The trait that boosts both speed and defense is rare, so I felt like I hit the jackpot just having it.
If I could combine this trait with the reckless charge I got from Big Boar, it’d be even better…
…
But nothing happened. Is there a difference between a simple charge and digging into the ground?
‘So, you’re not going to make it easy for me, huh? Tch…’
Feeling regretful, I moved on.
Thanks to our haste, we arrived at the spawning ground right below the peak sooner than expected.
“Wow—there are so many harpies…”
“Hah—right?”
“What’s with your bragging?”
Ah-rin puffed out her chest playfully, as if to show off that I was operating in such a dangerous place.
I turned my gaze upward.
Hundreds of harpy eggs were tightly wrapped in sticky gray threads, hanging from the cliffs like a spider’s web.
Those eggs wouldn’t yield anything if I burst them. Maybe if I took them along, but…
-Kihyaaa!!
Did they think we were after their eggs? The harpies moved with desperation.
From their perspective, it was a natural response to chase out the unexpected intruders from their home.
‘…’
The ferocity of their actions felt different from when I was a human. Back then, it almost felt like monsters were mere supplies for the hunter’s growth.
I had never thought that they had their own struggles. Indeed, circumstances change one’s perspective.
Paku—!Puk!
Due to Ddak-ddak-i and Dotted One’s provocation skills, the attacks were focused on the orcs and Lizard Squad. But the Neos Harpy’s attacks weren’t very effective.
Of course, some summoned creatures did get poisoned by those guys, but thanks to Ham Eun-young’s timely cures, it didn’t become a major issue.
“Khuh!”
The evolved Lizardmen only suffered minor scratches from the Neos Harpy’s attacks.
Actually, in terms of taking such minor hits, the Lizardmen with their bulkier, scale-formed exterior seemed to perform better than the orcs.
Swish—Ta-da-dat—
Ah-rin, who had been stationed in the dungeon before meeting us, navigated quickly using the cliffs and protruding rocks as leverage to dispatch the harpies.
I wondered how she could be so light on her feet, almost like an elf moving through trees.
In an instant, she had taken down a dozen of them and turned to us with a grin.
That’s when Yeon-hee, who was watching Ah-rin’s exploits, said to me.
“…Il-wol, do you want to go up with Joo-ah? We’ll handle things down here.”
Nodding—
I had been tense about yesterday’s events, but it was a relief. Yeon-hee held my hand and looked at me with her usual soft gaze.
Feeling slightly lighter in spirit, I headed toward the peak where the boss battle was unfolding, escorting Bae Joo-ah.
Suddenly, she took off running. It seemed she thought it would be better to get at least some scratches than to hesitate.
‘But there’s no need to take damage unnecessarily.’
I dashed upward, bursting all the harpies that surrounded her.
“Wow—it’s really pitch black.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
As Joo-ah said, there were already over a hundred hunters at the peak, amidst a chaotic battle with many more Neos Harpies.
“Hmm… Il-wol?”
“??”
“Do you want to come with me?”
“Tap…”
“…Puhuh! Just kidding, just kidding.”
Bae Joo-ah chuckled while tapping my shoulder, and summoned two rocks to funnel the enemy’s attack routes.
There were some hunters who weren’t actually participating in the combat and were gathering Neos Harpy eggs instead.
Neos Harpy eggs were considered a delicacy and fetched decent prices outside. Because of that, the harpies were in a frenzied state.
‘It’s great if they actively rush in.’
The boss battle in this dungeon wasn’t anything special—there wouldn’t be any unique monsters appearing. Sure, a few would show up that were about 30% stronger than the regular ones below, but they were still mutants after all.
– Before darkness falls, defeat the grown ‘Neos Harpies.’
– Defeat Count: 0/800
The reason I came here silently while leaving so many harpies behind in their spawning ground is right here. This place is far better than those nutrient-less ones below. There’s enough room to maneuver around easily.
Yeon-hee gave me the orders I was hoping for.
‘…Hmm—Yeon-hee seems to have been able to check the conditions for my job change quest.’
In that light, it makes sense that she’d send me up first. It’s rare for her to direct me anywhere.
Did Yeon-hee end up investing her stats into Dominance? Even if I gave her an artifact, considering the number of future summoned creatures, investing in magic power or recovery would have been more efficient, and that’s a pity.
Of course, Dominance might have some hidden effects I’m unaware of, but right now, what I need is magic power.
I should always keep in mind that causing her anxiety might lead to such inefficiencies.
But considering that Yeon-hee can check my information in situations like this, maybe it isn’t such a bad thing.
After showing my original self today, if her reaction isn’t bad, I might consider hinting at my past bit by bit.
What about slowly regaining lost memories? Hmm.
After all, it’s impossible to solve everything on my own in the face of countless enemies.
‘I’m not a simple genius either.’
Being the only class that can focus all stats into one ability, from one perspective, Yeon-hee is as mysterious of a being as I am.
So if I cooperate closely with her, the chance of gaining more is higher.
‘For now, let’s focus on the present.’
It’s said that about 200 enemies are allocated per person. Since our party has four members, we need to defeat 800 monsters at this peak. It doesn’t matter who defeats them, we just need to take down 800 in total.
Fireball in one hand, Skeleton Bomb in the other.
– That skeleton! It’s Lee Yeon-hee’s summoned creature!
– Already dual casting?!
– I can’t believe a Skeleton Soldier is evolving into a sorcerer…
‘Hoohoo… It’ll surely look like dual casting, won’t it?’
While I’m just taking out the bombs I had prepared in advance, that’s how it will appear to the other hunters.
When there are others around, I plan to focus on these two skills as much as possible. The more my abilities become associated with bombs and fireballs, the greater the effect of [Stealth] will become. Of course, the main skill will still be Flame Explosion.
And there’s also something to check.
‘How far can I push it?’
It’s clear Jogi-man has ulterior motives in using Yeon-hee. But considering he used [Search] on me, it seems prudent to maintain some level of caution without drawing too much attention…
‘Just enough power to delay the orc army when they arrive. That should do.’
Can Jogi-man predict when the orc army will invade?
With the time scale having progressed significantly faster than the world I experienced, predicting even for Jogi-man won’t be easy.
In such an uncertain situation, predicting how far I can tolerate Yeon-hee’s growth is a challenge. So I thought I’d casually test it out.
I’m sure Jogi-man must have caught wind of my flashy presence at ‘Closed School’ yesterday.
If our growth surpasses his standards, I’d expect some kind of reaction within 2-3 days. But if it passes without incident…
‘Then that means this level of growth falls within the acceptable range.’
Of course, it’s a bitter situation to be playing within his expected boundaries, but there’s no choice since I’m utterly short on time to bridge the gap in power.
Either way, since Kang Yeon-su openly stated she would support Yeon-hee, there’s probably been some level of agreement made with Jogi-man.
An agreement means that Jogi-man has tacitly approved of Kang Yeon-su using Yeon-hee.
Considering all these circumstances, there’s a high chance we’ll be allowed to operate like this until the guild tournament begins.
In reality, someone with the strength to challenge the 9th floor of the Giant’s Dungeon wouldn’t fear us, whether we’re B-rank or A-rank, but since we never know when he might change his mood, gradual preparations are necessary.
Of course, I don’t expect to deal any meaningful damage to that monster…
‘Just a moment of distraction. A brief time to ensure Yeon-hee’s safe evacuation.’
Nodding to myself, I threw both round spheres I held in my hands high into the sky with all my might.
It was the beginning of the Flame Party.
Thirty minutes later.
“Phew~ You’ve already done this much?”
Just as we had achieved about half of the boss battle conditions, Yeon-hee, Ah-rin, and Eun-young sequentially arrived at the peak.
– Defeat 10,000 enemies using attribute-based skills. (483/10,000)
– Achieved 286 Intermediate Mana Stones in this dungeon!
– Obtained 286 Neos Harpy spoils in this dungeon!
– Acquired 12 Intermediate Runes in this dungeon!
The quest was progressing smoothly, and the combat efficiency was noticeably up thanks to the [Obsession] trait.
The most surprising part was that the harpy’s thumb claws automatically stacked in my inventory. I thought they only gathered mana stones and runes, but they even retrieved the marks on their own—what a crazy ability.
‘So awesome… Golden Mimic is the best! Tanya is the best!’
I looked at the stone engraved with a winged design, singing praises for Tanya.
Floating Rune (Intermediate)
– Floats 14mm off the ground.
This was the floating rune obtained by killing the harpies. The effect is quite absurd. What’s the point of floating 1.4cm off the ground?
Naturally, it’s deemed the trashiest among runes. But since even this rune has some niche uses, it surprisingly doesn’t have zero demand.
‘I’ll keep the one with the best stats and sell off the rest.’
Despite the price being as trashy as its performance, I could still sell each intermediate one for at least 300,000 won.
I single-handedly took down about 300 grown Neos Harpies. Joo-ah finished off around 70, leaving about half remaining.
‘Despite slaying 300, I haven’t leveled up at all… It seems these guys don’t give much experience at level 50.’
I dismissed the message indicating minuscule experience gains and focused solely on achieving my job change quest. I even used Sneaky Drain whenever I got the chance, but the level still didn’t budge.
– Your mana level has dropped below 30, significantly increasing your mana recovery speed by 300% for the next 10 minutes.
I tried to avoid using daggers as much as possible and relied solely on skills to deal with them. As a result, I had already consumed all the benefits of the mana circuit.
Usually, a regular magic-based hunter would be burnt out and exhausted from casting spells, but the blessed Skeleton Soldier had none of that weakness.
With the party members joining in, the speed of the boss battle doubled. The glow from the summoned creatures became quite noticeable. They were also leveling up and growing stronger from continuous combat.
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