A dark secret and a buried testing facility. Within that facility was another hidden area, which could only be opened with the Steelworker’s seal and not the general administrator’s seal…

Wait a sec, Steelworker?

"Ha."

He had been studying the Steelworker’s seal since it was revealed to him and learned something during the process. Lee Shin-Woo grinned; he hadn’t expected his hypothesis to be confirmed so soon.

"Only a Steelworker can enter this area," Lee Shin-Woo said.

"The Emperor can't go in?"

"Yep. In addition to Arema Steelworker, Guillotine Steelworker and the other level 7 Golems can enter as well, but other than that, no one else has the permission to enter. Which means the Emperor can't get in."

"How did you figure that out just by looking at it…” Jin muttered quizzically and was about to ask further when he thought better of it. “Nope, never mind. Don't look at me like that."

He aimed for Lee Shin-Woo's eye sockets with his forelegs as Lee Shin-Woo turned around to look at him. Lee Shin-Woo hastily evaded his kick and continued with his explanation.

"If I hadn't heard what the Chi Pauls had said before, I might've thought the facility was simply limited to the staff, but hearing their story and seeing another hidden installation..."

[Are you saying that Arema Steelworker, as well as those who hold the Steelworker name, had a different secret plan? So...a plan he formulated not out of loyalty for the Emperor?]

"Mm, his motive probably isn’t pure."

[How can that be...?]

The Chi Pauls were infuriated when they heard Lee Shin-Woo’s conclusion. Of course, they didn't hold even a shred of loyalty towards the Emperor anymore. However, when they realized their pure feelings had been used, they felt a rage that couldn’t be contained!

Nonetheless, Lee Shin-Woo was able to draw their attention with his composed voice.

"Calm down. Raging isn’t going to help."

[But...!]

"Arema Steelworker is a powerful level 8. He has a few level 7 elite subordinates serving him, as well as several level 6 Golems under his command. He's not an opponent you can overcome with powerful emotions alone."

The Chi Pauls grew silent hearing his rational and cool-headed analysis. Lee Shin-Woo placed a hand on one of them and softly laughed. Rather than addressing only one Chi Paul, he spoke loud enough so that all the others could hear him.

"Don't let your emotions burn in vain; use them as fuel and temper them. There are countless ways for you to get stronger in this world, and if you work at it, it's not impossible for you to surpass Arema Steelworker. Do you want to be at the mercy of your emotions like a tiger moth, or do you want to take control over them and become a phoenix? That's up to you."

[...]

The Chi Paul—no, all Chi Pauls must've felt something from Lee Shin-Woo's speech; they nodded in silence. Lee Shin-Woo smiled faintly in response while Jin headbutted him in the back.

'Shin-Woo, you're so sickening that I'm gonna throw up.'

'Speaking earnestly works on those like them. Look, their eyes are sparkling.'

'You're really scary...'

Lee Shin-Woo silenced Jin with a short reply and confirmed that the Chi Pauls had calmed down. Then he went back to the main topic.

"The existence of a secret facility that only a Steelworker can access, and the Emperor who ordered the undead to watch over this area... The answer is now evident. The Emperor knew something was hidden here. And he must've known it was what Arema Steelworker was aiming for."

"And Arema Steelworker is..."

"He knows what the Emperor is doing. That's why he wanted us to attack from the front. He must’ve planned on coming here quietly after I had diverted the Emperor's attention and taken care of the vestiges of the testing facility..."

[Both sides are being...preposterous...!]

The Chi Paul was right. You could only look down on people so much. Of course, it was a relief that Lee Shin-Woo wasn't someone who took things lying down... He actually looked relaxed. His goblin fire burned steady and unwavering.

"If I clear this place and return unscathed, they won't be able to look down on me anymore. That's when things will start in earnest. Will they perceive me as a threat and try to take me out, or...will they try to use me?"

Lee Shin-Woo thought it would be the latter. Like the Golems had said, they shared the same enemies; that was the only thing he was sure about. And to be fair, that wasn't really a bad development for Lee Shin-Woo.

"If I know what they're thinking to a degree, it shouldn't be difficult to get them on my stage."

No sooner had he finished talking than the Steelworker’s seal above his palm burst into light. It looked a bit different from when he had first used it; he had been continuously studying the mark. This was the result of his improvements and calculations.

The improved seal now possessed some additional function, the most prioritized of which was 'incognito'. Lee Shin-Woo had added the function out of concern that the information would get back to Arema Steelworker; with that, nothing about his actions and whereabouts would be reported back to the general. It was a shockingly sophisticated security feature.

[Opening the facility. Welcome, Steelworker.]

They wouldn't be informed right away that Lee Shin-Woo had even entered the facility, and even if they came to find him themselves, they would have no way of finding that out, either!

"Uwah."

"Waaaaah."

Jin and Kratia simultaneously exclaimed. It was a natural reaction to seeing the lock release to reveal a secret passageway.

Contrary to the outside, where the passage of time was readily apparent with all the corrosion taking place and the dust accumulating, the passageway was ridiculously clean and refined.

There was no rust anywhere. Glowing rocks embedded everywhere illuminated the passageway. There was no way of knowing how they had made such things.

"For now, let's take these with us since they seem expensive," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"You're terrible!"

There wasn't a use for them really, but they looked expensive. Lee Shin-Woo thus decided to liberate them from the ceilings. He'd benefited off all the wine he collected from the winery before, and this might turn out auspicious for him as well.

"Why don't you take some too?" Lee Shin-Woo suggested.

"I’ll take one,” Kratia said. “It seems like it'd be useful for when I want to read a book in the dark."

"That's bad for your eyes, so don't do it too much."

Lee Shin-Woo ordered the Chi Pauls to collect all the rocks and bring one over to him, and upon inspection, he concluded that it was made of sunlight stone. With its energy, the stones emitted a light equivalent to that of the sun; it was an incredibly rare ore.

He checked its information and wondered if that was where the artificial sunlight in the Empire came from. When he thought about it, the magical device set up in the vineyard the Dryads were staying at seemed to be made of the same ore.

"But there was only one such ore in the vineyard. Why were the Golems splurging..." Lee Shin-Woo muttered, speechless.

"As I thought, it seems like the work of a different group," Kratia muttered.

Just as Kratia had identified the Steelworkers as enemies after her impromptu investigation, Jin suddenly called out to Lee Shin-Woo, "Hey, the thing on your hand,"

Prompted to check what was making him nervous, Lee Shin-Woo realized that the sunlight stone was transforming while making a frightening sound.

"Ah, aaah."

[Through Bone Reinforcement, the sunlight stone is transforming! You have acquired the Solar Fossil!]

"I’ve said before that fossils aren't bones... Ah, whatever."

Before the change, the sunlight stone looked like a glowing rock; now it had turned gray with powerful light and heat radiating from within. Its properties had definitely been reinforced.

Unfortunately, the diffusion of light had decreased as a result, and he could no longer use it as a light source, but Lee Shin-Woo didn't really care about any of that.

"...I'm going to try absorbing it."

To Lee Shin-Woo’s surprise, he ended up gaining 1 point in magic, and his proficiency in the fire element increased by a little! At that moment, his gaze turned serious. These stones might be more important than whatever was hidden within the facility.

"Bring all such stones to me."

[Understood!]

Besides the one sunlight stone that Kratia wanted, Lee Shin-Woo transformed all of the others with Bone Reinforcement. He had obtained a total of 223 Solar Fossils!

He would absorb all of them then and there if he could, but it didn't seem to be a simple matter he could just be done with so easily; he decided to later set aside some time to patiently study them.

[...]

"Ah, that's right. I'll give you one too."

[Thank you!]

After transforming the sunlight stones into solar fossils, Lee Shin-Woo called a Chi Paul over and let it absorb one of the stones. He had only given them one since he didn't want to hoard all of them, but it had a surprising effect.

[How can this be... Look, Sir Paul Zero.]

"Ooooooh!?"

Flame burst forth from the Chi Paul's hand and emitted an intense heat. The Solar Fossil had granted it the ability to control fire!

Of course, Bone Reinforcement itself was a cheat skill that allowed one to absorb a bone's abilities, but even so, it was still plenty amazing for a single bone to grant the ability to wield fire. Perhaps it was only possible because he had used the skill on a Chimera?

[Uooooooooh, fire is coming out of my hand!]

[Keuk, Kukeuk... The Black Flame Dragon sealed within my right arm is finally...!] [1]

The excited Lee Shin-Woo made the other Chi Pauls absorb a Solar Fossil each. In the end, only a third of the Chi Pauls awakened an intermediate rank fire.

It was obviously impossible for them to handle it naturally like Lee Shin-Woo, but they could rival an intermediate monster with the inherent ability to manipulate fire. The Chi Paul force's power had been upgraded instantly.

[Thank you, Sir Paul Zero!]

[To think that you could bestow a new power upon us so simply...!]

The Chi Pauls had gone beyond admiration or loyalty and became in awe of Lee Shin-Woo. In truth, he had just gotten lucky!

Watching the process from the side, Kratia and Jin thought Lee Shin-Woo looked like some sort of pseudo religious sect leader, but they didn't actually say it out loud. If they argued about what was right or wrong, the Chi Pauls might throw some unkind glare at them.

"We've arrived," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"Are there no more sunlight stones?" asked Kratia.

Jin looked up. "Ah, there's a really big one over there."

Lee Shin-Woo turned to the Chi Pauls and said, "Remember to extract it before we leave."

[Understood.]

All the Chi Pauls were excited about their unexpected newfound power, and at that moment, they arrived at their destination. The sunlight stone embedded into the high ceiling illuminated every area of the facility. There was a bookshelf filled with research materials fixed to one of the walls. Lee Shin-Woo assumed this was both a laboratory and a meeting room.

"These research materials... They're all related to Golems!"

Lee Shin-Woo was sure he'd hit the jackpot. The more he surveyed these lottery tickets...lotto... no, these Powerballs of materials, the more excited he got.

He looked over the materials detailing a Golem's inner structure and an anatomical chart of the part that connected a Golem's body to its core, and his excitement reached its peak. His goblin fire blazed so much that it threatened to engulf his skull!

"...With these, I should be able to make my own Golems, right?"

"Oh, really...?"

"...Holy crap."

Jin was freaked out by Lee Shin-Woo's muttering, while Kratia, who had just as much interest in Golems as Lee Shin-Woo, managed to find another area while he was busy looking over the materials. She called for Lee Shin-Woo with a trembling voice.

"Look, Shin... I mean, Paul Zero."

"Hmm?"

Lee Shin-Woo placed the entire bookshelf into his inventory and turned around. There seemed to be another small passageway in the corner of the facility, and when they followed that path...

"How many of these...are there?"

"..."

The moment he discovered it, Lee Shin-Woo clenched his fists without quite realizing it. The sunlight stones are more valuable than the contents of the facility? What a joke.

There was a laboratory there, with countless rows of gleaming silver cores.

1. T/N: I'm pretty sure this is another reference to "Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions". I think this refers to the main character's "chunibyo" persona, the Dark Flame Master. Don't ask me how a Golem knows what that is. E/N: They don’t have to reference a show to be a chunni. ☜