[You have acquired 2 permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop. You have acquired 10,000 Perium. Proficiency in combat-related skills has increased. You now have access to private chat.]

Clearing a city of undead would grant heroes a reward personally bestowed by the goddess. Lee Shin-Woo had received all manner of rewards before, but getting access to private chat was a surprise. Of course, it was questionable how much he would use it in the future.

If a hero performed exceptionally in the task known as 'purification', they may be awarded a Hero’s token; however, Lee Shin-Woo had already obtained the Joker’s karma, so he couldn't obtain another Hero’s token. No, perhaps he would still fail to get one even without the Joker’s karma given the way he had wickedly purified the city of undead.

[You have gathered more than 10 permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop. You may exchange 10 permits to Goddess Secret Shop for 1 permit to Goddess’s Garden.]

There was an additional message he hadn’t received before. Lee Shin-Woo stared vacantly at the text for some time before silently opening the chatroom. This was something he should find out more about before doing anything.

[Mr. Lee Shin-Woo has entered.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: I'm glad you're safe!]

[Lee Shin-Woo: I'm glad you're safe as well. Seniors, have any of you gone to Goddess’s Garden before?]

[Prince Altania: You crazy bastard. How the hell did you collect ten permits to Goddess’s Secret Shop?]

[Ye Jin-Jin: You shouldn't talk like that! That makes it sound like Mr. Shin-Woo is crazy!]

[Lloyd H.K.: He is crazy. How did you collect ten of them already?]

As expected, his seniors seemed to know about it. If it was something they hadn't heard about before, they would've pestered him like crazy, and it would've been a real pain in the ass. It was a relief that that wasn't the case. He quickly asked them a question.

[Lee Shin-Woo: I got lucky. What do I do with the permit?]

[Yasunori Akira: A small blessing. That's what you’ll get. Even I haven't gotten a permit to the Goddess’s Garden before.]

[Ethan Cruz: Goddess’s Garden is a kind of temple. Although it's a bit pricey to get in, the goddess will personally bestow upon you her divine grace, which is well worth the cost.]

[Lloyd H.K.: We've heard about it from Ethan[1], but we've never actually gone there before. Since we need to keep visiting the Secret Shop, we are never able to collect the permits.]

[Erian Ruparte: Lee Shin-Woo, I'm envious of your talent and passion. I knew you were out of the ordinary ever since you rescued Jin-Jin, but...]

[Lee Shin-Woo: It was all thanks to her. You see, I received a lot of permits for the Secret Shop after saving her.]

[Prince Altania: Ah, maybe I should also get my hands dirty from time to time. At this rate, I'm afraid I'll fall behind a newbie. That would be such a disgrace.]

He wanted to say, 'You might've already fallen behind Kratia’, but Lee Shin-Woo managed to stop himself. And his seniors continued to impart their advice.

[Seira Von Retadane: We have to periodically go to the Secret Shop since we can't just fill our inventories with food. Lee Shin-Woo, you're probably well aware of this, but you cannot afford to be too greedy. Please enter Goddess’s Garden only after you have enough permits to spare, or after you have acquired a quest that's easy to complete.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: Thank you, senior. I'll keep that in mind.]

[Prince Altania: As I thought, Seira's been to Goddess’s Garden before. It's solid advice.]

[Seira Von Retadane: Please call me Retadane.]

In any case, Lee Shin-Woo didn't need to eat, so it would only be beneficial for him to visit the garden. He thanked and said goodbye to his seniors, who always gave him good advice. He was about to leave the chatroom, but then...

[Ethan Cruz: I have high expectations of you, Lee Shin-Woo. Perhaps we'll meet soon.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: I'll work hard.]

[Lloyd H.K.: For Ethan to say something like that...]

[Prince Altania: Senior, you can't say stuff like that. I'm close to level 7, you know? Once I reach level 7, I'll go through all the dungeons I know of, and get to level 8 in a flash! Ah, Lloyd, I’ll give you a hand if you ask sincerely.]

[Ethan Cruz: Prince, you're extremely talented as well. I didn't say it since it seemed so obvious, you rascal.]

Lee Shin-Woo stepped away from the exchange of well-wishes between seniors and juniors and left the chatroom. But unexpectedly, two messages appear simultaneously afterwards.

[Mr. Ethan Cruz is requesting a private chat.]

[Ms. Ye Jin-Jin is requesting a private chat.]

Was it because he'd unlocked the new function? Lee Shin-Woo accepted Ethan's request first. In no time, he heard Ethan's voice.

[It wasn't lip service, Lee Shin-Woo. You'll become a big shot in no time.]

"Um... thank you."

[It's important to know how much you're worth. I hope I didn't judge you wrong. It's nice to be humble, but remember that you can't afford to underestimate yourself. Be aware of how special you are and proceed steadily.]

Why was this guy saying such burdensome things? He should've just stonewalled him like Arema Steelworker had done with the lesser Golems, but Ethan eventually went on to the main topic.

[I’m at a pretty high level now, so I don't really need to visit them, but there are a few dungeons that only I know about.]

"Pardon me...?"

Even an idiot would understand what Ethan Cruz was saying. However, that made Lee Shin-Woo all the more suspicious of him.

"Did you want to tell me about those dungeons...?"

[Exactly.]

Obviously, the higher the dungeon’s level, the more difficult it was to find. These dungeons were hidden in more unusual places and trick adventurers. That was why heroes went crazy whenever they found a dungeon. However, the man knew a few and was going to tell only Lee Shin-Woo?

"There are other heroes. Are you really okay with telling me alone?"

[Ah, Lee Shin-Woo. I just told you, didn't I? You'd become big… Unlike useless bums like the Prince.]

"...I see."

[I'm glad you're quick on the uptake. Now then, I'll activate the minimap sharing function.]

Sharing the minimap. This feature would share one's location with another person. Apparently, it was the feature that would be unlocked following private chat, so Ethan Cruz found it strange that Lee Shin-Woo hadn't unlocked it yet.

"It feels like the image has been stuck into my head."

[You know the general direction you need to go, right?]

"Yes, thank you."

It felt similar to opening the world map in a game, allowing one to mark and move toward a destination. Like the navigation system for a car, to put it simply. If Lee Shin-Woo closed his eyes, an arrow would appear in his mind, pointing him to the direction he should go.

All of the dungeons Ethan had told him about were located in the same area. They were quite far off, but if he used the train, he could get there quickly. Even without using the train, Jin could take him there in three weeks; if he just walked, however, it would take him a year.

[I hope you grow quickly. One cannot invade the capital alone.]

"Thank you...very much. I hope I'll be able to stand alongside you one day."

[Superb.]

That ended their private chat. Immediately after, Lee Shin-Woo dropped his act and wondered what the hell this piece of shit was planning.

"Are there heroes who kill other heroes to grow...?” Lee Shin-Woo muttered to himself. “Why would the goddess sit by and let that happen?"

"What are you talking about?"

"There's an asshole among the seniors who's trying to lead me somewhere. It’s 100% a trap."

He knew since he was a swindler as well. Ethan Cruz was 100% a son of a bitch. But compared to Lee Shin-Woo, Ethan was quite sloppy.

For example, all of the dungeons he'd marked for Lee Shin-Woo were in the same direction. A prominent figure like Ethan Cruz... No, a hero who has been at this for a long time wouldn't have just stayed in one place like that. Why would all the dungeons be in the same place then? It was clearly a trick to get Lee Shin-Woo there.

"Couldn't he have found a ton of dungeons that weren't fit for his level after leveling up a lot and moving to another area? It's not good to be so distrustful of other people, Shin-Woo."

"No, my 's.o.b. radar' is going crazy right now. I had found it strange that I was branded a rising star or whatever right after introducing myself in the chatroom."

"But you are a rising star... Even from my point of view, you're so talented that it's strange."

"You know pretty much everything about me, but the other heroes don't."

Ethan Cruz's objective was clear, but Lee Shin-Woo didn't know what his motive was. What good was it to kill another hero? Wouldn’t he get a penalty from the goddess as a result? Then why…?

Mm... I guess I could just meet with the goddess and ask her myself.

As soon as Lee Shin-Woo relaxed his guard, he got another private chat request. Of course, it came from Ye Jin-Jin. The moment he accepted it, he heard a girl's energetic voice.

[Ye Jin-Jin: I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you! But I have something that I really need to tell you.]

"Sorry, I got another private chat request and had to put you on hold."

[Ye Jin-Jin: Who!? Was it Ms. Retadane? It shouldn't be Erian[2]...]

"Ethan Cruz."

[Ye Jin-Jin: That senior...!? Ah, right. I’ll get to the point. I recently unlocked a new function. I'm here right now.]

"Here...?"

He waited, knowing that she must have unlocked the sharing function, and as he expected, the function was promptly activated. He could've refused, of course, but he didn't; funnily enough, she was in the complete opposite direction to the locations Ethan Cruz had marked for him.

[Ye Jin-Jin: I'll work hard to catch up to your level, so let's fight together as a party later!]

"Yeah, sure..."

[Ye Jin-Jin: Then I'll get going now! I'll get back to hunting!]

Lee Shin-Woo listened to the cheerful Ye Jin-Jin until the very end and couldn't help but suddenly recall what his seniors had told him. Take it easy on the romance. There was no smoke without fire. Perhaps... Nah.

There’s no way.

Only an insane person or someone who wanted to become a skeleton would have a thing for him. Well, the two were one and the same when you thought about it.

Lee Shin-Woo interpreted Ye Jin-Jin's behavior as driven by trust, or perhaps respect. There was nothing wrong for her to have those feelings for him, a skeleton.

"Shin-Woo! What the hell did you do!?"

Then Kratia came flying and landed in front of them. Behind her, the Pauls were diligently collecting bones. Lee Shin-Woo marveled at the fact that they did it without him ordering them to. These guys were truly starting to show promise!

"I just used a skill. It doesn't work on allies, so don't worry."

"If you’d let me see that... No, wait a sec."

Kratia was soon greeted with a sight that was much more surprising than the aftermath of Shriek of the Dead. Three Iron Golems were standing around Lee Shin-Woo like his bodyguards. With her magical abilities, it was easy for her to figure out what kind of relationship Lee Shin-Woo had established with the Golems.

"You, this... Perhaps...?"

"Yep."

"Let's increase the duration of our contract!"

As soon as Lee Shin-Woo nodded and confirmed her suspicion, Kratia's eyes sparkled like stars. It was the most captivating and lively expression he'd seen on her since meeting her. However, Lee Shin-Woo’s rejection came sharply and firmly, like a slap to the face.

"Don't want to."

"Ugh...!"

Lee Shin-Woo had already achieved his objective and didn't really need her around any longer. Meanwhile, Kratia had just witnessed Lee Shin-Woo create yet another miracle and didn’t want to part with him now. In the end, Lee Shin-Woo agreed to prolong their contract by three more days.

In exchange, all of the undead bones she collected would go to him... They forged another alliance.

1. T/N: He never actually uses Ethan's first name to address him, but using 'senior' here wouldn't work.

2. T/N: Uses the Korean term "unni" to describe Erian here. Women use this term to refer to women older than them that they're close to or their real sisters. In this case, it's the former.