<Chapter 1. Reinforcement Hero - 3>

[Kuweeeeehk!]

The Treasure Eater charged at him with a shriek. Its jagged fence-like teeth within its open mouth radiated with a dull light.

"Sprint!"[Kuhiaaaah!]

If he was chewed up by that thing, he knew it wouldn't end with him dying only once or twice, so Lee Shin Woo completely abandoned any thought of a frontal assault. He activated his Sprint skill and ran away. Immediately after, the Treasure Eater brushed past his side and the following wind pressure felt as though a subway train had passed by him, and his bones itched. There was also the foul stench of rotting corpses.

[Kueeeeeeh!]

Perhaps it hadn't expected that he'd dodge it so cleanly, and the Treasure Eater, that had labored in vain, shrieked again and twisted its body around. It seemed like it would take quite a long time for it to make a U-turn, as its body was too large when compared to the width of the passageway.

"Heup...!"

This was his chance. Lee Shin Woo firmly gripped his spear with both hands and held it to his side. He subsequently pierced through the side of its body, as if he were shooting a cannon, and both of his hands creaked. He placed the full might of all of the stats he had stockpiled thus far into his Lv2 Bone Spear; the force behind the Bone Spear was truly tremendous!

[Critical Hit!]

His spearmanship had been firmly tempered through the sacrifice of countless Pauls, resulting in a strike both heavy and sharp. The spear entered and split open its side, magnificently bursting open both its skin, and the flesh within. It was then that Lee Shin Woo realized that the concept of critical hits existed in this world.

[Ggueeeeh!]

"W-Whoa!?"

But he had only thought of attacking with all his might and hadn't considered his next move. The moment the pained Treasure Eater turned its entire body, Lee Shin Woo failed to pull out the spear and crashed into the wall.

"Ah, ugh...!"

He was afflicted by a pain that felt as though all his bones were being smashed. The pain was killing him, but he knew he would really die if he lost consciousness here, so he desperately maintained his consciousness. It helped here as well that he was undead.

[Kwihehk!]"Tch, this damned thing...!"

Lee Shin Woo was trapped between the bug's body and the wall; though he was receiving a shock that felt as though his body was being crushed to pieces, he used all his might, grabbed the spear, and pulled it out, causing dead flesh and blood to burst out.

[Ggueeeeeeh!]

At that moment, the bug screeched like a pig, filling the passageway with its screams.

[The Treasure Eater used Shriek of the Dead. Those exposed to this shriek will momentarily enter a frenzied state.][As an effect of Invisible Heart, you ignore the effects of Shriek of the Dead.]

The effects behind its shriek were ignored due to the effects of Invisible Heart! However, Lee Shin Woo was moving without seeing that message. To be exact, he aimed for the moment it shrieked, as it stopped moving while doing so, to attack the same area he had attacked last time. He believed he'd be able to land another critical hit by attacking the same area.

[Gguaaaahk!]"Tch!"

However, was he still lacking in skill to intentionally land a critical hit? Although he had thought he had timed it perfectly, his attack missed. Compared to last time, his attack was only able to create a smaller hole. Still, the fact that he could withdraw his spear and retreat immediately following his attack was progress, compared to last time. However, at that moment, a message update appeared.

[Beginner Spearmanship has become Lv4. You can swing your spear more easily now.]

"Huh...?"

Lee Shin Woo briefly voiced out in surprise. That's because Beginner Spearmanship had leveled up to Lv3 upon killing the 133rd Paul. It hadn't been long since it had leveled up, yet it had leveled up again, so he couldn't help but be surprised. However, he obviously didn't have the time to look into that right now. Like the message had said, it felt much lighter than before. He gripped his spear and got ready to use his Sprint skill again.

[Gguaaahk!]

The Treasure Eater had successfully managed to change directions, despite being attacked, and opened its mouth wide, seemingly intent on swallowing both him and the treasure whole.

"Ugh... Sprint!"[Kueeeeh!]

At the end of their split-second battle of wits, Lee Shin Woo dodged its charge again and flung his body. Though it was a dangerous moment that would determine life or death, he was able to dodge its charge with more ease than before. That's because the Treasure Eater charged in a straight line, and he had used his Sprint skill to accelerate at the crucial moment.

If he didn't possess a skeleton's body which enabled him to utilize Sprint repeatedly, the battle would've already been over. Conversely, it meant that he was confident that he'd be able to keep up with it as long as he wanted.

"Nice, then..."

Lee Shin Woo concluded that he'd need to prolong the fight, so he abandoned all thoughts of attacking, and decided to damage it little by little. He would use the reach of the Bone Spear at mid-range to nibble away at its body!

"Eat this!"[Kuaaaahk!]

The Bone Spear quickly stabbed its rear end, splattering blood. Lee Shin Woo had successfully attacked, and he immediately retreated to a safe distance and observed the Treasure Eater.However, its response was strange. Lee Shin Woo had expected that it would go wild like last time, but it ignored his predictions and had curled up as much as possible...

[Kihiiiiiiiiiiih!]"Argh."

It yelled its most annoying and unpleasant shriek to date! Lee Shin Woo grit his teeth to endure its intense, skull-ringing shriek. And there was a truly teeth-gritting scene before his very eyes.

[The Treasure Eater uses the Roar of Healing.][The Treasure Eater's health recovers completely.]

The wounds that Lee Shin Woo had risked his life to inflict were being healed in real time!

"Steve, you asshole..."[Kuwooooooh!]

It was just an external passageway monster, but it was healing up like a boss monster! He was even more annoyed by the fact that he had no way of figuring out how many times it could use the Roar of Healing. If it could use the Roar of Healing repeatedly, then this struggle would be meaningless.

"Ah, that's so demoralizing."[Kuoooooh!]

He felt as though his blood sugar was dropping, but it was just a misunderstanding. After all, he was nothing but bones so there's no way for his blood sugar to drop. Lee Shin Woo weakly gripped his spear. He could do nothing but act on the assumption that right now, the Treasure Eater couldn't use its Roar of Healing indefinitely. And if not? Then he'd have to run away no matter what by using Sprint!

It was then.

[Monster discovered... during patrol...!][Requesting reinforcements...!]

"Huh...?"

Lee Shin Woo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had definitely heard the voice of a Skeleton Soldier beyond the completely collapsed passageway!Moreover, thanks to the Treasure Eater rampaging everywhere, the upper, lower, and side passageways had all collapsed, and the Skeleton Soldiers were coming out from everywhere. Of course, the Treasure Eater had absolutely no interest in the soldiers equipped with lousy bone spears, but Lee Shin Woo was different.

'Are these guys really coming to help me?'[Requesting additional reinforcements...!][In the middle of requesting reinforcements...!][Discovered something... fighting the monster...]

One of the Skeleton Soldiers discovered Lee Shin Woo confronting the monster. The skeleton tilted its head when it saw Lee Shin Woo's larger frame, compared to other skeletons (his body became slightly larger as his stats increased), and the shiny bone spear in his hand, ultimately asking.

[Are you a newbie...?]"Yeah, I'm a newbie! Help me!"

Lee Shin Woo yelled distressingly. It seemed like the skeleton couldn't grasp the situation, as it stood there vacantly for a second, but soon, came up to the passageway, and pointed its spear towards the Treasure Eater.

[Participating... Hunting together...]"Pauuuuul!"

Right after Lee Shin Woo shouted in gratitude, a message appeared before his eyes.

[You have achieved the feat of deceiving your enemies and manipulating them. Surviving using everything you have may be the most important talent in the Empire.][You have learned the passive skill, Acting Lv1.]

"..."

It felt slightly strange that this was the first skill he had obtained through his own efforts, but he'd use it as much as possible if it would keep him alive! Lee Shin Woo sneakily took a step back from the Treasure Eater and yelled in an even louder voice.

"Pauls, let's beat this monster together! It's a thief that's threatening the security of our Empire!"[Request complete... Participating.][Participating.]"Hey you, yes you. Come over here!"[Helping... the newbie...][Participating.]

More Skeleton Soldiers aggressively participated in the battle, and even those from further away, the more of a fuss he made. There were those who would wait and see, but when Lee Shin Woo personally pointed them out and asked for their help, they couldn't just ignore him. Who would've thought that the first aid training[1] from the military would help here?

[Kuoooh!][Hunting... the monster.][The bug that threatens... the Empire!]

The Treasure Eater disregarded the Skeleton Soldiers when more than 10 had gathered and lunged at Lee Shin Woo, but when the number had instantly surpassed 20, it seemed to panic, and change its tactics.

[Kuwooooooh!][The Treasure Eater used Shriek of the Dead. Those exposed to this shriek will momentarily enter a frenzied state.][As an effect of Invisible Heart, you ignore the effects of Shriek of the Dead.]

"Ah, I forgot about that."[There are a lot of enemies...!][Where are you aiming, that's... an afterimage...!]

Unlike Lee Shin Woo, the other skeletons were powerless before the Shriek of the Dead, and the skeletons that had died from infighting were quickly replaced by new ones. It seemed as though all the Skeleton Soldiers in the external passageways were gathering here.

[Kuwooh, Kuwooooooh!][The Treasure Eater tried to use the Shriek of the Dead, but it failed due to the lack of mana.]

"Oh, so that's how it is."

While the Treasure Eater tried to repeatedly use its Shriek of the Dead, a message had appeared notifying him that it had failed due to a lack of mana!At this point, it's highly likely that the Treasure Eater wouldn't be able to use its Roar of Healing either. All of the risk factors had disappeared.

"Good, Paul. Use the siege destruction formation[2]!"

[Attacking...!][Killing the enemy!]

Ah, it's a line he'd wanted to say at least once in his life. Lee Shin Woo was moved, wiping the resulting (nonexistent) tears, and then gripped his bone spear. Of course, even if it had depleted all its mana, the Treasure Eater's physical abilities didn't change and was wiping out the Skeleton Soldiers with relative ease. It would be easier for Shin Woo if it wiped out a lot of them.

"Wow, this year's harvest is great!"

He muttered satisfyingly as he saw the bones scattered around him, then gripped his spear and charged at the Treasure Eater. The battle ended just five minutes later. It was a complete victory.

[1] T/N: Probably refers to the steps of first aid (e.g. accessing the situation, getting someone's attention, etc.).

[2] T/N: It's a meme. It's the name that the protagonist gives his formation of 300 strong that encircles and defeats a monster army of 5000. It's from this Japanese web novel:"最下位職から最強まで成り上がる〜地道な努力はチートでした〜."