The mutated Arkouda's shadow was just as large as when it was still alive. But, like any other shadow soldier, its fur had changed to a pitch-black colour. In addition, its eyes and the mane running along its back glowed a dark shade of red.
It stood still, with its head bowed, in front of its new master.
[(?), Level: 2, Knight]
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Type: Beast
Rank: Knight
Level: 2
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'A knight rank? I guess it's a rank above the elite soldier rank. Well, it makes sense that its rank is higher than the other shadows,' Nox thought, moving towards his new shadow.
[Shadow slaves above knight rank can be named!]
[Please choose a name for the shadow slave!]
Nox calmly brushed the bear's fur with his hand. Although the mutated bear had turned into a shadow, its hair remained soft. It reminded him of a pet he once had.
'Well, a name... It's my first knight-ranked shadow slave, so the name should be something special.'
Nox thought for some time before finally shortlisting some names.
'Fluffy. Cuddles. Teddy. Softie. Pugsinhan. Fuwafuwa.'
Yes. These were the names that Nox had come up with.
Nox was terrible at naming things.
It was an undeniable fact.
Nox took a deep breath before finally opening his mouth, "Red."
'Well, your fur was red when you were alive,' he thought, dismissing the other names.
A screen popped above the beast's head.
[Red, Level: 2, Knight]
The shadow beast offered Nox a deep bow. It looked like it was happy with its new name.
All of a sudden, Red's size started to decrease, and after a few seconds, its size had become half of what it was before.
'Well, that's more comfortable. My neck had almost started to hurt from looking up for so long,' Nox thought as the mutated shadow bear entered his shadow.
After a few seconds of cracking his neck, he began to inspect the other rewards he had obtained.
His level had increased four times after defeating the mutated Arkouda and the other bears in the cave. Around ten thousand points had also been earned by him after clearing the dungeon.
Besides that, he also obtained a few valuable items, which he had put into his inventory before adequately looking at.
Taking out the items he had obtained, Nox inspected them individually.
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Mutated Arkouda's claws (C)
A raw material that can be used as a component to make other items.
**********
The four white claws that Nox held in his hand were as big as the moon dagger.
'This'll come in handy in the future,' he thought, putting the claws back in the inventory. He took out another item.
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Mutated Arkouda's Fur Cape (B)
Damage reduction: 10%
The damage reduction drastically increases when blocking attacks of the fire attribute.
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"This is great!" Nox joyfully said, putting the fur cape over him.
The cape was covered in red fur, giving it a pleasant look. It was long enough to touch Nox's ankle.
A message suddenly appeared.
[Would you like to turn on the invisibility function of the cape?]
"Of course. Even though this looks good on me, I may attract more attention if I walk around wearing such flashy clothing," Nox replied. Following his commands, the cape turned invisible.
On clearing the dungeon, Nox also acquired a new title.
[Arkouda Slayer]
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Arkouda Slayer(A)
A title that is given to a player proficient in hunting Arkoudas.
The experience gained by hunting arkoudas increases by 40%.
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Nox noticed that the effect of the 'Arkouda slayer' title was the same as the 'wolf slayer' title.
'How interesting.'
Nox had obtained more than he had expected.
His shadow slaves' rise in rank was an unexpected but welcome surprise. Obtaining new items was just the cherry on the cake.
Suddenly, a fierce pain struck Nox's head.
His forehead squeezed tightly as he controlled his urge to yell in pain. It felt as if the blood vessels on his head heavily pounded on his skin, trying to break free of his body.
His shadow slaves emerged from his shadow and stood in front of him.
[You are unable to control the shadow slaves you currently have.]
The shadow monsters ran amok in the cave, destroying the boulders and punching the walls. Nox tried to call them back but failed miserably.
[Your body has started slowly decaying due to the exceptional loss of arcane!]
The skin around his ankle started to break away, turning into dust.
"SHIT!" yelled Nox, falling to the ground.
Nox had risen more shadow slaves than he could control. As a result, all the arcane in his body started dissipating into the air around him.
Arcane was the basis of all creation, which held together the being. As such, losing arcane had started to slowly decay his body.
In short, Nox had bitten off more than he could chew.
When he first acquired the 'Shadow Master' class, the warning he received now made sense.
Nox stood on his shivering legs and raised his hand towards the shadow bears.
He could barely direct his focus away from the searing pain.
"Cancel summon!!" he yelled at the top of his voice. Even though Nox didn't know if shouting 'cancel summon' would work, it was his only choice.
Instantaneously, a message popped up in front of him.
[Two shadow slaves will be sent to nothingness!]
[Shadow slaves: 4/7]
The two shadow bears dissipated into thin air as if they had never existed.
After half a minute, Nox's pain decreased, and he felt in control of his shadow slaves once again. Then, without him needing to order anything, the shadow slaves went back into his shadow.
He had learned a valuable lesson from this.
No matter how many shadow slaves the system allowed him to summon, if he wasn't strong enough to control them, it would be meaningless.
But fortunately, his shadow slaves had run amok inside a dungeon he had already cleared. It would have been much more trouble if something like this had happened while he was engaged in battle.
'I could have almost died,' he thought, 'no matter how powerful the skill is, if the wielder is weak, then the skill is absolutely useless.'
Nox cursed his own weakness. Nevertheless, he had acquired such a powerful skill that it was his duty to use the skill efficiently.
"It's no use cursing myself for being unable to control the skill. I'll understand the skill more with time,' he reassured himself.
Nox took a deep breath as he stepped out of the cave. There was nothing more left to do in it.
The sun was still shining brightly in the sky. A soft breeze blew through the thick forest, making the leaves of the trees flutter.
On stepping out of the cave, he was finally free of the stale smell of the rocks. Instead, the aroma of the forest filled his nose, rejuvenating him.
'Well, I'm sure that I have already acquired the required amount of contribution points to pass the test. Plus, I don't level up anymore after hunting the arkoudas. So it would be best to relax the remaining time of the challenge,' concluded Nox as he strolled inside the forest.
Sauntering, he felt the soft breeze pressing against his face. The sounds of the fluttering leaves could be heard throughout the forest.
"Make sure that no beast disturbs me," Nox ordered his shadow slaves. The shadow assassin and the shadow knight darted out of his shadow. Moving in front of him, they surveyed the surroundings.
Overall, the forest was calm, providing the pony-tailed man with the perfect environment to relax.
Suddenly, a huge blast could be heard from the direction he was currently walking in.
'It's probably some people fighting. I don't need to concern myself with them,' he thought, changing his direction.
Nox calmly strolled in the forest for a few hours before a system message finally popped.
[The main challenge of the Second Floor has ended!]