[You have hunted one of the 12 Generals, the Lv8 Metal God General, Arema Steelworker! All contributing heroes gain 50,000,000 Perium and all stats are increased by 100. You have acquired 15 permits to God’s secret shop. Proficiency in all combat-related skills increases significantly!]

[The Wild Card skill has become Lv4. All stats have increased by 30. You can now more naturally mix your skills together and disguise them.]

[The Manatization skill has become Lv4, and Health and Magic have increased by 10. All of your skin is manatized, allowing you to use mana more efficiently. However, your physical strength is reduced by an equivalent amount. A portion of your Strength, Health, and Agility are converted into Magic.]

[The Mana Acceleration and High Rank Mana Bone skills have become Lv9, and Magic has increased by 40. You may have figured out how to wield the very source of mana. The time when these two skills fuse is nearing.]

[The High Rank Assimilation skill has become Lv7. Agility and Magic have increased by 40.]

[You have received God’s grace. The Invisible Heart skill’s maximum level has increased by 10.]

Lee Shin Woo received his rewards from the battle only after all the Chi Pauls had finished transforming into androids.

Since they ate the golems whole, he didn’t receive any Perium, any metal (it probably transformed into bone), or any golem cores. However, he still managed to receive the reward for defeating one of the 12 Generals, albeit belatedly.

"My apologies, Father. I wasn’t even thinking..."

"No, it was because of your Avenger karma. It’s fine. I’d rather you level up than get one or two level 8 bones. You have nothing to feel sorry about, Chi Paul."

"Father...!"

"I’d appreciate it if you weren’t so touched by everything I say..."

Lee Shin Woo felt a little guilty, since they retained their title of ’Chi Paul’, despite no longer being Chimeras, and checked how they felt. When he asked them about it, they responded with ’We like this name, since it’s the name you gave us, Father!’, which only made him feel even guiltier.

[You manipulated a battlefield containing the 12 Generals as you pleased and attained victory. Although you lost two of them, you killed two of the 12 Generals and brought one of them over to your side. You sowed chaos, proving your standing as a Joker!]

[You have acquired the title, ’Compass Breaker’ and all stats have increased by 30! Strength has increased by an additional 50!]

"Why do I feel like these titles keep getting more and more chuuni? Although I like how much they raise my stats."

"...I got the title, ’Witch who Challenges Time’, and my Magic and Agility increased by 30. It’s strange. The ’level’ of your titles are very different, Shin Woo."

There was one thing that was fortunate for him. When he’d killed the Golden Shadow General, Vellun Von Dorthe, only Jin and he had gained the hero rewards, but killing Arema Steelworker had yielded rewards for Kratia as well!

However, there were still some rewards left that only Lee Shin Woo could obtain... He was referring to the princess that was blinking her eyes beside him. Did her eyes still hurt a little bit? Lee Shin Woo took out a handkerchief for her to wipe her tears, but then a message appeared.

[You have made one of the 12 Generals, the Lv8 Spirit General, Dana Von Etliber into your loyal subordinate, and have released her from the clutches of the undead curse. This is a greater achievement than simply killing one of the 12 Generals. This act will cause your enemies to quake in fear while also raising the morale of your allies. All stats have increased by 100. You have acquired 20 permits to God’s secret shop. Proficiency in all combat-related skills increases significantly!]

[You have received God’s grace. The Invisible Heart skill’s maximum level has increased by 15.]

[Proficiency in the High Rank Command skill has increased. You now understand the potential that lies beyond the Command skill.]

"Ooh. I thought the ’Species Creator’ title meant I’d miss out on everything else, but guess not."

"Isn’t it because that was your reward for creating a new species, rather than killing one of the 12 Generals?"

"Ha. God’s being generous."

Following the battle, Lee Shin Woo’s stats increased significantly, which resulted in his body undergoing a change; he closed his eyes gently and smiled (he’d already returned to his human form).

But if God were actually here then she’d feel awkward, as there wasn’t much more that she could really do for him. Though his means were truly wicked, he’d managed to kill two level 8 members of the 12 Generals (one of them being a spy from the surface with his own secret plan) and made another his subordinate.

He’d done what none of the heroes had been able to do before all in one spot. Even he didn’t know how to feel about it, but in terms of results, he was a real hero.

"Ah, shall we eat the bones we couldn’t eat before? ...Jin, you want them?"

"I’m good! I’m fine now!"

Most of the bones weren’t anything special, besides the Golden Shadow’s leg bone. His bone was worth absorbing. With his High Rank Combat Sense skill leveling up, Lee Shin Woo’s stats increased by a little more than 120.

Furthermore, by absorbing his darkness knife, Lee Shin Woo was finally able to able to summon weapons imbued with the darkness element! Moreover, they were more perfect than before!

"...It seems like you’ve gotten even further away from me, Shin Woo."

"He’s always like this. It seems like whenever you blink, this happens."

"So he was always such an exceptional individual. I understand."

It was unbelievable; it hadn’t been long since he’d leveled up, yet he was close to 20,000 total stats at 19,945. He’d given up on getting to level 9, as he’d felt it would be impossible, but at some point, the road to getting there had shortened significantly.

He’d grown so much quicker than before, so he tilted his head in confusion. But in a way, it was only natural. When he’d become level 8, he’d been doing the ’unexplainable’ on a regular basis, causing his karma to skyrocket.

"I still need to increase my stats by about 6,000... It’ll probably be difficult to get to level 9 before fighting the Emperor. Beating him should be a piece of cake if I reach level 9."

"That’s what you call greed."

"I hope the Emperor doesn’t come over here right away."

After all, they’d just shot and created a huge blast at the capital. Kratia felt like they should run away ASAP, but Lee Shin Woo firmly shook his head.

"You really think the Emperor could get out unscathed from that big of a blast? He can’t respond right away. Moreover, there’s the matter of his troops. At least 20% of his troops should’ve been vaporized by that blast."

"Probably not, Hero."

Surprisingly, Dana was the one who retorted. She folded the handkerchief, placed it within her chest, and spoke calmly. He had no idea why she was calling him ’Hero’.

"The capital’s thorn wall is on a completely different level than the one here. It’s because the source of darkness mana is in the capital. Moreover, my father... the Emperor may have done something to it after becoming an undead. So your beam shouldn’t have cut down their troops."

"It’s that powerful...?"

"Regardless of how powerful the defense, troops level 5 or less would’ve been destroyed. However, low-leveled enemies are meaningless against us."

In other words, assuming she were right, there were only elite level 6 troops or higher left in the capital. He was wondering why he hadn’t gotten a message notifying him of some extraordinary feat, but if the capital’s defenses were that thorough then it made sense.

"Then we have to just be satisfied with them not getting any stronger."

"Hoo, hoo... You weren’t listening, Hero."

But then, for some reason, Dana smiled meaningfully. At that moment... a message appeared in front of Lee Shin Woo.

[You have completely destroyed the capital’s thorn wall, as well as the rest of its physical and magical defenses! You are the first to achieve such an incredible feat! Now your enemies will have to face the heroes in the open. The final battle is approaching!]

[You have acquired the title, ’Shield Breaker’! You have acquired the special passive skill, ’Soul Strike’ MAX. All your physical and magical attacks gain 10% true damage. Your attacks ignore your opponent’s defenses, resistances, properties and inflict true damage onto them! You have fulfilled a portion of the conditions necessary to achieve the light and darkness fusion element!]

"Huh!?"

"It seems like you’ve achieved a feat. It makes sense. You unleashed such light. The thorn wall must have collapsed."

"It wasn’t just the thorn wall. I destroyed all of the capital’s physical and magical defenses too. So this is what you were talking about..."

"Yes."

Lee Shin Woo felt like he’d been struck by lightning. In other words, rather than reducing the capital’s troops, Dana was...

"So you’re saying it’s more important that the blast eliminated all the capital’s defenses."

"That’s correct. My father was always more talented in defense, rather than offense. The capital’s thorn wall was considered an ’absolute defense’, and although he’s been trapped in the capital for so many years, my father has drawn more power from the source to perfect the defense. Yet you destroyed it so... Hoo, hoo. It was quite a delightful blast."

The thorn wall, an obstacle that lay beyond the 12 Generals, had been destroyed, so now the heroes could invade the capital freely. When he thought about it, it was truly ironic. He’d used the very weapon the Emperor had prepared to get to the surface to destroy his defenses!

And because of that, he’d gained the ’Soul Strike’ skill in preparation for the final battle, so Lee Shin Woo didn’t have any complaints. Moreover, this skill ’smelled’ like an authority, just like his innate elements. The fact that he’d fulfilled a portion of the conditions necessary to acquire the light and darkness fusion element was proof of that. It meant that there was more to pursue.

’I can’t really deny it anymore. Jeez. While the talented heroes were fighting against the Demon King, I was just trying to find a way to be human again, so how did it turn out like this?’

It didn’t matter; it didn’t change anything. There was no reason to hide the fact that he’d fired the cannon anymore. He’d provoked the Emperor for sure, and he’d have to give it everything he had to keep himself alive. The Lich who’d lost his body once before was still out there too.

’...Wait a sec.’

He thought back to the recent battle and recalled something.

"What was Seagald Von Retadane even trying to do here?"

"Wasn’t he trying to recruit his little sister? He perfected the Anti-Skull process by watching the Pauls and led her here to..."

"No, that’s not it. He didn’t come here for just Seira. He came here for this cannon too... What’s the original name again? Heaven Rending Cannon? He was trying to do something with this too."

"Maybe he was trying to shoot it at the capital to strengthen the Emperor."

"No way."

If that were his intention, then he wouldn’t have gone about it like this. He would’ve sworn his allegiance to the Emperor and...

"Ah."

He realized all of a sudden. When he thought back to how he used the Heaven Rending Cannon, then the answer became simple. He knew what Seagald had intended to use the cannon for. It was similar to what he’d used it for!

"The Anti-Skull test... The Anti-Skull test’s objective is...?"

"Resisting the undead transformation... No, that’s not it. It’s to make sane undead."

"What happens if they’re sane?"

"They’ll try to invade the surface... Ah."

Jin realized it too now.

"Shin Woo, is Seagald...?"

"Yeah."

Lee Shin Woo clicked his tongue and nodded his head.

"That bastard. By mixing his mana into the Heaven Rending Cannon and firing it at the capital, he was trying to convert all of the imperial forces into Anti-Skull... He would lead the Emperor and invade the surface!"