The Madness Exploding Bullet

The same undead, yet completely incomprehensible.

"Wahahaha! This is seriously incredible! Who would've thought you could block those damn skeletons like this?"

Yeom Tae-seok seemed deeply impressed by the summoned creatures that had taken on the suicide attack role and by Yeonhee, who commanded them. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He kept flashing enthusiastic thumbs-ups in her direction while laughing heartily. Unfortunately, Yeonhee wasn't in the mood to share his good spirits.

Sacrificing the children she cherished in exchange for the enemies' lives. For someone who treasured her summons as much as she did, there was nothing pleasant about it. Of course, the lizardmen and orc units seemed to take pride in being assigned such missions, but that was simply their species' natural inclination as battle-crazed warriors. Yeonhee, on the other hand, was far more delicate.

"...Still, it worked out exactly as I thought it would. We're improving little by little..."

Yeonhee calmly voiced her thoughts before quietly placing her hand on her orb and beginning to concentrate. Immediately, the lead summons from both the lizardmen and orc units started rapidly regenerating their forms.

Unlimited revival. Must be nice.

My greed truly knows no bounds.

Jua and Arin, who had suffered from the bizarre dancing skeletons earlier, waited for Yeonhee's mana to recover before turning to me with a question.

"Hey, does Ilwol not have any way to communicate with them?"

"Clack clack..."

"Why not? You're all undead, so why can't you talk to each other?"

"......"

I really wish we could. I was dying to know what the hell they were thinking when they threw their bodies around like that. If they at least danced well, maybe I'd understand... but that grotesque chicken dance? I cursed them inwardly as I finished off the creatures and read the message that appeared.

Madness... The skill name really fits them perfectly.

Their explosions had that same unhinged quality suggested by the name.

Oh yeah~ This is it! This is exactly what I wanted!

It was a skill I'd had my eye on from the moment I was first summoned, but I couldn't be one hundred percent certain I'd get it. There had always been that nagging worry—what if it wasn't as powerful as I'd imagined? But now I didn't have to worry about that anymore.

Three effects. Sacrifice, Weight of Existence, and Guaranteed Hit. Incredible...

Sacrifice was the ability to trigger a miracle by offering up a body part, a portion of one's lifespan, or even one's very life.

Weight of Existence... I remember hearing about this back when I was a hunter.

It was the power gained by abandoning the karma one had accumulated or the potential one possessed. The ability to draw the value of one's past and future into the present and detonate it completely. And on top of that, the Guaranteed Hit effect that ensured the designated target would be struck.

Honestly, the guaranteed hit was something I hadn't even considered.

This is huge. Absolutely huge!

I was so excited I almost wanted to burn one of my lives right then and there just to test it out. It was a shame it didn't fuse with Fireball, but since the core concept was completely different beyond the act of detonation, fusion was probably impossible.

While I was lost in thought, Bae Jua casually asked Yeom Tae-seok a question.

"That self-destruct move... seeing it up close, it's seriously an incredibly powerful skill... Sir Knight, how many of them do you think you could withstand?"

Knight...

For some reason, Yeom Tae-seok had ended up being called "Sir Knight." He had asked to be addressed that way, and our party members were now doing so without hesitation. Jua's careful question was essentially ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her roundabout way of asking whether we could use him as a meat shield when those things showed up.

It could have been seen as an offensive question, but Yeom Tae-seok responded with a hearty chuckle.

"Hoho, you must be joking? Those creatures' skill isn't something you can simply endure at the same level. If I prepare in advance and focus entirely on blocking them... I could probably manage two. But my shield wouldn't survive the encounter."

He's really laying it on thick.

Of course, the Bone Dancer's self-destruct was powerful, but perhaps because they were monsters, its destructive force was somewhat lacking for a skill that required sacrifice. I suspected it was because their Weight of Existence was extremely light...

Does that mean I shouldn't get my hopes up too high either? After all, I've only been alive for a month and a half...

But I couldn't afford to think that way. The only way I had to temporarily stand against Jo Giman was this skill combined with the consumable artifacts I'd obtain in this dungeon... If the System had any sense of consideration, maybe it would count my karma from my previous life as well. I could only hope.

Anyway, what Yeom Tae-seok just said was definitely an exaggeration. A powerhouse on the verge of entering C-rank shouldn't have two Bone Dancers as his absolute limit. Of course, he'd end up nearly incapacitated.

We stared for a moment at the Bone Dancer bone fragments scattered carelessly across the path before continuing onward. When I nudged one with my foot, it turned to ash and vanished without a trace. These guys really went out with a bang, huh?

Unfortunately, the ones that had self-destructed left behind no loot other than magic stones. Would it have killed them to drop at least one rune? What a disappointing bunch, even in death.

After that, we continued heading toward the exit while diligently hunting monsters. Although their numbers were somewhat high, the Decurion composition itself was fairly balanced, so nothing particularly eventful occurred. Bone Dancers continued to pop out unexpectedly here and there, keeping us on edge. But since I always stopped them in advance, we suffered no damage.

Despite going through that trouble multiple times, I still didn't obtain any other traits or skills from the Bone Dancers. Ghouls had at least one skill and one trait each—were these guys really only carrying a single skill?

Hmm... But when I thought about it, aside from self-destructing, the only ability they possessed was using that ridiculous dance to mesmerize people. If that counted as a skill, then I suppose it was one...

...Honestly, I don't want a skill like that.

I had zero desire to show Yeonhee myself doing that frantic dance. I'd much rather they simply didn't have any other abilities.

"I-Ilwol! Bone Dancer!"

(The bomb guys!)

The summons who had taken heavy damage from Bone Dancers now instinctively rushed out the moment they heard the word "bone." They had clearly learned just how dangerous those things were. Having experienced the explosion firsthand, how could they not?

That must be why they charged forward like mad dogs. Should I consider that behavior as their instincts reacting first, all for Yeonhee's safety?

Whenever I watched all the summons, myself included, moving with one heart and mind for Yeonhee's sake, I sometimes felt a bittersweet emotion. Yeah... both you and I really drew the short straw in terms of fate.

Three more hours passed like that. The dungeon's internal clock now pointed firmly to afternoon. And as the battles continued to flow smoothly, No Hayun's face grew increasingly discontent. She occasionally stared at me with piercing intensity, but I deliberately avoided her gaze.

What exactly was she expecting by coming here? Since we wouldn't be partying together again starting tomorrow anyway, I'd just have to put up with her for today.

At some point, No Hayun stopped using her Ice Field altogether and simply hurled ice spears with a bored expression. Maybe she was getting bored because only easy opponents kept appearing... Seeing her like that made me realize she still lacked experience. Dungeons had this frog-like habit of never giving you what you desperately wanted, only bestowing gifts when you least expected them.

I didn't know what she was hoping for, but the more she built up her expectations, the less likely she was to get what she wanted. That's what I thought.

The infamous Dungeon of Nargul. Of course, we were only tasting the first underground floor, but even so, this was a place where many hunters struggled. Yet we were advancing smoothly, growing accustomed to fighting in this mana-rich environment.

What the hell happened... that they're all running away like this?

Because I had deliberately chosen routes that maximized distance from other parties, no more than three teams had ever entered my detection range at once. But now, more than ten parties were sprinting straight toward us. Nearly eighty people in total.

I soon learned what had caused them to run so frantically that their feet barely touched the ground.

A Giant Skeleton. It's enormous. Something that big on the first floor?

It was a bone monster easily seven to eight meters tall. Naturally, it wasn't humanoid. Several elongated appendages sprouted from its sides—whether arms or legs, it was impossible to tell. But it was charging forward at terrifying speed, accompanied by a mixed bag of ghouls, Skeleton Decurions, Bone Dancers, and Spectres scattered throughout the horde.

Whew... At least it's not a Skeleton Knight. Fuck, I got scared for a second there.

Of course, if you asked whether that meant we'd fight it head-on—

"Run!! There's too many of them!!"

"Goddammit! Why the hell are they running straight at us?!"

We were already fleeing at full speed. I could handle the Giant Skeleton, but the number of small fry was overwhelming. Even more Giant Skeleton variants—about half the size of the largest one—had appeared belatedly, and there were well over twenty of them.

"Clack clack clack!"

Even though we were being chased, we actually felt more relaxed than before. A sense of relief at having avoided the worst-case scenario washed over us. This was probably the biggest crisis we'd face in this dungeon. That's what I believed.

"Over here!!"

We had enough breathing room to even help the people being chased alongside us.

"How about doing it like last time?!"

Bae Jua was the first to suggest it, and while running, we judged that her idea wasn't bad at all. In the end, we decided to reuse the tactic we'd employed back at the Orc Gorge.

There were a few spots like that on the way here.

After sprinting like mad for about five minutes, we reached similar terrain. It wasn't exactly a gorge, but the path was blocked on both sides by massive piles of boulders. The width was much wider than before, but since the enemies were proportionally larger, the effect should be similar.

Contaminated Breath... Its effectiveness will probably be reduced.

There were a few ghouls mixed in, but most were skeleton-type, so I decided not to use it this time.

"BRWOOOOOOAR—!"

The largest of the Giant Skeletons let out a roar that reverberated powerfully through the enclosed space. The vibration was so intense it seemed to shake the very bones, causing several of the slowest hunters at the back to collapse on the spot, overwhelmed by confusion and terror.

Whoosh—

What a pain in the ass.

I changed direction, quickly swapped in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Rune of Levitation, and activated High-Speed Flight. It was a good combination for sudden acceleration. I reached the target point in an instant, scooped up the status-afflicted hunters like I was snatching fish from a pond, scaled the rock wall, and returned them to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rear of our formation. The entire process was so fast and smooth that even I felt satisfied with my performance.

"Whoa... What the hell is that..."

"So that's the one the 'Grim Reaper' was keeping an eye on... It's a monster, just like the rumors said."

"When did he get that strong?"

Why the hell are they calling me the Grim Reaper again...

Irritated, I roughly tossed the four hunters I'd been carrying in my arms onto the ground.

"Aaaargh!"

"Ugh..."

The thrown hunters screamed, but I'd done it on purpose to snap them out of it. I hoped they'd start pulling their own weight now.

"We're alive!"

"Huff—huff—"

The hunters who had been sticking close to our party only managed to catch their breath after hiding behind us.

"Damn it! This dungeon's gone completely insane!"

"I can't take this anymore... Fuck!"

"Shit! Forget everything else—what the hell is that giant thing?! This is way too much!"

Only then did they finally release the anger they'd been holding back. Someone once said that dungeons were a blessed land for hunters, but that was just naive talk from peaceful times. This might actually be the normal state of things. A merciless space where curses flowed freely and the comrades you'd teamed up with died one after another.