Queen of the Shadows

2. The System Welcomes You

Cale jolted awake, 'I'm not dead...?' His expression shortly returned to calm. He scanned his surroundings.

Vibrant green grass and lively bright tree, with the few random flowers trickling around the path. The scent of freshly cut grass filled Cale's nose.

Crunch! Crunch!

Something was approaching him.

A shadow loomed over Cale's figure.

Cale looked up, staring into someone's bright glowing purple eyes.

The person looked back at him, emotionless and coldly.

"Who are you?" They spoke.

"...Cale." He answered reluctantly.

[You have met Monarch of Shadows]

'Huh..? What does that mean?' Cale wondered. 'And what is this screen?'

The man in front of him sharpened his gaze.

'What does he want...'

"I'm Sung Jinwoo." The man introduced himself, offering his hand to help him up.

Cale used his hand to help himself up, brushing off the dust on his clothes.

The man didn't really pay attention to him, he stared off into the forest.

'I don't see anything there.'

There was a screen in front of Jinwoo as well,

[You have met the Monarch of Shadow's wife]

'Wife...?' Jinwoo thought. 'He had a wife?' He was talking about the previous monarch, the one he inherited his power from.

"My liege!"

"What is it, Beru?" Jinwoo spoke inside his mind to his shadows.

"It's the queen." Bellion, the one who was under Ashborn, the previous shadow monarch, and the strongest shadow soldier there is.

"The queen?" Jinwoo asked.

"Yes. Although my previous liege was strong, he didn't handle matters by himself, he relied heavily on his wife. The shadows respect the queen, like their liege."

Jinwoo looked at Cale, observing him.

"Is something wrong?" Cale asked.

"No." Jinwoo looked away, "what're you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Cale crossed his arms, tilting his head a bit to the side.

"In this dungeon, it's only allowed entry for S-ranks. You don't look like an s-rank to me."

"..."

"How can you say that!"

"Our queen is definitely stronger than any S-rank!"

'How would I have known.' Jinwoo thought. 'He looks weak...'

'Dungeons...' Cale gulped at that thought. 'Shit, am I inside another fantasy world?!' He was on the verge of ripping out all his hair out from stress. "I'm sorry, I must've fallen inside without noticing." Cale played the pitiful passerby.

Jinwoo looked at him, not believing his story.

"You should help him!" Beru suggested.

"After Ashborn died, he must've been wandering around aimlessly." Bellion spoke. "I don't know if he'll recognize you as the shadow monarch though."