"She got me again..."

"What took you so long... What's wrong with you?"

Lee Shin-Woo returned after being robbed at the Secret Shop to Jin’s odd look. He wondered if he should tell Jin he’d been caught up in Pleine's business acumen and only had 20,000 Perium left, but decided against it.

"Did you get a charge skill?"

"I was able to get a good one."

"That's a relief... But wait, why were you late in the first place?"

Jin was extremely curious, but Lee Shin-Woo didn't tell him the details; he had promised Pleine that he wouldn't tell anyone else what they'd discussed.

Therefore, when Jin suggested that they practice the charge skill together, Lee Shin-Woo simply shook his head, saying no to that as well.

"Let's try it after I gain Lightning Resistance."

"Lightning Resistance!?"

"I got a good skill, but there’s some problem I didn’t anticipate when I bought it... No, I'd probably still have bought it even if I knew about it beforehand."

After paying a total of 41.5 million Perium, he'd learned the high rank skill, Lightning Sprint, would wrap the user’s entire body in lightning and allow them to charge with an impressive speed and destructive force; it was quite a wild skill.

Ordinarily, the skill could only be used when one is contracted to a lightning spirit, but Lee Shin-Woo was able to use the skill without any problems, as he could create lightning by himself. It had a high compatibility with Bursting Thunder as well.

"High rank skills aren't often sold in the shop, but when they are, they're sold immediately. It seems this particular skill has remained unsold due to the hurdle that comes with it."

"So you've satisfied all the conditions, but you can't use it because of me."

There was no way the lightning would inflict damage on its caster, but the problem was Jin. Because it would create an intense lightning befitting its high ranking, he couldn't use it before Jin acquired at least intermediate Lightning Resistance. If he himself had Lightning Resistance, he would be able to share it with Jin, but he didn't.

"I could use it without riding on your back, but that's pretty pointless."

"That's true."

The reason Lee Shin-Woo's charge attacks possessed such destructive force was because of Jin's formidable speed and reaction time. Even with a high rank skill, he couldn’t match Jin’s agility.

"They don't sell Lightning Resistance in the shop?" Jin asked.

"It's not just lightning. They don't sell any resistances. I didn't really know, but apparently resistances are really amazing.'

"Ah, yeah. That sounds about right..."

Resistances were tricky both in their acquisition and training. To level up a resistance, one had to be heavily damaged by an element, which most people weren’t stupid enough to subject themselves to repeatedly. Therefore, those who had a resistance mostly had it at low or intermediate rank.

"But that means you can't use that charge skill of yours."

"I guess we have no choice but to substitute it with your skill and my Shadow Horn for now..."

While Lee Shin-Woo had spent pretty much all his money on the three skills, he couldn't even use a single one of them immediately! It felt as though he'd been robbed, but he couldn’t get a refund since he'd already learned the skills.

"Why did you even go to the shop again?" Jin pointed out.

"It hurts enough without you reminding me, so could you lay it off?"

Lee Shin-Woo, who'd been hurt both physically and mentally, traveled to the closest Golem train station. There were only two trains that went to level 3 danger zones, located in the western and eastern part of the Empire respectively.

They were areas he couldn't have even imagined going to when he first rode on the train, but now they had to go to at least a level 3 danger zone to grow. They would've moved on to the level 3 danger zones earlier had it not been for the Paul’s expansion plan.

"Looking back, we've traveled through about 60% of the Empire in a few months."

"But the tough part starts now."

It had been a few months since they first learned about the concept of 'danger zones', yet nothing had changed for the other heroes. Most of them were still staying near the level 3 satellite cities that were connected to the large cities.

Apparently, level 4 danger zones and above were occupied by only beings higher than level 6, so it could be said that Lee Shin-Woo and Jin's experiences were just a taste of what was to come. Their adventure had only just begun, so was their journey of Bone Reinforcement.

"Level 7 elites... Bones that are tasty and good for you..."

"Man, you're already talking about that?"

It wasn’t the first time Jin looked at Lee Shin-Woo and thought, Well, I guess this time I’m really gonna die. However, the frequency of such occurrences seemed to have gone up. Even though Lee Shin-Woo had witnessed first hand how Shino Rendu had died venturing into a satellite city, he was still ready to attack one!

"Even I won't do something as stupid as Shino Rendu had done. Yeah, I'm going to attack the city, but I'm going to get out quickly too."

"In other words, you're going to hit the city and then rely on my speed to get the hell out."

"Oh, you’ve caught on? You really are the best partner."

"Yeah, and you’re tactless."

"Who, me?"

Unnerved by his conversation with Lee Shin-Woo, Jin quickly checked how many Blessings of Death he'd accumulated.

Thanks to Lee Shin-Woo's instruction, Jin was able to better absorb the surrounding curse and had accumulated nine lives. However, he was still concerned whether or not that was enough.

"The speed at which your Blessing of Death stockpiles will increase from now on as well."

"We're gonna get really close to death, aren't we...?"

The two arrived at the train station and hopped on the ride without hesitation. They were now used to the sudden acceleration, and Lee Shin-Woo was no longer so weak that he would tumble because of its speed, which unexpectedly made Lee Shin-Woo realize how much he’d grown.

The moment the train stopped, and they got to the platform, Lee Shin-Woo felt a powerful yet familiar wave of mana. He looked up and instinctually hid his own mana.

"Huh?"

[It's been a while, Paul Zero.]

At the center of the platform where all nine trains were on standby, they saw Guillotine Steelworker, someone they hadn't seen since being given the authorization to use the trains. The Golem seemed to have come in person immediately after confirming that the train had entered the station.

"It's been a long time... Were you waiting for us?"

[That's right.]

Guillotine looked quite serious, which made Lee Shin-Woo uneasy, but he managed to maintain his composure—well, he only had to keep his goblin fire blazing at a steady rate.

"But we haven’t been causing much trouble lately."

[You're right. You've also been disposing of the low rank Golems for us... I considered spying on you, but I chose not to. I wasn't here to interrogate you.]

"Then do you have a request?"

[You're really quick on the uptake, you rascal.]

Guillotine smiled wryly. For a Golem, the way his skin stretched and moved on his face was truly intricate. And Lee Shin-Woo couldn’t help but get jealous of his natural-looking hair. I can’t even get hair like that with hair transplants! I hope you go bald in the future!

[You should already have some idea, but we've been keeping an eye on you whenever you come and go from this place. We had no choice but to be suspicious.]

"So what's your request...?"

[Yeah. We're not as suspicious of you as we once were. At the very least, we're sure that you're not one of the Emperor's men.]

"I told you that at the beginning, didn't I?"

[Haha.]

Both the skeleton speaking with discomfort and the Golem smiling awkwardly knew that they could never truly trust one another, but they agreed that they wouldn’t act to harm the other. That was the conclusion they had taken so long to reach.

[Like you said, I have a request for you. It may be difficult for a level 5, but it should be possible with the help of your group.]

Lee Shin-Woo's eyes gleamed for two reasons. Firstly, Guillotine didn't get his level right. That meant Lee Shin-Woo was successful in concealing his mana from a higher leveled individual.

And secondly...

"I don't have a group backing me though."

[Let's leave it at that.]

Lee Shin-Woo didn’t let his wryness show.

He had told Guillotine that both he and JIn were the result of the trial they underwent, and that they were the sole survivors of said trial. Only idiots would take them at their words, though, and the Golems certainly weren’t idiots. It was only natural that they would assume there were others backing Lee Shin-Woo and Jin up.

That was exactly what Lee Shin-Woo had been aiming for from the beginning.

A small lie is exposed when trying to hide a larger lie. To make them believe that Jin and I were the only survivors of the trial, I acted like I was clumsily hiding the fact that there was a group supporting me. And they zeroed in on that...

Like he had planned, they believed Lee Shin-Woo was an agent of some unknown group.

'Doesn't it hurt your brain to always think in such a complex manner?'

'Surprise! I don't even have a brain!'

Lee Shin-Woo and Jin exchanged trifling jokes through their connection, and Guillotine Steelworker got to his point. As expected, his tone was quite serious.

[Do you remember what the General told you last time...regarding our creation?]

"Of course I do."

[Good. That speeds things up. At the time, the Emperor sacrificed promising knights for his own protection. The Metal Army was thus established with 500 members, but thousands were sacrificed in order to make that 500.]

"Thousands..."

[So what would've happened to the thousands of knights sacrificed? They were discarded. In order to conceal how wicked the Emperor was, the testing facilities were completely buried.]

"...No way."

The awful thought surfacing his mind made Lee Shin-Woo freeze momentarily. Guillotine Steelworker nodded calmly.

[You’ve probably come to the right guess. They had most likely been resurrected as undead. We made a mistake; we should've cremated them, but we didn't...]

"That's... I ended up hearing something that puts a bad taste in my mouth."

[If I could, I would take care of it myself, but... The day following the outbreak of the curse, General forbade any of us from going outside. That's why I'd like you to do it in my place.]

"Huh?"

Guillotine had been speaking as if the matter had nothing to do with him, but now he was circling back. Lee Shin-Woo's goblin fire narrowed. Guillotine Steelworker continued.

[It's time for them to rest. I hope that you'll give them peace in our place. I'll tell you where they are. It's near the satellite city, Kadinan. The train will take you right there.]

"Is that all?"

[Of course.]

Lee Shin-Woo didn’t immediately respond to Guillotine’s unusually flippant answer. He pretended to ruminate over the issue, but as always, he made his decision right away.

"Fine. I'll accept your request. There's a reward, right?"

[If you return, I'll give you something beyond your expectations. I promise you as Guillotine Steelworker, one of the Four Commanders.]

Considering that he called himself one of the Four Commanders, there must be three other level 7 Golems aside from Guillotine. Lee Shin-Woo nodded at Guillotine's confident declaration and ignored Jin’s unease.

"I trust you'll keep your promise. We’ll set out immediately."

[Good luck.]

Guillotine had been worried that Lee Shin-Woo would ask more questions, but he ended up accepting the task without hesitation and immediately getting on the train. Once safely inside and away from unwanted eyes, Lee Shin-Woo smiled.

The train soon departed. Guillotine was the only one remaining. He turned around and suddenly heard a dignified voice from within his head. It was Arema Steelworker.

[Guillotine, I believe that was an order I gave to you.]

[I wanted to reduce our casualties. Moreover, there are reports of the other generals getting more involved now, so I fear that we'd be discovered if we go outside, no matter how careful we are.]

[But if they are to discover the facility...]

[Even if they find it, they don't have the authorization to enter.]

Arema hesitated, and Guillotine continued to press.

[Paul Zero only has the authority of a general administrator. Only Golems can access an authority any higher than that. Isn't that what you said, Sir Arema?]

[...It's plenty surprising already that he acquired a general administrative authority from simply studying a Golem. That's why I had thought he was one of the Emperor's men.]

[Indeed, it is surprising. It's something we need to pay attention to. If he returns safely after completing the task, I plan to watch him through hidden surveillance. This task is a good excuse to give him that.]

[...Mm...]

Arema’s doubts assuaged. He now looked favorably upon the plan.

[Fine. I’ve entrusted you with this, so do as you please. You have to take responsibility for it as well, however.]

[I'll keep that in mind, my lord.]

As soon as the voice taking hold of both his mind and body disappeared, Guillotine sighed without thinking about why.

Then he walked over to the production facility to create a Surveillance Unit Zero for Lee Shin-Woo.