Solo Leveling : 10 Shadow Technique

A year had passed, and Finn, along with Jess and their guild, Shadow Garden, had climbed the ranks. Now, he walked with over a hundred Shikigami dwelling in what he now called his "Light Garden"—a name reflecting the drastic transformation of his shadow.

After regaining control of his Shikigami, Finn corrupted his own shadow with his toxicity, pushing it to its limit. The result defied the very nature of light itself—his shadow had turned pure white, as pale as paste. It was both a tactical decision to prevent confusion during battle and a representation of his defiance of the norm. Additionally, Finn had reclaimed the ten original Shikigami from the clone he had left behind with Jean.

Since then, Finn had grown more selective in his choices, refusing to accept any more E-rank summons. His roster now stood at:

30 E-rank, 30 D-rank, 30 C-rank, 25 B-rank, 20 A-rank, 10 S-rank.

A total of 145 Shikigami, each lending him their abilities, power, and stats.

Yet, despite his immense strength, the man who could rival the Monarchs now sat in his house, eating ice cream while watching a romance anime. There was nothing sad about the show—yet Finn wore an expression of pure despair, his seat eroding under the pressure of his leaking aura. His phone buzzed, interrupting his misery. Seeing the caller ID, he sighed and picked up.

"Hello, Chimera speaking."

Jess's voice came through, calm yet firm. "Finn, your free week is over. The day you set has arrived."

She received no response, only the sound of the call disconnecting. Jess sighed, leaning back in her chair at the guild.

'I wish our ages weren't so far apart... but I'm sorry, I'm not enough for you.'

Before she could dwell further, the office door opened, and Andrei, the captain of the second task force, stepped in.

"Yo, Jess. We got a new one. Says she knows the boss. I'll leave her to you."

Stepping into the room was a young woman with shoulder-length black hair, pinkish highlights on the inner sides, and striking red eyes. She had a slim yet agile build, a thin waist, and powerful thighs. She was dressed in uniform, casually biting down on a lollipop.

She bowed slightly. "Hello, I'm Antoneth Violette. I was friends with Finn back in the day."

Jess sighed, pulling out her phone to send Finn a message. Before she could even lower her hand, her shadow shifted. A white hare emerged from it, and moments later, the entire space darkened before a figure stepped out, his presence as bright as day.

"I am here, so worry not," Finn announced with a smirk.

He looked at Antoneth and blinked. "Neth? Is that you?"

Antoneth's eyes widened in shock as she saw a white hare slip from her own shadow. "How... how did that get there?"

Finn chuckled. "Oh, nothing. I place one in the shadows of the important people in my life."

The hare slipped back into her shadow, leaving Antoneth stunned.

"Alright, follow me. I won't let a clone handle your exam—they're too strict on people," Finn said, turning to leave.

He paused at the door and glanced back. "Yo, Jess. Get the boss a trip to South Korea—something's about to happen there, and he's excited. Oh, and make sure the real one gets into deep trouble."

Just as he was about to fully disappear, he smirked and added, "By the way, I still love you."

With that, his body dissolved into shadows, leaving Jess alone, her face burning red. Frustrated, she slammed her forehead against her desk, cursing under her breath.

//--\\

Finn walked, with Antoneth following behind him. They were heading toward the Shadow Garden Guild's training ground, and the silence between them was thick with awkwardness. Finally, Antoneth broke the silence.

"So, you're a big shot now, huh?" she asked.

Finn glanced at her, smirking. "Yeah, I guess I'm on your level now," he replied, but Antoneth just laughed. After a moment, her laughter faded, and she spoke again.

"Yeah, I think you've already surpassed me," Antoneth said, and Finn smiled.

He then opened the gates to the Shadow Garden training ground with a simple push of his hand. They entered, and Antoneth's eyes scanned the entire facility.

"So, what are we doing here?" she asked, looking around.

Finn stood still for a moment, and out of the shadows emerged several E-Rank Shikigami.

"First, we'll start with the E-Ranks. Let's see how you handle them," Finn said.

Antoneth smirked. "Only E-Ranks?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I picked them out myself."

As he spoke, a red-skinned imp dashed at Antoneth. She quickly summoned water claws and slashed at it, but it vanished in a puff of smoke. Then, another imp launched itself at her. Antoneth blocked the attack with her palms, both enhanced with water claws.

"Trickster Imp," Finn said. "It has the ability to create illusory clones. I brought it along to help you practice distinguishing real from fake."

Antoneth narrowed her eyes, scanning the area. Suddenly, she noticed snow drifting through the air, and a bird covered in snowflakes appeared above her. As she focused on it, she felt her body slow down.

"And by the way, for me, E-Rank is more about utility. Too many, and you'll be overwhelmed. Take them out quickly," Finn added.

Antoneth clicked her tongue in annoyance. As she scanned her surroundings, she saw a skeletal centipede, as large as her arm, crawling toward her. It leaped into the air, and she quickly covered her arms with hardened water.

The centipede's sharp legs tried to pierce her defense, but Antoneth shocked it off, sending it reeling.

"Don't get distracted. You need to understand your opponent's abilities," Finn advised. "The Mimic Slime can change into something of similar size and weight, but its defense remains the same. You don't need to immediately figure it out—just process it. Like how the wound on your duplicate's arm doesn't bleed."

Antoneth noticed that the arm of her clone had a wound, but no blood spilled from it—just red.

Before she could react, a Shadefang, a shadowy wolf, lunged at her. She tried to block its bite, but the snowbird's mist was slowing her down. The wolf knocked her to the ground, but Antoneth summoned a shark tail made of water and slapped the wolf away.

"Feeling it yet?" Finn asked. "The bird above you is Frostmolt. The mist it produces slows you down when it touches your body."

Antoneth scowled. She leaped into the air, flinging the bird away. Just before it could hit the wall, it disappeared into a light spot and healed itself, returning to its original position.

Antoneth took a deep breath and then proceeded to take down the Shikigami one by one. With her agility enhanced and her sharp claws, she handled each opponent with greater focus, processing their abilities and attacking with precision.