Oh, right! Something suddenly flashed through Jin-Woo's mind.
'Now's not the time for this.'
He'd just witnessed the power of his new skill. He could turn a slain monster into an undead soldier. If so, wasn't the most urgent monster to bring under his command lying right nearby! Jin-Woo stepped over the pile of armor that had once been an Iron Golem and climbed to the top. The higher vantage point gave him a clear view of the entire Dungeon's interior.
'...'
Jin-Woo's gaze sharpened as he scanned the surroundings. Found it! After confirming the direction, he broke into a run. Thud, thud, thud, thud! Perhaps out of excitement, he didn't even use the Dash skill, yet he arrived in a single stretch. Gulping, Jin-Woo swallowed dryly as he stared at the corpse of the monster he intended to extract. The thing lay in the exact same state and spot where it had died.
'...Igrit.'
The remains of the crimson knight — its head gone, its body half-buried in the wall — spoke volumes about how fierce the battle had been. Jin-Woo stood before Igrit. Just a few hours ago, this enemy had threatened his life. But now, it was the finest material he could ask for. Fortunately, just like the other knights, he could detect wisps of black smoke rising slowly from Igrit.
[This is a target from which Shadow Extraction is possible.]
Jin-Woo's face brightened.
'Good.'
He already knew the method. After a short, deep breath, Jin-Woo murmured the command word.
"Arise."
The incantation for the Shadow Extraction skill. However, the skill did not activate.
'...?'
Jin-Woo tilted his head, and just before he could issue the command again, a mechanical "ding" rang out along with a warning message.
[You have exceeded the number of extractable shadows.] [To use Shadow Extraction again, you must release one or all of your shadow soldiers through 'Release Extraction,' sending them back to the void.] [Shadows returned to the void cannot be summoned again.]
Ah, right. There had been a note about that at the end of the skill description.
[Number of extractable shadows: 30 / 30]
The cap for Shadow Extraction was 30. That meant the number of soldiers he'd already created was exactly 30… Jin-Woo turned around. The shadow soldiers that had followed him were already lined up in formation.
'When did they all follow me here?'
True to their name as shadow soldiers, their movements were utterly silent. Anyway, if he wanted to extract Igrit's shadow, he had to get rid of one of these, just as the System had warned.
'But still…'
Even though he'd only glanced at them briefly, the thought of losing one that was now technically his soldier felt like a waste. Had he grown attached to them in that short time? Hmm. Jin-Woo swept his gaze over the shadow soldiers one by one, his eyes filled with regret. As his eyes moved from one to the next, each soldier's name and level appeared.
[Shadow Infantry Lv.1] Common grade
[Shadow Infantry Lv.1] Common grade
They all had the same name and level.
'Well, the originals were all the same too.'
But among the mostly infantry-type soldiers, he spotted three different ones toward the back.
'Those are…?'
Unlike the infantry, these soldiers wore robes draped over their bodies.
[Shadow Mage Lv.1] Elite grade
"Oh."
He could guess their identities right away. The three mages who had been commanding the Iron Golems must have been turned undead as well by the "Arise" command.
'27 infantry and 3 mages.'
That was exactly why rarity mattered. The mages were fewer in number, so he'd exclude them from release, and in the end, he chose the nearest infantry soldier. …Sorry about that.
"Release Extraction."
Whoosh — the soldier dissolved into black smoke and scattered into the air. No trace of it remained.
'...'
Jin-Woo lingered for a moment with a mourning gaze at the spot where the soldier had stood, then shifted his eyes back to Igrit. Preparations were complete. He'd even sacrificed a soldier to make Igrit a shadow. He had to make it count. Strike while the iron was hot. Jin-Woo immediately attempted the extraction.
"Arise."
This time, unlike before, the shadow sprawled beneath Igrit's body began to squirm as though it were alive and breathing. It was the same reaction he'd seen when extracting shadows from the soldiers.
'Yes!'
Jin-Woo clenched his fist. The feeling was good.
[Attempting Shadow Extraction.] [Extracting…]
How would Igrit appear before him this time? Jin-Woo's palms were slick with sweat. But then — tink! A mechanical sound like metal shattering rang out as a notification popped up.
[Shadow Extraction has failed.]
"What?"
[You have 2 more chances remaining.]
"Haa—."
Relieved to hear he had more chances, Jin-Woo let out a long sigh.
'Come to think of it…'
The skill description had clearly stated that extraction failure probability increased proportionally to the target's stats. But actually experiencing it was something else. Seeing "failure" for the first time felt like getting slapped across the back of the head. And on top of that, there was a limit to the number of attempts.
'Two chances left…'
If both attempts failed, would Igrit's shadow just return to the void like the soldier he'd sacrificed? At the thought of the worst-case scenario, Jin-Woo felt a wave of dizziness. He shook his head.
'Let's not think negative thoughts.'
Only positive thoughts. Didn't they say the universe helps those who truly believe? Jin-Woo made his second extraction attempt, caught between anxiety and hope.
"Arise."
But his hopes were dashed mercilessly. Tink!
[Shadow Extraction has failed.] [You have 1 more chance remaining.]
'...'
Alive, you were a real headache, and dead, you're still a pain in the neck. He'd feared this might happen, but actually failing twice in a row left his vision going dark. Hoo — Jin-Woo let out a deep breath. There were no more chances left after this. His final opportunity. Jin-Woo closed his eyes and collected his thoughts.
'It might just be probability, but…'
Maybe it was because his desire to claim Igrit's shadow hadn't been strong enough. Jin-Woo slowly opened his eyes. The black smoke rising from Igrit now felt like it was reaching out a hand, pleading for salvation. Jin-Woo's gaze turned solemn. In response, as though clasping the hand extended from the smoke, Jin-Woo reached out his own right hand.
"Arise."
It wasn't intentional. Jin-Woo didn't fully realize it at the time, but his voice had dropped low, resonating with a deep vibration. At that instant! Uwaaah— a heavy scream rang out from somewhere, and a chilling wind swept across the area.
'This is…?'
Jin-Woo's face lit up. He remembered experiencing a similar phenomenon before — right when the soldiers had burst forth. Aaaah — just as he'd expected, the prolonged scream was nearing its end when a long, black hand shot out from the shadow. The moment that hand touched the ground, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Shadow Extraction has succeeded.]
Jin-Woo let out a cry of triumph.
"Yes!"
He pumped his fist. The joy tasted even sweeter after two failures. But the good news didn't stop there.
[The voice of the Monarch awakens the fighting spirit of the dead.] [Shadow Enhancement has succeeded!] [The shadow's level starts at 7.]
'Enhancement succeeded?'
Wasn't it supposed to always start at level 1? Jin-Woo's eyes widened. Just as the message indicated, the pitch-black knight that had stepped out of the shadow bore the title of level 7.
"Mm!"
Jin-Woo let out a short grunt. It was exactly the Igrit he remembered. The long mane trailing from the helmet. The full-body armor that, despite covering every inch, still looked refined. And the dignified cape. The only difference was that the color had shifted from a blood-like red to a pitch-black darkness. Other than that, everything was the same. It was so faithful to the original that he'd believe someone if they said Igrit had come back to life. But.
'...'
The newly reborn Igrit harbored none of the hostility from before. It simply stood still, awaiting his command. Thump-thump. Jin-Woo's heart pounded as he gazed at Igrit. A smile crept onto his face. Yet, between the excitement, a question nagged at him. Glancing up, Jin-Woo's eyes moved to the space above Igrit's head.
'Why doesn't this one have a name?'
[?? Lv.7] Knight grade
Strange — question marks appeared where a name should have been.
'The grade is different, too.'
He knew the level was high because of the enhancement, but it showed a stark contrast to the ordinary soldiers. As though reading Jin-Woo's thoughts, the System sent a message at just the right moment. Ding.
[You may assign a name to soldiers of Knight grade or above.] [The assigned name will persist until the shadow is permanently dismissed.] [Please name your soldier.]
'A name?'
At first, the unexpected request left him blank, but then he recalled that this one already had its own name, and he smiled. Calling it by its original name should be fine.
[Please name your soldier.]
The message kept blinking as if urging him to hurry up and speak. Jin-Woo opened his mouth.
"Igrit of the Crim—"
No, wait. Naming it meant he'd have to call it that every single time. Wouldn't he have to say "Igrit of the Crimson" or something whenever he needed to address it? Just imagining it gave him goosebumps.
'…Way too cringey.'
In the end, Jin-Woo decided to simplify the name.
"Igrit."
['Igrit' — is that correct?"]
"Yes."
The moment Jin-Woo finished speaking, the question marks above Igrit's head vanished and the name Igrit was freshly inscribed.
[Igrit Lv.7] Knight grade
Even though he'd simply used the original name, seeing it displayed like that filled him with an inexplicable sense of pride. He truly felt that this was his soldier.
'My soldier…'
Jin-Woo turned around. The 29 shadow soldiers were awaiting his command. The numbers were still small for now.
'Only 30…'
It could be because the Shadow Extraction skill level was still low, or perhaps because his Intelligence stat hadn't been raised enough. But one thing was certain — the number of soldiers would only continue to grow from here.
'I really have a real army now.'
And not one made of bones and corpses, but an army forged from shadows. The only remaining problem was figuring out how to bring them along. That was the real headache.
'Whether they're skeletons or shadows…'
If creatures like these went strolling through the streets, they'd be impossible not to notice. And it wouldn't stop at just drawing attention — they'd far exceed what could be passed off as an Awakened individual's abilities. They'd be placed under surveillance at best, and at worst, he might be demanded to dismiss them entirely.
'Woo Jin-Cheol, Chief of the Hunter's Association Surveillance Division…'
Just imagining those stern-faced officials swarming in and making his life miserable was enough to make Jin-Woo's chest tight. That was probably why a skill like this existed.
'Skills.'
Jin-Woo pulled up the skill window.
[Class-Exclusive Skills] Active Skills: Shadow Extraction Lv.1, Shadow Storage Lv.1
The skill he'd only glanced at before — Shadow Storage. The name suggested it would be helpful in exactly this kind of situation.