Even though he gained a new friend, Oliver Belford, who would allow him to integrate himself better in the social circles of nobility, Arthur also made an enemy of the Prince. Nonetheless, he didn't regret it as they would have a fall out sooner or later.
Sitting in his hotel room, Arthur lamented the waste of a day like that. He only had a day before the exam and he needed to register at the awakeners' association.
After he had his breakfast from the hotel's room, Arthur opened his legacy. He had 16 points of stats before and he poured them on Stamina and Perception. He gave 12 points to perception and 4 to Stamina, raising them both to 183.
Arthur had realized how important it was to have a well-balanced body. He remembered what the tailor had told him in the capital. Maybe that old man was more than a tailor since he can see his stats being even.
As for his Legacy Points, Arthur decided to buy a new rune. However, the question was what that rune was. Should he buy an elemental offensive rune, or something more unique? As he browsed through the list of runes, Arthur realized that they were limited by his ability level.
For example, there was no flight rune. There were also missing runes like the higher tier of his fire runes. Arthur also knew that there were more unique abilities out there that he didn't have a corresponding rune for.
In the end, he decided on a unique rune rather than an elemental one. As he browsed through the list, Arthur chose the rune Shadows Creation.
[Shadows Creation-II: Creates a shadow that shares its senses with the user. It can also be used to fight for the user, with stats that are half of the user's stats. The shadow lasts for half an hour. A permanent shadow can be created using a Dark Essence, with its stats being half of the user's stats and would increase as the user's stats increase; can be upgraded via other means.]
Arthur's eyes widened when he read the last phrase. The only time he heard of that name from his legacy was when he absorbed the Essence of the Dark Queen. He has always considered it to be a regret that he didn't gain anything noteworthy since his Art cultivated the essence of creation.
Now, he gained a rune that can create a shadow being like the ones he fought against in the trial. If this shadow being obeyed him, wasn't this like gaining a powerful follower? Furthermore, it would grow stronger with Arthur.
The legacy also mentioned the possibility of upgrading it. If Arthur can take care of it, this would be a trump card for him in Jerano. After all, he couldn't act by himself all the time there.
Arthur bought the rune for a whopping 25 Legacy Points. It was truly expensive, but it was worth it. His runes increased to 23 in his legacy and Arthur used the rune right away.
His mana drained by a sizeable amount and a shadow began emerging from his rune. It took half a minute to create and Arthur realized this would be a hindrance in an actual fight.
'Unless I combine this with my shadow space skill,' Arthur's mind was filled with ideas as a humanoid figure appeared in front of him. It was made from shadows, an intangible black ether like the one Arthur was researching.
"Well, Hi?" Arthur waved at the shadow and it looked at him blankly before kneeling slowly. Its arm rested on its knee as it waited for Arthur's instructions.
At this point, Arthur felt his senses being split between two different viewpoints. He could see himself from the eyes of his shadow.
"How about you take a walk around? Make sure no one sees you." Arthur said and the shadow nodded before slipping into Arthur's shadow. As it traveled throughout the hotel, it listened and saw things without being seen. Arthur saw many people in the hotel but he asked his shadow to return since that was inappropriate.
As the shadow returned to him, Arthur wanted to test a different thing. He asked the shadow to punch him and it did so obediently. The strike, as Arthur has expected, was at the later stages of the neo-rank.
Arthur was thrilled by gaining such a follower and he kept asking it to do things, seeing how far he can control it. They tried to play cards, but the shadow could only do as he was told without any consciousness or thinking ability of its own.
Arthur then asked it to kill itself, but the shadow looked at him blankly as if it didn't understand how it can do that. Arthur could cancel the shadow anytime, but he simply wanted to see its survival instinct.
The shadow was faceless, so Arthur asked it to smile. He had to shake his head at his stupidity when he couldn't know if it was smiling or not. Before the half of an hour was over, Arthur tested one more thing.
"Kill me,"
He knew it couldn't kill him with its stats, but he wanted to know if it would obey. To Arthur's amazement, the shadow's hand turned into a blade as it rushed toward him.
"Stop,"
The shadow stopped.
"Attack yourself," Arthur chose a different command since the shadow didn't know how to kill itself. Willingly, the shadow impaled itself with its hand but they simply merged. Arthur nodded and the shadow disappeared.
"Now, should I create a permanent shadow?" Arthur stroked his chin. He had a bit of time before he needed to register, so he decided to go with it.
His followers increased by the day and Arthur enjoyed this feeling. Even though Kira and his goblins were still weak, he could strengthen them to be of use to him. Kira was a special case since Arthur felt indebted to him.
Arthur didn't know how to create a permanent shadow, so he simply used his rune and hoped it would somehow work. His runes were flexible, after all.
[Do you wish to create a permanent shadow?]
A legacy message appeared as Arthur was trying. Arthur readily said 'yes.'
[You have one Dark Essence; do you wish to use it?]
'Yes,'
His mana started draining even more than before as Arthur felt something leave his body. The same kind of pain when Lilo entered his consciousness appeared again in his naval.
The shadows filled the room as they gathered around his rune. A Dark Orb left from his body, making it jerk in the process. Arthur watched as the shadows gathered around the orb to make the shape of a humanoid creature.
Arthur fell to the ground huffing as he looked at his creation that was still taking shape. Even after the mana drained from him, the shadow has yet to form as it tried to connect to the dark essence.
After its general outline, its features began to appear. Arthur looked on with horror as the familiar face appeared before him.
"D-Dark Queen?" Arthur stuttered as he looked at the woman who had her eyes closed. The shadows gathered around her back after her body was completed and two sets of wings were created. However, her legs remained human despite her wings.
The Dark Queen opened her eyes and looked at Arthur with confusion. As she looked around, she seemed to understand the situation.
Arthur was suddenly nervous. Would she attack him once she knew that he was her killer? However, his worries were short-lived as the Queen kneeled like the shadow from before.
"My Lord…"
Her voice was cold and emotionless. However, Arthur felt no hostility from her. He stood up as he looked at her wearily. He had so many questions, but he blurted only one.
"Why are you here?"
His question seemed to confuse her greatly. She looked at him and then looked around again. She then stared at him with her white irises and answered.
"You have created me, My Lord."
"Well, that much is obvious." Arthur scratched his head. "But what I don't understand why you, the Dark Queen, was created."
"My essence holds my soul too, My Lord."
"Soul?" Arthur frowned. Did he have a soul inside his body all this time? Were souls always in Essences? Or was this a special case?
"Yes," The Dark Queen nodded. "I have been inflicted by a curse that you have released me from. Then, you gave me a new body to reside in. For this, I shall offer you my life, My Lord." The Dark Queen bowed her head.
"Hah," Arthur exhaled. "Alright. Well, thank you." He didn't know what else to say. He suddenly had an idea to get some answers he wanted. "Do you know someone called Solomon?"
The Dark Queen's body shook as she lifted her eyes and looked at Arthur. Her face was a mixture of confusion, sadness, and agony.
"Solomon…" The Dark Queen repeated. However, she shook her head in agitation. "I'm sorry, My Lord. I feel like I can recognize that name, but other than that is…"
Arthur sighed as he nodded. He asked other questions about who she was, but she also had no answer. The only thing that she remembered was the last trial when Arthur had 'saved' her from the curse.
"Alright, then. Can you unsummon yourself?" Arthur found that he held no control over her body. He could order her, but he couldn't release the summon.
"No," She shook her head and Arthur felt a headache. "However, I can hide in your shadow."
"Oh, try that!" Arthur lifted his head and asked. The Dark Queen nodded and stepped toward Arthur before she dived into his shadow, disappearing completely.