Chapter 53 (2/2)

They all had the same name and level . .

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‘Well, I guess their base was all same . ’.

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However, he did discover three soldiers that were not infantry . .

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‘Those are…?’.

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Unlike the armor-clad infantry, those three wore robes . .

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Shadow Mage (Lv . 1).

Veteran Grade.

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“Ah . ”.

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He knew where these had come from . The three mages that controlled the iron golem had also risen under his command . .

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‘27 infantry and 3 mages . ’.

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He determined that the small number of mages would have to be kept, so Jinwoo selected the nearest infantry . .

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. I’m sorry . .

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“Extraction Cancel . ”.

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vanish-.

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The soldier turned to smoke and scattered into nothingness . Not a trace of it could be found . .

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‘ . ’.

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Jinwoo took a moment of silence for it, then turned to Ygritte . He was ready . He had sacrificed a valuable soldier to make room for Ygritte, this better be worth it . Time to strike while the iron’s hot . Jinwoo attempted the skill,.

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“Arise . ”.

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Compared to his previous attempt, the shadow beneath Ygritte began to quiver and move as if it was live . It was the same phenomenon he saw when extracting the other soldiers . .

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‘It’s working!’.

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Jinwoo clenched his fists . He had a good feeling about this . .

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Shadow Extraction has been attempted . .

Extracting . .

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What would Ygritte look like when he rose again? Sweat gathered in Jinwoo’s hands . .

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However . .

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Crack!.

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With a sound of metal breaking, a message appeared,.

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Shadow Extraction failed . .

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“What?”.

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2 attempts remaining . .

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“Phew-”.

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He sighed in relief after seeing that he still had a chance . .

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‘Now that I think about it…’.

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The skill’s description did tell him that the success rate was dependent on the target’s abilities . Seeing that in action was rather surprising . His first extraction failure . It was like being slapped in the face . On top of that, there was a limit on the number of attempts . .

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‘Two attempts remaining…’.

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If he failed those 2 attempts, would Ygritte’s shadow return to the void like the sacrificed soldier? Jinwoo shuddered at the worst case scenario . He shook his head,.

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‘Let’s not be pessimistic . ’.

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Be optimistic . If he believed, perhaps the universe would help out . Feeling a mix of dread and anticipation, Jinwoo tried the second attempt . .

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“Arise . ”.

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His expectations were off . .

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Crack!.

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Shadow Extraction failed . .

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1 attempt remaining . .

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‘ . ’.

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Ygritte was a pain in the ass while living, and he was equally annoying in death . He thought of the worst case scenario again . After the second failure, the outcome looked bleak . .

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Whew-.

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Jinwoo took a deep breath . There was only one chance left . The last chance . Jinwoo closed his eyes and organized his thoughts . .

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‘It might just be based on a probability, but…’.

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He considered that maybe his desire for Ygritte’s shadow was not showing enough . Jinwoo slowly opened his eyes . The black smoke coming from Ygritte looked like it was holding out a hand towards him, asking him to rescue the knight . Jinwoo’s eyes became focused . As if to take the hand in rescue, Jinwoo also held out his right hand . .

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“Arise . ”.

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Something happened that Jinwoo did not mean to do . Nor did he realize that it happened . But in that moment, the word he spoke echoed and vibrated with power . .

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And following his command!.

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Waaaaah-!.

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A deep scream rang forth from somewhere and a chilling wind followed . .

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‘This is?’.

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Jinwoo’s face lit up . He remembered this phenomenon . It was the same as when the soldiers rose earlier . .

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Aaaaaah-.

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As expected, when the scream ended, a hand rose from Ygritte’s shadow . .

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The moment the hand was placed on the ground, a message appeared . .

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You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction . .

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Jinwoo yelled in celebration . .

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“Alright!”.

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He clenched his fists . Because he had failed twice, the success was all the more sweeter . The good news did not stop there,.

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The Monarch’s voice pulled forth the fighting spirit of the fallen one . .

You’ve succeeded in Shadow Strengthening!.

The Shadow’s level will start at 7 . .

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‘Succeeded in strengthening?’.

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Did this mean that they did not necessarily start at level 1? Jinwoo’s eyes were wide open . As the message told him, the pitch black knight that rose from the shadow was level 7 . .

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“Mhmm!”.

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Jinwoo yelped lightly . Ygritte’s form was exactly as he remembered . The plumage that decorated its helmet . The nimble looking body covered from head to toe in armor . It even maintained the classy cape it had taken off before the fight . Only difference was that instead of the blood-red color, it was pitch black all over . Other than that, it was the same boss that he had defeated earlier . You could almost say that Ygritte had come back to life . .

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However,.

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‘ . ’.

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Compared to before, there was not a shred of hostility coming from the reborn Ygritte . .

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It stood at attention, waiting for an order . .

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ba dum ba dum.

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Looking at Ygritte, Jinwoo’s heart beat vigorously . A smile decorated his face . At the same time, a question appeared in his mind . Jinwoo looked above the knight’s head . .

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‘Why doesn’t he have a name?’.

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??? (Lv . 7).

Knight Grade.

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Curiously, question marks appeared where his name should be . .

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‘The grade is different, too . ’.

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He had expected it to be stronger because of his level, but there was a few more difference between him and the other soldiers . As if reading his mind,.

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ring~.

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You may assign a name to soldiers at or above the knight grade . .

The given name will be maintained until the soldier is released . .

Please choose a name for the soldier . .

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‘Name?’.

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He was unsure at first, but then realized this soldier did have his own name . It wouldn’t be a problem if he called him by that name . .

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Please choose a name for the soldier . .

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As if asking him to hurry, the message was blinking rapidly . Jinwoo opened his mouth,.

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“Blood-red Ygri- . ”.

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Wait . .

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If he assigned a name, he would have to constantly call it by that name . That meant that if he assigned the name was thinking of, he would always have to start with “Blood-red” something . He shuddered at how lame that sounded . .

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‘ . Too lame . ’.

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And so, Jinwoo decided to shortened the name a bit . .

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“Ygritte . ”.

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Would you like to pick “Ygritte”?.

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“Yes . ”.

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The moment he confirmed, the question marks in the knight’s name disappeared and were replaced with Ygritte . .

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Ygritte (Lv . 7).

Knight Grade.

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Even though it was the knight’s original name, seeing his name officially decorate the information box gave Jinwoo a sense of pride . It was as if the idea that the boss was now his soldier had solidified . .

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‘My soldier…’.

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Jinwoo turned around . .

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The 29 Shadow Soldiers awaited his command . Right now, his army’s numbers were little . .

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‘Only thirty soldiers…’.

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It could’ve been because the ‘Shadow Extraction’’s level was too low, or it could’ve been that his intelligence stat was too low . Still, Jinwoo was sure that the number of his army would only increase going forward . .

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‘I really obtained an army . ’.

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And contrary to what he had feared earlier, an army made of shadows, not bone and corpses . .

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Only one problem remained . How would he walk around with these soldiers? It gave him a headache imagining walking down the road with the pitch black humanoids following . .

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‘Whether it’s skeletons or shadows…’.

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He would surely be noticed if these things were surrounding him . Not only noticed… This ability was beyond Reawakening . If he was placed under special surveillance, people may even ask him to cancel the summoning . .

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‘Hunter Association HSD Chief Woo Jincheol…’.

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He imagined those military-looking ahjussis swarming him and felt stifled at the headache that would follow . Thankfully, he had another skill . .

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‘Skill . ’.

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Jinwoo opened up his skill screen . .

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Class-specific Skills.

Active Skills.

-Shadow Extraction (Lv . 1).

-Shadow Storage (Lv . 1).

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The one that he hadn’t checked yet . .

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Shadow Storage . .

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It seemed like something that would be used in situations like this . .

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Translator’s Notes:.

[1]: “World of Nothingness” (무(無)의 세계): “nothing/zero” 무(無) + world (세계) . .