After a long training session, I emerged without collapsing to the floor like before.
‘Hooouuu─’
I caught my breath and swung my great sword through the slightly altered flow of magic in the space I had spent so much time in.
Siiit─!
In the air where the sword passed, I could see a gap in the space that could only be noticed if looked at closely.
‘About 20cm? It’s doubled compared to before, right?’
Having just finished my training, the space cut while my mind was elevated showed tremendous power.
The method to untie Yeon-hee’s restraints that my master promised to teach me had been suggested as a three-meter space cut.
While my current capability was still far from three meters, 20cm was enough to deal a deadly blow to an average humanoid monster, so it was a sufficiently encouraging result.
‘Is my master a god?’
This must be what they call a fortuitous encounter.
I guess I’ve improved on how to untie the restraints now.
‘It’s happening! I’m satisfied just with growing!’
My master’s training, which was exhausting time-wise for a talent that was quite far from impressive, was showing results thanks to the greatest master.
[Th- that’s right. This is working… heh heh-]
‘……’
It seems my master is a bit surprised too.
Didn’t he think I could do it from the start?
[Anyway, once again, it’s a great success. Do you feel the buildup of stagnant energy?]
‘It feels like it’s not even half of last time.’
[Hoho- I guess so. Just how am I, who has talent in this area, even… ]
‘Pardon?’
[No, never mind. *Cough cough* I’ll go back to my research, so keep working hard during the remaining time.]
‘Yes. Please take care, master.’
I watched my master disappear in an instant and continued my swordsmanship training.
‘I need to maintain this sense a bit longer…’
I focused and swung the sword hundreds more times.
Whoosh—
Boom──!!
‘Oh?! Why does it feel like the probability is increasing gradually?’
The interval for the manifestation of black flame during a normal swing was decreasing too; now, swinging about five hundred times would lead to a burst once.
Swish- swish-
After the training, I rewarded Rainy, who was commendably attaining ‘Purification’, and checked on the expanding area of the tree.
‘Where will I use this area that keeps widening?’
I couldn’t occupy this infinitely expansive area, and I still had no idea.
(Phew─ it’s getting tastier!!)
‘R-Really? I’m glad.’
Becoming a skeleton that is getting tastier by the moment, I was soon pulled into a summoning gate by Yeon-hee’s call.
*
Morning arrived for exploring the dungeon with my companions.
“Are we sticking together until today?”
Bae Joo-ah asked Yeon-hee while pointing at me as we entered the Golden Pastiche Dungeon.
“Yes… Just like we discussed in the group chat yesterday, let’s run through the Pastiche dungeon until the others reach level 73. And when we enter the new dungeon, Il-wol will stick with us for a day or two, then we’ll run through it again until we reach level 75 amongst ourselves.”
It seems like there’s a set standard among my companions.
The currently lowest level is Baek Ah-rin.
Until she reaches level 73, I’ll be running through the dungeons alone.
Splash—
I expertly sailed the Wandering Ship onto the river, letting Yeon-hee board first.
As we floated down the river, I casually glanced at Fibryn, who was swimming alongside us, and asked.
“Fibryn, have you ever fought in a war under Goddess Irmana’s banner?”
Fibryn, who was leisurely swimming, widened her eyes.
(Oooh… Sage! That’s a story that’s been passed down well since ancient times. Did you perhaps participate in that battle?)
‘N-No, it’s not like that; I just asked out of curiosity.’
(Ah— it’s undoubtedly a sad event. Because of that, Goddess Irmana still……)
Fibryn stopped speaking and pretended to wipe her tears with her pillow-like hand.
‘Hmm…’
Yesterday, I saw countless lakes in the past.
As I moved farther back from the site of the initial battle, the size of the lakes grew. So, would the last lake I reached be the one where Goddess Irmana was?
‘Goddess Irmana definitely exists even now…’
It means she somehow managed to protect the last lake against the invasion of the blue-eyed creatures, but did she end up weakened compared to other gods due to expending too much power during that event?
‘I’ll find out eventually as I keep fulfilling the divine providence.’
I continued hunting primarily targeting the Assault Turtles, which seemed like they had the potential to be good food, and wrapped up the last Pastiche dungeon run with my companions.
After finishing the boss battle, I fell down below the waterfall. Sure enough, a message popped up asking if I wanted to attempt a hidden quest.
‘I’ll pass.’
It was obvious that trying again wouldn’t significantly change the outcome.
After parting ways with my companions, I took a wider detour home and activated [Mimicry] early in the day, allowing me to pinpoint the location of a shady group after a long time.
“I’m going with you!”
“I was the first one to say I’d go with you…”
“Anyways!”
Yeon-hee clung to my back like a cicada, refusing to let go.
Thinking about how she’d be let loose tomorrow, I felt an urge to spoil her a little.
In any case, we snuck into the lair where the shady group gathered.
‘I smell something. It seems like remnants of the blue-eyed… only four of them?’
They were diligently working on something inside a small office.
As I quietly observed, they were dissolving a drug called ‘Inbam’ in water, thoroughly mixing it, and then carefully soaking sheets of paper in the solution one by one.
This method of production makes it easy to evade detection, and those dependent on it will get high just by holding the torn paper in their mouths.
‘I’ve seen something like this… ugh—’
We swiftly subdued them, and without asking anything in particular, I beheaded the scum.
‘They’re just minions doing menial work. There’s probably no useful information.’
– You have eliminated a nefarious group threatening the safety of this world!
– Your stats will increase randomly!
– Health: 739(+1)
– Magic Power: 1378(+1)
– Recovery: 122(+1)
– Resistance: 112(+1)
‘As expected, I had to catch these guys.’
Each little increase in my stats was incredibly precious to me right now.
I exercised my senses, eliminating any evidence that could identify us.
‘I guess I’ll need to explore different routes on my commute for a while.’
With Yeon-hee, who these days wouldn’t want to leave my side, feeling disappointed for not having a hot night, it was an unavoidable situation to tame that monster-like Lizardman.
And the next day.
I escorted Yeon-hee to the entrance of the Pastiche Dungeon.
“Haah… Do I really have to go?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
It was time to part ways with Yeon-hee.
It felt incredibly awkward thinking about where I would go alone.
I patted Yeon-hee’s head for a long time, and she started to tear up as time passed.
‘It says that the bond between a summoner and their summon deepens… but it feels like she’s getting a bit too clingy.’
Still, it wouldn’t be enough to break our promise to let her go, so it was still within the cute range.
Feeling the presence of Noh Ha-yoon and Ham Eun-young approaching, I made my final farewell to Yeon-hee before slipping into [Stealth].
“I can summon you back at any time!”
Yeon-hee complained loudly toward the place I vanished, welcoming the lively approaching companions.
*
After parting with Yeon-hee, I headed straight to the B-rank dungeon, where the ‘Living Statue of Might’ was located.
It was regarded as a tier higher than the B-rank lowest dungeon ‘Lukrakota’, where I first met Cha Jin-hyuk.
Here, existing monsters like Dire Wolves, Pierce Big Boars, and Red Goblins appeared, but three new types of monsters were waiting.
‘Diva, Doppelganger, Living Statue… all of them are troublesome.’
The colossal stone-shaped Living Statue, which will undoubtedly appear as the boss, has a ridiculous ability of immunity to physical attacks, and the Doppelganger is the subject of revulsion and fear to hunters just to mention it.
However, the troublesome nature of the Doppelganger only applies when there are many party members, and since I’m alone, I don’t think it matters much.
The target for this dungeon is, of course, the monster named ‘Diva’.
It has a female body but is covered in thorns over its face, making it expressionless, and has a terrifying appearance with hair on fire.
It possesses the ability to hide in the darkness and manipulate telekinesis freely, and its attack power is substantial, causing many hunters a headache.
Yeon-hee and I decided to enter the dungeon precisely at 9 AM.
Since Yeon-hee would give the signal, I just had to wait for that time.
‘Hmm… It seems no one is entering yet.’
Strong individuals gathered around the gate.
Some headed straight for the gate, while most were keenly observing the faces of those who would enter the dungeon today.
Some parties were forming contracts right there, promising cooperation in case hunters from other countries or monsters suddenly intruded in the dungeon.
Among them, a few faces sparked vague memories, perhaps due to connections from my past life.
And due to some imbalance in the dungeon, there were also remarkably strong creatures that didn’t fit in.
‘That aunt seems to be A-rank, but she came all the way down here. Doesn’t seem considerate of her juniors at all.’
A hunter named Eun Hyeon-sook stood out, leading her party.
She’s memorable as a powerful tanker, but her irritating personality makes me feel sick just thinking about her.
– Aah!! Why the hell can’t you understand?! This route is the way to go. Did you stick something in your ear? Why can’t you understand what I’m saying?!
– No… Sister. There’s been a report saying that’s where the Doppelganger appears frequently. Why do you keep insisting on going there?
– This way is the shortest route! Just follow me! I can tell the Doppelganger on sight!
– The monsters are all different compared to last year. You should consider that your ability might not be able to identify them…
– Are you defying the team leader?!
– Ha… Alright, let’s go for now.
– Okay. We deliberately came all the way down to this lower dungeon; what could possibly go wrong?
‘One should never underestimate a Doppelganger…’
Regular Doppelgangers are easily discernible due to their clumsy mimicking ability, but that changes with the mutants.
It’s hard to differentiate them based on appearance alone, and since they replicate the scent, making a mistake could lead to a major crisis for the team.
Of course, the higher-level Doppelgangers that appear in top-tier dungeons are said to even copy memories and thoughts, but I’ve never encountered them, so that’s still beyond my understanding.
The most competent one seems to be that annoying aunt, but there are plenty of highly skilled hunters as well, and when enough hunters determined they were prepared, one by one they dove into the gate.
I slowly closed the distance towards the gate, checking if any hunters could catch my presence and whether the detection devices densely set up near the gate were functioning.
‘… Indeed. No one knows.’
This was the moment when the enhanced ability of my stealth from Job Change began to shine.
No hunter or detection device could spot me.
And not long after, a shocking bolt of lightning struck my mind.
‘Ah, so this is the feeling.’
Receiving Yeon-hee’s signal, I headed toward the gate as if I was pulled in that direction, although the dungeon’s gate was drawing me in first.
“Tap…”
‘Whew~ That was successful.’
– You are the first to enter the ‘Living Statue of Might’ dungeon!
– Damage received from physical attacks increased by 20%!
‘The conditions remain the same. This is what raises the difficulty of the boss battle.’
As always, the message welcomed me first, and I could already see the backs of several parties that had started moving.
‘Feeling a bit excited.’
Diving into a dungeon alone, was only something I did during my F-rank hunter days, so it felt refreshing.
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