Natsuki Subaru's gaze swept across the corpses of the knights, his mind replaying the image of the Shadow Monarch from his vision, a figure whose presence commanded the world. He needed a command phrase that was simple, direct, and held an unquestionable authority.
"Arise."
As Natsuki Subaru uttered the command, a shocking scene unfolded.
Whoosh—
The shadows on all the knight corpses in the hall began to churn violently like boiling soup. The shadows detached themselves from the bodies, weaving into countless fine black threads in mid-air. These threads gradually coalesced, forming into fully armed shadow soldiers, standing in neat ranks.
"I see, so this is the exclusive skill of the Shadow Monarch."
Looking at the shadow army taking shape before him, Subaru could feel the mental link established with each soldier, as if he had gained countless new limbs that he could control at will. "The characteristics of the Shadow Monarch class... it feels like a perfect fusion of a summoner and an assassin."
Next, Natsuki Subaru carefully examined the detailed description of his new class.
Shadow Extraction: Extracts mana from a non-living creature's body and turns it into a shadow soldier. The higher the target's ability and the longer the time since death, the higher the chance of failure.
Shadow Save: Shadow soldiers are stored in the caster's own shadow. They can be summoned or stored again according to the caster's needs. The number of storable soldiers increases with the caster's level.
Shadow Exchange: The user can swap positions with a designated shadow soldier. There is a cooldown after use, which shortens as the skill level increases.
"So, this is my shadow army?" Subaru sized up the jet-black soldiers before him, noticing the "Lv.1" tag above their heads. It seems the strength of the extracted target affects the level of the shadow soldier... In that case...
His gaze fell upon the body of the Knight Commander, Red-Blooded Igris, still lying motionless on the floor. Recalling their life-or-death battle, a lingering fear remained. He had been no match for Igris; he had only barely won by relying on his status recovery ability. As a boss of the dungeon, Igris's strength was beyond question.
If I could turn a top-tier combatant like Igris into a shadow soldier... The thought made Subaru's heart race. But the system said that the stronger the target, the lower the success rate. Still, I have to try.
He then checked his shadow storage.
[Current Shadow Soldiers: 3000/3000]
The number made him frown. While a capacity of 3,000 was impressive, to extract a top-tier fighter like Igris, he would obviously need to make some space. "Looks like I have to make a choice." He glanced at the ordinary shadow soldiers lined up beside him. They were numerous, but their individual combat power was limited. With a command, twenty of the shadow soldiers instantly disintegrated, their black forms scattering like sand.
The numbers on the system panel flickered: 2980/3000.
"That should do it."
Subaru's gaze returned to Igris's corpse. Even in death, the Knight Commander maintained an astonishing presence. Turning such power to his own use would be a qualitative leap in strength. He extended his hand towards the body and activated the skill.
"Arise."
Instantly, Igris's body was wreathed in black shadows, which writhed like living things in the gaps of his armor. However, just as the shadow was about to take form, it suddenly distorted and dissipated like smoke into nothingness.
Subaru's brow furrowed as he looked at the system prompt:
[Shadow Extraction failed. Attempts remaining: 2/3]
"So this is what the skill description meant. Two chances left..." Subaru activated the skill again. "Arise!"
This time, the shadow condensing on Igris's body was more substantial, and it lasted longer. The black shadow almost formed a complete knightly silhouette but collapsed at the last moment, dissipating into specks of black light.
"Dammit, only one chance left." Subaru stared at Igris's corpse and spoke, his voice firm and powerful. "Are you waiting for the king who will never return? Knight Commander Igris, you were born a warrior. Are you content to let your sword rust here in disgrace? If you are fated to serve a king..." Subaru's eyes suddenly flashed with a soul-stirring blue light. "Then offer your loyalty to me! Stop guarding that empty throne! Stand up, and fight for me!"
"ARISE!"
His final shout echoed like thunder, shaking the very foundations of the hall. The shadows on Igris's body erupted violently, twisting and coalescing into a figure even taller and more majestic than he had been in life. Dark purple energy patterns flowed across the jet-black armor, the crimson cape had become as black as ink, and his eyes now burned with a profound blue flame.
[NOTICE: Level 7 Shadow Knight successfully created.]
[A name can be assigned: ______]
"A name, huh?" Subaru looked at the terrifying black knight before him, a proud smirk on his lips. "Of course, you will inherit the glory you had in life—Igris! That is your name!"
The newly born Shadow Knight, Igris, slowly walked before Subaru. He knelt on one knee, placing his jet-black longsword before him in the most solemn salute of fealty. At that moment, all the shadow soldiers in the King's Audience Chamber fell to their knees in unison, their dark heads bowed low, offering their highest respects to their new king, Natsuki Subaru.
The entrance to the dungeon gradually faded away behind him, and Subaru's figure reappeared in his familiar bedroom. "A time flow of 1:10 is as exaggerated as ever." He glanced at the magic crystal clock on the wall. Only two hours had passed in the real world, but he had fought a bloody battle for a full twenty hours in that perilous dungeon. It was worth it.
Compared to the level 40 version of himself before entering the dungeon, his current strength had increased by more than ten times. If he were to fight his past self now, the battle would probably be over in a single exchange. He called up his status panel:
Host: Natsuki Subaru
Level: 60
Class: Shadow Monarch
Title: Wolf Slayer
Spirit: 290
Strength: 350
Agility: 296
Stamina: 282
Health: 10000 / 10000
Mana: 200000 / 200000
Experience: 9,446,188 / 8,500,000
Available Points: 0
Class-Specific Skills: Shadow Extraction, Shadow Save, Shadow Exchange
Skills: ... [Life Resilience], [Advanced Dagger Arts], ... [Sprint], [Killing Intent], [Stealth], [Ruler's Hand]
"My mana pool broke 200,000..." Subaru's gaze lingered on the number, a flash of understanding in his eyes. He finally understood why such a massive reserve of mana was necessary. It wasn't just for casting normal skills, but also the foundation for maintaining his shadow army. Closing his eyes, he could clearly sense the thousands of loyal soldiers latent within his own shadow, like a pack of wolves ready to answer his call at any moment.
This power brought both relief and a sense of gravity. He recalled the apocalyptic army of shadows from his vision. Compared to that... what I have now is just a flicker of flame against the moon. The level 60 me has only just reached the threshold of true power. I'm still a long way off. He slowly clenched his fist, feeling the power course through his veins. One day, I will reach that height, and my shadow will blot out the sky.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window.
"97, 98, 99, 100."
Subaru completed the last set of push-ups at a steady rhythm of 5 per second, then stood up casually, his breathing rate unchanged.
[NOTICE: Daily quest complete. Rewards have been distributed.]
The notification sounded, but Subaru didn't even bat an eye. With his physical abilities now dozens of times beyond that of a normal person, completing these exercises—100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run—was as natural as breathing.
The rewards were the same as always: 1. Status Recovery, 2. Attribute Points +2, and 3. Random Box. He saved the recovery, put the two points into Strength (350 -> 352), and then looked at the box. He sighed. "This level of training isn't even a warm-up anymore..." He opened the box. Poof.
He stared at the utterly unremarkable red pencil in the box, several dark lines appearing on his forehead. "Are you kidding me, system?" he grumbled, tossing it into his inventory. "How many of these has it been? Last time it was an eraser, the time before that a paperclip... Dare to give me something useful?"
After his grumbling, his gaze was drawn to a box glowing with a faint golden light in the corner of his inventory—the [Blessed Random Box] he had received from the Job Change Quest. Unlike the normal boxes, this one was guaranteed to contain a rare-grade item or better. He took it out, his heart finally starting to beat a little faster with anticipation.
____
Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.
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