[You achieved the feat of defeating a higher leveled elite foe. Strength has increased by 10. Skill proficiency in Bursting Thunder has increased.]

Lee Shin-Woo watched as the Iron Golem scattered into pieces in front of him without even a chance to react. The recoil was too much for them to handle. It was fortunate that the lance had broken at impact, and the counterforce ended up diffusing. Otherwise, Lee Shin-Woo's arm or Jin's leg would've broken. It was definitely an absurdly powerful technique, but almost unusable without coming up with a way to deal with the side effects.

[Who are you? If you're a knight of the Empire, how dare you display such impudence... There's no way you'd fail to recognize who I am and do something so wicked!]

The Skeleton Commander yelled in a quivering voice, seemingly shaken from seeing one of its most powerful assets destroyed so quickly.

As expected, it was sentient, which might have something to do with it being level 5. However, it still couldn't remember its own name!

Realizing that, Lee Shin-Woo followed his intuition and yelled, "Do you really not know why I'm here?"

[I-I don't know...!]

There was no way it'd know, of course. If there were a reason, Lee Shin-Woo would like to know it himself.

He just said whatever came to mind and circulated his mana to help him and Jin cope with the aftershock of the attack. Surprisingly, he was able to apply Mana Bone to Jin through Assimilation. It truly was a cheat skill.

Marveling at the progress his skills had made didn’t stop him from lying to the Skeleton Commander. “Bah, you should know the reason,” he said. “We’re always dispatched for a reason.”

[D-Dispatched...!? Were you perhaps sent by the imperial family? L-Look. Stop attacking for now. Stand by! I said to stand by!]

Huh? Lee Shin-Woo was just trying to buy some time for them to heal, but the reaction he got was much better than he’d expected… While the lord was flustered, Lee Shin-Woo collected the loot with a relaxed gait without giving anything away. In fact, he even approached the lord with Jin in tow.

The Golems acted like obedient hunting dogs, and when they heard the words 'stand by', they immediately stepped back; on the other hand, the knights looked uneasy and unapproachable still.

[You have acquired 17,500 Perium.]

[You have acquired a Deteriorated Original Bone Core.]

Oh.

As expected, level 5 Golem dropped different loot. For an elite level 5 monster, the amount of Perium seemed a little too stingy, but deteriorated or not, it did leave behind an Original Core!

Satisfied, Lee Shin-Woo looked up at the lord. Its hand remained on the core even when it was clearly flustered, which was impressive. He decided to prod further.

"Are you going to talk?"

[I... I haven't done anything wrong! They offered it to me! I wanted to leave the underground!]

"..."

That’s unexpected, Lee Shin-Woo thought, momentarily speechless. What the hell is this senile skeleton even talking about? They offered it first? He wanted to leave the underground? This isn’t about simple corruption from a noble, but something much bigger!

"Still...that doesn't lessen your crimes."

Lee Shin-Woo did his best to not let the confusion show on his face as he played it by ear, reacting to what the lord was saying. Just because a skeleton's face didn't change didn't mean that he could be complacent. He had to prevent himself from being quiet for too long or speaking with a flustered tone. He was even controlling the pattern by which his goblin fire swayed.

He had a feeling that he would learn something new by interrogating the commander. Perhaps he would find out about the relationship between the underground empire and the realm above ground!

[...You're not one of them, are you?]

Although Lee Shin-Woo was acting with his entire being, however, the Skeleton Commander had somehow figured him out!

[Yeah. If you were the Golden Shadow, you wouldn't have destroyed a Golem! You're not one of them! You aren't! Who the hell are you!?]

"Shit!"

[Ugh!?]

Lee Shin-Woo didn’t know what he had done wrong, but it was pointless to keep acting after he was caught. Before the lord could retreat, he quickly reached out and seized the core in its hand. It was only possible because the lord was no master in close combat!

[Die!]

[We won't let you touch the lord!]

"Tch!"

No sooner had he grabbed the core than the Elder Knights came at him from both sides. Fortunately, Jin managed to quickly retreat, preventing Lee Shin-Woo from getting cut by their swords, which was brimming with tumultuous death energy.

"What the hell were you thinking, you idiot!" Jin yelled.

"Sorry. I went overboard thinking I'd found a hidden quest or something..."

[Catch him! Take the core back!]

The lord, or rather the Skeleton Commander, shrieked, and the three level 5 Elite Skeleton Elder Knights as well as the twelve level 4 Skeleton Knights charged at Lee Shin-Woo all at once.

At that moment, a bizarre black light surged from the Skeleton Commander and was absorbed by the knights; Lee Shin-Woo could see their mana amplified. It was a special Command type skill!

[The lord has given us his command. I'll bury my sword in your heart!]

[How dare you put your filthy hands on one of the lord's possessions!]

"Tch...!"

The Skeleton Knights attacked quickly. The lord seemed to have increased their strength by 50%. As a result, Lee Shin-Woo and Jin had no choice but to keep avoiding the attacks. If Lee Shin-Woo were alone, he would've given up an arm to the relentless swords coming at him in all directions.

[It’s just one guy! Why can’t we take him down? Why can't we hit him when he's right in front of us!?]

[Connection with commander has been lost.]

[Standing by.]

However, the Golems didn't respond to the Commander's shrieks. Lee Shin-Woo was certain that the lord couldn't issue commands to the Golems without the core, which was where their hope lay.

"What do we do?” Jin asked. “Do we run?"

"No, we're ending it here! We’re screwed if that bastard is given time to get away to prepare properly."

"Ah, damn it!"

Lee Shin-Woo sounded confident even while they hectically dodged the incoming swords surging with death energy, moving around and matching their breathing. At the same time, he concentrated on the core that he'd swiped from the lord.

The core had transformed into bone the moment he touched it, but the flow of mana within wasn’t difficult to grasp.

[Limited Order Bone Core]

[With your superb analytical skills and knowledge, you recognized this as a transformed Original Core. The Original Core records a person's mana, and when that mana is injected into the core, it is converted to a particular frequency, enabling the user to order the registered entities, I0918, I0919, I0920, and I0921.]

[In the process of transforming into bone, the original commander's registration has been erased. It is unknown whether the core will activate normally.]

In other words, the core registered the lord's mana so that only the lord could use it, and the authority over Golems is locked. Fortunately, one of those locks has been released...

The only ones who could reconfigure the core were level 7 golems like Guillotine Steelworker. The system of manufacturing Golems in the Empire was a great hurdle.

How tough would it be to control all of the Golems without a core? While being vaguely frightened of doing so...Lee Shin-Woo couldn't help but feel excitement welling in his heart.

I came here for a change of pace to take my mind off of the administrative seal, yet I found a crucial piece of the puzzle here. I didn’t believe in fate, but maybe it does exist.

With Jin's help, Lee Shin-Woo was able to avoid the Skeleton Knights' attacks while infusing the Limited Order Bone Core with his mana.

Of course, it didn't go so well at first. After repeatedly trying to activate it, it seemed as though he had finally satisfied some sort of unknown condition, and the bone core began to radiate light. At that moment…

[Recognizing new commander.]

[Receiving orders.]

The Golems hadn't been a part of the unfolding chaos, and were on standby some distance away. But then they suddenly spoke. Lee Shin-Woo clenched his fist in satisfaction; things were going according to his plan. Meanwhile, the Skeleton Commander was extremely taken aback.

[H-How can you use the core when you haven't gotten permission...!? You're worse than the Golden Shadow!]

"As I thought, you've lost a lot of your common sense after turning into an undead. Hmph!"

Whether he could properly use the core would determine the outcome of the battle; Lee Shin-Woo was well aware of that, so he focused on manipulating the core. The Skeleton Commander seemed to have come to the same realization.

[Kill him quickly and take back the core!]

[The lord has commanded us! Bring more soldiers over here. Where are the soldiers!?]

[Damn it! If I had my horse, I wouldn't have to suffer so much from that skeleton horse!]

The Skeleton Knights were putting on a comedic display. Lee Shin-Woo continued to inject mana into the core while cataloging everything about the transformed Original Core.

Yeah, that's right. The answer's right here. I’ll get a basic understanding by studying it. I’ll know the way to control the Golems without a core, as well as how to create them with mana!

Lee Shin-Woo noticed that his intent and the amount of mana he used would determine the part of the core that was reacting, as well as how his mana would be changed; he also realized how the transformed mana would be transmitted to the Golems and the effect it would have on their action.

Mastering the technique would normally take a few months, but Lee Shin-Woo already possessed a general administrator's seal, which made it easier for him to manipulate the core. He could control the Golems as easily as moving his own body... No, it was actually easier than that!

[Eliminating enemies.]

[Mana detected. Reinforcement troops found in the back. Executing reinforcements first.]

[T-This is...!]

Instantaneously, the three Iron Golems turned on the skeletons, and the Skeleton Commander was both furious and panicked. It didn’t know what to do.

The Skeleton Commander raised its hand to prepare for an offensive spell, but then lowered its hand since it didn't want to damage the Golems; they must kill the trespassers as quickly as possible and take the core back.

[Protect the lord!]

[But we have to kill the trespassers...]

[The lord takes priority! You take care of the trespassers!]

[I understand!]

[Hey, y-you can't destroy the Golems!]

While the Commander was hesitating, the Elder Knights hurriedly took on one of the Iron Golems each, and the level 4 Skeleton Knights were left to fight Lee Shin-Woo. What a turn of events!

"I was waiting for that!"

Lee Shin-Woo acted like he'd been waiting for that very moment and swept through the skeletons with Lightning Tooth in one hand and the core in the other. It was a superb display of multitasking.

[Kuaaaaaaahk!]

[Kihek! M-My lord...!]

Regardless of how much stronger they'd become from the Commander's skill, most of Lee Shin-Woo’s main skills had grown to the intermediate level, while he himself could almost rival a level 5 monster.

[The Lightning Tooth is strengthening Bursting Thunder. Your lightning becomes stronger.]

After Bursting Thunder reached the intermediate level, the Lightning Tooth could finally fulfill its true potential; blue lightning crackled along the blade and shot out at his enemies, taking them down one after another. Every time he swung his sword, which they couldn't even see due to his impressive speed, the skeletons' skulls and ribs would break into pieces, scattering everywhere!

"Easier than I thought."

[H-How is this possible...!?]

The three Iron Golems and Elder Knights were locked in battles as all of the level 4 Skeleton Knights got annihilated instantly, leaving no one to protect the lord!

This had all happened within the span of five minutes after Lee Shin-Woo swiped the core from the lord. The lord couldn't believe its eyes at all.

[Listen up. It's fine if you destroy the Golems. We have to stop that atrocious cheater!]

[M-My lord...!]

[Ugh!]

When the lord realized that Lee Shin-Woo didn't really care if the stolen Golems were damaged or not, he urgently called out to the Skeleton Elder Knights, but it was already too late.

From the start, Lee Shin-Woo had desperately tried to steal the Iron Golems because they were built sturdy and powerful as elite monsters! Not even strengthened Skeleton Elder Knights would be able to take on an Iron Golem one-on-one; to make things worse, the knights had been ordered to not damage the Golems. As a result, they were forced to take a defensive stance and couldn't move an inch.

[Damn it...! Where are the other soldiers and knights!? Where the hell did they go!?]

"You'll meet them soon."

Lee Shin-Woo controlled the Golems to drive the Elder Knights into a corner, all the while steering Jin to rush up to the Commander. At that moment, the Commander's jawbone clattered as it chanted something, causing mana to gather in the air. He was trying to cast a spell. However...

[Shock Missile!]

"I heard that commanders double as mages as well. I also heard that they're jam packed with mana, but suffer from poor internal stability."

The spear the commander was creating with mana was easily split apart by the blue sparks from the Lightning Tooth. It might have hurt if Lee Shin-Woo got hit by the attack, but that was it. The lord was first and foremost a commander, not a mage specialized in magic.

The Skeleton Commander yapped about Lee Shin-Woo wielding a treasure unfitting of a thief, but Lee Shin-Woo obviously didn't concern himself with that.

"Single Lightning!"

[No!]

A single strand of blue lightning struck the commander from the sky. This technique was both the alpha and the omega of Bursting Thunder; following the lightning strike, Lee Shin-Woo quickly made a slash with his sword!

As Bursting Thunder reached the intermediate level, its true potential was finally unlocked; the slash might be simple in its technique, but its power was as great as divine punishment.

[Ugh...!]

"Hah!"

The commander might've had some trick up his sleeve if the way its teeth clattered was anything to go by, but Lee Shin-Woo simply strengthened his mana and in turn the lightning. In the end, the Skeleton Commander screamed awfully before disappearing completely like a gust, leaving only its floating skull, which blazed with goblin fire as if to curse Lee Shin-Woo. Even that, however, was soon consumed by flames and vanished.

[You have achieved the feat of defeating a higher leveled enemy. All stats have increased by 1.]

The Lightning Tooth burned the air, emitting an intense smell of ozone. This isn’t important at all, but how am I smelling anything? Lee Shin-Woo thought idly as he withdrew his sword.

"We have to take care of the others quickly."

[H-How dare you kill the lord...!]

A little while later, a subtle but certainly recognizable burning pattern could be seen above the city. The Pauls and Kratia, who had been waiting for his signal, immediately rushed in...and were soon met with the macabre scene Lee Shin-Woo had turned the city into.

It was more horrific than any Hell.