Chapter 4 Part2 (1/2)
<chapter 4.=”” hunting=”” hero=”” -=”” 2=””>
[You have reinforced your rib bones. You have absorbed all the memories and experiences that you can from the Rural Rat.]
[Jjiiiii! - Rural Rat Elite Soldier]
”Jjii...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo wordlessly checked the message and turned his gaze away. There he saw the face of the dying Rural Rat Queen. It seems that she had a limit to her birthing, and no matter how much she tried, there wouldn't be any more Elite Soldier births.
”What great timing.”
He couldn't be sure since he didn't have a watch, but he had killed the Elite Soldiers that she had birthed and Reinforced himself with the bones they left behind; he had already done this several dozens of times or more, and it felt like he had stayed here long enough. In the end, he had completely mastered the rat bones!
It was a task that caused him to recollect his time playing an RPG; he left his character in a suitable hunting ground and used his macros to farm.
”Jjik, Jjii...”
”Yeah, you've done well. I hope you're reborn as a rat that Cinderella takes care of.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo spoke tenderly and swung his sword, cleanly decapitating the queen. At that moment, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo heard the sound of a trumpet ringing in his ear and his eyes were filled with messages.
[Level 1 dungeon, Rural Rat Nest, clear. Magic has increased by 1.]
[You have gruesomely slaughtered all life within the dungeon. You have gained 1 Slaughterer's token.]
[You have gained the dungeon clear reward.]
The queen only left behind a large bone and some Perium, and soon after withered away and disappeared. However, when Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was picking up the bone and the Perium, he found a wooden box where the queen had disappeared.
It was a small and frail box that seemed like it would rot away immediately. It was definitely the dungeon clear reward.
”Hoo, now let's see.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo opened the box. There was a book and a money pouch containing Perium inside. Lastly, there was also a dagger inside, but it didn't transform despite him touching it, so when he looked at it again, it was, fortunately, a weapon made of bone!
[You have acquired the Lv2 Bleeding Tooth.]
[Bleeding Tooth]
[Lv2]
[Durability: 450/450]
[Attack Power: 18 - 36]
[Options: When you attack, there is a fixed chance that it will inflict the 'Diseased' status ailment.]
”Strictly speaking, this isn't a bone... Well, whatever. There are teeth on a skeleton too, so it's probably something like that.”
Whether teeth were bones or not from a medical perspective, the important thing was that it hadn't transformed and hadn't lowered in level. There are probably authors who insist that the tooth should've changed since it's not technically bone, but he was willing to a.s.sa.s.sinate them all.
[You have acquired 1,500 Perium.]
[You have acquired the Beginner Stealth skill book.]
”It was Stealth!?”
He was, of course, familiar with and expected that it'd be a skill book. He had been secretly, really excited since he thought it'd be a new skill that would increase his overall fighting ability, but... to think it'd be Stealth, something that he'd trained to death in this dungeon!
His teeth trembled, and he stored the book. He was already familiar with the skill, so he felt like familiarizing himself with the skill wouldn't do anything and planned to sell it at the secret shop.
”When I put it all together, the dungeon reward isn't anything special. It's probably cause it's a level 1 dungeon... Tch.”
He wouldn't be able to appease himself without complaining. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo sighed and checked the items remaining in his hands. They were none other than the Ratman's, as well as the Rat Queen's bones.
”Now that it's come to this, you're my only hope... Bone Reinforcement.”
[You have sacrificed the Ratman's finger bone to strengthen your own bones. Agility and Magic have increased by 1. Absorbing a portion of the Ratman's experiences and memories.]
[Ggiiiiiik! Ggihik, Ggiiiiik! (The pain of losing a part of my body is nothing compared to the pain of losing the Queen!) - Ratman]
You a.s.shole, even your dying will is way too cool! Moreover, he was able to roughly figure out what skill he would gain from this bone by automatically interpreting this guy's lines.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo sported an insufferable expression and checked his hand. Hmm, as expected, there weren't any nails. Teeth are acknowledged as bones, so why aren't nails...?
”This is gonna be a skill in name only...”
His agility and magic, which became harder to increase after becoming level 2, had increased by 1 each, so he shouldn't feel disappointed, but... still, he couldn't help but be disappointed.
However, he gripped the Rat Queen's bone, hoping that it would give him a better skill, but ended up with a ridiculous result.
[You have sacrificed the Rural Rat Queen's pelvic bone to reinforce your pelvis. Health has increased by 1, and Magic by 2. Absorbing a portion of the Rural Rat Queen's memories and experiences.]
[Ggii, Ggiiiiii! (Ah, ah, my adorable children!) - Rural Rat Queen]
Why did it have to be the pelvic bone...? No, it's probably not. … It isn't, right? As the feeling of nausea shot up, he wasn't able to control his queasiness, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo tried really hard not to think about it anymore.
Then, a message appeared at an opportune time.
[The dungeon will soon collapse. Please escape before it's too late.]
”So, it's done its job, then it disappears, huh. ...Good.”
He briefly took a deep breath and turned around. He could already feel the dungeon starting to vibrate slightly. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo wanted to check the Slaughterer's token too, but it seemed like he'd have to do that once he got out of the dungeon.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo took another deep breath, used his Sprint, and started running. Small fragments of rock were falling from behind him, as well as emitting ominous sounds.
[Lee s.h.i.+n Woo]
[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by G.o.d]
[Lv - 2]
[Strength - 73 Agility - 78 Health - 82 Magic - 47]
[Pa.s.sive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv2, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv1, Beginner Archery Lv2, Beginner Magic Affinity Lv2, Beginner Stealth Lv7]
[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Beginner Sprint Lv7, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv3]
”Nice.”
The first thing he did once he got out of the dungeon was check his status, and those stats made him incredibly pleased. Just before entering the dungeon, his stats hadn't even reached 200; although his Invisible Heart had activated once, his stats had risen to a sum of 280.
He didn't know how much his stats needed to be to get to level 3, but he was sure he'd be able to reach it soon.