Zing──
The moment I reached out to the boundary, a translucent entrance of a gigantic temple revealed itself.
“”Whoa!!””
“It’s really here!!”
The companions’ eyes went wide, and they cheered loudly while Yeon-hee hurriedly summoned the Sword Dragon and prepared to enter the temple.
– Would you like to enter the hidden dungeon ‘Areina’s Light Temple’?
‘…Huh? A hidden dungeon? They didn’t mention that last time?’
It was clear that something had changed since I cleared the boss.
The upgrade to a hidden dungeon meant that a mutant version of the ‘Blood Mosquito’ could appear again.
‘I thought we were just exploring the temple, but if that’s the case…’
If I was with my companions, the regular ‘Blood Mosquito’ wouldn’t pose a significant threat.
However, since there had been changes in the dungeon itself, a cautious approach was necessary. Especially considering the danger posed by the mutant lurking in the end, even with the presence of the ‘Castle.’
‘That’s just not going to work. I need to go in first and assess the situation.’
If it was a place I could conquer only the early parts and escape, taking my companions with me might be worth considering.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
“Huh?”
Yeon-hee immediately came running to me after hearing my signal and reported the situation.
“Il-wol is going in first to scout the area and will give us a signal.”
“A hidden dungeon… There will definitely be a super strong guy as the boss.”
“What if… it’s something Il-wol can’t handle? We might be in danger the moment we enter.”
“Th-That’s true.”
Yeon-hee looked uneasy about the situation, but there wasn’t much we could do.
None of the other summoned creatures could enter the dungeon alone because of an unknown reason; reality was just that way.
There was no reason to hesitate.
‘I will enter.’
*
Woooom─
The Light Temple, where I entered for the second time.
‘The start doesn’t feel too different.’
The intricate patterns, the unknown lettering, and the beautiful statue of the goddess remained unchanged.
The sacred aura was more intense than last time.
– A purified light temple, found by beings of mystery brought by the guidance of the goddess of light and justice, ‘Areina.’
However, the pain and wails of the priests deeply ensnared within the temple were enough to bring back dark entities.
Eliminate the filthy monsters and purify the Light Temple once more!
‘Purified for beings of mystery… is it referring to me and Skull?’
It felt a bit strange to be included in the story of a hidden dungeon, so I scratched my helmet and glanced around.
At that moment.
– The goddess, who protects the light and loves justice, repels the evil aura!
‘?! What? Didn’t I get rid of the restrictions?’
Would I once again experience a drop in my stats?
– Confirming an amazing being with affinity for light attributes, surpassing the limits of the species.
– All attributes increased by 5.
‘Huh… I was startled thinking my stats were going to drop again.’
Instead, a small increase in stats made me feel more relaxed.
‘First, let’s verify…’
I stretched my hand toward the small gate that appeared as I entered the dungeon.
– Would you like to exit the hidden dungeon ‘Areina’s Light Temple’?
‘Great! The entrance and exit are the same dungeon.’
Recently, I had only visited dungeons where the entrances were different, so I had to consider it luck.
Having confirmed the most important thing, I stepped forward and pushed my senses to the very end of the dungeon.
‘Why are there so many…’
The wave of my senses, piercing through countless horrid baby mosquitoes, began to detect a grotesque presence at the end.
‘…This is going to be tough.’
It wasn’t the mutant I had seen last time.
A mutant version of the mosquito, much more powerful, turned its gaze towards me, shaking off the intangible sensory perception that was probing it.
‘Even if I team up with the others, it won’t be easy. It’s sensitive enough to detect my senses. It’s not an opponent I can defeat without harm.’
The red-haired elf I had encountered briefly before suddenly popped into my mind.
That guy easily sensed and shook off my perception.
At least, fortunately, the mutant was just maintaining its position. It wasn’t rushing towards me.
‘Why isn’t it moving?’
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that its enormous head was connected by some kind of line extending from the ceiling, drawing in immense magic power through it.
Should I call it the queen of the ‘Blood Mosquito’?
It was continuously laying eggs from its tail.
‘…It seems to be gaining power from somewhere. Good thing it’s wasting it on laying eggs instead.’
It didn’t seem like it had any reason to get rid of the position of laying eggs. Unless I got closer, it would likely maintain that state.
Having made my judgment, I infused intense will into the intangible thread connected to Yeon-hee.
And shortly after.
“Il-wol?”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Yeon-hee and the companions began to step inside one by one.
Like me, they all seemed absorbed in exploring the temple.
And unlike my experience upon first entering, none of the five saw any drop or rise in their stats.
‘So they have no feelings toward humans at all, huh?’
Since it was classified as a benevolent deity, I didn’t need to worry further.
Though given what it did to me, traditional notions of benevolence seemed meaningless.
“Huh… Not giving achievements? I was expecting something!”
As soon as Joo-ah entered the temple, she seemed to hope for a significant achievement, but achievements notoriously don’t like to grant themselves when anticipated, like a rebel.
I signaled to Yeon-hee by holding up two fingers.
Because there was one piece of information I had promised to share once we entered the temple.
“Oh, and. The attributes I can share with you have increased to two. Please pick one more!”
“Eh?! R-Really?”
“Wow…”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
I had only shared one attribute before to avoid hindering my companions’ growth, but from today onwards, that wasn’t necessary.
“Oh my… What if Il-wol ends up sharing all attributes later?”
“That would be awesome.”
‘That seems difficult, though.’
With luck, maybe I could increase one more with the next job change.
There wasn’t much time to ponder what additional attribute to share.
Everyone began with magic as a base and added one each from wisdom and strength.
“Whoa— are Il-wol’s magic stats over 1600? Are you kidding me?”
“Puhahaha— Strength at 689? That’s just laughable.”
“Ah- wait. My body…”
“Haa… The attribute increase is so sudden…”
My companions plopped down on the ground the moment I began sharing attributes with them.
The rapid ascent of their stats had led to heightened physical reactions.
“Hee… Let’s wait just a moment before starting… ha…”
Ah-rin’s expression was of a type I had never seen before.
‘At least it’s improved from before. Back then, she couldn’t handle it.’
After a brief, unexpected rest, we set off again.
However, we had no choice but to stop shortly after.
Rustle-rustle—
“Stay focused. A lot of powerful monsters are approaching… just from the sounds, at least hundreds.”
Ah-rin’s ears perked up as they fluttered about busily.
In such an enclosed space, her hearing brought significant advantages.
‘Definitely more in number, and the ranks have significantly increased. I can even see some of the initial-stage mutants with different wing colors. It’s hard to even spot a C-rank monster now.’
I couldn’t understand why so many of them were gathered in a place like this without any food, but it was pointless to try to comprehend a dungeon-like space.
‘This seems fortunate. It confirms that not all mutants are boss-level.’
The information about the difficulty of encountering mutants in the Ilseom area didn’t seem to apply at this point.
‘Roughly one in ten seems to be a mutant. With that much, I shouldn’t worry about sourcing materials for Killbard.’
“Their mouths are specialized for point attacks, easily piercing through any defense. Avoiding their attacks is key.”
Ah-rin, who had received plenty of information about this dungeon, mentioned her caution one more time. It made me think it was more of a reminder for her as a close-combat warrior.
As I stepped forward, my companions followed suit.
After moving about a hundred meters or so?
Brrr—
“Here they come!!”
Dozens of Blood Mosquitos began to agilely crawl out from the cracks in the ceiling.
Crash—
Noh Ha-yoon immediately whipped up a snowstorm towards the ceiling, causing them to freeze solid and fall one by one.
Boom─!
Crash─!
The mosquitoes that fell to the ground in frozen state lost several legs, and taking advantage of that, Ahn-rin and Joo-ah led the charge, unexpectedly achieving their first takedown easily.
‘Ahn-rin’s attacks are fierce. Joo-ah’s attack power has significantly increased too.’
“They’re coming from the corridor too!!”
The summoned creatures of Yeon-hee stood guard at the corridor.
We couldn’t summon the strongest of spirits, the Castle, due to the cramped space.
[Grraaargh…]
Boom────!!
The ferocious breath of the newly summoned Sword Dragon surged down the corridor.
The swarm of mosquitoes scattered, turning into a black ash.
I could see satisfaction in the Sword Dragon’s eyes.
However, the moment the corridor was cleared, the sounds of their feet soon filled the area once more.
“Quick, get inside!”
After dispelling the Sword Dragon while it was in cooldown from its breath attack, Yeon-hee summoned the Alpha Trio and all remaining flying summons, as well as the Dire Wolf.
[Skeleton Bomb]
Boom──!!
With a significantly larger explosion radius than in the early stages, the Skeleton Bomb heralded the beginning of the fight.
‘Low-ranked bombs won’t kill them. I need to use bombs of the same rank at least.’
Their surprisingly sturdy wings indicated it would likely take some time to completely take them down.
“I’ll hold them off!”
“Okay! Just don’t let them encircle us!”
This first engagement wasn’t easy.
There were well over a hundred of them attacking all at once, and my companions struggled to keep up with the unexpectedly high combat power.
The elongated snouts capable of piercing through two or three humans at once were a threat in itself, with some even skewering two ‘Dire Wolves’ like kebabs and summoning them.
“Chehwa!!”
The Specter ‘Chehwa’, boasting immunity to physical attacks, was a cheating trait.
Chehwa had consistently performed admirably in battle, growing alongside us, and it had now surpassed a C-rank mid-level.
And now, we were facing creatures that had no special skills.
It was the perfect environment for Chehwa, and it began to rampage from the get-go.
Thanks to Chehwa’s performances on the front lines, we were slowly starting to breathe easier.
“Ahhh──♪”
Eun-young’s singing and Spirit Ran’s agility buff synergized, increasing our party’s reactions.
Joo-ah’s Rock Barrier blocked the corridor at just the right moment, preventing us from being surrounded.
[Flame Cut]
Slash─!
– ‘Blood Mosquito’s Blood Gem’ 393/500
Thanks to ‘Skull’, I could already see the end of the Blood Gem collection quest.
In addition, catching glimpses of mutants here and there allowed us to steadily gather materials for Killbard’s recipes.
Rustle-rustle—
“They are coming in greater numbers!”
“These cockroach-like little things!”
‘There are too many of them. Should I balance things out with new minions?’
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