Chapter 167

Looking back at the past, Suho's school days were always filled with boredom.

A square desk.

A square blackboard.

A square classroom.

A place where people who wore the same clothes gathered together.

A world where everyone learned the same thing.

This was all Suho remembered from his school days.

How boring… Looking back, there were many moments where he would always yawn and feel bored. I need something... Something with a little more heart beating. A nostalgic feeling kept telling him he once knew a lot of amazing things.

When that feeling came, he couldn't stand it anymore and then—

Tick.

Time stopped.

An unbelievable sight unfolded in Suho's eyes.

The students that walked out of school.

The students that were doing sports.

The car that passed through the driveway.

The people that passed through the sidewalk.

And the ball in mid-air.

Everything that once moved now stopped.

'That thing' appeared.

A gate.

A round black hole suddenly morphed at the back of the classroom like a door made from pitch colors of the darkness that swirled, ready to suck anyone in who approached it.

This would have been enough to frighten a normal kid, but instead of crying or screaming, Suho put a hand on his chest.

Badum, badum, badum!

His heart was pounding.

Maybe, maybe he had been expecting something like this for a long time.

Mom would always say I resemble dad.

If I were to think like him… what would he have done in this situation?

The answer was within him all along.

Suho jumped into the gate without hesitation.

And so, arguably, the most intense and fierce moment of his entire life started like this. A terrifying dream.

Aaaaa!

Kyaa oh oh oh!!

Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

In said dream, Suho died and was injured countless times. Either way, he still ran forward to defeat the numerous magic beasts that attacked him.

Finally, when he reached the end, Suho would encounter him. He was a man who wore a hood in order to be unrecognizable. A man whose pressure suffocated all of Suho's body.

But now I know. Who that man was.

Father?

Suho couldn't help but be embarrassed to see his father's — Sung Jin-Woo's — appearance right in front of him.

He knows, of course I know, that this was all just an illusion.

It wasn't possible for his father, who was supposed to be in outer space right now, to turn up here. Then the one in front of him is a fake.

But.

He was still worried about him.

Can I win against my father now?

Suho gulped, swallowing some dry saliva.

Looking back, he was level 99 in his dream and yet he was still knocked out in one hit. His current lever is even lower than that.

But my father also won't be as strong as he was back then since he is just an illusion now.

Suho was sure of it, there was no way for a mere demonic illusionist to produce the same amount of power the Shadow Monarch had. This is a good balance for him.

But still, isn't this too much pressure for him to produce?

Around him a merciless force surrounded the arena. Just how amazing was the magic of a demonic tribe member, that from the moment his father's illusion appeared, Suho's stats began to fluctuate like crazy? He knew it was clearly a fake, and yet Suho couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat at the pressure that weighed on his entire body.

[Hahaha ha! Why I never thought there would be someone who has such a good memory of the Shadow Monarch!]

Then, Javier's senses belatedly came back as he burst into madness. It was only at that moment when he realized what was going on. Javier pointed at Suho while shouting.

[You bastard! You must have encountered the Shadow Monarch somewhere before! How!? The Shadow Monarch is a nightmare in itself!]

Javier, the demonic illusionist, had only seen the Shadow Monarch once, even if it was from a distance. He was only able to survive that day because he ran away as soon as he saw him. However even from far off in the distance, the memory of that day was still a horrifying and cursed image engraved in his mind.

At the same time, seeing him again was nothing of a surprise.

This was the true aura of death that the Shadow Monarch exuded!

If only he could bring out the true extent of power he felt still engraved in his memory, I will even be able to have the Shadow Monarch as my subordinate!

Conjuring Memories. It was the type of illusion magic Javier had devoted his whole life to. Of course it won't be the exact thing, but if you can still succeed in projecting a version of the Shadow Monarch then your soul will achieve a tremendous level of transcendence in power!

Unfortunately his illusion failed, or to be more precise he had only half-succeeded in creating the Shadow Monarch. His magic had completed the Monarch's appearance well, but his power was a fleeting essence compared to the real deal Javier had witnessed first-hand.

With such a small pool of data as materials, he hadn't been able to create an illusion of the Shadow Monarch before.

[And to think I would find more data this way!]

Although it was a well known fact that the Shadow Monarch had been living on earth for a long time, he didn't think that there would be a soul among the humans that knew the Shadow Monarch so up close!

Javier greedily gazed at Suho while licking his lips.

[You are mine now kid! I will bind your soul and use it as material to summon the illusion of the Shadow Monarch forever!]

In a cruel voice he commanded the Shadow Monarch who kept emitting a terrible aura.

[Listen Shadow Monarch! I, your master Javier, command you to kill that human in front of you and bring his soul to me as an offering!]

At those words, Suho raised the mana from his whole body with a nervous expression.

Let 's do this.

So far, the most effective countermeasure against the illusion was to directly aim at the illusionist instead. Unfortunately the illusionist never revealed himself openly. Only Javier's voice could be heard as he kept hiding somewhere else.

Suho tried to expand his sensory vision to capture his mana, but strangely he felt it all over the place.

"Honey…"

"Dear, I'm sorry… I did this to you, with my own hands…"

Javier was everywhere, in the fantasies of countless other hunters, even in the fantasy of Lim Tae-Gyu's wife, and the hunter could only face her with a tearful expression.

[Heh, you are quite quick-witted.]

Even the Shadow Monarch Sung Jin-Woo that stood in front of him was embedded with Javier's mana.

[All of these fantasies that you see here are me, even the Shadow Monarch that you summoned!]

Javier's laugh echoed in the distance.

Until all of a sudden, a panicked voice came from Javier.

[Huh?!]

Suho also noticed something strange at the same time. His father— No, the fake Sung Jin-Woo. He who seemed like he was ready to launch an intense attack with such overwhelming power, suddenly looked at Suho's face and smiled.

Smiled as if he met a cute thing.

—So you're still weak.—

!?

In a moment, Suho felt something strange. The magic of the demons was truly something amazing if it was able to conjure the same atmosphere and voice of his real father. The only difference was that his father was an illusion attacking him in a dream.

However…

[Wait? What?! Why can't I move on my own?!]

Something appeared to be even more strange now, why was this? For some reason Javier's voice was greatly perplexed about the situation at hand.

—Hmmm.—

'Sung Jin-Woo' turned his attention away from Suho to look around the place with a chilled attitude

Kwaaaaahhhh!!

They were inside a violent sandstorm. All the hunters around them were facing an illusion with painful expressions. 'Sung Jin-Woo' finished searching the scene before nodding and opening his mouth again.

—Oh, so I'm an illusion right now.—

"Huh?"

[What the!?]

Javier stood in shock as something unbelievable just happened. To think that the illusion has gained sentience about his own creation!

[Such a thing like this… It's impossible!]

—No, it's not.—

[!!!]

—Nothing is impossible for me.—

At those words, Javier trembled, goosebumps appearing everywhere. Sung Jin-Woo's illusion was talking to him, looking straight at him even though he was hidden in the sandstorm.

'That man' smiled and asked Javier a question.

—Do you know how many demons have become my shadow soldiers so far?—

[Wait I…]

An ominous feeling came over Javier. It wasn't a question he wanted to hear the answer to as he immediately realized the intent behind it. Just how many of his own people died at the hands of the Shadow Monarch during the fierce war? How many of them were incorporated? How many of those soldiers were still studying and practicing witchcraft like a demon tribe?

And now that they've become servants of the Shadow Monarch…

—Because of them, I've gotten quite used to the Demonic Tribe's witchcraft.—

'Sung Jin-Woo' then expressed his sincere gratitude to Javier.

—But I guess I'll praise you. After all, your skills are quite useful in this situation.—

Suddenly, he looked up at the sky, obscured by a sandstorm where nothing could be seen. His unconcerned gaze quietly stared at the beyond, a vast universe that spread out farther than his own existence.

—Beru.—

[Kiehek!!]

Beru, who had disappeared after the sandstorm hit, suddenly reappeared through it. And upon recognizing his master, Sung Jin-Woo, he burst into tears.

[My liege!!]

An illusion of the real thing, however in Beru's eyes that were still connected to Sung Jin-Woo, he was able to find a trace of his sentence that was connected precisely through that illusion.

—Beru, you've lost all your strength.—

Sung Jin-Woo clicked his tongue as he recognized Beru's condition with a single glance.

—Well, it doesn't matter.—

Jin-Woo raised his hand and placed it on Beru's head.

—Notice this, shadow soldiers share all senses with their monarch. That's the function in the 2nd Level of the Shadow Storage skill.—

He muttered this to Suho, who kept watching and listening.

—And when you combine the witchcraft of the Demonic Tribe in moderation this is also possible.—

Fwa!

Black energy started to swirl from 'his' hand and seep into Beru. Feeling such a familiar touch after a long time, Beru closed his eyes pleasantly.

T-ring!

[Your quest has arrived.]

"This is?"

Suho's eyes widened at the sudden pop up message from the system. Before checking the contents of it, he turned his gaze towards his father's illusion, who in response grinned back.

—It's a bit old but the quest were originally created this way.—

The level up system: a high level sorcery that had been created by the Great magician of the demon tribe, Kandiaru, had one purpose.

—You will be rewarded with the next skill of the Shadow Power.—

'Sung Jin-Woo said this to his son with a slightly mischievous smile.

—So prove your qualifications.—

[Do you accept this quest?]

(Y/N)