“Que! Hit the first one you see and return!”
This was the sole command Suho had given to Que when he transformed into a shadow arrow and was shot forth. To fulfill this mission, the lancer pierced through the blizzard, changing direction as soon as he located the nearest target.
There were too many enemies in the frozen forest. Too many eyes were watching the hunters plummeting through the breach in the sky and landing in various locations around the Glacier Dungeon. And among those enemies, there were a few launching ruthless attacks toward the black arrow as he cut through the blizzard.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Que glanced at the numerous arrows that whipped through the blizzard winds, trying to intercept him.
“Who dares to stop me!” he growled fiercely. It was simply laughable. He was his master’s arrow—the mightiest arrow there was, augmented by the power of a shadow soldier and the force of a bow. As if measly ordinary arrows could block his path!
“I am Que, my master’s lancer! I shall pierce the enemies’ hearts like a streak of lightning!” With a rumble, he transformed into a black bolt of lightning, deflecting all the arrows as he soared.
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Obeying Suho’s command, he tried to strike the first elf he saw—the creature standing at the front of the group. She cried out as he whipped past her.
“Did I get it?” he wondered aloud.
However, Que’s confidence was premature. His momentum had waned from penetrating the harsh blizzard and the onslaught of arrows. His bolt, intended to pierce the heart, only grazed the side of the target and embedded itself in the cold ground.
Que quickly shifted his gaze to assess whether the enemy was dead or alive. The wound was too shallow to kill, but it didn’t matter. Que’s attack was laced with poison, granted by Suho.
[“Debuff: Kasaka’s Venom” damages the opponent’s muscles.]
[Strength -35.]
The ice elf collapsed, succumbing to the venom’s effect.
At that moment, Que faced a choice. Should I return right away, or should I finish off the wounded foe and return in triumph? He knew the latter was the better choice.
Swoosh!
Que, in the form of an arrow lying on the ground, sprouted wings like a bee. He transformed back into his original form in the blink of an eye and threw himself back into the raging blizzard. Now, he was a bee that could stealthily approach prey to deliver a deadly sting—a natural-born assassin.
But the ice elf was not so easily bested. Even amid the blinding blizzard and hampered by the poison, the elf caught sight of the shadow soldier coming for her life. Her eyes widened in alarm.
“It’s too late,” Que said, thrusting his spear toward her heart.
Suddenly, she spoke. “A shadow soldier?”
That single phrase halted Que’s spear instantly. Retracting his spear, he grasped the elf’s throat tightly with his other hand and lifted her into the air. “What did you just say?”
The ice elf sputtered and struggled to breathe.
Despite the unexpected turn, Que remained calm. After all, there were two reasons for venturing into this perilous place. It was to find clues both about Itarim and about Suho’s mother. In such a situation, this was actually rather welcome.
Astonishing words spilled from the ice elf’s mouth. “Y-you... must know of the Monarch of Shadows...!”
Que’s eyes narrowed. At the same time, the rustle of movement pierced through the blizzard, converging from all around. These were likely the elf’s companions. There was no longer time for leisurely conversation.
Thwack!
Que decisively struck the back of the elf’s neck, rendering her unconscious. Then, draping her limp body over his shoulder, he soared into the sky, his image melting into the blizzard. His role was merely to execute commands—all thought and judgment would be left to his master.
***
“She knows about the Monarch of Shadows?” Having heard the full story, Suho first checked the ice elf’s condition as she laid limply on the ground. She wasn’t dead, fortunately, but her complexion was pale from the wound Que had inflicted and Kasaka’s Venom.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we need to save her first,” Suho said. He immediately ordered his shadow soldiers to find a nearby cave where they could take shelter.
“Master, I have found a cave. I will guide you there.” Que was the first to return. He Suho to the location.
Indeed, Que had discovered a small cave that appeared to be a den of Ice Kobolds. As soon as they entered, the magic beasts attacked, but they were easily defeated. The group settled inside and Suho opened the store window.
Jingle.
[Item: “Campfire Set” has been purchased.]
A camping set, complete with an ample amount of dry firewood and kindling, appeared before Suho. He had checked the store just in case he could find something useful, but it seemed to sell everything.
“I will fan the flames. Young Monarch, please rest.” Beru quickly grabbed a folding fan and tended to the campfire.
Whoosh!
Surprisingly adept at fire-building, Beru kindled a warm fire and quickly had it roaring. Suho sat in front of the campfire, laying the unconscious ice elf beside him.
[Item: “Middle Grade Healing Potion” has been purchased.] 𝑓𝓇𝘦𝘦𝔀𝓮𝒷𝘯𝓸𝓋𝓮𝘭.𝓬𝓸𝘮
As Suho took out a healing potion, Que spoke worriedly. “Are you sure, Master? Ice elves are aggressive magical beasts. She might attack you as soon as she regains consciousness.”
“I know. That’s why I’m giving her the potion, but I’ll leave the poison intact.”
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“Of course! A wise decision.” After all, a healing potion alone wouldn’t cure the poison. Given the effect of Kasaka’s Venom, the elf would be much weaker than usual upon waking.
[Querehsha finds this poison convenient for capturing prisoners and is pleased.]
Suho forcibly opened the ice elf’s mouth and poured in the potion.
Cough, cough!
“If you want to live, you should swallow properly.”
The ice elf’s wounds began to heal as she drank the potion, groggy and half-awake. When her consciousness finally fully returned and she opened her eyes, she realized the situation she was in.
Swish.
Que’s intimidating spear, made of dark energy, was pressed against her neck. On either side of her, two massive Shadow Minotaurs loomed, exuding an aura of terror. “Make one wrong move, and you die,” the lancer snarled.
Surprisingly, the ice elf showed no signs of panic or fear. Instead, she looked around almost eagerly, as if she was delighted and searching for someone.
“What are you looking for?”
Like a deer caught in the headlights, the elf turned to Suho. She stared intently at his face with a curious expression. “How can you speak our language?”
Whether it was thanks to his nature or the game system, Suho was able to communicate with magic beasts. But the “why” hardly mattered at the moment.
The ice elf, as if relieved, began to rapidly pour out speech. “Good! I’m Sirka, the guardian of the Baruka Tribe! No, more importantly... You’re with shadow soldiers. What relation do you have with Sung Jinwoo, the Monarch of Shadows?”
While the mention of his father’s name was sudden, Suho was more cautious rather than surprised.
“I don’t sense Itarim’s energy from her,” Beru whispered.
Suho nodded calmly. Even so, he had to be careful about responding too freely to questions about his father. I have to get some answers from her first.
As Suho pondered his words, looking thoughtful, Sirka, who had been intently watching his face awaiting an answer, suddenly realized something. Her eyes widened in astonishment. “Huh? Are you...”
Suho looked baffled by the elf’s incomprehensible reaction.
Sirka kept examining his face, her eyes almost bulging. “Could you be... Really?! You look so much alike!”
“I look like... who?” All sorts of thoughts were running through Suho’s head. Could she be an enemy of my father? If she saw him during the war, naturally, she would notice I resembled him...
But this guess was completely off the mark. Sirka, now sniffing the air to pick up Suho’s scent, suddenly pointed at his face and exclaimed, “Yes, you’re just like her! You must be Cha Cha’s son!”
“Cha Cha?” Again, Suho wore a puzzled look.
But the next moment, Sirka’s confident voice made his expression turn rigid. “Yes, Cha Cha! Cha Haein, I mean!”
Both Suho and Beru’s eyes widened, as if they would pop out of their heads.
At their reaction, the elf burst into bright laughter. “That’s right! I’ve heard a lot about you from Cha Cha! So that means your name must be... Sung Suho, right?”
“You know my mother?”
“Know her? Cha Cha is my friend! She is the savior of the ice elves!”
Suho usually remained unflappable, but even he couldn’t maintain his composure. Not only had the ice elf suddenly mentioned being his mother’s friend, but she had said something even stranger.
“My mother is... the what?”
“Cha Cha, the Dragon Shaman! Cha Haein is the savior of the ice elves.”
“Dragon Shaman? What’s that supposed to mean?” Apparently, in the five long years since his mother had gone missing, she had gained a strange nickname.
“Wait a minute, Young Monarch!” Amid this chaotic situation, Beru suddenly realized something. “I believe I understand exactly when Lady Haein disappeared.”
The shadow ant remembered it clearly. It was at the time when the Monarch of Shadows Sung Jinwoo and his shadow soldiers were plunged into the War of the Outer Gods.
“It was their sixteenth wedding anniversary,” Beru continued. The two were leisurely enjoying a date in the sky atop the shadow dragon Kaisel. “On that day, Lady Haein was given a special necklace made by skilled bearded dwarves.”
Sung Jinwoo had placed the beautiful necklace, shimmering in the sunlight, around his wife’s neck. His shadow soldiers, quietly supporting their Monarch’s perfect anniversary event from the shadows, cheered. And just as Jinwoo and Haein’s lips were about to meet...
Beru recalled what Jinwoo said.
“Honey, you return home first. I’ll be there right away.”
Haein, having regained the memories of the forgotten world through Jinwoo’s power, knew what those words meant.
“You’ll be back soon, right?”
Jinwoo silently nodded. He then commanded Kaisel, a shadow wyvern, to deliver his precious wife back home safely. With that, Kaisel had turned toward earth and quickly faded into the distance. The Monarch watched his wife’s retreating figure, then turned and gazed fiercely at the blue mist seeping through the bent and twisted fabric of space.
“Indeed, a being with immense power can magnetically attract terrible things from other worlds,” said Beru. It was then that the number of dimensional breaches, from where the blue mist flowed, began to rapidly increase. They numbered in the thousands, or perhaps even more. “And that was the beginning of the War of the Outer Gods.”
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