Chapter 54

Shadow Storage (Lv . 1) [1]

Class-specific Skill

Mana Cost: 0

Absorb the Shadow Soldiers into the user’s shadow for storage .

The stored soldiers can be freely summoned and reabsorbed by the user .

Stored Shadows: 0 / 20

‘As I thought . ’

Jinwoo nodded . Before he had checked the description, he had surmised that the “storage” in its name meant that the skill would allow him to manage the soldiers somehow . However, there was one thing he did not expect .

‘The limit is…’

The limits of the storage was smaller than the limits of the summoning . While he could make 30 soldiers, he could only store 20 of them . That meant that he would have to get rid of 10 more .

‘Well that sucks . ’

It would be like biting of one of his fingers . Even getting rid of just one soldier was painful, and now he had to get rid of 10 of them .

‘Hmm…’

With a heavy heart, Jinwoo looked over his army . Of course, Ygritte and the mages would be excluded from selection . That would leave the infantry . He decided to pick the 10 soldiers furthest away this time .

‘I’m sorry . ’

Jinwoo briefly prayed for their souls .

shooooo-

The soldiers he selected became dust and scattered . Compared to the first time, the regret that he felt was lessened . They say humans can get used to anything .

Anyways .

Jinwoo looked at the remaining soldiers and used ‘Shadow Storage’ .

At the activation of the skill, Ygritte and the Shadow Soldiers melted like ice into flat shadows . Then, their shadows flowed over to Jinwoo and entered his own shadow .

‘So this is what the skill meant by absorbing them…!’

It was exactly as described by the skill; his army was absorbed into his shadow . It all happened in a blink of an eye . The shadow army was nowhere to be seen .

‘ . . . Even after seeing it…’

Jinwoo looked at his shadow with amazement . In that moment, the System rang .

ring~

You’ve tried out all the class-specific skills .

The class advancement is now complete .

The exit will now be created .

‘Is it finally over…?’

It was a long and tough road . Jinwoo took one last look around the Dungeon . The traces of combat littered the area .

Broken knights . Cracked walls . The destroyed pillar .

And the one who destroyed the pillar, the iron golem, which was now a pile of broken armor .

But his trials had resulted in many great boons .

New class and skills .

A powerful army .

A smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face . He turned around without a lingering thought . The gate to the real world waited for him . Jinwoo stepped through .

He returned to the clearing in the forest . It was the same spot he had first entered the quest’s Dungeon . The time was 5 AM . The sun would be rising soon .

Oh right .

Jinwoo looked at his watch and kicked himself in his mind .

‘If I knew I was going to take this long, I should’ve let Jinah know . ’

Fortunately, he had been late in the past due to the Association’s Raids .

Jinwoo looked behind him . The gate that he left from had disappeared without a trace .

‘Huh…’

Looking at the empty clearing, everything that had happened felt like a dream .

Wait, a dream?

No, no way .

Jinwoo looked around .

Soldiers clad in pitch black surrounded him . The Shadow Soldiers had come out the moment he thought of them in his head .

‘ . . . ’

At first, he thought of them as monsters .

Shadow Soldiers .

Monsters that were called from the shadows of the dead . If they were monsters, what do you call the being that can freely create and control them? Jinwoo smiled,

‘Well, it doesn’t matter…’

He recalled the soldiers into his shadow again .

The road home felt as easy as walking downhill .

Jinwoo slept for a long time . He could not help it . The moment he had lied down in his bed, the day was already bright .

ring~ ring~

What woke him was the ringing of his phone . He managed to grab it with much difficulty . Jinwoo answered the phone with his eyes still closed .

“Hello…”

His tired voice cracked a bit .

- “What the… Oppa, are you still sleeping? Do you know what time it is?!”

Jinah asked with surprise from the other end, so Jinwoo asked .

“What time is it…”

- “It’s 2 PM!”

“Whaaa?”

Jinwoo peaked at the phone through a crack in his eyes . She was right .

- “Oppa, you do remember that you have to come to the school today, right?”

Her voice was filled with concern . This made Jinwoo finally sit-up on the bed .

“When do I have to be there by?”

- “5!”

“Alright, I won’t be late . Don’t worry . ”

- “As expected of my brother! Call me when you get here!”

Jinah cutely ended the call .

Jinwoo scratched his head and slowly got up . He could probably make it if he got ready now .

‘Still, I’m about to go see my little sister’s teacher . ’

On top of that, it was for the parent/guardian meeting for a highschool senior . They say this was one of the most important meetings of a child’s life .

‘I can’t go looking like this . ’

He went over and looked through his wardrobe . A musty scent filled his nose; it was not exactly a good smell . Jinwoo’s forehead wrinkled . The most suitable thing he found was the old suit that he had worn for his graduation .

‘Can I wear this?’

He tried it on, but it did not fit . The suit was too small for his body .

‘Man, my body really grew . ’

Trying on his old clothes was a sure way to tell . The suit felt like it was about to rip apart over him .

. . . Now what?

While wondering what he could wear, Jinwoo’s eyes fell on the bankbook that Yoo Jinho had given him . It contained the magic core income from their Raids . Looking back and forth between the old suit and the bankbook, a smile crept up on Jinwoo’s face .

‘It’s been a while . Shall I go shopping?’

However, there was something small he had to check . Wait, not small, something big . Jinwoo took off the suit and sat down on his bed and opened up the status screen .

‘Status screen . ’

An information box filled a bunch of words filled his view .

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 51

Class: Monarch of Shadows

Title: Wolf Slayer ( . . . 1 more)

HP: 11,035

MP: 1,022

Fatigue: 0

Stats

Strength: 132

Constitution: 91

Agility: 111

Intelligence: 70

Sense: 93

(Available stat points: 10)

Physical Damage Reduction: 46%

Skills

Passive Skills

-(Unknown) (Lv . Max)

-Unyielding Spirit (Lv . 1)

-Advanced Dagger

Proficiency (Lv . 1)

Active Skills

-Sprint (Lv . 2)

-Bloodlust (Lv . 1)

-Stealth (Lv . 1)

-Vital Stab (Lv . 2)

-Dagger Throw (Lv . 1)

Class-specific Skills

Active Skills

-Shadow Extraction (Lv . 1)

-Shadow Storage (Lv . 1)

Equipment

Red Knight’s Helmet (S)

Gatekeeper’s Necklace (A)

High-level Knight’s Breastplate (B)

High-level Knight’s Gauntlet (B)

High-level Mage’s Ring (B)

Mid-level Assassin’s Shoes (C)

[2]

“Huh…”

Jinwoo stuck out a tongue at the status screen that went on and on .

‘I feel like only few days ago this was nearly empty . ’

It was true . But now, just the skills and equipment alone had increased greatly . Above all else, what stood out to him was his new class .

Class: Monarch of Shadows

Just yesterday, this spot was decorated with word, “none” . To be honest, everytime he opened his status screen, that “none” bothered him . A Hunter that didn’t Raid was basically an unemployed bum . At least, that’s how society viewed them . So when he looked at his status screen before and saw that he had no class(job), it struck a chord in his mind . Now, he could not hide his joy in looking at the newly filled part of his status screen .

‘Is this what they call an inferiority complex?’

Of course, having “none” in that section didn’t mean that he didn’t have a job in real life . Still, it reminded him of his past . Other Hunters raided and earned a ton of money without paying attention to the eyes of the world . He was the not the same . He could not even proudly claim that he was a Hunter . After all, he was a mere E-ranker who could barely hold onto his own life .

“Hello, I’m an E-rank Hunter . ”

Every time those words escaped his mouth, anyone who knew anything about Hunters would praise him for his hard work but go on to mock him behind his back . That’s why not having a class bothered him, despite how illogical it was .

But now, he had obtained a job, or rather something special . His job was still a Hunter, but in a way, he had obtained a special calling called the “Monarch of Shadows” .

‘Even if it’s not exactly what I was hoping for…’

He had no regrets . If anything, he was satisfied . If he wasn’t in his room, he would’ve summoned Ygritte and the Shadow Soldiers before him . Jinwoo really wanted to test out their capabilities in battle . What if they could bring out a 100% of their former powers?

‘Probably not . ’

But even imagining it made his heart race .

ba dum ba dum

Jinwoo stood still and felt his heartbeat . In his head, he was running simulations of his next Raid . Additionally, he was looking forward to Yoo Jinho’s reaction .

Imagining the young man’s face with wide open eyes and mouth, Jinwoo laughed despite of himself .

Hold on .

‘Now that I think about it . ’

If he was able to raise a dead target, and if that target was not limited to a monster or a magic beast…

‘I should be able to raise a soldier from a dead Hunter, right?’

It was obvious, but he had avoided the idea because a human was involved . To think that he would command an undead soldier from a dead man’s shadow . Just the idea shocked him .

Even still…

‘What if I can raise an A-rank or a S-rank Hunter’s shadow?’

The power he would obtain would be beyond imagination . Even if the soldier could wield just 50% of their former powers, it would be enough for him to raid high-level Dungeons . The light racing of his heart turned to a full sprint .

BA DUM, BA DUM, BA DUM!

But Jinwoo shook his head .

‘Still, raising a human being into an undead is…’

It was not something that should be done . No matter how much it increased his powers, he wanted to avoid doing that . Unless someone appeared that truly deserved it…

‘Not that there are a lot of opportunities to fight another Hunter . ’

Even if an opportunity appeared, there was a philosophical problem . Humans were not monsters or magic beasts .

Alright .

For now, he would be satisfied with the army on hand .

‘I did obtain a boss-level soldier too . ’

The Shadow Soldier who was level 7 and a knight grade . How powerful was he?

Jinwoo anticipated his next Raid .

Translator’s Notes:[1]: Shadow Storage (그림자 저장): Same as extraction, pretty literal . “Shadow” 그림자 + “save/store/preserve” 저장

[2]: I need a new way of displaying this information… It’s only going to get bigger…

Sponsored Content

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 54.

.

Shadow Storage (Lv . 1) [1].

Class-specific Skill.

Mana Cost: 0.

Absorb the Shadow Soldiers into the user’s shadow for storage . .

The stored soldiers can be freely summoned and reabsorbed by the user . .

Stored Shadows: 0 / 20.

.

‘As I thought . ’.

.

Jinwoo nodded . Before he had checked the description, he had surmised that the “storage” in its name meant that the skill would allow him to manage the soldiers somehow . However, there was one thing he did not expect . .

.

‘The limit is…’.

.

The limits of the storage was smaller than the limits of the summoning . While he could make 30 soldiers, he could only store 20 of them . That meant that he would have to get rid of 10 more . .

.

‘Well that sucks . ’.

.

It would be like biting of one of his fingers . Even getting rid of just one soldier was painful, and now he had to get rid of 10 of them . .

.

‘Hmm…’.

.

With a heavy heart, Jinwoo looked over his army . Of course, Ygritte and the mages would be excluded from selection . That would leave the infantry . He decided to pick the 10 soldiers furthest away this time . .

.

‘I’m sorry . ’.

.

Jinwoo briefly prayed for their souls . .

.

shooooo-.

.

The soldiers he selected became dust and scattered . Compared to the first time, the regret that he felt was lessened . They say humans can get used to anything . .

.

Anyways . .

.

Jinwoo looked at the remaining soldiers and used ‘Shadow Storage’ . .

.

At the activation of the skill, Ygritte and the Shadow Soldiers melted like ice into flat shadows . Then, their shadows flowed over to Jinwoo and entered his own shadow . .

.

‘So this is what the skill meant by absorbing them…!’.

.

It was exactly as described by the skill; his army was absorbed into his shadow . It all happened in a blink of an eye . The shadow army was nowhere to be seen . .

.

‘ . Even after seeing it…’.

.

Jinwoo looked at his shadow with amazement . In that moment, the System rang . .

.

ring~.

.

You’ve tried out all the class-specific skills . .

The class advancement is now complete . .

The exit will now be created . .

.

‘Is it finally over…?’.

.

It was a long and tough road . Jinwoo took one last look around the Dungeon . The traces of combat littered the area . .

.

Broken knights . Cracked walls . The destroyed pillar . .

.

And the one who destroyed the pillar, the iron golem, which was now a pile of broken armor . .

.

But his trials had resulted in many great boons . .

.

New class and skills . .

.

A powerful army . .

.

A smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face . He turned around without a lingering thought . The gate to the real world waited for him . Jinwoo stepped through . .

.

He returned to the clearing in the forest . It was the same spot he had first entered the quest’s Dungeon . The time was 5 AM . The sun would be rising soon . .

.

Oh right . .

.

Jinwoo looked at his watch and kicked himself in his mind . .

.

‘If I knew I was going to take this long, I should’ve let Jinah know . ’.

.

Fortunately, he had been late in the past due to the Association’s Raids . .

.

Jinwoo looked behind him . The gate that he left from had disappeared without a trace . .

.

‘Huh…’.

.

Looking at the empty clearing, everything that had happened felt like a dream . .

.

Wait, a dream?.

.

No, no way . .

.

Jinwoo looked around . .

.

Soldiers clad in pitch black surrounded him . The Shadow Soldiers had come out the moment he thought of them in his head . .

.

‘ . ’.

.

At first, he thought of them as monsters . .

.

Shadow Soldiers . .

.

Monsters that were called from the shadows of the dead . If they were monsters, what do you call the being that can freely create and control them? Jinwoo smiled,.

.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter…’.

.

He recalled the soldiers into his shadow again . .

.

The road home felt as easy as walking downhill . .

.

.

Jinwoo slept for a long time . He could not help it . The moment he had lied down in his bed, the day was already bright . .

.

ring~ ring~.

.

What woke him was the ringing of his phone . He managed to grab it with much difficulty . Jinwoo answered the phone with his eyes still closed . .

.

“Hello…”.

.

His tired voice cracked a bit . .

.

- “What the… Oppa, are you still sleeping? Do you know what time it is?!”.

.

Jinah asked with surprise from the other end, so Jinwoo asked . .

.

“What time is it…”.

.

- “It’s 2 PM!”.

.

“Whaaa?”.

.

Jinwoo peaked at the phone through a crack in his eyes . She was right . .

.

- “Oppa, you do remember that you have to come to the school today, right?”.

.

Her voice was filled with concern . This made Jinwoo finally sit-up on the bed . .

.

“When do I have to be there by?”.

.

- “5!”.

.

“Alright, I won’t be late . Don’t worry . ”.

.

- “As expected of my brother! Call me when you get here!”.

.

Jinah cutely ended the call . .

.

Jinwoo scratched his head and slowly got up . He could probably make it if he got ready now . .

.

‘Still, I’m about to go see my little sister’s teacher . ’.

.

On top of that, it was for the parent/guardian meeting for a highschool senior . They say this was one of the most important meetings of a child’s life . .

.

‘I can’t go looking like this . ’.

.

He went over and looked through his wardrobe . A musty scent filled his nose; it was not exactly a good smell . Jinwoo’s forehead wrinkled . The most suitable thing he found was the old suit that he had worn for his graduation . .

.

‘Can I wear this?’.

.

He tried it on, but it did not fit . The suit was too small for his body . .

.

‘Man, my body really grew . ’.

.

Trying on his old clothes was a sure way to tell . The suit felt like it was about to rip apart over him . .

.

. Now what?.

.

While wondering what he could wear, Jinwoo’s eyes fell on the bankbook that Yoo Jinho had given him . It contained the magic core income from their Raids . Looking back and forth between the old suit and the bankbook, a smile crept up on Jinwoo’s face . .

.

‘It’s been a while . Shall I go shopping?’.

.

However, there was something small he had to check . Wait, not small, something big . Jinwoo took off the suit and sat down on his bed and opened up the status screen . .

.

‘Status screen . ’.

.

An information box filled a bunch of words filled his view . .

. .

Name: Sung Jinwoo.

Level: 51.

Class: Monarch of Shadows.

Title: Wolf Slayer ( . 1 more).

HP: 11,035.

MP: 1,022.

Fatigue: 0.

Stats.

.

Strength: 132.

Constitution: 91.

Agility: 111.

Intelligence: 70.

Sense: 93.

(Available stat points: 10).

Physical Damage Reduction: 46%.

Skills.

.

Passive Skills.

-(Unknown) (Lv . Max).

-Unyielding Spirit (Lv . 1).

-Advanced Dagger.

Proficiency (Lv . 1).

.

Active Skills.

-Sprint (Lv . 2).

-Bloodlust (Lv . 1).

-Stealth (Lv . 1).

-Vital Stab (Lv . 2).

-Dagger Throw (Lv . 1).

Class-specific Skills.

Active Skills.

-Shadow Extraction (Lv . 1).

-Shadow Storage (Lv . 1).

Equipment.

Red Knight’s Helmet (S).

Gatekeeper’s Necklace (A).

High-level Knight’s Breastplate (B).

High-level Knight’s Gauntlet (B).

High-level Mage’s Ring (B).

Mid-level Assassin’s Shoes (C).

[2].

.

“Huh…”.

.

Jinwoo stuck out a tongue at the status screen that went on and on . .

.

‘I feel like only few days ago this was nearly empty . ’.

.

It was true . But now, just the skills and equipment alone had increased greatly . Above all else, what stood out to him was his new class . .

.

Class: Monarch of Shadows.

.

Just yesterday, this spot was decorated with word, “none” . To be honest, everytime he opened his status screen, that “none” bothered him . A Hunter that didn’t Raid was basically an unemployed bum . At least, that’s how society viewed them . So when he looked at his status screen before and saw that he had no class(job), it struck a chord in his mind . Now, he could not hide his joy in looking at the newly filled part of his status screen . .

.

‘Is this what they call an inferiority complex?’.

.

Of course, having “none” in that section didn’t mean that he didn’t have a job in real life . Still, it reminded him of his past . Other Hunters raided and earned a ton of money without paying attention to the eyes of the world . He was the not the same . He could not even proudly claim that he was a Hunter . After all, he was a mere E-ranker who could barely hold onto his own life . .

.

“Hello, I’m an E-rank Hunter . ”.

.

Every time those words escaped his mouth, anyone who knew anything about Hunters would praise him for his hard work but go on to mock him behind his back . That’s why not having a class bothered him, despite how illogical it was . .

.

But now, he had obtained a job, or rather something special . His job was still a Hunter, but in a way, he had obtained a special calling called the “Monarch of Shadows” . .

.

‘Even if it’s not exactly what I was hoping for…’.

.

He had no regrets . If anything, he was satisfied . If he wasn’t in his room, he would’ve summoned Ygritte and the Shadow Soldiers before him . Jinwoo really wanted to test out their capabilities in battle . What if they could bring out a 100% of their former powers?.

.

‘Probably not . ’.

.

But even imagining it made his heart race . .

.

ba dum ba dum.

.

Jinwoo stood still and felt his heartbeat . In his head, he was running simulations of his next Raid . Additionally, he was looking forward to Yoo Jinho’s reaction . .

.

Imagining the young man’s face with wide open eyes and mouth, Jinwoo laughed despite of himself . .

.

Hold on . .

.

‘Now that I think about it . ’.

.

If he was able to raise a dead target, and if that target was not limited to a monster or a magic beast….

.

‘I should be able to raise a soldier from a dead Hunter, right?’.

.

It was obvious, but he had avoided the idea because a human was involved . To think that he would command an undead soldier from a dead man’s shadow . Just the idea shocked him . .

.

Even still….

.

‘What if I can raise an A-rank or a S-rank Hunter’s shadow?’.

.

The power he would obtain would be beyond imagination . Even if the soldier could wield just 50% of their former powers, it would be enough for him to raid high-level Dungeons . The light racing of his heart turned to a full sprint . .

.

BA DUM, BA DUM, BA DUM!.

.

But Jinwoo shook his head . .

.

‘Still, raising a human being into an undead is…’.

.

It was not something that should be done . No matter how much it increased his powers, he wanted to avoid doing that . Unless someone appeared that truly deserved it….

.

‘Not that there are a lot of opportunities to fight another Hunter . ’.

.

Even if an opportunity appeared, there was a philosophical problem . Humans were not monsters or magic beasts . .

.

Alright . .

.

For now, he would be satisfied with the army on hand . .

.

‘I did obtain a boss-level soldier too . ’.

.

The Shadow Soldier who was level 7 and a knight grade . How powerful was he?.

.

Jinwoo anticipated his next Raid . .

.

Translator’s Notes:. [1]: Shadow Storage (그림자 저장): Same as extraction, pretty literal . “Shadow” 그림자 + “save/store/preserve” 저장.

[2]: I need a new way of displaying this information… It’s only going to get bigger….