Chapter 34 — Level Up and the Arrival of the Claw Blade Unit!
Before he knew it, a whole week had passed since Shin Akira arrived in Orario.
In the days since, he'd thrown himself completely into the Dungeon—fighting monsters, pushing his limits, and steadily raising his status. And finally, today... his Falna had reached its peak.
Technically, a person could level up once they achieved a high enough milestone and got their stats to D-rank, but Shin Akira had chosen to max out everything before advancing. To him, every sliver of power counted. After all, who would say no to becoming stronger?
"This is just insane... One week. You've only been here for one week, and you're already at this level?" Hephaestus muttered in disbelief, her eyes locked on his updated Falna.
Shin Akira's stats had not only reached the cap—they had surpassed the upper limit of S·999. Hephaestus had gotten used to updating his Falna almost daily, sometimes even twice a day, and each time the numbers jumped in ways that left her speechless.
He'd even broken the record once held by Ais Wallenstein, the famed Sword Princess of Loki Familia, who took a full year to reach Level 2. Shin Akira? He did it in one week.
"Raise my level, Hephaestus," Akira requested with calm determination.
"…Yeah."
The goddess placed a hand over his back, activating the divine blood that acted as the catalyst for ascension. A radiant energy coursed through Shin Akira's body—his vessel reshaping itself to contain a new threshold of power.
Just like that, he officially advanced from a Level 1 adventurer to Level 2.
[Ding!]
[You've received +10% Inheritance Progress for the King of the Shadowkhan Template!]
[Ding!]
[New Skill Acquired: Shadow Force!]
[Ding!]
[New Unit Affiliation Unlocked: Claw Blade Unit!]
Aside from the 10% boost in Template Inheritance, two major upgrades had come with his level-up: a new skill—Shadow Force, and an entirely new shadow unit—Claw Blade.
Hephaestus handed him the freshly updated Falna status sheet, her expression much calmer than usual.
After a week of non-stop surprises, even something this extreme barely shook her anymore.
— — —
Shin Akira
Level: 1 → 2
Strength: SSS·1199 → I·0
Endurance: SSS·1199 → I·0
Dexterity: SSS·1199 → I·0
Agility: SSS·1199 → I·0
Magic: SSS·1199 → I·0
Magic Spells: None
— — —
Skills:
[King of the Shadowkhan]
The sovereign of the Shadowkhan.
Greatly boosts mental strength
Can summon Shadowkhan warriors
— — —
[Greed]
An insatiable desire for all things.
Sharply accelerates growth rate
Massively boosts EXP from monster hunting
— — —
[Shadow Force]
A new affinity born from the dark.
Greatly boosts affinity for shadow
Enhances magical sensitivity
Grants manipulation of shadows
— — —
With the addition of Shadow Force, Shin Akira could finally consider developing his own shadow-based magic.
After all, his spell slots were still empty—and in a battlefield like the Dungeon, magic could mean the difference between life and death.
But what caught his attention even more… was the boost to his summoning capabilities.
Reaching into the familiar sensation of his Shadow Dominion, Akira noticed something had changed—the number of summonable units had doubled. From eight Ghost Shadows, he could now call forth sixteen.
And that wasn't all.
The new Claw Blade Unit he had just unlocked? It granted an additional sixteen slots for summoning.
That meant Shin Akira could now simultaneously command sixteen Ghost Shadows and sixteen Claw Blades—a massive leap in raw battlefield presence.
Without hesitation, he activated his power to summon one.
From the shadows in the corner of the room, a figure began to materialize—its form rising silently out of the darkness.
Unlike the ninja-like Ghost Shadows, this one retained only a humanoid silhouette. Its hands were shaped into vicious metal claws. Its legs ended in conical, drill-like tips. And from behind the obscuring shadows, two crimson eyes glowed in the shape of a menacing 'V'.
It gave off no emotion—no empathy, no hesitation. Just silent, obedient power.
"A-Akira... what is that?" Hephaestus gasped, clearly shocked at the creature that emerged from nothing.
"A Claw Blade," he replied casually. "They're a new unit in my shadow army."
"...How abnormal are you, exactly?"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
He gave a carefree smile as he dismissed the summoned Claw Blade. It melted back into the shadows beneath his feet, like it had never existed.
Now that he had reached Level 2, Shin Akira felt confident he could begin exploring the lower floors of the Dungeon. With sixteen Ghost Shadows and sixteen Claw Blades at his back, even high-risk zones wouldn't pose much of a threat.
"Oh, right," Hephaestus said. "Now that you've leveled up, you're eligible to choose an Ability Development."
"Yeah? What're my options?"
"For you, I'd say... Mage, Hunter, Abnormal Resistance, or Healer. Any preference?"
"Give me Mage."
"You're planning to start learning magic?"
"Thinking about it, yeah."
"Got it."
She didn't question it further. With Shadow Force under his belt, his magical affinity had skyrocketed. Not using that potential would be a waste.
Once everything was finalized, Hephaestus printed out a fresh copy of his Falna and handed it over.
Akira double-checked the details—everything was exactly as expected.
The Claw Blade Unit didn't show up in the official record, since it was technically an evolution of his prior summon ability, not a new skill. That worked to his advantage. If anyone asked, he could just say his shadow army had "evolved."
He flexed his wrists experimentally. With the King of the Shadowkhan Template now at 10% Inheritance, he could feel noticeable improvements across the board—strength, agility, defense, and most importantly... spiritual power.
If the system used numerical stats for mental attributes, he was certain the spike would've been astronomical.
His thoughts drifted back to the original Jackie Chan Adventures series—specifically, the power of Tarakudo, King of the Shadowkhan.
The way he could move objects with will alone... influence the environment from afar... it was more than just shadow summoning. It was advanced telekinesis powered by spiritual mastery.
With his Template growing stronger, Shin Akira felt a spark of anticipation.
One day, he might wield that same power.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Read ahead and support the story on Patreon:
🔗 patreon.com/FaaanzKun
✅ 125+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ 2 new chapters every day (Monday–Saturday), exclusive on Patreon
✅ Be among the first readers to experience Arc 3 and the new season before anyone else!
📖 The first chapter of Arc 3 is now live!
You can read it right now on Patreon~
🌙 Note: Sunday is a rest day, so there will be no updates tomorrow. Regular uploads resume as usual on Monday.
Thank you all so much for your amazing support 💖
Your encouragement keeps this story alive and growing stronger every single day! 🌟
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —