After barely winning against Igris back in Solo Leveling Season 1, Sung Jinwoo got a job change quest after reaching level 40. The task given to him was to survive as long as possible.
But it was the hardest challenge yet at that time because the system kept summoning an army of monsters just to take him down. Jinwoo fought for 4 hours and 16 minutes before finally completing the quest.
As a reward, he was offered the Necromancer class, which later led to the Shadow Monarch class later. He also got to pick a command word to raise the dead and build his shadow army. He chose “Arise,” and with that, he could bring back fallen enemies as his own soldiers.
Jinwoo can use Shadow Extraction to revive monsters and hunters, but it only works three times on a target.
If he fails all three, he can never try again. The ability also has limits, it only works on beings with mana, and their rank has to be lower than his.
When he first tried to raise Igris, he barely succeeded on the third and final attempt (the reason will be revealed later).
Why Can’t Jinwoo Turn Demons Into Shadows in Solo Leveling Season 2?
Fast forward to Solo Leveling Season 2, and Jinwoo could not extract the shadow of Baruka, one of the strongest enemies he had faced.
At that time, Baruka was still stronger than him, so the ability did not work. There are other factors too, but the manhwa and anime never fully explain them.
Jinwoo needed Igris and Iron just to beat Baruka in the Red Gate Dungeon, showcasing how strong Baruka really was (an S-Class enemy).
But some beings can never become shadows, no matter what, like Monarchs, Rulers, and Demons. The Demon Castle is a special dungeon made by the system just for Jinwoo to level up.
It is an S-Rank dungeon with bosses on the 50th, 75th, and on 100th floors. On the 100th floor, there is Baran, the so-called King of Demons. Even though Baran was a Monarch in the past, this version of him is just a replica created by the system.
Since the dungeon is full of demons across 100 floors, you’d think Jinwoo could build a huge army here. But he can not. Shadow Extraction does not work on demons because their mana is “contaminated.”
This is never officially explained by the author, but in Chapter 61 of the webtoon, a system message confirms that contaminated mana blocks the ability. That is why Jinwoo can’t turn demons into shadows, no matter how strong he gets.
How Sung Jinwoo Was Able to Extract Kaisel’s Shadow
Kaisel first appeared in Chapter 85 of the manhwa and will be introduced in Solo Leveling Episode 20. He was Baran’s mount, the wyvern that the King of Demons rode at the 100th floor of Demon Castle.
At first, it seemed like Kaisel was a demon, just like Esil and other demons, but in Chapter 86, it was revealed that he was not. His real name revealed by Shadow was Wyvern Kaisellin, confirming he was not part of the demon race.
Since Kaisel was a non-demon wyvern, Sung Jinwoo was able to extract his shadow after defeating Baran. That is how Jinwoo got his first flying mount.
