<Chapter 10. Partner - 4>

Lee Shin Woo used the bones they had collected on site and reinforced himself. Of course, level 1 bones were almost meaningless to him now, but he still repeatedly used Bone Reinforcement until he saw the phrase, [You have acquired all the experiences and memories that you could from XXX.]. He couldn't miss the opportunity to grow even a little bit more!

"Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement, Bone Reinforcement..."

"Ugh."

Jin just got tired of seeing Lee Shin Woo continuously use Bone Reinforcement in place without pause. It wasn't a joke when Lee Shin Woo said that he could finish off 513 bones within 30 minutes. No, it was actually much worse.

In less than 1 second, he sorted out the bones he would absorb, then grabbed several of them at a time and activated Bone Reinforcement; it wasn't difficult for him to dispose of 100 bones within 1 minute.

"Bone Reinforcement... Oh, I'm done now."

"You... Are you really human!?"

"Can't you see I'm a skeleton? You want a piece of me?"

As a result, Lee Shin Woo absorbed close to three thousand bones and left behind about one thousand of them, as he couldn't acquire anymore memories, experiences, and abilities from them. It didn't even take an hour.

[Lee Shin Woo]

[Dark Skeleton Avenger]

[Treasure Hunter and 1 other]

[Lv - 3 (Stat Effectiveness 125%)]

[Strength - 160 Agility - 169 Health - 164 Magic - 305]

[Passive Skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv6, Beginner Avenger Lv8, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv7, Low Rank Mana Bone Lv6, Low Rank Stealth Lv6, Low rank Command Lv1, Low Rank Horseback Riding Lv4]

[Active Skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv4, Low Rank Combat Sprint Lv8, Low Rank Shriek of the Dead Lv5, Low Rank Regeneration Lv2, Low Rank Catapult Lv3, Low Rank Flames of Revenge Lv2, Beginner Power Slash Lv9, Low Rank Harden Lv3, Low Rank Self-Destruct Lv2, Sacrifice Lv1, Intermediate Acid Poison Spray Lv2]

[Resistances - Holy: MAX, Curse: MAX, Acid: Low Rank Lv8, Ice: Intermediate Lv1]

"Man, I'm short a couple of stats so I can't level up."

"So your stats don't go up even if you absorb three thousand bones, huh..."

"No, it's the opposite. It's actually gone up this much."

Amongst the four thousand monsters Lee Shin Woo disposed of, there were basically no level 3 monsters. In other words, the absolute majority of the monsters were a lower level than him, so the fact that his stats rose by even this much was amazing. It was because Lee Shin Woo had ignorantly pushed ahead with quantity over quality.

"What are you going to do with the rest? I'm telling you ahead of time, but it's impossible for me. I can't, no way."

"You sure are cowardly. Don't worry, they all have a use."

Lee Shin Woo took out a huge bag from his inventory, shoved the hundreds of level 1 bones into it, and stamped onto the bag with all his might. Seeing that, Jin was stunned and tackled him.

"Is it for stress relief?"

"No, it's for healing."

He continued to stamp on the bag and nodded his head once he saw the contents within turn into a fine powder. Looking at the bag filled with fine bone powder, he felt like he was rich.

"For healing...?"

"Yeah. If you turn these into powder, all of the properties of the bones equalize, and though you become unable to acquire the memories or experiences within, the healing ability remains. Moreover, you can apply it to your entire body, so it's an advantage."

"Ah."

Jin had already experienced it, so he was well aware that Bone Reinforcement healed the portion of the body that it was applied to. In other words, Lee Shin Woo was processing the remaining bones, which he couldn't obtain anymore experiences or memories from, and turning them into medicine! It was also advantageous in that he could conveniently store it into his inventory now.

"I have the Regeneration skill, so I don't really need it, but it should be important for you."

"You're being so considerate I feel like I'll cry."

"Now then, let's..."

The remaining 200 bones were level 2 undead bones; it felt like too much of a waste to turn them into powder, so he didn't.

But when he told Jin to use them, Jin responded that it'd be too much for him right now; therefore, he only had one other option.

It was none other than weapon reinforcement.

'Bone of Thunder Lasting is at +8 right now, and I only have one more level 3 weapon reinforcement permit. In order for it to reach +10 and be reborn as a level 4 weapon, one of the reinforcements have to succeed.'

He gave up on the level 1 bones and weapons as he didn't think it would have any chance of succeeding with them, but what about level 2 bones? Wouldn't there be at least a slight chance? Jin saw Lee Shin Woo tremble as he grabbed a level 2 bone, and thought he looked like a gambling addict.

"...Bone Reinforcement."

[Reinforcement has failed.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

The heap of bones they had acquired disappeared in an instant. He had already predicted that the probability of it working was low, but when he used up 100 bones in succession, Lee Shin Woo was shocked. He belatedly felt regretful, as he thought that it would be better to just sell them at the secret shop.

"But since I've already started, I can't stop."

"You look really dumb right now."

"Bone Reinforcement! Bone Reinforcement...!"

[Reinforcement has failed.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

[Reinforcement has failed.]

[The Bone Reinforcement skill has become Lv5! The success rate of weapon reinforcement has increased. When you use Bone Reinforcement on bone weapons, the effectiveness increases.]

"Good, Bone Reinforcement!"

"You don't have any more bones, though."

"Oh..."

Lee Shin Woo looked around dejectedly, but Jin was right; there weren't any bones left. The 200 level 2 bones were completely gone now. The only result was that his Bone Reinforcement leveled up...

"It feels like if I just do it once more it would've worked!"

"That's something only gambling addicts say."

Even if he wanted to reinforce his weapons, he didn't have any more bones, so he couldn't do anything. Lee Shin Woo wasn't naturally the type to get attached to failure, so he just lightly sighed, shook off his regrets, and got atop Jin.

He had personally received a message confirming that he didn't have any more business in this city, so he didn't need to linger and check. It was time for him to leave.

"So where to now?"

"Didn't you originally run around here a lot? Let's go to one of the places with a lot of level 3-4 monsters."

"Y-Yeah... fine. Let's go."

Honestly, Jin was still a bit afraid of level 4 monsters, but when he remembered Lee Shin Woo's previous slaughter of thousands of monsters, he mustered his courage and began to move. He felt like even if a level 5 elite monster showed up, rather than a level 4 monster, Lee Shin Woo would be able to win somehow.

While he comfortably gave Jin the reins and entrusted him with leading him, Lee Shin Woo opened the chatting channel. It very slightly felt like he was on the phone while driving.

[Mr. Lee Shin Woo has entered.]

[Lloyd H.K.: Oh, Lee Shin Woo! I heard the news. So you met with Ye Jin Jin?]

[Lee Shin Woo: It's a relief that you're safe, Senior.]

[Prince Altania: Considering how he's adapted to this world already... More importantly, what did you get for saving Ye Jin Jin? I just heard that the reward was really amazing, but I don't know what it is since I've never gotten it before.]

[Erian Ruparte: Lee Shin Woo! Thanks a lot. Because of you, Ye Jin Jin was able to survive!]

As soon as Lee Shin Woo accessed the chatting channel, all of his seniors hectically greeted him. It seems like, just like she said she would, Ye Jin Jin had uproariously chatted about him in the channel.

Honestly, that was an issue that she had talked to Lee Shin Woo about; if he improved his friendship with the other heroes beforehand, they might not be too repulsed by the fact that he was a skeleton when they find out later... which was a plan that came about from their shallow thinking. For reference, they didn't really talk about Jin.

[Shino Rendu: Good work, Lee Shin Woo. Whether you acted because of the reward or because you saw the person, we heroes have to stick together.]

[Yasunori Akira: You're seriously way too hot-blooded. ...In any case, good job, Lee Shin Woo.]

[Seira Von Retadane: It was really unexpected that you were both in the same area. But... but it was truly a relief.]

[Lee Shin Woo: I got a quest to clear out all the undead in the city, so while I was doing that quest... I was just lucky.]

[Prince Altania: Ah, that...]

Of course, it was a lie, but he was curious as to how his seniors would respond to this lie. As expected, Prince Altania, who seemed the most loose lipped amongst his seniors, was fooled by his lie.

[Prince Altania: You just need to do that once. Did you get the Hero's karma token?]

[Lee Shin Woo: Yes.]

This was it. This was the information that he wanted! Lee Shin Woo pricked his ears and Prince Altania explained.

[Prince Altania: If you have that, it's great since your skill growth rate increases, but once you get that one, you don't really need to get another one. It may not take very long since it was just a small city, but the further you delve into the Empire, the larger the cities become. I'm telling you, you won't be able to keep them under control later on. The karma tokens normally don't drop very often so it's impossible to gather 10 of them from the start.]

[Lee Shin Woo: So it would seem.]

[Prince Altania: Moreover, the important thing is that if you start extensively wiping out the undead, the other undead will sniff that out and gather, so you'll have to continue battling them unceasingly. If something goes wrong, even a hero can die.]

[Lloyd H.K.: But hey, isn't that exactly why God chose us as heroes...? I'm talking about purifying the Empire.]

[Shino Rendu: At the start, I somehow succeeded in cleaning up a small city and gained a Hero's token. I thought that there might be a chance that I could amplify the effects of the token, so I risked my life to enter a few cities and tried to clear out the undead, but getting one more token doesn't amplify the effects at all...]

[Prince Altania: Are you dumb? Tokens of the same kind don't amplify the effect. Get all 10 of them or stick to one.]

[Shino Rendu: This asshole... I was a newbie back then too!]

He had already gained a lot of good info. Lee Shin Woo took note of all the precious information and opened his mouth again. With a voice that relayed his seriousness and his sense of duty as best he could!

[Lee Shin Woo: Since you're saying it's a hero's duty, I'll clear as many of them as I can and then go up.]

Of course, it was a lie. He had already chosen the Joker's karma, so he didn't really need to put in the effort of collecting all 10 of the Hero's karma tokens! If he ended up cleaning up a city, it wouldn't be because he was burning with the desire to fulfill his mission as a hero, but because he wanted to collect materials for Bone Reinforcement!

[Prince Altania: This guy's like Lloyd... If you do that, it'll take a long time for you to reach level 5.]

[Lloyd H.K.: See, that's what a hero should be like!]

[Erian Ruparte: ...You're cool, Lloyd.]

[Seira Von Retadane: Mr. Lee Shin Woo, you're doing well. Since we must allow the undead in the Empire to rest in peace...]

[Ethan Cruz: I'm pleased that there're more heroes acting like heroes now.]

At that moment, Lee Shin Woo felt like time had stopped within the chatting channel. At the very least, when he heard a middle-aged man's voice cut in, one that he heard for the very first time, he felt speechless! However, Lloyd soon responded to him.

[Lloyd H.K.: Oh, Senior!]

[Yasunori Akira: It's been a long time.]

[Prince Altania: I'm glad you're safe, Senior.]

If even the Prince addressed him with an honorific, then his position as a senior in the chatting channel must be unwavering. Lee Shin Woo followed their lead for now, and politely greeted him.

[Lee Shin Woo: I'm a newbie who got here just a little while ago. Please take care of me, Senior.]

[Ethan Cruz: Ooh, it's a pleasure. But you have such good manners, so it makes me kind of uncomfortable. Just speak comfortably.]

[Lee Shin Woo: Haha... I'll try my best.]

[Ethan Cruz: Good. I hope we get to see each other for a long time. Ah, by the way, Lloyd. Is Seira doing alright too?]

[Lloyd H.K.: Yes, Senior. She's alright.]

[Seira Von Retadane: ...Please, go ahead.]

[Ethan Cruz: I have something I'd like you to help me with. The capital's thorn castle walls...]

His seniors began talking about places or geographical features he didn't know about at this time, and Lee Shin Woo thought he'd obtained all the information he could for now, so he decided to carefully say his farewells and leave. However, before he could, Ethan Cruz called him.

[Ethan Cruz: Work hard, Lee Shin Woo. You might think about a lot of things as you stand up against the Empire, but... all you need to remember is that all the undead are our, humanity's enemies.]

[Lee Shin Woo: ...Yes.]

None of his seniors refuted his statement that all undead are enemies of humanity.

As he thought, the heroes in the chatting channel didn't know about the undead who didn't loathe humanity and had proper reasoning.

Or they were acting like they didn't know about them.