While patrolling the inner city for the past few days, Lee Shin-Woo had figured out exactly where all the knights and soldiers were stationed.

Their defense looked impenetrable at first glance, with no avenue of getting through, yet the corridor leading to the lord's bedchamber wasn't watched. And above all, so long as he wasn't discovered when entering the lord's chamber, no one would even try to stop him from exiting through the corridor.

[Thank you for all your hard work, Sir Seta.]

"You too. Is the lord asleep?"

[Yes, he is. With the Mage Leader. Ahem.]

The knight sheepishly talked behind the lord. Lee Shin-Woo imagined the couples’ skin and bones coming into contact with each other, entwined in lovemaking, and felt truly repulsed. But that just meant his opportunity had come!

"If you're aware of that, why are you standing here? We should just let them enjoy themselves and leave them be."

[Actually, I've already sent the other soldiers away after making sure it’s safe. I was going to go...]

"Alright. I should go rest as well."

Since a level 6 mage was with the lord, more protection shouldn't be necessary. As such, Lee Shin-Woo was able to send the knight away without attracting suspicion with only one sentence.

His plan probably wouldn't progress as smoothly if the level 6 Knight Leader were here, but the Knight Leader had taken to trust Lee Shin-Woo completely as soon as he entered the inner city and opted to carry out the imperial decree. In fact, everyone in the city trusted Lee Shin-Woo!

Yeah, we’re getting to the most exciting part.

When he was sure that the knight had left, and there was no one around that could see him, Lee Shin-Woo comfortably walked through the corridor, conjuring a Lightning Tooth in his hand.

At the very least, they’ve fortified the room with magic in case of an intrusion. An herring is still an herring even if it’s rotten.

The lord's bedroom was equipped with a complicated array of alarms and defense magic. But that was all. To Lee Shin-Woo, who could perceive the very basic structure of magic, it was even more useless than a physical wall.

"Hah."

Lee Shin-Woo swung his blade and sent out an intricate arc of powerful lightning; the next moment, all the magic that had been set-up vanished.

If a smarter mage had set this up, there would be additional measures in place in case the magic was forcefully dispelled; for example, a magical formula that trapped the intruder. But unfortunately, the city's Mage Leader wasn't that talented.

"Hmph."

Still, a mage would realize quickly that their magic was broken no matter how stupid they were, and thus Lee Shin-Woo didn't hesitate to barge into the room. Any onlooker would’ve been mentally-scarred seeing two naked undead in action; the couple looked shocked and locked eyes with Lee Shin-Woo.

[Huh!?]

[You're...]

While Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t been very stealthy, he had been quick; the moment he entered the room and was discovered... Lee Shin-Woo's Lightning Tooth shot out like lightning and struck the Mage Leader in the neck, cutting her off mid-sentence.

No matter how much Lee Shin-Woo's stats had gone up, or how powerful Rule of Bone was, an elite level 6 undead wouldn't go down from a single strike. However, he hadn’t used a regular sword, but an artifact that contained the lightning element; an element he'd unleashed to its full potential.

[Ga...ah...]

"You can’t move, can you? Yeah, it seems like you don't have Lightning Resistance, either. I would've preferred that you did even if you’d still be able to move around then..."

Amongst all of his elements, lightning was by far his most powerful. The lightning element was inherently quick and ridiculously strong. Moreover, it came with an inherent special ability: the electric current would paralyze the recipient for a short time.

Even if he wasn't able to kill his enemy, paralyzing them would momentarily give him an advantage. Moreover, the electricity prevented one from speaking, which was useful for covert operations.

[What are you...]

The lord stood up and attempted to yell at Lee Shin-Woo's brutality, but from out of nowhere, a Lightning Tooth struck true into the nape of his neck, silencing him as well.

If the two hadn't been bare naked with no defensive equipment, and hadn't been engrossed in each other, things probably wouldn't have progressed so easily.

As I thought, they can't stop themselves from engaging in their habits... Because they aren’t able to completely give up their humanity, they’re going to die so meaninglessly.

The lord and the mage had frozen in place, but Lee Shin-Woo didn't allow himself to relax, and instead struck them with another pair of flying Lightning Tooths. He knew their paralysis would soon wear off.

[Guah...]

"..."

Earning himself ample time to finish the job, Lee Shin-Woo grabbed the first Lightning Tooth that was still embedded in the mage’s neck and discharged all the lightning, blowing her head up completely. It was a clean, explosive strike befitting the name Bursting Thunder!

Lee Shin-Woo's lightning had paralyzed her mana, so it was impossible for her to guard against the attack with magic even though she wanted to! Ultimately, the level 6 elite mage pitifully lost her life in an instant.

[You have acquired 157,550 Perium.]

[You have acquired the Lv6 Kadinan Magician Leader, Soulrit's finger bone.]

Lee Shin-Woo collected the loot with the hand that wasn't gripping the sword and turned to the lord. The lord was naked like his now dead lover, Soulrit. When Lee Shin-Woo’s eyes landed on the lord’s unattractive body, and in particular, a specific part of his, Lee Shin-Woo became even more pissed off.

"I'm a level 6 undead too, so why...!?"

[Gaahk...!]

He was able to kill them easily because they were naked. Still… Why!?

Lee Shin-Woo stopped himself from following the thought; it would only leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He thrusted his sword into the lord’s neck and twisted it with great force.

A powerful electric current was quietly discharged, afflicting the lord's body with horrific pain; contrary to Lee Shin-Woo's desire to torment and curse at the lord for hours on end, though, the lord soon died.

[You have acquired 210,780 Perium.]

[You have acquired the Lv6 Undead Commander - Nellopa's lower jawbone.]

[You have acquired the Lv6 Undead Commander - Nellopa's sphenoid bone.]

It had been a long time since one of Bone Reinforcement's abilities, Lucky Finish, had activated, but because of it, he'd acquired two level 6 elite bones. This should've been a happy occasion, but he didn't feel all that happy about it right now.

He'd definitely killed the lord with his own two hands, yet it felt unbearable; it felt like a defeat! While Lee Shin-Woo had acted nonchalant, he couldn’t completely give up on his humanity, either.

"Damn it... Huh?"

While muttering in frustration, Lee Shin-Woo turned his attention to the table next to the bed, where the lord and the mage had placed their clothes. Plan A was progressing well, so the clothes would definitely be of use!

"The equipment will probably transform. But clothes that have no abilities should be fine..."

Lee Shin-Woo steeled himself and grabbed the pile of clothes, but then he felt something that wasn’t fabric inside. The moment Lee Shin-Woo tilted his head, he saw an odd light. Fortunately, the clothes hadn't changed, but an item that was hidden within had transformed!

[You have acquired the Lv5 Heart Evolution Pendant. Through Bone Reinforcement, the item has transformed. You have acquired the Lv6 Bone Evolution Pendant.]

"Oh!?"

As soon as the light subsided, and a message appeared, Lee Shin-Woo hastily grabbed onto the level 6 pendant.

It shone with a clear, dark gray energy. As expected, the resulting pendant consisted of bone. He didn't know what it was originally made of, but he could strangely feel that it was extremely durable!

"I didn't expect to get something like this... Moreover, it's a level 6 artifact. As I thought, level 3 danger zones sure are different!"

Pleased, Lee Shin-Woo muttered to himself. This was the second level 6 accessory he'd gotten since the earring!

It'd evolved from level 5 to level 6, so he could more or less tell what its special characteristics were; moreover, the pendant was meant to be worn on one’s neck, so he could actually equip it, unlike the earring! He checked the item's information in genuine happiness. Then...

[Bone Evolution Pendant]

[Lv6]

[Durability: 570/570]

[Options: Endurance +30, Magic +30]

[Special Passive Skill: Bone Evolution - Through this skill's effect, your bones gradually and permanently become stronger. In effect, your body would evolve as your endurance increases.]

"What!?"

Putting aside that vague description of his body evolving, it would increase his endurance permanently. Now he understood why it was a level 6 artifact!

In that case, did the earring he'd picked up before granted permanent growth as well? Unfortunately, before he could check its info, it had transformed into bone, so he didn't have a way of checking its original properties.

Wait, no. There's nothing to feel bad about. This pendant is a good enough find.

Moreover, the pendant's growth ability was created due to its evolution induced by Bone Reinforcement. Not all high-level items would grant this kind of ability.

Now then, there's one thing left...

"Do I equip it or absorb it?"

The skill was too special. He was worried that he might not gain the skill if he so recklessly absorbed the pendant. But on the other hand, even if he didn't absorb the skill, he would be able to conjure the equipment from Bone Armory.

"...Yeah. Dad always used to tell me this. Things will work out.'

It didn't take long for Lee Shin-Woo to make his decision. Honestly, he didn't have much time to even think things through right now, which helped him quickly make up his mind. He immediately raised the pendant and activated Bone Reinforcement.

[Bone Reinforcement is now Lv8. The amount of information you can extract from each and every bone has increased.]

[Absorbing the Bone Evolution Pendant. Endurance and Magic have increased by 30. Bone Evolution is absorbed and divided between Rule of Bone and Bone Armory. Both skills' abilities have increased.]

[Rule of Bone is now Lv8. Bones under the effect of Rule of Bone will gradually and permanently evolve. All stats have increased by 5.]

[Bone Armory is now Lv7. You can summon six pieces of equipment at a time. All equipment data recorded in the Bone Armory are gradually and permanently upgraded. Endurance and Magic have increased by 20.]

"Oh, oooh...!"

Lee Shin-Woo was sure that his gambit was a success.

He hadn't acquired Bone Evolution as it was, but had instead fundamentally improved his two core skills: Bone Armory and Rule of Bone. He had attained a much better result than merely absorbing Bone Evolution.

He had been reinforcing his bones through Rule of Bone. Absorbing the skill was the right choice, as Rule of Bone had attained the effect of Bone Evolution.

But that's not all. Bone Armory was improved as well.

To be honest, he was much happier about Bone Armory's evolution than Rule of Bone's. All his stored weapons would be upgraded because of Bone Evolution!

It might be a radical thing to claim, but he believed he would be able to summon level 6, maybe even level 7 equipment in the future!

I’ve infiltrated the level 3 danger zone to find out what was going on inside to complete the Golem's request, yet I found an unimaginable treasure here.

When he thought about it, things seemed to always end up like this for him. Luck played an important role in his acquisition of his current karma, the Joker, as well as his core abilities, Bone Armory and Rule of Bone.

Of course, it wasn’t only luck. He'd worked diligently in multiple areas so that he could collect different pieces of karma; the moment those pieces came together, his karma had simply sublimated into something greater. The growth of Rule of Bone and Bone Armory was similar.

"...Nice. Then..."

He felt like he could destroy the entire city all by himself, but Lee Shin-Woo wasn’t going to act purely out of self-confidence.

Letting out a figurative deep sigh, Lee Shin-Woo examined the loot he'd acquired with a calm gaze. Whether he should proceed Operation - Bro, why are you there? with Plan A or Plan B would depend on the loot: Nellopa's lower jawbone and sphenoid bone.