Since it was underground, it seemed normal to be unable to tell how much time has passed, but depending on the time, the Underground Empire would brighten and then darken, and then repeat. From what he had heard, the magic originating from the large scale magic spheres, that were set up and attached to the extremely high ceiling, made it possible, though it wasn't really important to him.
[Mr. Lee Shin Woo has entered the chatting channel.]
Within the silent darkness, Lee Shin Woo gently leaned against a rotten, decaying old tree, and then checked the chatting channel.
[Lloyd H.K: Newbie, you're not dead yet, right?]
[Lee Shin Woo: Since you've been worrying about me, I'm still alive.]
[Lloyd H.K: Good, you're doing well.]
Naturally, Lee Shin Woo didn't need to sleep (not like he could), so regardless of whether his surroundings were light or dark, he continued to move; but he was mentally exhausted after clearing another dungeon following the battle with the Treasure Eater, so he didn't feel like moving.
Therefore, he decided to rest using night time as an excuse, as well as snoop around the chatting channel.
[Lee Shin Woo: Senior, you're not going to sleep?]
[Lloyd H.K: I feel like I'll be ok for about four more days.]
[Lee Shin Woo: Aha.]
'Perhaps that guy's also undead', he thought, but there was no way he'd be. It was just that the higher one’s level was, the higher their physical abilities, so the less sleep they'd need.
[Prince Altania: Lloyd, how are you always in here? You're not in here all day, are you? Please tell me you're not.]
[Lloyd H.K: Shut up. I'm actually getting ready to give a group of undead a proper beat down, you know.]
[Prince Altania: Well, it seems like you're still diligently doing those hero quests that don't give you much of a reward... Just quit it right now. I discovered a level 5 dungeon, you know? If you want, I can put you in my party.]
[Lloyd H.K: Hmm... send the location to my personal channel. I'll finish up here and go immediately.]
[Prince Altania: In the end, you're still going to do the quest. What an amazing sense of duty.]
A personal channel. Contrary to the chatting channel, a personal channel allowed heroes to send messages to and from each other, and it hadn't yet opened for Lee Shin Woo. Of course, even if it opened, there wasn't anyone to really use it with.
[Shino Rendu: A dungeon? Hey, let me in too.]
[Prince Altania: You're still level 5. Don't you know the fundamental rule; that you need to be one level higher than the dungeon you're entering?]
[Shino Rendu: Ugh, that's true, but...]
[Lloyd H.K: Sorry, Shino. Ah, I need some help here, do you think you could help me out? I can also share the quest with you.]
[Shino Rendu: It's fine.]
[Mr. Shino Rendu has left.]
[Lloyd H.K: Oh well... It's quick going from level 5 to level 6. I should encourage him later.]
[Prince Altania: Lloyd, you nanny...]
Lloyd and the Prince spoke about this or that, and it seemed like they were quite close. It must mean that they've spent a lot of time together after they dropped into this world.
Lloyd was good-natured and honest while the Prince was immature and said whatever he wanted; it did seem like they were a good combination.
[Ms. Ye Jin Jin has entered the chatting channel.]
[Ye Jin Jin: E-everyone. Have you all seen it, too? That thing!]
[Lloyd H.K: Oh, it's been a long time, newbie. Now that I think about it, you're not a newbie anymore. Did you know that you have a stronger junior under you now?]
[Prince Altania: Ye Jin Jin? I haven't seen you in a long time, so I thought you were dead.]
[Ye Jin Jin: I-I'm not dead, you know! But more importantly, a stronger junior...? Ah, that's not it. The horse is the problem right now, the horse!]
[Erian Ruparte: ...A horse? Jin Jin, what horse?]
Lee Shin Woo half listened to what his seniors were chattering on about and rested. He held a circular chip in his hand that looked similar to a gold coin; it had a muscular warrior wielding a greatsword engraved on it.
[The Fighter's Token]
[A warrior who never looks back and struggles valorously. To a fighter, any plan, or aid is but a hindrance.]
"So, this does come out..."
He did want to obtain these tokens, but he didn't know what he'd need to do to obtain them. For him to just get one for clearing a dungeon... If he were to quibble as to why this token came out, he thought that it was due to him pushing through the dungeon in a straight line without using any skills.
'I had wanted to raise my Regeneration skill, but I got flustered since I didn't get hurt at all.'
When he had fought against the Treasure Eater, Lee Shin Woo had significantly grown in battle experience, as well as stats after his battle with the Treasure Eater, so he could no longer feel any danger from level 1 dungeons; he had put forward his Bone of Thunder Lasting and pushed through the dungeon.
He had intended to train his Regeneration skill by using it whenever he was injured and thus increase his proficiency in it, but the dungeon was too easy, so he hadn't been able to use his Regeneration skill.
The boss was level 2, but its attack power, as well as its endurance, were just a little bit higher than the Ratman. However, he didn't need any other skills aside from Bursting Thunder to take it down.
After thoughtlessly clearing the dungeon like that, he had gained the Fighter's token. Since he had gained something, it was worthwhile pushing through the dungeon so ignorantly.
'Perhaps... it might be better to hold onto a solid singular concept to get other karma tokens.'
By slaughtering, he gained the Slaughterer's token. By pushing through the dungeon in a straight line without the use of skills (perhaps the time it took to push through the dungeon or his combat style had an effect), he had gained the Fighter's token. In a battle where he had fooled the Skeleton Warriors, and lead them to their deaths, he had gained the Trickster's token.
If it followed that logic, then he thought it might be best to pull the other abilities he possesses into a single concept in order to clear the quest. However, he smiled bitterly.
'Ha, talk is cheap.'
What concept is he even supposed to choose? Moreover, there wasn't any guarantee that he'd continue to face easy battles that he'd be able to plow through without using all his strength. Regardless of how hard he tried to think positively, his head just hurt, so he just stopped and shook his head.
[Ye Jin Jin: I'm telling you it's true. A Skeleton Horse that can run extremely fast! It's really scary and really fast!]
[Yasunori Akira: ...What crap. If it were an undead, then it'd be hostile to humans. Have you forgotten the basics?]
[Lloyd H.K: Newbie... No wait, you're not. Ye Jin Jin. Explain it in more detail. First off, it's really an undead, right?]
[Ye Jin Jin: That's what I'm saying. It was all bone, and where its two eyes should be, deep blue goblin fire was burning... it’s as scary as a named Skeleton Knight!]
[Prince Altania: A Skeleton Knight's nothing, whether it's named or not.]
[Erian Ruparte: Sir Altania, Jin Jin is still level 3. Please fix that insensitive speech habit of yours.]
His seniors were still busy saying strange things in the chatting channel. However, Lee Shin Woo thought since skeleton heroes exist, a skeleton that just runs wasn't very strange, so he stopped paying attention early on in the conversation.
[Lee Shin Woo: Then, I'll get going so I can rest.]
[Lloyd H.K: Alright. Please don't die.]
[Ye Jin Jin: Ah, you're the newbie, huh! It's nice to meet you! If you don't know something, you can ask me!]
[Prince Altania: That newbie is stronger than you, you know. Just take care of yourself.]
[Ye Jin Jin: Ugh...]
Lee Shin Woo gently smiled as he heard the voice of a frustrated young girl and left the chatting channel. Despite being cursed and sent down to this distorted world, the fact that there were a lot of others who were trying their best to survive aside from himself became more than just a small comfort for him.
'Hoo, then let's go to the next dungeon.'
His energy had returned. Lee Shin Woo energetically stood up and hurried along the path to the next dungeon. His goal: gaining a token for every dungeon clear!
He already had a concept in mind that he'd use to clear the next dungeon. He had both the Stealth and Catapult skills, so he thought that if he balanced them correctly, he would get an assassination related karma as well as the corresponding token.
'Stealth is also fun the more you do it. I think I can do it with a beginner level skill, as long as my enemies don't discover me first.'
Lee Shin Woo, who realized that Stealth was an effective skill that didn't take up a lot of mana, was training his Stealth whenever he fundamentally moved.
He had learned everything there was to Stealth from the rats. He would lower his body, move closer to the darkness than the light, and make as little noise as possible. If he grasped the direction he heard someone approach from first and avoided them, he probably wouldn't be discovered.
[Gu...wooooh...]
Like right now.
'Huh!?'
He survived because he was using Stealth. He was really thankful for his senses right now! Lee Shin Woo saw a giant monster come out from the darkness and into the moonlight; he desperately calmed himself down so that he wouldn't make a sound. He didn't even know where it popped out from!
[There's nothing... to eat...]
[Lv3 Giant Zombie - Edward L. Baker]
'That's crazy...!'
This was a real named monster! It was similarly level 3 like the Treasure Eater, but he felt an incomparably brutal spirit coming from the zombie.
Its movements were slow, but its frame was so big that it seemed to move several meters in a single step; its huge eyes that constantly swayed around were a rotten yellow, inciting a feeling of disgust. Above all, a faint green mist was spreading from its body and when he slightly touched it, a message appeared.
[You are being exposed to the Elite Giant Zombie's Acid Poison. Please hurry and escape the hazardous area and begin treatment.]
It was only a touch, yet he was afflicted by a horrific pain. However, he would be discovered if he made a sound, so Lee Shin Woo frantically endured and slowly, extremely slowly moved while maintaining Stealth.
'Just a little more, just a little...'
[There are... no bodies...]
The sight of his own legs melting away was an extremely horrific experience. And just through its presence alone, it had created that horrific scene; the fact that he had to hastily run in the current situation infuriated him.
However, his life came first right now. After all, he had sworn that he wouldn't let his Invisible Heart activate from now on!
He moved with his superhuman endurance and got as far as possible from the zombie. Fortunately, its senses seemed dull like a true zombie, as it didn't notice Lee Shin Woo and started to walk slowly in the opposite direction.
[If I just eat... a little more...]
The Giant Zombie, Edward, spoke ominously until the very end and disappeared into the distance. After Lee Shin Woo was sure that he'd managed to safely escape the range of the Acid Poison, he sighed in relief, and once again promised that he'd continue to maintain Stealth when he was outside of the dungeons from now on.
It was really fortunate that the zombie hadn't shown up when he had fought the Treasure Eater!
'Then.'
Lee Shin Woo activated his Regeneration. He had collected a heap of level 1 monster bones from the previous dungeon in case of an emergency (level 1 monster bones wouldn't raise his stats anymore), but since he had mana, he didn't need to use up the bones.
Rather, it was better to increase his proficiency in Beginner Regeneration when he could.
'Regeneration!'
[Activating Beginner Regeneration. Consuming mana to restore the body.]
[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv6.]
His Regeneration responded fiercely as the zombie's Acid Poison had almost completely melted away the lower half of his body. To the point that the skill leveled up!
The mana responded vigorously with a faint light within the darkness. As expected, not using his Regeneration the instant he sustained an injury was the answer. If he had, the Giant Zombie would've noticed him, and he would've died on the spot.
'At any rate, the armor is really great.'
Because the Acid Poison was in the form of a gas, it got inside his armor and did indeed melt his upper body, but compared to his lower body, the damage was minimal, to the point that he couldn't see any damage to the armor with the naked (nonexistent) eye!
'I have to quickly get some lower body armor too.'
He immediately vowed after checking that his body was fully healed. It would be ideal if it were excellent equipment like the Dire Wolf Bone Armor, but if that's not possible, a level 2 item is fine, too!
When he pounded on his legs and tried to hurry along, a message suddenly appeared.
[You have acquired a target for the Beginner Avenger skill. When you fight it again, all your abilities increase by 20%.]
[You have achieved the feat of escaping from an enemy, despite them being at a higher level than you. Agility has increased by 2. Beginner Stealth has become Lv9.]
[You have acquired the Avenger's token.]
... Why was it that he didn't feel happy at all, despite achieving a feat? Moreover, he had already received the Avenger's karma, yet he had received an Avenger's token; so, it was possible, after all.
No, but was it possible for him to take down that guy the next time they meet? Even though his body would melt just from being close to him?
'...Hoo.'
Lee Shin Woo thought of several things, sighed deeply, and then hurried his steps. It was then that a fire was lit within him, and he vowed to get stronger even faster than before.
Of course, he was definitely still maintaining his Stealth skill at that very moment.
[Level 1 dungeon - You have acquired a permit to enter the Tainted Sewers. All stats increase by 10 inside the dungeon. Info on the dungeon is added to your minimap. All of your actions in the dungeon are buffed.]
[Beginner Magic Affinity has become Lv10 and has developed into Low Rank Magic Affinity. Magic has increased by 10. The higher the skill, the more your magic permanently increases while the effectiveness of mana recovery increases proportionally.]
"There we go."
The moment Lee Shin Woo acquired the permit, he confirmed that his Magic Affinity had grown and yelled delightedly.
Of course, whenever he obtained a dungeon permit, there would be an intense flow of mana, and this mana helped improve his Magic Affinity; so he had anticipated that his skill would level up. Still, he was happy. It wasn't just a simple level up. Rather, it had risen to the low rank stage.
'That's because there are about three insurmountable four-dimensional walls between a beginner skill and a low rank skill.'
The instant the skill had been reborn as a low rank skill, he felt the flow of the surrounding mana change and he laughed satisfyingly (though he's a skeleton, his ribs didn't even budge), and checked his status.
[Lee Shin Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]
[Treasure Hunter]
[Lv - 2 (Status Effectiveness 110%)]
[Strength - 94 Agility - 91 Health - 93 Magic - 86]
[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv4, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv3, Low Rank Magic Affinity Lv1, Low Rank Stealth Lv3, Beginner Command Lv3]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Low Rank Sprint Lv2, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv9, Beginner Regeneration Lv7, Beginner Catapult Lv8, Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv3, Beginner Power Slash Lv5]
He currently had three skills that had started at the beginner stage and had grown to be low rank, and these skills were Magic Affinity, Stealth, and lastly, Sprint.
Ever since his encounter with the Giant Zombie, he had been using Stealth at all times, so it was natural that it had grown. He used Sprint the most since he possessed the Undead's characteristic of never tiring, and on the back of that, it had risen to the low rank level.
When these skills became low rank skills, he had obviously gained some stats, and if he were to compare them to when they were at the beginner level, their performance was completely different; they were supplementing his fighting ability.
[Low Rank Stealth Lv3 (Passive)]
[You hide your presence and move such that your opponent doesn't notice you. You can conceal any signs of your presence as well as your mana.]
Amongst those skills, Sprint was especially amazing. It had a huge effect in increasing his speed regarding his travel, evasion, and of course his attacks as well, but when it rose to the low rank stage, it became much easier to put that speed into his attacks. With just that, it felt like his fighting ability had increased by 30%.
Aside from that, Power Slash infused magic into his weapon, from which he would then forcefully slash; it was usually a skill learned at the very beginning by warrior classes in games and felt like it was their exclusive active attack skill.
It was a skill he had learned from the memories and experiences of the Skeleton Warriors; despite having several skills, he hadn't had a truly powerful one hit kill move until then, so Power Slash was like rain after a long drought for him. Of course, it had particularly good compatibility with Sprint.
However, if he were to ask if he could win against the named Giant Zombie, Edward, head to head, now that he'd gotten stronger, he would say he definitely couldn't.
It had already been four days since he had encountered and run away from the Giant Zombie, but even now, when he thought back at its strength, his bones quivered. Even when he had encountered the Lv3 Treasure Hunter, he hadn't felt such vast despair...
It was probably close to a Lv4 elite. Basically, a monster amongst monsters. Despite that, he felt a murderous intent towards the zombie from time to time, so it may be an effect from accepting the Avenger's karma.
'But it's still too early. My magic rose by 10 this time, so my stats total 364, but... they said that my stats have to total 400 to get to level 3. For now, I'll think about it after getting to level 3.'
He heard that information from the chatting channel. It was the result of secretly throwing out a question to Lloyd, who had been complaining that he still needed 2,000 more stat potions before he reached level 7.
He didn't even need to suspiciously ask until he got an answer. Since even his seniors who didn't usually talk complained at the talk of stat potions and told him the whole story.
To get to level 2, one needed 200 stats, for level 3, 400 stats, and for level 4, 800 stats... each subsequent higher level requires double the stats.
Honestly, when he saw his seniors just chattering away that they were level 6, he thought that they may all just be lousy, but when he realized that they had reached at least a total of 3,200 stats, he completely discarded such thoughts. Right now, they could break him with one flick of their fingers.
'I lied to my seniors that I was level 4, so I gotta move faster.'
He organized his thoughts and his sight was fixed upon the giant manhole in front of him. It seemed like it was a ladder that only he, who had acquired the permit for the dungeon, could use. He took a short deep breath and started to go down the ladder.
"Umhp..."
He had become quite accustomed to entering dungeons now, since he had gone through five dungeons in the past four days. Though they were only level 1 dungeons. And the last level 1 dungeon in the vicinity was this one.
'I'll quickly finish up with this dungeon and then go to the shop. It'd be great if a lot of Perium came out.'
His anticipation for the dungeons had cooled off compared to his first time. To be honest, he didn't think the regular mobs would give him a good skill, but he did have some anticipation that the boss might; but it ended up being a bust. Even if they had a skill, he had already absorbed a lot of skills, so it only ended up increasing his proficiency.
The bosses in the Rural Rat Nest were the only special ones. It wasn't common for a monster to use its nails or attack by birthing monsters. He could now conclude that.
"They said it was the sewers, and it's truly, really dark in here...'
He probably wouldn't be able to gain many stats or skills in this dungeon as well, but he'd get Perium here. Lee Shin Woo planned to go to the secret shop soon after and buy a bone. He didn't know if it would be possible to level up by buying the bone, but he didn't plan on putting off going to the shop any further.
"Hoo."
At around the bottom of the ladder, he jumped off and nimbly landed on the ground. He jumped from 2 meters high, yet his landing was truly light as if he were moving like a cat.
It hadn't even been 10 days since he'd been dropped onto this world, yet he felt a certain degree of dignity. It showed just by the fact that as soon as he landed on the ground, he ensured he was safe and checked his surroundings.
- Seureureuk
"Huh...?"
Lee Shin Woo heard something sliding towards him and his (nonexistent) ears pricked up.
In certain dungeons, he would have to explore for about an hour before he would encounter any monsters, while in other dungeons, mannerless monsters would be guarding the entrance. It seems that the dungeon was the latter this time.
[Gureureureureu]
At that moment, an opponent appeared from the darkness, one whose identity was difficult to ascertain. It attacked him, accompanied by the sound of a strange cry that made it even more difficult to figure out what it was.
However, because it was so slow, befitting a level 1 monster, Lee Shin Woo struck with his Bone of Thunder Lasting and slashed the monster's body without much difficulty. At that moment, he felt a strange sensation, like he was cutting apart a warm and tough jelly, making him shiver.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Sewer Slime.]
"Wow, it's truly...?"
The slime monster that had been split into two pieces emitted a bubbling sound and instantly evaporated. Lee Shin Woo, who had been watching that, looked really awful.
Indeed, if it's fantasy, there have to be slimes, and if there are slimes, it has to be fantasy. Lee Shin Woo had expected them to show up at some point. However, he didn't want to meet them. That's because slimes didn't have any bones.
"It's not even worth my time to kill them... Huh?"
[You have acquired a deteriorated Skeleton Soldier's arm bone.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
So it was worthwhile after all. He didn't know why, but a Skeleton Soldier's arm bone had popped out where the slime had died!
Lee Shin Woo was momentarily puzzled but he soon figured out the reason. In exchange for the slimes not having any bones, it seemed like they would spit out any bones that they had ingested before!
"Yeah, isn't this really profitable...?"
He felt somewhat uneasy that the bones were deteriorated, but it couldn't be helped. Lee Shin Woo was about to put it into his inventory, but it felt awkward so he just decided to use it to reinforce his bones.
Though he may die and die again a hundred times[1], he had gathered more than enough bones to restore himself.
[You have reinforced your arm bone. Absorbing the Skeleton Soldier's memories and experiences.]
[Gugeugaaaaahk, I'm melting, I'm melting! My C3 cervical vertebrae...! - Nameless soldier]
"..."
He didn't think he'd gain the memories of a skeleton's last moments dying to a slime. Isn't this memory going in a new direction?!
Lee Shin Woo was seriously seized by an uncomfortable feeling. However, since he had gotten plenty of Skeleton Soldier's memories, he thought that it didn't matter whatever happened.
"Good, now shall we explore in earnest... Ah, before that."
He needed to choose a concept if he wanted to receive a karma token from this dungeon. Last time, when he had run away from the Giant Zombie, he had safely acquired the Avenger's token. After that, whenever he went into a dungeon, he would wring his (nonexistent) brain and would go through the dungeon with a completely different concept.
Amongst those, the successful ones were the NINJA concept (the Assassin's token), where he moved covertly and killed his opponents one by one, and Lelouch Lamperouge's concept (Mastermind's Token), where he used his Shriek of the Dead to make his enemies kill each other.
Right now, he had the Slaughterer, Trickster, Fighter, Avenger, Assassin, and Mastermind tokens, a total of six karma tokens.
'...However.'
He only needed to get four more tokens from now on! Well, there was a time when he thought so positively. However, that great situation was nothing more than a delusion. Getting those four tokens was extremely hard.
"The shield warrior concept... no, I failed at this last time. Then how about the berserker concept... I failed at that too."
He had tried the Lee Bong Ju[2] concept, where he ran through the dungeon fighting as few monsters as possible, and the Gandhi concept, where he similarly went through the dungeon as peacefully as possible without fighting, but they had failed. He realized after that they both weren't concepts that should be used in the dungeon.
Since it's come to this, it might be better to try the Emperor concept. It was demanding 100 bones of the same race from his enemies in exchange for their lives. He had promised that he would use that later when he found monsters that he could actually talk to.
'Hoo, then I have no choice... Since my magic has increased, let's go with the Sniper concept.'
Lee Shin Woo didn't have any alternatives, so he went with the concept that he had held back, the Sniper concept.
Due to the mana he used to regenerate his fingers whenever he used Catapult up until now, he hadn't been able to focus entirely on the Sniper concept, but since Magic Affinity had become a low rank skill, it felt like it might be possible now.
'I really hope that a usable skill comes out here.'
Lee Shin Woo made up his mind and after putting his sword into his inventory, pointed his finger and slowly walked into the dungeon. Up until now, no hero had dared enter a sewer dungeon (it was way too dirty); the moment the first explorer had appeared…
[1] T/N: Famous Korean saying from the Goryeo dynasty. It describes something that remains unchanging. In this case, it's the fact that he'll have enough stockpiled bones, regardless of how many times he needs to use them to heal himself.
[2] T/N: Lee Bong Ju is a South Korean marathoner.
[The Slime's weak Acid Poison is melting your body.]
Lee Shin Woo gave up the Sniper concept, only 10 minutes after making up his mind. The reason was simple. There were too many slimes that inhabited the sewers for him to pick them off one by one.
[Gureuk]
[Gureureureuk]
"Ha."
At least at this very moment, he was thankful that he was a skeleton. The slimes that were overflowing in all directions were stuck above his head, his back, and his legs, and were making a 'gureureuk' sound; if he still had a normal way of thinking about hygiene like a human, he probably would've ran away from here a while ago.
[Gureureureureuk!]
[Gureukgureuk]
[Gureureureu]
'Moreover, they're just level 1 sewer slimes inhabiting a lousy level 1 sewer dungeon, so they probably didn't think it'd have much appeal. So, that's why all of them avoided the sewers, and as a result, the slimes kept piling up more and more until... they multiplied this much.'
It had been 15 minutes since he'd entered the dungeon, and Lee Shin Woo's entire body was buried under slimes without a way out. If he was a normal Skeleton Soldier, he would've already completely melted away and disappeared within a minute.
However, unfortunately for the slimes, he was level 2, closing in on level 3, his stats had also swelled by another 10 from the dungeon permit, and... the decisive factor was that he was a skeleton that possessed the Regeneration skill.
'My gear might get damaged so let's go naked.'
He had fought against the slimes for a few minutes, but ultimately became concerned that his equipment would get damaged from the slimes' Acid Poison, so he unequipped it all. He naturally put his armor into his inventory, as well as his sword!
'Alright, this should be fine with only my naturally recovering mana.'
As soon as he took off his armor, the health increase effect from the armor disappeared, and he started to incur more injuries from the slimes' Acid Poison attacks, but it was at a level that his Beginner Regeneration skill could bear. Of course, if his Magic Affinity hadn't reached the low rank stage, he wouldn't have even dreamed of doing this.
"Heup."
[Gureuk!]
[Ggoreuk!]
Despite unequipping his gear, he didn't have any difficulty whatsoever hunting the slimes. Not only was his level higher than the slimes, but the combat technique he had learned, Bursting Thunder, was a technique that could also be used unarmed.
"Heup!"
[Ggureuk!]
Someone from the outside may see this scene as unusual; a swelling wave of slimes. There were so many of them that it looked like a sea of slime. But truthfully, Lee Shin Woo was in there, killing slimes left and right.
"Ha!"
[Ggeureuk...]
[Ggik!]
Whether he's unleashing Bursting Thunder with a sword, a spear, an axe, or his fists, it would converge at one point. As fast and as hot as exploding lightning! That was Bursting Thunder's start and finish!
Though there wasn't any mana within the attack, the force created by his two fists was plenty strong enough. Whenever that tremendous strength condensed in his arms passed through the slimes, they would turn to particles of light and disappear.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a deteriorated Skeleton Soldier's leg bone.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a deteriorated Zombie's shin bone.]
"Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement."
As soon as he collected the Perium, it went straight to his inventory, but when he acquired the bones, he would immediately use them to reinforce his bones. One of his goals was regenerating his body, but as expected, the most important thing was his curiosity regarding the common memories that only those ingested by the slimes had.
[My body's melting. You weren't satisfied with my already melted skin, muscles, blood, and flesh. Now you're trying to melt my bones, which is all I have left. - Nameless skeleton]
[Ggueeeeeeek. I can't avoid the flood; it's a slumber more suffocating than death. An eternal slumber is approaching...! - Nameless zombie]
He could only absorb the memories at their time of death, but Lee Shin Woo thought there was a reason for that here. To be more specific, he was excited that he might get a skill.
[Ggureuk!]
[Ggirek!]
"Bone Reinforcement."
[Guaaaaahk, my head's breaking. It's sinking in! - Nameless skeleton]
[Kuheuk, General Leofield...! I'll go down in history before you... - Nameless skeleton]
[Ggorok!]
[Gureureu!]
"Bone Reinforcement."
[Jjijijijijijijijik! - Nameless Rural Rat]
[Gugehk... To think that my end comes from the city's cleaning crew... - Nameless zombie]
However, it seemed like the skill this time was no joke, as there was no reaction to absorbing dozens of bones, neither in stats, nor in skills.
Moreover, he was really bothered by the skeletons that strangely had their consciousness intact, leaving their wills behind! He also remembered hearing about Leofield before! He must be just as famous as Seagald!
[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv8.]
Even so, it wasn't like this dungeon was a complete miss. Setting aside the amount of stockpiled Perium from the huge mob, he had been looking for a place to train his Regeneration skill, and this here was the optimum environment to train it in.
Even as he continuously took damage from all directions, he could continuously keep his Regeneration skill active with just the mana he had. His proficiency in Regeneration was increasing so quickly that he wondered if this place was created to train the Regeneration skill.
"Hoo."
[Gureuk!]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
If there was one more beneficial point, it was that his proficiency in barehanded combat was gradually increasing, something he hadn't had the time to study in-depth.
Of course, his fists couldn't match up to the force of his level 3 weapon, but he could unleash strikes with plenty of destructive force with his bone fists. Above all, he was attacking with both hands without resting one or the other, so his attack speed was incomparable to when he wielded a weapon.
'Bursting Thunder... it's not enough to call it an amazing technique.'
He wasn't just surprised by its destructive power and its speed. The more he used the skill, as well as the more his proficiency in said skill grew, the more he felt that his perspective during battle changed.
He thought about where he would need to attack for it to be the most effective, what timing and how he would retreat to get an opportunity; these thoughts rose up instinctually, and if he moved accordingly, his proficiency of the skill increased a ton. It was a skill that included all close combat techniques, and the meaning behind that certainly wasn't light.
'To think he died with such a frightening ability. That senior must've felt really frustrated.'
Even while he sympathized with his senior, he squashed the slimes without pause with both arms. The more he repeated unarmed combat, the more his body adapted to it, and despite his physical abilities not changing, he became able to move more nimbly. Naturally, his speed in hunting monsters also increased.
He was aware that he was hunting monsters much faster than before he had Bursting Thunder. Perhaps using this skill, which included barehanded combat, with various weapons, as well as various combat methods caused it to grow.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a deteriorated Skeleton Soldier's arm bone.]
When about 30 minutes had passed since being overwhelmed, the wave of slimes had lessened, and Lee Shin Woo was able to see again. Even while hectically hitting the slimes, he stealthily surveyed his surroundings.
"Hoo, then how much... Ha. Haha."
When he looked at the surrounding environment, he couldn't help but laugh. He had come into the dungeon full of hope and roughly an hour had passed, yet he was still at the dungeon's entrance. Even though he killed so many slimes!
There were truly an outrageous number of monsters here, such that it was incomparable to the dungeons he had gone through before. If he combined the number of monsters he'd killed since coming to this world, it would probably still be less than the number he'd killed in this dungeon alone!
"This place is seriously no joke. Seriously..."
[Gureureureuk]
[Ggoreureuk!]
He shook his head and as if they were matching the rhythm of the muttering skeleton, the slimes cried out and attacked him. Rather than respond, he went with a precise one-two punch, cleanly squashed them, and grinned. He was satisfied that he had the proper form now, even barehanded.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
'Then... then shall we wipe them all out?'
Starting from that moment, Lee Shin Woo stopped being concerned about time, and only thought about squashing his opponents with Bursting Thunder, and healing himself with Regeneration. He'd be the only one getting tired from counting the time.
[Gureureureureuk!]
[Ggureuk!]
[The Slime's weak Acid Poison is melting your body.]
[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv9.]
Compared to the Giant Zombie's Acid Poison that he'd been exposed to very briefly, the slimes' just itched, and because he kept using Regeneration continuously, he became unable to even feel the pain.
Now, the poison that the slimes emitted was like... yeah, it felt like a light sprinkling of rain, and made his bones feel a little better. If the other heroes knew what he was thinking, they would've clicked their tongues, pitying the newbie that had gone insane in an extreme situation.
[Ggureureuk!]
[Gguuah!]
[Kureuk!]
As he continued to extend his fists towards the unending waves of slimes, he eventually stopped thinking entirely.
It was certainly different from what's often called the elimination of the self, but after fighting while leaving his body to his instincts, his unnecessary, idle thoughts disappeared, and he only moved with the goal of destroying his enemies quickly and precisely. As he did so, his proficiency naturally had no choice but to rise rapidly.
He wondered how much time had passed? Lee Shin Woo only perceived the crisp trajectory of his fists. It felt as if he were executing the attack that only seemed possible within his mind. The bodies of the exploded slimes were everywhere, acting as proof of that result.
[Low Rank Bursting Thunder has become Lv4. Strength, Agility, and Magic increase by 2. It has become easier for you to handle a weapon, even if you have never wielded it before. The rate at which proficiency increases for combat related skills has increased.]
It was a splendid achievement that was incomparable to the growth of the Regeneration skill. Bursting Thunder, which was at the center of all his skills, wouldn't rise in proficiency before; yet, in only four days after getting to level 3, it had risen to level 4!
His stats had naturally increased, and the power of the skill had also increased dramatically. Now, the slimes that hadn't sustained a direct hit were affected, as a portion of their bodies burst. Lee Shin Woo smiled faintly and started to move even faster.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
"Nothing, again... Hm?"
But after he had cleaned up a clump of slimes in the blink of an eye, there was a bone in the center of them that caught his eye. Lee Shin Woo grabbed it and immediately used Bone Reinforcement. Then...
[You have consumed a deteriorated Poison Zombie's finger bone to reinforce your finger bones. Magic has increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Poison Zombie's memories and experiences.]
[Guwahk... Poison, even with my poison...! - Nameless Poison Zombie]
"Huh?"
The moment he absorbed the experiences and memories within, he felt like something was different. It was definitely a memory of a zombie dying to a slime, but a countless number of slimes had attacked in order to kill this zombie.
Moreover, the zombie resisted until the bitter end. Whether a Poison Zombie's defense was high, or its level was high, he was, at the very least, sure that the Poison Zombie had met a heroic end, compared to the other monsters.
[Gureuk]
Then, a rude slime stuck onto his back and sprayed its Acid Poison. The moment Lee Shin Woo went to strike it with his hand, a brief message appeared before him.
[You have learned Beginner Acid Resistance Lv1. You have become able to, albeit weakly, resist Acid Poison.]
[Resistance has been added to your status.]
"Huh...!?"
So that's how it was. The skill that he could obtain from the bones was none other than Acid Resistance! Now everything had become clear. Lee Shin Woo exclaimed, filled with both awe and realization.
"Damn it, now I can't train my Regeneration skill!"
Lee Shin Woo supposed that the saying was true; misfortune and fortune come hand in hand.
[Beginner Acid Resistance has become Lv4. Resistance increases.]
"..."
His newly acquired skill, Acid Resistance, was truly amazing. Even though it was just at the Beginner stage, it blocked half the damage from the slimes' Acid Poison. Moreover, in the process, the skill proficiency increases as well!
But because half of the damage is blocked, there was a noticeable drop in the growth rate of his Regeneration skill proficiency. He had hoped that he'd be able to get the now level 9 Beginner Regeneration skill to the low rank level!
[Ggureureureuk!]
[Ggreureuk!]
[The slimes sprayed their weak Acid Poison, but Acid Resistance reduces the damage.]
"Hoo... it can't be helped. I have no choice but to use the rest of my mana."
Lee Shin Woo, who was fine even after being covered by the slimes, checked his body and conclude that he'd be fine for about 10 minutes without using his Regeneration skill. Then, he thought about what he would do with his remaining mana. Since he had realized how important skills were, he had already made up his mind to train his skills as much as possible.
'The Shriek of the Dead is... No, if these guys fight amongst themselves, I won't be able to train my Regeneration and Acid Resistance. The Power Slash... isn't possible since I'd need a weapon.'
He realised all that was left was either Catapult, or Flames of Revenge, and thought about which one he should train; he soon made up his mind to train Flames of Revenge.
The reason was extremely simple. Catapult just launched a bone at an enemy, but conversely, if he trained Flames of Revenge, it would be usable in various areas.
'I can shoot it from a far distance and I can put it on my weapon. It also has a pursuit function, and does persistent damage... In other words, just by training this, my overall power will increase.'
But this skill's output wasn't satisfactory for the amount of mana used, so he hadn't had an opportunity to actively use it. The fact that it was only a beginner level 3 skill was proof of that.
The Treasure Eater had created such an enormous flame though... Perhaps it could be due to the disparity between their magic, or it could be because something changed as it was modified from Flames of Resentment to Flames of Revenge.
'In any case, the higher the level, the more effective it should be. Let's train the skill to at least see if that's true.'
Since he had acquired the Acid Resistance skill, the burden to his mana had reduced significantly; right now, it was absolutely possible for him to simultaneously train his Flames of Revenge. Even though it was against his will, damn it!
"Kuuu..."
He definitely wanted to raise his Resistance skill to the low rank level, but... Lee Shin Woo made an expression as though he was going to cry (though of course, there wasn't any change whatsoever on the outside), and created flames.
The slimes that violently attached themselves to him seemed to also be intimidated by the mass of black flames floating in the air, and were melted by the flames; their bodies shrunk gradually and soon, emitted a sound of gas leaking and were completely destroyed. Since they had died so quickly, he hadn't used much mana.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Slime's Core.]
"Huh!?"
However, there was an even more surprising reward. He had killed hundreds of slimes thus far, and it might've even reached the thousands, yet a reward he hadn't seen before had suddenly popped out!
"What is this..."
All he was sure about was that it wasn't a common item! Lee Shin Woo collected the Slime's Core that emitted a dark light before the other slimes could eat it. At that moment, something happened.
[Through Bone Reinforcement, the monster's essence is being changed.]
[The Slime's Core has become the Slime Bone Core.]
'Huh...!?'
He was even more surprised than when he had first picked up the Slime's Core. He thought that Bone Reinforcement was only applicable to equipment, yet to think it worked on other items as well! No matter how he thought about it, the Slime's Core didn't seem similar to equipment.
If that's the case, then how...? Lee Shin Woo stood still, and even if the slimes swarmed him, he didn't concern himself with them and checked the item's information.
[Slime Bone Core]
[A Slime is sensitive to fire. Although normal slimes just spread their mana across their bodies, if you encounter them and their bodies melt, their mana gathers in their body. If you hunt the Slimes in this situation, you will occasionally receive a core filled with their condensed mana.]
[It can be processed into equipment that contains the monster's power, or it can be processed into a medicine that permanently increases your physical abilities. By changing the cores into bone, those special characteristics and rarity are decidedly higher than normal cores.]
'Oh, Oooooooh...!'
It was nothing but dumb luck, but he felt really good. He felt like he couldn't receive anything from the slimes besides deteriorated bones and Perium, but to think there was this kind of twist waiting for him!
He could roughly guess why the core had changed into bone when he read the item explanation. Didn't it say a monster's core could be used as a material for equipment or potions? Just like how normal equipment is changed into bone, the cores that could be used as materials for equipment and potions are also naturally affected by Bone Reinforcement.
'It's turned out well. I won't be able to intake a skeleton's core with a normal method anyway.'
He didn't hide his excitement and used the Slime Bone Core as the target of Bone Reinforcement. Then, the message appeared.
[The Slime Bone Core works on the entire body. Would you like to proceed with Bone Reinforcement?]
"Yeah."
[Reinforcing the entire body. Magic has increased by 1. Acquiring a portion of the Slime's memories and experiences.]
[Gureureuk! Reureureureureu! - Slime]
He probably wouldn't raise his magic by 1 every time he took in a core, so he had to see it as being lucky this time. Still, just the fact that he could intake cores in order to acquire magic was great. Since he had trained his skills, his magic had increased by a lot, but compared to his other stats, it was still lower.
However, if he did well in this dungeon, it's possible that his magic could become higher than his other stats!
"Now, then..."
It was important starting now. Of course, it'd be great if he were able to burn all the slimes inhabiting the sewers and acquire their cores, but unfortunately, his mana was finite, and he needed mana to use his Regeneration skill to safeguard his body from their Acid Poison.
So from now on, he would measure out enough of his remaining mana for his Regeneration and Acid Resistance skills, and would appropriately use his Flames of Revenge when he could; he would simultaneously train the Flames of Revenge and acquire as many slime cores as possible.
[Gureureureuk!]
[Ggureureuk!]
"Yeah, yeah, let's play a lot, Pudding."
How satisfied could he have been with the Slime's Cores for him to have given the slimes a nickname!? Lee Shin Woo took a deep breath and used his remaining mana, excluding an amount reserved for his Regeneration skill... and used his Flames of Revenge again.
"You like playing with fire, don't you, Pudding?"
[Ggureureuk!]
A countless number of Puddings... of slimes quivered intensely and were greeted by fire. Lee Shin Woo saw that and laughed pleasingly as they burned. Just like a demon.
"Yeah, yeah, eat a lot."
They probably didn't understand what he was saying, and the slimes still trembled even more intensely. Lee Shin Woo laughed with a 'ha-ha' and threw his fist, popping the slimes in the center that couldn't bear the flames with their own mana.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Sewer Slime.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Sewer...]
It probably wouldn't be perfect, but after repeatedly going through trial and error, and fine tuning his stamina and magic, he was confident that he could completely turn this into a training environment.
And it was truthfully proceeding like that. Was it because he started properly? Or maybe because his mana senses were particularly sharp.
[Low Rank Magic Affinity has become Lv2. Magic increases by 2.]
His Magic Affinity skill, which had been reborn into a low rank skill, had finally risen to level 2 since entering this dungeon. His mana Regeneration was now faster, his Flames of Revenge naturally became more effective, he could use it more, and as a result, the proficiency rose.
Moreover, he was proceeding at a slower pace than before, but his Regeneration still rose. Whenever his Acid Resistance blocked the slime's Acid Poison and whenever he absorbed the deteriorated bones that popped out, he quickly grew. This dungeon was truly an immeasurably valuable treasure house for him.
'If I find a senior that I like, I should teach them about this place. That they definitely have to enter a Sewers Dungeon if there's one nearby...'
As he committed to his horrific plan, which would push someone he liked into hell and was something a human being wouldn't be able to think of, he gradually crawled further into the dungeon.
The Sewers was so vast that it covered this small town, and was wider and deeper than any dungeon he had learned about; obviously, there were heaps of slimes, piled up like mountains.
It was when five days had passed. He suddenly thought he felt the flow of mana; it'd been a long time since he saw a lengthy message in front of him.
[You returned to your wild instincts and have achieved astonishing hunting results. Strength, Agility, and Health have increased by 2. You have acquired the Barbarian's token. Proficiency in Low Rank Bursting Thunder and Beginner Flames of Revenge increases.]
[Beginner Flames of Revenge has become Lv7.]
"Hm?"
Lee Shin Woo, who was cleaving through the slimes with motions his body was now familiar with, and using his remaining mana to create flames, repeatedly burning the slimes (unfortunately, even though he burned the slimes, their core drop rate was low), was flustered at the sudden message.
'Barbarian's token? What barbarian?'
He had completely given up on going through this dungeon with a concept this time, yet he had suddenly achieved a feat and even received a token! He smashed the remaining slimes in the passageway and immediately took out the new token from his inventory.
[Barbarian's token]
[A karma that suits those who fight only with their bare body, without relying on weapons, armor or refined techniques. There is occasionally one amongst them that can harness the power of nature, and if this strength is used to its extreme, they will go beyond a Barbarian and awaken a Druid's abilities.]
"..."
After entering the dungeon, he killed the slimes using only his bare body, without swinging a weapon, and even used fire; is that why he got this token?
When he thought about it like that, Lee Shin Woo honestly couldn't feel happy about it. It felt peculiar like when he had received the Mastermind token or the Avenger token.
'Still, karma is karma, so...'
Moreover, since it was a karma he could only receive by hunting for a long time naked, considerable intellectuals wouldn't even be able to peek a glance at it.
Lee Shin Woo's (nonexistent) heart ached when he thought about it seriously, so he stopped thinking about it. In any case, he now had a total of seven tokens. If he just got three more, he would be able to achieve the Trickster's karma.
'At first, I thought it would take me forever to gather 10 tokens, but I just need to get three more of them like this.'
Of course, it would probably be best to get more skills and attempt a new concept. Like the Druid... Lee Shin Woo promised to remember the term 'Druid' for now, and raised his head. Now that he thought about it, why hadn't the slimes attacked him, when they hadn't left him alone before?
The path was ending.
There was a circular iron gate situated at the end of the path.
"Is it the... boss room?"
The sewers dungeon he had entered had quite a simple structure. Though it thoroughly had roads that split off, other than the small waterway that organisms couldn't go in or out of, there were only a few wide passageways, so he could just thoughtlessly kill the slimes and follow the path.
And at the end of this path was this. He had a suspicion that the passageways were gradually merging into one, and it turned out it was all because of the boss room.
'There's probably no reason to hesitate at this point.'
It did seem like he had killed all the slimes, and he didn't have a reason to turn back without killing the boss.
But he hadn't felt danger from an enemy even once in this dungeon, and he was a bit exhausted, so if he were to fight the boss in this state, he might lose one of his precious lives, so before fighting the boss, Lee Shin Woo yelled out to refocus himself.
'I need to put on my equipment too.'
He hadn't worn his equipment for the past five days, so it felt a bit awkward. Lee Shin Woo wore the Dire Wolf Bone Armor, confirmed that his health had indeed increased, and raised the Bone of Thunder Lasting in his hand. This time, his strength and magic increased. When he checked his status in this state...
[Lee Shin Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]
[Treasure Hunter]
[Lv - 2 (Status Effectiveness 110%)
[Strength - 98 + 16 Agility - 95 + 10 Health - 95 + 30 Magic - 102 + 15] (While dungeon bonuses are being applied)
[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv4, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv4, Low Rank Magic Affinity Lv2, Low Rank Stealth Lv3, Beginner Command Lv3]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Low Rank Sprint Lv2, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv9, Beginner Regeneration Lv9, Beginner Catapult Lv8, Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv7, Beginner Power Slash Lv5]
[Resistance - Acid - Beginner Lv9]
There wasn't much change in his strength, agility, or health. At most, his skills leveled up, or his stats increased slightly as an additional effect of receiving a portion of the Barbarian's karma. However, the change in his magic was huge.
He trained his Low Rank Magic Affinity, and reinforced himself with the slime bone cores he occasionally acquired; as a result, his stat which had, funnily enough, been the lowest, was the stat that exceeded 100 first! Because of that, his stats reached a total of 390. If he raised his stats by 10, he would reach a total of 400, and would soon reach level 3.
'If we add in the bonus, I'm already level 3.'
It happened when he saw the equipment's effects, as well as the dungeons bonus on his stats. He thought he needed to be really focused, yet when he saw his persistently increasing stats, he couldn't stop the rushing feeling that he didn't need to be afraid of anything.
'No, I can't do that.'
Lee Shin Woo hit his cheek. It was annoying that he didn't even hear a slapping sound but instead heard a stiff sound, but he was able to get a hold of himself.
"Hoo... Alright."
His preparations were perfect. His health and mana were full, and his combat senses were well polished, unlike before. His Acid Resistance had also increased sharply due to his body resisting so much acid.
Lee Shin Woo approached the circular iron gate after exhaling a deep breath. And daringly opened the door.
[Guooooh...]
There was a really huge clearing within, and a really big slime filled about a third of the clearing. ...A really big slime.
[Lv3 Great Slime]
[Guooh?]
"..."
All of his concerns until now had been pointless. The moment he saw it, his abundant confidence disappeared into the ground.
Despite sufficiently preparing for the boss fight, he hadn't imagined that this kind of situation would be awaiting him. Why the hell did a level 1 dungeon have a level 3 boss?
[Guooh...!]
However, he didn't have time to spare quibbling over why. That's because the Great Slime noticed him, lightly sprung up from its position with its chubby body, and... with an astonishing speed, rushed towards him!
[Guoooh!]
"You asshole, that's cheating!"
'Would it just rush over like that?' is what he stupidly thought and survived as a result. He instinctually used his Sprint and was able to avoid its attack.
Instead of hitting Lee Shin Woo, the Great Slime collided with the iron gate, forcibly closing it due to impact, and making this place a secret room.
'Huh?'
Lee Shin Woo saw that and momentarily felt like something was strange, but that didn't continue for very long. Since it was already too much just to be completely focused on this fight!
[Guoooh!]
"Ugh!"
It seemed like it wasn't very hurt even after hitting the wall as it once again bounced in place and rushed towards him. Like it was proving that it was level 3, it rushed at him with an absurd speed he hadn't yet experienced before!
"Uaah!"
To think that a skeleton was dodging a slime bouncing in place; someone observing from the outside would think of this as an extremely comical scene, but honestly, Lee Shin Woo, who was facing the slime, felt like he was a soldier that came across a clump of rock launched from a catapult.
"Tch!"
[Guooh!]
The trajectory of its charge was really simple, so as long he grasped its charge beforehand, it wasn't actually that hard to dodge it.
However, he couldn't just dodge like this forever. Lee Shin Woo really didn't like this situation. It made him think of when he was in high school, competing in dodgeball, and him being the only one remaining in the ring.
[Guoooooooh!]
He would've rather gotten hit quickly and gone out, but just getting hit on purpose was kind of awkward, so he had run around hectically; it felt really miserable back then!
Remembering that, spite welled up in his (nonexistent) eyes. This was revenge time. He would inflict his past revenge on this guy instead! Certain individuals might say that he was accusing the wrong person or passing the blame, but he wasn't concerned with that.
'Flames of Revenge.'
As he dodged its fourth charge, he manifested a mass of black flames atop one of his hands.
If he did as he wanted, he would've fought by putting the flames on his weapon, but if he clashed straight up with the slime, which was continuously charging without pause, his weapon or his body would be crushed, so it was impossible.
[Guooh!]
Lee Shin Woo rolled his body, and even as his body got wet from the dirty underground water, he once again dodged the Great Slime's charge. It once again hit the wall, creating a tremendous noise. And for a brief instant, it didn't move.
'Now!'
Lee Shin Woo, who had been waiting for that opportunity, swiftly blew the black flames forwards, hitting the mark. It had a homing ability, so the accompanying flames accurately hit the Great Slime's body, started draining his mana from far away, and began to burn lively.
[Guoooooooh!]
Its response was truly fierce. Slimes' common weakness was fire, and it going completely up in flames in real time was proof of that! It rubbed itself in the dirty water in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but it wouldn't be called the Flames of Revenge if it were that easy to extinguish.
[Gugeugeugeugeugeugeuk!]
"Wow, you sure burn well."
This moment was the most fulfilling moment in his life. It would've been nice if he could've also burned those bastards that had only aimed for him in dodgeball like that!
[Gooooguaaah!]
But that leisurely thought only lasted for a moment. The intensity of the flames gradually expanded, and when its body was engulfed and burning, the Great Slime seemed to shake... and instantly erupted in a grand explosion!
"What!?"
After the fire had attached to it, it had disassembled a portion of its body into pieces and erupted everywhere! It was like a missile that had slammed into the ground and exploded. Since there was nowhere to dodge, he just hurriedly curled up his body and protected his head.
"Ugh, urgh...!"
In a split second, he curled himself in a ball and the Great Slime shot out fragments of itself like shells, flying towards him and pummeling him. It hurt immensely. Each of those fragments contained a devastating acid within, and he felt his arms and legs, as well as various parts of his body being perforated in real time.
[Gooooooh!]
At that moment, the Great Slime shrieked once more. Lee Shin Woo was sure that it was a sign that the Great Slime was going to charge, and he grit his teeth and rolled onto the floor, even though his body was full of holes.
As expected, immediately after, he could hear the sound of the wind being split terrifyingly, and the Great Slime grazed past him and hit the ground with a thud. Its collision emitted a sound akin to an explosion!
'Regeneration!'
Since it came to this, he couldn't afford to conserve his mana. Lee Shin Woo hurriedly stood up, recovered his body through regeneration, and secured a clear view. In the process of tearing its body apart for the suicidal explosion, it had definitely gotten a lot smaller.
[Lv3 Great Slime]
'The level's still the same even though it's a lot smaller now... The magic within its body seems to be the same, too.'
The Great Slime, by exploding a portion of its body, had managed to extinguish the fire that would never go out unless its target was dead.
Due to that, its body had gotten smaller, but the magic was focused and condensed within its body, so its strength hadn't lessened one bit. On the contrary, although its stats were the same, due to its smaller size, it seemed to be even faster!
[Guoooh!]
"Eeeek...!"
However, despite the situation taking a turn for the worse, he was sure that his method of attacking was correct.
If he were to nitpick over its natural abilities, it was a monster that far surpassed the Treasure Eater. He couldn't even imagine taking it head on, so he needed to reduce its size this way.
'I'll burn its body using the Flames of Revenge, causing it to shake it off by using its suicidal explosion. I'll recover the damage I take from its explosion, and in the process, the slime's charge will gradually become faster. I'll dodge its charge and then hit it once again with my Flames of Revenge. ...Yeah, it's perfect. It's a perfect nightmare.'
As he repeatedly trained in this dungeon, he had certainly grown in stats, skills, and experience; yet he felt frustrated that he still had to struggle against the boss.
However, truthfully, it was the opposite. Because he did his best to train and went through the motions to learn his skills through firsthand experience, he was able fight this monster 1 on 1. If he hadn't thought of training his Flames of Revenge, no, if he hadn't thought of immediately becoming familiar with his Regeneration skill, he wouldn't have even stood a chance in this battle.
"Sseup, there's no helping it..."
Lee Shin Woo, with the feeling that he was a newtype[1] relying on his machine to plunge into the atmosphere, formed his Flames of Revenge. He didn't know if his health and magic would endure until the end of this battle, but he had no choice but to try it right now.
[Guuuuu...oooh!]
"Ha!"
It was preparing its charge again, but no matter how fast it was, the fact that its route was simple didn't change. Lee Shin Woo had also become familiar with it, so the instant it charged, he used his Sprint and avoided it; simultaneously, he successfully hit it with his Flames of Revenge.
[Gureureureu!]
"It's coming...!"
It bounced so quickly that it wasn't aware of the incoming fire and was struck by a direct hit. It hit the wall, its body rolled, and then... when it realized that its body was on fire, it rampaged about like last time, and exploded for the second time!
However, just as Lee Shin Woo had prepared beforehand, he protected his head, and the instant he took damage, he withdrew the stockpiled materials in his inventory and used Bone Reinforcement, healing his wounds.
'I have to use Flames of Revenge again, so I have to endure by using the bones in my inventory for now.'
Though his Low Rank Magic Affinity had grown, it was still low rank, and despite how much higher his magic had gotten, he was ultimately still level 2. He couldn't endlessly utilize both his Flames of Revenge and Regeneration at the same time.
Although Lee Shin Woo possessed an ability that allowed him to face his opponent, he lamented that he was unable to use it as much as he wanted, and moved unceasingly. He would survive this battle no matter what, and next time, he would be a bit stronger.
[Guoooooooh!]
"Yes, yes, you damn Pudding. Let's play some more...!"
Lee Shin Woo grit his teeth, muttered, and used Sprint. Immediately after, the Great Slime, which had lessened in size again, slammed into the spot he was just in. As expected, it was gradually becoming faster and faster.
... It seemed that his Sprint skill, which he had neglected in this dungeon, would get some good training in the end.
[1] T/N: Mobile Suit Gundam reference. It's about giant mecha, and newtypes are basically people with psychic abilities.
Since it was underground, it seemed normal to be unable to tell how much time has passed, but depending on the time, the Underground Empire would brighten and then darken, and then repeat. From what he had heard, the magic originating from the large scale magic spheres, that were set up and attached to the extremely high ceiling, made it possible, though it wasn't really important to him.
[Mr. Lee Shin Woo has entered the chatting channel.]
Within the silent darkness, Lee Shin Woo gently leaned against a rotten, decaying old tree, and then checked the chatting channel.
[Lloyd H.K: Newbie, you're not dead yet, right?]
[Lee Shin Woo: Since you've been worrying about me, I'm still alive.]
[Lloyd H.K: Good, you're doing well.]
Naturally, Lee Shin Woo didn't need to sleep (not like he could), so regardless of whether his surroundings were light or dark, he continued to move; but he was mentally exhausted after clearing another dungeon following the battle with the Treasure Eater, so he didn't feel like moving.
Therefore, he decided to rest using night time as an excuse, as well as snoop around the chatting channel.
[Lee Shin Woo: Senior, you're not going to sleep?]
[Lloyd H.K: I feel like I'll be ok for about four more days.]
[Lee Shin Woo: Aha.]
'Perhaps that guy's also undead', he thought, but there was no way he'd be. It was just that the higher one’s level was, the higher their physical abilities, so the less sleep they'd need.
[Prince Altania: Lloyd, how are you always in here? You're not in here all day, are you? Please tell me you're not.]
[Lloyd H.K: Shut up. I'm actually getting ready to give a group of undead a proper beat down, you know.]
[Prince Altania: Well, it seems like you're still diligently doing those hero quests that don't give you much of a reward... Just quit it right now. I discovered a level 5 dungeon, you know? If you want, I can put you in my party.]
[Lloyd H.K: Hmm... send the location to my personal channel. I'll finish up here and go immediately.]
[Prince Altania: In the end, you're still going to do the quest. What an amazing sense of duty.]
A personal channel. Contrary to the chatting channel, a personal channel allowed heroes to send messages to and from each other, and it hadn't yet opened for Lee Shin Woo. Of course, even if it opened, there wasn't anyone to really use it with.
[Shino Rendu: A dungeon? Hey, let me in too.]
[Prince Altania: You're still level 5. Don't you know the fundamental rule; that you need to be one level higher than the dungeon you're entering?]
[Shino Rendu: Ugh, that's true, but...]
[Lloyd H.K: Sorry, Shino. Ah, I need some help here, do you think you could help me out? I can also share the quest with you.]
[Shino Rendu: It's fine.]
[Mr. Shino Rendu has left.]
[Lloyd H.K: Oh well... It's quick going from level 5 to level 6. I should encourage him later.]
[Prince Altania: Lloyd, you nanny...]
Lloyd and the Prince spoke about this or that, and it seemed like they were quite close. It must mean that they've spent a lot of time together after they dropped into this world.
Lloyd was good-natured and honest while the Prince was immature and said whatever he wanted; it did seem like they were a good combination.
[Ms. Ye Jin Jin has entered the chatting channel.]
[Ye Jin Jin: E-everyone. Have you all seen it, too? That thing!]
[Lloyd H.K: Oh, it's been a long time, newbie. Now that I think about it, you're not a newbie anymore. Did you know that you have a stronger junior under you now?]
[Prince Altania: Ye Jin Jin? I haven't seen you in a long time, so I thought you were dead.]
[Ye Jin Jin: I-I'm not dead, you know! But more importantly, a stronger junior...? Ah, that's not it. The horse is the problem right now, the horse!]
[Erian Ruparte: ...A horse? Jin Jin, what horse?]
Lee Shin Woo half listened to what his seniors were chattering on about and rested. He held a circular chip in his hand that looked similar to a gold coin; it had a muscular warrior wielding a greatsword engraved on it.
[The Fighter's Token]
[A warrior who never looks back and struggles valorously. To a fighter, any plan, or aid is but a hindrance.]
"So, this does come out..."
He did want to obtain these tokens, but he didn't know what he'd need to do to obtain them. For him to just get one for clearing a dungeon... If he were to quibble as to why this token came out, he thought that it was due to him pushing through the dungeon in a straight line without using any skills.
'I had wanted to raise my Regeneration skill, but I got flustered since I didn't get hurt at all.'
When he had fought against the Treasure Eater, Lee Shin Woo had significantly grown in battle experience, as well as stats after his battle with the Treasure Eater, so he could no longer feel any danger from level 1 dungeons; he had put forward his Bone of Thunder Lasting and pushed through the dungeon.
He had intended to train his Regeneration skill by using it whenever he was injured and thus increase his proficiency in it, but the dungeon was too easy, so he hadn't been able to use his Regeneration skill.
The boss was level 2, but its attack power, as well as its endurance, were just a little bit higher than the Ratman. However, he didn't need any other skills aside from Bursting Thunder to take it down.
After thoughtlessly clearing the dungeon like that, he had gained the Fighter's token. Since he had gained something, it was worthwhile pushing through the dungeon so ignorantly.
'Perhaps... it might be better to hold onto a solid singular concept to get other karma tokens.'
By slaughtering, he gained the Slaughterer's token. By pushing through the dungeon in a straight line without the use of skills (perhaps the time it took to push through the dungeon or his combat style had an effect), he had gained the Fighter's token. In a battle where he had fooled the Skeleton Warriors, and lead them to their deaths, he had gained the Trickster's token.
If it followed that logic, then he thought it might be best to pull the other abilities he possesses into a single concept in order to clear the quest. However, he smiled bitterly.
'Ha, talk is cheap.'
What concept is he even supposed to choose? Moreover, there wasn't any guarantee that he'd continue to face easy battles that he'd be able to plow through without using all his strength. Regardless of how hard he tried to think positively, his head just hurt, so he just stopped and shook his head.
[Ye Jin Jin: I'm telling you it's true. A Skeleton Horse that can run extremely fast! It's really scary and really fast!]
[Yasunori Akira: ...What crap. If it were an undead, then it'd be hostile to humans. Have you forgotten the basics?]
[Lloyd H.K: Newbie... No wait, you're not. Ye Jin Jin. Explain it in more detail. First off, it's really an undead, right?]
[Ye Jin Jin: That's what I'm saying. It was all bone, and where its two eyes should be, deep blue goblin fire was burning... it’s as scary as a named Skeleton Knight!]
[Prince Altania: A Skeleton Knight's nothing, whether it's named or not.]
[Erian Ruparte: Sir Altania, Jin Jin is still level 3. Please fix that insensitive speech habit of yours.]
His seniors were still busy saying strange things in the chatting channel. However, Lee Shin Woo thought since skeleton heroes exist, a skeleton that just runs wasn't very strange, so he stopped paying attention early on in the conversation.
[Lee Shin Woo: Then, I'll get going so I can rest.]
[Lloyd H.K: Alright. Please don't die.]
[Ye Jin Jin: Ah, you're the newbie, huh! It's nice to meet you! If you don't know something, you can ask me!]
[Prince Altania: That newbie is stronger than you, you know. Just take care of yourself.]
[Ye Jin Jin: Ugh...]
Lee Shin Woo gently smiled as he heard the voice of a frustrated young girl and left the chatting channel. Despite being cursed and sent down to this distorted world, the fact that there were a lot of others who were trying their best to survive aside from himself became more than just a small comfort for him.
'Hoo, then let's go to the next dungeon.'
His energy had returned. Lee Shin Woo energetically stood up and hurried along the path to the next dungeon. His goal: gaining a token for every dungeon clear!
He already had a concept in mind that he'd use to clear the next dungeon. He had both the Stealth and Catapult skills, so he thought that if he balanced them correctly, he would get an assassination related karma as well as the corresponding token.
'Stealth is also fun the more you do it. I think I can do it with a beginner level skill, as long as my enemies don't discover me first.'
Lee Shin Woo, who realized that Stealth was an effective skill that didn't take up a lot of mana, was training his Stealth whenever he fundamentally moved.
He had learned everything there was to Stealth from the rats. He would lower his body, move closer to the darkness than the light, and make as little noise as possible. If he grasped the direction he heard someone approach from first and avoided them, he probably wouldn't be discovered.
[Gu...wooooh...]
Like right now.
'Huh!?'
He survived because he was using Stealth. He was really thankful for his senses right now! Lee Shin Woo saw a giant monster come out from the darkness and into the moonlight; he desperately calmed himself down so that he wouldn't make a sound. He didn't even know where it popped out from!
[There's nothing... to eat...]
[Lv3 Giant Zombie - Edward L. Baker]
'That's crazy...!'
This was a real named monster! It was similarly level 3 like the Treasure Eater, but he felt an incomparably brutal spirit coming from the zombie.
Its movements were slow, but its frame was so big that it seemed to move several meters in a single step; its huge eyes that constantly swayed around were a rotten yellow, inciting a feeling of disgust. Above all, a faint green mist was spreading from its body and when he slightly touched it, a message appeared.
[You are being exposed to the Elite Giant Zombie's Acid Poison. Please hurry and escape the hazardous area and begin treatment.]
It was only a touch, yet he was afflicted by a horrific pain. However, he would be discovered if he made a sound, so Lee Shin Woo frantically endured and slowly, extremely slowly moved while maintaining Stealth.
'Just a little more, just a little...'
[There are... no bodies...]
The sight of his own legs melting away was an extremely horrific experience. And just through its presence alone, it had created that horrific scene; the fact that he had to hastily run in the current situation infuriated him.
However, his life came first right now. After all, he had sworn that he wouldn't let his Invisible Heart activate from now on!
He moved with his superhuman endurance and got as far as possible from the zombie. Fortunately, its senses seemed dull like a true zombie, as it didn't notice Lee Shin Woo and started to walk slowly in the opposite direction.
[If I just eat... a little more...]
The Giant Zombie, Edward, spoke ominously until the very end and disappeared into the distance. After Lee Shin Woo was sure that he'd managed to safely escape the range of the Acid Poison, he sighed in relief, and once again promised that he'd continue to maintain Stealth when he was outside of the dungeons from now on.
It was really fortunate that the zombie hadn't shown up when he had fought the Treasure Eater!
'Then.'
Lee Shin Woo activated his Regeneration. He had collected a heap of level 1 monster bones from the previous dungeon in case of an emergency (level 1 monster bones wouldn't raise his stats anymore), but since he had mana, he didn't need to use up the bones.
Rather, it was better to increase his proficiency in Beginner Regeneration when he could.
'Regeneration!'
[Activating Beginner Regeneration. Consuming mana to restore the body.]
[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv6.]
His Regeneration responded fiercely as the zombie's Acid Poison had almost completely melted away the lower half of his body. To the point that the skill leveled up!
The mana responded vigorously with a faint light within the darkness. As expected, not using his Regeneration the instant he sustained an injury was the answer. If he had, the Giant Zombie would've noticed him, and he would've died on the spot.
'At any rate, the armor is really great.'
Because the Acid Poison was in the form of a gas, it got inside his armor and did indeed melt his upper body, but compared to his lower body, the damage was minimal, to the point that he couldn't see any damage to the armor with the naked (nonexistent) eye!
'I have to quickly get some lower body armor too.'
He immediately vowed after checking that his body was fully healed. It would be ideal if it were excellent equipment like the Dire Wolf Bone Armor, but if that's not possible, a level 2 item is fine, too!
When he pounded on his legs and tried to hurry along, a message suddenly appeared.
[You have acquired a target for the Beginner Avenger skill. When you fight it again, all your abilities increase by 20%.]
[You have achieved the feat of escaping from an enemy, despite them being at a higher level than you. Agility has increased by 2. Beginner Stealth has become Lv9.]
[You have acquired the Avenger's token.]
... Why was it that he didn't feel happy at all, despite achieving a feat? Moreover, he had already received the Avenger's karma, yet he had received an Avenger's token; so, it was possible, after all.
No, but was it possible for him to take down that guy the next time they meet? Even though his body would melt just from being close to him?
'...Hoo.'
Lee Shin Woo thought of several things, sighed deeply, and then hurried his steps. It was then that a fire was lit within him, and he vowed to get stronger even faster than before.
Of course, he was definitely still maintaining his Stealth skill at that very moment.
[Level 1 dungeon - You have acquired a permit to enter the Tainted Sewers. All stats increase by 10 inside the dungeon. Info on the dungeon is added to your minimap. All of your actions in the dungeon are buffed.]
[Beginner Magic Affinity has become Lv10 and has developed into Low Rank Magic Affinity. Magic has increased by 10. The higher the skill, the more your magic permanently increases while the effectiveness of mana recovery increases proportionally.]
"There we go."
The moment Lee Shin Woo acquired the permit, he confirmed that his Magic Affinity had grown and yelled delightedly.
Of course, whenever he obtained a dungeon permit, there would be an intense flow of mana, and this mana helped improve his Magic Affinity; so he had anticipated that his skill would level up. Still, he was happy. It wasn't just a simple level up. Rather, it had risen to the low rank stage.
'That's because there are about three insurmountable four-dimensional walls between a beginner skill and a low rank skill.'
The instant the skill had been reborn as a low rank skill, he felt the flow of the surrounding mana change and he laughed satisfyingly (though he's a skeleton, his ribs didn't even budge), and checked his status.
[Lee Shin Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]
[Treasure Hunter]
[Lv - 2 (Status Effectiveness 110%)]
[Strength - 94 Agility - 91 Health - 93 Magic - 86]
[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv4, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv3, Low Rank Magic Affinity Lv1, Low Rank Stealth Lv3, Beginner Command Lv3]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Low Rank Sprint Lv2, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv9, Beginner Regeneration Lv7, Beginner Catapult Lv8, Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv3, Beginner Power Slash Lv5]
He currently had three skills that had started at the beginner stage and had grown to be low rank, and these skills were Magic Affinity, Stealth, and lastly, Sprint.
Ever since his encounter with the Giant Zombie, he had been using Stealth at all times, so it was natural that it had grown. He used Sprint the most since he possessed the Undead's characteristic of never tiring, and on the back of that, it had risen to the low rank level.
When these skills became low rank skills, he had obviously gained some stats, and if he were to compare them to when they were at the beginner level, their performance was completely different; they were supplementing his fighting ability.
[Low Rank Stealth Lv3 (Passive)]
[You hide your presence and move such that your opponent doesn't notice you. You can conceal any signs of your presence as well as your mana.]
Amongst those skills, Sprint was especially amazing. It had a huge effect in increasing his speed regarding his travel, evasion, and of course his attacks as well, but when it rose to the low rank stage, it became much easier to put that speed into his attacks. With just that, it felt like his fighting ability had increased by 30%.
Aside from that, Power Slash infused magic into his weapon, from which he would then forcefully slash; it was usually a skill learned at the very beginning by warrior classes in games and felt like it was their exclusive active attack skill.
It was a skill he had learned from the memories and experiences of the Skeleton Warriors; despite having several skills, he hadn't had a truly powerful one hit kill move until then, so Power Slash was like rain after a long drought for him. Of course, it had particularly good compatibility with Sprint.
However, if he were to ask if he could win against the named Giant Zombie, Edward, head to head, now that he'd gotten stronger, he would say he definitely couldn't.
It had already been four days since he had encountered and run away from the Giant Zombie, but even now, when he thought back at its strength, his bones quivered. Even when he had encountered the Lv3 Treasure Hunter, he hadn't felt such vast despair...
It was probably close to a Lv4 elite. Basically, a monster amongst monsters. Despite that, he felt a murderous intent towards the zombie from time to time, so it may be an effect from accepting the Avenger's karma.
'But it's still too early. My magic rose by 10 this time, so my stats total 364, but... they said that my stats have to total 400 to get to level 3. For now, I'll think about it after getting to level 3.'
He heard that information from the chatting channel. It was the result of secretly throwing out a question to Lloyd, who had been complaining that he still needed 2,000 more stat potions before he reached level 7.
He didn't even need to suspiciously ask until he got an answer. Since even his seniors who didn't usually talk complained at the talk of stat potions and told him the whole story.
To get to level 2, one needed 200 stats, for level 3, 400 stats, and for level 4, 800 stats... each subsequent higher level requires double the stats.
Honestly, when he saw his seniors just chattering away that they were level 6, he thought that they may all just be lousy, but when he realized that they had reached at least a total of 3,200 stats, he completely discarded such thoughts. Right now, they could break him with one flick of their fingers.
'I lied to my seniors that I was level 4, so I gotta move faster.'
He organized his thoughts and his sight was fixed upon the giant manhole in front of him. It seemed like it was a ladder that only he, who had acquired the permit for the dungeon, could use. He took a short deep breath and started to go down the ladder.
"Umhp..."
He had become quite accustomed to entering dungeons now, since he had gone through five dungeons in the past four days. Though they were only level 1 dungeons. And the last level 1 dungeon in the vicinity was this one.
'I'll quickly finish up with this dungeon and then go to the shop. It'd be great if a lot of Perium came out.'
His anticipation for the dungeons had cooled off compared to his first time. To be honest, he didn't think the regular mobs would give him a good skill, but he did have some anticipation that the boss might; but it ended up being a bust. Even if they had a skill, he had already absorbed a lot of skills, so it only ended up increasing his proficiency.
The bosses in the Rural Rat Nest were the only special ones. It wasn't common for a monster to use its nails or attack by birthing monsters. He could now conclude that.
"They said it was the sewers, and it's truly, really dark in here...'
He probably wouldn't be able to gain many stats or skills in this dungeon as well, but he'd get Perium here. Lee Shin Woo planned to go to the secret shop soon after and buy a bone. He didn't know if it would be possible to level up by buying the bone, but he didn't plan on putting off going to the shop any further.
"Hoo."
At around the bottom of the ladder, he jumped off and nimbly landed on the ground. He jumped from 2 meters high, yet his landing was truly light as if he were moving like a cat.
It hadn't even been 10 days since he'd been dropped onto this world, yet he felt a certain degree of dignity. It showed just by the fact that as soon as he landed on the ground, he ensured he was safe and checked his surroundings.
- Seureureuk
"Huh...?"
Lee Shin Woo heard something sliding towards him and his (nonexistent) ears pricked up.
In certain dungeons, he would have to explore for about an hour before he would encounter any monsters, while in other dungeons, mannerless monsters would be guarding the entrance. It seems that the dungeon was the latter this time.
[Gureureureureu]
At that moment, an opponent appeared from the darkness, one whose identity was difficult to ascertain. It attacked him, accompanied by the sound of a strange cry that made it even more difficult to figure out what it was.
However, because it was so slow, befitting a level 1 monster, Lee Shin Woo struck with his Bone of Thunder Lasting and slashed the monster's body without much difficulty. At that moment, he felt a strange sensation, like he was cutting apart a warm and tough jelly, making him shiver.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Sewer Slime.]
"Wow, it's truly...?"
The slime monster that had been split into two pieces emitted a bubbling sound and instantly evaporated. Lee Shin Woo, who had been watching that, looked really awful.
Indeed, if it's fantasy, there have to be slimes, and if there are slimes, it has to be fantasy. Lee Shin Woo had expected them to show up at some point. However, he didn't want to meet them. That's because slimes didn't have any bones.
"It's not even worth my time to kill them... Huh?"
[You have acquired a deteriorated Skeleton Soldier's arm bone.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
So it was worthwhile after all. He didn't know why, but a Skeleton Soldier's arm bone had popped out where the slime had died!
Lee Shin Woo was momentarily puzzled but he soon figured out the reason. In exchange for the slimes not having any bones, it seemed like they would spit out any bones that they had ingested before!
"Yeah, isn't this really profitable...?"
He felt somewhat uneasy that the bones were deteriorated, but it couldn't be helped. Lee Shin Woo was about to put it into his inventory, but it felt awkward so he just decided to use it to reinforce his bones.
Though he may die and die again a hundred times[1], he had gathered more than enough bones to restore himself.
[You have reinforced your arm bone. Absorbing the Skeleton Soldier's memories and experiences.]
[Gugeugaaaaahk, I'm melting, I'm melting! My C3 cervical vertebrae...! - Nameless soldier]
"..."
He didn't think he'd gain the memories of a skeleton's last moments dying to a slime. Isn't this memory going in a new direction?!
Lee Shin Woo was seriously seized by an uncomfortable feeling. However, since he had gotten plenty of Skeleton Soldier's memories, he thought that it didn't matter whatever happened.
"Good, now shall we explore in earnest... Ah, before that."
He needed to choose a concept if he wanted to receive a karma token from this dungeon. Last time, when he had run away from the Giant Zombie, he had safely acquired the Avenger's token. After that, whenever he went into a dungeon, he would wring his (nonexistent) brain and would go through the dungeon with a completely different concept.
Amongst those, the successful ones were the NINJA concept (the Assassin's token), where he moved covertly and killed his opponents one by one, and Lelouch Lamperouge's concept (Mastermind's Token), where he used his Shriek of the Dead to make his enemies kill each other.
Right now, he had the Slaughterer, Trickster, Fighter, Avenger, Assassin, and Mastermind tokens, a total of six karma tokens.
'...However.'
He only needed to get four more tokens from now on! Well, there was a time when he thought so positively. However, that great situation was nothing more than a delusion. Getting those four tokens was extremely hard.
"The shield warrior concept... no, I failed at this last time. Then how about the berserker concept... I failed at that too."
He had tried the Lee Bong Ju[2] concept, where he ran through the dungeon fighting as few monsters as possible, and the Gandhi concept, where he similarly went through the dungeon as peacefully as possible without fighting, but they had failed. He realized after that they both weren't concepts that should be used in the dungeon.
Since it's come to this, it might be better to try the Emperor concept. It was demanding 100 bones of the same race from his enemies in exchange for their lives. He had promised that he would use that later when he found monsters that he could actually talk to.
'Hoo, then I have no choice... Since my magic has increased, let's go with the Sniper concept.'
Lee Shin Woo didn't have any alternatives, so he went with the concept that he had held back, the Sniper concept.
Due to the mana he used to regenerate his fingers whenever he used Catapult up until now, he hadn't been able to focus entirely on the Sniper concept, but since Magic Affinity had become a low rank skill, it felt like it might be possible now.
'I really hope that a usable skill comes out here.'
Lee Shin Woo made up his mind and after putting his sword into his inventory, pointed his finger and slowly walked into the dungeon. Up until now, no hero had dared enter a sewer dungeon (it was way too dirty); the moment the first explorer had appeared…
[1] T/N: Famous Korean saying from the Goryeo dynasty. It describes something that remains unchanging. In this case, it's the fact that he'll have enough stockpiled bones, regardless of how many times he needs to use them to heal himself.
[2] T/N: Lee Bong Ju is a South Korean marathoner.
[The Slime's weak Acid Poison is melting your body.]
Lee Shin Woo gave up the Sniper concept, only 10 minutes after making up his mind. The reason was simple. There were too many slimes that inhabited the sewers for him to pick them off one by one.
[Gureuk]
[Gureureureuk]
"Ha."
At least at this very moment, he was thankful that he was a skeleton. The slimes that were overflowing in all directions were stuck above his head, his back, and his legs, and were making a 'gureureuk' sound; if he still had a normal way of thinking about hygiene like a human, he probably would've ran away from here a while ago.
[Gureureureureuk!]
[Gureukgureuk]
[Gureureureu]
'Moreover, they're just level 1 sewer slimes inhabiting a lousy level 1 sewer dungeon, so they probably didn't think it'd have much appeal. So, that's why all of them avoided the sewers, and as a result, the slimes kept piling up more and more until... they multiplied this much.'
It had been 15 minutes since he'd entered the dungeon, and Lee Shin Woo's entire body was buried under slimes without a way out. If he was a normal Skeleton Soldier, he would've already completely melted away and disappeared within a minute.
However, unfortunately for the slimes, he was level 2, closing in on level 3, his stats had also swelled by another 10 from the dungeon permit, and... the decisive factor was that he was a skeleton that possessed the Regeneration skill.
'My gear might get damaged so let's go naked.'
He had fought against the slimes for a few minutes, but ultimately became concerned that his equipment would get damaged from the slimes' Acid Poison, so he unequipped it all. He naturally put his armor into his inventory, as well as his sword!
'Alright, this should be fine with only my naturally recovering mana.'
As soon as he took off his armor, the health increase effect from the armor disappeared, and he started to incur more injuries from the slimes' Acid Poison attacks, but it was at a level that his Beginner Regeneration skill could bear. Of course, if his Magic Affinity hadn't reached the low rank stage, he wouldn't have even dreamed of doing this.
"Heup."
[Gureuk!]
[Ggoreuk!]
Despite unequipping his gear, he didn't have any difficulty whatsoever hunting the slimes. Not only was his level higher than the slimes, but the combat technique he had learned, Bursting Thunder, was a technique that could also be used unarmed.
"Heup!"
[Ggureuk!]
Someone from the outside may see this scene as unusual; a swelling wave of slimes. There were so many of them that it looked like a sea of slime. But truthfully, Lee Shin Woo was in there, killing slimes left and right.
"Ha!"
[Ggeureuk...]
[Ggik!]
Whether he's unleashing Bursting Thunder with a sword, a spear, an axe, or his fists, it would converge at one point. As fast and as hot as exploding lightning! That was Bursting Thunder's start and finish!
Though there wasn't any mana within the attack, the force created by his two fists was plenty strong enough. Whenever that tremendous strength condensed in his arms passed through the slimes, they would turn to particles of light and disappear.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a deteriorated Skeleton Soldier's leg bone.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a deteriorated Zombie's shin bone.]
"Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement."
As soon as he collected the Perium, it went straight to his inventory, but when he acquired the bones, he would immediately use them to reinforce his bones. One of his goals was regenerating his body, but as expected, the most important thing was his curiosity regarding the common memories that only those ingested by the slimes had.
[My body's melting. You weren't satisfied with my already melted skin, muscles, blood, and flesh. Now you're trying to melt my bones, which is all I have left. - Nameless skeleton]
[Ggueeeeeeek. I can't avoid the flood; it's a slumber more suffocating than death. An eternal slumber is approaching...! - Nameless zombie]
He could only absorb the memories at their time of death, but Lee Shin Woo thought there was a reason for that here. To be more specific, he was excited that he might get a skill.
[Ggureuk!]
[Ggirek!]
"Bone Reinforcement."
[Guaaaaahk, my head's breaking. It's sinking in! - Nameless skeleton]
[Kuheuk, General Leofield...! I'll go down in history before you... - Nameless skeleton]
[Ggorok!]
[Gureureu!]
"Bone Reinforcement."
[Jjijijijijijijijik! - Nameless Rural Rat]
[Gugehk... To think that my end comes from the city's cleaning crew... - Nameless zombie]
However, it seemed like the skill this time was no joke, as there was no reaction to absorbing dozens of bones, neither in stats, nor in skills.
Moreover, he was really bothered by the skeletons that strangely had their consciousness intact, leaving their wills behind! He also remembered hearing about Leofield before! He must be just as famous as Seagald!
[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv8.]
Even so, it wasn't like this dungeon was a complete miss. Setting aside the amount of stockpiled Perium from the huge mob, he had been looking for a place to train his Regeneration skill, and this here was the optimum environment to train it in.
Even as he continuously took damage from all directions, he could continuously keep his Regeneration skill active with just the mana he had. His proficiency in Regeneration was increasing so quickly that he wondered if this place was created to train the Regeneration skill.
"Hoo."
[Gureuk!]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
If there was one more beneficial point, it was that his proficiency in barehanded combat was gradually increasing, something he hadn't had the time to study in-depth.
Of course, his fists couldn't match up to the force of his level 3 weapon, but he could unleash strikes with plenty of destructive force with his bone fists. Above all, he was attacking with both hands without resting one or the other, so his attack speed was incomparable to when he wielded a weapon.
'Bursting Thunder... it's not enough to call it an amazing technique.'
He wasn't just surprised by its destructive power and its speed. The more he used the skill, as well as the more his proficiency in said skill grew, the more he felt that his perspective during battle changed.
He thought about where he would need to attack for it to be the most effective, what timing and how he would retreat to get an opportunity; these thoughts rose up instinctually, and if he moved accordingly, his proficiency of the skill increased a ton. It was a skill that included all close combat techniques, and the meaning behind that certainly wasn't light.
'To think he died with such a frightening ability. That senior must've felt really frustrated.'
Even while he sympathized with his senior, he squashed the slimes without pause with both arms. The more he repeated unarmed combat, the more his body adapted to it, and despite his physical abilities not changing, he became able to move more nimbly. Naturally, his speed in hunting monsters also increased.
He was aware that he was hunting monsters much faster than before he had Bursting Thunder. Perhaps using this skill, which included barehanded combat, with various weapons, as well as various combat methods caused it to grow.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a deteriorated Skeleton Soldier's arm bone.]
When about 30 minutes had passed since being overwhelmed, the wave of slimes had lessened, and Lee Shin Woo was able to see again. Even while hectically hitting the slimes, he stealthily surveyed his surroundings.
"Hoo, then how much... Ha. Haha."
When he looked at the surrounding environment, he couldn't help but laugh. He had come into the dungeon full of hope and roughly an hour had passed, yet he was still at the dungeon's entrance. Even though he killed so many slimes!
There were truly an outrageous number of monsters here, such that it was incomparable to the dungeons he had gone through before. If he combined the number of monsters he'd killed since coming to this world, it would probably still be less than the number he'd killed in this dungeon alone!
"This place is seriously no joke. Seriously..."
[Gureureureuk]
[Ggoreureuk!]
He shook his head and as if they were matching the rhythm of the muttering skeleton, the slimes cried out and attacked him. Rather than respond, he went with a precise one-two punch, cleanly squashed them, and grinned. He was satisfied that he had the proper form now, even barehanded.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
'Then... then shall we wipe them all out?'
Starting from that moment, Lee Shin Woo stopped being concerned about time, and only thought about squashing his opponents with Bursting Thunder, and healing himself with Regeneration. He'd be the only one getting tired from counting the time.
[Gureureureureuk!]
[Ggureuk!]
[The Slime's weak Acid Poison is melting your body.]
[Beginner Regeneration has become Lv9.]
Compared to the Giant Zombie's Acid Poison that he'd been exposed to very briefly, the slimes' just itched, and because he kept using Regeneration continuously, he became unable to even feel the pain.
Now, the poison that the slimes emitted was like... yeah, it felt like a light sprinkling of rain, and made his bones feel a little better. If the other heroes knew what he was thinking, they would've clicked their tongues, pitying the newbie that had gone insane in an extreme situation.
[Ggureureuk!]
[Gguuah!]
[Kureuk!]
As he continued to extend his fists towards the unending waves of slimes, he eventually stopped thinking entirely.
It was certainly different from what's often called the elimination of the self, but after fighting while leaving his body to his instincts, his unnecessary, idle thoughts disappeared, and he only moved with the goal of destroying his enemies quickly and precisely. As he did so, his proficiency naturally had no choice but to rise rapidly.
He wondered how much time had passed? Lee Shin Woo only perceived the crisp trajectory of his fists. It felt as if he were executing the attack that only seemed possible within his mind. The bodies of the exploded slimes were everywhere, acting as proof of that result.
[Low Rank Bursting Thunder has become Lv4. Strength, Agility, and Magic increase by 2. It has become easier for you to handle a weapon, even if you have never wielded it before. The rate at which proficiency increases for combat related skills has increased.]
It was a splendid achievement that was incomparable to the growth of the Regeneration skill. Bursting Thunder, which was at the center of all his skills, wouldn't rise in proficiency before; yet, in only four days after getting to level 3, it had risen to level 4!
His stats had naturally increased, and the power of the skill had also increased dramatically. Now, the slimes that hadn't sustained a direct hit were affected, as a portion of their bodies burst. Lee Shin Woo smiled faintly and started to move even faster.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
"Nothing, again... Hm?"
But after he had cleaned up a clump of slimes in the blink of an eye, there was a bone in the center of them that caught his eye. Lee Shin Woo grabbed it and immediately used Bone Reinforcement. Then...
[You have consumed a deteriorated Poison Zombie's finger bone to reinforce your finger bones. Magic has increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Poison Zombie's memories and experiences.]
[Guwahk... Poison, even with my poison...! - Nameless Poison Zombie]
"Huh?"
The moment he absorbed the experiences and memories within, he felt like something was different. It was definitely a memory of a zombie dying to a slime, but a countless number of slimes had attacked in order to kill this zombie.
Moreover, the zombie resisted until the bitter end. Whether a Poison Zombie's defense was high, or its level was high, he was, at the very least, sure that the Poison Zombie had met a heroic end, compared to the other monsters.
[Gureuk]
Then, a rude slime stuck onto his back and sprayed its Acid Poison. The moment Lee Shin Woo went to strike it with his hand, a brief message appeared before him.
[You have learned Beginner Acid Resistance Lv1. You have become able to, albeit weakly, resist Acid Poison.]
[Resistance has been added to your status.]
"Huh...!?"
So that's how it was. The skill that he could obtain from the bones was none other than Acid Resistance! Now everything had become clear. Lee Shin Woo exclaimed, filled with both awe and realization.
"Damn it, now I can't train my Regeneration skill!"
Lee Shin Woo supposed that the saying was true; misfortune and fortune come hand in hand.
[Beginner Acid Resistance has become Lv4. Resistance increases.]
"..."
His newly acquired skill, Acid Resistance, was truly amazing. Even though it was just at the Beginner stage, it blocked half the damage from the slimes' Acid Poison. Moreover, in the process, the skill proficiency increases as well!
But because half of the damage is blocked, there was a noticeable drop in the growth rate of his Regeneration skill proficiency. He had hoped that he'd be able to get the now level 9 Beginner Regeneration skill to the low rank level!
[Ggureureureuk!]
[Ggreureuk!]
[The slimes sprayed their weak Acid Poison, but Acid Resistance reduces the damage.]
"Hoo... it can't be helped. I have no choice but to use the rest of my mana."
Lee Shin Woo, who was fine even after being covered by the slimes, checked his body and conclude that he'd be fine for about 10 minutes without using his Regeneration skill. Then, he thought about what he would do with his remaining mana. Since he had realized how important skills were, he had already made up his mind to train his skills as much as possible.
'The Shriek of the Dead is... No, if these guys fight amongst themselves, I won't be able to train my Regeneration and Acid Resistance. The Power Slash... isn't possible since I'd need a weapon.'
He realised all that was left was either Catapult, or Flames of Revenge, and thought about which one he should train; he soon made up his mind to train Flames of Revenge.
The reason was extremely simple. Catapult just launched a bone at an enemy, but conversely, if he trained Flames of Revenge, it would be usable in various areas.
'I can shoot it from a far distance and I can put it on my weapon. It also has a pursuit function, and does persistent damage... In other words, just by training this, my overall power will increase.'
But this skill's output wasn't satisfactory for the amount of mana used, so he hadn't had an opportunity to actively use it. The fact that it was only a beginner level 3 skill was proof of that.
The Treasure Eater had created such an enormous flame though... Perhaps it could be due to the disparity between their magic, or it could be because something changed as it was modified from Flames of Resentment to Flames of Revenge.
'In any case, the higher the level, the more effective it should be. Let's train the skill to at least see if that's true.'
Since he had acquired the Acid Resistance skill, the burden to his mana had reduced significantly; right now, it was absolutely possible for him to simultaneously train his Flames of Revenge. Even though it was against his will, damn it!
"Kuuu..."
He definitely wanted to raise his Resistance skill to the low rank level, but... Lee Shin Woo made an expression as though he was going to cry (though of course, there wasn't any change whatsoever on the outside), and created flames.
The slimes that violently attached themselves to him seemed to also be intimidated by the mass of black flames floating in the air, and were melted by the flames; their bodies shrunk gradually and soon, emitted a sound of gas leaking and were completely destroyed. Since they had died so quickly, he hadn't used much mana.
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired 12 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Slime's Core.]
"Huh!?"
However, there was an even more surprising reward. He had killed hundreds of slimes thus far, and it might've even reached the thousands, yet a reward he hadn't seen before had suddenly popped out!
"What is this..."
All he was sure about was that it wasn't a common item! Lee Shin Woo collected the Slime's Core that emitted a dark light before the other slimes could eat it. At that moment, something happened.
[Through Bone Reinforcement, the monster's essence is being changed.]
[The Slime's Core has become the Slime Bone Core.]
'Huh...!?'
He was even more surprised than when he had first picked up the Slime's Core. He thought that Bone Reinforcement was only applicable to equipment, yet to think it worked on other items as well! No matter how he thought about it, the Slime's Core didn't seem similar to equipment.
If that's the case, then how...? Lee Shin Woo stood still, and even if the slimes swarmed him, he didn't concern himself with them and checked the item's information.
[Slime Bone Core]
[A Slime is sensitive to fire. Although normal slimes just spread their mana across their bodies, if you encounter them and their bodies melt, their mana gathers in their body. If you hunt the Slimes in this situation, you will occasionally receive a core filled with their condensed mana.]
[It can be processed into equipment that contains the monster's power, or it can be processed into a medicine that permanently increases your physical abilities. By changing the cores into bone, those special characteristics and rarity are decidedly higher than normal cores.]
'Oh, Oooooooh...!'
It was nothing but dumb luck, but he felt really good. He felt like he couldn't receive anything from the slimes besides deteriorated bones and Perium, but to think there was this kind of twist waiting for him!
He could roughly guess why the core had changed into bone when he read the item explanation. Didn't it say a monster's core could be used as a material for equipment or potions? Just like how normal equipment is changed into bone, the cores that could be used as materials for equipment and potions are also naturally affected by Bone Reinforcement.
'It's turned out well. I won't be able to intake a skeleton's core with a normal method anyway.'
He didn't hide his excitement and used the Slime Bone Core as the target of Bone Reinforcement. Then, the message appeared.
[The Slime Bone Core works on the entire body. Would you like to proceed with Bone Reinforcement?]
"Yeah."
[Reinforcing the entire body. Magic has increased by 1. Acquiring a portion of the Slime's memories and experiences.]
[Gureureuk! Reureureureureu! - Slime]
He probably wouldn't raise his magic by 1 every time he took in a core, so he had to see it as being lucky this time. Still, just the fact that he could intake cores in order to acquire magic was great. Since he had trained his skills, his magic had increased by a lot, but compared to his other stats, it was still lower.
However, if he did well in this dungeon, it's possible that his magic could become higher than his other stats!
"Now, then..."
It was important starting now. Of course, it'd be great if he were able to burn all the slimes inhabiting the sewers and acquire their cores, but unfortunately, his mana was finite, and he needed mana to use his Regeneration skill to safeguard his body from their Acid Poison.
So from now on, he would measure out enough of his remaining mana for his Regeneration and Acid Resistance skills, and would appropriately use his Flames of Revenge when he could; he would simultaneously train the Flames of Revenge and acquire as many slime cores as possible.
[Gureureureuk!]
[Ggureureuk!]
"Yeah, yeah, let's play a lot, Pudding."
How satisfied could he have been with the Slime's Cores for him to have given the slimes a nickname!? Lee Shin Woo took a deep breath and used his remaining mana, excluding an amount reserved for his Regeneration skill... and used his Flames of Revenge again.
"You like playing with fire, don't you, Pudding?"
[Ggureureuk!]
A countless number of Puddings... of slimes quivered intensely and were greeted by fire. Lee Shin Woo saw that and laughed pleasingly as they burned. Just like a demon.
"Yeah, yeah, eat a lot."
They probably didn't understand what he was saying, and the slimes still trembled even more intensely. Lee Shin Woo laughed with a 'ha-ha' and threw his fist, popping the slimes in the center that couldn't bear the flames with their own mana.
[You have hunted a Lv1 Sewer Slime.]
[You have hunted a Lv1 Sewer...]
It probably wouldn't be perfect, but after repeatedly going through trial and error, and fine tuning his stamina and magic, he was confident that he could completely turn this into a training environment.
And it was truthfully proceeding like that. Was it because he started properly? Or maybe because his mana senses were particularly sharp.
[Low Rank Magic Affinity has become Lv2. Magic increases by 2.]
His Magic Affinity skill, which had been reborn into a low rank skill, had finally risen to level 2 since entering this dungeon. His mana Regeneration was now faster, his Flames of Revenge naturally became more effective, he could use it more, and as a result, the proficiency rose.
Moreover, he was proceeding at a slower pace than before, but his Regeneration still rose. Whenever his Acid Resistance blocked the slime's Acid Poison and whenever he absorbed the deteriorated bones that popped out, he quickly grew. This dungeon was truly an immeasurably valuable treasure house for him.
'If I find a senior that I like, I should teach them about this place. That they definitely have to enter a Sewers Dungeon if there's one nearby...'
As he committed to his horrific plan, which would push someone he liked into hell and was something a human being wouldn't be able to think of, he gradually crawled further into the dungeon.
The Sewers was so vast that it covered this small town, and was wider and deeper than any dungeon he had learned about; obviously, there were heaps of slimes, piled up like mountains.
It was when five days had passed. He suddenly thought he felt the flow of mana; it'd been a long time since he saw a lengthy message in front of him.
[You returned to your wild instincts and have achieved astonishing hunting results. Strength, Agility, and Health have increased by 2. You have acquired the Barbarian's token. Proficiency in Low Rank Bursting Thunder and Beginner Flames of Revenge increases.]
[Beginner Flames of Revenge has become Lv7.]
"Hm?"
Lee Shin Woo, who was cleaving through the slimes with motions his body was now familiar with, and using his remaining mana to create flames, repeatedly burning the slimes (unfortunately, even though he burned the slimes, their core drop rate was low), was flustered at the sudden message.
'Barbarian's token? What barbarian?'
He had completely given up on going through this dungeon with a concept this time, yet he had suddenly achieved a feat and even received a token! He smashed the remaining slimes in the passageway and immediately took out the new token from his inventory.
[Barbarian's token]
[A karma that suits those who fight only with their bare body, without relying on weapons, armor or refined techniques. There is occasionally one amongst them that can harness the power of nature, and if this strength is used to its extreme, they will go beyond a Barbarian and awaken a Druid's abilities.]
"..."
After entering the dungeon, he killed the slimes using only his bare body, without swinging a weapon, and even used fire; is that why he got this token?
When he thought about it like that, Lee Shin Woo honestly couldn't feel happy about it. It felt peculiar like when he had received the Mastermind token or the Avenger token.
'Still, karma is karma, so...'
Moreover, since it was a karma he could only receive by hunting for a long time naked, considerable intellectuals wouldn't even be able to peek a glance at it.
Lee Shin Woo's (nonexistent) heart ached when he thought about it seriously, so he stopped thinking about it. In any case, he now had a total of seven tokens. If he just got three more, he would be able to achieve the Trickster's karma.
'At first, I thought it would take me forever to gather 10 tokens, but I just need to get three more of them like this.'
Of course, it would probably be best to get more skills and attempt a new concept. Like the Druid... Lee Shin Woo promised to remember the term 'Druid' for now, and raised his head. Now that he thought about it, why hadn't the slimes attacked him, when they hadn't left him alone before?
The path was ending.
There was a circular iron gate situated at the end of the path.
"Is it the... boss room?"
The sewers dungeon he had entered had quite a simple structure. Though it thoroughly had roads that split off, other than the small waterway that organisms couldn't go in or out of, there were only a few wide passageways, so he could just thoughtlessly kill the slimes and follow the path.
And at the end of this path was this. He had a suspicion that the passageways were gradually merging into one, and it turned out it was all because of the boss room.
'There's probably no reason to hesitate at this point.'
It did seem like he had killed all the slimes, and he didn't have a reason to turn back without killing the boss.
But he hadn't felt danger from an enemy even once in this dungeon, and he was a bit exhausted, so if he were to fight the boss in this state, he might lose one of his precious lives, so before fighting the boss, Lee Shin Woo yelled out to refocus himself.
'I need to put on my equipment too.'
He hadn't worn his equipment for the past five days, so it felt a bit awkward. Lee Shin Woo wore the Dire Wolf Bone Armor, confirmed that his health had indeed increased, and raised the Bone of Thunder Lasting in his hand. This time, his strength and magic increased. When he checked his status in this state...
[Lee Shin Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]
[Treasure Hunter]
[Lv - 2 (Status Effectiveness 110%)
[Strength - 98 + 16 Agility - 95 + 10 Health - 95 + 30 Magic - 102 + 15] (While dungeon bonuses are being applied)
[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv4, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv4, Low Rank Magic Affinity Lv2, Low Rank Stealth Lv3, Beginner Command Lv3]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Low Rank Sprint Lv2, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv9, Beginner Regeneration Lv9, Beginner Catapult Lv8, Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv7, Beginner Power Slash Lv5]
[Resistance - Acid - Beginner Lv9]
There wasn't much change in his strength, agility, or health. At most, his skills leveled up, or his stats increased slightly as an additional effect of receiving a portion of the Barbarian's karma. However, the change in his magic was huge.
He trained his Low Rank Magic Affinity, and reinforced himself with the slime bone cores he occasionally acquired; as a result, his stat which had, funnily enough, been the lowest, was the stat that exceeded 100 first! Because of that, his stats reached a total of 390. If he raised his stats by 10, he would reach a total of 400, and would soon reach level 3.
'If we add in the bonus, I'm already level 3.'
It happened when he saw the equipment's effects, as well as the dungeons bonus on his stats. He thought he needed to be really focused, yet when he saw his persistently increasing stats, he couldn't stop the rushing feeling that he didn't need to be afraid of anything.
'No, I can't do that.'
Lee Shin Woo hit his cheek. It was annoying that he didn't even hear a slapping sound but instead heard a stiff sound, but he was able to get a hold of himself.
"Hoo... Alright."
His preparations were perfect. His health and mana were full, and his combat senses were well polished, unlike before. His Acid Resistance had also increased sharply due to his body resisting so much acid.
Lee Shin Woo approached the circular iron gate after exhaling a deep breath. And daringly opened the door.
[Guooooh...]
There was a really huge clearing within, and a really big slime filled about a third of the clearing. ...A really big slime.
[Lv3 Great Slime]
[Guooh?]
"..."
All of his concerns until now had been pointless. The moment he saw it, his abundant confidence disappeared into the ground.
Despite sufficiently preparing for the boss fight, he hadn't imagined that this kind of situation would be awaiting him. Why the hell did a level 1 dungeon have a level 3 boss?
[Guooh...!]
However, he didn't have time to spare quibbling over why. That's because the Great Slime noticed him, lightly sprung up from its position with its chubby body, and... with an astonishing speed, rushed towards him!
[Guoooh!]
"You asshole, that's cheating!"
'Would it just rush over like that?' is what he stupidly thought and survived as a result. He instinctually used his Sprint and was able to avoid its attack.
Instead of hitting Lee Shin Woo, the Great Slime collided with the iron gate, forcibly closing it due to impact, and making this place a secret room.
'Huh?'
Lee Shin Woo saw that and momentarily felt like something was strange, but that didn't continue for very long. Since it was already too much just to be completely focused on this fight!
[Guoooh!]
"Ugh!"
It seemed like it wasn't very hurt even after hitting the wall as it once again bounced in place and rushed towards him. Like it was proving that it was level 3, it rushed at him with an absurd speed he hadn't yet experienced before!
"Uaah!"
To think that a skeleton was dodging a slime bouncing in place; someone observing from the outside would think of this as an extremely comical scene, but honestly, Lee Shin Woo, who was facing the slime, felt like he was a soldier that came across a clump of rock launched from a catapult.
"Tch!"
[Guooh!]
The trajectory of its charge was really simple, so as long he grasped its charge beforehand, it wasn't actually that hard to dodge it.
However, he couldn't just dodge like this forever. Lee Shin Woo really didn't like this situation. It made him think of when he was in high school, competing in dodgeball, and him being the only one remaining in the ring.
[Guoooooooh!]
He would've rather gotten hit quickly and gone out, but just getting hit on purpose was kind of awkward, so he had run around hectically; it felt really miserable back then!
Remembering that, spite welled up in his (nonexistent) eyes. This was revenge time. He would inflict his past revenge on this guy instead! Certain individuals might say that he was accusing the wrong person or passing the blame, but he wasn't concerned with that.
'Flames of Revenge.'
As he dodged its fourth charge, he manifested a mass of black flames atop one of his hands.
If he did as he wanted, he would've fought by putting the flames on his weapon, but if he clashed straight up with the slime, which was continuously charging without pause, his weapon or his body would be crushed, so it was impossible.
[Guooh!]
Lee Shin Woo rolled his body, and even as his body got wet from the dirty underground water, he once again dodged the Great Slime's charge. It once again hit the wall, creating a tremendous noise. And for a brief instant, it didn't move.
'Now!'
Lee Shin Woo, who had been waiting for that opportunity, swiftly blew the black flames forwards, hitting the mark. It had a homing ability, so the accompanying flames accurately hit the Great Slime's body, started draining his mana from far away, and began to burn lively.
[Guoooooooh!]
Its response was truly fierce. Slimes' common weakness was fire, and it going completely up in flames in real time was proof of that! It rubbed itself in the dirty water in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but it wouldn't be called the Flames of Revenge if it were that easy to extinguish.
[Gugeugeugeugeugeugeuk!]
"Wow, you sure burn well."
This moment was the most fulfilling moment in his life. It would've been nice if he could've also burned those bastards that had only aimed for him in dodgeball like that!
[Gooooguaaah!]
But that leisurely thought only lasted for a moment. The intensity of the flames gradually expanded, and when its body was engulfed and burning, the Great Slime seemed to shake... and instantly erupted in a grand explosion!
"What!?"
After the fire had attached to it, it had disassembled a portion of its body into pieces and erupted everywhere! It was like a missile that had slammed into the ground and exploded. Since there was nowhere to dodge, he just hurriedly curled up his body and protected his head.
"Ugh, urgh...!"
In a split second, he curled himself in a ball and the Great Slime shot out fragments of itself like shells, flying towards him and pummeling him. It hurt immensely. Each of those fragments contained a devastating acid within, and he felt his arms and legs, as well as various parts of his body being perforated in real time.
[Gooooooh!]
At that moment, the Great Slime shrieked once more. Lee Shin Woo was sure that it was a sign that the Great Slime was going to charge, and he grit his teeth and rolled onto the floor, even though his body was full of holes.
As expected, immediately after, he could hear the sound of the wind being split terrifyingly, and the Great Slime grazed past him and hit the ground with a thud. Its collision emitted a sound akin to an explosion!
'Regeneration!'
Since it came to this, he couldn't afford to conserve his mana. Lee Shin Woo hurriedly stood up, recovered his body through regeneration, and secured a clear view. In the process of tearing its body apart for the suicidal explosion, it had definitely gotten a lot smaller.
[Lv3 Great Slime]
'The level's still the same even though it's a lot smaller now... The magic within its body seems to be the same, too.'
The Great Slime, by exploding a portion of its body, had managed to extinguish the fire that would never go out unless its target was dead.
Due to that, its body had gotten smaller, but the magic was focused and condensed within its body, so its strength hadn't lessened one bit. On the contrary, although its stats were the same, due to its smaller size, it seemed to be even faster!
[Guoooh!]
"Eeeek...!"
However, despite the situation taking a turn for the worse, he was sure that his method of attacking was correct.
If he were to nitpick over its natural abilities, it was a monster that far surpassed the Treasure Eater. He couldn't even imagine taking it head on, so he needed to reduce its size this way.
'I'll burn its body using the Flames of Revenge, causing it to shake it off by using its suicidal explosion. I'll recover the damage I take from its explosion, and in the process, the slime's charge will gradually become faster. I'll dodge its charge and then hit it once again with my Flames of Revenge. ...Yeah, it's perfect. It's a perfect nightmare.'
As he repeatedly trained in this dungeon, he had certainly grown in stats, skills, and experience; yet he felt frustrated that he still had to struggle against the boss.
However, truthfully, it was the opposite. Because he did his best to train and went through the motions to learn his skills through firsthand experience, he was able fight this monster 1 on 1. If he hadn't thought of training his Flames of Revenge, no, if he hadn't thought of immediately becoming familiar with his Regeneration skill, he wouldn't have even stood a chance in this battle.
"Sseup, there's no helping it..."
Lee Shin Woo, with the feeling that he was a newtype[1] relying on his machine to plunge into the atmosphere, formed his Flames of Revenge. He didn't know if his health and magic would endure until the end of this battle, but he had no choice but to try it right now.
[Guuuuu...oooh!]
"Ha!"
It was preparing its charge again, but no matter how fast it was, the fact that its route was simple didn't change. Lee Shin Woo had also become familiar with it, so the instant it charged, he used his Sprint and avoided it; simultaneously, he successfully hit it with his Flames of Revenge.
[Gureureureu!]
"It's coming...!"
It bounced so quickly that it wasn't aware of the incoming fire and was struck by a direct hit. It hit the wall, its body rolled, and then... when it realized that its body was on fire, it rampaged about like last time, and exploded for the second time!
However, just as Lee Shin Woo had prepared beforehand, he protected his head, and the instant he took damage, he withdrew the stockpiled materials in his inventory and used Bone Reinforcement, healing his wounds.
'I have to use Flames of Revenge again, so I have to endure by using the bones in my inventory for now.'
Though his Low Rank Magic Affinity had grown, it was still low rank, and despite how much higher his magic had gotten, he was ultimately still level 2. He couldn't endlessly utilize both his Flames of Revenge and Regeneration at the same time.
Although Lee Shin Woo possessed an ability that allowed him to face his opponent, he lamented that he was unable to use it as much as he wanted, and moved unceasingly. He would survive this battle no matter what, and next time, he would be a bit stronger.
[Guoooooooh!]
"Yes, yes, you damn Pudding. Let's play some more...!"
Lee Shin Woo grit his teeth, muttered, and used Sprint. Immediately after, the Great Slime, which had lessened in size again, slammed into the spot he was just in. As expected, it was gradually becoming faster and faster.
... It seemed that his Sprint skill, which he had neglected in this dungeon, would get some good training in the end.
[1] T/N: Mobile Suit Gundam reference. It's about giant mecha, and newtypes are basically people with psychic abilities.
