- Kwaaaaang!

This was the greatest impact he'd experienced since being dropped into the Empire. The thunderous explosion, the shock, and above all, the tremendous pressure that spread through his entire body. Unable to resist the great force, Lee Shin-Woo rolled raggedly onto the ground. It hurt, and then the pain became stronger. The moment his arm exploded and came apart from his body, he felt pain that exceeded the limits of his perception. Although he had simply activated his skill to attack the Ghoul, it felt as if there were now dozens of holes perforating his body.

[Low Rank Self-Destruct is now Lv2. Magic has increased by 1. The force of the explosion increases.]

Fortunately, the attack had been effective, and everything above the Ghoul’s neck had vanished completely.

[Gu... aaah...]

Well, the Ghoul wasn’t dead yet. It was still alive even after losing its head. It made Lee Shin-Woo’s hackles rise to see the decapitated, seriously injured Ghoul fumbling around and flailing its remaining arm in search of him. From its exposed, half-torn throat came a truly grotesque groan.

"Hoo..."

"Heup!"

Lee Shin-Woo composed himself despite his horror and raised his weapon. However, the Skeleton Horse then charged out of nowhere and struck the Ghoul with lightning speed, stomping on the headless body with its powerful front legs. The impressive display of might reminded Lee Shin-Woo of Thor’s lightning hammer!

[Gu...]

The Ghoul was pinned in place and wriggled futilely without a chance to spread its Acid Poison. Eventually, it stopped moving, marking the end of the battle.

[You have commanded individuals of different species and successfully defeated a monster a higher level than you. All stats have increased by 2. Beginner Command is now Lv7.]

[This is a word uttered by those who have been saved rather than those doing the deed. You have acquired the Savior's karma token with great success. Strength and magic have increased by 4. You have acquired the active skill, Sacrifice Lv1.]

[You have superbly succeeded in executing your revenge. Beginner Avenger is now Lv4. When you meet the one who defeated you again, all abilities increase by 30%.]

Was it because the Ghoul had persistently hung on until the very end? Even after the message announcing their victory had popped up, Lee Shin-Woo still had trouble believing it, and remained rooted to the spot blankly. However, he did recover shortly after. When the Ghoul turned into mana and disappeared, leaving behind loots in its place, reality hit him. None of them had died, and amazingly, they had defeated the monster.

"...We won."

"It's all because of you."

"Well, we’ve won without paying a great price only because you’ve appeared at the right moment."

The Undead Hero and the Skeleton Horse Hero exchanged compliments. Truthfully, neither of them had the energy to stand. However, the ground was now completely covered in Acid Poison from the earlier battle, so they pushed themselves to stay upright.

"T-Thank you very much!"

"Oh..."

Then the last of the trio of heroes piped up. It was none other than Ye Jin-Jin, who was still in tattered clothing. Lee Shin-Woo had saved her, but he hadn’t expected her to bow to an undead and thank him earnestly. Only the extremely pure would react this way. It caught Lee Shin-Woo completely off guard.

"I never knew that there were good undead in the Empire as well! I-I was about to die... Thank you very much for helping me!"

"Hm?" The Skeleton Horse tilted its head in question and turned to Lee Shin-Woo. "You weren't the one who was in danger? The quest told me that a hero was in trouble, and when I got here, you were fighting that Ghoul..."

"No, I also received a quest and came to save her."

"Huh?” asked Ye Jin-Jin. “You came to save... me? Wait, just a second. A hero...?"

The three-way misunderstanding clashed like a car crash. Lee Shin-Woo was able to figure out the situation shortly, but the Skeleton Horse and Ye Jin-Jin were obviously still confused. Would they be able to catch up on what’s happening? With a sigh, Lee Shin-Woo said, “Let’s talk it out one thing at a time. Ah, before that, please put on some clothes.”

"Clothes...? Ggyaahk!"

[Quest complete!]

[You have acquired 50,000 Perium.]

[Strength has increased by 5, Agility by 10, Endurance by 3, and Magic by 7.]

[You have acquired 3 permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop, the Intermediate Ice Resistance skill book, and five Lv3 equipment reinforcement permits.]

Now that’s a quest reward. Lee Shin-Woo had acquired 50,000 Perium and a total of 25 stat points! He had been hoping for a skill book, and was disappointed that it turned out to be one for Ice Resistance. However, when he stopped to consider what he had gained, the rewards for the quest were astoundingly amazing.

"You’re both heroes… That’s unbelievable! The goddess has granted you your wish by turning you into undead?"

While Lee Shin-Woo checked the rewards, Ye Jin-Jin had returned freshly changed and was now looking between Lee Shin-Woo and the Skeleton Horse with disbelief. Noticing her shock, the Skeleton Horse said bitterly, "I’m not sure you’d understand me, but I don’t know what she has done to me. I don’t know what has happened to my brain…"

The horse spoke of the goddess like she had bestowed upon him something terrible rather than a miracle or some supernatural powers, and Lee Shin-Woo nodded in agreement. He knew he had been greedy, of course, but he hadn’t expected the goddess to turn him into a skeleton without warning. If transforming into a skeleton hadn’t come with a supernatural calm, it would’ve been difficult for him to bear the reality as well.

"It may be difficult to believe, but… trust me when I say that he and I are both your allies."

"I trust you. It’s clear that it’d be difficult for you two to save me in time had you not been heroes. It's just..." After a moment of hesitance, Ye Jin-Jin added, "It seems really difficult for you."

"..."

There was no doubt about that, but the meaning differs depending on how it's said. Lee Shin-Woo was momentarily speechless when he heard Ye Jin-Jin's simple, honest, and careful words. He felt guilty, albeit slightly, that he had only come to her rescue for the reward. The fact that he was having these feelings made him happy.

"You're a good kid."

"Not really… But what good does it do me? Strength is everything in the Empire."

"Your level is the same as mine."

"That only makes me feel more ashamed."

They had already finished their introductions, and Lee Shin-Woo's lie that he was level 4 had been exposed, but it didn’t really matter anymore since it'd been revealed that he was an undead. Honestly, it didn't really matter if the other heroes figured it out, either, but Lee Shin-Woo didn’t think his seniors would accept the truth easily if they hadn’t learned of the information in a situation like Ye Jin-Jin’s. That was why he had been omitting that part about himself.

"I'm level 4,” said the Skeleton Horse. “But I'm weaker than you. So it's alright."

"Jin, that's..."

"You mentioned being level 4 since becoming a Skeleton Horse, right?" asked Lee Shin-Woo.

"Yeah."

The Skeleton Horse introduced himself as Jin. He had obviously been a human rather than a horse in his homeworld; a sprinter, to be exact. When the goddess asked him what he desired, he had answered, 'I want to keep running, faster than anyone else.'

No matter how he thought about it, the goddess’s action befitted a mad woman more than a deity. To grant Jin the seemingly simple request, she had turned him into an undead, and a horse at that!

Lee Shin-Woo could accept and even understand why the goddess would turn him into an undead, but what she had done to Jin made him want to ask the goddess, 'Do you really want the heroes to fight the Empire?'

"So you’ve been running ever since? Without completing a single quest?"

"Yeah. I don't know how long it's been since I was dropped into this world, but I never get exhausted, hungry, thirsty, or even tired, and I didn't know what to do, nor did I want to fight monsters... I just ran. I didn't even know about the chatroom, or the fact that there were other heroes in this world until I received the quest."

Anyone would be stunned if they got turned into a Skeleton Horse the day after they made a wish. Lee Shin-Woo simply found it unnerving that Jin had been reliving his stress by running nonstop. He might not know much about Jin, but now he knew for sure that Jin must have improved his sprint-related skills significantly since arriving here. That explained his tremendous speed and remarkably efficient acceleration, as well as the force he was able to generate by charging.

On the other hand, the fact that he hadn’t fought a monster face-to-face before explained why Jin had been such a sloppy fighter... Lee Shin-Woo, who had felt some pride in being the one amongst the heroes with the most unusual history, meekly passed over the crown to Jin.

"That's why I think you're really amazing. You said you've only been here for 3 weeks? I don't know how you’ve become such an experienced warrior in such a short time..."

"He's right. The way you wielded your sword and the shots you made..."

It was undeniable that Lee Shin-Woo had played a crucial role in defeating the Acid Ghoul, but... he turned away as the two heroes looked at him as if his face were made of gold. His gaze landed on the loot on the ground. Following his gaze, Ye Jin-Jin smiled faintly and took a step back.

"Ah, the loot... I'll sit this out since you guys saved me..."

"Please take what you deserve based on your contribution with your javelins. You have to be the one that receives the karma that you've sown."

"...Have you really only been here for three weeks?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing; Lee Shin-Woo seemed to know much more about the true nature of this world than she did. Lee Shin-Woo’s statement turned out to be accurate. They had defeated only one monster, but the loot had been portioned for all three of them; what they would get was already determined.

[23,510 Perium]

[Acid Ghoul's Thumbnail]

[Lv4 Acid Skull Helm]

He received only 30% of the total Perium dropped, but he got two items. Acquiring the Acid Ghoul’s Thumbnail told him that nails were indeed considered bones in this world—which was something skeletons didn’t have and didn’t need—but there were more important things to focus on at the moment.

[Acid Skull Helm Lv4]

[Durability: 1,500/1,500]

[Defense: 250 - 310]

[Options: Magic + 10, Effectiveness of Acid Type Skills + 10%]

"A helmet made from the Ghoul’s skull; this is really valuable..."

"It's a level 4 helmet... I'm really jealous."

"Wow, it's really tough."

Lee Shin-Woo and the other two couldn’t contain their awe as they touched the sleek, pale green helmet. The helm was so beautiful that he couldn't believe it was made of bone. It started neck up and protected the entire head; there wasn't a separate visor attached, but there was a small crack that he could see through.

An undead's head is central to their life. There’s no arguing that a helmet is more important than body armor to me.

He equipped the helmet then and there. Compared to the Dire Wolf Bone Armor, which increased his endurance by 20, 10 points of magic seemed little, but the helmet would also boost his acid-type skills by 10%. Not only would it improve his Acid Resistance...

It'll probably help with the skill that I gain from the Acid Ghoul's Thumbnail, too... Yeah. I have to absorb that quickly as well.

He turned around and spoke to the black haired girl and Jin, who were conversing quietly.

"The battle's over, and you're safe now, so I'll get going."

"Ah."

Judging from her ashen face, Ye Jin-Jin clearly hadn’t expected that from him, but she nodded stiffly nonetheless. Lee Shin-Woo had learned some lessons from the battle that he had to think long and hard about. At the very least, he wished to never be negligent during battle or have to roll all over the battlefield again.

"Thank you very much for saving my life. I'll probably talk to you sometime later in the chatroom, but let's meet in person again in the future."

"Alright, as long as you don't die, we should be able to see each other again."

"See you."

The Skeleton Horse, Jin, also said his farewells to Ye Jin-Jin. Honestly, Lee Shin-Woo had somewhat been expecting that. He smiled slightly and turned around. Jin turned to a similar direction. Ye Jin-Jin then shouted at them as loud as she could.

"I'll help you next time!"

"Say that after you get stronger."

Lee Shin-Woo walked quietly until he couldn't see Ye Jin-Jin anymore. He was trying to get back to the underground tunnel he had dug up to return to the dungeon.

"So."

However, before he found the underground tunnel, Lee Shin-Woo suddenly paused and opened his nonexistent mouth.

"Shall we start talking?"

"Sounds good."

Jin, who had been quietly following behind, replied in a beautiful voice that didn't match his appearance at all.

"I’ve been waiting."