Even though we ate some meat and recovered a bit of health, the hunters’ situation wasn’t looking too hopeful.
There’s only a limited amount of health that can be recovered in a day.
That limit is pretty high compared to magic power, so unless something special happens, it’s unlikely anyone will reach it.
However, due to the nature of the Nargul dungeon and the drop in stats, along with the swarm of bats, the hunters were pushed to their limits, and they were all experiencing things they really didn’t need to go through.
After eating the meat, three hunters collapsed back onto the ground.
They fell into ‘exhaustion’ and had no way to recover besides getting enough sleep or leveling up.
We had to be especially careful not to end up in the same situation as them.
After the meat party was over, the representatives of five groups, informally called the ‘White Alliance,’ gathered in one place. It seemed the name was loosely based on Ah-rin’s surname.
“One-third of the combat troops are in a state of abnormality.”
Even with Ham Eun-young and Yeom Tae-seok’s abilities, eleven people couldn’t recover. It was a serious issue. Of course, it wasn’t that they couldn’t defeat monsters, but their combat power would definitely take a hit.
Those bats gave barely any experience points, so leveling up seemed out of the question. The collapsed hunters simply needed to rest like a dead mouse for at least a few hours.
“Is it… impossible?”
The hunter, Hong Yong-seok, who had used tracking techniques to follow us, asked Yeon-hee with a noticeably darkened face.
His subdued demeanor wasn’t just from battle fatigue; it was because one of the hunters who died in the earlier fight was originally part of his party.
It seemed he felt a heavy sense of guilt as the party leader for not keeping an eye out for him. However, that was just for a moment. He quickly composed himself and started actively participating in the discussion.
“The hardest part about operating summoned creatures is resummoning those that have died… Even with Il-wol around, it’s hard for me to manage alone.”
Yeon-hee calmly responded to Hong Yong-seok’s question, while vowing to do her best.
Even after that, the five representatives exchanged various opinions, but ultimately the center of the discussion was Yeon-hee.
“How about increasing Ye-seul’s escort troops a bit more? It looks quite precarious from the side.”
“Understood.”
Joo Ye-seul, the light mage, who was in charge of brightening the area with a sphere of light and absorbing damage with a light barrier, received summoned creatures to assist her in her escort duty.
“Bracing with shields up front is quite an arduous and risky task. One person has already suffered a wrist fracture…”
“Let’s proceed with that. But the shield must receive some support…”
The summoned creatures would take over the tanking duty that was originally shared with the melee warriors.
“Um… That summoned creature named Il-wol is quite powerful… Is there a reason to force him to rest during the break…?”
There was an opinion that questioned why I, who was strong enough to fight off a swarm of bats by myself, and the skeleton with no stamina concept had to rest together during break time.
‘I remember fighting quite a bit during break… It seems others aren’t quite satisfied…’
It sounded harsh from my perspective, but it was reasonable enough for them to wonder since they saw that resummoned creatures had all their states reset, including health.
There was even a slightly extreme suggestion that if he was resting due to lack of magic power, why not just break him and resummon a new one?
“……”
Yeon-hee, who had generally agreed with most topics, suddenly stopped and just stared at the floor regarding this part.
Her wildly shaking eyes revealed her tumultuous emotions.
“W-What does that mean…?”
Yeon-hee struggled to respond calmly, but she couldn’t continue speaking.
To the onlooker, she seemed to maintain a semblance of composure, but I could clearly feel the rising anger within her just behind.
That anger wasn’t directed at those making such suggestions but rather a self-loathing stemming from her inability to argue against that opinion rationally.
“That’s a bit presumptuous, but I must say a word about that.”
When Yeon-hee began biting her lip, Yeom Tae-seok stepped forward.
“Although I’ve only traveled with Il-wol for a short time, that skeleton is no ordinary summoned creature. In fact, I think I could believe it if a seasoned hunter said he was wearing full armor.”
“W-Well… looking at his face, I don’t think that’s it…”
A woman who had been making various suggestions throughout the meeting tilted her head while staring at my jaw. She was the same one who said she couldn’t understand why I needed to rest.
Though it was a somewhat logical opinion, I wished she would at least look in the mirror first.
“I’m not judging solely based on appearance. Regardless, from my perspective, Il-wol is already doing his best. I hope he doesn’t get pushed further.”
As Yeom Tae-seok firmly asserted, the remaining four representatives had no choice but to close their mouths. No one had the courage to refute the words of him, the de facto leader of the ‘White Alliance.’
……
Breaking the brief silence, Hong Yong-seok spoke up.
“In fact, I did think I was lacking in conscience. However, since all opinions must be voiced, I had no choice but to bring this matter up. I’ll apologize on behalf of everyone.”
Hong Yong-seok seemed rather relieved. He must be the type who dislikes owing anyone anything.
“No need for that. The summoner also understands this much.”
“……”
‘… Doesn’t exactly seem to be an understanding expression…’
As I gently placed my hand on the still fuming Yeon-hee’s shoulder, she finally looked up at me and bit her lower lip hard.
‘Why… do you make that face? It hurts my heart.’
What I thought was a minor issue seemed to be interpreted differently by Yeon-hee.
She needed to be a little more rational about how the other hunters viewed me.
It wouldn’t be good if word spread that I was being coddled.
With his characteristic cheerful smile, Hong Yong-seok bowed slightly to me and apologized. Bowing to a monster, what a peculiar guy he is.
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
“Uh…? Oh, yeah. Haha, thanks.”
His lips formed a more steady line, perhaps realizing what my gesture meant.
Still, I highly valued that he took the time to speak on behalf of the opinions his hunters requested, even if it differed from his own thoughts.
It seemed that Hong Yong-seok thought the meeting had gone rather well, as he moved toward his companions with a brighter expression than when he entered.
‘Phew… It was tense over nothing.’
Everyone was in a sensitive state. The moment anyone caught even the slightest hint of an argument, it could have led to an emotional explosion.
Ending with that level of tension while wrapping everything up neatly was rare, so I felt quite satisfied.
After the meeting, I took a moment to walk around the tent to clear my thoughts. My head felt heavy as if it was about to burst even before we started.
The opinion that I didn’t need to take a break during rest time came from people only looking at my seemingly fine exterior.
Even during breaks, I kept my senses swirling around, constantly checking if any new variables had appeared.
I also needed to keep an eye on who among the hunters was in a dangerous state and ensure there were no clashes.
But the most important task was to counter the sound waves the bats were continuously sending out.
Those waves had a debilitating effect if you received them for longer than a certain time, so it was necessary to manage them steadily.
Every single one of those actions drained my mental energy.
Continuously depleting mental energy without any rest was tough even for me, the skeleton with [Calm].
Even now, the dirty faces of the baby bats were floating in my mind like an afterimage. I might need some therapy after this dungeon.
‘… Am I not the most dangerous one here?’
Even my [Calm] that settled my intense emotions was struggling to combat that steady erosion of mental damage.
In the end, I had to find another solution myself. I also… needed a break.
‘Yeon-hee…’
I stepped into the tent that Yeon-hee had augmented into a pretty large size.
There was a hunter with a tent that could connect with Ah-rin’s, so I was able to make it feel more like a barracks.
And within the tent, another smaller tent had been set up.
It was like a tent within a tent.
This was also one of the items the other party’s hunters had offered, saying they could take what they needed from their inventory since they were grateful for the meat.
Among those, there were a few decent poles that could be used as supports, and with those, we managed to create a tent just for Yeon-hee and me.
When Baek Ah-rin asked that hunter why he was carrying poles, he replied that he wanted to become the protagonist of a martial arts novel that uses pole techniques, so he always carried them around.
I nodded as if I understood.
In fact, I used to carry a sword in my past life. I held onto the hope that just maybe one of my attack skills would manifest.
I shifted my gaze toward the tent. It looked decent enough when we made it, but looking again…
‘This is shabby…’
I had said I would do my best to make it, but it was really just a shabby tent made from a pole covered with Big Boar leather.
It was incomparable to Ah-rin’s tent, but I had no choice but to make do with this makeshift structure for the [Mimicry] I would need to use later.
“I-I’ll take a one-hour break. P-Please take care.”
“Understood. Don’t worry and rest well.”
Yeon-hee said to Yeom Tae-seok as she went into the tent first.
Yeom Tae-seok then stepped outside immediately and entered a guard duty system with the summoned creatures.
When Yeon-hee knelt to enter the tent, her ears seemed to be very red for some reason.
As I was about to follow her inside, I felt a gaze from behind, so I turned my head slightly.
“Hm… Hmmmm…”
“Hmm… This is a bit…”
“……”
Noh Ha-yoon, Baek Ah-rin, Bae Joo-ah, and Ham Eun-young were all standing behind me, staring at me intently.
‘···’
I couldn’t figure out why they were doing that, so I stood there looking at them for a moment until Baek Ah-rin groggily said something and then they all scattered.
“I have good hearing. Il-wol.”
“Clap…?”
I didn’t even understand the last words she spoke.
There was no way they knew about my strange relationship with Yeon-hee… Could it be they sensed something awkward in the atmosphere? Maybe being a Rabbit Beastman has its perks in intuition?
‘… I really don’t get it. Whatever.’
The situation of a stunning beauty and a male monster entering the same tent must feel a bit peculiar to the girls…
Since anything that happened here would be impossible to discuss outside, I decided not to dwell on it.
I shook my head and pushed myself into the tent. It was too cramped for someone of my size to fit in.
Yeon-hee pressed herself as far inside as possible, and I sat down cross-legged, feeling like the space was completely full.
I carefully covered the gaps in the tent with leather.
“Um… How many minutes are left…?”
Yeon-hee asked in a voice so small that only I could hear her, wanting to know how much time was left until the [Mimicry].
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