As soon as Yeon-hee landed on the precarious rooftop, she rushed over to me and asked,
“What happened? It ended before we even had a chance to summon the Sword Dragon!”
“Clap, clap, clap!”
Honestly, just because the Drake showed up, it wasn’t really a situation that needed a variable.
“Yeon-hee, should we fix the building first and talk?”
“Sure!”
It was funny that we were restoring a building that was mostly destroyed because we didn’t want it to collapse.
We diligently reduced and increased the weight of the precarious spots of the building to make it stable.
Yeon-su seemed a little embarrassed while cleaning up and blurted out excuses.
“I checked on my way here, and this building is owned by a top-tier resident. I took care of it, so don’t worry.”
“Ah, that makes sense. I was really anxious.”
“Hehehe, I’m only doing what I can handle. The law on them is pretty solid as well. They might sue, but our legal team will handle it well.”
‘It’s amazing that they can actually take care of things…’
Glancing—
‘Ugh…’
Ever since Yeon-su was saved by me, she kept looking at me with surprise.
But I avoided her gaze and quietly focused on restoring the building.
An hour passed, and a large team from the Hunter Management Bureau arrived, allowing us to finally take a break and chat.
We moved into a cafe far away from the scene.
Slurp—
Yeon-hee repeatedly sipped her coffee while nervously glancing at the persistently watching Yeon-su.
“Hmm~ hm-hm~”
Yeon-su looked like she was in a good mood, but I couldn’t figure out why.
‘For someone who almost died a moment ago, she’s awfully calm.’
What kind of tortures would she have faced if she had been captured by those guys…
They wouldn’t hesitate to do bad things to the children either, so it would have been worse than I could imagine.
The more Yeon-su looked at me, the sweatier Yeon-hee’s palms got while clasped together.
I worried whether she felt any jealousy seeing me save Yeon-su, but she showed no sign of that whatsoever.
‘This is uncomfortable.’
Since becoming a summoned creature, being recognized as a singular entity by someone felt burdensome.
But Yeon-su was now looking at me as I truly am.
Not as a summons but as Skeleton Soldier Il-wol.
‘She might be targeting my Mana Stone. I can’t let my guard down.’
Being part of Yeon-su’s collection meant living the rest of my life under her gaze. I didn’t want that.
I hunched my body down, staring at the ground like a stone statue.
“Sigh— I have so many questions, Yeon-hee.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Setting everything aside, let me just ask one thing. You have to answer honestly, without a lie. Otherwise, it might make my sister a little sad…”
“…… Yes.”
It was different to see cheerful Yeon-su suddenly turning serious and speaking in a lowered tone.
We froze in our spots, side by side.
“About Il-wol next to you. What was that ability you used at the end…?”
“……”
“You executed a spell so profound that even I couldn’t grasp it. I don’t know about other countries, but in our nation, there wouldn’t be more than three mages who could match him, even considering the early Awakened ones. For someone like him to use a lethal attack without hesitation means… what was it?”
“……”
She asked with a smile, but the atmosphere felt like a mistake could lead to catastrophe. Yeon-hee was contemplating her answer carefully.
“Hmm— so you’re not saying anything… Alright. So that’s all we are, huh?”
“Um, um…”
“Oh, come on. What was it?”
‘How would Yeon-hee know the fine details?’
I only roughly explained it as a self-destruct mechanism; there’s no way she would know all my abilities. And it seems the Dominance skill hasn’t increased recently.
“I… I just know it’s a sacrifice-type skill… Among my summoned creatures, Il-wol is… I still can’t grasp all of it… But I suspect that the damage from self-destruction increases depending on the number of monsters defeated while summoned. That’s all I think.”
‘O… Huh? That sounds plausible?’
I was surprised by Yeon-hee’s response as she roughly defined an ability I hadn’t accurately understood yet.
As she conveyed my abilities delicately, Yeon-su still wore a somewhat puzzled expression, though she appeared a bit relieved.
The heavy air gradually lightened, and Yeon-su returned to her kind, gentle demeanor.
“Self-destruction skill, huh? Well, considering a ‘Bone Dancer’ is pretty destructive for its rank, Il-wol must be special too. Hmmm…”
Yeon-su contemplated my abilities while reminiscing about the ‘Bone Dancer.’
“Still, with everything considered, I just can’t comprehend it. The presence of that mage I sensed… it could rival a Great Sorcerer. I wonder if the reason he retreated was due to sheer destruction or if there was something else at play.”
‘…… It had to be because of destructive power, right? I don’t want to overestimate myself, but my life is worth more than it seems.’
I recalled the mysterious existence that showed astonishment upon witnessing my skill.
‘He’s dangerous. In some sense, more than the Blue-eyed or Jo Gi-man.’
I had a strong feeling that I needed to take him out first.
‘Though he feels as distant as Jo Gi-man, it’s not a bad start. Will I be able to reach the end?’
“Anyway… thanks, Yeon-hee. You helped me live. I owe you my life.”
“Oh no, it’s nothing I did.”
“Hmm— Il-wol’s efforts are also your abilities. So it makes sense to be thankful to you, right?”
“Um… well, that…”
“Either way, I’ll repay the help several times over next time. Look forward to it. I can’t live with a debt.”
‘Can’t I just get money instead? You have so much.’
The wealthiest person in our country is Yeon-su.
It would be more prudent for our future to just receive compensation in money rather than half-hearted help.
“Oh, wait a minute. I need to take this call.”
“Sure!”
“… Are you sure you checked everything thoroughly? It came out of nowhere, but surely something would be left. Please check again. I’ll go too.”
While we were chatting, Yeon-su received a couple of calls, getting updates from the hunters searching inside the building.
“There are a lot of strange things. Given how they responded and cleaned up any potential evidence inside the building, it’s clear they knew I was coming.”
“……”
“The only person who knows I’m here is you, Yeon-hee.”
“Uh…?”
“I’m not suspicious of you or anything. I’m just considering two possibilities.”
‘Other than foresight, could it be… stalkers?’
“Is there someone with the ability to see the future? There are plenty of corpses around, so it’s not far-fetched. But who could have been tailing me? Ha! This is ridiculous.”
Yeon-su furrowed her brows, grinding her teeth in frustration.
“No matter how I think about it, both possibilities seem improbable… But considering what just happened, I’m not confident enough to say I have no unnoticeable abilities. Sigh—”
“What are your plans moving forward?”
“Oh, those guys? What more is there to say? I need to wipe out their connections and destroy them down to their roots.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the informant is safe.”
Yeon-hee’s face brightened a little at the assurance that Yeon-su would take responsibility and deal with them.
“And I’ve got to return what I received. Sigh— I haven’t drawn blood from a person since I faced the ‘Witch’ after hitting S-rank. I’m really pissed.”
She touched the deep scar on her nape and clenched her teeth.
It was common knowledge among hunters that Yeon-su suffered a devastating loss in a brief duel with the ‘Witch,’ who is Noh Ha-yoon’s mother and the leader of the Vision Guild.
That memory must have resurfaced, and given Yeon-su’s temperament, it was probably a painful humiliation.
‘Yeon-su is smart, so she won’t fall for the same trick again.’
“You go in first, Yeon-hee. I have a lot to clean up, so I can’t hang out.”
“Okay! Please hurry and rest, unni.”
“Hehe— thanks.”
Yeon-su held Yeon-hee close for a while before suddenly vanishing.
Yeon-hee and I silently got up, staring at the swaying door.
As soon as we returned to the hotel room, Yeon-hee collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Though I just watched the battle, the fights of top-tier hunters were so exhausting to even witness.
Even without that, it had been a day full of events. Feeling exhausted was understandable.
But watching the sleeping Yeon-hee, Ran murmured.
(Master has fallen asleep… I wanted to show you my growth.)
Out of the blue, Ran announced that its evolution was imminent.
‘Huh? Wait, is something about to change? All of a sudden?’
(Yes. It seems that battle from earlier accelerated my growth. I will briefly return to my shell. Please watch over me.)
‘Okay. Good. Hurry and change.’
Ran finished speaking, curling up, and suddenly solidifying like a hard stone.
I placed the egg in Yeon-hee’s arms and then tucked her in with the blanket.
Ran awakened again in less than thirty minutes.
‘Wow… what happened to you?’
Surprisingly, Ran had grown to the size of a bowling ball, but its appearance hadn’t changed much.
Now, its feathers turned pure white without any other colors, gleaming enticingly and captivating people.
Its new size was incredibly cute, and after evolving, it wanted to snuggle against Yeon-hee, seeking her warmth just a bit more.
(Long time no see. Skeleton Soldier.)
‘Huh? What are you talking about? It hasn’t even been half an hour.’
(This is so in terms of this place’s time.)
‘……’
Was the time flow of the place where Ran evolved different from here?
The sincerity in Ran’s voice indicated that we hadn’t met in a long time.
And it reminded me of the time I was curled up before waking up to hear Yeon-hee’s voice.
‘It really has been a long time. It’s no wonder I didn’t lose my sanity during that long time; it must’ve been due to [Calm].’
I briefly lost myself in thought, but soon shifted my curiosity back to Ran.
‘So, do you have any new abilities from evolving?’
Ran wriggled in Yeon-hee’s arms and looked up at me.
(My abilities will still only be [Acceleration] and a power that makes surrounding allies more agile.)
‘What? Seriously? Hmm… Well, those abilities alone would still be a big help.’
(However, there has been growth in [Acceleration]. Though I can’t grasp it exactly yet… Can I test it out?)
‘Sure. Let’s see how fast you can get.’
(No, the new ability of [Acceleration] isn’t physical enhancement. Unlike before, it allows you to instantaneously speed up your inherent possibilities and reach the future temporarily.)
‘… What? That’s amazing?! That counts as a new ability!’
(Let’s see how far it can go right now.)
Ran struggled with its bigger body, turning towards me with its fluffier wings outstretched, surrounding me with mana as it contemplated.
(Indeed… Is this really all I can do right now?)
‘What’s that? How far can you go?’
(Current possibilities are the potential for Rock Barrier, the potential for Space, and the possibilities for Magic Missile and Fire Arrow.)
‘Three types of magic… Not sure when I’ll need these, but they’re not bad. But what’s this Space potential?’
(… It seems I can somehow place living creatures inside for a short while.)
‘… Wow?! Is it really? Can Yeon-hee fit in there?’
(Master… may find it difficult. You’re not the kind of vessel that can hold her.)
‘Is that so? I guess it makes sense that a summoned creature wouldn’t be able to contain its master.’
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