Chapter 78

Suho had extracted and used all sorts of shadow soldiers. Many of them had been quite useful, but unfortunately, they were nothing more than mercenaries hired for a day.

This latest battle was a perfect example. When swarms of bees had blackened the sky, Arachne, the Grave Spider, could have sprayed her webs and bound them all in an instant. But Arachne had returned to nothingness long ago, leaving Suho to deal with all those mobs one by one.

Beru had once told him:

["Only a Monarch may command an army."]

Suho had inherited shadow power thanks to having the right father, but that did not make him the Shadow Monarch. As with every Monarch, the reigning Monarch first had to die before the position could become vacant. Yet the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo, was already immortal. In other words, Suho could never become the Shadow Monarch.

But Beru had clearly said something else back then.

["Young Monarch, you do not yet have the authority to maintain an army."]

Not yet.

And now, that moment had finally come.

[Skill: Shadow Storage lv.1]

Shadow power.

No mana cost.

Absorbs shadow soldiers into the caster's shadow for storage.

Stored soldiers can be summoned or reabsorbed whenever the caster wishes.

Number of shadows stored: 0 / 1

"... Awesome."

Suho's eyes widened as he read the skill window.

Above his head, Beru flew in circles, shedding tears of joy.

[Kieeeek! What a glorious moment! My liege has finally permitted you to have your own personal soldiers, Young Monarch!]

"Personal soldiers, huh..."

Suho nodded and murmured, "So there was a level requirement after all."

Levels were ultimately the system's way of displaying Suho's stature in an easily understood form. If someone of insufficient stature were granted such power, the energy of death would devour them instead, reducing them to a shadow soldier. After all, storing soldiers of death within one's shadow meant having death follow beneath one's feet at all times.

In any case, now that he finally had permission to command personal soldiers, what mattered to Suho was the number.

[Number of shadows stored: 0 / 1]

"Just one..."

Suho gave a small chuckle. This, too, had to be because his level was low.

"So you're telling me to build up one at a time, since I'm still a lowbie."

Like Shadow Extraction, this number would be affected by his Intelligence stat anyway. Suddenly, Suho remembered sitting beside his father and playing games as a child. His father had constantly nagged him, saying, ["How can you sleep at that level?"]

'No wonder he always leveled up so much faster, even when we played the same game. Leveling up was his day job.'

[Which one do you intend to store as your first soldier?]

Beru's question drew Suho out of his thoughts, and he answered with a grin.

"Why ask? You already know."

Obviously, the one who had given him the most trouble lately.

Suho laid the severed arm he had taken from Lee Minsung on the floor.

[This target is eligible for Shadow Extraction.]

Shadow Extraction could be performed with only part of a corpse. The corpse was merely a medium, after all. Black energy was already wavering over Lee Minsung's arm.

AAAAAAH!

An ominous, ghostly wail echoed from within the shadow. Lee Minsung was howling for someone to free him from this hell. His presence was so vicious it was frightening.

'Fine. If you want it so badly, I'll let you out.'

Suho personally extended a hand toward him.

"Arise."

At Suho's command, the black shadow began to writhe.

[Attempting Shadow Extraction.]

[Extraction in progress...]

GRAAAH!

Lee Minsung's face thrust out of the shadow, his mouth opening in a vicious snarl.

But then...

CLANG!

A notification appeared with a metallic twang.

[Shadow Extraction has failed.]

[2 attempts remaining.]

'A failure, huh.'

Suho narrowed his eyes. He had expected some chance of failure, so he was not particularly shaken. The probability of Shadow Extraction failing increased in proportion to the target's stats. Lee Minsung had been an A-rank hunter with far more mana than Suho, and Suho had not defeated him alone in the first place.

'Which makes me want him all the more.'

Suho recalled Lee Minsung, the ultimate lancer whom the queen bee Arsha had painstakingly evolved. That arrogant creature had broken free of the queen bee on his own to pursue his desires. The mere thought of making him a soldier filled Suho's heart with excitement.

'Two attempts left...'

Suho took a deep breath and calmly made his second attempt.

"Arise."

CLANG!

[Shadow Extraction has failed.]

[1 attempt remaining.]

"..."

His head swam. He had expected this, but with only one chance remaining, he could not help feeling tense.

GRAAAAAH!

Even now, Lee Minsung was desperately struggling to escape the black smoke.

'You want to come out too, don't you?'

Suho could feel his desire. His gaze grew solemn.

'You were jealous of my Shadow Lancers. I saw it.'

During their battle, he had shown his petty envy of the lancers that would not stay dead.

["Why didn't the queen bee give me that regenerative ability? Was she afraid I would become too powerful?!"]

But he had been sorely mistaken. That power had never been the queen bee's to give.

'Come to me. I'll make you the strongest lancer of all.'

Fierce determination flashed in Suho's eyes.

"Arise!"

At that moment...

GRAAAH!

Lee Minsung burst out of the black smoke with a roar. The smoke trailing after him wove together in strands, beginning to form the rest of his unfinished body.

[Shadow Extraction successful.]

"Yes!"

Suho cheered. Still, it did not seem to be a complete resurrection.

[Powerful desire has awakened the deceased's fighting spirit.]

[However, the deceased's stats are far higher than the caster's, weakening the shadow soldier's power.]

[The shadow will start at level 2.]

'Level 2 after being weakened?'

Suho looked puzzled. What level would he have been originally?

[?? Lv.2]

Knight Grade

With a crisp movement, the lancer made of black vapor knelt majestically on one knee before Suho and bowed his head.

[I greet you, my master.]

"Huh? You can talk too?"

[Kiek?]

Suho's and Beru's eyes widened at the same time. The other Shadow Lancers could not speak, yet this one alone had retained the ability.

"Is it because he's Knight Grade?"

[N-no. Normally, they must be at least General Grade to speak... Or is that not always the case?]

Beru looked just as bewildered.

[Hmm. Perhaps it is because you played with shadow soldiers from the time you were babbling, Young Monarch...]

In the end, all he could do was speculate that talent and early education were responsible.

DING!

[Soldiers of Knight Grade or higher may be given names.]

[The assigned name will remain until the shadow is destroyed.]

[Please choose a name for the soldier.]

Suho considered the system's request for a moment.

'A name...'

Lee Minsung's name was so infamous that he did not want to keep using it.

'Right. Since Lee Minsung wanted to succeed Querehsha...'

"Quay."

[Would you like to use 'Quay'?]

"Yes."

As soon as Suho finished speaking, a new name appeared above the soldier's head, replacing the question marks.

[Quay Lv.2]

Knight Grade

[Thank you for the fine name.]

Lee Minsung, reborn as Quay, rose with a faint smile. In life, long, spear-like stingers had grown from both arms in place of hands. Now that he had been reborn, only one arm had a stinger, while the other ended in an ordinary hand.

'Is that because I only brought back one arm?'

As Suho looked Quay over, Beru fluttered up and mocked Lee Minsung.

[Keheh. How pitiful. You were so powerful, yet now you're merely level 2, Knight Grade.]

But Quay merely scoffed at Beru's taunt.

[Ha. Ridiculous. Do you think you have any right to laugh at me?]

[Urk.]

The remark struck home, making Beru flinch.

[Beru Lv.1]

Soldier Grade

For the record, mini Beru's current grade was far below his.

[Th-this isn't my true form!]

[The same goes for me. What matters is the present, isn't it?]

[What?! A newcomer dares talk back to his senior?!]

[Senior? You're just a foot soldier.]

[...!]

Beru bristled with genuine indignation, while Quay folded his arms and regarded him indifferently. As their vicious battle of nerves continued, Suho spoke.

"Quay."

[Yes, Master. Did you call?]

"Head on the floor."

[Pardon?!]

Quay's eyes widened in shock. His body, however, was already obeying, dropping down and planting his head on the floor.

[M-master! Why are you doing this to me...?!]

"Beru's like an uncle who carried me on his back and helped raise me. Keep mouthing off and you'll be in trouble."

[Young! Mon! Aaarch! Boo-hoo!]

Shedding tears of gratitude, Beru flew over and latched onto Suho's head. Then he shot Quay a sidelong look and began cackling with satisfaction.

[Now I see! You're level two because you're second fiddle!]

[Grr.]

That remark seemed to have touched a nerve. With his head still planted on the floor, Quay's face twisted in fury.

[... You'll pay for this, foot soldier.]

It seemed their rivalry would continue for some time.

* * *

[Hmm. He looks like a fairly useful soldier. Where did you catch this one?]

Ammut, who had been watching Suho from the sidelines, studied Quay with interest. Suho told him everything that had happened that day, and Ammut burst into hearty laughter.

[You still have a long way to go. You struggled against a few measly bugs?]

"I told you, it wasn't just a few! Even you would've had trouble, Master."

[Nonsense. Even if hundreds of millions of those insects swarmed me at once, they could not harm me in the slightest.]

It was no exaggeration. Ammut's thick hide was a full suit of steel armor in itself. With defenses that solid, he could have ignored every attack, strode straight up to their leader, and trampled him.

"Anyway, there's something I wanted to ask."

[What is it?]

Suho recalled what he had done during the day's final battle.

"It'll be quicker to show you. Watch."

HUMMM!

[Using Skill: Iron Body Arts.]

Suho raised his sword and activated Iron Body Arts. Black energy flowed along his arm and wrist, extending from the blade as sword aura.

Ammut's eyes flashed at the sight.

[Oh? Impressive. You've extended Iron Body Arts to your weapon!]

"Oh, so that was possible all along?"

[For me, of course. But Tarnak could not do it.]

"Even the Monarch of the Iron Body couldn't do this?"

Suho's eyes widened at the unexpected answer. Ammut stared intently at him with a meaningful smile.

[Correct. Born a goblin, he could do no more than strengthen his body. That alone made him powerful enough, of course. But you are different.]

Suho was no mere goblin. He was the son of the Shadow Monarch.

[Different starting points must lead to different results. I, too, am curious to see what sort of monster you will become once you master Iron Body Arts!]

RUMBLE!

At that moment, Ammut's body began growing larger as he transformed into Spirit form.

[So, if you're finished with your business, let's begin training!]

"W-wait! I'm not mentally prepared yet...!"

A crushing gravitational field bore down on Suho. His workout—no, his daily quest, more grueling than fighting Querehsha—had begun.