Chapter 115 – New Element (1)

[Bursting Thunder has reached Lv10 and evolved into a high rank skill! Strength and Magic have increased by 30. Your powerful lightning can now draw upon the energy of the heavens.]

[Intermediate Combat Sense is now Lv9. Agility has increased by 10. You will have a foggy idea of what your opponent will do next.]

[You have learned the active skill, Lv1 Lightning Shadow.]

He'd not only learned how to further progress as a lightning-wielding warrior, but also gained a new skill he could potentially fuse. Moreover, the experience he got was incredibly fruitful; however, Lee Shin-Woo had been staring blankly into the distance as though he had left his soul behind. Jin and Kratia quietly examined him.

"What could've happened for him to be like that?"

"I wonder. Maybe he got a lot less stats than he'd expected from the bone?"

However, Lee Shin-Woo didn't hear them at all. He couldn't forget the last thing Seagald had said.

Retadane... He definitely said Retadane.

There was no way he'd heard it wrong. Moreover, the memory was still fresh in his mind, and he could play the moment back at will.

Seagald had said 'Retadane'. Lee Shin-Woo was sure of it.

Wait... Now that I think about it, Retadane always reacted whenever I talked about Seagald.

At the time, Lee Shin-Woo had responded to her as naturally as possible, but inwardly, he had found it strange. Retadane never reacted when the other twelve generals were mentioned. That had led him to speculate that she had perhaps met Seagald before...

Is she his descendent then...? She's probably not his daughter, so granddaughter, perhaps?

Before coming to the Underground Empire, the goddess had definitely mentioned in passing that she had turned some natives in her world into heroes before summoning help from other worlds. While they had all failed, she never said they had all died.

But to think a citizen of the Empire would be recruited... And they hadn’t been affected by the curse?

It's not impossible though, is it? She might've been born in a dungeon.

So long as she operated as a hero, it made no difference to Lee Shin-Woo whether Seira Von Retadane was a citizen of the Empire, lived above ground, or was a native to this world.

He was a bit curious if the other heroes knew about it, but... Anyone would be able to figure out the truth if they knew Seagald's family name; it wasn’t even that big a secret.

I'll ask Pleine when I get the chance.

But then Lee Shin-Woo realized he didn't really need to go out of his way to ask Pleine. By defeating the Lightning Shadow General, he'd gained 10 permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop!

Defeating a general greatly contributed to the goddess’s goal of purifying the Empire, and the goddess gave those contributing heroes the chance to meet her as a reward. In that case, he would get the clearest answer from the goddess herself!

"Alright. Let’s strike the iron while it's hot," said Lee Shin-Woo.

Jin’s uneasy gaze snapped to him. "What? There's still more we have to do?"

"Nope. We're finished. It's been a while, so let's go meet the goddess. Why don't you come too, Kratia?"

For a moment, Kratia looked like she had no idea what was going on, but she ruminated over the message right away and soon nodded.

"Now that I think about it, I remember you telling me about the garden."

"You don't need to be afraid. All you need to do is badger her for an ability or an item."

"Alright… I've changed my mind a little."

Kratia still didn't like the idea of the goddess tampering with her abilities, but it would be a different story if the goddess could do something for her artifact. Kratia wanted a new ability for it. She nodded and agreed to enter the Goddess’s Garden with them.

"Shall we?"

"Do we really have to?" asked JIn.

"You never know, we might get better abilities. Plus, I have something personal I want to ask the goddess. But if you really don't want to go..."

"...No, I'll go."

Jin sighed quietly and nodded like he had resolved himself before moving to his side. Lee Shin-Woo had no idea what Jin had been thinking about, but it wasn't strange for Jin to have his own problems. He used the permit for Goddess’s Garden.

[The party is entering Goddess’s Garden with a permit.]

When he softly closed his eyes and reopened them, Lee Shin-Woo found himself transported to a beautiful garden that he'd been to once.

Perhaps because he had completely accepted himself last time, he didn't appear as a human, but as a level 6 Powered Elemental Bone Joker. Of course, Jin wasn't anywhere nearby...

[Good job!]

"Ugh."

He felt someone touch him. Lee Shin-Woo felt an aggressively warm and soft feeling enveloped his body, and the sweet aroma made him lose control momentarily. Soon, however, he was able to calm down with Invisible Heart.

The situation was quite clear. The goddess was hugging him! To think she could arouse him, an undead; she wasn't a god for nothing. She was one who went beyond the norm, a being who went against logic... Lee Shin-Woo was unnerved by her aggressive charm.

"Please get off me."

[You’ve beaten one of the twelve generals! It's been so long since that happened!]

"I said get off me."

The goddess didn’t let go due to her excitement, but Lee Shin-Woo soon pushed her away. She laughed and patted his back before putting some distance between them.

[Try to understand. My happiness has to go somewhere as well.]

"...It's a relief that you feel so happy."

To be honest, Lee Shin-Woo had questioned the goddess’s intent to purify the Empire before, but seeing her reaction, he realized that she hadn’t lied about her goal. He really couldn't figure her out. Maybe she was just psychotic.

[You probably find me confusing, huh?]

"Yes."

Lee Shin-Woo replied honestly. With a bitter smile, the goddess pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat down. Like last time, she propped her chin on her hands and spoke calmly.

[I just...you know, don't you feel happy when you get a goal despite it being a losing game? You might've gotten around twenty goals repeatedly.]

"That's really not something a goddess should say in front of a hero."

[Be happy. I'm only talking about this because it's you. Since it seems you've already realized quite a few things on your own.]

The goddess was weird. And Lee Shin-Woo, who was similarly weird, was forced into becoming her comrade. He'd thought it may not be true, but this Empire, no, this world truly had no hope!

"Nice of you to bring me to this despair-ridden world."

[That's what I thought at first, but now I think you may become this world's new hope. Ethan is already beginning to dawdle, but if it's you...]

"Please don't force all your hopes on me. I'm just doing as I please."

[So about the reward...]

The goddess ignored Lee Shin-Woo’s retort completely and looked at him with a soft gaze.

[You're not planning on getting another quest, are you?]

"Is there even anything else I can get from you?"

[There are a couple things.]

The goddess replied humbly to Lee Shin-Woo's snobbish comment. She probably knew more about his latent potential than he did, so she was unlikely to be lying.

Lee Shin-Woo briefly considered his options. Since the abilities the goddess granted weren't inherently hostile, he nodded in the end; he didn't really want another quest from her anyway.

"Well, let's hear it."

[An element.]

The conversation turned in a completely different direction. Lee Shin-Woo, who had been completely uninterested in what she was saying before, was somewhat surprised.

[Even I didn't think you would be able to use elemental power so naturally. It would normally be impossible to bestow an element onto a hero, but...it should be possible with you.]

His abilities had grown, and he was extremely talented. If the goddess was to give him a small nudge, he could awaken a powerful ability.

Lee Shin-Woo more or less understood what the goddess was saying. It didn't matter if it were fire or lightning; being given an 'opportunity' would be plenty helpful. The goddess was giving him that opportunity.

[And if you accept this, it should become much easier for you to fight Ethan.]

"Didn't you say that he was a good hero?"

[He can't compare to you at this point.]

In other words, if Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t defeated one of the twelve generals, she would just let things go with a laugh after Ethan Cruz did him in.

"... You're cruel. Seriously."

[You're one to talk.]

Lee Shin-Woo was thinking that beings exceeding the limitations of humans sure were different, but the goddess looked at him and snorted. She seemed to think he was no different than her.

[Now, focus.]

"Alright."

The time allotted to them wasn't very long. Lee Shin-Woo gently closed his eyes as the goddess released her energy. He immediately felt something enter his body, something infinitely dark and somber... It was similar to the curse that lingered in the Empire.

No, that wasn't all. It was quite similar to the curse he experienced often, but also... What was it? While Lee Shin-Woo pondered over the nature of this energy, the energy responded, and Lee Shin-Woo lost all feeling in his body.

His mana, which possessed no inherent properties, met with the energy as it released, and...assimilated it. He could feel a change. Soon, he sensed a terse response.

[You have acquired Lv1 High Rank Element - Darkness. Magic has increased by 100.]

[Curse Resistance - MAX has transformed into Darkness Resistance - MAX. Magic has increased by 20.]

[Darkness is one of the great elements that makes up half of this world. It is peaceful, the power of shadows, the opposite of light, and the power of relationships.]

[But darkness magic makes one forget if they are dead or alive, and can even force them to forget what they are. An imperfect and improper connection results in a twisted appearance... That makes people afraid of the element.]

[Due to outside stimuli, you have become aware of this power, which originated from within you, and have successfully grasped it. However, if you use too much of it, others may become afraid of you. And ultimately, those natural relationships will break down and become twisted.]

"...This is..."

Lee Shin-Woo realized why he found the power familiar. The relationships he'd created with others... His partnership with Jin, accepting the Pauls as his subordinates... And even more broadly speaking, using Command or Instigate to affect others and manipulate them. He had done all that with the darkness element!

However, if what he sensed was right, this power was...

"Didn't the curse come from this element!?"

[You're right. To be exact, it was darkness magic that was used as the foundation. Your Curse Resistance changed into Darkness Resistance, right? You probably could've brought about that change.]

The goddess acknowledged him with a nod, as if she wasn't spilling a huge secret.

[You're probably well aware of this, but while you weren't consciously aware of this power, you have been using it bit by bit. I just awakened it and made it so you could actually use it properly...]

"..."

[Your existence has become much more unbelievable. Perhaps your karma has always been heading in that direction.]

Could she not peruse his stats even as a goddess? At the very least, she didn't show any indication of knowing that he was a Joker. Perhaps this was also an effect of the Joker’s karma.

[There's a huge difference between magic users. I know that better than anyone else. So, make sure you work hard… I hope you don't become someone like the Emperor or Ethan.]

"..."

[Get going. I was so happy that I ended up giving you way too much.]

"Ah, just one second. I'd like to ask you about Retadane..."

[Even I can’t give you more information on other heroes than what is necessary.]

"She's a hero, right? She's an ally?"

Lee Shin-Woo tried to check his conclusion and the goddess simply laughed as she responded.

[Of course she is. She's a trustworthy hero, more than anyone else.]