While hanging out with the ice elves and living in their village, Cha Hae-in put in a lot of effort to return to Earth.
Whenever they had a chance, they would fly around on their Kaisel and search for the dimensional cracks they had passed through.
At first I thought I would be able to go back soon.
It was just a matter of going back the way we came.
But Cha Hae-in was soon forced to hit a wall.
First of all, flying through a heavy snowstorm that obscured visibility was also a problem.
The biggest problem of all was that when I went up to the sky, there was more than just one dimensional crack there.
A world that has lost its monarch.
This frozen forest was drifting through the dimensional rift, being torn to shreds in real time.
In the sky of that frozen forest, countless dimensional cracks were forming.
Finding the dimensional crack connecting to Earth was by no means an easy task.
But Cha Hae-in and Kaisel did not give up and continued wandering through the snowstorm every day.
Meanwhile.
This is a really big problem.
-Grrrr… … .
-Kaiser?!
At some point, the power of the dragon Kaisel that protected Cha Hae-in began to weaken little by little day by day.
The reason was simple.
The only reason Shadow Soldiers could be immortal was because they were supplied with magical power by the Shadow Lord.
However, Kaisel had become too distant from Sung Jinwoo, and was no longer able to receive his magical power.
-This won’t work. If this continues, Kaisel will be destroyed before we find the gate back to Earth.
This was not Earth.
There was no way to predict when, where, or what kind of enemy would appear.
If we were to encounter an unexpected enemy, Kaisel’s power would definitely be needed.
From then on, Cha Hae-in stopped trying to find the gate through the snowstorm.
It was never a surrender.
-I trust my husband. He will definitely find me, no matter where I am.
A confident voice.
Cha Hae-in trusted Sung Jin-woo.
Then, he was sure that he would definitely find him, wherever he was.
Because he was the one who came to find me in this ‘this’ world, where we were destined not to meet.
While waiting quietly for Sung Jin-woo here, Cha Hae-in began teaching swordsmanship to the young ice elves.
Even if I leave this place someday.
Hoping that these children will gain the strength to protect themselves from the ice spirits that invade the village whenever they get a chance.
And it was around that time.
It was while dealing with spirits near the Echo Forest that Cha Hae-in discovered ‘gray eyes’.
* * *
To find his mother, Suho decided to go straight to the Echo Forest.
“Are you really going?”
The expressions of the ice elves watching the scene were full of anxiety.
“Is it okay? The Echo Forest is a really dangerous place… … .”
“That’s right. Chacha said it too. To get in there, you need to be at least A-class by human standards.”
“Suho is A-class?”
“Suho is Chacha’s son, but why does he look so weak? It’s like the energy I feel isn’t even half of Chacha’s.”
“Hey, that’s the same for everyone. Of all the humans who’ve invaded here so far, there hasn’t been anyone stronger than Chacha.”
Ironically, right after Cha Hae-in left for the Echo Forest, heavily armed humans began to come through a new gate connecting to Earth.
How absurd it would be if Cha Hae-in found out about this later when he came back.
Anyway, humans started coming here, but the ice elves never developed friendly relations with them.
The original purpose of the existence of demons was to ‘destroy’ everything according to the orders of the monarchs they serve.
They were beings that destroyed everything but themselves.
It was impossible to have friendly relations with mere humans.
In that respect, Cha Hae-in could be said to be a very unusual person.
Because she was their savior who helped them.
No, even if that were the case, if we had been unable to communicate with each other, our current relationship might not have been formed.
The reason Cha Hae-in was able to communicate with the ice elves in the first place was because of the ‘necklace’ that Sung Jin-woo gave her.
It was a special necklace that Sung Jin-woo had prepared as a gift for their 16th wedding anniversary.
Sung Jin-woo had put several magical functions into the necklace for Cha Hae-in, and one of them was the interpretation function.
In fact, the reason Sung Jin-woo put that function into the necklace was extremely personal.
To enable Cha Hae-in to communicate with shadow soldiers who cannot speak Korean, so that he can run errands for them.
And thanks to that private function, Cha Hae-in was the only one who could communicate with the ice elves and avoid conflict.
But to the ice elves, other humans, with whom such conversations were impossible, were nothing more than prey to be hunted on sight.
So when I met humans, I asked them only one thing.
Do you know ‘Seong Jin-woo’?
This was because they might have been sent by Cha Hae-in’s husband to find her.
Even if they couldn’t speak the language, they could at least pronounce the name, so they planned to spare his life if someone came along who understood the name ‘Seong Jin-woo’.
of course…….
Unfortunately, there was no one who knew Sung Jin-woo.
The ice elves were dumbfounded by that fact.
‘Shadow Lord Sung Jin-woo’ was actually known to all the other species from other dimensions.
He was the sole victor of that long and bitter war of monarchies, and as a result became the true ruler of all these dimensions.
But none of the people on Earth who had actually been saved by him, not a single one, remembered him.
It was truly a pity.
“I will guide you to the Echo Forest.”
Sirka jumped across the snow and stepped in front of Suho.
His movements were much lighter and more nimble than before.
It was thanks to Suho confirming that Sirka was not an enemy and detoxifying ‘Kasaka’s poison’.
As the strength that had been damaged by the snake venom recovered, Sirka puffed out her chest more confidently than ever.
“Ahem. So you see, I am the guardian of the Baruka tribe.”
Guardians are beings that guard the border of the Echo Forest.
Of course, I knew the way to get there very well.
“Then please.”
Suho disappeared into the blizzard with Sirka, and the ice elves of the village left behind stood there for a long time after they disappeared, looking at them with concern.
* * *
The moment we arrived at the Echo Forest through the snowstorm.
Suho was able to see with his own eyes the true nature of the spirits that the ice elves feared.
In the empty sky where a blizzard was swirling, ice chunks suddenly came together and transformed into demons.
[Ice Golem] [Ice Golem] [Ice Golem]
… … .
Grow up!
Sirka’s face turned pale at the sight of numerous ice golems rushing towards her from the forest, making a loud noise.
“Watch out! It’s the spirits of the Echo Forest! But why are they popping out already?”
At those words, Suho and Ber’s eyes lit up at the same time.
Spirits that had no physical form became embedded in the ice and created their own physical form.
That was the true identity of the Ice Golem.
[My Lord! It seems that the golems that destroyed the ground outside the dungeon were all spirits!]
Before Ber’s shout had even ended, Suho had already drawn his twin swords and was running towards the ice golems.
“Get up!”
Swaaaaaaah!
At that moment, the shadow soldiers with black steam rippling around Suho all rose up at once.
[I am the master’s one ray of spear!]
Wheeeeeeeek-!
Shadow Spearman Quay leapt forward faster than anyone else, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
[Moooooooo!]
Kookwakwang!
Shadow Minotaur, Mino and Tau used their power to push back the ice golems that were rushing from the left and right of the guardian.
[Number of shadows that can be saved: 3/3]
Up to here, it’s just a regular job.
Although Suho could save the shadow soldiers, he had a lot of day laborers that he had just extracted today.
“Everyone come out!”
[Shadow Cobalt Lv.1] [Shadow Cobalt Lv.1] [Shadow Cobalt Lv.1]
… … .
[Shadow Troll Lv.1]
Article rating
All the monsters I hunted as soon as I landed here.
As soon as Suho hunted those guys, he extracted them all and hid them in the shadows.
The number is as much as… … .
[Number of extractable shadows: 36/36]
“Sweep it all away!”
Kerruk!
Grow up!
At Suho’s command, a total of 36 shadow soldiers began to attack the ice golems.
“What, what is this number?!”
Sirka, who was bewildered by the unexpected appearance of the ice golems, looked at the soldiers summoned by Suho and her eyes grew wide as if they were going to pop out.
“As expected, he is Chacha’s son!”
Of course, compared to Cha Hae-in’s Shadow Dragon Kaisel, their power was insufficient, but in return, Su-ho’s soldiers were numerous.
Moreover, unlike Kaisel, who would become weaker the more strength he used, this was a truly immortal army that would never die as long as the guardian’s mana was sufficient!
However, Sirka fell back and assisted Suho by shooting her own arrow, and told him something he didn’t know.
“Guardian, be careful! The spirits of the Echo Forest are the same! No matter how many times you kill them, they keep coming back!”
[Moooooooo!]
Kookwakwang!
At that moment, the body of the Ice Golem, made of ice, was shattered by the fierce strength of Mino and Tau.
[Ice Golem defeated.] [Ice Golem defeated.]
At the same time, an amazing sight unfolded.
Shwaaaaak-
New spirits seeped into the remains of the ice golems, their bodies shattered and falling apart, carried by the cold wind.
Then, the surrounding ice clumped together again and the Ice Golem was revived in perfect condition.
A strange sight appeared in Suho’s eyes.
‘You’re playing it back?’
They were some strange guys.
Although the principle was the exact opposite of that of the Shadow Soldiers, the result was similar in that no matter how many times they were killed, they would regenerate infinitely.
“Is it good?”
Suho’s eyes sparkled.
Enemies that kept regenerating no matter how many times you killed them were definitely difficult to deal with.
But does it count?
“Wouldn’t this be the perfect place to level up?”
Crunch.
[‘Item: Intermediate Mana Potion’ purchased.]
Suho immediately drank the mana potion in one go and bared his teeth fiercely.
“Come on, come as you please.”
And become my experience.
[Status Window]
Name: Seong Su-ho
Level: 40
Occupation: None
Titles: Wolf Slayer, Enemy of Insects, Demon Slayer
HP: 15,310/15,310
MP: 2,411/2,411
[Stats]
Strength: 115
Stamina: 49
Agility: 49
Intelligence: 49 (+10)
Sense: 49(+5)
(Distributable Ability Points: 0)
[Skill]
Passive Skill: Mat House Lv.5, Dual Swords Lv.3, (Unknown) Lv.max
Active Skills: Ruler’s Power Lv.1, Shadow Extraction Lv.2, Shadow Storage Lv.1, Storm Slash Lv.3, Giant’s Armor Lv.1, Strength Lv.4, Life Lv.1, Elf’s Step Lv.1, Wind of the Plains Lv.1 (For Strongman Only)
[Number of extractable shadows: 36] [Number of storable shadows: 3] [Protection]
Blessing of Candiaru
Rakan’s Protection
Protection from the plague
[Items being worn]
Volcan’s Horn x2
Ash Ring (Sense +5)
Ring of Horus (Intelligence +10)
Ice Bear’s Robe (Defense +50)
