[Lee Shin-Woo]

[Dark Skeleton Avenger][Treasure Hunter]

[Lv - 3 (Stats effectiveness 125%)][Strength - 113 + 10 Agility - 108 + 10 Endurance - 127 + 10 Magic - 130 + 10 (While dungeon bonuses are applied)]

[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv4, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv5, Low Rank Magic Affinity Lv3, Low Rank Stealth Lv3, Beginner Command Lv5]

[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv4, Low Rank Combat Sprint Lv5, Low Rank Shriek of the Dead Lv1, Low Rank Regeneration Lv1, Beginner Catapult Lv9, Low Rank Flames of Revenge Lv1, Beginner Power Slash Lv7, Low Rank Harden Lv1, Low Rank Self-Destruct Lv1]

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

"Wow, it increased even more!?"

When he went up from level 1 to 2, his stats' effectiveness had increased by 10%. That was amazing enough, but reaching level 3 had granted him another boost of 15%, pushing his total stats effectiveness to 125%! No wonder the Great Slime had seemed way too strong for him even though his body felt overflowing with power!

Levels really are everything in this world.

He had acquired a lot of skills and grown a lot stronger up to this point, but his stats were the foundation necessary for him to properly unleash the power of his skills. Now he understood his seniors’ obsession with leveling up. He couldn’t imagine how powerful they must be at level 6. Even so, they didn’t dare challenge the deep darkness that lay within the Empire!

If we exclude the temporary bonus granted by the dungeon, my total stats are 478. It’s impossible to reach the number simply by getting better equipment... Ah, as I leveled up, my combat related skills improved as well, which in turn pushed my stats even higher, I see.

As a result, Bursting Thunder, Catapult, Power Slash, and even the Command skill he hadn't had an opportunity to properly use had leveled up at the same time, and both his level 9 Shriek of the Dead and Regeneration became low rank skills. Lee Shin-Woo knew how drastically the skills changed when they went from beginner to low rank, so he was really excited when he checked the information of the ranked up skills.

[Low Rank Shriek of the Dead Lv1 (Active)]

[Causes the enemy to lose their mind and puts them in a state of frenzy. Additionally, they are afflicted with 'Fear' for the caster.]

[Low Rank Regeneration Lv1 (Active)]

[Damage is healed through magic. Regeneration speed and effectiveness increases.]

Regeneration was now faster and more effective, while Shriek of the Dead could inflict an additional status of ‘Fear’ to the targets. Lee Shin-Woo was excited about how these upgrades would change the battlefield. There was something else that excited him even more, though, and that was the two skills he had gained. While most skills started at the beginner level, these two new skills started at low rank!

[Low Rank Harden Lv1 (Active)]

[Consumes mana in order to harden and strengthen a body part of your choosing. You can also apply the skill to your weapons or armor.]

"Oh, simple and to the point. I like it."

Harden would be great both for offense and defense. Since it was a low rank skill, it came with alternative uses. He was surprised that the skill could be used to reinforce his equipment, making it stronger and sturdier. What an all-purpose skill!

[Low Rank Self-Destruct Lv1 (Active)]

[By detonating a part or the entirety of your body, you inflict tremendous damage to your enemies. The damage increases geometrically the larger the body part you detonate.]

Self-Destruct, on the other hand, seemed extremely difficult to use. He would die on the spot if he detonated his entire body, so who the hell would want to use this skill!? It wasn’t as bad for Lee Shin-Woo since he had Invisible Heart, but even then, the skill still came with a horrific consequence.

"Moreover, even if I were to detonate a portion of my body, the resulting explosion would hit me since the part I sacrificed is still attached to me... Wait.”

Realization dawned on him suddenly while he was murmuring to himself. A portion of the body… What if he removed a portion of his body before detonating it? He had just the right skill for that.

If I quickly launch my bone with Catapult... and then add Flames of Revenge to increase the accuracy and firepower...

If he somehow succeeded in combining all three skills, he would mitigate the self-damaging effect of Self-Destruct, and he would be creating a new move with maximum explosive power. It might be a little dangerous, but the idea was worth testing.

Hmm?

Lee Shin-Woo broke out of his thoughts and did a double take at his status, belatedly realizing something different. While 'Blessed by God' had been removed from his species, there were now two more resistances alongside his resistance to acid; the section had been added to his status when he acquired Low Rank Acid Resistance.

Holy - MAX, Curses - MAX... How much do I have to raise the level of my skills to get to MAX?

The two resistances were nothing new. They had merely been spelled out in text after the addition of Resistances to his status window. It was much more intuitive to show his resistance to holy power and curses this way instead of adding something vague like ‘Blessed by God’. Looking at this, he realized suddenly how much he had received from the goddess.

But what she took from me was equally large...!

The joy of reaching level 3 evaporated, Lee Shin-Woo seethed at the empty space between his legs and his bald head. Did she really have to go this far just to make herself feel better?

"Hoo, for now..."

Rather than getting fired up for some revenge he couldn’t even envision at the moment, he should be focusing on his growth! After checking the dungeon reward, he would go to the secret shop and get stronger.

"...Huh?"

Lee Shin-Woo managed to suppress his rage and pacify himself, then he closed his status and checked the area where the Great Slime had died again; he soon realized that something was off.

"There's no dungeon reward."

He had already cleared several dungeons. There wasn't a single time where he didn’t receive a dungeon reward after defeating the boss monster. Aside from what the boss itself would drop, there would always be a small wooden box. However, there wasn’t one here. What did that mean? The conclusion was simple.

Perhaps... Perhaps the Great Slime wasn't the dungeon boss?

Pieces of evidence fell into place one by one in his head to back up his hypothesis. He had thought something wasn’t right when he first entered the room! Now, the reason became clear to him.

Normally, the boss room would shut itself as soon as the challenger entered, but the Great Slime had closed the gate on its own, which was odd. Moreover, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t received a message telling him that he had cleared the dungeon when he took down the Great Slime. There was no doubt about it now. He hadn't cleared this dungeon yet.

"Ha, an elite level 3 monster showed up in a level 1 dungeon, and yet it wasn't the main boss?"

Seriously? What the hell? Although he had already received plenty of rewards from the Great Slime, Lee Shin-Woo couldn’t help but feel frustrated, like he hadn’t received what should be given to him for his efforts. Then a thought came to him.

There definitely wasn't any other path, though...

While using the Slimes to train, Lee Shin-Woo had explored the entire dungeon and killed every Slime he encountered to get the most bang for his buck. He had gone through all the blocked paths, and found out that the passageways all merged into one. If this wasn’t the end of the dungeon, though, where could it be, and how should he reach it?

- Tak, Tadak

At that moment, a piece of rock fell from the wall. Since the Great Slime had bounced around ramming into walls and ceiling, it would surprise no one for the entire sewer system to collapse. However, Lee Shin-Woo was dumbfounded when he shifted his gaze to the wall across the clearing, opposite to the entrance.

"This crazy..."

There was a hole on the wall, likely left after the Great Slime slammed into it. That's right. A see-through hole. There was definitely a room on the other side. The pitch black darkness and the magic within sent a shiver down Lee Shin-Woo’s spine. The magic was much greater than the amount he had felt from the room he was currently in! He was right. The dungeon continued on!

"... Shall we?"

Lee Shin-Woo checked the side of the wall that had endured the Great Slime’s abuse and took a deep breath. How could he turn back when he had made it this far? He had to find out what was beyond this wall to be satisfied.

And just in time, I've come up with a great combo.

Lee Shin-Woo stepped away from the wall he was targeting and put a considerable distance between them. After that, he raised a finger and aimed for the largest crack in the wall. With Flames of Revenge, which could now be applied to his own body after leveling up, he ignited his index finger... Then he quickly launched it with Catapult.

- Kwang!

Catapult was amazing on its own. His index finger shot deep into the wall like a bullet until it couldn’t be seen anymore, which made the wall cracked even further. The flames would surge and melt the wall if he did nothing, and his magic would be depleted. So instead…

"Self-Destruct!"

Lee Shin-Woo focused as much as he could on his index finger and activated the skill. He had been concerned that it wouldn't work from far away, or he would end up blowing himself up since he hadn’t familiarized himself with the skill, but... his concerns turned out to be unfounded. His experiment had succeeded!

- Kwaaang!

Self-Destruct's effect was quite amazing. Although he had used only a finger bone, the resulting explosion was destructively powerful. His index finger exploded in tandem with the flames, and the magnificent, thunderous boom dealt immense damage to the wall. It seemed to hold for a brief moment, but soon crumbled under the tremendous impact, revealing the room within for all to see.

[Level 1 dungeon - You have found a secret path in the Dirtied Sewers. The dungeon information has been updated. Magic has increased by 1.]

[Level 2 elite dungeon - You have acquired a permit for the Secret Sewers. All stats increase by 5 while in the dungeon. The dungeon information is added to your minimap. All of your actions are buffed within the dungeon.]

"A level 2... elite dungeon."

He had learned about elite dungeons just a little while ago from listening to his seniors. There was a high chance to encounter a powerful and named elite monster. The dungeon reward was great, but it would be much harder to clear compared to normal dungeons.

"Hoo..."

There was an extraordinary mana radiating from beyond the opening, so it was clear to Lee Shin-Woo that it wasn't a normal dungeon. However... he stopped himself from thoughtlessly walking in under the influence of the concentrated magic. He had first defeated a level 3 elite monster before discovering the entrance, and spotting it hadn’t been an easy task. If he took it lightly, he might get into some trouble.

Still, I have to go inside.

He wanted to prepare as much as possible before going inside. As for what he needed to do… Well, what better way to prepare than a visit to the Goddess’s Secret Shop?