Chwa-jwa-ja-ja-ja-jajak──!
‘Oh no…!’
Hundreds of tiny creatures scurry past me all at once. Their attacks keep coming at two per second.
Health: 206/206 (+50)
Thanks to the damp dungeon environment, my health is currently boosted by Irmana’s blessing, which adds 20.
On top of that, I also received an additional 30 from Nargul’s dungeon entrance effect. I’m in a situation with an impressive 50 buff.
And even though I’m under a relentless assault from these beasts right now, my health isn’t budging at all.
They prioritize attacking my neck first, but there’s a mysterious substance that Yeon-hee wrapped around it, providing a shield.
And the bone armor, needless to say, is exceptionally sturdy.
It’s like trying to scratch a diamond with a knife—absolutely nothing happens.
The problem is the sheer weight of their assaults keeps coming in nonstop, drastically reducing my mobility.
‘Ugh… It’s so hard to move my body. I didn’t used to be like this, but these guys have definitely gotten stronger.’
Puff, puff, boom! Whirr──!
Magic Power: 92/204
I started blasting Fireballs and Acid Sprays everywhere, and just like that, my magic power dropped below half.
– When the magic power goes below 100, the recovery speed increases by 100%.
Still, thanks to my top-notch mana circuit, the draining speed has stabilized. My real worry isn’t me, but what’s happening below.
– Aaaah! My arm!
Just at that moment, a hunter made a mistake and stepped out of formation while trying to fend off the bats’ attacks.
‘You were supposed to endure even if you felt like you were going to die!’
Did he really think that just one person dropping out wouldn’t change the focus of the bat attacks?
If he thought that way, then he was dead wrong.
The isolated prey became exactly what the predators wanted.
Seizing the opportunity, over a thousand bats performed acrobatics as they swooped in, devouring the man in the blink of an eye before soaring back into the sky.
– Hu-ik! Kyaaaack!
Creeeak—crunch─!
That hunter was ripped apart in mid-air by the sharp blades and teeth of more than ten thousand bats, turning to dust in an instant.
– Uh-hyun!! Damn it…!
– Didn’t we think we were coming into a cave? This is too hard to bear!
– It’s worse out there! Didn’t you see how many were following us earlier!?
It’s hell everywhere, but if you don’t panic like that earlier hunter, I can guarantee that this place is much safer.
A massive pillar sturdily blocks the attacks from behind and above.
The tanking of the summoned creatures is thick, and as long as I endure the pain of losing blood, we can actually maintain a surprisingly stable defensive line.
To prove that, our defenses held firm against the relentless assault of bats for the next ten minutes.
“These bastards! They’re getting bigger by feeding on our blood!”
“Damn it…! For now, the armor is holding, but I don’t know how long the durability will last!”
“Are the numbers of those guys actually decreasing?”
“The ones coming from the ceiling are definitely fewer!”
Even though the tension was still high, down below, they were gradually finding a little breathing room, while my spot felt a bit different.
Somehow, I was pinned tightly against the wall, swinging my arms frantically while stuck to the pillar with [Adhesion].
‘Why aren’t they decreasing here!?’
My view was completely filled with the hook bats rushing toward me, eager to sink their darkened teeth into me.
It was truly a horrifying and disgusting sight. No matter how much of a skeleton I am, the core is still human, and my mental strength is gradually being drained.
[Calmness]
Thanks to Calmness, I was maintaining my composure, but my magic power was inching closer to 30.
Of course, if it falls below 30, my magic will refill once, but with the current unpredictable variable, that’s not a welcome situation.
‘Damn these bastards!’
Crunch!
In an instant, the annoying emotions exploded, and in a fit of anger, I chomped down on one of the hook bats and gulped it down.
– Not suitable for intake. Effect reduced to 50%.
Out of nowhere, such a message popped up. Huh? This works?
– Magic Power increased by 5.
‘5! Where’s the 5!?’
I called out in delight as I began devouring bats frantically. There were still plenty of them that hadn’t been drained yet, and they were still small enough, about the size of sparrows, making them easy to swallow.
However, those I swallowed without chewing also didn’t apply [Essence Devouring].
‘Ah! Can’t I just do it casually!?’
It was a ridiculous situation where I had to angrily chew and gulp them down to recover, just like before.
But humans are animals of adaptation, and having spent my time as a human, I was acting accordingly.
Thinking back, when I completed Irmana’s quest by just dipping my head in, it counted, right?
Is it that if I try hard enough to apply it, the system virtually accommodates me?
If I think about it that way, the system isn’t as rigid but might be handling things flexibly. After all, what do you mean a skeleton devouring? That doesn’t make any sense.
And another message suddenly appeared.
– Starting analysis of the essence.
This message popped up as I swallowed the hook bat.
Nothing else had changed apart from that. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.
And so, a fierce battle unfolded for thirty minutes.
Whenever I found a gap, I shifted to another pillar, charging my magic in the meantime to hold on.
If someone were to see us fighting, they might think we were precariously hanging on.
But in fact, it was almost like a one-sided massacre on our part.
– Eliminate 10,000 enemies with a skill of attributes. (4603/10,000)
I had already taken down over 3,000 hook bats, thanks to which the quest was nearly halfway complete.
But I still hadn’t eliminated all the hook bats.
After a while of mindlessly bashing them, they seemed to give up, heading back towards the ceiling intermittently using sound waves to glare down at us.
‘They couldn’t have given up…’
Already, the bodies of hundreds of bats had inflated quite a bit. All of that came from absorbing hunters’ blood and flesh.
What’s truly absurd is that even a small amount is enough for their rapid growth.
– Bam-!
As I stopped drawing aggro and descended, Yeon-hee was the first to rush in.
“Are you okay? That was tough, right? What should we do…”
“Clap, Clap!”
It had really been exhausting, but I couldn’t show weakness to Yeon-hee.
I quickly brushed off the residue from her head and face and took out a wet wipe from my inventory to clean her up meticulously.
“I’ll wipe you too…”
But I signaled her to stay still by intertwining our hands.
Yeon-hee held her hands together politely, swaying as I wiped her, showing a satisfied smile.
“Wow~ Yeon-hee’s so lucky~”
“Shall we wipe each other?”
“Ugh… Fine. Let’s do that.”
Except for Yeom Tae-seok, the rest of the party looked on enviously at us, but the other hunters seemed to find our interaction quite peculiar and were simply astonished.
However, their interest lasted only a moment.
Hunters were plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath.
I scanned their condition with my senses. Hm… A few of them looked pretty dangerous.
They were treating their external wounds with potions, but internal injuries were the problem.
They may be okay for now, but I wondered if they could last a week in such a state.
One had died, leaving a total of 30 survivors.
‘Should I drag along the helpless ones…?’
But I had to confirm their true natures first.
The current time was about 5 PM.
In about seven hours, I’d use [Mimicry] to check if any insidious groups were among them, and after that, I planned to provide Irmana’s water to the injured.
“Hah—167 hours remain. How many more times will I have to do this?”
As Joo-ah muttered while staring at the hook bats clinging blackly to the ceiling.
“Doesn’t it seem like they’re decreasing at least?”
The numbers were indeed lower.
However, among those caught by my senses, some of the larger ones were hanging upside down from the ceiling, releasing something.
‘Those must be babies…’
They had a unique ability to reproduce via the blood and flesh of Awakened Ones. They could give birth to 5-10 young at once.
Currently, there were easily over 800 of them writhing and birthing young from the ceiling, so that added up to at least 4,000 more.
The fact that they returned to the ceiling and stopped attacking was probably to reproduce.
But I didn’t bother to inform the others about that. Naturally. Why would I say something to demoralize them? Those damned bats give you barely any experience, and they don’t even drop Mana Stones. They’re really nothing but trash.
“Il-wol~ The numbers have really decreased, right?”
Ah-rin asked me with a hint of expectation, her rabbit ears drooping a bit.
I nodded enthusiastically, affirming her statement, and she seemed relieved as her droopy ears perked up a little.
At that moment, a man from another party approached us and immediately greeted us enthusiastically while saying.
“We’ll give you everything we have, so please just help us get out of here alive!”
He was the man who had tracked us down using his tracking skill.
Behind him, 23 hunters followed, all eyeing our party for a reaction. More precisely, they were gazing at Yeom Tae-seok and Baek Ah-rin.
Ah-rin being the leader of our party was already a well-known fact in D rank, and Yeom Tae-seok was sure to be recognized as the dungeon’s guardian.
If we survive, we can always recover Mana Stones and Runes later.
As long as they can survive a bent back and somewhat crumpled pride, they can hand it over without a second thought.
Ah-rin and Yeom Tae-seok displayed understanding expressions, and with that, we formed a temporary alliance for this survival scenario.
“There are a few things to adhere to. You probably know the basic rules, but read this once more and either inscribe your magic seal or something.”
It was the contract from earlier regarding Heo Min-sol and the Apex Guild.
A hunter from another party held it, and it had high-end features, allowing multiple people to sign the oath simultaneously.
The contents of the oath were simple.
1. No attacking companions until we escape Nargul’s dungeon.
2. Do not divulge the abilities, equipment, consumables, artifacts, or anything of the comrades present until death.
3. Do not take the loot of others.
I glanced through the contract and noted that it didn’t seem to contain any special conditions.
Since it was nothing out of the ordinary, everyone signed the contract proposed by Yeom Tae-seok.
‘I wonder if I’ll be included in that…’
Yeon-hee had signed the contract, so as her summoned creature, I should technically be included…
But then again, I wasn’t a direct participant, so it felt ambiguous. The summoner class itself didn’t even exist before.
‘I’ll find out if I check.’
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