“Orcs… Well, regular orcs are low-rank. Their combat power is somewhere between a hobgoblin and a lizardman.”
But even though they may look similar, orc abilities can vary widely, so you shouldn’t make snap judgments when you come across one in the dungeon. It’s like not recognizing a high-rank hunter just because they’re wearing shabby gear.
“Whoa! This is my first time seeing an orc! Hey! Can I come over?”
“Grugh- Chaha!”
The sound of its chest puffing up echoes through the living room.
“I don’t know what it’s saying, but it doesn’t look as scary as I thought? Could you tone it down a bit?”
‘Even if it’s a dragon, I can’t just scowl in front of something that can summon itself…’
“Hmmm… Orc, yeah. Looking at your face, a name comes to mind!”
‘How about calling it “Dotti”?’
That’s the only thing that stands out.
“From now on, your name is Dotti. Got it?”
‘………..’
KROWAR!
Still, the orc seems happy enough, letting out a loud victory cheer. And right after, it gets whacked by Lizardman 1 and Ddung-i standing nearby.
Thwack! Pow! Thud!
Kruk?!
Churup!! (Except for the Master… no one else… can shout…)
The orders I had given multiple times to keep quiet in the house finally bore fruit.
“Alright, Lizardman 1, make sure to thoroughly train the new recruits.”
Churup Churup-!!
The moment Lizardman 1 appears, it grabs the scruffy Dotti by the neck and drags it to the corner to start training.
They chat in their own way for a while, and at some point, they compare the thickness of their arms.
Churup- (You get it… this determines… the males.)
Krohwor? (Can I be like that? This?)
Chururup- (It won’t be easy… but… if you follow me… and work hard…)
Nod nod-
‘What the heck are they doing instead of training?’
Although it’s not the first time I’ve watched 1 train, it’s still fascinating, and I was staring when suddenly Yeon-hee’s eyes widened and she said in a small voice.
“Lizardman 1 has become the squad leader?! Every attribute has increased by 3!!”
‘Oooh…’
“1! Do you feel any changes in your body?”
After hearing Yeon-hee’s words, 1 tilted its head for a moment, moved its body around, and then nodded.
Seems like the change came from commanding over ten minions, but such effects usually occur when forming a party among guild members with high bonds, so I was quite surprised.
‘So being bound within the same category of summoned creatures means they’ve surpassed a certain level of bond? Hmm— they’ve definitely grown, albeit slightly, in skeletal structure. At that level, even a decent E-rank frontliner would get eaten alive…’
Originally a top-tier monster among low ranks, and now significantly grown, it seems there won’t be anyone among E-rank hunters who can even stand against 1 in a one-on-one.
‘Great… The growth of the Lizardman squad is progressing smoothly. They might even be able to run a hunts in a Fire Monkey dungeon. Can we handle about 50 together?’
“Okay, let’s go to the hobgoblin dungeon as scheduled tomorrow. I also ordered a new antidote with the reward money earned.”
Nod-
The reward money would likely be laughably low compared to our performance, to be precise, we’re practically broke right now.
“Phew— should we go to bed a bit earlier? I’m not sure if I can sleep with my heart racing. Wang-wang, let’s go?”
Wang-wang!!
Yeon-hee, along with Wang-wang, slipped into the room like sticky rice cakes spread on the floor. And in the living room, Lizardmen and Dotti were still chattering amongst themselves. Yeon-hee seemed to have no intention of dismissing them until my mana ran out.
‘Then, should I get some practice in?’
I intended to speed up the creation of skeleton bombs.
That way, once all the stored bombs are used up, I can continue launching bomb attacks in real-time.
‘First, the dismemberment work…’
I waited until Yeon-hee fell asleep and cautiously made my way to the bathroom.
Phew- Chudakchudak- Chiiiyik-
‘The bathroom is really echoey. Don’t wake anyone up.’
From the goblin corpses pulled from my inventory, I peeled off the bones and directly put the byproducts back into the inventory. Goblin blood has a terrible stink, so I cleaned up the spilled blood immediately.
Krohk?
Before long, Lizardman 1 and Dotti, who had come up behind me, were staring intently at what I was doing.
“When we enter the dungeon and have time, I should let these guys try it too.”
By the end of a night filled with work, I managed to collect enough bones for hundreds of skeleton bombs.
Goblin Bones
– Bomb Attack Power +5
Kobold Bones
– Bomb Attack Power +6
‘Hmm- Sure enough, being low-grade means the values are low.’
In the chill of dawn, I tirelessly practiced converting the stripped bones into bombs.
Banga-gagak- Buduk-
The bones crumbled in my hands and transformed into rough spherical shapes due to magic. Faint circuits appeared to form inside.
It takes 3 mana to manufacture one bomb. Even though my mana recovery speed increased, making 54 bombs before entering the dungeon was a tall order.
If it weren’t for the crystals, that would have been the case.
The crystal Yeon-hee gave me was still in my hands and surprisingly increased my mana recovery speed.
In the end, I managed to stockpile all 54 bombs before entering the dungeon. I thought about making a few extra bombs, but they vanished into smoke in my hands.
‘So I can maintain a limit of just 54, huh?’
Still, after practicing all night, I managed to reduce the production time from about 2 minutes down to around 10 seconds. I’m still not at the level for mass production in combat, but it’s always nice when efforts yield results.
“Good morning?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
It felt weird that the person who just went to bed greeted me as she came out.
After washing up and preparing a simple breakfast of bread, Yeon-hee furrowed her brow while looking at her phone just as she was about to head to the dungeon.
“Hmm? Is it spam?”
‘What is it?’
“A hunter named Noh Ha-yoon sent me a message through an app?”
‘Noh Ha-yoon? Why?’
D-rank hunter Noh Ha-yoon, expected to be the next ace in the Vision Guild, sent Yeon-hee a message. I couldn’t help but be curious about the content.
“She wants to party with me? She says to call her when I get promoted to D-rank… Why me?”
‘Huh… I honestly have no idea…’
Shrugging my shoulders, I gathered the antidote near the door and stood in front of Yeon-hee.
“Well, let’s just think about it once I hit D-rank. There might be other reasons, so let’s save the message.”
Yeon-hee waved as she dismissed the summon.
A moment of darkness—
And then I was called into a new world.
I felt a slight relaxation from the routine I was now completely used to.
‘Accidents tend to happen at times like this; since it’s the first dungeon, I need to be careful and cautious…’
The environment is not much different from the Fire Monkey dungeon.
Dense thickets, various monsters, a variety of hunters, and the howls of this dungeon’s dominant species, the hobgoblins, can be heard from somewhere.
Just like a gambler entering a racetrack with a betting slip, a pleasant tension brushed over my body.
And we had to approach this place with even greater caution.
Thinking of the sight of goblin boss-level monsters charging in a herd, it was absolutely necessary.
‘If the bombs go off just right, it might be surprisingly easy.’
Pong!
(Oh ho ho! What a surprise to be called right from the entrance!)
It was entirely her judgment to summon Spirit Ran from the start. Judging by her slightly upturned lips, it seemed she had thought of something.
“Ran? Can you hold onto this crystal for me?”
(Ohh…! This is quite a valuable item…)
I wondered if she could really hold onto a crystal bigger than her own body, but she gently wrapped it with her wings, and in an instant, the crystal vanished.
‘Huh?’
“… You have such a skill?”
(The ‘connectivity’ of our spirits’ space is much superior to the space used by humans. By putting it in my space, I can still connect it to you, so you’ll benefit as if you’re holding the crystal yourself!)
‘Wow… That’s amazing…’
Unlike runes, where the effect is lost immediately upon placing the item in the inventory, Ran can not only keep the crystal in her space but also apply the effect directly to Yeon-hee. Naturally, this would increase combat efficiency compared to carrying around cumbersome stuff.
‘If I obtain a higher-grade summoning scroll for the tan-gray summoned creature, can I continuously summon spirits like Ran? That would be awesome.’
Since I don’t recall having seen a spirit like this in my memories, I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high, but the more I looked, the more astonishing she was.
“Ran, can I ask you for a favor from now on? You have to be careful so you don’t lose it, alright?”
(Of course!! I, Ran, pledge my life to serve you-)
*Peck-*
Yeon-hee pretended to give Ran a light kiss near her beak, and Ran’s white cheeks flushed red as she fluttered in place, flying around quickly.
(I will dedicate my entire life to you, Master!!)
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
(Ah heh heh-)
‘That one’s definitely a male.’
Hunters near the entrance were gathering in small groups to form parties. This place is perceived as one where parties are basically essential, just like in the Fire Monkey dungeon. However, we planned to challenge the dungeon without a party.
Once we moved a bit to ensure we were sufficiently away from other hunters, Yeon-hee summoned only about half of her forces.
Lizardman 1 to 5, Ddak-ddak-i, Ddung-i, Lime, and this time, the summoned orc, Dotti.
It seemed the remaining 5 lizardmen would be summoned as the battle began, depending on the situation.
“Let’s go.”
Zooping on her special goggles designed to defend against poison spikes, she announced her start vigorously. Maybe because we’ve already experienced a dungeon break once? Her expression seemed much more hunter-like now.
‘This is quite fun… Is this what it feels like to nurture?’
For our formation, I stood at the front, Yeon-hee in the middle, and Lizardman 2 with Ddak-ddak-i, positioned at the back.
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