I Alone Level-Up

You"ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction.

"Of course!"

Jinwoo clenched his fists. The path to victory of this battle was a puzzle. And the last piece of that puzzle just fell into place. The black knight that rose from Kim Cheol"s shadow was much bigger and thicker than his base. One hand wielded a giant hammer. The other hand held a s.h.i.+eld the size of an adult. The knight gave off an incredible sense of danger.

"Man, I know Kim Cheol was a musclehead, but this thing is…"

Even in the tense situation, Jinwoo could not help but be amazed.

Please choose a name for the soldier.

"Oh right, name."

Jinwoo took a quick glance at side. Ygritte was being pushed back by the boss; his regeneration was the only thing keeping him in the fray.

slas.h.!.+

One of Ygritte"s arms were cut off.

"Shoot, I have to hurry."

Name.

Should he just use the man"s name? Jinwoo shook his head. No, it was rather distasteful to use the human being"s name on his undead form.

"Oh wait, Kim Cheol. Cheol is iron, so Iron!" [1]

He decided on the name. The moment he made his decision, the newly born shadow earned its name.

Iron (Lv. 1)

Knight Grade

Knight grade! It was the same as Ygritte, but now was not the time to celebrate.

"No time to dilly dally!"

Jinwoo raised a chin at the boss,

"Iron!"

Iron moved his large body and stepped forward.

STEP! STEP! STEP!

Its giant body was filled with power, but there was no way that this lumbering thing was going to face that nimble boss. However, Iron exceeded Jinwoo"s expectations. The giant knight thrust out his chest and roared,

WAAAAAAH-!

"What?"

A message appeared in front of the confused Jinwoo.

ring~

Iron has used "Taunting Shout". [2]

The boss has been taunted.

"A taunt skill!"

Kim Cheol was an rank Tanker. As expected, he maintained a powerful aggro management skill, and Iron, his shadow, perfectly imitated that skill. The boss"s head sharply turned to the giant knight. Leaving behind Ygritte, who it could"ve easily finished, the boss ran towards Iron as if possessed by a ghost. Iron followed up with "Strengthen" and endured the boss"s attacks.

"Good job!"

Jinwoo nodded in approvement. Meanwhile, Ygritte"s arm regenerated. Black smoke seeped from the wound then reformed into the knight"s arm. The boss was still focused on Iron. Jinwoo and Ygritte began their combination attack.

-

"..."

Park Heejin was at a complete loss for words. The scene unfolding before her was outside of reality. She lost the strength to be even curious at this point. At her side, Han Songyi asked a question with a tiny voice,

"Unni…"

It took Park Heejin a moment to respond,

"Huh? Hmm?"

"Are… are all Hunters" fights like this?"

The girl"s voice filled with fear was shaking. Park Heejin"s response was a little curt,

"...If that was the case, do you think I would"ve gotten my license?"

Go Myunghwan uttered with a blank look in his eyes,

"Are… are we in a dream?"

If this was a dream, it was definitely a nightmare. Park Heejin could only watch the magic beasts fighting "something" clad in pitch black with an open mouth. At the same time, a worry appeared in her mind,

"Once we get out, we"ll definitely…"

As survivors, they"ll be thoroughly interviewed and investigated. How would she explain all of this? Thinking about the things Sung Jinwoo had shown them in this place, she could not imagine how the bra.s.s will react. She voiced all of this to her fellow Hunters.

"But you know,"

Trembling while sitting on the ground, Yoon Gijoong opened his mouth with difficulty,

"The fact that we"re worrying about what we"ll do "once we get out"... Isn"t that amazing?"

The party members nodded in unison.

They were in a high-level Dungeon, a Red Gate on top of that. The moment they were thrown aside by Kim Cheol, they were only dreading their deaths. But now, they were actually worrying about the outside as if leaving here alive was guaranteed. This was all thanks to one man. Park Heejin turned her gaze to Jinwoo,

"Sung Jinwoo-ssi, you…"

The awe in her heart surpa.s.sed her grat.i.tude and surprise.

-

Stab!

Casaka"s Poisoned Fang struck the boss"s shoulder.

Paralysis has been inflicted.

The target"s resistance was too high. Effect cancelled.

Bleeding has been inflicted.

The target"s resistance was too high. Effect cancelled.

Lately, because his opponents had become a lot stronger, Casaka"s Poisoned Fang"s special effects did not take most of the time. Still, leaving a wound was good enough.

"Good!"

As more and more wounds appeared on its body, the boss"s movements began to slow down.

["Kwaak!"]

The smile had long since disappeared from the ice elf"s face. It had taken on Jinwoo, Ygritte and Iron on its own and was now panting.

"Just a bit more!"

Suddenly, Iron succeeded in pulling the boss in to a bear hug.

"Now!"

At Jinwoo"s signal, both Jinwoo and Ygritte fell back. The boss"s eyes widened,

["What are you…?"]

The finished spells of the Shadow Mages fell upon Iron.

BANG!

KABOOM!

BOOM!

["COUGH!"] [3]

For the first time, the boss betrayed signs of its pain. The ice elf twisted his body and Iron"s arms were blown off.

crack!

The boss sent a venomous glare at Jinwoo.

["KWAAAAK!"] [4]

Jinwoo was once again in awe of the boss"s strength.

"Even with that much damage, he"s still able to pull out this much power!"

It was truly the boss of a high-level Dungeon. However, the scales of the battle had already tipped towards Jinwoo.

"Dagger Throw!"

Just like how he took care of that arrogant White Walker, Knight Killer flew towards the boss. Jinwoo even used the "Ruler"s Hands" to supplement its speed.

woosh-!

The dagger reached the boss in a flash.

["Keuk!"]

Realizing it could not dodge, the boss deflected the dagger with its tanto.

Crack!

As a testament to the Knight Killer"s speed, a large crack appeared in the blocking tanto.

At the same time,

Having closed the gap to the boss using "Stealth" and "Sprint", Jinwoo stabbed the ice elf"s ribs with Casaka"s Poisoned Fang.

Stab!

The boss"s eyes widened in pain,

["COUGH!"]

Even still, the ice elf grabbed Jinwoo"s wrist. Its eyes screamed that it would not die without leaving a mark.

["KAAAAH!"]

The boss raised its tanto over Jinwoo"s head. Jinwoo sneered brightly in its face.

The giant hammer swung down on the ice elf"s head.

CRAs.h.!.+

With a sickening crunch, the boss"s head was slammed into the snow. Behind it was Iron with his giant hammer, his arms already regenerated. The giant knight raised his hammer again and brought it down.

CRAs.h.!.+

Ygritte was also preparing to attack but then put away his sword. Jinwoo also returned his daggers to the inventory.

ring~

CRAs.h.!.+

You"ve defeated the boss of the Dungeon.

You"ve leveled up!

CRAs.h.!.+

You"ve leveled up!

"Phew, it"s finally over."

CRAs.h.!.+

Jinwoo sighed in relief. It was a difficult fight. He was about to collect his breath but then noticed Iron.

"Hey, hey, that"s enough."

Jinwoo quickly stopped the newest member of his army. Iron was about to bring down his hammer again and stopped. Just like his base, it seemed like the giant knight was… slow in more ways than one.

The boss"s corpse was an unrecognizable, mangled mess.

"Well, there"s no problem with its shadow."

Jinwoo smiled widely again. His reward after a difficult fight was waiting beneath his feet.

The Hunter gave the command with a subdued voice,

"Arise."

-

It was already 3 AM.

The faces of the four men guarding the area were dark. Unable to take it any longer, Hyun Gicheol spoke up,

"We"ll keep watch here, why don"t you turn in for the night, Guildmaster?"

"The members of my Guild are in there. How could I rest in a time like this?"

Baek Yoonho was determined. As a master of the Guild and as an S-rank Hunter, he could not leave this spot. Suddenly, Ahn Sangmin shouted in surprise,

"What? The Red Gate!"

Hyun Gicheol and Joo Sungchan also noticed at the same time,

"The Red Gate is opening!"

"They cleared the Dungeon!"

"People… people are coming out!"

Baek Yoonho clenched his fist.

"Kim Cheol! Kim Cheol, he"s done it!"

The four men all ran to the Gate. Unable to hide his excitement, Baek Yoonho looked for Kim Cheol"s face among the survivors. However, even after everyone had exited the Gate, he could not find Kim Cheol.

"Huh? Something"s wrong."

Even Joo Sungchan, who told everyone to believe in Kim Cheol, lost his confident att.i.tude and put on a confused expression.

"Hunter Park Heejin-nim! Hunters Go Myunghwan-nim, Yoon Gijoong-nim!"

"Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim!!!"

Seeing Jinwoo follow Han Songyi out of the Gate, a smile bloomed on Ahn Sangmin"s face.

"As I thought!"

Joo Sungchan and Ahn Sangmin"s moods had completely flipped from hours ago. However, the smile quickly disappeared from Ahn Sangmin"s face. After the five Hunters, including Sung Jinwoo, came out of the Gate, the Gate quickly disappeared into oblivion.

"It can"t be… are the ones here it?"

With a defeated face, Jinwoo nodded. Hyun Gicheol, who had asked the question, froze.

"It can"t be…"

With tears forming in his eyes, Hyun Gicheol began to cross off the names of the deceased in the party list. It was a sad job, but someone had to do it. Baek Yoonho was dumbfounded,

"Only the low-rankers came back? Not even the ranker and only one B-ranker?"

It was impossible. Just what happened in there?

"Let"s go, I"ll take you home."

Jinwoo was about to leave the scene of the incident with Han Songyi when Baek Yoonho grabbed his wrist.

"Excuse me, hold on a minute-"

woos.h.!.+

Jinwoo threw aside the S-ranker"s grip, and Baek Yoonho"s eyes turned sharp.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

Jinwoo turned around,

"I"m a little tired right now. If you have anything to ask, talk to your Guild members."

Baek Yoonho could not take it anymore. He revealed his ident.i.ty to Jinwoo,

"I am Baekho"s Guildmaster, Hunter Baek Yoonho."

Jinwoo"s eyes maintained their coldness,

"So what?"

At Jinwoo"s cold reply, Baek Yoonho"s irises flickered and turned into that of a magic beast"s. They were an inhuman, beastly eyes.

"We"ve just lost nine Guild members because of this incident. As the Guildmaster, I have the right to ask you some questions."

This was not a request.

An order.

In a way, a threat.

No matter what, Baek Yoonho had no intentions of letting Jinwoo leave that easily. But suddenly, Jinwoo flared his eyes. He was not pushed back in any way by the S-ranker"s genuine hostility.

"And I just saved three of your Guild members. If you"re their leader, shouldn"t you be thanking me before anything else?"

At the stifling pressure the E-rank Hunter was giving off, the S-rank Hunter retracted his hostility. The man was right. Baek Yoonho had no room to argue.

"...I apologize."

As Baek Yoonho bowed his head, Jinwoo turned around again.

"Han Songyi, we"re going."

"Okay."

The student carefully followed after Jinwoo while making glances at Baek Yoonho. Soon, the pair got in the van they had arrived in and left the scene of the incident.

"What just happened…"

His thoughts in chaos, Baek Yoonho quickly ran toward the sole high-ranker of the survivors.

"Excuse me, Park Heejin-ssi."

The woman was warming her body with some tea provided by Hyun Gicheol and raised her head.

"What was with that man? Why was he so mad?"

Their party had overcome all odds and should"ve left the Gate happily with their lives, so why was Jinwoo filled with so much anger? Park Heejin shook her head,

"I"m not sure… He took down the boss and yelled something three times in front of the corpse… Then he got really mad after that…"

"And he was fine until then?"

Park Heejin looked over to Go Myunghwan and Yoon Gijoong. The two men nodded in unison.

"What a strange man…"

Baek Yoonho uttered while staring off into the distance where Jinwoo had disappeared off to. Ahn Sangmin approached his boss as if Jinwoo"s bad mood was his fault,

"I apologize, Guildmaster. I"m sure he was just tired after everything. In my eyes, he"s not a bad person."

"No, that"s not the problem."

"Sir?"

Baek Yoonho turned and faced Ahn Sangmin,

"Why have you not recruited that man yet?"

"S-sir?"

Ahn Sangmin could not hide his embarra.s.sment. But his embarra.s.sment paled in comparison to Baek Yoonho"s.

"Against me…"

The S-ranker recalled meeting Jinwoo"s eyes moments ago and gulped.

gulp

If they had fought just now, Baek Yoonho was sure that he would have to be prepared to lose an arm.

"Maybe even more…"

Realizing his Guildmaster"s meaning, Ahn Sangmin quickly replied,

"I"m currently doing my best."

"That"s not enough."

Baek Yoonho"s eyes lit up.

Sung Jinwoo.

As expected, Chief Ahn"s eyes were never wrong.

"From now on, the full support of the Guild is at your disposal. You must bring that man into our fold."

Translator"s Notes:

[1]: It"s straight up noted in the context but "Cheol" (철) means "Iron/Metal".

[2]: "Taunting Shout" (도발의 함성): "provoke/taunt" 도발 + "cry/shout/roar/yell" 함성

[3]: "coughing in the language of the magic beasts" :P

[4]: "screaming in the language of the magic beasts" :P