It's Delicious
It's Delicious
Separate from my vague unease, the dungeon progression continued.
- Hee-heeng!
A tickling breeze brushed my skin.
From far off, things that disturbed the wind were charging toward us in a clatter of hooves.
Pungma. Literally "wind horses," their characteristics were similar to the Nokseonho Lee Ji-yeon had just exterminated.
High speed and agility via two long-striding pairs of legs.
Creatures that could enhance their mobility and stability using innate wind-attributed mana.
The standard Pungma rank was 6th Rank.
Indeed, the Pungma closing the distance were all around 6th Rank, but the one leading them, kicking up a considerably fierce wind, was a 5th Rank specimen.
'5th Rank... obviously not the dungeon boss. Just a simple rank advancement.'
I fed a small fragment of mana, separated from my core, to the spirit floating beside me.
Crackle! The amount was tiny, but the mana's quality was exceptional.
The lightning spirit that received the mana heaved its body and spat out a bolt of lightning.
- Kwa-rrreung!
The next instant, thunder boomed against my eardrums. The pained whinnies of the Pungma rang out. A thick, straight-line bolt of lightning tore through the wind barrier and pounded the Pungma's body.
- Kwa-rrrreung!
The lightning didn't end with a single strike.
One spirit didn't spit just one bolt, and there wasn't just one lightning spirit.
A volley of bolts tore through the air.
Lightning fired from multiple positions swallowed the lead Pungma and the herd following behind it whole.
- Boom!
A tattered Pungma burst through the pounding lightning volley.
It was the 5th Rank specimen that had been leading the charge.
'Hm.'
I turned my head slightly. My eyes were closed, but it was to show my face to the spirits.
[Pfft]
- Crackle-crack!
The lightning spirits, having seen my peculiar expression, swelled their bodies greatly.
A feeling akin to displeasure and shame spread from them.
I shrugged and gave them another handful of mana.
Crackle-crackle! A fiercer spark than before blossomed. Multiple thin strands of lightning connected to the sky.
The mana distributed in the sky changed. I twitched a finger at the electric sensation tickling my skin.
- Kwa-rrrreung!
A massive bolt of lightning struck down on the tattered Pungma.
Its legs buckled under the output, clearly stronger than the previous bolt.
Boom! The Pungma's form finally collapsed. Its legs gave out mid-run and it skidded across the ground, scraping along.
The Pungma, having tumbled roughly, came to a halt near my feet.
Its outer hide was ragged, and its innards, wholly melted and seared, finally ceased breathing.
'Mm.'
I poked the Pungma corpse with a peculiar expression.
A 5th Rank specimen.
Of course, it was merely a rank-increased individual that hadn't acquired an Innate Talent, but it still had basic physical standing.
And yet such a creature, along with its herd, was easily cleaned up by a little over ten lower spirits.
'The efficiency is nice.'
I nodded and stroked the lightning spirits that were hovering around me as if seeking praise.
'Well done, I'll be counting on you going forward.'
- Crackle!
'Alright, you go to your positions now too.'
The lightning spirits, expressing their joy with glimmering light, flew off toward the forest ahead.
Before long, thunder rumbled repeatedly from that direction.
They were carrying out the instructions to handle approaching monsters on their own.
Such orders had been issued to all the spirits, so inside the forest, the five-colored spirits and monsters were perpetually engaged in a brawl.
I checked the state of the battlefront for a moment.
They were pushing forward, if anything; there was no particular place where they were being pushed back.
'Good.'
I felt the value of having learned Spirit Arts once again. I really had done well to learn it. I nodded repeatedly and stretched my hand forward.
'Come here.'
- Woooong...?
The wind trembled faintly.
A green Light Cluster that had been lingering near the just-expired Pungma flickered.
There were quite a few spirits in this dungeon.
While spirits of mid-level or higher are rarely seen in nature, lower spirits could occasionally be encountered.
Lower spirits tend to linger around terrain where a matching attribute density resides, or around monsters that scatter such mana.
- Woooong...
A wind spirit moved at my gesture.
Normally, a spirit without a contract wouldn't follow an order, but thanks to my presumed racial value, the spirit docilely settled onto my palm.
I stroked the spirit once, then stirred my pure white mana and gently offered it to the spirit.
- Woooong!
The body of the spirit, which had been enjoying the petting on my palm, trembled greatly.
Woooong... the quivering Light Cluster suddenly dyed white, then returned to its original green.
A procedure completed in a single instant.
At that, I let out a beaming smile.
I felt a connection point to the spirit on my palm.
A contract had been formed as quick as lightning.
Normally, the standard procedure would be for the spirit to sign a contract presented by the Spirit Caster.
Perhaps because I was an exception due to my race and mana, the spirit was the one to present a contract to me first.
Thanks to that, I could collect spirits very easily.
I had already contracted over thirty spirits in this dungeon alone.
After stroking the new spirit that was rubbing its body against my hand, I sent it floating off toward the place where the wind spirits were gathered.
'Manifest, Necromancy.'
- Goooo...
While training Spirit Arts in that manner, I was conducting Necromancy in parallel.
The corpse of the Pungma that had disintegrated right in front of me twitched.
Crrrack... an undead that had roughly patched together broken bones, torn muscles, and skin raised itself up.
'...It is a bit shoddy.'
Honestly, I wasn't satisfied with the result.
Because this was raw Necromancy, unrefined by Taesan.
Without Taesan's correction, the product was lackluster.
The difference was obvious when compared to Lee Ji-yeon's undead, and I unknowingly pouted my lips.
'But I can't exactly use Taesan here...'
Would I be crazy enough to use Taesan with Lee Ji-yeon right in front of my face?
Of course, I'd use it in an unavoidable situation, but this wasn't such an unavoidable situation.
...Honestly, at this point, even if I got caught using Homogenization, I'm not at a level where I'd be helplessly toyed with or summarily beheaded, but there was simply no need to poke the hornet's nest.
I let out a deep sigh and sent the clumsy undead to the rear.
"How are things over there?"
[Yes, no problem.]
I nodded at Lee Ji-yeon's question as she glanced at my undead heading to the rear.
Unlike earlier when she had been at the vanguard, she was now standing behind me.
It was because of the agreement we had just made.
The fact that I was being protected without having to do anything was... mm... a not-bad, good feeling, but.
If things just stayed that way, my growth rate would suffer.
So, we decided to split the front and rear and each handle monsters.
After that agreement, Lee Ji-yeon was steadily producing undead and sending them to the rear.
Lee Ji-yeon's specially modified undead slaughtered monsters with formation and tactics.
Then, she raised the monster corpses as undead to serve as meat shields for the formation.
Necromancy was a skill that especially showed its true value on the battlefield.
Especially a Necromancer like Lee Ji-yeon, with her enormous mana reserves and outstanding recovery that prevented exhaustion, possessed monstrous warfighting capability.
Thanks to that, the number of undead increased over time.
So the rear behind me was completely filled with the undead legion Lee Ji-yeon had temporarily assembled.
In the gaps Lee Ji-yeon had considerately left for me, I was stuffing my own undead to train Necromancy.
Of course, the temporarily made undead had poor performance and were consumed quickly, but since they were expendables from the start, it didn't matter.
I was just raising proficiency appropriately and consuming them as meat shields for frontline maintenance.
- Grrrr...!
Of course, I did have my own specially modified? undead.
I grimaced hard at the howl that came from beside me.
- Smack!
- Kkuh-hang!
So I just whacked it with purification.
The creature, now with a staff embedded in its head, let out another howl.
That sound was extremely displeasing to me.
'Noisy.'
There was always a basic absolute obedience function between an undead and its Necromancer.
At my command, the creature's mouth clamped shut tightly.
With my expression still crumpled, I jabbed its skull with the tip of my staff.
'Damn it, if you open your mouth again recklessly, I might just smash your skull first.'
Of course, I wouldn't carelessly destroy it since I'd put quite a bit of effort into it, but I could certainly smack it repeatedly to inflict pain.
I personally restored the creature's damaged state here and there, then sent it back to the front lines.
If I raised the synchronization between body and soul like this, then applied additional modifications later, it would probably become decently usable.
* * *
Before entering the dungeon, Lee Ji-yeon had made a small resolution.
'Let's not let Lee Ha-yul overexert himself.'
Around the time they discussed it at the cafe.
It was a resolution she had made in horror at Lee Ha-yul's declaration that he would enter a Grade 2 Dungeon alone if she wouldn't go with him.
Of course, it was a pointless worry.
Since it was a dungeon within Siyoram in the first place, basic management was all in place.
Plus, there was the safety device provided by the Vice Headmaster, so he wouldn't feel his life threatened.
...But even considering that, she couldn't help the fact that her worry wouldn't disappear.
Because right now, Lee Ha-yul wasn't in a state where dying at someone else's hands was the concern; it wouldn't be strange if he crumbled under his own strength.
And even if he didn't collapse immediately, who knew if he'd come out having consumed a massive amount of his already scarce vitality?
'...It's at least somewhat fortunate that he's regularly replenishing his vitality...'
Of course, perhaps aware of it himself, Lee Ha-yul was indeed regularly replenishing his vitality.
Showing him so blatantly the vitality management method through Taesan had been worthwhile.
As expected, he seemed to have picked it up quickly, evidently replenishing his vitality in places Lee Ji-yeon couldn't see.
...But for some reason, he only replenished a small amount each time.
Which inevitably led to Lee Ji-yeon, unable to stand it any longer, pulling him into her arms and filling him up with vitality.
Thus, Lee Ji-yeon had merely intended to play a reliable role when entering the dungeon.
So that Lee Ha-yul wouldn't overexert himself, so that he could rely on her just a little.
But...
"......"
Emerging from her thoughts, Lee Ji-yeon blinked.
A luxurious temporary encampment reflected in her eyes.
Never mind Magic Tools; the magic arrays laid out everywhere were advanced spells she couldn't even dare to interpret.
All of them were magics Lee Ha-yul had personally installed.
[?]
[Would you like some more?]
Seated in the chair opposite, Lee Ha-yul, who was nibbling an energy bar, tilted his head.
Before Lee Ha-yul, whose cheeks were puffed out, sat a pot with soup still bubbling away inside.
"...Yes, please."
Lee Ji-yeon hesitated for a moment, but at the lingering savory taste in her mouth, she ended up quietly holding out her bowl.
The soup Lee Ha-yul had made was too delicious...
'Hoo...'
Lee Ji-yeon carefully sipped the soup she had received, recalling the memories from several hours ago.
She had performed quite well when they first entered.
She knew Lee Ha-yul was strong, but she had also shown a fairly reliable image in her own way.
In fact, Lee Ha-yul had seemed to feel that way too, as he'd hovered around her with a look of fresh surprise.
But after that, she hadn't been able to show much reliability.
Necromancy? Of course Lee Ji-yeon had the upper hand. Lee Ha-yul was hiding Taesan, and his Necromancy was without Taesan's correction.
But Lee Ha-yul had Spirit Arts.
The hundreds of Light Clusters that poured forth around him were never inferior to the undead Lee Ji-yeon deployed...
Personal combat prowess?
Clearly a tier above Lee Ji-yeon.
He wasn't at a level to be protected by her in the first place.
Search capability?
Even compared to Lee Ji-yeon, who had merged her senses with the earth through Taesan,
Lee Ha-yul's detection ability was incomparably broader, more precise, and faster.
Base-building ability?
All Lee Ji-yeon had done was pile up earth to serve the function of ramparts.
Even that was due to Taesan's ability, so while Lee Ha-yul might be a step behind her there, possessing Taesan himself, he could likely do it ably enough...
On top of that, Lee Ha-yul had even engraved advanced magic into the walls and floors everywhere.
Before, Lee Ji-yeon could at least interpret the purpose, but now she couldn't even dare attempt to interpret it.
The Grade 2 Dungeon that Lee Ji-yeon had entered brimming with tension, thinking it might be quite an ordeal, had turned out, contrary to her expectations, to be very comfortable and effortless.
All thanks to Lee Ha-yul's versatility.
In other words, it seemed Lee Ji-yeon hadn't been much help.
'Haa...'
She became newly dejected at that fact.
Her recent growth had been on an upswing, but it still didn't seem to be a level she could boast about anywhere...
On top of that, she couldn't outdo the child she was supposed to protect in a single thing.
Lee Ji-yeon's confidence, which had been on the rise lately, felt like it was about to shrivel right back up...
Suppressing the sigh trying to escape her throat, Lee Ji-yeon rummaged through the subspace pouch at her waist.
"Junior, have one of these."
What Lee Ji-yeon took out was a small pill.
As she carefully offered it to Lee Ha-yul, he tilted his head questioningly.
[Huh? What is it?]
"Something like a minor nutritional supplement. It's from my family; it's quite effective."
[Oh... thank you.]
At Lee Ji-yeon's gift, Lee Ha-yul smiled brightly and accepted the pill.
Lee Ji-yeon's expression became peculiar as she watched him accept it without even asking what kind of medicine it was or what exactly its effects were.
Of course, this wasn't poison.
It was a high-grade medicinal ingredient made by grinding Root of the Life Tree, specially procured from her family for Lee Ha-yul...
The thought that he might lack too much wariness, and the joy mixed with pressure at the thought that he might trust her that much, tangled together complicatedly.
[I'll take it well.]
Unaware of her inner thoughts, Lee Ha-yul just smiled brightly.
In fact, Lee Ha-yul currently had Observation almost entirely turned off.
Instead, he was manifesting the Authority of Space.
A map of green lines against a black background was spread out in his head.
Spatial perception.
He was training with the focus on Space while keeping Observation off, for the eventual time when he would need to find and interfere with the Reverse Side.
- Nom
That was why.
The reason he couldn't read Lee Ji-yeon's specific expression.
Also.
"How does it taste? If it's too bitter—"
[It's delicious.]
"—then have it with this. What did you say?"
Because his analysis was off, he hadn't deduced the flavor of the medicinal ingredient.
Lee Ji-yeon's movement as she pulled out sugar from her pocket froze stiff.