‘It feels like something is about to happen.’
Hearing what Rainy said, a refreshing energy that perfectly matched the keyword “purification” suddenly popped into my mind.
I followed the fleeing Rainy while maintaining a safe distance and carefully observed for any changes in the fragments.
Minutes went by.
As Rainy’s startled heart settled a bit, she began to close the distance between us. Astonishingly, changes I had been anticipating started to appear.
“Saaaah—”
‘Ohhhh!! It’s working! It’s happening!’
(What’s happening? What is it? Huh?)
‘Want me to show you?’
(Hek! Don’t come too close!)
The hundred combined fragments, which were black as night, began to gradually change color from the outside. Of course, it was a fleeting moment, but it confirmed the possibility.
(Ah ha— So that dirty thing I cleaned up, huh?)
‘Seems so. Can you exert more power?’
(Huh? Power? Uh… I’ll give it a try!)
Rainy flapped her branches with effort.
However, despite Rainy’s trying, there was little change in the fragments.
(Huh— Heeek— Why is this so hard? I thought it would be easy.)
‘It might be because you’ve lost the sense of managing magic power. If you want to help me, try to get better at using that ability whenever you get time.’
(Huh? Sounds good! Finally, I have something to do? Hehehe—)
It was essentially a command to train, but Rainy seemed to relish it, happily shaking her lush leaves and dancing strangely in joy.
I decided to dangle a carrot in front of Rainy to keep her motivated to practice.
‘If you successfully purify this fragment completely, I’ll give you a chance to absorb mana up close.’
Suddenly, Rainy, who had been dancing, froze and said.
(Three times.)
‘Just once.’
(Two times! I can’t do more than that!!)
‘…… Fine. I’ll leave this fragment behind then?’
(Ugh… Do I really have to leave it?)
‘We need to check if your practice is really working.’
I gently placed the gathered contaminated fragment on the ground.
Rainy stood at a distance, looking at it with the same disdain as one might for a cockroach.
At that moment.
Clank—!
We heard Yeon-hee’s incantation, and a huge summoning gate opened, and Rainy and I hurriedly waved goodbye to the sudden parting.
(Goodbye—!)
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
As I was summoned back home, Yeon-hee immediately rushed toward me.
Sniff sniff—
‘Why am I so nervous about this?’
Yeon-hee was still checking the scent emanating from my body.
“Yeah. Nothing really special today, either.”
‘……’
While appreciating Yeon-hee’s shower, I looked for lessons from the alpha Rakan and Lizardman 1 as they engaged in a two-on-one match in the front yard.
I tried to praise Goddess Irmana during the break, but again, I received no divine revelation.
Since the chance of receiving a revelation was extremely slim, it might be best not to expect anything anymore.
“Shall we go?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
We moved toward the gate of the dungeon we were about to challenge for the first time.
Today’s dungeon had some distinct characteristics compared to the usual ones.
After waiting for a while for our companions, Noh Ha-yoon appeared one by one soon enough.
– Oh… It’s Lee Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon.
– I heard Yeon-hee handles dragons.
– Dragons? What nonsense is that?
– Wow, they’re already here? It hasn’t been two weeks since they went up to C-rank! Is that even possible?
– They’re practically leveling up while barely even entering dungeons; how do they manage that? They must be taking down loads of monsters as soon as they enter their first dungeon.
‘That’s actually what we’re doing.’
It seems like other hunters view our dungeon climbing as quite abnormal.
– Look at Noh Ha-yoon’s gear. Is that really C-rank equipment? Ah— If I had a diamond spoon like that, I’d already be A-rank.
– The dirt spoon is crying again today~
Now, we were bound to attract attention wherever we went, but Noh Ha-yoon, accustomed to the jealous gazes, confidently stepped forward.
“Ugh, this is overwhelming.”
“You’ll get used to it if you hang out with Yeon-hee and Ha-yoon.”
“That is true, but I guess this isn’t my cup of tea.”
Getting bothered by the stares, Ah-rin and Eun-young jumped into the gate first.
“Wow~~”
As we entered the gate, the scenery that unfolded was entirely different from what we had experienced before.
“Wow— This isn’t a river; it looks like an ocean!”
“This is completely different from what I heard. It’s way wider, right? You really have to experience it to understand.”
We found ourselves on a small rocky island in the middle of a river so wide it couldn’t be seen from end to end, gasping in awe as we looked around.
All over the vast river, small rocky islands, similar to the one we were on, appeared and disappeared at regular intervals.
Only one party could occupy each rocky island, which was a welcome situation for us.
“The scale is enormous~”
“At least the current isn’t flowing too fast, so that’s a relief.”
“It’s getting faster as we go further back, so we mustn’t let our guard down.”
“Anyway, in the beginning, only ‘Assault Turtles’ will appear, so Joo-ah and Il-wol, please set up the defense shield on the boat according to my signal. The rest, please empower the Rock Barrier with magic.”
“”Got it!””
This dungeon is cleared automatically by moving along the flow of this vast river to the end.
On the rocky island was a small boat, the kind we typically refer to as a ‘tub boat’.
Despite its appearance, it is a special boat that absolutely will not capsize.
We naturally moved toward it.
“Once we board this boat, we’re in it until the end.”
“Right, you can’t get off mid-way.”
“This is surprisingly nerve-wracking.”
Once you board, you can’t disembark.
If you stray too far from the boat, after a brief moment, you’ll be flung out of the dungeon.
So using the Sword Dragon to travel is not an option. However, summoning the Sword Dragon to fight is still possible.
Due to the small size of the boat, there were also limits to summoning terrestrial monsters to respond.
“Well then… let’s go.”
We dragged the boat ashore and boarded it one by one.
Yeon-hee first summoned two Harpies and two Were Ravens.
Then, when she also summoned a Specter and a Sword Dragon, our brigade consisting of only flying summoned creatures was complete.
“I’ve never fought this way before. Everyone, please do well?”
[······!]
“Fiiiii—!!”
“Swwoooosh!!”
The summoned creatures energetically responded to Yeon-hee’s request like they were eager to showcase their abilities.
Knowing I couldn’t just sit still, I summoned a swarm of bats led by ‘Gori’.
‘Let’s try summoning about a hundred first.’
“Bii-eek—!!”
As soon as Gori came out, she hugged me and flew high into the sky, starting to lead the other bats.
Once everyone boarded, it felt like the boat sprouted legs and swiftly glided toward the river.
Plop─
– You have entered the Golden Pastiche Dungeon.
– ‘Wandering Ship’ durability: 10,000
Even if the durability of this shabby tub boat runs out, we would all be flung from the dungeon.
In a way, it could be seen as a defense game where we had to protect the boat until the exit. In fact, monsters often target the boat before they target the people.
There were unexpectedly many ways to fail, making it a dungeon that takes a long time to clear.
“Finally, it’s starting!”
“We must somehow maintain the durability.”
“I dare you to come at us, whether you’re turtles or pastiches!”
“I heard the tail of an Assault Turtle is quite tasty!”
Ah-rin licked her lips as she reached her hand out toward the river beneath the boat.
“I’m gonna try it.”
“Really? When? Does it taste good?”
“Super delicious. It’s more chewy and much sweeter than eel.”
“Wow~”
“No… Ah-rin, what on earth are you spending your money on? It sounds like you’ve never eaten anything decent.”
Ah-rin, who always said she wanted to eat something, seems to have little experience with delicious food, drawing a doubtful look from Ha-yoon.
“Hehe— I’m going to start trying it now!”
It seems she’s been saving money to take care of her younger siblings and hasn’t really spent it on herself yet.
Yet, these days, she didn’t hesitate to invest in her clothes and equipment.
As I watched the kids chit-chatting while sitting on the slowly moving boat, twenty minutes had already passed.
All I could hear was the gentle sound of the flowing river and some birds chirping from somewhere.
“This is so nice and tranquil~ The scenery is beautiful. Is this what healing feels like?”
“There’s no fishy smell in the water, and the water is incredibly clean. Look, you can see the bottom clearly.”
“That’s just a trick. It’s actually very deep here.”
‘Hmm…’
Unfortunately, our relaxation was cut short here.
‘They’re coming.’
I didn’t want to ruin my companions’ excitement, but I had no choice but to signal them.
“Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap!”
“They’ve come! Are they Assault Turtles?”
Nodding—
Assault Turtles.
As the name suggests, they specialize in attack-oriented maneuvers and can charge at high speeds using their abnormally developed back legs, like torpedoes.
Sometimes they create powerful vibrations from underwater, shaking the boat violently, so we need to be careful not to capsize.
Of course, if we fall into the river and drift too far from the boat, we’d also get thrown out of the dungeon, so we must be cautious since there have been cases where people were ripped apart by underwater creatures in that brief time.
A group of several somethings was approaching us, cutting through the water from afar.
“Whoa, they’re super fast!”
Not only were they fast, they vastly increased their defense and magic resistance in assault mode, making them resilient against ordinary attacks.
“Ha-yoon, prepare first!”
“Suuuu— Hoo—”
Noh Ha-yoon took a deep breath and, as the Assault Turtles approached within ten meters, used Ice Field.
Kwachak—!
‘Oh? Has she grown a bit?’
Maybe losing to Kim Gunseob in the competition was good for her; her magic range seemed to have risen a level.
‘She returned the artifact she used during the duel.’
But even though Ha-yoon’s magic was powerful, it wasn’t strong enough to freeze this wide and deep river, and they had to settle for delaying the Assault Turtles’ speed.
Nevertheless, the surface was clearly covered with ice, so she had made a significant contribution.
Dududududu—
Kwachang—!!
Moments later, the Assault Turtles easily broke through the ice and resumed their speed.
With a size akin to a calf, their uniquely patterned shells, looking as if covered in granite, rose from the water.
They wore an air of confidence as if daring us to strike them.
“Puhuh──!”
Soon they emitted their characteristic snorting sound and added their final acceleration.
They were moving underwater, so we couldn’t see all of them, but I could sense that over twenty Assault Turtles were charging toward our boat simultaneously.
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
On my signal, Joo-ah tightly surrounded the boat with rock barriers, and our companions infused magic into the manifested rocks simultaneously.
We had already experimented with this defensive method in real-life combat several times.
Bang—! Bang!! Kwachak—!!
Terrifying impact sounds rang out dozens of times as they recklessly shook the boat while vibrating from underwater.
Thanks to Ha-yoon’s magic, the Assault Turtles’ attack power had been significantly weakened.
“Ugh—!”
“Everyone, hold on!”
Moments later, an unexpected silence fell over us. The turtles were monsters that lacked stamina despite their appearance.
“… Did we hold them off?”
– ‘Wandering Ship’ durability: 9,984
“We did it!! What a victory! It only dropped by 16.”
“Ha ha ha— Do you acknowledge my greatness now, you mere hunters?”
“Joo-ah, prepare for your second spell.”
While the boat’s durability took a minor hit, we managed to defend excellently.
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