[Gureureureureureuk...]

[You have defeated a Lv3 Great Slime.]

[You have acquired 9,350 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Old Thorn Bone Spear (+3).]

[You have acquired a Great Slime’s Bone Core.]

"Hoo, that was easier than I thought it would be."

After roughly 10 minutes of intense battle, Lee Shin-Woo had emerged victorious in a face-to-face confrontation. He was injured in the process, of course, but it was nothing he couldn’t easily heal with Regeneration. His equipment was fine as well.

He had finished the Great Slime off with Flames of Revenge at the very end in order to extract its core, but it was already dying by then, so he could confidently say that he had killed it with only his sword.

"Now, shall we use Bone Rein... Hmm?"

[Guuuuuuuuuu!]

[Guooooooh!]

A problem arose as soon as he won the glorious victory and collected the reward. The battle had left the passageway collapsed and expanded, and two Great Slimes rushed in all at once!

[Lv3 Great Slime]

[Lv3 Great Slime]

"What the hell...!?"

The Lv2 elite dungeon lived up to its rank. Lee Shin-Woo wondered what would happen if three Lv3 elite monsters had appeared in the same area, but it wasn’t time for such idle musings. The Great Slimes were strong enough to break his joints if he wasn’t careful.

Two versus one... There’s no reason to push myself too hard right now.

Lee Shin-Woo quickly made a decision. As soon as the Slimes spotted him, they went into a frenzy and bounced their bodies around; Lee Shin-Woo avoided their charging attacks and ignited Flames of Revenge. An idea struck him suddenly, and Lee Shin-Woo tried creating flames with both hands. It was a success!

Naturally, it wasn’t difficult for him to hit either of the Slimes with the flames. Even if he were facing Emperor Slimes instead of Great Slimes, nothing would be able to elude Flames of Revenge’s ability to track its target!

[Guuuuuuuuuuu!]

[Guooooooooh!]

The flames he shot out were significantly larger in scale than before, which had an effect on the Slime’s reaction. Normally, there would be a delay between the Slimes getting hit and them recognizing the danger. Only after that recognition would they detonate a part of their bodies. This time, however, both of the Great Slimes went for self-destruction immediately!

"Hah!"

He made a split second decision to activate Combat Sprint and leap high into the air. Before he collided with the ceiling, he forcefully lodged his sword diagonally into the stone structure. Being a skeleton, he was light enough to hold onto the sword without it slipping out, allowing him to hang from the ceiling safely. Immediately afterwards, a great explosion occurred.

- Kwaaaaang!

"Let's see."

While attached to the ceiling, Lee Shin-Woo hardened his feet and spun his legs around like a windmill to kick the pieces of stones flying towards him away. Although he was making the movements, it felt like he was watching a movie of some sorts.

I only tried it to avoid getting hit, I can’t believe it worked...

His visual acuity had definitely improved as his agility went up. The level 2 Lee Shin-Woo wouldn’t believe what he would be capable of doing now. He was accurately reading the trajectory and speed of the flying pieces and responding accordingly! Of course, he couldn't kick all of them away, so he was hit by about 5% of the fragments, which no longer did him any harm.

"Shall we start... Hmm?"

Just when he was going to make his next move while congratulating himself for handling the explosion skillfully, he noticed something strange happening below. The Great Slimes seemed to be detonating themselves again!

Huh? Now that I think about it, the flames on their bodies aren't going out...

The Flames of Revenge were tenacious, but all the Slimes had to do was tear off the part of their bodies that was aflame. Why were they still burning? It seemed that they were unable to differentiate between friend and foe with Self Destruct. When they detonated the burning part of their bodies, they ended up spreading Flames of Revenge everywhere, hitting the other Slime within their proximity. As a result, they had shrunk in size and took damage while the scattering flames found their target again and burned anew.

...They're really dumb, aren't they?

Still hanging from the ceiling, Lee Shin-Woo idly chided the Great Slimes for their stupidity. Again, the Slimes gathered their magic and self-destructed. Lee Shin-Woo didn’t even try to move out of the way, but instead kicked the flying pieces away with more ease than the last time. It wasn’t a difficult task with his senses sharpened by Combat Sprint.

[Low Rank Combat Sprint is now Lv6. Agility has increased by 3. You can activate the skill faster, and you can maintain the skill for a longer period of time.]

As Lee Shin-Woo kicked away the incoming Great Slimes' fragments, he felt a thrilling pleasure. Had he always enjoyed fighting this much?  Perhaps it was someone else’s influence; someone whose bone he’d absorbed through Bone Reinforcement. Whether it was part of his original personality or not, he was sure that at some point, he had come to enjoy moving his body and fighting, as well as learning skills through experience, which was extremely beneficial for survival in the Underground Empire.

[Gu, Guuooooh...!]

[Guuuuuu...!]

At the end of the Slimes’ second activation of Self-Destruct, the flames actually ended up spreading further rather than going out. At that point, the Great Slimes finally realized that something was wrong. Lee Shin-Woo thought it'd be funny if they repeatedly used Self-Destruct and died, but it didn't actually go that way. The Slimes, which had focused only on Lee Shin-Woo, turned to each other for the first time. They realized that they had been hitting each other with the flames on their bodies.

[Guu...]

[Guuuuuu...!]

And they soon did something astonishing: one of the Great Slime opened up its viscous body like a mouth and swallowed the other one! Even as the flames melted their bodies, their magic cores gently came together and fused into one whilst emitting sparks; it was a truly magnificent sight.

[A Lv3 Great Slime has fused with a similar organism.]

[Lv3 Great Slime (+3)]

"!?"

There was a reinforcing mark on a monster!? Lee Shin-Woo couldn't believe his eyes. The two Great Slimes had fused into one larger Slime, and their strength doubled since they had concentrated their mana while using Self-Destruct. Then it pushed the flames to the outer portion of its body before detonating a part of its body once more, getting rid of the flames successfully.

[Guuuuuuuu!]

While it was fusing, Lee Shin-Woo had dislodged his sword from the ceiling and dropped down; he activated Stealth and was already hiding within the darkness, keeping his eyes fixed on the now fused and strengthened Great Slime.

Perhaps the Great Slimes had been created as a result of low-level Slimes fusing together again and again over a long period of time.

If that was the case, then he could understand why this dungeon, which was supposed to be level 1, had become a level 2 elite dungeon. Lee Shin-Woo had unintentionally discovered this, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

[Guuu... Guuu?]

Meanwhile, the Great Slime (+3) was thoroughly searching the passageway, perplexed by Lee Shin-Woo’s sudden disappearance. Matching its movement, Lee Shin-Woo stayed out of its sight to prevent it from spotting him.The Slime's senses were so dull that it wouldn't notice him unless he made a loud noise, or if there was a huge rush of mana.

[Guuuuuu...!]

It soon turned around and gave up on finding Lee Shin-Woo. However, it didn't just revert back to its original habits. Realizing that there was an enemy in the silent sewers, it had become more aggressive after fusing. In other words, it was focused on getting stronger in preparation for the next time they met.

This is getting interesting...

Lee Shin-Woo slowly crawled through the dark passageway and felt conflicted as he watched the back of the Slime. He knew killing it now would be the safest option. However, he wanted to see if it would somehow 'fuse' with all the Slimes inhabiting this dungeon... or fuse with just the Great Slimes... He wanted to see the result.

It might even become a level 4 elite monster like the Acid Ghoul.

The Slime might never be able to rival the Acid Ghoul, but in any case, it would become an even more formidable enemy if Lee Shin-Woo left it be. The risk of him dying would then increase accordingly, but… Lee Shin-Woo couldn’t suppress his urge to see the making of a monster like that.

It'd obviously be dangerous, but the reward should reflect that level of danger as well.

Lee Shin-Woo already knew the rewards from a level 4 elite monster would be far better than those dropped by a level 3 monster! It wasn't just about the loot. In the process of fighting an enemy of a higher level, everything he did would return to him as strong karma. That was what had happened when he fought the Acid Ghoul along with the other heroes!

The rewards one would get for fighting alone would differ from when they fought with others. In this world, levels serve as the absolute measure of strength. By overcoming the difference in levels, he would gain karma that went beyond his imagination, which would in turn push him to grow beyond the norm. So much so that he would be able to rival his seniors and any of the undead infesting the Empire for that matter!

Other heroes would have been shocked if they could hear his thoughts. They might ask if he was keeping spare lives with him. Honestly, he just couldn’t help it. After all, he did have extra lives to risk; several dozen lives, in fact!

[You have acquired a target for Beginner Avenger. When you encounter your target again, all abilities will increase by 30%.]

The message popped up when the Great Slime disappeared past the clearing. Everything was set; Lee Shin-Woo would defeat the evolved Slime later. He felt satisfied that he had gotten this skill from his own actions and the resulting karma rather than from anyone else's bones.

As for the Trickster’s karma...

The accidental gain of the Savior’s karma left him with only one more token to go. Once he’d collected the token needed, the karma he would acquire… He could make a pretty good guess about its nature.

"For now... Bone Reinforcement."

[The entire body is reinforced. You have acquired 3 magic. Proficiency in Low Rank Self-Destruct has increased by 10%. Absorbing a portion of the target's memories and experiences.]

[Guoooooooooooooh! - Great Slime]

Tch, since I've risen to level 3, the amount of stats it gives me has decreased...

Lee Shin-Woo concluded that it was a good decision to let the Great Slime go. After nodding to himself, he proceeded through the dim passageway of the sewers, all the while keeping his Low Rank Stealth running.