<Chapter 4. Hunting Hero >
He stared intensely, but there really weren't any monsters at the entrance, not even one. Lee Shin Woo thought the Zombie Hero, who went into the dungeon before him, had probably cleared all the monsters. But he didn't know what monsters it had fought for its body to have become such a mess.
"Jjik, Jjijik"
"Ah, finally."
He had been absent-mindedly running through the dungeon, without the appearance of a single monster for 10 minutes, and finally met a monster after he had traversed what he felt was halfway through the dungeon.
If you took a common house rat from Earth and made it five times bigger, how disgusting and big would those rats be! Then, he remembered that the dungeon's name was the rural rat nest.
"Jjiiiiiiiiiiiiik!"
"Heup..."
From the outside, they looked weaker than the Skeleton Soldiers, but he didn't know what kind of abilities the monsters of this world were hiding! Lee Shin Woo exerted strength into his hand gripping the sword and cautiously took a step forward.
At that moment, the Rural Rat exposed its brutally shining front teeth and lunged at him! Lee Shin Woo instinctually took a defensive stance and pointed his blade at his enemy. It was such a solid stance that if a skeleton who knew Weapon Defense saw his form, it would've been satisfied with it.
[You have defeated a Lv1 Rural Rat.]
[You have received 5 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Rural Rat's rib bone.]
"..."
It was embarrassing to say that it was a single strike. He had exerted strength into his sword and positioned it so that it would hold back the rat's charge, but the rat had charged into his sword by itself and died.
Of course, it was also due to the fact that it was a fine sword, but just by looking at the amount of Perium dropped, he came to an obvious conclusion. The Rural Rat was ridiculously weak, even compared to the Skeleton Soldiers! His tension loosened tiredly, and he felt despondent. Despite that, he instinctually picked up its rib bone and used his Bone Reinforcement.
[Would you like to use the Rural Rat's rib bone to strengthen your own bones? You can reinforce your rib bones.]
"Reinforce."
[Your rib bones have been reinforced. Absorbing a portion of the Rural Rat's memories and experiences.]
[Jjik! Jjijijik, Jjiiiik! - Rural Rat]
Lee Shin Woo momentarily stood there and felt conflicted. What would be the point of exploring this dungeon now...?
However, he soon got a hold of himself and hit his own cheek. An unpleasant sound rang out at the clash of bones.
"If I can increase my stats by just one from these guys' bones, then it would still probably be best that I procure them all. Yeah, now that I've made up my mind, I'll clear out all the dungeons nearby."
It'd be troublesome if he got arrogant just because he got a little stronger. The fact that he could grow this much despite not knowing magic or how to fight was all because of Bone Reinforcement!
He soon decided to calmly and orderly proceed and stepped deeper into the dungeon. It seems that his senior hero hadn't stepped foot from this point onwards as more and more rats gradually popped out.
Of course, he cleaned them up in a single strike, but he gradually had to put more force into his sword, so it seemed as though the rats' health was gradually getting higher.
[You have reinforced your ribs. Your health has increased by 1. Proficiency in the Beginner Stealth skill has increased by 3%.]
[The Beginner Stealth skill has become Lv3.]
[Jjijijijik, jjiiik? - Rural rat]
Was it because he became level 2? That's why the level 1 Rural Rat bones would barely increase his stats... However, just like how larvae are good at rolling, the Rural Rat species' proficiency in the Stealth skill wasn't bad.
Lee Shin Woo suddenly realized. All monsters have their own worth!
'I can only lighten my footsteps a little bit for now, but if I develop this skill, it should be really helpful when I need to run away from the battlefield.'
In other words, it would be best to use it in tandem with the Avenger skill. By killing the seemingly unimpressive rats, he had gained a skill with such amazing growth potential, so if he turned back after his first rat kill, he would've been really disappointed.
"Jjijik... Jjiiiiiiik!"
"Yeah, I'm trespassing, so why don't you try screaming a little louder?"
"Jjiiiiiiik!"
Rats appeared everywhere and after taking care of them without much difficulty, he greedily absorbed their bones. After walking for a while, Lee Shin Woo realized that the path was getting increasingly narrow. Conversely, there were more and more rats pouring out, and stirring about, making it difficult for him.
"Jjiiiik!"
"Jjijijijik!"
"Yes, yes."
He was well aware of how this dungeon roughly intended to instill the trespasser with terror, but unfortunately, he was able to cut down all the rats that crossed paths with his sword. Lee Shin Woo felt like the path was becoming just a tad bit stuffy.
Moreover, as he traversed deeper into the dungeon, his body was becoming more accustomed to the Bursting Thunder skill, so he was actually thankful if they changed up the conditions or the environment.
With that in mind, he swung his sword, tip facing the ground, upward, and the Bone of Thunder Lasting surged up from the ground to the sky like lightning, brutally slicing through all the rats in the entire area.
"Jjiiik! (No!)"
"Jjik!! (It's in front...!)"
The Rural Rats' death rattles filled the narrow passage. While he reinforced his bones with theirs, he had finally mastered their language, and he was naturally able to interpret the meaning behind their cries; he only felt a bit uncomfortable.
Their desperate behavior only confirmed that there was something deeper within, but he had absolutely no idea what it was. If it was a similar environment to the dungeons he had heard about in webnovels or manhwa, then there should be a boss within but...
'They're showing way too much loyalty for it to be just a simple boss.'
The overly dense population of rats in this area were fully showing their loyalty.
Whenever he swung his sword, the rats filling the passage would all die by themselves, so around now, it was no longer skill training, but arm swinging training instead.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to unleash a different skill. When it was overflowing with a mob of Rural Rats, he had the perfect 'escape from crisis' skill to deal with them.
"Tsk... Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!"
[Using Shriek of the Dead. The enemies in the entire area have fallen into a frenzied state.]
[The Beginner Shriek of the Dead skill has become Lv3.]
"Jjik, Jjijik!?"
"Jjiiiiiiik!"
The effect was astounding! The moment the Rural Rats, who had all rushed at him with the intent to kill, heard the shriek, they were startled, and soon, fought in a fratricidal war! When he saw the dirty blood and flesh splatter everywhere, Lee Shin Woo suddenly trembled.
'This skill really isn't good for my mental health. However, if I train it, it might become more amazing than any other skill...'
He suddenly realized that Shriek of the Dead was obviously more effective the more enemies it targeted. How many enemies had been targeted for the skill to level up immediately!?
"Jjik..."
"Jjijik, Jjik..."
"Well done. Now, rest in peace."
He waited for the commotion to calm down before he cleaned up the horrific area. After that, he gathered the rib bones without resting and inspected himself while using Bone Reinforcement.
Despite spending close to a whole day concentrating all his efforts into killing rats and absorbing their bones, his health had only risen by 5; but in its stead, his Beginner Stealth had become level 4. Although he could definitely see himself walking, his movements were light, like the movements of a rat, though it was strange to even himself.
"I've gotten a bit more familiar with Bursting Thunder, as well as my body and the sword... Good."
Since the skill was so amazing, he felt like he couldn't even unleash a quarter of the power within Bursting Thunder, but he could roughly imitate the appearance of the technique. For some reason, after swinging his sword in the air a few times, he nodded his head and looked ahead.
There was clearly a disparate iron gate located there.
'I feel mana coming from the gate itself. Since the mana within can't come out, does it have the ability to imprison whatever's inside so that it can't come out?
He didn't have any idea how the dungeon was created, but when he looked at the gate, he thought that perhaps the dungeons were originally set up by God to protect humans from the monsters.
Of course, now that all the humans who were supposed to be protected by the dungeons had become undead, they probably don't have much meaning anymore but... He laughed bitterly and placed his hand on the gate. At that moment, a message appeared in front of him.
[Once you enter the boss room, you cannot exit until either you die, or the boss dies. Will you still enter?]
"Yeah."
He thought that perhaps the secret shop sold an item related to escaping the dungeon, but he thought he didn't need it right now. He wasn't being arrogant; this resulted from his extremely calm decision.
[Lv2 Rural Rat Queen]
[Lv2 Ratman]
The instant he entered the boss room, the first thing he saw were those two entities. Are the bosses normally a level higher than the dungeon? He couldn't tell yet.
A rat that was incomparable in size to the normal Rural Rats; the Rat Queen was stuck in a corner of the vast clearing, and the one standing in front of it was... Yeah, the rat standing on two feet was the Ratman. It was a rat commonly called a Were-Rat. Compared to mere Rural Rats, he felt a qualitatively different strength coming from it.
"Kihik... Kihiiiiiiik! (You cannot touch the queen!)"
"Kihek, Kihek, Kihek...!"
Indeed. It seems like this dungeon was a small kingdom. A kingdom where all the rats serve the queen!
By the time Lee Shin Woo had grasped the identity and location of his enemies, his enemies had also started the battle. The Ratman charged at him with surprising speed. At the same time, the Rat Queen began acting aggressively, and that, surprisingly, was 'childbirth'!
"Jjjik!"
"Jjijijik!"
[Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
[Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
[Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
"Oh..."
When Lee Shin Woo saw the just birthed elite monsters following behind the Ratman and lunging at him, he exclaimed at the realization.
The Ratman guarded the queen against trespassers, and the queen would birth soldiers in order to help the Ratman drive back their enemy. Honestly, for a level 1 dungeon, they had such an amazing combination that he had no choice but to recognize them. He had expected an incredibly large rat at best.
"Heup!"
However, at best they were enemies that appeared with strength befitting of a boss, but unfortunately, he had fought against the Zombie Hero at the entrance of the dungeon and won, growing to level 2. So now, a Ratman wasn't a strong opponent for Lee Shin Woo anymore. That's because no matter how fast it moved, he could read its movements.
"Kahahk!?"
Lee Shin Woo used his Sprint and charged towards the Ratman whose nails were gleaming and was rushing towards him. The Ratman locked onto him and swung its nails, but at that moment, Lee Shin Woo aimed for its chest and stabbed. It was the stab he was most confident in.
[Critical Hit!]
"Kyaaaaahk!"
"Jjik, jjiiiik!"
Lee Shin Woo, as it were the natural course of action, pierced through the Ratman's chest. Was that all? He had simultaneously utilized Sprint causing the Ratman to be unable to endure the powerful force, pushing it directly back and causing it to roll to the floor. Its dirty blood scattered about through the air.
Two of the Rural Rat Elites that had followed behind the Ratman collided with each other and rolled onto the floor. Lee Shin Woo had the energy to spare and he finished off the remaining, puzzled elite.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have acquired 15 Perium.]
[You have acquired the Rural Rat Elite Soldier's rib bone.]
When he set aside the Perium amount and looked at them objectively, the Rural Rat Elite Soldiers were stronger than the Skeleton Soldiers. Of course, even so, they would still die in one strike from Lee Shin Woo!
Lee Shin Woo collected its rib bone for now and turned his attention. Even though blood was pouring out of its chest, the Ratman bravely stood its ground. He saw the queen, who was astonished by Lee Shin Woo's ability, continue to birth rats at an even quicker rate.
"Jjik, Jjiiiiik...! (I'll protect the queen no matter what...!)"
"You left behind such a magnificent line, so you shouldn't have any more regrets."
Lee Shin Woo's red eyes sparkled and after checking the now standing Ratman's appearance, he prepared his Sprint skill. If he hadn't gained the Bone of Thunder Lasting, the fight would have gone longer, but it seemed like he'd be able to end it in one more strike with the strength of his sword.
"Jjiik...!"
At that moment, something surprising happened. The Ratman raised both its hands and it seemed as though it was preparing to scratch him, but the next moment, all its nails popped out and flew towards Lee Shin Woo. There were ten in total and considering either the force behind the nails or the mana within them, it certainly wasn't an ordinary attack!
"Ugh!?"
Lee Shin Woo didn't think an original attack method like that existed and hurriedly swung his sword to parry the nails. He couldn't block a few of them as they lodged into various parts of his body, and though it was painful, he had fortunately blocked it from reaching any vital areas.
If he hadn't learned Bursting Thunder, no, if he didn't have any experience in learning Weapon Defense before, he would've died once from this skill.
"Kiiiiiiiiik! (Kill him!)"
"Jjiik!"
"Jjijiik!"
During the brief instant that he blocked the nails, the Ratman led five Rural Rat Elite Soldiers and pounced on Lee Shin Woo. Though blood was flowing down both the Ratman's hands, it was staking its life to fulfill its vow, and moving to kill Lee Shin Woo.
"Tch... Sprint!"
Lee Shin Woo also didn't stay still. He immediately took the nails that limited his movement out, grit his teeth, and used his Sprint, charging towards the front. The Elite Soldiers tried to obstruct his vision by throwing their bodies at him first, but that wouldn't be able to hinder his movement now.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
"Jjik!"
"Jjiik!"
"Kuhwaaaahk!"
"Huaaaahp!"
The sound of the rats' screams, the Ratman's shriek, as well as Lee Shin Woo's battle cry mixed into one. In the corner, the Rat Queen was birthing Elite Soldiers even faster in order to take care of the trespasser.
However, by the time the next batch of births was complete, the situation had already been completely cleaned up.
"Kik... Kihi... (My... queen...!)"
[You have hunted the Lv2 Ratman.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
With one sword strike, Lee Shin Woo killed the three monsters, including the Ratman, and nimbly swung his sword again, killing the other Elite Soldiers attacking him. The strength was truly like lightning falling from the sky and striking the earth.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
"Ggiiik...! (How...!)"
The Rat Queen spoke in a disbelieving voice. Lee Shin Woo was still intact and collected the bones and the Perium on the ground in one go.
Honestly, he wanted to reinforce himself with the Ratman's finger bone first, but right now, he needed to check something first. It was the ability within the Rural Rat Elite Soldiers' rib bones.
"Bone Reinforcement."
[You have reinforced your rib bones. Your proficiency in Stealth has increased by 5%.]
[Jjjijijijijijijik! - Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
"...So that's how it is."
The crack in his ribs from the Ratman's nail throw was quickly healed. Was that all? His Stealth proficiency had increased by as much as 5%. He had predicted this, but it was much more effective than a normal Rural Rat!
Lee Shin Woo's eyes, which were gazing at the Rural Rat Queen, gleamed drearily.
"I'm curious how long you can keep giving birth now."
"Jjik, Jjiik...!"
The Rural Rat Queen faced the wicked skeleton and was struck with horror.
Of course, all she could do was give birth, and just like he wanted, she gave him reinforcement materials... No, she had no choice but to birth Elite Soldiers.
[You have reinforced your rib bones. You have absorbed all the memories and experiences that you can from the Rural Rat.]
[Jjiiiii! - Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
"..."
"Jjii..."
Lee Shin Woo wordlessly checked the message and turned his gaze away. There he saw the face of the dying Rural Rat Queen. It seems that she had a limit to her birthing, and no matter how much she tried, there wouldn't be any more Elite Soldier births.
"What great timing."
He couldn't be sure how long it took since he didn't have a watch, but he had killed the Elite Soldiers that she had birthed and Reinforced himself with the bones they left behind; he had already done this several dozens of times or more, and it felt like he had stayed here long enough. In the end, he had completely mastered the rat bones!
It was a task that caused him to recollect his time playing an RPG; he left his character in a suitable hunting ground and used his macros to farm.
"Jjik, Jjii..."
"Yeah, you've done well. I hope you're reborn as a rat that Cinderella takes care of."
Lee Shin Woo spoke tenderly and swung his sword, cleanly decapitating the queen. At that moment, Lee Shin Woo heard the sound of a trumpet ringing in his ear and his eyes were filled with messages.
[Level 1 dungeon, Rural Rat Nest, clear. Magic has increased by 1.]
[You have gruesomely slaughtered all life within the dungeon. You have gained 1 Slaughterer's token.]
[You have gained the dungeon clear reward.]
The queen only left behind a large bone and some Perium, and soon after withered away and disappeared. However, when Lee Shin Woo was picking up the bone and the Perium, he found a wooden box where the queen had disappeared.
It was a small and frail box that seemed like it would rot away immediately. It was definitely the dungeon clear reward.
"Hoo, now let's see."
Lee Shin Woo opened the box. There was a book and a money pouch containing Perium inside. Lastly, there was also a dagger inside, but it didn't transform despite him touching it, so when he looked at it again, it was, fortunately, a weapon made of bone!
[You have acquired the Lv2 Bleeding Tooth.]
[Bleeding Tooth]
[Lv2]
[Durability: 450/450]
[Attack Power: 18 - 36]
[Options: When you attack, there is a fixed chance that it will inflict the 'Diseased' status ailment.]
"Strictly speaking, this isn't a bone... Well, whatever. There are teeth on a skeleton too, so it's probably something like that."
Whether teeth were bones or not from a medical perspective, the important thing was that it hadn't transformed and hadn't lowered in level. There are probably authors who insist that the tooth should've changed since it's not technically bone, but he was willing to assassinate them all.
[You have acquired 1,500 Perium.]
[You have acquired the Beginner Stealth skill book.]
"It was Stealth!?"
He was, of course, familiar with and expected that it'd be a skill book. He had been secretly, really excited since he thought it'd be a new skill that would increase his overall fighting ability, but... to think it'd be Stealth, something that he'd trained to death in this dungeon!
His teeth trembled, and he stored the book. He was already familiar with the skill, so he felt like familiarizing himself with the skill wouldn't do anything and planned to sell it at the secret shop.
"When I put it all together, the dungeon reward isn't anything special. It's probably cause it's a level 1 dungeon... Tch."
He wouldn't be able to appease himself without complaining. Lee Shin Woo sighed and checked the items remaining in his hands. They were none other than the Ratman's, as well as the Rat Queen's bones.
"Now that it's come to this, you're my only hope... Bone Reinforcement."
[You have sacrificed the Ratman's finger bone to strengthen your own bones. Agility and Magic have increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Ratman's experiences and memories.]
[Ggiiiiiik! Ggihik, Ggiiiiik! (The pain of losing a part of my body is nothing compared to the pain of losing the Queen!) - Ratman]
You asshole, even your dying will is way too cool! Moreover, he was able to roughly figure out what skill he would gain from this bone by automatically interpreting this guy's lines.
Lee Shin Woo sported an insufferable expression and checked his hand. Hmm, as expected, there weren't any nails. Teeth are acknowledged as bones, so why aren't nails...?
"This is gonna be a skill in name only..."
His agility and magic, which became harder to increase after becoming level 2, had increased by 1 each, so he shouldn't feel disappointed, but... still, he couldn't help but be disappointed.
However, he gripped the Rat Queen's bone, hoping that it would give him a better skill, but ended up with a ridiculous result.
[You have sacrificed the Rural Rat Queen's pelvic bone to reinforce your pelvis. Health has increased by 1, and Magic by 2. Absorbing a portion of the Rural Rat Queen's memories and experiences.]
[Ggii, Ggiiiiii! (Ah, ah, my adorable children!) - Rural Rat Queen]
"..."
Why did it have to be the pelvic bone...? No, it's probably not. … It isn't, right? As the feeling of nausea shot up, he wasn't able to control his queasiness, but Lee Shin Woo tried really hard not to think about it anymore.
Then, a message appeared at an opportune time.
[The dungeon will soon collapse. Please escape before it's too late.]
"So, it's done its job, then it disappears, huh. ...Good."
He briefly took a deep breath and turned around. He could already feel the dungeon starting to vibrate slightly. Lee Shin Woo wanted to check the Slaughterer’s token too, but it seemed like he'd have to do that once he got out of the dungeon.
Lee Shin Woo took another deep breath, used his Sprint, and started running. Small fragments of rock were falling from behind him, as well as emitting ominous sounds.
[Lee Shin Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]
[Lv - 2]
[Strength - 73 Agility - 78 Health - 82 Magic - 47]
[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv2, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv1, Beginner Archery Lv2, Beginner Magic Affinity Lv2, Beginner Stealth Lv7]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Beginner Sprint Lv7, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv3]
"Nice."
The first thing he did once he got out of the dungeon was check his status, and those stats made him incredibly pleased. Just before entering the dungeon, his stats hadn't even reached 200; although his Invisible Heart had activated once, his stats had risen to a sum of 280.
He didn't know how much his stats needed to be to get to level 3, but he was sure he'd be able to reach it soon.
'Moreover, my low health has completely overtaken my strength and agility.'
The Rat Queen, which had appeared as the dungeon boss, had played a huge role in that. Because it had birthed several hundreds of Elite Soldiers, he was able to raise his stats a lot, even though they were all level 1. He was also able to raise his Stealth to level 7.
'Now my bones shouldn't break, even if they're hit fairly hard.'
His increase in health through his level up had certainly thickened his bones, as well as made them sturdier; when he tapped his bones, Lee Shin Woo laughed satisfyingly. Then, right on time, the dungeon he had escaped from completely collapsed and a message appeared.
[A quest has occurred!]
[The callousness and the cruelty you showed in the dungeon has awakened the karma of a slaughterer. However, you are still too weak, and your enemies were even weaker; ultimately, you did not receive the whole karma, but just a token of it. If you are truly confident that you can bear the weight of the karma, then gather 10 Slaughterer's tokens, and complete the karma. You should already be well aware of the method.]
[Quest reward - 1 permit to the god's secret shop, and 1 exclusive equipment.]
"Now that I think about it..."
He thought it would be a quest like 'You've gone through a dungeon, so go deeper into the Empire now and annihilate the undead!', but instead, he got a quest that completely broke his expectations.
It reminded him of an item he had forgotten about and pointed him in a direction where he could grow, so it was as if God was personally telling him 'you're still too weak to get a proper mission, so get as strong as possible' through a quest.
'How could it be 10? I don't have to go through 10 dungeons, do I?'
There's no way he'd have to go through that many. Still, it would definitely be a long journey. Lee Shin Woo wondered whether or not he’d be able to gain a new quest while progressing through this one and became a bit uneasy, but he had no choice but to get a move on for now.
[Slaughterer's Token]
[A fragment of a Slaughterer's karma. Once you gather 10 tokens, the karma will become whole. It only has meaning when you gather them with your own strength. Since you have gained your first fragment, it becomes easier for you to gain the same token of karma in similar situations.]
'So, the tokens do have meaning after all. Does it mean that it becomes easier to get the rest since I've already gotten one?'
Lee Shin Woo was definitely concerned about the hard to understand and complex factors, so he decided to not think about it too hard.
He had even thought about asking his seniors in the chatting channel, but if this was a rare case, it may inversely cause them to pay more attention to him, so he decided not to. Even he thought the Slaughterer’s karma wasn't normal.
'Then, shall we get going?'
Firstly, his goal was to acquire the 10 Slaughterer’s tokens before he became level 3. Lee Shin Woo inwardly set his goal and quickened his steps. He tightly gripped the level 3 weapon in his hand, the Bone of Thunder Lasting.
[Lv2 Treasure Eater]
[Lv2 Treasure Eater]
That’s right. This treasure drew monsters that he was already familiar with.
Two, at that!
[Guooooooooooooooh!]
[Kuaoooooooooh!]
"No wait, all these guys live nearby?"
Honestly, these Treasure Eaters (Lee Shin Woo had encountered a Treasure Eater for the first time in the external passageways), had gathered and targeted his senior hero (they were enemies that would be relatively difficult to face for the other heroes), who had entered the empire with the then level 4 version of the Bone of Thunder Lasting.
His senior hero had probably been injured and exhausted from fighting so many of them, so he had run away into the dungeon and had died, but Lee Shin Woo obviously didn't know the story up to that point.
There was only one thing important to him right now: because of his senior's efforts, the Treasure Eaters had all gathered in this area. Not to mention, they had lost the level 4 item in the past and were really pissed!
[Gguaaaaaaaaah!]
[The Treasure Eater used the Shriek of the Dead, but it was nullified by the Invisible Heart.]
It must've really wanted his treasure, as one of the Treasure Eaters immediately used its Shriek of the Dead as soon as it saw him.
The shriek rang out far and wide and resulted in something Lee Shin Woo hadn't expected; a gathering of the undead. And that was good news for him right now.
[Patrolling... Discovered monsters... Skeleton... engaging...]
[A newbie...?]
The newbie enthusiast skeletons gathered one or two at a time. There were skeletons he was familiar with, like the Skeleton Soldiers or the Skeleton Archers, but surprisingly, there was also a huge skeleton with a large bone sword amongst them.
[Lv2 Skeleton Warrior]
It was the first skeleton he had seen since coming into the empire that was level 2, the Skeleton Warrior! If he fought it one on one, Lee Shin Woo would always come out on top, but he wasn't sure he could take on a group of them since he wasn't sure about their level of strength yet.
"Paul, it's good to see you! Hurry and help me!"
[It's also... good to see you...]
However, he was just glad that that strength was on his side right now! Especially since it was just as brainless as a Skeleton Soldier!
[Helping... the newbie...!]
[Requesting... reinforcements. There are a lot... of monsters...!]
Weak Pauls and strong Pauls came from various places. However, that gradually made it more hectic, and more Treasure Eaters appeared, as they caught a whiff of it. The situation had fallen into utter chaos.
And Lee Shin Woo froze when he coincidentally identified one of the newly arrived Treasure Eaters.
[Lv3 Treasure Eater]
"That’s crazy, a level 3 monster...? And it's a Treasure Eater at that, so it's much stronger than normal enemies!"
He was sure. Considering how the level 2 Treasure Eater had been vastly superior in strength to the level 2 Ratman, who had appeared as a dungeon boss, the Treasure Eaters were definitely elite monsters!
[Kuwoooooooooooh!]
[The Treasure Eater used the Shriek of the Dead, but it was nullified by the Invisible Heart.]
However, to think that the first level 3 monster he sees would be a Treasure Eater... It seemed as though Lee Shin Woo had a strong relationship with that monster species.
If another hero had heard that, they would think of him as a walking lottery ticket. Since the Treasure Eater was truthfully an elite monster, and it was harder to encounter one than taking one down.
'I might use the Avenger skill for the first time here...'
Even while Lee Shin Woo wracked his brain for a way to get the most benefit out of this situation, he raised his sword in one hand and bravely yelled out.
"We're going with the siege destruction formation; use the siege destruction formation! Move faster, Pauls!"
A fierce battle began between the skeletons, led by a swindling skeleton, and the Treasure Eaters. It was a battle that the one in the external passageway couldn’t be compared to!
One way or another, the battle had gone on for 20 minutes, and Lee Shin Woo cleanly decided against using his Avenger skill against the Treasure Eaters.
While the Pauls were fighting against the Treasure Eaters, he used his Beginner Stealth and tried to covertly escape the battlefield, but it was impossible to escape their sight, especially when their goal was his Bone of Thunder Lasting.
'Still, I can't use my weapon as bait to run away. Ultimately, I have to clean up all of them here before I can proceed...'
Lee Shin Woo sighed and raised his head. He saw four Treasure Eaters that only watched him and followed him. There was no point to a beautiful girl chasing after him right now, let alone a caterpillar...
'How exactly am I supposed to take care of all of these?'
Truthfully, as the Pauls' bones fluttered in the wind, they were busy acting violently, and somehow managed to take down two of the Treasure Eaters. It wasn't hard to land a fatal blow if their swords boasted a high attack power.
The problem was that he didn't have the opportunity to collect their bodies as the other Treasure Eaters ran amuck, eating their comrade's body and treasure whole. Even though they were the same species, their avarice didn't lessen one bit. Moreover, it seems as though they became stronger when they ate their comrades' bodies, so it was truly nuts.
[Kuwoooooooooh!]
[The Treasure Eater used the Shriek of the Dead, but it was nullified by the Invisible Heart.]
[Beginner Shriek of the Dead has become Lv5.]
Due to the Lv3 Treasure Eater's Shriek of the Dead, Lee Shin Woo's own Shriek of the Dead grew. He realized for the first time today that even if he didn't use the skill personally, it would increase his proficiency, as long as he was exposed to the skill.
[Ugh... Traitors of... the Empire...!]
[I'll get my revenge for... General Seagald here...!]
But whenever the Treasure Eaters shrieked, more than half of the skeletons he had gathered fought amongst each other; the fact that the numbers dwindled genuinely made his bones hurt. No, now that he thought about it, they knew about General Seagald! Exactly how popular could he have been!?
"You idiots, get a hold of yourselves! You're comrades!"
[Over there, too... An enemy...!]
[He's holding... a nice sword...!]
[Execute him... and report...!]
"Ah, shit."
He wondered why his genuine scream hadn't caused the skeletons to get a hold of themselves. Rather, he had been targeted by the skeletons who were out of their minds due to the Shriek of the Dead. This is why they say kids are ruining comics these days!
"Sseup..."
It wasn't the time to leisurely take on skeletons right now. Though they had killed two Treasure Eaters, there were four remaining, and there was even a level 3 Treasure Eater amongst them.
Fine, since it's come to this, it's time to counterattack! Lee Shin Woo got atop the roof of a building that had been destroyed by the Treasure Eaters' rampage and shrieked.
"Kuaaaaaaaaah!"
[You used the Shriek of the Dead! The enemies in the entire area have momentarily fallen into a frenzied state!]
[The Lv3 Treasure Eater has resisted the Shriek of the Dead.]
At that moment, the atmosphere of the entire area felt like it had calmed down the few skeletons that had been attacking him, as well as the huge caterpillar shaped monsters crazily crawling towards him... The Treasure Eaters even stopped as if they had been stunned.
"...Hmm?"
At that moment, Lee Shin Woo thought that it was impossible, but that impossibility had taken hold of those people, no those monsters. The Treasure Eaters started to fight amongst themselves!
If they weren't cognizant that they were allies anymore; the prey they were most hungry for were obviously members of their own species.
[Gguaaaaahk, Ggueeeeeeeeeehk!]
The Lv3 Treasure Eater, the only one to resist the Shriek of the Dead, tried to pull them apart and got between them, but it had the opposite effect. Like how the skeletons had tried to attack Lee Shin Woo, the Treasure Eaters also started to attack the Lv3 Treasure Eater without fear.
"Wow, this is huge."
[Kiek!]
While the Treasure Eaters were tied up in fighting amongst themselves, Lee Shin Woo cleaned up the skeletons running amuck.
The Treasure Eaters were level 2 and possessed the Shriek of the Dead themselves, so he didn't think it would work, but that was also his bias. As expected, before he used it himself, he couldn't know how it would turn out. He had gotten another good experience this way.
[New...bie...?]
"Die... You've recovered, Paul? You dumbass, I was worried about you!"
[Thanks... Joining...]
The moment he was about to shatter the Skeleton Warrior's head with his Bursting Thunder skill, it had recovered from the effects of the Shriek of the Dead. Upon seeing that, Lee Shin Woo quickly withdrew his sword and patted its shoulder. Even while being dazed at Lee Shin Woo's words of concern, it followed behind him.
"Those who have recovered, come over to this side! We can't do anything by ourselves, but if we're with our comrades, we can do anything!"
[I feel strength... from the newbie's voice...!]
[Over here, this way...!]
[Kugegegegek!]
He coaxed the unscathed skeletons nearby and finished cleaning up the rest of the afflicted skeletons.
Within the mayhem, all of the level 1 skeletons had already died, but the level 2 skeletons were fairly intact, and as a result, he gathered 15 Skeleton Warriors.
"Those wicked beings that are destroying the empire, let's take them down together! Let's pool our strength into one!"
[Defeat... together...!]
[Energy... is rising!]
[Acting skill has become Lv3.]
The Skeleton Warriors, compared to the Skeleton Soldiers or Archers, were relatively solid. That was especially true regarding their fighting spirit, which had been ignited from Lee Shin Woo's speech.
But their idea of a system of command was still a mess, and just by him speaking a bit bravely, it felt a little bit like they had, at some point, recognized him as their superior. Though it was the best thing that could happen to him.
[Kuook... Kuheeeeeeeeeek!]
Meanwhile, at around the same time that Lee Shin Woo had rallied the Skeleton Warriors, the Treasure Eaters were suddenly finishing up their bloody battle. In the most awful way at that.
[Kueeeeeeeeeek!]
Above the wreckage of the now ruined building, the sole remaining Lv3 Treasure Eater cried out as the winner. After being half torn apart and eaten, the corpses of the other abandoned Treasure Eaters truly looked pitiful. But Lee Shin Woo wasn't very surprised, as he knew about halfway through that this is how it would turn out.
"I can get all the treasure if I take care of that one guy anyway. And it got a lot of injuries from fighting too..."
[Report to... superiors...!]
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. But we gotta take down that guy first, right?"
Although they didn't even have any superiors to report to, the Skeleton Warriors kept talking about superiors, so Lee Shin Woo adequately appeased them, and raised his sword high. It was a sort of provocation towards the Treasure Eater.
Despite the thick dust filling the environment, due to the chaos that had occurred everywhere, his raised Bone of Thunder Lasting radiated light. Despite it changing into bone, the blade still gleamed with light, a truly mysterious sight.
[Kuhaaaaaaaaaa!]
[The Lv3 Treasure Eater used Shriek of the Dead, but it failed due to lack of mana!]
"Nice timing. Let's go, guys!"
[I got it!]
[Protecting the Empire...! That's the will of... General Seagald...!]
So, what the hell did General Seagald do!? No wait, I heard that asshole plotted treason!
[Kuaaaaaaaaaaah!]
As soon as the Treasure Eater failed its Shriek of the Dead, it seemed to become extremely uneasy, as it faced the charging Skeleton Warriors and cried out a manaless shriek for a while. Then, it charged forward.
Its force came close to that of a speeding locomotive!
The Skeleton Warriors tried to charge at the Treasure Eater and foolishly attempted it head-on...
"Dodge what attacks you can! We'll survive and protect the Empire!"
[Oh, Ooooh...!]
[I'll follow... your words!]
He used his Sprint and leaped high into the air. The words Lee Shin Woo had blurted out seemed to stir a feeling within each Skeleton Warrior, as they changed their minds and engaged in evasive maneuvers.
Of course, there were some who couldn't keep up with the Treasure Eater's speed, so they were struck in the front, but luckily those guys didn't die in one hit, endured, and lodged their bone swords into the Treasure Eater's flesh. 'Even when it's rotten, it's still a herring'[1]; it's worth surviving for this long!
"Bursting Thunder!"
Due to these guys' efforts, the Treasure Eater's charge had been halted; Lee Shin Woo aimed for that timing and attacked. Since it had risen to its utmost, he aimed for its head and plummeted down; he pierced with his sword, striking down with force akin to lightning.
[Critical Hit!]
[Gguweeeeeek!]
Though Bursting Thunder was nothing more than a passive skill, the moment he clashed against an enemy with a melee weapon, following the harmonization between his body's movements and his mana, an explosive force would occur, to the point that it could rightly be called a mystery. If it had been at the intermediate level, this battle would already be over.
And even if the skill was only low rank right now, after going through the dungeon, he had somewhat familiarized his body with the technique, so his sword strike was enough to exert a force akin to lightning against the Treasure Eater.
"Here, take one more!"
[Kuwaaaaahk!]
He could also interpret simple words now. It was saying that it hurt terrifyingly.
Lee Shin Woo radiated light and dodged the Treasure Eater spewing rotten blood. He used his Sprint to jump again and safely landed on the ground. He saw some Skeleton Warriors who hadn't been able to dodge its rampage and get crushed.
"Dodge, even if you have to roll on the floor! And stab your swords into that guy!"
[Ugh... as a warrior, as a soldier...! I'll face it!]
[Avoid it...! You have to avoid its attacks so that you can protect the Empire...!]
[We're the Empire's proud warriors...!]
The true intent behind his words was 'it's hard for me to beat this guy alone, so you guys can't die on me already!', but the Skeleton Warriors took it as encouragement.
Now, regardless of what he said, the Skeleton Warrior’s fighting spirit was increasing. He thought briefly, 'Is this what it feels like to be a religious leader of a pseudo-religion?'. If the God who made him into a skeleton was to see this scene, her blood pressure would rise and would feel unsteady.
'In any case, I have to finish it before it recovers its mana. We've come more than halfway, more than halfway...!'
He checked the Treasure Eater's condition, as well as the Skeleton Warriors' condition, and intensely calculated how he should move next.
If it seems like it was distracted by the Skeleton Warriors, he would provoke it by swinging his sword within its sight; and if it seemed like a lot of Skeleton Warriors would remain while the Treasure Eater was gradually accumulating damage, he would cold-heartedly lead them to their deaths. This situational decision making was an ability that he always had.
[Kuek, Kuheeeeek...!]
How long did that gruesome battle go on? Through one of the Skeleton Warrior's brilliant sacrifice, Lee Shin Woo blocked the Treasure Eater's attack and forcefully struck with his sword. The moment he cleaved its rotten belly, the Treasure Eater coughed intensely and spewed out a blood clot.
"Now, guys! Gang up on him!"
[Keuhaaaaahp!]
[For the honor... of the Empire!]
While it was dying, they had to rush it! Lee Shin Woo bobbed his hand, sending the signal, and the Skeleton Warriors simultaneously charged at the Treasure Eater. The Treasure Eater had become a mess and one by one, the Skeleton Warriors' swords lodged deep into its flesh.
[Kuhek, Kueeeeek...!]
The Treasure Eater spat out another clot of blood and was in pain. It was undoubtedly in a fatal state! Lee Shin Woo raised his sword and forcibly yelled. Now it was time to harvest the fruit of this long and distressing battle! The siege destruction formation (or ganging up) had paid off!
"We're all the way there! Charge, I said charge! Stab more forcefully!"
[Killing it!]
[If I'm with you... I can go anywhere!]
The Skeleton Warriors charged behind Lee Shin Woo while saying words that felt somewhat burdensome to him. However, talking about the conclusion first, this became Lee Shin Woo's greatest miscalculation in this battle.
[Kik... Kigihiiiiiiiiiiii!]
The Treasure Eater spewed out a blood clot, raised its rotten eyes, and gazed at them. Immediately after, from within the blood clots, flames...
"Oh, hey wait a sec..."
The blood clots exploded in a grand fashion and covered the entire area!
[1] T/N: It's a saying that means something that's originally good won't wear out/change and/or someone's nature/integrity won't change. Basically, he's saying that they still have their skill, even after they've degraded into skeletons.
[Treasure Eater uses Flames of Resentment! Scorching flames cover the whole area!]
[Critical Hit!]
The Lv2 Treasure Eater didn’t have that skill though! But he couldn’t complain. After all, when Lee Shin Woo realized that it was a higher level, he should've been suspicious that it had an ability that the Treasure Eaters up until now didn't have.
Because he was sure he had grasped victory, Lee Shin Woo had forgotten his sense of danger and acted recklessly; it was his mistake.
'It's really a good realization. If I come out of these flames alive, it should be a profitable trade.'
Lee Shin Woo didn't hold back, using all his strength in an attempt to get out of the scarlet flames that covered the chaotic battlefield no matter what. Though it wouldn't be over if he died here, he can't always rely on Invisible Heart!
The fact that he'd instinctually opened his inventory and grabbed his bone arrows the moment of the explosion was truly a wise response. Even though the strength contained in each individual arrow didn't compare to the bones left behind from hunting monsters, they would at least be enough for first aid.
'Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement! Use them all for Bone Reinforcement!'
The bone arrows were completely used up, and then his body, which had been entirely burnt by the huge explosion, was instantaneously healed.
Since they were just normal bone arrows, they didn't leave behind any experiences, memories, or skills, and his stats didn't increase either, but it was enough that he had fortunately avoided an instantaneous death. Of course, he wasn't out of the woods just yet.
'Bones... I need more bones!'
Fortunately, the battlefield was filled with the bones of the skeletons that had died prior. However, the bones themselves were burning within the malevolent flames, so he would have to hurry up if he wanted to use them for Bone Reinforcement.
It was a relief that his circumstantial judgment was quick as he was soon able to collect several dozens of bones.
'Bone Reinforcement! Bone Reinforcement!'
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
[Your leg bone has been reinforced.]
[Your shoulder bone has been reinforced.]
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
He couldn't get anything more from the bones from regular Skeleton Soldiers anymore. But they would still heal him if he used Bone Reinforcement, and he saw his reddish bones barely return to their natural color.
Of course, immediately after, he saw an even stronger flame rushing towards him, and he once again found himself in a dangerous situation. It was at that moment that he realized what a calamity fire was. Even more so since they were magical flames!
'Steve, you asshole...! Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement!'
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Strength has increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[You have to slash even harder. We're the swords of the empire! - Nameless soldier.]
Finally, the Skeleton Warriors' bones were starting to get mixed in. Its healing effect was even better! Lee Shin Woo's eyes gleamed and moved his body even faster. He needed to collect even more of these precious bones before they burned up!
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[It's pointless if you swing your sword a thousand times but not manage to cut your enemy once. Our goal is to precisely kill an opponent with only one swing. - Nameless soldier]
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Strength has increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[The imperial army is strong. We have to make everyone looking at us understand that. - Nameless soldier]
It seemed like he was being tested in reaction speed, and endurance at the same time.
Even if he reinforced his bones to the point that he was breathless, he didn't know whether the Treasure Eater's flame would subside or not, and even if it did, it wasn't like he could just sit there and do nothing, else he would quickly die.
Since it's come to this, he had thought about just dying once and resurrecting, but the more that came to mind, Lee Shin Woo obstinately decided to endure.
He had already died twice. That meant that if he hadn't come to the empire without any extra lives, he would already be dead. He couldn't accept becoming dependent on that technique.
'I can't die easily... Bone Reinforcement!'
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[I did it! There was magic in my sword just now! - Nameless soldier]
He quickly sprinted through the raging flames and found bones. When he couldn't find any more bones, he attempted to escape the raging flames, but to his shock, those flames stuck to his body and didn't let go easily.
It was almost as if the Treasure Eater's resenting will resides within the flames, gritting its teeth, and saying that it would kill him. And that wasn't a misunderstanding. The surviving flames were tightening around his neck.
'Then...'
If he didn't kill the Treasure Eater, these flames wouldn't disappear. He had realized this instinctually. The moment he was sure of it, Lee Shin Woo found the Treasure Eater and turned his body.
The flames had already spread in all directions, and it was a situation where he couldn't even see properly, but the mana within these flames that stuck to his body was leading him. He himself thought it was strange that he could feel the mana, despite feeling the pain of his entire body being burned.
'It's this way.'
Don't they say that if you want revenge on someone, you'd have to dig two graves? This skill was truly like that. Its Flames of Resentment was a skill that burned its opponent by using its own blood and mana as fuel. Those two things are obviously closely connected to its lifeforce and magic.
Right now, Lee Shin Woo could feel that connection. In this urgent situation, his ability was growing at an exponential rate.
[The Beginner Magic Affinity skill has become Lv4.]
[The Beginner Magic Affinity skill has become Lv5.]
'Damn it!'
The fact that his Magic Affinity skill had increased was definitely something to be happy about, but it was becoming harder and harder to push through the flames and run.
He didn't have any more bones to reinforce himself with, his bone body burned, and he could feel his ability gradually slipping.
[The Beginner Magic Affinity skill has become Lv6.]
[The Beginner Sprint skill has become Lv8.]
'Sprint... Sprint!'
Whenever he fought a hard battle, he only increasingly hated and regretted the him who was attached to the past.
'Damn it...!'
But his health was gradually dropping, and it was at the moment he felt it drop; the moment he prepared for death and grit his teeth, the mass of mana inside his body changed his mind, and he felt it spread all across his body.
[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Regeneration Lv5]
His bones, which felt like they would crumble, were saturated with magic and instantly returned it to a healthy state. More than anyone else, Lee Shin Woo was able to ascertain its effect. It was truly a simple skill; it would consume mana to regenerate the body! It was the same for bones!
Lee Shin Woo was curious as to how he had learned this skill, but he didn't have the time to leisurely think about it right now. When he regained his energy, he used his Sprint and kicked off the floor, jumping into the sky!
'There you are!'
Lee Shin Woo, who had briefly escaped the sea of flames, caught sight of the wriggling and moving Treasure Eater. Like him, the Treasure Eater was dying. But...
[Kuhi... Kieeek...!]
It was sitting wickedly in the center of the flames, and then widened the distance; it then moved around as if it were drawing a circle. He felt like it would wait until he died and then the Treasure Eater would collect the treasure.
Lee Shin Woo was already pissed off, but he was also annoyed that he couldn't do anything to it right now. He was way too far from it! It was great that he had awakened the Regeneration skill at the right time, but it had the disadvantage of using up magic. This meant that he'd run out of mana before he was able to take it down.
'Even so, it's not like I can shoot arrows from the sky...!'
Unfortunately, his knowledge of archery was shoddy. Even if he had the skill, he had used all of his arrows back then to heal himself!
Even while he grit his teeth, his body felt the force of gravity and was falling back towards the flame scorched ground. While falling, Lee Shin Woo suddenly, without any thought, naturally raised his left hand.
[The passive skill, Beginner Archery Lv2 has been expunged.]
[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Catapult Lv5.]
That feeling that he had experienced just a moment ago dominated his body. It was the feeling of awakening a skill! Following the Beginner Regeneration, he had awakened the Beginner Catapult skill!
'Urgh!'
The brief and powerful pain accompanied his left index finger being pulled out, and just like the name implied, it shot out like an arrow. Most of the mana he had remaining was inside of that projectile.
Its accuracy, as well as its speed, were incomparable to mere Beginner Archery; it cut through the air, burrowed into the middle of the Treasure Eater's forehead, and in the end, penetrated through it. Since it had truly happened in the blink of an eye, Lee Shin Woo himself couldn't track its path completely.
[Gguiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!]
However, the result was clear. The moment Lee Shin Woo dreadfully fell into the flames, the Treasure Eater gasped a horrific death rattle, and fell heavily with a thud.
Immediately after, the flames that had been stuck to his body, as well as the flames filling his surroundings cleanly dissipated. He stood dumbfounded and lines of messages started appearing before him.
[You have defeated a Lv3 Treasure Eater. You have achieved the feat of commanding your comrades and defeating an enemy that was at a higher level than you. All stats permanently increase by 2. You have acquired the passive skill, Command Lv1.]
[You have acquired the title, 'Treasure Hunter'! Whenever you hunt monsters or explore a dungeon, it will become easier to acquire higher ranked rewards. The title box is open.]
[As a reward for your feat, the proficiency of your combat related skills increases. Low Rank Bursting Thunder has become Lv2, Beginner Stealth Lv8, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv6, Beginner Catapult Lv6, and Beginner Command Lv3.]
It was extremely hectic. He was sure that the skill he had used at the final moment was the skill he had gained from the Ratman, and he didn't think it'd have this much force.
It felt really empty where he lost a finger, but he had gained the Regeneration skill just in time, so whenever he gets enough mana, he can just regain the bone.
'Wait a sec, did I perhaps get the Regeneration skill from the Queen?'
Lee Shin Woo recalled the Rat Queen's ability, who had birthed the elites, and he automatically nodded his head. Regardless of how much mana it had, that number of births was rare and beyond measure. However, if it had a healing ability, he could understand that many births in that short amount of time.
'Catapult, which would pull out a finger and launch it, and Regeneration which would restore that bone... who would have thought I would find such a perfect match in the same dungeon.'
In any case, he had survived because of those two skills. He thought it would've been better had they awakened a bit earlier, but... he couldn't be too greedy. Because he had moved so intensely, he had also grown.
"Hoo, then... Wow, it's a proper annihilation."
After he was sure that he wasn't at risk of dying anymore, he carefully stood up and surveyed his surroundings. There was nothing to survey. Since everything had turned to ashes.
He couldn't find any Skeleton Soldiers' or Skeleton Warriors' bones. He did see some of the greatswords that the Skeleton Warrior's had used remaining, but there weren't any spears. Seeing that, he realized that the Skeleton Warriors were better with a sword than a spear.
"I'll pick you guys up later. More importantly..."
After Lee Shin Woo checked that the other Treasure Eaters' bodies had cleanly disappeared, he turned around while tears slightly flowed (even though he can’t cry). Despite him having no way of restoring them... he still had the biggest reward left.
The reward known as the Lv3 Treasure Eater's corpse.
"Your big bro doesn't expect much, Steve. May you spit out a piece of level 4 bone equipment."
Lee Shin Woo muttered unpleasantly and approached the Treasure Eater.
It was stiff, looking exactly like a cicada that had fallen from a tree and died, and its rotting flesh and its burns were covered in blood; it wasn't exactly a great sight, but right now, to Lee Shin Woo's (nonexistent) eyes, it looked like a stack of gold.
"Hoo... Heup."
It wasn't anything special, so why was he shaking? Lee Shin Woo gently approached and with his index finger (that he regenerated with his mana) poked the body.
At that moment, the body divided into particles of light and fluttered away like spring cherry blossoms. He was able to see an undead completely disappear, and saw it naturally regress into mana for the first time! And he saw the inside of the orbs of light dropping onto the ground. These were the items that the Treasure Eater had left behind as it departed this world.
[You have acquired the Lv3 Treasure Eater's skull bone.]
[You have acquired 14,960 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Spear. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Spear (+5).]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Shield. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Shield (+5).]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Blessed Rose Tree Staff. It has transformed into a Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3).]
[You have acquired a Lv3 Dire Wolf Bone Armor.]
He had acquired the Treasure Eater's skull bone, 14,960 Perium, as well as a total of four items. Lee Shin Woo checked his list again and despaired.
"So, I really can't collect the bones from the other Treasure Eaters..."
Amongst the treasures that they possessed, a portion of them had entered the Lv3 Treasure Eater's storage organs, and he was able to collect them. However, due to this asshole's Flames of Resentment, he couldn't collect the other Treasure Eater's bones. He thought that perhaps it would also store the others' bones when it swallowed down the treasure, but that was just a silly dream.
He had gone through such a tough ordeal, yet he hadn't been able to procure the elite monsters' bones; Lee Shin Woo had realized that he had won this battle through reinforcing his bones, so in many ways, this situation was a bitter pill to swallow.
"If I learn magic, I should learn magic that extinguishes fire from my bones first...'
However, it wasn't all bad news. First off, the reward's main dish, the treasure that the Lv3 Treasure Eater kept hold of dearly, was, fortunately, equipment composed of bone.
[Dire Wolf Bone Armor]
[Lv3]
[Durability: 800/800]
[Defense: 100 - 115]
[Options: Increases Health by 20]
"If I just look at the abilities, it's really simple, but..."
In many ways, it was an item that didn't seem very exciting compared to the grand Bone of Thunder Lasting, but despite that, the Dire Wolf Bone Armor was plenty amazing. That's because its goal as defensive equipment was to protect the body, and it did that thoroughly.
This upper body armor, created out of auburn dyed dire wolf bones, was ridiculously sturdy, though he didn't know how they had processed the bones. It was sturdy to the point that he'd find it troublesome and turn back if an opponent wearing this showed up. That was obvious since it was a piece of level 3 equipment.
Moreover, just by wearing it, his health would increase by 20; it would increase his overall defense as well as increasing his stamina. Lee Shin Woo immediately equipped the armor.
Regardless of how much he'd leveled or how much larger he'd gotten, he looked like just a normal Skeleton A who appeared in a beginner dungeon; but wearing this quite nice armor, and holding the Bone of Thunder Lasting, he had strength that wouldn't make him envious of other considerable, named monsters. As expected, items are the best.
'Good, it's perfect. I shouldn't hear them call me newbie anymore.'
Aside from that, there was other good news. The Blessed Rose Tree Staff transformed into a Blessed Bone Wand, and despite being level 2 equipment the item level hadn't even decreased, and on the contrary, had actually been reinforced.
[Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3)]
[Lv2]
[Durability: 350/350]
[Attack Power: 10 - 15]
[Options: Increases Magic by 11, Increases Magic Casting Speed by 11%, Increases damage taken from living foes by 11%]
"In other words, there's no guarantee that the change into bone is necessarily a downgrade."
It depended on the item; like in this case, when the change occurred, it would become stronger, or perhaps the item may even increase in level.
He felt much better, at least compared to when he thought that the item would always decrease in level. Of course, he didn't really have a use for the wand right now, so he shoved it into his inventory.
"Good. Shall we get to to the real main dish?"
The main dish was the Treasure Eater's skull bone, which he had placed carefully on the floor. He picked up and raised the skull, and felt an unusual magic contained within. He could tell there was an intense heat that dwelled within.
Lee Shin Woo remembered the skill of the Treasure Eater that had threatened to annihilate him and the Skeleton Warriors alike, as well as pushing them into a crisis; after gulping down, he carefully activated his skill.
"...Bone Reinforcement."
[You have reinforced your skull bone. Magic has increased by 15. Absorbing a portion of the Treasure Eater's memories and experiences.]
15! His magic had increased by as much as 15 all at once. He was attacked by the pain of the sudden change, but he was already somewhat prepared for it, so Lee Shin Woo calmly endured it.
He just followed the movement of mana. Within the pain that felt as if his head was being twisted, new mana welled up and expanded through his body; the mana was truly a refreshing sensation.
'Ah...!'
While that went on, a tiny flame bloomed within that mana. The instant Lee Shin Woo was about to exclaim after discovering it, it instantly swelled without him able to grab hold of it, and completely filled his entire body!
For a split second, a black flame rose up and then disappeared. Lee Shin Woo realized that the flame couldn't harm him. A strong will dwelled within those flames. That was none other than his own will.
[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Flames of Revenge.]
[Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv1(Active)]
[An Avenger's tenacity is put into their magic and manifested in flames. It will pursue and latch onto your target and will not extinguish until you run out of mana, die, or your opponent dies. It can be extinguished by someone with higher Magic than you. It is also possible to incorporate the flames into your weapon.]
'Huh?'
The skill it had used was definitely the Flames of Resentment. But for the skill name to change? Lee Shin Woo was puzzled by the name change but honestly, it was extremely obvious. That's because when he reinforced his bones, he would just get the object's memories and experiences, but he wouldn't get the skills intact.
In other words, his own memories and experiences would be added to the skill that was manifested based on the person's memories and experiences, so it was always possible that it would result in the skill taking on a completely different form. Like when he had absorbed the Ratman's finger bone, he had awakened the Catapult ability, rather than the Ratman's ability to launch its nails.
"...Hoo, now I'm feeling a little better."
After the pain, as well as the dizziness from the sudden increase in magic had passed, Lee Shin Woo shook his head and got a hold of himself. He felt like the inside of his mind was much more refreshed. Though it was honestly still empty!
'Alright, shall we adapt and move around our body?'
He had collected everything the Lv3 Treasure Eater had left behind, but there might be some loot still on the battlefield that he hadn't collected. Even if he were to exclude the Skeleton Warriors' greatswords that he could easily see, there may be bones buried under the ashes!
As a result of him searching the entire area for 30 minutes, Lee Shin Woo collected 15 Lv1 Long Bone Swords (+5), 1 Lv2 Treasure Eater lower jaw bone, 3 Skeleton Warriors' palm bones, and lastly, 2,560 Perium.
The fact that even 1 Treasure Eater bone was left intact was truly a happy occasion, but... the problem was that it didn't end with him just acquiring the bone.
[You have acquired The Trickster's token.]
"... What's this?"
Lee Shin Woo's features frowned when he saw the gold coin in the palm of his hand, depicting a bizarre man wearing a helmet and shorts, with a spear in one hand and a trumpet in another. Naturally, the explanation for the item came up.
[The Trickster's token]
[The token of a scammer who hates harmony, instigates disorder, and can plot anything. One is plenty enough, while two is too few.]
"..."
When he had first gotten the Slaughterer's token, he was pretty sure he remembered that it would definitely be easier to obtain Slaughterer's tokens than other types of tokens. And he thought that he'd done plenty enough here for him to earn another Slaughterer's token.
However, what is this? Trickster? What the hell is this? Is it saying that he had to gather both the Slaughterer's tokens and the Trickster's tokens? Lee Shin Woo furrowed his (nonexistent) brow and the moment he agonized over it, he observed the familiar distortion of mana. It was obviously a notice for a quest.
[The quest, 'Slaughterer's Token' has been canceled.]
[A new quest has been created.]
"...Ha."
[A New Manipulator]
[The faces you possess are extremely numerous. And not one of them is the truth. If that's the case, fool everyone. If you do so, you can become anything! To be more specific, including The Trickster's token, gather 10 different karma tokens.]
[Quest progress - Trickster's token 1/1, karma tokens 2/10]
[Quest reward - 1 Lv6 Weapon Trickster's arm bone]
"Wait a sec!?"
Different individual karma tokens? Is it telling him to gain other karma tokens like how he had gained the Slaughterer's token and the Trickster's token? Didn't the quest difficulty go up outrageously!?
He thought about why he got this kind of token. He had thought that him acting like the Skeleton Warrior's ally, leading them, as well as making them fight against the Treasure Eaters might've had a huge effect but... still, the reality is way too harsh!
He didn't even know what conditions he'd have to fulfill to get the other karma tokens, and yet he had been given this quest; what the hell is a Trickster for him to get such a quest!?
"...It'll be fine if I just ignore it, right? It probably won't be much of a problem."
That's what he said, but it actually weighed on his mind considerably. It was a quest that had appeared after chewing up the Slaughterer's token quest. He couldn't help but be curious. He wouldn't have to gather 10 Trickster's tokens, but including this one, he'd have to gather a total of 10 different karma tokens...
'Ugh... it's not like anything will happen right away by exerting myself, so let's think about it carefreely.'
Ultimately, Lee Shin Woo decided to positively put this off. Rather than rot his brain from thinking too deeply about this, he decided to instead do his best when it comes to a situation where it seems like he'll be able to progress the quest. After he decided to do so, he felt a bit more relieved.
'Anyway, the quest reward changed, so it's become kind of awkward to use the permit to God's secret shop right away.'
He had pushed through the dungeon and the Treasure Eaters all at once, so he had come to possess a fortune of 25,000 Perium in no time. Whether he buys a bone or a magic book; he had enough of a fortune to reinforce himself! ...Is what he believed.
However, since he didn't have a promise for when he got his next permit right now, he refused to use his remaining permit without careful consideration. In the end, Lee Shin Woo sighed and changed his mind. He would continue to do what he had been doing first... in other words, cleanly mop up the level 1 dungeons in the nearby vicinity, and then go to the secret shop.
'I've decided, so shall we hurry?'
Lee Shin Woo gently closed his (nonexistent) eyes and after checking where each dungeon was, he gripped his Bone of Thunder Lasting and hurried his steps. He had grown rapidly after the intense battle, and his steps definitely contained more strength than before.
He was currently level 2, and his stat total was 323. He was confident that he was growing at a ridiculous rate. Perhaps even beyond his own imagination.
<Chapter 4. Hunting Hero >
He stared intensely, but there really weren't any monsters at the entrance, not even one. Lee Shin Woo thought the Zombie Hero, who went into the dungeon before him, had probably cleared all the monsters. But he didn't know what monsters it had fought for its body to have become such a mess.
"Jjik, Jjijik"
"Ah, finally."
He had been absent-mindedly running through the dungeon, without the appearance of a single monster for 10 minutes, and finally met a monster after he had traversed what he felt was halfway through the dungeon.
If you took a common house rat from Earth and made it five times bigger, how disgusting and big would those rats be! Then, he remembered that the dungeon's name was the rural rat nest.
"Jjiiiiiiiiiiiiik!"
"Heup..."
From the outside, they looked weaker than the Skeleton Soldiers, but he didn't know what kind of abilities the monsters of this world were hiding! Lee Shin Woo exerted strength into his hand gripping the sword and cautiously took a step forward.
At that moment, the Rural Rat exposed its brutally shining front teeth and lunged at him! Lee Shin Woo instinctually took a defensive stance and pointed his blade at his enemy. It was such a solid stance that if a skeleton who knew Weapon Defense saw his form, it would've been satisfied with it.
[You have defeated a Lv1 Rural Rat.]
[You have received 5 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Rural Rat's rib bone.]
"..."
It was embarrassing to say that it was a single strike. He had exerted strength into his sword and positioned it so that it would hold back the rat's charge, but the rat had charged into his sword by itself and died.
Of course, it was also due to the fact that it was a fine sword, but just by looking at the amount of Perium dropped, he came to an obvious conclusion. The Rural Rat was ridiculously weak, even compared to the Skeleton Soldiers! His tension loosened tiredly, and he felt despondent. Despite that, he instinctually picked up its rib bone and used his Bone Reinforcement.
[Would you like to use the Rural Rat's rib bone to strengthen your own bones? You can reinforce your rib bones.]
"Reinforce."
[Your rib bones have been reinforced. Absorbing a portion of the Rural Rat's memories and experiences.]
[Jjik! Jjijijik, Jjiiiik! - Rural Rat]
Lee Shin Woo momentarily stood there and felt conflicted. What would be the point of exploring this dungeon now...?
However, he soon got a hold of himself and hit his own cheek. An unpleasant sound rang out at the clash of bones.
"If I can increase my stats by just one from these guys' bones, then it would still probably be best that I procure them all. Yeah, now that I've made up my mind, I'll clear out all the dungeons nearby."
It'd be troublesome if he got arrogant just because he got a little stronger. The fact that he could grow this much despite not knowing magic or how to fight was all because of Bone Reinforcement!
He soon decided to calmly and orderly proceed and stepped deeper into the dungeon. It seems that his senior hero hadn't stepped foot from this point onwards as more and more rats gradually popped out.
Of course, he cleaned them up in a single strike, but he gradually had to put more force into his sword, so it seemed as though the rats' health was gradually getting higher.
[You have reinforced your ribs. Your health has increased by 1. Proficiency in the Beginner Stealth skill has increased by 3%.]
[The Beginner Stealth skill has become Lv3.]
[Jjijijijik, jjiiik? - Rural rat]
Was it because he became level 2? That's why the level 1 Rural Rat bones would barely increase his stats... However, just like how larvae are good at rolling, the Rural Rat species' proficiency in the Stealth skill wasn't bad.
Lee Shin Woo suddenly realized. All monsters have their own worth!
'I can only lighten my footsteps a little bit for now, but if I develop this skill, it should be really helpful when I need to run away from the battlefield.'
In other words, it would be best to use it in tandem with the Avenger skill. By killing the seemingly unimpressive rats, he had gained a skill with such amazing growth potential, so if he turned back after his first rat kill, he would've been really disappointed.
"Jjijik... Jjiiiiiiik!"
"Yeah, I'm trespassing, so why don't you try screaming a little louder?"
"Jjiiiiiiik!"
Rats appeared everywhere and after taking care of them without much difficulty, he greedily absorbed their bones. After walking for a while, Lee Shin Woo realized that the path was getting increasingly narrow. Conversely, there were more and more rats pouring out, and stirring about, making it difficult for him.
"Jjiiiik!"
"Jjijijijik!"
"Yes, yes."
He was well aware of how this dungeon roughly intended to instill the trespasser with terror, but unfortunately, he was able to cut down all the rats that crossed paths with his sword. Lee Shin Woo felt like the path was becoming just a tad bit stuffy.
Moreover, as he traversed deeper into the dungeon, his body was becoming more accustomed to the Bursting Thunder skill, so he was actually thankful if they changed up the conditions or the environment.
With that in mind, he swung his sword, tip facing the ground, upward, and the Bone of Thunder Lasting surged up from the ground to the sky like lightning, brutally slicing through all the rats in the entire area.
"Jjiiik! (No!)"
"Jjik!! (It's in front...!)"
The Rural Rats' death rattles filled the narrow passage. While he reinforced his bones with theirs, he had finally mastered their language, and he was naturally able to interpret the meaning behind their cries; he only felt a bit uncomfortable.
Their desperate behavior only confirmed that there was something deeper within, but he had absolutely no idea what it was. If it was a similar environment to the dungeons he had heard about in webnovels or manhwa, then there should be a boss within but...
'They're showing way too much loyalty for it to be just a simple boss.'
The overly dense population of rats in this area were fully showing their loyalty.
Whenever he swung his sword, the rats filling the passage would all die by themselves, so around now, it was no longer skill training, but arm swinging training instead.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to unleash a different skill. When it was overflowing with a mob of Rural Rats, he had the perfect 'escape from crisis' skill to deal with them.
"Tsk... Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!"
[Using Shriek of the Dead. The enemies in the entire area have fallen into a frenzied state.]
[The Beginner Shriek of the Dead skill has become Lv3.]
"Jjik, Jjijik!?"
"Jjiiiiiiik!"
The effect was astounding! The moment the Rural Rats, who had all rushed at him with the intent to kill, heard the shriek, they were startled, and soon, fought in a fratricidal war! When he saw the dirty blood and flesh splatter everywhere, Lee Shin Woo suddenly trembled.
'This skill really isn't good for my mental health. However, if I train it, it might become more amazing than any other skill...'
He suddenly realized that Shriek of the Dead was obviously more effective the more enemies it targeted. How many enemies had been targeted for the skill to level up immediately!?
"Jjik..."
"Jjijik, Jjik..."
"Well done. Now, rest in peace."
He waited for the commotion to calm down before he cleaned up the horrific area. After that, he gathered the rib bones without resting and inspected himself while using Bone Reinforcement.
Despite spending close to a whole day concentrating all his efforts into killing rats and absorbing their bones, his health had only risen by 5; but in its stead, his Beginner Stealth had become level 4. Although he could definitely see himself walking, his movements were light, like the movements of a rat, though it was strange to even himself.
"I've gotten a bit more familiar with Bursting Thunder, as well as my body and the sword... Good."
Since the skill was so amazing, he felt like he couldn't even unleash a quarter of the power within Bursting Thunder, but he could roughly imitate the appearance of the technique. For some reason, after swinging his sword in the air a few times, he nodded his head and looked ahead.
There was clearly a disparate iron gate located there.
'I feel mana coming from the gate itself. Since the mana within can't come out, does it have the ability to imprison whatever's inside so that it can't come out?
He didn't have any idea how the dungeon was created, but when he looked at the gate, he thought that perhaps the dungeons were originally set up by God to protect humans from the monsters.
Of course, now that all the humans who were supposed to be protected by the dungeons had become undead, they probably don't have much meaning anymore but... He laughed bitterly and placed his hand on the gate. At that moment, a message appeared in front of him.
[Once you enter the boss room, you cannot exit until either you die, or the boss dies. Will you still enter?]
"Yeah."
He thought that perhaps the secret shop sold an item related to escaping the dungeon, but he thought he didn't need it right now. He wasn't being arrogant; this resulted from his extremely calm decision.
[Lv2 Rural Rat Queen]
[Lv2 Ratman]
The instant he entered the boss room, the first thing he saw were those two entities. Are the bosses normally a level higher than the dungeon? He couldn't tell yet.
A rat that was incomparable in size to the normal Rural Rats; the Rat Queen was stuck in a corner of the vast clearing, and the one standing in front of it was... Yeah, the rat standing on two feet was the Ratman. It was a rat commonly called a Were-Rat. Compared to mere Rural Rats, he felt a qualitatively different strength coming from it.
"Kihik... Kihiiiiiiik! (You cannot touch the queen!)"
"Kihek, Kihek, Kihek...!"
Indeed. It seems like this dungeon was a small kingdom. A kingdom where all the rats serve the queen!
By the time Lee Shin Woo had grasped the identity and location of his enemies, his enemies had also started the battle. The Ratman charged at him with surprising speed. At the same time, the Rat Queen began acting aggressively, and that, surprisingly, was 'childbirth'!
"Jjjik!"
"Jjijijik!"
[Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
[Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
[Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
"Oh..."
When Lee Shin Woo saw the just birthed elite monsters following behind the Ratman and lunging at him, he exclaimed at the realization.
The Ratman guarded the queen against trespassers, and the queen would birth soldiers in order to help the Ratman drive back their enemy. Honestly, for a level 1 dungeon, they had such an amazing combination that he had no choice but to recognize them. He had expected an incredibly large rat at best.
"Heup!"
However, at best they were enemies that appeared with strength befitting of a boss, but unfortunately, he had fought against the Zombie Hero at the entrance of the dungeon and won, growing to level 2. So now, a Ratman wasn't a strong opponent for Lee Shin Woo anymore. That's because no matter how fast it moved, he could read its movements.
"Kahahk!?"
Lee Shin Woo used his Sprint and charged towards the Ratman whose nails were gleaming and was rushing towards him. The Ratman locked onto him and swung its nails, but at that moment, Lee Shin Woo aimed for its chest and stabbed. It was the stab he was most confident in.
[Critical Hit!]
"Kyaaaaahk!"
"Jjik, jjiiiik!"
Lee Shin Woo, as it were the natural course of action, pierced through the Ratman's chest. Was that all? He had simultaneously utilized Sprint causing the Ratman to be unable to endure the powerful force, pushing it directly back and causing it to roll to the floor. Its dirty blood scattered about through the air.
Two of the Rural Rat Elites that had followed behind the Ratman collided with each other and rolled onto the floor. Lee Shin Woo had the energy to spare and he finished off the remaining, puzzled elite.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have acquired 15 Perium.]
[You have acquired the Rural Rat Elite Soldier's rib bone.]
When he set aside the Perium amount and looked at them objectively, the Rural Rat Elite Soldiers were stronger than the Skeleton Soldiers. Of course, even so, they would still die in one strike from Lee Shin Woo!
Lee Shin Woo collected its rib bone for now and turned his attention. Even though blood was pouring out of its chest, the Ratman bravely stood its ground. He saw the queen, who was astonished by Lee Shin Woo's ability, continue to birth rats at an even quicker rate.
"Jjik, Jjiiiiik...! (I'll protect the queen no matter what...!)"
"You left behind such a magnificent line, so you shouldn't have any more regrets."
Lee Shin Woo's red eyes sparkled and after checking the now standing Ratman's appearance, he prepared his Sprint skill. If he hadn't gained the Bone of Thunder Lasting, the fight would have gone longer, but it seemed like he'd be able to end it in one more strike with the strength of his sword.
"Jjiik...!"
At that moment, something surprising happened. The Ratman raised both its hands and it seemed as though it was preparing to scratch him, but the next moment, all its nails popped out and flew towards Lee Shin Woo. There were ten in total and considering either the force behind the nails or the mana within them, it certainly wasn't an ordinary attack!
"Ugh!?"
Lee Shin Woo didn't think an original attack method like that existed and hurriedly swung his sword to parry the nails. He couldn't block a few of them as they lodged into various parts of his body, and though it was painful, he had fortunately blocked it from reaching any vital areas.
If he hadn't learned Bursting Thunder, no, if he didn't have any experience in learning Weapon Defense before, he would've died once from this skill.
"Kiiiiiiiiik! (Kill him!)"
"Jjiik!"
"Jjijiik!"
During the brief instant that he blocked the nails, the Ratman led five Rural Rat Elite Soldiers and pounced on Lee Shin Woo. Though blood was flowing down both the Ratman's hands, it was staking its life to fulfill its vow, and moving to kill Lee Shin Woo.
"Tch... Sprint!"
Lee Shin Woo also didn't stay still. He immediately took the nails that limited his movement out, grit his teeth, and used his Sprint, charging towards the front. The Elite Soldiers tried to obstruct his vision by throwing their bodies at him first, but that wouldn't be able to hinder his movement now.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
"Jjik!"
"Jjiik!"
"Kuhwaaaahk!"
"Huaaaahp!"
The sound of the rats' screams, the Ratman's shriek, as well as Lee Shin Woo's battle cry mixed into one. In the corner, the Rat Queen was birthing Elite Soldiers even faster in order to take care of the trespasser.
However, by the time the next batch of births was complete, the situation had already been completely cleaned up.
"Kik... Kihi... (My... queen...!)"
[You have hunted the Lv2 Ratman.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
With one sword strike, Lee Shin Woo killed the three monsters, including the Ratman, and nimbly swung his sword again, killing the other Elite Soldiers attacking him. The strength was truly like lightning falling from the sky and striking the earth.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Rural Rat Elite Soldier.]
"Ggiiik...! (How...!)"
The Rat Queen spoke in a disbelieving voice. Lee Shin Woo was still intact and collected the bones and the Perium on the ground in one go.
Honestly, he wanted to reinforce himself with the Ratman's finger bone first, but right now, he needed to check something first. It was the ability within the Rural Rat Elite Soldiers' rib bones.
"Bone Reinforcement."
[You have reinforced your rib bones. Your proficiency in Stealth has increased by 5%.]
[Jjjijijijijijijik! - Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
"...So that's how it is."
The crack in his ribs from the Ratman's nail throw was quickly healed. Was that all? His Stealth proficiency had increased by as much as 5%. He had predicted this, but it was much more effective than a normal Rural Rat!
Lee Shin Woo's eyes, which were gazing at the Rural Rat Queen, gleamed drearily.
"I'm curious how long you can keep giving birth now."
"Jjik, Jjiik...!"
The Rural Rat Queen faced the wicked skeleton and was struck with horror.
Of course, all she could do was give birth, and just like he wanted, she gave him reinforcement materials... No, she had no choice but to birth Elite Soldiers.
[You have reinforced your rib bones. You have absorbed all the memories and experiences that you can from the Rural Rat.]
[Jjiiiii! - Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
"..."
"Jjii..."
Lee Shin Woo wordlessly checked the message and turned his gaze away. There he saw the face of the dying Rural Rat Queen. It seems that she had a limit to her birthing, and no matter how much she tried, there wouldn't be any more Elite Soldier births.
"What great timing."
He couldn't be sure how long it took since he didn't have a watch, but he had killed the Elite Soldiers that she had birthed and Reinforced himself with the bones they left behind; he had already done this several dozens of times or more, and it felt like he had stayed here long enough. In the end, he had completely mastered the rat bones!
It was a task that caused him to recollect his time playing an RPG; he left his character in a suitable hunting ground and used his macros to farm.
"Jjik, Jjii..."
"Yeah, you've done well. I hope you're reborn as a rat that Cinderella takes care of."
Lee Shin Woo spoke tenderly and swung his sword, cleanly decapitating the queen. At that moment, Lee Shin Woo heard the sound of a trumpet ringing in his ear and his eyes were filled with messages.
[Level 1 dungeon, Rural Rat Nest, clear. Magic has increased by 1.]
[You have gruesomely slaughtered all life within the dungeon. You have gained 1 Slaughterer's token.]
[You have gained the dungeon clear reward.]
The queen only left behind a large bone and some Perium, and soon after withered away and disappeared. However, when Lee Shin Woo was picking up the bone and the Perium, he found a wooden box where the queen had disappeared.
It was a small and frail box that seemed like it would rot away immediately. It was definitely the dungeon clear reward.
"Hoo, now let's see."
Lee Shin Woo opened the box. There was a book and a money pouch containing Perium inside. Lastly, there was also a dagger inside, but it didn't transform despite him touching it, so when he looked at it again, it was, fortunately, a weapon made of bone!
[You have acquired the Lv2 Bleeding Tooth.]
[Bleeding Tooth]
[Lv2]
[Durability: 450/450]
[Attack Power: 18 - 36]
[Options: When you attack, there is a fixed chance that it will inflict the 'Diseased' status ailment.]
"Strictly speaking, this isn't a bone... Well, whatever. There are teeth on a skeleton too, so it's probably something like that."
Whether teeth were bones or not from a medical perspective, the important thing was that it hadn't transformed and hadn't lowered in level. There are probably authors who insist that the tooth should've changed since it's not technically bone, but he was willing to assassinate them all.
[You have acquired 1,500 Perium.]
[You have acquired the Beginner Stealth skill book.]
"It was Stealth!?"
He was, of course, familiar with and expected that it'd be a skill book. He had been secretly, really excited since he thought it'd be a new skill that would increase his overall fighting ability, but... to think it'd be Stealth, something that he'd trained to death in this dungeon!
His teeth trembled, and he stored the book. He was already familiar with the skill, so he felt like familiarizing himself with the skill wouldn't do anything and planned to sell it at the secret shop.
"When I put it all together, the dungeon reward isn't anything special. It's probably cause it's a level 1 dungeon... Tch."
He wouldn't be able to appease himself without complaining. Lee Shin Woo sighed and checked the items remaining in his hands. They were none other than the Ratman's, as well as the Rat Queen's bones.
"Now that it's come to this, you're my only hope... Bone Reinforcement."
[You have sacrificed the Ratman's finger bone to strengthen your own bones. Agility and Magic have increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Ratman's experiences and memories.]
[Ggiiiiiik! Ggihik, Ggiiiiik! (The pain of losing a part of my body is nothing compared to the pain of losing the Queen!) - Ratman]
You asshole, even your dying will is way too cool! Moreover, he was able to roughly figure out what skill he would gain from this bone by automatically interpreting this guy's lines.
Lee Shin Woo sported an insufferable expression and checked his hand. Hmm, as expected, there weren't any nails. Teeth are acknowledged as bones, so why aren't nails...?
"This is gonna be a skill in name only..."
His agility and magic, which became harder to increase after becoming level 2, had increased by 1 each, so he shouldn't feel disappointed, but... still, he couldn't help but be disappointed.
However, he gripped the Rat Queen's bone, hoping that it would give him a better skill, but ended up with a ridiculous result.
[You have sacrificed the Rural Rat Queen's pelvic bone to reinforce your pelvis. Health has increased by 1, and Magic by 2. Absorbing a portion of the Rural Rat Queen's memories and experiences.]
[Ggii, Ggiiiiii! (Ah, ah, my adorable children!) - Rural Rat Queen]
"..."
Why did it have to be the pelvic bone...? No, it's probably not. … It isn't, right? As the feeling of nausea shot up, he wasn't able to control his queasiness, but Lee Shin Woo tried really hard not to think about it anymore.
Then, a message appeared at an opportune time.
[The dungeon will soon collapse. Please escape before it's too late.]
"So, it's done its job, then it disappears, huh. ...Good."
He briefly took a deep breath and turned around. He could already feel the dungeon starting to vibrate slightly. Lee Shin Woo wanted to check the Slaughterer’s token too, but it seemed like he'd have to do that once he got out of the dungeon.
Lee Shin Woo took another deep breath, used his Sprint, and started running. Small fragments of rock were falling from behind him, as well as emitting ominous sounds.
[Lee Shin Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]
[Lv - 2]
[Strength - 73 Agility - 78 Health - 82 Magic - 47]
[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv2, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv1, Beginner Archery Lv2, Beginner Magic Affinity Lv2, Beginner Stealth Lv7]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Beginner Sprint Lv7, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv3]
"Nice."
The first thing he did once he got out of the dungeon was check his status, and those stats made him incredibly pleased. Just before entering the dungeon, his stats hadn't even reached 200; although his Invisible Heart had activated once, his stats had risen to a sum of 280.
He didn't know how much his stats needed to be to get to level 3, but he was sure he'd be able to reach it soon.
'Moreover, my low health has completely overtaken my strength and agility.'
The Rat Queen, which had appeared as the dungeon boss, had played a huge role in that. Because it had birthed several hundreds of Elite Soldiers, he was able to raise his stats a lot, even though they were all level 1. He was also able to raise his Stealth to level 7.
'Now my bones shouldn't break, even if they're hit fairly hard.'
His increase in health through his level up had certainly thickened his bones, as well as made them sturdier; when he tapped his bones, Lee Shin Woo laughed satisfyingly. Then, right on time, the dungeon he had escaped from completely collapsed and a message appeared.
[A quest has occurred!]
[The callousness and the cruelty you showed in the dungeon has awakened the karma of a slaughterer. However, you are still too weak, and your enemies were even weaker; ultimately, you did not receive the whole karma, but just a token of it. If you are truly confident that you can bear the weight of the karma, then gather 10 Slaughterer's tokens, and complete the karma. You should already be well aware of the method.]
[Quest reward - 1 permit to the god's secret shop, and 1 exclusive equipment.]
"Now that I think about it..."
He thought it would be a quest like 'You've gone through a dungeon, so go deeper into the Empire now and annihilate the undead!', but instead, he got a quest that completely broke his expectations.
It reminded him of an item he had forgotten about and pointed him in a direction where he could grow, so it was as if God was personally telling him 'you're still too weak to get a proper mission, so get as strong as possible' through a quest.
'How could it be 10? I don't have to go through 10 dungeons, do I?'
There's no way he'd have to go through that many. Still, it would definitely be a long journey. Lee Shin Woo wondered whether or not he’d be able to gain a new quest while progressing through this one and became a bit uneasy, but he had no choice but to get a move on for now.
[Slaughterer's Token]
[A fragment of a Slaughterer's karma. Once you gather 10 tokens, the karma will become whole. It only has meaning when you gather them with your own strength. Since you have gained your first fragment, it becomes easier for you to gain the same token of karma in similar situations.]
'So, the tokens do have meaning after all. Does it mean that it becomes easier to get the rest since I've already gotten one?'
Lee Shin Woo was definitely concerned about the hard to understand and complex factors, so he decided to not think about it too hard.
He had even thought about asking his seniors in the chatting channel, but if this was a rare case, it may inversely cause them to pay more attention to him, so he decided not to. Even he thought the Slaughterer’s karma wasn't normal.
'Then, shall we get going?'
Firstly, his goal was to acquire the 10 Slaughterer’s tokens before he became level 3. Lee Shin Woo inwardly set his goal and quickened his steps. He tightly gripped the level 3 weapon in his hand, the Bone of Thunder Lasting.
[Lv2 Treasure Eater]
[Lv2 Treasure Eater]
That’s right. This treasure drew monsters that he was already familiar with.
Two, at that!
[Guooooooooooooooh!]
[Kuaoooooooooh!]
"No wait, all these guys live nearby?"
Honestly, these Treasure Eaters (Lee Shin Woo had encountered a Treasure Eater for the first time in the external passageways), had gathered and targeted his senior hero (they were enemies that would be relatively difficult to face for the other heroes), who had entered the empire with the then level 4 version of the Bone of Thunder Lasting.
His senior hero had probably been injured and exhausted from fighting so many of them, so he had run away into the dungeon and had died, but Lee Shin Woo obviously didn't know the story up to that point.
There was only one thing important to him right now: because of his senior's efforts, the Treasure Eaters had all gathered in this area. Not to mention, they had lost the level 4 item in the past and were really pissed!
[Gguaaaaaaaaah!]
[The Treasure Eater used the Shriek of the Dead, but it was nullified by the Invisible Heart.]
It must've really wanted his treasure, as one of the Treasure Eaters immediately used its Shriek of the Dead as soon as it saw him.
The shriek rang out far and wide and resulted in something Lee Shin Woo hadn't expected; a gathering of the undead. And that was good news for him right now.
[Patrolling... Discovered monsters... Skeleton... engaging...]
[A newbie...?]
The newbie enthusiast skeletons gathered one or two at a time. There were skeletons he was familiar with, like the Skeleton Soldiers or the Skeleton Archers, but surprisingly, there was also a huge skeleton with a large bone sword amongst them.
[Lv2 Skeleton Warrior]
It was the first skeleton he had seen since coming into the empire that was level 2, the Skeleton Warrior! If he fought it one on one, Lee Shin Woo would always come out on top, but he wasn't sure he could take on a group of them since he wasn't sure about their level of strength yet.
"Paul, it's good to see you! Hurry and help me!"
[It's also... good to see you...]
However, he was just glad that that strength was on his side right now! Especially since it was just as brainless as a Skeleton Soldier!
[Helping... the newbie...!]
[Requesting... reinforcements. There are a lot... of monsters...!]
Weak Pauls and strong Pauls came from various places. However, that gradually made it more hectic, and more Treasure Eaters appeared, as they caught a whiff of it. The situation had fallen into utter chaos.
And Lee Shin Woo froze when he coincidentally identified one of the newly arrived Treasure Eaters.
[Lv3 Treasure Eater]
"That’s crazy, a level 3 monster...? And it's a Treasure Eater at that, so it's much stronger than normal enemies!"
He was sure. Considering how the level 2 Treasure Eater had been vastly superior in strength to the level 2 Ratman, who had appeared as a dungeon boss, the Treasure Eaters were definitely elite monsters!
[Kuwoooooooooooh!]
[The Treasure Eater used the Shriek of the Dead, but it was nullified by the Invisible Heart.]
However, to think that the first level 3 monster he sees would be a Treasure Eater... It seemed as though Lee Shin Woo had a strong relationship with that monster species.
If another hero had heard that, they would think of him as a walking lottery ticket. Since the Treasure Eater was truthfully an elite monster, and it was harder to encounter one than taking one down.
'I might use the Avenger skill for the first time here...'
Even while Lee Shin Woo wracked his brain for a way to get the most benefit out of this situation, he raised his sword in one hand and bravely yelled out.
"We're going with the siege destruction formation; use the siege destruction formation! Move faster, Pauls!"
A fierce battle began between the skeletons, led by a swindling skeleton, and the Treasure Eaters. It was a battle that the one in the external passageway couldn’t be compared to!
One way or another, the battle had gone on for 20 minutes, and Lee Shin Woo cleanly decided against using his Avenger skill against the Treasure Eaters.
While the Pauls were fighting against the Treasure Eaters, he used his Beginner Stealth and tried to covertly escape the battlefield, but it was impossible to escape their sight, especially when their goal was his Bone of Thunder Lasting.
'Still, I can't use my weapon as bait to run away. Ultimately, I have to clean up all of them here before I can proceed...'
Lee Shin Woo sighed and raised his head. He saw four Treasure Eaters that only watched him and followed him. There was no point to a beautiful girl chasing after him right now, let alone a caterpillar...
'How exactly am I supposed to take care of all of these?'
Truthfully, as the Pauls' bones fluttered in the wind, they were busy acting violently, and somehow managed to take down two of the Treasure Eaters. It wasn't hard to land a fatal blow if their swords boasted a high attack power.
The problem was that he didn't have the opportunity to collect their bodies as the other Treasure Eaters ran amuck, eating their comrade's body and treasure whole. Even though they were the same species, their avarice didn't lessen one bit. Moreover, it seems as though they became stronger when they ate their comrades' bodies, so it was truly nuts.
[Kuwoooooooooh!]
[The Treasure Eater used the Shriek of the Dead, but it was nullified by the Invisible Heart.]
[Beginner Shriek of the Dead has become Lv5.]
Due to the Lv3 Treasure Eater's Shriek of the Dead, Lee Shin Woo's own Shriek of the Dead grew. He realized for the first time today that even if he didn't use the skill personally, it would increase his proficiency, as long as he was exposed to the skill.
[Ugh... Traitors of... the Empire...!]
[I'll get my revenge for... General Seagald here...!]
But whenever the Treasure Eaters shrieked, more than half of the skeletons he had gathered fought amongst each other; the fact that the numbers dwindled genuinely made his bones hurt. No, now that he thought about it, they knew about General Seagald! Exactly how popular could he have been!?
"You idiots, get a hold of yourselves! You're comrades!"
[Over there, too... An enemy...!]
[He's holding... a nice sword...!]
[Execute him... and report...!]
"Ah, shit."
He wondered why his genuine scream hadn't caused the skeletons to get a hold of themselves. Rather, he had been targeted by the skeletons who were out of their minds due to the Shriek of the Dead. This is why they say kids are ruining comics these days!
"Sseup..."
It wasn't the time to leisurely take on skeletons right now. Though they had killed two Treasure Eaters, there were four remaining, and there was even a level 3 Treasure Eater amongst them.
Fine, since it's come to this, it's time to counterattack! Lee Shin Woo got atop the roof of a building that had been destroyed by the Treasure Eaters' rampage and shrieked.
"Kuaaaaaaaaah!"
[You used the Shriek of the Dead! The enemies in the entire area have momentarily fallen into a frenzied state!]
[The Lv3 Treasure Eater has resisted the Shriek of the Dead.]
At that moment, the atmosphere of the entire area felt like it had calmed down the few skeletons that had been attacking him, as well as the huge caterpillar shaped monsters crazily crawling towards him... The Treasure Eaters even stopped as if they had been stunned.
"...Hmm?"
At that moment, Lee Shin Woo thought that it was impossible, but that impossibility had taken hold of those people, no those monsters. The Treasure Eaters started to fight amongst themselves!
If they weren't cognizant that they were allies anymore; the prey they were most hungry for were obviously members of their own species.
[Gguaaaaahk, Ggueeeeeeeeeehk!]
The Lv3 Treasure Eater, the only one to resist the Shriek of the Dead, tried to pull them apart and got between them, but it had the opposite effect. Like how the skeletons had tried to attack Lee Shin Woo, the Treasure Eaters also started to attack the Lv3 Treasure Eater without fear.
"Wow, this is huge."
[Kiek!]
While the Treasure Eaters were tied up in fighting amongst themselves, Lee Shin Woo cleaned up the skeletons running amuck.
The Treasure Eaters were level 2 and possessed the Shriek of the Dead themselves, so he didn't think it would work, but that was also his bias. As expected, before he used it himself, he couldn't know how it would turn out. He had gotten another good experience this way.
[New...bie...?]
"Die... You've recovered, Paul? You dumbass, I was worried about you!"
[Thanks... Joining...]
The moment he was about to shatter the Skeleton Warrior's head with his Bursting Thunder skill, it had recovered from the effects of the Shriek of the Dead. Upon seeing that, Lee Shin Woo quickly withdrew his sword and patted its shoulder. Even while being dazed at Lee Shin Woo's words of concern, it followed behind him.
"Those who have recovered, come over to this side! We can't do anything by ourselves, but if we're with our comrades, we can do anything!"
[I feel strength... from the newbie's voice...!]
[Over here, this way...!]
[Kugegegegek!]
He coaxed the unscathed skeletons nearby and finished cleaning up the rest of the afflicted skeletons.
Within the mayhem, all of the level 1 skeletons had already died, but the level 2 skeletons were fairly intact, and as a result, he gathered 15 Skeleton Warriors.
"Those wicked beings that are destroying the empire, let's take them down together! Let's pool our strength into one!"
[Defeat... together...!]
[Energy... is rising!]
[Acting skill has become Lv3.]
The Skeleton Warriors, compared to the Skeleton Soldiers or Archers, were relatively solid. That was especially true regarding their fighting spirit, which had been ignited from Lee Shin Woo's speech.
But their idea of a system of command was still a mess, and just by him speaking a bit bravely, it felt a little bit like they had, at some point, recognized him as their superior. Though it was the best thing that could happen to him.
[Kuook... Kuheeeeeeeeeek!]
Meanwhile, at around the same time that Lee Shin Woo had rallied the Skeleton Warriors, the Treasure Eaters were suddenly finishing up their bloody battle. In the most awful way at that.
[Kueeeeeeeeeek!]
Above the wreckage of the now ruined building, the sole remaining Lv3 Treasure Eater cried out as the winner. After being half torn apart and eaten, the corpses of the other abandoned Treasure Eaters truly looked pitiful. But Lee Shin Woo wasn't very surprised, as he knew about halfway through that this is how it would turn out.
"I can get all the treasure if I take care of that one guy anyway. And it got a lot of injuries from fighting too..."
[Report to... superiors...!]
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. But we gotta take down that guy first, right?"
Although they didn't even have any superiors to report to, the Skeleton Warriors kept talking about superiors, so Lee Shin Woo adequately appeased them, and raised his sword high. It was a sort of provocation towards the Treasure Eater.
Despite the thick dust filling the environment, due to the chaos that had occurred everywhere, his raised Bone of Thunder Lasting radiated light. Despite it changing into bone, the blade still gleamed with light, a truly mysterious sight.
[Kuhaaaaaaaaaa!]
[The Lv3 Treasure Eater used Shriek of the Dead, but it failed due to lack of mana!]
"Nice timing. Let's go, guys!"
[I got it!]
[Protecting the Empire...! That's the will of... General Seagald...!]
So, what the hell did General Seagald do!? No wait, I heard that asshole plotted treason!
[Kuaaaaaaaaaaah!]
As soon as the Treasure Eater failed its Shriek of the Dead, it seemed to become extremely uneasy, as it faced the charging Skeleton Warriors and cried out a manaless shriek for a while. Then, it charged forward.
Its force came close to that of a speeding locomotive!
The Skeleton Warriors tried to charge at the Treasure Eater and foolishly attempted it head-on...
"Dodge what attacks you can! We'll survive and protect the Empire!"
[Oh, Ooooh...!]
[I'll follow... your words!]
He used his Sprint and leaped high into the air. The words Lee Shin Woo had blurted out seemed to stir a feeling within each Skeleton Warrior, as they changed their minds and engaged in evasive maneuvers.
Of course, there were some who couldn't keep up with the Treasure Eater's speed, so they were struck in the front, but luckily those guys didn't die in one hit, endured, and lodged their bone swords into the Treasure Eater's flesh. 'Even when it's rotten, it's still a herring'[1]; it's worth surviving for this long!
"Bursting Thunder!"
Due to these guys' efforts, the Treasure Eater's charge had been halted; Lee Shin Woo aimed for that timing and attacked. Since it had risen to its utmost, he aimed for its head and plummeted down; he pierced with his sword, striking down with force akin to lightning.
[Critical Hit!]
[Gguweeeeeek!]
Though Bursting Thunder was nothing more than a passive skill, the moment he clashed against an enemy with a melee weapon, following the harmonization between his body's movements and his mana, an explosive force would occur, to the point that it could rightly be called a mystery. If it had been at the intermediate level, this battle would already be over.
And even if the skill was only low rank right now, after going through the dungeon, he had somewhat familiarized his body with the technique, so his sword strike was enough to exert a force akin to lightning against the Treasure Eater.
"Here, take one more!"
[Kuwaaaaahk!]
He could also interpret simple words now. It was saying that it hurt terrifyingly.
Lee Shin Woo radiated light and dodged the Treasure Eater spewing rotten blood. He used his Sprint to jump again and safely landed on the ground. He saw some Skeleton Warriors who hadn't been able to dodge its rampage and get crushed.
"Dodge, even if you have to roll on the floor! And stab your swords into that guy!"
[Ugh... as a warrior, as a soldier...! I'll face it!]
[Avoid it...! You have to avoid its attacks so that you can protect the Empire...!]
[We're the Empire's proud warriors...!]
The true intent behind his words was 'it's hard for me to beat this guy alone, so you guys can't die on me already!', but the Skeleton Warriors took it as encouragement.
Now, regardless of what he said, the Skeleton Warrior’s fighting spirit was increasing. He thought briefly, 'Is this what it feels like to be a religious leader of a pseudo-religion?'. If the God who made him into a skeleton was to see this scene, her blood pressure would rise and would feel unsteady.
'In any case, I have to finish it before it recovers its mana. We've come more than halfway, more than halfway...!'
He checked the Treasure Eater's condition, as well as the Skeleton Warriors' condition, and intensely calculated how he should move next.
If it seems like it was distracted by the Skeleton Warriors, he would provoke it by swinging his sword within its sight; and if it seemed like a lot of Skeleton Warriors would remain while the Treasure Eater was gradually accumulating damage, he would cold-heartedly lead them to their deaths. This situational decision making was an ability that he always had.
[Kuek, Kuheeeeek...!]
How long did that gruesome battle go on? Through one of the Skeleton Warrior's brilliant sacrifice, Lee Shin Woo blocked the Treasure Eater's attack and forcefully struck with his sword. The moment he cleaved its rotten belly, the Treasure Eater coughed intensely and spewed out a blood clot.
"Now, guys! Gang up on him!"
[Keuhaaaaahp!]
[For the honor... of the Empire!]
While it was dying, they had to rush it! Lee Shin Woo bobbed his hand, sending the signal, and the Skeleton Warriors simultaneously charged at the Treasure Eater. The Treasure Eater had become a mess and one by one, the Skeleton Warriors' swords lodged deep into its flesh.
[Kuhek, Kueeeeek...!]
The Treasure Eater spat out another clot of blood and was in pain. It was undoubtedly in a fatal state! Lee Shin Woo raised his sword and forcibly yelled. Now it was time to harvest the fruit of this long and distressing battle! The siege destruction formation (or ganging up) had paid off!
"We're all the way there! Charge, I said charge! Stab more forcefully!"
[Killing it!]
[If I'm with you... I can go anywhere!]
The Skeleton Warriors charged behind Lee Shin Woo while saying words that felt somewhat burdensome to him. However, talking about the conclusion first, this became Lee Shin Woo's greatest miscalculation in this battle.
[Kik... Kigihiiiiiiiiiiii!]
The Treasure Eater spewed out a blood clot, raised its rotten eyes, and gazed at them. Immediately after, from within the blood clots, flames...
"Oh, hey wait a sec..."
The blood clots exploded in a grand fashion and covered the entire area!
[1] T/N: It's a saying that means something that's originally good won't wear out/change and/or someone's nature/integrity won't change. Basically, he's saying that they still have their skill, even after they've degraded into skeletons.
[Treasure Eater uses Flames of Resentment! Scorching flames cover the whole area!]
[Critical Hit!]
The Lv2 Treasure Eater didn’t have that skill though! But he couldn’t complain. After all, when Lee Shin Woo realized that it was a higher level, he should've been suspicious that it had an ability that the Treasure Eaters up until now didn't have.
Because he was sure he had grasped victory, Lee Shin Woo had forgotten his sense of danger and acted recklessly; it was his mistake.
'It's really a good realization. If I come out of these flames alive, it should be a profitable trade.'
Lee Shin Woo didn't hold back, using all his strength in an attempt to get out of the scarlet flames that covered the chaotic battlefield no matter what. Though it wouldn't be over if he died here, he can't always rely on Invisible Heart!
The fact that he'd instinctually opened his inventory and grabbed his bone arrows the moment of the explosion was truly a wise response. Even though the strength contained in each individual arrow didn't compare to the bones left behind from hunting monsters, they would at least be enough for first aid.
'Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement! Use them all for Bone Reinforcement!'
The bone arrows were completely used up, and then his body, which had been entirely burnt by the huge explosion, was instantaneously healed.
Since they were just normal bone arrows, they didn't leave behind any experiences, memories, or skills, and his stats didn't increase either, but it was enough that he had fortunately avoided an instantaneous death. Of course, he wasn't out of the woods just yet.
'Bones... I need more bones!'
Fortunately, the battlefield was filled with the bones of the skeletons that had died prior. However, the bones themselves were burning within the malevolent flames, so he would have to hurry up if he wanted to use them for Bone Reinforcement.
It was a relief that his circumstantial judgment was quick as he was soon able to collect several dozens of bones.
'Bone Reinforcement! Bone Reinforcement!'
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
[Your leg bone has been reinforced.]
[Your shoulder bone has been reinforced.]
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
He couldn't get anything more from the bones from regular Skeleton Soldiers anymore. But they would still heal him if he used Bone Reinforcement, and he saw his reddish bones barely return to their natural color.
Of course, immediately after, he saw an even stronger flame rushing towards him, and he once again found himself in a dangerous situation. It was at that moment that he realized what a calamity fire was. Even more so since they were magical flames!
'Steve, you asshole...! Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement!'
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Strength has increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[You have to slash even harder. We're the swords of the empire! - Nameless soldier.]
Finally, the Skeleton Warriors' bones were starting to get mixed in. Its healing effect was even better! Lee Shin Woo's eyes gleamed and moved his body even faster. He needed to collect even more of these precious bones before they burned up!
[Your arm bone has been reinforced.]
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[It's pointless if you swing your sword a thousand times but not manage to cut your enemy once. Our goal is to precisely kill an opponent with only one swing. - Nameless soldier]
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Strength has increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[The imperial army is strong. We have to make everyone looking at us understand that. - Nameless soldier]
It seemed like he was being tested in reaction speed, and endurance at the same time.
Even if he reinforced his bones to the point that he was breathless, he didn't know whether the Treasure Eater's flame would subside or not, and even if it did, it wasn't like he could just sit there and do nothing, else he would quickly die.
Since it's come to this, he had thought about just dying once and resurrecting, but the more that came to mind, Lee Shin Woo obstinately decided to endure.
He had already died twice. That meant that if he hadn't come to the empire without any extra lives, he would already be dead. He couldn't accept becoming dependent on that technique.
'I can't die easily... Bone Reinforcement!'
[Your palm bone has been reinforced. Absorbing a portion of the Skeleton Warrior's memories and experiences.]
[I did it! There was magic in my sword just now! - Nameless soldier]
He quickly sprinted through the raging flames and found bones. When he couldn't find any more bones, he attempted to escape the raging flames, but to his shock, those flames stuck to his body and didn't let go easily.
It was almost as if the Treasure Eater's resenting will resides within the flames, gritting its teeth, and saying that it would kill him. And that wasn't a misunderstanding. The surviving flames were tightening around his neck.
'Then...'
If he didn't kill the Treasure Eater, these flames wouldn't disappear. He had realized this instinctually. The moment he was sure of it, Lee Shin Woo found the Treasure Eater and turned his body.
The flames had already spread in all directions, and it was a situation where he couldn't even see properly, but the mana within these flames that stuck to his body was leading him. He himself thought it was strange that he could feel the mana, despite feeling the pain of his entire body being burned.
'It's this way.'
Don't they say that if you want revenge on someone, you'd have to dig two graves? This skill was truly like that. Its Flames of Resentment was a skill that burned its opponent by using its own blood and mana as fuel. Those two things are obviously closely connected to its lifeforce and magic.
Right now, Lee Shin Woo could feel that connection. In this urgent situation, his ability was growing at an exponential rate.
[The Beginner Magic Affinity skill has become Lv4.]
[The Beginner Magic Affinity skill has become Lv5.]
'Damn it!'
The fact that his Magic Affinity skill had increased was definitely something to be happy about, but it was becoming harder and harder to push through the flames and run.
He didn't have any more bones to reinforce himself with, his bone body burned, and he could feel his ability gradually slipping.
[The Beginner Magic Affinity skill has become Lv6.]
[The Beginner Sprint skill has become Lv8.]
'Sprint... Sprint!'
Whenever he fought a hard battle, he only increasingly hated and regretted the him who was attached to the past.
'Damn it...!'
But his health was gradually dropping, and it was at the moment he felt it drop; the moment he prepared for death and grit his teeth, the mass of mana inside his body changed his mind, and he felt it spread all across his body.
[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Regeneration Lv5]
His bones, which felt like they would crumble, were saturated with magic and instantly returned it to a healthy state. More than anyone else, Lee Shin Woo was able to ascertain its effect. It was truly a simple skill; it would consume mana to regenerate the body! It was the same for bones!
Lee Shin Woo was curious as to how he had learned this skill, but he didn't have the time to leisurely think about it right now. When he regained his energy, he used his Sprint and kicked off the floor, jumping into the sky!
'There you are!'
Lee Shin Woo, who had briefly escaped the sea of flames, caught sight of the wriggling and moving Treasure Eater. Like him, the Treasure Eater was dying. But...
[Kuhi... Kieeek...!]
It was sitting wickedly in the center of the flames, and then widened the distance; it then moved around as if it were drawing a circle. He felt like it would wait until he died and then the Treasure Eater would collect the treasure.
Lee Shin Woo was already pissed off, but he was also annoyed that he couldn't do anything to it right now. He was way too far from it! It was great that he had awakened the Regeneration skill at the right time, but it had the disadvantage of using up magic. This meant that he'd run out of mana before he was able to take it down.
'Even so, it's not like I can shoot arrows from the sky...!'
Unfortunately, his knowledge of archery was shoddy. Even if he had the skill, he had used all of his arrows back then to heal himself!
Even while he grit his teeth, his body felt the force of gravity and was falling back towards the flame scorched ground. While falling, Lee Shin Woo suddenly, without any thought, naturally raised his left hand.
[The passive skill, Beginner Archery Lv2 has been expunged.]
[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Catapult Lv5.]
That feeling that he had experienced just a moment ago dominated his body. It was the feeling of awakening a skill! Following the Beginner Regeneration, he had awakened the Beginner Catapult skill!
'Urgh!'
The brief and powerful pain accompanied his left index finger being pulled out, and just like the name implied, it shot out like an arrow. Most of the mana he had remaining was inside of that projectile.
Its accuracy, as well as its speed, were incomparable to mere Beginner Archery; it cut through the air, burrowed into the middle of the Treasure Eater's forehead, and in the end, penetrated through it. Since it had truly happened in the blink of an eye, Lee Shin Woo himself couldn't track its path completely.
[Gguiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!]
However, the result was clear. The moment Lee Shin Woo dreadfully fell into the flames, the Treasure Eater gasped a horrific death rattle, and fell heavily with a thud.
Immediately after, the flames that had been stuck to his body, as well as the flames filling his surroundings cleanly dissipated. He stood dumbfounded and lines of messages started appearing before him.
[You have defeated a Lv3 Treasure Eater. You have achieved the feat of commanding your comrades and defeating an enemy that was at a higher level than you. All stats permanently increase by 2. You have acquired the passive skill, Command Lv1.]
[You have acquired the title, 'Treasure Hunter'! Whenever you hunt monsters or explore a dungeon, it will become easier to acquire higher ranked rewards. The title box is open.]
[As a reward for your feat, the proficiency of your combat related skills increases. Low Rank Bursting Thunder has become Lv2, Beginner Stealth Lv8, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv6, Beginner Catapult Lv6, and Beginner Command Lv3.]
It was extremely hectic. He was sure that the skill he had used at the final moment was the skill he had gained from the Ratman, and he didn't think it'd have this much force.
It felt really empty where he lost a finger, but he had gained the Regeneration skill just in time, so whenever he gets enough mana, he can just regain the bone.
'Wait a sec, did I perhaps get the Regeneration skill from the Queen?'
Lee Shin Woo recalled the Rat Queen's ability, who had birthed the elites, and he automatically nodded his head. Regardless of how much mana it had, that number of births was rare and beyond measure. However, if it had a healing ability, he could understand that many births in that short amount of time.
'Catapult, which would pull out a finger and launch it, and Regeneration which would restore that bone... who would have thought I would find such a perfect match in the same dungeon.'
In any case, he had survived because of those two skills. He thought it would've been better had they awakened a bit earlier, but... he couldn't be too greedy. Because he had moved so intensely, he had also grown.
"Hoo, then... Wow, it's a proper annihilation."
After he was sure that he wasn't at risk of dying anymore, he carefully stood up and surveyed his surroundings. There was nothing to survey. Since everything had turned to ashes.
He couldn't find any Skeleton Soldiers' or Skeleton Warriors' bones. He did see some of the greatswords that the Skeleton Warrior's had used remaining, but there weren't any spears. Seeing that, he realized that the Skeleton Warriors were better with a sword than a spear.
"I'll pick you guys up later. More importantly..."
After Lee Shin Woo checked that the other Treasure Eaters' bodies had cleanly disappeared, he turned around while tears slightly flowed (even though he can’t cry). Despite him having no way of restoring them... he still had the biggest reward left.
The reward known as the Lv3 Treasure Eater's corpse.
"Your big bro doesn't expect much, Steve. May you spit out a piece of level 4 bone equipment."
Lee Shin Woo muttered unpleasantly and approached the Treasure Eater.
It was stiff, looking exactly like a cicada that had fallen from a tree and died, and its rotting flesh and its burns were covered in blood; it wasn't exactly a great sight, but right now, to Lee Shin Woo's (nonexistent) eyes, it looked like a stack of gold.
"Hoo... Heup."
It wasn't anything special, so why was he shaking? Lee Shin Woo gently approached and with his index finger (that he regenerated with his mana) poked the body.
At that moment, the body divided into particles of light and fluttered away like spring cherry blossoms. He was able to see an undead completely disappear, and saw it naturally regress into mana for the first time! And he saw the inside of the orbs of light dropping onto the ground. These were the items that the Treasure Eater had left behind as it departed this world.
[You have acquired the Lv3 Treasure Eater's skull bone.]
[You have acquired 14,960 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Spear. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Spear (+5).]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Shield. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Shield (+5).]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Blessed Rose Tree Staff. It has transformed into a Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3).]
[You have acquired a Lv3 Dire Wolf Bone Armor.]
He had acquired the Treasure Eater's skull bone, 14,960 Perium, as well as a total of four items. Lee Shin Woo checked his list again and despaired.
"So, I really can't collect the bones from the other Treasure Eaters..."
Amongst the treasures that they possessed, a portion of them had entered the Lv3 Treasure Eater's storage organs, and he was able to collect them. However, due to this asshole's Flames of Resentment, he couldn't collect the other Treasure Eater's bones. He thought that perhaps it would also store the others' bones when it swallowed down the treasure, but that was just a silly dream.
He had gone through such a tough ordeal, yet he hadn't been able to procure the elite monsters' bones; Lee Shin Woo had realized that he had won this battle through reinforcing his bones, so in many ways, this situation was a bitter pill to swallow.
"If I learn magic, I should learn magic that extinguishes fire from my bones first...'
However, it wasn't all bad news. First off, the reward's main dish, the treasure that the Lv3 Treasure Eater kept hold of dearly, was, fortunately, equipment composed of bone.
[Dire Wolf Bone Armor]
[Lv3]
[Durability: 800/800]
[Defense: 100 - 115]
[Options: Increases Health by 20]
"If I just look at the abilities, it's really simple, but..."
In many ways, it was an item that didn't seem very exciting compared to the grand Bone of Thunder Lasting, but despite that, the Dire Wolf Bone Armor was plenty amazing. That's because its goal as defensive equipment was to protect the body, and it did that thoroughly.
This upper body armor, created out of auburn dyed dire wolf bones, was ridiculously sturdy, though he didn't know how they had processed the bones. It was sturdy to the point that he'd find it troublesome and turn back if an opponent wearing this showed up. That was obvious since it was a piece of level 3 equipment.
Moreover, just by wearing it, his health would increase by 20; it would increase his overall defense as well as increasing his stamina. Lee Shin Woo immediately equipped the armor.
Regardless of how much he'd leveled or how much larger he'd gotten, he looked like just a normal Skeleton A who appeared in a beginner dungeon; but wearing this quite nice armor, and holding the Bone of Thunder Lasting, he had strength that wouldn't make him envious of other considerable, named monsters. As expected, items are the best.
'Good, it's perfect. I shouldn't hear them call me newbie anymore.'
Aside from that, there was other good news. The Blessed Rose Tree Staff transformed into a Blessed Bone Wand, and despite being level 2 equipment the item level hadn't even decreased, and on the contrary, had actually been reinforced.
[Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3)]
[Lv2]
[Durability: 350/350]
[Attack Power: 10 - 15]
[Options: Increases Magic by 11, Increases Magic Casting Speed by 11%, Increases damage taken from living foes by 11%]
"In other words, there's no guarantee that the change into bone is necessarily a downgrade."
It depended on the item; like in this case, when the change occurred, it would become stronger, or perhaps the item may even increase in level.
He felt much better, at least compared to when he thought that the item would always decrease in level. Of course, he didn't really have a use for the wand right now, so he shoved it into his inventory.
"Good. Shall we get to to the real main dish?"
The main dish was the Treasure Eater's skull bone, which he had placed carefully on the floor. He picked up and raised the skull, and felt an unusual magic contained within. He could tell there was an intense heat that dwelled within.
Lee Shin Woo remembered the skill of the Treasure Eater that had threatened to annihilate him and the Skeleton Warriors alike, as well as pushing them into a crisis; after gulping down, he carefully activated his skill.
"...Bone Reinforcement."
[You have reinforced your skull bone. Magic has increased by 15. Absorbing a portion of the Treasure Eater's memories and experiences.]
15! His magic had increased by as much as 15 all at once. He was attacked by the pain of the sudden change, but he was already somewhat prepared for it, so Lee Shin Woo calmly endured it.
He just followed the movement of mana. Within the pain that felt as if his head was being twisted, new mana welled up and expanded through his body; the mana was truly a refreshing sensation.
'Ah...!'
While that went on, a tiny flame bloomed within that mana. The instant Lee Shin Woo was about to exclaim after discovering it, it instantly swelled without him able to grab hold of it, and completely filled his entire body!
For a split second, a black flame rose up and then disappeared. Lee Shin Woo realized that the flame couldn't harm him. A strong will dwelled within those flames. That was none other than his own will.
[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Flames of Revenge.]
[Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv1(Active)]
[An Avenger's tenacity is put into their magic and manifested in flames. It will pursue and latch onto your target and will not extinguish until you run out of mana, die, or your opponent dies. It can be extinguished by someone with higher Magic than you. It is also possible to incorporate the flames into your weapon.]
'Huh?'
The skill it had used was definitely the Flames of Resentment. But for the skill name to change? Lee Shin Woo was puzzled by the name change but honestly, it was extremely obvious. That's because when he reinforced his bones, he would just get the object's memories and experiences, but he wouldn't get the skills intact.
In other words, his own memories and experiences would be added to the skill that was manifested based on the person's memories and experiences, so it was always possible that it would result in the skill taking on a completely different form. Like when he had absorbed the Ratman's finger bone, he had awakened the Catapult ability, rather than the Ratman's ability to launch its nails.
"...Hoo, now I'm feeling a little better."
After the pain, as well as the dizziness from the sudden increase in magic had passed, Lee Shin Woo shook his head and got a hold of himself. He felt like the inside of his mind was much more refreshed. Though it was honestly still empty!
'Alright, shall we adapt and move around our body?'
He had collected everything the Lv3 Treasure Eater had left behind, but there might be some loot still on the battlefield that he hadn't collected. Even if he were to exclude the Skeleton Warriors' greatswords that he could easily see, there may be bones buried under the ashes!
As a result of him searching the entire area for 30 minutes, Lee Shin Woo collected 15 Lv1 Long Bone Swords (+5), 1 Lv2 Treasure Eater lower jaw bone, 3 Skeleton Warriors' palm bones, and lastly, 2,560 Perium.
The fact that even 1 Treasure Eater bone was left intact was truly a happy occasion, but... the problem was that it didn't end with him just acquiring the bone.
[You have acquired The Trickster's token.]
"... What's this?"
Lee Shin Woo's features frowned when he saw the gold coin in the palm of his hand, depicting a bizarre man wearing a helmet and shorts, with a spear in one hand and a trumpet in another. Naturally, the explanation for the item came up.
[The Trickster's token]
[The token of a scammer who hates harmony, instigates disorder, and can plot anything. One is plenty enough, while two is too few.]
"..."
When he had first gotten the Slaughterer's token, he was pretty sure he remembered that it would definitely be easier to obtain Slaughterer's tokens than other types of tokens. And he thought that he'd done plenty enough here for him to earn another Slaughterer's token.
However, what is this? Trickster? What the hell is this? Is it saying that he had to gather both the Slaughterer's tokens and the Trickster's tokens? Lee Shin Woo furrowed his (nonexistent) brow and the moment he agonized over it, he observed the familiar distortion of mana. It was obviously a notice for a quest.
[The quest, 'Slaughterer's Token' has been canceled.]
[A new quest has been created.]
"...Ha."
[A New Manipulator]
[The faces you possess are extremely numerous. And not one of them is the truth. If that's the case, fool everyone. If you do so, you can become anything! To be more specific, including The Trickster's token, gather 10 different karma tokens.]
[Quest progress - Trickster's token 1/1, karma tokens 2/10]
[Quest reward - 1 Lv6 Weapon Trickster's arm bone]
"Wait a sec!?"
Different individual karma tokens? Is it telling him to gain other karma tokens like how he had gained the Slaughterer's token and the Trickster's token? Didn't the quest difficulty go up outrageously!?
He thought about why he got this kind of token. He had thought that him acting like the Skeleton Warrior's ally, leading them, as well as making them fight against the Treasure Eaters might've had a huge effect but... still, the reality is way too harsh!
He didn't even know what conditions he'd have to fulfill to get the other karma tokens, and yet he had been given this quest; what the hell is a Trickster for him to get such a quest!?
"...It'll be fine if I just ignore it, right? It probably won't be much of a problem."
That's what he said, but it actually weighed on his mind considerably. It was a quest that had appeared after chewing up the Slaughterer's token quest. He couldn't help but be curious. He wouldn't have to gather 10 Trickster's tokens, but including this one, he'd have to gather a total of 10 different karma tokens...
'Ugh... it's not like anything will happen right away by exerting myself, so let's think about it carefreely.'
Ultimately, Lee Shin Woo decided to positively put this off. Rather than rot his brain from thinking too deeply about this, he decided to instead do his best when it comes to a situation where it seems like he'll be able to progress the quest. After he decided to do so, he felt a bit more relieved.
'Anyway, the quest reward changed, so it's become kind of awkward to use the permit to God's secret shop right away.'
He had pushed through the dungeon and the Treasure Eaters all at once, so he had come to possess a fortune of 25,000 Perium in no time. Whether he buys a bone or a magic book; he had enough of a fortune to reinforce himself! ...Is what he believed.
However, since he didn't have a promise for when he got his next permit right now, he refused to use his remaining permit without careful consideration. In the end, Lee Shin Woo sighed and changed his mind. He would continue to do what he had been doing first... in other words, cleanly mop up the level 1 dungeons in the nearby vicinity, and then go to the secret shop.
'I've decided, so shall we hurry?'
Lee Shin Woo gently closed his (nonexistent) eyes and after checking where each dungeon was, he gripped his Bone of Thunder Lasting and hurried his steps. He had grown rapidly after the intense battle, and his steps definitely contained more strength than before.
He was currently level 2, and his stat total was 323. He was confident that he was growing at a ridiculous rate. Perhaps even beyond his own imagination.
