Soaked and shivering hands, trembling body.
Whenever I see her like this, I tilt my head slightly at the gap between her past life and present.
Maybe the Yeon-hee from her past life was hiding this appearance inside, not showing it on the outside?
Thinking of that makes my chest ache. The unwavering gaze I encountered when she saved me, and the slowly fading light of life as she desperately resisted the Orc Legion Commander.
Now, I’ll never see the Yeon-hee who rescued me again.
It hurts. A corner of my chest.
“Ah—I’m home!”
Not knowing my feelings, Yeon-hee immediately summoned Wang-wang and Ran to play as soon as she returned home. Since she arrived a bit earlier than usual, it seemed she wanted to play with them before showering.
‘Was it around half-past midnight?’
That was about the time the cooldown for [Mimicry] would come back. Five hours remain.
Yeon-hee would probably want to see how I’ve changed before going to bed, right? Or she might act completely the opposite. What if she locks the door? That would be a bit unfair.
Yeon-hee, who stayed up late yesterday, surprisingly looked lively today, so I don’t have to worry too much about her sleeping late.
‘Today, I need to transform into my form and gather information on someone like Nam Yong-seok, the villain.’
Of course, just recalling memories doesn’t give me a way to track the villain, but if I keep that in mind and go about my activities, eventually, I’ll catch one of them.
Whoosh—
Yeon-hee took a shower.
Yum yum—
After having a moderately filling dinner.
“Ah… Mmm… A bit harder… Ugh…!”
I leaned my leg against her, enjoying a nice head massage. Yeon-hee became more talkative than usual as soon as she got home.
It was clear she was trying to change the subject while constantly checking on my reactions like someone being chased by something.
‘Not until before midnight.’
While we were discussing our futures, the topic naturally shifted to Nargul’s dungeon.
“What should we be most careful about on the first floor of Nargul’s dungeon?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
“That’s right! It’s the Bone Dancer! What should we do if we meet them?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
“Correct! The best thing to do is to run away! It’s really dangerous if you’re surrounded. Bang, bang, bang!”
There’s no need to limit it to just the first floor. If Specters are the ones that cause the most hunters to fall behind in Nargul, then the ones that lead the most hunters to death are the monster known as the ‘Bone Dancer.’
It was true that Yeon-hee said we should run as soon as we see it. Because it possesses abilities as bizarre as its strange dance.
But what I wanted wasn’t that goofy dance. Ever since meeting Jo Gi-man in this world, it was the skill I had in mind from the start.
Self-destruct.
I’m not sure of the exact skill name, but the ‘Bone Dancer’ self-destructs to attack hunters. Maybe they’re not afraid of disappearance since they’re already dead. They launch that ruthless attack without hesitation.
They charm people with a bizarre dance, absorb the deathly energy packed in Nargul’s dungeon, and then rush up close to hunters and bang!
Explosions are one thing; even if hunters don’t die, they get seriously injured by the flying bone fragments. It’s somewhat reminiscent of a claymore.
‘It’s the perfect skill for me.’
I already had memories of defeating enemies in a similar way. Of course, the wounds inflicted by ‘Teeth’ weren’t from self-destruction or anything. But back then, it was just as I imagined it.
If I can incapacitate the enemy for even a moment, Yeon-hee can finish them off with her companions. Or at the very least, it buys her enough time to escape.
Of course, I was lucky when that monster swallowed me, but soon I would be capable of designing such an environment by my own ability.
‘What kind of power will it have… No matter how I have 95 lives, I should at least muster destruction equivalent to one life, right? I hope so.’
Typically, skills that involve self-sacrifice possess abnormal strength regardless of their ranks.
For instance, sacrificing one arm and one leg to save someone dying, or releasing blood into the air to create an absolute defense for allies during a dire situation can create miracles. Of course, the caster would be close to death, but I don’t plan on surviving adequately.
However, would sacrificing just one of the 95 Skeleton Soldiers fall into the realm of self-sacrifice? I’m not sure…
“Uh… And next would be… probably Chehwa, right?”
Nodding—
The Specter, which Yeon-hee affectionately named ‘Chehwa,’ will surely trouble our party. But this time I have prepared counters.
‘I didn’t think it could gain properties like Sacred Water…’
When I dipped the dagger in Irmana’s water to test ‘Chehwa,’ lo and behold, it worked on the attack.
It’s worth noting that the duration is only half of what it is when dipped in Sacred Water, but water is free for us.
‘Irmana is a god…!’
Though she is literally a god, my faith in Irmana was gradually rising. Even if it weren’t for Irmana’s quest, I know I would feel this way. I’m not sure if such a being would actually be tangible, but if I meet her, I would bow down.
“There are also a ton of nuisance creatures. Actually, the main force in this dungeon is those called ‘Skeleton Legion.’ The Bone Dancer shows up maybe once in ten runs.”
Nodding—
“They say they usually roam in exactly ten. But the composition isn’t always the same. Typically, it includes Skeleton Soldiers (swords, spears, shields, sword-shield) along with a Skeleton Archer and usually one Skeleton Heavy Infantry. Sometimes a Skeleton Sorcerer might join in… The worst-case scenario would be running into a Skeleton Knight. But surely that won’t happen, right? The odds are lower than meeting a mutant.”
Yeon-hee shuddered and trembled at the thought of the Skeleton Knight, insisting we must never encounter it. Even she seemed to have heard a lot about the Skeleton Knight’s notoriety.
‘… No, Yeon-hee. I’m sorry, but we are definitely going to meet the Skeleton Knight. I’m going to go look for it.’
It’s just a monster that comes out in a D-rank dungeon, so how strong could it possibly be? But the strength of the Skeleton Knight held a different meaning.
‘The commander of the battlefield… grants ridiculous buffs to allies.’
As soon as it appears, the undead around it become at least twice as strong. Its absurd ability is staggering enough to make one chuckle, but that’s the skill of the Skeleton Knight. That doesn’t mean the ability itself is weak, though.
The Skeleton Knight executes a very neat and graceful swordsmanship style, said to be based on the swordsmanship of Hyeon Joong-gil, the leader of the Ilseom Guild and one of Korea’s strongest. So you can imagine how refined its swordsmanship is.
‘The Skeleton Knight’s grave…’
I know the cave where that grave is located. It’s a concept of a dungeon within a dungeon, and as soon as we enter, monsters would rush at us like a pack.
‘They should be accounted for in the quest…’
Among those monsters, there are small and troublesome ones. If they are counted, the progress of my quest will accelerate rapidly.
Of course, I don’t plan to enter that cave from the very first day, but whenever I think of the space I have in mind for skill crafting, the end will always see the Skeleton Knight appearing.
Still, we can decide when to fight, so I nodded to Yeon-hee’s reassurance not to worry.
We should enter when we are at a sufficiently high level.
Yeon-hee continued drawing cute and quaint skeleton illustrations in her notepad while explaining, but her expression was quite serious to the point I couldn’t laugh.
‘The drawings are cute, and so is Yeon-hee…’
Just thinking about teasing her later made my shoulders bounce a bit. But this is not merely something to find fun in.
It’s a matter of my survival, which requires serious contemplation.
I felt something after being toyed with in Yeon-hee’s form yesterday. The initiative I had brought with me by transforming into my own form might be lost again.
She must have experienced a thrill and excitement close to omnipotence while playing with me. Especially since she was flustered by my kiss the day before, that thrill must have reached its peak.
Seeing myself, who was flustered and at a loss, while transforming is likely to pose a great stimulus that one doesn’t easily encounter.
But I can’t let myself get caught up in that. Yeon-hee has the power to issue commands, making me turn into a woman every day if she puts her mind to it.
‘That can’t happen. As someone inherently subservient… what if I get pushed back even further?’
That can’t be allowed. I need to make her dependent on me mentally. I must not be swayed.
“Huh? What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Clap, Clap!”
“…? Anyway, besides that, there are also pesky little ones out there. Zombies aren’t something to ignore either, and ghosts and wraiths pop up occasionally, too. And there are little bugs that swarm around when you enter places like caves, but it’s okay as long as you don’t go in…”
Nodding vigorously—
“Still, isn’t it fortunate? That we can substitute Sacred Water… How much do you think that jug is worth?”
Yeon-hee looked thoughtfully at the jug from another world. Then she tilted it again, saying, “Nope, it doesn’t work,” and handed it back to me.
“Do you know? Il-wol, you’re really… special? You have so many things no one else has.”
‘There’s probably no one as special as me. The only person who could compare might be Jo Gi-man.’
“Hmm… So, what will you transform into today? Ah, no. I might not even need to use Mimicry.”
… For a build-up to ask that, the connection is completely absent.
“Clap…”
“Uh… uh, well… what if I just transform into my original form? The male form is still a bit…”
Yeon-hee seems to still have trouble adjusting to my appearance. It doesn’t seem like she dislikes it, but she hasn’t really found a way to deal with me yet.
‘Hmph, that can’t happen.’
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