The knight rushes with a sword. Intercepting the attack Jinwoo applies mana to his sword and swipes the opponent's armor killing it instantly.
[You have killed a Knight]
Three knights attack him together with proper coordination. Dodging the slash from one knight he flipped back avoiding a cut. He turns around and stabs the first knight. He blocks the attack behind him with a swift kick and raises his legs to launch a spinning kick at the opponent. He uses a Sword Throw on the third knight. It impales in the space between the helmet and its breastplate.
Defeating his enemies Sung Jinwoo thought," With this amount of mana consumption, I will have nothing left for the main fight."
More knights follow on attacking him. With each knight going down more knights arrive to kill him. Jinwoo notices the number of knights increasing making the space narrower. To get out of this predicament he used the skill he had not been able after learning it Shadow Strike. With a thud, the knights started falling one by one. Each strike was swift and clean without wasting extra mana and with Shadow Dash the knights were no longer opponents to him.
The battle continues with a clash of swords making sparks fly. In between the battles Jinwoo had to deal with a sneak attack from the assassin. Thanks to his experience in the demon's castle he easily deals with them.
Jinwoo finally finishes off the last of his enemies and finds a B-Rank chest plate on one of the corpses. He equips all of the armor in his inventory for the first time, and his fatigue recovers. He rests for a minute then he pushes open a massive door followed by a gust of wind greeting him.
When Jinwoo sees his opponent, he can't help but be reminded of the mysterious double dungeon. In his view a knight clad in crimson-red armor that seemed to absorb light. His helmet was adorned with a flowing, red plume, giving him a menacing yet regal appearance. His eyes, when revealed, glowed with a sinister red light.
Name: Blood-Red Commander Igris
Rank: A
Description: Possessing immense strength, speed, and durability, Igris is a master swordsman.
Sung Jinwoo looked at the knight in front of him and thought, "What a presence does this guy have? I can even feel my skin crawling."
Sung Jinwoo tensed up with his shoulder stiff and his hand tightly holding the grip of the sword. Igris raises his sword and then launches himself toward the hunter with lightning speed.
Sung Jinwoo coats his sword with mana and blocks the attack causing shockwaves to erupt from the clash. Giving no time for the hunter to think Igris slashes with the intent to cut Jinwoo's neck. Jinwoo crouches to evade and with Shadow Dash impales his sword. Igris deflects the attack with the flick of his sword and punches in the face of Jinwoo.
Jinwoo instantly guards up with his hand to the punch causing his body to hit the ground creating a crater of his size. He could feel his hand burn from the punch. He rolls away dodging the punch from Igris and a giant hole is formed at the spot. Jinwoo delivers a kick on the chest of Igris to which Igris blocks and slashes his sword from his other hand towards Jinwoo.
Jinwoo performs a Hook Kick causing Igris to halt his attack followed by a cross. The impact of the punch caused Igris to slide more than five meters. His eyes glowed menacing red with lightning speed it caught Jinwoo and punched him. Sung Jinwoo dodges the attack when a heavy kick lands on his waist causing him to crash into the wall.
Igris drags Sung Jinwoo through the wall. Jinwoo brought his hands together and hit Igris's hand. With Shadow Dash, he made a distance between both of them.
Sung Jinwoo thought," His reflexes and power have gone up to a greater level. I need to give it my all to defeat him."
Sung Jinwoo dashes and punches Igris who dodges and grabs Jinwoo's leg and throws him to the wall. Jinwoo bounces back with more force and attacks with fists and kicks. Igris would either dodge or block the attack easily. Catching him off guard Igris performs a Straight Punch causing Jinwoo to fly and crash on the throne.
Blood oozes from Jinwoo's body. He looked haggard with several injuries all over his body. Igirs walked towards him and recalled his sword with a glow of his hand. He performed a vertical slash to finish off Jinwoo but stopped the attack to dodge the force of the sword coming at him. The sword gets grasped by Jinwoo while he rises and uses Shadow Dash he appears near Igris and says," I also have some skills to show."
Not giving the Blood Red Commander any chance to get a footing. Sung Jinwoo uses Shadow Strike inflicting heavy damage. Without a beat, he kept on using Shadow Dash and Shadow Strike to maintain the onslaught. Sung Jinwoo lets out a primal roar and with the intent to kill the enemy he thrusts his sword into Igris kneck.
[You have killed Blood-Red Commander Igris]
Sung Jinwoo claims the reward for killing the opponent which was a pair of armor and a S-Rank helmet. He also receives a rune stone. He takes a deep breath and crushes the rune stone
[You have learned the skill "Ruler's Authority"]
Description: it grants the user the power to manipulate objects with their mind, without physically touching them
"Now, this is what I am talking about. In the novel, the use of this skill is wasted. I will try to bring out my full potential using this skill."
Sung Jinwoo thinks of different ways to bring out the full potential of the skill but stops when he hears the sound of footsteps. He turns around and a bunch of knights charge at him. He uses Shadow Strike and kills the opponent in a fluid motion. He carries on killing them but finds the number of opponents increasing. He tries to find the magician responsible for the summoning but gets distracted by the knights.
" Be ready to die silver guards or whatever."
Sung Jinwoo used a Sword Throw and controlled the direction of the sword by using Ruler's Hand killing every knight in its path. He detected the presence of a magician in the crowd and rushed towards him.
He brings out another sword from his inventory and impales it on the magician. To his dismay, the sword cannot penetrate due to the magic wall. Sensing another magician Jinwoo uses Shadow Dash to kill him. He was going to finish off the magician only to feel a sense of foreboding. Relying on his instinct he flips back dodging a giant fist. In front of him stands a towering, humanoid construct composed entirely of crystalline material.
The monster shoots a crystal shard from its hand. Sung JInwoo deflects it with his sword and slashes the sword towards the monster. The monster repairs himself and with rage shoots several crystal shards towards Jinwoo. Sung Jinwoo weaves between the gaps and thrusts his sword leaving a scratch on the chest.
Feeling discouraged Jinwoo tried to think of another way to defeat the monster only to get hit by a spell. He felt weak and tired. His mind was in a blur and his body movements were stiff. He checked his stats and noticed his health dropping continuously. A human silhouette without any discernible features attacks from the shadows.
Sung Jinwoo dodges and gets wounded in the back by the knight. He used Ruler's Hand and crushed the knight into a ball. Sung Jinwoo kept on fighting but the increase in enemies and diverse magic made him fall to his knees. His hand was burned by a humanoid creature made of flame.
He could feel despair crawling from his stomach. The lump in his throat signified the powerlessness he felt in the situation. He used all his willpower to get up only to be kicked on his head.
A voice entered his ears," Do you get it now? You will always stand at the bottom because that is your rightful place."
Looking back he saw his previous self. The person he was looking at was Min Joon. Other than him there was only darkness spread to no end.
Min Joon said," What happened? Did you not realize being powerful is a fantasy for you? I mean look at you. Only your physical appearance has changed. Inside it, you are the same weak pathetic ass."
A middle-aged woman said," You are entitled to be a slave and listen to me. You ungrateful wretch, what happened after leaving me? Did you become someone big or what?"
A young woman with her hands on another man's chest said," Do you get it now? You are a pathetic loser. Leaving you was the best choice. It was my mistake to take pity on you. I should have never been in a relationship with you. You could not accept the facts and killed us."
Min Joon said," Do you get it now, maybe you have some cool powers and a different body but you will always be a pathetic loser who can't change anything."
The knight raised his sword inside the dungeon to strike down Sung Jinwoo. Sung Jinwoo looked at the scene and felt anger. Anger at himself for being weak.
He thought," I don't want to die. I will live. I have to become stronger."
In his mind, he was trying to stand up but his body refused to stand. When the sword was a centimeter away from his eyes a notification came
[Failed to complete Daily Quest]
[Punishment: Penalty Zone]
Jinwoo finds himself transported to the Penalty Zone. He appears in a vast desert under a blazing sun, surrounded by red clouds and endless sand.
He thought," This is no surprise, the system wants me to live. Since it aligns with my motive I will let the system use me to become stronger. I want the power, true power. The power to act without needing justification is what I need."
With this resolve, Jinwoo uses potions to recover his fatigue and health. He's abruptly confronted by six enormous Desert Centipedes bursting from the sands.
He thought," This is my chance to grow strong and refine my skills. I don't need other people's opinions. If the only way to get stronger is to face death then I will be reborn as many times as it takes to grow stronger."
With each strike of his sword, a centipede fell. As the battle continues he could feel clarity about his previous battle. From each battle, he learned something that helped him to grow stronger than before.
Two hours in the Penalty Zone made his skill honed. His health was fully recovered and his spirit was ready for a battle. He gets teleported back to the throne hall where the knights have increased by 50 times. The number of monsters summoned also increases. One Lich, Two Flame Imps, Three Crystal Golems, and Two Giant Apes.
Jinwoo looked at the horde of an army in front of him and said," This battle is unfair."
He pointed at them and said," For you all."
The monsters roared and charged at him. Each step caused the room to shake. The pressure alone can cause A-rank hunters to die. They got closer and closer to a point where the distance between the monsters and Jinwoo was only 5 meters.
The stones and wall started to crackle from the energy Sung Jinwoo was releasing. With his palm stretched forward he used Almighty Push. A faint distortion of the air ripples outwards and with a shockwave, all the monsters in the path get mashed up into a paste. Dust and debris can only be seen in the air. The wall reinforced were destroyed with a long trail of floor charred.
[You have killed .....]
[You have killed .....]
.....
......
........
[You have killed .....]
Sung Jinwoo looked at the destruction caused by the attack and thought," I have mana less than 200, and using the technique took some time. This means I have to control the leakage of mana and reduce the activation time.
[Job Quest Complete]
[The system determines that based on the host's performance and solo fighting style, the most suitable job for him is "Necromancer"]
[Do you wish to accept this job]
[ Yes / No]
Jinwoo looked at the screen and said," I am in a world where deception, lies, and betrayal surround me. The path to becoming stronger will be lonely. It would be nice to have an army to your bidding."
Jinwoo accepts the job.
[Host has earned extra points. Points were added to upgrade the job]
[Congragulation! Your Job is " Shadow Monarch"
A blinding black light engulfed Sung Jin-Woo, the intensity of it almost overwhelming. His senses were stripped away, replaced by a sensation of infinite expansion. When his vision cleared, he found himself in a void, a space devoid of any form or substance. He could not even hear his heartbeat. A sense of authority washed over his mind.
He opened his feeling different and unreal. His eyes were glowing blueish-white. The atmosphere around him was entirely different. He could shadows, and darkness that he could not perceive before.
[Command Word:____]
Sung Jinwoo thought for a second and said," Arise."
[Command Word: Arise]
More than 50 shadows rise. They were jet black with the same shape and structure before their death. He included a magician who was proficient in barriers, a magician who could summon, and he added a lich to his army.
He remembered a gallant opponent on the other side of the room. Jinwoo said," I don't who you serve but standing in front of you is me who wants you. Do you wish to rot here waiting for your master or fight with me on my way to becoming the strongest?
Arise
A large knight clad in blue-white armor that seemed to absorb light stands up. He joins the army and kneels alongside the shadow army.