I suppose the saying is true, Lee Shin-Woo thought. Misfortune and fortune do come hand in hand.

[Beginner Acid Resistance is now Lv4. Resistance increases.]

"..."

His newly acquired skill, Acid Resistance, was truly amazing. Even though it was just at the Beginner stage, it nullified half the damage from the Slimes' Acid Poison. Better yet, the skill would increase in proficiency in the process!

As a result, however, the growth of his proficiency in Regeneration slowed noticeably. He had hoped that his level 8 Beginner Regeneration would reach low rank by now, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be!

[Ggureureureuk!]

[Ggreureuk!]

[The Slimes sprayed their weak Acid Poison at you, but Acid Resistance reduces the damage.]

"Hoo... It is what it is. I’ll have to find another use for my remaining mana."

Unfazed by the Slimes smothering him, Lee Shin-Woo checked his body and concluded that he'd be fine for about 10 minutes without using Regeneration. How else was he supposed to use his remaining mana? Since he had come to realize the importance of skills, he had made up his mind to train them as much as possible.

Shriek of the Dead... No, if these guys fight amongst themselves, I won't be able to train either Regeneration or Acid Resistance. The Power Slash... That isn't possible without a weapon.

All that was left for him to choose from were Catapult and Flames of Revenge. After some deliberation, he decided on Flames of Revenge.

The reason was extremely simple: Catapult could only launch a piece of his bone at an enemy, while Flames of Revenge had multiple applications.

I can shoot it from a far distance or imbue my weapon with the fire. It also tracks my enemies and does persistent damage... In other words, my overall power will see significant growth as I improve the skill.

Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t been actively using the skill since its damage output was lackluster for the amount of mana it consumed. The fact that it had remained a beginner skill at level 3 was proof of that.

The Treasure Eater had created such an enormous flame, though... Perhaps the difference was a result of the disparity between their magic, or the skill might have been nerfed when it changed from Flames of Resentment to Flames of Revenge.

In any case, the higher the level, the more effective it should be. Let's train the skill to at least see if that's true.

Since he had acquired Acid Resistance, the burden to his mana had reduced significantly; right now, it was absolutely possible for him to use Flames of Revenge at the same time. It’s not part of my plan, but to hell with it. I don’t have any other option, do I?

"Kuuu..."

He had wanted to push his Regeneration to the low rank, but that wasn’t possible now. Lee Shin-Woo would scrunch up his face in tears if he was capable of crying. As it was, he went on to create flames with his usual expressionless skeletal face.

The mass of black flames bursting into life seemed to intimidate the Slimes stubbornly sticking to him, and soon, they shrunk gradually under the heat and let out a sound of gas leaking until their eventual extermination. He hadn’t needed to use that much mana since the Slimes had died so quickly.

[You have acquired 12 Perium.]

[You have acquired 12 Perium.]

[You have acquired 12 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Slime's Core.]

"Huh?"

That surprised him. Lee Shin-Woo had killed hundreds of Slimes thus far. Thousands, even. However, he had never received such a reward!

"What is this…?"

One thing was for certain; the core was not a common item! Lee Shin-Woo collected the Slime's Core that emitted a dark light before the other Slimes could eat it. Then suddenly…

[Through Bone Reinforcement, the monster's essence is being transformed.]

[The Slime's Core has become a Slime's Bone Core.]

Huh...!?

He was even more surprised by the change the item underwent. He had thought Bone Reinforcement’s power of transformation would only work on equipment, but it turned out to be effective on other items as well! The Slime’s Core wasn’t something one could equip at all.

If that's the case, then how...? Lee Shin-Woo stood still and checked the information on the item, ignoring the Slimes swarming up to him completely.

[Slime's Bone Core]

[A Slime is sensitive to fire. Although normal Slimes would have their mana evenly distributed throughout their bodies, they concentrate their mana as they melt under high heat. If you defeat Slimes with such a method, you will occasionally receive a core created from their condensed mana.]

[It can be made into equipment that contains the monster's power, or medicine that permanently increases your physical abilities. Cores that had been transformed into bones are decidedly rarer and richer in special attributes than regular cores.]

Oh, Oooooooh...!

It was nothing but dumb luck, but he felt really good. He had thought he wouldn’t get anything from the Slimes besides the deteriorated bones and Perium, but he ended up receiving a surprise gift!

The description of the item gave him some idea about why the core had been transformed into bone. After all, the core could be made into equipment or potion. It only made sense that Bone Reinforcement would transform the core as well.

Awesome. I wouldn’t be able to acquire a skeleton’s core through normal means anyway.

With his excitement fully on display, Lee Shin-Woo used Bone Reinforcement to absorb the Slime's Bone Core.

[The Slime's Bone Core works on the entire body. Would you like to proceed with Bone Reinforcement?]

"Yeah."

[Reinforcing the entire body. Magic has increased by 1. Acquiring a portion of the Slime's memories and experiences.]

[Gureureuk! Reureureureureu! - Slime]

He must have gotten lucky. He didn’t think he would be able to increase his magic every time he absorbed a core. Still, just the fact that he could improve his magic was great. His magic had seen substantial growth after all the training he had done, but it was still lower than his other stats.

If he did well in this dungeon, it was possible that his magic would become higher than his other stats!

"Now, then..."

It was important for him to burn the Slimes from now on. Of course, it’d be great if he could kill every Slime in the sewers that way and acquire their cores, but he didn’t have infinite mana, and he would have to leave some for Regeneration to protect himself from Acid Poison.

From now on, he would reserve enough mana for Regeneration and Acid Resistance while using Flames of Revenge whenever he could, thereby training Flames of Revenge and acquiring as many Slime’s Cores as possible.

[Gureureureuk!]

[Ggureureuk!]

"Yeah, yeah, let's play, Pudding."

His nickname for the Slimes made his good mood clear. Lee Shin-Woo took a deep breath and used Flames of Revenge again, preserving some of his remaining mana for Regeneration.

"You like playing with fire, don't you, Pudding?"

[Ggureureuk!]

A countless number of Puddings... of Slimes quivered intensely as they were greeted by fire. Lee Shin-Woo laughed in delight as they burned like a demon.

"Yeah, yeah, take that."

They probably didn't understand what he was saying, but his words still made the Slimes tremble even more intensely. Lee Shin-Woo laughed and threw a punch, bursting the Slimes that were unable to withstand the flames even with mana.

[You have defeated a Lv1 Sewer Slime.]

[You have defeated a Lv1 Sewer...]

It wouldn’t be perfect, but after multiple trials and errors and fine-turning his use of mana, he was confident that he could turn this dungeon into his own personal training ground.

Was it because he had had a good start, or was it because he had a particularly keen sense for his mana? Whatever the case, Lee Shin-Woo was able to bring his plan into reality.

[Low Rank Magic Affinity is now Lv2. Magic increases by 2.]

Finally, his now low rank Magic Affinity reached level 2. His mana Regeneration was now faster, which in turn made his Flames of Revenge more effective. He was able to use it more often, and as a result, the proficiency of the skill rose as well.

Moreover, his Regeneration was also improving, albeit at a slower rate. And his Acid Resistance improved whenever he blocked Acid Poison from the Slimes or reinforced himself with the deteriorated bones the Slimes dropped. This dungeon was truly a treasure trove of immeasurable value for him.

If I get to know a senior I like, I should tell them about this place. I’ll let them know that they should definitely enter a Sewers Dungeon if there’s any nearby...

As he committed his horrific plan to heart, which would push someone he liked into hell and therefore wasn’t a plan any humans would think of, he gradually crawled further into the dungeon.

The Sewers was so vast that it spanned the entirety of the small town, and it was wider and deeper than any dungeon he had encountered so far; unsurprisingly, there were mountains and mountains of Slimes awaiting him.

On the sixth day, Lee Shin-Woo felt a sudden mana flow, and a lengthy message he hadn’t seen for a long time popped up before him.

[You returned to your wild instincts and achieved astonishing results in hunting. Strength, Agility, and Health have increased by 2. You have acquired the Barbarian's token. Proficiency in Low Rank Bursting Thunder and Beginner Flames of Revenge increases.]

[Beginner Flames of Revenge is now Lv7.]

"Hm?"

Lee Shin-Woo had been cleaving through Slimes with familiar movements and used his remaining mana to burn the Slimes. It was unfortunate that the drop rate of Slime’s Cores remained low even though he had been doing this for days. The message caught him completely off guard.

Barbarian's token? What barbarian?

He had completely given up on going through this dungeon with a concept, yet he ended up achieving a feat and even receiving a token! He smashed the remaining Slimes in the passageway and immediately took out the newly acquired token from his inventory.

[Barbarian's token]

[A karma that suits those who fight only with their bare body without relying on weapons, armor, or refined techniques. Occasionally, there would be some among them who can harness the power of nature, and if their strength is pushed to the extreme, they will go beyond a Barbarian and awaken a Druid's abilities.]

"..."

I have been killing Slimes with only my bare hands and magic fire since entering the dungeon. Is that how I acquire the token?

The thought soured the achievement somewhat in Lee Shin-Woo’s mind. It felt peculiar, like when he had received the Mastermind’s token or the Avenger’s token.

Still, karma is karma...

Moreover, since it was a karma he could only receive by hunting for a long time naked, no intellectuals would ever catch a glimpse of the token.

Lee Shin-Woo's nonexistent heart ached whenever he thought about it seriously, so he pushed the thought aside. In any case, he now had a total of seven tokens. With three more tokens, he would be able to acquire the Trickster's karma.

I thought it would take me forever to collect 10 tokens, but all I have to do is to continue and acquire three more tokens.

Of course, it would probably be best to get more skills and attempt a new concept. Like the Druid... Lee Shin-Woo committed the term 'Druid' to his memory before looking up. Now that he thought about it, why hadn't the Slimes been attacking him when they hadn't left him alone for even a moment before?

The end of the path came into his view. There stood an arched iron gate.