– What, what is that!!
It’s a byproduct filled with the sticky energy of Necrosquall.
The hunters who saw it soaring high into the sky gasped in horror, and even the orcs that were slowly approaching were taken aback.
– Is that byproduct filled with dark energy?
– This energy feels unusual… Could it be a Great Beast-level monster?
– Who would summon something like that, and why here? It could just give the monsters more power.
– Um, hunters. What are you doing inside? Is it okay for us to be here?
– Ahem… let’s wait and see for now.
The weary hunters couldn’t help but react sensitively, but fortunately, some well-known hunters from the Vision Guild and White Knight Guild came forward to handle the situation, quickly calming the chaos.
‘Oh, Yeom Tae-seok is here as well. And Shin Hee-won?!’
I guess the energy was so faint I didn’t notice them.
Still, with some seasoned folks around, it felt reassuring, and I was even more motivated to invest in the sanctuary.
Boom—! Bang!
A black mass the size of an ogre kept being summoned into Yeon-hee’s room.
I couldn’t even guess how many times I’d have to do this.
‘I don’t know, but let’s just toss it in quickly.’
Since everyone was already surprised, I quickly summoned it and let it merge into the sanctuary.
– The area of the sanctuary is explosively expanding!
– The durability of the sanctuary is greatly increasing!
‘Alright, it’s growing continuously.’
It kept getting bigger.
The value of Necrosquall is so high that the range of the sanctuary has now reached the territory where the orc legion’s vanguard was approaching.
‘Wow… investing seriously really works fast.’
Given the amount I’ve shoved in so far, it’s about time I see results.
I nodded in satisfaction.
– Kweik?
– Hrrr…
The orcs had no choice but to shyly retreat as the sanctuary’s energy surged towards them.
They instinctively felt danger entering the sanctuary.
And so, unintentionally pushing back the orcs continued for several minutes.
‘Phew… that’s enough. Let’s stop for today.’
The sanctuary expanded evenly in all four directions.
One side’s length easily surpassed a hundred meters, and that area was indeed massive.
At this size, it could accommodate enough people in the area.
‘The corpse of a Great Beast is truly monstrous…’
Even after summoning the byproduct of Necrosquall dozens of times, it seems I’ve invested less than 5% of the total amount in the sanctuary.
Since it was a monster that had reached hundreds of meters in height, it would probably take a lot of time to digest it all.
‘I’ll keep tossing it in whenever I can… Maybe I should head out now.’
As I stepped outside, Yeon-hee and my companions felt my presence and perked up.
However, they didn’t turn around, seeming more interested in focusing on their inner growth, so I also took a detour and headed out.
As I stepped outside, a man approached me stealthily.
“Hoohoo, should I say it’s been a while? Do you remember me?”
‘Yeom Tae-seok.’
The middle-aged hunter who was Noh Ha-yoon’s assistant.
He recognized me and started a conversation.
– Ohhh… That paladin! I guess you know each other since you’re now in full plate armor.
– This must be what it’s like to be a hunter from the Vision Guild. The connections are different, truly different.
The hunters nearby perked up their ears and looked at us as if seeing Yeom Tae-seok anew.
I gently led Yeom Tae-seok a bit further outside.
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Ohhh, the sound of those teeth. So that was really the Skeleton Soldier I saw back then? Just how can you grow this much! It’s simply amazing.”
Even knowing I’m a monster, Yeom Tae-seok treats me like an old junior he met ages ago.
I’ve often heard about his recent news through Noh Ha-yoon.
I heard he’s risen to C-rank and is challenging intermediate-level dungeons, and given he hasn’t been promoted for even a few months, that’s quite fast progress.
Considering he had been stuck at D-rank for so long, he must feel regretful for not making this decision earlier as it seemed like smooth sailing.
But even he must see the speed of our growth at this reunion as something on a different level.
I was even more surprised by his pure attitude in treating us without any jealousy or ill will.
‘Usually, one would become competitive and envious… What a big person.’
A manager of a shelter should be someone like him.
I thought about that for a moment.
“By the way… is this invisible area expansion your doing?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Haha, indeed… I’ve been through a lot, but I’ve never met a mysterious being like you before.”
“Clap…”
Just then, a presence with strong energy approached from behind.
“Uh… if you’re discussing the follow-up measures, may I join as well?”
Shin Hee-won.
A skilled hunter, the S-rank tanker Cha Mu-yeol’s protégé from the White Knight Guild, who also participated in the Devouring Creeper subjugation with us.
It seems she got lucky and ended up on our side.
‘At least they didn’t send villains like Park Jin-gon or Ko Hyuk.’
“Oh, I think it’ll be okay if it’s someone like Shin Hee-won from the White Knight Guild?”
Yeom Tae-seok shot me a look of agreement, and I nodded, of course.
Then Shin Hee-won plopped down on the floor and looked up at us, continuing to speak.
“Phew… Honestly, aside from the ‘White Alliance,’ we’re the strongest force, right? The other hunters and civilians expect the White Knight and Vision Guild hunters to do something. Am I the only one feeling this pressure?”
Shin Hee-won roughly tied up her messy hair with a yellow rubber band while sharing her burdens.
“Haha, I didn’t know people expected that much from a C-ranker like me.”
“You’re a named figure here. Everyone knows Yeom Tae-seok from the Vision Guild.”
“Hmm?! I’m not that special—”
“True. My face has been widely recognized thanks to being shown on the guild representative selection broadcast, so everyone’s expectations are high.”
“I see…”
‘Hmm… there are definitely some pressures that come with being part of a large guild.’
Having occasionally fluctuated in the guide rankings in my previous life, I shared similar feelings.
“By the way, what exactly is the ability of this space? The system information only shows question marks.”
“It doesn’t show durability as a figure either. Besides, we need to break through the routes connecting to other strongholds, but all directions seem to be blocked—”
The two began a discussion without any clear topic regarding the current situation.
As I listened, I felt like I could answer a significant portion of their concerns.
‘Talking might be a bit iffy, but I can manage to communicate through writing.’
[Unknown durability.]
As I pulled out a notepad filled with crooked letters, Shin Hee-won and Yeom Tae-seok looked stunned and turned to me.
“Wh-wh-what?! The summoned creature can read Korean?”
“No, more importantly, how can you write so poorly?”
‘… The point of surprise is weird. Did I exaggerate how bad I was?’
Anyway, I did my best to answer the parts they were curious about in a stiff tone.
[I protect allies. Orcs cannot leave. Orcs cannot see you.]
“What do you mean, ‘orcs cannot leave?’”
“Does that mean they can’t come in and leave again?”
“Well, then what about ‘cannot see you?’”
“… I understand. It means there’s a function to defend against attacks, a binding ability that prevents intruders from leaving, and a stealth function that makes it so those inside can’t be seen!”
“Does it have all those functions?”
‘Wow, how do they understand so accurately?’
When I nodded, Shin Hee-won was taken aback and questioned me back.
“Are you saying this invisible area has all those high-level options?”
“Cough, cough, this friend’s potential surpasses the common imagination. Seeing the reactions of the orcs actually makes that clear, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed… they seem a bit flustered.”
The orcs were looking around anxiously, confused as we suddenly disappeared out of sight.
Moments later, one of the orcs bravely came charging into the sanctuary.
– Is this the start?
– Just one?!
– At-attack!!
– Shoot! Unleash ranged skills!!
The hunters, having regained some strength with a break, swiftly eliminated the intruder.
The orc that turned into rags.
Seeing the skills flying at him and the hunters charging towards him, he tried to escape back outside, but leaving freely wasn’t an option.
‘Oh, indeed. The provocation strategy to lure them in and take them out seems effective.’
If I just draw in as many as we can handle and eliminate them repeatedly, it’ll steadily reduce their numbers.
Of course, I’d have to go through the trouble of toggling the option on and off.
At that moment, a message popped into my head.
– [The residents of the boundary sanctuary worked together to eliminate an enemy!]
– All residents receive experience points.
‘Huh… What? It distributes? Experience points?’
It seems that the experience gained from defeating an enemy inside the sanctuary is evenly distributed among those classified as residents within it.
This wasn’t something I designated, so it feels like a fundamental rule inherent to the skill.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Next, a sturdy orc fighter huffed heavily, lifting building debris more than four times his size and hurled it towards our house with all his might.
‘So that’s what was flying at us all this time.’
It traced an arc as it collided with the upper boundary of the sanctuary.
Boom──!!
As soon as it hit the sanctuary, it shattered into pieces and scattered like sand on the ground.
Many people, who had screamed while squeezing their eyes shut, hurriedly looked around, wondering what was happening.
– The durability of the sanctuary decreases slightly.
‘That seemed like quite a powerful shock, but was that attack really nothing compared to the total durability?’
In my experience, when it says “slightly” reduced, it truly means something at the level of an ant’s eyelash.
‘Well, if the durability increased proportionally to the expansion of the area… the sanctuary might actually be safer than I thought.’
“That enormous chunk of concrete got pulverized?! Experience is also distributed to those who didn’t participate in the battle. This… isn’t this just an amazing ability? I thought I’d stopped being surprised, but you keep staggering me with this.”
Yeom Tae-seok cautiously patted my shoulder, awestruck.
“Your name was Il-wol, right? Can you not stop the enemies from entering the sanctuary?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“That’s a bit unfortunate. If you could block only magic-infused ranged skills… we’d still have to keep being on guard.”
‘That’s true. When I first got this skill, I hadn’t planned to develop it like this…’
At first, the skill explained about creating a small personal space or something along those lines.
‘Maybe it’s time to add an entry restriction option as well.’
Just then, a figure appeared to cast a shadow over me.
[Master, there are no beings outside stronger than me. May I go out and stir things up?]
It was Krabe, the Orc Battle Commander, who had turned into a skeleton.
He seemed restless, constantly swinging a scythe in the air with both hands.
Seeing Krabe, I firmly shook my head.
‘… That’s a situation for one-on-one fights. If you’re ambushed by an Orc Warrior and a Chimera, even you won’t make it out unharmed. Don’t forget you’re much weaker than the Krabe from your previous life.’
At my advice, Krabe scratched his head, feeling awkward.
Even though his face was blazing with flames, it was still curious to see his expression.
[… Then I’ll think about it some more.]
Instead of heading out, Krabe led the Orc Skeleton troops to the outskirts. I suppose even that might be tough to stop.
– Uwaaaaaah!! Traitor!! It’s a traitor!!
– The dirty traitor Krabe with only bones left!!
The Orcs outside, glaring at us, began hurling insults as Krabe approached.
In response, Krabe shouted back at them.
[Shut up!! You weak insects! I’ll go out and capture you guys and present them to my master to show my loyalty!]
‘Oh… cool. I expect some results.’
The living Orcs and the now skeletal Orcs hurled insults at each other across the sanctuary’s boundary.
“Haha… I never thought I’d witness such a spectacle in life.”
Yeom Tae-seok seemed equally unfamiliar with such scenes and chuckled.
‘Even with Krabe provoking like that, there’s no offensive coming. Are they waiting for someone like the Orc Battle Commander I first saw to show up?’
As time passes, who will benefit from it? Us or them?
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