One never knew what would happen in the Underground Empire. In this world, there wasnât a problem with dichotomous thinking: theyâre either friend or foe.
âItâs laughable that he believed that he wouldnât be discovered when he hadnât even made the dungeon secure. He only survived this long because he was lucky.â
There was only one reason Lee Shin Woo had killed Lee Man Bok. Even though Lee Man Bok had regained his sanity after turning into an undead, he lived such a leisurely life and didnât have a clear vision of the future. Not only that, he didnât even think about anything else, hated everything, and just sat on his ass⌠He was nothing more than a walking corpse; he was already dead.
When the battle with the Empire intensified, then this guy would either die to the 12 generals or to one of the other heroes. If not, then heâd face Ethan Cruz, who was incomparably more powerful than before and would be controlled this time for sure. Rather than let him be stolen by someone else, heâd rather just kill him now.
âEven so, you just went and killed him right away? You couldnât convince him?â
âWere you not listening? I did try to convince him. I even told him about myself.â
Lee Shin Woo wasnât a psychopath. He had told Lee Man Bok about the Empireâs circumstances, how his juniors were faring, Ethan Cruzâs evil, and even his own dreams as well. Lee Man Bokâs reaction to all of that was⌠it wouldâve been better if he hadnât heard any of it.
âIf heâs disappointed in God and the heroes, then he should struggle to do something, but this guy didnât do anything. He just couldnât pass on. He shouldâve known that he couldnât just hide forever, yet even so, he didnât move or do anything. âŚSo, I just gave him the death that he so desperately wished for.â
ââŚShin Woo, you really are cruel.â
âYou said I was kind before.â
âYou can be cruel and kind at the same time.â
Lee Shin Woo told Jin to study up on the Empireâs common language again, and Jin, pissed off, forcefully kicked him. Of course, only Jin himself was hurt by the kick.
While Jin was groaning, Lee Shin Woo picked up the emerald staff that had rolled onto the floor. Surprisingly, it was a level 5 artifact. His other seniors were satisfied with just one level 5 artifact, yet Lee Man Bok had possessed level 6 armor and a level 5 weapon; were the first heroes really this lavish!?
âAh, it transformed through Bone Reinforcement, but it didnât level up or down⌠Anyway, with this, I should be able to reinforce my staff.â
âThereâs a bone over there too.â
âThere are two bones! Since Bone Reinforcementâs level keeps going up, the chance of me getting two bones is increasingâŚ!â
âYou being so happy about this makes you seem even worse.â
When a magician-type undead was killed, they would usually drop their skull, and surprisingly, Lee Man Bok had dropped a rib bone as well. Lee Shin Woo thought about absorbing both of them simultaneously, but decided against it, choosing to absorb the skull first.
[Consuming the Lv7 Lee Man Bokâs skull to reinforce your skull. Magic has increased by 38. Due to your high affinity with the target, Bone Reinforcement is a resounding success! Absorbing the majority of the targetâs memories and experiences.]
[My magical aptitude is⌠Hoo, Iâm a Wind Magician, huh? Nice. Iâm just like the main character in a novel! At first, wind seems like the weakest element, but thereâs actually a trick hidden within⌠Nice, nice, itâs perfect! â Lee Man Bok]
He thought heâd have a high affinity with Lee Man Bok, and true to form, he absorbed a significant amount of information. Because Lee Shin Woo could now understand how a magician thought⌠No, that wasnât all.
Jin wouldnât know, but Lee Man Bok was born in the same country of origin as Lee Shin Woo, so their compatibility was incredible. As a result, Bone Reinforcement was a resounding success and he was able to absorb most of Lee Man Bokâs memories and experiences. He absorbed his struggles, his love, and his despair as well.
âThrow away anything I donât need and⌠Yeah. Wind Resistance. I thought it was about time I got this resistance.â
Lee Man Bok was a high level magician who could use high rank wind magic! Of course, he couldnât match up to Kratia, who had studied magic ever since she was young, but as Lee Man Bokâs skills were trained in the field, they were no joke.
Moreover, wind magic was renowned for its quick cast time and manifestation. Perhaps that was why Lee Man Bok had been so relaxed while conversing with Lee Shin Woo, as he could react quickly if need be.
Of course, Lee Man Bok hadnât realized that Lee Shin Wooâs lightning was even faster, so there was no way he could have avoided a futile death!
[You have learned High Rank Wind Lv1 and High Rank Wind Resistance Lv1! Magic has increased by 150.]
Lee Shin Woo sorted through Lee Man Bokâs memories and experiences, and when he had found what he was looking for, Lee Shin Woo gained a new power that he could naturally use.
And with it, his interior mana increased sharply, but he was used to it by now. Because he had a long way to go, he didnât think much of a 150 stat increase in magic anymore. Of course, if another hero were to have heard this, they would be shocked.
âJin, you come over here too.â
âWhy!?â
âYou probably canât get the element from this, but you should be able to get the resistance out of it, so come here.â
âUguuuâŚâ
Jin wept, knowing how important elemental resistance was and left his body in Lee Shin Wooâs hands. Once he was finishing with Jinâs reinforcement, Jin had successfully acquired intermediate level 7 wind resistance, and Lee Shin Wooâs magic had risen by another 10.
âGuaaaaaaaah.â
âJin, if youâre going to roll on the floor, could you at least put a rag on top or something?â
Lee Shin Woo spoke indifferently, as Jin suffered the aftereffects of Bone Reinforcement, and checked the remaining loot.
As expected, the level 5 staff strengthened the wind element, and once he absorbed it, he gained around 40 magic and the staff fused with the Bifurcated Snake Spine within Bone Armory. But then, an unexpected change came about.
[You are now able to summon the Lv6 Bone Winged Serpent!]
âHuh?â
[Bone Winged Serpent]
[Lv6]
[Durability: 1,860/1,860]
[Attack Power: 450 â 610]
[Magic Attack Power: 1,350 â 1,550]
[Options: Calculation Assistance]
[Passive skill: Serpentâs Whirlwind â Absorbs an element and shoots out the opposite element with even greater strength.]
Lee Shin Woo thought the fusion would either add an option that strengthened the wind element, or increased the magic attack power of the staff, but the actual result was quite unexpected. When he saw the upgraded skill though, he did think of one thing.
âNow that I think about it, I think thereâs a passage in a bible that states âsow the wind, and reap the whirlwindâ.â
It wasnât often used in the west anymore, but it was similar to the Korean adage. He smiled, as the skill was exactly like the adage.
âWind is not only fast and sharp, but it also possesses the ability to reinforce other things as well⌠As I thought, no useless element exists.â
To be honest, Lee Shin Woo had thought that the lightning element was backward compatible with the wind element, thinking of it as just another âvariation of the wind elementâ. However, now that heâd gotten the wind element, he felt like he would need to do some in-depth study of the actual element itself. It wasnât that there wasnât anything special about the wind element; it was just that there was nothing special about Lee Man Bok!
Contrary to Lee Man Bok, whose only specialty was creating wind, by obtaining both his memories and experiences, Lee Shin Woo was able to manipulate the very element itself and could use the element to its fullest! âThe student has become the master.â
âNext up is thisâŚâ
Honestly, Lee Shin Wooâs main concern hadnât been the wind strengthening staff. When he had first found the level 7 artifact, he had been a bit anxious, and he raised that very artifact before his eyes.
Countless particles of bone powder were clumped together into the shape of a robe that was often worn by magicians. Even now, it changed its shape right before his very eyes, deceiving those that looked at it. It seemed as though there was a gemstone mixed in, as something was dazzling within it. The robes were both frightening and charming at the same time.
[Special Passive skill: Blessing of Death â You store othersâ death energy and using that death energy, you can prevent your own death. Current charge: 0/1]
Lee Shin Woo rubbed his eyes and checked once more, but the information didnât change. Setting aside its options, this robe⌠Its skill had the same name as Jinâs revival ability!
âJin, this robe has the Blessing of Death ability.â
âWhat the hell!? Thatâs bullshit!â
But contrary to Jin, who could draw in the curse and avoid death, these robes not only had to store another personâs death energy but could only revive a person once, as it could store one charge maximum. That sucked, but in any case, it was a big deal to avoid death even once.
The original robe probably had a skill that was a rank lower than the current skill. However, it was because of that skill that Lee Man Bok was able to regenerate from Lee Shin Wooâs attack. Perhaps this skill was the reason he was able to escape from Ethan Cruz.
âBlessing of Death, huhâŚâ
Lee Shin Woo momentarily looked over the item, and soon stored it into the Bone Armory. His health and magic stats rose, and all of the remaining options, as well as the robe itself, Â was stored into the Bone Armory intact.
He immediately switched out one of his Breaths of the Lightning Gods with the Prayer of the Dead and draped it over his armor. This robe, which was composed of bone powder, could transform, so it wouldnât get in the way of his movements.
The High-Speed Casting, Calculation Assistance and Magic Reinforcement would be quite helpful to Lee Shin Woo, even though he wasnât a magician. There was nothing more reassuring than having a level 7 piece of equipment draped over him. He was equipped with a level 6 weapon, and though most of his armor was level 4, he had another piece of armor that was level 7. If the other heroes knew about this, they would be jealous and cry tears of blood. No, his items would even shock the 12 generals!
âI gained various info and even acquired some artifacts as well, so our senior really didnât die in vainâŚâ
âI donât think he wouldâve agreed with youâŚâ
Lee Shin Woo didnât really care what the dead thought, and they realized that there were no traces of them having been here. They were about to leave but⌠they found a few volumes of books atop a roughly made table within the boss room.
They were all written by Lee Man Bok.
âYouâre not taking these with you, Shin Woo?â
âTheyâre not skill books. Theyâre probably uselessâŚâ
He said as much, yet he took the books with him. Lee Man Bok had been chosen as a hero, so even though he likely learned the Empireâs language, it would be written in Korean. When he actually took a look at it, it was indeed written in Korean, but the contents were so childish and immature that he just grinned. He was whining like a little kid.
âShin Woo, what did he write?â
Read Latest Chapters at wuxiaworld.eu
âNot sure. I donât know what the language is, so I canât read it.â
âYouâre lying, arenât you? His name is similar to yours. Youâre from the same country, arenât you!? Right!?â
âIâm not. Now, letâs go to the Giantâs domain that our senior was so helpful in telling us about. Jin, hurry up.â
âLiar. If you canât understand it, then why are you sitting there, reading it so earnestly? Hey!â
Lee Shin Woo didnât reply to Jinâs question and instead tapped Jinâs back to urge him to go while continuing to read Lee Man Bokâs diary. Ultimately, Jin grumblingly left the dungeon and began to run, while Lee Shin Woo absent-mindedly read Lee Man Bokâs diary and despondently chuckled.