A Calm Mind in the Midst of Chaos

“Huh? You’re back already?”

Yeonhee sounded surprised, but the corners of her mouth were soaring toward the sky. In truth, it hadn’t taken long at all. If I hadn’t waited for the Contaminated Breath to spread, the whole trip would have taken less than twenty minutes.

“Clack clack!”

After answering, I stared at her with a look that asked why she wasn’t sleeping. Yeonhee hurriedly replied.

“I-I… just couldn’t fall asleep, so I was playing with Ran!”

Back to normal, I see.

The dangerously seductive adult version of Yeonhee had vanished without a trace. My gaze naturally drifted to the tiny bird slumped limply in her palm. Ran, who had proudly declared she would give the lizardmen unit a thorough mental re-education, now had her wings in a complete mess. She looked like she’d bled a little too.

It seemed she’d been the one getting schooled by Number One instead… I’d felt uneasy the moment she opened her beak.

“Don’t cry, Ran. Are you badly hurt? Number One! Why would you hit her like that!”

“Churrrr… (It was a fair duel…)”

“Talking back again?”

“Chrrp…”

“Ran, is the injury here?”

‘……’

I shook my head and settled into my designated corner of the living room, ready to begin another delightful session of bomb crafting.

Bomb making, sword training, magic training, and now even digging tunnels. I’ve got quite a few enjoyable hobbies these days, don’t I?

It was an incredibly satisfying skeleton life. I wished I could continue living like this forever.

But with trash like Nam Yong-seok swarming within a five-hundred-meter radius, how could that possibly happen…?

While thinking about how I needed to escape this insane neighborhood as quickly as possible, I suddenly grew curious about what was happening in the wider world.

I’ve been too focused on our own growth.

I quickly extended waves of my senses in every direction and tuned into the sound of televisions coming from other houses. I needed to find one watching a dedicated news channel… Oh? There were quite a few. Right on time, a broadcast was discussing the emergence of a new monster.

‘…Thailand… black scales, red wings… Was that the Ironclad Colossus? Yeah, that was the name. Its black scales are so tough that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary skills can’t even scratch them. It’s not quite at the level of a true Great Calamity, but it’s just as difficult to kill. But is it really time for that thing to appear already…?’

A single appearance had already claimed hundreds of lives. But that creature wasn’t just one individual. It had to be a scout.

Well, Thailand has plenty of strong people too. They’ll handle it somehow.

Another news report from a different house caught my attention next.

Hmm. Come to think of it, encountering those orcs in the Lizardman Swamp could be considered our first meeting with a variant. The only difference was how ridiculously numerous they were…

It seemed wise to increase the minimum number of skeleton bombs I kept on hand. Like how I’d detonated thirty of them at once against the boss of the Abandoned School, I needed to always have enough bombs to at least create an escape route when a powerful enemy appeared. Ten felt insufficient. Let’s stockpile up to thirty. In exchange, I’d increase the proportion of fireballs… which might mean embedding one or two more mana runes.

Before I knew it, Skeleton Bomb had reached level 9. Although I had used it constantly, its growth speed still far outpaced every other skill. Maybe it was because the ability carried my identity as a skeleton.

Even at level 9, the storage limit was still unsatisfactory. I wondered if reaching level 10 would bring some kind of change. At the very least, I hoped the number of bombs I could store would increase dramatically.

Next came news related to North Korea.

‘Ha… Devouring Creeper? This shouldn’t be appearing yet either. Why is everything accelerating like this?’

I recalled how that colossal monster, which had settled in North Korea, rapidly expanded its territory until it swallowed even the northern part of Pyongyang. Only then did our country finally realize the severity of the situation and hurriedly dispatch its top hunters.

This is seriously fucked… Those things can’t be handled unless it’s the early awakened or an S-rank hunter on Jo Giman’s level.

Monsters called Great Calamities. Some people, captivated by their overwhelming power, even referred to them as divine beasts. Because only awakened beings who possessed their own ‘unique space’ could inflict meaningful damage, they were extraordinarily difficult to fight.

Of course, they didn’t completely nullify normal hunters’ attacks, but dealing single-digit damage to a monster with ten billion health was practically the same as doing nothing. Whether it was due to their innate physical superiority, truly possessing health in the ten-digit range, or the immense power they wielded through freely manipulating vast amounts of mana, the conclusion was the same—they were incredibly tough and resilient.

One might think that no matter how sturdy they were, the early awakened could simply gather and take them down one by one. But there were two major difficulties.

The first was the penalties carried by the early awakened. After surviving the ‘First Wave,’ they had all gained monstrous abilities, but each carried problems severe enough to restrict their activities. It was said to be the backlash from receiving such overwhelming power without conditions. In any case, they were beings who could not move freely.

The second was the finite nature of ‘unique spaces.’ The unique domains or spaces they had created and cultivated consumed resources every time they were used. Defeating a Great Calamity-class monster required a considerable expenditure of power, and once used, that power didn’t recover. Yet the reward gained from expending that power was insufficient. That was why, even when these creatures appeared and caused massive damage, few stepped forward aggressively.

There was also the fear of being targeted by others the moment they exhausted their strength, and the fact that while inside their own space, no one could intrude, making it safe.

Considering how the clock seems to have sped up… our growth might still be lacking…

The world was collapsing at a frightening pace. That was why I couldn’t afford to take my time.

But.

Even if I rush, can I actually save the world?

I found myself shaking my head. Impossible. It was simply impossible. To someone like me, who still trembled in fear at the mere thought of Jo Giman lifting a finger, such a task felt as distant as events from another dimension.

Crack— Crackle—

For some reason, the sound of me crafting bombs today felt especially bleak. Becoming a skeleton had greatly reduced emotional fluctuations, yet sudden surges of worry and anxiety still came without warning.

…It’s useless. In my previous life, how many of the things I worried about actually came true? Maybe five percent? Get a grip. Focus on what I can do right now. There’s no point in getting impatient.

“……”

“Clack?”

At some point Yeonhee had approached and was now resting her chin on her hand, blinking her large eyes as she stared intently at me. She still hadn’t gone to sleep? What was she going to do tomorrow? She really shouldn’t rely too much on Irmana’s water.

“…Is something worrying you? Is it because of me?”

Huh… Can she tell I’m troubled? Hmm… She really can sense the emotions of her summons after all.

I shook my head firmly. Even so, she continued looking at me with concern. I reached out.

“Mmm…”

I gently stroked her soft hair and told her everything was fine.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t give you a massage today!”

“Tap…”

“Hehe~ I can’t sleep anyway, so just touch me a little.”

Without waiting for my answer, she laid her head on my lap. I looked down at her quietly. Before I knew it, fresh kindling had begun burning in my previously sunken heart.

Remember when I met Jo Giman in this room. We’re already several weeks ahead of the scenario I assumed back then. Let’s think positively.

Press— Squeeze—

“Aah… That feels good…”

I comforted myself like that as I continued massaging her. And before long, Yeonhee had fallen into a deep sleep. Seeing her sleep so innocently like a baby, it was hard to believe she was the same girl who had toyed with me earlier.

No matter what, I want to protect you…

With that vow, I carefully lifted her and carried her to the bedroom. Someday, I hoped the day would come when I could keep her safe inside my own personal space…

* * *

The next day as well, we entered the Orc-D-177 dungeon.

No particular sensation.

In the morning, before we left the house, Yeonhee had wrapped a squishy substance around my neck. I gently touched the barrier, which now carried a faint greenish tint. Would this really help?

I probably won’t get hurt in this dungeon anymore… Maybe I should try getting hit on purpose.

“Ugh… My back hurts. Let’s hurry up and fight already.”

“You just want to burn through your mana so you can drink water again, don’t you?”

“N-no, that’s not it!”

“You think drinking that will cure your hangover? You really are something else.”

“…Still, it might help a little, right?”

“Since you’re about to drink it, we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Hehe…”

Using Irmana’s lake water as a hangover cure…

At Yeonhee’s insistence, I reluctantly distributed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three bottles each of Irmana’s lake water to the party members before entering the dungeon. Thanks to that, I got to see Arin and Joo-ah smiling with satisfaction from the very start. They were acting like they’d received the whole world just from getting one item. They really were still kids.

Apex… isn’t here?

Maybe she was taking the day off to deal with yesterday’s aftermath. Whatever the reason, it allowed us to begin our dungeon exploration with light hearts.

“Shall we go…? Today let’s try arriving thirty minutes earlier than yesterday!”

I nodded. Following Arin’s signal, we took our first step and proceeded even more cautiously than the day before. However, our movement speed was noticeably faster, clearly showing that both the party members and the summons had grown significantly after yesterday’s boss battle.

*

Seven hours later, we arrived at the boss room.

“Great! We’re definitely faster than yesterday!”

“See? Using items liberally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠makes it so much easier, right? Ilwol, you see that?”

“Tap…”

Joo-ah, looking rather triumphant, tapped the spikes on my shoulder with her staff and spoke again.