Chapter 10
“Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch of Fangs?”
“Yong-Jun?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Those strange words flowed from Kim Yong-Jun’s mouth as he gripped the sword’s hilt.
The Raid Leader, who had been trying to stop him, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Shhk.
The sword slid free from the stone.
“Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch of Fangs?”
Kim Yong-Jun repeated the exact same words.
His eyes had turned a deep crimson.
“Y-Yong-Jun?”
“Are you alri—”
Slash!
“…!”
The Raid Leader’s head flew from his shoulders.
A fountain of blood erupted into the air.
For an instant…
time itself seemed to freeze.
Silence.
Then—
“W-What the hell?!”
“AAAAAH!”
“Captain!”
The Hunters behind them screamed and rushed forward.
“Y-Yong-Jun!”
“What are you—”
Slash!
Another head fell.
“Yong-Jun!”
Only then…
did they understand.
Blood tears streamed from Kim Yong-Jun’s eyes.
His sword…
was pointed at them.
“Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch of Fangs?”
Standing amid a storm of blood…
Kim Yong-Jun smiled.
A cruel,
inhuman smile.
Grrrrrr…
A mournful wolf’s howl echoed throughout the ruins.
* * *
A sudden chill ran through Beru.
His expression changed instantly.
Slowly…
he turned toward the darkness deep within the Dungeon.
[…What is this?]
“What’s wrong?”
Without taking his eyes off the darkness,
Beru answered,
[I suddenly sensed the aura of a Monarch.]
“A Monarch?”
“My father?”
[No.]
[Originally, there was not only the Shadow Monarch.]
Beru began explaining.
Long ago…
multiple Monarchs had existed throughout the universe.
Unfortunately for them…
they had invaded Earth—
the world protected by Sung Jinwoo, the Shadow Monarch.
Every one of them…
had ultimately perished by his hand.
“Then…”
“Doesn’t that still mean it’s my father?”
[If it were my liege…]
[My own power would have been fully restored in an instant.]
[Yet my mana has not changed at all.]
[This aura…]
[…is one I know well.]
Just then—
Awooooooo!
A wolf’s howl echoed somewhere in the Dungeon.
It was immediately answered by countless others.
Grrrrrr!
Awoooo!
The cries of savage beasts erupted from every direction.
“W-What’s happening?”
“What the hell is going on?”
The miners’ faces turned pale.
They anxiously looked around.
Then—
“AAAAAH!”
A scream echoed through the tunnels.
It came from workers farther inside the Dungeon.
“HELP!”
“S-Somebody—”
More screams followed.
Growing closer…
second by second.
Then—
“ROAR!”
A wolf-like magical beast lunged at Suho from behind.
[Young Master!]
“I saw it!”
Suho thrust his pickaxe directly into the wolf’s open jaws.
CRUNCH!
“…Seriously?!”
The beast’s teeth were so powerful…
the pickaxe shattered like tofu.
Still…
it bought him a brief moment.
Spit!
As the wolf spat out the broken tool…
Suho shouted,
“Everyone!”
“Attack!”
“Kerruk!”
The three Shadow Goblins charged simultaneously.
“GRRRR!”
But it wasn’t enough.
They were wielding the same mining pickaxes Suho had used.
The wolf simply bit through those as well.
Then it tore the Shadow Goblins apart.
However—
Whoosh.
Mana flowed from Suho’s body.
The Goblins’ shattered forms immediately regenerated.
[Kieeeek!]
[Shadow Soldiers are an immortal army!]
[As long as the Young Master has mana, they can be restored endlessly!]
For some reason…
Beru sounded strangely excited now that battle had begun.
“Kerruk!”
The resurrected Shadow Goblins instantly leaped back onto the wolf.
They drove the jagged remains of their broken pickaxes into its body without mercy.
Crunch!
Stab!
Crack!
“Yelp!”
The wolf collapsed onto the ground,
howling pitifully.
[You have defeated an Iron-Fang Lycan.]
“So that’s why it could chew through pickaxes…”
But killing one wolf changed nothing.
There were dozens of them.
The miners were being ripped apart by their steel-like fangs.
“AAAAH!”
“Their teeth—!”
Mining pickaxes were utterly useless against them.
Inventory!
Without hesitation,
Suho pulled several Goblin Stone Axes from his Inventory.
He handed one to each Shadow Goblin.
[Young Master!]
[Those axes will also shatter against the wolves’ teeth!]
“I’ve got plenty more!”
Shouting that,
Suho hurled one of the axes at a wolf attacking an older miner.
Whoosh!
Thunk!
The stone axe buried itself in the wolf’s side.
“Yelp!”
[It’s still alive!]
“Ruler’s Authority!”
An invisible hand shot out from Suho.
It picked up the fallen axe…
and smashed it into the wolf’s skull.
CRACK!
The beast collapsed.
[You have defeated an Iron-Fang Lycan.]
That was the beginning.
“Everyone!”
“Gather over here!”
Suho shouted loudly enough for every miner to hear.
Then…
holding a stone axe in each hand…
he charged straight into the pack.
“Kerruk!”
The three Shadow Goblins followed close behind,
raising their axes.
But Suho gave them a completely different order.
“Don’t attack!”
“Just keep letting them bite you!”
“Kerruk?!”
The Shadow Goblins froze in shock.
“And keep running!”
“Lure every wolf into that tunnel!”
“Kerruk!”
There wasn’t enough time to kill every wolf individually.
The Goblins immediately began screaming and fleeing.
The wolves chased after them relentlessly.
Their bodies were torn apart again…
and again…
yet they continued regenerating,
taunting the wolves without end.
“GRRRR!”
“ROOOOAR!”
Before long…
most of the wolves had become completely fixated on chasing the three Shadow Goblins.
The instant every wolf disappeared into the side tunnel—
“Seal the entrance!”
At Suho’s command,
the injured miners forced themselves back onto their feet.
They hurriedly dragged over every cart filled with mana crystals.
One after another…
they piled the heavy carts across the tunnel entrance.
Only after blocking it off…
did they finally collapse from exhaustion.
“What…”
“What the hell happened?”
“How did magical beasts reach the mining area?”
“What happened to the Raid Team?”
Fear spread across every face.
Magical beasts almost never reached the miners.
There was only one possible explanation.
“…Don’t tell me…”
“The Raid Team was wiped out?”
“No way.”
“They were so confident.”
“They said it was only wolves.”
“And this is just a D-Rank Dungeon!”
Grrrr…
ROOOOAR!
The wolves snarled from behind the blocked tunnel.
“What do we do now?”
No one could guarantee the path back to the Gate was still safe.
“Beru.”
Suho turned toward him.
Since earlier…
Beru had been staring deeper into the Dungeon.
His face was grim.
[Young Master…]
[I believe we have a serious problem.]
[This truly is the aura of the Monarch of Fangs.]
“The Monarch of Fangs?”
[The King of Beasts…]
[One of the Monarchs slain by my liege.]
[Something appears to be commanding these wolves.]
“You mean…”
“A dead Monarch came back to life?”
[…]
[That should be impossible.]
[Only the Shadow Monarch possesses the authority over death.]
[Even that power could never resurrect another Monarch.]
[Their existence was erased completely.]
A destroyed Monarch…
could never return.
[Therefore…]
[At most…]
[This is likely only a remnant of the Monarch of Fangs that drifted into this dimension through a dimensional rift.]
After finishing his explanation…
Beru looked directly at Suho.
[Young Master.]
[We must retreat.]
“…Run away?”
Suho frowned.
That was unlike Beru.
Normally…
he was always shouting about killing everything.
[I’ve told you repeatedly.]
[Right now, you are weaker than an ant larva.]
[A Monarch-class existence could kill you with a flick.]
[We must escape immediately.]
“…You’re not just saying that because I made you eat mana crystals, are you?”
Suho remembered clearly.
Just this morning…
Beru had described him as an ant larva.
Now…
he was apparently even weaker than that.
At that moment—
BOOOOOOM!!
The barricaded tunnel exploded.
“AH!”
“The tunnel’s open!”
The miners,
who had only just relaxed,
grabbed their pickaxes in terror.
They expected dozens of wolves to pour out.
Instead…
someone calmly walked through the dust.
“…Kim Yong-Jun!”
One miner recognized him immediately.
His face lit up.
Kim Yong-Jun had been part of the Raid Team.
“So you’re alive!”
“What happened in there?!”
“We almost died!”
“…”
Kim Yong-Jun silently stared at him.
Then—
the sword in his hand moved.
SLASH!
“Look out!”
Grab!
At that instant…
Ruler’s Authority yanked the miner backward by the collar.
Kim Yong-Jun’s blade barely grazed the man’s neck.
A thin red line appeared.
The miner collapsed backward,
his face completely white.
“W-What…?”
Kim Yong-Jun looked down at him arrogantly.
Then he spoke.
“Who dares trespass upon the domain of the Monarch of Fangs?”
“This is the sacred land where the great King of Beasts once resided.”
BOOOOOM!
An overwhelming killing intent exploded from his body.
“…!”
No one could even breathe.
An ominous pressure filled the cavern.
[Status Effect: Fear has been activated.]
[All of the Player’s attributes are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]
Suho instantly felt his body become unbearably heavy.
[We have to run.]
Beru whispered urgently.
[Damn it…]
[If only I had recovered my strength…]
He looked at Suho—
then suddenly froze.
Suho’s eyes…
were burning with fighting spirit.
At that moment—
[A Quest has arrived.]
A quest window appeared before Suho.
[Emergency Quest: Eliminate the Enemy!]
A being harboring murderous intent toward the Player is nearby.
Eliminate the target to secure your safety.
Enemies to Defeat: 1
Enemies Defeated: 0
Beru hurriedly pleaded,
[Young Master!]
[Ignore this quest!]
[The weak have their own way of fighting.]
[Just as before…]
[Use the Shadow Goblins as shields and escape!]
“…Alright.”
Suho answered quietly.
Beru’s eyes brightened.
[I’ll guide our escape route immediately!]
Suho tightened his grip on his stone axe.
“…We’re fighting.”
[Kieeek?!]
