Chapter 113 – Hansen Von Dorthe (8)

Lee Shin-Woo mercilessly attacked the Lightning Shadow General, whose entire body was frozen stiff; in the end, Lee Shin-Woo managed to pierce through his neck and kill him without dying once.

[I am... His Majesty...]

"Shadow Horn!"

[Kahak!]

While it might be considered somewhat cowardly, he nonetheless blew the general up as the airborne ice crystals evaporated. The result was all that mattered! And the result was...

[You have defeated a member of the twelve generals, the Lv7 Lightning Shadow General, Hansen Von Dorthe. All contributing heroes acquire 30,000,000 Perium, and all stats increase by 100. You have acquired 10 permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop. Proficiency in all combat related skills has increased dramatically!]

[Intermediate Bursting Thunder is now Lv9. Strength and Magic have increased by 10.]

[Intermediate Mana Bone is now Lv9. Magic has increased by 10.]

[Intermediate Shadow Horn is now Lv4. All stats have increased by 6.]

[Intermediate Command is now Lv9. All stats have increased by 3.]

...

...

[Intermediate Ice is now Lv4. Magic has increased by 5.]

[Element Absorption is now Lv2. Magic has increased by 10. You can more effectively absorb energy from the elements that you possess.]

A stream of messages appeared! All the skills he’d used in battle, as well as those he hadn't, leveled up instantaneously for no reason other than the fact that he had defeated one of the twelve generals.

The amount of stats he'd garnered from defeating the general and skill level-ups was enough to make him dizzy. It was good for him though, wasn’t it? And there were more messages notifying him of his growth.

[You are an excellent example of a Joker! Even without allies, you faced a variety of enemies and managed to incite and trick them; in the end, you won 'fair and square'! All stats have increased by 20. The Joker’s karma has become even stronger. The Joker's innate skills have grown.]

Accompanying this message was a notification that his Acting had leveled up to level 16, and his Disguise had jumped two levels to reach level 6. He knew just how much these skills changed whenever they leveled up, and he almost gaped in surprise.

Thinking about it carefully, though, he had made a general an actor on his stage, so it was only natural that he should gain this much.

[You have received the goddess’s grace. Invisible Heart’s maximum level has increased by 10.]

His achievement was rounded off by a present from the goddess. Thinking back, he had gotten the quest to take care of the undead heroes from the goddess, and the reward was an increase to the maximum level of Invisible Heart. However, he had only killed one undead hero—he had fought two, but made one of them his subordinate. This time, the maximum level of Invisible Heart had increased by 10, to a total of 111.

"So the number of lives I have has increased by 11…"

It suddenly dawned on Lee Shin-Woo that the goddess’s blessing was truly amazing! He recognized that the goddess rarely did things out of the kindness of her heart, and decided to just be happy about it.

Lee Shin-Woo nodded as Kratia and Jin danced with joy beside him. While they couldn’t have been rewarded as much as him, he could tell that they had been rewarded based on their contributions.

"Shin-Woo, I'm going to level up!" Jin yelled suddenly.

"Ah, alright. It's not dangerous here anymore, so take your time."

Jin had been close to reaching level 6, and after acquiring hundreds of stats as a reward for this battle, it would be stranger if he didn’t level up!

A sphere of light engulfed Jin as he leveled up, while Lee Shin-Woo idly kept an eye on him and picked up the loot the Lightning Shadow General had left behind with his own two hands. The general was considered an intermediate boss, so he thought it'd be nice if the loot dropped in a nice bundle, but alas, reality was rarely that considerate to him.

[You have acquired 15,230,550 Perium.]

[You have acquired Bayran’s Inner Map.]

[You have acquired the Lv5 Divine Lightning Sword. Through Bone Reinforcement, the item transforms. You have acquired the Lv5 Thunder Claw (+5).]

[You have acquired the Lv7 Lightning Shadow General, Hansen Von Dorthe's wrist bone.]

Other than that, he saw a bracelet-like item with tremendous magic. However, Kratia had come to his aid when he called without any complaints and not only helped with the mission, but also contributed to their victory against the Lightning General. Therefore, Lee Shin-Woo decided the item would be Kratia's share of the reward.

"This is a magic reinforcement accessory!” Kratia exclaimed. “It's extremely rare!"

"Ah, is it? I was wondering why he had that much mana when he specialized in close combat."

As he thought, leaving that piece of loot as part of her share made her really happy. Lee Shin-Woo asked if she wanted him to transform it with Bone Reinforcement, but she firmly shook her head; Kratia was someone who didn't like taking risks.

"Hoo, it did seem possible to beat the general, but it was still surprising that we did beat it... I knew it. Never a boring moment with you around, Shin-Woo.”

Kratia giggled. Lee Shin-Woo sounded uninterested as he responded and examined the last remaining pieces of loot in his hands.

"My existence is dynamic, so it can't be helped."

First, Bayran’s Inner Map seemed to detail secret passageways and facilities within some inner city, but he didn't know where Bayran was, or what exactly it was for the matter, so he put the map away in his inventory for now.

However, the rest was amazing.

"As expected, a general should carry at least a level 5 weapon."

"Ah, but this bracelet is level 6."

"Let’s trade then."

"Don't want to."

Lee Shin-Woo felt bad about the unfair treatment he was going to inflict on Kratia, but well, he was the one with mastery over lightning here, and he could refuse to give Kratia the equipment one way or another.

The original Divine Lightning Sword, which had turned into Thunder Claw, was definitely a treasure that would make his lightning lethal. He felt slightly burdened by Kratia’s bright eyes on him, but he absorbed the weapon without delay.

[Recording the Lv5 Thunder Claw (+5)'s data into Bone Armory. Strength and Magic have increased by 20. The Lightning Tooth and the Thunder Claw's data have been combined to create a new weapon!]

"Huuuh!?"

The moment Lee Shin-Woo absorbed the Thunder Claw, he sensed an intense change within him, or more specifically Bone Armory. A shudder ran down his spine.

He would be lying if he claimed he hadn’t been looking forward to this, of course. With another lightning element weapon absorbed into him, it made sense for a greater weapon to be created when both items supplemented each other.

Didn’t expect the two weapons to be combined to create an entirely new one though... Kuuuuuu.

Bone Armory wasn't something separate from Lee Shin-Woo; it was an equipment storehouse within his body. He felt a huge migraine brewing due to the intense reaction going on inside him. His endurance, magic, and all of his skills were involved in creating this new weapon.

Countless information streamed in from the outside and came together, creating a weapon only he could wield. A bystander wouldn’t be able to discern what was actually going on, but he was essentially doing a blacksmith's work!

Something similar has happened before. With the whip.

The data of the staff and the whip had been combined to create the Bifurcated Whip. However, the process hadn’t been this intense back then. Perhaps it had something to do with this weapon being much greater than the whip; in other words...

[You can now summon the Lv6 Breath of the Lightning God! Bone Armory is now Lv8. You can now summon seven pieces of equipment at a time. Endurance and Magic have increased by 10.]

A level 6 weapon...! Something he had only vaguely wished for came true. Lee Shin-Woo observed the weapon and remained completely still. He feared that if he took his eyes off the message, it would burst into bubbles.

But then the message disappeared unprompted after a while. Lee Shin-Woo let out a fleeting sigh before raising a hand.

Of course, he knew that the data of Breath of the Lightning God was stored in Bone Armory. All of the weapon's info was meticulously recorded in his head! The hand he had extended to summon the weapon was shaking despite his attempt to steady it.

"Shin-Woo, Shin-Woo?"

"I'm finished with leveling up... What're you doing?"

"I guess he's going through some kind of ritual we don't know about."

Jin and Kratia started making a ruckus while Lee Shin-Woo trembled with overwhelming emotions. Lee Shin-Woo ignored them and concentrated. He probably needn’t go that far, but he wanted to keep brooding over the weapon he had just created; he was having trouble adjusting himself.

"...Summon."

After investing approximately 40% of his mana—40% of his now improved mana, which was a considerable amount—the weapon revealed itself in all its glory. In many ways, its shape resembled the Thunder Claw more than the Lightning Tooth, as it was also a bastard sword.

"Oh, oooh."

"It's beautiful..."

The pommel was sharp and black, and the long, uneven hilt reminded him of a dragon's scales; the guard took after the Lightning Tooth... On top of the weapon was a large blue blade...

The end converged into a sharp tip, and it seemed capable of both stabbing and slashing.

"...Hoo."

From an outside view, it looked like an extremely luxurious sword; the blade could be either bone or metal. Its sheen obscured the material while also making it look distinctive, but... Lee Shin-Woo was fascinated by the fearsome energy contained within, especially the electrifying lightning energy. The others reacted similarly.

"Is that the weapon you just absorbed, Shin-Woo?” Kratia asked. “No, it's not. It looks a lot stronger."

"It is a lot stronger."

"How's that possible!?"

Kratia always stuck to him and watched closely when it came to something related to magic. Lee Shin-Woo pried her off and called for the item's info. While he had planned things out while recreating the weapon and thus accepted what the end result was, he still waNted to look at the weapon’s description objectively.

[Breath of the Lightning God]

[Lv6]

[Durability: 4,300/4,300]

[Attack Power: 1,200 - 1,550]

[Element: Lightning Lv6]

[Option: Effectiveness of lightning element +50%]

[Active skill: Thunder Arrow - Summon a lightning arrow in order to attack from long range. The greater the user's lightning and the more mana is infused, the more powerful the skill becomes.]

"Ooh, Ooooh."

This was the first time he'd seen a weapon with an active skill attached! Of course, it wouldn't be difficult for Lee Shin-Woo to create and shoot lightning arrows with his mastery over the element, but it felt completely different when the skill came with the weapon!

Moreover, the skill became stronger as his lightning element grew in power, which was an advantage that was only seen in standardized skills. It might be a funny thing to say, but it did feel like he’d finally attained an item that befitted a fantasy protagonist.

"I want to test it out, but... I probably shouldn't right now."

Lee Shin-Woo smacked his lips after he'd securely fastened his summoned sword to his waist.

Because he'd infiltrated the city on arrival and had so much to do afterward, he hadn't been able to rest properly. He had struggled to fight the general head-on even with Kratia casting a debuff at the last minute.

Even brushing past the general’s sword was enough to send his arms flying and crush his ribs, and it was a pain to regenerate it all. It has been a really good learning opportunity; a general isn't a general for nothing...

"Ah."

"What's wrong, Shin-Woo?"

"...I forgot I said I'd look after those guys."

He had completely forgotten about the Chimeras and finally remembered after rejoicing over the loot. When he looked back, the Chimeras Avengers were still lying on the ground exactly like before.

"They weren't dead?" Kratia asked, tilting her head.

"Don't kill off my subordinates as you please," Lee Shin-Woo shot back with a wry smile.

He walked over to the Chimera who looked to be in the worst condition... The Lv7 Chimera Avenger. He had thought the Chimera would be disgruntled since Lee Shin-Woo had forgotten about him until now, but there was nothing but cheerfulness on his face.

[Were we able to...do our duty?]

"Yeah. Because of you, I was able to kill one of the Emperor's agents."

[Very...good. Your strength and your intellect... I've decided that you are good enough to command us as our lord. So...]

The Chimera Avengers then spoke in unison rather than alone.

[Please give us a name.]

It was a frightening sight. They had turned to face him while their bodies remained unmoving on the ground.

"Alright, I'll give you one," Lee Shin-Woo nodded seriously and said in a calm voice. "Your name is Chi Paul."

[Chi Paul...! Henceforth, I will serve you as Chi Paul! We’ll serve you until the day we kill the Emperor—no, even beyond that!]

Lee Shin-Woo didn’t let even a hint of his true feelings show as he nodded, firmly accepting Chi Paul's pledge.

Chi Paul was deeply touched by his new name, but Lee Shin-Woo couldn't tell him that ‘Chi’ was just short for ‘Chimera’.