Early in the morning, Winter was running around the block. "Maybe I should have some of my Shadow Soldiers act as security for the entire neighborhood while I'm at it," he thought. Slowing down to a stop, Winter stood on the sidewalk, "Come forth," he commanded. Three of the four high orc generals formed from his shadow, kneeling down before him. "From now on, you guys are the neighborhood watch with this small army-" Winter explained, giving them twenty high orc Shadow Soldiers each- "In addition, if I am ever gone, clear my low ranking dungeons, you should know where it is, but be careful not to be seen by anyone!" The Shadow Soldiers nod, bowing their heads before melting down into their shadow before going off into the neighborhood with their armies. "Even if a murderer were to appear, they wouldn't be able to defeat any of my Shadow Soldiers unless they're an A-rank or higher," Winter thought. "This will be my contribution to society, but I'll keep one if I were ever needed to split the army up," he added before going back on his run, completing his daily quest. Later that day, Winter entered the Demon's Castle, expecting to end it quickly.
~>System<{" The [Player] Has Entered The [Dungeon: Demons' Castle]!"}>It rang as soon as Winter stepped in<~
"From this point on, the difficulty will increase exponentially," Ultima explained, "Good thing I came prepared, huh?" Winter asked Ultima, "Those new items should be enough," it replied. Winter swung a cloak over his shoulders, and buttoned the collar from the base of his neck up to his nose. A Red lace came from the left side of the collar, but he didn't use it to keep the collar in place. Red plated armor on each of his soldiers that were sewn to the cloak itself, wearing the same clothes as he did while working out, he stepped up to the Transportation Circle.
~>System<{" The [Player] Has Received a [Quest],"}>it rang<~
"Hm?" Winter asked, looking over to see the ping. His face illuminated by the billowing fires.
~>System<{" [Quest: Slay The Demon King] The [Demon King, Baran] Resides on The [Top Floor] of The [Demons' Castle]. [Defeat: Baran] And Collect His [Soul]. [Rewards: 1. [+30 Stat Points], 2. [Rune Stone: Shadow Exchange], 3. [Rune Stone: Soul Unbound], And 4. Unknown]!"}>It displayed<~
"They're better than last time, and I get a new Job-Specific Skill!" Winter looked at the rewards, "I already have three Job-Specific skills, and each one is incredibly even at level one. I can only imagine what this fourth one will allow me to do," he thought, "Well, I better get climbing!" Winter stepped forward onto the Transportation Circle.
~>System<{" [Demons' Castle Floors: 1–86] Are Open to The [Player],"}>it displayed<~
"Take me to floor 86," Winter watched as the circle exploded with powerful magic, consuming him and sending him to the desired floor. On that floor, many demonic monsters laid waste to the crumbling cityscape. Fighting each other with vicious hunger, Tusk stepped forward, "I want to see how strong you are," Winter explained. Tusk nodded, grasping the Orb of Avarice in one hand. Lifting the other as a magic circle with Greek, Astrological symbols in a circle around four smaller circles that surrounded his wrist.
~>System<{" The [Shadow Soldier: Tusk] Has Used [Hymn: Giants, Rage, And Strengthening]!"}>It rang as Tusk suddenly grew several yards taller<~
Standing above the buildings, Tusk growled as several more demons gathered in front of him. He leaned back, breathing deeply as a dragon head formed behind his head.
~>System<{" The [Shadow Soldier: Tusk] Has Used [Hymn: Dragon Fire]!"}>It rang<~
With a mighty breath, a tormenting beam of fire spewed from his mouth, consuming a portion of the city with one breath. Killing over a hundred demonic monsters as the surrounding buildings collapsed and even began to melt around Tusk and his new path of destruction. "Incredible!" Winter laughed.
~>System<{" The [Shadow Soldier: Tusk] Has [Defeated: High-Ranking Demon (x2) And a Demon Lord (x2)]! The [Player] Has Received [EXP: 7,800],"}>it rang<~
"Even nerfed from being raised from the dead, this kind of power is very promising," Winter smiled as the smoke began to give way. Revealing a molten cityscape with corpses of powerful demons burning along with buildings, "That Orb is staying with you, Tusk!" He replied, looking over at Tusk.
~>System<{" MAIN STATUS. [Name: Winter Legendary Greats], [Level: 91], [Job(s): Shadow Monarch And Great Ultima], [Title: Overcomer of Adversity], [HP: 28,892], And [MP: 52,735]. Capabilities: [Strength: 196], [Vitality: 155], [Agility: 185], [Intelligence: 199], [Sense: 136], [Available Points: 0]. [Damage Reduction: 42%]."}>It displayed<~
Mr. Throndsen laid in a hospital bed, and as he woke up, Mr. Throndsen fetched a doctor as he sat up in bed. Looking around in the highly technologically advanced room. "How long have I been here?" He asked, "Honey, you've been asleep for two days now," she explained, placing a hand on his while it laid at his side. "I must have been exhausted," he mumbled. The doctor walked in, with a clipboard in hand. "Is something wrong with my body?" Mr. Throndsen asked, "Have you been in close vicinity to a Mythic by any chance?" The doctor asks, "Yes, but what does that have to do with it?" He asks, "Have you ever heard of Manaflux Comas?" The doctor asks again, "Yes, patients that experience constant drowsiness and later fall into a coma, but what does that have to do with Mythics?" Mr. Throndsen asks, "Mana is like radiation for those without magic, too much of it for a Mana intolerant people develop symptoms when they're exposed to intense Mana over a long period of time," he explains. "Judging from the sudden development of these symptoms, there must have been a large source of Mana to trigger it," he continued, "No! This can't be!" Mr. Throndsen thought, "Sir, is there a Mythic in your family?" He asks, "With each passing day, there are more practical uses of Mana, and I'm one of those inventors-" Mr. Throndsen continued. Gripping the thin blanket with his left hand, "The number of people empowered by mana is continuing to grow as well! In a world like this, people without mana, and even mana intolerant people are just-" He paused- "I've become a victim of natural selection," Mr. Throndsen growled aloud. "I have never lost, but now I'm doomed!" He exclaimed, "You haven't lost yet, love," Mrs. Throndsen explained.
On the coast of Wido, a living ant successfully landed on shore, only miles away from an obscure village. "Nothing beats peace and quiet!" A young man began, he wore some armor along with some beat up jeans, a newer zip up jacket, and a sword on his hip. His hair was a darker brown than the beige jacket he wore. Beside him was a just as young woman, tightly she held onto her wood staff. Her cloak draped over her shoulders down to her ankles. She wore her blonde hair short just down to her chin with mostly modern clothes underneath. "Jorge! Thank you for keeping the village safe, Mr. Encarnación," An older man spoke in Spanish, smiling warmly as he passed. Under the shade of his large hat. They were out in the hot sun, among a small village barren of trees or reliable shade. "Don't mention it!" Jorge waved back, speaking in the same language, "Who is your friend here? Is he a newcomer?" The old man asked, speaking Spanish still, "Yes, please welcome her, she's quite the powerful mage!" Jorge explained, "It's very important we speak to everyone here, because if a gate opens up in a remote location like this, we can easily be doomed," Jorge explained in English to the woman, "If we take too long, a dungeon break might occur, and the monsters would wipe us all out!" He added, "We have to find the gate as quickly as possible using the mana meter, right?" The young woman asked, "Yes, and quickly contact the Mythics in major cities to get help, it will take at least three days before reinforcements arrive," Jorge agreed, "That means we need to find it as soon as it appears!" She concluded, "Yup! We're the only Mythics out here, and since I'm A-rank, and you're S-rank we have to be responsible and-" Jorge explained before being interrupted by the young woman- "Mr. Encarnación, look over there!" She pointed out at a lanky figure walking toward the town, "What is that? It looks like a person from here!" Jorge yelled, "Who goes there?!" They ask, after running over. The massive red ant stepped forward, scaring the two Mythics. With each step towards them, the ant wobbled, and suddenly collapsed onto the ground as the sound of sizzling and popping came within the carapace of the large ant.
Deep within the Demons' Castle, Winter, and his over five hundred strong Shadow Soldiers laid waste to each floor, "The gap between the number of Shadow Soldiers I can extract and store in my shadow continues to grow," Winter thought. Looking down at the ocean of blood underneath the mountains of demon corpses. "If I could extract these demons, I'd have an even greater army than I have now," He looked over at his stats.
~>System<{" [Extractable Shadow Soldiers: 527/ 1,020], And [Preservable Shadow Soldiers: 527/ 820]."}>It displayed<~
"Wouldn't it be inefficient for all of your Shadow Soldiers to follow you around?" Ultima asked, "I guess it would be-" Winter thought, looking behind him- "From now on I'll be operating my army differently," he quickly summoned all of his soldiers. "I'm going to split all of you into five groups!" Winter explained, "Team Tusk will have half of the high orcs, and the other half will be with the general I kept," he continued. "Igris will have half of the shadow knights, and Iron will have the rest," He looked at each of them, "Tank, you'll be with the ice bares, and Baruka will have the ice elves," Winter finished splitting his army up. "You all have two objectives, defeat every enemy you come across and report to me when you find the entry permit to the next level," he explained. Each of the leaders of these teams nod, "Good, you understand. Now disperse!" Winter smirked, watching each team dash away. Expanding out into this level of the demon's castle. He sighs softly, "I'll have to give up on all the items except for the entry permit, but that's what I have to sacrifice if I want to reach the top floor," Winter thought. Suddenly, the System notifications began flooding with experience points he's obtained. He laughed, "It hasn't been long since they began, but I'm already getting massive experience point gains-" Winter smiled- "I don't have to waste my time running around anymore," he thought. Watching explosions in the distance go off from clashes of his soldiers and demonic presences. "Unless they're destroyed, I won't have to use mana either-" Winter began searching his inventory- "The Mages and infantrymen will struggle, though. All the demons on this floor are high-ranking monsters after all," he thought, grabbing a mana potion. "I'll use a mana potion to keep my manga high, they're going to need it," Winter added. Hours passed, and only half a day later, Winter stepped off from the Transportation Circle. He summoned his army once more, about ready to send them off onto this floor as well. He turned to his right and saw Tank, "What?" He asked, looking at his rank and level.
~>System<{" [Shadow Soldier: Tank], [Level: 14], And [Rank: Infantry]."}>It displayed<~
He smiled, "Looks like I'm not the only one getting stronger," placing a hand on Tanks' side. Winter pats Tank before he looks at the others, "I guess hunting in groups turned out to be super efficient," he thought, "You're welcome," Ultima scoffed. "Yes, thanks. Your idea was very helpful," Winter laughed. He looks up to see a towering building consumed by flames, "I've got 20 more floors to go-" Winter clenched his fists- "That tower is getting smaller and smaller," he thought, half smiling. "I made it to the 80th floor far faster than I predicted," Winter thought, "This has yet begun," he sighed. Winter went out and found himself a place to rest for the night. When he woke, Winter found his mana drained. He sighed as he stretched, "They must have fought powerful monsters to have drained my mana like that," Winter thought. "This leaves me no choice but to call everyone back," he watched as each group returned to his shadow one by one. Winter stepped through rubble, and found a patch of dirt and concrete dust. He grabbed a rebar and snapped it to a short metal stick, and knelt down in the dirt. Winter drew six circles that represented the shadow teams and surrounded a seventh that represented himself. He sighed, "Team High Orc and Igris have suffered repeated attacks," Winter began, crossing out two circles below the seventh circle. "Tusk' team was right next to Igris', yet they skipped over them and went straight for Iron's team-" he explained- "Something's not right here," Winter thought, "Why did these demons attack only Igris, Iron, and the High Orcs? They must be strong enough to fight the others as well, but why just them?" He asked himself, bringing his left hand up to his chin, "Was it because they weren't strong enough to defeat Tusk?" Winter wondered, "They must be picking their battles against opponents they can win against, which means-" he began- "They're not only powerful, but also smart enough to identify weaknesses within a group," Winter decided. He sighed, "They only attacked team High Orc because they were targeting Tank," he dropped the rebar and stood up.
Tank and his team wandered the ruins, closely watching their surroundings. "This has to be their next destination," Winter thought, following through the ruins of buildings. Cloaked by stealth, he stayed as close as he could while staying hidden. The team steps out into a clearing, a ruined road that forked off in three directions. Opposing them was an equally small army of a demon noble and three demon knights on the top of monstrous horses. He smirked, "Interesting," Winter quietly watched. These small forces clashed in a fierce, but brief battle. The demons were no easy opponent, and cut each shadow soldier down with frightening efficiency, "This explains it-" he stepped out from cover- "They just simply don't stand a chance," Winter explained stepping towards the battle. His cloak of stealth began to fade away, revealing himself to the demon knights and Noble. The first knight held a spear, gripping it tightly before charging Winter quickly. The demon thrust the spear at him, but Winter leaned forward and ducked out of the way. His eyes glowing an aquamarine color, he slammed his foot into the first knight's head with enough strength to kill, and the sound of crushed bones and metal rang from his attack.
~>System<{" The [Player] Has Defeated a [Demon: Knight]! The [Player] Has Obtained [Exp: 3,000],"}>it rang<~
Just as the first demon knight fell lifeless, Winter finished the spin kick, but remained on one leg. Two other demon knights rushed Winter with their spears ready. With his second foot on the ground, the demons only saw Winter suddenly vanishing as a cloud of dust was left behind on the ground. The third demon shuddered as the fourth was prepared for an attack, yet even that wasn't enough. Blitzing past them, Winter cut through each with one dagger in each hand.
~>System<{" The [Player] Has Defeated a [Demon: Knight] [x2]! The [Player] Has Obtained [Exp: 6,000],"}>it rang<~
Stepping past the pooling demon blood and bits, Winter was face to face with the demon noble. They stood with a sword in their hand, gripping it tightly, "I've wondered whether a monster was capable of fear-" Winter began- "But I have my answer now," he explained sinisterly. The Noble began with a barrage of attacks that left after images, thrusting her sword at Winter. He avoided each attack, leaving after images of his own. The attacks left holes in the ruined building behind Winter. Stepping to the side quickly, "My forehead, neck, and heart. It's targeting my vitals-" Winter thought- "I guess they have their own ranking system depending on what they look like," he watched the Noble raise her sword to block an expected attack. Winter cuts through the sword and arm. The Noble cried in pain, and before they could say a word before a slash severed their head from the noble's shoulders. "Weird. I feel like that sounded like a girl," he thought, looking at the lifeless body.
~>System<{" The [Skill: Shadow Extraction] May be Used on This [Target]."}>It displayed<~
He sighed, "Is it because with the Higher rank, their mana is purer?" Winter thought, "Yes, this is the same with humans," Ultima replied. He nods, and inhales, "Arise," Winter commanded. The fallen demon knights and Noble rose from their bodies. Clawing up and out from the blood as their new shadow body formed. "As I thought, the voice was from a woman," Winter watched the demon Noble form before him.
~>System<{" [Shadow Soldier: Unnamed], [Level: 5], And [Rank: Elite Infantry]."}>it displayed<~
"My liege, please forgive me for my sins," she quickly bowed. "Heh? You talk?" He asks, "Yes, I always could," she replied. Winter sighs, "I feel like I'm running into a lot of monsters that speak," he thought awkwardly. "The only difference between her and the other soldiers is her rank, perhaps at a certain level they can start speaking?" Winter added in thought. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you, my liege?" She asks, breaking his train of thought, "Two things. First, I want to know what you were called before you died. Second, I want to know where the entry permit is," Winter replied. "My name was Ez, the eldest daughter of the Radiru Clan. The entry permit to the next floor is stored within our clan's vault, I can bring you there!" She explained, "Demons safeguard permits now?" Winter thought, "That's why I haven't found the permit yet? I didn't know they'd be kept in a specific location," he commented. "I even know where all the entry permits to the other floors are," Ez added. He smiled, "Good, but I want to ask some questions," Winter explained. "Go ahead," she waited for the first question. "Did you hear voices to kill humans?" He asks, "No, my Liege. But I did hear voices to protect the space I am occupying," Ez explains. "These monsters must have a different reason for their existence here. The Monsters aim to kill as many humans as possible. While these monsters aim to protect the instant dungeon-" Winter thought- "I guess I could be considered a monster to them because I aim to kill all of them," he added. "When did you start hearing them?" Winter asks, "Ever since we woke up in this place-" she began- "They just woke up here? That means they're from somewhere else. Is this how the system works?" Winter thought, "Then where did you live before waking up here?" he asks, "The demon realm," Ez replied. "What were you doing there?" Winter asks, "We were-" she started, just as her eyes began to be consumed by lights from a computer- "Preparing for war," Ez replied, a glitching sound coming from her voice.