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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“Wh…What is this?”
I awkwardly stood up.
My shadow, holding my swords.
It had no skin, no face, no hair.
It was a true shadow.
Its feet were connected to mine, as if a wall shaped exactly like my shadow was standing before me.
It was bizarre.
A strange sight.
How was this even possible?
My shadow, standing in front of me, holding my swords.
I slowly walked around it.
Its head turned, following my movement.
As if watching me.
But it was a shadow.
It had no face, no eyes.
Just swords.
This was truly strange.
As I circled it, I could see it had a forehead, a back of the head, a chest, and a back – everything a person would have.
A 3D shadow.
I’d never seen or heard of anything like it.
The Shadow Warrior specialization.
It wasn’t that I was a Shadow Warrior, but that this specialization created a Shadow Warrior?
With that question in mind, I slowly circled my shadow.
It simply watched me, showing no other reaction.
I stared at it; it turned its face towards me, and we stared at each other, a strange feeling washing over me.
But…
How was I supposed to use this?
Keeping my eyes fixed on it, I slowly turned my head and pointed towards the other side of the rooftop.
…It walked.
My shadow walked.
It walked faster than I’d expected.
The rooftop was spacious.
The building was widest up to the third floor, where the supermarket was, and then narrowed, like a tower built on top.
The rooftop was large enough to accommodate a fairly sizable vegetable garden.
About twenty-something meters? Or thirty meters?
My shadow stopped at about that distance.
It stood still, motionless.
I swallowed.
…I could control it.
I looked to the side and thought,
‘Over there.’
…It moved.
Its head turned, its torso followed, and it took a step.
Then it walked to the exact spot I was looking at.
…This was good.
Come here.
As I thought that, my shadow turned towards me.
It bent its body.
And then, in a flash, it returned to my side.
“Whoa, holy shit!”
It stopped abruptly a meter away and looked at me.
It had moved so fast it was almost invisible, as if using Accelerate.
I checked my status window, just in case, but it hadn’t used any Accelerate charges.
Of course.
I used skills, not my shadow.
It simply returned quickly.
“…Ha.”
So, it moved according to my will.
I nodded and held out my hand.
Understanding my intention perfectly, my shadow placed the swords in my hand.
And then, it vanished.
Like a sandcastle crumbling, like pixels dissolving, it quickly disappeared.
I smiled.
“…I like this.”
I checked my status window; it hadn’t consumed any Strength or any other stat.
Summoning it didn’t cost anything.
Like the Maintenance Gloves, which were always active, the Shadow Gloves’ function was also always active.
The shadow appeared when the conditions were met.
My Shadow Warrior.
…So what were the conditions?
I decided to try something else while I was at it.
I picked up my bow.
Would this work too?
I held out my hand with the bow.
Nothing happened.
The shadow had appeared when I’d dropped my swords.
So…
I dropped the bow.
It fell to the ground with a thud.
“…Doesn’t work.”
I picked up my swords again.
And dropped them.
A faint rustling sound.
Whoosh!
A dark wind appeared before my eyes, and my shadow materialized.
It caught my swords and slowly turned to look at me.
…Do you have any instructions?
That was the feeling I got.
I smiled.
“…Haha.”
I liked this.
I liked this a lot!
Shadow Warrior…
So, the bow didn’t work.
That probably meant other ranged weapons wouldn’t work either.
It only reacted to melee weapons.
Melee weapons that had left my hand.
…I would have to test it further.
I looked around the rooftop.
The distance my Shadow Warrior had traveled after I’d given it the command to move…
I wasn’t sure of the exact distance, but it was within about 30 meters.
A distance that was both long and short.
It couldn’t be deployed at long range, like my bow, which could hit targets hundreds of meters away.
That meant it was a mid-range warrior, fighting around me.
I would have to test my theory.
I summoned my Shadow Warrior and took the swords from its hands.
The shadow dissolved with a rustling sound.
“Good.”
I put on my lifting belt and went down from the rooftop.
I got off the elevator on the fourth floor and took the stairs down slowly.
Sound was important.
I carefully descended to the third floor, trying to make as little noise as possible, entered the supermarket storage area, and went straight to the office.
The only windows on this floor were in the office and the restrooms.
Metal pipes were inserted into silicone-sealed rings on the windows, and wooden boards were attached to the glass with silicone for reinforcement.
While it looked like they had only used silicone, they had probably used anything they could find, including strong adhesives.
I carefully removed a metal pipe.
And gently pushed the window.
It opened.
I couldn’t open it too wide.
I had to avoid being seen.
I sat on the desk, positioning myself to look down through the gap in the window.
…The zombie wave.
It was overwhelming.
They were swarming about ten meters below.
…This height was perfect for testing the Shadow Warrior’s range and capabilities.
I opened my status window and kept it visible, then slowly held my swords out the window.
…Don’t breathe.
There was no sound.
Well, there were growling sounds, but they didn’t change.
I swallowed and looked at the swords I was holding out and the gap in the window.
There were two things to test.
The Shadow Warrior’s capabilities.
…And…
“Huu.”
I let go of my swords.
Whoosh!
Like a dark wind, they were sucked through the gap in the window.
My Shadow Warrior caught the swords and fell towards the ground.
Towards the swarming zombie wave!
I gritted my teeth and activated a skill.
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
Accelerate activated.
This was the second element I wanted to test.
Everything slowed down when Accelerate was active.
Or rather, I sped up.
So, what about the Shadow Warrior?
Outside the window, my Shadow Warrior landed.
And moved.
Among the zombies.
It raised its head and looked at me.
Its movements were fluid and precise.
It moved at its normal speed, neither faster nor slower.
It was moving!
Normally!
While Accelerate was active!
Excitement surged through me.
My Shadow Warrior wasn’t affected by Accelerate!
Or rather, it was affected by Accelerate just like I was!
“…Haha.”
I chuckled softly.
And gave the command.
Attack them.
My Shadow Warrior raised its swords.
The blades glinted in the streetlight.
And then my Shadow Warrior whirled through them.
Without a moment’s hesitation, with graceful and natural movements, it slashed and stabbed, slaughtering the human beasts left and right.
My status window was open before me.
My Strength rapidly decreased!
From 46 to 40, 33, 25…!
My Shadow Warrior was precisely targeting their heads.
…This was it.
This was the Strength skill.
Afterimage, guaranteed to attack the weak point!
I hadn’t commanded it to target their heads.
I had simply commanded it to attack.
Yet, my Shadow Warrior was accurately piercing and slashing, killing them, targeting only their heads.
My Shadow Warrior was using the Afterimage skill.
Or rather, the Shadow Warrior itself was the Afterimage.
A physical manifestation of a melee skill.
That was the Shadow Gloves.
And my Concealment Gloves!
I watched as my Shadow Warrior whirled through the zombies, wiping them out in swathes.
Blood sprayed slowly in all directions.
And I laughed.
“…Haha.”
I was happy.
Truly happy.
The Shadow Warrior and Afterimage.
The possibilities were endless.
True Strike and Afterimage.
The combination of these two skills and the Shadow Warrior would dramatically diversify my combat style.
This was exhilarating.
Truly exhilarating!
A wide smile spread across my face.
And as I smiled, my Strength reached 0.
It had killed 46 human beasts.
My Shadow Warrior stopped abruptly.
Should I recall it?
I hesitated.
…Wait a minute.
What would happen when Accelerate wore off?
One of my swords…
I might not be able to retrieve it, but it was worth testing.
I had used 8 Accelerate charges.
Focusing solely on slaughter without considering retreat, I had annihilated 46 human beasts with only 8 charges.
With a flicker of anticipation, I looked down and waited.
…Accelerate wore off.
Whoosh!
Blood sprayed in all directions.
Severed heads flew into the air like graduation caps.
Brains splattered onto the ground.
Rumble, Crash!
The ground shook as 46 human beasts collapsed simultaneously.
My Shadow Warrior just stood there.
And then, silence.
“…Huu.”
A smile touched my lips again.
No reaction.
They weren’t reacting to my Shadow Warrior!
It was because it wasn’t a living being.
It wasn’t human, so they didn’t react!
I covered my mouth with my hand and laughed again.
I had to be quiet.
I had acquired something truly amazing.
Shadow Warrior!
So this was it!
I chuckled for a moment and looked out the window.
And gave the command.
Come back.
My Shadow Warrior looked up at me.
It bent its body.
And then it leaped powerfully upwards, scaling the wall.
Scaling the wall!
This was incredible.
Not only distance, but even height didn’t seem to matter to the Shadow Warrior.
I held my hand out towards the gap in the window.
My Shadow Warrior raised its arm high.
The hilts of my swords landed perfectly in my hand.
And then, my Shadow Warrior dissolved with a rustling sound.
“…Huu…”
I took a deep breath and gently closed the window.
I inserted the metal pipe back into the silicone seal.
I left the office and walked towards the stairs.
A faint smoke was rising from my swords.
The blades, damaged from the Shadow Warrior’s use, were being repaired.
I flicked my swords, scattering the blood.
Swish!
And then I sheathed them.
Shing Click
I smiled.
“…Excellent.”
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Why is this still locked???