Chapter 15

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***

And, ever since Hee Jin started looking in on me at night, my stay in the gate had become much more comfortable. So much so that I no longer thought about finishing early and returning home. This place had even become more of a holiday for me than a strenuous training session.

I spent part of the day learning from Igris, some more time spent on the beautiful sorceress. And though I lacked some of the amenities of civilisation, I felt good. And good sex and just tenderness with a girl did not let me get bored without TV and Internet. But that made the other hunters even more dissatisfied, glancing enviously in my direction. Yeah, Park Hee Jin is mesmerisingly beautiful. There's a lot to envy.

She's also quite intelligent. I'd say she's rational and a little selfish.

She was primarily interested in me because of my strength and status as an S-rank hunter. The girl assumed that with me she would be able to settle down even better. And I'd be safer in raids. And I didn't say much, I wasn't even going to join their guild.

It's been three months now. The gate could have lasted for a long time, and I had at least another month's worth of supplies. But it seems the Dark Monarch got tired of me just sitting here and getting fat on daily quests. So, at some point, the reward decreased, and I started getting five characteristic points, and after a few days, the reward dropped to three units.

But basically, I had already achieved my goal for this dungeon.

Song Jin Woo

Level 83

Speciality

Shadow Lord

Title

One who seeks the easy way

Health - 100%

Mana - 100%

Characteristics:

Strength - 305 (+27)

Dexterity - 300 (+23)

Stamina - 293 (+24)

Perception - 202 (+20)

Intelligence - 360 (+19)

Skills

Passive:

Fortitude level 9

Two-handed Blade level 9

Ant's Strength level 9

Dagger Mastery level 4.

Active:

Sprint - 9 level.

Suppression - 8th rank.

Ruthless Slashing - rank 9

Cloak - 9th level.

Monarch's Power - 9th level.

Shadow Extraction - 8th level.

Shadow Vault - 7th level.

Monarch's Possession - 7th level.

Fireball - 5th level.

Fortification - 3rd level.

Furious Cut - 4 levels.

Vacuum Blast - 4.

I'm much stronger now.

And a pleasant feeling of unstoppable power just flowed through my body. At the same time, I felt an increasing affinity with the power that pulsed in my chest.

Also, some of my skills, having reached the ninth level, seemed to freeze there. That said, I didn't really look at those skills in the system anymore. Using them became so natural to me that I didn't even need the system to do it. I even started experimenting, trying to break away from the limitations of the system's skills and do something in my own way. As a result, I was able to mix the mysterious power of the shadow world with magic and combat skills.

The flame of the fireball was turning black. It was no longer hot, but enemies were not just burned, but as if split into particles, turning into dust. The vacuum explosion became even more powerful and seemed to warp space itself. Slashing and chopping simply became stronger, as did the strengthening skill. All in all, there was some room for imagination. With the source of my power, I could increase the effectiveness of the skills I had learnt.

Even in duels with Igris, I could feel it in how much I had grown.

While he was still superior to me in skill, in terms of pure power, he was inferior on all fronts. If I wanted to, I could simply overwhelm him with strength or speed. Grab him with an invisible hand and Bloody wouldn't even be able to move. He's one of my strongest servants and used to be even stronger than me.

Now.

- Hnn...

Mentally reaching for my strongest shadow, I grasped the threads of the system that was holding back his development.

...

An elite shadow knight promoted to general!

With some surprise, I simply ripped off some of the threads of the system, breaking its function that was holding back Igris' development. Well, game balance and all that.

- Overlord... - Bloody's voice rang with steel.

By becoming a general, he had gained the ability to speak, and he had also noticeably increased in strength. But, he's still much weaker than me. Even after I finally broke his shackles.

The General has been promoted to Marshal!

The power overwhelmed Igris, his eyes flashing with an ominous violet light. The very current of gate energy reacted to this change, shuddering in tension. The shackles broke and the Blood Knight regained all of his strength, approaching my current level but still falling short. Even so, I was already stronger than Igris with his maximum development.

- Hmm...

Interestingly enough, the system didn't react much to such interference.

I only did it because I was confident in my abilities. Even at this level, I think I could compete with the Architect. And if he tried to block my abilities through the system, I could just tear it to shreds. Sure, that way I'd lose the functions of the system itself, but at the same time, it wouldn't hold me back anymore.

Skill limitations, rollbacks, all of that will disappear. The number of shadows I can summon and save, in fact, I couldn't even figure out if that power had a limit. The system allows me to save about half a thousand shadows right now, but, that's not the limit of the Monarch's power over shadows itself, that's exactly the limit of the system. But the power itself seemed... infinite?

Well, more likely, it was just that my perception of that power was too limited to see its limit.

And, in any case, I didn't break the system, well, completely. Just shattered one deterrent concerning one of my servants. But, it also helped me better understand how this system even works. Part of that was also helped by my use of magic and class skills. I was definitely becoming more proficient in magic. Although, it's probably not quite right to call it magic. It's the imprint of human understanding of the powers of monsters and hunters. In reality, all these classes - mages, warriors, assassins, healers, are all very conventional. Still, the distribution of roles in troops is pretty useful.

Back to Igris...

- So you can speak now.

- Yes, my Lord. - The marshal bowed his head.

- And... what do you think of it? All of it.

The knight's gaze flashed.

I felt a rush of excitement from him.

- All I want is to follow you, Lord. - He answered simply.

- I see... and now that you're talking, why don't you tell me about Monarchs and Lords?

- The Monarchs are your enemies, Master.

- And the Overlords?

- I... I don't know... how they would feel about you, my Lord.

- And the Monarchs, the eight of them?

- You... your predecessor killed the Monarch of the White Flame. There are only seven left.

- Hmm.

I talked to my servant for a while longer, making sure he was loyal to me as a shadow servant. And, on the whole, his information only confirmed what I already knew. Also, he turned out to be rather... taciturn. Igris only answered direct questions, but he himself did not seek to communicate, preferring to stand silently behind me like a loyal vassal.

- How strong are the other monarchs? - I came to the last clarification.

- You are equal to them in strength, Master, in a one-on-one battle you would defeat any of the Monarchs except the Dragon Monarch. Only by inheriting the full strength of my former Master will you equal him in strength.

- I see, thanks for telling me, Igris.

The knight lowered his head, showing that he was always happy to serve.

By this time, I had just finished another reinforcement quest, gaining three characterisation points and a box of good elixir.

- Time to go back. - I exhaled, stretching my neck.

But before finishing up here, I needed to talk to Hee Jin.

And she was just about to bring me food again once I finished training with Igris. Although, this time we talked more than trained.

- Thank you. - I nodded to the girl. - Yeah... by the way, we're going back today.

- What? - She fluttered her eyelashes.

She didn't immediately realise what I meant. The girl herself was already used to this frozen forest. And, she also already saw it as a holiday. No worries, you don't have to work, you just have fun. And have a good time in the evenings. Except it was pretty sparse, so even she was starting to get bored.

- I mean... you're closing the gate? - She got it.

- Exactly. My development is getting slower and slower, I've already reached the top, and I think I could defeat Don-Su and all the Scavengers combined by now.

- Ah... are you sure? - She was worried. - The Scavengers, it's the strongest guild in the world... and it's led by the strongest hunter.....

- More than that. - I nod at her. - But there's something else I'd like to talk to you about.

- There is?

- Hmm... it's about our relationship. I really like you, no, really, you're a lovely girl...

- Does that sound like you want to dump me? - Hee Jin stared at me in surprise.

- I just want to make it clear that right now I'm not in the mood for the serious relationship you were probably hoping for. Of course, you can count on my support, and I wouldn't mind... continuing our communication... but, for now, I don't want to limit myself.

- You... - Hee Jin frowned.

- Come on, when you decided to seduce me, you didn't even ask if I had a girlfriend.

- Do... do you?

- Actually, yes.

- And you... you didn't say anything yourself! - The sorceress was indignant. - So you cheated on her?

- I didn't promise that I would only be with her.

Although, in fact, it can really be called cheating. And when I decided to have fun with Hee Jin, it looked and felt simpler and harmless. Now it's starting to depress me, just thinking about how Ju Hee will feel when she finds out about all this. Well, at the very least, she must be very uncomfortable. I originally just wanted sex from her and that's all, I used her affection for Jinwoo, and I also made a good impression on her. Nevertheless, she and I spent quite a few nights together, and I ate her cooking just as often, and socialised more with the girl. I became a little attached to her myself. But it could hardly be called love.

And while I was just thinking about it, the brunette jumped up abruptly.

She slapped me with a glare that I didn't really feel.

- You... scoundrel..." She frowned unhappily.

I only raised an eyebrow.

And apparently the lack of remorse on my face only made her angrier. The girl tried to hit me again, but I didn't let her do it a second time. Intercepting Hee Jin's hand, I sharply pulled the sorceress to me, squeezing her tightly. Well, this might be the last time I can hug her like this. The girl, on the other hand, didn't try to break free. Only shuddered, she looked into my eyes.

She was scared.

As long as she was nice to me, I was also favourable towards her and treated Hee Jin with warmth. Now she only saw coldness in my eyes. I wasn't interested in love and fidelity scandals.

- Don't play innocent. You did not come to me because of great love.

The girl swallowed excitedly. She didn't dare to object, especially since it was the truth.

- If you want to be by my side, you'll have to accept it. If not...

I'm letting the girl go.

- I'm not holding you. If you're going to make a scene, that's the end of it.

The sorceress frowned.

- I just... wanted to tell you that this is no way to behave! And you... immediately...

Shaking my head, I turned around, deciding not to listen to such rants. Yes, Hee Jin is a beautiful girl, but she's not the only one.

- Wait..." She panicked as I started to walk away.

Actually, I was just heading towards the captive boss to finally close the dungeon.

- Hmm?

- I didn't say I was... leaving you. - The brunette muttered.

And yet, she's... rather smart than prideful. The sorceress quickly realised that it wouldn't be possible to tame me with the usual reproaches and quarrels, that I was ready to simply give up on her if she started causing trouble. And after realising this, Hee Jin immediately became... more obedient. Even though the girl's pride was hurt, she was willing to accept it. Still, she had started this relationship for profit.

- I'm not leaving, I'm just going to finish off the boss. - I sighed. - And you... you better think if you need this kind of relationship.

- Ah... yeah..." The girl blinked in surprise.

She was a little taken aback by the way my voice had warmed as I addressed her. It was like we were back to where we were before this conversation, and I was being nice to her again. And, it was an attitude she clearly liked much better than cold detachment.

- Tell the others we're coming back, and we should get ready.

- Y-yes," the sorceress nodded.

I went to Baruca and thought about shadows and relationships. I mean, shadows are material beings. They can't even be called undead, they breathe, they feel, and especially strong ones can speak. And of course you can touch them, they're not ghosts. And all shadows are truly loyal to their master. So, I was thinking, if there was a girl among my shadows, would it be possible to get close to her? It was only when I thought about it that I realised that among the elves I had raised, there were only men. Not a single elf woman!

- You're back... - Baruka sighed tiredly, noticing me.

- Yes, your time has come.

This guy had become a bit desperate during his captivity and didn't even try to escape, waiting patiently for his execution.

- Just tell me, where are the elven girls?

- What? - The elf didn't understand.

- Well, elves, women. Why are there only male elves here?

- But... why? - He didn't understand. - Women are weak.

- I see. - I sighed.

Still, it was part of the Ice Monarch's army. And in his army he recruited only male elves, considering women weak. Or maybe their kind really are so weak that it doesn't even make sense to have them in an army.

- You came to kill me, finally... tell me, will I be able to serve you afterwards? - The monster asked with some trepidation.

- Yes." I confirmed calmly, holding out my hand.

A shadow reached into my palm, forming a grim blade.

The elf covered his eyes and, in the next moment, I struck a lightning blow, severing his head. And in the same hour, the energy of the dungeon went into a chaotic state. I also felt the threads of... some kind of spell break, and then a gate appeared near our car park.

- Rise.

Dark power filled the body of the elf, and having collected the remnants of his magic, left the dead man, incarnating in the form of a shadow creature. The ghostly warrior grinned contentedly with a hand to his chest and bowed respectfully.

- I name you Baruka.

Blue flames engulfed his shadow robes.

The shadow was intensified

Baruka

Elite shadow knight

Hmm, he was quite strong, even a little stronger than he was when he was alive, and he was just a little bit away from being promoted to the next rank. A few hard fights and he would become a general.

- From now on, you will command the shadow elves. - I commanded.

And briefly from my shadow elite monsters appeared, ready to follow their former leader, who now also joined them in the ranks of my servants.

After that, in general, all my soldiers returned to the shadow vault.

And I headed back towards the camp.

It was time to return.

- Jin Wu... - The sorceress nodded awkwardly to me.

She was the last one here. The other surviving hunters rushed joyfully to the gate as soon as it opened. The girl stayed behind, waiting for me.

- Let's go back. - I nodded.

- Wait..." She hesitated.

- Hmm?

- You're right... when I came to you then, I didn't care about feelings. But... we've spent so much time here together.

- And you're used to our relationship.

- Yes.

- So, what do you want now?

- I... so be it. - She straightened up, fixing her hair. - Until I find a better guy, I'll stay with you. Just don't hit on other girls in front of me, do it while I can't see.

- Ahem... okay, when you find a better guy, don't forget to tell me about it.

At least that issue was resolved.

And we walked out of the gate together.

*** 

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