Shadow Monarch: Multiverse Ascendance

"Cough!"

Blood came out of his mouth.

'Did… did he just punch me so hard that my bones are broken and I was sent flying?'

He, Hwang Dongseok, just lost in power?

In a contest of strength?

"A mere E-rank trash like you…"

He realized his mistake. 5 C-ranks and 4 D-ranks were defeated in an instant. The spider's blood on his body. How careless he was when they were talking about killing him now all this makes sense. There was no way Jinwoo was an E-ranker.

Jinwoo stood next to Hwang Dongseok.  The man could not even move his body. The results of the fight were clear.  If this was a competitive sport, this is where it would end.

It was not going to end there. He didn't want to die like this. 

"W-wait."

Hwang Dongseok raised a feeble hand.

"Cough!" he coughs mouth full of blood as the pain gets worse "P-please, let me live. If you want money, I'll give you money. Plenty of it, just let me live…"

"Three times."

Jinwoo replied with ice in his voice,

"Aren't you ashamed to ask someone you tried to kill three times for mercy?"

One.  Through blocking the entrance.

Two.  Through ordering Yoo Jinho.

Three.  Through Jo Gyuhwan's magic.

Hwang Dongseok had made three attempts on Jinwoo's life, discounting the fight just now.

Give and Take.

After returning alive from the temple, Jinwoo made this creed.  

To give as much was given, and to take as much was taken.

Whether it was good or bad.

There would be no compromise.

Realizing he could not beg for mercy, Hwang Dongseok opened his eyes wide and foamed at the mouth,

"You, you think you'll just get away with this?! Do you know who my little brother-"

Snap!

Hwang Dongseok could not continue with his crushed neck.

His eyes rolled back to reveal their whites.

Ding~

Enemies to deal with 0

Enemies dealt with 8

Ding!

[YOU LEVELED UP!]

The quest was finally over.

"Phew-"

Jinwoo's lengthy sigh carried many meanings.  He took his hand off Hwang Dongseok's throat and looked at it.  Although it was a one-sided battle, his hands were shaking at the fact that he had just taken eight lives.

'Is this really okay?' Killing humans just because of experience.  

He placed the hand on his chest and felt his heart.

ba dum ba dum ba dum

It was beating normally.

'I wonder…'

From the day that he was reborn here, perhaps the System wasn't the only change within him.  But his worries were brief, interrupted by the familiar electronic tone.

Ding~

You've completed the 'Emergency Quest: Deal With The Enemies'

The reward for completing the quest has arrived.

Would you like to verify? (Y/N)

He had expected this.  Without delay, he confirmed the rewards.

"Verify."

Ding~

You've received the below rewards.

Reward 1. Status Recovery

Reward 2. Stat points +10

Reward 3. Skill: 'Bloodlust'

Accept all?

'10 stat points and even a new skill?'

All good but what fuck happened there the system was modified by a title skill I never heard of. 

Now I gain experience even from humans. It's not like I'm complaining or anything like that, it's just that it was something I never even imagined in my wildest dreams.

An unknown title skill made modifications to the system 

How this happened...

This is some way max freaking bullshit man I don't give a rat's ass about this because I am hardcore like that.

Hardly beats the fact that knowing doesn't help me so I will act like I don't care.

Yeah, I will keep doing my thing and say screw everyone else.

There is no point in going into an existential crisis. 

I'm in those Rock and Roll sayings that it's time for you to live past and die young. 

Now crying won't do any good. And about this skill, it's not like I can do anything different from what I am doing so far. 

And In that case, let's be optimistic.  

But men are legally for men to get this kind of skill for free. It reminds me of the saying about free meals. 

Aa there is no point in thinking about it now let's check this out...

Jinwoo's eyes widened at the incredible reward. From an unknown skill. Putting the level up and attribute points aside. 

Jinwoo immediately checked the 'Bloodlust' skill.  

'Check Reward 3.'

Ding~

[Bloodlust (Lv. 1)

Active Skill 

Mana Cost: 100 MP

Activate to inflict 'Fear' on a target for 1 minute.  

Multiple targets can be selected.

'Fear': All stats -50%

"You emit a murderous intent."]

Although temporary, it had a very desirable power to lower every attribute of a target.  Jinwoo was sure it would not work against targets with high resistance, but to the ones that didn't, they would become food before his hands.  On top of that, it was able to affect multiple targets.

'It's nice.'

As the penalty was great, so was the reward. And I got all this after fulfilling one of the conditions and I am sure the condition was to kill a human. And the system did say one of the conditions does it means there are more conditions and fulfilling them would grant me even more than this…

'Well… it makes sense, right?'

His life was on the line this time.  Not only that-

What those conditions could be and what will it change if I fulfill one of them how many conditions could be? 

Well, it's not time for that, I had to finish what is in front of me. 

Jinwoo looked around.  He frowned at the scene of the massacre.  He had witnessed many deaths before, but he was still not used to the sight of their corpses.  This was the result that the quest wanted. Compared to the number of lives he had taken, the reward now seemed small.  Not that he would've been able to avoid all this, even without the quest.

'There's no end to man's greed…'

In my past life, I had seen many murders and murder corpses on battlefields, but now I'm right in the thick of it. This has become my life and the world I live in. I'm not just dreaming or visiting, I can't afford to be passive and detached.

It's becoming more and more clear to me. Now in this life, the fight between me and my enemies isn't going to end until one side is dead. 

As he lightly slapped his cheek.

Have you forgotten how weak you are, you're not just outclassed, you are facing enemies who don't care the slightest bit about their own survival.

There is a slick feel-good way out of this. And remember you said you won't regret it. 

And if you let them live they will come after you no matter what. The only good enemy is a dead enemy.

Life isn't all sunshine and rainbow here not only in this world or this universe no it's the whole multiverse. 

It's either kill or be killed

He shook his head.

Yoo Jinho.

Jinwoo turned his gaze toward the young man.  The pitiful form of Yoo Jinho, frozen from fear, cast his eyes down at Jinwoo's gaze.

Everything that had happened here leaked, it would become very bothersome.

'Let's thoroughly ensure his silence.' even though he was sure that Yoo Jinho won't tell anyone but still…

As if on cue, Yoo Jinho ran forward and knelt before Jinwoo,

"Hyungnim! Please let me live!"

"..."

Jinwoo realized this would be easier than he thought.

Yoo Jinho trembled heavily.  His face was completely pale.  After all, he had just watched Jinwoo slaughter eight people.  One of the most powerful weapons to rule over a person was 'fear'.  So Jinwoo decided to use that to his advantage.

"Why should I?"

Jinwoo swore he heard Yoo Jinho's heart literally sink.

'Was that too much?'

"M-money- if you n-need money, I can ask my-"

"What are you taking me for?!"

Jinwoo flared with genuine anger.  He lived his entire life in poverty, but he had no intention to use someone as a hostage for money.  If he did that, he would be no different than Hwang Dongseok.

"I-I apologize."

If Yoo Jinho was not shaking in fear, he would've smacked him on the back of his head.  But if he did, it felt like the young man would keel over with a heart attack, so Jinwoo held his hand.

Seeing Jinwoo's hardened expression, Yoo Jinho gulped.

Now that I think about it, he also refused Hwang Dongseok's offer of money… 

The image of Jinwoo in Yoo Jinho's head became stranger.  But it was too early to make that call,

'Then why did he collect the magic cores?'

Just moments earlier, Jinwoo was mining the hell out of this place and subduing the spider just for that last bit of the magic cores.  A source of great power, the magic cores had many uses beyond just crafting magic items. But to a Hunter, they were no different than money.

Yoo Jinho's head spun with thought.

'Then it must be that!'

It was the price of blood.  The reason that he dirtied his hands to look through the corpse was that he had fought the spider boss for it.  He would have no mercy towards those who went against him, but he would also have nothing to do with that which was not earned with sweat and blood.  A true patron of effort!

'To think that I tried to buy such Hyungnim's mercy with money. Of course, he would be mad at me.'

Then, what he needed now was not 'his father's money', but a 'worthiness' to spare his life.  He glanced over at Jinwoo's face, but the man still appeared to be mad.

Yoo Jinho quickly spoke,

"Hyungnim. If you spare me, I'll turn over all the income from this Dungeon to Hyungnim."

"Aren't you doing that already?"

He didn't expect this but seems Jinwoo was interested.

"Think about it, Hyungnim. If nine of the ten people died in this Dungeon, and Hyungnim took home all the profits, anyone would be suspicious, no?"

Yoo Jinho was sure that Jinwoo was a false ranker.  Not only that, a powerful false ranker who enjoyed killing! A person like that could not afford the attention of others falling on him.

"So?"

"On the other hand, if Hyungnim and I leave here together, according to the contract, all of the magic cores would become mine. Even with the eight others dead, since there was no benefit to Hyungnim, nobody would suspect you."

Of course, nobody would suspect Yoo Jinho either.  He was the son of one of the country's most powerful presidents.  The magic cores wouldn't be of any worth to him.

"Of course, the money would belong to you, Hyungnim. It's the 'fair price' for killing Hwang Dongseok's party and saving my life twice. and it's not just that I am open for 'future partnership'."

Yoo Jinho placed emphasis on the words, 'fair price' and 'future partnership'."

'He's not wrong…'

Jinho's suggestion would be the best course of option for Jinwoo to safely obtain all the magic cores. Currently, the ownership of the magic cores was clear. No matter how greedy the man was, Hwang Dongseok could not take them with him to the afterlife. As such, Yoo Jinho had the legal rights to all the magic cores they carried. And now, the young man was offering it all to Jinwoo. This was different from taking them by force.

'No reason to turn away good fortune like this… plus the future partnership' is good'

After all, if it wasn't for him, Yoo Jinho would already be dead or taken hostage.  In that line of thinking, it indeed was a fair price for Jinwoo to obtain all the magic cores.

Watching Jinwoo's expression soften, Yoo Jinho was sure that he had hit the right mark.

'As I thought, the magic cores are the price of the blood he spilled taking down Hwang Dongseok's party. That's why he won't refuse them.'

The two men's idea of the 'fair price' and 'future partnership' was completely different. 

"Alright."

At Jinwoo's agreement, Yoo Jinho's face brightened.  The young man felt a little awe at what he perceived to be Jinwoo's ironclad conviction.  But then, Jinwoo's face became cold again.

"But how would I be able to trust you?"

Jinwoo thought back on the initial goal of this conversation.  He did not frighten the young man for material gain; he just wanted to make sure the events of this Raid would not cause him trouble in the future. Which he was sure would definitely cause it.

"How could I betray the Hyungnim that saved my life multiple times?"

"You could always ignore the promise and go around blabbing your mouth off."

Well, it wouldn't really hurt him in the long run.  Killing Hwang Dongseok's party was 100% in self-defense.  It was eight armed men versus just him, and they were the ones who attacked first. Still, he wanted to avoid all that if he could. For that, he needed Yoo Jinho's cooperation.

"Well?"

Jinwoo pressed his question and stared.  Yoo Jinho responded with a fierce look in his eyes.

"I wouldn't dare do such a cowardly thing! Especially to the saviour of my life twice!"

'Hmm…' 

He realized where he had seen that determined look in Yoo Jinho's eyes before.  It was the same eyes he definitely stood up to Hwang Dongseok with.

'Kid… you're the real thing, aren't you?'

Give and Take.

With his life on the line, Yoo Jinho chose to stand with Jinwoo.  Putting his faith in him, the young man was ready to fight eight Hunters.  And so, Jinwoo decided to return some of that faith.

Well… after putting in some final touches.

Jinwoo went over and picked up Hwang Dongseok's shield.

"You know, I'm still pissed about Hwang Dongseok's betrayal."

Casually turning the shield over in his hands, Jinwoo suddenly threw the shield at the wall.

Crack!

The shield became half embedded into the wall.  Yoo Jinho gulped, and his body began to sweat.

"My Dongsaeng won't betray me like that, would he?"

"Of-of course not, Hyungnim."

The Dungeon shook again, more violently than before.

Alright. Jinwoo was done teasing the young man.  From the start, he had no plans to hurt Yoo Jinho.  He felt that he had done enough and made his final decision.

Time to mine, as he shook his hand and started to mine even though his mind was still in a mess his hands were trembling he still continued to mine. 

Jinwoo looked at Hyungnim and saw him staring at him.

"What are you watching? Go grab your tools and start mining the magic crystals. We're leaving the Dungeon. after we are done with this."

Hyungnim instantly picked up the tools and started to mine. 

And after 3 more hours, they were done with the mining. As Jinwoo hands Yoo Jinho a cold water bottle. 

Yoo Jinho didn't ask any questions and drank the whole bottle empty. 

"Aa this feels good thankyou Hyungnim" 

"Don't mention it, You did great work. This much is nothing" said Jinwoo as he picked up Yoo Jinho's mined crystals. 

And put them into inventory as there are too many of them and they need a vehicle to transport them.

And again Jinwoo thanked whoever sent him into this world.

"Let's end this," Said Jinwoo to which Yoo Jinho nodded as Jinwoo walked towards the heavily wounded body of the spider. 

He took out the Dagger. 

stab! stab!

krrrrl-

Now the important thing is that suggests to me some good spells for mc attacks some unique op spells and skills.

Fun Fact.

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