“Hey, sis, aren’t we being a bit too cheerful for our last day? What if we get scrutinized for no reason?”
“I don’t care, it’s not like we did anything wrong. Honestly, if it weren’t for us, would they have managed to limit the damage to this extent? We should be getting commendations, not just being told to go here and there while they pry into our business. Plus, when will we get to experience this member group again?”
“Over a thousand casualties, and the internet is flooded with news of the Orc Warrior dungeon break. It was a big incident.”
“Yet here we are at our drinking party, which could easily stir up bad public opinion, regardless of our merits.”
“That’s why the shop has already pulled down all the curtains to block outside views.”
“Oh master! These people are looking up at me! Do you see that?”
An hour ago, unable to refuse Jin-kyeong’s request, we summoned Ran, and it worked wonders in diverting attention from Yeon-hee herself, so we decided to keep the summoning going.
Ran was flying around the ceiling and checking out the restaurant.
“She’s so cute! That little chubby bird… Ohh, I want to fly too… Whooosh— Hiiing…”
Bae Joo-ah stared blankly at Ran, then suddenly asked Yeon-hee,
“Um, what about the skeleton… Was it Il-wol? If he’s summoned again, does he still remember his previous life?”
“Yeah. He remembers everything.”
“Then… Could you call him out just once more? He saved me when things got dangerous; I need to say thank you— Huh… I’m feeling a bit queasy.”
Yeon-hee pondered Bae Joo-ah’s request. Resummoning was possible now, so summoning him was no problem. It also felt wrong to deny Bae Joo-ah’s request, who was a hidden contributor to today’s battle.
Glance—
However, it was hard to ignore Noh Ha-yoon, who was subtly leaning in, eagerly waiting for my answer.
“Well, I guess I have no choice…”
To be honest, Yeon-hee also wanted to summon Il-wol outside to see how he had changed. With Woo Mi-ran, the shop owner, being a former hunter, there was nothing to hold back.
In the end, Yeon-hee created a space in the middle of the restaurant and recited the summoning spell, which soon manifested a door that seemed to reach the ceiling.
“Oh, wow…”
“But why does he come out differently than other summoned creatures? Il-wol comes out alone through the door, and the scale is totally different.”
“That bird came out from a flower bud earlier, right? Aren’t they all different?”
“It might depend on the length of time spent together. He’s our first summon, after all, so we’ve been together the longest.”
As people commented while watching the summoning portal, the blue light pulsated, and the door swung wide open.
Was it just my imagination? The light pouring from the door seemed a bit brighter than usual.
Step—
“Huh?”
But Il-wol emerged from the door, looking quite different from what he used to.
Aside from his exposed skull, he was enveloped in something white, and his armor was fitted to his bones, giving him a refined silhouette compared to the loose armor he had before.
The armor looked like thinly sliced bone clumsily layered over him, yet it had an oddly sophisticated flair.
His fists, now seemingly clad in gauntlets, flickered with small bursts of flame.
Upon closer inspection, intricate geometric patterns were engraved all over the bone armor, and the sharp protrusions seemed to resemble flames flickering outward.
Gulp—
Somewhere in the restaurant, a gulp sounded louder than the sizzling of meat.
Helen rubbed her eyes for a moment to confirm what she was seeing, while Bae Joo-ah was left speechless, mouth agape.
“Awesome…”
At that moment, Noh Ha-yoon muttered that involuntarily, while the others shot her incredulous looks.
“How is that awesome? Anyone can see it looks like the form of a demon!”
“That looks so terrifying… I’d rather have the old familiar face. Ugh…”
Everyone shivered, clutching random items pulled from their inventories.
With Il-wol’s face looking sharper than ever, it felt intimidating to even speak up. Yet, his overall appearance was like a finely crafted statue, exuding a certain charm that made it hard not to stare.
Il-wol, oblivious to the silence he created, walked straight toward his master as usual.
“Whoa… Is this a meat shop? How long has it been since I’ve been out here?”
Though Il-wol had stepped out briefly during the Dungeon Break and when moving to the two-room, this was the first time he truly stepped into the outside world.
“Wow— this is emotional. But are we the only customers? That’s why they called for me, huh?”
“Il-wol…”
Yeon-hee approached without running to hug me but paused, looking hesitant, which made me nervous.
“Could it be… Am I that scary? Where’s a mirror? I need to check right now.”
As I awkwardly looked around for a mirror, she slowly walked over and leaned her head against me. I froze, listening to her irregular breathing.
Meanwhile, the people watching us awkwardly put away the weapons they had been holding onto.
“Is that really Il-wol? Did he evolve or something?”
“Phew— I really thought my heart would drop. What sort of transformation did he go through?”
“Whoa… He looks super strong now. If you cover his face, he could walk around outside without a problem.”
“If you cover everything, you’ll get caught and investigated, Jin-kyeong.”
“Is that so? Just beat them all up, right? Heehee—”
“So white. Ran’s like that too, and Il-wol as well… Everyone’s so clean… Am I the only trash here… *sniff*.”
Looking around, some people looked fine, but a few were definitely not okay. Song Jin-kyeong and Bae Joo-ah had gone past red and were now pale.
“Aren’t they overestimating their physical abilities as hunters? Why’s Bae Joo-ah crying again?”
“Hiiing— I’m sorry…”
Anyway, I had to deal with the child whining against my chest but couldn’t comfort her in front of everyone, so I gently pulled her along to a seat.
“Damn it… The thorns are a bother!”
I awkwardly walked beside her, being careful not to poke her with my bones.
“Whoa… Look at that escort. Isn’t he just amazing? Was he a noble in his past life?”
“Oh! Was Il-wol the youngest son of some noble family from another world?!”
“Oh dear, I’m so sorry for not recognizing the noble. Please forgive me.”
“Everyone, have a glass of cold water. Hold onto your sanity, okay?”
Then, having secured a table by pushing two tables together, I sat Yeon-hee down and stood behind her, gazing at the complete chaos that was the table.
“Guys, eat in time, or the stew will burn!”
And I was very annoyed at the pot of burning stew.
“Now that Il-wol’s here, one more bottle of soju!!”
“Does Il-wol drink? How much can he handle?”
“How much can I drink again…?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Helen giggled and handed me a glass of soju.
“Just take the glass. Today’s MVP.”
“……”
I carefully held the glass with my fingers, and soon six hunters raised their glasses high and clinked with mine.
“I have no idea how we ended up like this… but it’s fun.”
Bang bang!
“Ah!! What is that!? Sis, what the heck is that?!”
“I told you. I have a cool summoned creature.”
The woman who emerged from the kitchen quickly hid herself when she saw me.
“Nobody said anything about a monster! A skeleton soldier? That looks knight-level!”
“What knight? There’s no skeleton mage.”
Helen replied nonchalantly.
“Ugh… I don’t know this person. Confusing, very confusing. In times like these, I’ll just become a mountain and keep my mouth shut.”
I thought, “I am a mountain, I am water,” and stayed quietly seated while people chuckled and expressed their ridiculous thoughts.
“Hehehe—”
“Geez, look at Yeon-hee. She’s practically glowing since Il-wol came back!”
“Oh, no…”
“No? You’re so adorable. Aww those cheeks are like rice cakes. They’re plump.”
“Uwoo— I’m so happy!”
Listening to them tease Yeon-hee, I couldn’t help but smile, pondering the message floating in my head.
“I did it right before I got summoned.”
– You have mastered the basic spell [Fireball]!
=====
Fireball Lv.1
– Deals 150% damage based on Magical Attack Power.
– 25% chance to inflict the status effect [Burn].
– Burn: -30% Health Recovery, -25% Defense.
=====
– Achievement [Beginner Mage] obtained!
=====
Beginner Mage
– +20 Magic Power
– +10 Wisdom
=====
“Huhuhu… It’s hard to be humble when things are going so well.”
After three hours of tugging in the Dark Space, I finally succeeded in forming [Fireball].
Though it was a still crumpled sphere with no aiming point, what mattered was that I had accomplished something on my own.
“I’ll have to train a lot to accomplish various things… Guess I’ll have to rely on mental training for now—”
Just as I began my training, I felt a penetrating gaze and turned my head.
“That person doesn’t seem like someone who would attend an event like this…”
—
Noh Ha-yoon, upon meeting Il-wol’s gaze, felt the effects of alcohol dissipate instantly.
She recalled the message that had floated in her mind just a few hours ago during the battle in the gorge.
– Discovered a new possibility in ice magic!
– Effect gained through conjunction with fire magic increases by 10%!
It seemed repetitive usage of the ice + bomb combo with Il-wol triggered a sensation akin to ‘enlightenment’. It truly was impressive.
“Even though it’s the first time using bombs in conjunction, I’ve fought alongside fire mages often enough…”
Since receiving my first achievement, I had honestly tried not to be overly ambitious. Yet, working with him was continuously yielding me results.
Simply being together felt like I was gaining experience points or some kind of enhancement, making me sufficiently content with just this level. However, she couldn’t stay wrapped in it forever; there were goals set by the guild—no, by her mother.
Yet, her unresolved curiosity kept pulling her over toward him.
“What’s the mechanism behind this resurrection? Is it possible due to some special contract with Yeon-hee? Then… It’s necessary for me to maintain a good relationship with Yeon-hee for the future. Hmm… It’s driving me insane with curiosity.”
She gazed at Il-wol, who had evolved unrecognizably, initially thinking he was just an early awakened one fooling around, but now it didn’t feel that way at all. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what he was.
Either way, what mattered to her was continuing to maintain relationships.
“Let’s not force things and find chances naturally. I feel like there’s a limit to just being reckless like before. It’s also a bit burdensome to bump heads with Yeon-hee.”
Gently rubbing her belly where Il-wol had bumped into her, she took a sip of the soju in her glass.
“Then, Yeon-hee, are you heading straight for D-grade dungeon exploration tomorrow?”
Helen chugged her coffee and asked.
“Hm…”
“Hey… Yeon-hee, seriously, take at least one day to rest. You’ll wear yourself out later!”
“Uh… I think I need to visit the association tomorrow, and… I also need to sell runes, so I probably can’t go to the dungeon.”
“Right, right. Wrap that up quickly in the morning, and then you and Il-wol can get some fresh air out in the suburbs.”
“Do you have a car, Yeon-hee?”
“Oh, you don’t have a car, do you?”
“Car…”
As the drinking party came to a close, Woo Mi-ran had brought in coffee from somewhere, and everyone was discussing their plans moving forward.
To be honest, I thought my connection with the Helen duo would be briefly severed due to the battles in the gorge, but with the level increase from the fight, they would be hitting level 40 in just 2-3 days.
So parting without saying anything felt odd, leading us to have another discussion.
The first to speak up was the youngest of Helen’s team, Ji-woo.
“Well, for now… I’m planning on going through E-grade dungeons for a while. I’m the lowest in level and ability here, you know. Honestly, I contributed the least in the last hunt… I think I need to gather more experience from below.”
“Hm, so one person is dropping out. That’s fine. Ji-woo leaving won’t be a huge blow.”
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