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” (무(無)의 세계): “nothing/zero” 무(無) + world (세계) .

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” (무(無)의 세계): “nothing/zero” 무(無) + world (세계) . .