The moment I desperately tried to avoid the gazes of the Beastmen, I sensed the monsters gathering in a swarm due to the waves of my senses.
However, they weren’t close enough to actually target us.
If we circled around, we could easily avoid them, so this was a matter of choosing whether to fight or not.
‘There are way too many. I’ve heard they usually travel in packs, but not this much…’
A staggering 450 Abyss Hunters and Blue Manatees.
‘Fighting them head-on won’t work.’
We just barely managed to win the first fight, and now we were faced with 1.5 times that number—it was quite a dilemma.
Since they moved together like a swarm, the usual tactic of provoking the ones in front to draw them away wouldn’t work either.
‘If we were on land, I’d start with a Skeleton Bomb to blow them up.’
Now that I couldn’t use it, I longed for a Skeleton Bomb.
It was frustrating to feel so constrained in many ways, but I had to think positively and consider it a stepping stone for growth.
‘Here we go. We have no choice but to fight and block in one direction.’
Arang, seeing the direction I pointed, lit up her eyes and quickly began directing the party members.
– You plan to provoke them over there and lead them towards the cliff, right?
– Okay. Good idea!
‘I was going to explain it, but how did she know…?’
She quickly caught onto my intent without me having to explain.
This was definitely a difference compared to our party, which often stumbled even when I told them the tactics in advance. The difference in experience really can’t be overlooked.
The swarm of monsters swimming towards us paused for a moment, as if resting, swirling in the sea.
‘Should I boost the party’s firepower a bit?’
Whooooosh──
‘Calmly, with a heart like water…’
As I focused on my palm, the seawater began to swirl gently, taking shape.
– ───?!!
Weapons filled with the energy of water materialized one by one, which I handed over to the Beastmen.
They accepted the weapons I gave them in stunned silence, unsure of what to do.
‘I made them similar to your weapons, especially for you guys.’
After handing over the weapons, I shrugged my shoulders.
– How many are there?!
– Alpha… are you a God of the Sea?
– Amazing… the grip feels just right!
– You made it exactly like our weapon. Unbelievable.
– This is insane… It can’t be done without some serious craftsmanship!
– ······.
‘Hah… It’s a bit embarrassing to be praised for something like this. I don’t have the skills of a Dwarf, but I do have capabilities similar to crafting—like alchemy or refining shrines. The damage output of the weapons I made from targeting the bones at dawn…’
Each skill isn’t distinctly cut off, so they all have aspects that can mesh together.
‘As for armor… should I try copying Yeon-hee’s ability? I wonder how that will turn out.’
I approached each Beastman and enveloped their armor with water energy.
Imagining Lime’s sticky yet soft and elastic body helped in the process.
‘Ugh… The armor consumes even more magic power than the weapons. Adjusting it to harmoniously fit with what they’re wearing isn’t easy at all.’
It took a bit of time, but since the monsters were swimming in place, I was able to finish calmly.
– Ooooh?!! What’s this?! A 20% increase in defense?!
– It’s common for physical magic, right? Awesome!
– Wow… I’m just gushing over everything today. This isn’t my usual character, but I can’t help it.
It’s understandable that they were stunned.
I remember being quite surprised when I saw Yeon-hee use her “Mystical Mucus.”
‘Still, I’m far from matching Yeon-hee’s abilities.’
What I could do was barely provide cushions of appropriate size on the beasts’ torsos and backs.
The range is limited, and I don’t know how much it will hold up, but the Beastmen were absolutely elated, as if they had received enchanted armor.
And as I stood at the forefront again for battle.
I gathered 20% of my magic power and created around forty Water Spears ahead.
Whooooooosh───
────?!!
As I summoned the spears en masse, the Beastmen burst into astonished cheers once again.
[Thunderhorn]
Crackle—
I launched the Water Spears packed with the power of lightning towards the monsters simultaneously.
‘It’s amazing that it’s this easy. The small incarnation of Goddess Irmana… it’s surprising.’
As I added the power of lightning to the spears, I felt a gentle hand overlapping on my back, filling in the missing parts.
Swiiiiish───
The Water Spears, charged with lightning, spun vigorously as they shot forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of spears pierced through the bodies of the monsters, and as I visualized the image of them bursting like bombs in my head, the spears shattered and scattered like claymores in all directions.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
It was a sight akin to witnessing blue fireworks underwater, and everyone was so mesmerized that they forgot to run towards the cliff.
– ············.
‘Haha, everything I’ve imagined is coming true…’
The monsters that had taken significant damage from the onset now rushed toward us like a pack of rabid dogs, blades at the ready.
– To the cliff!!
I drew their attention, and the waiting Beastmen unleashed their ranged skills while moving towards the cliff.
We had already set up huge igloo-like fortifications on the cliff by blocking the walls and ceiling with the stones of Dark Space.
Unless they wanted to struggle to move those heavy stones, they would have to fight us straight down the narrow passage.
– ····!!
The Abyss Hunters and Blue Manatees momentarily communicated with one another, and ultimately, it seemed they decided to face us head-on in the passage we had made.
No matter how clever the Blue Manatees are, even they would choose that option under such overwhelming numbers.
– Here they come!!
– Alpha!!
‘Here comes the big, huge Water Chain──!!’
Like chains shaped like donuts, they engulfed the monsters that had just entered the passage, pulling them together in one spot.
Hundreds of monsters perfectly bound within the narrow passage.
– Let’s goooooo──!!
And at the same time, the second battle against the monsters commenced.
* * *
While Il-wol was having a busy day.
“Whoa— it was a Doppelganger.”
Yeon-hee’s party, the White Alliance, had just finished wrapping up a minor commotion.
“No one was missing though. How did it sneak in?”
While taking a break after battling a horde led by the mutated Living Statue, a Doppelganger had snuck in unnoticed.
“If it weren’t for the cat, we would have had a tough time.”
“… Don’t call Azraelon a cat…”
But even without Il-wol, they felt reassured with Azraelon around.
Azraelon looked at the kids with a disappointed expression, as if to say why they couldn’t differentiate between them.
“We should buy some scrolls containing barrier techniques. Always relying on Azraelon isn’t ideal.”
“That wouldn’t make us fully prepared, but I get it. I’ll buy some this weekend.”
“Let’s all just go to the market together!”
“Oh, shall we?”
Now the party was slowly getting used to not having Il-wol around for their hunts.
While they missed him, life alone was just the way it was…
They weren’t doing hunting for bonding.
It’s just that with the job of a Hunter, they lived out their colorful lives, and their goals weren’t noble ones.
“The income has dramatically increased… If we work hard just for about two more years, we can diet and just focus on research for the rest of our lives.”
Joo-ah was still dreaming of that.
“As long as I don’t get torn apart by a monster and die…”
“Oh, Eun-young! Please try to have a more positive outlook.”
“Sorry…”
As Joo-ah urged Eun-young, ‘Hororong’ and ‘Gruung’ who were sitting nearby glared at Joo-ah as if to say ‘watch it!’
“Oh, so now you’re their owner? What a sudden change.”
“Those things might be stronger than you, Joo-ah.”
“Hmph- it may be true for now, but it won’t be for long!! Just watch! The possibilities of Rock Magic are endless.”
“Yeah, but there aren’t any Rock mages among the top 100 mages worldwide, right?”
“Ugh! All I need to do is be the first!”
“What makes you some grand genius?”
“I’m a genius at this level!! Want me to fight?!”
Joo-ah and Noh Ha-yoon were still bickering.
Meanwhile, Yeon-hee and Eun-young watched them with their usual distant gaze.
But Arin was alone in looking up at the sky, deep in thought.
‘The gap has widened too much. Should I really reach out…?’
A few days ago, she had come across astonishing information in the Hunter Community.
‘There’s a dungeon that grants experience bonuses to hunters with Beastman traits…’
They said it had been discovered in Japan.
And coincidentally, it was noted that the one who found the dungeon was a transcendent being from our country—Sang-gun.
This information had already been a month old. They had been too focused on dungeon hunting and missed updates from the outside world.
In any case, Beastmen who had explored the dungeon were sharing incredible testimonies of their substantial growth.
If you have Beastman traits, you must enter. The experience growth is ridiculous. What takes a year can be achieved in three months. Now all Beastmen from around the world are gathering. Have you seen a Pygmy Marmoset Beastman? It’s ridiculously small. Anyway, MGT ticket prices have dropped significantly lately, so make sure to challenge it. Japan treats foreigners much better than our country, and the environment is just awesome.
└ ㅇㅇㅇ I just want to meet a Cow Beastman once.
└ ㅇㅇ I’ve tried Cow beast meat, it’s enormous. You could practically bury your face in it.
└ If you have Beastman traits, be sure to enter. Experience growth is truly explosive.
└ Huh? You can’t clear the last boss fight? What’s up with that?
└ It’s said that if you clear the boss fight, you get dragged to another dimension. Anyway, people like us probably can’t even get to the upper floors, so we could just deal with normal mobs.
The comments from yesterday danced before her eyes.
A year’s worth of growth in just three months!
It was hard to believe how fast she was growing now, but if she went there, she could cut down that time even more.
‘Is the experience truly that incredible? A benefit given only to Beastmen…’
She had a strong desire to stay with her companions who had helped her so much, and while her connection had recently enhanced due to the lightning god ‘Auren,’ it still felt lacking.
‘The talent gap is just too vast…’
She felt a significant difference in growth compared to Lee Yeon-hee, who seemed to improve drastically every morning as if dungeon diving alone every night.
Of course, no one knew that her growth came from facing death every day in battles against Giant Tribe monsters.
So she remained anxious.
‘I really want to check it out…’
But Arin’s younger sibling was stuck on her throat.
*sigh… I don’t know.*
As Arin shook her head in frustration, Yeon-hee noticed her expression.
‘Is it because of her younger siblings? She doesn’t seem to be doing too well these days.’
Since the waters of Goddess Irmana weren’t healing her sibling’s illness, Yeon-hee took every opportunity to use Irmana’s waters to try various things. Of course, none of it yielded any results.
‘What if I mix Il-wol’s Life Potion with it? No, I know what could happen.’
She thought about consulting Il-wol regarding this issue, standing up and shaking off her worries.
“Shall we go?”
“Heave-ho!”
“Let’s goooo!”
They were determined to obliterate the ‘Living Statue of Strength’ dungeon’s second floor today, thus, they set out with confidence.
And behind them, there were those who were secretly following them, all of whom looked exactly the same.
“I was wondering what level someone who follows the master would be, but their potential is impressive.”
“It’s said they could become the next S-rank Hunter. They even have a ‘not-so-necessary’ large chest, right?”
“Hmph! But I still don’t understand why we should follow someone so much weaker than our master.”
“We’re still maintaining the first relationship with the Summoner. It can’t be helped.”
“Aww, this is boring. Yeon-hee isn’t someone who should be playing around in this dungeon. Why are they being so meticulous? Just jump right into the next dungeon! Or will some sort of miracle happen?”
“Be careful what you wish for. Haimin.”
“Hmph, it better happen.”
“But it’s nice not having Jung Tae-hyung here, right?”
“That’s true. That damn guy thinks being strong is everything? The moment he gets the chance, I’ll blast him away with Twin Cast! Haha!”
“Shh- it’s not the right time yet. Be quiet.”
“Okay!”
The twins’ bold plan to become Il-wol’s only Demon Servant may or may not succeed…
After a brief chat, they quietly pursued the party Yeon-hee was part of.
