Irmana's Blessing
As I considered how impressive a blessed race could be and glanced back at the creature, it seemed to have gained some confidence from Yeonhee’s praise. It spun in place, twirling with delight.
“Now, Crouch!”
Chirrr— The ironclad beetle instantly folded its spread carapace and flattened itself against the floor, pressing its underbelly as close to the ground as possible. A faint vibration hummed through the tiles—most likely the sound it produced.
It probably couldn’t activate this ability consciously under normal conditions. More likely, it triggered automatically when the beetle took damage.
“Whoa, it’s glued so tightly to the floor that flipping it would be tough. And that glossy shell makes it hard to get a grip with your hands.”
Of course, flat ground like this differed from the uneven paths inside a dungeon, but the trait still helped cover its weaknesses nicely.
“Still, every ability seems focused on self-defense, so it feels a bit one-dimensional. Let’s bring it along for now.”
I gave a quick nod. We decided to test it properly tomorrow. Yeonhee returned to her room and spent the rest of the day practicing as usual.
After testing the ironclad beetle with me, Yeonhee slipped into her room and dove straight under the covers. She stared at the ceiling for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh.
‘I couldn’t control the kobold. Just as I thought… I really need to raise this stat, don’t I?’
Dominance: 3
Dominance. A stat I had never heard of in my previous life. Even necromancers who raised the dead didn’t possess anything like it. It had to be unique to the summoner class.
‘Honestly, I’m already short on stats to invest in magic power. I was planning to ignore this one, but…’
I could somehow overlook it with my first summon, but failing to control even a kobold was something I couldn’t accept.
‘Next level-up, I’ll raise this and see if it makes a difference.’
Having organized her thoughts, Yeonhee pulled the blanket over her head. She lay there blinking blankly until memories of what happened with me suddenly resurfaced.
Excited about obtaining the artifact, she had danced in circles without realizing it. When she came back to her senses, an odd tension hung between us. Then my bony hand reached out. The moment those ice-cold fingers gently stroked her cheek and cupped her chin, her face had flushed crimson and heat surged through her body. Even now she couldn’t explain why.
‘You really are a strange one, Ilwol…’
A comrade and friend who kept giving her new experiences.
The next day, while we fought with the ironclad beetle summoned, we discovered an unexpected effect.
“It looks like it has a provocation effect?”
The monsters were strangely drawn to the crouching beetle. It was the complete opposite of what we had anticipated. Because of it, Yeonhee had to keep a proper distance from me while fighting.
Chirrr—
‘Is it because of that sound? The vibration it makes while crouching is irritating to them?’
Whatever the reason, the result was excellent. The big boars kept ramming the beetle’s carapace, but its tough shell showed almost no damage from their horns.
Still, it wasn’t completely unharmed. In the end it died and unsummoned. Even so, its performance was more than satisfactory.
The kobold that had worried us earlier no longer showed any trace of its previous rage. With a vacant expression, it faithfully played the role of Yeonhee’s bodyguard. Even though the kobold was an idiot that only swung blindly, it could at least strike the back of monsters focused on the beetle.
Thud!
Since it possessed raw strength to begin with, its hits dealt considerable damage once they landed.
‘At this rate, the big boar dungeon should be manageable.’
We practically lived inside the big boar dungeon for another week. Yeonhee rose to level 21, and I gained two levels.
Once again I raised agility, stamina, and magic power, quietly walking the path of a jack-of-all-trades.
Yeonhee reached level 21 and received a new summon scroll whose color had changed to a dull brownish-gray. The quality of level-up rewards had increased.
“Aww, I guess I can’t summon any more skeleton soldiers. It’s a shame since I wanted to strengthen you, Ilwol.”
She grumbled, but scrolls that only gave ironclad beetles or slimes no longer held much value. Of course, they still had their uses.
Accompanied by her beautiful chanting that filled the room like a lovely melody, the second gray scroll began to glow.
‘If we get another mid-tier summon this time, let’s just go buy lottery tickets, Yeonhee.’
Soon a rather imposing figure stepped out of the portal. It had the shape of a lizard, walked on two legs, and carried a heavily worn machete. Minimal coverings protected only its vital areas, giving it a primitive look, yet its nearly two-meter height and solid physique reminded me of a barbarian warrior.
‘A lizardman? Are these guys only considered low-tier?’
Seeing Yeonhee’s calm reaction, it clearly wasn’t mid-tier.
‘Then it must be the best among the low-tier ones. Even so, when they gather in numbers they become incredibly annoying.’
Especially near water or on rainy days, their stats rose, making them tricky opponents. They also had decent weapon skills and strong tenacity.
‘Now that I think about it, when I fought the orc legion commander, these guys were one of their main forces, weren’t they?’
As I mulled over that memory, one part still didn’t make sense. Right now the summoning spell brought forth completely random creatures. Did that mean Yeonhee would eventually gain the ability to specify exactly which summon she wanted?
‘If that kind of ability is going to manifest… a lizardman would be an excellent choice. Of course, it would only be feasible if the magic power cost to maintain it is low, but still…’
Yeonhee sat quietly with her eyes closed for several minutes before opening them again.
“The lizardman really does consume very little magic power to maintain. Summoning it costs about twice as much as Wangwang, but upkeep is similar. That’s amazing.”
In short, the cost-performance ratio was excellent. Everyone already knew how strong lizardmen were, so there was no need to explain further.
“Lizard… one…”
While Yeonhee pondered the name with unusual seriousness, I stood beside the lizardman for comparison. It flicked its thin, snake-like tongue, sizing me up.
(Fight… where is the enemy…)
True to their reputation as battle maniacs, the lizardman already itched for combat. It swung its machete in every direction.
(Hey, if you swing that thing carelessly you might damage your master’s precious room. Be careful.)
(Enemy… where is the enemy… where can this body be washed?)
‘We’re not communicating at all. The first thing it thinks about after being summoned is taking a bath?’
At that moment Yeonhee approached and placed her hand on the lizardman’s forearm.
“Lizard No. 1. From now on your name is Lizard No. 1, got it?”
‘Huh? She’s giving it a number? Does that mean…’
“An ability has manifested that lets me select one individual from each scroll grade and increase the chance of summoning it. For the brownish-gray scrolls, focusing on lizardmen for a while seems right. What do you think, Ilwol?”
“Clack clack!!”
‘Oh— so the ability already awakened at level 20. I don’t know how much it raises the probability, but it probably makes the chosen summon appear far more often.’
Most classes simply chose one path among fixed branches and continued down it without question. In other words, aside from allocating stats and the occasional lucky ability every five levels, there wasn’t much room for personal choice.
Yet Yeonhee had obtained the power to designate specific summons. Only the summoner class would manifest such a customized ability.
“Hehe, I have two traits now. Feels reassuring, doesn’t it?”
‘Ooh, what did she get? I’m curious!’
“The passive traits are… Irmana’s Blessing, which raises agility the wetter my body becomes, and Pipf’s Grace, which increases stamina recovery the longer combat lasts. To have both a blessing and a grace at the same time… aren’t these guys overpowered?”
‘Their ancestors must have treated the beings who granted blessings and graces very well.’
“And the skill is… exactly as the rumors say. Paralysis. It secretes a fluid that causes paralysis.”
My gaze shifted to the creature’s weapon. A thick liquid coated the chipped machete. That fluid apparently came from its own body. It lacked the feel of an active skill, but it perfectly matched the lizardmen’s preference for close-quarters combat.
The image of lizardmen smearing their machetes with bodily fluid before battle while flicking their tongues was vivid in my mind.
Yeonhee approached the lizardman and tested various movements, seemingly contemplating how best to utilize it. I ran some one-on-one simulations in my head as well.
‘I could probably suppress it in single combat, but I’d take quite a bit of damage. Facing two at once would be too much.’
The next day, as soon as we entered the dungeon we confirmed the lizardman’s capabilities. We encountered two big boars. I took one, the lizardman took the other, restricting their movements while the kobold and Yeonhee attacked from mid-range with arrows and thrown weapons. We subdued them with surprising ease.