While Il-wol was waiting for Ho-yeol, Yeon-hee received a signal.
This thrilling sensation that only summoners and their summoned creatures can connect with always felt mysterious.
‘Maybe it’s because you’re too far away that I can’t read your intentions well, but at least you managed to escape from the hidden dungeon. I’m glad.’
One thing was certain: Il-wol was safe enough to have the luxury of sending a signal.
And seeing the fading signal, it was highly likely he was heading deep into ‘Nando.’
‘I guess he won’t be home today. Tch…’
“I said it would be difficult to explore the depths alone… he didn’t find a new party, did he?”
Yeon-hee suddenly worried about that.
“Who’s looking for what?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
Feeling fidgety, Yeon-hee brought her thumbnail to her lips.
Is it really true that he’d jump into another party the moment he leaves for Jeju Island? I’d feel a bit hurt if that were the case.
Is this what it feels like to let your boyfriend travel alone?
When that charming guy roams the island, it’s bound to lead to dramatic situations!
Thus, having learned about romance in books, Yeon-hee found herself stuck in unpleasant delusions.
‘If we can just overcome the giant tribe, we’ll definitely be together!!’
Of course, she knew that by then, Il-wol would have run much further away, but she tried hard to hypnotize herself that way.
‘I should get home and challenge him soon…’
She realized that this was no time to be leisurely sipping coffee at a café and jumped up to quickly gather her clothes.
“I’m going ahead! Let’s talk about the next dungeon over chat! So… bye!”
“Huh? Already? It’s only been five minutes since the coffee came—oh, she left.”
“I’ll leave too. I need to visit my brother.”
“Let’s go together, Ah-rin. How’s your brother these days?”
“He feels better after drinking water, but just for a bit…”
With a slight frown, Ah-rin had her shoulder patted as Joo-ah walked beside her.
In an instant, all three disappeared.
Leaving behind were Ha-yoon and Eun-young, as always.
Just as the sounds of the café became more distinct, Eun-young spoke while draping Azraelon over her back.
“Shall we head home too?”
“Home? Again today?”
“Why… do you, do you hate it…? Il-wol gave me something good with a whip…”
What Eun-young discreetly pulled out from her sleeve was a rather excessive-looking bone item for self-comfort.
“When did you get that… It’s not like anyone’s at home anyway.”
“Then come along.”
Having her arm grabbed by Eun-young, Ha-yoon’s mouth turned into a silly smile.
* * *
At the time when the ‘White Alliance’ was steadily growing.
Dnarr Panijial attended a general meeting of the Blue-eyed Organization, convinced that something unusual had happened in the world.
‘No one else seems to know at all. Has a problem emerged in another dimension?’
He couldn’t even know that the meeting between Il-wol and Orc Legion Commander Por had become the fuse.
“Hmph, we just need to keep going our own way.”
Since the last time he summoned the Great Beast ‘Deskrull,’ Dnarr felt things were going well again and thought little of it.
Even his master, after much effort, had completed a new ‘tooth’ that he was very satisfied with.
‘The last one was a failure because the coordinates kept getting misaligned during the move.’
Since he had failed dozens of times by not reaching the intended spot and instead falling somewhere inside the dungeon, his master had recalibrated it.
Of course, while it had gained weight, it was necessary to lessen the power of such creatures to cross dimensions.
Ultimately, Dnarr’s forces had more to do as they received the weakened ‘tooth.’
‘It’s fine. We can combine and improve it here.’
Having been a Great Sorcerer for several decades, his meticulous master had created the best enhancement method to send along, so there were no problems.
All that was needed was time and materials.
‘For combining the teeth… the materials are largely troublesome to procure.’
What he found tricky wasn’t so much the rarity of the materials but rather the locations.
‘The dungeon in the sea… this is troublesome.’
The Goddess of Light, ‘Lubuya,’ he had long been connected with wasn’t very comfortable with water attributes.
Naturally, Dnarr was similarly affected by it.
Fortunately, there weren’t any super strong beings with water attributes in either the world he belonged to or this one, so there was no issue in confronting them, but ‘Nando’ was inherently a water-type dungeon, making it something to be avoided.
‘I guess there’s no choice. The others will find it even tougher, so I’ll have to go myself. I might need to calm my strength a bit before entering the dungeon.’
He briefly scanned the attendees of the meeting who were engaged in petty squabbles and sighed before leaving.
* * *
‘Yeon-hee’s signal has disappeared. Looks like she’s entered the giant quest.’
The process of continually sending signals back and forth to confirm bonds between them.
I was so satisfied that I was connected with her, even if it was like this.
“Ssss- Hwaaah- just barely made it!”
The beastmen exhaled violently as they surfaced from the second hunting ground underwater.
Typically, the difficulty increases as one delves deeper into a dungeon, but for them, it likely felt like they were returning home after escaping hell.
“The ground is nice after all. Hehe-”
“The floor is a bit sticky, though. Well, you need somewhere to step on anyway.”
“But seriously, we got here super fast. I heard it takes at least a day minimum to reach this far.”
“Alpha is a god…”
The eyes of the beastmen looking at me sparkled to the point it was a burden.
‘How low was the level of the guides they’ve met so far to react like that?’
A guide’s role is to pave the most efficient route according to the party’s objective.
I merely led them as they desired.
‘From here on out, you’ll encounter the opponents you wish for.’
One of the five races that reign over ‘Nando’ was ‘Marshall Dragard.’
Just moving a bit further would lead them into a place swarming with them.
Thud thud-!
A horse beastman, muscles thick as hooves, was pounding his fists together in anticipation of battle.
Ho-yeol, the tiger beastman, was flexibly warming up his body while snorting.
Just looking at the two told me they were serious about this hunting ground.
‘I can only challenge up to the third round. Even if I go the shortest route to the boss battle, it’ll take at least two days. This is the first time I’ll be apart from Yeon-hee by this much.’
The hunting grounds we had traversed so far weren’t all that far apart because if one just found the right path, they could reach there not too long.
But from now on, each hunting ground could eat up days.
‘If I were alone, I could just fly and reach the end in just a few hours…’
But there was no need to do that.
This hunting ground having ‘Marshall Dragard’ also had significance for me.
And then.
– ‘You have completed the quest to defeat 1,000 Blue Manatees!’
– You have acquired the trait [Legacy of the Ancient Blue Merman]!
Through several battles, I had already completed the race trait quest.
Legacy of the Ancient Blue Merman
– The effect activates if the presence of your kin within a radius of 50 meters exceeds 50.
– Movement speed +25%
– Recognizes concealed beings more quickly.
– Accomplishment [Pioneer] activates.
– All attributes increase by 1 each.
‘Ancient Blue Merman… did the merman evolve into fish?’
Typically, one would evolve into a higher being, but it was unclear if it was a choice based on survival.
‘The effect is extremely useful, but it requires 50 kin?’
What would my kin be? Definitely not humans, perhaps skeleton soldiers?
‘…It wouldn’t be easy to activate unless I leave many traces. Or else, I’ll have to obtain a necromancer-like ability.’
We traveled a bit with a somewhat excited mood and soon a new world unfolded before our eyes.
“Wow-”
“Just as I heard.”
The third hunting ground we reached after leaving the sea was a wasteland covered with large and small rocks.
“Wow— Haha, is the desert after the sea?”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not a desert. It’s just an undeveloped gravel field.”
“Hey, black pig, you need to learn how to tone it down a bit.”
“Isn’t it better to do it right?”
“Let’s all be on alert. Marshall Dragard is atrociously strong.”
‘That’s right. That’s what makes it good.’
Usually, it’s said to avoid creatures wandering alone in dungeons.
The ‘Minotaur’ from the B-rank dungeon is a prime example, forcing one-on-one battles. Marshall Dragard feels even more intense than that.
‘He’s a madman whose combat power explodes when fighting against a horde.’
In summary, defeating him in a one-on-one battle is the rightful approach.
Of course, it’s those guys who choose their opponents, but interestingly, they designate the second strongest in the group.
‘Excluding me, the second strongest is rabbit beastman Arang… um… is that okay?’
As long as she doesn’t die during the duel, there’s definitely something to gain.
So I thought it would be interesting to just observe for now.
Maybe I could teach Ah-rin about the fighting methods of other rabbit beastmen.
Thud-
Whiiiiioo—
“I’m starting to feel it.”
A sandstorm swept over us several times.
Our wet bodies turned into sandy skins, and the beastmen belatedly realized they hadn’t properly replenished their nutrients due to rushing.
“Ultimately, jerky. Damn it.”
“What’s the point of bringing cooking tools with you?”
While everyone grumbled, chewing on jerky.
‘Here they come. As I thought, alone.’
– Aahh-!!
The unique voice of Marshall Dragard resonated from afar.
That creature was intelligent and could speak, and each entity had its own personality, making it fun to confront.
– ….Hoo?!
‘They’ve spotted us. Despite average combat power, this guy has sharp instincts.’
To detect us from 3 kilometers away—that’s quite sensitive.
His combat power was ranked upper A.
Considering that Abyss Hunters rank among the mid A’s, rabbit beastman Arang stands a chance against him.
– Hoi-hoi-yah! Hey!
The bizarre roar echoed as Marshall Dragard drew closer.
“He’s definitely strong, but I don’t think it’ll be that hard.”
– Hyah?! Hee-yah!
As one can infer from his name, he was covered in scales that alternated between black and purple, with three eyes stretching around his face.
His mushroom-like ears fluttered unpleasantly, and the fan-shaped claws tightly adorned his arms, hinting at decent swimming abilities.
The tooth-like protrusions covering his crown may not be a pleasant sight.
– Kiyooou!
His beak-shaped mouth, continuously making battle cries, pointed sharply like an owl’s beak—this beak could fetch a hefty price from alchemists.
“That guy is the Marshall Dragard who is a master of unarmed combat.”
“Doesn’t seem that cool. Why is the community obsessing over him so much?”
“They say you’ll understand when you fight, but no one knows the reason.”
The first battle against Marshall Dragard is said to yield many rewards.
Thus, it was common sense to face him with utmost respect.
– Aahh! Ho-ho! Hoo!
Finally, the Marshall Dragard who became dizzy from learning martial arts pointed at his opponent.
“Hmph, just watch how I fight.”
“Arang unni, fighting~”
Predictably, the first target was Arang.
– Uwohoo! Waohoo!
As Arang stepped forward, Marshall Dragard raised his palm skyward, preparing for a ritual.
“Come on, hurry up.”
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