Pararararak-!
The reactions of my companions upon seeing over a hundred bats swirling in black around me were amusing.
– “Eek! What in the world is that? Wasn’t it supposed to be just one summon?!”
– “No… What the heck is going on? Why does Il-wol wake up with new abilities?”
– “How can a healthy summoned creature hold so many abilities? It’s just one of them, right?”
Yeon-hee was pouring with cold sweat in response to their barrage of questions. Unlike before, when she was cautious about showing her abilities to teammates, these days she used them without hesitation, which was something she would have to manage moving forward.
Thanks to that, I had to see those surprised faces every time she showcased her powers, but watching their amazement was a modest joy.
– “Awesome… a combination of skeletons and bats… I wish our ‘Azraelon’ could do something like that with me.”
(…)
I also heard Ham Eun-young mumbling while looking into her hand mirror. The cat in the mirror remained silent, but I thought it never made any moves similar to a joint attack with Eun-young. It was likely to protect her. Given how powerful it was, it probably thought it could harm Eun-young.
“By the way, I guess that guy’s name is Azraelon. Pretty decent for a demon, huh?” I smirked at the thought of teasing the cat with such a vintage name and gave a simple command to the Gori Squad.
“Fly over the heads of the guys chasing us and dive down for an attack.”
“Beeep?”
“… This isn’t a complicated command; you shouldn’t tilt your head, Gori. You’re the only one who understands me.”
“Beeeee!”
Gori stood at the front, showing its determination to give it a shot.
“When Il-wol gives the signal, we’ll join in.”
“Sounds good. The bats should at least buy us some time.”
“Right. We’ll probably have to face C-rank hunters of upper-middle tier combat power. That’s what Il-wol said.”
“Please… those guys can just go to a B-rank dungeon or something. It’s not like we’re getting tens of billions for doing this!”
Our party was steadily climbing through regular methods, but the surrounding folks weren’t leaving us alone, which could understandably be annoying.
Pararararak-
Soon, over a hundred bats soared into the sky in unison and quickly moved to the rear.
“Fast?!”
I gauged their speed and signaled, causing the party members to panic slightly at the early signal but turn back and dash away.
The guys chasing us quickly noticed the bats and our team changing direction and realized we had them in our sights before they could react.
‘Someone has good eyesight.’
However, Gori Squad was so fast that they couldn’t dodge in time, and their moment of indecision set us up perfectly.
Kwadazazazak──!
Squeak─!
– “Aaaah!! My arm! You trash!”
– “It’s so bright, how can there be so many bats?!”
– “They’re Yeon-hee’s summoned creatures! It’s a mutant cave bat! First, cast [Light]!”
[Good Hearing]
With the trait I got from Hanjaring, I could hear their conversations, even from a distance, as if they were speaking right next to me.
‘Not bad?’
This trait shouldn’t normally be this effective, but it seemed to synergize well with my senses. And one of them was smart enough to use light magic.
[Sphere of Light]
As the swarm of bats was dazzled by several glowing spheres rising into the air, their flying patterns wildly deviated, spreading outwards.
– “Stay calm. These things aren’t a big deal. If we handle them calmly…”
But it appeared that the one acting as leader hadn’t grasped the situation regarding his comrades.
– “Aaaah! My arm, my arm…!”
Dozens of bats swiped through the air with sharp hooks, and as a result, one man’s arm withered like a mummy.
Other hunters also sustained injuries, leaving a bewildered atmosphere. They seemed taken aback that bats could pierce through their defenses.
‘Nice, it works against C-rank levels.’
The penetration ability of the hooks was considerable, meaning the blood-sucking was significant as well. I initially thought of using them moderately for distraction, but if a hundred bats had this kind of destructive capability, I needed to reconsider.
– “Cura!”
One of them cast a spell to heal the person who almost lost his arm to the bat clutches.
Watching the withered arm swell again was a mysterious sight.
Recovery magic always gives an odd feeling. They might have looked slightly flustered, but these were C-rank hunters with upper-middle tier stats, so they seemed to recover quickly.
Two of them built a magic shield up front, and then a thick mist suddenly engulfed the bats in an instant.
“Beeee?!”
‘Smoke? Is it a slow and suffocation ability? That’s a troublesome spell.’
Luckily, the bats had already used the ability, so our party, arriving just in time, could better display their strengths.
‘Popcorn time.’
I decided to give my comrades a chance.
They were perfect training partners, and surprisingly, it was Noh Ha-yoon and Bae Joo-ah who stepped up front first. Ah-rin was coming back through other routes, and Ham Eun-young was lagging behind, panting heavily.
‘Has Eun-young not invested in stamina at all?’
Having been flying around in summons recently, I had momentarily forgotten, but Ham Eun-young had too weak a physique.
Even just standing in a dungeon could drain your stamina, so they should find a balance. I’d need to give the cat a heads-up later.
At the forefront, Joo-ah shouted at the nameless hunters who had been stalling the bats.
“If you surrender willingly, we will spare your lives!”
Noh Ha-yoon grimaced comically at Joo-ah’s declaration, raising one side of her mouth.
“Eek- Joo-ah, that line sucks!”
“Shut up! You ice princess!”
Even so, thanks to our timely intervention, we could start the fight from a higher position than the opposing hunters who had consumed their skills to fend off the bats.
With red faces, Joo-ah and Ha-yoon simultaneously activated their magic.
“Ice Field-!”
Kwadazazak──!
– ?!!
Noh Ha-yoon’s trade-mart technique swept across the battlefield first, followed closely by Bae Joo-ah’s Rock Barrier blocking the way for the enemies.
‘Wow… both of their areas have increased significantly.’
Especially Joo-ah’s casting speed skyrocketed, making it a highly desirable growth path for her since rock-type spells are usually slow.
Once Eun-young arrived and started chanting a song I had never heard before, the mist that had enshrouded the bats seamlessly faded away.
‘Wow… as expected, Ham Eun-young. I’ve got to take her with me.’
What Yeon-hee and I lacked most was recovery and dispel abilities. Eun-young was a precious ally who could fill our gaps.
Fwoosh-!
“Crap! This rabbit year!”
Boom-!
Having returned at one opportunity, Ah-rin’s movements were incredibly swift, delivering critical strikes to two hunters, cleanly blocking a fierce counterattack from a rather tough man, and smoothly backing away.
“Heehee- can’t stand up now, can you?”
Ah-rin teased the foe, perked ears twitching.
“Ugh…! Damn it!”
“C’mon, flailing against bats makes you look foolish, you idiots!”
Amidst all this, they began to scold each other.
Feeling uplifted by Gori’s performance, I chewed on strips of jerky instead of popcorn, leisurely observing the battle from above.
“Grrr!”
The roar of the battlefield granted strength to the summoned creatures.
The confident summoners took the brunt of the skills unleashed by the enemy, subsequently piled on top of the hunters in a sudden ambush.
Five minutes passed.
‘Huh- this is taking longer than expected.’
Since I was just watching, we had not efficiently broken their resistance. Yeon-hee likely hadn’t summoned her top-tier creatures to avoid harming the other hunters.
After all, you can’t go around killing people just because you followed them, right?
Still, an end was soon at hand.
‘Their equipment is shabby compared to their stats. Hmm-’
It took some time, but we achieved a complete victory without any damage to ourselves.
Without a break, the interrogation began.
“Ugh…! P-please spare me!”
Looking at Joo-ah starting the interrogation, I turned my head aside.
Only a short time had passed since the battle began, and two other parties of about ten were watching us from a distance.
– “Right from the start, it’s heated~!”
– “Well done~ ladies~!”
After the conflict began between the parties, hunters who had strayed from their original paths emerged to watch.
“Ah, just go your way. Do you want to die?”
As Noh Ha-yoon bared her fangs and growled, the hunters smiled with widened eyes.
Ha-yoon was already a famous figure just by her bloodline and appearance, so perhaps they were more interested due to her presence.
– “Wahaha, your words are sharp. You’ve got face value.”
– “We’re off, then~ Not that a witch’s daughter would back down. So scary that nobody dares talk to you.”
They sneered, looking like they’d seen something amusing before departing.
After the battle, we were in a heightened state, and despite the tension, we didn’t react aggressively because the ones bothering us were rather strong.
As the dungeon became unstable, more and more hunters entered the dungeon at levels below their capabilities.
The ease with which they ventured into battles outside their routes oozed their confidence.
Still, they were no different in my eyes, and while Ah-rin and Joo-ah watched them with keen vigilance until they became faint dots, the uninvited guests faded away.
Once they were gone, our interrogator, Bae Joo-ah, resumed her activity.
“So, who’s pulling the strings behind all this?”
Joo-ah’s tone had a strangely cold and detached edge, which, combined with her cynical expression, was particularly effective in situations like this.
At first, the rat clung to a few evasive answers but gradually began spilling even fabricated tales due to the shadow of the massive boulder hanging over them.
“Uh, we, we don’t know for sure! We receive requests through several intermediaries; it’s structured in a way that the original requestor isn’t identifiable. It’s totally true!”
Crash-!
“Ugh!”
The gigantic boulder suspended in the air plummeted rapidly above the man’s head.
The man barely bore the weight right before his head hit the ground, unable to utter another word.
“Guh… ugh…!”
“We’re merely asking because we’re already guessing at something. If you make strange claims, you’ll be crushed, you know?”
‘Take it easy. I’m about to die.’
Even I could see that the level of intimidation being exerted was savagely relentless. That’s probably why those on the receiving end were even more frightened.
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