“The vanguard will be handled by the two of us. Then, the sorceress can take center stage, with Su-ran and Yeon-hee positioned on either side. I think the Skeleton Soldier can manage the rear guard and protect the dealers, right?”
“Sounds possible…”
The shield bearer, Han Man-woo, seemed to struggle to hear Yeon-hee’s voice as he leaned in closer, nodding.
“Before we proceed, let’s agree on one thing. What’s our retreat threshold?”
Han Man-woo was asking about the threshold for fleeing when we encountered a mob of Fire Monkeys, which would be to run without looking back when the numbers reached a certain point.
“70. Any more than that, and it’d be tough.”
“50. Anything beyond that would be overwhelming.”
Sorceress Yu Dal-ri called out a number smaller than I expected. But given that we didn’t know Yeon-hee’s summoning abilities precisely, it seemed like a reasonable estimate.
“Alright. If we encounter a group larger than 50, the Skeleton Soldier will lead the way and hightail it.”
The individual creatures might be much weaker than a Big Boar, but Fire Monkeys wield mid-range attacks by throwing fire-associated projectiles from their chests, making them tricky to deal with.
The fact that we were chosen among many volunteers was probably thanks to considering Yeon-hee’s archer capabilities.
“Let’s move.”
Swoosh—
As I felt the bizarre sensation of passing through the gate after a long time and looked around briefly upon entering the dungeon—
“Hmm?!”
I sensed a long stretch of empty space that my perception picked up.
“There’s a hidden space right at the entrance?! This is a first.”
Of course, it wasn’t directly next to the entrance, but there was a passage to the underground that I could reach in just a minute.
Someone probably cleaned out this space before I arrived at this dungeon.
“For now, it seems tough to go in… Maybe I’ll explore it on the way out…”
This is why parties can be inconvenient. I was struggling to think as soon as I came in, but I soon regained my composure and positioned myself behind the sorceress to form our lineup.
– “Please don’t go wandering off by yourself, okay?”
– “The Summoner must have given commands. Instructions don’t always need to be verbal.”
Two shield bearers were clearly discussing me without any intent to hide, and Yeon-hee didn’t seem to mind much either.
They then proceeded to follow the formal route.
“We’ll proceed by circling this area a bit at a time—not charging straight ahead.”
Nod—
The fact that the leader, Han Man-woo, felt the need to reiterate something everyone knew meant that there must be plenty of hunters acting thoughtlessly.
After circling around the entrance for about ten minutes—
Screech!! Screeeech!
Kyaow-kyaow-kyaow!
Han Man-woo raised his hand and clenched his fist. Then, beside him, Un-cheol confirmed with hand signals that there was a group of around 30.
(How? Is it the sorceress?)
Han Man-woo pointed toward the monkeys tossing fruits around near the small trees.
Nod-nod—
Holding a staff that now showed a greener hue than before, Sorceress Yu Dal-ri began to chant her spell.
Ssssshhh—
Yeon-hee tightened her bowstring. Already, armored Ddak-ddak-i was in position around her, and a Slime was wrapped around her arm.
Seeing that, other hunters pouted their lips in awe, and once the binding spell was released, the arrows flew, signaling the start of battle.
The three vanguard members who had rushed in before the spell had activated were quick to smash the monkeys’ heads stuck by the suddenly sprouting vines with their shield and great sword.
Boom—!!
Crash!!
—!!!
The startled Fire Monkey swarm gasped and immediately changed their formation, rummaging through their pockets for something.
Whoosh—
Boom!!
Kyaahk—!
One of them couldn’t even attack and was shot right in the eye by Yeon-hee’s arrow, falling from the tree. Soon, the apparent leader of the mob roared at us, and about ten Fire Monkeys came charging.
“I’m going in!!!”
Someone from the vanguard yelled loudly, but we had already set our defensive line.
“······Cuvalr!!”
As she cast her spell, Sorceress Yu Dal-ri erected a wall of thorny vines that surrounded us in a circle. It only left room for two people to pass through, making for a solid defensive measure to prevent them from encircling us.
“Hah… Whoo… One minute. That’s all I can maintain.”
“Th-That’ll do.”
‘Wow, this sorceress is seriously impressive. Casting this wall at this scale and speed shows her talent.’
The Fire Monkeys were momentarily thrown into disarray when blocked by the thorny wall, but the leader shouted again, and they began assaulting us through the narrow space that was left opened.
I couldn’t block that space by myself, but with the summoned Lizardman 1 beside me, I had the perfect angle to simultaneously hit the monkeys that got through.
Bam!! Whack, whack, whack!!
It was easy to smash down the monkeys hiding by the open entrance wall, and by the time about seven of them had fallen to us, the spell dissipated, leaving everything wide open.
– Your level has increased!
‘For now, I’ll check my stats later.’
“Lizardman 2, guard this individual. Ddak-ddak-i!!”
Swoosh–
With everything wide open, the monkeys that aimed for the seemingly weak Yeon-hee and Yu Dal-ri suddenly recoiled, covering their ears from the irritating sound that echoed.
Screech!!
Perhaps infuriated by the sound, their faces turned bright red. They began to throw fire projectiles at the Armored Ddak-ddak-i, and Lizardman 1 defended by swatting them away with his machete.
Screech?!
Upon being hit by the projectiles aimed at the Armored Ddak-ddak-i, the Fire Monkeys seemed greatly taken aback as they realized the pain was inflicted upon themselves too.
The further the throw, the weaker the reflection damage effect from the Rune of Thorns, but even just preventing active attacks was more than enough.
And I couldn’t help but marvel at the Thievery trait once again.
‘Finally, mid-range attack… I’m on the verge of tears, I’m so moved.’
– You have defeated a Fire Monkey!
– You have gained a small amount of experience.
– You have obtained a Low-Rank Mana Stone. The stone has been transferred to the Summoner’s inventory.
– The Thievery trait has activated.
– You randomly steal a skill from the Fire Monkey.
– You have obtained the skill [Low-Rank Fireball].
Low-Rank Fireball
– Materializes magic into a spherical shape for storage, which you can throw to deal damage when needed.
– Storage: 0/10
‘I thought it was dung, but turns out it was a magical manifestation.’
Upon casting the skill Low-Rank Fireball I got from the Fire Monkey, a globe the size of a bottle cap ignited and floated above my hand.
‘Take this!’
[Dagger Throw]
Magic -2
Adding 1 magic to adjust with the corrected [Low-Rank Fireball] through the Dagger Throw skill allowed me to throw the fireball, hitting the head of a Fire Monkey that was about to hurl its projectile at the Armored Ddak-ddak-i.
Slam- Boom!!
Kyaahh!!
Ukkihhhh?!
Seeing their comrade sway from being hit by their own skill, the remaining two monkeys finally regained their wits and hurriedly retreated to where their leader was.
Kyaahk…
To put out the fire on one rolling on the ground, I rushed over and brought my hammer down hard on its head.
Thud!!
And surprisingly…
– You have defeated a Fire Monkey!
– You have gained a small amount of experience.
– You have obtained a Low-Rank Mana Stone. The stone has been transferred to the Summoner’s inventory.
– The Thievery trait has activated.
– You randomly steal a trait from the Fire Monkey.
– You have obtained the trait [Obez’s Blessing].
‘Oh!! Crazy!!’
Could this be the effect of the 1% Thievery activation from the reward I received after giving the artifact to Yeon-hee last time?
Obez’s Blessing
– A little blessing given by Obez, the origin point of the Fire Monkey tribe.
– Additional damage +20% on fire-based attacks.
‘They call this a little blessing? This is insane?!’
Suddenly, my excitement skyrocketed, but then I spotted the three vanguard members struggling and regrouping around us. As we finished cleaning up our end, they swiftly retreated behind.
‘At least their judgment is quick.’
Pewww- Zoom—
Yeon-hee cleverly covered the retreating vanguard with her arrows.
Sorceress Yu Dal-ri, having run out of magic from creating the vine wall, moved to the back, bringing Ddak-ddak-i along.
“Keep them from coming in!”
Then, as Lizardman 1 and 2 received my instructions, we charged at the retreating Fire Monkeys together.
[Reckless Charge]
Bam-bam-bam!!
Still about 15 of them were left, so I used my skill on the clustered ones, sending the Fire Monkeys tumbling over like bowling pins.
Health: 42/53
Although I took some damage from the fireballs thrown by the monkeys while charging, it was manageable.
As the vanguard trio, now having regrouped, pressed wide against the monkeys, they couldn’t seem to regain their composure and just flailed around.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!!
While their desperate throwing of fireballs could be commended, the two Lizardmen and I were mercilessly taking them down, causing them to start backing off cautiously.
But as the sorceress regained a bit of magic and created another small wall at the back to block their escape route, I launched another charge to take out the apparent leader of the group.
Bam!!
Kieeeek!!
Smack, smack, smack!!
I hammered down on the fallen creature’s face until it resembled a rag, and as I looked around, most of the Fire Monkeys were sprawled on the ground, with a few fleeing in the distance.
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