"You Will Be Different, Sometimes You'll Feel Like An Outcast, But You'll Never Be Alone."
Superman Returns (2006)
......
Ding~
You have advanced from Necromancer to Monarch of Shadows.
You've learned class-specific skills.
Due to the large amount of advancement points, class-specific skills have been boosted.
You've obtained 10 stat points.
Due to the large amount of advancement points, you've obtained an extra 10 stat points.
You've obtained the title "One Who Has Triumphed Over Adversity."
You have obtained the title "The One Who Died."
You have obtained the title "The One Who Saw Death."
You've obtained the title "God of Death."
New skills are unlocked as you level up your class.
Skills can also be gained through special actions, but that's for you to discover.
Reward: Second "Special" one.
A subclass option has been created, and
subclasses are unlocked once Monarch of Shadows has been maxed. You have grown proficient in Necromancy, Black Magic, Dark Magic, and Death Magic and gained a level of mastery in them.
'Subclasses, not Class?'
'Boosted class-specific skills?'
'And an extra ten stat points?'
'Most interesting Mystery Box.'
It told an unfamiliar story, and I quickly opened my status screen.
Name: Sung Jinwoo
Level: 84
Class: Monarch of Shadows
Subclass:
That's... most interesting. Also risky. I have no idea what I could get from it.
My new class was placed at the appropriate spot.
'It's not just about Monarch of Shadows, but also the subclasses?'
The system did mention that depending on the advancement points, it was possible to advance to a higher class and even create the option to get not just one subclass, but more.
And just now, it told me that my advancement points far surpassed the required amount. The resulting class was the "Monarch of Shadows," which was obvious. The system modified itself to provide me with the option to gain one or more subclasses.
"So this is the..."
Special reward that the System spoke of?
I could not put into words what I witnessed next. The excitement alone gave me heart palpitations.
'...?'
It was all happening right in front of my eyes.
Something strange yet familiar was happening behind the floating message.
There was a peculiar black smoke rising from the corpses of the knights and mages that littered the view before me. It hadn't been there before the class advancement. Just a moment ago, they were lifeless pieces of metal without a controller.
And now...
I closed my status screen and looked around. It wasn't just one or two of them. Every single fallen knight and mage was emitting the black smoke.
It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction.
It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction.
It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction.
It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction.
It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction.
It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction...
Every time I looked at a corpse with the black smoke, a message appeared, indicating that extraction was possible.
But then I looked at the truly broken knights and mages, their body parts shattered around the room, and the message didn't appear. Setting a few limits.
The black smoke seemed to twist in pain.
It felt as if they were reaching out to me, begging to be rescued. Would it be strange to say that I could... hear their screams?
'But.'
I was sure. I would be able to free them from their torment.
So I chose the most powerful ones.
'Shadow Extraction.'
Please choose the command phrase for Shadow Extraction.
'I have to assign a spoken phrase to the skill?'
I didn't have to wait a single moment. I had been eagerly waiting for this. With pure joy on my face and speaking out of instinct...
"Arise."
And with that...
Uwaaaaaah-
With a heavy moan that seemed to come from somewhere, the shadows of the knights started quivering as if they were alive. I surveyed the fallen army. All of their shadows were in motion. A black hand emerged from one of the shadows, placed itself on the ground, and pulled itself up from the shadows.
'Holy shit!'
Even though I knew this would happen, it still leaves my eyes wide open.
After all, no one can prepare you for the real deal, and all of this is happening right in front of me in 3D, rather than the 2D world of manhwa.
They were human.
More precisely, they were soldiers in the shape of men!
Covered from head to toe in pitch-black armor, soldiers started appearing one by one from the shadows.
Several dozen soldiers and a dozen mages had risen.
You've succeeded in Shadow Extraction.
You've succeeded in Shadow Strengthening!
The Shadow's level will start at 7.
25 of the strongest soldiers and 10 of the strongest mages stood, surrounding me.
I approached the closest soldier.
First, touch.
I placed my hand on them and felt metal. The armor wasn't just for show. They truly were soldiers clad in pitch-black armor, holding weapons.
'They look like people.'
But they were not human.
I did not sense any life force emanating from them. There was no sound of breathing or hint of a heartbeat.
Furthermore...
"..."
I peered through the visors of their helmets. Inside, there was nothing but darkness itself. It felt as if I would be swallowed by it, so I took a few steps backwards.
"All of them were spawned from the shadows."
I quickly opened my skill screen. As the System had informed me, there were new class-specific skills listed.
Class-specific Skills
Active Skills
Shadow Extraction (Lv. 1)
Shadow Storage (Lv. 1)
I checked the first skill.
Shadow Extraction (Lv. 1)
Class-specific Skill
Mana Cost: 0
Create a Shadow Soldier from a corpse.
The success rate depends on the target's abilities and time of death.
Due to
Maximum Shadows: 130 / 35
You extract and shape the mana from a lifeless body.]
After reading the skill's explanation, I was able to determine the identity of the black soldiers.
'They're the undead.'
And the skill now has a boosted number of 120, as in the original it was only 30.
Shadow Soldier.
It was a monster created from a corpse's shadow.
I ground my excitement and the desire to experience this power...
I extended my hand to the right. The soldiers all turned right. I slowly moved my hand to the left. The soldiers followed my hand and faced forward. In the center of their gazes stood I. I calmed my racing heart and lowered my hand.
Next, I gave a command in my mind.
Clack.
Clack.
All the soldiers knelt before me. It was all moving according to my will.
"Haha... Hahahahaha hahaha hahahahaha hahaha hahahaha." I couldn't control myself from laughing. "So this is what power feels like." I placed my hand on my face, all Lelouch-style.
The only difference was that my thoughts weren't good, not good at all. "I love this." I was so absorbed that I overlooked most of what I had acquired.
I expressed my amazement, and the corners of my mouth rose.
Oh, right!
An idea flashed across Jinwoo's mind.
"I can't waste another second."
I had just witnessed the power of the new skill. I could turn a slain being into an undead soldier. If that was the case, there were many monsters I had in my inventory.
And there was also a monster nearby that I had to quickly turn into my own! I climbed up the pile of armors and mixed bones, gaining a view of the entire room from the top.
'...'
I remembered that I hadn't stored him in the inventory for the experiment. Yes, this experiment could have a great cost if I failed, but I had a feeling it would be successful...
My eyes scanned the room and found my target. Even though I had placed him in the corner, he had been sucked into the cyclone and thrown somewhere else.
Found him!
I quickly ran in his direction.
Step, step, step, step!
Even without 'Sprint' or any other boost, I immediately reached my destination. Now my strength was above 250, which also meant my speed was the same. I could easily break the sound barrier.
With anticipation, I looked at it.
Gulp.
I stared at the extraction target and nodded. The monster's corpse had taken a different shape, with many parts of its armor peeled off. It was lying in a corner of the room far from where I had left it.
'...Blood-red Ygritte.'
Now it looked pretty broken, showing the power of "Shredding Cyclone."
Looking at the headless, legless body half buried in the ground,
I stood before Ygritte.
But now, the fallen knight was a top-class ingredient for my skill. Thankfully, like the other knights, there was black smoke coming from Ygritte's body.
So the experiment was successful.
[It's a possible target for Shadow Extraction]
My face brightened.
"Good."
I could never forget the phrase. After taking a breath, I quietly spoke the words.
"Arise."
That was the activation phrase I had chosen.
The shadow beneath Ygritte began to quiver and move as if it were alive. It was the same phenomenon I saw when extracting the other soldiers.
"It's working! I wanted to see if I could call him on the first try, which I should, as I dominated our fight."
I clenched my fists. I had a good feeling about this.
Shadow Extraction has been attempted.
Extracting...
The black smoke coming from Ygritte looked like it was holding out a hand towards me, asking me to rescue the knight. My eyes became focused. As if to take the hand in rescue, I also held out my right hand.
"Arise," I whispered again...
Something happened that I didn't mean to do, nor did I realize that it happened. But in that moment, the words I spoke echoed and vibrated with power.
And following my command!
Waaaaah!
A deep scream rang forth from somewhere, and a chilling wind followed.
"This is?"
My face lit up. I certainly can't forget 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."
"Yes, that's the goat!" I yelled in celebration.
"Alright!"
I clenched my fists. The success was all the sweeter as it happened on my first try. 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 10."]
"Succeeded in strengthening?"
Just like before, yes, this was one of the reasons I absorbed Dragon Vein and pushed so much mana into my soul, to elevate my presence to a higher plane of existence.
Most of the time when Jinwoo called new shadow soldiers, they were always weaker than their former alive selves.
But not for me. Not only do they awaken as their prime selves, but they also receive a level boost.
Of course, the boost hinges on many factors, such as the fighting spirit of the fallen one, the power gap between us, the strength of the soul's presence.
And of course, how can I forget RNG? It will decide how much boost they can get, and it won't be more than a two-digit number.
It looks like RNG is never going to leave me alone, like a curse that is stuck with me.
A few more...
Just like the Knights and Mages who received a boost of 7 levels, even though they were much weaker than me.
Of course, this also means that if the strength gap between us is not too small, most of them will not necessarily start at level 1.
And again, I think it was worth it to put myself through all that pain, as not only did I get the much-needed boost, but my shadow will also get the boost.
It was an awe-inspiring moment, but I knew this would happen after I put my life on the line for this. As the message told me, the pitch-black knight that rose from the shadow was level 10.
So RNG gave him 3 more levels than the others, or perhaps his spirit is stronger.
"Yes!"
I yelped lightly. Ygritte's form was exactly as I 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. The 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 I had defeated earlier. The only dissimilarity was that now he was in his prime and stronger than before. 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, my heart beat vigorously. A smile decorated my face as I looked above the knight's head.
??? (Lv. 10)
Knight Grade
Curiously, question marks appeared where his name should be.
"The grade wasn't different from the original story, which is unstable as I still wasn't strong enough to force a grade jump if someone, but still, it was much better as they all were level jumps," I thought, amazed. Not only were mine in their prime, but they also received a level boost.
I had expected them to be stronger because of their level, but the Knights and Mages are also stronger than in the original story, and after grinding in a high-level dungeon, they will be able to receive promotion.
There were a few more discrepancies between him and the other soldiers. As if reading my mind,
Ding~
"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."
"A name?"
This soldier did have his own name. It wouldn't be a problem if I called him by that name.
"Please choose a name for the soldier," the message urged, blinking rapidly as if asking me to hurry.
But, of course, I won't name him that, as it's from a novel and I don't quite like the name, especially since it's a female name from A Song of Ice and Fire.
I prefer the name from the Manhwa. It sounds cooler and rolls off the tongue more easily.
So I opened my mouth, thinking, 'Plus, Ygritte sounds... too lame.'
And thus, I decided to name him.
"Igris."
"Would you like to pick 'Igris'?"
"Yes."
The moment I confirmed, the question marks in the knight's name disappeared and were replaced with Igris.
Igris (Lv. 10)
Knight Grade
...….
"Why power stone bullet train turned into a steam engine eyes
Everything is going bad as comments getting less and less head" - Remark.
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