[You have absorbed the Great King Slime's Bone Core. All stats have increased by 1. Proficiency of Rule of Bone has increased by 2%.]

"So stingy. I went through all that trouble to create a level 5 elite monster, but I only get 4 stat points in return... It'll take me several months to get to level 6 at this rate."

"Isn't that still really quick?"

Even some of their seniors, who'd arrived in the Underground Empire long before them, weren't level 6 yet, so Lee Shin-Woo’s progress was indeed already impressive enough. However, Lee Shin-Woo had the disposition of a thief and believed he should be able to continue developing at a rapid pace, so he wasn’t content with his growth rate.

"Most of my skills have gotten to the intermediate level, so I probably won't be getting much stat growth from leveling up my skills... That leaves achievements as a source of stat points."

"Don't tell me you're going to look for high-level elite monsters,” Jin said. “Just progress one step at a time like you've been doing."

"Tch."

Hearing Jin's astute observation, Lee Shin-Woo clicked his nonexistent tongue and examined the treasure chest. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything noteworthy within.

"A Low-Rank Swordsmanship skill book? It seems like there really are people who don't have skills at this level when they clear this dungeon. There's a pair of useless level 2 Iron Boots... At least this is a little better."

A level 3 Tempered Steel Shield. The material turned to bone as soon as Lee Shin-Woo took it and was immediately absorbed; it felt as though he had satisfied some sort of condition at that moment, and his skill leveled up.

[Bone Armory is now Lv3. Endurance and Magic have increased by 5. You can fuse the materials and special characteristics of the equipment you have absorbed with another piece of equipment to supplement it, but due to the low level of the skill, the effectiveness would be subpar. Updating information regarding the equipment stored in Bone Armory.]

"Huh!?"

Lee Shin-Woo was flustered at the sudden turn of events. In the blink of an eye, the shield, as well as the armor and helmet he was wearing, disappeared without a trace. Lee Shin-Woo stood flustered as a message slowly unfurled before him.

[Bone Armory Lv3:

Lv4 Acid Bone Armor (Defense 250 - 410) - Acid Type Effectiveness +10%

Lv4 Acid Bone Leg (Defense 210 - 320) - Acid Type Effectiveness +10%

Lv4 Acid Bone Shield (Defense 350 - 400) - Acid Type Effectiveness +10%

Lv4 Acid Skull Helm (Defense 250 - 310) - Acid Type Effectiveness +10%

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

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

Lv5 Drake Horn Lance (Attack Power 1,000 - 1,200) - Effectiveness of charge-related skills +40%]

"How is this..."

Lee Shin-Woo had some idea about what was going on. Each and every piece of equipment had been separate before, but now he could combine the characteristics and materials of absorbed equipment into another piece of equipment to create something sturdier and more powerful!

Lee Shin-Woo examined the updated description of the equipment stored within Bone Armory and confirmed his understanding. Through Bone Armory, the Acid Skull Helm's materials and characteristics were fused with the other defensive equipment and became stronger; because of that, all the level 3 armor pieces had become level 4.

"They really were reinforced..."

Lee Shin-Woo summoned his upper and lower body armor and equipped them. Not only had the armors inherited the Acid Skull Helm's materials and characteristics in their entirety and gotten much tougher, but the armor set had also gained a new sheen of green magical energy, which buffed Lee Shin-Woo's acid.

If he were to equip the Acid Bone Armor, Leg, and Helm while wielding the Melting Bone Double Axe, the effectiveness of his acid would increase by 50%! It was impossible right now, though, since he could only summon three pieces of equipment at a time.

In other words, I can now create a full matching set of equipment as long as I have one piece of the set. As I thought, it was a good idea to get information on the undead heroes.

But the limitations to the skill were quite clear. He couldn't transfer the characteristics of the Lightning Tooth or the Drake Horn Lance to other pieces of equipment yet. It was without a doubt because these two pieces of equipment were at a higher level than Bone Armory itself.

However, the skill level would gradually go up, and someday... Lee Shin-Woo imagined himself wearing a full set of Drake Horn Armor and shuddered. He could also obtain an even more powerful piece of equipment and transfer those characteristics to the other equipment in his possession!

It’ll be possible someday, but... I should start gathering equipment with special characteristics. Do they sell equipment in the Secret Shop?

The dungeon reward by itself was trifle, but he ended up getting something good since his Bone Armory had leveled up.

Applied with the characteristics of the Acid Skull Helm, the upper and lower body armor had both changed in appearance to match the helm, creating a more consistent and stylish look for Lee Shin-Woo. With his new set of armor, he returned to the purified city. Kratia was still struggling with the core.

"Is it going well?" Lee Shin-Woo asked.

"It is. I can do it if you give me one more day."

Lee Shin-Woo could tell she wasn’t as confident as she sounded. Still, the competitive mage was determined to figure out everything regarding the core no matter what. For the time being, he just needed to let her be.

"We'll clear out the surrounding area, so you just keep studying the core. You guys, follow me."

[It's an honor.]

[In the name of Steelworker!]

"Ah, wait. Can you…"

Kratia hastily grabbed Lee Shin-Woo before he could leave with Jin and the Golems. Does she want to extend the duration of the contract again? Lee Shin-Woo tilted his head and turned to her.

Kratia looked embarrassed as she asked with the core still in her clutch, "If you find any...things like wild fruit in the dungeon..."

"I got it. There’s no living organism nearby that can eat fruit, anyway."

"Thanks."

Kratia then looked over to Jin. Lee Shin-Woo sighed when he noticed that. Fortunately, Jin didn't say anything.

Kratia saw them off, and the rest of them left the city—traveling slowly since the Golems were with them. Lee Shin-Woo found a trace of mana when Jin suddenly said, "I'm just saying this because it seems like you've misunderstood me, but I'm not envious of that girl just because she's alive. And I don't hate her, either."

Lee Shin-Woo tilted his head. "Then what is it?"

"It makes me feel really narrow-minded admitting this, but...besides being human, Kratia is..."

"Kratia is...?"

"...Nah, it's nothing. Actually, I'd rather not say."

"You were the one who started the conversation. How can you stop midway... Oh, dear me. I know nothing. Talk to my secretary!"

Jin seemed quite concerned, so Lee Shin-Woo decided to lighten the mood with a joke, and Jin retaliated by shaking intensely. That wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but Lee Shin-Woo was somewhat pleased. The interaction reminded him of being young and playing with his friends.

For the next few days, Lee Shin-Woo, Jin, and the three Iron Golems used the purified city as their base camp and eliminated the undead in the vicinity.

They took out a few remaining patrolling battalions and killed the undead roaming about. They cleared a few dungeons as well. It seemed that most of the low-level dungeons had been ignored by their seniors; thus Lee Shin-Woo and Jin were able to hog them to themselves.

[Level 4 dungeon - You have acquired a permit for Kerr Century Winery. All stats within the dungeon increase by 30. The dungeon information is added to your minimap. All actions you take within the dungeon are buffed.]

[Intermediate Mana Bone is now Lv2. Magic has increased by 10. You can now maintain your magic for a longer period of time.]

Five days after they started cleaning up the neighboring areas of the city, Lee Shin-Woo struck gold, finding a dungeon that was completely hidden.

"How the hell did you find this dungeon!?" Jin asked.

"With my senses."

Mana Bone built the foundation for his mana detecting ability, and in the process of creating a Golem's mana, Lee Shin-Woo had gained access to the different elements; that was the start of his explosive growth. He was now able to find all of the hidden dungeons with a glance.

The other day, Prince Altania had boasted about how good he was at finding dungeons in the chatroom, and sure enough, with his improved affinity with mana, Lee Shin-Woo was able to detect dungeons much more easily; he was perhaps even more proficient than the Prince.

"It's just a level 4 dungeon, but I suppose we should tread with caution."

[We will protect you.]

[We will take point.]

The Golems, which were strengthened from having their limiters removed, gladly took point. Truthfully, the Golems always responded way too passionately whenever he gave them an order. Lee Shin-Woo cursed at the Steelworkers for having bad taste and followed behind them.

"Huh...?"

"Something smells sweet."

Only after he entered did he ruminate over the dungeon's name, Kerr Century Winery. That's right. A winery. It was a place that produced fermented foods like alcohol or vinegar. And this smell had a distinct sweetness to it...

"Wine?" Jin muttered.

"Did you like wine before?" Lee Shin-Woo asked.

"I told you I was a sprinter. I didn't drink or smoke. But I'm not totally clueless about wine."

The two were completely calm. Even if the most intense and delicious wine popped up in front of them, what could they do? It's not like they could drink it. Jin was already depressed, but now he was even gloomier than before, made evident by how little he’d been talking. Lee Shin-Woo patted his head as they continued onwards. Soon, one of the Golems reported.

[There are no monsters. The dungeon must have been sealed in order to protect goods.]

"Yeah, I agree."

When they progressed a bit further, they found the source of that sweet smell: the ripening room. The sight of countless lines of wine barrels was nothing short of magnificent. But there were two things that concerned him.

"The wine would either have become vinegar or evaporated..."

"No, the smell says otherwise."

Lee Shin-Woo approached one of the wine barrels and examined it. The material was clearly different from the oak from Earth. It was probably a type of wood that only existed in this world.

There was a burnt mark left by flame in the shape of a letter; it was likely magical in nature to allow the application of magic on all of the barrels.

"It truly is a fantasy world,” said Lee Shin-Woo. “They used magic in the ripening process as well, didn’t they?"

"C-Check it. Hurry."

Jin had totally forgotten that he couldn't even drink the wine and got extremely excited. Lee Shin-Woo smiled ruefully and calmly placed his hand atop the wooden barrel, examining it with his mana as easily as forming a thought. It had become part of his instinct, which had resulted from his singular focus on the Golems, as well as the systematic approach to magic Kratia had taught him.

It wasn't difficult to ascertain the contents of the barrel compared to the Limited Order Bone Core, and soon, Lee Shin-Woo saw a series of messages in front of him.

[Kerr Century Dellocus 395]

[The year prior to the Empire's fall, mother earth seemed to have foreseen the coming calamity and shone brilliantly with the last of its life. Grapes harvested at that time were more valuable than ever, and the businessmen of Kerr Century Winery did their best to prepare the ingredients to brew wine.]

[The alcohol contained in this barrel was kept in tip-top shape and slowly aged. However, there wasn't anyone left to drink it by the time it was completed.]

[The wine is at its peak value and will never decrease in value under any circumstances. There are 52 liters of Kerr Century Dellocus 395 within this wine barrel.]

[This wine was created prior to the fall and stored properly to this day; its karma is not to be underestimated under any circumstances.]

"Mm..."

Normally, the wine within would be full, but as a result of decades of evaporating, there were only 52 liters left. It was kept in tip-top condition due to the protection the ripening room provided and the magic applied to the barrels, and thus the wine had continued to age finely. Lee Shin-Woo could tell how good the wine must be without even drinking it.

"There should be a total of 3,000 liters here," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"Should we just spill it all at once and take a shower in it?"

"That's not a bad idea, but..."

Lee Shin-Woo looked at the last message he received and thought deeply. He only spoke up when he had made up his mind.

"Couldn't we sell this at the Secret Shop?"