Despite his chaotic heart, the strategy continued.
– Heehee!
A teasing breeze tickled his skin.
From a distance, something was dashing through the wind, making a ruckus.
Wind Horse.
With an intuitive name like ‘Wind Horse,’ it resembled the Green Line Lake that Ji-yeon had just massacred.
Long legs led to quick speed and agility.
This creature could boost its mobility and stability with its innate wind attribute magic.
The standard rank of the Wind Horse was 6th tier.
The Wind Horses, that were rapidly closing the gap, were mostly around the 6th tier, but the leader, whipping up quite a strong wind, was of the 5th tier.
‘5th tier… Definitely not the alpha of the dungeon. Just a standard tier increase.’
He transferred a small amount of magic extracted from the core to the floating spirit beside him.
Zzzzt! Though it was a small amount, the quality of the magic was exceptional.
The lightning spirit, receiving the magic, shook its body and spit out sparks.
– Kwarrrlng!
Immediately, a loud boom resonated in his eardrums. The Wind Horse’s pained cries echoed as a thick bolt of lightning tore through its protective wind barrier and struck its body.
– Kwarrrrng!
The lightning did not stop at just one strike.
The bolts spat by one spirit were more than just one, and the lightning spirit was not alone either.
The barrage of lightning split the air.
Bolts from various positions engulfed the leading Wind Horse, as well as the group following behind.
– Boom!
Amid the torrential assault of lightning, a battered Wind Horse emerged.
It was the 5th tier creature that had been leading the charge.
‘Hmm.’
He subtly turned his head. Even with his eyes closed, he was just showing his face to the spirit.
[Pffft.]
– Zzzling!
The lightning spirits, upon seeing his strange face, puffed up their bodies.
A feeling of discontent, akin to shame, spread among them.
Shrugging that off, he handed them a handful of magic.
Zzzzt! The sparks that formed were stronger than before, with multiple thin bolts reaching towards the sky.
The wind magic in the air transformed. He twitched his fingers in response to the tingling sensation.
– Kwarrrrng!
A massive bolt of lightning fell upon the battered Wind Horse.
With a considerably stronger output than the previous strikes, the Wind Horse’s legs wobbled.
Bang! Ultimately, the Wind Horse crumbled. It stumbled and slid across the ground, its body collapsing.
The roughened Wind Horse finally came to a halt near his feet.
Though its skin was tattered, its insides boiled and scorched, the Wind Horse eventually breathed its last.
‘Hmm.’
He poked at the Wind Horse’s corpse with a strange expression.
5th tier creature.
Sure, it lacked uniqueness despite its elevated rank, but it still held a decent base value.
That kind of creature was effortlessly cleaned up by a dozen lower-tier spirits.
‘Nice efficiency.’
Nodding, he gently patted the lightning spirits, who seemed to be expecting praise.
‘Well done, keep it up.’
– Zzzling!
‘Now, you all return to your positions.’
The lightning spirits, gleaming with joy, soared off into the forest ahead.
Not long after, thunder sounded from a distance.
They were fulfilling the instructions to deal with incoming monsters on their own.
Such orders were disseminated to all spirits, and inside the forest, colorful spirits and monsters were in a relentless scuffle.
He checked on the situation for a moment.
It was indeed pushing back, not being pushed back at all.
‘Good.’
He felt the worth of learning spirit magic once more. It was definitely worth it. He nodded repeatedly, extending his hand forward.
‘Come here.’
– Woooo…?
The wind trembled gently.
A green light swirling around the recently deceased Wind Horse flickered.
This dungeon was filled with spirits.
While mid-level spirits were rare in nature, lower-tier spirits could occasionally be encountered.
Lower-tier spirits wandered in areas where the suitable attributes lingered or around monsters that scattered such magic.
– Wooooo…
The air spirit moved at his gesture.
Normally, spirits that hadn’t formed a contract wouldn’t follow orders, but thanks to his presumed racial value, the spirit willingly settled onto his palm.
After giving the spirit a gentle pat, he summoned white magic and softly asked it.
– Woooo!
The spirit’s body trembled greatly while enjoying the pampering atop his palm.
Woooo… As it shivered, the light suddenly turned white before returning to its original green.
The process occurred in an instant.
He smiled brightly.
He could feel the connection to the spirit atop his palm.
The contract was formed as easily as cooking beans with lightning.
Typically, the summoner would present a contract for the spirit to sign, but due to his race and magical prowess, it seemed to be the other way around: the spirit presented the contract to him first.
Thanks to this, he could effortlessly gather spirits.
Already, he had collected over thirty spirits in this dungeon.
After petting the shaking new spirit in his grasp, he sent it off to where the wind spirits were gathered.
‘Manifest, Spirit Magic.’
– Good…
Thus, while training spirit magic, he was concurrently developing necromancy.
In front of him, the corpse of the collapsed Wind Horse stirred.
With a squelch… The broken bones and torn muscles haphazardly reassembled into a necromancer’s form.
‘…It’s lacking a bit.’
The results were honestly unsatisfactory.
This was raw necromancy without Taesan’s aid.
Without Taesan’s enhancement, the results were subpar.
Comparing it to Ji-yeon’s summons, the difference was stark enough to inadvertently screw up his lips.
‘But using Taesan here would be pushing it…’
Why would he use Taesan right before Ji-yeon?
Of course, he’d use it in unavoidable situations, but currently, it wasn’t one of those situations.
…In fact, even if he got caught in the act of homogeneity now, he wouldn’t be defenseless against it, yet there was no need to poke a hornet’s nest.
He sighed deeply and sent the clumsy necromancer behind him.
“How’s it going over there?”
[Yes, all good.]
Nodding in response to Ji-yeon’s glance at the necromancer heading back, she stood behind him, unlike before.
Because of the agreement they had just made.
What he didn’t have to worry about was… well… it was a pleasant feeling, but standing idle like that would decrease their growth rate.
So, they decided to swap places to deal with monsters.
After the agreement, Ji-yeon was summoning her undead with gusto and sending them behind.
The specially modified summons of Ji-yeon were slaughtering monsters while the undead taken from them were used as a meat shield for their formation.
Necromancy truly shone in battle.
Especially since a necromancer like Ji-yeon was packed with magic and had excellent recovery, allowing her to maintain her warrior capabilities without tiring.
Thanks to this, the number of undead kept increasing over time.
His rear was tightly packed with the temporary army that Ji-yeon had formed.
In the gaps that Ji-yeon had created out of consideration, he crammed in his own summons to train necromancy.
Sure, the temporarily created undead had mediocre performance and wore out quickly, but they were disposable, so it didn’t matter.
They were just raising his proficiency and serving as meat shields to maintain the front line.
– Grrooorrrr…!
Of course, he had a specially modified? undead as well.
Hearing the noise from beside him, he frowned.
– Smack!
– Khaaaang!
So, he swiftly smacked its head with his staff.
The one with the staff lodged in its head cried out again.
That noise was very, very displeasing.
‘Shut up.’
There’s a basic absolute obedience function between necromancers and their undead.
He ordered it to shut its mouth, and it did.
He grimaced as he poked its head with the tip of his staff.
‘If you dare open your mouth again, I’ll smash your head in.’
Of course, he wouldn’t destroy it since he had put effort into it, but he could still torture it a bit.
He restored the scattered bits of its body and sent it back to the front line.
This way, he would raise the synchronization rate of body and spirit, and later give it additional enhancements to make it decent enough to use.
*
Before entering the dungeon, Ji-yeon made a small resolution.
‘Don’t let Lee Ha-yul overdo it.’
When they were discussing at the cafe.
She was horrified by Lee Ha-yul’s declaration that if she didn’t go with him, he would enter the 2nd tier dungeon alone.
Of course, it was somewhat needless worry.
Since it was a dungeon within Shio-ram, basic management was all in place.
Additionally, the safety devices provided by the vice president would ensure no threats to their lives.
…But even considering that, the worry didn’t go away.
Right now, Lee Ha-yul was in a state where it wouldn’t be surprising if he crumbled on his own.
And even if he could hold on a bit longer, who knew how much life force he might expend coming out of there?
‘…At least he’s periodically replenishing his life force, which is a relief…’
Of course, Lee Ha-yul seemed aware, periodically filling himself with life force.
The merits of the life force management method through Taesan were obvious.
It seemed Ji-yeon had figured out how to recharge it, as he did it in places unseen by her.
…But for some reason, he only replenished it in small amounts.
Eventually, unable to bear it, Ji-yeon would scoop him up and fill him to the brim with life force.
Thus, Ji-yeon intended to take on a reliable role as they entered the dungeon.
To ensure that Lee Ha-yul didn’t overextend himself and that she could rely on him to some extent.
But…
“……”
Ji-yeon blinked as she came back to her senses.
In her eyes appeared the lavish temporary dwelling.
The magical tools aside, the magic spread around was comprised of high-level spells that she couldn’t dare comprehend.
All of it had been set up by Lee Ha-yul himself.
[?]
[Shall I give you more?]
Lee Ha-yul, sitting in the opposite chair munching on an energy bar, tilted his head.
In front of his plump cheeks was a pot of soup that was still bubbling.
“…Yes, please.”
After hesitating for a moment, Ji-yeon finally shyly extended her bowl in response to the delicious smell wafting from the soup Lee Ha-yul had made.
It was just too tasty…
‘Hoo…’
Ji-yeon carefully took a sip of the soup and recalled the memories from a few hours earlier.
When they first entered, she had behaved quite well.
She knew Lee Ha-yul was strong, but he had shown a remarkably reliable side too.
In fact, it seemed Lee Ha-yul felt the same way, circling around her with a surprised expression.
However, after that, he didn’t really show much reliability.
Necromancy? Of course, Ji-yeon was superior. Lee Ha-yul was hiding Taesan and wasn’t receiving its buffs in his necromancy.
But Lee Ha-yul had spirit magic.
The countless bubbles of light that poured out from around him were far from inferior to Ji-yeon’s summons…
His combat prowess?
Clearly higher than Ji-yeon.
He was never at a level where he needed protection from Ji-yeon.
Search capability?
Far wider, more accurate, and quicker than Ji-yeon’s, who had harmonized with the earth through Taesan.
Ability to set up formations?
All Ji-yeon did was stack earth to maintain the walls’ function.
Even that was thanks to Taesan’s ability, so Lee Ha-yul, who held Taesan, could undoubtedly do it too…
And Lee Ha-yul had even inscribed advanced magic all over the walls and floors.
Previously, Ji-yeon could interpret its purpose, but now, she couldn’t even begin to fathom it.
She began to think that she might be in for a tough time as she entered the 2nd-tier dungeon, filled with tension, only to find it very comfortable and easy.
All thanks to Lee Ha-yul’s incredible versatility.
In other words, Ji-yeon felt she hadn’t been much help.
‘Haa…’
She felt a bit down realizing this.
While the recent growth trend was up, she felt she was still far from boasting about it…
And the fact that she wasn’t even better than the one she had to protect stung even more.
Ji-yeon’s confidence, which had been rising sharply recently, seemed to shrink back…
Swallowing down a sigh that was trying to escape her throat, Ji-yeon rummaged through her spatial pouch.
“Here, take this.”
What Ji-yeon pulled out was a small pill.
Offering it to Lee Ha-yul, he tilted his head in curiosity.
[Huh? What is it?]
“It’s like a small nutrient pill. It’s from my family, and it’s pretty effective.”
[Oh… Thank you!]
Lee Ha-yul grinned and accepted the pill, his face lighting up with joy as he took it without asking what it was or what its exact effects were, leaving Ji-yeon’s expression a bit strange.
Of course, it wasn’t poison.
It was high-quality medicine made from the roots of living plants specially brought in for Lee Ha-yul by her family…
But the thought that he was being too trusting and that it could mean he held her in such regard stirred up a tangle of emotions—both joy and pressure.
[I’ll enjoy it.]
Unaware of her internal conflict, Lee Ha-yul just smiled brightly.
In fact, right now, he had almost turned off his observations.
Instead, he was manifesting spatial powers.
In his mind, a map of green lines over a black background unfolded.
Spatial perception.
He was training with the intent to find and intervene in the underlying aspects when the time came, so he was focusing more on space than observation.
– Yum.
That was why.
He couldn’t read the specific expressions on Ji-yeon’s face.
Also.
“How does it taste? As expected—”
[It’s delicious!]
“If used a lot, along with this, what do you call it?”
The analysis had completed, and he couldn’t guess the taste of the medicine.
The moment Ji-yeon reached for some sugar from her pocket, she froze stiffly.
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