READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Suho looked at the system notification and smiled.
‘So, I’m finally getting my hands on one of the Shadow Lord’s treasures.’
The Shadow Lord’s rise to prominence would happen years from now.
Moreover, he was a late-awakener, currently an ordinary person without powers.
However, there was a turning point where this late bloomer would grow stronger—precisely when he acquired the Ghost Shadow Spear.
‘If Jang Pyungho had the Subspace House, the Shadow Lord had the Ghost Shadow Spear.’
But in this world, the Shadow Lord would never appear.
That’s because Suho now held the Ghost Shadow Spear, the alpha and omega of the Shadow Lord.
‘Better that I hold it than some criminal.’
It was as simple as that.
The Shadow Lord would eventually become as notorious as Jang Pyungho, known worldwide as a dangerous criminal.
If that was the future, Suho preferred to take everything that belonged to the Shadow Lord himself.
Suho checked the information on the Ghost Shadow Spear.
[ Ghost Shadow Spear ]
– Grade: A+
# One of the treasures of the Shadow Lord.
# Said to be made from the bones of a Shadow Divine Beast.
# Recognizes the first conscious being it meets as its owner, allowing the use of ‘Ghost Shadow (A)’ from the owner’s shadow at any time.
# Even if broken, the Ghost Shadow Spear can be restored and resummoned through the effect of ‘Shadow Regeneration (A),’ as long as shadow and magic power are present.
The Shadow Lord’s title of Shadow Lord stemmed partly from his innate abilities, but also from this item description that explicitly named him the Shadow Lord.
In other words, somewhere within what the system referred to as a “Gate”—a fragment of another world—there might be a real Shadow Lord.
Yet despite being such an incredible item, the Ghost Shadow Spear’s grade was only A+ because it was part of a set.
‘That’s why it has a plus sign.’
The plus symbol only appeared on items that were growth-type or part of a set.
This meant that the Shadow Lord’s treasures would become more powerful the more they were collected, ultimately reaching S+ rank.
Suho resolved to acquire all of the Shadow Lord’s treasures.
Doing so would open up unprecedented combat possibilities.
To test the Ghost Shadow ability of the Ghost Shadow Spear, Suho threw the spear into the distance and extended his hand toward his shadow.
From his shadow, the spear flew back to him and landed firmly in his hand.
‘Nice.’
He now had a spear he wouldn’t need to retrieve manually.
Prepared, Suho opened the exit of the Subspace House.
Through the portal, he could see the area he had entered from, and, at just the right angle, he could see the Tower Dragon.
The Tower Dragon, after rampaging wildly for some time, had settled down upon realizing the enemy was gone, dozing off against the stone tower.
For dragons, sleep was the ultimate means of recovery.
Was that why?
Seeing the Tower Dragon made Suho feel a bit disappointed.
‘It would be ideal if I could attack it from here.’
Unfortunately, attacking from within the Subspace House was impossible.
In other words, Suho would have to leave the Subspace House to face the Tower Dragon.
Setting aside his disappointment, Suho gripped the Ghost Shadow Spear tightly.
After a deep breath, he exited the portal, landing on the stone tower and began climbing swiftly.
[ Jump is activated. ]
He had to strike its reverse scale before it woke up.
Suho stepped on various parts of the stone tower, Jumping high into the sky.
As soon as he spotted its reverse scale, he threw the Ghost Shadow Spear.
And then.
[ Your proficiency in throwing spears is remarkably high. ]
[ The system is evaluating your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! You have acquired Throwing Spear (B). ]
Suho gained the Throwing Spear skill in addition to his throwing ability.
Thanks to this, his acceleration, piercing power, and accuracy increased, allowing the iron spear to hit the reverse scale precisely.
Crack!
At last, he managed to break a part of the reverse scale’s scales.
Suho shouted.
“Enter!”
[ Entering Subspace House. ]
“Graaaaahh!!”
[ The Tower Dragon, enraged from its reverse scale being attacked, goes berserk. ]
[ The Tower Dragon uses Dragon Fear. ]
Dragon Fear and Suho’s entry into the Subspace House occurred almost simultaneously.
Fortunately, Suho was just fast enough, and although his body tingled, he avoided any status effects.
Perhaps because of this?
Suho smirked.
‘Perfect.’
Hit-and-run.
Though it was tedious and inefficient, this was the most effective tactic available to him now.
Suho opened the house exit and observed the dragon.
Luckily, its rampage didn’t last long, and its broken scales didn’t fully regenerate.
‘But if too much time passes, the reverse scale will undoubtedly regenerate. So, strike and retreat as quickly as possible!’
As soon as the Tower Dragon calmed down, Suho exited the Subspace House again.
***
How much time had passed by then?
[ The Tower Dragon’s energy is waning. ]
[ The Tower Dragon’s power drops below 10% after repeated attacks on its reverse scale. ]
Quite a bit of time had passed.
In the meantime, Suho managed to completely remove the scales of the reverse scale, reducing the dragon’s power to below 10%.
However, a problem arose.
The moment the reverse scale’s scales were fully removed, the Tower Dragon stopped sleeping.
‘It’s gone on alert.’
It wasn’t an idiot.
It wasn’t like a monster programmed in an online game.
While monsters were indeed controlled by the system, research had shown a distinct difference from game monsters.
This vigilance was a result of that.
Suho exhaled a weary breath as he thought.
‘Looks like I have no choice but to face it head-on.’
The best strategy, hit-and-run, was no longer an option.
So now, only a direct confrontation remained.
There was no other way.
If there had been a method to capture it without a scratch, he would have used it long ago.
So Suho, after a period of rest, quickly emerged and threw the Ghost Shadow Spear again as soon as he saw an opening.
[ Throwing Spear is activated. ]
He could now throw and hit his target with his eyes closed.
As proof of that.
[ Your proficiency in throwing spears is remarkably high. ]
[ The system is reevaluating your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! Your Throwing Spear skill has been upgraded to Grade A. ]
[ The piercing power and accuracy of Throwing Spear increase by 50%. ]
In a short time, Suho’s spear-throwing skill rose to Grade A.
Crack!
A chilling crackling sound.
The thrown spear once again struck the dragon’s reverse scale.
[ The enraged Tower Dragon uses Dragon Fear. ]
“Graaah!!”
The pattern didn’t change.
The Tower Dragon used Dragon Fear every time its reverse scale was attacked.
[ You fall into a state of fear. ]
[ Your body stiffens. ]
[ You experience auditory hallucinations. ]
[ You lose your hearing. ]
Damn.
So there was no immunity?
With Dragon Fear unleashed, Suho was afflicted with numerous debuffs.
Just before he fell from the tower, he managed to retrieve and drink a Purification Potion.
[ You have consumed a Purification Potion. ]
[ The Purification effect is activated. ]
[ Fear state is removed. ]
[ Auditory hallucinations are removed. ]
With the debuffs lifted, Suho summoned the Ghost Shadow Spear and threw it to a suitable height, where it struck its mark.
He then used Jump to jump to the spot, using the embedded spear as a foothold to Jump even higher.
And then.
[ Your proficiency in Jump is remarkably high. ]
[ The system is reevaluating your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! Your Jump skill has been upgraded to Grade A. ]
[ Jumping power and stamina efficiency increase by 50%. ]
With his enhanced Jump, Suho could now meet the dragon eye to eye.
“Graaah!!”
Seeing Suho at eye level, the dragon released a blast in his face.
Fortunately, it wasn’t Dragon Fear, just an ear-piercing roar he could endure.
Closing the distance, Suho once again summoned the Ghost Shadow Spear and threw it at the dragon’s eye.
[ Throwing Spear is activated. ]
Crack!
Was it arrogance?
Remarkably, despite the spear coming toward its eye, the dragon neither dodged nor flinched.
That was its mistake.
Thinking it could brush off a mere spear, the Ghost Shadow Spear embedded itself into its eye.
“Graaaahhh!!”
[ The enraged Tower Dragon uses Dragon Fear. ]
[ You fall into a state of fear. ]
[ Your body stiffens. ]
[ You experience auditory hallucinations. ]
[ You lose your hearing. ]
Another blast of Dragon Fear.
Suho bit his lip and drank another Purification Potion.
Then, using the stone tower as leverage, he Jumped onto the dragon’s body.
The Tower Dragon thrashed wildly.
With its focus on its injured eye, this was Suho’s chance.
Taking a new iron sword from his inventory, he sprinted toward the reverse scale.
The exposed, vulnerable flesh beneath the torn scales was all he saw.
Upon reaching the reverse scale, Suho gripped the sword in a reverse grip and drove it deep into the exposed flesh like a stake.
“Graaaahhh!!”
As he buried the blade into the reverse scale, the dragon began thrashing violently in agony.
Suho twisted the blade half a turn, embedding it firmly in the flesh, clinging to the hilt for dear life.
“Grahhh!!”
Another blast.
A ringing sound exploded in Suho’s ears, followed by an incessant ringing.
His eardrums had finally ruptured.
‘Damn it!’
He heard nothing but that ringing.
But he had no choice.
He clung desperately to the sword.
He clung to it like his lifeline, refusing to let go.
Thankfully, this was just a regular roar, not Dragon Fear.
In its agony, the Tower Dragon thrashed, colliding with walls and rolling on the ground, but Suho managed to endure by casting Light of Healing with his free hand.
It was pure determination.
And then.
[ Your tenacity to hold on is extraordinary. ]
[ The system is evaluating your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! You have acquired Clinging (B). ]
Impressed by his persistence, the system awarded Suho the Clinging skill.
With this, he could hold on more easily.
After a lengthy struggle, the Tower Dragon’s movements finally ceased.
“Graaah…”
Its voice faded.
At last, the exhausted Tower Dragon began to fall.