“Whoa… Is that a real monster?”
“What’s with its size… It feels like it’s above the level of just a Lizardman… At this point, isn’t that a mutant level? I don’t think I can beat it, sis…”
“Right… We barely stand a chance if we don’t join forces…”
Lee Young-chul was so shocked that he couldn’t close his mouth, while Helen and Jin-kyeong looked shocked for a different reason.
Receiving their gazes, Lizardman 1 flexed his chest muscles with a strangely satisfied expression.
Meanwhile, Yeon-hee summoned more Lizardmen, bringing the total to four.
Thanks to the crystal effect, she could maintain up to four Lizardmen without using magic power. Of course, Lime and Ddak-ddak-i for defense were also included.
“Wow…”
It shouldn’t be shocking yet, since they hadn’t shown their full strength.
“Let’s go…”
Yeon-hee coolly announced the start, and after a moment of complicated expression, Lee Young-chul took the lead and began to move again.
‘You’re surprised it’s tougher than you thought, huh?’
Right now, Lee Young-chul was probably busy calculating in his head. But the conclusion would be that he’d try to put us in danger somehow. He wouldn’t be the type to hold back his desires just because things became tougher.
After about 20 minutes of trudging through squishy ground that slowed our steps, we were finally on the verge of our first battle.
‘Thirteen Lizardmen… We’ve already encountered quite a decent-sized group from the start.’
Moments after I spotted them, Jin-kyeong raised his arm, clenching his fist.
(Thirteen…)
Gulp.
They usually roamed in groups of around ten, but the first encounter was always nerve-wracking.
Phew…
Yeon-hee looked just as tense.
‘Normally, I’d sneak up on them at this point, but for now, let’s just observe.’
The initiative belonged to the Lizard Squad.
Churrrrup!! Sha-hah!
Chah-hah!
One charged in with a loud tongue sound, rushing towards the enemies, while Dotti, Lee Young-chul, and I followed closely. The strategy was for us to stir up the battlefield while Helen and Jin-kyeong dealt damage.
‘Shall I kick things off?’
[Dagger Throw]
[Skeleton Bomb]
Whoosh- Boom!!
Kweeek-!!
Blood gushed into the sky from one side of the Lizardman’s head that took a direct hit from the bomb.
Grururung-
They didn’t die instantly, but after getting electrocuted, they trembled momentarily before collapsing like logs.
‘Even a hit like that won’t take them down in one blow. But they can be rendered almost unable to fight for a bit. After all, I couldn’t take down a Hobgoblin in one shot either. I should temper my expectations.’
Yet, surprisingly, the 0.05-second paralysis effect seemed useful. It provided a brief moment of disarray in their fighting spirit… or rather, it made them forget their instincts to battle for a second.
“Ugh!! W-What?! That was really a bomb?!”
Jin-kyeong was startled like an audience member on a morning variety show, despite Yeon-hee already briefing us about the situation.
And another person, also shocked by my bomb attack, was Lee Young-chul.
“Phew… this… today is something…”
He exhaled deeply, giving me a look entirely different from when I first met him.
‘This guy…’
Despite that, Lee Young-chul’s skills were remarkable.
“Huff! Hup!!”
Creeeak- Bam!
He clearly had pondered how to use a shield as both a defensive and offensive weapon in his movements.
It was an 80:20 ratio—focusing mainly on defense while briefly attacking to exploit openings.
“Shield Charge!!”
Boom!
He pushed back the foes targeting the dealers, spinning around to stop our party from being surrounded while continuing the fight.
At this level, his movement was exceptionally smooth and his judgment sharp.
‘I can’t deny it. This guy truly is overflowing with talent.’
Potential-wise, he might be as good as Yu Dal-ri.
Of course, that’s only if he continues to stay alive.
“Number Seven! Number Eight!”
Yeon-hee summoned up to eight Lizardmen, and with “Acceleration” granted by Ran, she actively participated in the attacks.
However, rather than aggressively pulling back her bowstring like before, she was assessing how to efficiently deploy her summons, observing the battlefield from a distance.
“Number Two! Just throw Ddak-ddak-i far away! Number Four! Don’t advance; stick to the enemies nearby!”
She displayed signs of becoming a competent commander.
Whoooosh- Bang!!
Khek!…
Of course, I didn’t want to feel stagnant either.
‘Keep thinking…’
Among the thirteen, four Lizardmen were heavily injured by my bomb. The rest remained fresh, so I tossed bombs one by one while observing our teammates’ movements.
‘Lee Young-chul is strong as expected, but what about Helen and Jin-kyeong?’
“Screw! These guys are fast!!”
“If we drag this out, it’ll only get worse!”
Right now, the Lizardmen were likely in an improved state, with their basic abilities boosted by more than 20%. Meanwhile, we were at a disadvantage of 10%. Even simple math shows a 30% gap.
So their swings felt like lightning.
Zwooosh-!
“Ack! You bastard!!”
Their movements were like the wind.
Buuuuu-
“Damn it! Did they dodge?!”
It seemed like back in the Goblin Dungeon, these two were always struggling, leaving a bitter aftertaste.
Huff-huff-
Nevertheless, after intense battles left Helen and Jin-kyeong breathless,
“Flying Slash!”
Keh-!
With Helen’s skill slicing through the air twice from above, they managed to take down two Lizardmen. They might have struggled in a pure one-on-one, but their past synergy helped them reduce difficulties.
In the midst of that fierce battle, Jin-kyeong’s stubbornness to steal silver was commendable.
“Push through!!”
Yeon-hee’s delicate voice tingled in my ear, and excluding the weakened Lizardmen from bomb damage, the summoned creatures now outnumbered the Lizardmen by 1.5 times.
‘Better stop using bombs and wrap this up.’
[Reckless Charge]
Tatadat- Bang!
Under Yeon-hee’s command, all summons charged at the Lizardmen, stabbing their daggers at the fallen enemies’ vital spots.
[Slam] [Slam] [Slam]
Thud-thud-thud-thud!!
The warm blood of the Lizardmen soaked into my skull, and at the moment I killed the third, a message appeared—exactly what I had been hoping for since entering this dungeon.
– You have defeated a Lizardman!
– This entity does not possess skills. The probability of stealing the trait [Thievery] is increased by 5%.
– Trait [Thievery] has been activated.
– You steal a random trait from the Lizardman.
– You have acquired the trait [Blessing of Irmana]!
‘Okay, I’ve stolen one for now.’
Blessing of Irmana
– One of the two blessings bestowed by the Goddess of Water Irmana upon the Lizard Tribe, which achieved significant merit in the Divine-Magic War.
– In environments similar to theirs, no one can easily subdue them.
‘Did they get two blessings? What’s this Divine-Magic War? Did they live in such a world?’
I thought I wouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore, but this was incredibly interesting. What could the other blessing be?
Creeeek-
‘Huh?! Bone?’
The bone slightly swelled, interrupting my thoughts for a moment.
– The blessing of Irmana is activated.
– The degree of the blessing is determined in proportion to the rank.
– Strength, Agility, Health, Magic Power, and Recovery each rise by 20!
‘… What?! This is insane?! The buff was that strong!’
It was the effect of a level-up by more than ten levels at once.
Boom!
I easily tested slashes up, down, left, and right. My movements became more fluid, with speed and strength beyond what was normal.
‘Heh…’
Nodding my head vigorously, I shouted in my head.
‘Jackpot!! It’s like winning the lottery!!’
Of course, this buff would disappear once I left this marsh, but just being able to act like a gangster in one dungeon held immense merit.
If I were to commit fully to living as a stronghold here, my combat power could rise to the point of being the strongest within these confines.
I looked at my status window again, feeling satisfied.
=====
[Skeleton Bombardier Il-wol – Lv.28]
Strength: 80(+20) Agility: 94(+20) Health: 91(+20)
Wisdom: 68 Magic Power: 110(+20) Resistance: 7
Sense: 34 Recovery: 40(+20)
Traits: Calm, Protection, Thievery, 97 Lives, Adhesion, Pain Resistance, Ovez’s Blessing, Blessing of Irmana
Skills: Slam, Stealth, Dagger Throw, Acid Spray, Beginner Transformation, Reckless Charge, Contaminated Breath, Skeleton Bomb
Equipment: Sage Arhen’s Guardian Dagger, Big Boar Leather Armor
=====
“Heh heh… It’s nice being a skeleton when I don’t have to manage my expression.”
With such a boost in stats, I couldn’t stay still. I immediately began landing lethal attacks with my dagger, starting with the nearest Lizardman.
Thud!! Whoosh-
Kheek-!!
“Wow… What the hell is that skeleton… Is that the same one I summoned before? Why is it so fast?”
“Sis… there’s no place for us here, sob sob…”
‘Oh no, have I gotten too carried away?’
Not just Helen and Jin-kyeong, even Lee Young-chul was wide-eyed, desperately trying to follow my movements.
Zwoosh-
Finally, I slowed down, gliding to a stop on the ground. I was a little out of breath, shoulders rising and falling.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
