Children Before the Giant
The dire wolf’s claws sliced through the air with a vicious kwaak—then a heavy hwoooosh. Each talon was impossibly sharp, gleaming like a masterfully forged blade that had been honed, polished, and perfected. The creature was quick and fairly intelligent; when its strikes kept missing, it began twisting its hips, trying to create new angles. Yet none of its attacks felt threatening to me.
Three out of ten, maybe. Master really did have a point when he told me not to use it.
A technique with less than a thirty-percent success rate had no place in real combat. By the time I had punched more than a dozen holes through the beast’s torso from failed attempts at Bran, I felt satisfied with the training and swung my sword upward in a clean arc.
Bwooooook—!
It had been a long time since my level rose. The frogfolk gave almost no sense of progress when killed, but dire wolves offered a respectable amount of experience. I allocated the new stats to Wisdom, Sense, and Strength. The minimum requirements for Meteor still hadn’t been met, but the wisdom and magic power thresholds would soon be covered by the two artifacts I was about to obtain in this dungeon.
Only after shoving the dire wolf’s corpse into my subspace did I rejoin the party members, who had gathered in small clusters and were chatting among themselves.
“What the hell was that mess from the very first battle?” Bae Jua wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, looking genuinely horrified.
“The probability of variants appearing really is climbing, isn’t it?” Lee Yeon-hee’s face was slightly flushed with excitement as she spoke to Jua. The werewolves under Lakan had practically swept the dire wolves away.
“Whoa—if we’ve got this many werewolves already, can’t we just tackle a top-tier dungeon right now?” Jua asked, even more hyped than before.
Yeon-hee shook her head. “It’s not quite that simple. When they’re first summoned, their levels reset, sort of. They start with slightly lower stats than the ones you’d meet in an actual dungeon, so we still need to raise their levels first.”
Of course, that was assuming Yeon-hee provided no support at all. Nearly half of Lakan’s unit was already wrapped in the Mysterious Membrane armor she had created, their upper bodies protected by its solid defense. That alone would dramatically boost their overall combat power.
This really isn’t a fair game. It’s not just me who’s inefficient. Yeon-hee needs to aim higher too.
If not for my Thievery skill, I would have already looked for a different growth route—jumping several stages ahead and targeting higher dungeons.
“More importantly, about the black dragon and Castle…” Yeon-hee seemed to have finished sorting through some thoughts during the battle. She gathered the party and shared information about the newly joined summons.
The were-ravens, dire wolves, and werewolves were glossed over without much reaction, but then she warned them.
“I’ll tell you in advance—don’t be too shocked… Take a look one at a time and get used to them first. Once you’re more comfortable, we should research ways to cooperate with them in battle.”
“Just how amazing are these summons that you’re acting like this?”
“You’ll see.”
“Arin, have you seen both of them?”
“Only the black dragon.”
Yeon-hee dismissed every summon except me, took a deep breath, and called forth the Shadow Drake and Elder Golem in sequence.
……
I had expected them to freak out, but the party’s reaction was eerily quiet. Or maybe they were so shocked they’d lost their minds? A massive black drake and an even larger golem had appeared. The party members stared up at them, throats bobbing repeatedly as they swallowed.
It made sense. With its wings folded, Geomryong glared down at us like a wicked dragon straight out of legend. The aura around it suggested it might spew something terrible from its maw at any moment. Before such a creature, the party members were nothing more than small, fragile lambs.
No Hayun seemed more curious than afraid, but even she couldn’t move easily. That much was the same for everyone.
(……)
Geomryong, who had appeared first, slowly turned his head to the right and examined each party member. He didn’t show any strong rejection, which probably meant their overall quality passed his standards. Or maybe he just liked that they were all women. Damn brat. Does he only hate me?
Kuuuung—!
Unlike Geomryong, Elder Golem “Castle” first surveyed the surrounding environment rather than the people. His appearance blended beautifully with the lush nature here, as if he had been this place’s guardian deity for ages.
“G-g-g-golem…?!”
“Whoaaaa—it keeps getting bigger.”
When I had summoned him inside the church last time, he had been curled up tightly, so the scale was hard to judge. But now, watching him spread his shoulders wide in open space, the sheer size was staggering. He cast a heavy shadow over our heads.
He’s definitely over seven meters. Never mind the height—the physique itself is just…
As the living fortress stretched like it was warming up, the party members stood with their mouths agape, unable to close them. Pure astonishment and shock. The exact reaction I had been waiting for was finally showing.
“Ugh…”
“……”
“Hey… haha?”
Ham Eun-yeong, who had kept her mouth tightly shut since entering the dungeon, suddenly lost strength in her legs and plopped down on the spot. Thud.
At that moment, a mackerel-tabby cat shot out of her mirror, instantly on guard and ready to throw punches with its front paws.
(Who the hell is it?!)
I spoke to the cat who had shouted without warning.
‘What are you doing?’
(Hmm? Why is Eun-yeong so flustered? Explain.)
Since the cat’s senses were dulled in this form, I simply jerked my chin toward Geomryong and Castle instead of speaking.
The cat’s eyes widened the moment it spotted them.
(What are these guys?!)
‘Oh? Do you know them?’
I asked with a hint of expectation, but—
(How would I know them?)
‘……Want to die? Why did you react like you recognized them?’
(Ahem—Anyway, they look useful. Are these the Great Calamity creatures you mentioned? They seem to lack quite a bit of power for that, though.)
‘No… They’re summons Yeon-hee called. Why compare them to Great Calamities?’
No matter how strong Geomryong and the Elder Golem were, the difference between them and a Great Calamity was like heaven and earth.
(I see. Still, that golem looks very sturdy. I like it. Is that glowing space in the center meant to protect the summoner?)
The quick-witted cat noticed it immediately and asked.
‘That’s right.’
(The space looks fairly spacious. How about letting Eun-yeong ride with you? This child is small and won’t take up much room.)
‘You’re joking… If we start carrying people one by one, what about the others?’
(Other humans are none of my concern.)
‘Of course the demon race would say that…’
(Hehe—Are you acknowledging this noble demon’s pride?)
‘……’
There were times when talking with this guy was strangely unproductive. Still, if we had to protect one extra person alongside Yeon-hee, Ham Eun-yeong was the right choice. The others could take care of themselves well enough.
Anyway, it took quite a long time to explain the new summons to the party and help them overcome their fear.
“Geomryong is manageable, but maintaining Castle consumes a lot of magic power. Unless it’s a crisis, I probably won’t summon him inside the dungeon for a while.”
“If Yeon-hee’s summons sweep everything, we’ll lose our chance to grow. You’ll need to adjust properly.”
The party continued chatting as they moved. At first the conversation centered on combat, but it gradually shifted to casual talk.
“You called him Geomryong? He’s seriously cool. That smoky aura, those sharp wings—total style.”
“Hehe—right?”
“I like Castle. It feels like we’ve gained a reliable fortress. Is that why you named him that?”
“Pretty close. He doesn’t give that impression as much while standing, but when he curls up he really looks like a tiny castle.”
“Ooh—”
Unlike their usual quiet movement, seeing the astonishing new summons had given them plenty to talk about. Listening to their chatter—like the chirping of small birds—I thought to myself:
The place where the artifact is hidden is still quite far. For now, we can keep progressing while taking these benefits.
I would check my own abilities one by one and support the party members’ growth. But we couldn’t go too slowly, either. The distance from entrance to exit in this dungeon was long, so parties usually spent the night inside. At our current pace, however, we could probably clear it in a single day.
The creatures that had been watching our fight earlier had already moved more than six hundred meters away, continuing on their own path. Having successfully completed their first battle and encountered the mysterious new summons, the party was in a slightly excited mood. I caught the same feeling and walked with lighter steps—until I suddenly detected a hidden space underground.
‘No one’s there?’
The structure was remarkably similar to the underground chambers where the Blue Eye cultists had performed their rituals.
‘Doesn’t look like there’s anything to gain, but better safe than sorry.’
I subtly changed direction ahead of the party.
“Tap tap tap!”
“Huh? Under here?”
When I nodded and pointed at the spot after about ten minutes of walking, the party members’ eyes sparkled. No Hayun hadn’t been with us at the time, but the rest had been present when we discovered the mine. They seemed to think I had found something amazing again.
There’s nothing… I’m sorry for getting your hopes up.
Still, we had to check. No need to go the long way around through the door.
Tunnel Destroyer
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!
I dug down and came back up several times, completing an excellent tunnel in less than three minutes. The skill level increase I had gained inside the Dark Space was clearly showing its effect.
Digging is the best!
“Um, Mr. Skeleton? Are you part mole cricket? If you’re even good at that, what are we supposed to do…?” Bae Jua pouted, looking fed up.
Yeon-hee kept scratching the back of her head, looking troubled. But I knew Jua’s reaction wasn’t sincere. No one hates riding the easy bus in a competent party.
“L-let’s head inside first!”
The group followed me down into the underground space. The place we reached in under ten minutes was indeed one the Blue Eye cultists had used.