The Colossal Skeleton

Prepare the instant-kill skill—everyone, stop pushing! —Huh? You said using skills would get us kicked out for sure! —Damn it, let go of my leg! Get your filthy hands off me! —You lot who didn't even chip in a single mana stone, you've got some nerve! —You disgusting bastards! I said I'd pay you back outside! Who's trying to stiff anyone?! —Hey, let's keep some order here!

The moment Big Boar crashed onto the island, chaos erupted. It wasn't just about dried rations to survive. This was the ultimate delicacy, always ranking in the top three most delicious ingredients hunters could harvest. Their over-the-top reactions made sense.

It hadn't started out violent. Things turned ugly when people who hadn't paid began creeping closer, and watching the tense standoff felt too gripping to walk away from.

"Aigoo, look at that... At this rate they'll draw every monster in the area. Should we hold the monsters back a little?"

'Unnecessary meddling...'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Just as Arin said, they were doing exactly the kind of thing that would get them targeted by monsters. Faces flushed red, desire overwhelming reason, they kept bickering. Eventually, a swarm of monsters appearing right in front of us felt inevitable.

We cut them down with ease, buying the survivors time to sort out their mess.

'Well, consider it repayment for a generous deal.'

After defending for a short while, we raced toward our next destination. We circled the area, successfully closing deal after deal where the value differed by at least two hundred times. Obsession kept helping, and within three hours we'd contacted every group of survivors. Some begged us to take them along, crying and pleading, but I flatly refused. I didn't want even the slightest variable near the main base where Yeon-hee was.

"Waaah—how much did we make today?"

"Clack clack clack!"

Well—at least four hundred and fifty million, I'd say. The exact amount won't be clear until we're outside.

"Hehe—hehehe—"

'......'

Even though none of the profit would go to her since I'd traded my own belongings, Arin pretended to hum a little tune. Being alone with me still seemed awkward for her.

'Or maybe it's because of what happened in the tent...'

Well, it would be strange if she wasn't awkward after that. She kept stealing glances at me from the side—especially my hands.

'Surely she doesn't think I did something with my hands?'

When I glanced back, she quickly looked away and blurted out whatever came to mind.

"Whoa—o-over there, that terrain looks like it might have treasure buried in it!"

Of course, no matter how hard I looked, there was nothing of the sort.

'She did do this and that with her hands... but her thought process really is different from No Hayun's.'

It was oddly interesting how two people in the same situation could reach different conclusions about who had taken the initiative. Arin's ears were perked straight up, her fur puffed out like cotton candy, as if she were recalling the moment. Seeing that made my shoulders twitch with suppressed laughter.

With nothing left to do, we headed straight back to the main base. Our return was faster than expected. Yeon-hee grumbled that she'd wanted to go out too, sounding a little sulky that I'd swept through every corner without her. No... what was so great about going out where undead were swarming everywhere? It was just handing out meat and receiving mana stones.

I lightly tapped her on the head and told her not to sulk. After my return, the once-chaotic atmosphere of the base gradually settled. Occasionally, stray monster packs charged toward the bridge, but the Lizard unit handled them without me needing to step in.

'The Lizard unit's definitely gotten stronger.'

I wondered what would happen if the summon team excluding me fought against the remaining hunters. 'Would it not work because of No Hayun...?' With that ring on, she'd probably need to be excluded for balance.

Our eyes met briefly. Hayun covered her mouth with one hand and mouthed something. From the shape of her lips, I got the gist.

'If you change your mind... just say the word...?'

She still hadn't withdrawn the condition she'd offered.

'She said she'd give me a reward if I helped her relieve her lust...'

Her ring flashed in my mind. Once we left the gate, the elite forces of the Bijeon Guild would probably be waiting in droves—not to greet No Hayun, but to keep other hunters from targeting that ring. It was that ridiculous of an artifact. And in a way, the Witch who had given such a treasure to her daughter despite the hassle was impressive too.

But No Hayun still couldn't fully control the ring. Her lack of ability was obvious.

'If nothing else, if she just increased her mana capacity...'

She'd become a monster that could serve as good motivation for Yeon-hee. Though she was already a monster.

'Hmm... she'll probably have plenty of things.'

I couldn't directly solve what No Hayun wanted, but there were indirect ways to help. Whether that eccentric woman would be satisfied was another matter, but if the deal went through, I might receive one of the massive artifacts the Bijeon Guild had stockpiled in their warehouse.

While I was lost in such idle thoughts, several hours passed guarding the bridge. I felt the darkness recede ever so slightly. The fifth day was beginning to dawn.

From that day onward, I followed a set routine. From dawn until evening I hunted monsters outside, and from night until the next dawn I guarded the bridge. It had only been three days, but time crawled by at a painfully slow pace.

And before I knew it, the final day arrived.

"Hwaaang... three hours left!"

"Arin, let's head straight to a bar the moment we get out. Shower or whatever can wait."

"Okay!"

Our party members were relatively relaxed, but the other hunters looked like they were dying. Someone once said the moment right before the finish line was the most dangerous. With the exit time approaching, people couldn't hide their anxiety.

Their reaction wasn't simply because time was running out. At dawn today, we'd fought a prolonged battle against a large force containing two Nargul and two Skeleton Knights each. Since the fight happened after things had stabilized somewhat, we escaped the crisis without any deaths or serious injuries.

From my perspective, there had been no sense of crisis at all, but the other hunters clearly felt differently. Still, their attack had been incredibly fortunate for me. After smashing the skulls of the two Skeleton Knights that came at us, I'd managed to steal one of their traits.

'...... Reaches the pinnacle? Then what? Why stop the explanation there!'

The description was the perfect way to piss someone off, and for the first time in a while I felt genuinely irritated. But because I'd obtained such an incredible trait, my mood had stayed refreshingly light ever since.

Whoosh— whoosh—

'...... Haa. I don't get it.'

I'd swung my sword several times since acquiring the trait, but I still couldn't tell what had changed. I'd expected to instantly understand the swordsmanship the moment I got it, but reality was completely different. Still, if I kept training like the description said, I'd probably gain something eventually, right?

—Huu— Hurry up and pass, time. Please... ugh...

—Huu... I'm really quitting everything once I get out.

—You're selling the artifact?

—Of course I am. The effect is a bit ambiguous so it'll probably be priced at the lowest tier, but it's still at least three billion—three billion!

—Kihihihi...

They were trying to overcome their fear by imagining a rosy future after selling the artifact, but the hunters who had faced death at dawn were now wound up to their absolute limit. And emotions like worry, anxiety, and impatience were excellent nourishment for the undead.

If such intangible things kept being supplied from the survivors remaining in the dungeon, something was bound to happen.

'This doesn't feel good...'

Even without Nargul using its ability, this was the perfect condition for some unlucky natural mutation to occur.

Thirty more minutes passed.

'......'

A natural barrier began forming on the ground less than two kilometers away. The barrier greedily sucked in everything around it—an unusual phenomenon, considering barriers usually had a strong repelling property.

The things scattered nearby were, of course, monsters and the scraps they'd left behind. Those scraps began clumping together into a small mound.

Twitch—

'Ah, shit...'

A single nameless entity formed from all kinds of death began spitting out a familiar shape.

'Giant Skeleton...'

It was a six-armed giant skeleton with nothing particularly special about its form—except its size was large enough to make me laugh.

[Kwoooooooaaaargh──!]

'...... Why is my bad feeling never wrong?'

Even without standing on tiptoe, the massive monster's silhouette rose toward the clouds like a small mountain in my field of view.

"Hiiiiiik—?! W-what is that?! How can it be that big?!"

"It must be over thirty meters tall?"

"A calamity... it's a calamity. That's a calamity beast!"

"This is insane... how are we supposed to fight something like that?"

"Of course we shouldn't fight it! Let's just hide somewhere and survive for three hours!"

'That's a calamity beast? No.'

Calamity beasts were defined as disasters that even multiple S-grade hunters would struggle to fight on equal footing. The monster in our sights had the size to qualify as one, but in reality it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nothing more than a pathetic pile of undead. Still, no matter how worthless its components were, something that large naturally looked imposing. And considering its bones would be proportionally stronger, dealing damage with physical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attacks wouldn't be easy.

Even with my Pierce, it would probably take a long time.

'Only Flame Explosion will work.'

With that size, its health would be enormous too. Even Flame Explosion, which reduced maximum health by 100, wouldn't finish it in one go.

'Five uses of Flame Explosion would be an instant kill. Might be worth trying.'

What was certain was that I was the only one who could deal with that monster.

While I was nodding to myself about that, Yeon-hee was staring at me with an anxious expression. The look said, You're not planning to do this alone again, are you?

But there was no helping it. A monster of that mass would instantly kill any summon with a single swing. And if the monster's target became Yeon-hee, things would only get more troublesome. I had ninety-five lives, but she only had one. I had no choice but to treat her like a baby.

Yeon-hee knew that too. Still...

'She's making that face again.'

She looked like she was about to cry, as if she felt sorry that I had to handle everything alone and a little resentful about it.

'Once her summoning book rank increases and she summons something amazing... she won't have to make that face anymore.'

Since the regret came from not being able to fight together, just summoning a powerful enough creature to support me would ease most of Yeon-hee's anxiety. Of course, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yeon-hee herself would also need to grow so she could send the summons farther away.