One never knew what would happen in the Underground Empire. In this world, there wasn't a problem with dichotomous thinking: whoever wasn’t a friend must be foe.

"It's laughable that he believed he wouldn't be discovered when he hadn't even made the dungeon secure. He only survived this long because he was lucky."

There was only one reason Lee Shin-Woo had killed Lee Man-Bok. Even though Lee Man-Bok had regained his sanity after turning into an undead, he lived such a leisurely life and didn't have a clear vision of the future. Not only that, he had been sitting on his ass dwelling in his hatred for everything with no concern of anything else... He was nothing more than a walking corpse, already dead in reality.

When the battle with the Empire intensified, he would either die to the twelve generals or to one of the other heroes. If not, he'd face and fall under the control of Ethan Cruz, who was incomparably more powerful than before. Rather than let him become someone’s pawn, Lee Shin-Woo would rather kill him now.

"Even so, you just went and killed him right away? You couldn't try to convince him?"

"Were you not listening? I did try to convince him. I even told him about myself."

Lee Shin-Woo wasn't a psychopath. He had told Lee Man-Bok about the Empire's circumstances, how his juniors were faring, Ethan Cruz's evil plan, and even his own dreams. Lee Man-Bok's reaction to all that was... It would've been better if he hadn't heard any of it.

"If he's disappointed in the goddess and the heroes, he should struggle to do something, but no, he did nothing. He couldn’t get himself together. He should've known that he couldn't just hide forever, yet he stayed here and did nothing… So I gave him the death he so desperately wished for."

"...Shin-Woo, you really are cruel."

"You said I was kind before."

"You can be cruel and kind at the same time."

Lee Shin-Woo told Jin to study up on the Empire's common language again, and Jin angrily kicked him in retaliation. Of course, Jin was the only one hurting from the kick.

While Jin groaned in pain, Lee Shin-Woo picked up the emerald staff that had rolled onto the floor. Surprisingly, it was a level 5 artifact. His other seniors would be more than satisfied with one level 5 artifact, yet Lee Man-Bok had a level 6 armor and a level 5 weapon; were all the first wave of heroes this lavish!?

"Ah, it transformed because of Bone Reinforcement, but its level didn’t change... Anyway, I should be able to reinforce my staff with this."

"There's a bone over there too."

"There are two! Since Bone Reinforcement's level keeps going up, the chance of me getting two bones is increasing...!"

"You being so happy about this makes you seem even worse."

When an undead mage was killed, they usually dropped their skull. To Lee Shin-Woo’s pleasant surprise, Lee Man-Bok had dropped a rib bone as well. Lee Shin-Woo thought about absorbing both of them simultaneously, but decided against it, choosing to absorb the skull first.

[Consuming Lv7 Lee Man-Bok's skull to reinforce your skull. Magic has increased by 38. Due to your high affinity with the target, Bone Reinforcement is a resounding success! Absorbing the majority of the target's memories and experiences.]

[My magical aptitude is... Hoo, I'm a Wind Mage, huh? Nice. I'm just like the main character in a novel! At first, wind seems like the weakest element, but there's actually a hidden trick to it... Nice, nice, it's perfect! - Lee Man-Bok]

Lee Shin-Woo had expected to have a high affinity with Lee Man-Bok, and true to form, he absorbed a significant amount of information. It was all because Lee Shin-Woo could now understand how a mage thought... No, that wasn't all.

Jin wouldn't know, but Lee Man-Bok was born in the same country as Lee Shin-Woo, so their compatibility was incredible. As a result, Bone Reinforcement was a resounding success, and he was able to absorb most of Lee Man-Bok's memories and experiences. He absorbed his struggles, his love, and his despair as well.

Throw away everything I don't need and... Yeah. Wind Resistance. I thought it was about time I got this resistance.

Lee Man-Bok was a high level mage who could use high rank wind magic! Of course, he couldn't match up to Kratia, who had studied magic since she was young, but as Lee Man-Bok's skills were trained in the field, they were not to be underestimated.

Moreover, wind magic was renowned for its quick cast time and manifestation. Perhaps that was why Lee Man-Bok had been so relaxed while conversing with Lee Shin-Woo, as he could react quickly if need be.

Of course, Lee Man-Bok hadn't realized that Lee Shin-Woo's lightning was even faster. There was no way he could have avoided his futile death!

[You have learned High Rank Wind Lv1 and High Rank Wind Resistance Lv1! Magic has increased by 150.]

Lee Shin-Woo sorted through Lee Man-Bok's memories and experiences, and when he had found what he was looking for, Lee Shin-Woo gained a new power that he could naturally use.

And with it, his interior mana increased sharply, but he was used to it by now. Because he had a long way to go, he didn't think much of a 150 point increase in magic anymore. Of course, any other hero would’ve been shocked to hear his thoughts.

"Jin, come over here."

"Why!?"

"You probably can't get the element from this, but you should be able to get the resistance. Come here."

"Uguuu..."

Jin wept, but knowing how important elemental resistance was, he surrendered himself to Lee Shin-Woo. Once the reinforcement was completed, Jin successfully acquired intermediate level 7 Wind Resistance, and Lee Shin-Woo's magic had risen by another 10 points.

"Guaaaaaaaah."

"Jin, if you're going to roll on the floor, could you at least lay down a rag or something first?"

Lee Shin-Woo spoke indifferently as Jin suffered the aftereffects of Bone Reinforcement. Then he checked the remaining loot.

As expected, the level 5 staff strengthened the wind element, and he gained around 40 points in magic once he absorbed it, and the staff fused with the Bifurcated Snake Spine within Bone Armory. However, an unexpected change followed.

[You are now able to summon the Lv6 Bone Winged Serpent!]

"Huh?"

[Bone Winged Serpent]

[Lv6]

[Durability: 1,860/1,860]

[Attack Power: 450 - 610]

[Magic Attack Power: 1,350 - 1,550]

[Options: Calculation Assistance]

[Passive skill: Serpent's Whirlwind - Absorbs an element and shoots out the opposite element with even greater strength.]

Lee Shin-Woo thought the fusion would either add an option that strengthened the wind element, or increased the offensive power of the staff, but the actual result was quite unexpected. When he saw the upgraded skill though, something did come to his mind.

Now that I think about it, I think there's a passage in the bible that goes, “sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.”

It wasn't often used in the west anymore, but it was similar to a Korean adage. He smiled, as the skill was exactly like the adage.

Wind is not only fast and sharp, but also possesses the ability to reinforce other things... As I thought, there is no useless element.

Lee Shin-Woo had expected his lightning to be compatible with wind, thinking of it as a variation of the same element. However, now that he'd gotten the wind element, he felt like he would need to do some in-depth study on the actual element itself. It wasn't that there wasn't anything special about the wind element, but that there was nothing special about Lee Man-Bok!

Contrary to Lee Man-Bok, whose only specialty was creating wind, by obtaining both his memories and experiences, Lee Shin-Woo was able to manipulate the very element itself and could use the element to its fullest. The student had become the master!

"Next up..."

Lee Shin-Woo's main concern hadn't been the wind-strengthening staff, but the level 7 artifact, which made him a little anxious when he first saw it. He lifted it before his eyes.

Countless particles of bone powder were clumped together into the shape of a robe commonly worn by mages. Even now, it changed its shape right before his very eyes, deceiving those that looked at it. There seemed to be powdered gemstones mixed into the material judging by the way it dazzled. The robe was both frightening and captivating at the same time.

[Prayer of the Dead]

[Lv7]

[Durability: 1,980/1,980 (Self-Repair)]

[Defense: 700 - 900]

[Options: Endurance + 40, Magic + 100, Calculation Assistance, Magic Reinforcement, High-speed Casting]

[Special Passive skill: Blessing of Death - You are able to store others' death energy, and using that death energy, you can prevent your own death. Current charge: 0/1]

Lee Shin-Woo rubbed his eyes and checked once more, but the information didn't change. Setting aside its options, this robe... Its skill had the same name as Jin's revival ability!

"Jin, this robe comes with Blessing of Death."

"What the hell!? That's bullshit!"

However, the robe couldn’t absorb the curse to earn additional lives like Jin’s skill allowed him to do. Instead, it absorbed one’s death energy to revive a person once and only once. That was a shame, but avoiding death even one time was still a big deal.

The original robe probably had a skill that was a rank lower. However, it was because of that skill that Lee Man-Bok was able to regenerate from Lee Shin-Woo's attack. Perhaps it was also the reason he was able to escape from Ethan Cruz.

"Blessing of Death..."

Lee Shin-Woo gave the item another onceover before putting it in Bone Armory. His endurance and magic rose, and all of the remaining options, as well as the robe itself, were stored completely intact.

He immediately switched out one of his Breaths of the Lightning Gods with the Prayer of the Dead and draped it over his armor. The robe made of bone powder could change forms, so it wouldn’t hinder his movements.

High-Speed Casting, Calculation Assistance, and Magic Reinforcement would all be quite helpful to Lee Shin-Woo even though he wasn't a mage. There was nothing more reassuring than having a piece of level 7 equipment draped over him. He was equipped with a level 6 weapon, and though most of his armor was level 4, he had another piece of armor that was level 7. If the other heroes knew about this, they would be jealous and cry tears of blood. No, even the twelve generals would be shocked!

"I gained various info and even acquired some artifacts as well. Our senior didn't die in vain..."

"I don't think he would've agreed with you..."

Lee Shin-Woo didn't really care what the dead thought. Once they made sure they had left no traces behind, they got ready to leave, but then...they found a few volumes of books atop a makeshift table in the boss room.

They were all written by Lee Man-Bok.

"You're not taking these with you, Shin-Woo?"

"They're not skill books. They're probably useless..."

Still he took the books with him. Despite being chosen as a hero and having learned the Empire’s language, it was more likely that Lee Man-Bok would be writing in Korean. Taking a look at one of the books confirmed Lee Shin-Woo’s guess. The contents were so childish and immature that he couldn’t help but snort. Lee Man-Bok was whining like a little kid.

"Shin-Woo, what did he write?"

"Not sure. I don't know what the language is, so I can't read it."

"You're lying, aren't you? His name is similar to yours. You're from the same country, aren't you!? Aren’t you!?"

"I'm not. Let's go to the Giant's domain that our senior was so helpful in telling us about. Hurry up, Jin."

"Liar. If you can't understand it, why are you sitting there, reading it so earnestly? Hey!"

Lee Shin-Woo didn't reply, and instead urged Jin to go by tapping on his back, all the while continuing to read Lee Man-Bok's diary. In the end, Jin grumbled in resignation and left the dungeon, quickly going into a gallop. Meanwhile, Lee Shin-Woo absent-mindedly read Lee Man-Bok's diary and chuckled despondently every now and then.