"Nice view," Lee Shin-Woo muttered.

He could see mana floating about everywhere in an inexplicably harmonious manner despite him being underground. Lee Shin-Woo stretched out his bare skeletal hand, and mana lingered at his fingertips for a brief moment before flowing elsewhere, which seemed to be attributed to his Beginner Magic Affinity being only level 1.

Getting this skill early on was definitely a good call.

He stayed there playing with the mana a bit more before withdrawing his hand and nodding. Experiencing the mystery of mana finally made him register the fact that this was a different world. Up until now, he had felt—how should he put it—that he had simply fallen into a survival game.

If the blue bone was this effective, what about the red bone? It feels like the red bone would've been really helpful as well. I must keep an eye out for Perium from now on... oh.

[A quest has begun!]

He wasn't as surprised this time. Before the message appeared, he had seen the mana in front of him distort, and he was able to predict when the message would pop up.

[The Ability to Survive Here]

[Though you have safely infiltrated the Empire, you are still too weak. The Underground Empire is vast, and there are powerful undead who have lived a long time within. However, there are fortunately some who evaded the undead curse and continued to live. These living beings inhabit isolated spaces known as dungeons.]

[You must first build up your strength in dungeons before you start your battle with the undead in earnest. Pick a dungeon nearby and get to level 2. When the sum of your stats reaches 200, the karma that you've accumulated up to that point will determine your future appearance and potential.]

[However, be cautious. Dungeons may be safe from the curse, but one could be cursed before entering a dungeon.]

[Quest reward - Open Heroes' Chatroom]

"What!?"

Lee Shin-Woo couldn’t help but gape. A chatroom? It would've been nice for the chatroom to be opened earlier! Why the delay? Is that something to do with karma as well? Or is getting to level 2 the prerequisite to entering the chatroom!?

"Gotta go, gotta go now!"

[Dungeons are marked on the minimap.]

He nodded and accepted the quest eagerly despite his vehement complaints. He had been lonely without anyone to talk to. Now he was getting a chatroom where he could talk to the other heroes inside the Empire? He would be lying if he said he wasn't happy. Furthermore, the chatroom would also be helpful from a practical standpoint. The heroes had a common goal: to save the Empire, which meant they were on the same boat. Lee Shin-Woo hoped that the heroes deep within the Empire would each say a word or two to their junior.

No, wait, I might be thinking too optimistically since I've been starved of human contact, but... in any case, I'll know when the chatroom’s open.

As long as he behaved himself, Lee Shin-Woo would be able to make good use of the chatroom. He nodded in satisfaction, pleased with the reward of the quest. It was only then he noticed the last sentence of the quest description.

[However, be cautious. Dungeons may be safe from the curse, but one could be cursed before entering a dungeon.]

He tilted his head. The monsters inside the dungeon aren't affected by the curse, but the heroes within the empire have already been affected by it. I must be cautious if I don't want to die. Is that what it’s trying to say? Still, he was an undead that was blessed with immortality, so he didn't really worry about it too much.

...Alright, let's find a suitable dungeon nearby.

Lee Shin-Woo leaned against a nearby building and took cover before gently closing his eyes to access the minimap. The map didn’t tell him where monsters were, but aside from that, it showed the surrounding area in fair detail. Lee Shin-Woo didn’t have a good sense of direction, so the map would be very helpful to him in pathfinding.

There are three shining points on the minimap... They differed a little in size; does that correspond with their difficulty?

There were three dungeons in the immediate vicinity. Right now, he couldn't tell what kind of monsters awaited him in each dungeon, nor could he tell their difficulty level. He would have to go and see for himself. Then it should be fine to just pick one of them. Lee Shin-Woo started to walk towards the closest dungeon. He needed to first get out of the ruined city; then he would need to go past the desert terrain that spanned as far as his eyes could see to reach his destination.

The surrounding area should be safe. Since those skeletons had been staying atop the castle wall.

Of course, he couldn't afford to be careless. After all, a Treasure Eater had appeared in the external passageways, which could be considered the tutorial stage, all because he’d crafted a Lv2 item. Lee Shin-Woo still wasn't confident that he could beat a Treasure Eater one on one with ease. The limit imposed by his low level was a sturdy ceiling he couldn’t break past. However, things would soon be different. As long as he managed to raise his stats by 9, that was.

First, let's be cautious of our surroundings...

He had been wary of the Empire ever since he saw the quest alert. Although he had been charging forward with relative recklessness, he must be on guard from now on; he couldn’t afford not to, even if all he would encounter were level 1 skeletons.

Fortunately, though, his concerns turned out to be unfounded. He hadn’t encountered a single zombie or skeleton before reaching the dungeon hidden away on the outskirts of the ruined city. 

...It's strange though.

The fact that he hadn’t encountered anything only exacerbated his concern. How could there be fewer skeletons within the Empire than along the external passageways? He had been prepared to fight something even more dangerous than the Treasure Eater, but the lack of threats slowly drained him of all energy.

Perhaps it has something to do with the dungeon.

He didn't ignore the warning sounded by his instincts. He put away the bow he had taken out to intercept enemies from afar and tightly gripped onto the bone spear. He proceeded to move forward with caution, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.

His level 4 Beginner Spearmanship would be more effective than his level 2 Beginner Archery against a strong opponent. More importantly, his bone spear was at level 2. He felt more reassured holding it than the bow. He recalled the fading experience he had from military service and clumsily attempted to guard against dangers from all directions. After advancing a good distance while maintaining the tactical stance, he finally arrived at the glowing spot on his minimap. However, it simply kept on shining.

I’ve arrived, but... Where exactly is the dungeon? Do I have to dig into the ground or something?

The dungeon entrance was so well hidden that if its location hadn’t been marked on the minimap, Lee Shin-Woo wouldn't have known to even stop to look. He didn’t find any obvious entrance on the ground. Do I have to dig underground to reveal a stairway or something?

He could tell there was a secret awaiting his discovery. Before he went through the effort of digging, fortunately, Lee Shin-Woo found what he was looking for.

"What's this pattern?"

There was a glowing pattern on the ground. After some scrutinization, Lee Shin-Woo realized that the pattern wasn’t something physical, but traces of mana that had become fixed there, albeit faintly.

This does look like the dungeon's entrance. What do I have to do for the mana to—oooh.

The moment Lee Shin-Woo's bare bones came into contact with the mana pattern, the magic circle blocking the dungeon's entrance responded to Lee Shin-Woo and surged up. Lee Shin-Woo instinctually directed the mana that was gathered in his bone and touched it. Then there was a light more powerful than the pattern’s glow, and Lee Shin-Woo absorbed it! At the same time, Lee Shin-Woo saw a series of texts in front of him the way his status and quests had been popping up.

[Level 1 dungeon - You have received a permit to enter the Rural Rat Nest. All of your stats increase by ten in the dungeon. Info on the dungeon is added to your minimap. All your actions in the dungeon are more effective due to a temporary buff.]

[Beginner Magic Affinity is now Lv2. Magic recovery rate increases.]

The pattern on the floor faded away, and a stairway leading underground appeared. If he hadn't learned Beginner Magic Affinity, he probably would've had to dig into the ground until he found the stairs. He also wouldn't have known that the dungeon was level 1, that his stats would be increased in the dungeon, or that he'd receive a general buff for any actions he took in the dungeons. Lee Shin-Woo praised himself for making the right choice—even though it was more of a gamble at the time—and went down the stairs into the dungeon.

- Clang

He found himself descending into darkness. Once he had fully entered the stairway, the ceiling shut close with a thud, and pieces of rock rained down on him. If he were still human, he would've freaked out about getting dirty, but he didn’t need to wash up now that he was a skeleton. The only thing he’d want to avoid was taking too much damage.

I don't need to eat, bathe, or sleep. I might be made for roaming around this nest of undead.

The fact that he was thinking about being an undead being so matter-of-factly proved that his thought process was already far different than when he was human. That, however, was a change he wasn’t aware of. He was simply preoccupied with putting one foot before the other while wondering how much further the stairway went. Even so, he had remained on high alert, which ended up saving him from foolishly losing a life.

[Keuhat!]

"Ugh!?"

It all happened in a split second. Seeing the stone floor at the bottom of the stairs, he, in his excitement, jumped down two steps at a time, and was hit by a bright light shooting at him from within the darkness. It was extremely fast and, at the same time, powerful. Lee Shin-Woo dodged out of the way with Sprint reflexively, but his arm that wasn’t holding the spear still ended up obliterated from elbow down.

"Ggeuuuuhk...!"

He still felt pain even after becoming an undead, and it was so excruciatingly painful that Lee Shin-Woo felt the urge to roll on the floor.. Still, he managed to suppress it and raised his spear. He couldn't even tell where his opponent was, so getting angry at his injury was a luxury he couldn’t indulge in now!

I was careless. I thought I would be okay at the entrance.

No, that wasn't it. He had been on guard. His opponent was simply too fast for him to dodge out of the way in time. There was little he could do even now!

Ugh!

[Keuhaak!]

By the time he saw the glimmering light in the darkness, it was already too late. Lee Shin-Woo hunched down without thinking the instant he felt shudder going down his entire body. Something passed over his head with both destructive force and speed.

[Beginner Sprint is now Lv5.]

"Shit!"

Having dodged the attack by only a hair, he grit his teeth and thrusted his spear forward. He had always been wielding his spear with both arms; now that he was left with one arm, his attack wasn’t as powerful as it had been.

[Kuwaak!]

"Ugh, damn it...!"

His enemy failed to dodge his quick counterattack, and his spear pierced through its flesh, but he could tell it wasn't a fatal blow from the dull impact coming from the tip of the spear. He withdrew his spear, desperately scrambling back with his teeth gritted.

[Kuhaaaak!]

"You...!"

Puff! He didn't know where exactly his enemy was, but the hidden torches on the walls ignited one after another after it let out a strange shriek, and the flames illuminated the area faintly. Lee Shin-Woo was finally able to see what his opponent looked like.

[Geu...Geuuaaaah...!]

Rotting, decaying clothes hung loosely on its dirty, haggard body. In stark contrast was the long sword gleaming with silver light it wielded... That was definitely a zombie.

An undead...?

Lee Shin-Woo didn’t expect an undead to appear at the entrance of the dungeon. His mind blanked due to the sudden turn of events, and he froze for a moment. That was his mistake.

[Guaaah!]

His opponent’s rotten eyeballs rolled as it advanced towards him, swinging its sword. Lee Shin-Woo instantly lost his head. It was an absurdly nimble and sharp strike.

You bastard...!

Reduced to nothing but a skeletal head, Lee Shin-Woo flew through the air and rolled around on the ground. The damn zombie that had struck him with a fatal blow kept its eyes on him until the very end. This is unfair, Lee Shin-Woo thought. He had vowed to never die again, and yet he lost a life in such a worthless manner. The system prompt did tell him that there would be no undead in the dungeon. The fact that one had suddenly appeared at the starting point pissed him off.

[Invisible Heart is now Lv3. All stats increase by 3.]

[97 levels remaining until the max level.]

Familiar messages popped up suddenly.

[Your total stat is above 200. Would you like to receive level 2's karma? It is also possible to put it aside for the moment.]

[You have encountered an Undead Hero (Lv2). If you succeed in giving the Undead Hero peace, you will inherit the Perium he had gathered until his death, as well as a permit to Goddess’s Secret Shop.]

The strange messages were all he could see at the moment.