Yeon-hee seems to be growing inside and out, so out of appreciation, I touched her ears one more time.
“Ah-ahh— why do you keep touching my ears… Huh…”
‘… You like it, right?’
I touched both her ears a few more times and returned to my spot with her, her face slightly flushed.
‘How to kill the remaining time…’
It was fortunate that I had found a position that was easy to defend, but even I, as an Undead, was feeling a bit fatigued, so I wondered how the other hunters were holding up.
When I was at a loss about what to do, I looked at my status window.
‘Wow, it’s increased a lot.’
My sense stat had entered the 90s, and the distance I could maintain from Yeon-hee had suddenly increased to 800 meters.
Below the status window, a reward message for clearing the hidden dungeon was flashing.
‘Ah, this is what I got.’
I was definitely a little out of it.
– Hidden Dungeon Rewards have been granted.
– Acquired the Military Greaves of the Forgotten Kingdom!
=====
Unfinished Military Greaves of the Forgotten Kingdom
– One of many military supplies developed by the court engineers of the Tanemoro Kingdom, unfortunately, it’s unfinished.
– When you jump with pure power, you can jump 1.5 times higher.
– When chased by an enemy with stronger magic power, your movement speed increases by 30%.
=====
‘Huh…? Tanemoro?!’
It was another artifact made by the same people who created the gliding cloak I was wearing. In my previous life, this wasn’t what I got, so it was the first time the rewards had changed.
‘Well… since the dungeon difficulty has changed, I guess they needed to give me this kind of buff.’
I was pleased, and my body was buzzing with excitement. Looking closely, the options seemed to pair well with the cloak, and I was hoping the hidden function of the military cloak, which was currently at level one, would be unlocked.
A cold grey greave that had not been painted floated into my palm.
Without waiting, I immediately put the greave on my leg, and it snugly adhered to my limb, adjusting its size automatically.
‘How can I not be excited about this?!’
In situations where I had to run away as much as now, I thought this might be the best artifact ever.
Thud— thud— thud—
Not just me, hunters everywhere could be seen wearing artifacts with expressions of joy after receiving their rewards.
Half of them had collapsed, exhausted before even checking their rewards, so the ones still awake must have had quite the greed. Still, it was impressive.
Since most of them were experiencing artifacts for the first time, their reactions were very enthusiastic, and I couldn’t help but feel good as well.
‘Let’s see what I can do.’
I concealed myself so that people wouldn’t be surprised and activated [Stealth] before jumping high into the sky with all my might.
Swoosh—!
“Whoa! Are you crazy?!”
The last time I had jumped with all my strength was when I had encountered teeth with Yeon-hee, but now I leaped to a far higher position, leaving me astounded.
How high did I jump? Maybe around 40 meters?
Since a floor of an apartment is just under 4 meters, I had jumped well over the height of a 10-story building.
Wow…
High-rank hunters of the enhancement type lived in a world like this.
– The Military Cloak of the Forgotten Kingdom’s level 2 special ability has been unlocked!
‘Of course! If it didn’t unlock at this height, it would be absurd.’
=====
Military Cloak of the Forgotten Kingdom
– A cloak developed with great effort by the court engineers of the Tanemoro Kingdom that enables gliding.
– Additional effects activate when you jump with pure strength.
1st Level: The [Recognition Disruption Magic] is activated for 10 minutes after beginning gliding.
2nd Level: While in 1st level state, you can fly instead of glide, and flying speed increases by 20%.
3rd Level: ???
=====
“Clap, clap, clap!”
‘This is totally amazing!’
I was in a place where no one could see me, so I started to dance in mid-air.
I was already feeling the limitations of simple gliding. There were times when I used [High-speed Flight] without needing to just to change direction.
‘Hmm… At this rate, there’s no need to wait here any longer.’
I began to slowly descend towards the ground, spreading the waves of my senses.
The number of undead in my sensory range was increasing, and there were still the dagger quests left.
Although I was mentally drained, since I was not the only one without a concept of stamina, I had to put in more effort.
(Ran, let’s go together.)
(Hmm? I want to be next to you, Master.)
(If something happens, it would be better for you to be there so you can return quickly.)
(Hmph… I guess that’s fine.)
I explained to Yeon-hee what role I was intending to take, and she nodded her head quietly before saying,
“Don’t go too far, okay? If something happens, come back right away. It’s a must!”
Nod—
Hearing that I would be leaving made the hunters who were still awake worried, but once they understood that my departure would draw the enemies’ attention away from this place, they even quietly supported me.
The spirit Ran who had climbed onto my shoulder immediately cast [Acceleration].
With a message letting me know that my body felt lighter and more agile, I dashed forward.
It was truly a movement like living lightning.
– Whoa!
Ignoring someone’s exclamation, I moved to my maximum range.
‘Did they target us earlier because we had just come out of the dungeon?’
The giant horde that had charged at us earlier was nowhere to be seen, only about 50 scattered monsters remained.
Of course, these kinds of creatures would form a large force as they gathered, so I started eliminating every one I could see.
I stored the bombs I crafted and dealt with the enemies using fireballs and daggers.
Thanks to the artifact I had just obtained, my magic power had risen to 423, so I felt no burden in spamming fireballs.
– Acquired Rune of Wrath.
– Acquired Rune of Wrath.
‘It seems runes drop more frequently when hunting solo.’
The values were low, but money is money.
Thinking of them as piles of money scattered everywhere made me feel even more invigorated as I continued my sweep.
About 20 minutes passed as I rampaged through the area.
In the distance, I spotted a horde of giant skeletons.
These were different from the ones that had chased us earlier. How many of these things could there be?
‘The numbers can’t be infinite; I need to eliminate as many as I can to minimize any potential damage from dungeon breaks.’
I utilized the performance of my now level 2 cloak, entered flying mode, and began flying around in [Stealth], layering the enemies with Flame Marks.
– Grrraaargh?!
Since they were so large, they might not have noticed the tickling from my dagger? Their reactions were seriously delayed.
[Flame Explosion]
Ka-boom—!
Three consecutive flame explosions detonated, and the giant skeletons dissipated without a single bone fragment left.
The immense flames instantly drew the aggro of the surrounding monsters.
– Slightly increased control over thorns!
– Slightly increased control over thorns!
When I defeated three of the giant skeletons, I received a reward of increased thorn control.
‘Hmm… I guess they are weaker than the one I fought in the gorge. The increase is negligible.’
Still, it was a pleasant thing to see an increase in thorn control. It seemed that I was gaining a lot from this dungeon.
I lured the swarming monsters away from the main camp in a guerrilla tactic.
One hour.
Three hours.
Then five hours passed.
*Phew— I wonder how many I’ve killed?*
While waiting for my magic power to recover, I kept running away and whenever my magic filled back up, I would engage again. The efficiency wasn’t great, but I think I’ve destroyed over a thousand.
However, I felt my limit in drawing aggro was nearing.
‘Two skeleton knights… and behind them is that guy.’
That troublesome one was roaming about at a distance with two skeleton knights.
Of course, they were falling behind compared to the ones from the hidden dungeon, but facing two of them simultaneously in my current drained state would not be easy.
It was the same with the Thousand Legion under my command.
Moreover, Nargul was also present, but unlike the skeleton knight from the hidden dungeon, these two seemed to respect each other’s territory without being hostile.
They were getting closer to where our main camp was located.
It had been five hours since we came out, but the recovery of my companions was still incomplete.
If we were to engage in battle with troops like theirs now, it was clear our alliance would crumble.
‘There should be another group strong enough to fight around here somewhere.’
Ideally, there were thousands of hunters entering Nargul’s dungeon.
When this space twisted for the first time, not everyone would have fallen victim; they must be fighting and holding out somewhere like us.
‘This is the most populated place. It’s impressive how they are maintaining it with this number.’
Gathered at the extreme right edge, about a hundred or so were clustered together forming a semi-circle around where our main camp was.
A small island risen roundly in the center of a bubbling swamp.
Although calling it an island was misleading due to its small size, it was more than enough space for a hundred people to gather and rest.
The hunters crowded on the island were battling the undead crawling across the swamp.
‘Smart move.’
As long as they can maintain a steady supply of water and food, this was an excellent terrain.
I had no idea how they managed to cross over to that spot, but surely one of them must have had the ability to walk over the swamp.
I wanted to move a bit closer to observe the people’s faces, but I sensed a barrier surrounding the island, preventing me from advancing further.
‘Their expressions seem… gloomy.’
The battle appeared manageable, but food seemed to be a major concern. And given the enclosed terrain, there would also be a significant mental strain.
Even now, it was evident they were split into two groups.
The group that seemed more anxious was likely low on food.
‘Okay. If it comes down to it, I can lure them over here.’
I dashed back towards the area where the skeleton knights and Nargul were located.
My bombs and magic were fully stocked.
Not long after I set off, I spotted them.
Nargul and two skeleton knights were positioned in the center of my view.
I approached in stealth, but the Nargul in the middle suddenly shone with a flash from the staff it was holding, breaking my stealth.
‘That wand had a detection barrier built in.’
To be precise, it was the power of the jewel embedded in the wand’s socket.
[Wroooar—!]
Nargul was the first to sense my presence and ordered its minions to eliminate me.
The scene unfolded where a tremendous army charged solely to catch me, shaking the ground.
Meanwhile, the skeleton knights were also spreading out with their Thousand Legion charging toward me.
‘Was my presence that annoying?’
Honestly, I found it a bit absurd.
Having planned on maintaining about 20% of my stamina while engaging in guerrilla warfare, I had intended to flee to that camp of hunters if needed, but they concentrated their entire force on me? Were they crazy?
‘Well, whatever!’
[Skeleton Bomb]
Boom—!
As always, the beginning started with an explosion—!
– Defeated skeleton infantry…
– Defeated giant skeleton spearmen…
– Defeated skeleton archers…
Endless notifications for defeating skeleton soldier-type monsters persisted.
Among them, having defeated the skeleton archer, I obtained the [Low-Level Enhancement] skill, which fused with [Dagger Throw], raising its level by 3 to max.
With the [Pioneer] achievement, I acquired the [Low-Level Enhancement], and each stat increased just a little.
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