Chapter 46

[Skill: Giant’s Armor - Level 1]

[Active Skill

Required Mana: 10

The entire body is enlarged with magical armor.

While the skill is active, mana decreases by one per second.]

Giant’s Armor had been obtained after defeating Kwak Dooyoung. It was a skill that continuously drained mana while it remained active. Suho’s current maximum mana was 635, which meant that he could maintain the skill for just as many seconds. This roughly amounted to ten minutes, assuming he didn’t use any other skills.

The increase in strength, size, and defense was significant, but it came with a major drawback. Suho’s hands grew so large that he couldn’t hold any weapons. He had to give up his primary weapons, the two swords, and fight barehanded.

“Smash.”

As Suho clenched his fist, the power of Ruler’s Authority shrouded his hand with dark energy. He directed his fist toward the sand centipede tightly coiling around his body.

The impact made the centipede’s elongated body recoil in shock, but it wasn’t a fatal blow. The centipede managed to escape unharmed and burrowed back into the sand.

The single attack had drained half of Suho’s mana, and the duration of the Giant’s Armor was significantly reduced.

If I continue to fight like this, I won’t even be able to cover the cost of the potions.

Suho quickly made a decision—it was time to escape.

“Release Giant’s Armor.”

The armor of aura that had covered his entire body disappeared, and Suho’s body returned to its original size. He immediately climbed onto Arachne’s back and reached out to Esil. “What are you doing? Can’t you tell that it’s time to run away?”

Esil was lost for words, but nevertheless, she grabbed his hand without hesitation.

***

Shriek!

With Suho and Esil on board, Arachne began to dash across the desert, vigorously flailing its eight legs.

Following closely behind were the seven giant sand centipedes. The race was on. It was a breathless pursuit, where the line between capture and escape was thin.

“We might get caught at this rate!” Esil, riding atop Arachne, turned to look at the rapidly approaching centipedes with her eyes filled with determination. Without hesitation, she hurled her spear toward the closest centipede.

Swish!

The centipede contorted its body and narrowly evaded the attack. While it allowed them to gain some distance, Esil’s spear was now lost.

“What about your weapon?” Suho asked.

“Just watch. Return!” Esil reached out her hand and shouted, and her spear flew back to her like a boomerang. She confidently twirled the spear and looked at Suho with a sense of pride. “This spear is my horn. It always returns to me, no matter where it is.”

“Horn?”

“It’s a demon’s horn. Some demons use their own horns as weapons. Our Radiru clan does the same.”

“That’s great news.”

“Why?” Esil was taken aback.

Suho looked at her with a glint in his eyes. “This time, I’ll create an opening for you, so be ready to strike.” He chuckled and drew his swords while on Arachne’s back.

[Skill: “Storm Slash” has activated.]

The swords whipped up a sandstorm. He aimed to obscure the creatures’ vision. His plan succeeded, and the faces of the sand centipedes were shrouded in thick sand and dust.

“Now!”

“Got it!”

Esil infused her spear with mana and hurled it at the creatures. Her spear flew through the sandstorm and exploded upon hitting the centipede’s body. The blinded centipede, startled by the attack, writhed its long body and retreated into the sand once more.

“They keep hiding when things get tough!” With a clenched fist that seemed to express her frustration, Esil beckoned her spear back into her hand.

“Young Monarch.” Beru, who had been away from the action, appeared in front of Suho. “Escape in that direction.”

Suho turned his gaze toward the pointed direction and spotted something interesting. “A pyramid?” His eyes widened in astonishment.

The chaos of being chased by the sand centipedes had distracted him from noticing the colossal pyramid standing like a painting in the distance.

“Could this mean... We were on Earth this whole time?” Suho muttered, his eyes in disbelief.

“It seems like we are on a field-type dungeon on Earth, to be exact,” Beru replied.

Was the gate connected to Earth?

This was truly an unexpected situation. The realization fully sunk in when Suho recognized the faint blue mist mixed in with the swirling sands.

No, come to think of it, this might not be all that surprising.

If gates on Earth led to dungeons, the existence of a gate from Shadow Dungeon that led back to Earth wasn’t so strange.

Suho promptly directed Arachne toward the pyramid. They tried to get as close to the pyramid as possible as they battled the sand centipedes, but to their surprise, the centipedes’ pursuit suddenly ceased.

“They’re not chasing us anymore! We’re saved!” Esil cheered with joy.

“Ahem.” Beru stood tall with an air of pride above Esil’s head.

Suho assumed there was more than meets the eye, and he scrutinized the movements of the centipedes with great interest. The creatures didn’t approach the pyramid but instead lingered nearby.

“Are they afraid of the pyramid? Why?” Suho redirected his gaze toward the pyramid. He was astonished to find that a small village had formed around the pyramid.

I guess we really are on Earth.

Even at a glance, the appearance of the village was quite modern. Modern signs were attached to the ancient ruins surrounding the pyramid.

“Who’s there?!”

Just as they approached the village, the guards stationed at the village’s perimeter received them with surprise and confusion.

“H-how did you get here?” one of the guards asked.

“Did you cross that red desert?” another asked.

“What are they saying?” Suho realized that there was now a language barrier. It sounded like the guards were speaking in Arabic.

“How did you manage to get here without being attacked by sand centipedes?” a guard asked.

“Hm?” Surprisingly, Esil understood Arabic and acted as an interpreter. “Demons understand and communicate through intent rather than human languages.”

The fact that the demon had been using Korean was quite astonishing on its own.

Anyway, this is convenient.

Suho descended from Arachne with Esil and approached the guards. The attempted conversation felt more like an interrogation as their entrance hinged on the outcome.

“Are you hunters?”

“Yes.”

“What is your purpose for visiting this place?”

“We don’t have one. We ended up here randomly after being chased by sand centipedes.”

“So, how long will you stay before you return? We’re running low on supplies here.”

“We’ll rest for a bit and leave soon.”

Suho responded to the guard’s every question with Esil’s help. He sensed that they were drawn to something else.

It seems like they have an interest in Arachne.

The giant spider he’d ridden there had a threatening presence. But to Suho’s surprise, the guards seemed rather friendly toward the beast and began asking questions about it.

“Who among you is the summoner of this spider?”

“Is this spider a means of transportation?”

“Who would have thought to cross the red desert on a spider? How impressive.”

“Can your spider carry others as well?”

“Other hunters usually come here by helicopter.”

By helicopter?

Suho looked around with a puzzled look.

Why would people choose to fly a helicopter to this perilous land surrounded by giant centipedes?

He scanned his surroundings. No matter where he looked, all he could see was sand. The exception was the single pyramid in the distance.

“Do people come here with helicopters because of the pyramid?” Suho asked.

The guards’ eyes widened as they looked at Suho and Esil with confused faces.

“You really came here without knowing anything, huh?” one of the guards asked.

***

The desert city of Kamura was a small town that thrived on tourists who came to see the pyramid, but life in the tourist town changed about a month ago.

Kamura turned into a nightmare as the entire desert surrounding it turned into a field-type dungeon. Many tourists and residents turned into mist burns and began attacking people. The awakened individuals among them had fought against them.

The chaos led to numerous deaths. Those who barely survived the incident started escaping the field using helicopters. Because of the giant centipedes swarming around the village, helicopters were the only means of transportation.

Then, something strange happened. Hunters from elsewhere began gathering in the city, arriving via helicopters. They all had one goal—the pyramid. These hunters came and immediately started exploring the interior of the pyramid. They had their reasons.

“The guards say that some fortune teller made a strange prophecy a month ago,” Esil said.

“A prophecy?” Suho raised an eyebrow in response.

With a somewhat odd expression, Esil explained the prophecy, “Soon, life born from death will break free from its seal.”

“Hmm?” The prophecy also piqued Beru’s interest as his eyes sparkled.

“And that power will raise the dead.”

Suho and Beru simultaneously exchanged glances. The prophecy sounded vague and abstract, but the two couldn’t help to feel an uncanny familiarity.

“Young Monarch, this prophecy seems to...”

“Is it about me?”

Life born from death?

The line seemed like an obvious reference to Suho—the son of the Monarch of Shadows. It also alluded to Suho’s seal being broken and the power to raise the dead via Shadow Extraction. But it appeared that this prophecy had an entirely different interpretation for others.

Esil continued her explanation, “It just so happens that when this prophecy surfaced, a dungeon break occurred inside this pyramid.”

The timing couldn’t have been more ominous. Expressions like “Life born from death” were commonly found in various mythologies across different countries, including Egypt.

Suho’s immediately thought of pyramids and pharaohs. Throughout history, many rulers desired eternal life. But the pharaohs of Egypt had taken this pursuit a step further. They desired dominion even in the afterlife and ordered the construction of colossal pyramids with the toil of countless slaves.

“The timing is quite a coincidence. It seems that hunters from around the world are flocking here because of the prophecy.” Suho finally grasped the situation and nodded.

The ancient pyramid was a structure already shrouded in mystery and had always captured people’s imaginations for thousands of years. For those who were unaware of the power of the Monarch of Shadows, hearing a fortune teller’s prophecy about a skill that could bestow eternal life or resurrect the dead could lead to false interpretations and hopes. After all, various skills occasionally emerged from runestones discovered in dungeons.

“Yet, it seems something significant but unexpected was found inside.”

“What was it?”

“Hmm. Just a moment.” Esil stared at a security guard she had been conversing with for a while.

The guard turned red in the face for no apparent reason and then shrugged his shoulders. “I can teach you, but there’s a condition attached.”

Right before Suho was about to ask what the condition was, Esil had already lifted the guard by his collar. “You dare try to make a deal with us?” The noble demon side of her returned as she stared at the guard with cold indifference.

Suppressed by her imperiousness, the guard’s complexion turned pale, and he stammered, “Th-the hunters found an inscription in the depths of the pyramid!”

“An inscription? What does it say?”

“The challenger’s future will be shone with a brilliant light.”

It was an inscription that had never before appeared in Egyptian history.