Time quickly passed until nightfall.
At St. Freya's academy, inside Kouro's dorm, with the moonlight entering his room from the open window, Kouro was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed looking up at the full moon.
It had been several hours since he entered the Dungeon, after he got Igris as his shadow soldier he immediately stopped climbing the 'Trial Tower' because the free time he had was running out.
Fortunately Mei and the others were not suspicious of him and even slightly ignored him as they were busy chatting with each other.
Indeed, no one can beat the girls when it comes to gossiping, there are definitely topics they can still talk about with each other.
Maybe they were still talking to each other right now.
Kouro shook his head with a helpless expression before then turning his attention and remembering Igris' status interface.
...
[Igris Lv. 45]
Rank: Elite Knight
...
It could be seen that Igris had a higher level than Hei Xuan and Bai Xuan, his rank was also one level higher than both of them.
He had now become the strongest shadow soldier that Kouro had.
He guessed that Igris' strength was equivalent to an S-level Valkyrie and it was even possible to fight equally against a MANTIS.
It's just that Igris' personality… was a bit disturbing to Kouro.
Igris treated him like a spoiled prince who needed attention and affection.
Moreover... Because it seems that Igris does not have the ability to speak like Hei Xuan or Bai Xuan even though he is stronger than the two of them, making Igris's attentive actions somewhat make Kouro cringe.
But it's okay even though it's a bit annoying and a bit horrifying, Kouro knew Igris was doing it all with good intentions, so he's just telling him not to do those actions too often.
By the way, for information, Hei Xuan and Bai Xuan's levels also rose a lot.
...
[Hei Xuan Lv. 35]
Rank : Knight
...
[Bai Xuan Lv. 30]
Rank : Knight
...
Currently Kouro was glancing at the interface the total number of shadow troops he had was around 3,700, each of them had the strength equivalent to a B-rank Valkyrie and there were some at the level of an A-rank Valkyrie.
"What a pity, I can only enter that dungeon once a week..." Kouro murmured with a helpless sigh.
Well... What else could it be, he didn't have much free time because now he had a girlfriend to whom he had to give attention and affection.
Even so, he did not regret his choice to date even though his free time was reduced.
'Someday... Should I tell Mei and the others about the real me?' Kouro thought with a pensive expression.
Of course he wouldn't tell them that the world they lived in was an online game, he just wanted to tell them the truth about his true identity...
After thinking hard, Kouro finally reluctantly chose to hide his true identity from them.
Of course, Kouro would not stop Mei and the others if they were to find out about him through Ashborn or the people who knew his true identity.
He just wouldn't actively or explicitly mention this to them.
'I wonder what expression they will show when they find out who I really am... I hope they don't show the same expression as Fu Hua...' Kouro thought.
He then turned his thoughts to another plan he wanted to do now.
"Hmm... With the benefits I got from the dungeon, I can now execute the plan I made a long time ago."
Ever since he obtained the Job [Herrscher of Shadows] and learned of the Herrscher's abilities, Kouro planned to form an army of shadows and spread them throughout the world.
Of course it wasn't to secretly want to rule the world from the shadows, the goal was to save people.
After all, Kouro knew that no matter how powerful he was now, he couldn't help everyone in the world against Honkai.
Even if he used the power of the Herrscher of Salvation, he could not go 24/7 to help people in the face of natural disasters or Honkai appearing.
He also had a life like everyone else.
(E/D: You have a life? Even though you're a gamer?)
Because of that, he made this plan to deal with disasters including Honkai disasters in remote places that did not enter the scope of Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent or others.
Determined to start his plan, Kouro first created thousands of black crows that had been enhanced in their flying ability and stamina.
The ravens created by Kouro strangely had a pair of dark purple eyes that glowed at night.
Then, the thousands of crows perched on a tree near Kouro's room without making any sound at all and turned their heads to stare at him as if waiting for his signal.
Kouro then looked back at the shadow of his feet that had filled his dorm room.
"I give you an order. Go spread yourselves all over the world, be my eyes and hands to save people in distress from the shadows and don't let anyone else know your whereabouts."
Except for Igris, Hei Xuan and Bai Xuan who had been instructed by Kouro specifically to stay with him.
The remaining shadow troops immediately moved into the shadows of the crows one by one quickly before Kouro finally gave an order to the crows that made all the crows instantly fly into the sky and scatter in various directions.
Kouro raised his head to look at the crow feathers that fell to the ground and some even entered his room before turning into dust and disappearing in the wind.
Gazing up at the starry sky followed by the sound of crows chirping, Kouro stuffed both hands into his pants pockets before muttering.
"I hope with this... The casualties of the Honkai disaster and others will become fewer."
From behind him, Hei Xuan, who appeared from his shadow, looked at Kouro before saying in awe.
"I didn't expect you to have the mind to use your power in this way... I feel amazed by your intention to save the world."
Kouro smiled in response to her words, he turned to look at her before saying.
"That's good, because you and the others will act as the commander for them all."
He said this to Hei Xuan because he remembered the [Shadow Preservation] ability that allowed him to share his senses with the shadow soldiers.
Then, that meant the shadow warriors could share senses with other shadow warriors, right?
That's why he assigned Hei Xuan, Bai Xuan and Igris as Commanders to be his intermediaries in commanding the shadow warriors scattered around the world.
"Huh?!" Hei Xuan put on a dumbfounded expression while pointing at herself.
Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Kouro then smiled widely while giving her a thumbs up.
"Take it easy, I'm not a tyrant who won't give salaries to his subordinates. Once a month, I will give you the opportunity to ask me for a wish, anything."
"... One week—" Hei Xuan said with a serious expression trying to negotiate.
"Three weeks—" Kouro replied without changing his expression.
" Two weeks!" Hei Xuan did not give up and tried to negotiate again.
"Deal." Kouro said before shaking hands with Hei Xuan.
After negotiating, for every two weeks, the three of them could ask Kouro for one wish, anything.
Of course, if the request was contrary to his morals or principles, Kouro would definitely refuse the wish.
"Yosha!" Hei Xuan raised both of her hands with great joy and excitement.
Seeing her like that, Kouro chuckled slightly before saying.
"I look forward to your hard work."
Hei Xuan immediately nodded and then re-entered Kouro's shadow.
Kouro unconsciously sighed, he looked at the clock that showed nine o'clock in the evening.
After confirming that there was nothing else he needed to do, Kouro then got ready for bed only to suddenly hear a knock on his bedroom door.
"Hmm? Who's coming at this time of night?"
Kouro then looked from the door hole only to find out that the person who came was Mei, without thinking he immediately opened the door.
"Mei? How come you-"
Before Kouro could finish his sentence, Mei hugged him tightly while hiding her face in his arms.
"Mei?"
Kouro confusedly looked at Mei who was hugging him without saying anything, when he wanted to ask, he saw Mei raise her head and look at him.
Kouro's pupils immediately dilated and reflected Mei's flushed and breathless face while looking directly into his eyes.
"Kouro... I can't hold it in anymore... I want your warmth ♡~"
Kouro immediately gulped down his saliva, he took a deep breath before saying in a heavy voice.
"I understand."
He immediately let Mei in then closed the door before locking it.
In the quiet night illuminated by the stars and under the blessing of the moonlight, a couple who loved each other were warming themselves with the heat of their love.
__
At Schicksal headquarters, in the Overseer's room.
There was Otto who was sitting on the sofa gazing at the full moon while carrying a cup of luxurious wine.
It was rare not to have Ember by his side, well... This was not surprising as Otto told her to rest, even though Ember herself as a Cyborg did not really need that.
In front of him were Ashborn and Fu Hua who also sat on the sofa and looked at him without saying anything.
"Have you finally decided?" Ashborn asked, breaking the silence.
On the luxurious table that had beautiful carvings were two palm-sized Soulium boxes.
Fu Hua's expression looked reluctant as she stared at the two boxes.
Inside the boxes were Herrscher core shards, the Gem of Haste and the Gem of Serenity.
Otto placed his wine on the table before nodding in response to her question, "Yes. Following your words that a month later there will be a Honkai Eruption in the city of Sapphire, I can use this opportunity to start my plan."
He then smiled before turning to look at Ashborn, "By the way I would like to thank you for this information, with the help of you two... I can start my plan to make someone able to awaken the power of the Herrscher of Void."
Fu Hua's palms were visibly clenched tightly upon hearing this, even so she did not show any expression and stared at Otto silently.
"Have you considered the possibility of a variable?" Ashborn asked.
There were many variable factors that could affect Otto's plan, ranging from the environment, the surrounding people, the geography, but all of them could still be circumvented by Otto except Kouro.
Kouro was the only variable that Otto couldn't predict, because of his rapid increase in strength and he also seemed to have knowledge of the future similar to Ashborn.
Otto then turned to look at Fu Hua and said.
"My old friend... I hope you can distract Kouro-kun when I start my plan, you can use anything, whether it's violence and so on as long as his attention can be diverted."
Fu Hua looked very reluctant, but inevitably she had to do Otto's bidding according to the agreement the two of them had once made.
"That's not necessary." Ashborn said, making Fu Hua and Otto turn to look at him.
With his purple eyes shining behind a smooth silver mask, he then said in a heavy voice.
"Let me do it."
"... Are you sure?" Otto asked after a moment of silence.
"... It's about time for him to know who I really am. What's more... It's been quite a while since I've met and had a normal conversation with him." Ashborn said, staring at his palm with blurred eyes as if remembering the past.
"... I understand. I wish you all the best then."
Otto nodded in understanding before turning to look at Fu Hua.
"Then my old friend, I'll give you a task..."
Fu Hua listened to Otto's task for her before nodding firmly.
"Understood."
Otto glanced at her and added, "You are allowed to use the Shadow Knight battlesuit when starting the task I gave you. "
Ashborn paid no attention to them and stared at his palm which was holding something.
It was shaped like a fancy green tarot card with purple and black stripes forming a symbol of intertwined thorny roots with a circle symbol formed from ink on top.
"Signets of Vacuity..."
