[All the power of your equipment is absorbed into your body. Strength has increased by 90, Endurance by 62, and Magic by 45. Agility has dropped by 5. Through Bone Armory, all equipment has been recorded.]

[You have acquired the suitable karma for becoming a Joker. Unfortunately, because you are still too weak, you have been placed in a trial period, and you must sort through your abilities from here on out. You have become a Lv4 Dark Skeleton Joker Apprentice.]

[You can acquire the inherent skills from all other karma and improve them more quickly. However, you can only level these skills up to the intermediate rank. Currently, the only inherent skills you possess are Low Rank Avenger and Low Rank Flames of Revenge. While Sacrifice is an inherent ability of another karma, it is exempt as an extra skill.]

[Lee Shin-Woo]

[Dark Skeleton Joker Apprentice]

[He Who Conquers the Impossible; 2 other titles]

[Lv - 4 (Status effectiveness 145%)]

[Strength - 291 Agility - 218 Endurance - 279 Magic - 428]

[Passive Skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv7, Low Rank Avenger Lv2, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv8, Low Rank Mana Bone Lv8, Low Rank Stealth Lv6, Low Rank Command Lv1, Low Rank Horseback Riding Lv7, Intermediate Combat Senses Lv1]

[Active Skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv5, Rule of Bone Lv3, Bone Armory Lv1, Low Rank Shriek of the Dead Lv5, Low Rank Regeneration Lv3, Low Rank Flames of Revenge Lv2, Beginner Power Slash Lv9, Sacrifice Lv1, Intermediate Acid Poison Spray Lv2]

[Resistances - Holy: MAX, Curses: MAX, Acid: Low Rank Lv8, Ice: Intermediate Lv1]

Following the waves of cascading changes, Lee Shin-Woo stood rooted to the spot.

Was he having trouble adapting to the sudden dramatic growth? Or was he dejected that his precious treasures were all absorbed through Bone Reinforcement? Or perhaps he was still reeling from finding out an unexpected weakness of the Joker karma? He had thought he was going to become a complete Joker, yet his ascension came with a caveat; maybe that was what had been bothering him.

Of course, that wasn't all.

This feels strange... I remember all about the absorbed equipment to a T.

His memory of the recently absorbed equipment was so clear that it felt like he could draw those items perfectly if he wanted. It was said that it was important to possess a deep understanding of one's weapon, but he had a feeling that he could not only handle those weapons, but also recreate them.

He had an idea why. His skills had gone through the most change during his level-up, and among his skills, Bone Armory stood out! Lee Shin-Woo wasted no time to call up its description.

[Bone Armory Lv1 (Active)]

[As a result of extracting the Weapon Trickster's memories and experiences, who freely transformed weapons and cajoled the battlefield, a skill has formed solely for your use. You can record all information on equipment made of bones, and you can summon them by using mana.]

[Your abilities are still lacking, so you can only summon the equipment in their recorded state. You can at most manifest and maintain two pieces of equipment simultaneously. Maintaining the equipment does not cost any mana.]

[Recorded Equipment:

Lv3 Dire Wolf Bone Armor (Defense 110 - 125)

Lv3 Grizzly Bone Leg (Defense 105 - 115)

Lv4 Acid Skull Helmet (Defense 250 - 310) - Effectiveness of Acid Type Skills +10%

Lv4 Lightning Tooth (Attack Power 450 - 480) - Lightning Lv4, Power of Bursting Thunder Skill +20%

Lv4 Melting Bone Double Axe (Attack Power 480 - 760) - Acid Lv3, Effectiveness of Acid Type Skills + 20%

Lv5 Drake Bone Lance (Attack Power 1,000 - 1,200) - Effectiveness of Charge-Related Skills +40%]

[Equipment summoned through Bone Armory cannot be targeted by Bone Reinforcement.]

"As I thought...!"

Lee Shin-Woo was relieved that his equipment wasn't lost forever, but he also knew that this skill wasn't perfect.

He was facing two problems right now. First, it was impossible to reinforce the recorded equipment any further. Second, because the level of the skill was low, he could only summon two pieces of equipment at a time. Considering that he'd need a weapon in combat, he would be left with only one piece of armor.

"But it's a lot better than completely losing them, so should I just let it go..."

He had felt the urge to hang himself when he saw the Lightning Tooth and the Drake Horn Lance absorbed, so he was grateful that he would be able to wield them again. Moreover, he had absorbed all of their stat bonuses.

As he leveled up the skill, he would probably be able to summon and maintain more equipment. Lee Shin-Woo decided to see the development in a positive light. When he thought about it, he wouldn't need to worry about repairing damaged equipment from now on, which was definitely a plus.

"...Wait a sec," muttered Lee Shin-Woo.

"Shin-Woo? Are you alright, Shin-Woo?"

Jin approached him and asked in concern. Lee Shin-Woo had been muttering to himself since the level up process began. However, Lee Shin-Woo's mind was only focused on one thing, so he didn't even hear Jin.

Isn't the equipment summoned through Bone Armory made of bones as well? And they're bones that I've created. If that's the case… Will Rule of Bone apply to them as well?

Lee Shin-Woo immediately put his hypothesis to test. The weapon he summoned was naturally the one he was most familiar with, the Lightning Tooth!

"Oh, those weren't absorbed?" asked Jin.

"Fortunately, no."

The summoned Lightning Tooth was no different from the one he had possessed. Aside from the stat bonuses, everything else was exactly the same.

However, there were a lot of retained experiences within the Lightning Tooth. Perhaps that was the reason why it took tremendous mana to manifest it. Lee Shin-Woo would need to figure out just how long he could maintain the weapon.[1]

...Well then.

Lee Shin-Woo concentrated on the Lightning Tooth in his hand. Although it wasn't made of his own bones, it was definitely composed of bones created by his mana. Wouldn’t this weapon be considered a part of his body then?

Rule of Bone shouldn't be limited to bones physically attached to my body. If it's a weapon formed by my mana, it should definitely... Bingo.

His speculation was right. The Lightning Tooth escaped his fingertips and began flying all on its own. Its movement was a little unstable, but that would change once he leveled up Rule of Bone; as he adjusted his use of the skill, the slight tremor subsided.

"Have you gained telekinesis!?" Jin asked in astonishment.

"For bones? Yeah, maybe."

Lee Shin-Woo grunted while sending the Lightning Tooth higher into the air. In no time, the sword was hovering and spinning around according to his will; it was truly a menacing sight.

Simply moving it around doesn't cost much mana.

Now that he knew Rule of Bone could be applied to weapons conjured with Bone Armory, Lee Shin-Woo called Lightning Tooth back to him before reinforcing it with the same skill. Again, it didn't consume much mana, and the result of reinforcement was...

"Ooh."

The Lightning Tooth radiated a bright blue light, shining even more brilliantly than before; he could even see sparks crackling along the blade.

Unlike Harden, which only improved the weapon’s hardness, Rule of Bone reinforced every aspect of the weapon. As a result, its lightning power had been enhanced as well!

"...It's perfect," Lee Shin-Woo muttered in awe as he witnessed the combining effect of Rule of Bone and the Bone Armory. This was only the beginning. How much more versatile would the skills become as he improved them? They would become skills befitting the Trickster karma!

"Hah!" Lee Shin-Woo grunted as he launched the Lightning Tooth forward with his internalized understanding of how Catapult worked. Even though Rule of Bone was still at a low level, the sword was launched at a speed no lesser than what Catapult would be capable of!

"Whoa!"

- Kwang!

The longsword flew straight into the hill, never once straying from its intended trajectory. There was a rumble as the impact ended up destroying a portion of the hill; the blade ended up burrowed into the rock so deeply that he couldn't even see its hilt.

Jin suddenly shuddered. "You... You're going to detonate it, aren't you?"

"Yep. I'm doing it."

"If another monstrous bastard hears it and comes running, you're on your own."

"Right."

Since he’d acquired Rule of Bone from his encounter with the Treasure Eater, wouldn’t it be beneficial to him to kill another one? Thinking idly, Lee Shin-Woo activated Rule of Bone once more.

"Synapse, burst!"[2]

"Synapse?"

-Kwaaaaaang!

The sword erupted in a tremendous explosion, much more horrific than when he had detonated his arm. The difference was stark considering one of the hills had been completely destroyed. All the sparks flying out of the collapsed hill made for an impressive display.

"Ugh, the mana consumption's huge...!"

But he had figured out exactly how much mana it took. He had only blown up one longsword, but his mana was almost completely exhausted! Considering its destructive force was greater than Self-Destruct, though, it was still a useful skill to have.

"Hey, couldn't you have one-shotted that caterpillar with that...?" Jin asked.

"Yeah, but if I miss, I would've died immediately after."

Lee Shin-Woo sat down and focused as much as he could on absorbing the mana in his proximity. As Jin said, there was always the possibility that a monster would come dashing over after hearing the explosion, so he needed to replenish his mana in case a battle broke out.

"I can feel mana rushing into you!" Jin exclaimed, astonished once more.

"Well, my Mana Affinity has improved as I leveled up."

That was only natural. His stats effectiveness had increased by another 20% as he reached level 4, which included his Magic. Moreover, with Rule of Bone amplifying his Mana Bone, his mana recovery rate had increased to 1.5 times his original rate. As a result, the flow of the mana entering his body could be felt like a physical wind.

"You've just become level 4, but the amount you’ve grown..."

Lee Shin-Woo had completely destroyed a hill with one skill and could swiftly replenish the mana he’d used. Jin was dumbfounded that Lee Shin-Woo was able to do what he had done as a hero at the same level as him.

The more you level up, the more effective your stats are. The buff is probably even higher at level 5 or level 6. If even I have become as strong as I am, then my seniors, the other undead, and especially the named undead are...

But at the same time, Lee Shin-Woo recognized with certainty that levels were no longer the absolute standard in this world. If they had been, Lee Shin-Woo would never have been able to defeat the level 5 Treasure Hunter even with Jin’s support.

With his concentration pushed to its limit, both Lee Shin-Woo and Jin had exceeded themselves and ended up defeating the Treasure Eater, albeit with great difficulty. What were the factors that made that possible? His concentration? His will? No, it wasn't anything abstract.

It's how one uses their stats... Stats that aren’t being properly utilized are as good as rotten bones. Skills are the means by which you can push your stats to their limits and even overcome those limits; and ultimately, the countless skills have to be used at the right moment. That’s what Combat Sense enables me to do...

Lee Shin-Woo realized belatedly that he had fully replenished his mana while he was immersed in such deep thoughts. He broke from his reverie and opened his eyes.

"Hey, you now have goblin fire for eyes, too," Jin piped up suddenly.

"Really!?"

Lee Shin-Woo hastily touched his face, but of course, he felt nothing but bones. However, he did sense heat coming from his eye sockets. I’ve never wanted a mirror more desperately than I do now, he thought as he asked Jin, "What about the color? Are they blue like yours?"

"They're a deep red."

"Damn."

Lee Shin-Woo would frown if it were physically possible for him to do so. He was happy that he had evolved and got flames as his eyes, but if he passed by another undead while looking visibly different, it would be difficult to use Acting!

"Well, it will be difficult to use Acting even if they only think of me as a strange undead. Fine, I need to plan properly..."

"The way you think scares me sometimes..." Jin grumbled.

Lee Shin-Woo didn’t deem that a response. "But let's go to the Secret Shop first. Normally, I’d go to the Secret Shop and buy the most expensive bone I can whenever I level up. That's a ritual of mine."

"Ah, the shop?"

Jin had never gone to the Secret Shop since he had never actively done anything in this world. He didn't seem to be regretful at all about the fact, and just shrugged as he looked at Lee Shin-Woo.

"I don't even have any money," said Jin.

"That's a bit strange, actually. There should be a share for you from the monsters that I defeated. Why haven’t you gained any Perium?"

That had been the case when they defeated the Acid Ghoul with Ye Jin-Jin as well. Jin hadn’t acquired any Perium at the time, either, while Ye Jin-Jin had gotten her share. There was definitely some sort of secret involved.

The answer came to Lee Shin-Woo the next moment, when he was about to enter the Secret Shop!

[There exists an entity who is contracted to you. You can enter the Secret Shop together.]

"Hmm?"

The contract. It was referring to Jin. Lee Shin-Woo figured out their situation immediately. He met Jin’s eyes and said, "We can go together. Do you want to?"

"Huh? Well... If we can go together, I might as well look around."

Jin would feel uneasy on his own. It was better to go with Lee Shin-Woo even if he didn't do anything there. Jin nodded his assent, and Lee Shin-Woo used one of the permits right away. Their surroundings instantaneously melted and were replaced by a sight unfamiliar to Jin.

"Guten Tag!"

It was an extremely simple square room with a counter on one side. From beyond that counter, a red-haired beauty gazed at and greeted them in German for a reason they weren’t privy to.

"Why did you come again so soon... Oh my."

Pleine possessed the ability to ascertain one's skill at a glance. Even without the ability, however, it would be easy for anyone to see that Lee Shin-Woo had leveled up.

The power radiating from his body was different. Above all, his eye sockets now blazed with red flames. She would have to be blind to not notice.

"I thought it would take you quite a long time to go from level 3 to level 4, yet you've surprised me once again. You're even half way to level 5."

In the process of leveling up, Lee Shin-Woo had attained several karmas in addition to improving his skills. More importantly, he had absorbed all the equipment he had gathered thus far, which pushed his stats over 1,200 in total.

A total of 1,600 stat points were required to reach level 5; Pleine was right that Lee Shin-Woo was already halfway there.

"How frightening,” Lee Shin-Woo said. “You were just looking at my stats, weren’t you?"

"I would never. In order to give you better aid, I simply received information on you whenever you visit. I cannot ascertain your ever-changing stats. You would also be able to size up someone as I’ve done with more experience, Dear Customer… Hmm?"

It took quite a while for Pleine to realize that another customer was there since Lee Shin-Woo's transformation was so shocking. When Pleine shifted her attention to him, Jin awkwardly bowed, surprised by how beautiful she was.

"Hello."

"Oh... my..."

Pleine gaped at the Skeleton Horse standing nonchalantly beside Lee Shin-Woo, but she quickly caught herself and nodded.

"You’ve established a contract with another hero, and the hero is…” Pleine turned to address Jin. “Dear Customer, you haven't been to the Secret Shop before, have you?"

"I haven’t," Jin replied.

Pleine smiled deeply, which unnerved Jin and sent a chill down his spine. Noticing his discomfort, Lee Shin-Woo spoke up for him.

"Are you saying that the contract causes our respective karmas to influence the other?"

"Right on. You not only share the Perium that your enemies drop, but you can also visit me together, as well as transferring your karma to each other to some degree when using items you've acquired from the shop. It’ll get even easier if you deepen your bond; the deeper the connection, the more effectively you can use each other's karma."

"That’s a lot,” Lee Shin-Woo muttered. “And yet I have no idea how that contract was formed..."

"Me neither..."

"Pfft."

Pleine ended up bursting into laughter seeing the two skeleton heroes tilt their heads at her. It was a rare spectacle even to someone running the Secret Shop.

She laughed for quite a while even with the two heroes staring sullenly at her. With great difficulty, she calmed herself enough to explain, "There are a few types of bonds that closely tie two people together in this world. Among them, a contract is the deepest and most sacred. One would need to possess a skill that would connect them to their companion, and mutual consent is necessary. You have a rough idea now, don’t you?"

"Aha."

Lee Shin-Woo had speculated as much, and he turned out to be right. Recalling what Bone Reinforcement could do, he nodded in understanding.

Bone Reinforcement was simply an ability to reinforce himself to him, but the moment he used the skill on someone else, a connection was formed, which manifested as a contract between him and Jin.

"Is there any chance that there'll be harmful side effects to the other party of the contract...?"

"This should be somewhat obvious to you. Since you’ve established a contract out of concern for one another, there aren't any negative side effects. However, the fact that the other party will be saddled with all of your karma must not be taken lightly."

Lee Shin-Woo and Jin seemed to have formed a successful contract; they had agreed beforehand that they would work together, which made this contract possible. Moreover, they had opened up to each other since they were both skeletons...

Now Lee Shin-Woo was absolutely sure that it had been Bone Reinforcement that created the contract between them. Listening to what Pleine had to say, he resolved to not carelessly establish a contract when using Bone Reinforcement on someone else in the future.

"In any case, I have a rough idea of what's going on and how you were able to grow this quickly, Mr. Lee Shin-Woo. For that..."

"Do you want me to tell you my story again?"

“No.” Unexpectedly, Pleine shook her head with a firm look on her face. "I am curious, but the timing isn’t ideal. And it seems to be a story that’s worth more than a 20,000 Perium discount, so...we’ll leave that to the next time. Let's trade for now, shall we?"

Pleine was looking straight at Jin as she spoke, not Lee Shin-Woo.

Under her scrutiny, Jin simply tilted his head.

1. E/N: As a lack of mana will affect him manifesting other weapons.

2. T/N: I assume this is a reference to what Rikka Takanashi says in the anime Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions.