Chapter 167
…Looking back, Suho’s school days had always been nothing but boring.
Square desks.
Square blackboards.
Square classrooms.
People wearing the same clothes, gathered in the same place.
A standardized world where everyone learned the same things.
That was everything Suho remembered about his time in school.
‘…Boring.’
In hindsight, back then he would often yawn for no reason and feel bored out of nowhere.
…Somehow.
There was a faint feeling, as if he used to know things that were far more exciting and heart-pounding.
Whenever he felt that way, Suho couldn’t endure the boredom.
It was at that moment—
Tick.
Time stopped.
And before Suho’s eyes, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Students leaving the school gate.
Students exercising.
Cars passing on the street.
People walking on the sidewalks beside them.
Even a ball floating mid-air.
Everything that had been in motion stopped all at once.
‘It’ appeared.
A Gate.
A round, black hole suddenly appearing at the back of the classroom.
A dark door so thick it looked like it would suck him in if he got too close.
It was enough to terrify any normal kid, yet Suho didn’t cry or scream. Instead, he placed a hand over his chest.
Thump, thump, thump.
His excited heart was pounding roughly.
Maybe—
Maybe he had been waiting for something like this all along.
‘Mom always said I took after Dad.’
If it were his father…
How would he act in a moment like this?
The answer was already clear.
Without hesitation, Suho leaped into the Gate.
That’s how it all began.
Undoubtedly, the most intense and ferocious—
Truly… brutal dream of his life.
KRAAAAAA!
KYAOOOOOOOOOO-!
KIEEEEEEEEEK!
[Level has increased!]
[Level has increased!]
[Level has increased!]
…
In that dream, Suho was injured and died countless times.
He kept moving forward, forward again, fighting off a monstrous number of beasts charging at him.
And finally—
At the edge of that dream, Suho was able to face ‘him.’
A man cloaked in a hood that concealed his face.
A mysterious figure who radiated suffocating pressure across his entire body.
But now, he knew.
He knew who ‘he’ was.
‘…Father?’
Suho couldn’t help but be shocked at the sight of his father, Sung Jinwoo.
Of course, he knew.
That was definitely an illusion.
There was no way his father, who was somewhere in space, could suddenly appear here.
So it had to be a fake.
But still—
He couldn’t help but feel concerned.
‘Can I win against Father as I am now?’
Gulp.
Suho swallowed dryly.
Looking back, even when he was level 99 in that dream, he’d been knocked down in a single blow.
And now, his current level was even lower than that.
‘No. Father wouldn’t be as strong as he was then. That thing is just a fake created by an illusion.’
Suho was convinced.
There was no way some lowly Maeryung illusionist could perfectly recreate the power of the Shadow Monarch, his father.
So it should be doable…
‘No, even so, the pressure is too overwhelming?’
The merciless pressure bearing down on the entire area.
Just how powerful was this Maeryung illusion technique, that ever since the moment the illusion of his father appeared, Suho’s sensory stats had been going wild?
Even though he knew it was just an illusion, Suho couldn’t stop the cold sweat from running down his back under the oppressive force.
[…K-Kuhahahaha! To think someone would have memories like this! The Shadow Monarch, of all beings!]
Zarvier, who had finally regained his senses, burst into maniacal laughter.
He had finally grasped what was happening.
Pointing at Suho, Zarvier shouted in a confident tone.
[You! You must’ve encountered the Shadow Monarch somewhere! Of course! The Shadow Monarch is a nightmare made flesh!]
Zarvier, the Maeryung illusionist, had once glimpsed the Shadow Monarch from a distance.
Of course, he had fled without looking back the moment he saw him, which was the only reason he was still alive.
But even just seeing him from afar had etched a terrifying and cursed memory into his mind.
At the same time, it had left an immense impact.
The deathly aura radiating from the Shadow Monarch!
If he could just extract that fear from his own memory!
‘I could even command the Shadow Monarch as my servant!’
Reenactment of memory!
That was the illusion art Zarvier had dedicated his entire life to perfecting.
Of course, it could never be flawless, but even partially recreating the Shadow Monarch—the King of Death—would allow his soul to achieve an unfathomable transcendence!
Unfortunately, his research ultimately ended in failure.
No—more accurately, it was a half-success.
He had completed the Mirage Illusion technique, but the problem was that his memory of the Shadow Monarch was far too fleeting.
Using such a vague memory as material, he couldn’t create a proper illusion of the Shadow Monarch.
[But to think I’d find it like this!]
He’d long known that the Shadow Monarch had been living in the human realm for a while.
But to think there existed a human with such vivid memories of the Shadow Monarch!
Zarvier licked his lips, staring at Suho with greedy eyes.
[Heheheh. You’re mine now! I’ll bind your soul and use you forever as material to summon the Shadow Monarch’s illusion!]
And then, toward the Shadow Monarch illusion radiating dreadful energy, he gave a cruel command.
[Hear me! O Shadow Monarch! I am your master, Zarvier! Kill the human in front of you and bring me his soul as an offering!]
At those words, Suho tensed and drew out all his mana.
‘I’ll go all-out from the start.’
In truth, the most effective way to deal with an illusionist was to ignore the illusion and target the caster directly.
But of course, illusionists never showed themselves openly.
Zarvier, too, was hiding somewhere, his voice echoing from the shadows.
Suho expanded his senses to locate the source of the energy, but strangely, Zarvier’s presence was being felt simultaneously from all directions.
—Darling…
“I-I’m sorry… I, with my own hands, I…”
Even within the illusion of Im Taegyu, who was facing his wife with a tormented expression—
Even in the illusions the other countless Hunters were facing—
And even from the figure of the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo, standing over there—
[Heheh. Sharp senses, I see.]
…Zarvier’s aura was laced within them all.
[That’s right. Every illusion here is me. And now, even the Shadow Monarch you summoned yourself is none other than—!]
Zarvier’s sinister laughter echoed from every direction.
But then—
Pause.
[…Huh?]
Suddenly, Zarvier’s voice carried confusion.
At the same time, Suho sensed something was off.
His father—
No, the fake Sung Jinwoo—
The one who seemed like he would immediately launch a devastating attack with that overwhelming power—
Instead, he looked at Suho and gave a faint smile.
As if amused.
—Still weak, aren’t you.
“…?”
For a moment—
Suho felt something strange.
The Maeryung illusion was certainly impressive.
That voice and atmosphere—it really did feel like his real father.
The problem was that this “father” was just an illusion who had attacked him in the dream.
And yet—
[W-What’s going on! Why isn’t it moving the way I command…!]
What was this now?
Zarvier’s increasingly flustered voice continued to ring out.
—Hmm.
‘Sung Jinwoo’ turned his gaze away from Suho and calmly scanned the surroundings.
KWAOOOOOO—!
The raging sandstorm howled violently.
Hunters trapped within it, fighting their illusions with anguished expressions.
Observing the scene, ‘Sung Jinwoo’ nodded and spoke again.
—Hmm, I see. So I’m an illusion right now.
“Huh?”
[W-What?!]
Zarvier was utterly shaken.
An impossible situation had unfolded.
An illusion created through illusion magic was self-aware—and realized that it was an illusion?
[Th-This is impossible…!]
—There’s no such thing as impossible.
[…!]
—At least, not for me.
At those words, Zarvier trembled.
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
The illusion of Sung Jinwoo was now staring directly into his hidden location within the sandstorm and speaking to him.
‘He’ let out a soft chuckle and asked Zarvier a question.
—Do you know how many Maeryung have become shadow soldiers so far?
[W-Wait.]
A chill ran down Zarvier’s spine.
It wasn’t a question asked out of curiosity.
He immediately grasped the intention behind it.
How many of his kin had died in the fierce wars and been absorbed into the Shadow Army?
If those Maeryung continued researching sorcery even after becoming shadow soldiers—
And if now, the one ruling over those shadow Maeryung was the Shadow Monarch…
—That’s right. Thanks to them, I’ve grown quite familiar with Maeryung sorcery.
‘Sung Jinwoo’ sincerely thanked Zarvier.
—So I’ll give you some credit. Your illusion magic is fairly useful. Especially in a situation like this.
Then suddenly, ‘he’ raised his head to look up at the sky.
Though nothing could be seen through the swirling sandstorm—
His gaze ignored the obstruction and stared quietly beyond it.
Toward the vast universe beyond, where his real self resided.
Heh.
A faint smile formed on Sung Jinwoo’s lips.
Then, withdrawing his gaze, he looked back at his son Suho and called out a name.
—Beru.
[KIEEEEEK!]
At that command, Beru suddenly tore through the sandstorm and revealed himself.
And upon recognizing his liege, Sung Jinwoo, he burst into tears.
[My King!]
A mirage illusion—
Yet through the illusion, Beru, spiritually connected to Sung Jinwoo, could clearly sense his true will.
—…Beru, you’ve grown weaker.
Sung Jinwoo clicked his tongue as he assessed Beru’s condition at a glance.
—Well, it doesn’t matter.
He raised his hand and placed it atop Beru’s head.
—Listen closely. Shadow soldiers share all senses with their monarch. That’s the level 2 of the [Shadow Storage] skill.
And then, almost as if saying it aloud for Suho to hear—
—When you blend that with a bit of Maeryung sorcery, this kind of thing becomes possible.
FWOOOOOSH!
Black energy surged from ‘his’ hand and seeped into Beru.
Feeling his liege’s touch after so long, Beru closed his eyes in bliss.
At that moment—
DING!
[A quest has arrived.]
“W-What is this?”
As a system message suddenly popped up before his eyes, Suho’s eyes widened.
Before checking the quest details, he first turned to look at the illusion of his father—who was now smiling at him.
—That’s right. It’s a bit primitive, but this is how quests were originally created.
The level-up system.
It was a high-level sorcery created by the Maeryung’s great shaman, Kandiaru, for one single purpose.
And that purpose…
—The reward is your next Shadow Authority.
‘Sung Jinwoo’ grinned mischievously as he spoke to his son.
—So then, go on. Prove your worth.
[Do you accept the quest?] (Y/N)
