<Chapter 8. Elite Dungeon >
"I felt it this time. That I can't just go on like this..."
That was the first thing Jin said.
"Running was everything to me in my past life, but continuing to just run in this world is... nothing more than escapism. That's what I felt when I saw you and Jin Jin."
"Well, probably."
Lee Shin Woo agreed, uninterested. Of course, because of that, his running related skills had increased, but that's just a by-product of him escaping reality. In order to survive in this world, and in order to advance forward... one needed to fight.
"Tell me. How did you... even after becoming an undead, so quickly adapt to this world and proceed forward? And if you can, please help me so I can become like that too."
"For free?"
"No!"
Jin strongly shook his head, but it seemed like he was really hesitating with his follow up. Lee Shin Woo had already roughly anticipated Jin's request, so he could understand his hesitation.
How long did he wait like that? Jin sighed deeply, and spoke.
"...I'll let you ride on my back. It should be helpful for travel as well as battle, right?"
"In other words, it's an offer to party up."
"Yeah."
Jin was originally a human. For him to have offered to let someone else ride on his back must've caused him to give up a lot of things.
It was no different from him throwing away precious evidence that he was human. He was willing to go that far in order to advance further.
"It seems like it's way worse for me, but... yeah, your speed is definitely helpful. Honestly, I did need someone to talk to. Alright, let's work together."
"Then... gaah!?"
Jin sounded relieved, yet he saw Lee Shin Woo straighten his index finger. Jin, who had seen this very index finger burrow into the Acid Ghoul and explode, couldn't help but flinch.
"Still, accepting you without any hesitation right now isn't best for either of us."
"Then?"
"Here."
Lee Shin Woo passed Jin a tattered sack. Jin obediently accepted it and tilted his head while holding it in his teeth. Lee Shin Woo smiled faintly and spoke.
"If you hunt skeletons or undead like zombies, they usually drop Perium and bones. Come back after filling that sack to the brim with bones. That's my condition."
"...?"
The blue goblin fire, that acted as substitutes for his eyes, shook strongly, as if expressing his doubt. To think that it was possible to express his emotions through goblin fire; Lee Shin Woo was extremely jealous of that. When he becomes level 4, will goblin fire fill his empty eye sockets?
"It's all for your sake, so fill the sack. The higher the monster’s level, the better."
"But... ugh, I got it. So it's a test."
It seemed like Jin was definitely misunderstanding. He thought Lee Shin Woo was testing him, testing whether he had the right to accompany him, or checking if he had the resolve to hunt monsters.
Of course, when Bone Reinforcement became level 4, he became able to apply it to others as well, so he just planned to use all the bones that Jin gathered to strengthen him all at once, imparting the undead's knowledge and experiences onto him.
"You'll definitely be able to become as experienced as me in no time."
"That sounds impossible, but... I got it. I'll show you that I wasn't ignoring those undead until now because I was scared."
Perhaps it was because he was an athlete in his past life, as Jin's spirit was considerable. The experience of taking down the Acid Ghoul may have instilled him with confidence.
"Come back here once you've filled it to the brim. Ah, if you can, do some quests. Since doing quests is the only way to unlock things like the inventory or the chatting channel."
"I got it. Ah, and also take this."
Jin stuck out his neck. There was a small pouch hanging on his neck, and after taking it off, Lee Shin Woo found 50,000 Perium inside, as well as 5 Lv3 Equipment Reinforcement permits.
"It's just what I got as the quest reward, but it's useless to me. It's cumbersome, so you take it."
It seems like the skill book had already disappeared, as he learned the skill, but it seems like he couldn't do anything with these. Since Lee Shin Woo wasn't the type to refuse something offered, he immediately took them.
"It should be fine to take this in advance, considering what I'm going to do for you in the future."
"Hmm...?"
"No, it's nothing."
It's likely that Jin still wasn't familiar with 'karma'. Lee Shin Woo smiled bitterly and shook his head. Since he didn't have a clear understanding of karma, he wouldn't understand, even if Lee Shin Woo tried explaining it to him with words.
"Then get going. If you can, try to get level 2 bones or higher. That'll be good for you, too."
"No matter how bad I am at fighting, I should be able to take them down if they're level 2... I got it. As soon as I fill the sack, I'll come back."
"Ok."
Jin nodded his head for some time, turned around, and then ran straight forward. His speed was greater than any monster's that he had encountered since being dropped into the Empire. With that speed, even if he were to meet the Acid Ghoul again, he wouldn't die.
In an instant, he was unable to see Jin's appearance, and soon after, Lee Shin Woo activated Bone Reinforcement on the Acid Ghoul's Thumbnail.
[By sacrificing the Acid Ghoul's Thumbnail, both hands are reinforced. Strength and Health have increased by 3, and Magic by 5. Absorbing a portion of the Acid Ghoul's memories and experiences.]
[This... this is... This seems like the wrong method, Doctor. This isn't it. This test is a failure! We can't stop it...! - Edward L. Baker]
"...This is..."
The amount of stats was also immense, but when he felt the flowing memories, he felt cold, as if he had just swallowed a block of ice whole.
This was a record of their struggle. A record of their struggle to not become undead...!
'So that's how it was. They realized that they wouldn't be able to prevent the curse that ruined the Empire, and they researched for a method to not become the undead. However, they failed... and instead, they put their hands on poison, and as a result, became a zombie that spurts Acid Poison.'
There was something he thought of when talking about poison and zombies. Hadn't he obtained a deteriorated Poison Zombie's bone in the sewers? Moreover, the slimes bore poison as well... As soon as he wondered whether there was something remaining in the sewers that connected the two, he couldn't sit still at all.
"However, before that."
Lee Shin Woo had suddenly acquired 10 Lv3 Equipment Reinforcement permits, and used one of them to reinforce the Dire Wolf's Bone Armor. The armor, which looked as though it would break any minute now, instantly returned to its original form, and was reinforced.
[Dire Wolf Bone Armor +1]
[Lv3]
[Durability: 850/850]
[Defense: 110 - 125]
[Options: Increases Health by 21]
"Next up is..."
Lee Shin Woo prepared for the future, where his equipment would get damaged, and separately stored 1 reinforcement permit. He used the remaining 8 all at once to reinforce his Bone of Thunder Lasting.
While his armor only really possessed the ability to protect his body, his sword had a hidden power related to Bursting Thunder.
[Bone of Thunder Lasting +8]
[Lv3]
[Durability: 1,070/1,070]
[Attack Power: 260 - 280]
[Options: Strength + 19, Magic + 19, Effectiveness of Bursting Thunder skill + 18%]
"Ooh, Oooooh."
As expected of a weapon that God herself bestowed (though it had changed); it certainly was different from other weapons. The more he repeated the reinforcement, the more absurdly the attack power grew. It was this strong at +8, and he felt that it had reached values that would enable it to outclass even level 4 weapons!
And that was the same for the stats as well. There was definitely a noticeable difference in strength depending on whether one equipped the weapon or not! It was to the point that around now, he thought that perhaps the true reward for saving a hero were the reinforcement permits.
'However, since I've received something so amazing, if I don't help that guy considerably, I won't be able to deal with the shortage of karma. Pleine doesn't speak idly. It'll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I'm just on the receiving end.'
But, well, that problem should be solved at around the time he meets Jin again. Since he was sure that Bone Reinforcement's karma wasn't trifling.
'Anyway, if he doesn't have Bone Reinforcement, what skill did he get from God?'
Lee Shin Woo briefly pondered on that subject. It was something he'd realized after being brought into the Empire. Everything had karma, and karma is never something to be taken lightly.
In exchange for becoming an undead, he gained 100 lives, as well as a reinforcement ability using bones, so Jin should have gotten something around the same level. Of course, Jin had started at level 4, contrary to Lee Shin Woo, so he probably had to take that into consideration as well.
'I should ask when he gets back.'
Lee Shin Woo shrugged his shoulders, brushed away thoughts regarding Jin, checked the results of his stats, and swung his sword in the air a few times. He trembled, as he felt as though his sword cleaved the air in half, and nodded his head.
Even though he knew it was ominous, he couldn't help but mutter like this for the second time.
"I'm not afraid of anything anymore..."
He immediately went into the underground tunnel he had dug and returned to the dungeon. He was able to return more quickly and easily than he had anticipated.
[You possess the dungeon permit. All stats within the dungeon increase by 15.]
'Now then, let's completely clear the dungeon before Jin comes back.'
However, as if it were ridiculing his thoughts, the interior of the sewers was extremely silent and dark. Even if there were level 2 slimes crawling around, he trusted that there was nothing unusual going on; but in a different sense, he felt betrayed.
'Well this is disappointing.'
He wanted to familiarize himself with his strengthened body and go wild, but he didn't feel comfortable with that idea at all. However, the instant he thought so and sighed, he saw something glowing in the darkness.
[Guooh...]
"Hmm?"
It was a sound he'd heard somewhere before. What was it? Before he even organized his thoughts, the dominating sense of danger caused Lee Shin Woo to instinctually dive out of the way. A huge shot hit the ground just a little later! It emitted a horrific sound.
[Guoooooh!]
"You bastard..."
After Lee Shin Woo figured out the identity of that 'shot', he simply smiled bitterly and felt dejected. How could he not? This was a Great Slime, an enemy that he had risked his life fighting before finding this passageway.
[Lv3 Great Slime]
"I thought it was the boss before, but now they're just appearing in the passageway wherever."
Lee Shin Woo wasn't sure if it knew that he had fought one of its kin before, but after it impacted the ground, it rolled into a ball again, and got ready for another leap. However, compared to when he had first faced the Great Slime in the clearing, Lee Shin Woo didn't really feel that uneasy.
'I can see its movements better.'
[Guooooooooh!]
It bounced its body quickly and forcefully charged. What's worse, the slime spun midair and was rotating. He hadn't noticed that when he had fought the slime from before.
'However, now I can...!'
Lee Shin Woo moved nimbly, the moment that the slime aimed for him and flew towards him.
Combat Sprint. It didn't simply enable one to move fast, it would increase the body's reaction speed, albeit for a short time. It felt as if he was the only one moving quickly within the slowed time... one's senses would disappear in the time it would take to say 'ah', but within that time, Lee Shin Woo moved in the best way possible.
"Heup!"
He raised his sword, which he had Hardened, pointed it at the slime, and with the strength of Power Slash behind it, precisely slashed the slime. He couldn't even think of fighting it straight up before, but this time, he was doing just that.
"Ugh...!"
Of course, the impact of their collision was tremendous, but he could endure it. His strength stat, which rose to 150 after the dungeon bonus, as well as his equipment bonus, enabled him to stand his ground.
[Gguoooooh!]
Ultimately, the slime hadn't inflicted effective damage onto him, and conversely bounced up, colliding with the ceiling. Even though it hadn't been cleaved by his sword strike, the moment the damaged area impacted with the ceiling, a considerable amount of mucus splattered down.
Then, an acid mist spread out, but since he had fought the Acid Ghoul, he didn't even really feel this level of Acid Poison.
"Hoo... That was good. Let's keep going like this."
[Guoh... Guooooh!]
Just now, he felt it. Rather than fighting weaklings to train, it was naturally better to fight monsters equally as strong as him, or even stronger, in order to get stronger much more quickly.
Lee Shin Woo saw the Great Slime repair its wound, as well as its body becoming smaller, and his eyes gleamed, while once more raising his sword. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say that around the time that he could comfortably fight a Great Slime face to face without using the Flames of Revenge, he would be qualified to reach level 4, would it?
"...I'm going!"
[Guuuoooooooh!]
The giant slime and the skeleton clashed again. A fierce roar resounded through the dungeon... breathing life into the once silent dungeon.
[Gureureureureureuk...]
[You have hunted a Lv3 Great Slime.]
[You have acquired 9,350 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Old Thorn Bone Spear (+3).]
[You have acquired a Great Slime Bone Core.]
"Hoo, that was easier than I thought it would be."
After roughly 10 minutes of intense battle, Lee Shin Woo had emerged victorious in a face-to-face confrontation. Of course, he was injured in the process, but it was to an extent that he could easily heal with only one use of his Regeneration. His equipment was fine as well.
In the end, he had used flames in order to squeeze out a core, but by that time it was already dying, so he could safely say that he had killed it with only his sword.
"Now, shall we use Bone Rein... Hmm?"
[Guuuuuuuuuu!]
[Guooooooh!]
There was a problem that came around the time he finished up the terrific battle and collected the reward. Due to the battle, he had expanded the passageway, and two Great Slimes rushed in all at once!
[Lv3 Great Slime]
[Lv3 Great Slime]
"What the hell...!?"
It was indeed a Lv2 elite dungeon, and he wondered what it would be like if three Lv3 elite monsters had appeared in the same area, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. The Great Slimes were strong enough to break his bone joints the moment he was careless.
'2 versus 1... I don't really need to work myself too hard right now.'
Lee Shin Woo quickly made a decision. As soon as they saw him, they went into a frenzy and bounced their bodies around; he avoided their charges, and ignited his Flames of Revenge. While doing so, he suddenly thought ‘perhaps it might work’, then attempted to create a flame on both hands, and ended up succeeding!
Of course, it wasn't very difficult for him to accurately hit either slimes with the flames. Even if they weren't Great Slimes and were Emperor Slimes, they wouldn't be able to avoid the Flames of Revenge's homing ability!
[Guuuuuuuuuuu!]
[Guooooooooh!]
The Flames of Revenge were significantly larger than before. Was it due to that? Normally, there would be a delay in between them getting hit by the flame and recognizing the danger, and exploding after, but they didn't even do that this time and immediately tried to explode!
"Heup!"
He made a split second decision and immediately activated his Combat Sprint, leaping high into the sky. Before he collided with the ceiling, he forcefully lodged his sword diagonally; perhaps it was because his body was made of bones or that he was so light, but the sword made no sign of slipping out, allowing him to hang safely. Immediately after, a huge explosion occurred.
- Kwaaaaang!
"Let's see."
Lee Shin Woo hung onto the ceiling and after toughening his feet through Harden, he kicked away all the pieces flying towards him. His feet spun around like a windmill while kicking away the pieces.
It was something he himself had done, but it felt like he was watching some kind of movie.
'I just thought it was a lot better than getting hit, so I tried it, but it actually does work...'
His visual acuity had definitely grown as his agility went up. Even when he was level 2, he couldn't believe it, but now, he could read the trajectory as well as the speed of the pieces, match them, and respond accordingly!
Of course, he couldn't kick them all away, so he was hit by a few of them, but that was only about 5% of fragments. And that was no longer at a level that could really hurt him.
"Then shall we start in earnest... Hmm?"
However, when he was confident that had had skillfully handled the explosion, and was about to proceed with his next move, Lee Shin Woo realized that a strangle phenomenon was occurring from below.
It was the Great Slimes' behavior. They were going to explode again!
'Huh? Now that I think about it, the flames on their bodies aren't going out...'
Of course, the Flames of Revenge were tenacious, but all they had to do was tear off the piece that was aflame. Then, why were they still burning?
The answer? It was due to their Self-Destruct skills which didn't discriminate between friend or foe. The fragments that were burning from the Flames of Revenge were spread everywhere, and the other slime that was in close proximity was struck without warning, and began to burn once more!
As a result, their bodies shrunk in size and they took damage; what's worse, the flames were shifted and they began to burn again!
'...They're really dumb, aren't they?'
He thought, hanging there vacantly, and while he was thinking, the slimes raised their magic and self-destructed again.
However, Lee Shin Woo was still hanging from the ceiling, and was even more easily kicking away the pieces than last time. His Combat Sprint sharpened his senses, so it wasn't difficult at all.
[The Low Rank Combat Sprint skill has become Lv6. Agility has increased by 3. You can activate the skill faster, and you can maintain the skill for a longer period of time.]
As Lee Shin Woo kicked away the incoming Great Slimes' fragments, he felt a thrilling pleasure. Did he always like moving his body around this much? It may be the influence of someone else; someone's bone he had absorbed through Bone Reinforcement.
Whether it was his original personality or not, he was sure that at some point he began to enjoy personally moving his body and fighting, as well as learning skills through experience. And that personality was something that was extremely beneficial in surviving in the Underground Empire.
[Gu, Guuooooh...!]
[Guuuuuu...!]
After completing their second Self-Destruct, rather than completely extinguishing the flames, the flames actually expanded. At around that point, the Great Slimes realized that the situation wasn't as simple as it would seem.
Lee Shin Woo thought it'd be funny if they repeatedly used their Self-Destruct and died, but it didn't actually go that way. The slimes, which had focused only on Lee Shin Woo, turned to each other for the first time. They realized that they were the targets of the flames.
[Guu...]
[Guuuuuu...!]
And they soon did something astonishing. One of the Great Slime's mucousy body opened just like a mouth and ate the other one!
Even as the flames melted their bodies, they softly connected their magic cores together and fused into one whilst emitting sparks; a truly magnificent sight.
[A Lv3 Great Slime has fused with a similar organism.]
[Lv3 Great Slime (+3)]
"!?"
There was a reinforcing mark on a monster!? Lee Shin Woo was astonished and couldn't believe the sight. The Great Slimes, which had become one, had become bigger (they would have compressed their mana centrally in their bodies in the process of self-destructing, so their abilities would've doubled) and pushed the flames onto the outer portion of its body, self-destructing once more.
As a result, it returned to its pristine form once again.
[Guuuuuuuu!]
Of course, while it was fusing, Lee Shin Woo had dislodged his sword from the ceiling and dropped down; he activated his Stealth and was already hiding within the darkness, but his sight didn't leave the fused and strengthened Great Slime.
'Perhaps the reason that there are Great Slimes in this dungeon is because they're the result of the originally low leveled slimes repeatedly fusing together over a long period of time.'
If that's the case, then he could understand why this dungeon, which was originally supposed to be level 1, had become an level 2 elite dungeon. Lee Shin Woo had unintentionally come across one of the truths about the dungeon and felt extremely strange.
[Guuu... Guuu?]
Meanwhile, the Great Slime (+3) lost Lee Shin Woo and thoroughly searched the passageway while perplexed. Lee Shin Woo matched its movements and repeatedly moved back into hiding, so it couldn't easily find him.
The slime's senses were so dull that it wouldn't notice him unless he made a huge noise or there was a huge rush of mana.
[Guuuuuu...!]
It soon gave up on finding Lee Shin Woo and turned around. However, it didn't appear as though it was returning back to its everyday life.
It realized that there was an enemy in the silent sewers and had become more aggressive after fusing. In other words, it was focused on getting stronger in preparation for the next time they met.
'This has become interesting...'
Lee Shin Woo slowly crawled through the dark passageway and felt conflicted as he watched the back of the slime.
He already knew that killing it now would be the safest option. However, if it somehow 'fused' with all the slimes inhabiting this dungeon... or even just the Great Slimes... he wanted to see the result.
'It might even become a level 4 elite monster like the Acid Ghoul.'
Of course, it may not become as strong as the Acid Ghoul, but in any case, if he let it be, a formidable slime would become even more formidable. The risk of dying would increase by that much, yet... Lee Shin Woo couldn't help but want to see a monster like that be born.
'It'd obviously be dangerous, but the reward should reflect that danger and be considerable as well.'
Lee Shin Woo already knew the rewards a level 4 elite monster would drop. The rewards that were a level higher than that of a level 3 monster!
It wasn't just the loot. In the process of fighting an enemy of a higher level, all his actions would become a strong karma and would come back to repay him. That's what happened when he had fought the Acid Ghoul together with the other heroes, too!
One would get solo rewards if they fight alone, and if fought with others, they'll be rewarded together! In this world, levels were an absolute standard, so by exceeding that very standard, he would obtain a 'karma' that went beyond his imagination.
And that would advance his growth beyond the norm. So much so that he wouldn't lose to his seniors, or the undead that filled the Empire!
If the other heroes heard him, they would ask if he were carrying around a few spare lives and would be amazed; but honestly, he couldn't help it, he did have extra lives. Several dozen of them at that!
[You have acquired a target for the Beginner Avenger skill. When you meet again, all abilities increase by 30%.]
Around the time the Great Slime had went beyond the clearing and disappeared, a message quietly appeared in front of him. Everything was set; he would be able to defeat the evolved slime.
He felt really satisfied that he had gotten this skill from his own actions and the resulting karma, rather than anyone else's bones.
'And about the Trickster...'
By accidentally receiving the Savior karma, he now only needed one more token in the future. At the end of that, what karma would he acquire... he was sure that he wasn't very far off.
"For now... Bone Reinforcement."
[The entire body is reinforced. You have acquired 3 magic. Proficiency in Low Rank Self-Destruct has increased by 10%. Absorbing a portion of the target's memories and experiences.]
[Guoooooooooooooh! - Great Slime]
'Tch, since I've risen to level 3, the amount of stats it gives me has decreased...'
Lee Shin Woo, who had finished with the Bone Reinforcement, concluded that it was a good decision to let the Great Slime go, and after nodding his head, started to proceed through the dark sewer passageway. Of course, while maintaining his Low Rank Stealth.
Did the Great Slime (+3) already wipe out all of the slimes as it passed by? It was so silent that it felt as though his noisy fight at the beginning with the Great Slimes was a lie.
'Moreover, this place conversely doesn't have any filth. Ah, was it all melted by the acid?'
When a slime becomes a Great Slime, the acid that its spews out becomes stronger. It would melt solids, and evaporate liquids; the slimes that spew out this horrific acid were crawling around, so it was only natural that the sewers become clean. But around this time, he wondered why the sewer passageway was still left intact.
'I know it's tough, but the fact that the preparations were this thorough... perhaps the Empire treated it as though it was natural for slimes to appear in the sewers.'
When the Empire flourished, he wondered what it looked like, and suddenly couldn't get it out of his mind. He would probably never know and... he smiled bitterly (that's roughly what he imagined his expression was) and continued to explore.
"...Hmm?"
However, while he was exploring, he discovered a crack carved into a portion of the left passageway. When he thoroughly inspected it, he found that the crack was in the shape of a square, and it was a size that could comfortably fit the palm of his hand.
And at the center, he saw the traces of hidden mana. They seemed to be an extremely old.
'Is this perhaps...'
It looked like a fingerprint scanner that showed up in movies... Lee Shin Woo pondered briefly, but soon placed his hand atop the square. Then, the square pattern surprisingly emitted heat and slightly came out. Beyond any doubt, it was a lock!
"Hoo...!"
Lee Shin Woo was excited, thinking that he'd found a secret hidden within the dungeon, and immediately emitted mana, but the reaction wasn't great. The door lock turned red, and emitted an ominous light, though that was all. Nothing else really changed.
Of course, he had roughly expected that. It was a lock, so there was no way it'd open by just emitting a bit of mana.
However, be that as it may, he thought that this structure didn't just respond to a certain individual's mana alone. That's because he could faintly, very faintly, feel the traces of mana from a variety of humans that had stood before this very lock.
'Then... is it a pattern as expected?'
Unlocking it had now become difficult. It'd probably been dozens of years since the last time this lock was activated, and was so terribly worn out to the point that it'd be difficult to ascertain the origin of the traces of the time worn mana.
The saving grace was that there were countless traces of people's mana, and their strands of mana all overlapped; if he were able to analyze the flow of mana, he felt as though he'd obtain a meaningful result.
'It'll probably be a lot of work, but... shall we?'
There should still be some time left before the Great Slime cleans up this dungeon. Lee Shin Woo concentrated on the door lock and began to thoroughly analyze the traces of the faintly remaining mana.
'Figuring out a starting point is important. Yeah, here... No, is it here?'
He saw the conditions of opening the lock as follows: draw the mana to the center of the palm, and use that mana to create one pattern. Of course, it wasn't just that it had to be the same pattern, but it had to flow from the same starting place and end at the same ending place.
He genuinely activated his senses and by analyzing the door lock's release conditions, he found and excluded the false traces that they had purposefully put in. He had fun, as it felt as though he was playing some sort of puzzle game.
[The Low Rank Magic Accumulation skill has become Lv2. Magic has increased by 2.]
"Ah, it goes up."
It was the same process as when entering a dungeon, so perhaps by just carrying out these tasks, his proficiency in magic related skills would increase.
Lee Shin Woo, who was motivated to improve his skills and stats, didn't even know how amazing what he was doing was, and continuously analyzed the lock. And then, he finally succeeded in determining the pattern.
[The Low Rank Magic Affinity skill has become Lv8. Magic has increased by 5.]
"It's a skull. What completely bad taste."
He knew approximately what the people who had gathered here came for. However, to think that the pattern that they used was a skull; the laughter came out naturally. It definitely should've been fairly difficult to get through, though...
'In any case, I just need to find the starting point and the end point now.'
They had gone so far as to hide it in the sewers and even maintain thorough security over it, so he probably wouldn't get through scot free if he got this wrong. Lee Shin Woo took a deep breath and concentrated even harder on the pattern. To be exact, he concentrated on the flow from the traces of mana that the humans had left behind dozens of years prior. However, there was no way it'd be that simple.
'Damn it...'
He gritted his teeth. Lee Shin Woo thought he might've been too arrogant to attempt this, as someone who hasn't handled mana for very long.
However, despite that, he couldn't give up at all. In the end, it was pretty much a miracle finding the right pattern. He had no choice but to trust in his talent and concentrate right now...!
'Ah!'
Lee Shin Woo concentrated more forcefully on the pattern, even more than when he had taken the national college entrance exam, and at that moment, he miraculously succeeded in grabbing a hold of a faintly remaining flow of mana. It was truly a small trace, but it seemed as though some traces of mana were being absorbed into the pattern.
Lee Shin Woo could even go as far as to guess the owner of that mana, and he had very briefly assimilated their experiences... it was none other than the magician, Gerrit, who had burnt and killed his zombified teacher.
'Wait, it's the opposite. Since it was a trace from Gerrit, I was able to recognize it. I also experienced sharing a body with him as well, and... more importantly, the fact that Gerrit came here means that this facility is related to General Seagald.'
He knew that Gerrit wanted to meet with General Seagald from the memories of the bone he had acquired.
It was a facility within the interior of the sewers where they performed some kind of research, and Seagald and Gerrit... He couldn't be sure of anything yet, but Lee Shin Woo drew a truly persuasive scenario in his head.
"Then let's uncover what the secret is."
Since he had uncovered a trace of the flow of mana, it was easy to find the rest of the traces. In his head, a series of streams of mana were cleanly connected!
'I got it!'
He inwardly yelled with delight and placed his hand carefully on the door lock; and after going through the simulations in his head several times and making sure... reproduced that flow. The slightly black dyed mana slowly and carefully started to create the pattern of a skull.
Eventually, the pattern was completed, and thankfully the door lock didn't become hot. It emitted a delicate blue light, and soon was sucked back into the wall; at that moment, a larger square pattern appeared. It was a door that allowed him to enter the secret room!
[Releasing door lock.]
It was a miracle; he had revived something from several years ago... A part of lost history had been revived due to Lee Shin Woo, and it was at that moment that the mana within his body intensified, surged, and exploded.
The countless, dormant knowledge fragments and his talent connected, causing a big bang that he couldn't contain!
[You have acquired the passive skill, Magic Tracking Lv1! Magic has increased by 3.]
[Low Rank Magic Affinity, Low Rank Magic Accumulation, and Low Rank Magic Tracking skills have compounded and evolved.]
His ability to sense magic, accept it, and track it were all connected into one. A method of more effectively producing mana, circulating it, and utilizing it instinctually rose up into his head.
It was something that he couldn't have even dreamed of until now, as well as being absurdly complex and headache inducing, but... it was possible for him now. Lee Shin Woo nodded his head and accepted the mysterious feeling. He accumulated the knowledge and applied it.
[You have acquired the special passive skill, Low Rank Mana Bone Lv5! Magic has increased by 30.]
At that moment, mana indiscriminately spread through his body, covered his bones, and caused a fundamental change!
[Low Rank Mana Bone Lv5 (Passive)]
[Originally, humans were organisms that did not welcome mana, and through their strong tenacity as well as their talent, they realized a method to harmonize with mana. In order to more perfectly handle the mana that spread throughout the body as it pleased, the mana is accepted, created, and circulated by an imaginary organ that covers the heart. They called it the mana heart.]
[However, you are a skeleton without a heart, so you have done something outrageous and substituted the mana heart with your entire boney body. That scale is truly enormous, and if you did not have a considerable understanding and handling of mana, it would've been impossible to even attempt.]
[By achieving a balance between the vast knowledge, your talent in mana, and the special situation, this astonishing skill was born, and no one besides yourself knows the growth potential of this astonishing skill.]
It was truly an odd feeling. It felt as though he had taken off some unnatural clothes and he'd been thrown into a world filled with mana, naked. His body, composed of 206 bones, was integrated with mana and each of those individual bones were now more closely connected.
Of course, controlling all 206 bones simultaneously while controlling the mana was certainly not easy. Even if he was aided by the skill, there was way too much to focus on at one time, and he was afflicted with pain that felt as though he was being split apart.
It wasn't a joke; if he were to lose control and was flooded by the mana, it wouldn't be strange for his bones to shatter. He would have to constantly exert himself to adapt to this skill from now on.
[The invigorated flow of mana increases the body's reaction speed.]
[The invigorated flow of mana shortens the activation time of all skills.]
[You have successfully absorbed some outside mana and stored it. Magic has increased by 1.]
However, enduring the pain was bound to lead to sweet rewards. He'd only tasted a portion of it, yet it wasn't hard to realize that the effectiveness of his mana increased by more than several times. Even manifesting, collecting, and producing mana had increased!
For the first time, Lee Shin Woo felt like he had the right to call himself a hero. And... that qualification wasn't just this.
[At only level 3, you have acquired a portion of the qualification necessary to walk the path of an Archmage, one who naturally commands nature and changes the world. Magic has increased by 20. You have acquired the Archmage's karma token.]
[Quest complete! You have acquired 1 Lv6 Weapon Trickster's arm bone.]
[You have already achieved the Trickster's karma, but you are merely at the level of a toddler. The more personas you acquire, the more your strength grows. That is the path you have chosen, as well as the karma you have been bestowed.]
"Hoo..."
He had just been trying to find the secret room, yet had experienced a sudden change, one that he couldn't dream of; even after calming down the rushing mana, he momentarily stood still in order to get a hold of himself.
Lee Shin Woo kept control of the mana and circulated it. He felt the mana that his bones harmoniously spewed out as well as the resonating external mana so clearly that he thought that he would feel nauseous with the slightest slip. He likened this feeling to that of riding a roller coaster.
'I'd rather just vomit, but these damn bones won't let me.'
It wasn't an issue that could be dealt with in a short amount of time, though thankfully it was a problem that could still be solved. Just like how a human isn't usually aware of their breathing or the blinking of their eyes, but still does so naturally, he was training the control of his Mana Bone skill in order for it to operate unconsciously.
'Talk is cheap...'
Lee Shin Woo smiled bitterly and stayed in place for the moment. How much time had passed? At around the time where his head still hurt but he could move it like usual, Lee Shin Woo sighed in relief and checked the bone he had gotten as a reward for the quest.
[Lv6 Weapon Trickster's Arm Bone]
[A Trickster's arm bone, that was used as a weapon to cajole their enemies. There is enough recorded within to reform one's existence.]
"Huh..."
It was overwhelmingly distinctive compared to the other bones he had absorbed thus far; he couldn't suppress his admiration of the bone as he inspected it. It had an awfully large amount of mana within, was obviously extremely tough, and the fact that each of its finger bones was a different shape was especially distinctive.
Perhaps the Trickster was an existence that didn't need a weapon. He decided that it would be important to figure out how this weapon was connected to the Trickster; for now he’ll reinforce...
[The activation of the skill has failed. You are not prepared to accept the strength within the bone yet.]
'...Ah, this pattern finally came up.'
He was already a bit prepared for this, but since it actually happened, it tasted bitter. If that was going to happen, he wanted to complain and ask why they gave him such a mouth watering bone at this time, but when he thought about it in another way, he felt like he was that amazing to have cleared a quest that was so far above his level.
'Well, it should be possible soon.'
If Bone Reinforcement couldn't accept it, then he would have to forget about this bone for now. Lee Shin Woo inspected the bone with a deeply regretful expression, and in the end, put it into his inventory.
Well, he already had his hands full adapting to, and applying the Mana Bone skill he had just awakened. It might've actually turned out well for him. Lee Shin Woo convinced himself of this and raised his head.
The secret door that had revealed itself for the first time in dozens of years looked worn out.
'Alright.'
Lee Shin Woo firmly resolved himself and placed his hand atop the door. The door silently rose up, to the point that it was difficult to believe that it had lain undisturbed for dozens of years.
The records of General Seagald, and the records of the research related to Gerrit...! Thinking that the secret was right before his eyes caused him to feel excited once again, but before Lee Shin Woo's eyes was...
[Keuhaaaaaaahk!]
A skeleton without an inch of flesh remaining popping out and attacking him!
<Chapter 8. Elite Dungeon >
"I felt it this time. That I can't just go on like this..."
That was the first thing Jin said.
"Running was everything to me in my past life, but continuing to just run in this world is... nothing more than escapism. That's what I felt when I saw you and Jin Jin."
"Well, probably."
Lee Shin Woo agreed, uninterested. Of course, because of that, his running related skills had increased, but that's just a by-product of him escaping reality. In order to survive in this world, and in order to advance forward... one needed to fight.
"Tell me. How did you... even after becoming an undead, so quickly adapt to this world and proceed forward? And if you can, please help me so I can become like that too."
"For free?"
"No!"
Jin strongly shook his head, but it seemed like he was really hesitating with his follow up. Lee Shin Woo had already roughly anticipated Jin's request, so he could understand his hesitation.
How long did he wait like that? Jin sighed deeply, and spoke.
"...I'll let you ride on my back. It should be helpful for travel as well as battle, right?"
"In other words, it's an offer to party up."
"Yeah."
Jin was originally a human. For him to have offered to let someone else ride on his back must've caused him to give up a lot of things.
It was no different from him throwing away precious evidence that he was human. He was willing to go that far in order to advance further.
"It seems like it's way worse for me, but... yeah, your speed is definitely helpful. Honestly, I did need someone to talk to. Alright, let's work together."
"Then... gaah!?"
Jin sounded relieved, yet he saw Lee Shin Woo straighten his index finger. Jin, who had seen this very index finger burrow into the Acid Ghoul and explode, couldn't help but flinch.
"Still, accepting you without any hesitation right now isn't best for either of us."
"Then?"
"Here."
Lee Shin Woo passed Jin a tattered sack. Jin obediently accepted it and tilted his head while holding it in his teeth. Lee Shin Woo smiled faintly and spoke.
"If you hunt skeletons or undead like zombies, they usually drop Perium and bones. Come back after filling that sack to the brim with bones. That's my condition."
"...?"
The blue goblin fire, that acted as substitutes for his eyes, shook strongly, as if expressing his doubt. To think that it was possible to express his emotions through goblin fire; Lee Shin Woo was extremely jealous of that. When he becomes level 4, will goblin fire fill his empty eye sockets?
"It's all for your sake, so fill the sack. The higher the monster’s level, the better."
"But... ugh, I got it. So it's a test."
It seemed like Jin was definitely misunderstanding. He thought Lee Shin Woo was testing him, testing whether he had the right to accompany him, or checking if he had the resolve to hunt monsters.
Of course, when Bone Reinforcement became level 4, he became able to apply it to others as well, so he just planned to use all the bones that Jin gathered to strengthen him all at once, imparting the undead's knowledge and experiences onto him.
"You'll definitely be able to become as experienced as me in no time."
"That sounds impossible, but... I got it. I'll show you that I wasn't ignoring those undead until now because I was scared."
Perhaps it was because he was an athlete in his past life, as Jin's spirit was considerable. The experience of taking down the Acid Ghoul may have instilled him with confidence.
"Come back here once you've filled it to the brim. Ah, if you can, do some quests. Since doing quests is the only way to unlock things like the inventory or the chatting channel."
"I got it. Ah, and also take this."
Jin stuck out his neck. There was a small pouch hanging on his neck, and after taking it off, Lee Shin Woo found 50,000 Perium inside, as well as 5 Lv3 Equipment Reinforcement permits.
"It's just what I got as the quest reward, but it's useless to me. It's cumbersome, so you take it."
It seems like the skill book had already disappeared, as he learned the skill, but it seems like he couldn't do anything with these. Since Lee Shin Woo wasn't the type to refuse something offered, he immediately took them.
"It should be fine to take this in advance, considering what I'm going to do for you in the future."
"Hmm...?"
"No, it's nothing."
It's likely that Jin still wasn't familiar with 'karma'. Lee Shin Woo smiled bitterly and shook his head. Since he didn't have a clear understanding of karma, he wouldn't understand, even if Lee Shin Woo tried explaining it to him with words.
"Then get going. If you can, try to get level 2 bones or higher. That'll be good for you, too."
"No matter how bad I am at fighting, I should be able to take them down if they're level 2... I got it. As soon as I fill the sack, I'll come back."
"Ok."
Jin nodded his head for some time, turned around, and then ran straight forward. His speed was greater than any monster's that he had encountered since being dropped into the Empire. With that speed, even if he were to meet the Acid Ghoul again, he wouldn't die.
In an instant, he was unable to see Jin's appearance, and soon after, Lee Shin Woo activated Bone Reinforcement on the Acid Ghoul's Thumbnail.
[By sacrificing the Acid Ghoul's Thumbnail, both hands are reinforced. Strength and Health have increased by 3, and Magic by 5. Absorbing a portion of the Acid Ghoul's memories and experiences.]
[This... this is... This seems like the wrong method, Doctor. This isn't it. This test is a failure! We can't stop it...! - Edward L. Baker]
"...This is..."
The amount of stats was also immense, but when he felt the flowing memories, he felt cold, as if he had just swallowed a block of ice whole.
This was a record of their struggle. A record of their struggle to not become undead...!
'So that's how it was. They realized that they wouldn't be able to prevent the curse that ruined the Empire, and they researched for a method to not become the undead. However, they failed... and instead, they put their hands on poison, and as a result, became a zombie that spurts Acid Poison.'
There was something he thought of when talking about poison and zombies. Hadn't he obtained a deteriorated Poison Zombie's bone in the sewers? Moreover, the slimes bore poison as well... As soon as he wondered whether there was something remaining in the sewers that connected the two, he couldn't sit still at all.
"However, before that."
Lee Shin Woo had suddenly acquired 10 Lv3 Equipment Reinforcement permits, and used one of them to reinforce the Dire Wolf's Bone Armor. The armor, which looked as though it would break any minute now, instantly returned to its original form, and was reinforced.
[Dire Wolf Bone Armor +1]
[Lv3]
[Durability: 850/850]
[Defense: 110 - 125]
[Options: Increases Health by 21]
"Next up is..."
Lee Shin Woo prepared for the future, where his equipment would get damaged, and separately stored 1 reinforcement permit. He used the remaining 8 all at once to reinforce his Bone of Thunder Lasting.
While his armor only really possessed the ability to protect his body, his sword had a hidden power related to Bursting Thunder.
[Bone of Thunder Lasting +8]
[Lv3]
[Durability: 1,070/1,070]
[Attack Power: 260 - 280]
[Options: Strength + 19, Magic + 19, Effectiveness of Bursting Thunder skill + 18%]
"Ooh, Oooooh."
As expected of a weapon that God herself bestowed (though it had changed); it certainly was different from other weapons. The more he repeated the reinforcement, the more absurdly the attack power grew. It was this strong at +8, and he felt that it had reached values that would enable it to outclass even level 4 weapons!
And that was the same for the stats as well. There was definitely a noticeable difference in strength depending on whether one equipped the weapon or not! It was to the point that around now, he thought that perhaps the true reward for saving a hero were the reinforcement permits.
'However, since I've received something so amazing, if I don't help that guy considerably, I won't be able to deal with the shortage of karma. Pleine doesn't speak idly. It'll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I'm just on the receiving end.'
But, well, that problem should be solved at around the time he meets Jin again. Since he was sure that Bone Reinforcement's karma wasn't trifling.
'Anyway, if he doesn't have Bone Reinforcement, what skill did he get from God?'
Lee Shin Woo briefly pondered on that subject. It was something he'd realized after being brought into the Empire. Everything had karma, and karma is never something to be taken lightly.
In exchange for becoming an undead, he gained 100 lives, as well as a reinforcement ability using bones, so Jin should have gotten something around the same level. Of course, Jin had started at level 4, contrary to Lee Shin Woo, so he probably had to take that into consideration as well.
'I should ask when he gets back.'
Lee Shin Woo shrugged his shoulders, brushed away thoughts regarding Jin, checked the results of his stats, and swung his sword in the air a few times. He trembled, as he felt as though his sword cleaved the air in half, and nodded his head.
Even though he knew it was ominous, he couldn't help but mutter like this for the second time.
"I'm not afraid of anything anymore..."
He immediately went into the underground tunnel he had dug and returned to the dungeon. He was able to return more quickly and easily than he had anticipated.
[You possess the dungeon permit. All stats within the dungeon increase by 15.]
'Now then, let's completely clear the dungeon before Jin comes back.'
However, as if it were ridiculing his thoughts, the interior of the sewers was extremely silent and dark. Even if there were level 2 slimes crawling around, he trusted that there was nothing unusual going on; but in a different sense, he felt betrayed.
'Well this is disappointing.'
He wanted to familiarize himself with his strengthened body and go wild, but he didn't feel comfortable with that idea at all. However, the instant he thought so and sighed, he saw something glowing in the darkness.
[Guooh...]
"Hmm?"
It was a sound he'd heard somewhere before. What was it? Before he even organized his thoughts, the dominating sense of danger caused Lee Shin Woo to instinctually dive out of the way. A huge shot hit the ground just a little later! It emitted a horrific sound.
[Guoooooh!]
"You bastard..."
After Lee Shin Woo figured out the identity of that 'shot', he simply smiled bitterly and felt dejected. How could he not? This was a Great Slime, an enemy that he had risked his life fighting before finding this passageway.
[Lv3 Great Slime]
"I thought it was the boss before, but now they're just appearing in the passageway wherever."
Lee Shin Woo wasn't sure if it knew that he had fought one of its kin before, but after it impacted the ground, it rolled into a ball again, and got ready for another leap. However, compared to when he had first faced the Great Slime in the clearing, Lee Shin Woo didn't really feel that uneasy.
'I can see its movements better.'
[Guooooooooh!]
It bounced its body quickly and forcefully charged. What's worse, the slime spun midair and was rotating. He hadn't noticed that when he had fought the slime from before.
'However, now I can...!'
Lee Shin Woo moved nimbly, the moment that the slime aimed for him and flew towards him.
Combat Sprint. It didn't simply enable one to move fast, it would increase the body's reaction speed, albeit for a short time. It felt as if he was the only one moving quickly within the slowed time... one's senses would disappear in the time it would take to say 'ah', but within that time, Lee Shin Woo moved in the best way possible.
"Heup!"
He raised his sword, which he had Hardened, pointed it at the slime, and with the strength of Power Slash behind it, precisely slashed the slime. He couldn't even think of fighting it straight up before, but this time, he was doing just that.
"Ugh...!"
Of course, the impact of their collision was tremendous, but he could endure it. His strength stat, which rose to 150 after the dungeon bonus, as well as his equipment bonus, enabled him to stand his ground.
[Gguoooooh!]
Ultimately, the slime hadn't inflicted effective damage onto him, and conversely bounced up, colliding with the ceiling. Even though it hadn't been cleaved by his sword strike, the moment the damaged area impacted with the ceiling, a considerable amount of mucus splattered down.
Then, an acid mist spread out, but since he had fought the Acid Ghoul, he didn't even really feel this level of Acid Poison.
"Hoo... That was good. Let's keep going like this."
[Guoh... Guooooh!]
Just now, he felt it. Rather than fighting weaklings to train, it was naturally better to fight monsters equally as strong as him, or even stronger, in order to get stronger much more quickly.
Lee Shin Woo saw the Great Slime repair its wound, as well as its body becoming smaller, and his eyes gleamed, while once more raising his sword. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say that around the time that he could comfortably fight a Great Slime face to face without using the Flames of Revenge, he would be qualified to reach level 4, would it?
"...I'm going!"
[Guuuoooooooh!]
The giant slime and the skeleton clashed again. A fierce roar resounded through the dungeon... breathing life into the once silent dungeon.
[Gureureureureureuk...]
[You have hunted a Lv3 Great Slime.]
[You have acquired 9,350 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Lv2 Old Thorn Bone Spear (+3).]
[You have acquired a Great Slime Bone Core.]
"Hoo, that was easier than I thought it would be."
After roughly 10 minutes of intense battle, Lee Shin Woo had emerged victorious in a face-to-face confrontation. Of course, he was injured in the process, but it was to an extent that he could easily heal with only one use of his Regeneration. His equipment was fine as well.
In the end, he had used flames in order to squeeze out a core, but by that time it was already dying, so he could safely say that he had killed it with only his sword.
"Now, shall we use Bone Rein... Hmm?"
[Guuuuuuuuuu!]
[Guooooooh!]
There was a problem that came around the time he finished up the terrific battle and collected the reward. Due to the battle, he had expanded the passageway, and two Great Slimes rushed in all at once!
[Lv3 Great Slime]
[Lv3 Great Slime]
"What the hell...!?"
It was indeed a Lv2 elite dungeon, and he wondered what it would be like if three Lv3 elite monsters had appeared in the same area, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. The Great Slimes were strong enough to break his bone joints the moment he was careless.
'2 versus 1... I don't really need to work myself too hard right now.'
Lee Shin Woo quickly made a decision. As soon as they saw him, they went into a frenzy and bounced their bodies around; he avoided their charges, and ignited his Flames of Revenge. While doing so, he suddenly thought ‘perhaps it might work’, then attempted to create a flame on both hands, and ended up succeeding!
Of course, it wasn't very difficult for him to accurately hit either slimes with the flames. Even if they weren't Great Slimes and were Emperor Slimes, they wouldn't be able to avoid the Flames of Revenge's homing ability!
[Guuuuuuuuuuu!]
[Guooooooooh!]
The Flames of Revenge were significantly larger than before. Was it due to that? Normally, there would be a delay in between them getting hit by the flame and recognizing the danger, and exploding after, but they didn't even do that this time and immediately tried to explode!
"Heup!"
He made a split second decision and immediately activated his Combat Sprint, leaping high into the sky. Before he collided with the ceiling, he forcefully lodged his sword diagonally; perhaps it was because his body was made of bones or that he was so light, but the sword made no sign of slipping out, allowing him to hang safely. Immediately after, a huge explosion occurred.
- Kwaaaaang!
"Let's see."
Lee Shin Woo hung onto the ceiling and after toughening his feet through Harden, he kicked away all the pieces flying towards him. His feet spun around like a windmill while kicking away the pieces.
It was something he himself had done, but it felt like he was watching some kind of movie.
'I just thought it was a lot better than getting hit, so I tried it, but it actually does work...'
His visual acuity had definitely grown as his agility went up. Even when he was level 2, he couldn't believe it, but now, he could read the trajectory as well as the speed of the pieces, match them, and respond accordingly!
Of course, he couldn't kick them all away, so he was hit by a few of them, but that was only about 5% of fragments. And that was no longer at a level that could really hurt him.
"Then shall we start in earnest... Hmm?"
However, when he was confident that had had skillfully handled the explosion, and was about to proceed with his next move, Lee Shin Woo realized that a strangle phenomenon was occurring from below.
It was the Great Slimes' behavior. They were going to explode again!
'Huh? Now that I think about it, the flames on their bodies aren't going out...'
Of course, the Flames of Revenge were tenacious, but all they had to do was tear off the piece that was aflame. Then, why were they still burning?
The answer? It was due to their Self-Destruct skills which didn't discriminate between friend or foe. The fragments that were burning from the Flames of Revenge were spread everywhere, and the other slime that was in close proximity was struck without warning, and began to burn once more!
As a result, their bodies shrunk in size and they took damage; what's worse, the flames were shifted and they began to burn again!
'...They're really dumb, aren't they?'
He thought, hanging there vacantly, and while he was thinking, the slimes raised their magic and self-destructed again.
However, Lee Shin Woo was still hanging from the ceiling, and was even more easily kicking away the pieces than last time. His Combat Sprint sharpened his senses, so it wasn't difficult at all.
[The Low Rank Combat Sprint skill has become Lv6. Agility has increased by 3. You can activate the skill faster, and you can maintain the skill for a longer period of time.]
As Lee Shin Woo kicked away the incoming Great Slimes' fragments, he felt a thrilling pleasure. Did he always like moving his body around this much? It may be the influence of someone else; someone's bone he had absorbed through Bone Reinforcement.
Whether it was his original personality or not, he was sure that at some point he began to enjoy personally moving his body and fighting, as well as learning skills through experience. And that personality was something that was extremely beneficial in surviving in the Underground Empire.
[Gu, Guuooooh...!]
[Guuuuuu...!]
After completing their second Self-Destruct, rather than completely extinguishing the flames, the flames actually expanded. At around that point, the Great Slimes realized that the situation wasn't as simple as it would seem.
Lee Shin Woo thought it'd be funny if they repeatedly used their Self-Destruct and died, but it didn't actually go that way. The slimes, which had focused only on Lee Shin Woo, turned to each other for the first time. They realized that they were the targets of the flames.
[Guu...]
[Guuuuuu...!]
And they soon did something astonishing. One of the Great Slime's mucousy body opened just like a mouth and ate the other one!
Even as the flames melted their bodies, they softly connected their magic cores together and fused into one whilst emitting sparks; a truly magnificent sight.
[A Lv3 Great Slime has fused with a similar organism.]
[Lv3 Great Slime (+3)]
"!?"
There was a reinforcing mark on a monster!? Lee Shin Woo was astonished and couldn't believe the sight. The Great Slimes, which had become one, had become bigger (they would have compressed their mana centrally in their bodies in the process of self-destructing, so their abilities would've doubled) and pushed the flames onto the outer portion of its body, self-destructing once more.
As a result, it returned to its pristine form once again.
[Guuuuuuuu!]
Of course, while it was fusing, Lee Shin Woo had dislodged his sword from the ceiling and dropped down; he activated his Stealth and was already hiding within the darkness, but his sight didn't leave the fused and strengthened Great Slime.
'Perhaps the reason that there are Great Slimes in this dungeon is because they're the result of the originally low leveled slimes repeatedly fusing together over a long period of time.'
If that's the case, then he could understand why this dungeon, which was originally supposed to be level 1, had become an level 2 elite dungeon. Lee Shin Woo had unintentionally come across one of the truths about the dungeon and felt extremely strange.
[Guuu... Guuu?]
Meanwhile, the Great Slime (+3) lost Lee Shin Woo and thoroughly searched the passageway while perplexed. Lee Shin Woo matched its movements and repeatedly moved back into hiding, so it couldn't easily find him.
The slime's senses were so dull that it wouldn't notice him unless he made a huge noise or there was a huge rush of mana.
[Guuuuuu...!]
It soon gave up on finding Lee Shin Woo and turned around. However, it didn't appear as though it was returning back to its everyday life.
It realized that there was an enemy in the silent sewers and had become more aggressive after fusing. In other words, it was focused on getting stronger in preparation for the next time they met.
'This has become interesting...'
Lee Shin Woo slowly crawled through the dark passageway and felt conflicted as he watched the back of the slime.
He already knew that killing it now would be the safest option. However, if it somehow 'fused' with all the slimes inhabiting this dungeon... or even just the Great Slimes... he wanted to see the result.
'It might even become a level 4 elite monster like the Acid Ghoul.'
Of course, it may not become as strong as the Acid Ghoul, but in any case, if he let it be, a formidable slime would become even more formidable. The risk of dying would increase by that much, yet... Lee Shin Woo couldn't help but want to see a monster like that be born.
'It'd obviously be dangerous, but the reward should reflect that danger and be considerable as well.'
Lee Shin Woo already knew the rewards a level 4 elite monster would drop. The rewards that were a level higher than that of a level 3 monster!
It wasn't just the loot. In the process of fighting an enemy of a higher level, all his actions would become a strong karma and would come back to repay him. That's what happened when he had fought the Acid Ghoul together with the other heroes, too!
One would get solo rewards if they fight alone, and if fought with others, they'll be rewarded together! In this world, levels were an absolute standard, so by exceeding that very standard, he would obtain a 'karma' that went beyond his imagination.
And that would advance his growth beyond the norm. So much so that he wouldn't lose to his seniors, or the undead that filled the Empire!
If the other heroes heard him, they would ask if he were carrying around a few spare lives and would be amazed; but honestly, he couldn't help it, he did have extra lives. Several dozen of them at that!
[You have acquired a target for the Beginner Avenger skill. When you meet again, all abilities increase by 30%.]
Around the time the Great Slime had went beyond the clearing and disappeared, a message quietly appeared in front of him. Everything was set; he would be able to defeat the evolved slime.
He felt really satisfied that he had gotten this skill from his own actions and the resulting karma, rather than anyone else's bones.
'And about the Trickster...'
By accidentally receiving the Savior karma, he now only needed one more token in the future. At the end of that, what karma would he acquire... he was sure that he wasn't very far off.
"For now... Bone Reinforcement."
[The entire body is reinforced. You have acquired 3 magic. Proficiency in Low Rank Self-Destruct has increased by 10%. Absorbing a portion of the target's memories and experiences.]
[Guoooooooooooooh! - Great Slime]
'Tch, since I've risen to level 3, the amount of stats it gives me has decreased...'
Lee Shin Woo, who had finished with the Bone Reinforcement, concluded that it was a good decision to let the Great Slime go, and after nodding his head, started to proceed through the dark sewer passageway. Of course, while maintaining his Low Rank Stealth.
Did the Great Slime (+3) already wipe out all of the slimes as it passed by? It was so silent that it felt as though his noisy fight at the beginning with the Great Slimes was a lie.
'Moreover, this place conversely doesn't have any filth. Ah, was it all melted by the acid?'
When a slime becomes a Great Slime, the acid that its spews out becomes stronger. It would melt solids, and evaporate liquids; the slimes that spew out this horrific acid were crawling around, so it was only natural that the sewers become clean. But around this time, he wondered why the sewer passageway was still left intact.
'I know it's tough, but the fact that the preparations were this thorough... perhaps the Empire treated it as though it was natural for slimes to appear in the sewers.'
When the Empire flourished, he wondered what it looked like, and suddenly couldn't get it out of his mind. He would probably never know and... he smiled bitterly (that's roughly what he imagined his expression was) and continued to explore.
"...Hmm?"
However, while he was exploring, he discovered a crack carved into a portion of the left passageway. When he thoroughly inspected it, he found that the crack was in the shape of a square, and it was a size that could comfortably fit the palm of his hand.
And at the center, he saw the traces of hidden mana. They seemed to be an extremely old.
'Is this perhaps...'
It looked like a fingerprint scanner that showed up in movies... Lee Shin Woo pondered briefly, but soon placed his hand atop the square. Then, the square pattern surprisingly emitted heat and slightly came out. Beyond any doubt, it was a lock!
"Hoo...!"
Lee Shin Woo was excited, thinking that he'd found a secret hidden within the dungeon, and immediately emitted mana, but the reaction wasn't great. The door lock turned red, and emitted an ominous light, though that was all. Nothing else really changed.
Of course, he had roughly expected that. It was a lock, so there was no way it'd open by just emitting a bit of mana.
However, be that as it may, he thought that this structure didn't just respond to a certain individual's mana alone. That's because he could faintly, very faintly, feel the traces of mana from a variety of humans that had stood before this very lock.
'Then... is it a pattern as expected?'
Unlocking it had now become difficult. It'd probably been dozens of years since the last time this lock was activated, and was so terribly worn out to the point that it'd be difficult to ascertain the origin of the traces of the time worn mana.
The saving grace was that there were countless traces of people's mana, and their strands of mana all overlapped; if he were able to analyze the flow of mana, he felt as though he'd obtain a meaningful result.
'It'll probably be a lot of work, but... shall we?'
There should still be some time left before the Great Slime cleans up this dungeon. Lee Shin Woo concentrated on the door lock and began to thoroughly analyze the traces of the faintly remaining mana.
'Figuring out a starting point is important. Yeah, here... No, is it here?'
He saw the conditions of opening the lock as follows: draw the mana to the center of the palm, and use that mana to create one pattern. Of course, it wasn't just that it had to be the same pattern, but it had to flow from the same starting place and end at the same ending place.
He genuinely activated his senses and by analyzing the door lock's release conditions, he found and excluded the false traces that they had purposefully put in. He had fun, as it felt as though he was playing some sort of puzzle game.
[The Low Rank Magic Accumulation skill has become Lv2. Magic has increased by 2.]
"Ah, it goes up."
It was the same process as when entering a dungeon, so perhaps by just carrying out these tasks, his proficiency in magic related skills would increase.
Lee Shin Woo, who was motivated to improve his skills and stats, didn't even know how amazing what he was doing was, and continuously analyzed the lock. And then, he finally succeeded in determining the pattern.
[The Low Rank Magic Affinity skill has become Lv8. Magic has increased by 5.]
"It's a skull. What completely bad taste."
He knew approximately what the people who had gathered here came for. However, to think that the pattern that they used was a skull; the laughter came out naturally. It definitely should've been fairly difficult to get through, though...
'In any case, I just need to find the starting point and the end point now.'
They had gone so far as to hide it in the sewers and even maintain thorough security over it, so he probably wouldn't get through scot free if he got this wrong. Lee Shin Woo took a deep breath and concentrated even harder on the pattern. To be exact, he concentrated on the flow from the traces of mana that the humans had left behind dozens of years prior. However, there was no way it'd be that simple.
'Damn it...'
He gritted his teeth. Lee Shin Woo thought he might've been too arrogant to attempt this, as someone who hasn't handled mana for very long.
However, despite that, he couldn't give up at all. In the end, it was pretty much a miracle finding the right pattern. He had no choice but to trust in his talent and concentrate right now...!
'Ah!'
Lee Shin Woo concentrated more forcefully on the pattern, even more than when he had taken the national college entrance exam, and at that moment, he miraculously succeeded in grabbing a hold of a faintly remaining flow of mana. It was truly a small trace, but it seemed as though some traces of mana were being absorbed into the pattern.
Lee Shin Woo could even go as far as to guess the owner of that mana, and he had very briefly assimilated their experiences... it was none other than the magician, Gerrit, who had burnt and killed his zombified teacher.
'Wait, it's the opposite. Since it was a trace from Gerrit, I was able to recognize it. I also experienced sharing a body with him as well, and... more importantly, the fact that Gerrit came here means that this facility is related to General Seagald.'
He knew that Gerrit wanted to meet with General Seagald from the memories of the bone he had acquired.
It was a facility within the interior of the sewers where they performed some kind of research, and Seagald and Gerrit... He couldn't be sure of anything yet, but Lee Shin Woo drew a truly persuasive scenario in his head.
"Then let's uncover what the secret is."
Since he had uncovered a trace of the flow of mana, it was easy to find the rest of the traces. In his head, a series of streams of mana were cleanly connected!
'I got it!'
He inwardly yelled with delight and placed his hand carefully on the door lock; and after going through the simulations in his head several times and making sure... reproduced that flow. The slightly black dyed mana slowly and carefully started to create the pattern of a skull.
Eventually, the pattern was completed, and thankfully the door lock didn't become hot. It emitted a delicate blue light, and soon was sucked back into the wall; at that moment, a larger square pattern appeared. It was a door that allowed him to enter the secret room!
[Releasing door lock.]
It was a miracle; he had revived something from several years ago... A part of lost history had been revived due to Lee Shin Woo, and it was at that moment that the mana within his body intensified, surged, and exploded.
The countless, dormant knowledge fragments and his talent connected, causing a big bang that he couldn't contain!
[You have acquired the passive skill, Magic Tracking Lv1! Magic has increased by 3.]
[Low Rank Magic Affinity, Low Rank Magic Accumulation, and Low Rank Magic Tracking skills have compounded and evolved.]
His ability to sense magic, accept it, and track it were all connected into one. A method of more effectively producing mana, circulating it, and utilizing it instinctually rose up into his head.
It was something that he couldn't have even dreamed of until now, as well as being absurdly complex and headache inducing, but... it was possible for him now. Lee Shin Woo nodded his head and accepted the mysterious feeling. He accumulated the knowledge and applied it.
[You have acquired the special passive skill, Low Rank Mana Bone Lv5! Magic has increased by 30.]
At that moment, mana indiscriminately spread through his body, covered his bones, and caused a fundamental change!
[Low Rank Mana Bone Lv5 (Passive)]
[Originally, humans were organisms that did not welcome mana, and through their strong tenacity as well as their talent, they realized a method to harmonize with mana. In order to more perfectly handle the mana that spread throughout the body as it pleased, the mana is accepted, created, and circulated by an imaginary organ that covers the heart. They called it the mana heart.]
[However, you are a skeleton without a heart, so you have done something outrageous and substituted the mana heart with your entire boney body. That scale is truly enormous, and if you did not have a considerable understanding and handling of mana, it would've been impossible to even attempt.]
[By achieving a balance between the vast knowledge, your talent in mana, and the special situation, this astonishing skill was born, and no one besides yourself knows the growth potential of this astonishing skill.]
It was truly an odd feeling. It felt as though he had taken off some unnatural clothes and he'd been thrown into a world filled with mana, naked. His body, composed of 206 bones, was integrated with mana and each of those individual bones were now more closely connected.
Of course, controlling all 206 bones simultaneously while controlling the mana was certainly not easy. Even if he was aided by the skill, there was way too much to focus on at one time, and he was afflicted with pain that felt as though he was being split apart.
It wasn't a joke; if he were to lose control and was flooded by the mana, it wouldn't be strange for his bones to shatter. He would have to constantly exert himself to adapt to this skill from now on.
[The invigorated flow of mana increases the body's reaction speed.]
[The invigorated flow of mana shortens the activation time of all skills.]
[You have successfully absorbed some outside mana and stored it. Magic has increased by 1.]
However, enduring the pain was bound to lead to sweet rewards. He'd only tasted a portion of it, yet it wasn't hard to realize that the effectiveness of his mana increased by more than several times. Even manifesting, collecting, and producing mana had increased!
For the first time, Lee Shin Woo felt like he had the right to call himself a hero. And... that qualification wasn't just this.
[At only level 3, you have acquired a portion of the qualification necessary to walk the path of an Archmage, one who naturally commands nature and changes the world. Magic has increased by 20. You have acquired the Archmage's karma token.]
[Quest complete! You have acquired 1 Lv6 Weapon Trickster's arm bone.]
[You have already achieved the Trickster's karma, but you are merely at the level of a toddler. The more personas you acquire, the more your strength grows. That is the path you have chosen, as well as the karma you have been bestowed.]
"Hoo..."
He had just been trying to find the secret room, yet had experienced a sudden change, one that he couldn't dream of; even after calming down the rushing mana, he momentarily stood still in order to get a hold of himself.
Lee Shin Woo kept control of the mana and circulated it. He felt the mana that his bones harmoniously spewed out as well as the resonating external mana so clearly that he thought that he would feel nauseous with the slightest slip. He likened this feeling to that of riding a roller coaster.
'I'd rather just vomit, but these damn bones won't let me.'
It wasn't an issue that could be dealt with in a short amount of time, though thankfully it was a problem that could still be solved. Just like how a human isn't usually aware of their breathing or the blinking of their eyes, but still does so naturally, he was training the control of his Mana Bone skill in order for it to operate unconsciously.
'Talk is cheap...'
Lee Shin Woo smiled bitterly and stayed in place for the moment. How much time had passed? At around the time where his head still hurt but he could move it like usual, Lee Shin Woo sighed in relief and checked the bone he had gotten as a reward for the quest.
[Lv6 Weapon Trickster's Arm Bone]
[A Trickster's arm bone, that was used as a weapon to cajole their enemies. There is enough recorded within to reform one's existence.]
"Huh..."
It was overwhelmingly distinctive compared to the other bones he had absorbed thus far; he couldn't suppress his admiration of the bone as he inspected it. It had an awfully large amount of mana within, was obviously extremely tough, and the fact that each of its finger bones was a different shape was especially distinctive.
Perhaps the Trickster was an existence that didn't need a weapon. He decided that it would be important to figure out how this weapon was connected to the Trickster; for now he’ll reinforce...
[The activation of the skill has failed. You are not prepared to accept the strength within the bone yet.]
'...Ah, this pattern finally came up.'
He was already a bit prepared for this, but since it actually happened, it tasted bitter. If that was going to happen, he wanted to complain and ask why they gave him such a mouth watering bone at this time, but when he thought about it in another way, he felt like he was that amazing to have cleared a quest that was so far above his level.
'Well, it should be possible soon.'
If Bone Reinforcement couldn't accept it, then he would have to forget about this bone for now. Lee Shin Woo inspected the bone with a deeply regretful expression, and in the end, put it into his inventory.
Well, he already had his hands full adapting to, and applying the Mana Bone skill he had just awakened. It might've actually turned out well for him. Lee Shin Woo convinced himself of this and raised his head.
The secret door that had revealed itself for the first time in dozens of years looked worn out.
'Alright.'
Lee Shin Woo firmly resolved himself and placed his hand atop the door. The door silently rose up, to the point that it was difficult to believe that it had lain undisturbed for dozens of years.
The records of General Seagald, and the records of the research related to Gerrit...! Thinking that the secret was right before his eyes caused him to feel excited once again, but before Lee Shin Woo's eyes was...
[Keuhaaaaaaahk!]
A skeleton without an inch of flesh remaining popping out and attacking him!
