Pain. It's been quite some time since I've felt this. It's not a good feeling. Good thing I've almost forgotten how this felt. Otherwise, I would've been more disoriented.
I sliced off the left hand of the humanoid with my sharpened hand; it didn't feel any pain and instead continued attacking me. With a sigh, I sliced again, almost a thousand times in a single second. The humanoid instantly vanished, dispersing into a cloud of red mist.
*Clack!* The wheel somehow turned.
The humanoid appeared again, still sporting that grim grin.
A high-speed object passed by me. No, it was a person. It was Mr. Jin Woo Sung; it seemed like this humanoid caught his interest.
He summoned his two daggers and then proceeded to fight the humanoid. His punches were more powerful than mine. He kept an inexpressive face during the fight, focusing on the humanoid monster in front of him.
He then submerged the humanoid in a pool by some force coming out of his hand. The humanoid struggled, drowning. His shadow soldiers didn't intervene; they were just watching. I couldn't read their minds, but I could tell that they were confident that their master would win.
Mr. Jin Woo Sung was now struggling, trying to keep the humanoid pinned.
*Clack!* The wheel turned.
The humanoid was now free from the invisible pressure. Mr. Jin Woo Sung tried to pin the humanoid down again, but it was no use; it was as if it didn't have any effect anymore.
A giant shadow soldier joined the fight and roared. The humanoid glanced at it for a moment but ultimately ignored it, continuing its advance toward Mr. Jin Woo Sung. The shadow soldier was infuriated, as if it were throwing a tantrum.
That shadow soldier was trying to taunt that Humanoid. I understood it now. It was like some sort of technique or skill. That's useful.
[ Divine Protection of Perfected Taunt ] = Your taunts are almost always effective; the target will then target you and only you.
"Thank you for granting this humble knight another trick. I shan't waste this."
"OVER HERE," I screamed at the humanoid, and it instantly locked its eyes on me and charged towards me. I could sense the frustration from that shadow soldier behind me. It roared again, but it had no effect.
I kicked the humanoid when it was close enough, sending it straight towards Mr. Jin Woo Sung. His speed suddenly massively increased, and then he used his two blades to ruthlessly slice the humanoid with inhuman speed.
The humanoid transformed into cubes and cleanly sliced flesh.
*Clack!* The wheel turned.
Mr. Jin Woo Sung appeared beside me. The floor then changed, emanating a purple glow. The shadow soldiers around us grow stronger; their blue flames are replaced with purple flames. An empowering area?
"Go." Mr. Jin Woo Sung ordered all his empowered shadow soldiers to attack. They've instantly encircled the humanoid and relentlessly attacked.
The shadow army variety was spectacular. There were ants, orcs, bears, and knights. They all had varying powers, but their teamwork was impeccable.
Several shadow mages appeared in front of me, and they cast some spells. The shadow soldiers stepped back as a huge fireball was hurled towards the humanoid. A faint light then manifested around the humanoid, it was a weakening spell coming from the mages.
*Bam!* The humanoid was scorched, but it was still alive.
A huge, hulking orc, wearing a black robe, came out from the shadows and cast a more powerful fireball spell. This time, the shadow soldiers gave a longer distance.
The other lesser shadow mages supplemented the clear blue fireball, adding more to the firepower. I felt the air crack as the fireball intensified and was then hurled towards the humanoid.
The impact was loud. I've never seen that kind of magic before. A magic that powerful. The whole area was decimated. The debris and the tiled floor were scorched, melting like cheese. The water has long since dissipated.
This area of infinite pools of water and ceramic tiles now had a permanent blemish on its topography. The ambience of slightly rushing water and dripping was gone, replaced with the scorching embers and dropping creaks.
The air was dry and hot; it felt like a desert. For once, I actually adjusted my uniform's collars. There was no place for the heat to disperse immediately, despite this place being infinite. A normal person would be sticking their tongue out at this point.
Still, the heat subsided, albeit slowly.
The eight-handled wheel dropped from above, clanging on the ceramic tiles. Mr. Jin Woo Sung instantly approached the decaying wheel and held out a hand.
"Arise."
Then nothing... Silent scorching ambience.
The wheel then fully decayed and turned to mush.
"Failure!? Incompatible!?" Mr. Jin Woo Sung was infuriated.
I instantly understood what he was trying to do. He was trying to shadow-ize it. "That humanoid thing was like a spirit, and besides, it was another summon. It acted similarly to your shadows. It had a master or an owner."
I said with a polite tone, trying to ease his inability to rise that thing. "At least, that's what I can tell..."
Mr. Jin Woo Sung sighed. "I already know what it was, I couldn't even see its form at first. It was like a ghost." He said with a disappointed tone, it seemed like he was aware that the 'arise' wouldn't be possible, but thought that it never hurts to try.
I then explained to him that there was also another lifeform I forgot to mention. Also, the strange, mysterious woman who was observing my fight with the humanoid. He kept a pensive, inscrutable expression, but listened to me.
I made sure to apologize for my lack of tact. I forgot to mention that strange spindly lifeform at first because I was practically jumping with joy upon seeing another person.
He seemed to have accepted my apology.....?
"By the way, you shouldn't plant shadows in other people's shadows. It's a bit out of place." I made sure to say it in the most courteous tone.
He glared at me.
"Still, your two shadows helped me. So I can't exactly complain."
He softened his gaze, mentally rolling his eyes, and then went on a different way. Intent on exploring these watery, ceramic-tiled dungeons.
He's a rather tough person. A man of few words.
Maybe slightly a jerk? No, no. That's harsh.
I then followed him, lagging behind. He didn't seem to mind.