The promised three days had passed. During that time, Lee Shin-Woo had run throughout the facility with Jin while activating Assimilation so that they could match each other's senses; because of that, Lee Shin-Woo was just about able to match Jin's dynamic visual acuity and reflexes, both of which stemmed from his agility.

'In this regard, you're better than most level 7s.'

'But Rebellion increases my max stats during battle. I have to be able to adapt to that quickly.'

'That's true.'

The unreasonable situation they faced would be enough to activate Rebellion, which would result in a stat increase. Now that Rebellion was level 4, it would increase all his stats by 16%. Lee Shin-Woo was now used to buffs at that level.

However, if he were to face more than 1,000 enemies, or a higher leveled enemy, his Rebellion would increase his stats by another 16%. There was also an additional 11% buff due to the existence of a partner.

When combined, his stats would increase by another 27% during battle. Of course, the buff would be shared with his partner in its entirety, so Jin would receive the same degree of reinforcement.

'Mm, it should all work out. Anyway, my goal is to gather as much mana as possible to strengthen my body, as well as to unleash a powerful attack.'

'...Yeah, we can do it. I haven't been sitting around all this time.'

No matter how strong the level 7 elites were, they couldn’t have been stronger than Hansen Von Dorthe, could they? Of course, it was scary that they had to fight three level 7 elites at the same time, but Lee Shin-Woo decided to trust Kratia. Prince, who was close to level 7, wasn’t very dependable, but he still took her into account as well.

Once they had finished up their training, Lee Shin-Woo and Jin returned to the designated meeting place. Kratia and Rem had already returned and were waiting for them.

"Do you think it'll work?"

"Yep."

Kratia puffed up her chest and responded with confidence. Rem sat atop Kratia's shoulder in a similar posture. It seemed like they had formed a sense of kinship during their three days of working together.

"A level 6 Golem…” Prince muttered. “A Golem that pledges loyalty to a hero... A Golem that can meddle with another Golem's structure... A Golem that doesn't even make any sense..."

"You keep saying 'Golem', Senior. Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright to you? I'm not in the right state of mind right now. I'm scared of the training exercise, and I'm even more scared of you."

It seemed like Prince hadn't slept well if the pronounced dark circles under her eyes were anything to go by. Then again, it was right before D-Day, and she would’ve just finished with her last minute training, so it was kind of obvious that she'd be tired.

"As expected of you, Senior. It should've been a hard decision to make, but you made up your mind all on your own."

"Hmph, I'd rather die than be beaten by fledgling juniors!"

Prince would do whatever it took to maintain her pride as a senior. Lee Shin-Woo decided it was worthy of respect.

Moreover, he could tell that she hadn't stayed just because of her inferiority complex. Even though she tried to hide it, Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia could tell that Prince was worried about them. No... it was more accurate to say that she didn't want to see another hero die, whoever that was.

"Alright, let's get through this and reach level 7."

"How would I feel any better if you are to reach level 7 at the same time as me... Hmph, if you don't do it properly, I'll teach you a lesson."

Prince had learned a few minor facts with him. She now knew that he could control elemental power to some degree, and that Rem was his subordinate. It seemed like she had given up on understanding him somewhere along the way.

Despite that, it was cute that she still considered him a junior she needed to look after. As he thought, she was a good person. He felt a bit sad that he couldn't tell her about him being an undead.

'Well, as long as she's a beautiful girl.'

'I told you that's not what this is about.’'

Jin reacted ridiculously again and scorned him, but Lee Shin-Woo asserted that it wasn't like that and joined up with the group. There was nowhere to hide now. It was time for them to finish this and clear the magic training facility that the Royal Mage Leader, Feotane Von Sledin, had put his heart and soul into.

"We're going in. Is everyone ready?"

"Yeah."

Lee Shin-Woo replied in affirmative after making sure that his six Breath of the Lightning Gods were fully charged. He was holding two of them in his hands. Seeing that, Prince trembled once more, but she didn't retort; she probably found that futile.

"Good. I'm ready as well. We need to get the drop on them. I'm going to seize control of all the magic traps from the get go. Our enemies probably wouldn’t be under the same restriction enforced by the facility, so that’s not what we should concern ourselves with."

"You're just going to destroy everything, aren't you."

"Yeah. So long as we can win that way."

"Defense... Defense..."

If Lee Shin-Woo's job was to fight the monsters, and Kratia's job was to seize control of the magic traps, then Prince's job was a mix of the two.

Her job was to protect them against any unforeseen attacks, or from the magic traps that Kratia couldn't control. It definitely wasn't an easy task, but Prince steeled herself. If she couldn't do this, she didn't deserve to reach level 7.

"Then... Let's go in."

"Alright, let's enter together."

They formed a single group and entered the building. Immediately, they were met with an environment that couldn't have been the interior of any building. And like Kratia had said, it seemed like the space was significantly reduced compared to the previous facilities.

It was a forest lined with trees. The group was pressed down by the ridiculously dense concentration of mana, which made them unable to breathe for a moment.

[Assessing atmosphere. Mana concentration at 1,876%.]

"Ha, haha..."

Prince breathed out incredulously at Rem's report. It would be hard to use magic with double the normal concentration of mana; 1,876% was just absurd.

It would be quite an achievement for anyone to use magic under these conditions, but if they were going to accept defeat, they wouldn’t have put in all the effort to adapt to this level of mana concentration!

The mana concentration in the twenty-first facility was high as well. It wasn't this unbelievably high, but... I can still do it!

Prince gritted her teeth, and the moment she raised her level 4 fire spirit staff, a voice rang out throughout the vast yet narrow space.

[The training exercise will begin soon.]

The mechanical voice rang throughout the facility, seemingly to put their minds at ease, but Kratia firmly denied the statement’s validity.

"Don't listen to that thing. Because it's already started."

Of course, Lee Shin-Woo had realized that fact as well. He had already felt it through his connection with Jin. There were three fierce beasts now looking straight at them. All of them were concealing their presence, but they couldn't hide from Jin’s senses.

'Jin, it may be a bit tough, but endure it. If it all goes according to plan... We'll be able to win easily.'

'Alright. That's always how it is. I trust you.'

Lee Shin-Woo activated Lightning Shadow and Lightning Sprint simultaneously. The lightning was wilder than usual and enveloped both Lee Shin-Woo and Jin in an instant; it was so dense that no one could see them from beyond the lightning.

"Keuk, Kuu."

[Koo...]

"It's coming!"

Then Lee Shin-Woo heard the beast's subdued roar and directed Jin to run quickly. At the same time, Kratia’s orb gathered the ambient mana in the air, creating a giant ice spear and shooting it in Lee Shin-Woo's direction!

"Run!"

"Heuuuup!'

Before the magic traps ahead of him activated, Kratia sucked out their mana to nullify them and simultaneously attacked the first emerging level 7 with the ice spear.

It was covered in crocodile scales, and its saw-like teeth made it look like Godzilla. It was pretty small, but even Lee Shin-Woo couldn't measure the mana it held!

[Lv7 Croc Eranta]

[You are facing a higher leveled foe! Through the activation of Rebellion, all stats have increased by 16%. Due to your partner, whom you share everything with, all stats have increased by an additional 11%. All buffs are now shared with your partner as well!]

[Kahk!]

The crocodile, which had assumed a charging position, suddenly stood upright and dodged the ice spear, but it couldn't dodge Lee Shin-Woo's attack that came falling from the sky. It was a perfect combo from him and Kratia!

"Heup!"

[Kuuuu...!]

"Tch...!"

Despite taking Lee Shin-Woo's strongest Bursting Thunder attack squarely, though, all it did was utter a small cry. It was fundamentally different from monsters that thought being loud was necessary for victory, like the Metal Ape Chimera or the Treasure Eaters with their Shriek of the Dead.

It truly was a beast that knew how to kill someone on the battlefield. It handled the damage from the attack and its impact differently than other monsters.

"Hoo...!"

[Kit!]

Lee Shin-Woo quickly led Jin to retreat. It charged at them with its serrated arm, but then Lee Shin-Woo shot the four Breath of Lightning Gods on standby at it.

They probably wouldn't kill it, but they would temporarily stop it from doing anything!

"Hey, another one is coming!"

However, there was another monster coming at Lee Shin-Woo. It looked like a black leopard, but it was huge, and possessed eight legs covered in dragon scales.

It charged, enveloped in magic that was as destructive as Lightning Sprint!

[Lv7 Ur Leon]

"I knew you would come that way..."

"Shin-Woo, there's a trap above you!"

The magic trap that hid in the air activated at just the right time.

Kratia was facing the last remaining beast, so she couldn't cover Lee Shin-Woo. Prince hurriedly conjured fire magic and shot it at the beast's back, but it couldn't penetrate the beast's red magic armor!

[Kyaat!]

The monster ignored Prince and rushed towards Lee Shin-Woo. It knew exactly who it needed to hunt down first!

"Heup!"

Of course, Lee Shin-Woo was no pushover. The magic traps and the beasts weren’t the only things amplified by the overwhelming ambient mana.

While he had just launched four of his weapons and blown them up, Lee Shin-Woo immediately summoned four more, throwing them at the magic trap before detonating them. He did it so smoothly it was as if it were just a normal attack!

"Eat this!"

[Kuhwaaaaaaaahk!]

Six Breath of the Lightning Gods blew up in succession, temporarily filling the area with lightning energy.

Lee Shin-Woo drew in all that energy, successfully concentrated all of it into a single sword, and lunged at the Ur Leon that had been chasing him from behind. Obviously, he was using Shadow Horn at the same time. Its destructive power was truly formidable when infused with 18 times the regular mana.

[Kiiiii!]

"Explode!"

Kwang! The sword deeply embedded in the black leopard's forehead blew up! Sparks spluttered everywhere and hit both Lee Shin-Woo and Jin, but they were covered by Lightning Sprint's lightning, and thus the sparks actually strengthened them rather than harmed them.

That was right. Strengthened. Lee Shin-Woo utilized Absorb and drew all the lightning energy into him. He was using the skill in earnest, as it would allow him to suck in the elemental energy of any element he could use.

[Keut!]

[Kihi!]

Both the crocodile...the Croc Erantu, and the black leopard, Ur Leon, got struck by the lightning. They stared at Lee Shin-Woo, who absorbed the lightning energy in their surroundings in such a short time, and came to the same conclusion.

The more time they gave Lee Shin-Woo, the more advantage he had. He would be changing more and more of the area's energy into one favorable to him! They exchanged quick glances and lurched into action. However, Lee Shin-Woo had already summoned another Breath of the Lightning God.

"You're too slow!"

So long as Lee Shin-Woo had Bone Armory and the mana to use it, he could always replace the equipment that was destroyed. And in this environment, which was filled to the brim with mana, Lee Shin-Woo had more of an advantage than anyone...!

"Kuaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The Croc Erantu shot hundreds of teeth at him, while the black leopard worked in tandem with it and stepped back for now. It would attack Lee Shin-Woo the moment he retreated. They had good teamwork for beasts who usually fought against each other...

"Explode!"

Boom! This time, Lee Shin-Woo blew up all six of his Breath of the Lightning Gods at once, and the lightning storm swept them away.

The Croc Erantu's serrated teeth got caught up in the lightning storm and fell to the floor. Jin then leapt over like lightning, and Lee Shin-Woo, from atop him, summoned and shot a new Breath of the Lightning God from behind the black leopard, hitting his head!

[Ku... Kyaaaaaaahk!]

The black leopard rampaged about and tried to strike Lee Shin-Woo with his front leg, but he had already landed somewhere else. The bright yellow lightning that covered his body made it look as though he had become a lightning spirit.

He was as fast as he had been when he landed the final strike on the Metal Ape Chimera.

"Hoo, hoo...!"

"How is it?” Jin asked. “Do you think you can do it?"

Within the maelstrom of mana, Lee Shin-Woo felt the necessary balance between Lightning Shadow and Lightning Sprint, and he smiled faintly. It had been 5 minutes since the battle started, yet it already felt like his body would explode from absorbing and expelling so much mana… Despite that, there was also something that he'd gained.

"Sure I can."

Jin ran once more. In response, the crocodile and the black leopard moved to intercept them, but Jin gradually ran faster.

As they gave chase, Lee Shin-Woo conjured Breath of the Lightning Gods everywhere and detonated them; like the weapon’s name would imply, they radiated a ton of lightning!