Chapter 34

The relic was genuinely panicking. An uninvited guest had barged into the noble king's testing grounds and begun wreaking havoc without so much as a word.

Specter Trees. Monstrous trees that had grown by absorbing the vengeful souls of those who died on this land.

There had been three guarding the sanctuary. Now only one remained—and the intruder was brutally destroying that last tree as well.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Stop! Please, I'm begging you, stop! Ah, the sanctuary's power...! The king's trial...!”

Suho let the relic's desperate cries go in one ear and out the other as he battered the third Specter Tree like a madman.

[Grrr!]

The shadow jackals, now six in number, stood proudly erect at his side like guard dogs.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

'Once I break this one, I'll level up again!'

Unfortunately, destroying the second Specter Tree hadn't earned him a level. As his level rose, so did the amount of experience he needed.

But experience told him this one would definitely do it.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Suho's chopping grew even faster. But unlike the excited Suho, the other Rakan’s Fang kept pleading desperately inside his head.

“No! That's the last Specter Tree! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to grow it?”

“I can't hear you. I can't hear you.”

“Yes, you can! You can hear me...!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“You aren't even qualified! Stop interfering with the Trial of the King!”

At those words, Suho's sword abruptly stopped.

“... Qualified, huh.”

Suho raised his head with a faint smile and sneered at the relic watching him from somewhere.

“Why make such a fuss when you never intended to choose a real king anyway?”

“...”

Only silence answered him.

Suho had been certain of it for quite some time. He could be certain precisely because he already possessed one Rakan’s Fang.

“You were planning to steal the body of whichever human survived to the end, weren't you?”

If a human of insufficient stature possessed Rakan’s Fang, it would steal their body. And this time, the standard was nothing less than the stature of a king.

No matter how hard Earth's humans tried, how could they possibly meet the qualifications to become the Monarch of Fangs?

RUMBLE!

Just then, Suho's sword destroyed the final Specter Tree.

[You have destroyed a Specter Tree.]

[All specters will disappear.]

[You have leveled up!]

With that, every specter in Magok Field vanished without a trace. As their ceaseless screams died away, a heavy stillness settled over the forest.

At last, the relic spoke into the suffocating silence.

“... So you know me well. Who are you?”

The question was directed at Suho. But the oppressive weight in that voice put every hunter in Magok Field on edge.

RUMBLE!

The forest was howling. The ground shook as though it would collapse.

“Wh-what is this?!”

“What's happening?!”

As an ominous earthquake began beneath their feet, the hunters in the forest rapidly went pale.

Suho, meanwhile, chuckled and asked the Rakan’s Fang in his hand, “Looks like the relic here is a little stronger than you?”

“Of course not. It must have found a good host.” Rakan’s Fang's voice was scornful. “But I found a better one. I've found someone truly qualified to be king.”

Gray, currently in the Shadow Dungeon, was the sole descendant of the Fang Clan. Though he had become Suho's pet, that hardly mattered. If anything, the sword was convinced that staying by Suho's side would allow Gray to grow into an even stronger Monarch.

“Do you know why the relics exist?”

“Why?”

“To pit our chosen successors against one another and prove their worthiness to be king.”

Rakan’s Fang shifted its tip, pointing once more toward the other relic.

“Go. Go to it and prove that our candidate is more worthy.”

Instead of answering, Suho turned toward the shadow jackals.

“Jackal!”

[Grrr!]

“Carry me!”

A shadow jackal hurried over at his command and took Suho onto its back. Then it began racing through the dense forest at dazzling speed.

* * *

RUMBLE...

The closer they came to the earthquake's source, the denser the forest grew. Plant-type magic beasts of every description filled their surroundings.

No hunter had likely made it this far before. Never mind the lack of profit—it was simply too dangerous.

[The plants here are brimming with bloodlust. They have already tasted human blood.]

Beru was right.

The Magok Disaster. The fundamental reason this land had become such a vicious jungle was that the Gate had appeared in a particularly unfortunate location.

Magok had been home to Seoul's largest, most expansive botanical garden.

The moment a Gate to another world opened in the middle of that garden, the blue mist spilling out of it seeped into its countless varieties of plants and triggered grotesque mutations.

... This place became hell.

Things might have been a little different had this been an ordinary mountain like Gwanaksan. A mountain wouldn't have had the variety of plants found in a botanical garden.

Things might have been a little different had this not been an urban area. The monstrous, mana-contaminated plants wouldn't have devoured so many of the city's people and evolved into even more grotesque forms.

The result of all that misfortune stood right here.

[Magok Botanical Garden]

Where the botanical garden had once stood, a bizarre, enormous tree had grown, writhing as though alive.

Suho studied it with a furrowed brow and soon realized what it was.

“This... isn't a tree, is it?”

It wasn't a tree. Thousands of plant species from the garden had tangled and fused together, enveloping the botanical garden in the shape of a gigantic tree.

“It's a nest for a king.” Rakan’s Fang sounded rather excited. “So my other self has grown the sanctuary this much. I have to give it credit for that, at least.”

Just then—

WHOOSH!

The botanical garden's entrance, tightly sealed by countless vines, suddenly opened wide before Suho.

“Looks like it's inviting us in.”

[Young Monarch, it may be a trap.]

At Beru's concern, the corners of Suho's mouth curled upward.

“Then we'll break through it.”

He swept his two swords down to his sides and stepped through the entrance.

[You are entering a dungeon.]

The dungeon-infested botanical garden swallowed Suho. Then its vines coiled together again, sealing the entrance.

* * *

Inside, the botanical garden was silent and dark. Pitch-black, without a single glimmer of light.

Suho heightened his senses to adjust to the darkness. Then, to improve his vision further, he took “Item: Crow Mask” from his inventory and put it on.

Now he could see something.

Spiderwebs.

“Hah. Would you look at that?”

Suho chuckled as he surveyed his surroundings. Everything was wrapped in white spiderwebs.

“So this was the trap?”

Spiders large and small scuttled over the webs, the magic beasts staring down the intruder.

[Grave Spider]

[Grave Spider]

...

'Graves, huh.'

How fitting a name.

There were already guests who had arrived before Suho: beast-transformed hunters who had followed the “scent” here while he was dealing with the Specter Trees.

“Mmph! Mmph, mmph!”

All of them hung from the ceiling, tightly wrapped in webs.

As Suho entered, those whose mouths weren't covered screamed desperately.

“H-help me...!”

“Please, help us...!”

“They are sacrifices. Sacrifices for the king.”

Listening to Rakan’s Fang, Suho glared into the deep darkness ahead.

An enormous spider crouched there. A body the size of a house. Dozens of eyes. A hideous mouth. A pair of gigantic pincers.

[Arachne, the Grave Spider]

The spider's oppressive presence was as immense as a mountain.

“I can feel the relic's energy inside its body.”

Suho's eyes narrowed at Rakan’s Fang's words.

“Then I'll have to cut its belly open and take it out.”

THUD!

Without waiting another moment, Suho launched himself toward it with tremendous force.

SCREE! SCREE, SCREE!

Just then, grave spiders poured down from the walls and ceiling toward him.

“Handle the small fry!”

[Grrraah!]

At Suho's command, the shadow jackals leaped up and struck the grave spiders, tearing them apart with powerful claws and biting them to death with their strong teeth.

[You have defeated a Grave Spider.]

[You have defeated a Grave Spider.]

[You have defeated a Grave Spider.]

...

Countless messages appeared all at once. Suho ignored every one of them, looking only ahead as he charged.

He had just one target!

“Shraaah!”

Arachne spewed white webbing toward Suho.

'I'll tear through it!'

His two swords whirled.

[You are using “Skill: Storm Slash.”]

BOOM!

The swirling sword strikes ripped the webbing to shreds, revealing the enormous spider beyond it.

“Skreeee!”

Its gigantic pincer plunged down from overhead.

BANG!

Had he not instinctively twisted aside, the pincer would have crushed him outright.

After smashing the stone floor, it rose again. Suho's gaze sharpened.

'Here it comes again!'

WHOOSH! BANG!

He twisted aside to dodge once more.

BANG!

He dodged again.

“Skreeee!”

Enraged, Arachne began hammering its pincers down wildly.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Its attacks rained down without any discernible pattern, as though it meant to smash the entire floor to pieces. It felt like fighting an excavator at a construction site.

But...

'I can see it.'

No, he could feel it.

Having raised his Perception stat—even using items to do so—Suho's ability to sense danger now shone. Dodging Arachne's onslaught one blow at a time, he gradually closed the distance.

Then he attacked.

CRASH!

He slammed Rakan’s Fang into one of its utility-pole-like legs.

“Graaagh!”

As it staggered from the impact, he circled to its opposite side and lashed out again with Vulcan's Horn.

BANG!

From that moment on, Suho's twin swords unleashed a frenzied barrage.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

[“Skill: Dual Swordsmanship” has leveled up!]

The creature howled under the relentless, heavy blows.

“Skreeee!”

“That won't be nearly enough! Struggle all you like—you'll end up as my food!”

At the same time, a voice rang out from inside its body.

This wasn't nearly enough?

He knew that.

'Its outer shell is pretty hard.'

But that didn't matter. If its defenses were tough, he simply had to keep beating it until they shattered.

'I'm your food?'

What a joke.

Suho grinned, baring his white teeth.

'You're my prey.'

He was already excited at the thought of killing this thing and commanding it as a shadow soldier.

[You are using “Skill: Storm Slash.”]

“Skreeeeee!”