Chapter 73

Shaman?

Again?

The situation was entirely different from Rakan’s blessing yet a similar outcome occurred. Suho figured that Rakan had been friendly toward him from the beginning thanks to Gray and appointed him as his shaman. But this time, what caught Suho’s eye was the fact that he had “seized” the shaman title.

[Rakan bursts into laughter, observing Querehsha’s bewildered expression.]

“Rakan, you bastard!” Querehsha was furious. “You dare interfere with my ritual? You have some nerve for a dead animal!”

Suho initially thought that Rakan’s advice was to help him get the title: Natural Enemy of Insects, but now it seemed that Rakan’s true intention was for him to become the Shaman of Insects by taking it away from Querehsha.

Suho glanced at the countless insect remains scattered around him. They were parts of Querehsha’s soul.

A ritual... At this rate, I’ll be performing a funeral.

Out in the real world, Arsha and Minsung were sacrificing numerous humans for Querehsha’s ritual. But ironically, Querehsha’s own insects were being used as ritual sacrifices instead.

Does this make any sense?

[Rakan explains that Querehsha’s insects were originally resentful victims devoured by Querehsha herself.]

Resentful?

It dawned on Suho that he was essentially avenging the insects.

Ah, so I’m the shaman for these insects. Not Querehsha’s shaman.

Querehsha was both a singular and a collective existence. By performing the ritual for the insects, Suho had inadvertently become Querehsha’s shaman in the process.

“You’ve won,” the former Monarch said, declaring her defeat.

Even though the quest timer had not yet expired, Querehsha looked beyond tired, as if she had aged centuries.

“What a brute. You’re more insect-like than actual insects. You’re undoubtedly Sung Jinwoo’s son...”

As the insects scattered away from Querehsha, her colossal form gradually diminished in size to reveal the feminine figure that she had once used to battle Sung Jinwoo in the past. She descended before Suho.

[Remaining Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes, 34 Seconds]

[Emergency Quest: “Querehsha’s Poison” has been completed.]

[Level up!]

The quest was completed before the required time had passed. The determination spurred Querehsha to activate the quest was now utterly broken.

The Queen of Insects cast a venomous gaze at Suho, her eyes filled with resentment. “You’ve basically made me die a second time.”

Suho interrupted Querehsha and asked bluntly, “Are you behind the catastrophe happening back on Earth?”

“How ridiculous.” Querehsha burst into laughter. “I’m a Monarch who died long ago. The only thing I can do now is wander this world of nothingness. What on earth could I have orchestrated?”

“So you’re saying you don’t Arsha and Lee Minsung?”

“Who?” Querehsha said without a care in the world.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“You don’t know either of them?” Suho was confused.

[Rakan explains that without a shaman, a deceased Monarch cannot have any impact on the real world.]

Rakan was right. There was nothing a dead Monarch could do. The former Monarch of Fangs had only awakened when Suho became involved in activities related to him, allowing him to observe the outside world through his “dreams.” The same applied to Querehsha.

This is so ridiculous,

Suho thought.

Arsha and Minsung were sacrificing numerous lives to sustain Querehsha’s power, but she herself was oblivious to it all.

“I think I understand the situation.” Querehsha chuckled. She fashioned a chair out of her insects and sat down, crossing her legs. “There are always insects that covet my power. Even after I became a Monarch, I’ve had numerous conflicts with such aspirants.” She had regained the regal demeanor of a proud queen. “I survived my trials to become the sole ruler. But this invited even more challengers than before. I become both prey and predator.”

The world of insects was a dog-eat-dog world.

“Any insect that consumes me can become a Monarch.”

“So, those wreaking havoc out in the real world are planning a ritual to succeed you?” Suho asked.

“It seems like they are trying to summon my resentful insects to devour them.” Querehsha’s mouth curled upward, forming a mischievous yet weary smile. “Their goal isn’t to serve me. They’re nothing more than greedy monsters wanting to devour me. Just like what you were doing to me moments ago.”

“You didn’t taste good, though.”

“Why you!” The enraged Querehsha clenched her fists on the arms of her chair, but she quickly regained her composure and leaned back. “In the end, if I have to be eaten by someone, it’s only fitting that it was by the one who killed me. If your father were an insect, he would have inherited my power long ago. Even if you devour my insects here, you can never become the Monarch of Insects. You do not meet the requirements.”

“So, in the end, I’ll be your shaman?”

“Not by choice. You are nothing but trouble. However... Since you’ve seized the role from me, I’d appreciate it if you could find a worthy successor to inherit my power.”

“Why should I? What’s so great about you?”

“I’m beautiful by human standards, am I not?” Querehsha said, showcasing her figure.

“Enough with the jokes. What can a Shaman of Insects do? Just so you know, as the Shaman of Beasts, I can possess the Monarch of Fang’s successor within my body.” Suho lifted Gray to show her.

Querehsha clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Rakan, you should be ashamed of yourself. This little puppy is your successor?”

[Rakan is about to...]

Casually dismissing Rakan’s message, Suho glanced at Gray.

[Gray– Level 14 –Fang Wolf]

Thanks to the diligent hunting of insects, Gray’s level had increased by twofold in just one day. Suho’s level had also increased to 29.

As his level increased, the experience points required for leveling up would progressively become higher. So, having leveled up in such a short time was a remarkable feat. But as time was frozen out in the real world while he was in this Querehsha’s resting place, it was as if he had suddenly become stronger in less than a second.

The Queen of Insects looked down at Gray as if he were insignificant, but there was also a hint of envy in her eyes. “Still, Rakan is somewhat fortunate. He found a successor among his kin. On the other hand, I lack a suitable successor, so something like Divine Possession is impossible for me.”

“What? That means being a Shaman of Insects is worthless!”

“Instead, there’s something else that’s possible.”

As soon as Querehsha finished speaking, a message window unfolded before Suho.

[The quest completion reward has arrived.]

[The following reward will be given.]

[Reward: “Blessing: Plague’s Blessing”]

[Blessing: Plague’s Blessing]

[The Queen of Insects, the Monarch of Plagues’ blessing.

Monarch of Plagues Querehsha has chosen you as her shaman.

A shaman can imbue their body with deadly poison.

—Effect “Poison Mastery”: Enables the manipulation of ingested poisons at will.]

A gleam of curiosity sparkled in Suho’s eyes. His reward was indeed a blessing worthy of the Monarch of Plagues. Thanks to Kandiaru’s Blessing, Suho had immunity to all poisons. Now, he could go beyond immunity and freely manipulate poisons.

“Feel free to rejoice. From now on, you’ve become a walking plague,” Queresha declared, triumphantly folding her arms. “What do you think? It’ll be much more useful than being possessed by such a pitiful little puppy.”

***

At that moment, Taegyu and Baek Miho ventured further into the heart of the beehive.

The cloud above had transformed into a massive swarm, blanketing everything as they descended.

“Ugh. Dealing with these creatures can be quite troublesome,” Miho said, frowning.

Up against a swarm of tiny monsters, Miho could only endure their attacks since she couldn’t fight back against so many targets. She used her mana to enhance her physical defense.

Taegyu was even worse off. Despite being an S-rank hunter, his specialization was archery. Consequently, most of his skills were tied to bows and arrows. Even his newly acquired skills, obtained by purchasing expensive runestones, were solely geared toward improving his agility and accuracy. His bowmanship was useless against so many enemies.

To make matters worse, he couldn’t use his mana as he was using it to fight against the poison inside him: royal jelly. He needed mana for self-defense just like Miho.

“Sorry, but it looks like I owe you one.”

“Why did you have to bother us and tag along then?” Miho asked.

Taegyu couldn’t hide his sheepish grin, but it quickly disappeared as an ominous feeling swept over him. “W-wait... Those bees...”

At that moment, the bees leading the charge began to explode, and a golden mist engulfed the area.

Taegyu shouted urgently, “Hold your breath! This mist might carry the same poison inside of me!”

Miho hurriedly held her breath, sealing her nose and mouth with her hands. She didn’t want to end up struggling without mana like Taegyu.

Hold on!

Where’s Sung Suho?!

Seeing as two high-ranking hunters were under enormous pressure, she was concerned about Suho, a C-rank hunter.

She turned around, and to her amazement, she saw that Suho was breathing in deeply instead of holding his breath.

“What the...?!” Miho, desperately trying to stop Suho, ended up almost inhaling the poisonous mist herself, prompting her to hold her breath once again.

A system message appeared in front of Suho as he smiled.

[“Poison: Lee Minsung’s Royal Jelly” has been ingested.]

[“Poison: Lee Minsung’s Royal Jelly” can be manipulated.]