"Now, finally..." It was time to check out Harmakan's third ability.
"Harmakan, explain what is the Instance Dungeon."
It was the ability Harmakan used to transform the entire Yamri Village into a world similar to a dungeon. Harmakan claimed he learned this ability after repeatedly studying Kandiaru's legacy, which he discovered by chance. That's why he called himself Kandiaru's disciple. At Suho's question, Harmakan, his body battered and bruised from the soldiers' attacks, answered.
[Yes, Master. The Instance Dungeon is a spell that distorts the existing dimension to create a 'reverse world.']
"What's a reverse world?"
[To put it simply, it's like a world beyond the mirror. It creates another dimension similar to the surrounding environment but entirely different. Ah, come to think of it...!] Harmakan suddenly looked around with a realization. Where was he now… ?
Wasn't this the world of rest, the Shadow Dungeon, beyond Suho's shadow?! In a sense, the ruined city existing in this black and white world could also be seen as a world similar to an Instance Dungeon. It resembled the landscape of the Earth where Suho lived, yet it was completely different.
Harmakan apologized to Suho and retracted his previous statement. [Ah! I am sorry, Master! The analogy was wrong! It's not a world beyond the mirror, but a world beyond the shadow!]
Harmakan shuddered as he realized where Kandiaru had drawn inspiration to create the Instance Dungeon technique. [The order was reversed from the beginning! Kandiaru must have developed the Instance Dungeon spell by imitating this Shadow World! And its ultimate purpose was...!]
"Leveling up." Suho finished his sentence and nodded.
"He must have developed it for my father's leveling up."
[It seems so!]
Until now, Harmakan had mistakenly believed that the purpose of the Instance Dungeon was to create his own world. As the central figure of that reverse world, he could reign as a king. But now he realized he was wrong! He wasn't a king. He was just a boss monster, a mere tool to provide massive experience points to the player who came to conquer the Instance Dungeon!
[Moreover, after observing it earlier, I realized the pyramid is just the same.] Harmakan pointed to Ammt's Pyramid.
[It is also filled with traces of Kandiaru's relentless research to develop the Shadow Monarch's vessel.]
"That makes sense." Suho nodded at his words.
The Iron Body training ground, the Instance Dungeon. In the end, the result of all that research was the leveling system his father used. And ironically, the 'incomplete traces' of Kandiaru's efforts were drawn one by one towards Suho. And as a result.
[Master, the Instance Dungeon I independently mastered has the characteristic of attracting beings with evil souls in the vicinity.]
"Evil souls, like villains?"
[Yes. They can deceive with their mouths, but souls cannot lie. I can confidently say that nothing surpasses my magic in discerning evil souls.] Harmakan, who favored evil spirits, grinned confidently, revealing his teeth.
[In other words, using my Instance Dungeon, we can gather villains for you to hunt comfortably, Master.]
[Excellent! I thought he was a wicked fellow, but he also has such a remarkable and useful talent!] Beru, who suddenly appeared, nodded in satisfaction. Then, with an even more sinister smile than Harmakan, he urged Suho.
[My liege! This is wonderful! I was frustrated with the slow leveling speed, but now we can really accelerate! From now on, let's kill every villain and evil spirit we see and become stronger!]
"Arsha." Suho looked up while listening to Beru's nagging, and a swarm of bees above his head gathered into a small, doll-sized figure.
[Yes, Suho. You called?]
"How's the search going?"
[I've spread my bees everywhere, but we haven't found any traces yet. However, I've located a few villains, just in case they're related to Hwang Dongsoo..]
[Kyaaaak!]
[Kyaah?!] Arsha screamed as Beru suddenly snatched her with a frightening momentum. Beru held Arsha high like a trophy and showered her with praise.
[You've done well! What a useful little bee! My liege! It seems your soldiers are finally starting to work together. Let's go level up right away!]
"Do we have to?"
[Kieeek?]
Suho's reaction flustered Beru.
[A-aren't you going to level up?]
"Of course, I will. But we've already achieved our goal of hunting villains. If we just want to level up, entering a dungeon is more efficient."
That's right. Like for most Hunters, bounty hunting had become less profitable than other activities for Suho as well. But that didn't mean he had to let the villains he had already found escape. Suho grinned and said,
"I still get experience points even if my Shadow Soldiers kill them, right?"
[Kieeek! Of course!]
"Then let's split into two teams. I'll hunt in the dungeons, and the villains..."
The Shadow Soldiers tensed up as Suho's gaze swept over them one by one, awaiting his orders.
"Que."
[Yes! Master!] At Suho's call, the lancer Que stepped forward and knelt.
"I'll leave the villains to you. Take Harmakan and Kira and deal with them. Can you do it?"
[O-of course! Leave it to me! I'll take care of them perfectly and even extract information from them before they die to find traces of Hwang Dongsoo!]
Que trembled with excitement at Suho's command. To think he, a mere Knight-grade, was given the order to command Harmakan, an Elite Knight-grade, as his subordinate! Looking immensely proud, he gazed down at the new soldier, Harmakan, who was stronger than him.
[Kueh-kueh! See this! I am Que, the Master's first knight!]
[H-how could this be...] Harmakan felt immense humiliation at the blatant display.
Beside Que and Harmakan, whose fortunes had taken opposite turns… Kira simply smiled quietly. [Murder...]
* * *
Amidst the public uproar over the Jisan Prison incident, a dark cloud loomed over the villains who had been operating nationwide, evading the Association's eyes.
"...So, the capital area is still dangerous, huh."
"That's what I'm saying. Heh."
"After all, any Hunter who makes money eventually moves to Seoul, right? The Hunter Association headquarters is in Gangnam too."
"That's why it's safer to do villainous acts on a nationwide tour, like us." Far from Seoul, in the middle of a town market where the food used to be sold to travelers, the villains were leisurely chatting.
"Ah, the weather's so nice today." Crunch. A villain took a big bite of an apple and looked up at the sky with a relaxed expression. The warm sunshine, the pleasant breeze... This was how happiness looked like.
Except…
The smell of blood was carried by the wind. The marketplace was full of red puddles. Corpses lay scattered about in horrific states. This place, peaceful just this morning, had turned into a living hell overnight due to a sudden attack by a group of villains. But the perpetrators themselves were sitting leisurely, chatting amongst themselves.
"Ugh... These devils..."
"Oh? There's still someone alive? You're quite tenacious." A villain's lips curled up as he saw a survivor crawling on the ground, struggling for breath. Then. Stab.
"There, it's over now." The villain, having cleanly ended the survivor's life, took another bite of his apple with a refreshed expression. Crunch.
"Those captured guys were idiots from the start. How would anyone know who we are if we kill all the witnesses like this...?"
Shiver! The villain eating the apple suddenly jolted up and looked around. Something had changed. The gentle breeze had stopped. The sunlight felt strange. But...
"Wh-what?! What's happening?!"
"Why are you making such a fuss?" His companions tilted their heads in confusion at his sudden outburst. That's right. On the surface, nothing had changed. The smell of blood, the corpses, and his comrades who had been working together for months… But something definitely felt different.
"Sh-shit! What's that on your… ?!"
"What? What's wrong with him?" The villain who felt no change was simply puzzled as his comrade yelled at him. And then.
Slice.
"...Huh?" The head of the villain still sitting calmly was cleanly severed.
Thud! His head tilted to the side and rolled on the ground.
"Wh-what the fuck?!"
"Uwaaaak!" Finally sensing the danger, the remaining villains jumped up and started looking around cautiously. At that moment, a voice whispered into their ears.
[One.]
"Wh-who's there?!"
Slash!
The villain, startled, turned around only to have his neck sliced as well.
[Now two.]
The voice that came like the wind again contained a hint of satisfied laughter.
"Everyone, be careful! It's an assassin-type Hunter!"
"Use detection skills!"
"Aaaah! Shit, what's that?!" The villains were horrified.
Swoosh! They saw specters rising like mirages from the corpses they had killed.
[Heh heh heh. There are many souls who hold grudges against you.]
Necromancy. Along with Harmakan's sinister laughter, countless specters grabbed the villains' ankles and strangled their necks.
"G-ghosts?!"
"Damn it! Whatever it is, let's get out of here...!"
[You can't.]
Shing! Que suddenly appeared and pierced a fleeing villain's thigh with his spear. Then, he grabbed the terrified villain's hair with his rough hand, lifted his head, and met his eyes.
[I really enjoy chatty fellows.]
"H-hic..." The villain's face turned pale with fear at Que's sinister smile. Whose eyes had reverted to those of Lee Minsung, the former vice-president of the Reaper Guild and an A-rank villain.
Grining Que asked him, [Now, spill everything you know. If you stop talking, I'll rip your tongue out of your mouth.]
Not to be outdone, Harmakan grabbed the soul of an already dead villain with his wicked hand.
[Tsk tsk. As expected of a Knight-grade. You can even ask questions after killing them.]
[...]
Que clenched his teeth.
* * *
Ding!
[Level up!]
"Huh? Already?" Suho suddenly leveled up. He was in the middle of going through guild establishment paperwork with Yoo Jinho's secretaries and scratched his head in confusion.
"...Just how many are they killing?"
South Korea was steadily becoming a villain-free country.