"Your big bro doesn't expect much, Steve. May you spit out a piece of level 4 bone equipment."

Lee Shin-Woo grouched and approached the Treasure Eater. It was stiff, looking exactly like a cicada that had fallen from a tree and died, and its burnt, rotting flesh was covered in blood; it wasn't exactly a pleasant sight, but right now, it looked like a stack of gold to Lee Shin-Woo.

"Hoo... Hmph."

It wasn't anything special, so why was he shaking? Lee Shin-Woo slowly approached the dead bug and poked at it with his now regenerated index finger. At that moment, the body disintegrated into light particles and fluttered away like spring cherry blossoms. It was his first time seeing an undead disappear and break down into mana! He then saw whatever was inside the glowing orbs dropped to the ground. These were the items that the Treasure Eater had left behind as it departed the world.

[You have acquired the Lv3 Treasure Eater's skull.]

[You have acquired 14,960 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Spear. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Spear (+5).]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Iron Shield. It has transformed into a Lv1 Strong Bone Shield (+5).]

[You have acquired a Lv2 Blessed Rose Tree Staff. It has transformed into a Lv2 Blessed Bone Wand (+3).]

[You have acquired a Lv3 Dire Wolf Bone Armor.]

He had acquired the Treasure Eater's skull, 14,960 Perium, as well as a total of four items. Lee Shin-Woo checked his list again and despaired.

"So I really didn’t get any bones from the other Treasure Eaters..."

A portion of the treasures they possessed had ended up in the Lv3 Treasure Eater’s storage organ, and Lee Shin-Woo was able to collect them. However, due to this asshole's Flames of Resentment, he couldn't collect the other Treasure Eaters’ bones. He had thought there was a chance that it had stored the bones of its kind in its body when it swallowed their treasures, but that was just a silly dream. He had overcome such a tough fight without getting any of the elite monsters' bones; his realization that he had won only through reinforcing his bones made the situation even more difficult to swallow.

"If I’m gonna learn magic, I should get the ability to extinguish fire first…”

However, it wasn't all bad news. First off, the treasure the Lv3 Treasure Eater had been keeping hold of dearly was, fortunately, equipment composed of bones.

[Dire Wolf Bone Armor Lv3]

[Durability: 800/800]

[Defense: 100 - 115]

[Options: Increases Endurance by 20]

"It seems mundane, but..."

In many ways, the item didn't seem very exciting compared to the grand Bone of Thunder Lasting, but the Dire Wolf Bone Armor was actually plenty amazing. Defensive equipment was meant to protect the body, and it excelled in that regard. The upper body armor, created out of auburn dire wolf bones, was ridiculously sturdy. He didn’t know how the bones had been processed, but the armor was sturdy to the point that he'd find it troublesome and turn back if an opponent showed up wearing it. That came as no surprise since it was a piece of level 3 equipment.

Moreover, just by wearing it, his endurance would increase by 20, which would improve his overall defense as well as increase his stamina. Lee Shin-Woo immediately equipped the armor. Regardless of how much he'd leveled up or how much larger he'd gotten, he still looked like a random nameless skeleton that appeared in a beginner dungeon; equipped with the fine armor and the Bone of Thunder Lasting, however, he needn’t envy the formidable monsters with proper names. As expected, items were indeed the best.

Good, it's perfect. No one’s gonna call me a newbie anymore.

Moreover, the Blessed Rose Tree Staff had transformed into Blessed Bone Wand without a level drop. In fact, the level 2 equipment had actually been reinforced.

[Blessed Bone Wand (+3) Lv2]

[Durability: 350/350]

[Attack Power: 10 - 15]

[Options: Increases Magic by 11, Increases Magic Casting Speed by 11%, Increases damage taken from living foes by 11%]

"In other words, being transformed into bones isn’t necessarily a downgrade."

It would depend on the item; in this case, the change made the weapon stronger. It might even result in an increase in level. That made him feel a lot better, at least compared to when he had thought every item not made of bones would always decrease in level when he touched it. Of course, he didn't really have a use for the wand right now, so he shoved it into his inventory.

"Good. Shall we get to the main dish?"

He was referring to the skull of the Treasure Eater, which he had placed carefully on the floor. He picked it up and felt an unusual magic contained within. He could sense the intense heat. That reminded him of the skill the Treasure Eater had threatened to annihilate him and the Skeleton Warriors alike with, which was also the skill that had put them in dire danger. Gulping, he carefully activated his skill.

"...Bone Reinforcement."

[You have reinforced your skull. Magic has increased by 15. Absorbing a portion of the Treasure Eater's memories and experiences.]

Whoa, 15?! His magic had increased by 15 all at once. The sudden change hit him like a truck, but he was already somewhat prepared for the pain and managed to endure it without losing composure. He simply followed the flow of mana. Amid the pain making a mess of his head, a new burst of mana welled up and expanded through his body; the sensation was truly refreshing.

Ah...!

A tiny flame bloomed within his mana. The instant Lee Shin-Woo was about to exclaim after discovering it, the flame swelled and spread through his entire body without giving him the time to grab for it. Ina split second, a black flame rose and disappeared. Lee Shin-Woo realized then that the flame wouldn’t harm him. A strong will dwelled within the flame, and it was none other than his own will.

[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Flames of Revenge.]

[Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv1 (Active)]

[An Avenger's tenacity is put into their magic and manifested in flames. It will pursue and latch onto your target, and will not extinguish until you run out of mana, or until either you or your opponent dies. It can be extinguished by someone with higher Magic than you. It is also possible to incorporate the flames into your weapon.]

Huh?

That was definitely Flames of Resentment. Why would the name of the skill be different? Lee Shin-Woo was momentarily puzzled, but the answer to his question was extremely obvious: When he reinforced his bones, he would acquire the memories and experiences of their original owner rather than the skills themselves, which meant that his own memories and experiences would be added to his newly-acquired skill and manifested in a way that reflected his personal history. Therefore, it was possible for the skill to take a completely different form. When he absorbed the Ratman’s finger bone, for example, he had acquired Catapult rather than the Ratman’s ability to launch its nails.

"...Hoo, now I'm feeling a little better."

Once the pain and the dizziness brought about by his sudden increase in magic passed, Lee Shin-Woo shook his head and got a hold of himself. His mind was much clearer now. Though it was still empty!

Alright, let’s move around and get used to the change, shall we?

He had collected everything the Lv3 Treasure Eater had left behind, but there might still be some loot on the battlefield. Setting aside the greatswords left by the Skeleton Warriors, which he could easily see, there might be other bones buried under the ashes!

During his thirty minutes search, Lee Shin-Woo managed to collect fifteen Lv1 Long Bone Swords (+5), one Lv2 Treasure Eater lower jaw bone, three Skeleton Warriors' palm bones, and lastly, 2,560 Perium. The fact that a piece of Treasure Eater’s bone had been left intact was a pleasant surprise, but... he ended up getting more than that.

[You have acquired The Trickster's token.]

"... What's that?"

Lee Shin-Woo's bony features did its best approximation of a frown when he looked at the gold coin in the palm, depicting a bizarre man wearing a helmet and shorts while holding a spear in one hand and a trumpet in the other. The description of the item popped up unprompted.

[The Trickster's token]

[The token of a scammer who hates harmony, instigates disorder, and can come up with all kinds of plots. One is plenty enough, while two would be one too many.]

"..."

He was pretty sure he was told that it would be easier to obtain more of the same kind of token when he first got a Slaughterer’s token, and hadn’t he done plenty to earn another in this battle? What is this? Trickster? What the hell is going on? Am I gonna look for both Slaughterer’s tokens and Trickster’s tokens from now on? Lee Shin-Woo furrowed his nonexistent brows and agonized over it. That was when he noticed the familiar distortion of mana. He was going to get a quest notification.

[The quest 'Slaughterer's Token' has been canceled.]

[A new quest has been created.]

"...Ha."

[A New Manipulator]

[The faces you present to the world are numerous, yet none of them are real. Fool everyone in that case. If you do so, you can become anything! To be more specific, gather 10 different karma tokens, with the Trickster's token included.]

[Quest progress - Trickster's token 1/1, karma tokens 2/10]

[Quest reward - a Lv6 Weapon and Trickster's arm bone]

"Wait a sec!?"

Different karma tokens? Was it telling him to gain other karma tokens like how he had gained the Slaughterer's token and the Trickster's token? The difficulty level of the quest just shot up outrageously, didn’t it?!

He thought about how he had gotten the token in the first place. It must be something to do with him acting like the Skeleton Warriors’ ally and leading them into a fight against the Treasure Eaters... Still, the reality was way too harsh! He didn't even know what conditions he'd have to fulfill to get the other karma tokens, and yet he had been given this quest; what the hell was a Trickster for him to get such a quest!?

"...It'll be fine if I just ignore it, right? It probably won't be much of a problem."

Even though he said so, the thought weighed on his mind considerably. The quest had replaced the one for Slaughterer’s token. He couldn't help but be curious. It wasn’t telling him to collect 10 Trickster’s tokens, but to gather a total of 10 different karma tokens, including the Trickster’s token he had already acquired...

Ugh... It won’t hurt to try. Let’s not overthink it.

Ultimately, Lee Shin-Woo decided to see this new development in a positive light. Rather than destroying his brain by overthinking, he would do his best to progress the quest when an opportunity presented itself. He felt a weight lifted off him once he reached the decision.

Anyway, the quest reward has changed as well, so it's become kind of awkward to use the permit to Goddess’s Secret Shop right away.

He had cleared the dungeon and eliminated the Treasure Eaters in one go, and he now possessed a great fortune of 25,000 Perium. Be it new bones or magic books, he would have enough money to reinforce himself...That was what he believed, anyway.

However, since he didn’t know when he would get another permit to the Goddess’s Secret Shop, he refused to use his only remaining permit without careful consideration. In the end, Lee Shin-Woo made up his mind with a sigh. He would continue to do what he had been doing first... Namely, clearing all the level 1 dungeons in the vicinity. Then he would go to the secret shop.

I've decided. Shall we get going?

Lee Shin-Woo gently closed his nonexistent eyes to check where each dungeon was. Then he picked up a brisk pace with his Bone of Thunder Lasting in his tight grip. He had grown rapidly after the intense battle, and even his steps were more powerful than before. He was currently level 2 with a total stat of 323. He was confident that he was growing at a ridiculous rate, perhaps even beyond his own imagination.