Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1795: Floor 36, Pigmentum
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"Is someone good with Earth Magic here?"
"I am. Leave it to me, Maria."
Emeraldine stepped forward and, blending Nature and Earth elements, restored the ruined land into a beautiful garden bursting with vibrant flowers.
The Gemmetrians who had gathered cheered even louder. Hundreds of them now filled the area, their excitement palpable.
"Bbzzzttt! BZZZTTTTT!"
Maria heard their joyful voices resonating through their souls.
"Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!"
"I cannot believe it... the tomb is restored..."
"This makes me so happy..."
"Mother can rest in peace once more."
"Oh, thank you... our saviors!"
Maria smiled warmly, nodding at them.
"You’re welcome! And if any of those idiots come to bully you again, just call me with this, okay?" She quickly handed several of them small black beads.
"Thank you, thank you!"
"How could we ever repay you?"
"We can’t..."
"We only have gems... do you want gems?"
"Hmmm, I don’t know. Maybe you don’t have them, but do you happen to have Spirit Stones or anything related to Void, Dreams, Nightmares, or Imagination?" Maria asked.
The Gemmetrians exchanged glances. Some nodded while others shook their "heads."
"Imagination? We don’t."
"Void, abundant in Void Diamond Mountain, very far away."
"Dreams and Nightmares, Illusory Jewel Forest, far away too!"
"But we got stones... from there."
"We share with you! Please come."
"Follow us, saviors!"
Surprised but pleased, Maria followed them back to their city. There, they presented hundreds of Void Gems along with Dream and Nightmare Jewels, all mined from those distant lands.
"Amazing, it really has Dream Essence!" Alma exclaimed. "I can feel myself growing stronger just by absorbing a little...!"
"Good. With this, we can all cultivate these energies and become a bit stronger," Maria said, nodding. "And maybe we can use some to create Formations... Thank you so much!"
Maria thanked them sincerely, though the Gemmetrians felt it still wasn’t enough.
"Please, if one day you need help." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Call us."
"Not good fighters..."
"But we love crafting, and we have jewels of all colors."
"Haha, alright! I’ll keep that in mind," Maria replied with a nod.
Maria and her family spent a pleasant hour chatting with the Gemmetrians before preparing to depart for one more world before the day ended.
As they approached the portal, a small pink Gemmetrian hopped toward them. Its body was a lovely mosaic of cylinders and triangles, adorned with big, cute eyes of shiny golden jewels and long crystal eyelashes. Two tiny legs allowed it to bounce along, and a pair of floating stones served as hands, each with smaller stones attached like fingers.
"BZZZTTT! BZZZ...!"
Maria read its soul message and looked down kindly.
"Wait...! Please wait..."
"Yes, dear? You have a very pretty pink color!"
"Can come with you?"
"What? Y-You want to come?"
"Dream... always been... visiting other worlds... but small, weak... unable to. However, one day, will go, become great explorer!"
"Is that so? I’m sure you will, little one."
Maria gently patted its head, then touched its body with her Dream Heart Crystal.
"Let me give you a little strength so you can one day fight for yourself."
FLASH!
The little Gemmetrian felt something crystallize inside its core, manifesting visibly as a glowing heart in its chest.
It stared in shock and overwhelming joy, sensing a surge of power.
Maria realized Gemmetrians possessed bodies tied to the properties of their birthplace. This pink one was a Dream Stone Gemmetria, and it responded powerfully to her Dream Heart, forming a small hammer of purple and pink crystals as its Dream Weapon.
"Aaahhh! Thanks! Thank you! Please take this!!!"
The pink Gemmetrian, brimming with happiness, offered Maria a piece of its own body.
"Ouch! Is that fine?!"
"Fine... will regrow in a couple of days."
As Maria accepted the stone, she felt an immense, unprecedented power radiating from it—countless elemental forces contained within a single fragment.
"T-Thanks... it’s amazing!"
"Hmm!"
The little Gemmetrian bounced happily back home, proudly wielding its new floating hammer.
Maria smiled softly and absorbed the stone. It vanished into her, and the essence rushed through her body.
"Ah!"
That final push was exactly what she needed.
Her Bleeding Nightmare Star Core shattered and exploded into a swirling cloud of dreamy stardust and ghostly soul energies.
She had finally advanced to the Third Realm of her unique Cultivation Method.
"Finally, Dream Soul Ghost Nebula Realm!"
The leap felt monumental, like ascending beyond an Immortal to something akin to a Celestial Immortal. Though her stats did not reflect the full magnitude, the surge of power resonated deeply in her Soul and Body.
"I’ve taken yet another step on my path... I wonder how many more remain?"
After a brief moment of reflection, Maria nodded resolutely and moved forward with her family.
Into the next world.
The white portal glowed brightly, light enveloping everyone.
As they crossed, a strange force tugged at their bodies, pulling them downward.
"What is this?"
Maria let the sensation take hold, surprised but unafraid.
She felt oddly stretched, like a noodle, though it brought no pain.
Then she splashed into something soft and viscous, as though her body had become a mass of thick, colorful liquid.
"What...! What the hell?"
Maria looked around and realized reality itself had transformed the instant she stepped through.
The world still resembled a normal, three-dimensional place, yet everything had changed while remaining strangely familiar.
A vivid, colorful filter overlaid everything, and thick black outlines now framed every person and object.
"Woah...! What is this?" Nyx asked in awe.
"Ouch, my head hurts... why is everyone a painting?!" Celes cried.
"T-This is... so confusing..." Lucifer groaned. "Uungh..."
Maria gazed ahead at a sprawling modern urban city—cars, buildings, people bustling everywhere.
But it was all painted.
Everything shimmered like watercolor, outlined in bold black lines.
Then she remembered the strange man she had once met—a living, moving painting with the power to paint reality.
"So he came from this world! Oh my god... this is crazy," Maria murmured, taking it all in. "Ferleen! What is this world?"
"It’s a little confusing at first, yeah..." Ferleen nodded.
"It’s a world of paintings where everything is painted!" Melianna explained. "Even visitors are transformed into part of the great canvas."
"Damn," Maria said, staring wide-eyed. "The tower is... a big painting too!"
She looked up at the enormous painted tower, the painted skies, the painted clouds.
It was utterly surreal—more absurd and dreamlike than even Minimundi.
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