“Ah… just a little more rest is all I need. J-just ten minutes…”
“Wow, that was quite the frenzy. Isn’t controlling magic a basic skill?”
“Can you stop nagging already? Hah… I’m about to die from exhaustion.”
As Yeon-hee watched the trembling Ha-yoon, she spoke up.
“Everyone knows ten minutes won’t cut it, so just rest well. After all, we did benefit from it.”
“………. Okay… I get it…”
But even as Ha-yoon replied, her gaze was somewhere else.
Glance—
Glance—
“Stop staring already. You’ll poke a hole through me. Are you scared I’ll hit you again?”
Ignoring Noh Ha-yoon’s gaze, I diligently collected the Lizardman’s corpses, instructing the Lizard Squad on the dismemberment process.
It was a sight quite unfamiliar for monsters. What kind of imagination did my actions spark in Noh Ha-yoon?
– She’s definitely a High-Rank Hunter… right… it’s clear… [Mimicry] must’ve caused her rank to drop, leading her to operate here… but why skeletons of all things? No way… it could be part of a game starting from the weakest monsters… wait? Then what did she blow up before? Gasp! Was that an afterimage?! A Hunter who’s entered the phase of materializing illusions?! If that Hunter is at that level, the range has narrowed dramatically…
Muttering to myself…
“What the hell is she on about, lost in her thoughts? What sort of Hunter can maintain Mimicry for such a long time? Maybe if it’s an Elf, but…”
After bemusing for a while, Noh Ha-yoon finally collapsed to the floor and slipped into deep sleep.
Snore— snore—
“Hah… seriously. Why’s she acting like that? Are the Vision Guild crews not giving her proper training? The big three guilds are a load of nonsense.”
“What a nuisance in various ways. Seriously, why did she keep casting spells like that… though it did make things easier.”
“………”
We waited about twenty minutes, but Noh Ha-yoon showed no signs of waking up. The fact that she fell asleep from over-exerting her magic was a sign that the side effects were mild, but it was still troublesome.
I grabbed Noh Ha-yoon by the nape and pointed at the party members to gauge their opinions.
“Should I ask if we should carry her?”
“Wow… is she even a person? What kind of summoned creature behaves like that?…”
Yeon-hee shook her head vigorously at me, then quickly summoned Lizardman 2.
“2, carry that woman.”
Phuwook—
Lizardman 2 didn’t seem to like Yeon-hee’s command as much as before, but silently heaving Noh Ha-yoon over his shoulder, there was no complaint.
“But she’ll at least wake up before we get there, right?”
By “there,” Helen meant the Lizard Swamp located at the very end of the dungeon, where the Lizardman Champion awaited.
Since it regenerates once every two hours, we needed to move quickly to have at least one shot at it.
“Let’s head out for now.”
…
…
…
Three hours later.
“Ugh? Huh!! Aaaah!!”
Noh Ha-yoon, drooling on Lizardman 2’s shoulder, abruptly woke up with a loud startle.
Having slept for a whopping three hours, it was shocking enough to give her goosebumps. Taking a nap in a dungeon? It was an action that begged for a slap across the face dozens of times.
During the three hours Ha-yoon had been sleeping, we had made a straight path towards the Lizard Swamp, encountering enemies just twice.
Considering that Noh Ha-yoon was in a vulnerable state and we had to protect her while fighting, I, positioned at the front lines, did my utmost to avoid conflict.
The day’s goal was to retrieve the artifact lying at the bottom of the swamp; we could return to battle later based on the situation.
“Hey, finally up? Did you enjoy Lizardman’s solid shoulders?”
“W-what!! How long was I out?”
“Three hours…”
“Ugh…?”
Only then did Noh Ha-yoon seem to realize she had been an enormous burden, bowing her head sincerely in apology.
‘At least you have some sense of decency.’
She likely understood well the significance of falling into a state of combat inability within the dungeon. Frankly, leaving Noh Ha-yoon behind would have been justifiable. In a way, she owed her life to us, so she should at least apologize.
“Enough about that; let’s talk about the immediate situation again.”
“Yes… we’ve arrived?”
“As you can see. But the problem is, there are too many people in front. We’re at the very back of the line, with about 90 people ahead of us. It doesn’t look like there will be much to eat… should we still try?”
Helen seemed to be hoping that we could initiate combat once the next turn arrived.
Typically, in this boss stage, you’d find one Lizardman Champion accompanied by about fifty regular Lizardmen.
The base for attempting was set at 100 people.
I’m not sure who established that standard. It’s just an unwritten rule everyone has upheld all this time.
Clearing it provides the achievement [Master of the Swamp] and a high probability of obtaining multiple mid-tier Rune of Giants.
Gaining [Master of the Swamp] removes the penalty of a 10% stat drop when entering the Lizard Swamp dungeon.
Noh Ha-yoon’s act of ferrying her fellow guild members was also telling of how she helped them achieve this accomplishment.
Right now, Yeon-hee and I were in our early thirties. We needed to stay here until we hit level 40, so this achievement was a must-get.
‘It’s better to head straight in. I can slip below and retrieve whatever I need in the midst of the chaos at the back.’
I took Yeon-hee’s hand to grab her attention, bobbing my head forward a few times.
“Ah… what do you say we just go this time?”
“Hm… well, with you here, it might be enough… but people might mistake your summoned creatures for enemies, so there could be some restrictions on powering up.”
“I’m planning to summon just the spirits and slimes at first. I’ll handle the adjustments later.”
‘This is somewhat irritating. Things might improve once Yeon-hee gets famous.’
It was still challenging for other Hunters to easily accept that a summoner’s summon could be a monster, which was regrettable given the restrictions that followed.
We stepped inside the marked line to indicate our willingness to participate, and soon, a transparent barrier sprung up at the back.
Now, the Hunters who were behind couldn’t enter even if they wanted to.
Setting up barriers like this was also among the duties of the Hunter Management Department employees.
Kugugugugu—
Bubbling—
‘They’re starting to come up.’
The depth of the Lizard Swamp generally varies by country and region, but the average depth tends to slightly surpass 2m within a 50m radius.
I had actually been to a similar Lizard Swamp that existed in Osaka, Japan, and it wasn’t significantly different from here. Of course, the goal was to gather artifacts. Someone told me they’d buy this cloak I’d get here for a hefty price.
– Holding many is not as good as holding none. If an artifact is acquired multiple times, it leads to a deadly curse. Will you proceed to obtain it?
However, after seeing such a chilling curse message, I never bothered checking out other places just to acquire the same artifact again.
That said, it wasn’t easy to come back up even at a depth of 2m, making it a dangerous terrain where one could turn into a nutrient for the swamp if one were to fall in during combat.
From that depth, something of a massive form was slowly rising up. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t make sense for such a huge form to arise from a 2m deep swamp, but now, no one cared about that.
“Return to your designated spots! You can’t enter inside the line—! Line up properly, there!”
One management staff was diligently trying to maintain order.
Hunters set up a line outside the swamp, adjusting their positions as they waited. After all, the Lizardmen were a belligerent species that would engage on their own.
Just before combat commenced, I drew a small heart with my fingers towards Yeon-hee.
“Huh?!”
Seeing my sign, Yeon-hee’s face grew crimson as she jolted in surprise. After a moment, recalling our pre-arranged sign, she stuck out her tongue and nodded.
It was a signal that I would be briefly leaving the battlefield.
‘…I should be alright going and coming back.
I felt a bit anxious, but as long as the Lizardman Champion didn’t come our way, it should be fine.
And bringing Noh Ha-yoon along was solely for this moment.
The safety of our team was paramount, and even if I fell back, I had to ensure I held the top contribution to secure the Rune of Giants.
After all, the Champion only targeted the nearest foes, making it potentially advantageous to be positioned in the rear where I could deal safely. We also had the Lizard Squad optimized for the swamp.
Currently, the number of Lizard Squad members had increased to thirteen. I couldn’t unleash them all at once, but that part was entirely up to Yeon-hee now.
Roar— roar— roar!!
The sharp roar sent tremors through the shoulders of the front-line Hunters.
-……!!!
To release the tension, the Hunters collectively shouted war cries and launched their attacks at the Lizardman Champion.
Fortunately, Noh Ha-yoon’s gaze was also directed that way.
[Stealth]
I seized that moment to swiftly conceal myself and stepped under the swamp.
Bubble— bubble—
The damp soil, saturated with moisture, engulfed my legs, devoid of any bone structure, and the murky muck further darkened my unclear vision.
In moments like this, I had come to know that simply closing my eyes and relying on my senses was the most comfortable approach.
Boom— boom— boom—
With my body fully submerged, explosive sounds erupted from above in a chain reaction.
However, my nerves were entirely focused on the faintly pulsating waves of sensation.
‘Where are you…’
Being underwater scattered my concentration, reducing my sensory range to almost 80m. But this level was sufficient for exploration.
Reflecting on the previous experiences of locating artifacts, it had been slightly different from where I remembered.
‘Still, the fact that it’s at the innermost, deepest place likely hasn’t changed.’
After about two minutes of crawling on all fours across the bottom, I finally noticed something with my senses.
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.
