'As expected.'
Jin-Woo nodded. He'd guessed the skill named 'Storage' was for keeping the soldiers, but there were parts that didn't meet his expectations.
'The capacity is...'
The number of shadows he could store was less than the number he could create. He'd made thirty soldiers, but could only store twenty. That meant he had to abandon ten more.
'How troublesome.'
There's no such thing as a finger that doesn't hurt when you bite it. Losing one would have been painful enough, but now he had to give up ten?
'Hmm...'
Jin-Woo surveyed his soldiers with a bitter feeling. Igrit, of the knight class, was obviously exempt. The three mages with different roles were out too. The most expendable were, of course, the foot soldiers. He'd chosen one from the front earlier, so this time he released the ten soldiers at the back.
'Sorry.'
He silently offered a brief prayer. Shooook— in an instant, the soldiers dissolved into dust. The sense of loss was still less than before, though. Was this what they meant by getting used to goodbyes? Either way, Jin-Woo looked at the remaining soldiers and cast 'Shadow Storage.' At that, the shadow soldiers, including Igrit, melted back into shadows like ice under high heat. The resulting shadows gathered around his feet one after another.
'So this is Shadow Absorption...!'
It was exactly as the name implied. The shadows were absorbed into Jin-Woo's own shadow as if seeping into it. In a flash, in less time than a blink, the soldiers had vanished without a trace.
'...I can't believe it even after seeing it.'
Jin-Woo stared down at his own shadow, fascinated. Then, as if waiting, a series of mechanical sounds burst forth. Ding.
[You have used all your class-exclusive skills.] [The class change is complete.] [A gate to the exit has been generated.]
'So it's finally over...'
It had been a long and arduous process. Jin-Woo looked around the dungeon's interior with a sense of deep emotion. Evidence of battle remained here and there. Shattered knights. Cracked walls. Halved pillars. And the iron golem that had caused it all, now just a heap of scrap metal. But he'd gained more than the trouble was worth. A new class and skills. Powerful allies, among other things. A smile touched his lips. Jin-Woo turned away without a backward glance. The gate to the outside waited quietly, as if congratulating him on his safe return. And with a single step, the background changed in an instant. It was a vacant lot in the neighborhood of Asan. The very place he'd first accepted the class-change quest. Already 5:00 AM. Dawn was breaking. Whoops. As Jin-Woo checked his watch, he clicked his tongue inwardly.
'I should have contacted Jin-Ah in advance if I'd known it would be this late.'
Still, it was fortunate that he'd often returned late from raids while working for the Association. Jin-Woo suddenly turned around. The gate he had just exited had already vanished without a trace.
'Heh...'
Looking at the spot where the gate had disappeared so cleanly gave him the feeling of having just woken from a dream. A dream? No, that couldn't be. Jin-Woo looked all around him. The soldiers clad in jet-black armor. They were the soldiers summoned from the shadows the moment he'd thought of them.
'...'
At first, he'd thought of these guys as monsters. Shadow soldiers. Monsters called forth from the shadows of the dead. But if they were monsters, what did that make the person who could create and command them at will? Jin-Woo grinned.
'Well, I don't really care either way...'
Jin-Woo recalled the soldiers back into his shadow. His steps down the slope felt lighter than ever.
***
Jin-Woo had been fast asleep for a long time. It couldn't be helped. By the time he'd arrived home and collapsed into bed, the sky was already bright. Tra-la-la~ tra-la-la~ The sound disturbing Jin-Woo's sleep was the default ringtone of his phone. The fumbling hand by his pillow finally managed to grasp the device. Jin-Woo answered without even opening his eyes.
"Hello?"
His voice was horribly cracked.
—Hyung... are you still sleeping? Do you know what time it is?
Jin-Ah's voice came over the line, full of surprise. So he asked back.
"What time is it?" —2:00 PM! "What?"
He cracked his eyes open to look at the phone's display. It was true.
—...You remember you have to come to school today, right?
Her voice was worried. Jin-Woo finally sat up slowly.
"Until what time?" —5:00 PM! "I won't be late, so don't worry." —I knew it, Hyung! Call me when you're nearby!
His little sister hung up with an endearing tone. Scritch, scratch. Jin-Woo scratched his disheveled hair and slowly got up. He had to get ready from now on.
'I am going to see my little sister's homeroom teacher, after all.'
Especially since she was the teacher responsible for the most crucial final year of high school.
'I can't just wear any old thing.'
He opened his wardrobe and rummaged through his clothes. A stale smell. Not a very pleasant one. Jin-Woo frowned. Rustle, rustle. He searched diligently, but the only thing he could possibly wear was an old suit he'd put on once for his high school graduation ceremony and then left there.
'Will it even fit?'
Just to check, he tried it on, and sure enough, it was so tight he could barely move.
'My build has definitely gotten a lot bigger.'
Trying on the old clothes made it unmistakably clear. The suit looked like it was about to burst.
...What now? As Jin-Woo agonized over what to wear, his eyes fell upon the bankbook Yoo Jin-Ho had given him. It was the account where the money from selling the mana crystal had been deposited. His gaze shifted between the suit that looked ready to pop and the bankbook complete with its stamp. A smile rose to Jin-Woo's lips.
'Should I go shopping after all this time?'
But there were a few things to check first. No, not a few—a whole lot. Jin-Woo took off the bursting suit, sat on the edge of his bed, and brought up his status window.
'Status window.'
A long string of text materialized before his eyes. Ding.
Name: Sung Jin-Woo Level: 51 Class: Shadow Monarch Title: Beast Massacrer (and 1 more) HP: 11,035 MP: 1,022 Fatigue: 0
[Stats] Strength: 132 Vitality: 91 Agility: 111 Intelligence: 70 Sensing: 93 (Available stat points: 10) Physical Damage Reduction: 46%
[Skills] Passive Skills: (Unknown) Lv.MAX, Iron Will Lv.1, Intermediate Dagger Arts Lv.1 Active Skills: Sprint Lv.2, Killing Intent Lv.1, Stealth Lv.1, Vital Strike Lv.1, Dagger Throw Lv.1
[Class-Exclusive Skills] Active Skills: Shadow Extraction Lv.1, Shadow Storage Lv.1
[Equipped Items] Helmet of the Red Knight (S), Necklace of the Sentry (A), Plate Armor of the Senior Knight (B), Gauntlets of the Senior Knight (B), Ring of the Senior Mage (B), Boots of the Intermediate Assassin (C)
"Hoo..."
Looking at the seemingly endless status window, Jin-Woo was dumbfounded.
'Not that long ago, there was hardly anything here.'
There had definitely been such times. But now, just the skill and item lists were enough to make his head spin. Yet, even so, the class entry stood out prominently.
[Class: Shadow Monarch]
It was the space that until yesterday had been recorded as 'None'. In fact, he'd been quite bothered by that word 'None' every time he checked his status window. Because the word coming before 'None' was 'Class'. Not that hunters were much different from unemployed people when they weren't on raids. At least, that's how it looked to others. But to see the words 'No Class' even on a status window that listed his stats—how could he not be bothered? Like a child startled by a calf, then startled again by a pot lid, he couldn't hide the stinging feeling every time he checked the class slot. Even knowing it wasn't a real job, the bother was the same. But as of today, he could cleanly let go of that worry. Ha! Jin-Woo chuckled involuntarily.
'This must be what they call inferiority complex.'
If he'd been earning lump sums like other hunters, he wouldn't have needed to care what others thought during his off-raid time. But he couldn't. He couldn't confidently tell people he was a hunter. He'd been an E-rank, barely clinging to life.
—I'm an E-rank hunter.
When he'd said that, anyone with common sense about hunters would praise him to his face for doing such tough work, only to mock him behind his back. That's why it had bothered him so much. But now he had a cool class, or rather, a definite trait. His class was still Hunter, and if he had to put it, he'd gained the trait 'Shadow Monarch'.
'Even though it's not the direction I wanted...'
He had no regrets. No, he was immensely satisfied. If he wasn't in his room, he would have summoned Igrit and the shadow soldiers right then and there. He wanted to see their combat power with his own eyes. If they could exert one hundred percent of their power in life...
'No, surely they can't.'
But just imagining it made his heart pound. Thump, thump. Jin-Woo quietly felt his heartbeat while simulating a raid in his mind. He suddenly wondered about Yoo Jin-Ho's reaction. He imagined Yoo Jin-Ho with his eyes wide open, mouth agape, and couldn't help but smile. Wait a minute.
'Come to think of it.'
If he could restore a deceased person's power to fight for him, and if that person wasn't limited to monsters or magical beasts...
'Could I extract a soldier from the shadow of a dead hunter?'
It was a natural but terrible thought, one he didn't want to entertain simply because they were human. Undead soldiers called forth from the shadows of the dead. Just the thought was horrific. But, even so.
'What if I could obtain the shadow of an A-rank or S-rank hunter?'
Their combat power would be beyond imagination. If they could wield even fifty percent, not a hundred, of their strength in life, it would be enough to clear high-level dungeons with his shadow army. His heart, which had been beating lightly, grew stronger. Thump, thump, thump! But Jin-Woo shook his head.
'Still, turning humans into undead is a bit...'
It was a despicable act. No matter how much it could boost his forces, he didn't want to go that far. Unless a guy showed up who deserved it.
'But chances to fight fellow hunters don't come easily.'
Even if the chance arose, there would be many obstacles. Humans weren't monsters or magical beasts. Right. For now, he was satisfied with his current soldiers.
'I've got Igrit, who was boss-level, in my hands.'
A level 7 knight-class shadow soldier. Just how strong was he? Jin-Woo suddenly found himself looking forward to the next raid.