"Rem, what do you think?"

[It's difficult. More research must be done.]

"Well, I didn't think it'd work on the first try."

[You can count on me.]

Lee Shin-Woo left Huginn's Eye, the magical device he'd stolen from the training facility, with Kratia and Rem. It was an absurd surveillance artifact for its ability to sense multiple presences in a large area as well as indirectly influence them. It was a level 8 item that was a treasure amongst treasures. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the core of the training facility.

Of course, it would be unlikely for the device alone to help him figure out everything going on in the Empire, but if he managed to improve its performance and consolidate its functions by weeding out what wasn’t needed... Someday, he'd be able to track the Golems’ movements. Well, if it could synergize with Rem's abilities, that was.

"With this, the connection between Rem and the artifact is complete."

"That means..."

"Yeah. Even if Rem's far away, he can see with Huginn's Eye."

Lee Shin-Woo decided to leave Huginn's Eye at his base for now. Firstly, they hadn't improved Huginn's Eye enough for them to properly use it. Secondly, it wouldn't activate from his inventory, and it took up too much space.

Lastly, with Kratia's help, they were able to set up a communication line between Huginn's Eye and Rem. Thus Rem would be able to utilize Huginn's Eye from long range. For the time being, Kratia would study Huginn's Eye and strive to improve it, so it should be more useful in the future.

"But is it really ok with you?” Lee Shin-Woo asked. “It feels like I'm keeping you here..."

"The artifact was my original goal. I'm happy that I can continue to study it."

Kratia did look quite satisfied. Then again, ever since she'd entered the Empire, she had been more concerned about magic than heroes or undead, so it seemed like the natural reaction from her...

"Plus, not only did my combat-related skills improve, but I learned a new skill related to the artifact. The more I study the artifact with that skill, the faster my magic will increase."

"Is it that great?"

"...Shin-Woo, you have no idea how amazing it is to learn a new type of skill."

Kratia's gaze sharpened for some reason, so Lee Shin-Woo apologized to her and decided to take a step back. He couldn't understand it at all, as he gained skills so easily through Bone Reinforcement.

But the more skills one had, the more stats they'd gain, which in turns made them more capable. He was beginning to see her point.

"That's why the elites are so amazing. Normal monsters don't really have any skills, and only have their stats to back them up, so we can defeat them easily. On the contrary… Elites possess at least two or three skills on average, so not only do they get stronger the more they use their skills, they're also able to properly exhibit the overwhelming strength of their stats through said skills."

"Well, that's true..."

There was an insurmountable wall in terms of strength between normal monsters and elites. Lee Shin-Woo found himself nodding to her explanation of why the divide existed.

With that in mind, wouldn't he become the strongest individual in the world if he lived long enough? The chances of that happening weren't zero, which was scary to realize.

"But first..."

Kratia seemed ready to talk about skills for hours, so Lee Shin-Woo pushed her towards Huginn's Eye. He gathered the last pile of bones he'd acquired from the training facility and sighed in satisfaction.

"Let's level up first."

"You don't have any for me, do you?" Jin piped up.

"I thought you wouldn't want them, so I was gonna use them on myself... Are you disappointed? Should I give you one?"

"It's fine. I respectfully decline."

Before clearing the final training facility, Jin had absorbed an unimaginable quantity of bones and grown tremendously. Moreover, he had absorbed a level 7 elite's bone, so he wanted nothing to do with bones for the time being. Lee Shin-Woo decided to give him a break this time.

Above all, it was most efficient to use Bone Reinforcement prior to a level-up. He had acquired four level 7 elite bones purely through luck, but it was still beneficial to him regardless; Lee Shin-Woo decided to make this level up something special.

The Ur Leon's big toenail and shell, the Croc Erantu's molar, and the Emperor Boa's fang I got from Kratia.

They weren't technically made of bones, but they were considered bones.

Moreover, they were from elite monsters that had fought each other for decades inside an area with a high concentration of mana, so they were of higher quality than any of the level 7 elite bones he'd absorbed thus far. They were almost comparable to Hansen Von Dorthe.

"Hoo."

"Ugh."

Would I be alright absorbing the info from four bones simultaneously? Jin’s mind decided to conjure the image just for the sake of it, and he couldn’t suppress his shudder. Meanwhile, Lee Shin-Woo reached out to pick up the bones of his choice and said, "Bone Reinforcement."

[Consuming all four bones to execute Bone Reinforcement. Strength has increased by 20, Agility by 25, Endurance by 30, and Magic by 58.]

[Bone Reinforcement is now Lv10. Bones with intersecting memories are combined, allowing you to access them in their complete form. Verifying that all owners of these bones shared a living environment. Giving you access to their combined memories.]

"Mm."

What a great time for Bone Reinforcement to level up. And it came with a new perk. I didn’t expect this, Lee Shin-Woo muttered to himself. At that moment, a deluge of memories poured into his brain.

Lee Shin-Woo gasped. It felt like his limits were being tested whenever he used this skill!

"Shin-Woo!?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

Bone Reinforcement’s level up allowed him to acquire a record of the countless battles these monsters had fought within the artificial subspace. They were born and grew up amid boundless mana; Lee Shin-Woo witnessed their ability to adapt to their environment, their aspirations, and their thirst for vengeance!

No, there was something beyond that. These monsters had been shackled in this mana zone, which had given them their strength on a silver platter for decades, and their fundamental knowledge of spatial magic flowed into him!

By absorbing the memories of all three of them at the same time, I'm able to gain decades worth of experience. This is ridiculous...

Above all, Lee Shin-Woo could feel the flow of the mana they had accumulated over years like it was coursing through his own body. The boundary between him and the world seemed to have disappeared.

He couldn't describe that sensation. Lee Shin-Woo held onto it, focusing all his attention. His body floated into the air and started to reconstruct itself. He was leveling up while he absorbed the memories!

[You have undergone countless training and experiences, and have learned the basics to accepting and manipulating all the energy that exists in this world. Though you are still unskilled, each and every bone in your body breathes, and the resulting strength is nothing to scoff at.]

[You have become a level 7 Breathing Bone Joker.]

A Breathing Bone Joker. Did that mean a Joker whose bones breathed? He had evolved from an Elemental Skeleton Joker to a Powered Elemental Bone Joker, and now a Breathing Bone Joker. The name was absurd, but he suddenly found that he liked it.

The term 'breathing' suggested that his potential had broadened further, as he was originally an entity that couldn't breathe. It felt like his hopes and dreams had been realized. It felt like a signpost for where he needed to go from now on.

"Guaaaah...!"

Of course, the level-up was far from over. More changes were coming his way.

[Element Absorption is now Lv7. Magic has increased by 50.]

[Intermediate Assimilation is now Lv8. Agility and Magic have increased by 10.]

[High Rank Mana Bone is now Lv3. Magic has increased by 60. You understand how mana functions in space, so you are now able to both control a portion of it and resist it. If someone tries to interfere with you with their magic, you can use your magic to resist the effects.]

The skill that had been most affected by Bone Reinforcement was his Mana Bone. It was also the skill that was most affected by the 'breathing' part of his evolution. After all, his bones wouldn't be able to breathe if he didn't have Mana Bone!

That wasn't all. He now had extensive experience with spatial magic, so Mana Bone had overcome its previous limitations and increased its scope. It used the helplessness and frustration he felt while fighting Feotane Von Seldin as fuel to allow him to resist others' magic! Was that the reason Mana Bone had leveled up twice in such a short time after reaching high rank?

[Bone Armory is now Lv9. Endurance and Magic have increased by 10. You can now summon eight pieces of equipment at a time. You can now replace any equipment mid-summon with another.]

[Rule of Bone is now Lv10. All stats have increased by 10. You can control and reinforce any bone regardless if the bone is under your control.]

Rule of Bone and Bone Armory were improved quite significantly as well. Not only could Lee Shin-Woo use his mana more extensively now, but his overall ability to control bone had grown.

He was especially surprised by Rule of Bone's level-up. He could control bones that weren't even his and reinforce them. It was proof that Lee Shin-Woo's scope of influence had increased.

[High Rank Combat Sense is now Lv2. Agility has increased by 20. You can now respond more swiftly to any attacks using mana.]

[Intermediate Regeneration has reached Lv10 and evolved into a high rank skill! Endurance and Magic have increased by 20. In the case of a mana-based attack, you can collect a portion of the mana and activate Regeneration.]

It seemed like his other skills had been affected by his karma as well, and they leveled up as they pleased, further granting him additional stats. Every time he leveled up, he felt like his body was boiling from the dramatic changes to his stats. The effectiveness of said stats had also risen.

Now that he could more naturally breathe mana, though, he was able to adapt to that change with more ease, and even though his body was seething, it felt as though he had just had a refreshing shower.

"Hooooo..."

Lee Shin-Woo instinctually breathed out. Of course, he couldn't actually breathe, but his body followed his lead and absorbed a large quantity of mana, only expelling the mana that his bones couldn't withhold.

In the process, the ambient mana began to change. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was because of his influence. It was like when he had blown up his weapons to transform the surrounding mana into lightning. By breathing, the mana in the entire area would come under his control!

"A-An Archmage?"

"There's no way I'd become an Archmage."

Kratia had immediately noticed Lee Shin-Woo's change as he leveled up, and her eyes went wide. With a grin, Lee Shin-Woo shook his head and checked his stats, which he hadn't done in a long time.

[Lee Shin-Woo]

[Breathing Bone Joker]

[Corps Destroyer; 10 others]

[Lv - 7 (Stats effectiveness 250%)]

[Strength - 1,421, Agility - 1,331, Endurance - 1,383, Magic - 2,637]

[Passive skills - Acting Lv16, Invisible Heart Lv4, Rebellion Lv4, High Rank Bursting Thunder Lv2, High Rank Mana Bone Lv3, Intermediate Shadow Horn Lv4, Intermediate Command Lv9, Intermediate Assimilation Lv8, High Rank Combat Sense Lv2]

[Active skills - Disguise Lv6, Instigate Lv6, Bone Reinforcement Lv10, Rule of Bone Lv10, Bone Armory Lv9, High Rank Regeneration Lv1, Sacrifice Lv1, Emergency Evasion Lv6, Intermediate Horn Gigantification Lv3, Beginner Shadow Extension Lv4, High Rank Lightning Sprint Lv2, Lightning Shadow Lv4]

[Elements - Intermediate Fire Lv5, Intermediate Ice Lv5, High Rank Acid Lv2, High Rank Lightning Lv4, High Rank Darkness lv1, Absorption Lv7]

[Resistances - Holy: MAX, Darkness: MAX, Acid: High Rank Lv2, Ice: Intermediate Lv3, Fire: Intermediate Lv3, Lightning: High Rank Lv2]

Now he had finally reached a pretty good level with respectable stats and skills. It was way too early to be satisfied, but...maybe this was the first step.

A new level 7 hero had been born in the Empire.