Beru was looking forward to Suho's reaction upon receiving the Shadow Monarch's true power, 'Shadow Extraction.'
– Oh my god, awesome!
– They're giving me this incredible ability as a reward?
– In the last quest, they gave stat points, and now they're giving a rune stone that allows me to learn a skill?!
– Wow! Is it okay to be this generous?!
If Suho reacted like that, Beru was planning to say, 'Ahem. Didn't I tell you? Everything for the Young Master is in this Shadow Dungeon!'
So he confidently declared with a smug expression, [Ahem! First of all, this level-up system is a support mechanism for the Young Master's stable growth. It's an improved version of the same system that my liege used, allowing his mortal human body to fully accept the overwhelming power of the Shadow Monarch…] Suho interrupted him and spoke,
"Hey, what? It's just a summoning skill…?" Suho's expression was one of clear disappointment.
[…!]
Beru was shocked. What was this absurd reaction?!
[Wh-what are you talking about! To have this incredible power and react like that!]
"No, but summoning skills are…" Suho explained.
Summoning skills were considered almost useless among Hunters these days. The dungeons beyond the Gates were truly dangerous places. If they were careless for even a moment, the Hunters' necks would be torn apart by the magical beasts' claws. The ground and ceiling were full of dangerous traps. No one could protect you in such a place. It wasn't a problem for combat-type Hunters with strong bodies, but mages had physical abilities similar to ordinary people. In particular those with summoning skills were the more vulnerable. Since they entrusted all the fighting to their summons, they were practically helpless burdens following behind.
"And that's not all. They consume a lot of mana, it's hard to find useful summons, and even if you manage to get one, it's not as strong as you'd expect."
[Nooo—!]
Beru, now stomping his feet with a frustrated and upset expression, was a far cry from the one who had previously mocked Suho's weak combat power; he was now the one riled up, causing Suho to feel a little sorry for him.
"Well, I'm sorry, but that's the reality. But still, it's good that I got the skill."
[Nooo! Don't try to comfort me with that condescending tone! This skill is one of a kind, don't you understand?!]
"Huh? Did your tone just change?"
[Huff* Huff] Beru's historical drama tone was crumbling.
"Alright, alright. Accept reward."
A rune stone materialised in Suho's hand
[Rune Stone: Shadow Extraction]
[The skill will be absorbed when the rune stone is broken.]
He broke the rune stone without hesitation.
[Learned Skill: 'Shadow Extraction'.]
Whoosh—!
Suho's shadow surged from under his feet, wrapped around him once, and disappeared.
Snap—!
The skill window appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Shadow Extraction Lv.1]
[Shadow power.]
[No mana required.]
[Extracts mana from a lifeless body and turns it into a shadow soldier.]
[The probability of extraction failure increases in proportion to the target's stats.]
[The probability of extraction failure increases in proportion to the time elapsed since the target's death.]
[Number of shadows that can be extracted: 0 / 3]
"…Creating shadow soldiers?" Suho's gaze naturally shifted towards Beru: The shadow magical beast with black steam blazing from his body.
[That's correct.] Beru's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
[It's a skill that allows you to create soldiers like me. Shadow Extraction is the essence of the power that made the current Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo, who he is.]
At that moment, Suho realized something about the numerous goblin corpses surrounding him: black smoke was rising from the bodies he had slain over the past four hours..
[Shadow extraction may be used on this target]
[Shadow extraction may be used on this target]
[Shadow extraction may be used on this target]
The same message popped up repeatedly whenever he looked at the black smoke emanating from the dead bodies.
'Shadow soldiers… A kind of necromancer skill?' The concept of creating soldiers from corpses was similar to necromancers commonly seen in games.
'It still doesn't seem that good.' He had seen it on the internet before. There were various types of summoning skills: summoning and taming spirits from nature, or domesticating and controlling living beasts.. But the worst class among them was the necromancer.
'Because of the restrictions.' First, needing a corpse was the biggest problem.
'I would have to hunt that corpse myself first. So I can only control those weaker than me.' He had to try it himself to understand it properly.
"Shadow Extraction." The following message appeared at Suho's words.
[Specify a command for the Shadow Extraction skill.]
"I have to specify a command for the skill? Hmm…" Suho pondered for a moment. And then Beru suddenly started squirming beside him with his eyes gleaming.
[Ahem. Ahem.]
"Why? Do you have something to say?"
When Suho looked at him, Beru looked away.
[Aris… Ahem. No… Cough, Cough!]
"…?"
Why was he suddenly coughing like that? Suho narrowed his eyes. He didn't know what Beru was trying to say, but he chose the word without hesitation. A command should be intuitive.
"Arise."
[KIEEEEEEEEEEK!] As if he had been waiting, Beru clenched his fists and shouted something strange like 'As expected!'
And then, something happened…
Kihihihi—!
Suddenly, the sound of goblins' laughter echoed through the air. And at the same time, the shadows began to wriggle from the corpses lying on the ground. As if they were alive!
'Oh my god.' Suho's eyes widened as he looked around.
Kihit! Keruk Keruk—!
Black hands stretched out from the shadows, accompanied by the incessant, mischievous laughter of villains. Grasping the ground, those hands pulled the rest of their forms from the darkness, like demons returning from hell.
[Shadow extraction successful.]
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
[Keruk!]
[Keruk!]
Just like that, three black goblins, their entire bodies made of boiling black steam, appeared before Suho.
[Shadow Goblin Lv.1]
[Normal Grade]
"They don't look that strong." The sight of three Shadows lined up, waiting for his orders didn't impress Suho…
[…]
At this point, even Beru began to realize the vast difference in effectiveness between the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo's use of the shadow power and its current application, despite it being the same ability. This disparity was natural; Sung Jinwoo was level 50 when he first obtained the power, whereas Suho was currently only level 7. No matter how good the skill, a low player level inevitably resulted in weaker performance.
[W-well… the freshly extracted soldiers are usually a bit less powerful than they were in life.]
"And their size is smaller?"
[Th-that's…]
"And of course, weaker?"
[Just a little?]
"And their speed…"
[…]
Beru muttered in a small voice, [The shadow power is affected by the Intelligence stat and level. It's a good skill later on… a truly amazing skill… Haa, there's no way to explain this…]
"Y-yes."
Suho, looking at the Shadow Goblins awaiting his orders, immediately prepared to return, startling Beru. At that very moment, a tremendous rumble emanated from his stomach.
Growl—!
"…I've been starving for two days." Suho said seriously.
[Ah, that's right.] Beru was overwhelmed by that sad truth. Whether it was a Hunter or the Shadow Monarch, they all needed to eat to survive.
[You can enter this place anytime using the Shadow Dungeon Key. Please rest for now.] As Beru said, Suho took out the Shadow Dungeon Key and inserted it into his shadow, just like when he entered.
[Exit the Shadow Dungeon?]
(Y/N)
"Exit."
Click.
The moment he turned the key, the shadow swallowed Suho.
Whoosh—!
[You have exited the Shadow Dungeon.]
Suho collapsed on the bed as soon as he returned to the real-world hospital.
'Haa. That was tough.' Suho let out a deep sigh as he finally lay on the fluffy bed after so long. It had only been four hours in reality, but it felt like four days had passed. Although all his stamina was restored with the level-up, he was mentally exhausted. Just then, the door to the hospital room opened, and people in suits entered.
"Excuse me. Is this Sung Suho's room?"
'Hmm?' He immediately recognized who they were; only one group would be searching for him in this situation.
"We're from the Hunter Association." As expected…
The people in suits approached Suho and bowed.
"Mr. Sung Suho, we want to thank you first."
"Hmm…? What did I do to deserve thanks…?" Suho had a puzzled expression.
"Many people were saved thanks to you, Mr. Suho. We thank you on their behalf."
"Well, it wasn't that big of a deal."
"It was a big deal."
Suddenly.
'Whoa, you surprised me.' The man who seemed to be the highest-ranking among them pushed his face close to Suho's and smiled warmly.
"Mr. Sung Suho, you're truly amazing. A young man risking his life to save others in this harsh world! Sob!"
"Ah, n-no… Excuse me?" The sight of the large man taking out a handkerchief and wiping his tears was too much for Suho.
"Ahem." The employee next to him patted his back as if he was used to it and said,
"Team leader, stop crying and get to work."
"Ah, right. Haha. I've become more tearful with age. Mr. Sung Suho, I am Team Leader Han Jaehyuk of the Hunter Association, and the reason we came here is..." He grinned and held out the bulky mana meter he brought.
"To measure your magic power, Mr. Suho."
There was no doubt that Suho had Awakened. He was found unconscious in the Hankuk University Art Museum, which had become a field-type dungeon. And the area was littered with what appeared to be the remains of magical beasts.
"The reporters are also asking for information to write articles." Han Jaehyuk added with a wink.
"Ah, yes."
Suho put his hand on the mana meter, and the gem embedded in the center emitted a faint light. He waited for a moment, and the measurement results came out.
"Hmm. Ohh, this is…"
Team Leader Han Jaehyuk stroked his chin in surprise after checking the results, but Suho showed no curiosity, his expression remaining unchanged. This lack of reaction was natural, the status window already displayed his magic power right before his eyes.
"Magic power level of 46. You're an E-rank."
The employees next to him were inwardly disappointed, although they didn't show it. They expected a fairly high rank since he was a Hunter who achieved so much as soon as he Awakened. But only E-rank? However, Team Leader Han Jaehyuk was different.
'A Hunter's value isn't determined by their rank. Rather, it's even more amazing that he risked his life to save people despite being an E-rank.' Team Leader Han Jaehyuk smiled warmly and patted Suho's shoulder with his thick hand.
"Mr. Sung Suho, we look forward to your future endeavors."
"Ah, yes."
The Association employees finished their business and left the hospital room with light greetings. And as if on cue, Beru peeked his head out from Suho's shadow.
[Now! I shall explain to you about the future…]
Slide—!
The hospital room door opened again.
"Suho!"
Beru sulked and went back into the shadows.