“If we keep at it, our proficiency will go up and we’ll level up too… It’s worth a try!”
*Nod, Nod*
I wholeheartedly agreed, nodding vigorously. The quality of the mana stones produced would definitely improve over time.
After the meal, she pulled out the gray parchment scroll again.
“Ah, my level has indeed increased. I must have gained a lot of experience while achieving accomplishments.”
“Wow, it’s already the third time! Ever since summoning Il-wol, it feels like I’m gaining experience faster and more events are happening! Ha-ha—”
“Wish it had been all fun events, but it’s just been danger after danger.”
I hoped for a decent fellow to show up and lighten her burden. The last time I had no idea I would gain a companion, so my heart got a bit anxious. But thinking back, having a summoned creature stronger than me was also a good thing.
*Huff*
As she took a deep breath, she began to chant the summoning spell. This time, no door appeared, but a small portal shimmered like when Wang-wang showed up.
And from there stepped out…
“Ah! It’s Il-wol!”
A Skeleton Soldier.
*‘I feel… strange.’*
Watching myself being born felt truly surreal. I wondered how she felt seeing both me and the newly summoned Skeleton Soldier.
Yeon-hee tilted her head, looking at the standing Skeleton Soldier, then glanced back at me.
She seemed both intrigued and quite confused. Flapping her arms up and down, she said,
“Something feels… off! I summoned using the same scroll, so why is there such a difference? Does the first summon trait get applied to appearance too?”
*‘Well, I wish I knew what that first summon trait is.’*
I could roughly guess that it reduces mana consumption when maintaining it, but I was curious if there was something more.
“Hmm— this is a dilemma.”
Yeon-hee, closely observing the newly summoned Skeleton Soldier, began to replicate the various actions she had done to me on it.
*Creak, clatter—*
“Haha… this is pathetic… Is my movement at that level too?”
Of course, I wasn’t that bad, but it was clear I wouldn’t be too different. I swallowed my words after testing the new Skeleton Soldier for about twenty minutes when she turned serious.
“It has no soul!”
*……?*
Did I mishear something?
Talking about a soul in a summoned creature?
“It has this fluffy vibe, but this one is just like a wall!”
*Tap, tap—*
She poked the wall, as if asking if I understood the feeling.
*‘I get the general vibe, but if the summoned creature listens to commands well, isn’t expecting too much a bit much?’*
I didn’t want my presence to disrupt her summoned creature management… hmm.
“Wait? Huh? Enhance…?”
*…Enhance?*
I was curious about what that meant, thinking hard, when she brought the newly summoned Skeleton Soldier in front of me.
*‘Yeah, it is definitely small. This size shouldn’t differ much from the Goblin Boss, right?’*
Standing at about 160 cm, its physique was incredibly small.
*‘I can see why Jo Gi-man would be surprised.’*
And it somewhat made sense what she said about it having no soul. The skeleton before me was… death itself. Its aura was so low and dark that nothing could draw it lower.
*‘If something like this charged at you, anyone would freak out…’*
Thinking that, I felt I should observe this fellow closely and gather some input. As I was lost in that thought, Yeon-hee removed her finger from her forehead and said,
“I’ve decided! Let’s enhance it!”
*Clap, clap, clap!*
“Sure, do as you please. Since you’ve thought hard about this decision, I’ll just watch over it.”
And whatever she decided would surely be the best choice. Her abilities shown against the Orc Legion in her past life were real.
Yeon-hee placed her hands on both me and the newly summoned Skeleton Soldier and began chanting a spell.
*‘Hmm…? Is this related to me?’*
Could enhancement mean…
Even in this transformed world, could that really be possible?
*Ding—!*
– [Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.1] has been sacrificed for enhancement!
*Huh…?*
As the enhancement message popped up, I stumbled from the sudden feeling of dismay, and the newly summoned Skeleton Soldier approached me, murmuring something.
– …
*Ah…*
And the world engulfed in pitch-black darkness.
.
.
.
– *Il-wol, Il-wol?*
*zap!*
*What, what’s going on?*
Suddenly propping myself up, I exhaled in relief upon seeing Yeon-hee and the chubby Wang-wang looking down at me.
*‘I remember her starting to chant, but…’*
No matter how hard I tried to recall, my head throbbed, so I decided to give up.
*‘Has something changed?’*
The answer to my query soon came in the form of a message.
*Ding—!*
—-
[Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.4]
Strength: 15 Agility: 14 Health: 20 Intelligence: 24
Magic: 12 Resistance: 1(+1) Sense: 16(+1)
Recovery: 2(+1)
Traits: Calm, Protection*, Pickpocketing, 98 lives, Adhesion
Skills: Slam, Stealth, Dagger Toss, Acid Spray, Basic Conversion
Equipment: Roughly Shaped Wooden Club
—–
*‘Alright, stats have gone up a bit. Resistance, Sense, and Recovery went up by 1. The rest is…’*
The trait [Protection] had an asterisk, so I checked it out.
—–
Protection Lv.2
– Shares 51% of the damage taken by the summoner.
—–
*‘Protection level went up. A 1% increase in damage share… not bad.’*
Yet, I still felt uneasy. If I had just nurtured the summoned creature as is, it would have grown quickly and greatly contributed to our strength. This felt a bit wasteful.
*‘To consume the spell scroll obtained from leveling up like this… this feels a bit…’*
I worried that if the Yeon-hee I knew had been around, she might have made a colder judgment, but I was concerned that my presence had skewed her tendencies.
“Are you sad because your friend is gone? But I’m satisfied with just having one Skeleton Soldier, Il-wol. I’ve decided that, so no matter your complaints, it won’t change anything.”
Seeing her nodding in apparent satisfaction made me feel a bit deflated, but well, what can I do about the past?
Not every summoned creature was going to be like this; just the Skeleton Soldier.
*‘If her level goes up, she’ll get a scroll to summon higher-tier creatures, so it’s unlikely I’ll see another Skeleton Soldier.’*
Thinking about it, there wasn’t too much to worry about. Even recalling her last battle, summoning a Skeleton Soldier wasn’t in the cards.
*‘That meant the initial summoned creature traits were of no use at all.’*
As my Sense stat rose, I felt the scanning range expand by about 1-2 meters. Since no monsters had inflicted debuffs yet, the Resistance stat currently held no meaning, but I was somewhat satisfied about the Recovery stat I had considered raising.
“Our Il-wol’s protection trait level has gone up, so this lady feels very reliable.”
*Clap, clap, clap!*
*‘Well, if she’s satisfied…’*
“Wang!”
“Aw, is our Wang-wang feeling good after a full belly?”
*Huff, huff-*
Flipping on its back and panting, it resembled a little puppy. While I was clicking my tongue at the sight, Yeon-hee’s phone rang.
*Vibrating—*
“Oh, yes… Hello… Yes, Representative—”
Hearing her mention a representative, I stealthily moved closer to eavesdrop on her conversation.
“Yes… We’ve finished talking with the Shield Guild…”
As Wang-wang sensed the sudden drop in Yeon-hee’s energy levels, it also started to look around.
“No, I will go in March. I want to do it alone for a while… Yes…”
*‘Are they trying to recruit her into the guild early? For surveillance?’*
“Okay, you can go in then…”
As Yeon-hee hung up with a heavy sigh, she said,
“Ugh… the representative really makes things uncomfortable. Isn’t it strange? They’re being overly considerate… but I find it a bit off.”
*Oh? Yeon-hee has a good intuition? That guy is just a total jerk. Why not look into other guilds right now?*
“But there is a debt from the past… I have to repay it.”
*What? She actually has debts to that guy?*
Noticing my intense gaze, she stared off into space for a moment as if recalling the past and continued speaking.
“There was a time I was restless, worrying about my mom’s hospital bills. Mana disease isn’t covered by insurance… the hospital costs were utterly outrageous, but thanks to the White Knight Guild’s sponsorship and loan, I could stay with her.”
*…I didn’t know this. They’d hidden that pretty well in the guild.*
“But at least Mom suffered less before she left…”
*Yet debts remain. That jerk managed to tie her down like this.*
“So from now on, I’ll work hard to repay the debt! If I help the guild for a few years, I can leave in peace, right? Then we can just travel around exploring dungeons with Wang-wang and Il-wol, being all cute!”
*The idea of exploring dungeons as if on a trip makes my head spin, but… well…*
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