I thought it was impressive and looked back at that guy again. It seemed like Yeon-hee’s praise had re-energized him, and he was spinning in circles.
“Then, curl up!!”
Chirp chirp—
The iron-armored insect immediately retracted its outer shell and flattened on the ground, pressing its belly as close to the dirt as possible. The ground trembled slightly; it was probably from the sounds it was making.
I guessed it couldn’t use its abilities like this normally and that it only activated automatically when attacked.
“Wow, staying flat like this makes it hard to flip over, huh? The shell’s shine makes it tricky to get a grip on.”
Of course, this smooth ground was different from the uneven paths in dungeons, but it still had traits that could compensate for its weaknesses.
“But since everything’s for self-protection, it’s a bit ambiguous. Let’s head out together for now.”
Nod—
We decided to check things out tomorrow. She went to her room while I spent my time practicing as usual.
* * *
After testing the iron-armored insect with Il-wol, Yeon-hee came into the room and dived straight into the blanket.
After looking at the ceiling for a moment, she let out a big sigh.
“I couldn’t control the Kobold. As expected… do I need to raise this stat?”
Control: 3
A stat I’d never even heard of before, control.
Even necromancers who raised corpses to fight didn’t possess such stats. It was probably unique to the summoner class.
“Honestly, I don’t even have enough stats to invest in magic power, and I was just going to let this go…”
While I could somehow get past having my first summoned creature be Il-wol, not being able to control even a Kobold was something I couldn’t accept.
“When I level up next, I’ll increase this and see if there’s a difference.”
As I organized my thoughts, I pulled the blanket over my head and absently blinked my eyes, suddenly recalling my time with Il-wol.
Caught up in the excitement of having obtained an artifact, I danced around without realizing it, celebrating my joy, but before I knew it, I found myself in an awkwardly tense position with Il-wol.
Then came that cold, bony hand. When it gently brushed my face and held my chin firmly, I didn’t understand why my face turned so red and felt hot.
“Such a fascinating guy, Il-wol…”
A companion and friend who continuously brought me new experiences.
“I’ll protect you…”
* * *
And the next day.
We summoned the iron-armored insect for combat and discovered an unexpected effect.
“I think it has a provocation effect?”
Monsters were strangely drawn to the curled-up iron-armored insect. It had the opposite effect we expected, and in turn, Yeon-hee had to keep her distance from the Ddak-ddak-i while fighting.
Chirp chirp—
“Is it because of that sound? Is the vibration it produces while curling up annoying them?”
Regardless, the effect was good. The Big Boar only kept slam-dunking into the iron-armored insect’s shell, and that sturdy carapace took a hefty toll on the Big Boar’s horn.
Geeeek—
That didn’t mean it was completely safe; in the end, it did die and was unsummoned. But it had made a satisfying contribution.
And the Kobold, which worried us, had completely lost its anger and was now faithfully serving as Yeon-hee’s bodyguard with a silly expression on its face.
Even if the Kobold was a dumb creature only capable of blind attacks, it could at least take a strike at the iron-armored insect when it was busy aggroing the monsters.
Thud—
And though it originally had strong power, hitting it just once was enough to deliver quite the damage.
“At this pace, the Big Boar dungeon should be a breeze.”
So we practically lived in the Big Boar dungeon for another week, and Yeon-hee leveled up to level 21, while I reached level 2.
=====
[Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.18]
Strength: 49 Agility: 50 (+6) Health: 53 (+6)
Intelligence: 24 Magic Power: 47 (+6) Resistance: 1
Sense: 21 Recovery: 5
=====
Once again, I raised agility, health, and magic power, steadily walking the path towards becoming a catch-all character.
Yeon-hee reached level 21, and the color of her summoned creature’s scroll had turned to a brownish gray. The rewards for leveling up had improved.
“Ah~ then I can’t summon Skeleton Soldiers anymore. It’s a pity I need to strengthen Il-wol.”
Although she grumbled about that, it seemed we wouldn’t be needing summoning scrolls for iron-armored insects or slimes anymore. Sure, they had their uses too, but…
As her spell filled the room with a beautiful melody, the second gray summoning scroll began to glow.
“If another intermediate one pops out, let’s just go buy a lottery ticket, Yeon-hee.”
Soon, a rather well-built creature walked out of the portal, looking like a lizardman, walking on two legs, wielding a heavily worn machete-type weapon. Though it only barely covered its vital areas, its nearly 2-meter height and muscular build reminded one of a barbarian.
“A lizardman? Do these guys only come in low-level?”
Seeing Yeon-hee’s calm reaction, it didn’t seem to be intermediate.
“Then I guess it’s the best among low-level ones; these guys can be real nuisances when they gather.”
Especially near water or on rainy days, their stats increase, making them tricky to deal with. They had decent weapon-handling skills and strong determination.
“Thinking back, these guys were one of the main troops when fighting the Orc Legion Commander, right?”
As I mulled over that memory, a puzzling thought crossed my mind. Since summoned creatures currently popped out completely at random when invoking a summoning spell, did this mean Yeon-hee would be able to designate the specific summoned creature she wanted in the future?
“If such a power were to manifest… the lizardman would be the best choice. Of course, it’d have to consume less magic power to maintain.”
Yeon-hee sat still with her eyes closed for a few minutes before opening them and spoke.
“Certainly, lizardmen consume less magic power. Summoning one consumes twice as much as Wang-wang, but maintaining it is similar. Impressive, huh?”
In short, it was cost-effective. There was no need to mention the lizardman’s well-known stats.
“Lizardman 1…”
While Yeon-hee took her time naming the creature, I stood next to the lizardman.
Slurp— Sip—
As I approached, it flicked its slender tongue out like a snake, measuring me.
(Shall we fight… where is the enemy…?)
Famous for being battle-crazed, the lizardman already seemed to be itching to fight, swinging its machete around indiscriminately.
(Hey, careful, you could damage your master’s precious room by swinging around like that.)
(Enemy… where is the enemy… where can I wash my body?)
‘It doesn’t understand me. It’s talking about bathing right after just coming out.’
At that moment, Yeon-hee came over, placing her hand on the lizardman’s arm.
“Lizardman 1. That’s your name now, got it?”
“Huh? Numbering? What does that mean?”
“With each grade of summoning scroll, the ability to pick one of the creatures summoned has manifested, which increases the probability. I think it’d be appropriate to use the brownish gray scroll for lizardmen for a while, what do you think, Il-wol?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
“Oh wow, did that ability already activate at level 20? I’m not sure how much it increases the summoning probability, but I bet it helps summon the specified creature more often.”
Most classes usually follow a path without questioning, taking whatever comes their way.
In simple terms, aside from pumping stats, there’s little they can do apart from getting lucky and gaining an ability every five levels.
But since Yeon-hee had gained the ability to specify her summoned creature, such a custom ability only appeared in the summoner class.
“Hehe, having two traits is reassuring, huh?”
“Oh wow, I wonder what they are! I’m curious!”
“My passive traits are… [Irmana’s Blessing] which increases agility when wet, and [Blessing of Pitp] which increases health recovery speed the longer the fight goes on. Having both blessings is insane, right?”
‘Looks like her ancestors did a good job with those blessings and boons.’
“And the skill is… as is well-known, paralysis. It secretes fluid that induces paralysis.”
For a moment, my gaze shifted to the lizardman’s weapon.
I could see liquid dripping thickly from the rusted machete. It was that fluid that came from their bodies.
Though it lacked an active flair for a skill, it was perfectly suited for creatures that favored close combat.
I imagined how the lizardman must have looked applying their bodily fluids to its machete while licking its lips before a fight.
Yeon-hee approached the lizardman and seemed to be pondering how to operate it, trying various movements with it.
I also simulated a duel with the lizardman in my mind.
‘If it’s a one-on-one fight, I can win without much trouble, but I’d take quite a bit of damage. Two of them at once would be impossible.’
The next day, upon entering the dungeon, we could within moments confirm the lizardman’s abilities.
We encountered two Big Boars, and while I took one, the lizardman took the other, controlling them. Yeon-hee and the Kobold executed ranged attacks with arrows and thrown weapons, making them easy to suppress.
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