Two more weeks passed. Lee Shin-Woo and Jin started from the southern outskirts, and after searching through the city in the area, they took the train back to the east. Once they were done going through the region as well, they hopped on the train again and left for the Empire's northern border.

They had been slowly clearing the outer edges of the Empire, something that no other hero could have even attempted. They might as well do it since they had procured a means of transportation. It was a task too large-scale to attempt ‘just because they could’, though. It was an understatement to describe what they were doing as such.

"Ah, there's a hidden facility here, too,” said Lee Shin-Woo. “No one has gone through it."

Of course, most of the areas had been cleared by the other heroes, and in some places, it seemed as though all Golems had vanished without a trace. Their exploration was therefore fruitless at times, but there was a place that was always left untouched, which was none other than the city’s underground sewers.

"I hope this dungeon is less dirty than the last one..." Jin grumbled.

"Give up. Let's enter."

"Damn it!"

Lee Shin-Woo was now fully aware that the other heroes had left the underground sewers alone because they were ‘dirty’, which was the greatest folly in his opinion; it wasn't even that difficult to wash off the filth. But in any case, the two of them were profiting from their aversion to filth, so Lee Shin-Woo didn’t dwell on it too much.

Lee Shin-Woo had planned to either create another Bone Original Core or procure a high-ranking administrator’s authority, but his pursuit ended up being more fruitful than he had expected...

[The number of undead who have been reborn as named monsters due to the name you gave them has surpassed 100. Acting on a whim with no consideration of consequences is the mark of a true Joker. All stats have increased by 5. You have satisfied a part of the conditions to obtain the Joker's innate skill.]

He ended up reviving the failed subjects of the Anti-Skull Project as elite skeletons. Since the experiments were performed without the Emperor's knowledge, there was almost a 100% chance that a hidden facility would exist within the outskirt cities' sewers!

[Even if we find General Seagald, we probably wouldn't be able to help very much.]

[We'd rather follow you, Captain. We'll help our Captain!]

"No. I have something else to take care of. Think about what you’re capable of and do it. Paul 107!"

[Ah... As expected of our Captain. You’re right. We have to find our own path...!]

There was a common trait shared amongst the skeletons that had been awakened as named elites by Lee Shin-Woo; no matter what he said, they would interpret it as something profound and be moved.

[We'll one day repay Captain, the one who awakened us!]

[We may have undying bodies, but let's make it to the end together, Captain!]

"Yeah, yeah. You should stay undead as well."

The skeletons developed loyalty to him all on their own and promised to meet with him again, yet Lee Shin-Woo had been responding with nothing but a lukewarm gaze.

Honestly, level 3 elite monsters didn't really matter to him anymore. He'd said this time and time again; awakening them was merely something he did on the way to killing Golems.

"Ah, if you meet other Pauls, make sure to travel together."

[I understand, Captain!]

And that was his parting words to them. They were sacrificed in the same experiment, were likewise reborn as elite undead, and were at a similar level; that was why Lee Shin-Woo told them to band up. However, the Pauls earnestly responded to his request before leaving the sewers. Jin watched them from behind and asked Lee Shin-Woo, "Do you have some sort of special skill that turns the undead into elite monsters?"

"Nope. I simply make them feel as though they had an important mission while they were still alive, and they awaken on their own."

"..."

Despite him achieving the feat of changing people's fates, Lee Shin-Woo was still as nonchalant as ever; Jin was speechless. Lee Shin-Woo had only given him a rough explanation of how his Joker karma worked.

"No rewards here, either... Well, it is the outskirts after all. Let's clear this place and go somewhere with a danger level of 2."

"A danger level of 2..."

Their seniors had already explored many parts of the Empire, and they divided the Empire from the outskirts to its heart into five danger levels.

The first place they stepped into upon their arrival at the Empire had a danger level of 0, where many undead animals inhabited the messy natural environment, while the small towns scattered about had a danger level of 1.

Currently, Lee Shin-Woo and Jin had been clearing out areas with a danger level of 0 to 1. Using pizza as an analogy, they had essentially been eating the crust first.

The natural environment is getting a bit less unruly. The commercial cities had a danger level of 2, and we’re more likely to encounter the Empire's elite troops there. Heroes usually stay in these cities when they’re around level 4 or 5... The satellite cities directly connected to these commercial cities have a danger level of 3. Apparently, that’s where most of the heroes are.

The larger cities were level 4 danger zones, and answered directly to the capital. As the center of the Empire, the capital naturally had a danger level of 5. It was difficult for even their seniors to explore level 4 areas, so there wasn't much he could glean from them.

There must be a supply line going through a level 4 city.

There had been a supply line through the capital, but in the process of escaping the capital with his subordinates, Arema Steelworker had destroyed that particular railway. If the railway had still existed without getting discovered, it would've been possible for them to infiltrate the capital via train; it was a great shame.

"Shall we look around and see if there are any other small towns nearby?" Jin asked.

"Ah... alright." Lee Shin-Woo had been imagining events that had yet to come. He stopped himself short when Jin spoke up. "Yeah, there should be another way to infiltrate the capital."

Jin was stunned. "You’re planning that far ahead already!?"

The two crawled out of the sewers. They had seen another small town to the west earlier when they were looking down from the highlands. They decided to visit the town before getting on the train.

Generally, the other heroes would purify one small town and then immediately move on to the next area, so Lee Shin-Woo thought there was a chance there would still be some undead around.

"Then... Huh?"

However, Lee Shin-Woo suddenly felt a powerful trace of mana when he turned toward the west, where the small town was located. The goblin fire in his eye sockets shook.

He'd felt the mana pattern before... Racking his brain, he concluded that it was similar to Ye Jin Jin's mana.

Ah, that's right.

It was the mana of a living being. Lee Shin-Woo grinned, proud of himself for being able to discern the mana’s property. His smile dropped and hardened as he climbed onto Jin’s back.

"Let's run for now. We’ll be picking secrecy as our concept this time, yeah?"

Jin nodded. "That's a good idea."

Jin didn't like taking unnecessary risks, either. The two reached an agreement. Jin dashed straight towards the highlands, and Lee Shin-Woo activated Stealth while maintaining his connection to Jin, hiding their tracks as much as possible.

Their practice fighting together bore fruit, and they were able to achieve considerable results. However…

"What the hell? Aren't they getting closer?"

"What, really?"

The problem was that their opponent was much more talented than they could've imagined.

"Shin-Woo, what do we do? Should we give up on Stealth and just run at full speed?"

"That seems like a better idea!"

"Alright. Hold on tight!"

"Gahhhhhhh!"

Their combat abilities weren't the only thing that had improved after clearing all the Golems on the highlands and hopping from one sewer system to another. Although Jin had only absorbed three cores, the magic and martial arts techniques contained within allowed him to better utilize his agility!

Above all, he'd learned how to use magic to facilitate acceleration and stability, and as a result, managed to increase his already fraudulent moving speed. If Lee Shin-Woo broke their connection and allowed Jin to focus solely on reaching their destination, most people wouldn't even be able to see him!

"I'm going even faster!"

"Ah, shit. Damn it."

The speed made Lee Shin-Woo feel as though he would be thrown off, but somehow, their opponent was still getting closer! Although he was experiencing it himself, he couldn’t believe what was happening and cried out in despair.

One moment I can't sense them, and the next, they've gotten closer; this keeps happening over and over again. Wait a sec... Is this some sort of teleportation magic?

Lee Shin-Woo had witnessed all manners of magic since he was dropped into the Underground Empire; however, he'd never run into anyone using something often portrayed in popular culture like teleportation. Because of that, he reached the conclusion much later than he should have. There was no way someone could catch up to them by physically moving. The answer must be magic!

"Lend me the Queen's unmelting ice..."

Whoever it was had gotten closer, and Lee Shin-Woo heard the incantation for what he assumed to be an offensive spell. The clear, beautiful voice casting the spell caught him off guard. What shocked him even more was how the incantation straight-up announced its ice property.

They should be thankful that their opponent was announcing their spell use beforehand, but it was boring that they had made the attack so easy to predict!

"...And annihilate all that is unjust, bringing about an eternal snow that purifies..."

In the blink of an eye, Lee Shin-Woo and Jin had reached the heart of the highlands. However, their opponent had also gotten close enough that they could see them with the naked eye.

"Come forth!"

Lee Shin-Woo looked over his shoulder to check who they were facing. Their opponent was dressed in a robe, which covered half of their face and prevented him from getting a good look. In any case, Lee Shin-Woo was sure that it was a living person, and very likely a hero at that!

"Wall of...!"

"Tch!"

Yeah, yeah. Of course a hero would attack a skeleton riding a galloping skeleton horse, but they should give a warning before doing so! Oh, wait, I guess there’s no need for that!

"Ice!"

"Flames of Revenge!"

They had finished casting their spell! Feeling a chill surge from beneath, Lee Shin-Woo somehow managed to use Flames of Revenge in time.

It should be obvious, but it was impossible for the flames to cover the entire area. Lee Shin-Woo was content with covering only himself and Jin with the flames.

"Jin, run!" he yelled.

"I can fly![1]"

"!?"

"Ugh!"

Jin dashed through the air; it was truly a beautiful leap. They dodged the enormous ice walls that surged from the floor with such a force that it ended up hitting the Underground Empire's ceiling!

"Ice Arrow Shower!"

"How persistent!"

The ice walls tried to keep them in place, but lost much of their power due to Flames of Revenge. However, their opponent still had mana to spare, and followed up with another spell.

The activation was quick since it was a low-rank spell, but the sheer number of arrows was incredible. The air was instantly filled to the brim with ice arrows, which then aimed and shot at them!

"Shin-Woo!"

"It's okay."

If their opponent used lightning, wind, or flames, it might've been dangerous for them, but ice magic was fine!

Lee Shin-Woo held onto Jin's neck and covered themselves entirely with Flames of Revenge; at the same time, he shared his Intermediate Ice Resistance through their contract. It was an absurdly high-rank skill.

[Intermediate Ice Protection will protect your partner as well. Blocking at least 70% of the attack.]

[Intermediate Ice Resistance is now Lv2. Magic has increased by 5.]

The barrage of ice arrows fell upon them instantly... But rather than hitting them, most of the ice arrows dissipated due to his resistance, and Flames of Revenge melted the rest. Lee Shin-Woo had been confident, but still his defense ended up so perfect that he couldn’t help but praise himself.

"How can an undead possess such a high-rank magic skill...?"

It would be amazing if their opponent would just stop attacking in shock, but it wasn’t the time to bask in the satisfaction of thwarting their attacker! Before his opponent could regain their cool and start attacking again, Lee Shin-Woo decided to turn the table.

"Stop!" he exclaimed.

"What...?"

Their opponent flinched. His voice made it clear that he was a sentient being. Seizing the opportunity, Lee Shin-Woo shouted so loudly that his voice reverberated across the highlands.

"Friendly fire!"

1. T/N: This is written exactly how it sounds in English.