Beru had high expectations. He wanted to see Suho's reaction to receiving the true power of the Monarch of Shadows, "Shadow Extraction."
"Wow, amazing! Is the system really giving me such an incredible ability as a reward? Last time, it gave stat points as a reward, but this time it's a rune stone for a new skill! I can't believe that it's handing stuff out like this!"
Beru imagined the Young Monarch's response to his new skill and prepared an answer for him. I'll say something like "Ahem. Didn't I say so? This Shadow Dungeon contains everything for Your Highness!"
With a smirk on his lips, He gave Suho his cocky answer. "Ahem! This leveling system is a supplementary device for the stable growth of our Young Monarch. It's an improved version of the system you, our lord, used in the past, designed to fully embrace the power of a great Monarch within the fragile human body..."
Suho interrupted him and said, "Oh, come on. It's just a summoning skill." The expression that appeared on his face was clearly one of disappointment.
The ant beast was shocked. What kind of ridiculous response was this?
"Wh-what are you saying? How can you receive such incredible power and react like this?"
"No, but summoning skills..." Suho proceeded to explain the consensus on summoning skills among contemporary hunters.
Dungeons were truly harsh places. A momentary lapse in concentration was enough for a magic beast to dig its sharp claws into a hunter's throat, not to mention the dangerous traps placed on the floor and ceiling. In such a place, no one was guaranteed the safety of one's life.
Combat hunters with their sturdy bodies were able to handle the harshness better, but non-combat hunters had physical abilities similar to ordinary people. Especially among them, mage-type hunters with summoning skills were even more vulnerable. Since they entrusted their battles to their summoned creatures, they themselves were nothing more than helpless baggage carriers that followed behind.
"That's not all, summoning consumes a lot of magical energy. Finding useful summoned creatures is also difficult, and even if a summoner managed to find a good one, they often weren't as strong as they had hoped," Suho lectured.
"You're wrong!" With a frustrated and saddened expression, Beru stomped his feet. The mocking attitude he had displayed toward Suho's weak combat abilities had disappeared, and he was now the aggrieved party.
Upon seeing the shrunken ant's reaction, Suho felt apologetic. "Hey, I'm sorry but that's the reality. All in all, having acquired a skill is undoubtedly a good thing."
"No! Don't you dare pretend to empathize with me! This skill is one of a kind!"
"Huh? What's up with the change in tone?"
"I can't believe this kid!" Beru's gentlemanly tone he adopted from hours of watching historical dramas crumbled entirely.
"Don't make such a fuss. Okay, I accept the reward," Suho said as he accepted the rune stone.
[Rune Stone: Shadow Extraction
Absorb the skill by breaking the rune stone.]
Suho shattered the rune stone without hesitation.
[Skill: "Shadow Extraction" has been learned.]
Zoom! Shadows surged up from underneath Suho's feet, and wrapped around his entire body, then disappeared. A skill window unfolded before his eyes.
[Skill: Shadow Extraction Level 1
Authority over shadows.
No mana required.
Extracts mana from a dying body to create shadow soldiers.
The failure rate of extraction increases proportionally with the target's remaining ability points, and the time elapsed since their death.
Number of Extractable Shadows: 0 / 3]
"Shadow soldiers?" Suho's gaze naturally turned towards Beru—a shadow beast with black steam boiling all over its body.
"That's right." Beru's mouth stretched wide into a grin. "It's a skill that creates soldiers like me. Shadow Extraction is truly the essence of the power that made the Monarch of Shadows who he is today."
At that moment, Suho realized something about the numerous goblin corpses surrounding him. Over the past four hours, black smoke had been slowly rising from the corpses he had killed.
[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]
[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]
[Target is eligible for shadow extraction.]
Each time he glanced at the black smoke, the same messages repeated in his mind. Shadow soldiers... Is this some kind of necromancer power? The concept of creating soldiers from corpses was similar to that of the commonly seen necromancers in games. This skill doesn't seem that useful. He had seen similar skills on the internet before.
Various types of summoning skills involved summoning and taming spirits from nature or living beasts. Among them, the least popular job was the necromancer. Because there are many restrictions. The most problematic restriction was that a corpse was required. I have to hunt down those corpses, just like I am doing now. It also means that you can only control a beast that is weaker than yourself.
For now, Suho felt like he needed to try it out himself to be certain.
"Shadow Extraction."
The next message appeared in response to his words.
[Please specify a command for the Shadow Extraction skill.]
"Do I need to set a separate command for this skill? Hm..." Suho thought for a moment.
Meanwhile, next to him, Beru was not just flashing his eyes to get his attention, but twisting his body.
"Ahem. Hmph."
"What? Do you have something to say?"
When the Young Monarch looked at him, he pretended not to notice. "Ah, um. Nothing. Cough! Cough! Arise! Cough! Arise! Cough! Cough!"
Why was he suddenly coughing like that? Suho opened his eyes cautiously. Unsure of what Beru was saying, he spoke unhesitatingly. He felt that a command should be something intuitive.
"Arise."
"That's the one!" As if he had been waiting for it, Beru clenched his fist and made a strange sound. Once the words were uttered, something unnatural took place.
Suddenly, the laughter of goblins echoed in the air. Shadows began to wriggle out of the goblin corpses scattered on the floor as if they were alive.
Good heavens. Suho's eyes widened, and he looked around. Laughter echoed wickedly from all directions, and black hands were reaching out from the shadows incessantly. Those hands began to touch the ground and crawl out of the shadows, akin to demons from hell returning to the living world.
[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]
All three shadow goblins, composed of black steam boiling over their entire bodies, made wicked noises as they appeared in front of their new master.
[Shadow Goblin - Level 1 - Normal Grade]
Suho observed his three new minions lined up in front of him as they awaited his command. "As expected, they don't seem to be that strong."
Beru had noticed that even with the same Shadow Ability, there was a great gap in skill between Suho and his father. It was understandable since Jinwoo first acquired the ability when he was at level 50, while Suho was only at level 7. No matter how similar the skills might be, if the player's level was lower, the performance inevitably weakened.
"Well, you see... These new shadow soldiers you've extracted are a bit weaker than they were in their prime."
"Are they also a bit smaller in size?"
"W-well..."
"Naturally, they're weaker too?"
"Just a little bit?"
"And their speed?"
Beru muttered in a hushed voice. "Shadow Extraction is influenced by intelligence stats and level. This skill will be really amazing later... I mean, it's already incredibly good... Ugh, there's just no way to explain this..."
"Yeah, sure." Suho looked at the idle shadow goblins and then decided to uncast the skill.
"Wait! Does the Young Monarch not wish to command them?" Beru managed to interrupt him before he could.
At that moment, an immense sound emanated from Suho's stomach. Growl!
"I haven't eaten for two days," Suho said solemnly.
Realizing the reason behind his solemn tone, Beru agreed. "Y-yes, that's right."
Regardless of whether one was a hunter or the Monarch of Shadows, it was all about surviving by any means necessary.
"In any case, by using the Shadow Dungeon's key, you can enter here anytime. For now, please take a little rest."
Following Beru's suggestion, Suho took out the key to the Shadow Dungeon and inserted it into his own shadow like had done before.
[Do you want to exit the Shadow Dungeon?] (Y/N)
"I will exit." Click. The moment he turned the key, the shadows engulfed Suho.
[You have exited the Shadow Dungeon.]
***
Upon returning to the hospital, Suho collapsed on his bed. It's soft... There was so much to take in today. He let out a deep sigh as he thought about how much he missed the comfort.
Although it had only been four hours, it felt like four whole days had passed. While his stamina had fully recovered due to leveling up, he felt completely drained mentally. At that moment, the hospital room's door opened, and people dressed in formal attire entered.
"Excuse us. Is this Sung Suho's hospital room?"
"Huh?" He immediately recognized their identity. There was only one group of people who would come to see him in this situation.
"We're from the Hunters Association." The people in suits approached Suho and bowed their heads.
"Sung Suho, we would like to express our gratitude first."
"Huh? What have I done to deserve your gratitude...?" Suho wore a puzzled expression.
"Thanks to you, many people have been saved. On their behalf, we express our gratitude."
"What I did wasn't that remarkable."
"It was indeed remarkable."
This is a surprise. The gentleman who seemed to hold the highest rank in the group suddenly leaned in with an awkward expression on his face as he addressed Suho. He soon corrected his expression with a warm smile.
"You truly are impressive. In a harsh world like ours, it's rare to see anyone risk their life to save others, let alone such a young man! I think I'm going to cry."
"Sorry but... who are you?"
The large man, clearly overwhelmed by emotion, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away his tears, making Suho feel quite uncomfortable.
"Ahem." The employee standing nearby, as if accustomed to the situation, patted him on the back and said, "Team Leader, stop crying and get back to work now."
"Yes, I got a bit carried away. I'm getting older now and it seems I shed more tears. My name is Han Jaehyuk and I'm a team leader at the Hunters Association. The purpose of our visit is..."
Bam. Team Leader Han Jaehyuk extended a hefty mana measurement device forward, chuckling.
"We're here to measure your mana."
There was no doubt that Suho had awakened. He had been found unconscious in the Hanguk University Art Gallery, which had turned into a field-type dungeon. Moreover, there were even pieces of the monsters' bodies scattered around him.
"Reporters have been demanding information for their articles," Jaehyuk explained with a narrowed gaze.
"Ah, I see." Suho obediently raised his hand above the mana-measuring device. At that moment, the central mana stone emitted a faint light. After a brief wait, the measurement results were displayed.
"Hmm. Well, this..."
The team leader, upon reviewing the results, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
On the other hand, Suho showed no change in expression, clearly uninterested in the results since they were obvious. The status window in front of him had already shown him his current mana levels.
"Mana level 46. You've become an awakened E-rank."
The team of hunters adeptly hid their disappointment. They had high hopes for him. After all, he was a newly awakened hunter who had performed well above expectations, it was natural to feel disappointed by his ranking. Yet, the team leader had a different perspective.
"A hunter's worth isn't determined by their rank. In fact, it's more impressive to save lives despite being E-ranked." Jaehyuk wore a warm smile as he patted Suho's shoulder with his large hand. "Sung Suho, we look forward to seeing your great contributions in the future."
"Ah, I see."
The team from the association finished their business, exchanged casual greetings, and left the hospital room. At that moment, as if he had been waiting, Beru peeked his face out from Suho's shadow.
"Well then! Let me explain what's ahead. About the future..."
"Suho!" Suddenly, the hospital room door opened once again and the ant was forced to retreat back into the shadow.