Chapter 11: Chapter 10

"Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch?"

"Yongjun? What are you talking about?"

Strange words came out of Kim Yongjun's mouth as he grabbed the handle of the sword.

The captain, who tried to stop him, instantly felt frightened.

Swoosh.

Yongjun took the sword.

"I'm asking who dared covet the sword of the Monarch."

His eyes were stained red as he repeated the same words.

"Y-Yongjun? Are you alr..."

Slash!

"...!"

He slit the Captain's throat.

A fountain of blood gushed out.

Silence passed over that absurd scene, as if time had stopped momentarily.

Then.

"W-What-!"

"Ack! Captain!"

The hunters behind came running in fear.

"Y-Yongjun! Why did you...!"

Slash!

Another head got cut.

"Yongjun!"

Only then did they realize.

Blood flowed from Kim Yongjun's eyes as he pointed the sword towards them.

"Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch?"

He then laughed wickedly seeing the bloodbath.

Grumble!

A wolf howl began to resonate around the ruins.

* * *

Chills.

Beru's eyes changed in an instant.

He turned his head and stared hard at the darkness of the dungeon.

[...What was that?]

"What's wrong?"

Suho asked Beru whose gaze was fixated in that area.

[I suddenly felt the presence of a Monarch.]

"Monarch? My father?"

[No. There used to be not only one monarch.]

Beru explained.

Originally, not only the Shadow Monarch but several Monarchs existed in this universe.

However, when they invaded Earth, all of them were annihilated by the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo.

"Then, that wasn't my father?"

[If that was the case, my power would have been recharged in an instant. But my mana is still the same, and this energy... It's something that I know very well.]

Right then.

Awooooooh!

There was again another wolf howl.

Starting with that, the howls of ferocious monsters began to be heard simultaneously from all directions.

Grumble!

Awooooooh!

"W-What's that?"

"What is happening?"

The miners' complexions turned pale and they looked around anxiously.

-Aaaaaaahhh!

Finally, screams were heard.

It was the voice of people who went further to go mine.

-Ahhhhh! T-There's...!

Every minute the screams were getting louder and closer.

Then.

"Awoooh!"

A wolf suddenly attacked Suho from behind.

[Young Master!]

"I know!"

Suho thrust the pickaxe he was holding into the wolf's mouth.

Crack!

"What the hell?"

Its teeth were so hard that the pickaxe was crushed to pieces.

But, that was able to buy some time.

Spit-!

As the wolf chewed up the pickaxe and spit it out, Suho gave an order to the shadow goblins.

"Attack!"

[Krrrrk!]

The 3 shadow goblins attacked the wolf at the same time.

"Kreureung!"

But it was not enough.

The shadow goblins were also holding the same mining pickaxe that Suho used, and the wolf also chewed those up.

The bodies of the goblins were bitten and torn apart, too.

But.

Swoosh-.

Right then, the magic that escaped from Suho's body returned the bodies of the shadow goblins to their original state.

[Khiiiikk! The shadow goblins are immortal. They can be revived with Young Master's power!]

In an instant, the revived shadow goblins clung to the wolf's body.

Then they stabbed the broken pickaxe into the wolf's body mercilessly.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

"Grrrr!"

The wolf, which had been charging vigorously, tumbled on the floor, screaming unsightly.

[You have killed a Steel-Tooth Lycan.]

"No wonder it can chomp the pickaxe."

However, just killing one isn't enough to alleviate the situation.

The number of wolves that appeared was dozens, and the miners were being bitten helplessly by the wolves' steel teeth.

"Ackk!"

"Their teeth...!"

The pickaxes were of no use in combat.

'Inventory!'

Suho hurriedly took out the goblin's stone axe he had acquired in his inventory and gave it to the shadow goblins one by one.

[Young Master! Even these stone axes will be shattered if bitten by the wolves!]

"I have as many axes as I can!"

Suho shouted as he threw a stone axe at the wolf that was attacking the miner.

Thuck!

The stone axe flew and hit the wolf's body.

"Grrr!"

[It's not dead yet!]

'Ruler's Power!'

A transparent hand stretched out from Suho's hand.

It then picked up the stone axe that had fallen on the floor and struck the wolf's head.

Thuck!

The monster burst out in agony and died.

[You have killed a Steel-Tooth Lycan.]

That was just the beginning.

"Everyone, gather here!"

Suho screamed so that the confused miners could hear it.

To save them, he jumped between the wolves without hesitation, holding a stone axe in both hands.

[Krrrrrrk!]

The three shadow goblins following him raised their axes.

However, the order that Suho gave to them was different.

"Don't attack, just bite and distract them!"

[Krrrk?!]

The shadow goblins were confused.

"Keep running away and lure all the wolves down that passageway!"

[Krrrrrrrrk!]

Killing the wolves one by one wouldn't be efficient.

At Suho's command, the shadow goblins began to scream and lure the wolves away.

In the process, their body was constantly bitten and torn, but they kept coming back to life eventually weakening the wolves.

"Grrrrr!"

"Awooooh!"

In the end, most of the wolves became frantic chasing the three shadow goblins.

And when they all went into the passageway in the corner.

"Close the passage now!"

The miners who were sitting on the ground covered in wounds hurriedly got up.

Then, they brought all the carts of mana stones he had collected so far and piled them up in front of the passageway where the wolves entered.

"Huff."

After somehow blocking the passage, the miners collapsed on the ground helplessly.

"What just happened? How did those monsters come all the way here?"

"What happened to the raiders in front?"

Anxiety appeared on their faces.

It was rare for monsters to reach the mining area far behind the raiders.

Not unless...

"Could it be that all of the raiders died?"

"No, because when they went inside, they knew that there were only wolves inside."

"This was only a D-Class dungeon as well."

Grrr! Awoooh!

The wolves growled from behind the blocked passage.

"What should we do?"

At this rate, there was no guarantee that the way out would be safe.

"Beru?"

Suho called Beru, who had been staring into the depths of the dungeon ever since.

Beru's expression was serious.

[Young Master, it seems that something serious has happened. After all, I'm sensing the energy of the Beast Monarch.]

"Beast Monarch?"

[He is the king of the beasts who were killed at the hands of the Shadow Monarch. It seems that there is someone who is working behind those wolves.]

"Are you saying that someone who has already died has come back to life?"

[...I can't completely figure it out. The power to rise from the dead is something only the Shadow Monarch can do in this universe. However, even with the shadow power of monarch-level beings, they could not be resurrected. They are not simply dead, but their existence itself has vanished.]

So, it was nonsense that the extinct monarch would come back to life.

[This aura is most likely to be the remnants of the Beast Monarch that flowed through the dimensional rift.]

Beru, who finished explaining, looked at Suho resolutely.

[Young Master, let's run away from here.]

"Run away?"

Suho made a puzzled expression.

Beru, who had been aiming to fight and kill all the time, is now showing the exact opposite.

[I've been constantly saying this, but Young Master's strength is less than that of Larva right now. It's so weak that if you fall into it and the monarch class hits you, you'll die in an instant. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.]

"...Aren't you just upset that I gave you some mana stones instead?"

Suho remembered clearly.

Since earlier, he had been calling Suho a larva, but now he's saying that Suho is at a level lower than that of a larva.

Right then.

Grumble!

The hole they had been trying to block suddenly exploded.

"Aaaahhh! The passage opened!"

The miners, who were relieved that they had barely contained the wolves, moved immediately and grabbed their pickaxes.

However, unlike the expectation that the wolves would come out all at once, a familiar face walked out of it.

"Mr. Kim Yongjun!"

A miner who recognized his face called him.

He said that Yongjun was an acquaintance who was among the raiders.

"What the hell happened inside? We all almost died!"

"...."

He approached naturally, but Kim Yongjun just looked at him expressionlessly.

The sword in his hand moved.

Slash!

"Move out!"

Grab!

Suho's Ruler's Power grabbed the back of the miner.

But, just like a flash, Kim Yongjun's sword already slit his neck.

Slash.

As a thin red line formed on his neck, his complexion turned white and he fell to the ground.

"Grrrr."

Red eyes staring at them arrogantly.

Kim Yongjun opened his mouth.

"Who dares invade the habitat of the Beast Monarch? This is the sanctuary where the king of the great beasts dwelt."

Thud!

"...!"

At that moment, an enormous amount of energy exploded from his whole body.

"Fwoosh."

An ominous aura making it impossible for everyone to even breathe covered the area.

['Effect: Fear' has been activated.]

[The player's ability is reduced by 50% in 1 minute]

Suho's body became heavy.

[We need to run away right now.]

Beru whispered hastily.

[Khhhk. If only I had my strength intact, there would have been no problem...]

It's not an exaggeration. Beru's power was completely exhausted from unlocking Suho's seal.

Beru, who was muttering as if he were angry, looked at Suho's face and paused for a moment.

Suho's gaze towards Kim Yongjun was burning hot.

Right then.

[A quest has arrived.]

The quest window appeared in front of Suho.

[Urgent Quest: Defeat the enemy!]

There are beings with intent to kill the 'player' around. Kill it to secure the player's safety

Number of enemies to kill: 1

Number of enemies killed: 0

Beru spoke in an urgent tone.

[Young Master! Just ignore this quest. The weak have their own way of fighting. Like before, let's run away using the shadow goblins as a shield.]

"Okay."

Suho muttered in a soft voice.

Beru's eyes brightened.

[I will guide you on the way out!]

"...Let's fight this."

[What?!]