Chapter 317
Bzzzzz-!
Following Suho's command, Arsha's worker bees began to move busily. They carefully collected the pink cells scattered by No. 47 and the otherworldly weapons, as if gathering pollen. One cell per bee.
[More worker bees will be needed.] Gauging the relatively insufficient quantity, Arsha's eyes gleamed.
Weeeeeng-!
At that moment, her influence spread in all directions. The ordinary bees living in North Korea, touched by that energy, began to abandon their own queen and follow Arsha instead, as if possessed. Their ever-increasing numbers flew up all at once, chasing the pink dust. Suho's order to collect all this pollen confused her. However she wasn't curious about his intentions. The important thing now was that she could finally be useful to Suho. What assistance had Arsha provided him since becoming his subordinate…?
None…
'Maybe Reconnaissance?' The shadow soldiers alone were enough for that.
'What about thoroughly searching North Korea to track the Elvenwoods…?' Even that ultimately became meaningless. Because the moment the perception-impairing barrier disappeared, the Elvenwoods revealed themselves all over the world.
Well, if one wanted to think deeply about it, she had done some minor errands, but that was hardly sufficient. From Arsha's perspective, who had to gain Sung Suho's, the Monarchs' Priest, favor to be recognized as a candidate for the next Monarch, she couldn't help but become more and more impatient as days passed. But finally, the opportunity had come.
[I can't miss this chance!]
Arsha put all her effort into tracking each and every pink cell.
* * *
Meanwhile, Suho wasn't just waiting around either.
'Shadow Exchange'
Poof!
The moment Suho suddenly disappeared, Association Hunters next to him widened their eyes and were flustered. Only Woo Jinchul seemed used to this situation, calmly instructing them to secure the surroundings and take care of the injured. Then he resumed the search for the traces of the Cult of the Outer Gods that he had been conducting here.
* * *
Flash!
Meanwhile, Suho returned to the lab where the 'Doctor', or rather the Apostle of Evolution, had been hiding.
Pssss-
"As expected, it's the same here too."
Looking around the lab, just as he predicted, the same thing was happening here as well. The pink lumps that the Apostle of Evolution had left unfinished were disintegrating inside the test tubes.
"Harmakan, let's take all of these too."
[Yes, Master.]
These cells were in transparent glass tubes, so there was no need for the worker bees to intervene. They could just move the containers themselves. Harmakan, not satisfied with just faithfully carrying out Suho's order, took every single speck of dust he could find in the lab and brought it into the shadow dungeon. Originally, the demonic spirit race enjoyed this kind of experimentation. And thanks to Beru devouring the Apostle of Evolution's memories, he judged that if the two of them put their heads together, they would be able to make use of the things in this lab, somehow. Then he found it…
[Master, there's a stone tablet here too.]
'Itarim's Stone Tablet'
Harmakan brought the Itarim's Stone Tablet he found in the corner of the lab to Suho.
"Hmm. They definitely look alike. As expected, apostles seem to be communicating with each other using these stone tablets, right?"
[Not only that, but now I see that they can even connect their locations and teleport.]
The villains were teleported from China this time. It was certain that they were using the stone tablets like the 'Shadow Exchange' skill, linking Gates to each other.
"The samples have increased. Does that make it easier to analyze?" At Suho's question, Harmakan smiled meaningfully and nodded.
[Yes. I think we can backtrack now.]
"Oh, to where the other apostles are?"
[That's right. Since they're stone tablets that can communicate with each other, we can 'invade' from this side too.]
"Start right away."
Flash!
At that command, he immediately wrapped the Itarim's Stone Tablets held in his hands with magic. The complex and ornate looking magic circle began to dismantle and analyze the stone tablets in earnest. Meanwhile, Harmakan asked Suho about his intentions in collecting the pink cells.
[But Master, what are you aiming for? What do you want me to do with these cells?] Suho just smiled and replied,
"I don't know."
[...Hmm?]
Harmakan tilted his head at Suho's meaningful smile. His eyes, gleaming like that of a child who had discovered a new toy, made him somewhat resemble a demonic spirit who enjoyed research and experiments.
But there was one thing Harmakan didn't know. Suho had been living with Beru, Igris, Bellion, and countless other shadow soldiers since he was a baby. And of course, that included many shadow demonic spirits. Looking back, Suho had been experiencing mysterious phenomena that ordinary children could never even imagine since the moment he was born. He accepted them as if they were natural. As a result, he was able to come up with different ideas than the others, in other words… Creativity. This could be considered a result of early education.
"I don't know what I'll do with these either, but let's just imagine for a moment." The information he had learned so far was floating around in Suho's mind as he smiled brightly.
'Angels, the Rulers' soldiers, are born from the fruits of the World Tree.'
'The World Tree survives by feeding on the souls of the dead in the Sea of The Afterlife.'
'Elvenwood survives by feeding on dead elves or other creatures.'
'Like the World Tree.'
'Elvenwood is similar to the World Tree.'
'The Apostle of Evolution used Elvenwood to give birth to test subjects. Although not with fruits, but with pollen.'
Brainstorming done. The floating puzzles finally formed a single picture in Suho's mind.
"Beru."
[You called?]
"You said the Apostle of Evolution's research goal was Father, right?"
[Yes. It's truly ridiculous that he had such a grand dream.]
"And No. 47 is a humanoid soldier that he perfected by imitating shadow soldiers."
[That's right.]
"But if you look at the production principle, isn't it more similar to the process of the Rulers' soldiers being born than to shadow soldiers?"
[...!]
Beru's eyes widened at those words. And he looked through the research records he had devoured one by one, his eyes gleaming.
[That's definitely true!]
It was truly a curious thing. Angels born from the fruits of the World Tree. Test subjects born from the pollen of Elvenwood. As the ecology of the World Tree and Elvenwood were close, there was definitely a similar mechanism between the two. Creation is the mother of imitation. Imitation is the mother of creation. These two phrases were the ones that the Apostle of Evolution pondered the most while reading human books. And the result of the experiment that began with researching Elvenwood was the immortal doll, No. 47.
"Hmm. An immortal doll without a soul..." Suho stroked his chin and organized the research results the Apostle of Evolution had left behind.
'Perhaps this might be possible...' A way to utilize the cells.
"Beru, from now on, you and Harmakan will continue the research that the Apostle of Evolution left behind."
[Kiek?]
[Oh.] Harmakan's eyes gleamed with an intrigued expression.
[If you just set the direction of the research, we will somehow succeed in whatever you desire, Master.]
The purpose of the research The Apostle of Evolution conducted by killing countless other creatures was his own advancement. But the goal Suho desired was completely different.
"I don't need a soul or ego. What I need is the shell."
[...?]
Beru and Harmakan tilted their heads at those words. But in the meantime, Arsha faithfully completed Suho's order.
Bzzzzzz-!
[I've gathered all the scattered pollen. Without missing a single one.]
"I need more… The more ingredients, the better."
[...?]
Arsha's avatar, which appeared before Suho, had a puzzled expression for a moment.
"There are many Elvenwoods in other countries too, right?"
[Ah, you're saying you need all the pollen from all over the world… I understand.]
Arsha, grasping Suho's intentions, nodded and muttered that she would need many more worker bees. If Suho wished, increasing the number of her subordinates was easy. Rather, it was a good thing for her, fundamentally a queen bee… Originally, a queen was a being that could only be born if there were enough worker bees.
[I will open a way for worker bees to go to other countries.] Harmakan used the shadow soldiers that Suho had already spread all over the world as coordinates and created tiny dimensional rifts.
Pooof! Crack! Crackle!
The smallest Gates in the world, just big enough for one or two worker bees to barely pass through, were created on Suho's shadow.
[And I'll set the coordinates so that they can return to the shadow dungeon.]
Bzzzzz-!
Just like that, following Suho's command, Arsha's worker bees spread all over the world. No one noticed the tiny insects flying around the fierce battlefields where countries around the world were putting all their effort into eliminating the giant 'tree-type magical beast' Elvenwood, that appeared simultaneously everywhere. This was because it was only natural for bees to fly around near trees.
* * *
The next place Suho headed to wasn't Russia, but Korea. More precisely, the game company where his uncle, Yoo Jinho, worked.
[Ahjin Soft]
[Solo Leveling: Virtual Reality Laboratory]
"Suho!" Yoo Jinho raised both hands and expressed his joy at his sudden return from North Korea.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Is everything alright?"
Even though he knew Suho had potions, he instinctively checked his condition thoroughly, the very image of a doting father. However, those most shocked by that sight were the ones who had been severely tormented by the meticulous and cold-hearted Yoo Jinho. In other words, it was the S-rank Hunters gathered here to train in the 'Solo Leveling' game, and the high-ranking Hunters of the large guilds under them.
"Oh my god..."
"I didn't know Yoo Jinho could even smile like that?"
"Scary..."
The sight of him cherishing someone was truly terrifying to others. But Suho was used to his uncle's behavior, so he calmly brought up the main topic.
"Uncle..." Yoo Jinho nodded confidently before he could even finish, his expression dependable.
"Yes, what do you need? Just say it."
Suho's gaze swept the surroundings. 'Solo Leveling' The ambitious project that Ahjin Soft, famous for its virtual reality game, focused all its effort on developing. It was the culmination of modern science, developed with the utmost effort for Hunters to safely gain real-life experience.
'Virtual Reality Capsule' Additionally, this machine was also a life support device for patients with the recently problematic 'Eternal Sleep Disease'. Pointing at those, Suho spoke.
"I was wondering if we could induce the Eternal Sleep Disease, but in reverse."
"...Huh?" Yoo Jinho was momentarily bewildered, unable to understand what Suho meant. The lack of the soul, Eternal Sleep Disease. A state where the body was alive, but the soul had departed to the Sea of The Afterlife. What did it mean to use that in reverse?
"...What do you mean?" Yoo Jinho's expression turned serious.
"I was wondering if it would be possible to send Hunters' souls to another dimension through those capsules."
Fwoosh.
Just in time, the pollen that Arsha had gathered appeared in Suho's hand. Who showed him the pink lump where those cells were gathered.
"From now on, my soldiers will use these cells to create vessels to contain Hunters' souls. It will take time, but... we will make as many as possible." Suho's expression also turned more serious than ever.
"So, Uncle. Please make not just a 'virtual reality game', but a simulator where hunters can go to another dimension and fight"
"...!"
Not only Yoo Jinho, but all the people in the virtual reality lab were shocked by those words.
Suho continued. "From now on, we will personally cross the universe and invade the invaders… By putting souls into these fake vessels."
"...!"
It was truly innovative, Suho's suggestion completely changed the 'Solo Leveling' project, which had been developed as a training game for Hunters. It was the beginning of a counterattack.