Solo Leveling

Chapter 52

What the hell was this.

How did it start off so nicely towards ‘Assassin’, then veer sharply to ‘Necromancer’?

Jinwoo blankly stared at the results with a dumbfounded expression.

He rubbed his eyes, but the words did not change.

Your class is the Necromancer.

The message still floated in front of him. His initial disbelief was followed by anger.

‘I never even touched the intelligence stat! Why?!’

Of all the Mage-class Hunters, he had never heard of a Necromancer. When he first Awakened as an E-ranker, Jinwoo was a Fighter-class. Putting aside the sword he briefly used in the beginning, he had solely used a dagger up until now, and the skills he obtained easily belonged to the Assassin-class. He could not have imagined that an entirely different category of class would appear.

To think that he would receive a Mage-class, not only that, the Necromancer.

He only knew of the class through video game knowledge, but he had a rough idea of what the Necromancer class entailed. A distasteful mage followed by an undead army. No matter how he thought about it, it did not fit him. Jinwoo relaxed his scrunched face and shook his head.

‘...For now, let’s calm down.’

Even if his thoughts were in chaos, he would approach the situation calmly. This calmness was one of Jinwoo’s weapons. Taking a moment, he was able to find his composure.

‘Still, how the hell…’

Denial, then anger. He felt like a patient that had received a terminal diagnosis, going through the five stages of grief.

‘Anger.. Then.. was it bargaining or compromise?’

In this situation, there was not much room to compromise. If he had to pick the benefits of the Necromancer class… as the System said, he supposed he could make his own army.

‘The problem is that the army would be composed of soldiers made of bones and corpses.’

Taking that around the real world would flip society on its back. Hunters were already the target of envy and fear. Imagine if a Hunter led an ‘Army of the Dead’ around. Forget compatibility, he could not imagine shouldering the burden.

ring~

Would you like to accept the class?

The System asked for his reply.

Oh thank god.

‘I have a choice…’

Jinwoo sighed in relief. The fact that the class wasn’t being forced on him meant that he had another chance. And if he had another chance, he was not about to hesitate.

Jinwoo easily(?) refused the offer.

“Nope.”

Then the message asked again.

The Necromancer is a “Hidden Class”. Would you still like to refuse?

It was basically the same question, but he could not readily reply after being asked twice. This time, he hesitated.

‘Hidden… Class?’

It was certainly something that could be found in a game, but in reality, there were Hunters with rare abilities. A Hunter that could form barriers, or a Hunter that could cast buffs.

‘I heard a rumor that Baekho’s Guildmaster Baek Yoonho even has the ability to transform into a magic beast.’

All those Hunters with special powers worked for large Guilds and wielded an immense amount of influence and power.

‘When it says a “Hidden Class”, is it talking about those Hunters with special powers?’

If that was the case…

‘This might be a good chance.’

He imagined the System talking to him.

“I’m offering you the Necromancer class because I know you want a great power.”

In that sense, the Necromancer was probably a powerful class. In fact, he remembered that most of the Hunters with special powers fell under the Support-class. On the contrary, he would be a Hunter with a special power under the Combat-class. Little by little, his heart began to race.

‘If I could only try out the Necromancer-class, I wouldn’t be hesitating this much.’

But it was a hopeless thought. Things wouldn’t just go like that his way, and he had never heard of anyone with such powers. In fact, he had never heard of summoners who fought and commanded an army. When he reached that line of thought,

‘Wait…’

Jinwoo looked around the fallen army of knights around him.

‘Those mages!’

In a way, the mages that he fought during the class advancement quest wielded similar powers as a Necromancer. The knights were their army.

‘Hmm…’

Fighting the knights that threw themselves at Jinwoo without a care for their lives was annoying. If he failed to solve the answer to the fight, or if the combat prowess of the mages were not low…

‘What would be lying on the ground aren’t these pieces of metal but me.’

Jinwoo raised his head. An understanding filled his eyes.

‘My combat prowess is not low.’

He was different than these mages. What would happen if the summoner that led an army also maintained a great individual might? It would truly be a nightmare to his enemies.

‘If it could be like that…’

The fleeting idea that was like a dream to him in the past. It might even be possible for him to solo clear a B-rank Dungeon and above. Jinwoo gulped. If he could continue to raise his abilities after becoming a Necromancer, naturally, the army under him would also become stronger. The synergy of growth surpassed his imagination.

‘It’s not just solo leveling.’

His army would level with him.

‘Is it possible..?’

A chill ran down his back. Jinwoo looked up at the floating message. It quietly waited for his reply.

The Necromancer is a “Hidden Class”. Would you still like to refuse?

Contrary to before, it did not press the question. Jinwoo asked within his thoughts,

‘Is this what you wanted for me?’

Of course, the System did not reply.

After much thought, Jinwoo made a decision.

If it was giving him a strong power, he would accept.

He no longer hesitated.

Would you like to accept the class?

“Alright.”

As if waiting, the System immediately sent the next message.

ring~

You’ve accepted your class.

Depending on the advancement points earned, you may advance to a higher class.

The points will be calculated now.

Calculating...

While the System calculated, Jinwoo unwrapped the wrapping around his right hand. He had clenched the grip so hard that welts appeared on the palm.

“This is going to blister.”

He lightly clicked his tongue. It could be taken care of with a single drop of a healing potion, but the fact that he wasn’t able to do so in this place was inconvenient. As he returned Knight Killer into the inventory, the System rang.

ring~

Jinwoo raised his head in response.

You’ve surpassed the expected time limit!

Extra points are awarded.

Extra points. Well, it made sense.

‘Not sure what the expected time limit was, but I did last for quite a long time.

He chuckled in satisfaction, but then suddenly, numerous messages appeared before his eyes.

You did not use the Instant Return Stone!

Extra points are awarded.

Your current health is above 50%!

Extra points are awarded.

You’ve defeated all enemies!

Extra points are awarded.

The aggregate advancement points have surpassed the required amount.

As agreed, a special reward will be provided .

ring~ ring~ ring~

‘What?’

The repeating tone was piercing to the ears, but the sound didn’t even register in Jinwoo’s mind. His gaze was affixed on two specific words.

‘Special reward?’

Reward. A “Special” one.

Jinwoo’s hands that were placing Knight Killer into the inventory froze, and his eyes stared at the message box. He could not look away. The message continued.

ring~

You have advanced from Necromancer to Monarch of Shadows. [1]

You’ve learned class-specific skills.

You’ve obtained 10 stat points.

You’ve obtained the title, “One Who Has Triumphed Over Adversity”

‘Monarch of Shadows?’

At an unfamiliar name, he quickly opened his status screen.

Name:Sung Jinwoo

Level:51

Class:Monarch of Shadows

His new class was placed at the appropriate spot.

‘It’s not Necromancer?’

The System did tell him that depending on the advancement points, it was possible to advance to a higher class. And just now, it told him that his advancement points surpassed the required amount. And the resulting class was the “Monarch of Shadows”.

“So this is the…”

Special reward that the System spoke of?

He could not put into words what he witnessed next.

‘...?’

Something strange was happening before his eyes, behind the floating message. There was a strange black smoke rising from the corpses of the knights that littered the view in front of him. It was not there before the class advancement. Just a moment ago, they were mere pieces of metal without a controller.

And now…

Jinwoo closed his status screen and looked around. It was not just one or two of them. Every single fallen knights were giving off the black smoke.

It’s a possible target for Shadow Extraction.

It’s a possible target for Shadow Extraction.

It’s a possible target for Shadow Extraction.

Every time he looked at a corpse with the black smoke, a message appeared, telling him that extraction was possible.

‘Shadow Extraction?’

He had no idea what this meant. The black smoke almost looked like it was twisting in pain. It felt like they were stretching a hand towards him, asking him to rescue them. Would it be weird to say that he could... hear screaming?

‘But.’

Jinwoo was sure. He would be able to save them from their pain.

‘Shadow Extraction.’

Please choose the command phrase for Shadow Extraction.

‘I have to assign a spoken phrase to the skill?’

After a brief moment, Jinwoo spoke out of instinct.

“Arise.”

And with that-

Uwaaaaaah-

With a heavy moan that came from somewhere, the shadows of the knights started quivering as if it was alive. Jinwoo looked around the fallen army. All of their shadows were moving. A black hand appeared from one of the shadows. Then it placed itself on the ground and seemingly pulled itself up from the shadows.

‘Holy sh*t!’

Jinwoo’s eyes were wide open.

It was human.

More accurately, soldiers in the shape of man!

Covered from head to toe in pitch black armor, soldiers started appearing one by one from the shadows.

‘This is a skill?’

Before he realized it, several dozen soldiers had risen.

You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction.

The dozen of soldiers stood, surrounding him.

‘What is this…’

He approached the closest soldier.

First, touch.

He placed a hand on them and felt metal. The armor wasn’t just for show. They really were soldiers clad in pitch black armor, holding weapons.

‘They look like a person.’

But they were not human.

He did not sense any lifeforce coming from them. Not a sound of breathing or a hint of a heartbeat.

On top of that.

“...”

Jinwoo swallowed a scream. He had taken a look through the visors of the helmet. Inside was darkness itself. Feeling as if he would be swallowed by it, Jinwoo slowly took a few steps backwards.

‘All of them were spawned from the shadows?’

He quickly opened up his skill screen. As the System had told him, there were new class-specific skills in his listing.

Class-specific Skills

Active Skills

-Shadow Extraction(Lv. 1)

-Shadow Storage(Lv. 1)

He checked the first skill.

Shadow Extraction (Lv. 1) [2]

Class-specific Skill

Mana Cost: 0

Create a Shadow Soldier from a corpse.

Success rate is dependent on target’s abilities and time of death.

Maximum Shadows: 30 / 30

You extract and shape the mana from a lifeless body.

After reading the skill’s explanation, he was able to ascertain the identity of the black soldiers.

‘...They’re the undead.’

Shadow Soldier.

It was a monster created from a corpse’s shadow.

Jinwoo gulped.

‘If these guys are really my soldiers…’

Jinwoo stretched his hand to the right. The soldiers all turned right. He slowly moved the hand to himself. The soldiers followed his hand and faced forward. In the middle of their gazes stood Jinwoo. He calmed his beating heart and lowered his hand.

Clack

Clack.

All the soldiers kneeled before him. It was all moving according to his will.

“Hah…”

Jinwoo expressed his amazement, and the corners of his mouth rose.

‘This is so cool.’

Notes:

[1]: “Monarch of Shadows” (그림자 군주): “shadow” 그림자 + “king/monarch/lord” 군주. Flipped the words for coolness.

[2]: “Shadow Extraction” (그림자 추출): Literal. “Shadow” 그림자 + “extract/extraction” 추출