[You have fought against all who stood in your way. This is an expression of rage towards the goddess, who brought you to this illogical world; at the same time, it is also a desperate struggle to find the essence of who you are.]

[Rebellion is a skill that uses strong emotions as fuel, the final destination of all skills. You resist in any unfair situation, and will never surrender. You can use this ability when you are ambushed, fight an opponent that is higher-leveled, or face several opponents at once.]

[Whenever you attempt to overcome a particular situation with another, the effect of Rebellion will be further increased according to your connection with them.]

[You became undead because of contract fraud, and you intend to rebel against this situation. All stats are increased by 10% at all times. This effect is also shared with your contracted companion, Jin Taylor, who is in the same boat.]

"Ah, so this is what I get..."

Lee Shin-Woo felt the energy within his body surge, his expression turned troubled. Jin jumped in shock when he suddenly got the buff through their contract.

"What is this? What the hell?"

"Mm, it’s a skill that gives us a way to fight back."

Lee Shin-Woo had succinctly explained the gist of what the skill did, but unfortunately, Jin didn’t really understand. Lee Shin-Woo couldn’t be bothered to come up with a detailed explanation, so he simply said it was a special buff. Jin could understand that much.

"Rebellion..."

The ability to turn one’s emotions into power could be considered the greatest of skills. The moment Lee Shin-Woo acquired it, his stats increased by 10% simply because he was a skeleton.

Avenger had probably contributed to the formation of the skill. Its effect was actually quite similar, but was a lot more versatile. Avenger was too situational in its use.

If multiple situations that’d grant me buff overlap, my stats may improve by as much as a level. Moreover, the skill is still at level 1, so its potential for growth is limitless… Tch, is that it?

He'd secretly been hoping for an active skill befitting a Giant that could turn the tide of the battle, so he was a little disappointed. But then he remembered how important stats were in this world, and he changed his mind.

Moreover, the Giant’s ability wasn’t completely out of his reach. Since he'd memorized the flow of mana within Fenno's body, as well as how he utilized it, Lee Shin-Woo would be able to replicate the Giant’s technique someday soon. He hadn't given up on his dream to turn into a Giant!

"In any case, I only have 600 stats to go before I hit level 6," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"You monster."

"Now it's time for us to go."

"You have a destination in mind, don’t you?"

"Yep."

Lee Shin-Woo had a long list to choose from. Taking control over all the Golems in various parts of the world sounded fun, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start going after some undead heroes for the goddess’s quest.

He could also use the faint memories he had gotten from the bones he’d absorbed to locate more Bewitchers or Giants, which he didn’t think would be a waste of his time.

"However, we have to first go somewhere else. I’ve gotten some interesting information after wiping out the undead corps led by Vitas."

In the process of directly or indirectly absorbing the memories of all the undead in the corps, he'd gained detailed information on one of the Empire's twelve generals, Metafel.

He knew where the undead general was at this very moment, as well as the movements of the soldiers he led.

"You've got guts... Oh wait, never mind. [1]"

"I think you misunderstood what I meant. I'm not crazy enough to fight one of the twelve generals myself. I just got a hold of some interesting info while I was going through the memories."

"You don’t honestly still believe the way you think is normal, do you?"

Lee Shin-Woo grinned at the uneasy Jin and explained, "Vitas' corps should’ve been double the size. However, he lost half of his troops while they were on the move. Why do you think the other undead died?"

"They ran into a choir competition held by Treasure Eaters?"

"Funny, but no. There's something more formidable there."

Lee Shin-Woo nodded with satisfaction, which only made Jin’s goblin fire sway uneasily.

"We're not gonna go kill those formidable enemies, are we?"

"Bingo!"

"Stop, you crazy bastard! You just said that they killed half of the corps!"

"Listen carefully, Jin."

Lee Shin-Woo experienced the same anguish that all the undead had felt, which was caused by none other than acid. It was such a powerful acid that it melted away their mana-filled bones and nullified their power! It was definitely a more potent acid than the one used by the Great Slime or the Acid Ghoul.

"Vitas knew his group would suffer great casualties during the escape and ended up sacrificing half of them; then he turned his corps around and marched. Why? It's because most skeletons don't possess Acid Resistance."

"You..."

Jin already realized what Lee Shin-Woo was trying to say. Lee Shin-Woo sounded determined, like he wouldn’t take back his decision regardless of what Jin said.

"But we have it. We have Acid Resistance!"

"You said its acid is more potent than the Acid Ghoul’s!"

"We can't lose our aspirations, Jin. Just because we’ve improved our magic or physical strength doesn't mean we should keep fighting skeletons or Golems; if we do, we'll eventually face an opponent wielding a powerful element that cannot be overcome with stats alone; that'll be our ticket to the afterlife."

"We're going to the afterlife right now. Right now!"

"Oh, c'mon. I keep telling you not to worry."

Lee Shin-Woo had been troubled since he didn’t have much chance to train Regeneration lately, as most of his fights ended in a single round. He couldn’t be happier getting information on monsters that used acid inhabiting a particular region!

"The reason you're not telling Kratia about it is...?"

"Yeah. She's definitely strong, but she's not exactly helpful when I want to train my skills."

That was the expected response. Jin was sure that he wouldn't be able to change Lee Shin-Woo's mind now that he'd made his decision, so he weakly asked, "So what are they? The ones that use acid. A Hyper Ultra Acid Ghoul?"

"Nope. They’re trees."

"Trees..."

Jin tilted his head in utter confusion, but Lee Shin-Woo couldn't really say anything else to clear it up for him. According to the undead’s memories, they had indeed been killed by the acid poison spewed out by numerous trees in the forest!

"In any case, they can't move because they’re trees, and this trip will definitely be beneficial to us. That's why I want to go there first."

"Mm, they're trees... Can you even get anything from slaughtering trees? Aren't they just plants?"

"You've adapted quite well to this world, haven't you? At the end of the day, everything is about karma. Don't worry, it definitely won't be a waste of time."

After telling Jin the rough location as well as their objective, Lee Shin-Woo leapt onto Jin's back. Jin turned toward their destination even as he sighed. Due to Assimilation, he didn't need to be told where to go.

"It should take less than a few hours with your speed," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"Hoo, is this really a good idea…?"

The two skeleton heroes finally left Kehebe after finishing with everything. With Jin’s speed, the city quickly grew distant until all they could see was a speck. Lee Shin-Woo sighed with both regret and relief.

In a short period of time, they had not only purified the city, but also discovered a winery nearby, met an elf, and even exterminated an undead corps under the direct command of one of the twelve generals. To Lee Shin-Woo, however, the most important moments were those when he exchanged information and knowledge with Kratia.

Thanks to her, I’ve improved my fundamentals in magic significantly as well.

It was a good thing he had made a talented hero his ally. With Jin being in the same boat as he was and what Kratia brought to the table after he got to know her a little, Lee Shin-Woo found great solace in their company even though he was too embarrassed to admit his feelings.

He might have become a Joker capable of fabricating his own feelings, but it didn’t mean he didn’t need them. Rather, such exchanges were important to him exactly because of the role he had to play. Kratia had filled in that deficit for him.

"You're thinking about Kratia right now, aren't you?" Jin suddenly said while running, breaking his silence. Since they hadn’t been using Assimilation deeply, Lee Shin-Woo was caught a little by surprise.

"You're really sharp."

"..."

"The fact that you're talking about Kratia means you like her, right? Ah, what is it? Why are you shaking?"

"The ground's bumpy, that's all."

Jin lied unconvincingly and harassed Lee Shin-Woo. Jin really has complicated feelings for Kratia, doesn’t he? Lee Shin-Woo thought. It doesn’t seem to be romantic, but I don’t know what it can be.

With those complicated feelings in his heart, Lee Shin-Woo accessed the chatroom. It had become a habit of his to enter the chatroom whenever he traveled long distance.

[Mr. Lee Shin-Woo has entered.]

[Lloyd H.K.: Oh, I was worried, but you came out safe.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: It's a relief that you're safe, Senior. I was able to escape beforehand because of Senior Erian.]

No matter how complicated he was feeling, Lee Shin-Woo would always start lying skillfully as soon as he entered the chatroom. If he were to say, 'actually, I killed them all', things would become quite troublesome.

[Prince Altania: I would've been able to take care of them.]

[Lloyd H.K.: You might be able to inflict significant damage with a preemptive strike, but it would be difficult for you to defeat an entire corps. You still have a long way to go before reaching level 7, right? Let's not bite off more than we can chew until we hit level 7.]

[Prince Altania: Ugh...]

[Yasunori Akira: It requires quite a bit of courage to recognize that you can't do something and back off. Good job, Lee Shin-Woo.]

Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t even run, yet he was being complimented for running; Lee Shin-Woo wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible. However, he had just entered the chatroom, so he couldn't just exit immediately with the excuse that their attention was too burdensome on him. Like always, he would need to bear with it a bit more so that he could hear what was going on from his seniors. However…

[Shino Rendu: But there are also situations where you can't run away, no matter how much you want to.]

[Lloyd H.K.: Shino?]

[Mentes Orun: ...Are you in danger?]

Ah, a senior he'd never heard from before had appeared! Moreover, he seemed like quite the veteran! However, now didn't seem like the time to introduce himself and say that it's nice to meet him. Shino Rendu seemed to be in trouble judging from the way he sounded.

[Prince Altania: Hey, it hasn't even been very long since Ye Jin-Jin almost died. I thought you were good at running away.]

[Shino Rendu: Those pointless provocations of yours warm my heart... But I don't think I'll last very long this time. I think I've been caught by one of the twelve generals.]

[Lloyd H.K.: What? You...]

[Mentes Orun: You should all know that the undead communicate with each other starting from the level 3 danger zones. It's possible to get caught by one of the twelve generals if they're close by. We've already told you that once.]

[Shino Rendu: I'm not blaming you, Senior. Honestly, I'm not blaming anyone.]

[Yasunori Akira: You musclehead...]

Even Yasunori Akira, who always spoke coldly, sounded solemn. Lee Shin-Woo could even hear his voice break. The mood was now similar to when Ye Jin-Jin requested help.

Of all the times that Lee Shin-Woo could enter the chatroom, this was the worst. He clicked his tongue. The senior had been caught by one of the twelve generals, so no one would be able to help him.

[Shino Rendu: Newbie... No, Lee Shin-Woo.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: Yes, senior.]

[Shino Rendu: Don't die like me. Don't overdo it for the sake of quickly advancing. The only thing on our side in this world is time.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: ...I'll keep that in mind.]

[Shino Rendu: Is Seira not here right now…? Someone please tell Seira that I always yearned for her. I know her heart's frozen and she won't accept anyone, but in the end, I...]

[Prince Altania: You’re full of surprises even at the very end. That's the kind of thing that hurts people the most, you idiot.]

[Shino Rendu: And... No, that's enough. At any rate, I was given a second chance at life. It's been great.]

With that, Shino Rendu left the chatroom. No one said anything, but then the Prince also left without a word. Following him was Akira, and then Lloyd. Lee Shin-Woo was about to leave as well, but the final remaining senior stopped him.

[Mentes Orun: You're Lee Shin-Woo, right? When you hit level 6, send me a private chat… I'll tell you about some level 3 danger zones that you can go through relatively safely.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: Thank you, Senior.]

[Mentes Orun: It's been a long time since I last entered the chatroom, but I feel really shitty... I'm going to go drink the wine that's new at the shop now. Damn it.]

Finally, Mentes Orun left as well. The man wasn't superfluous, nor did he have any sort of suspicious, secret plan; he just wanted to help his junior as much as he could.

The fact that the man was so sick of entering the chatroom must have meant that countless heroes have died in the Empire.

Ah, there's another one added.

There was another mark indicating a new undead hero added to his minimap, which would take them two days to get to. The implication was clear: Shino Rendu had probably been killed by the Mercenary King, Metafel.

I need to avoid that area for now.

Somehow, he was thinking matter-of-factly despite the fact that Shino Rendu, a senior he'd conversed with a few times, had just died. Lee Shin-Woo smiled wistfully, surprised by his composure. He left the chatroom then.

There was still a little distance left for them to travel. Then they would reach the forest with trees that spewed Acid Poison.

1. T/N: It's an idiom regarding his liver again (being bold/reckless/gutsy). The second part is referring to the fact that Jin is belatedly remembering that Lee Shin-Woo doesn't have a liver.