The Holy Relic was genuinely perplexed.
An uninvited guest came to the King's Trial and was messing around.
Wraith Tree.
It grows by absorbing the spirits that died in that land.
There were a total of three trees guarding the sanctuary.
Now, there is only one left.
That remaining tree was also being destroyed terribly by the uninvited guest.
Thuck!
-Stop! Please stop! Ah, the power of the sanctuary…! The King's Trial…!
Suho let the screams of the holy object go to the back of his ear.
[Krrrk!]
The shadow jackals were guarding him with a proud and upright posture like guard dogs.
Slash!
'As long as I destroy this, I will level up again!'
Unfortunately, he didn't level up when he destroyed the second Wraith Tree. This was because the higher the level, the more required experience points.
It was something he was sure of.
Thuck!
Suho moved faster.
Unlike Suho who was excited, 'the other Holy Relic' kept begging earnestly in his head.
-This can't be. That's the last ghost tree! Imagine how diligently I nurtured that tree!
"I can't hear. I can't hear anything."
-Listen!
Slash!
-Don't interfere with the King's Trial, something you don't qualify for!
Suho suddenly stopped.
"… qualified."
Suho raised his head and smiled faintly.
He moved toward the Holy Relic that he must be watching somewhere.
"You weren't going to pick a real king anyway. What's the problem?"
-…
All that came back was silence.
Suho already knew about it a long time ago.
He was certain because he already had Rakan's Sword.
"Aren't you planning on taking over the body of a human who survived until the end anyway?"
The Rakan's Sword initially wanted to take away the body of a lowly human and possess it.
But this time, the standard of the other Holy Relic was 'royal status'.
No matter how much humans on Earth try to fly and crawl, there's no way they'll ever be satisfied with something like being a Fang Monarch.
Grumble!
Just in time, Suho destroyed the last Wraith Tree.
[You have destroyed the Wraith Tree.]
[All the ghosts disappear.]
[Your level increased!]
All the ghosts in Magok Field disappeared.
A heavy silence fell over the forest.
At the end of that suffocating silence, the Holy Relic finally opened its mouth.
-… You know me too well. Who are you?
It was a question for Suho.
However, the heavy sense of intimidation in that voice made all the hunters in the Magok field nervous.
Awwwoooooh!
The forest was howling.
Even the ground shook as if it would collapse.
"What is this!"
"What is going on!"
As an unusual earthquake began to occur, the hunters in the forest turned pale.
Suho smiled and asked Rakan's Sword in his hand.
"Do you think the Holy Relic here is stronger than you?"
-No way. You must have found a bean sprout.
The sarcastic voice of Rakan's Sword was obvious.
-But, it was better. It found someone worthy of being a real king.
Gray, now in the Shadow Dungeon, was the only descendant of the canine clan.
Even though he became Suho's pet, that didn't matter too much.
It was already convinced that Gray would grow into a stronger monarch by being by Suho's side.
-Do you know the reason for the existence of the holy relic?
"What?"
-To prove the qualifications of the king by competing with each other's chosen successor.
Swoosh.
Rakan's Sword moved the tip of the sword, pointing back in the direction of the other relic.
-Go that way. Go to him and prove that you are more worthy.
Instead of answering, Suho turned his gaze to the shadow jackals.
"Jackal!"
[Krrrk!]
"Take me!"
The shadow jackal quickly approached and carried Suho on his back.
Then, it started running through the dense forest at a blinding speed.
* * *
Grumble-
The closer they got to the source of the earthquake, the denser the forest became.
Plant-type monsters of various colors were everywhere.
Until now, no hunters would have reached that far.
It was extremely dangerous with no money to gain.
[The plants here are full of life. They have already tasted human blood.]
Beru's words were true.
Magok Massacre.
The fundamental reason why this land has turned into such a terrible jungle.
It was because the location where the gate opened was quite bad.
Magok is home to the largest and most extensive botanical garden in Seoul.
The gate to the other world opened in the middle of the said garden.
Blue mist flowed out of it and permeated the various vegetation then achieved a bizarre evolution.
… This place has turned into hell.
If this was an ordinary mountain like Gwanaksan, it would have been a little different.
The types of vegetation growing on the mountain would not have been as diverse as those in the botanical garden.
If only this place hadn't been downtown.
Monsters tainted with magic wouldn't have eaten so many humans in the city and evolved into something more grotesque.
The result of all that bad luck was right there.
[Magok Botanical Garden]
In the place where the botanical garden was originally located, a strange giant tree wriggled as if it were alive.
Suho narrowed his eyes and looked closely at the giant tree, and soon recognized its identity.
"Is this… a tree?"
It wasn't a tree.
Thousands of plant species that grew in the botanical garden were intertwined with each other and wrapped together taking the form of a giant tree.
-It's a nest for the king.
Rakan's Sword said.
-The other relic has grown the sanctuary this much. I have no choice but to admit this one thing.
It was then.
Wow!
Suddenly, the door of the botanical garden, covered by numerous vines, opened wide in front of Suho.
"Let's go in."
[Young Master, it may be a trap.]
The corner of Suho's mouth went up at Beru's concern.
"If it's a trap, we just have to break through."
Swoosh.
With two swords in both hands, Suho stepped into the entrance.
[Entered the dungeon.]
Suho entered the botanical garden dungeon.
After that, the vines wrapped around the passage again to seal the door.
* * *
The garden was quiet and dark.
It is pitch black without a single point of light.
Suho maximized his senses and adapted to the darkness.
To secure more visibility, he put 'Item: Crow Mask' on his face.
A lot more became visible.
Spider web.
"Woah. See this?"
Suho smiled and looked around.
The whole place was wrapped in a pure white spider web.
"Was this a trap?"
Large and small spider beasts crawling on the web were glaring at the intruder.
[Grave Spider]
[Grave Spider]
…
'A grave.'
That was a very fitting name.
There were already guests who got there before Suho.
While he was handling the Wraith Tree, the beast hunters first smelled the place.
"Oops!"
They were all hanging, entwined in spider webs.
As Suho got inside, those among them whose mouths weren't covered screamed desperately.
"S-Save me…!"
"Please let us go…!"
-They are sacrifices for the king.
Listening to Rakan's Sword, Suho glared into the deep darkness far away.
A huge spider was crouching there.
Body the size of a house.
Dozens of eyes.
Ugly mouth.
Pair of giant claws.
[Grave Spider Arachne]
It was an enormous and intimidating spider.
-I can feel the energy of the Holy Spirit in that monster's body.
Suho's eyes narrowed.
"Then, I'll have to cut him open and get it out."
Thud!
Suho didn't waste any time and immediately jumped out towards the monster.
Grave spiders poured down from the walls and ceiling towards Suho.
"Take care of the small ones!"
[Krrrk!]
At Suho's command, the shadow jackals jumped up and struck the grave spiders.
They tore the spiders apart with their strong claws and killed them with their teeth.
[You have killed a grave spider.]
[You have killed a grave spider.]
[You have killed a grave spider.]
…
Numerous messages appeared simultaneously.
Suho ignored them all and just ran forward.
He only has one goal!
The arachne spewed white spider webs towards Suho.
Slash!
Two swords swung.
[Use 'Skill: Blade Storm'.]
The spider's web was torn by the raging sword strike.
A giant spider appeared.
Its huge pincer slammed down from above Suho's head.
Bang-!
If he hadn't turned his body instinctively, it would have been crushed.
The spider that smashed the stone floor rose up again.
Suho's eyes widened.
'Come again!'
Slash- Bang!
He turned around and dodged the attack.
Bang!
Dodged again.
"Khhiiiiiii!"
The monster was enraged.
Countless smashes were pouring in.
It felt like fighting an excavator at a construction site.
But…
'Seeing.'
No, feeling.
Using items to increase his sensory stats, Suho's ability to detect danger has gotten a lot better.
He dodged the attacks one by one and gradually closed the distance between him and the monster.
Slash!
He hit its leg with the Rakan's Sword.
Suho went to the other side of the monster who was staggering from the impact, and once again attacked with the Vulcan's Horn.
Slash-!
Suho's twin swords began attacking nonstop.
[The level of 'Skill: Double Swords' has risen!]
The monster howled at the continuous attack.
"Keeeeek!"
-There's no way! No matter how hard you try, you will eventually become my prey!
A voice coming from inside its body echoed.
'Was that not enough?'
'Its skin is quite thick.'
But, it doesn't matter.
Even if it had a strong defense, Suho thought he could just keep on attacking.
'I'm your food?'
Sounds funny.
Suho smiled.
'You are my prey.'
He was already excited.
Thinking of killing this guy and using him as a shadow soldier.
[Use 'Skill: Blade Storm'.]
"Khiiiik!"