After coming to terms with the fact that he would have to deal with a skeleton body—bald and impotent—from now on, which was an incredible feat, Lee Shin-Woo began to earnestly study his status. If you know both the enemy and yourself, there is no need to fear the results of a hundred battles. It was a basic principle to know oneself before entering the battlefield. Though he still lacked the courage to actually seek out his enemies.

[Lee Shin-Woo]

[Normal Skeleton Blessed by God]

[Lv - 1][Strength - 13 Agility - 13 Endurance - 13 Magic - 3]

[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv1]

[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv1]

I get that I'm a skeleton, but what does '’blessed’ mean?

As expected, he was most concerned about his class. No matter how he looked at it, his skeletal form seemed more like a curse than a blessing. What exactly was he blessed with? Upon further introspection, a series of text appeared the same way it had when he opened the status window.

[You are a skeleton that was blessed and created by the goddess. As such, you will not take any damage from holy magic, and will instead receive 1.5x the normal recovery rate.]

[You are immune to all curses due to the blessing.]

"How unexpected, that's amazing!"

The ability was truly befitting of the word ‘blessed’! In fact, it would make perfect sense for the term 'skeleton' to be replaced with 'angel'. She should’ve just made me an angel in the first place, Lee Shin-Woo thought pointlessly before going over the next item.

In some ways, it makes sense for me to start from level one. As for my physical abilities and magic... Well, I don't know what the standards are, so it doesn't matter.

He skipped past the level and stats and checked his skills, which were a reflection of his negotiations with the goddess. He had one passive skill and one active skill. Lee Shin-Woo checked the passive skill first.

[Invisible Heart Lv1 (Passive)]

[Your heart cannot be seen, nor can it be grabbed. You are immune to mental ailments, and you will revive even if your body is broken to pieces. Each revival will increase the skill level by 1. Each skill level will increase your stats by 3. However, you will be completely destroyed if the skill reaches the maximum level (Lv100).]

One mystery solved. He had wondered why he was so composed despite having been dumped into a situation like this, and it was all thanks to this skill! It wasn’t difficult for him to swallow the truth, though. After all, the skill would only make it easier for him to survive.

Is it impossible to grant me true immortality? But with this...

Did this mean he had 99 lives? Well, it didn't seem like he would die under ordinary circumstances. Moreover, whenever he died, he would gain additional stats. This was a way to force him to accept his skeletal body, wasn’t it? Of course, he didn't know what would happen if his body was broken into several pieces all at once, or if it was possible to die several times in that case. Similar questions surfaced in his mind, but since they were questions he couldn't readily find an answer to, he would leave them for later. In fact, it would be better if he never found out the answers.

[Bone Reinforcement Lv1 (Active)]

[Sacrifice a bone or a piece of bone equipment in order to reinforce your bones or your bone equipment. You can absorb the special experiences and memories within the bone. The higher the level, the more effective the absorption.]

The last skill was one that would 'theoretically' allow Lee Shin-Woo to grow indefinitely. But why didn't he feel inspired when he saw it?

I wouldn’t know for sure until I get a bone and try it out myself...

That was when a series of texts popped up before his eyes.

[A quest has been generated!]

"Ah, a quest."

He thought that it was the perfect time  for a quest since he didn't know where to go. Perhaps the quest had also been waiting for this moment. It seemed tailor-made for him.

[The Entrance of the Underground Empire]

[You have arrived at the Underground Empire's exterior passageway, where the effects of the curse are almost non-existent. However, the Empire's guards are always patrolling these areas. Whether you exterminate or evade the patrols is up to you, but proceed forward, and find the hideout imbued with the goddess’s power.]

[Quest Reward: Minimap.]

"A minimap, huh..."

He was curious about the minimap, and the passageway was a one-way road anyway. Finding a hideout would serve him well, and he didn't really have a reason to ignore the quest. He still harbored grudges for the goddess who made him like this, but since he didn't want to lose out by going astray, Lee Shin-Woo decided to follow the quest for now. Just as he was about to move his body, however, an undead appeared far inside the passageway.

[Patrol...ling... Are there no... heroes anywhere...]

Luckily, it was a skeleton that looked similar to Lee Shin-Woo; however, unlike him, it carried a decent white bone spear. Armed with a weapon, the skeleton would have an advantage against him. It was surprising that a skeleton composed of all bones could think and that he was able to read its thoughts, but now wasn't the time to ponder the mystery of skeleton anatomy.

[Skeleton Soldier - Lv1]

As soon as Lee Shin-Woo laid his eyes on the skeleton, its class and level popped up. Wait a second. Why is it only level 1 when it seems like it should at least be level 5?

"How the hell is that thing level 1?"

[Hm... Voice... unclear...]

He had ended up talking aloud due to his shock. The skeleton, which was several meters away, instantly turned its head towards him. It noticed him even though it didn't have eyes.

[Skeleton... I haven't seen before... A newbie?]

"..."

In that extremely short moment, Lee Shin-Woo thought of countless things. I’m facing a level 1 enemy, and I'm level 1 with high stats. Shouldn't I just fight it? Still, my enemy does have a weapon, and I don’t know martial arts. It’ll be difficult for me to beat it bare-handed, won’t it? 

It didn’t take long for him to decide what to do.

"Yeah, I'm a newbie! Nice to meet you!"

[A newbie, huh... Nice to... meet you...]

If the enemy had mistaken him as an ally, he wasn’t going to throw away that advantage! Lee Shin-Woo greeted the Skeleton Soldier as brightly and pleasantly as he could before slowly approaching it. The Skeleton Soldier met him halfway, as if it had sensed no danger at all.

[Your bones... are really clean...]

"Your bones are also... uh... sturdy."

[Thanks...]

The Skeleton Soldier seemed happy to hear the compliment. It rubbed its head with its free hand, emitting a squeaky sound. Lee Shin-Woo's eye sockets suddenly gleamed. This was his best chance! He quickly extended his skeletal arms and stole its spear. The Skeleton Soldier panicked as its weapon was snatched in the blink of an eye.

[What... are you doing...!]

"I'm a newbie hero!"

Since he had never learned how to use a spear when he was alive, Lee Shin-Woo just swung the spear like a club and attacked the skeleton. The moment it hit its bones, his own bones felt a considerable rebound, and he had to use considerable force to hold onto the spear.

[You... traitor! You're... with the goddess!]

"Who the hell is with that old hag?!"

He would pay her back later for turning him into this, but it wasn’t possible right now! Lee Shin-Woo swung the spear, putting all his rage for the goddess into the attacks while clenching his teeth. However, even though the Skeleton Soldier screamed every time it got hit by the bone spear, it gradually inched closer to Lee Shin-Woo.

"Isn't this too hard for someone who's a level 1?"

[You traitor!]

The speed at which the skeleton rushed up to him caught Lee Shin-Woo off guard. With all his might, he swung the spear at it. However, the Skeleton Soldier easily evaded his clumsy attack and tackled him.

"Ugh!"

It was pathetic how easily his opponent’s decisive blow made Lee Shin-Woo drop the spear to the ground. Even though he was just bones—no, perhaps it was precisely because he was just bones, it hurt even more. To make matters worse, when he somehow managed to stand up, he saw that the Skeleton Soldier had regained its spear and was pointing it at him. Although the skeleton was cracked in various places due to his attacks, its spirit was no less than that of a Death Knight.

[Execute... traitor...!]

"W-Wait a second, Paul! Remember our good old days...!"

[Execute!]

The Skeleton Soldier's spear flew towards his skull, crushing it to pieces. It was clean and precise compared to Lee Shin-Woo's unsightly attack. It was truly a perfect critical hit.

[Execution complete. Returning to.... patrol...]

The Skeleton Soldier confirmed that Lee Shin-Woo's skull had indeed been crushed. Seemingly certain of his death, it nodded and turned around. However, in the next instant, the broken pieces of Lee Shin-Woo's shattered skull emitted a faint light and gathered into one piece, fully restored.

[Invisible Heart is now level 2. All stats have increased by 3.]

[98 levels remaining until the max level.]

Lee Shin-Woo regained consciousness in a split second and stood up silently. His empty eye sockets momentarily flickered with a faint flame before disappearing. He carefully closed and opened his fist before attacking the defenseless and slowly moving skeleton from behind.

[You're...!?]

"Urgh...!"

If he had learned anything from his defeat, it was that a skeleton's greatest weakness was their head. Lee Shin-Woo didn't even attempt to snatch the spear this time. He rushed in real close, balled his hands into fists, and pounded on its skull like a madman.

"Die! Die!"

[Keuaaahk!?]

The Skeleton Soldier screamed and swung its spear, but Shin-Woo was too close for the spear to be effective. The spear floundered in the air a few more times before it was unceremoniously discarded, and the Skeleton Soldier resorted to its fists as well. By then, however, it was already too late. Shin-Woo didn't know how many times he had struck its head, but the cracks he'd made thus far suddenly emitted a creaking sound before expanding, shattering the skull.

[You have defeated a Lv1 Skeleton Soldier.]

Even after the message appeared before his eyes, Lee Shin-Woo remained on guard until he saw the Skeleton Soldier break down, unable to maintain its body any longer. Finally, he allowed himself to relax slightly and dropped to the floor. Even though an undead body didn't feel fatigue, his mind was completely groggy.

I shouldn't have underestimated him.

He was confident that he had done everything he could to prepare the original attack, but there had been an unbridgeable gap in skill between him and the Skeleton Soldier. Its spear had crushed his skull in a single strike, while he had to attack it several times to do the same. The difference in skill had cost him a life.

...There’s no way to regain the life I had lost. All I can do is avoid another death.

Lee Shin-Woo gave himself a pep talk to rejuvenate his fighting spirit, which had been exhausted by the fierce battle. A mere Skeleton Soldier was nothing more than the lowest-ranking monster in the Empire. If he gave up here, he would be nothing.

"Hoo."

He somehow exerted enough strength into his bones to pick himself up. Then he saw 3 spoils of war left where the skeleton had disappeared. One was the white bone spear it had used, another was a black coin, and the last was a bone that had remained without breaking down. Lee Shin-Woo instinctively reached out to grab them.

[You have acquired a Lv1 Bone Spear.]

[You have acquired the Skeleton Soldier's Arm Bone.]

[You have acquired 10 Perium.]

Would there really be any need for money in an empire comprised of only the undead? he thought. That was the first question that came to mind, but then again, he had a leather pouch on him even though he was just bones. Lee Shin-Woo shrugged and decided to put the coin into his pouch. Now the only remaining things of importance were the spear and the bone.

[Bone Spear]

[Lv1][Durability: 93/100]

[Attack Power: 5 - 15]

The bone spear remained sturdy despite having collided with the Skeleton Soldier several times during the battle. And there was something else noteworthy about the weapon: it came with a level. No, there was more.

[Would you like to sacrifice the bone spear in order to reinforce your bones? You can choose one of the following to reinforce: toe bone, leg bone, arm bone, a finger bone, upper jaw bone, or the lower jaw bone.]

"No."

It seemed that bone equipment could be sacrificed in order to reinforce the body, but he desperately needed a weapon right now, so he let it be. More importantly, there was something else that could reinforce his bones.

[Would you like to sacrifice the Skeleton Soldier's Arm Bone to reinforce your bones? You can reinforce your arm bone.]

Lee Shin-Woo scanned his surroundings before nodding. The desolate passageway was silent without even the sound of ants crawling by. Well, he had already killed a patrolling guard, so it would take some time before another one showed up. After he confirmed his safety, he silently muttered.

"Reinforce."