“Ah?!”
“Eh?”
“Huh…?!”
But the strange things didn’t stop there.
‘My hand…’
A gentle light swirled around my body, and flesh began to rapidly fill in the bones, continuing until it reached my face.
It was truly instantaneous, and for a brief moment, I even returned to Yoon Han-gyeol’s form.
‘What the…?!’
“Wow…”
“Huh…?”
“Whoa…”
“Oh my…”
But that was only for an instant.
The fully formed body began to lose its flesh, dropping it off in chunks like ashes disappearing into the air.
The phenomenon of a body only left with bones, caught in a state of being neither alive nor dead like a zombie, soon came to a halt.
For that brief moment, I felt another sense of immense presence, distinct from Goddess Irmana, but nothing else occurred.
Clink—ta-da-da-da-da-!
The armor that had disappeared returned as if the puzzle pieces were put back together, and a new message appeared.
– The Moon Goddess ‘Larmishiel’ has confirmed the user’s [Humanization].
– The goddess’s long-awaited revelation continues.
– It announces a new place for the Moon race to thrive.
‘No… A new place or whatever. Suddenly changing my appearance like this, what am I supposed to do…’
Honestly, I was extremely flustered.
I think this might be one of the most shocking moments of my life.
‘And I’m not even part of the Moon race… Just because I’ve become [Humanized] with werewolf abilities, does she think everyone is part of the Moon race?’
But ‘Larmishiel’ abruptly severed the connection, leaving only a map behind.
‘Sigh… I don’t get it.’
Anyway, I glanced over the map that formed in my head, and it seemed oddly familiar.
“Wow…”
“Awesome… that was so cool, right? What was that?!”
“Il-wol turned into a person… something down there seemed amazing…”
“…It was pretty. I want to see it again.”
While I was rummaging through the map and searching my memory, my companions still couldn’t close their mouths.
For some reason, Yeon-hee was anxiously glancing between me and the others.
‘…Thank goodness I was a skeleton. If I had been human, I would’ve never been able to manage my expressions.’
I forced myself to focus on understanding the map.
‘This is definitely a place I’ve been to in my past life… but I can’t remember exactly. Where was it?’
– The Moon Goddess ‘Larmishiel’ detected the anomaly and urgently issues a quest.
– Drive away the darkness that has engulfed the ‘Moonlight Kingdom of the Abyss’ and restore its lost glory.
‘Ah…! Was it here?’
As if waiting for this moment, the message came up, and I nodded.
‘It’s a top-tier dungeon even among A-ranks, but since it’s an urgent quest, I need to push the schedule a bit…’
“Ah, no! What was that just now?!”
“Waah— Did I just see wrong?”
“Il-wol! Try to grab that artifact again!”
My companions, finally snapping back to their senses, asked to see my human form again and kept insisting I touch the artifact.
‘They’re making a big fuss over just seeing my face for a moment.’
I guess it would be shocking for a summoned creature to suddenly change into a human form.
The others didn’t care about the artifact at all and kept making it awkward for me.
“Th-that! Could it be that werewolves transforming into humans is related to this?!!”
Fortunately, Yeon-hee stepped in front of me and started to put forth her reasoning.
“According to the artifact’s description, it seems this is an item for communicating with the gods! To talk, you’d need to become a sentient being!”
For some reason, her voice was getting louder.
However, the others were still just staring intently at my face.
Panicking, Yeon-hee continued.
“The transformation into a human face…! Could it mean that it changed to a face that’s not repulsive in the eyes of the gods!!”
“Ah… is that so? That makes sense?”
“Definitely… It was an unrealistically beautiful face.”
“I thought… if Il-wol evolves further, he might end up with a face like that.”
“…It definitely looked similar…”
‘If I’m to stay in human form all day, I’d need to gather information on forty-four more people… but that’s impossible.’
It’s already surprising that three people in our party hit 100% from my standards.
‘Anyway, the Moon Goddess… Larmishiel. She seems to have some special abilities.’
Like the hunters, gods must have unique powers, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there was a capability to reveal one’s original form.
‘It was a bit hectic for a moment, but… it doesn’t seem like anything unusual happened. Should we get going?’
Despite the many intricately carved statues around the walls, they were so integrated into the space that taking them would require dismantling them. Messing with that might incur the wrath of the gods, so it’s best to leave them be.
Anyway, I was satisfied just to have received a quest that I didn’t get in my past life.
I inserted the artifact into the large engraved slot on the wall.
Seeing that it fit perfectly with not a speck of error made me genuinely happy.
Rumble—
Then the entire wall lifted, revealing another silver glimmering door waiting for us inside.
If I pull the artifact out again, the door will slowly close, so I should send my companions through first.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
“Huh? Hmm…!”
“Sh-should we go?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Though everyone still looked dazed, they passed through the door one by one at my signal.
Nervous that the statues densely placed on the walls might move like gargoyles, I quickly gathered the artifact and finally threw myself through the door, holding Yeon-hee.
*
The next day, we ventured back to the werewolf dungeon.
The effect of the Moon race lasted for two days.
The werewolf, having received the maximum effect, would undoubtedly be stronger than the main monster ‘Lukrakota’ in the upcoming B-rank dungeon.
The tactical movements of such werewolves gave experience points as if they were participating in a team battle with hunters of the same rank.
I deemed the training effect to be quite significant.
Of course, I also wanted to thoroughly check for any other ruins I might have missed.
I had taken on the role of protecting my companions in case any variables arose, and surprisingly, there turned out to be some gains.
– You have defeated a werewolf!
– While connected to ‘Larmishiel’ during the Moonlight phase, you defeated a hundred werewolves!
– Trait [Thievery] is activated.
– You have acquired the skill [Moonlight Stealth]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has been activated.
– All attributes have increased by 1!
‘Whoa… It’s been a while since I got some bonus steal. This feels like a bit of luck?’
While repeatedly defeating monsters, the low probability of earning additional skills from [Thievery] activated, allowing me to gain the skill [Moonlight Stealth].
During this special phase, various conditions synergized, granting me the race skill of the werewolf.
Thanks to the werewolf, just my increased attributes were considerable, so I’d say this was a major success.
Moonlight Stealth
– Blend into the moonlight, becoming invisible to the opponent’s sight, temporarily gaining an invincible state while completely avoiding physical attacks.
– Can only be activated on a full moon.
– Does not consume magic power.
‘Nice. From the skill effect, it seems like it matches the race trait. It’s a pity it’s time-limited, but an invincibility skill that doesn’t consume magic… even if the cooldown is long, that’s crazy, right?’
If the Orc Legion Commander suddenly shows up on a full moon, that would be perfect.
Additionally, I had successfully gathered plenty of materials for the skeleton bombs, and I was able to obtain several storm runes as well.
The skeleton bomb was a comforting presence that promised consistent damage.
It was also because of the destructive power of the bombs made from orc bones that I was able to relatively easily take down the tentacle monster dispatched by ‘Mostalia’ this time.
Storm Rune (Advanced)
– Critical Hit +4
– Duration +14
‘The storm rune is indeed a useful one. However, since I don’t need duration, it feels a bit awkward to use it just for the critical hit alone.’
Duration is said to be a stat that compensates for stamina loss incurred during battles. It can be particularly useful for Ah-rin, who always tires quickly and ends up panting.
“I’m starting to get the hang of this.”
“Me too. These guys ultimately follow a single pattern. Just throw in a light feint to drop the invincibility effect and then chain into a combo. Bam bam bam! And voila.”
“That’s only something you can do, Ah-rin. These are too tough for a sorcerer to handle. The orcs are a better choice.”
Nevertheless, my companions had gained a bit more confidence than the day before.
Riding that momentum, we quickly finished the boss battle and exited through the gate, receiving the intense attention of the hunters.
– They’ve arrived! Lee Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon!
– Wow… that’s amazing. Really. So gorgeous.
– Ugh, who would even dare talk to someone scary like ‘Armored Existence’ next to them?
– They say the summoned creature named Il-wol has a combat power almost on par with A-rank.
– Crazy? A-rank? Tell that monster to skedaddle to the upper tiers already. What are they doing here?
‘Like I’d stay just because they want me to.’
“Ugh… I want to stack some more experience in this dungeon, but with people like that around, I can’t stay even if I wanted to.”
“Definitely… It’d feel pretty awkward to linger here after promotion.”
“Especially since they made such a big deal out of the special promotion after three years, it’s understandable how people are reacting.”
“Hmmm… so is tomorrow our first expedition?”
“Yeah. It’s not that far to call it an expedition, though.”
“Finally, we’re getting out of here!”
“It’s not a vacation, Ha-yoon.”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
We decided to temporarily embark on an expedition to the city where Cha Jin-hyuk was. It would only be a two-day schedule.
It was to explore the dungeon featuring the monster ‘Lukrakota’ as the main attraction.
In fact, I could skip that and go straight to the ‘Living Statue of Power’ but I forced it into the schedule since I needed it.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Cha Jin-hyuk and Haseirin.’
It was about time to give Cha Jin-hyuk some information and instruct him to prepare for the future.
*
As soon as we arrived in the city where Cha Jin-hyuk was, we headed straight for the dungeon without even a chance to meet him.
I heard he had been busy raiding dungeons since early morning.
“Wow- so spacious. So wide.”
“It feels a lot like when we were in the Wolf Den dungeon before. I like this open feeling.”
“The air is a bit humid, though. Last time was refreshing.”
We entered the dungeon and immediately started hunting Lukrakota.
Crash—!
“Yip-!”
– You have defeated Lukrakota!
– Trait [Thievery] is activated.
– You have acquired the trait [Herd Hunting]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has been activated!
– All attributes have increased by 1!
– Trait [Thievery] is activated.
– You have acquired the trait [Cleaner’s Tooth]!
– The trait [Spiked Tooth] enhances [Cleaner’s Tooth]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has been activated!
– All attributes have increased by 1!
After defeating over a hundred Lukrakotas, both abilities I gained were traits.
I expected no skills, but to have [Thievery] activated again and gain two traits made the time worthwhile.
[Cleaner’s Tooth]
– Attack power doubles when attacking with teeth.
– Can permanently damage armor made from monster byproducts by chewing on it.
– Temporarily steals defense from completely destroyed armor.
‘What a ridiculous ability.’
While at first glance it seems great that my defense would increase when completely destroying the armor, chewing through equipment to destroy it is no small feat. How long would it take?
‘Still, passive traits are better in higher quantities. It might yield unexpected effects during brawls.’
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