The First Battle

"The first battle. 'Rest'... No way, does that mean go back into that space again? No!'

She slowly closed her eyes and extended both palms toward me, beginning to chant a spell.

'Ugh... I really hate this.'

A thin strand of mana flowed from her palms, gently wrapping around my body. Gradually, strength began draining from me. Some time passed like that.

·········

'Hmm?'

She gently opened her eyes, checked on me, and tilted her head once. Then she started chanting the spell again.

'Ughhh, strength is draining. It's draining... Is this really taking me there this time?'

"......?"

'......?'

"Huh? Why isn't this working?"

With a clearly flustered expression, she stepped right up to me and chanted the spell once more, but it failed again.

"It's not working, Ilwol? What do we do?"

I felt like things had been off from the very start, so I shrugged my shoulders at her.

"That's strange. I'm sure the sensation for it is exactly like this."

After that she tried more than ten times, but every single attempt failed.

'Should I call this fortunate? At least I don't have to worry about returning to that horrible place.'

Had she gone through this kind of trial and error while alive? Probably not. There was a reason I assumed that.

Most of the creatures she summoned, except for a few individuals, were monsters that appeared in dungeons. If this had happened before, there would have been records of chaos erupting on the roads while she led a monster toward a dungeon.

'Is it because of me...? Because I really don't want to go in?'

She looked terribly dejected, her face crumpling like she was about to cry. The corners of her eyes were already slightly wet. The atmosphere suggested she was rapidly losing confidence in her own abilities.

She muttered, "This is the last time," and reset her stance.

'Let's just go in... I'll go, so please don't make that face.'

I repeated it in my mind—I would enter, I wanted to return to that place. Then.

Creak—!

A massive door burst open behind me and swallowed me whole in an instant.

"Ah! Ilwol—!"

Clatter. Tap— Thud—!

'Damn it, can't you drop me a little more gently?'

"Clack clack!!"

After being hurled out of the door like discarded trash, I expressed my small grievance with an angry clack, then stared blankly at the faintly glowing giant door.

I instinctively knew I had to return to the very first space, but—

'I don't like it there. I don't want to crouch in there.'

So I simply flopped down flat in front of the door. Even then, no other force acted upon me.

'I wonder when Yeonhee will call me back.'

Probably after she entered the dungeon.

'I wish she'd call me soon...'

Lee Yeonhee was humming cheerfully right now. Her first summoning had succeeded, and the satisfaction she felt went far beyond mere success.

"Ilwol... Hehe, he's just too cute."

Thinking back to how he had stared dumbly at the club made her giggle again. At the same time, however, she began worrying about their roles during dungeon runs. Battles where she only needed to focus on herself were over. With a summon now, she would have to develop the ability to multitask.

"His agility is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so low I'm not sure he'll even be able to land hits. Hmm..."

She still hadn't reported her second awakening as a summoner to the Hunter Management Agency. The first awakening produced faint blue mana threads rising from the body that were impossible to hide, but the second awakening caused no visible external changes. She planned to report it only after she had grown skilled enough to use it properly.

After showering, she lay in bed, gazed at the photo of her mother smiling brightly, and spoke.

"Mom, I'm not alone anymore... I've got a big, smart friend now, so you don't have to worry."

The shabby one-room apartment that had only been a place to sleep suddenly felt empty now that Ilwol was gone.

"Maybe I shouldn't have dismissed him... There's even a first summon bonus."

She imagined Ilwol standing right beside her as she reread the message that had appeared after her first summon. A skeleton as tall as an adult male, holding a club, staring down at her with hollow eyes that seemed capable of swallowing anything.

......

"I should dismiss him before sleeping after all."

She calmed her still-pounding heart that kept thumping foolishly and soon fell asleep.

'This waiting is probably the hardest part. I'm sure of it.'

The light that had leaked from the door had now vanished. Only complete darkness remained, so thick I couldn't even see the finger bones right in front of me. Any normal person left in a place like this for a full day would lose their mind and develop a mental illness.

No matter how great a hunter, none possessed the ability to view a monster's status window like in novels. This was the first time I learned that a skeleton soldier had such a power. At the same time, one thing finally made sense.

'The reason skeleton types are strong against mental magic isn't simply because they lack intelligence—it's because of this trait.'

Unlike other monsters that lived their own lives inside dungeons, undead—especially skeletons—mostly just wandered around and reacted mechanically. Mental magic didn't work well on such creatures. The reason wasn't particularly complicated. They simply possessed this trait.

'It's an incredibly good trait. Almost ridiculously so.'

The other trait, Protection, was also extremely rare. Looking at his skill and trait composition, it was hard to believe this was supposed to be the weakest type.

Creeeeak—

"Clack clack clack!"

While I was lost in thought, the door suddenly began to open. I dashed forward, clacking with joy.

'I'm finally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠getting out!'

My shoulder bones felt like they were trembling with delight. With a sensation that was now somewhat familiar, I was sucked into the door and then spat out into a forest thick with undergrowth.

Tap—

I braced my hands and feet against the ground and landed lightly. I felt relieved that I hadn't tumbled embarrassingly this time, and offered a cheerful greeting to her as she stared at me with curious eyes.

"Clack clack clack—!"

It was possible to make noise by slapping my palms, but striking my molars produced a much clearer sound.

"Pfft— Ilwol, let's move spots first."

Yeonhee trotted over to my side and pulled me along to a denser thicket.

After quickly scanning the surroundings, she asked in a whisper.

"Do you remember the conversation we had yesterday?"

I nodded.

"Oh— As expected, our Ilwol is so smart. Good job."

Is this what it feels like when a dog looks at its owner? This master-servant relationship was a completely new experience, yet it didn't feel bad at all. Probably because I was her summoned creature.

Anyway, I observed our surroundings and thought,

'I was worried it might be a different world from the one I knew, but fortunately it's not.'

While lying in front of that giant door I had thought about all sorts of things. I even wondered whether this was a parallel universe's Earth rather than the past of my original world. But no matter how I looked at it, this was the exact Goblin Dungeon I remembered.

Despite the word "dungeon," the sky was open overhead and the forest was quite large. The creatures we needed to be most wary of here were, of course, goblins.

We hadn't taken many steps before we ran into them.

Rustle—

"Shhh—"

Yeonhee pressed her index finger to her lips, looking slightly nervous as if afraid I might move. She still lacked full confidence in her own power even though I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't take a single step without her command.

The goblins were picking fruit from a short tree beyond the bushes. They were a small race, around 140 centimeters tall, but that only applied to regular goblins. There was no need to worry about variants yet. What mattered now was how to handle the three right in front of us.

The distance between us was roughly fifteen meters. Her talent as an archer wasn't exceptional, but I didn't think she would miss at this range.

She signaled me with her eyes. It felt like she was saying, (You can start, Ilwol.)

Was this what the Whisper ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill that enabled telepathy felt like? I could even move my legs freely.

I familiarly spread mana throughout my entire body and activated my favorite skill.

'Stealth...'

Stealth was a low-grade skill that consumed two mana. Yet its usefulness could rival most high-grade skills. It was even unique.

Swish—

My body blended with the surroundings, completely hiding my presence from the enemy's sight. The familiar sensation I had forgotten sent a thrill through me.

After circling around to reach the goblins' rear, she drew her bow without hesitation.

Twang—

Thud—!

"Keheerk!"

The arrow struck one accurately in the neck. It collapsed straight to the ground, twitching. The remaining two looked around in confusion and grabbed the clubs they had crudely tucked into their waistbands.