Once Lee Shin-Woo reached level 7, he was able to more easily control the surrounding mana through his mana breathing ability.

"Shin-Woo, you've finally become a catalyst!"

"Nah. I'm not there yet..."

Kratia insisted that Lee Shin-Woo had become a catalyst and was even happier about it than him, but Lee Shin-Woo calmly denied her assertion.

Of course, his level-up had drastically increased his control over mana, and he was able to draw and use the ambient mana around him to some degree. After testing it out a few times, however, he realized that he wasn't able to replicate Kratia's Catalyst Magic yet.

"But you'll get there eventually. Let's study together."

"Nah, I'm not the studying type. I'll figure it out in the field."

"Tch..."

Kratia's gaze turned sullen. She was so mature when they first met, yet she seemed to act younger and younger as time went on. Had he simply assumed wrong? It was probably proof that she was opening up to him, but it honestly made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Well, we'll be going now."

"See you later. I'll make sure to give you updates."

"I'm counting on you."

Lee Shin-Woo touched Huginn's Eye for the last time and received a message that his Bone Reinforcement wasn't at a high enough level yet to absorb it. He'd checked when he first stole the artifact from the facility. Despite his and Bone Reinforcement's level-up, it was still beyond his reach.

"Is it a higher ranking item than the Bone Gate...?"

"You’re probably not very compatible with it. If there comes a day when you can absorb this..."

"I'll leave it with you until that day comes."

"Okay."

Finally, Lee Shin-Woo gave Kratia a soft embrace and left the base with Jin. Rem came along with them, of course.

"Shin-Woo, you haven't equipped your gear."

"Ah, that's right. I'd forgotten that my gear was unsummoned after the physical transformation."

His gear was released during his level-up. Right now, Lee Shin-Woo’s face had returned to that of a skeleton, but it was much whiter than when he was level 6, and even looked a bit transparent. It was proof that he was becoming more like mana.

Anyone would now react to him by stuttering, 'H-He's strong!' That was how powerful he looked. Lee Shin-Woo was fine traveling like this, but he summoned and equipped his gear when Jin urged him to. It seemed like his equipment had improved as well, which was probably because Bone Armory had gone up to level 9.

"You don't need to go to the shop this time?"

"Mm, I'd like to sell my wine, but..."

Moreover, he had unexpectedly amassed a great fortune of 100 million Perium from the tens of thousands of monsters as well as level 7 elites he killed. He wanted to chat with Pleine and go shopping, but...

"The goddess told me something before I left her garden last time. That I should try saving my Secret Shop permits."

"Ah, I think she told me that too. So how many do you have?"

While Jin had been working hard as a hero as well, all his permits were transferred to Lee Shin-Woo. As a result, Lee Shin-Woo currently had 18 permits. It wasn't exactly unexpected, but it was still a ridiculous amount.

"But Shin-Woo, you can share the permits with people in a contract with you. If that's the case, wouldn’t the other heroes be able to amass permits quickly as well if they enter partnerships?"

"It's not that easy to form a contract as we did, I think."

"Yeah, I suppose so..."

While he had been unaware of the fact, Lee Shin-Woo was only able to form contracts because of his darkness mana.

Moreover, if the two parties don't trust each other completely, it'd be difficult to form a contract between them; even Prince, who adored Lloyd so much, hadn't crossed the line of friendship, which made evident the issue of trust.

"Speaking of that, I wonder if Prince has leveled up as well."

"You're about to go into the chatroom again, aren't you?"

"I'd also like to see how everyone is doing. Plus, I want to make sure that Prince didn't say some weird stuff about me. Oh, and I'm counting on you to take us to our destination."

"You asshole..."

Lee Shin-Woo had reached level 7, but Jin was still level 6. Thus, rather than rushing into the level 4 danger zones, they decided to clear the level 3 danger zones that they hadn't gone to yet.

And if it were at all possible, they would go to the untrodden land that hadn't been found by any hero yet. Lee Shin-Woo’s main priority was to avoid Ethan Cruz at all costs.

I now know that Ethan Cruz is level 8.

He hadn't been entirely certain when he saw the man from afar, but he'd figured it out after meeting the level 8 Archmage. He could sense something in common amongst the Archmage, Arema Steelworker, and Ethan Cruz. It was their domination over mana.

When I leveled up, I learned how to subjugate the ambient mana around me, but only barely... Those guys are doing it passively.

Lee Shin-Woo shuddered when he recalled Ethan's black aura. Level-ups raised the level of one's 'existence', and in turn grant them the ability to control mana with more ease.

It was true for everyone regardless of what their karma was.

Hoo, I still have a long way to go. I have to work even harder...!

Lee Shin-Woo had not only come to a realization, but also possessed the power to dominate mana as a level 7. If a level 8 were to hear about this, they would scream and pass out. Unfortunately, Lee Shin-Woo was unaware of what exactly he had achieved.

Although he possessed the ability to dominate mana like Ethan Cruz and had figured out that Ethan was level 8, he judged himself harshly, which was typical of Lee Shin-Woo.

But why is he killing other heroes if he's level 8? Damn it, he should just go straight to the capital...

They had a level 8 hero on their side, so why did they have to be wary of him? That fact pissed him off, and he entered the chatroom. However…

[Mr. Lee Shin-Woo has entered.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: Oh, you're here! Mr. Shin-Woo, I have a lot of questions for you! A lot!]

[Yasunori Akira: I heard, Lee Shin-Woo!]

[Lloyd H.K.: How did you already...]

[Mentes Orun: It's all luck. Luck, I say.]

[Silene Viesa: Senior! You're so cool!]

[Ethan Cruz: Ooh, I was waiting for you. Our super rookie, Lee Shin-Woo!]

The moment he entered the chatroom, he was bombarded by voice messages, which completely rid him of any thoughts about his to-dos, Ethan Cruz, or the issue with the Archmage.

[Lloyd H.K.: You... We all heard. You temporarily teamed up with Prince. Plus...]

Lee Shin-Woo came to the realization at that moment. Prince had told them everything in such a short period of time. Of course, she had promised not to tell anyone about his abilities, but there was no provision stating that she couldn't say anything about his level! Damn it!

[Ye Jin-Jin: I heard that Kratia is really beautiful and really busty! Why didn't you tell me that you made a new friend? No, wait, where are you right now? Are you with her?]

No matter how he thought about it, there was no explanation for Ye Jin-Jin’s behavior other than her being necrophiliac; she continuously bombarded him with questions.

[Yasunori Akira: Level 7... You're really level 7? Hoo, I'd thought that you would level up quickly, but this is... It's quite surprising.]

[Lloyd H.K.: To think you're level 7. Even I just got there... There's no way Prince is lying, but you're really...]

[Erian Ruparte: How exactly did you... Even then, you were a level lower than me...]

There were some who were shocked by his level and didn't know how to respond as well.

[Mentes Orun: Did you receive a growth acceleration skill from the goddess? I heard that there was a hero like that before, but I didn't think it would be the same for you. I'm happy. And I'm truly thankful, Junior.]

[Silene Viesa: You're so cool, Senior! I heard that you killed an elite monster that was a level higher than you! Prince said it seemed like you were used to it... You really are cool! I really look up to you!]

They didn't even think to ask how he had reached level 7, and there were some who were just happy about his level-up.

[Ethan Cruz: You really... You really surprised me. My heart's pounding. Haha, you're a really cool junior.]

Ethan was like a venomous snake licking its lips. That was the impression Lee Shin-Woo got anyway. He had to somehow smooth out this situation. With a sigh, he spoke up.

[Lee Shin-Woo: A lot has happened in a short period of time...]

[Lloyd H.K.: A lot has happened? That doesn't explain this, you rascal.]

[Yasunori Akira: You must've risked your life. Probably...a countless number of times. I thought you were a calm and cautious guy, but you're actually more reckless than anyone. You came out alive and victorious, though, so I can't really criticize you...]

[Erian Ruparte: I'd like to ask you something. Perhaps... At that time, when I told you to run away from one of the twelve general's troops, did you...]

[Lee Shin-Woo: ...Haha.]

[Erian Ruparte: As I thought. I feel embarrassed that I assumed you were at my level. Could you please forgive me?]

Lee Shin-Woo replied as humbly as he could so that they would move on, but it was impossible. Everyone thought Lee Shin-Woo was a freak who went around risking his life! What was most infuriating was that there was nothing wrong with what they were saying. This is why I’ve tried to keep my level a secret!

To be fair, there was no way he would be able to hide his level forever; he knew he would have to reveal it someday. Now that his Disguise had leveled up a fair bit, it'd be okay to tell them. Still, having someone else reveal his level was different from he doing it himself!

[Lee Shin-Woo: I was just really lucky. As you said, Senior Yasunori, I risked my life several times. Senior Prince helped quite a bit as well.]

[Prince Altania: Hmph, of course I did. There's no way you could've done it without me.]

She chose to shamelessly appear at that moment. Lee Shin-Woo vowed to spank her when they met again.

[Lee Shin-Woo: Senior, were you able to get to level 7?]

[Prince Altania: Of course I did. Who do you think I am? From now on, call me Archmage Prince. Kratia's no match for me now.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: Of course, Archmage Prince.]

It seemed like she'd completely recovered from the trauma from her encounter with the Archmage. Even though there was a part of her that was cocky, that cockiness allowed her to bounce back quickly. As expected of a hero.

[Ethan Cruz: Anyhow... Lloyd, it might be time for us to take on one of the twelve generals.]

At that moment, the chatroom froze. Only Lee Shin-Woo could tell what his true intentions were, and soon, the other heroes responded explosively.

[Lloyd H.K.: Are you sure, Senior!?]

[Ethan Cruz: Yeah. You reached level 7 just a little while ago, and both Prince and Lee Shin-Woo have become level 7, so... We still need to be careful, but we should go looking for one of the weak ones who doesn't have that many troops.]

[Lloyd H.K.: I’m in, Senior!]

[Prince Altania: The twelve generals... I-I'd like to participate as well!]

[Mentes Orun: Ethan, you...]

[Ethan Cruz: Will you fight with us, Mentes?]

[Mentes Orun: ...Tch.]

It wasn't a good development. Of course, Lee Shin-Woo also wanted to take down the twelve generals, but this was all part of Ethan's plan. Everything was taking a turn for the worst. Only he could tell exactly what Ethan was planning.

Ethan was definitely planning on 'harvesting' them now. Lee Shin-Woo knew exactly what he was thinking from personal experience.

[Lee Shin-Woo: I'd like to participate as well, Senior. I'll tell Kratia.]

[Ethan Cruz: What a reassuring response. It'll be some time before we stand on the battlefield, as we still need to locate one of the twelve generals, but during that time, make sure you get used to your new level!]

Lee Shin-Woo acted like he hadn’t seen through Ethan's plan and responded to the call. At the same time, he lightly tapped on Jin and said, "Change of plan. Mm, let's go in a different direction. I'll tell you where we’re going."

"What are we going to do?"

"I had planned to get on this after you reached level 7, but...the circumstances have changed."

The reddish black goblin fire within his eye sockets blazed dismally.

He was originally going to avoid Ethan until he knew he could beat him, but he couldn't just eat out of the palm of Ethan’s hand. He had no choice but to take the man on.

"If I want to beat a Hero Hunter... I need to take down some heroes as well."

Lee Shin-Woo marked several locations on Jin's minimap. There they would find undead heroes that weren't under Ethan Cruz's command.

Lee Shin-Woo couldn't put it off any longer. He would now take on the goddess’s quest in earnest.