Swallowed

"Hmph~ Hm-hmm~."

"You like it that much?"

Elise was humming to herself while gazing at her bracelet.

Ever since getting the reward from the first evolution body to appear in the raid three days ago, she'd been fiddling with the bracelet whenever she had free time or testing out dragon speech in the dungeon.

"Of course! Do you have any idea how amazing this is? It lets you use dragon speech!! It's a shame there's only one kind—the shockwave the boss used back then."

Everyone had been dying to know about the rewards from that first evolution body, so with the Magic Tower's help, we'd intensively researched the bracelet and uncovered quite a bit of info in a short time.

The seven people who got the rewards happily joined the experiments, letting us quickly figure out the bracelet's specs...

And thanks to that, we learned some key details.

First off, the dragon factor that activates in your body when you equip it varies wildly depending on the wearer's aptitude.

When we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grouped the bracelet recipients by similar specs and compared...

Take the three mid-upper layer Jeonbung-i types.

Jeonbung-i 1 had low aptitude for the dragon factor, so he didn't get much physical enhancement. But he could use dragon speech just fine.

Jeonbung-i 2 had high aptitude, so even at a similar skill level to 1, his combat power boost was pretty solid.

Assuming Jeonbung-i 2's base combat power is 10, he was pulling off 11-12.

A 10-20% boost? That's insane.

Especially for mid-upper layer explorers, who are already at their growth limits if they're talented...

This kind of stat jump just isn't possible normally.

Even that talented explorer Lennon from the hot spring incident barely broke through to mid-upper layer...

I can't imagine how much higher explorers would drool over this... Actually, I can.

'Real-time inquiries about evolution bodies are flooding in. I'll explain this later.'

Anyway, Jeonbung-i 2 had no issues with dragon speech either.

Finally, Jeonbung-i 3 was a special case, unlike the first two.

The dragon factor was a catastrophic mismatch for his body.

Jeonbung-i 3 actually got a stat drop when wearing it—minor, but definite weakening.

Still, he could use dragon speech.

So we learned that aptitude exists for factors, but dragon speech works regardless.

The power was nothing compared to the boss, but it was great for creating openings or variables.

Maybe not in raids, but solid in regular dungeon fights, apparently.

I wouldn't know, but they say dragon speech and magic have different mechanisms, so it's hard to block.

Another thing: the bracelet provides some of the Skull Rock Lizard's powerful magic resistance.

In summary, the bracelet's effects are:

"By the way, what happened to that poor Jeonbung-i? He can't even use this good stuff properly."

Elise brought up Jeonbung-i 3 with genuine pity.

"It's not that bad. He can switch it on for situations needing dragon speech or magic resistance. And mid-upper layer folks say it's a huge help for creating variables. Even ogres lose balance and fall."

"Still... it's a waste. Such a great item picking and choosing people..."

True enough.

The Red Giant Set worked for everyone equally.

Why does this evolution body reward discriminate?

I'd done my own research on evolution bodies and had a guess.

The day after Kkomangi made the evolution body, I asked him to make a Dragon Tablet.

Once is doable, so twice should be too.

- Kkomangi, push...!!! Come on!!!

- Hek hek...!!!

*Crunch-*

Kkomangi's fresh jelly poop turned into a pure white stone tablet quick, and I summoned all sorts of bosses to try evolving them.

What I found...

'Monsters have aptitudes like people.'

Some bosses took the factor, some didn't.

And the stat boosts varied hugely by aptitude.

"Elise, speaking of which, aren't there other deepest-layer monsters on par with dragons?"

"Hm? Yeah. Phoenix... Fenrir? Kraken? Why ask suddenly? You wanna be an explorer?"

"Nah... just curious."

(Shelter's seeing more aspiring explorers lately, so she was probably checking.)

I asked because I wondered about factors from non-dragon monsters.

If people and monsters both have aptitudes...

Maybe collect materials from deepest-layer monsters for various factors?

Can't summon those ultra-strong ones due to cost, but use factors to evolve regulars.

Gather factors, make new evolution bodies—everyone gets powers that fit them.

'Gonna be busy... First, grill Sticky for materials... And then...'

Maybe squeeze something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of these guys? Selling tablets could be profitable.

Hidden elixirs or rares...?

Dragon Tablets take a lot out of Kkomangi, so can't mass-produce. Better sell at good price.

Auction style, maybe.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The gallery was buzzing with new bait: hot springs and evolution bodies.

Lots of analysis on evolution ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bodies and guesses about explorer ecosystems.

Spotted this while scrolling...

"...Jeonbung-i are kinda pitiful, but no solution from me..."

Deep in thought. New subspecies raid rewards change things?

Nah...

Even if Zasaz subspecies gives web shooters for Spider-Jeonbung-i, no big diff.

Root cause: too many Jeonbung-i.

No other talent? Warrior's easy entry.

Mages = real talent zone. Archers need eagle eyes and aim.

Both high barriers.

"Sigh... no answer. Oh, wait..."

Remembered the mirror from LunaSuperGirl... suspected saintess.

Pulled it from high shelf (Kkomangi kept licking).

Mirror of Fate.

Plain mirror, head-sized, no frills.

But holds divine power, shows future glimpses... per LunaSuperGirl.

Even if church has 108, why give relic to outsider me?

But maybe helps here?

"Mirror mirror, how to save Jeonbung-i?"

...No change.

Mine never changes, but Kkomangi's shows wild forms.

Dragon slime Kkomangi roaring majestic, acid breath melting all.

Unicorn slime licking Luna, Elise, even Aisha and Sticky...

Ah, tentacle slime on Sticky too. Decided never let them meet.

Some weird black mud... soured mood, stopped.

*Thud-*

Stared at mirror, flopped on bed, gave up.

"Whew... Sorry Jeonbung-i... no way."

"Hek hek..."

Staring at ceiling, Kkomangi hopped up, panting beside.

'Ah... put mirror away, he'll lick.'

Turned to check carelessly placed mirror.

...Mirror gone. Only Kkomangi.

Blood ran cold.

"...No way?"

"Hek hek..."

Chilling... bad vibe...

"Tell me no, Kkomangi please..."

"...Hek hek."

"......"

"......Hek."

Silence...

What it means...

Is that so...?

"You crazy bastard!!!!!! Spit it out righ- t no- w- uh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Hek hek..."

I wailed, yanking Kkomangi's cheeks side to side.

Kkomangi swallowed the Goddess Church's holy relic.