– The Essence Devourer is now activated.
– Would you like to add a Doppelganger to the ‘Boiling Beast’ currently in production?
‘Nah, let’s finish one first.’
– The information analysis on the Doppelganger is postponed.
The ‘Boiling Beast’ will be the second minion after ‘Gori’.
If I can finish this too, I should be able to lead quite a formidable squad. At this point, can I be called a proper Summoner?
Swish- Flop-
As death approached, the Doppelganger’s tentacles writhed, then it transformed its face into mine and glared at me with furious eyes.
‘What a joke. What are you going to do, glaring at me when you’re almost dead?’
Crack─!
As I slammed my great sword onto its head, its tentacles finally froze in motion.
– You have defeated a ‘Doppelganger’ for the first time!
– Trait [Thievery] is activated!
– You have acquired Trait [Intermediate Mimicry]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has been activated.
– All Attributes have increased by 1.
‘Oh, as expected.’
I anticipated this ability, and it started to merge with the traits I possessed.
– Traits [Low-level Cognition Interference] and [Intermediate Mimicry] are merging!
– You have acquired Trait [Illusionary Mimicry]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has been activated.
– All Attributes have increased by 1.
‘Ooooh…! It’s merging with Cognition Interference?’
Indeed, it was similar in its ability to avoid detection.
[Illusionary Mimicry]
– Significantly lowers your presence, making it hard for enemies to notice you.
– Changes appearance to match the surrounding environment or a specified entity.
Previously, its ability was only to scatter its presence, and now it has been upgraded to a significant reduction level.
On top of that, I acquired the ability to mimic appearances, though I wonder how useful it will be. Still, just gaining a unique ability is exciting!
However, I need to experiment to see how long I can maintain the transformation and what the cooldown period will be.
‘Nice. Good, but isn’t there a skill?’
Was the Doppelganger truly a one-trick monster with only a shape-shifting ability?
It seems that extending its tentacles for an attack wasn’t really a skill either.
‘For now, shall I test [Illusionary Mimicry]?’
I moved quickly forward, standing still on a path known as one of the exploration routes, while releasing my stealth.
[Illusionary Mimicry]
‘Oh… this feels different.’
I didn’t feel like my appearance was changing at all, but I could definitely feel my presence fading.
Soon, a party of B-rank Hunters approached where I stood.
Given their abilities…
No, a person with eyes should have definitely spotted me.
– “Ugh, damn. Because of that pig lady Eun Hyeon-sook, all the monsters are gone.”
– “With a teammate who has wide aggro, they’re pulling it all over there. Should we move further out?”
– “Let’s do that. Just want to avoid bad luck.”
– “What if we just went to the Werewolf Dungeon? It might be more profitable than this place crawling with A-ranks.”
– “Let’s think about it. We need to calculate if following trends is the right move.”
– “This month we’ll barely make 3,000.”
– “3,000? I’m struggling just to scrape 2,000 right now.”
They had entered the dungeon quite a while ago, yet their equipment was clean.
This meant they hadn’t engaged in any significant combat; the cracks in the dungeon had significantly reduced restrictions, creating a domino effect.
And just like that, they walked past me, completely unaware of my presence.
‘Wow… this is amazing!’
Since it’s a passive skill, it should stack even in stealth, enhancing my subtlety even more.
‘Hehehe… There might come a day when no one can perceive me at all.’
If I keep growing like this, will I be able to sneak up on Jo Gi-man?
It’s still not enough, but the future is unpredictable.
I had been in the dungeon for less than two hours, and I’d already defeated two new monsters.
From the first monster I defeated, I obtained one stealing skill and one trait each.
They might have additional abilities, so I should hunt a bit more.
‘First, let me get Telekinesis, then we can hunt more. The Diva appears from the first floor, so I need to speed up.’
As I moved, I found parties already squabbling and spots filled with encroaching monsters.
But I decided to fill my target first and grab the loot later.
It’s said that usually, veterans clear the first floor in about ten hours.
However, as I focused on moving with determination, I arrived at the massive staircase leading down to the first floor in less than an hour.
Since this was the only safe zone in the dungeon, several teams were taking a break before heading down to the first floor.
Snore—
Whoever it was, their snoring was thunderous.
It wasn’t the right time to be sleeping, but after spending days fighting monsters in the woods, one could hardly keep to a fixed sleeping schedule.
As I was about to head down with no noteworthy issues, an all-too-familiar and unpleasant scent wafted past my nose.
‘This scent… Blue-eyed Deity?’
I focused my senses on the area and easily pinpointed the culprit.
‘Of all places, right among those people…’
Unbelievably, the one confirmed to be the Blue-eyed Deity was among a party of Paladins.
‘Can that happen? The ones wielding divine power can’t distinguish the minions of the Evil God?’
I took a brief look at the troublesome figure serving another deity within the midst of the Paladins.
Of course, it seemed the Blue-eyed Deity participated as a Guide, not as a Paladin.
The problem is that if I capture that guy, the Paladins would find themselves in quite a pickle, and there’s a chance they could end up lost and die.
They might think the Paladins could ask other Hunters for help, but that’s a complicated job for Paladins.
As long as they have only strong faith, the Divine Power they manipulate is relatively easy to handle, but they have a trait that makes it tough to mingle with other Hunters.
‘Righteous Fury… It’s a passive skill that can’t stand injustice.’
They become excessively picky, allowing little room for any mischief, and their standards vary greatly, making other Hunters shy away from teaming up with them.
The Gods of Light, known for their numerous petty interventions, are also burdensome for other Hunters.
It’s common for them to use Paladins to judge malevolent Hunters and grab their rewards.
So to see the Blue-eyed Deity guiding such Paladins, it was absurd beyond measure.
*Sigh- They’re really a nuisance. Should I just mark the coordinates for now?*
I approached the Blue-eyed Deity in stealth and lightly nicked his arm with my dagger without him noticing.
“Ouch! Huh? Is there a bug or something?”
He scratched his arm, and upon seeing the blood oozing out, he panicked, pouring a potion over the affected area.
‘Seems to be a cautious guy.’
After confirming the mark that appeared above his shoulder and the spot newly marked on my map, I promptly proceeded underground.
“Why, sir? Is there something uncomfortable?”
“Oh no, not at all. Paladins, have you all rested enough?”
“We are always filled with Divine Power, so we do not know fatigue.”
“Ah, I see. Hahaha—”
Then, the party of Paladins followed behind as they headed underground.
*
While Il-wol was smoothly progressing through the B-rank dungeon, Lee Yeon-hee and her companions, who had entered the ‘Golden Pastiche’ dungeon, were on the brink of a large-scale battle.
“Get ready! We have about 180 to 200 Assault Turtles and Hamari-shus!”
Baek Ah-rin, serving as the Guide, had her long ears perked up continuously.
However, the number of monsters was far more than she estimated.
A combination of nearly 200 Assault Turtles and 70 Hamari-shus.
Arin’s hearing worked well on land, but it was quite challenging to detect enemies moving in water, ultimately leading to her failure in accurately gauging the enemy’s numbers.
“Huh, way more than I thought!! Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
“Castle!!”
As the overwhelming force of Assault Turtles advanced from both directions, Yeon-hee finally summoned Castle.
Revealing a massive tower behind their Wandering Ship, it appeared with its signature innocent smile.
Castle was a golem made from magical stones, and given its sheer weight, I worried it might sink in the river.
Surprisingly, Castle floated gracefully on the river without issue.
Thanks to that, they managed to cleanly block one side’s attack, while on the opposite side, Bae Joo-ah’s Rock Barrier firmly surrounded the ship.
Boom──!!
However, due to the sheer number of Assault Turtles, the ship was nearly tipped over upon impact.
“Ahhh!”
Ham Eun-young lost balance and was launched out of the ship.
Momentarily, bewilderment washed over her teammates’ faces, but Azraelon, who was in Ham Eun-young’s arms, inhaled deeply as if it were nothing unusual.
Swooosh—
The enormous shockwave erupted from Azraelon’s mouth surged toward the river, propelling Ham Eun-young’s body high up over the Wandering Ship.
Unexpectedly, it was Noh Ha-yoon who caught the floating Ham Eun-young in mid-air.
“Huh…?”
After having her eyes tightly shut since being thrown from the ship, Ham Eun-young was taken aback by seeing Noh Ha-yoon’s face when she opened them.
“Be careful! You idiot!”
Was Noh Ha-yoon losing a decade off her life or something? She yelled in exasperation, which relieved both Yeon-hee and Bae Joo-ah.
Arin seemed determined to make up for her initial mistake as she concentrated deeply, and afterward, she made no notable errors as the Guide.
“Fibryn!!”
Fibryn’s drawing of aggro in the water played a crucial role, allowing the ‘White Alliance’ party to bypass a severe crisis.
“Phew─ This is no joke.”
Even Noh Ha-yoon found the battle challenging.
When with Il-wol, they had never encountered so many monsters, which only heightened their surprise.
“Wait… there’s never been this many enemies, right?”
Noh Ha-yoon asked incredulously, shrugging her shoulders, and Yeon-hee theorized that monsters couldn’t easily approach due to Il-wol’s presence.
“Ah, got it. I can feel Il-wol’s absence right from the start.”
“If Castle hadn’t shielded us, we’d have been in serious danger.”
Bae Joo-ah turned pale, nearly at the brink of Mana Exhaustion.
It’s no wonder, as they had fought off approximately 300 monsters to protect their ship.
But the ‘Wandering Ship’ didn’t care about such circumstances, resuming its movement just after the battle ended.
“Oh, come on, Ship. Can we go a bit slower? I’m exhausted here.”
“With some mana investment, I could slow it down. Should we do it?”
The Wandering Ship could somewhat regulate its speed if mana was invested.
Although it would only be at a marginally slower or faster pace, Joo-ah was immensely grateful and nodded vigorously.
Relatively full of mana, Yeon-hee and Eun-young infused mana into the round sphere at the rear of the ship.
This reduced the ship’s speed by 20%, letting Joo-ah and Noh Ha-yoon catch their breath, whereupon they gulped down the ‘Irmana’s lake water’ that Yeon-hee had handed out in the morning.
It was during that moment of respite when an unwelcome guest chased after them.
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