Noh Ha-yoon walked along the path laid out by Bae Joo-ah and said,
“Yeon-hee has a quest, so she should focus on that for now, and I’ll assist the rest of the team. For those who are new today, feel free to unleash your abilities.”
Although the leader of our party was still Baek Ah-rin, Noh Ha-yoon’s voice was becoming more assertive.
Since she had firmly decided to fully join us, it made sense for her to take a proactive role, but I felt a bit worried as I looked over the team members.
‘…Everyone seems to be indifferent about it.’
Seeing Yeon-hee and the party members nod without any discomfort, I thought it might be okay to continue like this for a while.
I had often witnessed parties fighting over who the leader was in past lives, so I knew I couldn’t neglect relationships like this.
When Noh Ha-yoon urged them to show their abilities, it seemed to stimulate Ham Eun-young, who began singing as if reciting poetry while moving.
At first, her voice was so soft that it was barely heard, but gradually it created an enchanting effect that echoed in our minds.
“Lee-ree-ck?!”
The monsters that had been crouched and hiding all of a sudden had small wave-patterned marks appear above their heads upon hearing her song.
‘Oh? That’s a skill I’ve never seen before!’
It seemed to only affect the monsters that recognized Ham Eun-young’s song.
“Even with the marks, there’s no effect…”
‘Was that effective enough? What more can I expect?’
Ham Eun-young spoke shyly, wriggling her fingers, but the fact that the hidden ones could visually identify their positions with those marks was already a fairly useful ability.
Fwoo─!
“Ugh-!”
“Got it! Now we just need to take down 300 more!”
Thanks to Eun-young’s new skill, Yeon-hee could shoot arrows at the marked monsters and fulfill her quest.
Yeon-hee was originally an archer class, and the trait [Blessing of Danty] she had grown to quite a high level.
So normal dungeon monsters could sometimes be taken down with one hit.
To do that, however, it was essential to score a headshot.
But with Eun-young’s skill marking the exact spot right above their heads, it made the perfect combination for Yeon-hee.
Ting-!
“Oh! That frog guy!”
Of course, just shooting arrows didn’t guarantee hits.
The ‘Frog Folk’ batted the arrows off-course with its tongue.
While our specs were overwhelming and we were easily overpowering the monsters, it was still a creature that could perplex C-rank hunters.
“Choo-rararak!”
Flap-!
The head of the Frog Folk, which had just knocked Yeon-hee’s arrow away, went soaring high into the sky from Lizardman 1’s knife.
“Oh… 1! Don’t kill it; just catch it!”
“Churrrup…”
It wasn’t as straightforward as it sounded to land the final shot with arrows at the monsters caught by our summoned creatures.
Not to mention the mere accident of killing them by the summoned creatures, the ones that received heavy damage wouldn’t be counted toward the quest even if Yeon-hee finished them off.
‘Such picky guidelines for no reason.’
If the system were right in front of me, I’d be saying let’s just overlook these trivial matters.
“Wwaaaaaar!!”
“Choo-rarararak!!”
The combined roars of the 1 brothers were thunderous.
It seemed they couldn’t contain their overflowing strength and kept killing the monsters.
“Did we merge them for no good reason…”
Yeon-hee scratched her head, looking puzzled.
It seemed that summoning over 90 creatures didn’t fit well with the restrictive terrain we were in, so she decided to merge the Lizard Squad and the Orc Squad, accepting some experience loss.
“Should we quiet them down a bit?”
Noh Ha-yoon seemed a bit dissatisfied with the noisy 1 brothers announcing their positions.
“Well… I did try to warn them a few times, but after a while, they go back to being like this.”
During the commands, they listened well, but the lack of consistency was indeed a problem related to dominance.
“Hmm… Is it something instinctual? I can understand given their overflowing energy… but still.”
“And doing that makes them feel good and boosts their strength. Of course, it’s only for a moment.”
Just like Yeon-hee, who grew by forming relationships, they were quite the absurd ones.
Getting stronger just by yelling.
A lot of the things connected to Yeon-hee were far from common sense.
“Oh really? They’re quite odd creatures. Well, it’s not like we can do anything about it.”
Noh Ha-yoon’s caution seemed to be just a passing complaint after all.
She easily brushed off Yeon-hee’s aimless remarks probably because she believed Yeon-hee would fine-tune things when it came to an actual critical moment.
“Now that we’ve merged, the experience points are definitely lower. We might need to separate the species we’re raising from the ones we won’t be growing anymore.”
Nod-
Yeon-hee also seemed to need to choose and focus.
The two zombies hadn’t been used in ages, and the Harpy type started to lose its place as the Were-Raven was summoned.
“But Joo-ah, you don’t need to make rocks on the floor for our guys.”
“Oh, it’s alright. Think of it as practice.”
Even while large creatures like the 1 brothers stepped on the rocks, Bae Joo-ah drew an O with her fingers as if it didn’t faze her.
‘She’s definitely grown. She must feel the pressure, but she’s probably trying her best.’
Swoosh─!
“Ah… They keep taking them down in one hit.”
“Urr…”
The combined strength of the 1 brothers was so overwhelming that monsters kept bursting into pieces all at once.
Even if Yeon-hee just asked them to bring them back carefully, it seemed such delicate control was beyond their capabilities.
Thanks to that, Yeon-hee’s quest progress was dragging along at a snail’s pace.
Scrunch-!
Even while Yeon-hee struggled, Ah-rin was lightly flying over the marsh.
‘Did she buy a new sword?’
The last sword she had was a high-quality one too, but it seemed she invested all her earnings into a new sword and protective gear. You could feel an unwavering resolve from her to never die.
The extended length of the Sword Master’s sword increased her attack radius significantly, and every time she danced past a monster, their heads bid farewell to their bodies.
‘Ah-rin must have been greatly affected by the Great Beast incident. She’s definitely become much more graceful in her movements.’
Thanks to the growth of the party members, our dungeon exploration was going smoothly, and eventually, I decided to dedicate my time to assisting Yeon-hee’s quest.
“You guys focus on protecting Eun-young and Joo-ah.”
“Waaah!”
I assigned the still somewhat clumsy 1 brothers to guard duty.
They placed Dotted One and Ddak-ddak-i on their shoulders and drew in the monsters with provocation.
‘Minimally channeling my mana…’
[Chain of Flame]
[Chain of Flame]
[Chain of Flame]
Pachin─!
I carefully adjusted my strength to catch the monsters and threw them one by one toward Yeon-hee.
The two Were-Ravens flying above Yeon-hee would pin down the fallen monsters, and then the arrows reinforced by [Blessing of Danty] would fly in without fail.
Thanks to my efforts, Yeon-hee’s quest count was rapidly rising.
I remained vigilant for any unexpected variables while helping Yeon-hee, reacting sensitively to anything new entering the range of my senses.
‘We have to stay alert; we never know when something might explode.’
Now it was safe to consider it a constant state of emergency.
It wouldn’t be surprising if a Great Beast suddenly plummeted from the sky at this point.
“Phew─ Should we take a little break?”
After a few hours, we entered the save zone to rest.
I couldn’t help but smile at the message that had just appeared before me.
[Possessed Minions]
1. Large and Powerful Hook Bat (Analysis Complete)
– It possesses claw-shaped hooks. Its size has grown to its limits. A bat-like monster with considerable strength.
– Overall combat power: 5
– Mana consumption: 1 (the analysis level is maxed out, so the consumption is minimized.)
– It’s dirty and messy. Not bad in combat effectiveness. Breeds quickly. Efficiency isn’t terrible. Depending on usage, it might be useful.
‘Oh? The rating, which was so low, has improved a little?’
This was something the system had treated as almost trash, yet the mana consumption remained at 1 while its overall combat power jumped to 5.
Certainly, feeling that an increase from 1 to 5 didn’t seem overwhelming, it was nice to see the quality of the skill elevate.
‘Let’s see… I think I’ll try summoning it.’
I wondered if I could show my ability to my comrades, but unlike usual, I didn’t contemplate for long.
‘… Isn’t it normal for a Summoner to summon their summoned creatures?’
Of course, it wasn’t the orthodox type of summoning like Yeon-hee’s, bringing in beings from another world; it was just a crude manifestation created by my power.
‘When I say summon, it’s a summon, right?’
I lightly tapped Yeon-hee’s shoulder and displayed the summoning of ‘Gori’.
“Ki-ki-ki…”
“Oh wow! Huh?! Why is it so big?”
But why did it seem like it was starting from my knees instead of being palm-sized?
‘What made it so big?’
By big, I didn’t mean it had grown relative to what it was but that it had become a size that felt quite menacing.
“Ki-ee-eeek-”
Its cry became clearer, and it looked very different from the kindred that had been in the cave.
With a round body and a single, bright eye placed prominently in the center of its pudgy face, it was indeed striking.
Though its wings were folded, they would undoubtedly boast considerable width if spread out.
‘It feels like my taste is reflected in this one.’
“Oh my! What is that? It looks so cute!”
“Huh? But this bat seems familiar…”
“That, that time… The cave bat…”
“Is it a new summoned creature?”
Amidst the barrage of questions, Yeon-hee could only nod as she seemed equally amazed by the grown ‘Gori’.
‘Hmm… Gori, huh?’
“Ki-it?”
‘Still adorable… I wonder what changed with you? You got bigger, but do you have any new abilities to showcase to me?’
“Beeet!”
In response to my query, ‘Gori’ suddenly flapped its wings a few times and shot up into the sky.
“Oh? Is it going to show us something?”
Not only me but everyone drew in hopeful anticipation, watching the creature.
Gori flew in loops before suddenly picking up speed.
‘Well, its speed has definitely increased.’
Then it came soaring towards me, quickly brushing my arm with its claws.
‘…… I didn’t tell you to attack me, you little brat.’
I was astonished, but from past experiences handling Gori, it had shown a tendency to behave in ways that suited my requests.
The more conditions I set in detail, the less such things would happen.
Looking at the scratches left by its swift pass, I instantly understood what it was trying to show me.
‘If I hadn’t had Fire Armor and Chain Mail on, that could have done some serious damage. It must have increased its vampiric capabilities significantly.’
I felt confident that summoning about a hundred of these bats would become a frightening offensive tool.
‘As long as time permits, I should be able to summon plenty before any battle.’
Since it only cost 1 mana, if I could shorten the time it takes to materialize, I could add one more weapon to my offensive repertoire.
Moreover, knowing that their growth wouldn’t reset upon death was another crucial aspect.
‘A skeleton that commands hundreds of bats. Heh… I’ve become quite the peculiar fellow.’
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