[You have entered the Shadow Dungeon.]
[Iron Body Training Ground.]
Ammut, who had been leaning against a wall deep within the pyramid, slowly opened his eyes.
[...An uninvited guest has entered.]
Whoosh! Suddenly, a dimensional door opened, and an overwhelming presence stepped into the Shadow Dungeon.
[But why?] Despite being an intruder, there was nothing unnatural in the process. 'He' opened the door as if entering his own house and appeared before Ammut, completely at ease.
[Who are you!?] Ammut bared his teeth at the man.
The moment the giant crocodile-man rose, an immense pressure weighed down on the man. But he seemed completely unfazed by that kind of intimidation. Instead, he looked at Ammut with an intrigued gaze and nodded.
"You are the Crocor Ammut, aren't you?"
[...] Ammut hesitated at the strange aura emanating from this man.
The man wasn't looking at him while speaking. His gaze rested above Ammut's head, as if something were there.
[Could it be you...] Ammut belatedly noticed that the black energy flowing from the man strangely resembled Sung Suho's, and his eyes lit up.
[...Are you the Shadow Monarch?]
"No, not exactly… To be precise, I am something similar to him."
"You of all people should be able to tell, right?"
[What?]
[What are you talking about?] Ammut frowned at the vague answer. But even with that reaction, the illusion of Sung Jinwoo only met his eyes and gave a faint smile.
"So, magically speaking, I'm a being similar to you."
[...] Ammut's eyes widened at those words.
As if expecting this reaction, 'Sung Jinwoo' calmly turned his head and looked around. His gaze pierced through the magic circles of Kandiaru engraved in this pyramid.
Flash! Pat! Pat! After his look, the numerous magic circuits carved throughout the pyramid flickered and emitted beams of light.
[Could you be...]
The illusion of Sung Jinwoo, appreciating the results of his short work, opened his mouth: "Yes. Like you, I am a fake soul manifested by magic. There are nicer terms like avatar or NPC, but in the end, they all mean the same thing."
[...] Ammut's appearance reminded Jinwoo of the Demon King Baran, whom he had encountered on the top floor of the Demon Castle dungeon long ago.
Baran, the Monarch of White Flames, the King of Demons. He was the only monarch among those Jinwoo had faced who wasn't actually alive. More precisely, Baran had already been killed by the first Shadow Monarch, Ashborn, before encountering Sung Jinwoo and only his soul was recreated by Kandiaru's magic and used for leveling up by the System. However, the Demon King created in this way was nowhere near his original power. This was because the 'Primordial Darkness,' the source of the monarchs' power, was absent.
"I'm curious. How long have you been trapped in here?"
[Growl.] At those black eyes that seemed to see through him, Ammut chuckled and opened his mouth.
[I don't know. I can't tell the flow of time here.]
"Do you want me to kill you?"
[What? Kehehe. That's the funniest joke I've ever heard.] Ammut scoffed self-deprecatingly at those words. And then.
Bam! He swung his giant arm and smashed the wall beside him. Bricks crumbled, creating a massive hole. But strangely, after a while, the broken wall began to repair itself.
[See?] Ammut's eyes met Sung Jinwoo's.
[Even if you were the real Shadow Monarch, I cannot die. Because this place is both my tomb and myself.]
"Magic that automatically repairs itself even after being destroyed, huh." Sung Jinwoo nodded at those words, his gaze deepening.
But even if it were impossible for him in this form, bringing death to Ammut wouldn't be a difficult task for the 'real' him. However, since he hadn't asked with the intention of actually killing him, the illusion of Sung Jinwoo decided not to interfere any further. It was more important to confirm things about this place first. About this pyramid, which didn't exist in 'Sung Jinwoo's' memory.
...This place was, so to speak, Kandiaru's legacy. There must have been various experiments in the process of developing the Leveling System, and this pyramid was undoubtedly one of them. But what was curious was how this massive magical device ended up inside Sung Suho's shadow.
'A system that automatically repairs itself even after being destroyed.' Jinwoo soon realized the reason.
'...Could it be that the incomplete System, having lost its original purpose, is moving on its own trying to fix itself?'
In fact, the Leveling System had lost its objective a long time ago. Because it had already achieved its goal. In that situation, a new player named Sung Suho reactivated It. And the system began restoration…
To its original form.
No, to be precise…
'Is it modifying itself to fit the changed circumstances?' The original purpose of The System was, of course, to turn the player into a vessel for the Shadow Monarch. But Suho could never achieve that goal.
'Then what was the system trying to achieve?'
'Could it be creating the job change quest itself?'
The Leveling System was improving itself to achieve Suho's job change. That's what the illusion of Sung Jinwoo was convinced of. All the results of analyzing the existence of the NPC Ammut and the magic circles engraved in this pyramid pointed to that.
...Upon realizing that fact, he couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh. He was anxious yet excited about what kind of job his son would get. In the end, it wasn't much different from the worries of ordinary parents.
"I know what I need to do."
However, the moment 'Sung Jinwoo' smiled after organizing his thoughts, his body flickered, and his form began to disperse. Like a radio signal losing its frequency.
Ammut, who had been watching blankly from the front, chuckled and spoke.
[You're better than me. To be able to move freely, even for a moment, outside the realm of magic. But it seems that's as far as you can go.]
Flicker. The illusion of Sung Jinwoo looked down at his flickering hands, as if they were about to disappear any moment, and muttered.
"I guess so. It's time to go back. I've confirmed everything I needed to."
As he gestured in the air, a system message appeared: [Would you like to exit the Shadow Dungeon?] (Y/N)
Seeing him turn without hesitation and walk towards the door that had appeared, Ammut asked.
[But why did you come here in the first place?]
"Why, you ask? I came to see if I could support my son in any way."
[Hmm? And were you able to help?]
"Yes. A lot."
[For example?] At Ammut's question, the illusion of Sung Jinwoo reached out and touched the air.
Flash! With this one gesture, the magic circles engraved in the pyramid began to emit light all at once.
Sung Jinwoo spoke to Ammut, who stood still as always in the center of it all.
"Ammut, I've linked your soul trapped here to your true soul in the Sea of the Afterlife. Just like my illusion is now."
[...What does that mean?]
"It means you can now become a Shadow Soldier whenever you want."
[...]
Sung Jinwoo gave a mischievous smile to Ammut, who widened his eyes in realization of what those words meant, and continued.
"You don't want to rot in this prison forever, do you? In that case, become my son's soldier…"
"Ah, but to do that, my son needs to be…"
[Strong enough to take me in... Much stronger than now!]
Crack! Ammut's expression suddenly became incredibly motivated, and he clenched his giant fists. He grinned fiercely, banging his hands together.
[Leave it to me. I'll double, no, triple the intensity of the daily quests from now on.]
"...Make sure to give him potions while he trains." Sung Jinwoo felt a bit uneasy at his overflowing enthusiasm.
But if Suho could endure that training and take in the real Ammut as a Shadow Soldier...
His army would undoubtedly become tremendously stronger than it was now.
"Ah, and one more thing."
Snap! As Sung Jinwoo snapped his fingers, the magic circle he had manipulated beforehand began to activate.
Rumble!
[...] Ammut looked bewildered as the entire pyramid suddenly shook as if it were about to collapse. Being one with it, he realized that the pyramid was growing in size.
And then a black beam shot straight up from its pointed center. The light pierced through the dimensional wall and extended directly towards the distant universe.
[What are you doing?!]
"This is a kind of insurance. It has nothing to do with you, so don't worry about it." With those words, Sung Jinwoo returned to where he had come from.
[Huh...] Ammut just stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared, with a dejected expression.
'How can a mere illusion possess such power...'
During his long life, Ammut had occasionally thought about something.
'What if, like the Iron Monarch, the strongest monstrous humanoid, he himself, had also participated in the war? Maybe we could have won then.' But now he realized…
[Nothing would have changed.]
* * *
[You have exited the Shadow Dungeon.]
The moment Sung Jinwoo returned to Suho's side. The battle was slowly coming to an end.
Crack! Crunch! Boom! Suho's strong hands tore through all of Javier's tentacles and grabbed the neck of his main body hidden within the illusion.
[Keuk. How can this be...]
The true form of Javier, the Demonic Illusionist who boasted so much about his magic, was nothing more than a pathetic skeleton. Between the white ribs, his soul was emitting beams of sinister light.
[This can't be happening...!] Javier gritted his teeth and glared at Suho.
Thanks to the Shadow Assassin Kira's efforts, the hunters bound by the illusions were gradually being freed. As a result, Javier's seemingly infinite magic power finally ran out, and his illusions gradually lost their strength.
But even after finally grabbing his neck, Suho hesitated to deliver the final blow. The reason was obvious...
"What are you doing? Finish it."
"...Father." Suho's eyes wavered at the sight of his father, who had approached him at some point. His smile was pleasant, but what came out of Sung Jinwoo's mouth was the same reprimand as before.
"Just kill him. Don't worry about your dad."
Squeeze. Suho's lips tightened as he forced his hand through Javier's ribs and destroyed his soul.
Bam!
[The Demonic Illusionist Javier, has been defeated.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]