Clang─!
At that moment, the summoning gate opened as expected, and I waved goodbye to the unnamed dungeon while reaching for the remaining Kadinite fragments.
‘Accident Scholar… will I ever see you again?’
With a hint of regret, the summoning gate slammed shut.
Clang-!
* * *
While Il-wol was mining Kadinite like a crazy person, Yeon-hee and her companions were soaring through the air on the back of the Sword Dragon.
“Whoa- that was really dangerous.”
“Phew- I almost died. What was up with that Lukrakota out of nowhere!”
“Still, it’s better than an Ogre…”
“That’s true, but there are just too many of them.”
The Lukrakota, classified as the lowest tier monster in a B-rank dungeon, may be labeled as ‘weakest,’ but they still fall under B-rank. With a dog-like appearance, they swarm in packs, forcing Yeon-hee and her team to escape into the sky on the Sword Dragon.
The area was dominated by towering trees, limiting the Sword Dragon’s movements. Luckily, Lukrakota couldn’t climb trees, making it easier for them to soar between branches.
‘If I fought alone…’
Yeon-hee felt a twinge of disappointment, but that feeling quickly vanished.
If she had been alone, she could have easily taken care of monsters alongside the Alpha Trio in the ‘Castle’ space, but she determined it was tough to fight while protecting her comrades.
‘The sheer number is the problem. Our kids are stronger, but…’
The rapidly growing Alpha Trio could easily handle Lukrakota, with Alpha Rakan even showcasing the astonishing ability to take on five at once.
Adding provocation and flying summoned creatures into the mix made them a piece of cake.
Yet, when hundreds rushed in like waves, it was overwhelming no matter how strong your combat power was.
Yeon-hee felt the truth of “numbers speak louder than strength.”
On the ground, only ‘Chehwa,’ immune to physical attacks, was dealing with the Lukrakota. Thanks to its growth, it had fewer instances of being caught off guard while attacking recklessly.
“Oof, just look at those things. I love dogs, but not those ones.”
Lukrakota, roughly the size of a typical tiger, enjoyed group hunts. Their persistence was enough to terrify hunters.
With a dog’s head and a wild mane flaring around its neck, a sleek, cat-like body contrasting with its head, a mouth torn open past its ears, and teeth that seemed to lock onto prey forever…
“Ugh, I can’t stand it. The three twisted eyes looking in different directions is the most disgusting part.”
“It’s so skinny, running at us gives me chills. It must be starving!”
“They won’t keep sticking together. During recon, they’ll split into teams. Let’s aim for them then.”
“Oh, sounds good. Yeon-hee, we have to try facing them at least.”
“B-rank monster, let’s take a bite out of it.”
In a dungeon designed to gradually make them stronger, encountering such monsters was strange, but Yeon-hee thought battling Lukrakota for experience wouldn’t be bad.
Then, as expected, the creatures divided into five groups and started to scatter. Yeon-hee and her companions took the opportunity to ambush one remaining group.
Collecting mana with great care, they launched a powerful surprise attack and managed to take down the first group.
However, as the scent of blood drew in another pack of Lukrakota, they ultimately fled back into the sky after holding out for as long as they could.
Repeating this process several times, they barely managed to wipe out the surrounding Lukrakota horde.
“Is everything else in the dungeon okay?”
“Well… there aren’t any other parties within my hearing range! But I have no idea beyond that.”
“Right. Sigh- it’s so stifling without Il-wol here; my vision is too limited and I can’t predict anything.”
Yeon-hee agreed completely. In a way, the part where she felt Il-wol’s absence most was in scouting and exploration.
Always identifying the presence of enemies beforehand, and being able to strike while they’re unaware was a cheat-like ability.
‘What if I could use Il-wol’s powers…’
As her time with Il-wol decreased, her thoughts began shifting in that direction.
Having finished a fairly tough exploration, Yeon-hee stepped outside the gate.
After sending her dizzy companions away, she waved off some reporters eagerly awaiting an interview, finally enjoying some alone time.
Being with Il-wol made her want to play too much, so she decided she needed time to think about how to grow from here.
“I’m level 80 already?! Hehe. Have I become a High-Rank Hunter…?”
Thanks to defeating multiple Lukrakota, she easily crossed the long-feared threshold of nine, breaking into joyful humming.
After about ten minutes of walking alone, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
“Ugh… I can’t help it.”
Yeon-hee couldn’t hold back and summoned Il-wol.
Clang──!
Out from the enormous summoning gate walked Il-wol, his body covered in dust for some reason.
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Hehe, I can’t believe I held out for ten minutes!”
“Clap?”
She threw some nonsensical words at Il-wol as he emerged from the summoning gate, finding his bewildered reaction amusing every time.
“But why are you so dirty? Did you roll in the dirt?”
In response, Il-wol showed exaggerated digging motions.
“What’s with that? Why not just transform into your human form?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
Il-wol activated [Mimicry] and changed back into a human.
“Wow— you look so beautiful today…”
Yeon-hee involuntarily blurted out something a man usually says to a woman.
As soon as Il-wol emerged, he lightly tapped Yeon-hee’s head and started scanning the surroundings.
“You summoned me without a soul nearby, didn’t you?”
“I have that much intuition.”
“You’ve grown, our Yeon-hee. Come here.”
“Okay…”
The two exchanged silent gazes, shared a brief kiss, rested their foreheads together with soft smiles, and embraced tightly.
“Shall we head out? I want to walk a bit more today.”
“Let’s do that. Was anything unusual today?”
“Nope— today, the Lukrakota suddenly appeared…”
Yeon-hee shared stories of the struggles she faced with her companions today.
Her purple eyes sparkling like a galaxy conveyed the excitement of her tales.
Il-wol listened quietly, responding enthusiastically.
After walking for a few minutes, Il-wol’s shoulder suddenly jolted.
Whirr~ Whirr~
“—?!”
A strange whistling sound echoed from somewhere.
Then there was a flash of light, and in an instant, the two of them vanished without a trace.
* * *
Yeon-hee and I were being transported somewhere.
Colors of all shades shot out in every direction, and the dizzying sensation of tumbling around in a dark cave went on for quite some time.
What on earth is happening to us?
‘That whistling sound… I see. The leader of the “Do” faction finally made a move.’
Luckily, Yeon-hee was safely nestled in my arms, unconscious.
In this terrifying, chaotic void, it must be strange for me to still maintain consciousness.
‘…I got summoned while in [Mimicry]. What luck it didn’t dispel? Other skills won’t activate either? Damn.’
Today, I seem to keep running into situations where my abilities won’t activate at all.
The ‘Goblin’ in disguise had assured that the ‘whistle’ was merely a communication tool, but I hadn’t believed that entirely.
However, I never suspected the item could hold such power. To teleport us using a void passage?
The item named Whistle had transformed from the bracelet I saw in the beginning to dozens of fragmented cubes, dragging Yeon-hee and me somewhere.
‘Was there some hidden condition for it to activate…? The messages didn’t hint at anything unusual.’
Being a skeptical person, I tried various tests, but nothing special came up in descriptions.
Yet the sudden activation implied there was indeed a condition.
Perhaps when Yeon-hee’s abilities exceeded a certain level?
‘This is a more prestigious item than I thought. To grasp the value of this item, one must possess a [special emotion] special ability. It was a mistake to overly trust the system’s explanation regarding the ‘Goblin’s’ gift.’
Hitting my head a few times in self-reproach, I soon sensed a strange feeling.
‘It seems like we will arrive shortly. I can sense it for some bizarre reason.’
Could it be because I’ve gained the potential of the void?
Feeling like I was about to reach my desired floor in an elevator, I grasped a pair of earrings floating in my helmet.
[Drop Cursed by the Forgotten Ancient Kingdom]
– Magic Power +550
– Bonus: Instantly transports your partner to the safest place you think of. The partner remains in an [Invincible] state for one hour. The partner remains in a [Statue] state for a day.
– Usable bonus count: 5
I can’t take Yeon-hee to a dangerous place.
Once we arrive, who knows if the skill will run rampant?
Without hesitation, I activated the earrings.
Even after a long slumber, the earrings faithfully executed their role.
As I expressed my wish to send Yeon-hee safely to another place, the earrings immediately got to work.
Whooooooosh──!!
The ‘whistle’ that had been guiding us tussled momentarily with the earrings trying to carry Yeon-hee away, but perhaps having exhausted all its power to transport us here, it ultimately yielded to the earrings.
Soon, Yeon-hee was pulled from my embrace, scattered into tiny particles of light, and drawn into the path created by the earrings.
‘Hmm… I hope Yeon-hee won’t be too shocked when she wakes up.’
I sent her to the safest place I could think of, but it felt somewhat ambiguous, causing me some worry.
Yet, it was definitely better than leaving her in our world with Jo Gi-man.
A vibrant woodlands, she would surely end up there with the earrings’ assistance.
However, how to bring Yeon-hee out afterward is something I would have to think about then.
As I watched the retreating form of Yeon-hee, my vision shifted, and a massive spatial sensation enveloped me.
‘This place… I don’t need to search my memories; it’s clearly a location I haven’t been to before.’
In a vast space painted entirely mint-green, an incongruous lush garden was arranged, with dozens of masked figures staring intently at me.
“…What are you looking at?”
At my brazen words, the ‘Goblin’ figures’ shoulders trembled dramatically.
Bursting out in laughter, they still kept silent, not making a sound.
Then someone stepped forward, and with a look of horror, they exclaimed at me.
“W-what are you?! Where’s Yeon-hee? Where did that girl go and what in the world… Oh wait a second.”
A girl, or perhaps a very young woman, surprised me with a youthful face that looked like she had just passed elementary school. With deep green eyes filled with disbelief, she stared at me.
She tore at her hair, muttering things like ‘how could this happen!’ and ‘there’s no way!’ and ‘I have to stop being like this!’ among other incomprehensible phrases.
Hearing that, I instantly recognized her identity.
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