Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Shadow Lord Stein (2)
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Whoooosh—
As the pattern drawn on the floor began to glow, a man appeared above it.
Droplets of water fell from the man—Kim Gunja's body—wetting the ground.
The pattern, reacting to the black mana, had transported Kim Gunja here.
Hearing the alert, he was certain.
'This must be the hideout.'
He looked around.
The only furnishings were a wooden bed, a desk with a few small boxes, and a bookshelf stuffed with thick volumes beside it.
It was a simple, tidy space.
Hard to believe it belonged to a lord of a nation.
Kim Gunja approached the desk.
On it lay a single sheet of paper, a seal, and two small iron boxes.
The paper bore elegant handwriting, but since it was in an unfamiliar script, he couldn't read the contents.
Naturally, his gaze shifted to the boxes.
One black, one red.
He opened the black one first.
Click.
A small orb rested on a red cushion.
Inside the orb, murky smoke swirled, emanating a cold aura.
Kim Gunja recognized it instantly.
It was a power he'd been using all along.
Black mana.
'And an immense amount, condensed...'
It dwarfed the trickle he'd absorbed from gate bosses.
If he had to compare, it was like the inner core of a spirit beast brimming with black mana.
Absorbing the black mana in that orb would rapidly advance his Shadow Arts and Shadow Body.
Carefully closing the black box, Kim Gunja opened the red one.
It held an orb of the same shape, but unlike the previous one, it carried no discernible power.
'This... blood?'
The orb was red and cloudy.
It felt like someone's blood dissolving in water, giving him an uneasy chill.
"...?"
With that alert, the Majesty Ring glowed blue.
A bit surprised, Kim Gunja didn't answer right away. He calmly gathered his thoughts.
'I've got no rush.'
This wasn't like the Maneuver incident.
That had been a crisis, but now there was no reason to hurry.
Kim Gunja leisurely reviewed the recent events.
Stein had reacted so intensely after seeing the reddened orb.
'He must have confirmed some fact through the orb.'
He didn't know what it was.
But judging by Stein's reaction, it wasn't good.
That's why he was resorting to investor authorities.
Unlike Ma Ilcheon's demand for descent, Stein wanted possession.
What was the difference?
Mulling over the words, one idea surfaced.
'...A matter of capability?'
If descent temporarily granted the investor's original power, possession might just lend the body.
With such a mild authority, the penalty of annihilation was unlikely.
But.
'Why bother...?'
Kim Gunja saw no need to grant Stein's request.
The special quest was already complete, and there was no major danger.
No reason to lend his body to an unknown risk.
Besides, he was curious.
What would happen if he refused an investor's demand?
'This could be... a good opportunity.'
Stein, one of the investors, was desperate.
He was utterly relaxed.
He didn't know why Stein was using authorities this way instead of a quest format, but this was a chance to test the investor's influence over him as master.
'That's why I delayed choosing the heart and blood vessels—uncertainty.'
Stein's left leg sync rate was Lv 5.
He needed to check what authorities that stake allowed and how far it could affect him as master.
Having sorted his thoughts, Kim Gunja spoke.
"I refuse."
Would that be the end?
No, unlikely.
Given Stein's earlier attitude, he wouldn't back down easily.
So what next?
He expected another investor authority.
And the alert confirmed it.
Negotiation.
It also meant he couldn't force control yet.
Ma Ilcheon at Lv 7 had requested descent but couldn't enforce it.
'Safe up to Lv 7, at least.'
Quickly cataloging the info, Kim Gunja watched as the list of Stein's offered compensations scrolled before his eyes.
His pupils dilated slightly.
'This...'
Kim Gunja's lips curved upward.
He was certain now.
As master, he still held the upper hand over the investor.
#
In the underground sewers.
Team Leader Choi Byungdu's expedition team was at a standstill.
Due to a completely unexpected situation.
'Damn it!'
Choi Byungdu cursed inwardly.
Using info from survivors via the Association, reaching the exit near the imperial garden had gone well.
But upon arrival, unlike the intel, soldiers and knights guarded the sewer exit ironclad.
'Must be heightened security after the last expedition failed...'
He'd considered a blitz, but the cons outweighed the pros.
Any commotion below, and they'd hold the narrow exit until reinforcements arrived.
They couldn't fight the entire imperial guard on standby.
The clear condition was a surprise terror attack, not annihilation.
'If only Kim Gunja were here...'
Kim Gunja's ghost-like movements via shadows were famous among hunters.
With him, quick suppression might've been possible, but he was operating solo on White Flame's orders.
'Regrettable, but what's done is done. Now what...'
As Team Leader Choi Byungdu pondered the changed situation, the other hunters grew uneasy.
They could feel things going wrong from the start.
In that atmosphere, Jang Geunhwan—invested by Geum Jinung—bided his timing.
On revealing Geum Jinung's info to Choi Byungdu.
'Said there's a path to the imperial garden midway through the secret passage to the treasure vault.'
Raiding the treasure vault without the team leader was impossible anyway.
Judging the moment right, Jang Geunhwan approached Choi Byungdu.
"Team Leader. I have something to tell you privately..."
"Hm? Important?"
"Yes. Related to the clear condition."
"...Alright."
The two stepped away from the group.
Jang Geunhwan explained the nearby secret passage connecting to the imperial garden, hidden so likely unguarded.
And about the treasure vault.
Choi Byungdu's pupils widened massively.
"Where'd you get that intel?"
"Sorry, can't say."
"Hmph... Fine. No need. It's reliable, right?"
"Of course."
Choi Byungdu didn't mind much.
He didn't press on the timing either.
He'd used Association secrets unknown to his team to get here.
Now, any way to break the impasse was vital.
And a treasure vault, no less.
As if he'd never hesitated, Choi Byungdu's eyes gleamed.
"Good. Clear this, and I'll vouch for your contributions."
"Thank you."
Meaning a higher share of spoils.
Choi Byungdu briefed the hunters.
The uneasy expeditioners grinned at "imperial treasure vault."
Realizing their choice meant instant riches.
Buoyed, the team hastened onward.
Toward the secret passage sewer linked to the treasure vault.
#
Stein's hideout.
Black haze shimmered around Kim Gunja, seated cross-legged.
The floor was slick with foul-smelling black fluid.
All waste expelled from Kim Gunja's body.
As he ceaselessly circulated black mana and opened his eyes.
Shooooosh—!
The black mana swirling around him was wholly sucked back into his body.
His frame shuddered from the immense energy.
Then explosive alerts rang out.
[Stein's Left Leg has reached Lv 6!]
[Stein's Left Leg has reached Lv 7!]
[Shadow Arts has risen to 7 Stars!]
[Shadow Body has risen to 6 Stars!]
[Shadow Body has risen to 7 Stars!]
"Huuuuu..."
Exhaling deeply, Kim Gunja spat out what he'd held in his mouth.
Plop.
The pitch-black orb, as if laden with darkness, had become a translucent empty shell.
Shadow Orb.
A creation Stein, who'd mastered Shadow Arts, painstakingly made for his descendants.
But it never reached them.
Stein died before he could deliver it.
'Treason...'
Through , Kim Gunja learned Stein's circumstances and final wish.
Stein, meticulous in all things, had faltered only with his children.
Even in the moment he was stabbed, he held no grudge.
Stein's dying wish:
For his son not to be a half-baked lord, but a true sovereign.
The negotiation was simple.
Investor Stein wanted possession to fulfill his wish, promising in return everything to master Kim Gunja.
Including Shadow Orb usage, other artifacts, and full investor stake transfer.
Kim Gunja gave a wry smile.
Knowing Stein would sacrifice all this for the son who killed him.
"I accept."
With those words, the Majesty Ring glowed.
Kim Gunja's wry smile froze like ice.
No—Stein's lips parted heavily.
"Iron-Blooded Lord... Heh. What a fitting name."
A calm voice, oddly tinged with sorrow.
Stein summoned black mana to blow away the stench clinging to his body, then donned a long coat from the bookshelf.
Grabbing the paper and seal, he stepped onto the pattern opposite where Kim Gunja had appeared.
Black mana bloomed from his left foot, gently caressing the pattern.
Shrrrr—
Stein's figure vanished from the room.
He reappeared in a dark alley of the capital.
Absorbing the Shadow Orb had taken time; outside, a full moon lit the night.
Sharing Stein's vision, Kim Gunja felt the passing village scenes oddly familiar.
And remembered.
'Ah, this is...'
The place where Stein had taken the test during the Customizing Room upgrade.
Stein moved familiarly, soon reaching a spot overlooking the imperial palace.
The main gate was guarded by elite soldiers with long spears.
As Stein approached, a soldier slammed his spearbutt and shouted.
"Halt! Do you know where you are...!"
Stein didn't stop.
With each step, pitch-black haze thickened around him.
Whoooosh—
Stein drew Zaratul from thin air and hurled it high into the night sky.
The black-mana-infused Zaratul traced a pattern in the heavens, emitting a clear chime.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"Who dares such insolence before the palace...!"
Stein replied curtly, still walking.
"Stein Rantert."
The soldiers' faces twisted.
"Y-you madman!"
"Impersonating the late emperor?!"
"Die!"
The soldiers roared, thrusting spears.
Squish!
Stein didn't dodge.
He just took another step forward.
The soldiers had no doubt their spears would pierce him.
But.
Claaaaang!
The spears were effortlessly blocked by sudden pitch-black daggers.
Ghostly figures surrounded Stein.
Stein's Shadow Corps, Crow.
A man in a yellow helmet approached.
Kim Gunja remembered him.
Crow's captain.
He looked much older than in the test, but recognizable.
"How do you wield the late emperor's Shadow Arts..."
"Garzan."
At Stein's call, the yellow-helmeted Garzan's lips quivered.
Only two people knew his true name.
Stein's calm gaze fixed on him, then he spoke.
"Tell the Iron-Blooded Lord. The Shadow Lord has returned from the grave."
Garzan, twitching at the eyes, knelt on one knee; the surrounding Crows prostrated similarly.
"We... receive your command, my lord."
Passing the recoiling soldiers, Stein's gaze pierced toward the palace heart.
Where his son sat on the throne, having killed his father and brothers.
But no anger dwelt in that gaze.
Rather, faint anticipation.
At least he could see his son's face again this way.
"Truly... it took so long."
With nostalgic eyes, Stein passed the gate, followed by the Shadow Corps; some surged ahead into the palace.
To announce the Shadow Lord's return.
Late night.
The imperial palace went on high alert.