Expanding Horizons
The party members gaped in awe at the speed and dazzling flight of the Ringlet.
⊳ "Can it summon a ton of them like those things from before? I've got a bit of trauma from that memory."
⊳ "You didn't even dive into a swarm of bats like Ilwol and fight them bare-handed. What trauma?"
⊳ "I'm a delicate woman! Just seeing it sticks in my head for ages!"
⊳ "That's hilarious. You're the one who beats guys up the hardest."
⊳ "W-what are you talking about?!"
Trauma, huh… Maybe I should hold back a bit in front of Jua for now. Not that I can summon that many anyway.
Right now, calling out even a single Ringlet took two or three seconds. It might sound short, but I was dissatisfied. If only I could summon them instantly like Yeonhee’s Preset ability.
“Kiiit—! Bebit—!”
The Ringlet, which had been joyfully soaring through the sky, landed and flapped its wings excitedly in my arms.
“The summon Ilwol created… it’s so cute…”
“Behh—?!”
Yeonhee reached out, took the Ringlet from my arms, and hugged it tightly to her chest.
“Piiit! Piiiit!”
The Ringlet’s head was trapped in Yeonhee’s violently soft cleavage as it kept sending me desperate rescue signals. Too bad. It should consider being held in her embrace an honor.
“Piiii—?!”
After briefly lightening the mood with the Ringlet, we resumed exploring the dungeon. Near the very end of our expedition, a peculiar cry echoed through the air.
“Jjirolorong─”
“Hey, isn’t that the cry of a Hanjarling?”
“Chicken! Premium chicken!”
“So they really do spawn here.”
I dashed straight toward the source of the sound and hurled several daggers.
Thud, thud, thud—!
◈ Steals a random trait from the Hanjarling!
◈ Acquired Trait: [Keen Ears]
Pioneer
All stats increased by 1.
Damn… No usable skills to steal.
It really was just a bird that happened to have good hearing. Nothing more.
Keen Ears
Listening carefully allows you to hear more clearly.
I don’t even have any damn ears, System…
Still, the tiny stat boost was nice, and it was meaningful that we’d begun hunting these delicious creatures. The Dire Wolf Dungeon we’d enter next was an endless stretch of lush nature. Besides Big Boars and Hanjarlings, there would be plenty of other edible monsters.
“Whoa— Ilwol’s attacks really are impossible to dodge!”
“You moved before the sound even reached us?”
When I returned holding a Hanjarling with three daggers neatly embedded in its belly, everyone’s eyes locked onto the large, round bird in my hands. They were all licking their lips. They already knew exactly how tasty it was.
“I’ve only ever eaten it as jerky. Never grilled.”
No Hayun made an unexpected comment as she pulled my daggers out of the Hanjarling one by one.
“You’ve never tried it? Why not?”
“I heard there’s a place that specializes in it. Aren’t you working too much?”
“I had plenty of chances, but somehow it never happened. Don’t make such a fuss over nothing.”
As she spoke, Hayun took advantage of everyone else’s attention being on the Hanjarling and smoothly slipped all three of my daggers into her own pocket.
…?! Why is she taking my daggers?
I stared at her intently. When our eyes met, she scratched her head with a slightly embarrassed look and pressed a finger to her lips.
You… You’re collecting them for that reason? No way! I need to trade the ones I made myself!
I’d put real effort into crafting those. Was she really going to settle for those blunt ones? But Hayun nodded at me and made an ‘O’ shape with her fingers, as if to say this was plenty.
The grip was thick and the length just right. It did look quite usable for solo enjoyment.
Sigh… Even so, comparing it to my own work… My plans… My time…
I stood there in a daze, feeling utterly defeated for a moment.
Haa— Well, my proficiency went up while making them, so I can craft daggers faster now. It’s not a total loss. Maybe they’ll come in handy later…
After comforting myself, I stored the Hanjarling in my subspace and dove back into the exploration.
Before long, we joined a boss battle. The boss stage had a capacity of thirty people. I took on the small fry while the newly joined party members handled the boss.
I really want to test out the Ten Thousand Hole Cannon I got from the Great Calamity…
It was an incredible skill that granted invincibility while preparing. Having countless tiny holes appear all over my body wouldn’t be a pretty sight, but the effect would be undeniable.
However, using an ability similar to the one from the Great Calamity so soon after defeating it would be extremely dangerous. There was no need to invite unnecessary suspicion.
Guess this gets sealed for a while too. I’ll have to test it inside the Dark Space. Wait… Come to think of it, I never asked Master how to escape the binding.
I made a mental note to ask about that method the next time I went in.
Even after obtaining such an amazing skill, not being able to use it freely in real combat left me feeling frustrated and pent-up. The urge to just go all out was probably the lingering influence of inhaling the Great Calamity’s smoke.
The dungeon that the Ilseom Guild monopolizes… I’ll be able to fight freely there.
With that thought, I realized the reward from the suddenly arranged duel with Hyeon Woo-seok wasn’t so bad after all.
Boooom──!
The boss battle, led primarily by Arin and Jua, took longer than usual. However, the condition of the dropped runes was far better than normal.
“Ooooh! Superior Poison Rune!”
“Me too!”
“Whoa! Me, me too!”
……
When we partied with the four members of Veil, our rune drop luck had been absolutely terrible. Yet the moment we became a complete party, superior runes started pouring out.
Superior Poison Rune
When you deal the first damage that penetrates an enemy’s defense, reduces their maximum HP by 7.5% for 1 minute.
Effect can only apply once per target.
“This would be perfect for Ilwol. You have Penetration, right? As long as it hits, it’ll shave off 7.5%, yeah?”
“Clack clack.”
With the Poison Rune, I could swap it in before attacking, trigger the effect once, then swap it back out. The only downside was that I couldn’t swap multiple runes at the exact same time, so I’d have to manage it carefully with some clever planning.
“Our party really is the best!”
Now that the party was fully assembled, it felt like luck was on our side too. The vibe was excellent.
“Everyone worked hard today! See you tomorrow!”
After safely completing the expedition and returning home, we spent a fiery night together.
“Haaang… I-Ilwol… You’re too intense today… Ahhghk! S-stop… Don’t go so deep…! Hauk!”
While I usually spent a long time warming Yeonhee up, today I was more honest with my desires. I stirred relentlessly inside her, releasing everything that had built up.
The shelf beside the bed was now stacked high with empty condom boxes.
I’m going crazy. I can’t stop.
Maybe it was because I’d inhaled the Great Calamity’s smoke yesterday, but my lust was completely out of control. The pleasure only grew stronger without even changing positions.
“Haa— Haa—”
It seemed Yeonhee, whose entire body had turned as red as a carrot, felt the same.
The creaking of the bed and Yeonhee’s leaking moans filled the room for a long while.
“Hueeeeh… Heu… ng…”
Even Yeonhee, who never showed fatigue easily when we were together, was left so exhausted that she seemed fused with the floor.
Psssh—
“Ahn…”
For the finale, I sprayed a generous amount of my mark across Yeonhee’s backside. I admired her fantastic rear view as she lay face-down, panting.
Seeing her backside glistening with sticky fluid sent an inexplicable surge of arousal through me, making me harden again. But we had less than three minutes left.
I must endure…
Reciting that mantra to myself, I gently lifted her familiar body and carried her to the bathroom to wash her.
Scrub, scrub—
I held her from behind, washing every inch. The sight of her enormous breasts swaying heavily in my palms was incredibly stimulating no matter how many times I saw it.
Shiver, shiver—
Her body trembled pitifully, still sensitive from the lingering pink sensations.
After cleaning her thoroughly and returning to the room, Yeonhee was already nodding off, on the verge of sleep. I hurriedly shook her awake.
“Ah…? Oh, right… Summon release. Haa… Do you really plan to go in there every single day?”
“……”
Her slightly disappointed tone left me unable to say anything once my Mimicry had dissipated.
“There isn’t… another woman in there or anything, right?”
“Clack?!”
“Hehe… I’m just kidding… There couldn’t possibly be a woman in a place like that. Anyway, take care?”
“Clack clack!”
When Yeonhee waved her hand through the air, ripples formed in space.
Creak—!
As always, a door perfectly sized for the space yawned open. Swallowed by the door, I entered the Dark Space once again.
“Clack!”
Without the slightest hesitation, I scanned my surroundings and sprinted toward where Rainy was.
The smoke I inhaled yesterday must be all of it, right? I don’t feel anything else suspicious.
There were still things I could sense along the way. Our lovely food supply—over two hundred Big Boar corpses—were neatly stacked. A little further and I saw the corpse of the great villain Nam Yong-seok, along with Ju Ye-seul’s body from the Dungeon of Nargul.
The rest of the corpse piles consisted of nameless Blue Eye cultists and random junk equipment scattered everywhere.
At least the food is grouped together, and the corpses are grouped together. It organizes itself nicely.
Thinking how truly strange this space was, I flew forward—only to stop dead when I sensed something enormous much earlier than yesterday.
It grew this much in just one day?
It was definitely Rainy’s presence, but the growth rate was astonishing. I pushed off the ground again and soon discovered a tree that now towered well above my waist, dancing gracefully.
(Ilwol~ You came again today! Ohohohot— Look at me! I’ve gotten so cool, right? So pretty, right? Hurry up and praise these lush leaves!)
What on earth happened in a single day to make you grow this much?
In truth, it wasn’t just Rainy’s main body that had grown. The countless roots that had sunk deep into the ground looked far from ordinary.
(Me? I didn’t do anything! I think the nutrients I sucked from your body yesterday helped a lot.)
Really? Hmm… Was it because of that smoke? Anyway, if you keep growing like this, soon I won’t even be able to look you in the eye.
It was true. She seemed to grow two to three percent taller every day. She might overtake me soon.
(Ah, no! I want to keep facing each other while we talk! Hmph… I need to come up with something!)
Rainy crossed her branches like arms, falling into serious contemplation.
What do you usually do while I’m gone?
(Hmm~ Well~ There’s not much to do here, is there? Still, I can stretch my roots little by little and play at digging the ground, so that’s nice!)
I see. Digging… That actually sounds pretty appealing to me too.
Thanks to the Tunnel Destroyer trait, digging the ground somehow felt healing. Come to think of it, I hadn’t dug in a while.
(Then shall we dig together and play?)
…? Can I even dig here?
(I did it, so why couldn’t you?)
……
I had never once considered it, but thanks to Rainy, my thinking had expanded.