After all the hunters took their oath, the atmosphere became a bit more cheerful for a moment.
Anyway, it was because we were now in the same boat, and in truth, what the other hunters were most worried about was probably that our party, a powerful faction, might have ill intentions. But that concern was now gone.
“Thank you…!”
There was a hunter who bowed deeply to express his gratitude. Upon learning his situation, I found out he was a groom-to-be.
‘No, don’t come to a place like this before your wedding.’
Of course, there must be reasons for needing to earn a living, but still, at such an unstable time, you should have gotten married and figured things out.
‘……’
On one hand, I felt a twinge of envy.
Marriage… it had become a word from a completely different world for me.
It would be more plausible if a god appeared and sent me to another world.
I swallowed my bitter smile and passed the message I had prepared to Yeon-hee.
“I think… we can take a small break. Il-wol is keeping watch with the summoned creatures and said he’ll signal us if anything happens.”
“Oh, is that alright?”
Yeon-hee conveyed my intentions to Yeom Tae-seok, and the other hunters responded with joy.
After draining their strength in Nargul’s dungeon until the afternoon, they had been chased by a horde of monsters led by a Giant Skeleton, fighting for an extended period of time.
Moreover, before they could even finish a battle, they had been driven into this unknown place by the closing of the dungeon and had to fight with those filthy bats as well.
So they must have been exhausted.
No matter how far hunters surpass human limits, there’s still a limit to their stamina. Even veteran Yeom Tae-seok looked visibly shaky, so it goes without saying how others felt.
That’s why I made the suggestion first.
If I showed the leader’s side caring for others, it would be easier for our party to take a favorable position when unexpected events occurred.
“Everyone except the Orcs and the Lizard Squad, go inside and rest.”
Yeon-hee summoned only about 30 summoned creatures while maintaining her magic power.
Once summoned, as long as her magic didn’t run out while she was sleeping, the summoned creatures would stay active.
So she could rest comfortably as well.
“I’m sorry…”
Yeon-hee seemed to feel uncomfortable about resting while having the duty of keeping watch.
I was the one who suggested this first and it had only been about two hours. Why worry unnecessarily…
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
I lightly tapped her head a few times before starting to prepare sleeping arrangements.
In a suitably wide clearing, I took out the 10-person tent that I had previously received from Baek Ah-rin and summoned it along with the summoned creatures.
On the cold floor that seemed like it would give me chills, I spread out the Big Boar leather that I had prepared, and on top of that, I placed sleeping pads neatly.
Thanks to Yeon-hee’s overspending, which I thought might be unnecessary, I didn’t feel a lack of supplies in making the sleeping arrangements.
I lightly covered the tent with the flattened Big Boar leather to create a barrier from the outside.
‘This tent is really good. The supports are sturdy.’
I infused my magic and sense into the leather covering the tent one by one.
‘Ugh… so tiring…’
Consuming magic and sense at the same time remained exhausting, but being inside would make it safe enough to take off my mask.
Just outside the tent, where our party was sleeping, I had the strongest soldier among the summoned creatures, Lizardman 1, along with Dotti 1 and 2, and Chehwa to guard the tent.
Recognizing the important duty of protecting Yeon-hee, those guys glared with their eyes wide open and growled at anyone who got too close.
Pleased with my heart, I nodded and took my place among the summoned creatures arranged at regular intervals.
“Wow- that’s practically a hotel over there?”
“Is the leather on the tent from Big Boar…? It’ll definitely be less cold covered like that.”
“No way… You carried that much around with you? Is that even possible? Where was it stored?”
“It seems like the summoned creatures can use the inventory… I think I saw one of them pull something out before.”
“Seriously…? Summoners are really OP, huh?”
All the hunters were huddled closely around the tent, so I heard everything being discussed openly.
Having a proper sleeping arrangement in a cave like this was truly a luxury, and some hunters even inquired about sleeping together inside the tent.
‘As if?’
Absolutely not.
Shaking my head vigorously as I emanated my magic, they returned to their spots and snuggled into their sleeping bags.
Currently, the ones on watch were all of Yeon-hee’s summoned creatures.
The other hunters just looked on in fascination without saying much more, soon starting their rest one by one.
“Wow… Thanks to Yeon-hee, we’re enjoying this luxury in the dungeon.”
“No, no… the tent is Ah-rin’s, I didn’t do anything.”
“You didn’t do anything? It’s all because you’re here that they’re on watch.”
“Well, that’s true… but actually, it’s all thanks to Il-wol…”
Yeon-hee, looking quite embarrassed by the praise, scratched her cheek and glanced at me, but truly Joo-ah was right. We were nothing without Yeon-hee.
“Haha, this is quite overwhelming treatment, to the point of embarrassment.”
Our party members who had just entered the cozy shelter made by me and the summoned creatures scratched their heads and then turned to me.
“Il-wol, thank you!”
“Thanks!”
“Thank you, Il-wol.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
They stood for a moment, hesitating, then slowly laid down in their spots and, looking exhausted, soon fell into a deep sleep.
Coo-
After confirming that everyone was in a deep slumber, I stepped outside and focused on the waves of my senses while circling around the tent.
Though the passageway to the boss of this dungeon hadn’t opened yet, I could clearly sense the beginning of the intricate paths that branched dozens or even hundreds beyond the closed walls.
When defeating bats, it seems like the unlocking happens at some point, but I’m not sure if there’s a condition of defeating a certain number or if it just waits for a set time.
I was training to transform the bone spiky protrusions from my left hand into another shape as I completed a round of reconnaissance.
It was easy to stretch it out longer, but forming it sharply like a sword was quite a challenge. It felt like it took a lot of mental energy.
It was kind of like… drawing a circle is easy, but drawing a perfect sphere is difficult. Something like that.
‘Since I’m creating something that didn’t exist, it’s not that I’m lacking.’
In reality, my proficiency was rising rapidly.
By the end of my patrol, instead of my knuckles, the hilt of a sword had manifested on my palm.
Though it was seamlessly connected to my palm, I was satisfied with having achieved something fairly decent.
Achievements achieved in just 10 minutes.
The message confirming that my control over the spikes had greatly risen after defeating the Giant Skeleton wasn’t a lie.
A little over an hour passed like that. Just as I was about to elevate my tension at the sight of the Hook Bats beginning to flap their wings, I was holding back laughter. I couldn’t actually laugh, but that was how I felt.
‘With this, the system can’t say anything, right?’
The sword master, nearly a meter long and practically merged with my hand, was undoubtedly in the form of a great sword. Although it looked very crude…
The reason I could refine its shape much faster than I expected was that I had simplified my thinking.
Thinking of flattening the spiky bone up and down, a robust double-edged sword’s body began to form naturally.
Though the sword’s tip and edges were thick enough to deal more damage by hitting than slicing, its shape was still that of a great sword.
‘… I’ll have to compare it to the blacksmith’s work when I get the chance…’
For now, I could still decide what to prioritize after trying it out.
“Ugh-! I slept so well…”
Ah-rin and Joo-ah were up before I could even wake them.
They still looked tired, but being able to rest for over an hour in this environment was truly amazing.
That was all thanks to the summoned creatures, who were currently glaring at the bats.
– Whoa… what on earth is that…
– Damn… even the sword looks deadly…
– Walking around with a sword like that? Isn’t that reporting up?
– It’s not a normal great sword… it looks like the hand was transformed? Take a closer look, it’s sticking right there.
Despite the haphazard, jagged shapes, most hunters still labeled it as a great sword.
If my understanding was correct, I knew that the system reflected such evaluations.
‘Good. This looks promising.’
“Yawn~ Ugh…”
I gently caressed Yeon-hee’s cheek, who had just woken up.
Since she was still in the process of waking up, she leaned into my hand and looked up at me with a hazy gaze.
‘So cute.’
I was absentmindedly petting Yeon-hee’s head when I felt the envious stares of Noh Ha-yoon and Bae Joo-ah.
So I pretended to stretch my arms back.
‘Sigh, I guess it’s time to go.’
After seating Yeon-hee next to Chehwa, I dashed forward like a bullet that had just left its barrel.
– Huh? What’s that guy doing?!
– Is he crazy? Is he planning to fight alone?
– Whoah~ Let’s see. I’ve been watching him since the ravine, but his movements are quite something.
– Hehe… he looks stronger than you, doesn’t he? Isn’t that a slight mismatch?
– Ahem- I was just commenting on his posture, he looks a bit clumsy. Just saying…
As the audience started chiming in, their voices faded into the distance.
The bats that had been perched on the ceiling pulled back their offspring and started flapping their wings in preparation to swoop down toward me.
Come on.
– Defeat 10,000 enemies with one strike of the great sword. (0/10,000)
The quest had not progressed even a bit. Now, I was about to start.
Swishhhhh──!
Thousands of Hook Bats charged towards me, targeting my neck. They were moving as one single entity, surging toward me like a wave, carrying an absurd mass and a persistent, sticky malice that chilled my heart.
‘Huh—’
I firmly braced the hilt of the great sword sprouting from my left hand with my right, swinging it with all my might towards the oncoming swarm.
As the sword collided with the horde of bats, the sound was closer to smashing and bursting them apart rather than slicing them.
Boom boom boom!
Though the act was supposed to be slicing, the sound implied I was merely squashing and exploding the bats.
Burst burst burst—
I quickly realized the power of solely my great sword wouldn’t be enough to handle them, and I would ultimately have to combine it with magic.
But.
– Defeat 10,000 enemies with one strike of the great sword. (17/10,000)
‘… I did it! I got a score! Haha- I did it!’
With the bone sword actually built, I was finally able to progress the quest. That was all that mattered to me right now.
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