<Chapter 39. New Party Member - 2>

Ye Jin Jin was already aware of Lee Shin Woo's ability to disguise himself as a human being. He'd explained it to her after fooling Prince. That's why he expected her not to raise a commotion at him appearing as a human. At least, that's what he thought, but...

"You look exactly as I imagined, Mr. Shin Woo! You look so cool!"

"You can imagine what I'd looked like with just my build?"

"Yes!"

"Ah, is that so..."

Ye Jin Jin declared without even a shred of uncertainty, which caused Lee Shin Woo to go from speechlessness to admiration! Even now, she was carefully touching his forearm, cheek or hair, acting as excited and loud as other girls her age.

Although it'd be easier for him if she followed him unconditionally, it would be a pain in the ass if she clung onto him too much. He tried to cool things down by returning to his original skeleton form, but...

"Kyaa, this form is cool in its own way! So when you become level 7, the atmosphere... Uuaah."

"Fine. I give up."

On the contrary, she blushed and looked muddled. That's right, this girl was a necrophiliac! At that moment, Lee Shin Woo changed her danger level to 2. 1 was obviously reserved for Seira Von Retadane.

'Is it because I left her alone all this time? She'll likely cool off after traveling with me.'

After all, their first meeting was both dramatic and fleeting. She was the type to fixate on her first impressions and even improve upon them, so if, conversely, he acted together with her, then her once strong impression of him will disappear. He concluded that, at the very least, it would weaken.

"But Mr. Shin Woo, could I really be of help to you? I worked really hard, but I wasn't able to reach level 6... I'm still really weak."

"No, that's fine. You worked really hard."

Her current stats were slightly less than 3,100. Since level 6 required 3,200 total stats, she only needed about 100 or so stats to level up.

Honestly speaking, Lee Shin Woo was shocked at how fast she'd grown. He and Jin possessed a specialized ability that allowed them to progress quickly, but Ye Jin Jin had nothing of the sort!

"I wanted to help you...! So I did whatever I could and worked hard!"

"G-Good for you."

So this was the power of love, huh. He looked at Ye Jin Jin, who grasped her hands in front of her and almost lost his nerve.

She was the type who ignored everything around her. She wasn't two-faced; she was honest and wore her heart on her sleeve. To think she'd worked so hard and grown so much just to be of help to him. If someone told him that she came out of a romance cartoon, then he'd believe it. Her face was pretty too, so had her partner not been a skeleton, it would've been perfect.

'Even Lloyd, who's pretty much the full package, has some darkness within him...'

Lee Shin Woo might've turned out differently had there been a young lady like Ye Jin Jin around in the past. Of course, it was nothing more than speculation, so it was pointless to think about. Plus, he liked how he turned out, so it didn't matter.

"The job I have for you doesn't really require strength. But it does require trust. It has to be someone who trusts me, and someone I can trust. You have to keep this a secret, too."

"I can do that!"

"I know. That's why I called you."

First off, Lee Shin Woo briefly explained the current situation he was in. She was surprised at the fact that Lee Shin Woo could go to the surface, as well as the fact that he could bring her with him.

"It'd be nice... if I could go too..."

"You should be able to. The issue's not about getting there. It's about what you do after you get there."

He explained what the peddler, Lawrence, and the mercenary, Kay did in detail. She looked really happy to be Lawrence's representative, but she was even happier at the fact that Kay was called the Sun God's hero on the surface.

"It seems like the Sun God religion has a discerning eye!"

"So I'll be really busy for the time being. During that time, I'd like you to be Lawrence's representative. Of course, I'll pay you a corresponding amount of Perium... no, I'll pay you even more."

"Perium...?"

"Yeah. There's a price for everything. The more burdensome it is, the more you have to pay in exchange."

In exchange for her being Lawrence's representative, he would pay her Perium. He'd planned this ever since he first considered Ye Jin Jin a candidate.

He wasn't really comfortable giving away karma, but Lee Shin Woo had realized that he'd be freer this way!

"I shouldn't be the one saying this, but with the hero, Kay and the Sun God religion's help, the value of the Lawrence shop will increase instantaneously. And if you're the representative of such a large business, then that Perium can go to you. In other words, it's a legal way of gaining Perium."

This was what 'killing two birds with one stone' meant. Ye Jin Jin would become the representative of his business and simultaneously, become stronger.

Not only would he be repaying her for all her hard work, but she'd also be able to use that Perium to buy more stat boosting medicine. She was definitely one of his allies, so increasing her strength would help Lee Shin Woo as well.

Even to him, his plan was perfect. However, Ye Jin Jin seemed to oppose his decision.

"I can't do that! I want to help you, not steal your karma...!"

"I'll be honest with you."

He knew from the very beginning that she wouldn't be comfortable with this proposal, due to her inherent honest and genuine nature. Lee Shin Woo snorted as if he were waiting for her to try to continue and replied.

"Giving you some Perium won't hurt me in the least. I have more than 2.5 billion Perium on me right now."

"2.5... billion..."

Ye Jin Jin's face stiffened. The medicine cost 500,000 a pop. With 2.5 billion Perium, she could reach level 7 (3,200 stats needed), purely through the medicine, and still have 900 million Perium left over. Ye Jin Jin was well aware of how great a matter this was.

"This is beyond amazing... Mr. Shin Woo, you're really..."

"This is all the money I've accumulated from the Underground Empire. If my business takes off on the surface, then I can make even more. So, you understand now that it won't make a dent on my Perium, right?"

"...Yes, I understand."

Lee Shin Woo spoke confidently so Ye Jin Jin felt less burdened. Instead, she thought something like, 'He's progressed so quickly, yet he's amassed so much Perium. Lee Shin Woo truly is amazing!'. He supposed it couldn't be helped that her impression of him had become even greater than before.

"I'll accept the Perium from you, use it to increase my abilities, and then fight together with you on the frontlines. That's ok with you, right?"

"Good, you understand. I want you to be Lawrence's representative, and by doing so, you will gain a lot of Perium you can use to strengthen yourself. So now we're in agreement, right?"

"Yes, I'll do it. I'll become strong enough to help you, no matter what!"

She was so blind that Lee Shin Woo felt anxious. But in any case, she would follow him and take this opportunity to become stronger, so she would definitely be helpful to him. He accepted that reasoning and nodded his head.

"Alright. We're done talking, so let's get a move on. First, we'll go visit the place where we make Lawrence's most popular item."

"Most popular item... Is it the wine that's being auctioned off? Did you make that yourself? Is it being made underground by any chance?"

"Yeah. Ah, by the way, my name's Paul Zero over there. Keep that in mind."

Ye Jin Jin looked puzzled while Lee Shin Woo smiled softly and led her. Fortunately, the Kerr Century Winery wasn't very far from here, so he didn't need to use the Heaven Door's Key. Before he went into the winery, he took a deep breath and opened the door. What he was really afraid of was...

[It's Paul Zero!]

[Did you say Paul Zero!?]

"Kyaaaaa!?"

Once they noticed his arrival, the Dryads rushed over to him like a swarm of bees! He accepted it, as though he knew this would happen, but Ye Jin Jin saw the countless wood spirits rushing over to him and stood still.

[Paul Zero, you came to visit!]

"S-Spirits... Dryads!?"

"Yeah. These guys are invaluable in making the Kerr Century Wine."

Lee Shin Woo completely ignored Sinea, who threw herself into his arms and gave kiss after kiss on his cheek and explained the facility to Ye Jin Jin.

The mystery behind this facility wasn't just the Dryads. Ye Jin Jin saw the golems dragging carts filled with grapes or rolling around oak barrels and was speechless.

"It really is amazing..."

[Paul Zero, is this one of your new friends?]

"Yeah. She'll help sell the wine you guys make from now on."

[I see. Would you like to eat a grape?]

"T-Thank you."

[Hehe.]

Once she ate the grape, Ye Jin Jin became mute once again from the grape's indescribable sweetness and sourness. It was cute seeing Sinea laugh with such a proud expression.

Lee Shin Woo left her alone and continued with his work. He collected the wine they'd created, and remodeled the equipment on the spot, creating a new facility to create wine. A facility that would create sparkling wine, the wine that would represent champagne!

"For some reason, sparkling wine doesn't exist in this world... Even if it did, they wouldn't be able to reproduce its special characteristic and it wouldn't taste very good. However, our grapes can do it."

[I don't know what sparkling wine is, but we just have to do as you say, right, Paul Zero?]

He'd done enough prep on the surface, so remodeling the facility wasn't very difficult. While he was at it, Lee Shin Woo decided to expand the facility, as well as the wine storehouse. The Dryads were elated at the expanded winery and flew around.

"Now, then. There's something important I have to tell you."

[What is it?]

[What is it? What is it?]

He said once he was completely finished with the modifications, and the Dryads responded instantly. Lee Shin Woo honestly told them what had happened. That he'd procured a way to go to the surface, and that he could bring about two of them with him.

[I see. Paul Zero, you're really amazing!]

[I knew you'd be able to go to the surface someday, Paul Zero!]

They were the Dryads, who came to the underground in search of living trees, so he had expected more of a fuss, but... their reaction wasn't as bad as he'd expected. He tilted his head, as they may have not understood him, but Sinea then replied.

[We're satisfied with our life here. Plus, you're the one who told us that the curse is threatening to affect the surface as well.]

"That's true, but it's just a chance. Moreover, isn't the surface much more attractive than living down here?"

[But we like the underground better since you're here.]

[You can suck the curse away!]

[Plus, we don't want to leave a place that's been handled by an elf.]

Lee Shin Woo listened, as the Dryads chattered away, and realized that he'd been misunderstanding all along. It was like with Ye Jin Jin as well. They were more considerate to him than he'd expected, and they were showing this consideration now.

"I see... Thanks."

[But there might still be some of our kin or other spirits on the surface, so we may have to investigate... Alright, I'll go as our representative. Paul Zero, please take care of me.]

[The Princess is monopolizing Paul Zero!]

[I'm against this!]

[Everyone, please be quiet.]

She overpowered their resentment with her charisma, flew over to the vineyard, and came over with a small grapevine branch. Lee Shin Woo was confused and asked why she'd brought that over, and Sinea explained that she could return freely with that single branch.

[I've grown a lot too and above all, I love this place. The other Dryads will think the same.]

"You're not a normal Dryad anymore..."

[You're right. I became a level 7 Elder Dryad Princess quite a while ago.]

At some point, she'd reached level 7 as well! Ye Jin Jin, who realized that a Dryad had even beaten her in terms of levels, felt gloomy, and Lee Shin Woo had to comfort her. Around that time, the final member that they would bring to the surface had arrived.

[The Master of Darkness, Paul Zero. I have come at your command.]

He was the level 7 Wolf Avenger, Bisher Moon. When he'd come down to the Underground Empire, he'd told Bisher to come to the winery.

Lee Shin Woo had to decide which to bring with him: Shino Rendu or Bisher Moon, as he couldn't bring the Giants or the Chimeras; their outward appearances were too frightening. He thought about it for a while and eventually decided to bring Bisher Moon, as he could use magic, while Shino Rendu only possessed combat abilities.

[I divided my troops and entrusted them to Shino Rendu and Chi Paul. They're all fighting bravely right now. Most of the 12 generals won't even be able to scratch your forces.]

"Good."

That's right. The Empire wasn't stable yet, but they couldn't just remain in hiding forever, so Lee Shin Woo was carefully commanding his undead forces from the shadows.

He decided not to use the Giants unless they were needed, as they were quite conspicuous. His elite undead and golems moved covertly and cut down the Undead Empire's numbers bit by bit. If one of the 12 generals appeared, then Lee Shin Woo could just go over there. That's why he'd been grateful to have the Heaven Door's Key!

"Mr. Shin Woo, this Lycanthrope..."

"Remember what he looks like since he's your senior. Since we're all here, let's go."

He was really worried how effective his forces would be without the Heaven Defying General, but Lee Shin Woo couldn't always stick around with his troops. After he sent a brief message to Shino Rendu and the other commanders, Lee Shin Woo created a gate to the surface.

The biggest auction on the surface awaited him.