Chapter 592 “Subscribe Request” Snow Maiden Shirley Augustine (6k)
Under the gaze of the “Eye of Truth,” a hint of panic flashed across the baby bear’s face.
Dark kept his eyes fixed on it for a while before shifting his gaze to the crystal ball necklace.
He always felt that this crystal ball necklace should be the treasure inside the secret room’s chest.
And perhaps the baby bear in his hand was the one that had been used to hide the treasures after they were taken out…
“How is it?” Rose asked.
Dark only closed his eyes and reopened them, now a vivid green.
“There is indeed a feeling of being able to move stars.”
In terms of value, it should be slightly higher than the “Grass Cat Plant,” but a bit lower than the “Moonstone.”
As for the baby bear…
Its value is quite comparable to that of the “Trash Slime!”
This is truly incredible for a dungeon monster.
Dark had spent these two days examining the value of monsters; regardless of their inherent strength, they were all considered low-value due to being incomplete products born within the dungeon.
From the perspective of the “Door to Truth,” a monster’s value is almost identical to the materials it drops.
But the value of this baby bear can compare with that of the “Trash Slime!”
This likely means that it is at least a special individual distinct from ordinary monsters.
As for what makes it so special…
Dark couldn’t gain any more experience in this regard.
…
However, he didn’t resort to any violent measures. Instead, he placed the baby bear back on the table and gently scratched its foot!
The next moment, the baby bear’s mouth twitched violently.
Dark’s lips curled up as he quickened his scratching.
The baby bear tightly pursed its lips, but its body quivered, enduring it quite painfully.
So much so that its unusual behavior was fully exposed to the hateful human eye.
Diana widened her eyes, puzzled, “Why doesn’t it laugh?”
Then, realizing that its desperate attempt to hold back appeared even more suspicious, the baby bear immediately let out a “woof woof” laughter.
But by then, no one believed it anymore.
“Damn it (〃>皿<)!" Diana wasn't really a fool and immediately saw through the baby bear's act.
Feeling angry, she grabbed the baby bear's cheeks and pulled them apart forcefully... and accidentally tore off its face!
"Aah!"
Diana released her grip instantly, genuinely startled!
Catalysta and Broni hurried over.
Only Rose moved back a little.
Dark looked at the baby bear missing part of its left cheek and finally remembered what kind of monster it was.
On the other side, Catalysta quickly flipped the baby bear over, revealing its left cheek—inside was a pink, jelly-like substance!
"So it is indeed..."
Dark's eyes gleamed, his thoughts gradually settling.
In the dungeon, there is a type of monster called the "Parasitic Spirit," which belongs to the insect and ghost types.
They are relatively large compared to insects, have no spines, are entirely smooth and round, with only three pairs of flat feet, and possess stickiness.
If these monsters were converted into golems, they would be a special type with attack and defense values of 0.
They have no attack or defense capabilities, and any monster could easily pierce through their soft, pink skin.
Yet, despite being such useless "Parasitic Spirits," they possess an extremely powerful and strange ultimate skill.
Each well-preserved "Parasitic Spirit" can use this ultimate skill to parasitize on a monster's corpse and restore it to a state just before death.
And they themselves take its place.
It's unclear why the current "Parasitic Spirit" chose to parasitize this seemingly worthless baby bear instead of a stronger monster.
"Could it be that it foresaw that Diana wouldn't resist?"
"Otherwise, under the circumstances at the time, if anyone else opened the chest, it would already be decapitated, and then thoroughly exposed."
Dark was puzzled, but he felt that this might not be so important.
"It seems to be a 'Parasitic Spirit,'" Catalysta suddenly said, aligning with Dark's judgment.
Diana calmed down and quickly asked, "What is a 'Parasitic Spirit'?"
Catalysta patiently explained.
While explaining, she also picked up the torn-off cheek and pressed it back onto the baby bear's left cheek.
After a while, the skin's cracks slowly healed, becoming less noticeable.
The baby bear blinked its big, black eyes, seemingly trying to pretend nothing happened.
But everything had changed.
...
Since it was confirmed that this baby bear is a "Parasitic Spirit," it has completely lost its status as a "cub."
Even Diana looked angry, let alone the others.
Broni originally had a liking for this doll-like baby bear, but now thinking about its core being a worm, she couldn't like it anymore.
Dark shook his head and added, "The ultimate skill of a 'Parasitic Spirit' isn't as easy to use. They can only perform a second parasitism once their outer shell dies completely.
This baby bear's outer shell shouldn't be as weak as it appears. Let's do an experiment, Diana."
"Okay." Diana responded.
Dark instructed, "Pin down its hands."
Before he finished speaking, the baby bear immediately panicked.
Dark watched as it did a bridge flip and tried to run away on its short legs, only to be caught by Diana who grabbed its neck.
Even though its two short legs moved quickly when crossed, without touching the ground, it was useless.
"Pfft."
Rose couldn't help laughing but quickly turned her face away, her cheeks flushing red.
But the baby bear's appearance was indeed cute and comical.
Without pretending to be a newborn bear that couldn't walk and could only crawl, the baby bear showed remarkable speed and strength.
But in front of Diana, this strength was merely superfluous—it was useless.
This might be why it immediately acted scared when Diana opened the chest.
Perhaps that chest was its bed.
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find someone lifting the curtain around your bed, startling you awake to see
A huge black shadow lunged towards itself... Not wetting oneself on the spot was already quite good.
This baby bear could decisively give up attacking and choose to play dead as a cub in such a state at that time, showing that its intelligence was unusually high.
Dark couldn't help but chuckle, though he found it unlikely, but still asked: "Can you speak?"
"Mmm." The baby bear quickly shook its head, looking like it had no intention of dying with dignity.
Dark nodded and said, "It seems you can understand human speech... Well, when did you learn to think?"
The baby bear froze for a moment, then stiffened entirely.
Clearly, it hadn't expected this human who came later to directly hit the core.
Not only it, but Catalysta and others also suddenly realized this, and their gazes towards the baby bear became strange.
As everyone knows, the biggest difference between pseudo-life and true life lies in whether they possess self-awareness.
And the most significant difference between Dark Demon's golem and other people's golems also lies in possessing self-awareness!
In this aspect, Dark Demon is an authority.
Therefore, when Dark said this, Catalysta and others subconsciously believed this very unbelievable thing.
But at this moment, Dark had completely restrained the smile on his face and said to the baby bear in a very cold tone, "You'd better think clearly about whether to answer, if you don't want to die again. You should know, this place isn't a dungeon."
Those last words seemed to be the final straw for the parasitic spirit.
The baby bear frantically waved its arms and made sounds.
Dark propped his chin and guessed, "I think, you want paper and pen?"
The baby immediately nodded, as if its neck would snap from the force.
Dark gave Diana a look.
She understood and released her grip on the baby bear's nape.
Then, Rose immediately brought the paper and pen from the desk behind them.
The baby bear sat down expressionlessly, spread its legs apart, placed the paper between its two short legs, grabbed the pen, and wrote on it.
It seemed to have not written for a long time, or perhaps its bear claws were just not suitable.
Initially, the writing was crooked and illegible.
But after writing about a line, it gradually got used to it, crossed out that line with a single stroke, and rewrote it: [My name is Shirley Augustine, you can call me Shirley.]
"Still Baby Bear," Diana interjected.
Baby Bear: "..."
Dark hurriedly said, "Alright, continue. Shirley Augustine, right? I've heard long ago that the dungeon bosses are historical figures or other beings. Which one are you?"
The baby bear looked up at him, seemingly surprised by how much he knew.
But the baby bear still wrote on the paper: Human.
...
Not only was it once a human, but it should also be a human within the past few centuries.
Since humans had completely escalated their conflict with demons and started an endless war, they had never modified their script.
Shirley Augustine's writing was clearly contemporary.
That is to say, if it could speak, it should also use the current official language.
Dark thought for a moment and said, "I have three questions that need answers. First, what was your identity in life? Second, how did you regain your memory and gain the ability to think after awakening in the dungeon? Third, how did you become like this now?"
The baby bear looked at him again and bent down to write rapidly.
But Dark followed up with a plain tone, "I hope you won't lie. I've encountered more than one monster like you in the dungeon. They can tell me if what you're saying is true or false."
The baby bear paused for a moment before continuing to write.
Dark leaned back on the sofa, patiently waiting.
However, the other members of the club clearly couldn't wait after hearing his words.
Catalysta's curiosity finally led her to ask, "What's going on? Why do I feel like I don't understand?"
Dark organized his words and chose a way to explain, "Actually, I encountered intelligent monsters last night. Unlike ordinary monsters, they could learn and think. And from this parasitic spirit, it can be seen that they should also possess memories."
"Monsters with memories..." Catalysta quickly turned her thoughts around and hesitated, "Whose memories?"
Dark said, "There are three types of monsters in the dungeon: common, elite, and boss. I don't know if there are special individuals among common and elite monsters.
But every boss should be a real projection of someone or something that existed in history.
However, they should only be hollow shells and shouldn't have memories. There might be some unknown things happening in the dungeon."
Catalysta opened her mouth, unable to close it for a while.
Dark's words weren't hard to understand, but they were so unbelievable that they were difficult to digest.
But after listening in with its ears perked up, the baby bear immediately wrote a few words on another line and knocked on the paper forcefully with the tip of the pen.
Dark lowered his head to look and saw:
[Are there really other monsters that have awakened? Are you not deceiving me?]
After reading it, Dark found it somewhat amusing, "What's the point of deceiving you? How about reflecting on your current situation?"
The baby bear immediately lowered its head and wrote honestly.
Ten minutes later, it filled up a page on the paper.
Dark took out the paper and read it carefully.
Shirley Augustine first answered the question about identity.
As expected, it indeed had a noble identity.
If it didn't elevate its status through lying, it was not only a noble princess in the past.
But it was also born with immense mana and naturally mastered a powerful magic called "Icebound City"!
It was said that this magic was once called a "forbidden spell."
Once successfully cast, it could turn an entire city into an icebound hell!
Ordinary mages could never learn this scale of "forbidden spell" even if they lived their whole lives.
But there are always those who are born at the pinnacle.
Shirley Augustine was clearly one of them.
She was once called the "Ice Princess," and her kingdom was located in the Northern Territory, where they built an "Ice Tower" specifically for her.
This was actually non
Famous events.
However, in later generations, many people say that the "Ice Tower" was actually used to imprison the "Ice Princess," preventing her from leaving and forever guarding the kingdom.
When Dark first heard the name Shirley Augustine, he couldn't immediately connect it.
After reading its self-description, he finally remembered.
Catalysta, who had been by his side examining it, exclaimed in surprise: "It's Ice Maiden Shirley! I remember she was assassinated during a war. A demon with mind-control abilities manipulated her personal guard..."
"Woof woof!" Shirley wrote on the next page.
[Xi De Ni was indeed controlled by demons?]
Catalysta said, "I can only say this is what history books record."
Baby Bear visibly relaxed and started muttering incoherently.
Dark, though unable to understand bear language, could guess it was saying something like "I knew it," "I knew it wasn't her," and "She couldn't betray me."
...
Hundreds of years passed, burying the Ice Kingdom that once dominated the Northern Territory under an avalanche. Yet, the last princess of the kingdom awakened in the dungeon.
Was this fortune or sorrow?
Shirley Augustine initially awoke as a tier boss.
She guarded the thirty-second level, where there were once endless snowflakes and ice that never melted.
But after the successful defeat of the tier boss "Ice Maiden," the thirty-second level entered the dungeon's refresh cycle.
In the dungeon, death wasn't the end.
Before being defeated, Shirley Augustine only recovered a small portion of her memories. She didn't even know who she was, only remembering her name.
But after countless years since her death as the tier boss "Ice Maiden," she awoke again, no longer as a tier boss but as an elite monster!
For her, this could be considered a second resurrection!
Though she lost her human form, becoming a "Parasitic Spirit" wasn't all bad.
At least she could find her favorite corpse to parasitize and gain a longer life than when she was human—if she wasn't killed!
Unlike tier bosses confined to boss rooms, elite monsters could move freely. Even if they occasionally guarded hidden rooms or treasure chests, they were free to wander.
Yet, the dangers outside were unknown, and Shirley Augustine wasn't the adventurous type.
She had plenty of experience in passing time alone in a room.
Thus, after her resurrection, she first found a suitable shell using her "Ghost-type" traits and settled in a hidden space beneath a tree, living a leisurely life as a monster.
Through several "world changes," she merely changed tree holes.
To her, this was like changing room decorations, adding more flavor to her existence.
She didn't know how her memories returned or how she gained thinking abilities.
From the moment she awoke as a tier boss, she often saw memory fragments.
This didn't change even after her resurrection as an elite monster "Parasitic Spirit."
Gradually, she recovered most of her memories.
Still, she couldn't clearly recall many details of her life.
The more she understood cause and effect, the more she realized she wasn't the original Shirley.
Even with restored memories and thinking abilities, she was still a historical projection created by the dungeon—a mere illusion!
Rational characters could clearly separate themselves from their originals.
But irrational ones might gradually confuse themselves with their originals.
Shirley Augustine was a born mage. Even after awakening as a tier boss and then as a "Parasitic Spirit," she hadn't forgotten the forbidden spell "Ice City Seal."
But with her current form, she lacked the mana to cast "Ice City Seal."
Besides "Ice City Seal," she only possessed the abilities of the parasitized corpse of Baby Bear.
Though Baby Bear was relatively weak among the monsters in Tier Eleven, who else could look exactly like the stuffed bear Shirley kept by her bed when she was a princess?
Shirley Augustine fell in love almost instantly!
...
For a young girl of thirteen who was assassinated, innate "rationality" couldn't change her age.
If it were Diana, she might have made the same choice.
"After all, the baby bear is just too cute!"
Diana hugged Baby Bear tightly, no longer caring about the fact that Shirley's core was an insect.
But Dark, as a psychologically mature adult, couldn't fully believe Baby Bear's words.
Moreover, the bear seemed to say much, but it was mostly predictable nonsense.
On one hand, it revealed its ability to use "Ice City Seal," asserting its value.
On the other, it claimed a lack of mana to use "Ice City Seal," emphasizing its harmlessness.
Even the reason for choosing Baby Bear as its host was attributed to its innocence, cuteness, and nostalgia.
This was undoubtedly a strong point among girls.
Yet, it didn't explain how it regained its memories or gained thinking abilities.
It dodged the question by claiming ignorance.
Was it truly ignorant?
Only it knew for sure.
Dark carefully considered and decided to inform Professor Shylph about the ongoing changes in the dungeon after tomorrow's "Summoning Spell" class.
Regardless, Baby Bear's existence was natural evidence.
Indeed, numerous monsters in the dungeon were gradually regaining rationality, evolving toward "complete life."
And the cause of these changes likely lay deep within the dungeon.
"Dark, Dark, can I take Bear宝 back to my room?"
Diana held Baby Bear tightly, pleadingly looking at Dark.
Dark glanced at Baby Bear with big round eyes and smiled, "Of course... No!"
