Ch 11

Chapter 11

The Protector looked around him.

Miners frozen in fear, unable to move, people who had laughed and chatted together while digging with their pickaxes earlier that day.

The old man who had given him water earlier after seeing how hard his younger friend was working, and the same man who had shown him how to use a pickaxe.

“You want me to leave these people and run away alone?”

“My lord, I do not concern myself with the lives of these humans. I have a mission.”

Beru spoke firmly.

For Beru, the life of the Shadow Monarch’s son, Suh-Ho, was more precious than the lives of all the people on Earth.

Beru’s mission was to keep Suh-Ho alive no matter what, even if everyone else here died.

“It’s not just a matter of justice.”

Suh-Ho scanned his surroundings.

“We have no way out anyway.”

Kkrrreeeekkkk…

Suddenly, the path leading out of the dungeon was blocked by numerous wolves.

The only way to escape from here was to defeat the enemies in their path.

“And… there doesn’t seem to be any other way.”

Suh-Ho looked at Kim Cheol-ho, who was surrounded by countless wolves, and faintly smiled.

Seeing Suh-Ho like this, Beru suddenly felt a strange feeling.

It was as if the image of Sung Jin-woo, who he had thought was still weak, had overlapped with Suh-Ho.

“The ghost of the Fangs Lord felt a sense of disgust. Upon awakening from a long slumber, he saw no sign of his master and only a group of pathetic humans around him.

“How ridiculous. They are like weak, pitiful vermin,” he thought.

Although he had only slightly weakened his power, they trembled in fear.

“Ah, how weak these wretches are,” he mused.

Then, they must be devoured. The world was originally made up of the logic that the weak were preyed upon and the strong took everything.

Snap.

The body of Kim Cheol-ho, whom the ghost ruled, tasted the vermin as he watched them.

“You worthless vermin. You have no value in living. You would be much more valuable as wolf food if you die.”

At that moment, Kim Cheol-ho’s hand moved on its own and swung the ghost’s sword at the humans.

“Die.”

But the intention was not fulfilled.

Suddenly, a shadow goblin jumped in and took the blow instead.

[Kerruk!]

The goblin’s face, split in half, looked pitifully unjust, as if it were not sacrificing itself of its own accord.

“What are you guys?”

The ghost looked at the goblins that had blocked his way with a puzzled expression.

[Kerrukkerruk!]

These pathetic creatures had become frightened and were attacking him.

“They don’t recognize the strong. If you’re a monster, it’s natural to have that survival instinct.”

Snap!

Without mercy, he swung his sword and cut down the goblins once again.

But something strange happened.

The goblins who had fallen miserably suddenly recovered in an instant and got back on their feet.

[Kerrrk!]

“Huh?”

The ghost made an annoyed expression at their persistent attack.

Then the wolves he commanded rushed in and ruthlessly tore the goblins’ bodies apart.

The ghost now lost interest in the goblins and turned his gaze back to the humans.

They were running away.

“Ha! These miserable creatures even struggle to survive.”

But unfortunately, the direction they were heading was not an exit, but a passage deeper into the dungeon.

“Chase after them.”

“Krrreung!”

Numerous wolves chased after them at his command.

The ghost turned his gaze in the opposite direction.

There was a gate leading outside the dungeon, towards the world beyond.

“Where is that?”

Countless creatures were bustling outside.

Each one was weak and feeble, but that only made them more appetizing.

“The weak must be devoured.”

The ghost suddenly looked down at his own body.

He was now the body of Hunter Kim Cheol-ho.

This human’s body was already dead, but from now on, it would be used greatly as his own.

Oh, how glorious it would be to eat this miserable creature!

“I will eat your fill for you, who died in my place. I will personally devour all the creatures in that world beyond.”

The ghost’s eyes gleamed greedily.

He led his numerous wolves and slowly walked towards the outside.

But then it happened.

Thunk!

“Ah.”

A sudden stone axe flying towards the ghost’s back of the head.

Sensing the danger, the ghost swung its sword and deflected the attack with a nonchalant expression.

“Ah, too bad! I almost had it!”

“…Almost?”

The ghost looked at the human who threw the axe with a bewildered expression.

But then, another axe flew from the hands of the guardian.

“Is this the struggle of the weak?”

Thunk.

The ghost raised its sword again and deflected the attack.

But when it blocked the attack, another axe flew towards it.

“No way.”

It deflected it again.

And then another one came.

“How many axes are there?!”

Eventually, the ghost could not stand it anymore and burst into anger.

Meanwhile, axes continued to fly towards it.

“Kill that guy first!”

Grrrr!

Upon the ghost’s command, the wolves that were about to leave the gate turned around and began to chase the guardian.

“My lord! We need to flee now!”

“Right, let’s go!”

“Stay there, you!”

Grrrr! Kyaah!

The guardian retreated back into the cave to escape the wolves.

However, there were too many wolves chasing after it, and their speed was too fast, so they surrounded it in no time.

“Tsk. In the end, that’s all that a vermin like him is good for, to be eaten and die.”

The ghost laughed at Suho and sentenced him to death.

“Kill him. Tear off his limbs and chew on his bones.”

Crack!

The wolves all charged towards Suho at once.

At that moment, Suho chuckled and inserted a key towards his own shadow.

Clang!

[Would you like to enter the Shadow Dungeon?] (Y/N)

“I enter the Shadow Dungeon!”

[Entering the Shadow Dungeon.]

Shwaaak!

At that moment, Suho’s shadow swallowed him up.

Gulp!

“Huh?”

The ghost looked around in confusion, as Suho disappeared without a trace.

“What? Where did he hide? Find him!”

The wolves sniffed and began tracking Suho’s scent.

“Creak?”

Of course, they couldn’t find him.

“What, what is this? How can he hide without leaving a trace of his scent?”

The ghost wandered with the wolves, searching for Suho’s whereabouts.

And then, swoosh.

Berka appeared at the spot where Suho had disappeared and looked around.

The wolves took advantage of the opportunity and howled towards the shadow.

[…You can come out now.]

Shwaaak!

[Leaving the Shadow Dungeon]

Then the guardian appeared again from the shadows.

As soon as they stepped outside, the guardian picked up their battle axe and threw it towards the back of the ghost.

“What, what is it!”

The ghost turned around in surprise.

Swish-clang!

They barely managed to deflect the battle axe, then turned their attention to the guardian who had suddenly appeared, their expression hardening.

“You were there, you should have stayed hidden….!”

Swish-clang!

“Ow! Stop throwing that thing!”

The guardian’s actions of constantly throwing the battle axe whenever they had a chance caused the ghost to lose their composure.

“Kill him! Kill that guy!”

Growl!

And so the pursuit began again.

But whenever they were surrounded, the guardian would disappear into the Shadow Dungeon without a trace.

Shhhhhh!

“Where did he go this time, damn it!”

The ghost, with their anger boiling over, was on the verge of losing it.

And in that moment, a battle axe flew towards the back of their head once again.

Swish-clang!

“It’s not going to work!”

***

Meanwhile, the miners who were watching the guardian’s exploits from afar were at a loss for words.

“What the…”

“What kind of skill is that…?”

They knew that the guardian was a rank E hunter.

And they were well aware that rank E was of no use in battle.

But what exactly was that appearance of his?

“I can’t tell if he’s weak or strong….”

“Something’s off though….”

“He fights too well?”

“Well, is it even right for him to be fighting in the first place?”

However, one thing was certain.

Suho’s skill was highly specialized in enhancing human weakness.

And it wasn’t just his skill.

The fact that he was able to provoke without any hesitation against a being that exuded such a fierce aura…

“Maybe it’s not just his skill, but also his natural boldness.”

“Or maybe he just has a bad personality….”

In this desperate situation, Suho was the only hope.

“But wasn’t he a summoner?”

“Oh, right. Even in the midst of all this, he hasn’t used his summoning skill once.”

“I saw earlier. His summons were easily defeated.”

“That’s why summoning skills are not good….”

“If it was a different combat skill instead of summoning….”

The miners who witnessed Suho’s power were filled with regret.

His combat sense was exceptional.

Just like the incident at the art museum a few days ago.

Suho had a natural hunter’s sense.

Even if someone had awakened high abilities, if they didn’t have that combat sense, they could freeze up and die in battle.

It was truly regrettable.

If Suho wasn’t just a summoner hunter….

“He would have become a truly amazing hunter.”

Berga, who was listening to their conversation from afar, exploded in anger.

[Kiayak! How can Shadow Ability be treated like this!]

But it wasn’t yet time.

At Suho’s current level, the shadow soldiers couldn’t fully utilize their abilities.

Moreover, the significantly low amount of magic power was also a problem for Suho.

The true strength of the Shadow Soldiers was the endless army of immortal undead.

However, even that was only possible with the support of Suho’s magic power from behind.

But Suho’s magic power was already almost depleted from the earlier battle.

As a result, the Shadow Goblins who had worked hard with their pickaxes had already vanished long before.

[However.]

Vern’s eyes lit up ominously.

At the same time, Suho also smiled faintly and muttered.

“Creating Shadow Soldiers doesn’t require any mana at all.”

That’s when it happened.

Among the many wolves that were chasing Suho and the ghosts, a suspicious presence was felt.

[Shadow Wolf Lv.1]

Normal rank

[Shadow Wolf Lv.1]

Normal rank

[Shadow Wolf Lv.1]

Normal rank

They were none other than Suho’s new soldiers, the Shadow Wolves, who had flipped the wolf skins left behind by the salvage team.

[Crack!]

“Huh?!”

The legs of the ghost, who had been distracted by deflecting the flying axes, were bitten by the Shadow Wolves.

The surprised ghost slashed at them with his sword.

Then, the wolf skins on the outside were cut off, revealing the appearance of the Shadow Wolves with their black aura swirling.

[Growl!]

“How dare these lowly creatures!”

The ghost, who had become increasingly angry, swung his sword and quickly slaughtered the shadow wolves.

With the depleted magical power of the guardian, they could never be resurrected again.

But.

“Checkmate.”

Suddenly, the guardian, who had approached the ghost, swung his two-handed battle axe mercilessly.

Crack.