Aside from those three runes, the other eight had such low stats they were practically worthless.
Joo-ah growled to get rid of those three best ones, but among them, it seemed there were some greedy ones who let go of decent runes. In some way, those guys were impressive. Should I have shown a performance like cutting off a finger or something?
“The +17 one is better than the Swiftness Rune that Il-wol ate earlier, so let’s switch it out for a good one, and I think I’ll give the rest to Lizard 2 and 3. How does that sound?”
Nod—
If Lizard 2 and 3, who had unintentionally taken up the role of provoking while holding Ddak-ddak-i and Dotted One, received the Swiftness Rune, they might last longer in evading enemies’ chase.
When I swapped out the existing Rune of Giants (Intermediate) that had Strength +12 for the Swiftness Rune +17, I definitely felt my legs getting lighter. I still had seven of the Runes of Giants equipped, and I planned to gradually replace them with Runes of decent stats as they appeared to improve the overall balance.
“Puhihihip—How much is all this?”
“Let’s run after we finish for today, Joo-ah!”
“Of course!”
“I want to eat lamb skewers!”
“Lamb skewers sound good.”
An Intermediate Rune costs at least five million won each. So, from just that battle, we practically made about fifty million won per person, which was the best excuse to drink.
“Puhuhup—They willingly brought us their runes. Joo-ah, should I wear stockings tomorrow?”
“Be reasonable. If this happens often, we might not be able to do hunter work at all.”
“I was just joking, you know.”
I started a bit uneasy, but removing the cause of it doubled the refreshment. We stored away the runes properly and set off again.
Tudadadada—!
When Yeon-hee distributed the Swiftness Runes to Lizard 2 and 3, the two happily darted around, so excited they could explode. I asked 2 to calm down a bit.
(You’re really that happy?)
(Skeleton Master! My legs got faster! I want more runes!)
I could understand why they’d be excited with such an increase in running speed. Embarrassingly enough, when I first equipped the Swiftness Rune in my previous life, I wasn’t much different from 2.
“Hehe… The summoned creatures are so cute. I thought Yeon-hee controlled everything, but they just live as individual beings. Even among the same species, they all have their own personalities.”
“Hehe… Right? The kids have their charming sides the more I see them…”
As Ah-rin praised the summoned creatures with genuine interest, Yeon-hee’s mouth twisted in joy like a parent bragging about their kids.
“Among them, the most unique is Il-wol, right?”
“Yep, yep.”
As we moved, Baek Ah-rin cautiously started asking Yeon-hee about things she had been curious about. Yeon-hee answered every question sincerely as she asked them without being rude.
“So did you acquire Fireball when you evolved?”
After a while, Bae Joo-ah took over the questioning baton. Joo-ah had been watching me with sparkling eyes every time I used Fireball during battles.
“Yes, Il-wol… I hesitate to call it evolution, but… anyway, yes.”
Yeon-hee seemed to ponder whether to use the term job change for my transformation. The fact that she didn’t even dare to utter such a word meant she was concerned about several things.
“Hm— I see… In fact, when I first saw Il-wol’s bomb, I was surprised because using bones like that was a unique ability. But now it’s [Fireball]. That’s real magic, right? Honestly, that’s even more shocking to me.”
“… I also find it surprising at times with Il-wol. I understand.”
Bae Joo-ah glanced at me after hearing Yeon-hee’s words. Behind her glasses, her eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
An unbearable curiosity mixed with a bit of fear.
I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to see a fellow mage just beginning their journey.
We exited the forest and walked back onto the plains, and along the way, we encountered a pack of wolves two more times. However, those didn’t leap at us as aggressively as the first ones, and they seemed to have recognized that we weren’t their opponents, making me relieved.
In the midst of it all, Dotti 1 finally showed some changes. Just after the battle, its noticeably smaller body began to grow significantly, and after evolving, it ended up even larger than 2. A red hue also swirled around its neck.
“Kruk?!”
Dotti 1 tilted its head for a moment but then let out a booming roar.
Kwoooooo—!!
– The Orc Warrior’s shout inspires our allies!
– Strength +4
With its evolution, the strength stat also increased as it acquired [Warrior’s Roar].
The Orc Warrior 2 gleamed at 1’s change and approached, and soon they started a playful fistfight.
“Oh my!! Why are they doing that?”
“I guess it’s a hierarchy fight. They just suddenly started without any buildup?”
“Hm… Let’s just watch for now.”
Not long after, 2, who had caught 1 in a headlock, started to bubble, and when Yeon-hee shouted, Dotti 1 released its arm.
“Grrr— Kchhh…”
2 mumbled something about how 1 was the leader as it was released from summoning.
Tap tap tap—
The Lizard Squad, who had been watching the Orc Warriors’ duel, all slapped their tails on the ground collectively, paying their respects to the warriors who gave it their all.
The party members were unable to contain their excitement at witnessing something they had never experienced before, and from midway on, they started cheering along with the Lizard Squad. If they didn’t party with Yeon-hee, when would they ever have such an experience again?
Ultimately, as soon as Dotti 1 evolved, it grabbed the leader position.
After a brief evolution event, we set off towards our target point once more.
“How’s this dungeon treating you? Yeon-hee, your level might not quite match it.”
At Baek Ah-rin’s question, Yeon-hee vigorously nodded. Honestly, I felt she would be able to deal with wolves on her own, but she didn’t show that at all. But she had no intention of passing up the benefits she could gain here.
“How about we fight the ‘Gray Mold’ in the forest once?”
“Hmm— Let’s eat first, then.”
Yeon-hee wanted to meet a new monster for me.
On the plains, aside from the wolf packs, the only creatures I might encounter were goblins or the gentler Ents that wouldn’t attack unless provoked, and Earth Puppies were around as well. Among those, I hadn’t been able to steal abilities from the Earth Puppies at all.
Rustle—
– You have defeated the Earth Puppy.
– This entity does not possess any skills. An additional 5% chance to steal the trait [Thievery].
– Trait [Thievery] is activated.
– You randomly steal the trait of the Earth Puppy.
– You have acquired trait [Burrow]!
“Phew— Got it.”
I sneaked in a few Earth Puppies while Yeon-hee wasn’t looking, and finally, I could steal their trait. Of course, she’d quickly realize I did it, even if I hadn’t shown her the killing part.
Burrow Lv.1
– You can dig into the ground more easily.
It was an incredibly simple ability, but more is better, so there would certainly be a time when it would come in handy.
“Let’s take a break for a moment. Let’s eat too.”
We laid down a mat in the open field and sat down, opening our lunch boxes one by one.
A pleasantly warm breeze gently wrapped around us, and we had already earned more than ten times what we needed for today.
With our bodies and minds relaxed, and having lunch reminded us somewhat of going on a picnic, filling us with cheerful excitement.
“The weather is really nice today.”
“This wolf den is always good. It better be nice weather.”
“Ah— Honestly, I really appreciate being a hunter at times like this…”
“… You really love being a hunter, Yeon-hee.”
“Yes. I love it a lot.”
As Yeon-hee spoke with such unwavering fondness for her work, Bae Joo-ah and Baek Ah-rin exchanged glances once more.
“Yeon-hee is so cute…”
“I can see why Helen likes her so much.”
“Really? Ah… that…”
“……”
“Um, Eun-young unnie? Please say at least one word. It’s lunchtime after all.”
“Not particularly… I’ll just listen…”
“Are you feeling anything unpleasant or anything?”
Since Ham Eun-young had been wearing a dark expression, Bae Joo-ah asked worriedly, and Eun-young shook her head in response.
“It’s fine… This has been the best among the parties I’ve had recently…”
“Best, you say?”
“Yes… The fact that you’re not making me speak unnecessarily feels the best…”
“Ah…”
In that moment, silence fell upon the table, and perhaps finding comfort in the tranquility, Eun-young’s lips curled into a faint smile for the first time.
“Haha… Well, we’ll accommodate you as you wish. If you want to have a conversation later, just let us know anytime.”
“Right…”
‘Still, she’s managing to speak calmly today?’
She had been unable to speak properly when I saw her yesterday; perhaps she had a knack for dungeons.
Ham Eun-young picked at a triangular kimbap and barely ate half before tossing it aside. Then she took out a small brown bottle and popped a few pills into her mouth.
‘Was she on medication…?’
She always had a mirror in hand, and it seemed she was preoccupied with the shadows under her eyes, busy checking herself in the mirror by raising her gaze.
(She’s really unique.)
(Such a unique person…)
(I wonder if I’ll feel that way too? I need to try harder…)
The other three swallowed their thoughts as they finished their packed lunch.
Owwww—
The howl of the approaching wolf pack grew louder as we ate our meal.
“Looks like they caught our scent. Let’s wrap it up.”
It hadn’t been ten minutes since we took our lunch break, but we still weren’t strong enough to ignore them completely.
Kegengee—!!
“Argh! These bothersome mutts!!”
After finishing our fourth battle of the day, we moved deeper into the woods, just as Yeon-hee suggested. Even though we hadn’t officially entered deep into the woods yet, there were already thick clouds of gray smoke gathering ahead.
“Those Gray Molds will be tough to catch, don’t you think?”
The collective Gray Mold had no clear boundary as a single entity. So sometimes, even if you hit them, you wouldn’t hear a defeat message. Naturally, they would end up lower on hunters’ priority lists, and Baek Ah-rin had expressed her worries.
“We just need to experience it once. Everyone else can stay back if they like.”
With Yeon-hee’s request, I gestured to them to move even further back.
After taking a few steps back, they pulled even farther away at my gesture. But when even Yeon-hee stepped back with them, they looked puzzled for a moment. So Yeon-hee shrugged her shoulders and pointed forward, where a fireball was already flying through the air.
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