Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia had made a mistake. It was in measuring the materials they would need for the Golems' bodies.

Lee Shin-Woo had thought the emeralds they had mined were enough for 277 Golems, but the gems reduced slightly in size as they transformed into Dark Emerald Bones, and there were additional losses in the process of carving the bones and assembling them. As a result, Lee Shin-Woo ran out of raw materials after building Erem 250.

[Master, please command me.]

[Erem 178. At your service.]

"This..."

Lee Shin-Woo moved on from the 250th Erem and looked futilely at the pile of dense, dark green powder resulting from carving the Dark Emerald Bones. He didn't have enough raw materials to make the next 27 Erems, but he had more than enough powder.

"I guess it can't be helped. I'll have to use it for Bone Gate or for regenerating."

"They're much too valuable for that…” said Kratia. “Give me half. I feel like I'll be able to use it for some special magic. If not, maybe I can use it to create an artifact."

"You make artifacts?"

"Haa. It's actually a specialty of mine…"

"Alright. I'll give you some."

Lee Shin-Woo didn't have the time to listen to her boasts, so he readily gave her half the gemstone bone powder. Considering her contributions in manufacturing the Golems, this much reward was nothing.

"What are you going to do with the Golems now?" asked Kratia.

"They're like the other Golems. I'll split them into groups and send them off to hunt undead."

Kratia gaped at Lee Shin-Woo. He’d just created 250 level 6 elite Golems. Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to send them after the twelve generals? Why would he split them up!?

"You're just going to send them off like that?"

"What, do you want me to leave them to rot?"

"No, but..."

Despite being flustered, Kratia went on to tell him what she thought, saying the atmosphere in the Empire was growing increasingly uneasy, that the Emperor's undead were probably gritting their teeth at the Golems, and that it would be dangerous to send the Golems out right now.

Everything she said was correct, and her inferences were correct as well. However, Lee Shin-Woo was the one who had told her all that. And he’d told her they would have to take the risk.

"Yeah, it's dangerous. There’s always a risk when I send a subordinate away. But Kratia, you have to invest capital to make it grow. The greater the danger, the greater the gain.”

"Capital..."

It frustrated her, but he was right. That same principle applied to them: heroes couldn't grow if they didn't overcome danger. Kratia acquiesced to his logic, and Lee Shin-Woo smiled wryly.

"Well, I don't really like investing in a loss. I made this decision after considering our chances of winning, so just wait and see."

Lee Shin-Woo created ten groups of 21 Golems, each consisting of 20 Dark Emerald Bone Golems and 1 Silver Golem. The Silver Golems were a precious resource, as they possessed a moving warehouse.

"You've probably already heard, but you don't need to fight opponents that are much too strong for you. If you find troops serving the Steelworkers or any of the twelve generals, avoid engaging them and report to me at once. If you cannot win and are about to be destroyed, sending me that information is paramount."

[I understand, Master.]

A group of 21 level 6 elite Golems would be able to tread through a level 3 danger zone without being on the receiving end of damage. Moreover, even if they were discovered by heroes, the heroes would be on guard rather than jumping to attacks.

"Oh, and never go this way."

[I'll keep that in mind.]

Once Lee Shin-Woo told them to go in the opposite direction of Ethan Cruz, they all dispersed.

The Silver Golems not only had a subspace, they could also move stealthily, allowing them the ability to teach the Erems the fundamentals of moving stealthily while leading them. He hadn’t sent the Silver Golems along with them just for their subspace.

"You sent that many Golems away, yet you still have 60 level 6 Golems left..."

"Alright, as for you guys..."

There were 10 Silver Golems and 50 Erems left. They would patrol inside and outside the base on standby in case they were needed as emergency reinforcements. Even a level 7 elite would have difficulties getting through them.

"Shin-Woo, what are you going to do with the remaining cores? Are you going to make more Golems after you procure the materials?"

"Nope. Let's just leave them be for now."

He had said that he would sell the wine to the Secret Shop and buy materials to make cores if he had any materials left to make more Golems, but alas, it didn’t turn out that way. Moreover, absorbing the cores wasn’t an option. Lee Shin-Woo was sure that it wouldn't be a good idea to scrape by and bought lesser materials he was lacking from the Secret Shop to make the rest of the Golems.

"In any case, I can always make Golems whenever I want. I'll think about making more when I get my hands on some materials."

The Solar Fossil. He was considering making Golems with this unique and precious treasure, but Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia didn't have the knowledge to manufacture Golems with it. The thought calmed his excitement a little. He still needed to work hard.

"And you never know, there may be a way to further strengthen these Original Cores."

"I can't even imagine that, but... In any case, that place might help improve your knowledge on magic, Shin-Woo."

"You're talking about the magic training facility, right?"

"Yeah."

It seemed like she really wanted to bring him over there. Lee Shin-Woo nodded with a resigned smile. He'd fermented the wine and made the Golems. He supposed he could follow her now.

Lee Shin-Woo looked around the base one more time and prepared to set out. He didn't know how they knew, but the moment he was about to leave, the Dryads came out. He left the base after he had said his goodbyes.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Mm, this way."

Kratia shared her minimap with Lee Shin-Woo and pointed at a specific spot. It was opposite of where they were, but they could reach it rather quickly by taking the Golem train first and walking from one of the stops.

"Are we going to take the train?" Kratia asked.

"No. Not only are you with us right now... We also have to avoid the Golems for the time being. There is another way to get there."

Lee Shin-Woo beamed at Kratia—outwardly, his jawbone had merely moved down a little. She tilted her head at him as he took a precious item out of his inventory. It was the level 8 Bone Gate!

[Bone Gate]

[Lv8]

[Durability - 1,550/1,550]

[A treasure that allows one to create a gate leading to a designated area by sacrificing a bone. Currently, the user can only create gates leading to areas he is completely familiar with, and it is impossible to cross dimensions. As the item is imperfect, the number of people able to enter the gate at once is significantly limited.]

From the outside, the Bone Gate looked like an oval-shaped bone bracelet. But Kratia's eyes shined, as she could sense a portion of the magic within.

"Is it the Bone Gate?"

"This is my first time using it."

The reason Lee Shin-Woo had suggested not using the Golem train was because he wanted to try the Bone Gate. He looked at the Bone Gate with great anticipation and gripped it.

Instinctually, he was able to figure out how it should be used. Perhaps it was because the item was made of bones. Lee Shin-Woo needed to focus on the image he wanted to go to and then infuse his mana into the Bone Gate!

[Giiiiiiiiiiiii]

The Bone Gate accepted his magic and demanded bones prior to activation. Feeling like his hand would be eaten if he left the item be, Lee Shin-Woo hurriedly opened his inventory and fed the Bone Gate the bone powder he’d made from grinding level 1 and 2 bones.

[Giiiiii]

"Damn, how long are you going to keep eating... Huh?"

The Bone Gate stuffed itself for quite a while, which might have something to do with the low quality of the bones. Then it made a bizarre sound, as if it was saying 'give me more'. If the bone powder wasn’t enough, Lee Shin-Woo was ready to sacrifice the gemstone bone powder, but then it suddenly began to radiate a white light!

Taken aback, Lee Shin-Woo lifted the Bone Gate, and the light morphed into a giant oval. It seemed that two people could easily fit through it.

"This is gate magic... It's ridiculously high-ranking magic even though the gate is only temporary."

Kratia gaped and voiced her astonishment. She seemed to have seen this kind of magic before.

"Alright, shall we?"

"Wait a sec, Shin-Woo. It seems like only two people can go through."

"What?"

It'd eaten that much bone powder, and still it would only let two people through!? But if they did nothing, the gate would close on them, and no one would be able to get through.

Lee Shin-Woo gritted his teeth and sent Kratia and Rem through the gate first. As he thought, Rem was considered a 'person'. The gate grew faint and vanished. Immediately after, Kratia sent him a message.

[Kratia Melloi: I arrived. It's awesome!]

"Yeah, I'm glad you think so."

He weakly replied and fed the Bone Gate more bone powder. Although he had collected a large quantity from the few large battles he'd been in, as well as the bones that the Pauls and Golems had brought him, opening the gate twice had consumed 25% of his accumulated bone powder!

I should probably use high-level bones instead... No, no I shouldn't. I can always get my hands on more low-level bones. Damn it. In any case, I need to find a solution soon.

Lee Shin-Woo gritted his teeth and entered the gate with Jin. Rem, who was waiting for them from beyond the gate, flew to him and perched on his shoulder, while Kratia rushed over to them looking incredibly excited.

"A gate! Amazing! The Bone Gate's amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Why does her personality always do a 180 whenever magic is involved? Lee Shin-Woo was about to put the Bone Gate into his inventory when Kratia suddenly spoke up.

"If you absorb that, can't you use that ability, Shin-Woo?"

"Ah..."

"You can't?"

"Well, you're probably right."

"Then…"

"But..."

There was no way Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t thought of that. Moreover, he had Bone Armory, which Kratia probably wasn't aware of. If he succeeded in absorbing the Bone Gate, he would be able to reproduce its effects without fail. He wouldn’t hesitate if he was sure the absorption would be a success, but…

[You cannot absorb the Bone Gate through Bone Reinforcement. The level of Bone Reinforcement, Bone Armory, as well as your own level is much too low in comparison to Bone Gate.]

"Ah..."

"Don't look at me with such disappointment."

He put the Bone Gate back into his inventory, and Kratia got onto Jin’s back behind Lee Shin-Woo. He couldn't thank Jin enough for allowing both him and Kratia to ride him.

"This way. Let's hurry."

"Roger."

"Wait a sec, you're too fast... Uweeehk."

"You can vomit if you want, but don't vomit on my back."

Jin's speed increased day by day. Whenever Lee Shin-Woo felt like he’d just about gotten used to his speed, Jin got faster the next day. The scary part was that even though Jin had two people and a small Golem riding him, he didn't seem to run any slower; instead, he seemed to be gradually picking up speed.

"We should arrive within 5 minutes at this rate. Kratia, how do we get in? It should have a secret code like our winery."

"It does. We can't just go in like this... Uweeehk."

The effect of Jin’s sprint was amazing! Kratia was completely nauseated!

Because Kratia was the only one with a permit, Jin had no choice but to slow down. Kratia slapped Jin's ass a few times—which only hurt Kratia’s hand since Jin was garbed in steel armor—and after barely calming down, she checked her surroundings.

"Go a little more forward,” she ordered. “Slowly!"

"You can't even get used to that speed?"

"You're just too fast, Jin!"

After five minutes of detailed instructions, they arrived at the entrance to the training facility. It appeared to be nothing but an empty plain.

Jin muttered, "It's not inside of a city or a dungeon, where..."

"Ah, I found it," said Lee Shin-Woo.

"Yeah, I thought you would say that about now, Shin-Woo."

While there wasn’t a dungeon in the traditional sense, there was something similar to one. How did they hide the subspace? It wouldn’t be incorrect to call it a type of dungeon, but its size, as well as the concentration of magic, was incomparable to a normal dungeon.

"But it's all oddly concealed, right?” Kratia said. “This is the Royal Mage Leader's ability."

Lee Shin-Woo responded, "That means that there's no way I can fight him... Can we really just relax and enter?"

"If you don't invest capital, it won't grow,” Kratia used his own words against him. “The more danger there is, the more there is to..."

"Fine. I got it."

At least in terms of enthusiasm for magic, Kratia had him beat. Well, if things went bad, they could just get on Jin and run away, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

However, the moment they decided to enter the training facility...

[Welcome, new trainees. There are a total of five trainees, including the other trainees.]

"...Five?"

"Shin-Woo!"

Lee Shin-Woo's goblin fire twisted at the mechanical sound that surrounded them, and the moment Kratia yelled out...

"Who are you!?"

"Keut."

Someone appeared before them. He had lustrous, eye-catching silver hair, pale skin, and rosy cheeks that were even more vibrant than Pleine's...

"Who are you, and how did you get in here!? This is a place that I, Prince Altania, have conquered! Hey you, take off your helmet!"

A rude boy of a mage pointed his antique wooden staff at them and yelled.

He had met the one senior he really didn't want to meet.