“Woof woof! Argh! Let go! Let go!”
“This persistent little mutt!!”
‘……’
Watching my companions struggling a bit with Lukrakota, I continued my thoughts.
‘Actually, [Herd Hunting] seems to be a jackpot.’
[Herd Hunting]
– When cooperating with five or more identical species, the probability of inducing status ailments [Fear][Despair][Confusion] significantly increases.
‘Since the effect doesn’t activate when we cooperate with party members, it seems I need to team up with skeletons to trigger this effect.’
Since this ability requires three or more ‘traces’ to activate alongside Ainz and Zweihander, it wouldn’t be much use for now. But the fact that the probability of status ailments increases ‘significantly’ was an attractive ability.
“Daklak?”
“Clap, clap.”
“Huh? No, just keep doing what you were doing.”
Ainz and Zweihander were easily overpowering Lukrakota. Now, they were coordinating quite well together, moving like a single unit alongside minions ‘Jim’ and ‘Gori’.
‘Hmm… their movements are getting better and better. They’re quickly copying how I fight. I can’t wait for the moment when it becomes five of them… they could apply status ailments too.’
Status ailment [Fear] pushes the instinct to retreat.
[Confusion] is the loss of self-control and defense reduction.
[Despair] decreases mental power and attack power.
If this hits properly, even ordinary monsters won’t be able to withstand it.
That said, I can’t just die on purpose to leave ‘traces,’ but it’s definitely an ability I’m looking forward to.
– You have acquired the Rune of Protection (Advanced)!
After defeating Lukrakota, I was fortunate enough to acquire a rune.
Rune of Protection (Advanced)
– Creates a magical barrier that absorbs 200 damage
– Activates once a day
– Automatically activates before health is consumed.
‘Having this as insurance wouldn’t be bad. But with the tendencies of our party members, I’m not sure if anyone would actually want to use this.’
At that moment, a cat that had jumped off Eun-young’s shoulder approached me and spoke.
(That symbol produces a magical barrier. Give it to me. I need to either give it to our Eun-young or use it myself.)
A sassy mackerel-patterned cat boldly demanded the rune I earned.
Surprisingly, Azraelon recently regained his space abilities and mentioned that he had a bunch of runes he originally used stored there.
‘Azraelon… do you think if you just ask nicely, I would give it to you? And didn’t you say you had runes?’
(To completely unlock the space, more conditions are needed. So it’d be perfect to use until then.)
‘I can’t just give it away.’
(Huh? Are we not comrades on this journey? Why make a fuss over a mere rune?)
‘That’s not the same, buddy.’
I gracefully declined Azraelon’s request to take the rune without effort. He was now significantly distanced from Ham Eun-young and hopped onto my shoulder, tapping my head, urging me to hand over the rune.
“Argh, just get lost. Rune of Protection isn’t even a rune that comes out easily. I’ll give you something else then.”
It’s a verified fact that the drop rates for runes differ.
Runes like the Rune of Vitality or Rune of Giants come out relatively often, but elemental runes or protective and rage runes don’t drop easily at all.
Hence, even if I sell it, I’ll get about 1.5 times more than similar runes, so even for Azraelon, I couldn’t just give it away.
(Are you planning to give me a low-grade rune? Just hand that over.)
As we were bickering, my companions’ mana was quickly depleting.
‘Even with the mana circuit and ability sharing, it seems tough.’
To defeat powerful enemies, the mana consumption increases.
Even when facing multiple enemies, mana consumption speeds up.
The lack of mana doesn’t get completely resolved just by leveling up or getting buffed. On the contrary, we often felt the shortage of mana more acutely as time went on.
“But do they normally form such large packs? This is way too many.”
Baek Ah-rin, who had been surrounded multiple times by the pack of Lukrakota, licked her lips. Part of her shoulder visibly destroyed, exposing her skin.
“In the information we obtained in advance, it seems we should expect about 20% higher difficulty.”
“I heard a squad typically has at most 30 monsters, but today it seems at least 50 or more…”
“At this point, unexpected variables don’t surprise me anymore.”
“It seems like they’re particularly drawn to us.”
“I don’t know why, but it seems so. Thanks to that, we’re growing several times faster than other parties, so I have no complaints.”
‘Monsters, if I increase the presence of oppression, I can hold them back, so for now, I’m good. I can just adjust the advancement speed… At this rate, I can head straight into the Living Statue.’
With Yeon-hee’s summoned creatures significantly enhanced, as long as I took care of the melee fighter Ah-rin, this dungeon seemed manageable.
Next, the Living Statue awaits.
I heard that place is especially unstable compared to other dungeons these days. I might take another shot at a small gate opening.
If the odds are in my favor, I might encounter the special monster ‘Archaeologist’ in the desert where I saw the Dragon Turtle last time.
“Wow- Is that the boss? Isn’t that Cerberus?”
We reached the boss battle without much incident and were looking up at the burly Lukrakota variant proudly standing on four legs within the boss battle barrier.
“It’s just a variant with two heads. Doesn’t even breathe fire. But its biting power is off the charts. Never ever get bitten; it’ll chew your bones.”
Despite standing on four legs, it was a medium-to-large monster reaching up to 4 meters high.
The flowing mane in the air clearly indicated it was not an ordinary monster.
It’s physically different from typical Lukrakota, but what’s more troublesome is that its presence causes the Lukrakota pack’s movements to become more organized.
– I can’t believe Yeon-hee made it this far. Can’t she just run the first floor of the Living Statue?
– I guess she wants to climb step by step.
– No, that’s not it. People misinterpret her for not jumping, but her party switches dungeons in less than a week. They’re really crazy folks.
– Less than a week? Is that even possible?
– Them being alive proves otherwise. Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon aren’t the only geniuses. The other three are all top-notch too. That creepy woman’s grandmother is even a Transcendent of ‘Reflux.’
– Ugh… remarkable lineage.
‘The information here seems relatively accurate.’
Our notoriety was quite significant even in this region.
Every party we encountered in the dungeons hustled to evaluate us, and I was listening in thanks to my [Ears That Listen Well].
– I guess we’ll get to coast through today. We can just follow behind the summoned creatures, right?
– Thank goodness. These crazy dogs have gotten so strong lately… If I fail again today, I was thinking of dropping back to C rank starting tomorrow.
‘So is the problem here the same? I don’t like it when hunters have to downgrade their level of support… it has become nearly impossible to restore it due to too many variables.’
– Woof woof! Woof!
“Hmph, look at it pretending to be strong. It’s just a big wild dog at best.”
“Right? With confidence, let’s all advance!”
“RRROOOAARRR──!!”
As the boss battle began, the ogres charged forward at Yeon-hee’s command.
The ground trembled with a deafening roar, and the bones rattled violently.
– Are you mad? That’s an ogre?
– Isn’t there even a rare monster Katopas among the Tarantulas?! At this rate, isn’t it more like a monster summoner rather than summoned creatures?
– How many of those is that?
– It seems like there’s easily over fifty; managing all of that… I guess the talent is indeed as rumored. Do they possess three brains or something…?
– Haha, they’re a true monster.
– Today must be a festival!! Let’s aim for a total annihilation route before the time limit for once!!
Normally, boss battles would see fierce competition among hunters.
However, Yeon-hee, already recognized as a monster beyond a certain level, showed no signs of being restrained by other hunters.
Even though our side’s momentum was impressive, the boss monster didn’t cower at all, jumping around the outer walls, smashing down hunters one by one.
– Aaah! It hurts, it hurts!!
‘It’s really going wild from the start.’
[Flame Shot]
Boom──!
“Yelp!!”
The boss monster flew off after getting hit by the Flame Shot on its side.
Even though I didn’t put much mana into it, its side was heavily dented, causing considerable injury.
After that, its movements became incredibly cautious, making the subjugation relatively easier.
We wrapped up the boss battle in about 20 minutes.
“Haah- Haah- So many! Ugh!”
Joo-ah kicked the fallen monster, shoving it with her stick into the space. She had a large bloodstain on her waist, indicating she took a significant hit.
“I thought this would be easier than when we faced the Werewolf, but the pace of battles seems much faster, doesn’t it?”
“Well, it is classified as a B-rank monster, after all.”
We monopolized the high contribution rewards, collecting everything: two Runes of Protection and ten advanced mana stones.
‘Only two runes, huh? Hmm… not bad, though.’
“Hehe… Finally, I’ve gathered 20% of the target amount. Puhuhuh!”
Joo-ah’s shoulders shook tremendously.
These days, her tension has been at an all-time high.
She mentioned wanting to retire once she gathered the required fortune, and that day seems to be approaching rapidly.
‘Wasn’t the target amount 50 billion? Will she really quit once she collects it…’
I couldn’t stop someone talking about retirement; worrying about it started to creep in. Did she intend to leave after all this effort?
‘Hmm… there’s really no way to prevent her from leaving?!’
I left the dungeon with a small dilemma in mind.
And as soon as I stepped out, I sighted some familiar faces waiting for us.
“U-uh, Angel— Ah, no. Lady Yeon-hee!”
It was Cha Jin-hyuk, the gravity manipulator.
Having escaped the villain route, he had overcome the brink of death, and his talents blossomed to the point that he was now looking at the late B-rank and aiming for A-rank.
‘He’s grown remarkably in that short time. He really has talents comparable to Noh Ha-yoon.’
Beside Cha Jin-hyuk, there were several hunters I had never seen before. Among them, one individual stood out prominently as the only woman.
“Ma-Master— Uh—!”
It was the Great Evil One Haseirin.
Now, she had become my Demon Servant.
‘……… Mind your mouth.’
I had warned Haseirin in advance not to acknowledge me when she saw me, so she hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut.
My first and only Demon Servant, Haseirin.
It was my first time seeing her since she became my servant, and her appearance had become more charming.
‘With looks like that, it makes sense she could amass power based solely on her face. Of course, she must have used her abilities too.’
Back then, I saw her at dawn, and her face, contorted with an expression of desperation, hadn’t allowed me to recognize her. Haseirin was definitely a beauty ranking among the top 0.1%.
“Uh… who are you?”
“Hello! I’m Cha Jin-hyuk!!”
‘Cha Jin-hyuk. His voice seems refreshing already! He looks a bit more confident too…’
As his rank rose, his previously toad-like skin improved significantly, and his overall expression brightened.
My companions, who had only heard of Cha Jin-hyuk through Yeon-hee, first got to meet him in person.
“Oh, nice to meet you! We are Yeon-hee’s companions!!”
“Yeah? Ah, nice to meet you.”
“Hello!”
As Cha Jin-hyuk’s companions exchanged greetings and handed over business cards, Haseirin alone looked sulky, staring at the ground.
‘Are you not going to greet us?’
“……”
She looked dissatisfied. It seemed somewhat frustrating for her not to acknowledge my request.
Still, I was sure if I commanded her, she would return to her original loyal self.
“But why is it that there are twenty men but only one woman? I’m jealous.”
Joo-ah looked enviously at Haseirin.
Well, our party is all women. It’s only natural to feel nostalgic for some chemistry with men.
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