Shadow Lurker

[The starlight flickering in the darkness forms an outline, and that outline becomes a scene…….
And that scene…… oh, it seems to resemble House Bale’s Shadow Sanctuary.]

The narrator’s voice echoed in his head. House Bale’s Shadow Sanctuary. He had seen that name too when he looked up House Bale in the rulebook.

— I hear you’ve opened the second-type bloodline singularity of 「Shadow Bloodline」.

A proving ground where that family revealed the power flowing in their blood.

The “second-type bloodline singularity” of 「Shadow Bloodline」 referred to the ability Solomon would unlock at Level 6.

— That is correct.

And an answer rang out within the starlight. It was very young. No, ‘young’ didn’t even cover it. At the very least, it sounded more than a decade younger than the Lord Bowery of today.

‘It’s reconstructing past memories inside his consciousness.’

— Prove it.

A starlit silhouette spoke. In a place like a courtroom, one of the three silhouettes seated while looking down from above, the one on the left.

— The three Shadow Lords are in attendance, so your proof will be guaranteed in the names of us Shadow Lords.

The three Shadow Lords. True to the name, three silhouettes sat in three chairs above the court. They were only outlines in flickering starlight, so he couldn’t see them clearly. Even so, there was no way he wouldn’t know who the man in the center was.

‘Duke Bale.’

Darkshadow Duke Bale.

The head of House Bale, the Shadow Binders.

And… Solomon’s biological father.

Even so, this wasn’t the time to focus on that. Solomon silently studied the young-looking Lord Bowery below the court—no, Bowery Bale.

Lord Bowery, made of starlit silhouette, silently extended his arm.

“Rise.”

From beneath his feet, something other than starlight rose for the first time and took shape.

It was a shadow.

A shadow silhouette taking a human shape, like the Level 1 spell <Shadow Mimic>. Even so, he could tell instinctively. This was different from that thing that only mimicked a single action and vanished.

It was on an entirely different level.

At a glance, it was a grotesque shape, like someone had forcibly mashed a spider and a crab together. Along countless limbs and the carapace of its back, countless ‘saw-blade spines’ jutted out in a chilling way, like an animal’s ribs turned inside out.

Yet even then, it had no real form of a living creature. It wasn’t just because this was a world made of shadow and starlit silhouettes. It had been that way from the start.

A creature made of shadow.

— Using that, have you brought back a whisper?

— Yes.

Of the three seated above, this time the one on the right asked. A whisper brought back. From the start, what they wanted from Bowery Bale wasn’t whether he could use the ability or not.

It was how he used the ability he had awakened.

— Speak.

— It is a ‘whisper’ I overheard regarding House Haunting, the Spirit Binder.

Bowery Bale said.

— It is the fact that Elena Haunting, the youngest daughter of Soul-Spirit Duke Haunting, is a failure that falls below the Ancient Council’s ‘standards.

— Then why hasn’t the Soul-Spirit Duke disposed of the child?

Elena Haunting. A familiar name. That she was a failure under the Ancient Council’s standards, yet she hadn’t been disposed of and was still alive. In reality, she had been alive and well enough to block Solomon’s path.

— As a father, he seems to be agonizing over paternal feelings.

Bowery Bale answered. A brief silence.

— Foolish.

At the end of the silence, the central silhouette finally spoke. Darkshadow Duke Bale. At that, Solomon faintly frowned.

— To be swayed by such trivial emotions, and let us seize a weakness.

As if feelings between parent and child were truly nothing but trivial. Solomon kept silent, pushing aside a complexity he couldn’t put into words.

— The whisper you brought back was excellent, Bowery Bale. Information that will be truly useful down the line.

— Even without that, anything regarding House Haunting’s Spirit Binder will be useful in many ways.

The head of House Bale, Darkshadow Duke Bale, continued.

— You used <Shadow Lurker> to perform House Bale’s duty splendidly.

— It is an honor, my lord.

[Keyword acquired! Shadow Lurker]

Bowery Bale bowed respectfully.

— Bowery Bale, you have safely proven your ability and become House Bale’s eyes and ears.

Intelligence, infiltration, working in the shadows. House Bale’s specialty was, in the end, the countless eyes and ears operating beneath this city’s surface.

— I look forward to the day your shadow passes the <Trial of Binding>.

The starlit scene being reconstructed stopped there.

[Experience is not something you must gain by putting a knife through someone’s back.]

A voice rang out at the same time.

그리고 그 같은 점에서, 이 풍경을 목격하는 것은 실로 좋은 경험이라 할 수 있겠군요.
[Good experience is, quite literally, only a matter of what you experience and how.
Congratulations, Mr. Solomon. You have become Level 6.]

“……”

Solomon let out a hollow laugh. The past Lord Bowery had shown him. It wasn’t something that could be described with the word “surprising.”

Reconstructing one’s own memories into the form of a grimoire and handing it over was absurd in itself, but even more astonishing was the fact that he revealed those memories to Solomon without holding anything back.

An act that could not be done without 100% trust. In that respect, Lord Bowery was displaying his trust in Solomon more clearly than anyone.

Just then, everything was swallowed by darkness. In the instant he blinked.

[Congratulations, Mr. Solomon. You have become Level 6.]

Solomon was seated at the table. Across from him was the Game Master, wearing a pitch-black hood pulled low.

[Strictly speaking, it is Level 6 in the 「Spell Assassin」 class.]

“That figures.”

[With your level increase, Mr. Solomon, you may obtain the following benefits.]

───

· Two Aptitude Points you can use freely. (Total held: 4 points)

· Your usable Level 3 spell slots increase from 1 to 2 (⚂⚂).

· New ability unlocked for the innate bloodline trait 「Shadow Bloodline」

───

Unfortunately, he couldn’t learn a new spell. Spell Assassin wasn’t a class that learned as many spells as you might think. Even so, he had already obtained <Blood Sword> and <Bloodflow Acceleration> through Level 3 「Blood Mage」, so he wouldn’t be lacking in spells.

More than anything, the true core of Level 6 was the unlocking of a new ability for 「Shadow Bloodline」.

───

Innate bloodline trait 「Shadow Bloodline」

When reaching a level that is a multiple of 3, the holder of this trait……

「Enhanced Attunement」: You may Enhance Attune one shadow spell of your choice.

「Shadow Lurker」: You may summon and command a Shadow Lurker.

: (Unlocked after Level 9)

: (Unlocked after Level 12)

───

In a sense, it wasn’t wrong to say he had gained a new spell. One with a specialness incomparable to any other spell.

───

「Shadow Lurker」

Tags — Innate Spell, Shadow Attribute, Magical Construct, Summoning

: You may create and command a Shadow Lurker.

: The Shadow Lurker normally parasitizes the caster’s shadow and moves by command, melting into shadows to carry out intelligence or spying, or, by command, assisting the caster and delivering a lurking attack.

: The Shadow Lurker’s lurking attack is usable once per day. It is fixed damage that shares the caster’s maximum damage possible without spells (including ambush attack and critical hits), and it cannot be increased or reduced.

───

[Oh, fixed damage. What a truly beautiful sound. Don’t you agree?]

The Game Master chuckled as if delighted. Solomon stayed silent. It was true. What the phrase “fixed damage” meant wasn’t merely ignoring an opponent’s defense or evasion. It was a damage type that operated independently of normal calculation formulas in the game. True Damage.

[I can’t wait to test that power already, can you?]

“You bastard.”

Because he understood the intent of that taunt clearly.

‘This situation just got annoying.’

The risk of activating this ability in a city overflowing with eyes and ears.

The fact that he was commanding a Shadow Lurker would be no different from Solomon himself going around shouting that he was House Bale’s bastard.

When Solomon first planned his build, he hadn’t worried things would get this complicated. He had also planned to use the second ability of Shadow Bloodline freely the moment it unlocked.

Not anymore.

That didn’t mean its value disappeared. It had simply become a joker card he had to save until the very, very end.

And he could at least do intelligence work in a lurking state that didn’t reveal itself.

“I’ll save my trait points without spending them.”

He had 4 trait points right now. He would need another level-up to make it 6.

Solomon spoke. There was a new trait he needed to learn once he accumulated 6 points. In his original plan, he should have learned it already, but unfortunately he had burned 4 points to learn 「Survivalist」 in a hurry in the sewer labyrinth. Even so, he didn’t regret it.

If anything, in the long run, 「Survivalist」 would more than pay for itself in this world.

───

Trait 「Survivalist」

: When resting, heals injuries and status ailments that normally cannot be recovered.

───

[Very good. You have no further business, correct?]

“No.”

[Since we’re seated like this anyway, it doesn’t seem bad to have a bit of a conversation.]

“A conversation?”

[Well, a talk about how the world turns.]

At that, Solomon let out a hollow laugh.

“Conversation, sure. I’d like to have a deeper talk about the Black Museum.”

[Ah…]

At that, the Game Master smiled meaningfully and trailed off.

[A good story must, by nature, have a good villain.]

“A good villain.”

Solomon replied, dumbfounded.

“Those monsters I can’t beat and can’t resist are ‘good villains’?”

[Oh, it seems there is a misunderstanding.]

The Game Master said with a smile.

[They are not beings you can never defeat, nor beings you can never resist.]

“……”

At those words, Solomon quietly swallowed his breath.

“Beelzebub. Vlad Țepeș. You’re saying I can beat those monsters?”

[Well, I don’t know about Vlad Țepeș, and it may be impossible to literally annihilate the Lord of Flies. If you define victory that way, then saying you cannot defeat him is not entirely wrong.]

“So physical defeat isn’t everything.”

[A TRPG veteran like you, Mr. Solomon, could not possibly be unaware of that.]

“……”

[The Black Museum are not conquerors. Nor are they fighters. Understanding that… will be the key to escaping their claws, surviving, and beyond that, claiming “victory.”]

The Game Master said.

[Oops, was I talking too much?]

He had gotten the information he needed. In a sense, almost too much.

“I understand.”

Solomon answered, in the tabletop room, facing the Game Master smiling ominously beneath the hood.

[Then, have a good night.]

The Game Master said. The darkness beneath the hood split into a crescent shape, as if forcibly imitating a human smile.

At the same time, his consciousness slipped away.

Knock, knock. A knocking sound was heard. His eyes opened. When he opened them, the clock on the wall pointed exactly to midnight.

Had he been asleep longer than he imagined. Solomon hurriedly got up and opened the room door.

“Excuse me, Mr. Solomon.”

Beyond the room was the ghost hotelier, as before, with a cart piled high with luggage.

“The tailor’s work has just been completed.”

The witch who had cast Cinderella’s magic on Solomon… no, the fairies’ work was there.