The Mushroom's Scream
She had to decide whether to lock the summon to Orc Warrior or leave it random. From her perspective, ending things as they were would clearly feel like a waste. Tap. I lightly placed my hand on the summoning tome she was holding.
The ancient brown summoning tome — the very first grimoire created by the original summoner to call forth beasts from another world. It had a very slim chance of summoning a high-grade entity as well. Just like last time, the structure was the same, only one rank higher. I had hoped the phrase "very slim" might have changed, but no such luck.
Still, should I give it a shot? The memory of drawing the mid-grade spirit Ran from the grayish-brown tome was making her hesitate now. Even if it wasn't a high-grade spirit, wouldn't pulling something like Ran be good enough? We already knew a single mid-grade spirit could fill half the role of a supporter.
"Uwaaang— This is kinda hard, Ilwol."
"Clack clack clack!!"
Delaying the decision was also an option.
"Hmm… Fine! Let's just open the two I have left!"
Nngh… Yeonhee furrowed her brows with all her might, her face tense with anxiety. It was an expression I had never seen on her before. Gacha really was terrifying. To put a twenty-year-old girl through this kind of torment…
After confirming the two zombies had been unsummoned, I watched her begin chanting again.
"Anything but zombies…"
She had probably dismissed the zombies so quickly because she wanted to voice that wish. We aren't hoping for a high-grade summon, so at least give us some variety.
Whether our modest hope had been granted or not, the fifth summon turned out to be a Neos Harpy, and the sixth was a Screaming Mushroom. Unfortunately, neither a high-grade summon nor a spirit appeared, but given how slim the odds were, expecting one had been foolish from the start. The chances for spirits were obviously low too.
How the hell did we even pull Ran? Was that the day the universe aligned for us?
"Hnnng— Still, we got different kids, so I'm happy!"
Leaving Yeonhee behind as she tried to console herself, I looked down at the mushroom that barely reached my knees. As I approached, the top of its head began to split open like an air-conditioner filter.
Oh no—
—Kiyaaaaak—!
A sudden, nails-on-chalkboard screech echoed through the small living room.
"Kyaaak! Mushroom, quiet! Quiet! Shhh!"
"……"
Still, it listens to Yeonhee right away.
The Screaming Mushroom had a cute appearance: a white body with large red spots on its head and two little feet. It looked nothing like the ear-splitting cry it had just unleashed. Its ability was very similar to the Iron Beetle "Ttungi." It produced a sound like fingernails scraping a blackboard to provoke nearby monsters. Depending on the monster's temperament, some would charge in to kill it immediately, while others would panic and flee. The Spectre we summoned first belonged to the fleeing type. I didn't know why they ran, but the sound must have been that unpleasant.
Besides having a wider provocation range than Ttungi, I wouldn't know its other advantages until we actually used it, but it was clearly going to be useful.
Then there was the Neos Harpy. Flap— flap— A single massive bird with a brownish glow hovered in the air, slowly beating its wings. Though noticeably smaller than a regular harpy, its body was still the size of an elementary-school-aged girl. But appearances were deceiving. It was stronger than it looked. It could probably lift Yeonhee with ease and soar into the sky.
Higher-ranking harpies gradually took on human forms, but the lowest-ranking Neos Harpy was almost entirely avian in appearance. The Neos Harpy, whose chest area alone had developed a human-like curve, had at some point approached Yeonhee and was now tilting its head curiously, sniffing her.
"Good! I shall bestow names upon you all!"
I had no idea why she suddenly switched to an archaic tone, but I was curious to see if her naming sense would shine again this time. Contrary to my expectations, she named the Neos Harpy Nepy and the Screaming Mushroom Jeombaki.
…People really don't change easily. Jeombaki, huh…
Once all the summons were complete, she declared that from the next summoning onward, she would fix the probability so that an Orc Warrior would appear. The chance would rise by 2%, reaching a full 92%. After fixing it to Lizardman last time and getting a regular Orc instead, maybe we wouldn't have to worry about that happening again.
"Honestly, I was hoping for a pretty kid like Ran, but I guess it doesn't work that way, hehe—"
After sending all the summons back to their original world, she scratched the back of her head and revealed her true feelings.
"I'll just call the zombies Zombie No. 1 and No. 2. It's… kind of hard when they look like people."
Nod nod—
She seemed to have used quite a bit of mana for the summoning, so she sat quietly with her eyes closed, focusing on recovery.
Now that we have so many different summons, we'll have to manage them well. Instead of calling them all out, we'll need to summon only the ones we need.
Including me, we now had twelve different types of summons. Making the most of them wouldn't be easy.
Well, she'll figure it out somehow.
"Listen, Ilwol. I'm thinking of using Nepy as a scout. For attacking… her claws do look sharp, but with those tiny hands, scratching probably won't do much."
Nod—
She began sharing her thoughts on how to utilize each of the new summons, one by one.
"As for the Spectre… I actually want to summon a few more. It seems that useful. It's a shame. Even in a D-grade dungeon, there aren't many monsters that use attack magic, right?"
Nod—
"The zombies can take the same role as Ttungi. Since Ttungi always guards my left side, we can put them on the right and behind. And…"
"Ah, the Orc Warrior is basically the same position as the Lizardman… No. 1?"
"Chururak?"
"You can't lose to the Orc Warrior squad, got it?"
Huh? Yeonhee's using that kind of provocation? She was openly pitting them against each other. I hadn't expected this life's Yeonhee to resort to such methods. Lizardman No. 1 raised both arms high as if to declare it would never lose, proudly showing off its clearly changed body. Starting from the crown of its head, fish-spine-like horns had grown in a neat line down the center of its back, and its overall physique had increased by more than 10%. Even now, when standing straight, its head nearly touched the ceiling, so we had ordered it to walk with its head lowered. With its larger frame, its stats must have grown even more… I wasn't sure. Maybe it had gained new skills or abilities too?
In that way, all the Lizardman squad except No. 19 and No. 20 had achieved evolution.
I'd like to change their weapons, though. It was still a shame that they were carrying around those shabby machetes.
"Huk, look at me spacing out. I have to go to the Association today. While applying for D-grade, I'll also take the test and sell the runes."
Promotion test. D-grade should be easy. Up to E-grade, approval was granted based solely on mana capacity and subjugation records, but from D-grade onward, one had to pass a promotion test. That said, it wasn't an especially difficult process. It was basically just showing off a bit in front of the examiner.
"I'll just change clothes and come out!"
You could change here, though. Ahem—
Yeonhee went into her room, changed quickly, and came back out.
Jeans, a long padded coat… and a gray robe over that… What kind of fashion sense is that?
She pulled the robe down low over her head and spoke to me.
"Ready! Hahang—"
With her body completely covered, she smiled brightly and gave the signal to depart.
…… Should I have left a note at Helen's store? <This letter began in England… If you don't take Lee Yeonhee to a department store and buy her pretty clothes, you will be cursed.> Something like that.
I had offered to buy her clothes, but she hadn't seemed interested. It wasn't pleasant to see people paying attention to her, but dressing like that to avoid attention wasn't great either…
"It only takes about forty minutes to walk to the Association! Can you stay stealthed like yesterday?"
Nod nod—
Maintaining stealth is possible now. But the moment we enter the Association building, we'll be detected anyway. Will they say anything?
Click—
Carrying that small worry, I stepped outside with her. Squeeze— She naturally took my hand, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
What would it feel like to hold my hand? Even with gloves, it must be cold. I stared quietly at her hand, clad in thick mittens.
"A walk with Ilwol~ Hehe—"
Ever since yesterday, she had been in high spirits. Her face, wearing a smile, was truly…
…… I'm happy too, Yeonhee.
Hand in hand, we walked to the Association as if taking a stroll. Passersby gave her strange looks as she waved at empty air, but she didn't seem to care about their gazes.
She had said it would take forty minutes, but it took ten minutes longer before we arrived in front of the Association headquarters.
Short… Tch—
Just walking together like this made my mood soar for some reason. Clicking my tongue in regret, I dispelled stealth and entered the Association building for the first time in a while, looking around.
The moment I stepped into the lobby, everyone inside flinched and drew their weapons. Vwooooom— In an instant, dozens of pocket dimensions opened. It was quite a sight. Like a movie.
"Whoa whoa whoa!! Hold on a second—! Could you please explain what that thing next to you is first? It's fine, everyone! Put your weapons away!"
C-grade Hunter, assassination type, maybe.
A man in a neatly pressed blue suit rushed over and calmed both us and the others. Yeonhee handed him her hunter license.
"Hunter Lee Yeonhee… I understand your ability is special, but you really should refrain from actions that provoke others. Goodness— How could you think of bringing that in here?"
"S-sorry…"
"Wouldn't it be better to unsummon it?"
"Um… I was told by the White Knight Guild that the person taking the promotion test is allowed to manifest their ability starting from the lobby."
"Hmm— There have been a few unfortunate incidents, so that rule does exist… Just a moment. I'm not experienced with this, so I'll go ask."
The suited man quickly made inquiries here and there before returning and guiding us toward the front desk.
"We've made an announcement regarding you in the basement, but you never know. Someone might charge at you the moment you step out of the elevator, so please be careful."
Bringing me along had apparently already been approved, and measures had been taken at the testing area as well. Just as his appearance suggested, he handled matters cleanly.
Yeonhee familiarly recorded her entry and moved toward the elevator leading underground.
Beep—
"Isn't it weird? They always do the test underground! Apparently, back when they used to test on the upper floors, an entire floor got wrecked, glass flew outside, and it caused a huge mess. That's why they do it like this now."
"Clack clack clack!"
I had heard that story before. A classmate who had bullied her during school had come to take the promotion test, and the examiner had used every ounce of their power to turn that guy into a complete mess.
I would've done the same.
The funny part was that instead of being sent to prison for the incident, that person had become a permanent examiner for the promotion tests. Rumor had it the Association had pulled strings, which meant they valued that talent highly. In any case, it was already a well-known fact at this point that if that person became your examiner, the test wouldn't end at a simple evaluation.