The First Party Was a Success
The Lizardman let out a wild roar as it charged straight at the Big Bore. It paid for that recklessness with a shallow stab from the monster’s horn, but the beast’s naturally tough body combined with its wild, paralysis-laced attacks quickly overwhelmed even the Big Bore. The creature collapsed in short order.
I had reached the point where I could take down Big Bores with almost no health loss. My overall stats had risen enough that their attacks no longer landed cleanly, which meant my health barely took a hit anymore.
“Let’s go! We’re gonna sweep them all!”
After finishing her butchering, Yeonhee shouted with fighting spirit. But the moment she saw the battlefield where eighty Big Bores and Goblins were tangled together, she quietly retreated to a safer distance.
“Whew—that’s just unfair! There’s way too many of them!”
Hehehe… how cute.
Watching her slightly clumsy behavior brought me genuine joy with every little moment.
In the end we completed the subjugation without any major issues. Back at the house, Yeonhee held something out to me.
“Leather armor! I paid extra for proper tanning, so it’s much lighter than normal.”
I nodded. Hmm. The size looks about right, the finishing is clean, and the wax treatment is excellent.
The quality was satisfying enough that I slipped it on with a touch of nervous anticipation. It didn’t cover my entire body, but it protected most areas except my arms and legs. Movement felt surprisingly natural.
There’s nothing but bones underneath, yet it feels like I’m actually wearing it on a body.
I had worried it might hang loose and slip off, but it seemed to have some kind of self-adjusting property—similar to the way I could hold acidic liquid in my mouth without it spilling.
◈ Defense +12
◈ Durability 80/80
◈ Carefully crafted from quality leather
The numbers were modest, but a durability of 80 meant it had been made by someone close to a true craftsman. I nodded and twisted my body this way and that. It felt a little stiff, but after a few days of breaking it in I would adapt quickly.
“Whoa~ Ilwol looks like a model now that he’s wearing armor. A total model!”
“Clack—”
When I bent at the waist and struck a pose, Yeonhee burst out laughing so hard she nearly fell over.
“Heek! Shh, shhh—the neighbor’s gonna yell again.”
Sure enough, she immediately got scolded by the guy next door.
Sigh… Our monthly income is around seven to eight million won now. Even most D-rank hunters can’t pull in that kind of money, but after paying off debt and covering living expenses, moving to a better place is still a long way off. I need to be more aggressive with our exploration routes.
Our income had skyrocketed to an almost unrecognizable level, yet we were still stuck in this tiny one-room apartment.
“Lizard No. 1, want me to make armor for you too? We have plenty of materials.”
The lizardman hissed and spat in clear refusal.
“Hmm… you really hate it that much? Well, biologically speaking I guess it makes sense for your kind.”
Yeonhee clicked her tongue in disappointment while I trained hard, moving around in my new armor to get used to it.
The next day we cleared the Big Bore dungeon without issue. Yeonhee leveled up and gained another Lizardman companion. Later, as we sat in the room staring at two runes on the floor, she swallowed nervously.
Runes hadn’t dropped in a while, yet two had appeared at once after killing Big Bores. Both of them were the relatively rare Thorn Rune.
“These are normal-grade but aren’t they actually amazing? Let me search real quick…”
They’re good. Essential for tanks. Even at normal rank they’ll be useful.
“The reviews are all positive. It says they’re the best choice for low-ranking hunters alongside the Rune of Swiftness. Okay—let’s have Ilwol use both of them!”
Uh… about that.
When I tapped my chin and shook my head, Yeonhee looked startled.
“Why? These are really good, Ilwol.”
I traced a round shape on the floor with my finger. She seemed to understand immediately and summoned the ironclad beetle “Clacker.”
“You want to give them to him? Well… he does have a taunt effect, so it does make sense…”
We should do things by the book. I don’t get hit that often anyway.
She pouted for a moment, then neatly placed the Thorn Runes in front of Clacker.
“Clacker, you use these. Ilwol doesn’t want them. Hmph!”
…Is she a child?
It was ridiculous, yet even the way she puffed her cheeks in a sulk was adorable. Clacker stayed still for a long time before finally touching the runes with its antennae. The two dark-red stones vanished instantly.
This should raise Yeonhee’s survival rate another level.
“Hehe—looks like he understands what we’re saying.”
Watching Yeonhee stroke the beetle’s smooth shell, I fell into thought.
Now we have to decide where to go next… I probably shouldn’t interfere with this decision.
We had gotten everything we could from the Big Bore dungeon. Yeonhee had already made up her mind to tackle the Flame Ape dungeon. After taking a full day off for the first time in a while, we searched the hunter community for a suitable party to join.
Does she really not think of me as a summoned creature at all…?
She casually showed me the hunter community site on her phone and asked for my opinion on this party or that party. Since it was good for me, I carefully selected one. The next day arrived with a slight tension in the air.
When I was summoned from the Dark Space, the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar scene left me momentarily stunned. The irony was that it felt uncomfortable precisely because it was so familiar.
It’s the dungeon gate. Well, I suppose it’s fine for me to be here…
I had been called out in front of the gate before entry. Four hunters stood before me, staring with open curiosity.
“Whoa!! This is seriously so cool. Hey, what’s its name?”
“I-Ilwol…”
Yeonhee answered cautiously. The woman who had asked if it had a real name burst into laughter. She had short, vivid red hair and wore a full set of Big Bore leather armor similar to mine. Her name was Shin Suran.
Never heard of her. Pass.
She carried a wide-bladed greatsword suited for defense over one shoulder, suggesting a vanguard role. Yet her sleek, well-proportioned figure made me wonder if she could truly fulfill that position.
Does she even train? You can’t just rely on raw stats.
Still, depending on her actual abilities her role might differ, so I turned my attention to the next person.
“That interview video of yours has been up for a while now. What are the summon’s stats like? You’re not the summoner yourself, so it should be fine to share the summon’s information, right?”
The man with a military-style buzz cut and a powerful build asked Yeonhee how much performance I could deliver. After a brief hesitation she glanced at me. When I gave a small nod, she quietly recited some of my information to the party.
Yeonhee only shared my Strength, Agility, and Stamina values. I was sitting at the edge of level 19, right before the jump to 20.
“Huh? Wait, he’s actually better than you, Uncheol? Bwahahahaha!”
The man who had asked—Han Man-woo—slapped his huge round shield and roared with laughter while pointing at the other shield warrior. The man whose stats had been compared turned bright red and shot back defensively.
“Stats aren’t everything! Besides, skeleton soldiers move all stiff and awkward. I’m not expecting much help from him.”
“Whatever, the fact he’s stronger than you is still a fact. Kahaha!”
“Ugh, seriously…”
Last was the girl wearing a robe. She introduced herself as Yu Dali and pulled back her hood so we could see her face.
“H-hello…”
“Nice to see you again.”
She was the crowd-control mage we had met during the previous medium-sized Goblin village raid—the one who used binding magic. Of course it wasn’t pure coincidence; we had seen her party’s recruitment post while searching yesterday and applied immediately.
I vaguely remembered a plant-type mage among the group that fought the Orc Legion Commander when he first appeared. She was the kind of talent who would reach at least C-rank within a few years.
She seems to prefer parties with a solid vanguard. Last time she took command in a group full of nothing but tanks.
Whether she wanted to stand out or simply valued her own safety above all, I couldn’t tell. Still—
For a first party, this is the best possible combination. It can’t get any better than this.
“Alright, now that we’ve finished basic introductions, let’s talk about our formation. We don’t have anything else to do, so we might as well go over it properly.”
Shield warrior Han Man-woo appeared to be the party leader. Of course, once actual combat began the mage would likely take charge, but since Yu Dali stayed quiet it seemed they had already discussed things beforehand.