<Chapter 8. Elite Dungeon - 2>

[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.