It made sense that he wouldn’t be able to tell the time since he was underground, but the Empire did have an artificial day-night cycle. From what he had heard, it was made possible by the great magic spheres installed in the extremely high ceiling. That didn’t really matter to him, though.

[Mr. Lee Shin-Woo has entered the chatroom.]

Within the silent darkness, Lee Shin-Woo gently leaned against a rotten, decaying old tree and checked the chatroom.

[Lloyd H.K: Newbie, you're not dead yet, right?]

[Lee Shin-Woo: I’m still alive thanks to your concern.]

[Lloyd H.K: Good, you're doing well.]

Lee Shin-Woo didn't need to sleep, he couldn’t even if he wanted to. Therefore, he was able to keep moving non-stop no matter if it was day or night in the Empire. Still, he was mentally exhausted after clearing another dungeon following his battle with the Treasure Eaters, and he didn’t feel like traveling further at the moment. He decided to use the darkness as an excuse to rest and snoop around the chatroom during this downtime.

[Lee Shin-Woo: You're not going to sleep, senior?]

[Lloyd H.K: I feel like I'll be ok for about four more days.]

[Lee Shin-Woo: Aha.]

Perhaps that guy's also undead, he thought, but there was no way that would be the case. It was just that the higher one’s level was, the higher their physical abilities, so the less sleep they'd need.

[Prince Altania: Lloyd, how are you always around? You don’t stay in the chatroom all day, do you? Please tell me you don’t.]

[Lloyd H.K: Shut up. I'm actually getting ready to give a group of undead a proper beat down, you know.]

[Prince Altania: Well, it seems like you're still diligently doing those hero quests that don't give you much of a reward... Just quit it now. I discovered a level 5 dungeon. I can put you in my party if you want.]

[Lloyd H.K: Hmm... send the location to my private channel. I'll finish up here and go immediately.]

[Prince Altania: And you’re still doing the quest. What an amazing sense of duty.]

A private channel. Unlike the chatroom, a private channel would allow two heroes to send messages directly to each other. The function wasn’t accessible to Lee Shin-Woo yet. Even if it was, of course, he wouldn’t have anyone to use it with.

[Shino Rendu: A dungeon? Hey, I want in, too.]

[Prince Altania: You're still level 5. Don't you know the fundamental rule? That you need to be one level higher than the dungeon you're entering?]

[Shino Rendu: Ugh, that's true, but...]

[Lloyd H.K: Sorry, Shino. Ah, I do need some help here. Think you could help me out? I’ll share the quest with you.]

[Shino Rendu: It's fine.]

[Mr. Shino Rendu has left.]

[Lloyd H.K: Oh well... It wouldn’t take long to go from level 5 to level 6. I should encourage him later.]

[Prince Altania: Lloyd, you nanny...]

Lloyd and the Prince chatted away. They seemed quite close. They must have spent a lot of time together after being dropped into this world.

Lloyd was good-natured and honest, while the Prince was immature and said whatever he wanted; they complemented each other well.

[Ms. Ye Jin-Jin has entered the chatroom.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: E-everyone. Have you all seen that thing?!]

[Lloyd H.K: Oh, it's been a long time, newbie. Now that I think about it, you're not a newbie anymore. Did you know that you have a stronger junior under you now?]

[Prince Altania: Ye Jin-Jin? I haven't seen you in a long time. I thought you were dead.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: I-I'm not dead! But more importantly, a stronger junior...? Ah, that's not it. The horse is the problem right now, the horse!]

[Erian Ruparte: ...A horse? Jin-Jin, what horse?]

Lee Shin-Woo paid only half of his attention to what his seniors were chatting about. There was a coin-like gold chip in his hand with a muscular warrior wielding a greatsword engraved on it.

[The Fighter's Token]

[A warrior who never looks back and struggles valorously. To a fighter, any plan or aid is but a hindrance.]

"I’ve got this..."

Lee Shin-Woo did want to obtain these tokens, but he didn't know what he'd need to do to obtain them. Getting a Fighter’s token for clearing a dungeon… If he were to hazard a guess, he would say he might have acquired the token because he had pushed through the dungeon in a straight line without using any skills.

I had wanted to improve my Regeneration skill, but surprise, surprise; I didn’t get hurt at all.

His fight with the Treasure Eaters had pushed Lee Shin-Woo to grow significantly, his stats included, so he no longer felt any danger from level 1 dungeon. He had pushed through it with nothing but Bone of Thunder Lasting, planning to train his Regeneration and increase its proficiency by using it whenever he got injured, but the dungeon was so easy that he didn’t even get a chance to do so.

The boss was a level 2 monster with slightly better offensive power and endurance than the Ratman. However, he didn't need any other skills aside from Bursting Thunder to take it down. After clearing the dungeon without any plan, he had gained the Fighter's token. That made his mindless dungeon crawl worth it.

Perhaps... I should focus on a single concept in order to get other karma tokens.

By slaughtering indiscriminately, he had gained the Slaughterer's token. By pushing through the dungeon in a straight line without the use of skills—perhaps the time it took to push through the dungeon and his combat style also contributed to that—he had gained the Fighter's token. In a battle where he had fooled the Skeleton Warriors and lead them into a suicidal battle, he had gained the Trickster's token. Following the same logic, it might be best for him to combine his abilities into a single concept in order to complete the quest.

Easier said than done. He smiled wryly.

What kind of concept would work for him? Moreover, there was no guarantee that the battles he faced in the future would be easy enough for him to plow through without using all his strength. No matter how much he tried to be positive, all this thinking was taking a toll on him. He shook his head and put the issue aside for the moment.

[Ye Jin-Jin: I'm telling you the truth. There’s a Skeleton Horse that can run extremely fast! It's really scary and really fast!]

[Yasunori Akira: ...What a load of crap. If it were an undead, it'd be hostile to humans. Have you forgotten the basics?]

[Lloyd H.K: Newbie... No wait, you're not a newbie anymore. Ye Jin-Jin. Explain it in more detail. First off, are you sure it’s an undead?]

[Ye Jin-Jin: That's what I'm saying. It was all bones, and where its two eyes should be, deep blue goblin fire was burning... It’s as scary as a named Skeleton Knight!]

[Prince Altania: A Skeleton Knight's nothing, whether it's named or not.]

[Erian Ruparte: Sir Altania, Jin-Jin is still level 3. Please stop being insensitive like you always do.]

His seniors were still busy saying strange things in the chatroom. However, Lee Shin-Woo didn’t find it strange for there to be an undead horse since Undead Heroes existed; he had tuned them out early into their conversation.

[Lee Shin-Woo: I’m gonna get going now so that I can rest soon.]

[Lloyd H.K: Alright. Please don't die.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: Ah, you're the newbie! It's nice to meet you! If there’s anything you don’t know, just ask me!]

[Prince Altania: That newbie is stronger than you. Just take care of yourself.]

[Ye Jin-Jin: Ugh...]

Lee Shin-Woo gently smiled at the young woman’s frustrated voice before leaving the chatroom. Despite having been cursed and sent down to this distorted world, the fact that there were a lot of others who were trying their best to survive brought him more than a little comfort.

Hoo, let's go to the next dungeon.

Having recovered his energy, Lee Shin-Woo stood up and hurried along the path to the next dungeon. His goal was to acquire a token for every dungeon clear! He already had a concept in mind that he'd use to clear the next dungeon. With both Stealth and Catapult, he believed he would be able to gain assassination-related karma and the corresponding token as long as he struck the right balance.

Stealth is also more fun the more you do it. I think I can use a beginner level skill while maintaining stealth as long as my enemies don't discover me first.

Lee Shin-Woo had long realized the incredible potential Stealth had. It was effective, but used little mana. Therefore, he had been training the skill whenever he moved. He had learned everything there was to Stealth from the rats. He would lower his body, stick closer to the shadows, and make as little noise as possible. He could stay undetected as long as he kept an ear to the ground and made out the direction someone was approaching him from.

[Gu...wooooh...]

Like right now.

Huh!?

He had survived because he was using Stealth. He was really thankful for the precaution right now! Lee Shin-Woo saw a giant monster come out from the darkness and into the moonlight; he desperately calmed himself down so that he wouldn't make a sound. He didn't even know where it had popped out from!

[There's nothing... to eat...]

[Lv3 Giant Zombie - Edward L. Baker]

That's crazy...!

A named monster! It was level 3 like the Treasure Eater, but the air of brutality radiating from the zombie was incomparable. It was slow, but it was so big that it seemed to move several meters with a single step; its huge, shifting eyes were a rotten, repulsive yellow. Above all, a faint green mist was spreading from its body. A message popped up when Lee Shin-Woo came in contact with it.

[You are being exposed to the Elite Giant Zombie's Acid Poison. Please hurry out of the hazardous area and begin treatment.]

It was only a touch, and yet it afflicted him with a horrific pain. However, he would be discovered if he made a sound, so Lee Shin-Woo frantically kept himself under control and slowly, extremely slowly moved away, all the while maintaining Stealth.

Just a little more, just a little…

[There are... no bodies...]

It was extremely horrific to watch his legs melt away, which the Elite Giant Zombie had brought about through its presence alone. It infuriated Lee Shin-Woo that he was forced to make a hasty retreat, but his survival came first. He had sworn to never let Invisible Heart activate again from now on!

He moved with superhuman endurance and got as far as possible from the zombie. Fortunately, its senses seemed dull like a true zombie, as it began to walk slowly in the opposite direction without noticing Lee Shin-Woo.

[If I just eat... a little more...]

The Giant Zombie, Edward, spoke ominously before disappearing into the distance. Lee Shin-Woo sighed in relief once he made sure that he had safely escaped the Acid Poison’s area of effect, and once again swore to maintain Stealth when he was outside of dungeons from now on. It was really fortunate that the zombie hadn't shown up when he fought the Treasure Eater!

Then.

Lee Shin-Woo activated Regeneration. He had collected a heap of level 1 monster bones from the previous dungeon in case of an emergency, which no longer granted him any stat increase. He didn’t need to use the bones, though, since he had the mana to heal himself. Rather, it was better to increase his proficiency in Beginner Regeneration whenever he could.

Regeneration!

[Activating Beginner Regeneration. Consuming mana to restore the body.]

[Beginner Regeneration is now Lv6.]

His Regeneration responded fiercely as the zombie's Acid Poison had almost completely melted away the lower half of his body. To the point that the skill had leveled up instantly! The mana surged vigorously, creating a faint glow within the darkness. As expected, he was right to not use Regeneration the instant he sustained an injury. Otherwise, the Giant Zombie would've noticed him, and he would've died on the spot.

At any rate, the armor is really great. The Acid Poison had gotten under his armor and eroded his upper body since it was gas, but the damage was minimal compared to his lower body. In fact, the armor didn’t seem damaged at all to his naked, nonexistent eyes!

I have to quickly get some lower body armor too.

He set another goal for himself once he confirmed that his body was fully restored. Something excellent like the Dire Wolf Bone Armor would be ideal, but a level 2 item would be fine if that wasn’t possible.

He hurried along pushing his legs to move faster. That was when a message suddenly appeared.

[You have acquired a target for Beginner Avenger. When you fight it again, all your abilities will be buffed by 20%.]

[You have achieved the feat of escaping from an enemy, despite them being at a higher level than you. Agility has increased by 2. Beginner Stealth is now Lv9.]

[You have acquired the Avenger's token.]

... Why didn’t he feel happy at all, despite having achieved a feat? Moreover, he had already received the Avenger's karma. Why would he be given an Avenger’s token now? Whatever the case, it was good to know that something like that could happen. However, would he stand a chance of defeating the Giant Zombie the next time they crossed paths when his body melted from simply being close to it?

...Hoo.

With the thoughts whirling in his mind, Lee Shin-Woo sighed deeply and picked up his pace. With a fiery determination ignited in him, he vowed to get stronger even faster than before. Of course, he was still going to maintain Stealth while he was at it.