[But we'll be exposed to the curse on the way there. What do we do about that?]

[Even if we travel as quickly as possible, we'll still be affected by the curse. Ugh... I'm concerned that we might spread the curse to the healthy trees.]

Although the concerned Dryads had been convinced to move by Lee Shin-Woo, they weren't stupid. They asked the question that had to be addressed. That, however, didn’t break Lee Shin-Woo’s calm.

"Don't worry. I have something in mind even though it may not be a perfect method."

[Really?]

[As expected of Paul Zero! What's the method?]

"That's..."

Lee Shin-Woo momentarily shifted his attention to Jin. Jin, who had been observing how the situation was progressing, panicked and stepped back.

'What are you trying to do?'

'I was just thinking you could absorb the curse from them with your ability.'

That was right. The reason Lee Shin-Woo believed it would all work out somehow was his trust in Jin’s skill. Jin had a rough idea why.

'Like when we restored the sanity of that Corrupted Dryad?'

'Yeah, and they're in much better shape than the Corrupted Dryads. Can you do it?'

'Mmmmm...'

Jin was conflicted. At the end of the day, his curse absorption ability was a by-product of his resistance, not the main facet. He couldn't intentionally control that side of his ability. He had difficulty telling if the plan would work.

'Even if it is possible, I can't do it by myself. I need your help.'

'I suppose it can't be helped.'

Lee Shin-Woo had expected an answer like that. With a chuckle, he approached Jin and put a hand on his back before activating Assimilation. Now they could tie their consciousness and mana closely together.

'How is it, Shin-Woo?'

'Mm, good... I can roughly tell how it works.'

'Really!?'

Jin himself hadn't even figured out how his ability worked, so how could Lee Shin-Woo do it so quickly!? Jin felt a sudden burst of frustration in his heart, but that was how talent worked. There was nothing he could do to change that.

Lee Shin-Woo more deeply analyzed the curse absorption ability... Which couldn't be considered a status or even a skill.

'Yeah. Since it's an ability that absorbs the curse, it probably wouldn't have any effect on those who have already become undead, but it should be able to absorb the curse from these spirits.'

'That's amazing.'

'This is an impressive ability. It'd be hard for me to replace the absorbed curse energy with life force, but if I were to apply it in a different way...'

'Shin-Woo, you're not forgetting what you're supposed to be doing, are you?'

'Tch, I got it.'

Jin's curse absorption ability was such a marvelous ability that it made Lee Shin-Woo wonder why he hadn't seriously looked into it before. It could be useful to Lee Shin-Woo, as he could freely transform mana however he wished.

'I'll look into it more in depth later, but for now...'

Lee Shin-Woo was now certain that his plan would work. He reached out to the closest Dryad.

"You. Could you come over here?"

[Sure!]

The Dryad obeyed without hesitance. While the other Dryads nervously watched her, Lee Shin-Woo reached out to her while keeping the other hand on Jin's back.

[Please take care of me.]

The Dryad firmly grabbed his outstretched hand without question. Though the spirit's body was made differently, what he sensed from her was the same as any other living being. Her hand was extremely soft, and he sensed a refreshing energy coming from somewhere; he wrapped his fingers around her hand and felt suddenly depressed.

'Damn it. If I were a human, I would've...'

'Hey. Your thoughts are leaking out.'

Lee Shin-Woo broke himself out of his wallowing when Jin pointed that out and began to absorb the curse from the Dryad in earnest.

The curse had burrowed deep into the Dryad's body, so it wasn't easy to find at first. WIth Lee Shin-Woo’s tenacity and his control over Jin’s ability, though, he was able to gradually, very gradually draw out the curse.

[Oh!?]

The Dryad shouted in shock, and her compatriots erupted into surprised exclamations.

[What's wrong?]

[What's going on?]

The Dryad kept a firm hold on Lee Shin-Woo's hand and yelled exuberantly, [The curse within me is being drawn out!]

[How!?]

[It seems like he has an ability that lets him extract the curse!]

[Is that why Paul Zero is different from the other skeletons?]

[I thought it was strange ever since feeling his power over nature!]

The Dryads were quite intelligent. Lee Shin-Woo let their lively voices fade into the background and focused on extracting the undead curse. She wasn't very corrupted anyway, so Lee Shin-Woo quickly pulled out the root of the issue.

[Wow... Wow.]

The Dryad could feel the curse that had been tormenting her leave her completely. She touched her body all over with a slack jaw.

Am I seeing things? Lee Shin-Woo thought. She seems younger as well.

[The curse is gone!]

[It's true. The curse is really gone!]

[Thank you, Paul Zero!]

While the Dryads made a huge fuss, the cured Dryad stroked Lee Shin-Woo's head while holding onto him tightly. He felt her soft skin all over him, yet his heart was calm, like an ocean without a single wave.

[You're my savior!]

"I get it, so could you stop stroking my head? Now, you've seen how it works, so next! I think I can do several at once."

[Waaaaah!]

[Me first, me first!]

As soon as Lee Shin-Woo gave the signal, the Dryads cheered and rushed towards him like they’d been waiting for this moment their whole life! Lee Shin-Woo and Jin were suddenly buried in a pile of Dryads.

'You must love it, huh?'

'You already know that I don't really like it.'

It was such a relief that he was a skeleton that didn't need to breathe in times like this. Lee Shin-Woo calmly began to extract the curse from the Dryads and send it over to Jin.

Jin was the one with the ability to absorb the curse, not Lee Shin-Woo, so Lee Shin-Woo was essentially acting as a passageway for the curse. As a result, the number of times Jin could revive through Blessing of Death suddenly increased.

[I feel free!]

[Me too!]

[Aw. I was freed, but the trees weren't. I feel so sorry for them.]

It didn't take much time before all of the Dryads in the dungeon were cleansed of the curse. They cheered and even clapped, but also mourned for the trees that couldn't be saved since they were already dead. Lee Shin-Woo removed his hand from Jin's back and clapped once.

"Don't separate yourselves from me even when you get outside! Remember that!"

[Got it!]

[We'll stick to you like glue!]

They sounded committed. Lee Shin-Woo felt like a teacher leading kindergarten students around.

"Good. Shall we get going?"

[Before that, Paul Zero.]

Sinea, the youngest, uncorrupted Dryad representing the group, spoke up. She seemed to be the highest-ranking Dryad here.

[We don't need them, but there are things inside that other people might need. You see, the belongings of the original owner of this dungeon are still there.]

"Ah, now that you mention it."

Obviously, the Dryads hadn't created this dungeon. Lee Shin-Woo had pushed the message he saw aside when he entered the dungeon, as it seemed like Mellonia, whoever they were, had created this dungeon so that spirits could live in it as they pleased.

According to Sinea, though, Mellonia’s belongings seemed to have remained in the dungeon. It was unexpected news for him; he had been so focused on the Dryads that he had completely forgotten about the dungeon itself.

[We thought you might want them, so we brought them. How about it?]

"Mm..."

Sinea's green eyes brightened—if someone couldn't tell she was a Dryad from her green eyes, her light-green hair should make that clear—and Lee Shin-Woo turned his attention to the loot she'd left on the floor.

There were a few gems and gold nuggets, a pair of earrings enveloped in cold magic, and finally, books that Mellonia seemed to have personally written. Sinea watched as Lee Shin-Woo examined the loot. She must be checking to see if he liked her present. Lee Shin-Woo was indeed satisfied.

"Thanks. They're exactly what I wanted."

[That's a relief.]

[Oooh!]

[Skeletons like the same stuff humans do!]

Sinea smiled in relief, and simultaneously, the Dryads behind her cheered.

Honestly, he didn't need gold or gems, or earrings when he didn’t even have ears, so half of the presents were meaningless to him. However, pretending to love the presents was an important step in solidifying a good relationship with them. Even now, Lee Shin-Woo was still acting.

Her handwritten books might be useful later. How it would be useful would depend on what she’d done as a human, though.

Lee Shin-Woo carefully placed the precious metals, the pile of books, and the earrings into his inventory. The moment he touched the earrings, to his surprise, they transformed.

[The Lv6 Silver Ice Tiger's Cold Whisker Earrings have been modified by Bone Reinforcement. You have acquired the Lv6 Silver Ice Tiger's Canine Tooth.]

Damn it. He only briefly touched the chilling, hair-raising earrings, yet they were immediately replaced by a tiny silver tooth. It was ridiculously light, and the tooth was so cold that it felt like it would freeze the air. Lee Shin-Woo was dumbstruck.

The earrings were transformed by my skill, but the form completely changed this time. Whiskers can change into teeth?

He knew there was nothing more stupid than questioning how Bone Reinforcement changed the material of something, but even so, he couldn't help but be surprised.

In the past, the equipment he touched would be transformed into another piece of equipment, but this time, an accessory had been changed into unprocessed bone. Of course he would be caught off guard.

[What's that?]

Sinea seemed equally surprised and asked Lee Shin-Woo about it. Lee Shin-Woo pondered for a moment, but decided to respond honestly for once.

"It seems to be a Silver Ice Tiger's tooth. Do you know what a Silver Ice Tiger is?"

[A Silver Ice Tiger is a spirit!]

[A Silver Ice Tiger!? There are still living ones around?]

[You idiot. They're all dead. That's why there's only a tooth left.]

A spirit...? Lee Shin-Woo asked Sinea a follow-up question, "Was the dungeon's original owner an Elementalist?"

[Yes. As I thought, fellow Elementalists can tell each other apart! She was friendly with Dryads. She let us use this space even when she was dying.]

Lee Shin-Woo corrected his assumption that the Dryads had occupied the dungeon without permission. They had been allowed entrance!

"Do you contract with Elementalists too?"

[No? Spirits only form contracts with Elementalists when they need mana... Mm, basically, only the aggressive spirits form contracts. We just need trees.]

Lee Shin-Woo didn't understand what she was saying, but he could at least discern that not all spirits form contracts with Elementalists. Perhaps the books he'd acquired would explain that.

Lee Shin-Woo was satisfied that he had unexpectedly procured knowledge regarding a field he knew little about. However, bones were still bones, and he could always do with more.

Bone Reinforcement!

Lee Shin-Woo reinforced himself with the Ice Tiger's Canine without pause, as the Dryads watched with great interest with shining eyes. The best way to learn about a bone was to absorb it!

[Executing Bone Reinforcement by consuming a Silver Ice Tiger's Canine. Strength and Magic have increased by 8. You have acquired basic knowledge on spirits. You have learned Intermediate Ice Lv1.]

Mmmm...

Lee Shin-Woo had anticipated gaining the Ice element sooner or later since he possessed the ability to reverse elements; that part wasn’t particularly surprising or exciting to him. What caught his attention was the vast basic knowledge on spirits.

This is more like the memories of the Elementalist Mellonia than the Silver Ice Tiger.

He welcomed the knowledge regarding spirits and elemental techniques like rain after a long drought. It was so clear that he felt like he could’ve been an Elementalist had the curse not befallen the Empire and caused everything to die.

[The canine is gone!]

[No, Paul Zero absorbed it! How strange!]

[I feel more elemental power coming from Paul Zero now!]

[How's that possible? Can he use ice spirits as well?]

The Dryads were in awe. They adamantly believed that Lee Shin-Woo was an Elementalist.

"I'm done with the Silver Ice Tiger, so let's go."

[Okay!]

[I'm excited!]

And that was how the mass migration of spirits led by a skeleton commenced. Everything involving Lee Shin-Woo always ended up bigger than it should be; if another hero saw what was happening, they wouldn't believe their eyes.