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“Interesting,” Tafel said and stroked her chin. She looked Gaegukja Yeol directly in the eyes. “So, you’re saying if I mastered flaming martial arts, I’d be able to defeat a dragon?”
“Yes,” Gaegukja Yeol said, nodding her head. “Using flaming martial arts, my father reached the ninety-fifth floor of the tower. Even though he never slew a dragon, only people capable of accomplishing such a feat can pass the ninety-first floor. It stands to reason he’d have been able to defeat one.”
“Oh?” Tafel raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said Deowi was the strongest explorer of your clan.”
“My father perished on the ninety-fifth floor,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “One day, he went off on a mission, and then, he never returned. Months later the clan fractured, and Deowi was scammed of our inheritance by our relatives. After we lost everything, Deowi and I created the Extreme Heat Clan to climb the tower.”
“Oh, sorry for your loss,” Tafel said and scratched her head.
Gaegukja Yeol shook her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Although my father may have perished, that doesn’t mean flaming martial arts is weak. We don’t know what his situation was like at the time.” She shrugged. “Would you like me to teach you?”
“Are you sure I can learn it?” Tafel asked. “I know my flames are strong, but I’m not made of fire like you and Deowi.”
“How will you know if you don’t try?” Gaegukja Yeol asked with a smile. “Vur demonstrated the ability of a phoenix when he invaded that elven grotto. If the two of you would like, I could teach both of you at the same time.”
Tafel waved her hand dismissively. “You can teach me first,” she said. “Vur can learn in his sleep anyway. If he’s interested, he’ll follow along.”
Gaegukja Yeol turned her head towards the grassy spider. It lay on the ground, completely stationary as if it were dead. Then again, she wasn’t sure if it could even be called alive in the first place. “Alright,” the fire spirit race member said. She glanced at the zombie dressed in bandages. “Should I demonstrate on the zombie?”
“What in the world?” the zombie asked. “Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean you can use me as target practice!”
“No, actually, that’s perfect,” Lindyss said, raising her head from her spot to the side. “It’ll take you a while to adapt to your new body, but if you’re struggling for your life, you’ll learn much faster.”
The zombie turned towards Lindyss. The cursed elf stood up and stretched her arms towards the sky, arching her back. She waved her hand towards the zombie, and a faint mist surged out of it, seeping through the bandages. The zombie collapsed as the mist congregated around Lindyss’ hand, and she flicked her wrist, sending the gathered soul into the creation by her feet. The mist coated the three-headed, six-armed figure before disappearing, and the body’s central head’s eyes flickered open.
“With a new body comes a new name,” Lindyss said, scanning her creation from head to toe. “How about Joe?”
“In what world does that look like a Joe?” Gaegukja Yeol asked as the monstrosity stood up. It had three heads: an owl’s, a snake’s, and a long-nosed bat’s that looked eerily similar to a dog’s. The bat’s head was the centerpiece while the owl and snake heads looked behind and off to the sides. None of Joe’s arms were the same as one another either. One arm was scaled like a lizard’s leg. Another arm was furry like a gorilla’s. The third arm was extra long with two elbows. The fourth arm had no flesh on it. The fifth and sixth arms couldn’t even be called arms because they were a tentacle with suckers and a scorpion’s tail with venom dripping out of the tip. Despite the number of limbs on Joe’s torso, he didn’t appear top-heavy thanks to his think legs that looked like they belonged on elephants.
“Earlier,” Joe said before clearing his throat. “Earlier, you said I’d learn to control this body more easily under the threat of death. As an undead, I can still die?”
“What? The tower has never had you kill a zombie or skeleton before?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow. “If there’s nothing around to save your soul like an environment conducive to preserving souls or a magic spell trapping your soul in a phylactery, it’s quite obvious you’d die if your body’s destroyed.”
Joe fell silent. “If you were going to let her attack me to display the abilities of flaming martial arts, shouldn’t you have let her destroy my old body first?” he asked and pointed at the corpse wrapped in bandages on the ground with his scaled arm. “Also, is this a leg or an arm?”
“It used to be a leg,” Lindyss said, “but I modified the bones a bit so it’ll function more like an arm. I added a thumb for it, see?”
Joe brought the scaled hand up to his face. One of the digits, the thumb, had scales of a different color. He bent it before straightening it, repeating the action a few times. Then, Joe glanced down at his chest. “You were very creative with the limbs and heads, so why is the torso a regular human’s?”
Lindyss rolled her eyes. “You’re going to wear armor, aren’t you? Why would I bother being detailed on a part that isn’t even going to be seen?” She placed her hands on her hips. “You’re awfully picky for someone who obtained a free body. There are tens of thousands of skeletons back on Erde who’d be beyond grateful to me if I did something like this for them.”
There was a cracking sound as the grassy spider’s abdomen opened up. Vur sat up straight and looked around before his eyes focused on Joe. Vur’s gaze lingered on the tentacle before shifting to the scorpion’s tail. A furrow appeared on his brow, and he turned towards Lindyss. “Why is he made of food?”
A dark expression appeared on all three of Joe’s faces.