In the Shadow Dungeon. A silent world of rest, painted in black and white. The flapping of bees' wings unexpectedly created a subtle noise.
Bzzzzzzzz.
[...Truly amazing.] Queen Bee Arsha let out a small exclamation of admiration as she walked through the Shadow Dungeon.
[So this is the world of rest ruled by the Shadow Monarch.]
Surprisingly, she was currently inside the Shadow Dungeon in her 'main body'. Although the conversation between Suho and Arsha had been briefly interrupted by Baek Yoonho's sudden intrusion, Suho eventually managed to summon Arsha's main body before him. Since she was in no position to disobey his orders, she had no choice but to comply.
The result was her current state. From now on, Arsha's main body would be confined to the Shadow Dungeon. In other words, she had been taken hostage, captured, imprisoned, … . No matter what you call it, Arsha's main body could no longer leave the Shadow Dungeon without Suho's permission.
However, her worker bees still remained outside, and she could observe the world through them. But that was all. With her main body trapped here, it was difficult to exert her full power. Reconnaissance was the best she could do.
'...But this isn't necessarily a bad thing.'
Arsha hadn't realized it when she was being intimidated by Suho and tormented by her own thoughts, but she was quite pleased with her current situation.
'I am being oppressed and taken advantage of, but the perks are surprisingly good.' Arsha's ultimate goal was, of course, to inherit the power of the Insect Queen, the Plague Monarch Querehsha. But her top priority was 'survival.' In that sense, this Shadow Dungeon was the safest place imaginable.
'Most of all, I like that I don't have to pretend anymore.' This alone made Arsha content with her current situation.
In the past, after falling to Earth through a dimensional crack, she chose to blend into human society by disguising herself as a human. She acted like a human and catered to their whims. It was not adaptation but parasitism. It was shameful. She, born as a Queen Bee, had to live by imitating mere humans. But no matter how strong she was, she couldn't fight against all the humans on Earth. That's why she had to increase her subordinates and build a force strong enough that she wouldn't have to hide anymore. To reign as a true Queen Bee.
But not now. Within this Shadow Dungeon, she no longer needed to pretend to be human. That fact pleased her the most. Of course, there was one problematic factor: Suho. With her main body trapped here, Suho could now kill her anytime he wanted.
"I intend to kill you anytime. But I promise not to kill you… If you don't provoke me."
[Did I really agree to that…?] A very unfair and one-sided contract. Arsha's eyes trembled with anxiety as she recalled Suho's vow.
But what could she do? In this situation, she had no choice but to do her best not to get on his bad side. After all, even when she was outside, she was always running away from him.
[Hmm. This seems like a good spot.]
After wandering around the Shadow Dungeon for a while, Arsha stopped when she found a suitable location. It was a corner of the Shadow Dungeon, a bit away from Ammut's Pyramid. After carefully examining the surroundings, she smiled in satisfaction and stretched out her hand.
[Take flight, my worker bees.]
Bzzzzzzzzt. The bees she had brought with her flew up from her body all at once.
Arsha solemnly declared to them, [In the name of Queen Bee Arsha, I command you. Work diligently, my worker bees. Let us build our new kingdom here.]
Bzzzzt.
Since things had turned out this way Arsha decided to make a comfortable palace for herself in this corner of the Shadow Dungeon. The main material for the hive was Arsha's magic power, and the rest could be gathered from the surroundings.
After some time...
A hive, already showing its basic framework, was gradually taking shape before her. Perhaps due to being too accustomed to human life, the queen bee's chamber was being built more like a cozy and elegant princess's room than a beehive.
[Hehe. This is nice, very nice. I'll put a bed here. Queen size would be good. And over there, a tea table and a sofa...]
The worker bees buzzed diligently, carrying out Arsha's detailed instructions. She couldn't hide her satisfaction. But then, a sudden thought crossed her mind.
'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to live like this forever... Hmm? What am I thinking...?' Arsha quickly dismissed the idea, reminding herself that it wasn't befitting of a queen bee. But deep down, she knew…
The life of a queen bee was all about living comfortably in a safe place and leaving all the unpleasant and dangerous tasks to the worker bees. Arsha, grateful to Suho for providing her with such a comfortable space, sent a command to her worker bees scattered throughout Korea. It was the same order Suho had given her.
'My worker bees! Find Hwang Dongsoo quickly!'
That's right. Suho wasn't relying solely on the White Tiger Guild; he was also using Arsha's worker bees to search for Hwang Dongsoo's location.
The worker bees outside the Shadow Dungeon, upon receiving the queen's command, flapped their wings even harder and dispersed throughout the country.
* * *
While she was building her hive, Suho finished his daily quest and walked out of Ammut's Pyramid.
[You've worked hard.] Beru approached him first, followed by Suho's Shadow Soldiers gathered behind him.
Suho's gaze swept over them. Excluding Beru, he had currently stored a total of five Shadow Soldiers.
Shadow Lancer Quay.
Shadow Minotaur Mino.
Shadow Minotaur Tau.
Shadow Assassin Kira.
Shadow Shaman Harmakan.
Among them, the strongest was undoubtedly Harmakan, an Elite Knight-grade soldier. However, from Suho's experience fighting him directly, his specialties were spells and curses. To utilize him effectively in the future, Suho needed to properly understand the full extent of Harmakan's abilities.
"Harmakan, tell me about your abilities."
[Yes, Master.] The shadow's explanation followed, and it could be broadly categorized into three areas:
- Necromancy
- Curses (Debuffs)
- Instance Dungeon Activation
[...However, the necromancy to summon specters is only possible when there are souls of the deceased nearby.]
"So, it's an ability with situational limitations."
[That's correct.]
Suho recalled how Harmakan had used the specters of the dead in Yamri Village to attack. Back then, Harmakan used human souls, but in dungeons, it seemed he could use the souls of magical beasts for necromancy.
'But necromancy overlaps with Shadow Extraction.' Strictly speaking, the Shadow power was far superior to necromancy.
"Then, in the future, I'll extract strong magical beasts as Shadow Soldiers and use the souls of the remaining mobs as materials for necromancy."
[Understood. And the curses I use are...]
"Ah, let's see that with our own eyes."
[...]
Harmakan felt a sense of foreboding at Suho's sudden grin and quickly looked around. The other Shadow Soldiers had surrounded him in a circle.
[M-Master?]
"Everyone, attack."
[...!]
KwaaAAAAAAAAAAH! As soon as the order was given, the Shadow Soldiers launched a fierce attack on Harmakan.
[Th-this is...! ] Harmakan, flustered, hurriedly began casting curses. System messages appeared one after another before Suho's eyes.
[Harmakan uses Skill: 'Damage Amplification'.]
[Harmakan uses Skill: 'Exploitation'.]
[Harmakan uses Skill: 'Thorn of Pain'.]
"Yes, that's it." Suho nodded, confirming the effects of Harmakan's curses that he had experienced firsthand.
'Damage Amplification is a debuff. Exploitation absorbs health. Thorn of Pain reflects damage.' They were quite interesting skills, even upon second glance.
In game terms, Harmakan could be considered a debuff-specialized Necromancer. And just as debuff users in games couldn't show their full potential without party members, the same applied to Harmakan.
[Kwaaah!] As a result, Harmakan was being beaten one-sidedly by the other soldiers without being able to launch a proper counter-attack. It was a disgraceful sight for someone who was supposedly an Elite Knight-grade.
But in this process, 'Thorn of Pain' shone.
[All pain and damage Harmakan receives is shared with the attacker.]
KWAANG! At that moment, Kira's body exploded and was thrown back after landing a powerful blow.
Harmakan was also hurt, but Kira, with his relatively weaker defense, was the first to fall.
Seeing this, Suho smirked. "You're a tanker, not a Necromancer."
'But what if he changed the approach?' Suho decided to change tactics.
"Harmakan! Can you apply Thorn of Pain to all the other soldiers?"
[Kwaaah! Yes, yes! I can do it anytime!] Harmakan answered his question diligently while still being attacked by the soldiers.
"Then use it on all of them!"
[Harmakan uses Skill: 'Thorn of Pain'.] With those words, a curse aura enveloped all the soldiers, and Suho ordered them to attack each other this time. A chaotic melee ensued.
[KwaaAAAAAAAAAAH!]
[Haaap!]
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As if they had a lot of pent-up frustration towards each other, the Shadow Soldiers attacked one another without hesitation. And with each attack, their own bodies exploded in turn. But even amidst the chaos, they didn't stop their attacks, like berserkers...
[Like cockroaches…] Queen Bee Arsha, witnessing the fierce battle from afar, clicked her tongue and went back to building her hive.
Meanwhile, Suho's mana rapidly depleted as the damaged soldiers' bodies quickly regenerated. His eyes sparkled as he observed this.
"This is good." Thorn of Pain, which reflected the damage received, had excellent synergy with the Shadow Soldiers.
No matter how much damage the Shadow Soldiers took, they could always recover. Of course, this was under the premise that Suho's mana could support it.
"...I should focus on the Intelligence stat from now on." He immediately invested all the rewards he received from today's daily quest into Intelligence.