Chapter 16 Part3 (2/2)
He had succeeded, so next up was to transmit the image in his head in its entirety to the golems. The core had just become a medium that changed Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's mana into that of a golem's. he had already completely a.n.a.lyzed the core and successfully produced their effects.
He was even soon able to release the 'limited' clause on his administrative authority. In other words, he would be able to control golems below level 5, even if they weren't registered in the core. This was already a shocking achievement, but he wasn't satisfied with that.
[Executing pushups.]
[Executing 8 personal training exercises.]
”I'm almost there...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo gently closed his eyes. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was the one who knew about a golem's mana most, aside from a golem itself. He just needed to take one more step.
He trusted in mana's ability to change. He had absorbed a golem's mana before, so he thought that there was no reason he wouldn't be able change his mana to that of a golem's. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was now able to genuinely think that way.
”Hoo...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo fell into deep thought, and he dropped the core that had been in his hand, which automatically entered his inventory. If he truly wanted to produce a golem's mana, he had to discard the core. [1]
[Standing by.]
[Connection with commander has been lost.]
The golems, which had been diligently doing their pushups and eight PT exercises, returned to standby. It was possible because they weren't the autonomous defense type golems, which automatically recognized their enemies and attacked.
'A golem's mana... A golem's mana...'
How long had he stood there? Around the time where he became unaware of the chaos and the terror that covered the city, mana suddenly appeared on his fingertips.
”Oh... Oh?”
”Hoo...”
It seemed as though the mana couldn't make up its mind, as it hovered around, but it soon changed into flames, acid, and lightning. The mana went from a living person's to a dead person's.
Then it changed to Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's mana, to something else's, and ultimately arrived at unknown territory. He realized that all of it was similar and that there wasn't any real reason to cla.s.sify them.
The moment he thought that way, the mana within him seethed. The Mana Bone skill responded to his realization and more purely refined his mana. Though there wasn't any change in the volume of mana, this had caused his mana to be reborn.
[The Element category has been opened in the status menu. You can draw the pure essence of the elements from your mana and use them as you please. The Low Rank Flames of Revenge and the Intermediate Acid Poison Spray skills are eliminated. You have acquired Low Rank Fire Lv4, Intermediate Acid Lv3, and Intermediate Lightning Lv1.]
The Flames of Revenge, as well as the Acid Poison Spray skills were nothing more than skills that changed mana for a special purpose and allowed one to manipulate the transformed mana. Compared to fundamentally changing mana into a pure element, the skills were inferior techniques.
He had become able to freely change his mana into an element and use it, whether he wanted to cause it to spread and persistently blaze, or shoot out in a straight line. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo then realized that there was no reason to confine flames or acid into one form.
'Yeah. That's what Kratia realized as well when she watched me...'
The purpose of Bone Reinforcement wasn't for him to learn typical skills from absorbing the memories of countless individuals, as well as their abilities, but to make him realize that he could combine countless abilities into one, or divide one into countless others.
”Hoo...”
The black mana above the palm of his hand unraveled like a ball of yarn and formed a single pattern. If the Steelworkers had seen that, they would've been shocked. That's because it was the high rank administrative seal that was only allowed to level 7 golems.
This was the result of Guillotine Steelworker's arrogance; he thought that only golems could create the seal, so he didn't even feel the need to hide the pattern.
[Recognizing high rank authority.]
[It's a pleasure. Obeying Steelworker's orders.]
[Output limitations have been completely released. High rank commander is cleared.]
The three golems quickly stood up. If they had treated his commands as though they were from a lieutenant until now, now they were treating him as though he were a 2-star general and were showing their loyalty.
[Accepting Iron Golems I0919, I0920, and I0921 as subordinates. These golems are under the effect of the Command skill and are strengthened.]
Jin, who had watched with bated breath ever since Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had created several elements, realized that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had really done it and was shocked. At that moment, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo saw a message right in front of him stating that Kratia was finished!
[Quest complete! You have acquired 3 permits to G.o.d's secret shop. The Acting skill has become Lv11. You have learned the Joker's innate skill, 'Disguise'.]
[Disguise Lv1 (Active)]
[A true Joker fools even himself. And if he perfectly fools even himself, then he can ultimately fool the entire world. You can transform into someone you are completely familiar with, or modify a part of your body or an item you are holding. Of course, it only changes the outside appearance, so please use this skill with discretion.]
”...!?”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo felt as if he had gooseb.u.mps all over his body. How could this kind of skill exist? He could understand if it were a skill that allowed him to create something with mana, but this wasn't like that.
'Fool yourself, so you can fool the world?' It sounded way too grandiose. Even he, the possessor of the skill, couldn't understand the principles behind the skill. He had finally finished his homework, yet it felt like he had gotten another more difficult piece of homework.
”What's wrong, s.h.i.+n Woo? Were you not able to make the seal just like you wanted?”
”No, that's not it.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo just shook his head towards Jin, who was worrying about him. He had thought that everything would be his for the taking after figuring out how to make the seal, but was crestfallen when he realized that wasn't true, and wasn't able to honestly relay that fact.
At that moment, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly felt the death energy around him dwindle. Now that he thought about it, he didn't hear any screams or battle cries in the surrounding area anymore. That meant only one thing.
[You and your comrades have cleared away the death in the city, 'Kehebe'. Though you did not eliminate the curse, you managed to lessen the energy of death here, so no more undead will appear in this area.]
It was message saying that they'd purified the city.
[1] E/N: Not to be thought of literally. He just shouldn't be in contact with the core for it to truly be him making the changes.
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