Super in the Shadows

The best plans are quirky, effective in theory, and bound to sidetrack. This one is no exception. ENJOY!

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“Y-You, you, you!!!”

The shadow being just couldn’t stop trembling.

As its eyes scanned the [Save this Plane!] mission, and especially how it had been accepted already, its entire body shivered with elation, with shadow tears in its eyes!

“H-Human, why would you go so far?! This isn’t your fight.”

Why? Greed, logic, and quite a bit of empathy. He knew what it felt like to wait for a loved one that wouldn’t return. He knew the emptiness, and he especially knew the desperation.

But there was no need to over-complicate things now, was it? Chuckling, he turned toward the shadow being, looking as nonchalant as ever.

“Why? Because I can. It’s that simple. Didn’t I tell you? Jack Bright, one in a million!” He rose, already glancing around at the wolves, who were equally awestruck.

But then it began. As if one had cast an animate spell on them, they all started cheering. “Brutus” specifically could be seen jumping everywhere in joy! Then came notifications…

[Ding! Affinity With Shadow Increased!]

[Ding! Affinity With Shadow Increased!]

[Ding! Affinity With Shadow Increased!]

….

That much?! How easily impressible was he?! Then again, Jack could understand. The being had spent its life in loneliness, and a meager show of goodwill felt like the world.

But before he could start planning….

“H-Human, can I ask something real quick?”

The being who had been so domineering a few minutes ago was now raising a shadow tentacle so meekly. “You said something about a surprise before. What was it?”

Jack almost froze. Right, THAT surprise. The vision had been so vivid and relatable that he had almost forgotten about it. He had indeed promised the creature a surprise, right?

“No big deal. Just a Lineage Extinction Curse, should I die.”

“L-Lineage E-Extinction curse?!”

“Check the heart.”

“….?!??”

The shadow almost flickered out of existence as it rushed to Brutus’s side. And a quick inspection was all it needed to realize its Shadow Core was full of runic symbols!

They had been drawn in red blood and looked absolutely powerful. But most importantly, the shadow couldn’t read them at all! It was as if ancient and powerful—

Nonsense. It was 100% a bluff! But Jack would never admit it.

Against a sheltered Shadow, this was the perfect trick! As long as it had a doubt, it wouldn’t dare make a move against him, not that it was needed anymore.

“Now, let’s get started, shall we? We got a plane to defend and an army to train! Wolves, stand in line before me! As for you, little shadow. Plant your shadowy ass by my side!”

As Jack took control of the situation, a certain shadow was still shivering.

“H-Human, can we talk about the L-Lineage Extinction C—”

“No time! Besides, no worry, I’m not suicidal.”

As Jack shrugged, a certain shadow felt about to go insane. The human was probably bluffing, but could someone bluffing be that confident?! Also, there was the runes issue.

They emitted no mana whatsoever, and were probably BS, but what if it was some weird manaless human magic?! But just as its mind was a sea of chaos, the human made it worse.

“Little Shadow, you know, I gotta praise your tenacity AND your idiocy.”

What was up with the insults out of nowhere?! It was enough to utterly break the being’s train of thought, and it hung to the human’s words, wondering where he was driving at.

“You kept summoning, all to get a powerful warrior. But what the hell are you doing with your life, eh? Think a warrior will change anything? You have an army here! Understand?”

Jack’s gestured toward all the wolves assembled before him.

“Warrior? You need a General!!!”

That’s when he gave the most glorious grin ever. That was the path he had seen! He alone wouldn’t be able to do much, but who cared about that?! It was time to show his strength.

Jack Bright, the only mortal at Legendary-U

Jack Bright, one always forced to scheme

Jack Bright, one in a million

And now, his mission was more than obvious. He had to get those wolves battle-ready ASAP! After all, the clock was already tickling down, and increasingly fast at that…

[Save this Plane!]

[‘Till Next Raid!]

[259 199!]

[259 198!]

[259 197!]

…

Three days. He had three days….

It sounded like a lot. It wasn’t. Training an army would be a matter of weeks, months, and even years. Yet, he didn’t have that long, so he’d have to improvise.

As for what followed? It was incredibly hectic! First, Jack made the wolves line up, and then he had them break the line. And then he had them line up again, and again, and again—

“H-Human, what’s the point of this? Their cohesion’s good.”

“Precisely, I don’t want good, I want godlike.”

“…..?!?”

On the battlefield, a second early could be the difference between a spearhead formation succeeding or crashing worthlessly. He wasn’t about to leave it to chance!

Or rather, that’s what it looked like he was doing. In fact, he didn’t give a damn about that. ‘I need them to get used to my voice, and FAST!’ That was his real goal in there.

He knew they’d always listen to the Shadow Being over him, but he wanted to make sure they’d listen to him WITHOUT awaiting confirmation from their actual master.

And so far, it seemed like it was going pretty well…

[Ding! Affinity With Ink Wolves Increased!]

[Ding! Affinity With Ink Wolves Increased!]

[Ding! Affinity With Ink Wolves Increased!]

…

Those notifications kept popping all over his eyes. It could probably change at any given moment, but for now, they actually liked him. After all, to them, it was one fun game.

Human soldiers would have long been complaining, but those didn’t. They kept breaking and reforming ranks, their tails wagging every time he gave them the “Good job, y’all!”

But after a few hours of that, he had to stop.

[‘Till Next Raid!]

[243 034!]

[243 033!]

[243 032!]

….

Time was ticking down, and they couldn’t afford to keep wasting it. It was time to increase the pace, and the pace wasn’t the only thing they’d increase.

“Little shadow, I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it, human? I’ll do it, and then—”

“Good, I need obstacles, LOTS!”

Jack instructed, and it happened. Endless ink structures appeared all over the field: pitfalls, high walls, spikes, suspended nets, snake pits, and even moving platforms?!

Before them, a game appeared that would have made a course of Ultimate Ninja Super Beastmaster or anything similar feel like a walk in the park.

The wolves wagged their tails in confusion.

“Woo? Woo? Woo?”

Luckily for them, Jack was there to explain it all. “See this course? You’ll have to go through it, and as quickly as possible! How about it, any volunteer for the first run?”

“Awooooo!” A valiant wolf quickly stepped forth and then began the trial of a century. It dashed at full speed and— FALL! It fell right into one of the pitfalls!

But that wasn’t enough to discourage them. A few seconds later, another wolf went and— CRASH! It ran headfirst into a wall as it tried jumping it.

And soon appeared a scene of torture…

One after the other, the wolves would rush in and— CRASH! STAB! STUCK! BITTEN! LOST?! One after the other, they’d encounter an obstacle they couldn’t deal with.

To them, this was an entirely new territory. They were used to “hunt” but that usually was only them running at enemies and swiping at them until one of them died!

But now they had to think about every single move consciously…

[Ink Wolves INT has gone up!]

[Ink Wolves AGI has gone up!]

[Ink Wolves DES has gone up!]

…

What was DES even supposed to be?! But soon he understood, it happened every time they felt utterly beaten by a trap and utterly DESpaired. Still, it was super helpful.

Every time they seemed about to give up, he could come in and encourage them. “Who’s a good boy? Yes, you guys are! Keep training; you’ll get this SOON!”

Every time he chimed, a certain shadow being by the side would clasp its head in shock. Why did it feel like this wasn’t the human’s first time training an army?!

It was his first, but he was used to dogs.

“Brother, can we get a dog?! Please, pretty please!” How many times had he heard this single line in his life? Often enough to get tired of it, yet he hadn’t.

Every time Lilly would ask him, she’d beam with a smile bright enough to warm the coldest winter— and he’d do anything to see her happy, except adopting a dog.

Their tiny apartment had a no-pet policy, and getting one was merely a tearful separation waiting to happen. He wouldn’t do that to her, so they went to dog parks instead.

She’d happily run around, teaching tricks to doggos. “Give me paws! Roll over! Do a backflip!” And as he trained those wolves, he couldn’t help but smile thinking of her.

“Human, are you watching? Look, look, they’ve completed it!”

“Ah?! Thanks for the heads up. So it seems…”

Jack awoke to a shadow proudly cheering and ink wolves celebrating their success. Finally, they had managed to pass the obstacle course. They felt like four-legged gods!

Seeing them jump in place excitedly, he couldn’t help but feel strange. Were those the same nightmare-inducing wolves that had threatened his life initially? Yes, they were.

“You’re right. They did clear it. Time to increase difficulty…”

Under his command, LOTS of new traps were added. So many of them that countless wolves’ tails hung down simply seeing them spawn.

→ Arrow wall traps!

→ Bouncing ball steps?!

→ Tar-filled wave pool?!

→ Bear traps all over the place?!

….

“Woooo?!!!”

[Ink Wolves DES has gone up!]

[Ink Wolves DES has gone up!]

[Ink Wolves DES has gone up!]

…

What had been a celebration a few seconds before quickly turned into a collective howl of despair, not that Jack cared. No, he simply gave them a mischievous smile.

“What? Cat ate your guts or something? AGAIN!”

That was the beginning of hell, a hell that seemed utterly endless. With the added traps, none of them were able to make it to the finish line anymore.

Their skin would get pierced by countless arrows, they’d bounce all over the place, they’d get stuck over and over, and they’d get their paws clenched on by vicious traps!

At some point, they whimpered ressentully toward him.

‘If you’re so good, then go ahead and clear it!’

He did. And in record time, too.

He walked inside the death-filled obstacle course and— SHATTER! As he strode forward, every single trap that had stopped them exploded as soon as it made contact with his skin!

He was akin to a god walking the mortal plane, his mere presence enough to shatter the very fabric of the world, and as he did, the wolves looked at it all with eyes bulging!

“You guys gawked enough yet? Get to work…”

“Wooooo!!!!!”

And just like that, they were motivated again, a sigh escaping Jack as he took place next to the shadow being. The ink magic the shadow kept using? It couldn’t affect living beings.

That’s why it had been so helpless. No matter how many traps it summoned, no matter how many bunkers it created, it would all come crashing down with a single touch.

ONLY the wolves were different for some reason. They were this plane’s last line of defense, and even that wasn’t enough. So many would die with every new raid.

‘It’s fine, it will be fine. I wasn’t training them then…’

He reassured himself, or tried to. Who knew how effective the training he was doing really was? But overthinking this wouldn’t do anything, so he went straight back to work!

He watched them tackle the obstacle course over and over until it was enough. As he stopped them, they actually whimpered that they could still go on!

“I know. I know, but running will only do so much…”

It was time for something far bigger.

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Two armies faced one another.

The smell of death, apprehension in the air, and so much inky blood about to be spilled. It would have terrified anyone, and yet at the forefront was a crazed and valiant general.

“You all! Are you ready to fight? Look at those bastards: they’ve come to slaughter us! See this beautiful white plane? They want to steal it! To destroy it! They want it ALL!”

As Jack riled them, the ink wolves growled. And as they stared at the enemies on the other side, they couldn’t wait to plunge their fangs into the bastards’ hides!

“So? What will it be? Will you roll over, or will you show them who’s boss? This place is your home; this place is OUR HOME! AND WHAT DO WE DO TO INVADERS?”

“AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO!”

The white plane rumbled with the desperation and the anger of a thousand wolves. They had heard his call, they had heard their own hearts too, and they were royally pissed.

This was their home, and they’d defend it ink and claw!

“THAT’S RIGHT. KILL! CHARRGEEEEEE!!!!”

“AWWOOOOOOOOO!”

Jack was the first to charge. He ran toward the enemies, Razorpear in hand and fury in his heart. He was merely a guest general here, but those were HIS troops!

He’d bloody fight and die alongside them! He’d—

Wolves being wolves, he was quickly overtaken, but that didn’t stop him from cheering them on. And as the first wave crashed against their enemies, the White Plane shook.

As army met army, it was as if two ginormous titans were fighting one another, every blow sending tremors through the entire plane. And it was merely the beginning; it was time.

“Vanguard, push forth! Reserve, get ready. Flankers, NOW!”

Along with his commands, the seemingly unorganized wolves changed entirely. The ones at the front dove deep into the enemy line, but then retreated to leave place to new soldiers?!

Then, before the enemies could even realize what was happening, the third wave went in for a pincer attack from the side! And just like that, it was the beginning of the end.

Wolves mauled their opponents, their claws shredding them.

But even after that, the bastards still fought back. In fact, they were fighting so fiercely that Jack could already picture the system’s warning.

An Ink Wolf Has Fallen

An Ink Wolf Has Fallen

An Ink Wolf Has Fallen

…

Like dominoes, his boys were going down.

“Those wounded fall back! Leave room for new blood! Screw those bitches! Unit 5, get ready to replace them! Unit 7, assist their evacuation! Unit 8, howl attack!”

It was madness. Wherever the eye landed, there were wolves falling. Ink splashed, limbs were lost, and yet there was no ending to the slaughter— or so it seemed.

It took 9 minutes for it to end.

It took 9 minutes for all the wolves to go down.

It took 9 minutes for Jack to be the only one left…

No, actually there was a shellshocked Shadow watching the outcome and trembling non-stop. It had taken 9 minutes for it to lose all its wolves, and it still couldn’t believe reality.

Yet instead of grieving, Jack flared in anger…

“All dead. All freaking dead? Are you shitting me? How useless are you all? Is this how you defend your home?! Tch— At least you did manage to beat the enemies, so that’s good.”

As he snorted, he kicked one of the corpses, one that still couldn’t stop excitingly wagging its tail. They had been praised! All over, “corpses” were happily wagging their tails.

“Alright, enough for simulation one. GET UP!”

That’s when all the fallen wolves got up, both armies, and it was now time for a well-deserved break. As for their wounds? They had crazy regenerative power; they’d be fine.

This had been their third exercise: war simulation. Two groups of wolves, going at each other, and trying to win against their opponents.

Yet, even now, the shadow was beaming…

“Human, that was amazing! How did you do that?”

“Do what? Lead them to battle? Or do you mean defeat your army with half the numbers? It’s called morale and leadership. Just sending them to their death’s dumb and reckless!”

Initially, Shadow’s group had had way more wolves than his. But after the HOME speech and the different battle formations, the outcome had still been a magnificent draw.

Seeing the awe in the being’s eyes, he couldn't help but snicker.

“So? Do you believe me now? It’s a General you need.”

“Human, so you’re a general back on Earth?”

“Something like that…”

Sure, he had neither troops nor authority, and his only ties to the military was his late father, but no point bursting Shadow’s bubble, right? Instead he closed his eyes.

‘Dad, you would have loved this, I’m sure. You could have made a round in your unit and told them all: doctor, engineer, super? My son’s a Shadow General, you bastards!’

He would have been so proud— probably.

Most of what he knew about the man was from his mother’s tales. Whenever she spoke of him, he sounded like an absolute badass and jackass all at once with all the love it entailed.

Yeah, he would have absolutely approved this.

‘Lineage Extinction Curse sounds absolutely ballistic!’

It’s like convincing a school buddy that you own a nuclear nuke and have him believe you. It was the freaking best! He pictured the man grinning or something close.

Was it bad that whenever he thought “Dad”, he pictured a lion plushie instead? The man had been gone so long that this was somehow the mental image he had of him. But that mattered not.

As he reopened his eyes, he couldn't help but freeze.

“Woo? Woo? Woo? Woo?”

There were ink wolves everywhere around him! They had sensed his pensive mood and had encircled him protectively. After all, he was the man helping them defend their home!

And at this moment, he saw so much in their white glowing eyes. Pride, a shitload of curiosity, and boundless acceptance. If he claimed to be a wolf, they’d roll with it!

From now on, he was part of the Wolf Pack! And they weren’t the only ones to have accepted him either. By the side, Shadow shared the same gaze.

“Pfft— What’s with that look? I’m just doing a Quest.”

Just doing a quest, was it? They both knew this wasn’t true. Whether the Lineage Extinction Curse was real or not, that bluff would have been enough for him to leave ASAP.

After all, the shadow was naive, but it wasn’t stupid.

‘Someone able to think something that crazy that fast wasn’t someone one wanted as an enemy, no matter what. Enslaving him would be the fastest way for things to go wrong.’

The human could have left them to fend for themselves, given them the middle finger, and even bounced, yet he was still here, training them. And that deserved recognition.

“Quest or not. Thank you, human, for all that you’re doing for—”

Yet, Jack simply waved a dismissive hand. Yes, he was helping them, but he was also helping himself. He didn’t have the right to take any credit. It was merely a happy coincidence.

“It won’t be too late to thank me later. For now, it's time for some more training. We ain’t stopping till those Ink Wolves all become Ink Ninjas! Now, GO! GO! GO!”

Just like that, the training resumed.

It wasn’t anything too crazy either, just the same thing over and over. Coordination drills to make them move as units, obstacles from hell so they’d survive, and wars to test it all.

Every single war simulation was an inkbath.

Away from the battlefield, they were all from the same pack, but on it, they were enemies. Those weren’t brothers but evil invaders trying to destroy their world!

As for the result…

“AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO! AWOOOO!”

It was so fucking BRUTAL!

Jack had seen actual earth footage that was more forgiving than this. The atrocities one could see in museums and on the Internet? It paled compared to the savagery shown!

The only rule was DO NOT TOUCH THE HEART!

As long as the Shadow Core remained, they could be brought back to life without expending too much energy. But even then, Shadow could be seen struggling after every session.

Then again, those were especially for him.

Shadow. Just Shadow. A weird being that Jack quickly got to know. Naive but smart. Playful but serious. Gentle, yet ruthless. He was as weird as his name, “Shadow”.

Or rather, if he ever had a name, he wasn’t sure what it was, so for now, it was just Shadow, and Shadow was definitely working overtime; he was the one learning the most.

The two of them especially talked about tactics…

“Human, how did you manage to destroy my flank so easily?!”

“Speed. You moved your formation adequately, but you were a beat too late. Let me guess, you were hesitating between two strategies? Doesn’t matter just go for it! A swift but bad call will beat a good call that’s made too late.”

It was a situation of the near-sighted leading the blind. Jack had played strategies games in the past, but it didn’t mean he knew what he was doing, he was just winging it.

Still, that was enough, the two learning…

“I see, human! I’ll do better next time, for sure!”

After every fight, the number of units would have to be reorganized. At first it had been a 1:2 ratio of soldiers in Shadow’s favor, but now to achieve a draw it was more 5:7.

He was learning, and for some godforsaken reason, that filled Jack with pride. He who had always been looked down upon for having no Quirk was the wise master here!

Out there, everyone would be…

“You got good grades, but no Quirks, give up.”

“Oh? You sound smart, but are you a Ranked Super?”

“Kid, keep your suggestions to someone who cares! Snort!”

….

How many times had he heard stuff like that? He had lost count, but here it was different. For all its flaws, Shadow didn’t discriminate, maybe because he didn’t understand humans.

Often, after a heavy training session, he’d even chime in…

“Human, please tell me more about your world! Please! Please! Please!” Whenever that happened, he didn’t sound like a shadow ruler but more like a curious and happy kid.

In this kid, Jack recognized himself. He had been the same with Supers— Hell, he was still the same. Thus, he found himself sharing more than strategies and training.

“Out there, we have school. They teach us lots of stuff about the world and supers in general!”

“The Subway’s a super long underground tunnel, with a beast of metal that goes whoosh from one place to another real quick!”

“On Earth, people are forced to get a job to live. But then there are Supers, and their job is the coolest of all. They save people! I’ll become one because there’s someone I need to save!”

He spoke as one would to a kid, not for Shadow’s sake, but for the wolves. Every storytime, their ears would rise, and they’d revel in the tales as they surrounded him.

They still looked as terrifying, yet all he could see were big, curious doggos.

It was weird, it was fun, it was peaceful.

Jack could have kept going like that.

Sadly, shit was about to get real…

[‘Till Next Raid!]

[1 199!]

[1 198!]

[1 197!]

…

The enemies Shadow had feared all this time, the ones who killed countless wolves with every assault, were about to be upon them. And with this, it was time for war once more.

Except this one would be gruesomely real…