<Chapter 4. Hunting Hero - 5>

"Your big bro doesn't expect much, Steve. May you spit out a piece of level 4 bone equipment."

Lee Shin Woo muttered unpleasantly and approached the Treasure Eater.

It was stiff, looking exactly like a cicada that had fallen from a tree and died, and its rotting flesh and its burns were covered in blood; it wasn't exactly a great sight, but right now, to Lee Shin Woo's (nonexistent) eyes, it looked like a stack of gold.

"Hoo... Heup."

It wasn't anything special, so why was he shaking? Lee Shin Woo gently approached and with his index finger (that he regenerated with his mana) poked the body.

At that moment, the body divided into particles of light and fluttered away like spring cherry blossoms. He was able to see an undead completely disappear, and saw it naturally regress into mana for the first time! And he saw the inside of the orbs of light dropping onto the ground. These were the items that the Treasure Eater had left behind as it departed this world.

[You have acquired the Lv3 Treasure Eater's skull bone.]

[You have acquired 14,960 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Spear. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Spear (+5).]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Shield. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Shield (+5).]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Blessed Rose Tree Staff. It has transformed into a Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3).]

[You have acquired a Lv3 Dire Wolf Bone Armor.]

He had acquired the Treasure Eater's skull bone, 14,960 Perium, as well as a total of four items. Lee Shin Woo checked his list again and despaired.

"So, I really can't collect the bones from the other Treasure Eaters..."

Amongst the treasures that they possessed, a portion of them had entered the Lv3 Treasure Eater's storage organs, and he was able to collect them. However, due to this asshole's Flames of Resentment, he couldn't collect the other Treasure Eater's bones. He thought that perhaps it would also store the others' bones when it swallowed down the treasure, but that was just a silly dream.

He had gone through such a tough ordeal, yet he hadn't been able to procure the elite monsters' bones; Lee Shin Woo had realized that he had won this battle through reinforcing his bones, so in many ways, this situation was a bitter pill to swallow.

"If I learn magic, I should learn magic that extinguishes fire from my bones first...'

However, it wasn't all bad news. First off, the reward's main dish, the treasure that the Lv3 Treasure Eater kept hold of dearly, was, fortunately, equipment composed of bone.

[Dire Wolf Bone Armor]

[Lv3]

[Durability: 800/800]

[Defense: 100 - 115]

[Options: Increases Health by 20]

"If I just look at the abilities, it's really simple, but..."

In many ways, it was an item that didn't seem very exciting compared to the grand Bone of Thunder Lasting, but despite that, the Dire Wolf Bone Armor was plenty amazing. That's because its goal as defensive equipment was to protect the body, and it did that thoroughly.

This upper body armor, created out of auburn dyed dire wolf bones, was ridiculously sturdy, though he didn't know how they had processed the bones. It was sturdy to the point that he'd find it troublesome and turn back if an opponent wearing this showed up. That was obvious since it was a piece of level 3 equipment.

Moreover, just by wearing it, his health would increase by 20; it would increase his overall defense as well as increasing his stamina. Lee Shin Woo immediately equipped the armor.

Regardless of how much he'd leveled or how much larger he'd gotten, he looked like just a normal Skeleton A who appeared in a beginner dungeon; but wearing this quite nice armor, and holding the Bone of Thunder Lasting, he had strength that wouldn't make him envious of other considerable, named monsters. As expected, items are the best.

'Good, it's perfect. I shouldn't hear them call me newbie anymore.'

Aside from that, there was other good news. The Blessed Rose Tree Staff transformed into a Blessed Bone Wand, and despite being level 2 equipment the item level hadn't even decreased, and on the contrary, had actually been reinforced.

[Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3)]

[Lv2]

[Durability: 350/350]

[Attack Power: 10 - 15]

[Options: Increases Magic by 11, Increases Magic Casting Speed by 11%, Increases damage taken from living foes by 11%]

"In other words, there's no guarantee that the change into bone is necessarily a downgrade."

It depended on the item; like in this case, when the change occurred, it would become stronger, or perhaps the item may even increase in level.

He felt much better, at least compared to when he thought that the item would always decrease in level. Of course, he didn't really have a use for the wand right now, so he shoved it into his inventory.

"Good. Shall we get to to the real main dish?"

The main dish was the Treasure Eater's skull bone, which he had placed carefully on the floor. He picked up and raised the skull, and felt an unusual magic contained within. He could tell there was an intense heat that dwelled within.

Lee Shin Woo remembered the skill of the Treasure Eater that had threatened to annihilate him and the Skeleton Warriors alike, as well as pushing them into a crisis; after gulping down, he carefully activated his skill.

"...Bone Reinforcement."

[You have reinforced your skull bone. Magic has increased by 15. Absorbing a portion of the Treasure Eater's memories and experiences.]

15! His magic had increased by as much as 15 all at once. He was attacked by the pain of the sudden change, but he was already somewhat prepared for it, so Lee Shin Woo calmly endured it.

He just followed the movement of mana. Within the pain that felt as if his head was being twisted, new mana welled up and expanded through his body; the mana was truly a refreshing sensation.

'Ah...!'

While that went on, a tiny flame bloomed within that mana. The instant Lee Shin Woo was about to exclaim after discovering it, it instantly swelled without him able to grab hold of it, and completely filled his entire body!

For a split second, a black flame rose up and then disappeared. Lee Shin Woo realized that the flame couldn't harm him. A strong will dwelled within those flames. That was none other than his own will.

[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Flames of Revenge.]

[Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv1(Active)]

[An Avenger's tenacity is put into their magic and manifested in flames. It will pursue and latch onto your target and will not extinguish until you run out of mana, die, or your opponent dies. It can be extinguished by someone with higher Magic than you. It is also possible to incorporate the flames into your weapon.]

'Huh?'

The skill it had used was definitely the Flames of Resentment. But for the skill name to change? Lee Shin Woo was puzzled by the name change but honestly, it was extremely obvious. That's because when he reinforced his bones, he would just get the object's memories and experiences, but he wouldn't get the skills intact.

In other words, his own memories and experiences would be added to the skill that was manifested based on the person's memories and experiences, so it was always possible that it would result in the skill taking on a completely different form. Like when he had absorbed the Ratman's finger bone, he had awakened the Catapult ability, rather than the Ratman's ability to launch its nails.

"...Hoo, now I'm feeling a little better."

After the pain, as well as the dizziness from the sudden increase in magic had passed, Lee Shin Woo shook his head and got a hold of himself. He felt like the inside of his mind was much more refreshed. Though it was honestly still empty!

'Alright, shall we adapt and move around our body?'

He had collected everything the Lv3 Treasure Eater had left behind, but there might be some loot still on the battlefield that he hadn't collected. Even if he were to exclude the Skeleton Warriors' greatswords that he could easily see, there may be bones buried under the ashes!

As a result of him searching the entire area for 30 minutes, Lee Shin Woo collected 15 Lv1 Long Bone Swords (+5), 1 Lv2 Treasure Eater lower jaw bone, 3 Skeleton Warriors' palm bones, and lastly, 2,560 Perium.

The fact that even 1 Treasure Eater bone was left intact was truly a happy occasion, but... the problem was that it didn't end with him just acquiring the bone.

[You have acquired The Trickster's token.]

"... What's this?"

Lee Shin Woo's features frowned when he saw the gold coin in the palm of his hand, depicting a bizarre man wearing a helmet and shorts, with a spear in one hand and a trumpet in another. Naturally, the explanation for the item came up.

[The Trickster's token]

[The token of a scammer who hates harmony, instigates disorder, and can plot anything. One is plenty enough, while two is too few.]

"..."

When he had first gotten the Slaughterer's token, he was pretty sure he remembered that it would definitely be easier to obtain Slaughterer's tokens than other types of tokens. And he thought that he'd done plenty enough here for him to earn another Slaughterer's token.

However, what is this? Trickster? What the hell is this? Is it saying that he had to gather both the Slaughterer's tokens and the Trickster's tokens? Lee Shin Woo furrowed his (nonexistent) brow and the moment he agonized over it, he observed the familiar distortion of mana. It was obviously a notice for a quest.

[The quest, 'Slaughterer's Token' has been canceled.]

[A new quest has been created.]

"...Ha."

[A New Manipulator]

[The faces you possess are extremely numerous. And not one of them is the truth. If that's the case, fool everyone. If you do so, you can become anything! To be more specific, including The Trickster's token, gather 10 different karma tokens.]

[Quest progress - Trickster's token 1/1, karma tokens 2/10]

[Quest reward - 1 Lv6 Weapon Trickster's arm bone]

"Wait a sec!?"

Different individual karma tokens? Is it telling him to gain other karma tokens like how he had gained the Slaughterer's token and the Trickster's token? Didn't the quest difficulty go up outrageously!?

He thought about why he got this kind of token. He had thought that him acting like the Skeleton Warrior's ally, leading them, as well as making them fight against the Treasure Eaters might've had a huge effect but... still, the reality is way too harsh!

He didn't even know what conditions he'd have to fulfill to get the other karma tokens, and yet he had been given this quest; what the hell is a Trickster for him to get such a quest!?

"...It'll be fine if I just ignore it, right? It probably won't be much of a problem."

That's what he said, but it actually weighed on his mind considerably. It was a quest that had appeared after chewing up the Slaughterer's token quest. He couldn't help but be curious. He wouldn't have to gather 10 Trickster's tokens, but including this one, he'd have to gather a total of 10 different karma tokens...

'Ugh... it's not like anything will happen right away by exerting myself, so let's think about it carefreely.'

Ultimately, Lee Shin Woo decided to positively put this off. Rather than rot his brain from thinking too deeply about this, he decided to instead do his best when it comes to a situation where it seems like he'll be able to progress the quest. After he decided to do so, he felt a bit more relieved.

'Anyway, the quest reward changed, so it's become kind of awkward to use the permit for God's secret shop right away.'

He had pushed through the dungeon and the Treasure Eaters all at once, so he had come to possess a fortune of 25,000 Perium in no time. Whether he buys a bone or a magic book; he had enough of a fortune to reinforce himself! ...Is what he believed.

However, since he didn't have a promise for when he got his next permit right now, he refused to use his remaining permit without careful consideration. In the end, Lee Shin Woo sighed and changed his mind. He would continue to do what he had been doing first... in other words, cleanly mop up the level 1 dungeons in the nearby vicinity, and then go to the secret shop.

'I've decided, so shall we hurry?'

Lee Shin Woo gently closed his (nonexistent) eyes and after checking where each dungeon was, he gripped his Bone of Thunder Lasting and hurried his steps. He had grown rapidly after the intense battle, and his steps definitely contained more strength than before.

He was currently level 2, and his stat total was 323. He was confident that he was growing at a ridiculous rate. Perhaps even beyond his own imagination.