Jin was the first to react to Lee Shin-Woo’s change of mind due to their connection.

"You're going to face it head on? You've been using Catapult all this time; can't you just keep doing that!?"

"No matter how much stronger I've gotten thanks to Avenger, there's no guarantee I'll be able to penetrate its skin. It’s made even more implausible because of the blood whips coming out of its stomach."

The blood whips were quick, powerful, and contained strong magic, so they were resistant to even magical attacks. On the other hand, the whips had been unable to withstand the powerful explosion brought about by Self-Destruct, which also dealt physical damage. He thus concluded that the whips weren’t terribly resilient against physical damage.

One thing was for certain: he could take it down right now while his abilities were buffed by Avenger!

"There's no other way. I'll make sure you can get away before losing a life, so go!"

With renewed determination, Lee Shin-Woo unsheathed his sword and gripped the hilt tightly. The sword was more appropriate when dealing with the nimble whips than a heavy axe. He wasn't yet confident in his martial arts proficiency, but he had no other choice right now.

"Things would be bad if I'm the only one who survives, though…” Jin trailed off. “Ah, whatever!"

Jin gave up on protesting and instantly changed directions to dash at the Treasure Eater. As if it had been waiting for them, the Treasure Eater sharpened its blood whips to make them as thin as skewers before lashing out in all directions!

They were weaker than the last bunch, but their number had grown at least twofold, coming at him from all sides. With Jin's astonishingly quick reactions, they were able to avoid around half of them, but Lee Shin-Woo had to deal with the rest.

If I’m gonna die, I’ll tell Jin to get out of here before I die alone. Invisible Heart will then push me to level 4, and I’ll be able to kill it… However, I’d rather stay alive if possible...!

Lee Shin-Woo glared at the Treasure Eater and gritted his teeth. Activating Combat Spirit, he dug deep into his connection with Jin.

He desperately needed Jin's speed right now. If he could apply even just a little bit of that...

[Guwooooooooooh!]

No matter how superb Combat Sprint was and how deep his connection was with the highly agile Jin, it was impossible for him to ascertain the trajectory of each and every attack the level 5 elite monster launched.

Because of that, Lee Shin-Woo decided to think in reverse. Rather than identifying the starting points of the attacks or tracking their trajectory, he focused on where the attacks would land instead and blocked accordingly!

First, I'll take care of the ones closest to me... Now!

That turned out to be an outstanding decision. With his senses pushed to their limit, he caught the whip flying towards his head; at the same time, he instinctively swung his sword and cut through the middle of the whip! The severed whip reverted back to a normal stream of blood and ended up wetting the ground without doing damage.

[Kyaaaahk!]

The Treasure Eater yelled, but that was just the beginning. Immediately after severing one whip, his sword twisted like a living being and cut through another whip even faster than before!

I can do it... I can! Now!

Having predicted every attack coming his way within the small radius, Lee Shin-Woo struck down each of the blood whip crossing the line. Lee Shin-Woo wasn't aware of it yet, but this was often called the 'Defense Zone' by the Empire's knights.

It was a skill that could only be developed by balancing one's physical senses and mana senses. While it wasn’t a skill in the traditional sense, it was something a defender must learn. The size of one’s Defense Zone corresponded to a knight’s level. Suffice to say, its importance couldn’t be overstated.

[Low Rank Combat Sprint is now Lv9. Agility has increased by 3.]

[Low Rank Bursting Thunder is now Lv8. Strength and magic have increased by 1.]

[Low Rank Horseback Riding is now Lv5. Agility has increased by 3.]

[Low Rank Mana Bone is now Lv7. Magic has increased by 5.]

[It is now possible to level up to level 4. Would you like to receive the karma accumulated for you? It is also possible to delay it for a short while.]

Leveling up his skills granted him extra stat points, which made possible the level up he had so ardently wished for. Ironically, he had ignored the messages completely since he was so focused on cutting down the whips and getting closer to the Treasure Eater.

[You have delayed receiving the karma you must receive in favor of your immediate revenge. That is a true Avenger's instinct. Beginner Avenger is now Lv10, evolving into a low rank skill. All stats have increased by 2. When you fight against the target of your revenge, all abilities will increase by 40%, and your stats increase when you succeed in your vengeance.]

Good... The range of my senses is gradually widening!

With Avenger leveling up and further improving his abilities, Lee Shin-Woo honed his senses and quickened his attacks! Maintaining the momentum, he tapped into his full strength and moved.

[Kuwaaaaaaaaaaaahk!]

The blood whips were ready to pierce through his head, but were unceremoniously cut down like straws, splattering blood everywhere. His physical senses and mana senses harmonized with his connection to Jin, causing him to fall into a trance.

Due to their connection, Jin had entered the same state as well!

Huh!?

He didn’t know how long he had been swinging his sword instinctively while riding on Jin’s back, but when he realized it, there were no longer any whips, and he had gotten right in front of the Treasure Eater.

He had successfully severed all those whips! Even though there were various see-through holes all over his armor, he had survived.

"Now, let's start the second round, Ste..."

[Kureureuaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

However, the moment Lee Shin-Woo was going to make a bold declaration, Steve roared and spat out a clot of blood, one so large that it could trap both Lee Shin-Woo and Jin.

Having witnessed the ease with which Lee Shin-Woo took care of its whips, the Treasure Eater had pretended to panic to lure Lee Shin-Woo close!

"Ugh!"

"Hmph...!"

Many things happened in that split second; firstly, Lee Shin-Woo launched his arm into the Treasure Eater’s gaping maw, which had opened as it spat out blood.

[Low Rank Catapult is now Lv5. Agility has increased by 2.]

The counterforce pushed Jin and Lee Shin-Woo backward; utilizing the recoil, Jin made a speedy retreat, perfectly executing an evasive maneuver. However, it seemed the Treasure Eater had expected them to run away, as the blood clot it had spat out followed them with an absurd speed, swelling violently like it was part of its body!

"Gah...!"

Lee Shin-Woo must pull every trick up his sleeve now. With his jaw clenched, he reached out with his other arm and used Acid Poison Spray. Following the Acid Ghoul’s example, he concentrated his mana and shot Acid Poison in a straight line!

It was his only intermediate skill; the Acid Poison shot out like a laser with power befitting a higher rank skill. There was a hair-raising noise when the acid hit the blood clot and melted it away!

"Self-Destruct!"

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaahk!]

He then detonated the arm he had catapulted into Steve’s mouth, dealing considerable damage to the Treasure Eater’s main body!

[Critical Hit!]

[Low Rank Self-Destruct is now Lv4. Strength and Magic have increased by 1. The force of the explosion increases.]

Their execution had been perfect, but their situation was far from ideal. Lee Shin-Woo had never run out of mana since he acquired Mana Bone, but after using his skills repeatedly, including the high-consumption skill Acid Poison Spray and a large-scale Self-Destruct, he had exhausted his reserve of mana.

"...Is it over?" Jin muttered.

Lee Shin-Woo’s response was blunt. "No."

Immediately after, dozens of slim blood whips broke through the poison mist and rushed towards them. The speed was remarkably greater than before!

The ferocity of the attacks made Jin falter briefly in fear. Sensing that, Lee Shin-Woo quickly disembarked from his back.

"Retreat,” Lee Shin-Woo said. “You only have two lives."

"...Wait, you can't win if you're not with me!"

"That's..."

Jin was able to sense it through their connection. Lee Shin-Woo had only been able to keep track of the whips because of Jin!

"Incoming!" Lee Shin-Woo yelled.

"Eek!"

Lee Shin-Woo urgently attempted to push Jin out of the way, but before he could do so, Jin bit his arm and skillfully pulled him onto his back. The blood whips followed immediately. Realizing that there was no time for arguments, Lee Shin-Woo hastily swung his sword.

"Ugh...!"

"They're coming again! I can take care of the front, so you go left!" Lee Shin-Woo ordered.

Their timing was a bit off, and Lee Shin-Woo’s left shoulder ended up shattered, but he severed the whip before any further damage could occur. Of course, he didn't have any time to relax! He had to swing his sword even faster to cover both himself and Jin!

[Kuaoooooooooh!]

"Ugh...!"

The connection between the two broke, and they felt their senses fiercely tighten around them, afflicting them with a terrible migraine, but it was nothing compared to the pain of losing an arm.

Lee Shin-Woo had to swing his sword more quickly and more precisely in order to better cover Jin, who had put his trust in him and was risking his life for him!

[Low Rank Horseback Riding is now Lv6. Agility has increased by 2. Your connection with your riding companion increases.]

The moment their wills aligned, a connection stronger than before was formed, linking their senses. Lee Shin-Woo's reflexes had surpassed their limits!

Even faster...

One, two, three... six, nine. Eleven. Fifteen. Twenty one! His armor was getting pierced faster than before, but Lee Shin-Woo's sword strikes were gradually catching up to the speed of the whips.

He was completely out of mana, but that in turn sharpened his mana senses further. He had become extremely sensitive to the surrounding mana, and before the Treasure Eater's whips could move, he predicted the trajectory of the whips and managed to intercept them with his sword!

[Low Rank Combat Sprint is now Lv10 and evolving. You have acquired a horse that will run for you, and have given up on moving faster yourself. Instead, you’ve trained the techniques that would expand your senses and developed them to an exceptional degree. You have acquired the passive skill, Intermediate Combat Sense Lv1. Within a limited time and space, you can effectively move and face your enemy.]

He had no way of knowing how the skill had changed right at this very moment, but he knew he had overcome a wall and advanced to the next level.

It didn’t matter even if his agility, strength, endurance, or magic were lacking. A Defense Zone was completed by perceiving stimuli, moving beforehand, and blocking the incoming attacks!

[Kuwaaaaaaaaahk!]

The Treasure Eater let out a final roar, but nothing happened. All of its blood manipulating skills required mana, which had been exhausted from its excessive uses of those skills.

The blood whips began to lose their strength and fell to the ground, revealing the Treasure Eater's wound-covered body. The injury the previous Self-Destruct had inflicted was especially pronounced. It had lost half of its head from the bottom up, its skin peeled and the rotten flesh underneath exposed.

[Kuu... Kuhaahk...!]

If it wasn't for the fact that he was a skeleton, his remaining arm probably would’ve gone numb from moving so fast for a prolonged time, making it difficult to keep swinging.

However, he was fine now. He was confident that he could swing his sword for twelve more hours. There were many reasons he didn’t want to feel thankful about being a skeleton, but nonetheless, he was still thankful at this very moment.

"Hoo..."

He pushed more strength into the hand gripping his sword. His will was relayed to Jin, and Jin stepped forward.

The Treasure Eater, which had lost all of its attack methods, mustered its remaining strength to charge. However, Jin was able to dodge it easily, especially when he had already dodged its powerful whips. The pair were strongly connected, and the instant they dodged it and ran past the whips on the ground, Lee Shin-Woo powerfully cut through the Treasure Eater’s wound and inflicted an even greater injury.

"You must be ready to give up your own when going after another’s treasure. Isn’t that right?"

[Kuuooooooh....?]

Steve, who hadn't taken a single step back thus far, made a small, pitiful sound.

That could probably be roughly translated into 'D-Do you want to call it a draw...?' or something to the effect. Of course, Lee Shin-Woo acted like he hadn't even heard it.

"Well, Steve."

Once confirming that Steve didn’t have a drop of mana left, Lee Shin-Woo switched to his double handed axe and raised it, which glowed an ominous dark green.

"Shall we see where you're hiding your treasure?"

Five minutes later, Lee Shin-Woo was covered in rotten flesh, bone powder, and blood. Then, he was greeted with a message he had been looking forward to.

[You have defeated a Lv5 Treasure Eater. You have acquired 225,000 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Lv5 Treasure Eater's tailbone.]

[You have acquired a Lv5 Drake Horn Lance. Although it's possible to transform it through Bone Reinforcement, the skill falls short at the moment, and the transformation is canceled.]