Loot [51]

With a swipe of the enthusiastic Shadow's hand, the three arrived at Yogumunt's corpse in no time at all.

Unlike before, seeing the corpse didn't slow Jin-Woo down in the slightest. He excitedly plundered the corpses, whistling a tune to himself as he did. He almost stopped for a moment, thinking that Fanzer should be the one to do this, before he continued anyway, casting the thoughts aside.

Uriel approached to go help Jin-Woo, but Yama held his hand out in front of her, softly stopping him. She looked at him with a burning glare in her eyes, but that intensity faded when she saw how happy Jin-Woo suddenly became.

"Aha!" Jin-Woo leapt up with a dark red mana crystal in his hand, and then, as if in response, a few items appeared out of thin air in front of him. "Oooh, more goodies, nice!"

[Sovereign's Cloak]

[Rank: SSS]

[The Sovereign of Magical Construct's Cloak, obtained after the Sovereign's death. This cloak, now reverted to its original state, is filled with magical energy. This cloak holds an immense amount of mana, bolstering the user's magical abilities dramatically. The efficiency of any soul-based skill is quadrupled.]

[Bone Lord's Mask]

[Rank: SSS]

[The mask of a long-since fallen Bone Lord, Hades. This mask dramatically simplifies the process for casting a spell. Spell-casting speed is tripled.]

Jin-Woo whistled at the drops. The Sovereign's Cloak was obviously most efficient for Yama to have, but if it boosted the ability of Soul Attributes, Jin-Woo knew that several other people could enjoy the buffs of it as well, like Fanzer or Ichigo.

If he'd done all the work on his own, he'd have no doubts about giving it to Yama, but he hadn't done it all on his own, so those thoughts weren't present. Regardless of who it'd go to, he was glad he'd obtained it at all, storing it into his Inventory for now. The Bone Lord's Mask was a similar situation, albeit a bit more expansive than the former item.

It could help several of Jin-Woo's Shadows, but it could also assist Ichigo, Fanzer, or a number of other Hunters.

With that figured out, Jin-Woo repeated the process, traveling to Longshen's corpse next. He picked up the mana crystal and happily threw it into his Inventory before turning to the other valuables.

[You have received the materials: Lightning Dragon Bones.]

[Plasma Blade]

[Rank: SSS]

[Attack Power: +5000]

[A greatsword empowered by the essence of Longshen, a Constructed Dragon. This blade grants the user incredible strength while allowing them to strike with the undeniable force of lightning.]

Jin-Woo immediately knew who the greatsword would go to, the Shadow who'd been by his side for the longest. Maybe that was a bit rude to choose so easily, especially because Fanzer had done most of the work regarding Longshen, but he shrugged the thoughts aside.

Fanzer would've had no interest in using the blade, and none of the other raid members used greatswords, or at least, they hadn't for this raid. As such, Jin-Woo didn't find any immediate issues with giving the sword to his Summon. Besides, his ability was the cause of such a creation regardless.

And in fact, Jin-Woo glanced over at his MP bar, seeing that it'd been steadily dropping for the last several seconds. It filled up fast enough to make the difference negligible, but he could tell what was happening.

He turned towards Yama and Uriel, the latter faithfully kneeling to him. Yama nodded, his attention elsewhere. With a swipe of his hand, a portal appeared and Jin-Woo didn't hesitate to walk through.

Several yards away, Igris was being destroyed by several other knights. These knights were about the same size as Igris, but they weren't named like the Perfected Constructs. Regardless of this, they were still proficiently holding Igris back, even with Siegfried's Vorpal Blade boosting his swordsmanship severalfold.

Jin-Woo spent a moment just looking, choosing to not interfere. He didn't like seeing Igris get pushed back, but he could see what was on the line for the Shadow.

Igris had been there from the beginning, but time and time again, he couldn't succeed in helping Jin-Woo defeat his enemies. Lycaon, Yogumunt, Longshen, Pandora, he'd been forced on the defensive every time. That was why, instead of listening to Jin-Woo's orders to flee when they were being pushed back, he pushed forward.

Even as he was being destroyed, he advanced, taking small shots at his enemies. They held up well, but Igris didn't give up either. This unstoppable spirit didn't fade, and after Igris had taken down over two hundred Constructs on his own, he'd just been on the brim of ranking up.

[Igris | Lv. 30]

[Rank: Captain]

[Igris can now rank up. Do you allow this rank up?]

"Yes," Jin-Woo confirmed.

All at once, mana pulsed from Igris's body, and the knight shifted once more, growing a small amount but overall, the largest change was his armor. He clearly stronger than ever before, parrying the other knight's attacks now.

[Shadow Knight Igris, Captain Rank has evolved into Shadow King Knight, General Rank Lv. 1.]

[The passive skill, Siegfried's Vorpal Blade has evolved into the passive skill, Ultimate Swordsmaster.]

Igris began easily pushing his opponents back, his sword flickering like an illusion. He tore down their attacks before they could even form and soon enough, they all fell to his blade with a single, nigh-almighty slash.

Jin-Woo began approaching his loyal knight, and as soon as he sensed his master's presence, he kneeled.

"You did well, Igris. At this rate, you'll catch up to the likes of Yama in no time. And, because of your hard work to assist me time and time again, here," Jin-Woo summoned the Plasma Blade, offering it to his Shadow.

Igris slowly looked upwards, a feeling of immeasurable happiness stirring within him. Jin-Woo could feel it to, and it made him a bit flustered. He stabbed the Plasma Blade into the ground before turning away. He waved his hand, and Yama opened another portal, to Uriel's corpse.

Behind him, he could sense his Shadow picking up the blade and observing it carefully. Then, he fell into the shadows, dashing away, determined to do more work for his master. Jin-Woo could see Uriel staring at Igris's fading shadow for a moment, softly smiling to himself.

"Follow him if you want. You two will probably be paired up often either way," Jin-Woo shrugged, walking through Yama's Gate. A moment passed before Yama walked through, and the Gate remained open for a second before it closed, Uriel deciding to follow Igris instead of Jin-Woo.

Jin-Woo picked up Uriel's mana crystal, humming to himself before a few more items appeared.

[You have received the materials: Angel's Wings.]

[Ring of Retribution]

[Rank: SS]

[A ring that acts as a booster for those who follow their ideals until the end. Dramatically boosts Faith, allowing for one to be far more efficient when believing they're doing the right thing. When equipped, all fire magic does double damage.]

[Faith: +150]

Jin-Woo squinted at the equipment. It was incredible, that was undeniable, but he still didn't quite understand what Faith really… did. It was one of his stats he still didn't quite understand, but he threw the ring in his Inventory regardless. Loot was loot, even if he didn't completely understand it.

He also glanced at the Angel's Wings, placing them next to the Lightning Dragon Bones. He didn't know what they were for, but he didn't feel like throwing them out, just in case.

Next, it was Beelzebub's body. As he'd done before, he picked up the mana crystal and a few items appeared afterwards.

[You have received the materials: Demon's Horns.]

[Demonic Boots]

[Rank: SS]

[Boots that allow the users to move with demonic agility, allowing them to sneakily and efficiently race around a battlefield. When equipped, all wind magic does double damage.]

[Agility: +150]

Now, when compared to the Ring of Retribution, the Demonic Boots just totally blew them out of the water. The Agility bonus was perfect for Jin-Woo, but he feared that the wind magic boost would be wasted on him. They seemed much more fitting for Fanzer than himself. With that depressing realization, he threw the boots into his Inventory.

Another portal led him to Kali and Nyx's corpses, where his Shadows were still playing and enjoying themselves. He shook his head at the sight before turning to the corpses, picking up the two mana crystals. As expected, several items appeared afterwards.

[You have received the materials: Ogre's Skin.]

[You have received the materials: Pixie Dust.]

Jin-Woo stuffed the materials next to the others before turning to the other items. His eyes widened before smiling.

[Ogre's Bat]

[Rank: SS]

[Flowing through this bat is the awe-inspiring power of an ogre. The one who wields this bat must be capable of handling this mighty strength, or else they'll be devoured by it. When equipped, the efficiency of all self-buffs is doubled.]

[Strength: +150]

Jin-Woo just knew who this bat was going to. It was honestly almost like it was meant for her with how well it worked with her fighting style.

[Pixie's Necklace]

[Rank: SS]

[A gorgeous necklace that allows the user to bless those around them more efficiently than ever before. The one who holds this necklace must bless with their heart and spirit, lest the one who wishes will disappear. When equipped, the efficiency of all buffs cast on others is doubled.]

[Wisdom: +150]

Jin-Woo hummed at the necklace's description. It was incredible, and many Healers would give up a very high sum of money for the equipment. Jin-Woo knew it would either go to Luna or Akari. While he didn't know Akari personally or anything, he knew it could be useful to have a favor to call in for someone, and more importantly, he knew she'd be able to keep more Hunters alive with such an enormous buff.

He threw the item into his Inventory, stretching. He counted off who's corpses he went to, making sure he didn't miss any, and when he turned towards Yama to get a confirmation. The Sovereign held a small orb in his hand, tossing it to Jin-Woo.

Jin-Woo caught it and checked it out.

[Orb of Enlightenment]

[Rank: Mythical]

[An incredible orb created by a freed soul's enlightenment. This orb quadruples the strength of all magical attacks, no matter who it is used by. If used by the Shadow Sovereign, this skill allows for a much larger range of summoning. As long as the Shadow Sovereign can sense a soul, it can be called out to.]

Jin-Woo blinked at the item.

The other items were amazing, yes, but this was… revolutionary. Even before, his range wasn't extremely limited, but because the souls of the Constructs were split up, he'd have to travel several times to get them all. However, like this….

Jin-Woo extended a hand to Yama, Fusing with the Shadow. The overwhelming sensation of a flood of knowledge nearly knocked him over, but this time he was more prepared for it. With Yama's help, the information was focused, hones on all the fallen souls of the Constructs.

Out of the 598 Constructs that were originally alive, Igris, Tempest, and Jill took their numbers down to right under 50. The three Shadows worked extremely hard, and Jin-Woo could sense a staggering number of souls.

With the Orb of Enlightenment held firmly in his hand, he took a deep breath.

"Arise."

A ton of notifications arose before Jin-Woo, tons of different Shadows ranking up and reaching a new level of power after being brought back from the beyond. Even the weakest were Elite Knights, still making them formidable. However, he was caught off-guard by several kitsune hitting the Captain Rank.

Then he remembered one of his stat skills, tripling the power of kitsune when they'd been summoned.

He swept away the many, many notifications, leaving one behind.

[Master Black Wizard]

Obtained by accessing 500 spirits. At this level, your power is among the most well-known Black Wizards of all time. However, do not stop here, keep moving forward!

60% Increase to Summon Damage.

60% Increase to Summon Defense.

30% Decrease to Summon Restoration cost.

Overall, he found more power in The Void's Child, but since he himself wasn't fighting, he switched his title, allowing his Summons to work more efficiently than ever before. With a relieved sigh, Jin-Woo relaxed a bit, and Yama left his body, allowing him to disconnect from the Landmass's Clairvoyance.

He kept the Orb of Enlightenment in his Inventory, thinking about who it should go to until he needed it again. He pulled up his Shadow Extraction and Shadow Save screens, whistling.

[Shadow Extraction (Active) | Lv. 2]

Revive the soul of a killed being by extraction its shadow. This is the exact same being that died, and the being cannot be forced into revival. The being must choose to answer the Shadow Sovereign's call. The chance of skill failure increases as the target's stats rises.

Shadows able to be Extracted: 567/2113

[Shadow Storage (Active) | Lv. 2]

The Shadows saved after being extracted must reside somewhere, and that somewhere is within the shadows. The Shadow Sovereign's shadow is the comfiest location for their followers, but they can also be placed in other shadows for maximum usage. These Shadows can be summoned and stored at the user's will.

Shadows able to be Stored: 567/1613

He'd now had over 500 Shadows, all ready to serve him. He was impressed that he could manage such a thing. He now had an army of Awakened strong enough to topple some small countries, which was a baffling realization for the E-Rank.

He still over two hundred status points to allocate, but he just… didn't know where to put them. Even after his Shadows killed literal hundreds of Constructs, he was really on the—

[You have leveled up.]

—well, he was on the edge of leveling up. The amount of experience required to actually level up seemed to jump astronomically, so he was now cautious of spending his points poorly. With Shadow Empowerment, he could just sacrifice his Summons for additional status points, but he didn't specifically want to do that either, since his Shadows were also a valuable resource for him.

Shaking his head, he realized it wasn't important at the moment. There were no immediate threats at hand, and he'd have time to think it over more in the future.

With that sobering realization, Jin-Woo turned towards Yama. Beelzebub, Shion, and Luna were all still enjoying themselves in the background, bringing a small smile to his face. Jin-Woo tried not to let that distract him as a serious topic came to his attention.

"Yama, there are other Sovereigns, aren't there?"

"Yes, sir, there are."

"Do they all want to attack humanity?"

"No, sir, but… well, after Ashborn and Antares killed one another, the sides were split."

Jin-Woo squinted, nodding to himself. "I believe you should start at the beginning then. What do you know, and… how is the Shadow Sovereign connected with this all?"