Oh, right!
An idea flashed across Jinwoo’s head .
‘I can’t waste another second . ’
He just saw the power of the new skill . He could turn a slain monster into an undead soldier . If that was the case, there was a monster nearby that he had to quickly turn into his own! Jinwoo went up on the pile of armors that made up the golem . He was able to see the entire room from the top .
‘ . . . ’
His eyes scanned across the room and found his target .
Found him!
Jinwoo quickly ran towards the direction .
step, step, step, step!
Even without ‘Sprint’, he immediately reached his destination with anticipation .
gulp
Jinwoo stared at the extraction target and gulped . The monster’s corpse was exactly where he had left it .
‘ . . . Blood-red Ygritte . ’
Looking at the headless body half buried in the wall, Jinwoo remember just how fierce their battle was .
He stood before Ygritte .
Just a few hours ago, he was an enemy that threatened his life . But now, the fallen knight was a top class ingredient for his skill . Thankfully, like the other knights, there was a black smoke coming from Ygritte’s body .
It’s a possible target for Shadow Extraction .
Jinwoo’s face brightened .
‘Good . ’
He remembered the command phrase . After taking a breath, Jinwoo quietly spoke the words,
“Arise . ”
That was the activation phrase he had chosen . But the skill did not activate .
‘ . . . ?’
Jinwoo tilted his head in confusion and was about to try again when the System rang .
You’ve exceeded the maximum number of Shadows allowed .
To extract another Shadow, use ‘Extraction Cancel’ to send one or more Shadow Soldiers to the World of Nothingness . [1]
The Shadow Soldiers sent to the void cannot be summoned again .
Oh, right . He did remember that part of the skill,
Maximum Shadows: 30 / 30
The ‘Shadow Extraction’’s limit was 30 . That meant the number of soldiers he made was exactly 30… Jinwoo turned around . The Shadow Soldiers had followed him and were standing at attention .
‘When did they follow me?’
As fitting of their name, the Shadow Soldiers had moved without a sound . Anyways, to extract Ygritte’s shadow, he had to get rid of one of them .
‘But…’
Even after meeting them only moments ago, it felt regrettable to get rid of one of his soldiers . Had he gained a familiarity in that short time? With a sorrowful look, Jinwoo scanned each of the Shadow Soldiers . As he moved from one to the next, their names and level appeared .
Shadow Infantry (Lv . 1)
Normal Grade
Shadow Infantry (Lv . 1)
Normal Grade
They all had the same name and level .
‘Well, I guess their base was all same . ’
However, he did discover three soldiers that were not infantry .
‘Those are…?’
Unlike the armor-clad infantry, those three wore robes .
Shadow Mage (Lv . 1)
Veteran Grade
“Ah . ”
He knew where these had come from . The three mages that controlled the iron golem had also risen under his command .
‘27 infantry and 3 mages . ’
He determined that the small number of mages would have to be kept, so Jinwoo selected the nearest infantry .
. . . I’m sorry .
“Extraction Cancel . ”
vanish-
The soldier turned to smoke and scattered into nothingness . Not a trace of it could be found .
‘ . . . ’
Jinwoo took a moment of silence for it, then turned to Ygritte . He was ready . He had sacrificed a valuable soldier to make room for Ygritte, this better be worth it . Time to strike while the iron’s hot . Jinwoo attempted the skill,
“Arise . ”
Compared to his previous attempt, the shadow beneath Ygritte began to quiver and move as if it was live . It was the same phenomenon he saw when extracting the other soldiers .
‘It’s working!’
Jinwoo clenched his fists . He had a good feeling about this .
Shadow Extraction has been attempted .
Extracting . . .
What would Ygritte look like when he rose again? Sweat gathered in Jinwoo’s hands .
However .
Crack!
With a sound of metal breaking, a message appeared,
Shadow Extraction failed .
“What?”
2 attempts remaining .
“Phew-”
He sighed in relief after seeing that he still had a chance .
‘Now that I think about it…’
The skill’s description did tell him that the success rate was dependent on the target’s abilities . Seeing that in action was rather surprising . His first extraction failure . It was like being slapped in the face . On top of that, there was a limit on the number of attempts .
‘Two attempts remaining…’
If he failed those 2 attempts, would Ygritte’s shadow return to the void like the sacrificed soldier? Jinwoo shuddered at the worst case scenario . He shook his head,
‘Let’s not be pessimistic . ’
Be optimistic . If he believed, perhaps the universe would help out . Feeling a mix of dread and anticipation, Jinwoo tried the second attempt .
“Arise . ”
His expectations were off .
Crack!
Shadow Extraction failed .
1 attempt remaining .
‘ . . . ’
Ygritte was a pain in the ass while living, and he was equally annoying in death . He thought of the worst case scenario again . After the second failure, the outcome looked bleak .
Whew-
Jinwoo took a deep breath . There was only one chance left . The last chance . Jinwoo closed his eyes and organized his thoughts .
‘It might just be based on a probability, but…’
He considered that maybe his desire for Ygritte’s shadow was not showing enough . Jinwoo slowly opened his eyes . The black smoke coming from Ygritte looked like it was holding out a hand towards him, asking him to rescue the knight . Jinwoo’s eyes became focused . As if to take the hand in rescue, Jinwoo also held out his right hand .
“Arise . ”
Something happened that Jinwoo did not mean to do . Nor did he realize that it happened . But in that moment, the word he spoke echoed and vibrated with power .
And following his command!
Waaaaah-!
A deep scream rang forth from somewhere and a chilling wind followed .
‘This is?’
Jinwoo’s face lit up . He remembered this phenomenon . It was the same as when the soldiers rose earlier .
Aaaaaah-
As expected, when the scream ended, a hand rose from Ygritte’s shadow .
The moment the hand was placed on the ground, a message appeared .
You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction .
Jinwoo yelled in celebration .
“Alright!”
He clenched his fists . Because he had failed twice, the success was all the more sweeter . The good news did not stop there,
The Monarch’s voice pulled forth the fighting spirit of the fallen one .
You’ve succeeded in Shadow Strengthening!
The Shadow’s level will start at 7 .
‘Succeeded in strengthening?’
Did this mean that they did not necessarily start at level 1? Jinwoo’s eyes were wide open . As the message told him, the pitch black knight that rose from the shadow was level 7 .
“Mhmm!”
Jinwoo yelped lightly . Ygritte’s form was exactly as he remembered . The plumage that decorated its helmet . The nimble looking body covered from head to toe in armor . It even maintained the classy cape it had taken off before the fight . Only difference was that instead of the blood-red color, it was pitch black all over . Other than that, it was the same boss that he had defeated earlier . You could almost say that Ygritte had come back to life .
However,
‘ . . . ’
Compared to before, there was not a shred of hostility coming from the reborn Ygritte .
It stood at attention, waiting for an order .
ba dum ba dum
Looking at Ygritte, Jinwoo’s heart beat vigorously . A smile decorated his face . At the same time, a question appeared in his mind . Jinwoo looked above the knight’s head .
‘Why doesn’t he have a name?’
??? (Lv . 7)
Knight Grade
Curiously, question marks appeared where his name should be .
‘The grade is different, too . ’
He had expected it to be stronger because of his level, but there was a few more difference between him and the other soldiers . As if reading his mind,
ring~
You may assign a name to soldiers at or above the knight grade .
The given name will be maintained until the soldier is released .
Please choose a name for the soldier .
‘Name?’
He was unsure at first, but then realized this soldier did have his own name . It wouldn’t be a problem if he called him by that name .
Please choose a name for the soldier .
As if asking him to hurry, the message was blinking rapidly . Jinwoo opened his mouth,
“Blood-red Ygri- . . . ”
Wait .
If he assigned a name, he would have to constantly call it by that name . That meant that if he assigned the name was thinking of, he would always have to start with “Blood-red” something . He shuddered at how lame that sounded .
‘ . . . Too lame . ’
And so, Jinwoo decided to shortened the name a bit .
“Ygritte . ”
Would you like to pick “Ygritte”?
“Yes . ”
The moment he confirmed, the question marks in the knight’s name disappeared and were replaced with Ygritte .
Ygritte (Lv . 7)
Knight Grade
Even though it was the knight’s original name, seeing his name officially decorate the information box gave Jinwoo a sense of pride . It was as if the idea that the boss was now his soldier had solidified .
‘My soldier…’
Jinwoo turned around .
The 29 Shadow Soldiers awaited his command . Right now, his army’s numbers were little .
‘Only thirty soldiers…’
It could’ve been because the ‘Shadow Extraction’’s level was too low, or it could’ve been that his intelligence stat was too low . Still, Jinwoo was sure that the number of his army would only increase going forward .
‘I really obtained an army . ’
And contrary to what he had feared earlier, an army made of shadows, not bone and corpses .
Only one problem remained . How would he walk around with these soldiers? It gave him a headache imagining walking down the road with the pitch black humanoids following .
‘Whether it’s skeletons or shadows…’
He would surely be noticed if these things were surrounding him . Not only noticed… This ability was beyond Reawakening . If he was placed under special surveillance, people may even ask him to cancel the summoning .
‘Hunter Association HSD Chief Woo Jincheol…’
He imagined those military-looking ahjussis swarming him and felt stifled at the headache that would follow . Thankfully, he had another skill .
‘Skill . ’
Jinwoo opened up his skill screen .
Class-specific Skills
Active Skills
-Shadow Extraction (Lv . 1)
-Shadow Storage (Lv . 1)
The one that he hadn’t checked yet .
Shadow Storage .
It seemed like something that would be used in situations like this .
Translator’s Notes:
[1]: “World of Nothingness” (?(無)? ??): “nothing/zero” ?(無) + world (??) .
Sponsored Content
I Alone Level-up: Chapter 53.
.
Oh, right!.
.
An idea flashed across Jinwoo’s head . .
.
‘I can’t waste another second . ’.
.
He just saw the power of the new skill . He could turn a slain monster into an undead soldier . If that was the case, there was a monster nearby that he had to quickly turn into his own! Jinwoo went up on the pile of armors that made up the golem . He was able to see the entire room from the top . .
.
‘ . ’.
.
His eyes scanned across the room and found his target . .
.
Found him!.
.
Jinwoo quickly ran towards the direction . .
.
step, step, step, step!.
.
Even without ‘Sprint’, he immediately reached his destination with anticipation . .
.
gulp.
.
Jinwoo stared at the extraction target and gulped . The monster’s corpse was exactly where he had left it . .
.
‘ . Blood-red Ygritte . ’.
.
Looking at the headless body half buried in the wall, Jinwoo remember just how fierce their battle was . .
.
He stood before Ygritte . .
.
Just a few hours ago, he was an enemy that threatened his life . But now, the fallen knight was a top class ingredient for his skill . Thankfully, like the other knights, there was a black smoke coming from Ygritte’s body . .
.
It’s a possible target for Shadow Extraction . .
.
Jinwoo’s face brightened . .
.
‘Good . ’.
.
He remembered the command phrase . After taking a breath, Jinwoo quietly spoke the words,.
.
“Arise . ”.
.
That was the activation phrase he had chosen . But the skill did not activate . .
.
‘ . ?’.
.
Jinwoo tilted his head in confusion and was about to try again when the System rang . .
.
You’ve exceeded the maximum number of Shadows allowed . .
To extract another Shadow, use ‘Extraction Cancel’ to send one or more Shadow Soldiers to the World of Nothingness . [1].
The Shadow Soldiers sent to the void cannot be summoned again . .
.
Oh, right . He did remember that part of the skill,.
.
Maximum Shadows: 30 / 30.
.
The ‘Shadow Extraction’’s limit was 30 . That meant the number of soldiers he made was exactly 30… Jinwoo turned around . The Shadow Soldiers had followed him and were standing at attention . .
.
‘When did they follow me?’.
.
As fitting of their name, the Shadow Soldiers had moved without a sound . Anyways, to extract Ygritte’s shadow, he had to get rid of one of them . .
.
‘But…’.
.
Even after meeting them only moments ago, it felt regrettable to get rid of one of his soldiers . Had he gained a familiarity in that short time? With a sorrowful look, Jinwoo scanned each of the Shadow Soldiers . As he moved from one to the next, their names and level appeared . .
.
Shadow Infantry (Lv . 1).
Normal Grade.
.
Shadow Infantry (Lv . 1).
Normal Grade.
.
They all had the same name and level . .
.
‘Well, I guess their base was all same . ’.
.
However, he did discover three soldiers that were not infantry . .
.
‘Those are…?’.
.
Unlike the armor-clad infantry, those three wore robes . .
.
Shadow Mage (Lv . 1).
Veteran Grade.
.
“Ah . ”.
.
He knew where these had come from . The three mages that controlled the iron golem had also risen under his command . .
.
‘27 infantry and 3 mages . ’.
.
He determined that the small number of mages would have to be kept, so Jinwoo selected the nearest infantry . .
.
. I’m sorry . .
.
“Extraction Cancel . ”.
.
vanish-.
.
The soldier turned to smoke and scattered into nothingness . Not a trace of it could be found . .
.
‘ . ’.
.
Jinwoo took a moment of silence for it, then turned to Ygritte . He was ready . He had sacrificed a valuable soldier to make room for Ygritte, this better be worth it . Time to strike while the iron’s hot . Jinwoo attempted the skill,.
.
“Arise . ”.
.
Compared to his previous attempt, the shadow beneath Ygritte began to quiver and move as if it was live . It was the same phenomenon he saw when extracting the other soldiers . .
.
‘It’s working!’.
.
Jinwoo clenched his fists . He had a good feeling about this . .
.
Shadow Extraction has been attempted . .
Extracting . .
.
What would Ygritte look like when he rose again? Sweat gathered in Jinwoo’s hands . .
.
However . .
.
Crack!.
.
With a sound of metal breaking, a message appeared,.
.
Shadow Extraction failed . .
.
“What?”.
.
2 attempts remaining . .
.
“Phew-”.
.
He sighed in relief after seeing that he still had a chance . .
.
‘Now that I think about it…’.
.
The skill’s description did tell him that the success rate was dependent on the target’s abilities . Seeing that in action was rather surprising . His first extraction failure . It was like being slapped in the face . On top of that, there was a limit on the number of attempts . .
.
‘Two attempts remaining…’.
.
If he failed those 2 attempts, would Ygritte’s shadow return to the void like the sacrificed soldier? Jinwoo shuddered at the worst case scenario . He shook his head,.
.
‘Let’s not be pessimistic . ’.
.
Be optimistic . If he believed, perhaps the universe would help out . Feeling a mix of dread and anticipation, Jinwoo tried the second attempt . .
.
“Arise . ”.
.
His expectations were off . .
.
Crack!.
.
Shadow Extraction failed . .
.
1 attempt remaining . .
.
‘ . ’.
.
Ygritte was a pain in the ass while living, and he was equally annoying in death . He thought of the worst case scenario again . After the second failure, the outcome looked bleak . .
.
Whew-.
.
Jinwoo took a deep breath . There was only one chance left . The last chance . Jinwoo closed his eyes and organized his thoughts . .
.
‘It might just be based on a probability, but…’.
.
He considered that maybe his desire for Ygritte’s shadow was not showing enough . Jinwoo slowly opened his eyes . The black smoke coming from Ygritte looked like it was holding out a hand towards him, asking him to rescue the knight . Jinwoo’s eyes became focused . As if to take the hand in rescue, Jinwoo also held out his right hand . .
.
“Arise . ”.
.
Something happened that Jinwoo did not mean to do . Nor did he realize that it happened . But in that moment, the word he spoke echoed and vibrated with power . .
.
And following his command!.
.
Waaaaah-!.
.
A deep scream rang forth from somewhere and a chilling wind followed . .
.
‘This is?’.
.
Jinwoo’s face lit up . He remembered this phenomenon . It was the same as when the soldiers rose earlier . .
.
Aaaaaah-.
.
As expected, when the scream ended, a hand rose from Ygritte’s shadow . .
.
The moment the hand was placed on the ground, a message appeared . .
.
You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction . .
.
Jinwoo yelled in celebration . .
.
“Alright!”.
.
He clenched his fists . Because he had failed twice, the success was all the more sweeter . The good news did not stop there,.
.
The Monarch’s voice pulled forth the fighting spirit of the fallen one . .
You’ve succeeded in Shadow Strengthening!.
The Shadow’s level will start at 7 . .
.
‘Succeeded in strengthening?’.
.
Did this mean that they did not necessarily start at level 1? Jinwoo’s eyes were wide open . As the message told him, the pitch black knight that rose from the shadow was level 7 . .
.
“Mhmm!”.
.
Jinwoo yelped lightly . Ygritte’s form was exactly as he remembered . The plumage that decorated its helmet . The nimble looking body covered from head to toe in armor . It even maintained the classy cape it had taken off before the fight . Only difference was that instead of the blood-red color, it was pitch black all over . Other than that, it was the same boss that he had defeated earlier . You could almost say that Ygritte had come back to life . .
.
However,.
.
‘ . ’.
.
Compared to before, there was not a shred of hostility coming from the reborn Ygritte . .
.
It stood at attention, waiting for an order . .
.
ba dum ba dum.
.
Looking at Ygritte, Jinwoo’s heart beat vigorously . A smile decorated his face . At the same time, a question appeared in his mind . Jinwoo looked above the knight’s head . .
.
‘Why doesn’t he have a name?’.
.
??? (Lv . 7).
Knight Grade.
.
Curiously, question marks appeared where his name should be . .
.
‘The grade is different, too . ’.
.
He had expected it to be stronger because of his level, but there was a few more difference between him and the other soldiers . As if reading his mind,.
.
ring~.
.
You may assign a name to soldiers at or above the knight grade . .
The given name will be maintained until the soldier is released . .
Please choose a name for the soldier . .
.
‘Name?’.
.
He was unsure at first, but then realized this soldier did have his own name . It wouldn’t be a problem if he called him by that name . .
.
Please choose a name for the soldier . .
.
As if asking him to hurry, the message was blinking rapidly . Jinwoo opened his mouth,.
.
“Blood-red Ygri- . ”.
.
Wait . .
.
If he assigned a name, he would have to constantly call it by that name . That meant that if he assigned the name was thinking of, he would always have to start with “Blood-red” something . He shuddered at how lame that sounded . .
.
‘ . Too lame . ’.
.
And so, Jinwoo decided to shortened the name a bit . .
.
“Ygritte . ”.
.
Would you like to pick “Ygritte”?.
.
“Yes . ”.
.
The moment he confirmed, the question marks in the knight’s name disappeared and were replaced with Ygritte . .
.
Ygritte (Lv . 7).
Knight Grade.
.
Even though it was the knight’s original name, seeing his name officially decorate the information box gave Jinwoo a sense of pride . It was as if the idea that the boss was now his soldier had solidified . .
.
‘My soldier…’.
.
Jinwoo turned around . .
.
The 29 Shadow Soldiers awaited his command . Right now, his army’s numbers were little . .
.
‘Only thirty soldiers…’.
.
It could’ve been because the ‘Shadow Extraction’’s level was too low, or it could’ve been that his intelligence stat was too low . Still, Jinwoo was sure that the number of his army would only increase going forward . .
.
‘I really obtained an army . ’.
.
And contrary to what he had feared earlier, an army made of shadows, not bone and corpses . .
.
Only one problem remained . How would he walk around with these soldiers? It gave him a headache imagining walking down the road with the pitch black humanoids following . .
.
‘Whether it’s skeletons or shadows…’.
.
He would surely be noticed if these things were surrounding him . Not only noticed… This ability was beyond Reawakening . If he was placed under special surveillance, people may even ask him to cancel the summoning . .
.
‘Hunter Association HSD Chief Woo Jincheol…’.
.
He imagined those military-looking ahjussis swarming him and felt stifled at the headache that would follow . Thankfully, he had another skill . .
.
‘Skill . ’.
.
Jinwoo opened up his skill screen . .
.
Class-specific Skills.
Active Skills.
-Shadow Extraction (Lv . 1).
-Shadow Storage (Lv . 1).
.
The one that he hadn’t checked yet . .
.
Shadow Storage . .
.
It seemed like something that would be used in situations like this . .
.
Translator’s Notes:.
[1]: “World of Nothingness” (?(無)? ??): “nothing/zero” ?(無) + world (??) . .