– The body becomes much more agile due to [Acceleration].
– Reaction speed increases by 10%.
‘Definitely… this is amazing. The agility improvement doesn’t really show in numbers, but my bone body feels a bit more human-like, right? At this point…’
Nodding as I personally felt Lan’s talkative ability, I soon snorted and looked at the group of Big Boars approaching us.
‘Two adults and almost four grown babies. This might be a bit tough.’
…
I could hear Yeon-hee’s incantation murmuring from the back, and soon, Lime was summoned and wrapped around her arm. Was that a signal to start? The Big Boar let out a terrifying roar.
Kkiiik—!!
Kkuuiik!!
It seemed they judged they were in an advantageous position and activated [Reckless Charge] right from the start, charging towards us.
[Acid Spray]
As I whipped my head from left to right, sprinkling the acid, the charging fools staggered back, and I took the opportunity to dive at the babies first.
[Reckless Charge]
As I dashed to attack the babies, the two fully grown Big Boars flinched in surprise and changed direction to follow me.
‘Too late, you little brats!’
However, my movements, much faster than usual, accurately slammed into the center of the babies who were just wobbling around, looking around their surroundings.
Pufferpuk—!!
Two babies were sent flying a few meters as they were pushed off my shoulder, and with the same momentum, I swung my club and caved in one of their heads.
Kkiiiik!!
Meanwhile, Yeon-hee moved swiftly with increased activity, rapidly firing arrows. However, her accuracy dropped significantly while moving, and no Big Boar was injured by the blind shots.
Nonetheless, Yeon-hee’s attacks were effective because they put the brakes on the movements of those creatures whose only method of attack was charging forward.
‘It really feels like my level jumped by three or four levels in an instant. We’ve got a fantastic ally on our side…’
Just a moment ago, the only way to dodge a Big Boar’s charge was to time my throw perfectly, but now I was able to calmly evade and even aim for the critical spots of the charging guys.
Bak! Crack-!
‘My movements have improved, so applying strength has become easier.’
“Kyaak—!!”
Even so, dodging the Big Boar’s charge while fighting was no easy task. Especially for Yeon-hee, who had to attack from a distance, it must have been a nightmare.
Eventually, after collapsing their formation, I returned to Yeon-hee’s side in stealth mode.
Then, I charged again from the side of the Big Boar, which already had several arrows stuck in its body.
Puhh—!!
Kkiick!!
Did the arrows embed deeply into it? The creature’s short scream didn’t seem normal. After rolling a few times, it swayed and struggled to stand.
‘I’ve subdued one…’
“Lime! Move to Il-wol!”
Yeon-hee shook off the slime that had been thrown off her arm, and it attached itself to my right arm, acting as a shield, while Lan cast [Acceleration] over my head.
Tadadad—!
So, there was no reason for me to stand still and wait for the attack.
‘I’ll grab all the aggro.’
I exaggeratedly leaped toward the center of their formation, and just as expected, they slightly pulled back their butts, preparing to counterattack.
But charging at their enormous sharp horns was akin to committing suicide. After reaching a certain distance, I sprinkled acid and then fled to the side, repeatedly doing this as I created distance.
In the meantime, Yeon-hee continued her arrow attacks, and one by one, the babies began to fall to the ground.
‘Their low intelligence allows for this kind of hunting.’
If they were goblins, they probably wouldn’t be following me around.
Ughh— no more…
Then I felt the excess vitality drain from my body, and Lan’s form above me began to slowly blur.
(Hmm… I think that’s enough for today, Master. The first battle was quite enjoyable…)
With that statement, Lan’s figure vanished.
‘Well, you held out for quite a while, the power of the artifact indeed.’
It was something that had initially been hard to maintain for even a brief moment, but using it for several minutes was more than satisfactory.
Kkiiik…
And as I crushed the last Big Boar’s head with my club, the battle came to an end. A defeat message popped up, but I still didn’t level up. However, a gentle light began to blossom from Yeon-hee’s body.
“Heh… that was tough.”
In the meantime, Yeon-hee, who looked so worn out she had dark circles under her eyes, sank down into her seat. However, after taking a moment to catch her breath, she suddenly thought of something and pulled out a gray summoning scroll.
It must be the reward she received from leveling up just now; unlike usual, was she going to summon in the dungeon?
“I definitely feel like I need more summoned creatures.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
Before she could finish speaking, she unfolded the summoning scroll and began to chant. Fortunately, there were no enemies nearby, but there was no time to waste.
Was she taking that into account? Her chant speed was much faster than usual.
And moments later, a familiar portal opened, and something small with a key walked out.
It was…
‘Kobold.’
Similar in stature to goblins, with pale green skin, they primarily inhabit caves like slimes.
Their intelligence is lower than goblins, but they are stronger and always carry a bundle on their shoulders filled with stones or ores.
Even now, it was carrying a small bundle the size of its head, looking around with a foolish expression.
“Wow, it’s a kid I’ve never seen before. Is that a Kobold?”
Nod—
Among the lowest rank of summoned creatures, there’s nothing special, but it’s better than a Skeleton Soldier. Just the fact that it carries that heavy bundle of stone indicates that it has basic strength.
The creature, with its long ears perked up, approached me and bowed deeply.
‘Hmm? What’s that all about?’
But soon realizing it had bowed to the wrong person, it stood back up and went to bow before Yeon-hee.
“Wow… amazing… do you understand what I’m saying?”
When Yeon-hee asked, the creature, who had been momentarily dazed, quickly nodded its head vigorously.
‘Definitely showing some intelligence… I should probably only give it the simplest tasks. Like pushing away enemies approaching Yeon-hee.’
“Alright, since the situation is what it is, let’s quickly give it a name and get to work.”
Though I wondered if it could just be named later at home, I remembered that the status window only appeared after Yeon-hee called its name.
“Okay, your name will be Ddung-i. Your expression looks like Ddung-i, hehe—”
It was a truly uninspired name, but as soon as it was named, the Kobold, which had been hopping around in happiness, began rummaging through its bundle and suddenly presented something to Yeon-hee.
“Huh? A gift right after we meet?”
And it was surprising, indeed, a Low-Rank Mana Stone.
“What?! Are you just giving this to me?”
Nod nod—
When Yeon-hee said thank you, it jumped around happily like a child.
‘What’s going on here? A golden goblin or something?’
Anyway, that was only for a moment, and Yeon-hee commanded the newly named “Ddung-i” to stay close and block any attacking enemies.
Immediately, it nodded with a serious expression and pulled a few long, large pebbles out of its bundle and dropped them on the ground.
‘I would expect it to throw ordinary pebbles, but this one is different. But it looks a bit different?’
The pebbles that hit the ground were oddly similar in shape, and upon closer inspection, they had handles, resembling hammers sized just right for a child’s hands.
‘Hmm… I want that.’
The equipment I wouldn’t have even glanced at before now seemed unusually valuable today.
[Ddung-i, give me that hammer.]
When I spoke to it, the creature, who had been staring at me with its big eyes, willingly handed over the hammer.
‘That was easy?’
Using someone else’s equipment drastically reduces its performance, and it’s considered a taboo among hunters, but what about among summoned creatures?
=====
Kobold’s Crude Stone Hammer
– Attack Power +4
– Durability 30/30
=====
‘Ooooh!! I can actually use this? And the performance doesn’t drop? Awesome!!’
It was even twice as powerful as the rough cudgel I was using, with 10 more durability.
I grasped the stone hammer, a bit longer than my palm, and swung it around.
Swish— Swish—
“Waaah~! Il-wol spinning the hammer is so cool!”
Heh…
After demonstrating a more flamboyant spin with the stone hammer, I nodded in satisfaction.
‘It’s rustic and small, but that makes it easier to handle.’
Just by summoning one Kobold, I not only got a mana stone but equipment too; I felt incredibly lucky. Yeon-hee seemed to feel the same, humming happily as she began to skin a baby Big Boar.
We did have one more encounter when some goblins caught the scent and found us, but we managed to finish slaughtering without any issues.
During that battle, Kobold ‘Ddung-i’ showed that it could do its part reasonably well. Its reaction speed was slow, but having one ally next to Yeon-hee made a huge difference in the overall situation.
Just looking at that foolish face made me want to smack it, leaving me genuinely curious if it had a passive provocation.
After washing off some of the blood at the lakeside, we began to move toward the exit again.
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