The fusion with the summoned creature ‘Sword Dragon’ gets erased from the summoner’s options.
“Whoa?!”
“Eek?! No! Bring it back!”
Yeon-hee flails her arms in the air, shouting at the disappearing options.
– As a reward for fusion failure, a portion of the ‘Sword Dragon’ potential is absorbed.
– Skill [High-speed Flight] upgrades to skill [Super High-speed Flight].
– Skill [Degraded Shadow Breath] acquired!
– Achievement [Pioneer] triggered!
– All attributes increase by 2 each!
“Ugh- I don’t know what’s happening, but I got two skills.”
“Wow… doesn’t feel too bad?”
[Degraded Shadow Breath]
– Exhales a breath of shadow forward.
– Enemies hit by the breath are temporarily fixed to the nearest shadow.
“Oh?! What’s this, this is awesome? Breath attack!”
“Is Il-wol now breathing fire?!”
Even though it says degraded, a breath is still a breath.
So what if the fusion failed? This isn’t failure at all!
“So it fixes targets in the shadow… So that’s what the Sword Dragon’s breath could do. No wonder the ones I hit were staggering in weird directions.”
The option to fuse with the Sword Dragon being erased means there’s no chance for another attempt. Yet, looking back, it wasn’t a bad outcome at all.
“Aww, what the heck. It was supposed to be a chance for Il-wol to get way cooler!”
Yeon-hee outright displays her disappointment.
She must have spent a week imagining how I’d transform.
“Looks are important, but performance is what matters.”
[Super High-speed Flight]
– Moves rapidly towards a designated target point while flying or gliding.
– Can bind up to 20 people to the shadow tether and move them together.
– Does not consume magic power.
The previous [High-speed Flight] required a chunk of magic to maintain speed over a distance, but now such limitations are gone.
For me, who’ll be moving around a lot, nothing could be a greater gift than increased speed.
The ability to carry 20 people along is truly incredible.
“Ha ha ha, I don’t know exactly what binding means, but it’s fantastic.”
As I tremble with glee, Yeon-hee’s slightly pouty expression eases into a bright smile.
“Is this better than fusion?”
“Not quite to that extent…”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
“Oh really? Hmm. Still, I think I’ll try with someone whose gap isn’t too wide next time. How about the White Dragon or Eden? They’d need to be a bit more qualified before fusing with you anyway.”
“Oh, I was definitely going to try the White Dragon, but I hadn’t thought about fusing with Eden.”
Eden, the top-tier summoned creature and the only healer.
Eden always follows Yeon-hee around like a shadow, keeping her safe, and she’s a big reason why the hunter mortality rate in our shelter is noticeably lower than in other bases.
“If fusion fails, and I can receive potential like this, maybe I could also heal?”
Of course, it’s only a possibility if Yeon-hee grows past her limits, but it’s as intriguing as fusing with the Sword Dragon.
“More importantly, this hand…”
The ominous energy radiating from the Drake’s claw fused with my hand, revealing sharp claws.
I unintentionally swung my arm through the air.
Whoosh—
“Whoa?!”
Suddenly, a space tore open along the claw, exposing raw skin.
“Wha?! What is this? It’s super sharp!”
What used to take focused magic to slice open space now happened with a simple arm swing; it was shocking.
So it’s only the size of a claw, but against human-type enemies, it would be powerful enough.
The Sword Dragon tosses a Shadow Sphere and teleports along with it; it’s understandable it’d have a high comprehension of space considering it brought back potential.
“With these claws…”
I imagine making even an Orc Battle Commander retreat in shock.
I can vividly picture the Orc jumping back in surprise.
“I’ve gained unexpected power. Isn’t it better that fusion isn’t happening? The skills are entirely mine!”
As I merely watch, my once-clunky Drake front paw transforms back into its original flame gauntlet form.
“Shape-changing is also free. I’m satisfied. There’s no need to reveal such hands.”
After trying to tear into the air a few times, it did consume some magic, but it wasn’t excessive.
“Ha ha ha, I can’t hide this joy.”
Skeletons don’t show smiles, but I playfully cover my mouth just in case someone might see.
“Kyaaaa- Ha haaa!!”
Feeling great, I soared into the sky while hugging Yeon-hee again.
While the world heads for destruction, for some reason, the weather has been the clearest it’s ever been in this life.
“I feel good~!”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
I’ve only endured a week, but Yeon-hee has been holding off that filthy Orc invasion for a month now.
Sometimes I have to relieve my stress like this to gather strength for what’s to come.
Using the upgraded [Super High-speed Flight] skill, shadow tether emerged from my body, wrapping tightly around Yeon-hee’s waist and thighs, sticking her close to me.
“Oh, what is this? It feels really stable. Hehe~”
“Clap!”
“So this is how you can carry 20 people at once?”
I might end up trailing behind carrying a line of sweets later.
“With no magic consumption while flying, this is seriously great.”
It’s also surprising I could make Skeleton Bombs while flying so stably.
In my heart, I wish to disguise myself and indulge in some “dates” with Yeon-hee in mid-air, but the looming presence of Orc Legion Commanders dampened my desires.
“Curse you, Por. Show yourself quickly. No, that’s not right. Not too quickly, just wait a bit. Show up after I fuse with the White Dragon.”
“Waaaaa─ Soaring─ Flying─”
As I enjoy flying with her, nasty beings below distract me from the joy.
“Oh, those are Orcs. If we turn left, we’ll head straight into the crowd. That’s dangerous… What should we do? Should I help a bit? Leading them right would make things much safer.”
“That base is probably from the Apex Guild… Do I really need to…?”
Just as I was about to ignore them, one thing suddenly popped into mind.
The Grim Reaper Jung Tae-hyung said he had some bad memories with the Apex.
I’ve always disliked those guys, so this works out well.
[Degraded Shadow Breath]
“Oh, Il-wol? Is that coming from your mouth!”
As I activate the newly acquired Shadow Breath, a damp energy begins to gather naturally at the vertebrae of my neck.
“It feels a bit wet compared to the dark energy. This is shadow property…”
Kwaaaaaaaa—
Gathering the breath to the fullest, I opened my mouth, and massive energy erupted straight at the Orcs.
Maybe the sunny weather amplified the intensity, but the energy I shot out felt even more ominous.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa—
A gigantic black wave surged forward.
– Orc High-Rank Warrior defeated!
– Orc Low-Rank Warrior defeated!
Dozens of Orcs were swept away by the breath, instantly obliterated, and the remaining Orcs, shocked by the sudden ambush, looked up at me in horror.
“Oh no, my aim slightly went off. But its destructive power is outstanding.”
While the damage may not be as high as [Flame Shot], its wide range will be super useful for taking out the small fry.
“Now then, here we go. Here.”
Using my cloak like a worm to provoke them, I lured the Orcs towards the base set up by the Apex Guild, and they lined up, charging after me, as if their lids had popped off due to the sudden ambush.
– Swoosh!!
– Graaahhh!!
– I’ll kill you!!
The Orcs were really pissed off, spewing snot like fountains from their noses.
No kidding, over a hundred of the ugly brutes followed right on my heels.
“I feel like the Pied Piper.”
Luring the troublesome mice from the village to lead them off to another cesspool.
Suddenly, I spotted another bunch of ratlings known as the Apex down below.
“So they’re all gathered together. Nice.”
– Hiiiik?! The Orcs are coming in swarms!!
– W-what?! Didn’t they head in a different direction?!
– If those scouting bastards come in here, I’ll tear them to shreds!
The Apex Guild sprang into action upon seeing the squad of over a hundred Orcs.
It seemed they prepared in anticipation, as their movements were fairly agile.
They blocked the four-lane road with box-like cargo containers, restricting movement.
“Where on earth did they get those containers? They look good enough to use as barricades.”
I looked around, but that was the most striking thing I saw.
As expected of their base, they merely set up some obstacles for cover and carelessly laid out traps around the guild building.
“It’s way too hastily built. How shameful to even call this a base. I wonder if their forces got reduced this month, or if they’ve always been this slapdash. Tsk, tsk—”
Inside the main building, civilians peered anxiously out the window.
Most of them were Non-Awakened Ones; they looked pale and had dark circles under their eyes due to poor nutrition.
Still, the fact that they were alive up until now proves it wasn’t the worst choice.
The Apex Guild is one of the more prominent large guilds in the back-alley world.
They’d probably sought this place out, hoping to escape the sudden catastrophe.
Or they might have recklessly relied on the name without much thought.
“What would it be, they’ll demand an excessive protection fee regardless.”
Just looking at how some of the younger women were dressed so messily hinted at what was happening at their base.
“But don’t worry. They’re not the type to fall to this many Orcs.”
A battle between over 150 Hunters and over a hundred Orcs should be quite entertaining to watch.
Clang clang clang-! Clank!
– Damn it! Our weapons are almost gone!!
– We need to raid weapons made from Kadinite!
– I heard there’s a decent base over by Banpo; how about we pretend to join them and loot while we’re at it?
– Let’s just deal with this one first and think afterward!
“Those guys aren’t talking about our shelter, right? Heaven forbid.”
Chances are, the Orcs were likely to become our food for the day while waiting in ambush.
The sound of clashing melee weapons made the women hanging by the window retreat quickly inside.
– Die, you disgusting bastards!
– What do you think this place is, barging in here!!
As Yeon-hee and I savored the sounds of the Apex Guild members struggling, we kicked our speed into overdrive once more.
“Did you see any women inside? I even spotted some children…”
“Clap…”
I could sense what Yeon-hee was thinking.
She didn’t explicitly say she wanted to rescue them, but as a woman, she probably feels great compassion for them.
After all, they say the biggest victims of war are women and children.
Moreover, the Orcs from the opposing side have a habit of treating human women like sexual toys, so they might have become prey to them by seeking refuge in the underworld.
Returning to the shelter, I passed through several more bases.
I caught a glimpse of human societies building their own forts, following their own sets of rules and minimal morality to keep surviving.
Many seemed to be preparing to move to other bases; it was a sign that their situation regarding food and shelter had reached a limit.
“It’s probably around the time the food I’ve stored in the space runs out.”
“Everyone’s struggling… I never expected other places to be this dire just being in our shelter.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap…”
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