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Chapter 49
“You’re not going to hunt those centipedes, right?” Rio Singh’s eyes widened in surprise.
The fire in Suho’s belly reignited as the bursting cries of sand centipedes rang in his ears. His face was lit with the determination of a hunter aiming at his prey.
“Suho, are you serious about this?” Esil asked.
“I think I could defeat one in a confined space like this.”
The conversation was nothing but a formality as Suho had already made up his mind.
“W-wait! Dealing with those centipedes is more dangerous than fighting the Scavenger Guild!” Rio Singh urgently tried to stop Suho. He had seen arrogance drive many hunters to their deaths. Too many skilled hunters like Suho had died miserably. “How about this? Let’s take a few hours to rest. This will give time for healers to recover their mana. Then, we can join forces to face the Scavenger Guild.”
“There’s no time for that.” Suho firmly rejected Rio’s proposal. He raised his head toward the ceiling, observing the falling rocks. “At this rate, who knows when the pyramid might suddenly collapse. You better escape now. Leave this to me.”
“I can’t do that. I can’t go back empty-handed.” Rio rose to his feet and followed Suho. But the impact from Randolph’s attack earlier still lingered in his body, and he winced as his body jerked from the discomfort.
Beru clicked his tongue. “Right now, you’re just a weak scavenger. Misguided bravery will kill a hunter faster than those centipede out there.”
Rio’s face turned red. He couldn’t understand Beru’s words, but the meaning embedded in the ant’s disdainful gaze was evident. As a rising star in his guild, receiving such a look from a mere summoned creature was undeniably a disgrace.
“You and your team should stay here and rest. We’ll head out first,” Suho said.
“I feel ashamed.” Rio Singh eventually slumped to the ground, heaving a sigh.
His persistence ended when something dawned on him. Every hunter from his guild, including himself, was currently ravaged by injuries, unable to continue without rest.
Rio gritted his teeth as he thought about Randolph, the menace behind the crisis. Just you wait. We’ll have our revenge! Burning with the thirst for vengeance, he glanced at Suho. “Can I ask for a favor?”
“What is it?”
“If you run into any Scavenger Guild hunters on the way, make sure to give them a mighty wack from us.”
“I could give them more than one.”
“That’s reassuring.” Rio seemed satisfied with Suho’s answer. He then took out a ring from his pocket. “Take this.”
The ring sparkled before Suho’s eyes.
[Item: Horus’ Ring]
[Acquisition Difficulty: B
Type: Accessory
Intelligence Stat +10
—Effect “Wisdom of Horus”: Mana regeneration speed increased by 30%.]
“I found this artifact while I was exploring the labyrinth. I hope it’s helpful.”
Rio couldn’t check the item’s powers like Suho could and seemed to be unaware of the impressive qualities of the ring he was handing over.
This is exactly the item I need right now. Suho had keenly felt his shortcomings during the recent battle with the sand centipedes, especially his low mana points.
He had previously invested all residual stats into Strength, gaining formidable power. However, the increasing importance of other skills made him realize the necessity of his Intelligence stat, and the ring was a timely treasure that boosted the stat by a whopping 10 points.
Moreover, an increase in my Intelligence stats means I can summon more shadow soldiers. Suho needed to capture sand centipedes, and a strategy to overwhelm them with numerical superiority was ultimately his best solution. The chances of victory against such powerful beasts, even with every shadow soldier he could summon, were slim. However, Horus’ Ring improved the odds of victory, tipping the scales slightly in his favor.
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.” Before Rio Singh could change his mind, Suho quickly slipped the ring on his finger.
Status window! Suho immediately checked his status window.
[Status Window]
[Name: Sung Suho
Level: 26 contemporary romance
Job: None
Title: Wolf Slayer
HP: 6,350/6,350
MP: 1,235/1,235]
[Stats]
[Strength: 54
Stamina: 35
Agility: 35
Intelligence: 35(+10)
Sense: 35(+5)
(Available Ability Points: 0)]
Wow. Suho’s eyes widened in astonishment. His mana, which was at 635, had surged to 1,235 in an instant. It had almost doubled, meaning that the duration of Giant’s Armor was also doubled.
[Number of Extractable Shadows: 1/20]
Now, I have something to work with. Smiling, Suho turned his gaze toward the presence of the sand centipedes. “Let’s go.”
“I felt the presence of other magic beasts on the way here,” Beru said.
The shadow ant guided Suho, flickering his short feelers. The Young Monarch needed more shadow soldiers, so the news of more magical beasts was a welcome one.
Suho parted ways with the Asura Guild and leaped into the labyrinth.
***
Meanwhile, the Scavenger Guild hunters, who had leaped into the heart of the labyrinth to avoid the sand centipedes, were facing their fair share of challenges.
“Stop them! More mummies are rising again from their coffins!”
As you’d expect from a pyramid, the magic beasts that spawned came in the form of mummies. The hunters initially underestimated the beasts as they slowly limped toward them. But they soon realized that the mummies posed a significant challenge.
Crash!
“Randolph! These creatures keep rising again and again, no matter how many times we kill them!”
“Then snap their limbs so they can’t!”
“But... Ahh!”
Randolph was taken aback. One by one, his team succumbed to the mummies and began to fall, their faces as white as the creatures’ bandages.
“Poison?!” Upon closer inspection, Randolph saw that a foul poison oozed out of the mummies’ bandages every time they were slashed. What’s going on?
The A-rank tanker had faced various monsters during his time at the Scavenger Guild, but he had never encountered such monsters before. These monsters can endlessly resurrect themselves! There’s usually a summoner behind such magic, controlling them from the shadow. But why isn’t there one here? Randolph had been searching for the summoner this whole time, but he couldn’t even find a trace.
“We need to find the summoner, no matter what! There must be one hiding nearby controlling these creatures!”
Randolph was anxious. The sound of centipedes approaching behind him rapidly echoed, while a host of mummies were now surrounding him and his team.
“Healers! Have you recovered your mana yet?!” Randolph shouted.
“I-I’m sorry. If you could just wait a little longer...” a healer pleaded.
“You bunch are utterly useless!”
As Randolph angrily kicked away the mummy that was rushing toward him, the healers’ faces turned pale. Despite their best efforts, their depleted mana wasn’t replenishing quickly enough.
“This won’t do! Ignore everything and charge forward!”
“Randolph! What about the poison?!”
“Just hold your breath, and you’ll be fine! Move it!”
Randolph charged at them with great ferocity, forcing the mummies to bounce away like bowling pins. “We don’t have time to waste on these weaklings! Just charge!”
The mummies would eventually become food for the approaching centipedes, and the possibility of the sand centipede succumbing to the mummies’ poison was a favorable outcome for them. Spurred by Randolph’s relentless determination, his fellow hunters eventually swallowed down their fears and started charging forward to escape the encircling mummies.
***
[Decayed Mummy]
[Decayed Mummy]
Suho and Esil were surrounded by numerous mummies upon entering the labyrinth, finding themselves in a tight spot.
The lavender-haired demon, attacking the mummies with her spear, soon grasped the challenge at hand. “Suho! These things have no weaknesses! They just won’t die!”
“It is because they’re already corpses,” Beru, floating in the air and watching the battle, replied nonchalantly.
“And they also release poison!” Esil added.
“Like I said, they are corpses.” The ant’s disinterested explanation made him seem impudent. He fluttered around the mummies with genuine curiosity. “Young Monarch, these are not your average monsters.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ve been created using sorcery.”
“Sorcery?” Suho said. The word brought to mind a familiar name—Great Spellcaster Kandiaru.
“Not many can create monsters of this caliber. These monsters don’t die even when killed. It’s like someone tried to mimic the shadow soldiers...” Beru pondered, recalling the Architect who had designed the leveling-up system. “Kandiaru was a powerful sorcerer who dreamed of immortality. Perhaps this place was his laboratory. However, it seems like he ultimately failed and could only create these imperfect beings.”
Suho looked at the mummies and nodded in agreement.
[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]
[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]
[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]
Messages began popping up from the moment Suho engaged these creatures. He was now certain that these creatures were dead from the very start.
Suho smirked—with the Monarch of Shadows’ power to control death and rule over the deceased—he extended his hand toward the approaching mummies. “Arise.”
At that moment, shadows began rippling under the feet of the advancing mummies that slowly turned their white bandages black.
[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]
[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]
[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]
The mummies were now wrapped in black bandages, and a new name tag was shown above their heads.
[Shadow Mummy – Level 1 – Normal Grade]
“Huh?” As Esil witnessed this spectacle, a look of futility crossed her face, seeing that her efforts were ultimately fruitless. All that was needed was for Suho to control the dead like normal, a matter of compatible control.
Suho continued to leisurely walk through the host of mummies coming at him, extending his hand. “Arise.”
[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]
“Arise.”
[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]
Black bandages tightly wound around the mummies as they started to shout in awe at Suho, who had finally brought them the genuine taste of death. As more fell under his spell, their roars transformed into a majestic chorus, resembling the hymns of a grand yet sinister choir.
Witnessing the magnificent spectacle, Beru smirked ominously. “Life born from death... I must say, I find that prophecy quite appealing.”