Lee Shin-Woo had never leveled up as planned, but this time, he was given the luxury of preparing for his level-up at his own pace.

His accumulated stats from both his achievements and skill evolutions amounted to 1,598 points in total; in other words, he was only 2 points away from leveling up, and there were a ton of bones here that he could use to increase his stats.

"Jin, what about you?"

"I'm at 1,574."

"Good. You should be able to level up, too."

"You want me to increase my stats by 26 all at once...!?"

Lee Shin-Woo interpreted that as Jin being overjoyed. It didn’t matter how Jin actually felt. That was how Lee Shin-Woo thought he should react.

The city was extremely vast, and the amount of knights protecting it was considerable. However, after Lee Shin-Woo, Kratia, as well as the Pauls were done with it, the city was wiped completely clean, leaving not even a single skeleton unscathed. As a result, they could easily raise their stats by more than 26 with the sheer amount of bones they had collected; they could even gain 50 points in stats if they wanted.

"Pick the bones that are level 4 or higher."

There were about 100 level 4 bones. Most of them were from knights, but there were some mages’ bones mixed in as well; Lee Shin-Woo decided to invest the mages’ bones into Jin, who was lacking in everything other than agility; he was especially weak in magic.

"And this too."

"Ugh..."

Lee Shin-Woo held out the Original Bone Core. Even after reinforcing the deteriorated Original Bone Core, he still had some cores left in his possession. They just kept accumulating, and it took no time for Lee Shin-Woo to create another Original Core. He was relieved that he didn’t have to sacrifice the Limited Order Original Bone Core despite being ready to.

Jin's been avoiding this thing.

Before Kratia joined, they had been clearing out the Golems in the outskirts of the Empire and managed to accumulate several Original Bone Cores. However, most of those went to Lee Shin-Woo. Not only was Jin afraid of absorbing them, but Lee Shin-Woo also thought that it was imperative for him to get stronger asap.

"I can't get any stats out of these Bone Cores anymore, though,” Lee Shin-Woo said to Jin. “It's better for you to absorb them. It’s more efficient that way."

"Damn it... Fine."

The same types of bones embodied a similar karma. There was also a limit to what one could gain from absorbing the skeleton bones despite the special characteristics they possessed individually. It stood to reason that Golems, which were carefully designed and produced, would suffer the same diminishing return.

Through his hard work, Lee Shin-Woo had already acquired all the stats he could from Bone Original Cores, and now it was Jin's turn. Jin seemed to realize there was no getting out of it this time and calmly accepted his fate. Since it wasn't his first time reinforcing with a core, he didn't break down.

"Urgh..."

"Tell me when you've got it," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"Ugh... I got it. I just need to raise my stats by 8 more points."

"Oh, 8 more? Okay."

Yeah, it was fortunate that Jin was headstrong. Lee Shin-Woo nodded in satisfaction and continuously used the mages’ bones on Jin. Jin flinched every time, but managed to endure quite well. He maintained his connection with Lee Shin-Woo and remembered hardships he had overcome, which helped him get through the experience.

"Hoo... Just 3 more stats."

"One more level 5 bone should be enough then."

Lee Shin-Woo examined the level 5 bones he'd collected from the battle. First were the four bones he'd gotten from the Elder Knights. There had been four of them, three of whom were killed by Lee Shin-Woo himself, and one killed by Kratia.

There were two more level 5 bones from the Skeleton Commander as well, which were its skull and rib bone respectively. Lee Shin-Woo was lucky to have gotten them through Bone Reinforcement's new effect.

"Which one should we go with?" Lee Shin-Woo asked.

"It doesn't really matter to me, so just pick one,” Jin said grimly and struggled to keep his head up. “I'm ready."

Lee Shin-Woo chuckled, picking the Skeleton Commander's rib bone for him; it was the one that would increase endurance.

"And if I'm right, it'll probably..."

"Probably what?" Jin asked.

"You'll know once you experience it firsthand. Bone Reinforcement!"

[Bone Reinforcement is being used on Jin Taylor with a Lv5 Skeleton Commander's rib bone. Endurance has increased by 1. You share a portion of its memories and experiences.]

[A defensive seal? If there comes a time when I have to use that, then my bloodline will end on that day as well. - Nameless heir]

This time, Lee Shin-Woo received 1 stat point, which left him 1 point short of leveling up. In comparison, Jin got more than 3 points from the bone, and suddenly, a dreary black light burst from his body; it was the outburst of mana accompanying a level-up.

"Ugh...!"

Is it because of the contract? I feel a bit strange, too.

It felt as though Jin's nausea was entirely shared with Lee Shin-Woo. He calmly stepped back and observed Jin's level up. Kratia also watched with interest.

"It seems much more intense than a human's level up,” commented Kratia. “Or is it because he's reaching level 5?"

"Is there something special about level 5?"

"Yeah. It's the level where your previously divided karma pieces come into one, and for the first time, your true path is decided. Level 5 is the level where you are considered a high-rank individual."

Kratia added that she had become an ice mage at level 5, and she had to stick to that path henceforth.

That reminded Lee Shin-Woo of his own experience. He had acquired the Avenger’s karma first, followed by the Trickster’s karma and several other karmas. Overtime, they were gradually sorted out, and now his promotion to a true Joker was on the horizon. Kratia seemed to have a point.

"Ah, it's almost over."

The dreary black light wrapping around Jin gradually dissipated, revealing the vastly changed Skeleton Horse. The first thing Lee Shin-Woo noticed was his body; it now had a metallic sheen to it.

"That’s probably Steel Body’s doing,” Jin explained without being prompted. His blue goblin fire blazed more intensely than before. “I don't really have any other active skills. I did get something from the bones I absorbed, though. It’s a skill called Lifesaver. The moment I get hit by an attack, it creates a magical shield that nullifies a portion of the damage; I’m not exactly sure what it is."

"That must be the skill the Skeleton Commander used at the end."

"You should’ve gotten the skill instead of me, shouldn’t it? After all, you wind up in dangerous situations more often..."

"And what happened to the Skeleton Commander who used that skill?"

"..."

He died. The aforementioned skill could be a lifesaver in unforeseen situations, but it wasn't suited for a warrior who fought on the frontlines.

Since he played the role of a war horse, Jin would be better served by the skill, and it would lessen the chances of him getting hit by an unforeseen attack that would take him out of the battlefield.

"For some reason, I feel like you’re telling me to take care of myself since I’m physically weak..." Jin muttered.

"I'll tell you straight up. If you don't like it, let's train some more."

"Ugh!"

After leveling up, Jin’s stat effectiveness should've gone up as well, and his monstrous speed would’ve gotten even more absurd. To properly control his speed, he needed a skill to protect his body.

Jin didn’t say anything else. He knew Lee Shin-Woo was looking out for him. He pledged that he would try hard to make the most out of Steel Body and the new skill he just obtained.

"It’s now your turn," Lee Shin-Woo said to the Pauls.

"We've been waiting."

The Pauls had distinguished themselves in battle. Frankly, Lee Shin-Woo and Jin were only able to split up with Kratia because the Pauls had taken down the skeleton commoners and the soldiers efficiently, which were so numerous that they would've been a hassle to deal with.

That makes me want to bring them along with me...

However, he couldn't. It was the right decision to leave them be considering how much they would slow him down if they traveled together. It was imperative to reinforce them now for that reason alone if nothing else.

Truthfully, Lee Shin-Woo had considered selling the bones at the Secret Shop, profit margin be damned. However, most of the bones were from ordinary, non-elite monsters, and the selling price was always lower than the buying price, so he decided against it.

"Let's reinforce the ones close to level 4 first. I don't know how much stronger you could get, but..."

There were bones amassed in front of him. The Pauls stood side by side, as if demonstrating that they could endure whatever came their way; Lee Shin-Woo nodded and raised a bone.

He already ground the level 1 skeleton bones into bone powder, yet there were still more than 10,000 bones remaining that were level 2 and up. He then spent the time listening to the Pauls scream for a tedious three hours.

[Lv4 Doom Factor - Paul 102]

"I did it, Captain!"

"Yeah, good job."

As a result of investing all the level 2 and level 3 bones into them, more than ten Pauls had reached level 4.

Lee Shin-Woo had thought they would end up developing differently since they had absorbed different bones, but he was wrong; every skeleton that had reached level 4 became a Doom Factor. During the process, they obtained greater strength than before, and those who hadn't leveled up were envious of them.

[I want to grow too...!]

"Then you need to hunt more monsters. It seems I’ll be staying in the general area for some time, so go after strong monsters however you can and bring the bones to me. I'll reinforce you with them."

[I understand!]

[Thank you, Captain!]

Surprisingly, the Pauls departed immediately without even telling him when they'd meet again! He was pleased that they were so eager to improve themselves, but... Lee Shin-Woo shrugged. It was unlikely that they'd return in just ten days.

"Is it your turn now, Shin-Woo?" asked Kratia.

"It's gonna be dangerous,” Lee Shin-Woo warned. “Take a few steps back."

Kratia was excessively inquisitive. It felt as though she would bite off his fingers and eat them if it would help her figure out Lee Shin-Woo's magic. After Lee Shin-Woo had ordered the Golems to guard him from a greater distance, he gathered the rest of the bones in one spot, which were equal parts level 5 and level 4 bones.

He didn't think he would get a new skill, but on the bright side, he had the Skeleton Commander's skull, which would most likely improve his Command at least. He'd learned so many skills that most of them were starting to overlap.

"Hoo... Bone Reinforcement!"

[Implementing Bone Reinforcement by consuming all of the gathered bones. Strength has increased by 13, Agility by 11, Endurance by 14, and Magic by 5. Low Rank Regeneration is now Lv7. Low Rank Command is now Lv8.]

[You have reached level 5. All stats increase by 20. Your inventory has doubled.]

[You are now able to control the elements themselves. You may be an undead, but you are a pure undead unaffected by the curse; you have evolved into an Elemental Skeleton!]

[You have become the world's only Joker. No one can control your karma, and whatever you decide to become, the choice is yours and yours alone.]

The transformation wasn't as intense as he'd expected. Compared to his ascension to level 4, where all his equipment had been absorbed as his stats increased sharply all at once, it didn't feel like much of a big deal to absorb a dozen bones and level up.

Things had been much more intense when he figured out how to create a high-rank administrator’s seal after being stumped for so long... Lee Shin-Woo felt strangely disappointed, but after examining his body, he soon realized how wrong his assumption was.

"This is... It’s worlds apart."

His magic and strength condensed within his body, further enhancing the endurance and mana building up in his bones. It seemed the more Mana Bone developed, the more his endurance and magic would balance out due to its ability to contain mana.

Now that he was level 5, and his body had gone through a complete transformation, that became apparent even from the outside. His hard work starting from level 1 was reflected on his current body, and he couldn’t help but be moved.

"Ooh... You’re built completely differently now,” Kratia said. “You look like a boss monster, Shin-Woo."

"Well, you look level 6 or 7 yourself."

"You're one to talk. You know how absolute the gap between levels is."

Lee Shin-Woo snorted and took a brief deep breath.

Then he checked his stats.