[You have defeated the Lv4 King Slime and acquired the title 'Slime Hunter'! All of your abilities increase by 20% against Slime related monsters, and you have a higher chance of acquiring better loot from them.]

[You have perfectly cleared the mutated dungeon, Lv2 'Secret Sewer'. You have found all the secrets that lay in the dungeon and slew an elite monster that had become stronger after devouring the boss. You have acquired the dungeon clear reward. Endurance and magic have increased by 2.]

[You have led several subordinates into battle and defeated an enemy a higher level than you. All stats have increased by 1. Beginner Command has evolved into a Low Rank skill. When you make a command that fits the situation, the morale of your subordinates increases.]

[You have succeeded in your revenge. Beginner Avenger is now Lv7. When you meet the target of your revenge again, all abilities increase by 34%.]

A series of messages popped up as soon as he killed the King Slime. Lee Shin-Woo was slightly disappointed that he hadn't received another karma token, but the following message told of a reward that went completely beyond his expectations.

[You have achieved the karma of giving undead who had lost everything a name and triggering their rebirth. This is a karma that has long been forgotten by the world. For granting these cursed and rotten beings an unknown potential, you’ll henceforth be known as the Joker.]

[The Trickster karma has been absorbed by the Joker karma and strengthened further. Your future is unknown and impossible to predict. Countless changes may await you. No one can tell you what to do, and no one would dare block your path. Through a dramatic event, your karma has strengthened.]

[All stats have increased by 10. Acting is now Lv6. Low Rank Mana Bone is now Lv6.]

"This is..."

Lee Shin-Woo felt a strength greater than anything he had experienced so far permeate his body. Despite its similarity to the Trickster karma, the Joker karma was clearly much more powerful, which might explain what he was feeling right now.

It was telling that all of his stats had increased by 10. Aside from when he leveled up, he had never experienced such shocking stat increases. Moreover, his skills had leveled up as well!

[Captain seems to have become stronger.]

[Are you surprised? He's someone who could give us names.]

[Those flames were truly powerful.]

The seven surviving Pauls had been reborn as Elite Acid Skeletons near the end of the intense battle. Seeing Lee Shin-Woo become even stronger in the aftermath of the fight, they simply nodded and said, “As expected.”

"Ah, you guys..."

Lee Shin-Woo turned around, belatedly remembering that they were there. He couldn’t help but change the way he treated the skeletons after they had effectively given him the Joker karma.

"Have you recovered all your memories?"

[Not all of them. However, I realized who I am and what I have to do.]

[This is all because of you, Captain.]

All of them, without exception, were now a deep green. Strangely, their weapons had changed to the same color as well. Even though their levels remained the same, their bones were tougher and thicker, and their fighting spirit not to be trifled with.

[We have to find General Seagald. He definitely hasn't given up yet. He must be struggling to save this curse ridden Empire.]

[Like you, Captain. The General will welcome you with open arms.]

[Let's go together, Captain.]

He had foreseen this to some degree. Lee Shin-Woo picked up the loot and pretended to give their proposal a good thought, but truthfully, he had long made up his mind.

"I can't do that right now."

[Why…?]

"There’s something else I must do. I'll go find General Seagald later. Hopefully I’ll see you again then."

General Seagald was on his list of persons of interest, but Lee Shin-Woo was too weak to go look for the man now. He was sure he would be facing situations far beyond what he could handle right now.

Above all, there was no reason for him to limit himself to a specific path at the moment. Not only did it not fit his Joker karma, there were plenty of other things on his mind regarding the Empire, such as General Leofield.

[Is that so... Well, you have your own calling, Captain. We can't get in the way of that.]

[We trust that no matter where you are, whatever you're doing is for the Empire.]

All the Pauls nodded in agreement. Lee Shin-Woo smiled wryly.

They’ve already regained their senses and recovered their memories. It’d be great if I could bring them along as my subordinates, but I’ll then be risking getting caught for my lies sooner or later.

At the end of the day, his Acting skill still required him to improvise on the fly. At least for now. He would need to hide his human nature and his true identity from them; even then, taking this many of them with him would be impossible.

Considering that, it may be more viable for him to take care of these skeletons and use their bones, but…

Should I let them be?

His decision had nothing to do with the camaraderie he might or might not have developed with the skeletons after fighting alongside them. He was simply curious how these beings that had been created by the Joker karma would turn out.

Lee Shin-Woo had been the one to bestow upon them a different destiny. It made him restless thinking about how they were going to survive in the Empire from now on.

And honestly speaking… Even if their fate was as fickle as a sandcastle built on the beach, he wasn’t going to break it down himself.

"...Don’t get killed too soon no matter where you’re going. That’ll make my effort seem meaningless."

[Of course. We won't let the names you gave us be in vain.]

[Paul Zero... I'll never forget you.]

[Let's meet again for sure.]

Having come to terms with the fact that Lee Shin-Woo wouldn’t be convinced, the skeletons each said some parting words before turning around.

The sewer had become a mess of ruined structures and piling rubbles, leaving them with no room to even stretch their legs. With their Acid Poison, though, the skeletons were able to create a path together easily like they were erasing a line with an eraser.

Let’s see.

After the Acid Skeletons—the Pauls—had left, Lee Shin-Woo put aside his listlessness and concentrated on the task at hand. He was already forgetting the skeletons.

[You have acquired 53,080 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Lv4 King Slime’s Bone Core.]

[You have acquired a Lv3 Poison Skeleton's rib bone.]

[Would you like to reinforce yourself with Lv4 King Slime’s Bone Core and Lv3 Poison Skeleton’s rib bone?]

The loot contained mana, so Lee Shin-Woo was able to quickly find everything. The King Slime had dropped its core. In addition, he had acquired a bone from one of the Poison Skeletons that had fought the Slime before him!

Naturally, Lee Shin-Woo was pleased to find a bone left by a skeleton’s futile attempt to fight the Slime. Lee Shin-Woo put the Perium into his inventory before activating Bone Reinforcement, using up both the bone and the core at once.

[Through Bone Reinforcement, Strength has increased by 1, Agility by 1, Endurance by 6, and Magic by 9. Absorbing a portion of the target's memories and experiences.]

[Low Rank Bursting Thunder is now Lv6.]

[Low Rank Harden is now Lv2.]

[Intermediate Acid Poison Spray is now Lv2.]

"Mmm..."

Despite it being level 4, the King Slime didn't give him as much magic as he had hoped. Was it because he had already defeated several other Slimes and Great Slimes before?

Perhaps his magic stat had increased far too much that it would take much more to grow further, and therefore the stat had begun to stagnate.

Still, I'll be level 4 soon. Let's hang in there a little longer.

With the karma and stat points he received through Bone Reinforcement, his total stats amounted to 756. Another 44 points, and he would reach level 4. His hands curled into fists and tightened, realizing that he was getting stronger more and more quickly.

"...That’s good."

Finally, he surveyed his surroundings in case he’d missed something. And there it was—the dungeon reward.

"Now I remember reading a message about clearing the dungeon."

While clearing the other level 1 dungeons, the clear reward always spawned in an old wooden box. Since this was a level 2 elite dungeon, it made sense that the wooden box would be considerably sturdier and more pristine. The fact that it was a wooden box remained a constant, though.

[20,000 Perium]

[Low Rank Acid Resistance skill book]

[Lv3 Grizzly Bone Leg (+1)]

[Lv3 Melting War Axe]

Lee Shin-Woo gasped. As expected of an elite dungeon, he had been rewarded with two level 3 items in addition to Perium and an Acid Resistance skill book!

Moreover, the Grizzly Bone Leg was a lower body armor set that completely covered his thighs, knees, legs, and even his feet. Better yet, it was made of bones to begin with.

[Grizzly Bone Leg (+1) Lv3]

[Durability: 740/740]

[Defense: 105 - 115]

[Options: Increases Strength by 5, Agility by 5]

"Perfect."

He had a helmet, upper body armor, and lower body armor that also doubled as combat boots. Although it was somewhat disturbing that all of his defensive equipment was made of bone, at least people wouldn't be able to tell that he was undead at first glance.

Knocking on the Grizzly Bone Leg covering his lower body, Lee Shin-Woo smiled in satisfaction. He collected the Perium and briefly considered reading the Low Rank Acid Resistance skill book on the spot, but decided against it in the end.

Let's give this to Jin.

Jin had suffered serious injury due to his inability to endure Acid Poison when fighting the Acid Ghoul. Lee Shin-Woo decided it'd be better to give Jin the skill book rather than raise his own proficiency by a little. He put the skill book into his inventory.

All that was left now was an axe gleaming with a metallic color. It was so large that he wondered how it had fit inside the wooden box.

Even in its idle state, the axe emitted a green mist, which gradually melted away the earth under and around it; that told Lee Shin-Woo how powerful the weapon must be. However...

"It's not made of bones..."

He’d finally acquired a level 3 weapon, and yet he had no choice but to risk it downgrading by picking it up. Lee Shin-Woo sighed deeply. There was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't just leave it here, could he?

"Hmph."

[Through Bone Reinforcement, the Melting War Axe is transforming.]

With trembling hands, he reached for the axe and grabbed it. The resulting noises as it transformed into bones were so grating that it made his hackles rise.

Bubbles surged up along the blade, and the metal part of the sword changed; the newly formed mana twisted its shape. It was an extremely unpleasant process.

"Huh...?"

What was happening? Lee Shin-Woo felt his mana...or more precisely, his acid getting sucked into the axe. The weapon was glowing, gathering all the mana in the area and creating an even thicker mist.

The acid mist surrounding the weapon thickened until it was difficult to ascertain its shape, and all the mist in the periphery suddenly vanished into the axe. Then the mist and the light it emitted both dissipated; for the first time, he was able to see the now transformed double-bladed axe.

[You have acquired the Lv4 Melting Bone Double Axe.]

[Melting Bone Double Axe Lv4]

[Durability: 1,550/1,550]

[Attack Power: 480 - 760]

[Attribute: Acid Lv3]

[Options: Strength +25, Agility -5, Effectiveness of Acid Attribute Skills + 20%]

"!?"

Lee Shin-Woo couldn't believe his eyes. Now that he thought about it, though, he didn’t even have eyes, so there was no way he had misread the information.

The item had leveled up. He knew that could happen in theory, but he hadn’t expected it to happen like this!

It didn't level up just because I was lucky.

That much was clear to him since his magic had transformed into Acid Poison and gotten sucked into the weapon a little while ago.

Perhaps other powers he possessed had been activated somehow while Bone Reinforcement transformed his weapon into bones. If that was the case, wasn't this proof that the stronger he got, the stronger the weapon transformed through Bone Reinforcement would be?

What a fearsome skill…

Lee Shin-Woo clicked his teeth in joy, excited by the countless abilities that Bone Reinforcement possessed. Depending on how the karma was used, perhaps the skill would be able to change the very rules of the world!

The countless experiences and memories he acquired had allowed him to learn a variety of abilities, which in turn brought about many changes... The Joker karma was also remarkably compatible with him.

"But... Wait a second."

He now had two level 4 items. And they were both items that would enhance his acid attribute skills! When combined, the power of his acid skills would increase by as much as 30%!

Lee Shin-Woo tightly held onto the double axe and muttered in satisfaction. He could feel it. Although his power had calmed down, he could sense his ability to generate a horrific concentration of Acid Poison whenever he wanted!

"If I use this well, I could even go with the Hydra concept..."

Old habits die hard. Lee Shin-Woo still retained the habit he had gotten from the Trickster quest.