This was Lee Shin-Woo’s first time using Bone Reinforcement on someone else, so he was actually quite anxious even though he had used the skill without hesitation. Sure enough, messages instantly popped up and crowded his sight.

[Reinforcing Hero—Jin Taylor's shoulder bone. Determining the target's suitability. Check successful. Establishing a contractual relationship with the target through mutual agreement. Contract successful. Skill activating normally.]

[By consuming a Lv2 Big Zombie's kneecap bone, Jin Taylor's bones are reinforced. Jin Taylor is absorbing a portion of the target's experiences and memories. You also share a portion of the experiences and memories and are absorbing them.]

[I'll become one of the twelve generals someday. My mum said that if I eat like this every day, I'll become a general. - Nameless Soldier]

"Ugh...!?"

"It's not that bad. Just relax and take it all in."

The moment Lee Shin-Woo activated the skill, Jin jumped and started quivering; Lee Shin-Woo calmed him down and checked each and every message that appeared.

Determining suitability, huh... As expected, it wasn't a skill I could use on just anyone. I can probably only use it on undead, and amongst the undead, only the ones that are made entirely of bones. But what's this contract about?

Perhaps the faint string of mana that connected him and Jin the moment he activated the skill was the contract between them. He didn't feel any negative energy from it, so it should be fine as long as he was conscious of it in the future.

He didn't know if it was because of the contract, but despite the skill being used on Jin, Lee Shin-Woo was able to absorb a portion of the zombie's memories and experiences.

Of course, it was much less compared to if he had used it on himself, but... He realized then that he would still gain something, even if he used Bone Reinforcement on other people.

Then there's no reason to hesitate about using the skill on Jin.

Lee Shin-Woo had digested the zombie’s memories the instant they were engraved in his brain. He shifted his gaze to Jin. As expected, the small blue goblin fires that blazed within his eye sockets were shaking violently.

"This is... No, wait, ugh...!"

"You asked me how I got so skilled in such a short amount of time, didn't you? This is my answer."

Jin’s mouth opened and closed. He was just about to say something when Lee Shin-Woo interrupted with a trace of self-deprecation in his tone.

"My talent, experiences, and everything is due to this skill."

"You, this... you sure are..."

Perhaps it had been especially hard for Jin because it was his first time experiencing the effect of Bone Reinforcement, and because he couldn’t escape it, Jin tottered around as if he were drunk.

Lee Shin-Woo patiently waited until he calmed down and could stand up straight. It took five minutes for Jin to finally sigh softly and look up, spitting on the ground like he had chewed on something foul.

"...It was horrific."

"Not a great experience?"

It was only natural for Jin to be confused after getting such vivid memories forcefully burned into his brain. But Lee Shin-Woo still wanted to tease him for having such a violent reaction. As expected, Jin shuddered when he heard Lee Shin-Woo’s question.

"Ugh... I feel sick. How many times have you experienced this exactly?"

"Do you remember each and every piece of food you've ever eaten?"

"You're crazy! ...But now I understand how you got so strong."

For Jin, taking in another person's experiences and memories felt similar to having his brain injected with a foreign substance. Knowing it would benefit him didn’t make it any easier.

However, if he backed down here and now, Lee Shin-Woo would stop helping him. Perhaps this was the real test... That was what Jin thought, at least.

"I'm telling you. You'll get used to it soon enough. Let's move on to the next one, okay?"

"Ugh... O-One sec."

Lee Shin-Woo had no intention to test Jin. He’d simply disregarded Jin’s whines as him making a big fuss over nothing and went on to choose the next piece of bone. Lee Shin-Woo wasn’t sadistic or anything; he truly believed there was no way the experience would torment Jin so much.

"If you get past about ten of them, you’ll start getting dizzy, but if you focus and hold onto your consciousness, the only thing that'll hurt is your head, and it won't be too much of a problem. You just have to take in what you need from the memories and make it yours. It's simple, right?"

"...Can't we at least go a bit slower?" Jin asked.

"Fine."

Jin finally resolved himself. In order for him to become stronger, and to catch up with Lee Shin-Woo by even a little, he had no choice but to accept and endure the torture!

Now I’m certain. I can get stronger by working with Lee Shin-Woo...! I can't just stay where I am like a weakling any longer!

Lee Shin-Woo had thought Jin would be disappointed by his ability, but it was actually the opposite. To Jin, Lee Shin-Woo was someone with an overwhelming willpower and strength, someone who would fight regardless of the body he was inhabiting with whatever means necessary.

That iron will was what Jin was seeking, so it wouldn’t do for him to give up because of a small obstacle!

[By consuming a Lv2 Skeleton Warrior's arm bone, Jin Taylor’s bones are being reinforced.]

[By consuming a Lv3 Ghoul Fighter's shinbone...]

...

...

[By consuming a Lv3 Metal Bone Snake's rib bone, Jin Taylor’s bones are being reinforced. Jin Taylor is absorbing a portion of the target's experiences and memories. You also share a portion of its experiences and memories and are absorbing them. Endurance has increased by 1.]

There were 513 bones in total in the bag, and among them, close to 450 were level 2 bones; the rest were level 3 bones. Lee Shin-Woo spent about five hours to allow Jin to absorb all of them, but the fact that Lee Shin-Woo himself had gained 10 stat points at half effectiveness made it clear just how many bones there were.

"Ugh, I feel like I'll vomit..."

After absorbing all the memories and experiences from different beings, Jin laid down on his back and dry heaved.

With Lee Shin-Woo being the pioneer of this specific field and Jin learning the way to maintain consciousness from Lee Shin-Woo, he was able to overcome the confusions. Even so, if someone asked Jin if it was easy, his answer would be a vehement ‘no’.

"It's alright,” Lee Shin-Woo consoled him dryly. “Since we have nothing to barf out anyway."

"You demon! I told you to do it slowly!"

"If I had absorbed these myself, I could've done it in 30 minutes."

"..."

Jin meekly closed his mouth and suppressed his nausea before quietly standing up. It was kind of funny that he was still wavering slightly. Lee Shin-Woo snorted and asked, "So how was it? Do you feel a bit more 'experienced' now?"

"Although it definitely feels like a lot has changed, I can’t really put my finger on it at the moment. I have a feeling I’ll have to figure that out in a real fight... Moreover, I’m still dizzy after receiving way too many peoples' memories all at once. Give me some time to organize it all."

Lee Shin-Woo nodded. Bone Reinforcement was merely a tool. After the absorption, they would have to consolidate the memories into skills through experience on their own.

To gauge their progress, it was better to check something concrete and self-evident for now: the stats.

"How much have your stats increased?"

"Strength by 7, Agility by 13, Endurance by 8, and Magic by 5… They've definitely gone up by a lot."

"To me, the most shocking thing is the fact that your agility, which was already over 800, went up by 13."

It might've been obvious, but the higher the level and the higher the stats, the more difficult it would be to increase one's stats. Despite that, the stat that saw the most growth for Jin was his agility...

"You said that a total of 1,600 stat points are needed to become level 5, right? I have a total of 1,400 stats right now, so... If we do this a few more times, I should get to level 5, right?"

"It's not that simple. There’s a diminishing return if you absorb a monster’s bone you’ve absorbed before. I told you to come back after filling the bag because by my estimation, Bone Reinforcement would remain effective with roughly these many bones."

"Ugh..."

Jin could only nod in response. The more the reinforcement was repeated, the less effective it was, and in the end, the bones would grant him almost no stat points at all.

"Then what you're saying is...?"

"Yeah. We have to defeat monsters befitting our level. Monsters that are at a higher level would work best if possible."

"But the higher-level bones are tougher to absorb because the memories contained within are also denser!"

"Isn't that better?"

"No way,” Jin said through gritted teeth before muttering under his breath, “If I don't do something about this guy...!"

Lee Shin-Woo snickered. "For the time being, I want to focus on my own reinforcement. Will that be okay with you? Because I think it'll be better if our levels match."

"Yeah. Then I won’t be dealing with the skill for now."

"Good work."

"...T-Then..."

Is he shaking off his dizziness? Lee Shin-Woo wondered.

Jin turned to his side carefully and spoke to Lee Shin-Woo, “Can you get on me on your own?"

"Yeah, I think I can."

It should be obvious that Lee Shin-Woo had never really ridden on horseback when he lived in Korea. The one time he did was during a trip to Jeju Island in high school, and he had help at the time. He distinctly remembered seeing the horse his friend was riding on galloping and pooping in front of him...

"It's a relief that you're undead."

"You wanna go?"

Fortunately, Lee Shin-Woo had the memories of countless soldiers and knight aspirants from the former Empire. Those memories hadn't become a skill yet, but if he rode...

"Hm, as expected. I think it’ll work."

"Ugh..."

After he had somehow gotten onto Jin’s back, Lee Shin-Woo successfully maintained his balance even without a saddle. His dormant experiences were taking shape and aiding him. Sure enough, he immediately got a message that he'd acquired a skill!

[You have learned the passive skill, Low Rank Horseback Riding Lv1. Agility has increased by 5. You can draw out the full potential of the mount you ride. The higher the level, the higher the buffs while riding in battle.]

Though each fragment of memory wasn’t enough on its own, the combination of the countless memories and experiences accumulated in his head had manifested as a low rank skill. Moreover, he had acquired additional stats from it!

Thinking about the other skills that might be lying dormant in his head brightened Lee Shin-Woo’s mood.

"Nice, Jin. Let's go."

"...Yeah. I'm a horse. I'm just a Skeleton Horse..."

Lee Shin-Woo laughed again when he heard Jin trying to convince himself. He had thought Jin would have come to terms with his current state by now, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Lee Shin-Woo would’ve felt just as conflicted if he were in Jin’s shoes, so he could definitely understand his feelings.

"Hoo... Alright. Where should we go?" asked Jin.

"For starters, let's take a lap around this city and check if there's anything we missed."

"Okay."

Jin weakly nodded and began to move. Whoosh! Lee Shin-Woo felt his upper body thrown backward all of a sudden. Shocked, he hurriedly grabbed onto Jin tightly. The surrounding landscape rushed past him, and it felt like he was time traveling!

"Hey!?"

"You wasted time because of me, so let's quickly take a look as we go!"

"If you keep running this fast, the only thing I'll be able to look at is my previous lifeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

However, Jin didn't listen to him. Ultimately, it took Lee Shin-Woo a few hours before he was somehow able to make out the surrounding objects clearly while Jin was running, and the trip soon became a training session for his Combat Sprint and Horseback Riding.