Becoming a Shadow in the New World

Becoming a Shadow in the New World (Author: Feng Hua Shuang Xue)

Summary:

"I want to become a Shadow-level user."

Born into an ordinary real world with this dream, Sid is reborn into another world, only to find that this world is too peaceful.

Just when he thought he would never become a true Shadow-level user, the world underwent a tremendous change.

Demons, vampires, angels, and gods have appeared one after another in this new world.

"Listen, the world is celebrating the birth of a Shadow-level powerhouse."

"That's what the shadow said."

P.S.: Cover image is from the internet; please delete if it infringes on copyright.

Chapter 1: Aspiring to Become a Shadow-Level Power

"The casualties on the world battlefield have been brought under control, and the forces in World 1 and World 2 have also freed up their resources. It is expected that the next Three Realms Joint Conference will be held soon. At that time, some of the benefits gained last time because of your power, Lord Shadow, will definitely be lost."

"But at the same time, through the world battlefield, Mitsukoshi Trading Company has already monopolized 30% of military supplies, and in the field of ordinary civilian supplies, it has also established Mitsukoshi Trading Company's reputation for cost-effectiveness compared to other companies. With its superior quality and price, holding the card of being a supplier of supplies for the world battlefield, and with various forces not paying much attention to civilian supplies, it is only a matter of time before it monopolizes the world."

"Based on this, I am considering whether to transfer some of the benefits that are destined to be lost at this meeting to the countries of our world, to protect the interests of Shadow Garden, to strike at the Order's economic chain, and at the same time to show the neutrality of the Mikoshi Trading Company."

……

The boy standing by the window, looking out at the campus, seemed to have heard something noteworthy during the report.

Those unfathomable eyes, filled with mystery and depth, as if contemplating the past, future, and present, lit up with a hint of red light. They turned their heads to look at the beautiful blue-haired elf beside them. She was a stunning beauty with a model-like figure, dressed in a black JK school uniform. Behind her were several beauties, including elves, fox-people, and humans, who were engrossed in their work.

The elf, who had been confidently reporting this information that was enough to shake the world, panicked the moment she saw the boy's gaze directed at her.

"My lord, is there a problem with my intelligence? I will immediately have the intelligence team investigate again."

Seeing this, the boy could only raise his hand to signal to the elf and the others behind him who, having heard what the elf said, were preparing to order a renewed search for information.

“Gamma, I’ve already told you, you no longer need to report this intelligence to me.”

We are not on the same path. Let's seize this opportunity to lead the garden into the sunlight. Remember, flowers cannot bloom in the dark.

I alone can bear all the darkness and sin of this world; you do not need to, and should not, face it.

The boy's deep voice echoed in the room, but those who heard it simply lowered their heads in silence. However, their trembling bodies and tightly clenched lips revealed the turmoil in their hearts.

Seeing this, the boy just sighed slightly, turned and walked towards the door, but stopped in front of the door.

"All I can do is take away the darkness from your path to the light. Also, Gamma, think carefully about what I told you before."

After saying that, the boy left the room deepest inside the student council chamber without looking back.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The moment the boy stepped out the door, his once straight back hunched over, and his reassuring shoulders slumped. In an instant, he transformed from a powerful figure who could attract everyone's attention simply by standing there into an insignificant extra.

"How is Sid doing? Is President Luna in a good mood today? Is she angry?"

The crowd gathered at the doorway didn't notice Sid's change at all; of course, in their eyes, Sid had always looked the same.

"Of course, President Luna is in a great mood today. I just joked with her and she didn't scold me."

In front of everyone, Sid flashed his standard supporting actor smile and began to explain the situation in the chairman's office.

"That's good. I don't know what's wrong with the president lately. He's in a bad mood and gets scolded for even the smallest problems. Luckily, you, Sid, are there to lead the way. After all, you're the only one among us who is from the same world as the president."

This person's name seems to be Shirou Tokimoto... right? He seems to be one of Vice President Sona's people.

"Well, that's how it is. Anyway, there's no problem reporting to the chairman now. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"Okay, let's go back, let's go back."

Upon hearing Shirou's reply, Sid quickly left the crowded corridor.

As for the subsequent reports of the president's hours-long tirade and the school's training ground being razed to the ground by elemental magic, those were irrelevant to him.

After all, campus gossip was never something he cared about. No, the minor character Sid should care about this information, so he would still know. As for why Gamma was angry, he really didn't know.

Sid Kagano is his name. He is someone who wanted to become a Shadow in his previous life, and now he plays a minor student.

What is a Shadow-level powerhouse?

Before answering this question, I'd like to ask: most people admired heroes when they were young, right? Warriors and Ultraman are heroes. When we heard stories of heroes defeating evil dragons and watched Ultraman defeating monsters on TV, didn't most of us have an urge to become them?

So does he.

But what he admires is not a hero, but a shadow-like powerhouse.

What is a Shadow-level powerhouse?

It is neither the protagonist nor the final boss, but rather an entity that intervenes in the story from the shadows and demonstrates its power.

He aspires to play such a role. If you absolutely have to ask why, it's because he thinks it's cool.

Think about it carefully: a character suddenly appears in the story, easily defeats an enemy that is invincible to the protagonist, resolves the crisis, says a bunch of seemingly plausible but ultimately meaningless things, and then turns around and leaves gracefully.

Even in the finale, he can fight and defeat the protagonist and the villain, and say to the protagonist, "With this much power, what can you do?" That's super cool, right?

Especially when someone is usually a minor character but suddenly stabs you in the back at a crucial moment and says a series of witty remarks, it's even cooler. Although at this point they have already gone from being a Shadow-level user to a new villain, it has to be admitted that this kind of Shadow-level user revealing their identity is a timeless and memorable scene.

Unlike most kids who only have a short attention span, he might be a natural-born chuunibyou (middle school syndrome). In order to become a Shadow-level fighter, he devoted all his free time in his previous life to learning kendo, karate, and other martial arts techniques. He would learn anything that could make him stronger.

But people have to face reality. No matter how much he learns, he may lose if the opponent is armed.

He couldn't accept that a Shadow-level user only possessed this level of power, so he began to seek other powers.

Magic, spiritual power, celestial power, mana, qi... anything is fine, as long as it gives him the power to become a Shadow-level user.

He knew it was far-fetched to seek these things in reality, but wanting to become a Shadow-level user was far-fetched enough, so what difference would it make if it became even more far-fetched?

No one can prove the existence of supernatural forces, but no one can also prove their non-existence.

In his view, even if he dies on the road to pursuing supernatural powers, he will die on the road to pursuing his dream.

Then, he died in the process of pursuing supernatural powers.

Thanks to this, he successfully found magic in another world, probably during the First Industrial Revolution.

However, the other world he was reincarnated into was not exactly peaceful, but it was certainly not plagued by any major disasters either, and there was no opportunity for a person of Shadow-level strength to appear.

Their usual enemies are all thieves, and occasionally there are school kidnappers, rebellious ministers who want to become king, but there are absolutely no villainous cults that want to rule the world in secret and live forever.

Chapter Two: World Integration

Although there are monsters in this other world who are called "possessed by demons" and have been executed by the church.

Originally born as an ordinary human, their bodies suddenly began to rot one day. If left unattended, they would die soon, but the church would still spend money to buy living "demon possessions" and subject them to an execution called purification.

It sounded like something out of the Middle Ages, but he initially held onto a sliver of hope that demons might actually exist. Then, when he was ten, that hope was dashed.

At the age of ten, he encountered demon possession. After a month of research, well... it was a bloodline disease. At that time, he also cured an elf who was possessed by a demon and thought he was dead.

Originally, he intended to simply send the elf back, but the elf said she wanted to repay him. Thinking that an organization with the power of shadows was also cool, he casually made up a Diablo Order that secretly ruled the world, saying that everything about the "demon-possessed" person was caused by that order, and even named her "Alpha". He then established an organization called Shadow Garden, intending to trick them into playing his chuunibyou game.

Three years later, the organization had grown to seven members, who called themselves the "Seven Shadows." It was also in that year that his lies were exposed.

At that time, the seven of them came to him and said they were going to other places to develop their forces to deal with the Diablo Cult. But he knew that what they meant was that they already knew the Diablo Cult was fake. However, considering that he was their benefactor who had cured them and their relationship over the years, they were still willing to play along with his chuunibyou game.

There can't possibly be a Diablo cult, can there? (laughs)

Two years ago, he could only ask them for help to complete the Shadow Warrior play, or when he encountered terrorists, he would jump out and say things that he himself did not understand before killing the terrorists. Although it looked cool, it was completely a one-man show.

When the Seven Shadows encounter difficulties, they will use similar tactics to those used against the Diavolo Order to ask him for help. Sometimes, when they can't think of a way to ask him for help in a way that fits the established rules, they will even change the Diavolo Order's rules.

Thanks to this, the current, countless versions of the cult have changed from initially claiming to be lurking in the shadows, coveting Diablo's power, to now portraying the three heroes who defeated Diablo as their creations, Diablo as their experimental subjects, and their manipulation of terrorist organizations in various countries.

If only such an organization existed (unfortunately), then those with the power of shadow would have a very good reason to appear. It's just a pity that it's made up.

His other identity as the one who helped out—Shadow—was wanted for it, but... isn't that cool?

He originally thought he might never have a chance to appear as someone truly worthy of the power of a Shadow, until a year and a half ago.

That day, the earth shook violently, magic surged in the sky, monsters in the forest scattered and fled, and a tsunami thousands of meters high rose from the sea.

That day, everyone in the three worlds witnessed the miracle of the world: the worlds... merged.

Without causing too many casualties, the three worlds merged perfectly together, as if this world had always been this way.

Although the merging of the worlds did not destroy this world, the various forces that merged with the three worlds nearly destroyed it.

Fortunately, just as tensions were running high among the various factions and a great war between the three worlds was about to break out, an invasion from outside the world occurred.

Yes, this is lucky. Having an invasion is not a misfortune but a blessing in disguise. Isn't that ridiculous?

But that's the truth. If it weren't for the invasion from outside the world, all the civilizations in this world would have been wiped out long ago in that never-before-it-out Three Realms War. It was the invasion from outside the world that gave the three worlds a reason to join forces.

The world battlefield is where this new world is now fighting against invaders from outside the world.

While ordinary people from the three worlds should be grateful that this invasion shifted the internal pressures of world merging to the outside, preventing the world from being destroyed, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing.

Since the start of the war, many forces have suffered deaths and injuries, and due to various other reasons, the world situation has changed dramatically.

After more than a year of adjustment, a large international academy was built on Itogami Island, an artificial island in World 2. Despite being a school with no teaching experience, as soon as it was established, the various forces of the three worlds sent their children who were still growing up to this school, hoping to achieve true integration of the three worlds by building relationships among the descendants of the high-ranking members of each force.