The Greatsword Quest Begins

The Greatsword Quest has begun. After all the hunters swore their oaths, the atmosphere grew briefly warm and friendly. After all, they were now in the same boat, and what the other hunters had feared most was that our powerful party might harbor ill intentions. That worry had vanished.

"Thank you...!" One hunter even bowed deeply in gratitude. When I heard his circumstances, he turned out to be a groom-to-be whose wedding was just around the corner. Honestly, don't enter a place like this right before your wedding. Everyone had their own reasons for making a living, but in these unstable times, it would have been better to get married first and then do whatever else.

......

At the same time, I felt a twinge of envy. Marriage... That word now belonged to an entirely different world from mine. It would be more realistic for a god to appear and send me to another world. I swallowed a bitter smile and relayed the message I had prepared to Yeonhee.

"We... think we can rest for a bit. Ilwol says he'll stand guard with the summons and signal if anything happens."

"Oh? Is that acceptable?"

Yeonhee passed my intentions to Yeom Tae-seok, and the rest of the hunters brightened visibly at the news. They had already exhausted themselves in the Dungeon of Nargul until afternoon, then fought a prolonged battle while being chased by a horde led by the Giant Skeleton. Before they could even finish that fight, the dungeon's closure had driven them here, pursued by thousands of monsters, only to clash with those filthy bats as well. It was no wonder they were exhausted. Even hunters who had transcended human limits still had physical boundaries. Even the veteran Yeom Tae-seok's knees were visibly trembling, so the others were in no better shape.

That was why I had suggested it first. Showing the other hunters that our leader looked after them would make it easier for our party to secure an advantageous position if something unexpected occurred.

"Everyone except the Orc and Lizard units, go inside and rest."

Yeonhee summoned just under thirty summons, keeping them within her mana limit. Once summoned, they would remain as long as her mana did not bottom out while she slept. She could rest easy.

"Sorry..."

Yeonhee seemed uncomfortable leaving guard duty to me while she rested. I had suggested it myself, and it would only be a little over two hours. She was worrying over nothing again.

"Clack clack clack!!"

I tapped her head a few times, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠began preparing sleeping arrangements. In a reasonably wide clearing, I took out the ten-person tent I had received from Baek A-rin earlier and stored in my inventory, then set it up with the summons. On the cold floor that looked like it would radiate chill, I spread out the tanned Big Boar hides I had prepared, then layered sleeping pads on top. Thanks to Yeonhee's overspending—which I had doubted would ever be useful—we had more than enough for comfortable bedding.

I draped a thinly spread Big Boar hide over the tent as well, sealing it off from the outside as much as possible. This tent is actually pretty good. The frame is sturdy too. I infused the hides covering the tent with a mix of mana and sensory energy, one by one. Whoa... this is tiring... Consuming both mana and senses at once was still exhausting, but inside, we would be safe enough to remove our masks.

Right outside the tent where our party would sleep, I stationed Lizard No. 1—the strongest among the summons—Deonni No. 1 and No. 2, and Chehwa to guard it. They seemed to understand the gravity of protecting Yeonhee, glaring and growling at anyone who approached even slightly. Satisfied, I nodded and took my position at the center of the summons arranged at regular intervals.

"Whoa—that's basically a hotel over there."

"Is that Big Boar hide draped over the tent...? Covering it like that would keep the cold out."

"No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way... They carried that much around all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the time? Is that even possible? Where were they storing it?"

"The summons can use inventory too... I think I saw them pulling stuff out earlier."

"Insane...? Summoners are seriously overpowered."

Since all the hunters were huddled right up against the tent in a circle, every conversation carried clearly. Having a proper bed in a cave like this was an extravagant luxury, and several hunters even asked if they could sleep inside the tent together. Not a chance. When I firmly shook my head and raised my mana, they returned to their own spots as if nothing had happened and crawled into their sleeping bags. The only ones on guard duty now were Yeonhee's summons. The other hunters merely watched in amazement and stopped trying to talk, soon drifting off to rest one by one.

"Wow... Thanks to Yeonhee, we get to enjoy this kind of luxury inside a dungeon."

"It's nothing... The tent belongs to Arin, and I didn't do anything."

"That's not true. Those summons standing guard is only possible because you're here, Yeonhee."

"W-well, that's true, but... actually, Ilwol did everything..."

Yeonhee scratched her cheek, clearly embarrassed by the praise, and glanced at me. But Jua was right. Without Yeonhee, we were nothing.

"Haha, this is... embarrassingly generous treatment."

Our party members, who had entered the nest we and the summons had created in an instant, scratched the backs of their heads and turned to me.

"Thanks, Ilwol!"

"Thank you~!"

"Much appreciated, Ilwol."

"Clack clack clack!"

They hesitated for a moment before slowly lying down. Exhausted, they soon fell into deep sleep. Whoosh— Once I confirmed everyone was sound asleep, I stepped outside and circled the tent, focusing on waves of sensory energy. The maze door leading to this dungeon's boss had not opened yet, but beyond the sealed walls, I could clearly sense the starting points of countless branching paths.

Defeating the bats would unlock it at some point, though I did not know whether it required killing a set number or simply waiting a fixed amount of time. While patrolling once, I trained by reshaping the bone spikes growing from my left hand. Extending them lengthwise was easy, but shaping them into a double-edged sword rather than simple spikes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was extremely difficult. It seemed to consume a great deal of mental energy as well. It was like how drawing a circle was simple, but drawing a perfect sphere was not. That kind of feeling.

I'm creating something that did not exist before, so it's not that I'm lacking. In reality, my proficiency was rising rapidly. By the time I finished one patrol, instead of the back of my hand, a sword hilt had manifested in my palm. It was connected seamlessly to my hand, but I was satisfied with how convincingly it had taken shape. All in just ten minutes. The message that my control over the spikes had greatly increased after defeating the Giant Skeleton had not been a lie.

A little over an hour passed like that. At the point where I needed to heighten my tension while watching the Hook Bats begin to flap their wings, I was holding back a burst of laughter. I could not actually laugh, but that was how I felt. At this rate, even the System won't have anything to say, right?

The nearly one-meter-long blade clutched in my left hand—or rather, almost fused with it—was unmistakably a greatsword. It looked incredibly crude, but the reason I had been able to refine its shape much faster than expected was because I had simplified my thinking. When I imagined flattening the spike-shaped bone by pressing it up and down, a sturdy double-edged blade naturally formed. The tip and edges were thick, making it better suited for smashing than cutting, but the form was that of a greatsword.

...I should compare its strength to the one I commissioned from the blacksmith... It would not be too late to decide which to use as my main weapon after testing it.

"Kyah—! Slept well..."

A-rin and Jua woke up before I even had to rouse them and were already stretching. They still looked tired, but being able to sleep for over an hour in an environment like this was truly remarkable. That was possible thanks to the summons, who were still glaring at the bats even now.

Most hunters acknowledged it as a greatsword despite its jagged, uneven edges. If my understanding was correct, the System reflected such evaluations. Good. This should work.

"Haaam~ Uung..."

I gently stroked Yeonhee's cheek as she emerged from the tent last, still half-asleep. She leaned into my touch as usual and looked up at me with unfocused eyes. How cute. I absentmindedly continued patting her head. I felt No Hayun and Bae Jua's envious gazes on us, so I stretched my arms behind me for no reason. Time to get going.

After seating Yeonhee beside Chehwa, I shot forward like a bullet leaving the barrel.

The voices of the spectators gradually faded into the distance. The bats on the ceiling pushed their young back and prepared to descend, flapping their wings to greet me. Come.

Pararararararack—! Thousands of Hook Bats surged toward my neck once more. They formed a single collective entity, undulating like a wave as they pushed toward me. That massive flow carried an absurd mass along with persistent, sticky malice, yet my mind grew colder than ever. Hoo— I firmly supported the greatsword's hilt growing from my left hand with my right, then swung with all my strength at the creatures flying in to swallow me whole.

The horizontally swung blade collided violently with the bat swarm. Kujijijijijit—! Though the motion was a slash, the sound was closer to crushing and bursting the bats. Puhpuhpuhpuhpuhng—! The greatsword alone could not handle them, so I had no choice but to use magic as well. However—

...It worked! It went up! Haha—it worked! I could actually progress the quest with a greatsword made of real bone. That was all that mattered to me right now.