– Damn it, I don’t even have an artifact, let alone ore!
– I’d rather cut down this pillar and sell it for some cash.
– It seems like there’s nothing on the ground? Am I really expected to survive here for a week?
– … Water?
– I think we need to find water first.
– Shouldn’t we all gather and check how much food and water we each have?
The hunters, who had been obsessed with finding artifacts, searched diligently for 20 minutes but naturally found nothing, and began to slowly wake up to the reality of the situation.
We have to last a week, and honestly, people can survive on just water.
But that applies only in cases of accidents or disasters. Can we really survive fighting off countless monsters, including bats?
The hunters were already quite exhausted. It’s more of a mental torture than physical.
‘Let’s think about resting after we finish the first wave.’
Thud thud thud- thud thud-
‘It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.’
It was time to prepare for battle against those guys.
(Tell them that a bat with hooks is going to attack from the ceiling.)
(This monster sure is an unusual one.)
The spirit Ran scratched its head with a wing, relaying my message to Yeon-hee, who gasped and shared the information with the party members.
“Hook… Bat? What’s that? Ugh…”
“At least it’s not a bug, right?”
“That’s true, but how many are there?”
They started to stretch while asking me questions.
“As for the numbers… they said it’s hard to count.”
“… Did Il-wol ever mention he couldn’t count?”
“Never… he said it’s too small to comprehend.”
“Whoa… I think a shield would be better than a mace.”
“Yeah, you all should switch to wider weapons too.”
At Yeon-hee’s command, the Lizardmen and Orc squad grabbed the circular shields given by Ddung-i. Ddung-i seemed to have bulked up quite a bit upon entering the cave, whether it was due to a stat increase or not.
Those who hadn’t received shields were wielding axes, but swinging those sideways would be far more effective than swords.
“Ugh, I should’ve saved [Ice Storm].”
Noh Ha-yoon smacked her lips in regret. Are we really only allowed to use it once a day?
‘Shouldn’t have wasted that just to feel good.’
Thud thud thud thud- thud thud-
– Hmm? Is something falling from the ceiling?
– Oh…? It seems like something is up in the sky?
As more dust falls from the ceiling, other hunters began to notice the bats.
Whoosh- thud thud thud-
Before long, gravel began to rain down from the ceiling.
“Cough- cough- damn! What the hell is this cough! I’m going to choke on it!”
– Contaminated ‘Hook Bat’ dust is densely accumulating in the area.
– Movement speed decreased by 10%.
– Health recovery additionally decreased by 20%.
– Magic recovery decreased by 30%.
“Damn it, what the hell is this ridiculous penalty?”
“Seriously? You cut our stats from the start and now you’re hitting us again? What a bunch of lunatics!”
Watching the hunters glow with rage after inhaling the dust, I figured they received a message about their stats dropping.
Of course, I lack the concept of breathing, so my stats didn’t change at all, but if my memory serves me right, the drop in the hunters’ stats should be significant.
“Ahhhhh- this is a nightmare! Please tell me it’s just a dream…”
It certainly qualified as a nightmare.
We entered the dungeon already with a 30% drop in health recovery, and now an additional 20%… It was a hellish environment with our recovery ability halved, plus drops in movement speed and magic.
I handed Yeon-hee six masks.
“Oh, buying those was a good idea.”
Yeon-hee quickly donned the masks I handed her and passed them to her companions.
“Here, put this on!”
“Uh? Thank you!”
“Ooh, thanks so much.”
“… Thanks…”
These masks were made from products of the Ent Forest dungeon. While wearing them, we can prevent the decline of stats.
On the day we cleared the Ent Forest dungeon, we stored the monster carcasses and later asked Yeon-hee to make around 200 more masks.
Thanks to that, we were able to use them effectively during the Guchangro dungeon break, and now the same applies.
‘200 should be enough, but I might want to stock up even more just in case.’
If I had the ability to [craft], I could create consumables more easily. Masks are a bit tricky.
The Ent masks won’t block this dungeon’s dying energy, but they’re strong enough to handle this dust.
I hesitated to hand over the masks sooner, knowing that if our party members suffered a bit, maybe they’d be more prepared in the future.
Just from glancing at Noh Ha-yoon and Yeom Tae-seok, I could tell they’d already put on their masks.
Noh Ha-yoon had experience from the Guchangro dungeon break dealing with the spore snail, so it made sense she’d be cautious.
Among the other hunters, some had masks as well, likely leftovers from the Ent Forest or, like us, always keeping a certain quantity handy.
But it seemed they only had just enough for themselves.
Hunters without masks were trying to look as pitiful as possible, begging for masks but couldn’t acquire any from others.
When I handed Bae Joo-ah thirty masks, she nodded immediately.
As she waved the masks, hunters, who were pinching their noses and mouths, rushed in like they’d give anything for them. The hunters who were already wearing masks seemed to realize they needed to stock up as well.
It was no surprise the sheer amount of mana stones and runes flowed out from their possession. Masks that used to cost only a few bucks transformed into the price of several thousands.
“Can we settle accounts after we get out?”
Nod-
Now the hunters began to cluster around our party. We positioned ourselves against the massive central pillar.
Chirp chirp chirp-
There were so many bats I couldn’t keep count, but at least over twenty thousand of them had shaken off the gravel that covered their bodies.
Then they began emitting invisible sound waves in all directions and easily located their target. Naturally, that target was us.
Chirp-!
Flap flap flap──!
After flapping their wings loudly, they started to descend.
– Kyaaaaaa- They’re coming! So many bats!
– What the hell-! There’re way too many!
– Area attack first!
– We have more than thirty people, and yet only four mages?
I wanted to chime in that the magician ratio among awakened ones was normally that low. I mean, that’s still quite a decent amount.
I shook my head and sprinted up the pillar. As I did, the bats that were densely falling split and flew towards me.
“Split up 2 and 3!”
As Lizard 2 and 3 took on the role of provocateurs and bolted to either side, the half of the bats darting towards us split into three again.
Yet the bats soaring toward me maintained their massive numbers.
I clearly had nothing to eat…
I guessed their constant waves were specialized in detecting magic or another similar essence rather than just their appearance.
Flame-
‘Let’s finish the elemental quest first.’
[Fireball] [Fireball] [Fireball]
Boom boom boom-!
They were small creatures, but they came in large numbers, so even if I spammed fireballs carelessly, they burst across a wide range.
They turned to ash without even crying out in their last moments.
And.
– Defeat 10,000 enemies using an elemental skill. (1399/10,000)
‘Done! Phew…’
Given how small they are and how they tend to cluster together, I had been a bit worried about whether or not they counted as a single entity. Fortunately, the quest tally counted accurately.
Moreover, with just three fireballs, I had phenomenally taken down nearly fifty enemies.
‘The elemental quest will be done in no time!’
Of course, it was only possible due to their tight clustering, but the massive number still hanging from the ceiling ensured I’d continue to profit like this for a while.
– Hook Bat defeated!
– Hook Bat defeated!
.
.
.
Messages about kills swirled in my head, and soon one of their abilities was stolen.
– Trait [Thievery] activated!
– Target does not possess any skills. The probability of stealing the trait [Thievery] is increased by 5%.
– Randomly steals the traits of the Hook Bat.
– Acquired trait [Invisible Bloodsucking]!
‘Oh, that’s right, I got another trait. Ugh… more stuff related to eating.’
Following that disappointing message, another one popped up that lifted my spirits.
– The newly acquired trait merges with skill [Eating]!
– Acquired skill [Minor Devouring]!
‘Whoa— that’s great! They do share some similarities!’
The skill [Eating], which allows recovery of health and magic from consuming portions of living or dead creatures, now also grants the effect of absorbing blood.
I nodded with considerable satisfaction, but that’s not all.
– Skill [Minor Devouring] merges with skill [Basic Transformation].
The skill [Basic Transformation], gained by defeating Earth Puppies, is that quirky ability to turn monster bones into mana stones, which I’ve never once utilized. Now, that skill has fused with the newly merged one!
– Three different abilities have merged.
– Acquired hidden skill [Essence Devouring]!
‘Whoa! Hidden skill?! Out of nowhere?’
It was completely unexpected. But thinking about it, since [Basic Transformation] required consumption to be activated, they surely had some commonality.
【Essence Devouring】
– Consume parts of living and deceased beings to analyze their essence and create small minions.
– Recovers 10 health and magic upon consumption.
‘Whoa… is this really… a small minion?’
It reminded me of the [Demon Servant] ability that Nam Yong-seok possessed a few days ago.
Of course, that ability controlled living beings, so they’re fundamentally different concepts, but the aspect of summoning a minion is the same.
I thought that if I ever acquired the [Demon Servant] ability one day, this one might merge with it as well.
– Achievement [Pioneer] activated.
– All Attributes +3
Acquiring [Invisible Bloodsucking], [Minor Devouring], and [Essence Devouring] raised all stats by 3.
‘…… This is terrifying.’
I was seriously getting chills. Regardless of justification, receiving such a flurry of rewards was nerve-wracking.
In that moment of shock caused by a storm of messages, the bats’ attacks kept coming without pause.
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