?Chapter 105
[Knight ‘Igrit’ is requesting your permission to advance his grade.]
[Will you permit the advancent?]
‘Permission to advance?’
Surprised by the never-before-seen System ssage, Jin-Woo quickly confird Igrit’s information to make sure.
[Igrit Lv. Max]
Knight grade.
It’s now possible to advance the grade after the level requirent has been t. Will advance to the next grade when the Sovereign gives his permission.
‘Igrit’s level…..??’
The level that previously hovered around the 30 mark had changed to ‘Max’ before he had noticed it. It must’ve been the case that, once the Shadow Soldier’s level cap had been t, he’d be given an opportunity to advance to the next grade.
‘Is the requirent level for advancent sowhere between the late thirties and early forties?’
When taking into account the potential level-ups happening during a single battle, he suspected that the required level had to be around there sowhere.
Considering that the average level of the Shadow Soldiers was still around the early twenties, it sure as heck felt like a cumberso requirent.
‘Besides all that, it also needs my consent, too.’
That must’ve been the reason why Jin-Woo thought there were hints of unknown but earnest yearning in Igrit’s eyes as he ran over here.
‘……’
Igrit didn’t raise his lowered head at all.
Jin-Woo could even sense a nervous determination emanating from Igrit as he waited for his lord’s decision without budging an inch from his kneeling position.
Jin-Woo was even tempted to pat the dude on the shoulder and praise him for the job well done.
‘This guy….’
Jin-Woo’s gaze shifted back to the System ssage.
[Will you permit the advancent?]
The ssage was blinking slowly as if to urge him for an answer.
Igrit was one of the very first to beco his Shadow Soldiers, not to ntion one who fought the hardest until now, as well. Was there a reason not to allow the grade advancent here?
Without a shred of hesitation, Jin-Woo replied to the System’s ssage.
“I allow it.”
[Please designate the command phrase.]
‘I need a command phrase for sothing like this, too?’
Jin-Woo frowned briefly, but changed his mind just as quick.
‘Oh, well.’
Quite a few beca Shadow Soldiers at the sa ti. For today, it was only Igrit, but if more than a few soldiers requested him for the advancent permission at the sa ti in the near future, then it might beco rather tedious and ti consuming to answer their call one by one. Especially so, if it happened during the middle of a fight.
The command phrase would prove to be useful on those occasions, that’s for sure. After a short deliberation, Jin-Woo spoke up.
“Permitted.”
He went with the ‘Simple is best’ mantra.
As soon as the command phrase was set, changes rapidly took place. It began from beneath Igrit’s feet.
Wuuuaaahhh-!!
Accompanied by screams coming from a distant place, countless black hands erged from Igrit’s shadow and they grabbed onto every part of him.
‘What’s this?’
Jin-Woo observed in great interest the unfolding process of the advancent. At first, he thought that those black hands would drag Igrit back into the shadow, but in reality, the opposite happened, instead.
The hands holding onto Igrit turned into black smoke and spun around him quite ferociously, before getting absorbed by him. It was as if Igrit was absorbing the black smoke voluntarily.
Psuuuuuaaahhk!
Igrit erged from the dissipating black smoke while emitting a far greater aura than ever before.
Tti-ring.
The System ssage inford Jin-Woo of the results.
[The current grade of Knight ‘Igrit’ has advanced from ‘Knight grade’ to ‘Elite Knight grade’.]
‘Niiice!’
Jin-Woo did his best to calm his trembling heart and rechecked Igrit’s information window.
[Igrit Lv.1]
Elite Knight grade
‘His level has been reset, but his current grade is the sa as Fangs now.’
Before joining Jin-Woo’s army of the Shadow Soldiers recently, Fangs used to be the boss monster of a rank A dungeon. Now that Igrit was on the sa grade as a creature that powerful, it could only an that his abilities had grown by that great a deal now.
Ba-dump…
Jin-Woo’s heart beat faster. The theory he ca up with back when he beca the Shadow Sovereign turned out to be correct.
‘It wasn’t just who can get stronger.’
Jin-Woo’s gaze swept over each of his Shadow Soldiers.
‘All these guys are growing stronger alongside , too.’
After Igrit changed so noticeably through the grade advancent, he was reminded once more of his soldiers’ capability for growth. He was now beset with the desire to urgently raise the levels of other soldiers and have them advance to the next grade as soon as possible.
‘Looks like one more thing has been added to my to-do list, huh?’
And so, as he stood there checking out his soldiers while feeling rather satisfied with himself….
From afar, he spotted Tank quickly approaching closer with a dead body of a demon that escaped a little while ago in his jaw.
‘Uh?’
However, the light shining in Tank’s eyes as he hurriedly ran closer also seed rather suspicious, too. Those eyes, that aura….
Jin-Woo quietly stared, before asking aloud with a disbelieving expression on his face.
“Even you?!”
Tank finally stopped right in front of Jin-Woo’s nose and quickly discarded the corpse he worked so hard to bring here. He then began prostrating as well, with his front legs gathered together before his head.
“Wuuong.”
And sure enough, another ssage popped up in Jin-Woo’s view.
Tti-ring.
[Elite ‘Shadow Beast Soldier’ is requesting for permission to advance his grade.]
[Will you permit the advancent?]
‘….Holy cow.’
Jin-Woo facepald in surprise. A quick confirmation of Tank’s information revealed that his level had also reached the cap as well.
[Shadow Beast Soldier Lv. Max]
Elite grade
It’s now possible to advance the grade after the level requirent has been t. Will advance to the next grade when the Sovereign gives his permission.
‘Wait a minute….’
Jin-Woo found this rather odd.
Unlike the tireless battle machine nad Igrit, who started off as a level 7 and maintained his sky-high level until now, Tank was still a far away from eting the level cap that Jin-Woo suspected to be the advancent requirent.
Yet, both Igrit and Tank were about to advance around the sa ti?
The difference in these two guys’ levels wasn’t sothing that could be bridged by this one battle alone.
‘Could it be…. the required level is different for each grade?’
If so, then it made sense.
He thought that since Tank was an ‘Elite’ rank, his level cap would be lower which ant his advancent would be faster; on the other hand, Igrit and his ‘Knight’ grade needed more ti to advance.
If that was the case, then indeed it was possible for the timing of their advancents to match so coincidentally like this.
When Jin-Woo’s thoughts reached this point, a certain possibility suddenly entered his mind.
‘Wait, if I reach the right level, could I advance in grade, too?’
It was just that the required level was so high that he hadn’t reached it yet.
‘….Eiii, there’s no way.’
Jin-Woo smirked to himself. At the sa ti, he allowed the advancent to comnce.
“Permitted.”
As soon as his permission left his lips, the sa type of process as Igrit took place with Tank as well. Hands erged from the shadow, changed to smoke, and got absorbed into Tank.
Shuuaahhak….
And just like Igrit, Tank also beca a realm stronger than before.
[The current grade of Elite ‘Shadow Beast Soldier’ has advanced from ‘Elite grade’ to ‘Knight grade’.]
However, there were so differences, too.
Tti-ring, tti-ring, tti-ring.
The chanical beep went off continuously and System ssages popped up one after another.
[You can bestow a na to a soldier with Knight grade or above.]
[The bestowed na will be maintained until the Shadow Soldier is dismissed.]
[Please assign the soldier’s na.]
Tank was a temporary na Jin-Woo ca up with on a whim.
Since a na couldn’t be assigned unless a soldier was a Knight grade, Tank’s official moniker had been stuck as a ‘Shadow Beast Soldier’. If it weren’t for his twice-as-huge fra compared to other bears, there was no way to differentiate Tank from the others.
But now, Jin-Woo could freely assign a na now.
A deep smile ford on his face.
“Tank.”
[Will you assign it as ‘Tank’?]
“I will.”
When Jin-Woo confird it, the information on the ‘Shadow Beast Soldier’ changed.
[Tank Lv.1]
Knight grade.
Perhaps he knew that the advancent process had ended, Tank raised his body up. Standing on his hind legs, he was as tall as a regular two-story house now. Jin-Woo wholeheartedly praised him.
“You finally have a na now, Tank.”
Feeling pleased, Tank raised its head up high and roared out loudly.
“You guys all did well.”
So, ti to take a well-deserved break until the next floor.
Jin-Woo recalled his soldiers back into his shadow, and while doing that, he couldn’t help but spot Iron and his drooping shoulders. The poor guy was the only one out of the ‘old’ mbers to not get an advancent today.
Shururu….
After his soldiers disappeared as shadows, Jin-Woo left the castle. Esil was waiting for him outside with a rather haggard face.
“E-excuse , Sir Jin-Woo?”
“I told you, stop calling a Sir.”
“Y-yes.”
Esil hesitated sowhat after Jin-Woo curtly replied to her, but eventually, she spoke again.
“Excuse …. Uhm, Jin-Woo… sir.”
The demons were a lot more ‘sensitive’ towards one’s seniority than expected, it seed.
“….Fine. What now?”
“Do you know…. how many clans have ceased to exist by your hands?”
Currently, they were on the 89th floor.
Esil’s clan was on the 80th, so that would make nine clans?
What with her witnessing a clan being killed off every ti they climbed up a floor, Esil had finally grown too anxious to remain silent.
“Clans of superior aristocrats are managing the floors 90 and above. They are on another level compared to the upper aristocrats you’ve encountered so far.”
Jin-Woo didn’t slow down his steps, but still asked her anyway.
“Okay, so what?”
“How about resolving the matters with dialogue from now on? If you talk to them nicely, they might hand over the Entry Permit like my cla….”
Jin-Woo cut her off there.
“If I was weaker than your clan, you think your people would’ve tried talking to at all?”
Esil quickly shut her mouth up. A asly little human dared to show up uninvited to a castle full of demons, and not only that, proceeded to demand sothing from said castle, too?
That human wouldn’t have been able to return ho alive.
“That’s how it is.”
Jin-Woo smirked deeply.
Whether it was a monster from a regular dungeon, or a monster from instant dungeons, the relationship with humans would go only as far.
‘The strong will devour the weak.’
Jin-Woo agreed with that concept. Besides, he was urgently pressed for both the Entry Permits and the level-ups, so he wasn’t planning to give up on either of those.
‘……’
Jin-Woo glanced at Esil to his side.
He found her continued silence and the expression of dejection strange and asked her about it.
“I thought it’d be a good thing for your people if other clans were destroyed?”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say that demon clans are bitterly contesting with one another on the hierarchy or whatever?”
“Ah, that…. That is true. However….”
From here onwards, they were stepping into the territories of the superior aristocrats.
If Jin-Woo failed in his conquest for so reason, then the fury of those superior aristocrats would be directed in full towards her and her own clan. Esil was worried about that.
Regardless of her worries, Jin-Woo spoke up confidently.
“I’ll make your Radish Clan as the number one on the pecking order.”
‘….But, our clan is Radiru, you know.’
Esil could only complain ekly in her mind.
Soon, they would be stepping into the upper floor. Could a lone man manage to destroy the superior aristocrats and their clans with nothing but his own powers?
‘…..Eiii, I don’t care anymore.’
She had taken on the task of being his guide, so all she had to do was to do her job properly. Esil decided to give up on sweating over it.
‘Ah, I almost forgot….’
Still, there was this one thing she just had to ask.
“Excuse , Jin-Woo…. sir”
“Yeah?”
Jin-Woo looked back at her.
Having witnessed Jin-Woo continuously destroy other demon clans so easily, she found it pretty scary to et his eyes anymore, so Esil quickly lowered her gaze to her feet and asked.
“Why did you spare my clan?”
Without a doubt, the Radiru Clan would never be able to oppose this man’s quest. She knew her clan’s military might the best, and now that she had witnessed Jin-Woo’s true power, she was sure of this fact.
Even then, her Radiru clan erged relatively unscathed from this rciless man’s onslaught. Why was that? She was really curious.
Jin-Woo entered the floor-transfer magic circle and turned around to face Esil.
“Cuz I find you likeable.”
Even though she was a monster, she knew when to surrender, she knew when to negotiate, and most importantly, offered up quite a bit of useful information, too.
“P-p-pardon ?!”
Esil flinched grandly in surprise, and her neck rapidly dyed in a crimson colour. She stood on the spot hesitating as she fidgeted with her fingers in a clear fluster. Their schedule had been affected by her being rooted to the spot like that, so Jin-Woo asked her to get a move on.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Then, he glanced at the System ssage asking him which floor he’d like to go.
“If you don’t get in now, we’ll go back to the 80th floor, okay?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Her face still blushing deeply in red, Esil hurriedly entered the magic circle.
‘……’
However, she couldn’t raise her head again even after arriving on the next floor.
***
The Incheon International Airport.
The representatives from the Japanese Hunter Association arrived in South Korea to discuss the matters of Jeju Island’s ant problem. They already had set up a conference with the Korean counterparts.
Along with the Japanese Hunter Association’s President Matsumoto Shigeo, Japan’s number one Hunter, the rank S Goto Ryuji stepped into the airport. (TL note at the end)
The atmosphere within the airport seed a bit chaotic, so Matsumoto Shigeo took a look around to see what was what.
“What’s happening here?”
“…..There is a very powerful presence nearby.”
“Stronger than you?”
Goto Ryuji smirked derisively.
Seeing the fully-confident face of Goto Ryuji, Matsumoto Shigeo didn’t bother to ask anymore.
‘There’s no way South Korea can produce soone like that.’
Not too long after that, an employee from the Korean Hunters Association hurriedly ran forward to greet and received them.
“I’m terribly sorry. I was delayed by all the chaos unfolding inside the airport at the mont.”
The employee hurriedly lowered his head in apology. Matsumoto Shigeo hid his dissatisfaction expertly and ford a magnanimous smile.
“It’s fine. However, is there sothing going on at the airport?”
“Ah, that…. It’s nothing serious, sir. It’s just that a Hunter from the United States has arrived just now.”
“What brings an Arican Hunter to South Korea?”
“I hear that it’s a personal matter, sir. I’m sure that there’s nothing to worry about.”
The employee thought the Association President Matsumoto Shigeo was worried about a possible dungeon break and did his best to assuage the Japanese group’s fears.
Unfortunately, Matsumoto Shigeo’s expression remained dark.
‘A Hunter from Arica, is it…. I hope this person won’t interfere with our business here.’
Goto Ryuji’s gaze was fixed in the direction of the noisy crowd of people over yonder. Most likely, that’s where the Arican Hunter was.
anwhile, Matsumoto Shigeo confird the ti.
If he were to make it to the conference on ti, he needed to get going now.
Matsumoto Shigeo spoke.
“Let’s go.”
< Chapter 105 > Fin.
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