It was much smaller than the medium-sized Earth Puppy I saw in the dungeon, so when it hopped into her arms, it was small enough to almost disappear from sight.
‘Is that the cute one next to the cute one?’
It was definitely a picture that cleansed the eyes, and I found myself staring blankly at the two of them.
“Il-wol, do you want to touch it too? Aww- the fur is so soft!”
I had taken a few steps when her question made me unconsciously take a step forward.
‘Oh? My foot moved?’
Was it because of what she just said? Anyway, I moved closer and gently placed my hand on the body of the creature that looked like cotton candy.
Wang – Wang!
‘Will it be named Wang-wang?’
Given her naming sense, it was highly likely.
‘As expected, there’s nothing to feel just by touching.’
In the end, as I focused my sense on my hand and petted the puppy, I felt a very faint sensation like when I was human. Surprisingly, the little guy seemed to really enjoy it, drooling all over the place as soon as my hand touched it.
After a few more pets, I saw her looking at the furball with a serious expression again.
‘This déjà vu…’
“What if we name it Wang-wang?”
‘Ah- as expected… you had an unknown charm in your past life, but as a child, you were so easy to predict.’
Wang-! Wang-!
Well, the puppy didn’t seem to have any signs of dislike, so it was decided that the name would be Wang-wang. By now, the puppy’s status window probably showed “Earth Puppy Wang-wang.” Thinking that made me feel cheerful, and my shoulder blades trembled lightly.
“Hah… It’s definitely different from Il-wol. I can feel the mana being consumed. Cuddling it while sleeping will be a bit hard, huh… Ugh…”
She pouted her lips in genuine disappointment as she petted Wang-wang.
“By the way, I wonder if Wang-wang has any skills? Hmm?”
With Wang-wang in her arms, Yeon-hee closed her eyes and started rolling her eyeballs left and right.
‘I’m curious too… It should surely have a digging skill.’
Wait, that’s a trait, isn’t it? It must have a passive property from the start.
“Aww… Our Wang-wang even has a skill?! Hehe, that’s so nice!”
… Yeah, right now, I think Wang-wang could even poop on the wall, and I would say that’s fine.
“I get the digging trait, but basic transformation? Isn’t a skill that produces mana stones quite unique?”
… What? It copies mana stones?
There’s a skill that copies mana stones, which are now widely used as an energy source? I clearly heard her say “produce,” but my brain understood it as “copy.”
“Hmm… it seems to really like monster bones. If it eats a certain amount, it can spit them out as mana stones? Why?”
Well—rather than questioning the mechanism, shouldn’t I think about Wang-wang’s intentions, who has been drooling while looking at me since a while ago?
“Hehe, it seems like it really likes Il-wol. It keeps staring only at you. Come on—let’s play together!”
‘Of course, with a nice bone in front of it, it can’t help but get excited…’
Wang! Wang! Heh heh-!
The little guy, set free from Yeon-hee’s hands, rushed toward me and started licking my finger bones.
And just a moment later…
Crunch- Crunch-
“Ahh! No, Wang-wang! If Il-wol eats it, it will collapse!”
‘The term “collapse” is a bit much, but thanks.’
Wang…
The little guy sulked and snuggled back into her arms, wagging its chubby tail.
“Hmm— but fragile Wang-wang might have a hard time accompanying us in the dungeon… Once we get some monster bones, I’ll store them and try feeding it! If I level it up, maybe it will unlock a hidden skill, ugh-”
‘One wonders if that undisciplined little guy will even have any additional skills, but it’s a fair point. Each level boosts stats considerably, and new skills or traits can occasionally emerge.’
“Wang-wang, you stay in for today~ Mom will call you once I get some bones, got it? Hehe.”
Wang! Wang!
Wang-wang joyfully spun around once and then started panting.
“Kyaah! So cute!”
Anyway, seeing her smile made me feel great, and I couldn’t help but feel pleased myself.
“I haven’t counted precisely, but I’ve probably killed around 700 to 800 goblins. Now that I have Il-wol, if I can at least take down 20 or more, then achieving that goal in 10 days should be enough, right?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap-!”
“Tomorrow, let’s ensure Il-wol doesn’t die and can successfully come back!”
She firmly clenched her fist and affirmed her resolution. This time, she didn’t release me from her summoning even while going to bed.
“I still can’t sleep in the same room with Il-wol, so I’ll be playing in the living room, okay?”
Nod-
‘Well, I wouldn’t want to sleep in the same space as a skeleton with deep darkness in its eyes either.’
I quickly agreed and stood awkwardly in the living room, checking my stats.
=====
Protection
– Shares half of the damage taken by the summoner.
=====
‘Trait [Protection]… this is a really good trait.’
To maximize the effect of this ability, I would need to either increase the number of summoned creatures to share damage or boost my health—one or the other.
‘I can’t neglect my health.’
Even though I have 98 lives, the truth is that if Yeon-hee dies, I would likely perish as well. So the top priority had to be her safety.
Spreading my sense out to monitor her movements, I moved my creaking body around to pass the time. Occasionally, hearing her sobs made my heart ache a bit, but there was nothing I could do.
As morning broke, just before heading to the dungeon, she sent me back to the space.
“I’ll see you later~”
‘Even though I’ve been revealed as a summoner, it wouldn’t be of any use to take something like me outside.’
After spending some time growing increasingly accustomed to Dark Space, the door opened again.
“Roar!”
…?
“Phuhuh- Il-wol, were you surprised? Hmm? Were you surprised?”
Maybe she was attempting to mimic a tiger with her arms wide open? Welcoming her cute face, I was tempted to touch her cheeks but restrained myself while surveying the surroundings.
‘Hmm- This seems different from the last point.’
Since there were hunter management officials stationed at the dungeon entrance, it seemed like last time they called me from much farther away.
This time, there was still a notice, but I could vaguely see the gate serving as both the entry and exit to the dungeon.
Like goblin dungeons where the entrance and exit are the same, it was relatively easy to encounter people near the entrance.
Rustle-
‘Three people…’
Just like now.
– Oh?! That’s a summoner over there…
– Hmm? How do you know they’re wearing a robe?
– Don’t you see the skeleton beside them, you idiot.
– They say she’s super pretty, but she’s covering it up…
– Should we go talk to her?
– Stop talking nonsense and just move.
Fortunately, the party of three guys I met after just a few steps did not hit on Yeon-hee.
But it was lucky it was near the entrance; if we had crossed paths deeper inside, who knows how they would have reacted.
“Hah… meeting people is always nerve-wracking…”
Once she secured a safe distance, she let out a deep breath and tightly held my hand. I wondered if she could feel any stability by holding the cold bones, but seeing her face gradually brighten, I nodded.
‘She managed to hold up on her own…’
In a past-life interview with a newspaper, she had mentioned that what scared her most as a novice hunter was not the monsters but the occasional encounters with other hunters; seeing the cold sweat beading on her forehead made it clear.
After walking through the grassy path for about 40 minutes…
“A cave. It doesn’t look very big… Il-wol, can you maybe analyze it?”
There stood a small cave about 2m high, bordered by a small clearing.
Not necessarily filled with monsters, other ordinary creatures might be lurking there, so I extended my sense net inward from the entrance.
The transparent net reached a little over 10m, and I detected a few life forms imbued with mana.
‘Five slimes…’
I gestured toward her while drawing a circular shape in the air with my hands.
“It’s slimes?! Can you tell how many?”
In response, she instantly spread five fingers.
“Five… are they all clustered together?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
“They’re not clustered… Good. It’s proving to be tough encountering monsters today, so let’s catch these instead.”
She pulled two torches from her inventory, handed one to me, and we entered the cave together.
=====
A torch infused with mana.
– This torch is the maximum success of the Alchemist ‘Jinhyeon’, burning long with little mana, making it a choice for many aspiring hunters.
=====
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this.’
I hadn’t used a torch since joining the White Knight Guild; it felt nostalgic.
Drip-
Since the cave was so small, after only a few steps, I spotted the slimes climbing up the round walls towards the ceiling. Lying on the ground were a few bat-like creatures in a state of decay.
‘Looks like we interrupted their meal.’
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