighed and turned to meet her stare.

"A new ability," he said, still smiling.

"What? How can you get a new ability in the middle of a trial?" Ayla pressed, disbelief thick in her voice. "It doesn’t make any sense." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

A heavy silence fell across the hall.

Their eyes locked, neither willing to back down.

Then—unable to meet the questioning look in her gaze—Vale turned away.

"It’s a reward for my quest," he said, his back now facing the group. "I don’t know why I got one, so don’t ask."

Ignoring the unspoken questions burning holes into his back, he summoned his Status window once again.

*****

Name: Vale

Core: Dormant

Core Rank: [ D, 62/500 ]

Artifacts: [ Ordinary Katana, Titan’s Ring, Flask of Salvation, Ironhide Armour, Hellfire ]

Relics: [ Four-Eyed Raven ]

Abilities: [ Spirit Bond ]

Spirit Bond Mastery Rank: [ E ]

Spirits: [ 1/1 ]

Unique Ability: [ Ravenous Flame ]

*****

His eyes widened.

"Mastery Level?" he muttered, narrowing his brow.

He had never seen anything like that before.

"Does it mean I can rank it up like my core?" he wondered, staring at the glowing lines before him.

His attention shifted to the Spirits section.

"1 out of 1."

It seemed one spirit was the limit, at least for now.

"But how do I increase it?"

As he studied the text, something shifted in the Status window.

New lines unfolded beneath his gaze.

*****

Current Spirits: [ Knight ]

Knight Spirit Rank: [ Awakened, A-Rank ]

*****

Vale leaned in slightly, reading it twice to be sure.

A deep frown crossed his face.

"Awakened?"

That wasn’t what the Tower Keeper had been during their battle.

The version he fought was Unhallowed—something far more terrifying than a simple Awakened monster.

He lingered for a moment.

"I guess a spirit is weaker than the real thing," he muttered under his breath.

But even so...

An A-Rank, Awakened Spirit at his command? A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"He’s grinning again," Klein’s voice snapped him back to reality.

"Huh?" Vale blinked and turned to see all three of his companions staring at him with a mixture of confusion and wariness.

Drawn in by the flood of new information, he had completely forgotten about his allies. He scratched the back of his head, an awkward smile slipping onto his face, before turning back toward the staircase.

"L-let’s explore the tower," he said quickly. "Maybe we’ll find something useful."

He strolled forward without waiting for a reply.

Ayla sighed loudly before catching up to him. Dain and Klein were quick to follow, not before sharing a long glance at each other.

Before long, the four of them reached the first step of the spiraling staircase.

Vale’s eyes were immediately drawn to the wall beside it, where a massive painting stretched across the stone.

He frowned, studying it.

The painting was completely black—a complete void.

Then—he caught it.

In the middle of that endless sea of darkness, a small flame-like shape stood out, darker than the blackness surrounding it—if anything could even be darker than black.

Vale lingered for a few seconds longer before pulling himself away and continuing upward.

Soon enough, they reached a second painting.

At first glance, it looked similar—a sea of darkness—but there was something new.

Hovering above the small, darker flame was a shadowy, human-like figure. Two horns extruded from its head, giving it a monstrous silhouette.

This time, Vale didn’t linger.

Driven by a sudden, inexplicable hunger for more, he hurriedly ascended the stairs.

There, on the next wall, was another painting.

Unlike the previous two, this one was set in a brilliant blue sky.

Among the clouds floated a dark figure—the same horned silhouette. In one hand, it gripped a sword. In the other, a swirling, dark flame danced along its palm.

Vale froze, staring at the painting.

The dark flame...

It looked all too familiar.

Memory surged through him—the memory of his ability, Ravenous Flame, merging with the enchantment on his weapon, becoming a flame of pure darkness, emerged.

His hand instinctively tightened into a fist at his side as he stared at the black flames.