We are currently on Route C. This is the path where monsters tend to appear the most in this dungeon.
Of course, it’s not just Lizardmen that appear here in droves; there are plenty of pesky creatures like Hobgoblins and Big Boars around too. But the number of Lizardmen is relatively high compared to other paths.
In a nutshell, this is a course that doesn’t allow for any magic recovery breaks.
However, considering our stats, there was still something lacking in this place.
Churrarak!!
As Lizardman 1 roared and commanded, the Lizard Squad began skinning the corpses of fallen Lizardmen scattered around.
I felt no hint of sadness over fratricide from the summoned creatures. They were already bound to Yeon-hee. For the others, even if they were of the same species, they were merely enemies.
– Wow… Ha-yoon, I’ve never seen a sight like that before. I’m only just understanding why you forcibly brought us here. It feels like my eyes are opening.
– Uh? Uh… Is that so?
Noh Ha-yoon followed along, continuing the battle mostly with the monsters we had dispatched. Now, she stood at a distance, blankly watching the summoned creatures perform their butchery.
While her party members seemed to be under some strange delusion, Noh Ha-yoon’s gaze was entirely focused on me.
‘Still keeping some boundaries. Let’s keep it that way moving forward.’
Seeing Ha-yoon act much more cautiously than yesterday left me slightly puzzled, but I didn’t dwell on it too much.
Thanks to Noh Ha-yoon, this day’s dungeon raid proceeded in an oddly tense atmosphere and surprisingly ended without any major events.
Of course, Noh Ha-yoon was secretly waiting for an opportunity to pitch herself closer to us, but such opportunities only arose with some variables. Unless she was acting crazy and jumped right into me, there was no way our distance would close.
Since we took down the Champion earlier than yesterday, we gathered at the exit to pass some time.
The chatter after a hunt always has its unique flavor.
“Is it just me, or does doing nothing make me feel even more anxious?”
Helen, arms crossed, glanced at Noh Ha-yoon’s party and spoke.
“I definitely feel something’s off, but I’m not sure what it is.”
Yeon-hee also tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“This won’t do. I’ll be right back.”
Jin-kyeong, seemingly unable to withstand the suspense, approached Noh Ha-yoon to ask something before returning to us.
“Huh? They said they can’t come in for a while? They came in today despite pushing it.”
When Jin-kyeong shrugged and said this, our party members shook their heads as if to say Jin-kyeong was truly strange.
“Um, I noticed that she seemed really interested in the Skeleton Soldier.”
“Me? Il-wol?”
Yeon-hee flinched in surprise at Ji-woo’s words.
“It looked like her feet were always pointing towards the skeleton. From my experience, that’s often a sign of interest. But she also seems to be on high alert… Overall, it seems she’s intrigued by the Skeleton Soldier but is being very cautious about it.”
In response to Ji-woo’s statement, Jin-kyeong said, “It was the same from the initial attack.”
“But Yeon-hee, that Skeleton Soldier really is interesting, though. There have been a couple of times in battle that I was taken aback. Its stats are one thing, but its judgment isn’t typical of a summoned creature.”
Helen’s words made Yeon-hee’s lips twitch, but her gaze remained fixed on Noh Ha-yoon.
“Well, still, she said she can’t come for a while. Let’s just focus on our own tasks.”
“Hehe, speaking of which, Yeon-hee, how about we grab a meal after this? Huh? We really should eat together at least once. For team unity! Just once, please.”
Helen tugged at Yeon-hee’s arm and pleaded, causing Yeon-hee to stammer, looking flustered.
“Well done, Helen. Go and treat the girl to some food.”
Ultimately, after enduring considerable harassment from the Helen duo, Yeon-hee had her very first team dinner, and I…
“It’s like a journey of time and spirit!”
Re-entering the massive door, I swung my club like a madman.
“On the contrary, it’s great. Summoned creatures also need some alone time.”
Whooo-
I felt like I swung for about an hour. However, I couldn’t even set foot into the realm I experienced yesterday.
“Is it a sense of crisis? Yesterday, I might have cornered myself.”
But I didn’t feel uneasy for not being able to enter that pure white realm. I instinctively understood that such opportunities don’t come by often.
“I’ve done this before. If I keep putting in the same effort as yesterday, I’ll surely gain another chance eventually.”
Whooo-
I continued my training, pouring everything I had into each swing for another few hours.
Squeeeak—
Yeon-hee’s sweet voice shattered my concentration, and soon I was sucked into the door.
*
“Ghah…!”
In the basement of a derelict building in downtown Seoul, where construction had been halted for years.
There, Jo Gi-man and his right-hand woman, Jung Joo-in, were staring coldly at a man in a robe, who was flipping it aside.
Creeek—
“Gahhh!!”
Jung Joo-in twisted the dagger that pierced the man in the abdomen and shouted.
“Now… quickly tell me where the rest of your base is. Then I’ll kill you without pain.”
“Gahihihik- That place… Gah! Ah, it’s by Ashran’s side!”
“You bastard!!”
Jung Joo-in, with eyes filled with rage, tore into the man’s abdomen mercilessly.
Red blood splattered everywhere, even splashing onto Jung Joo-in’s clean face.
‘Even if I say it’s pointless…’
Jo Gi-man shook his head.
This was the sixth time he had witnessed this since taking Jung Joo-in as his trusted subordinate after the second round. Those outside the dungeon were fundamentally different in their fanaticism compared to those searching for artifacts within.
They never betray their comrades under any circumstances, those tenacious creatures, so even if it’s pointless, Jung Joo-in always threw herself in wholeheartedly.
“I’m sorry.”
Eventually, hiding in such a sinister place, Jung Joo-in sincerely bowed her head to Jo Gi-man after killing the thirty or so blue-eyed believers who were working on a large-scale transition for the Orcs.
“That’s enough. Why don’t you listen to me when I say no?”
Jo Gi-man flinched!
Normally, he wouldn’t drop the honorifics when speaking to Jo Gi-man, but when he feels disturbed, he would let them slip.
“I’m sorry—“
“That’s enough. I didn’t come with high expectations. Let’s close the gate.”
Jo Gi-man stepped towards the slightly cracked gate and returned to his usual tone.
Whoooo—
How many times has this been repeated?
Jo Gi-man waved his hand counterclockwise as he began erecting a red barrier around the gate.
“Blood Seal”
With Jo Gi-man’s incantation, the gap in the cracked gate was neatly filled, and soon the gate’s power dissipated.
This was a sealing spell, one of the powers he received directly from the Seven-headed Dragon.
Drip drip—
Black blood flowed slowly in curves from Jo Gi-man’s fingers.
“It’s gotten faster…”
The flow of events was escalating rapidly.
Preparing for the Orc army’s invasion that would happen in two years was not much different from before. Large-scale transitions require substantial time and resources to coordinate.
However, this time the preparation phase had progressed more than ever.
It was as if the world itself was quaking from some form of denial about his final life.
‘Half a year… or even more, the clock has sped up? Hehehe… damn it…’
Jo Gi-man quietly smiled and muttered.
“Do you think I’m going to end like this…?”
He firmly believed he was the protagonist of this world. After clearing away all those who obstructed him, this time he would make every being behold him in awe. He had confidence in that.
Kekekekekek—
Only his twisted, dark laughter echoed through the silent derelict building.
*
Eight days later, at the entrance to Lizard Swamp.
We experienced a few significant changes over the course of the week.
First of all, Yeon-hee reached level 39, gaining four additional summon slots and the ability to summon more Lizardmen. Currently, the Lizard Squad has grown to a total of 19 members.
Moreover, with the income from dungeon raids, she managed to turn the ‘teeth’ she obtained by defeating the Ancient Crystal into orbs.
Thanks to that, her magic recovery speed increased substantially, and her magic power rose by 30. As a result, she could now summon all her summoned creatures at once and keep them active for several minutes.
And I caught up to Yeon-hee, leveling up alongside her to level 39, maintaining top-tier contribution in the Lizardman Champion raids over the past eight days. I was also able to fill many slots with intermediate runes.
Of course, the Lizardman Champion doesn’t always drop intermediate runes. There was a slim chance it would only drop low-rank runes, and that incident occurred on the fourth day.
So when Noh Ha-yoon followed me, I was able to add one more intermediate rune to the two I previously gained, bringing my total to eight intermediate runes and two low-rank runes for a full set.
=====
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +19
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +17
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +16
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +16
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +14
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +14
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +13
Rune of Giants (Intermediate) Strength +12
Rune of Giants (Low-Rank) Strength +9
Rune of Magic (Low-Rank) Magic Power +8
=====
Since I replaced the Rune of Vitality, which boosts health, I didn’t particularly like that the absolute value of health shared with Yeon-hee decreased. But given the stark differences in value with the new runes, I had no choice but to replace it.
Our party had a contract to rotate the runes among us. However, in boss raids, the contribution gap was so evident that naturally, Yeon-hee and I ended up taking the intermediate runes.
Even though we only shared the low-rank runes with the Helen trio, they still expressed their discomfort about receiving even those. The gap between us and them was unquestionably growing day by day.
The changes in our stats over the week were quite significant.
=====
[Skeleton Bombardier Il-wol – Lv.39]
Strength: 193(+20) Agility: 120(+20)
Health: 96 (+40) Wisdom: 105 (+20)
Magic Power: 116 (+26) Resistance: 15 (+8)
Sense: 48 (+6) Recovery: 43 (+20)
(* Currently under the Blessing of Irmana: Strength, Agility, Health, Magic, Recovery +20)
Traits: Calm, Protection, Thievery, 97 Lives, Adhesion, Pain Resistance, Blessing of Obeuz, Blessing of Irmana, Blessing of Pitp, Penetration
Skills: Slam, Stealth, Dagger Throw, Acid Spray, Beginner Transformation, Reckless Charge, Contaminated Breath, Skeleton Bomb
Equipment: Dagger of the Sage Arhen for Self-defense, Iron Chainmail
=====
“My strength has become abnormally high. Although it’s just temporary…”
Today, I could swap runes depending on what choices appeared at level 40, so I didn’t need to worry too much about my stats right now.
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