The Madman's Scheme
It was painfully obvious.
"Uh… well, let's wrap things up on our end too. That skeleton looks like it's hit its limit."
"Huh? Oh! Right, right! …But do skeletons even get tired?"
I flinched. 'Just let it slide, Helen.'
A quick glance revealed Lee Yeong-cheol, whose mood had suddenly soured, stealing repeated looks at Yeonhee. His skill at sneaking glances was impeccable—if I hadn't been consciously watching him, I might never have noticed.
He's obsessively checking Yeonhee's condition. It's true her mana is dropping too.
Yeonhee had tried to keep a reserve of mana for emergencies, dismissing her summons according to the dwindling number of enemies. Still, the increasing frequency of Lizardman encounters made the mana drain unavoidable.
Your level has risen!
Good. I'll invest in Wisdom, Agility, and Recovery… and Agility is one of those stats I can't afford to ignore.
It was still frustratingly stiff compared to the fluid movements I'd possessed as a hunter, but my motion was steadily improving. The increase in strength has boosted my overall speed considerably. I'm very satisfied with switching to the Bomber class, but… moments like this make me regret it. Human greed truly knows no bounds.
Of course, I wasn't human anymore.
Thanks to my excessive(?) performance, we safely completed our first battle and began dividing the spoils according to the distribution we'd agreed upon earlier in the team chat.
"Does all of that really fit inside, Yeonhee?"
"Yes, yes… My summons each have their own subspace…"
"Whoa… that's just unfair. Having an inventory on top of that… Yeonhee, maybe I should seriously close my eyes and jump off a rooftop? If my head cracks open on the ground, do you think I'll get a second awakening too?"
"Ah… um, well…"
After dismissing all her summoned Lizardmen, Yeonhee had already asked everyone to hand over the remaining byproducts after the hides were stripped. Since there was no real use for Lizardman materials beyond their skins, the other members gladly agreed.
I'd discreetly stored everything except the Lizardmen's thumb claws—which served as proof—into my subspace. During that time, the others sat down for some personal maintenance and casual chatter.
Naturally, the main topic was our summons.
What are they talking about so much…
I focused every ounce of my senses on my hearing. Even at a distance, I could hear their conversation clearly.
"Ah, so everyone knew each other except for me. I thought you all seemed pretty close."
"It's not like that. We've only teamed up once by chance, so it's awkward to even call us acquaintances."
"But does the summoner usually stay alone like that?"
"She has her summons with her, doesn't she?"
"Ah… right now I only see the skeleton, though."
"Now that you mention it, the other summons are often out of sight, but that skeleton is always right by her side. It's insanely strong too—what on earth is it?"
When Jin-gyeong stared at me with fresh amazement, Lee Yeong-cheol played along while thinking to himself.
Strong indeed. I was surprised myself. That movement he showed at the end earlier felt like something I'd only seen from high-ranking hunters by pure coincidence.
Yet despite that thought, he didn't let his composure slip.
A summon that powerful must have burned through a huge amount of mana in one go. She doesn't appear to have any particularly high-grade accessories or artifacts, so recovering her mana will take quite a while… Instead of waiting until we return to the surface, it would be smarter to set things up in advance and strike at the perfect moment.
Lee Yeong-cheol trembled as a certain swelling sensation rose below. He tried to calm himself by picturing goblins.
Just endure it a little longer… The greatest feast since my awakening is about to begin. I can't ruin it now, can I?
Lee Yeong-cheol had become certain the moment he logged into the hunter site last night after getting home and saw the post about the team that included Lee Yeonhee.
This is a divine sign telling me to act.
The reason he had been granted this power. The purpose behind his awakening. It felt as if he'd been given a sacred mission.
He watched Yeonhee's profile as she worked diligently beside the skeleton.
Khehehe! I really can't hold back!! Those purple eyes are a masterpiece! A true masterpiece!! I need to pluck them out and preserve them separately!!
The first time he'd seen the unique class known as Summoner on Nutube—Lee Yeonhee. The instant he saw her eyes, Lee Yeong-cheol had been convinced. This woman was the most special of any he'd ever encountered. And now she was sharing the same air, occupying the same space as him.
I have to stay calm… Getting excited will ruin everything.
Even during the fight against the Lizardmen earlier, Lee Yeong-cheol hadn't used his full strength. Only about eighty percent. He'd thought showing just enough skill to match his record would be sufficient, and it had worked perfectly.
For everyone except me, that is.
I had already assessed his stats while accounting for the fact that he was deliberately holding back. Naturally, Lee Yeong-cheol never dreamed that a mere skeleton could be an advanced enough being to see through him.
Helen and Song Jin-gyeong are a dime a dozen at E-grade. That Jin-gyeong woman shows a bit more promise, but even then, once she reaches D-grade she'll just suffer and die. Before that happens, they should thank me for granting them pleasure before ending their pain. Just wait a little longer! Hehehehe!
The problem was the summons. Even for Lee Yeong-cheol, who stood on the cusp of D-grade, suppressing all of them would be difficult.
No need to fight the summons directly. I'll wait until after the battle. She's already dismissed everything except the skeleton, which means maintaining them consumes a massive amount of mana. After the next fight, that skeleton bastard might get dismissed too.
And he had a secret weapon. Plant-based sleeping powder. He'd brought artificial sleeping powder extracted from plants that sprayed the substance. Though called sleeping powder, its terrifying effect came close to full paralysis.
The duration is short, but the effect is instant. It still pisses me off that I had to beg that arrogant naturalist school bastard to get it, but at least I have it now. As soon as they're asleep, I'll just cut off Helen and Jin-gyeong's legs…
Anyway, after two more battles of this scale, he could begin his operation.
Lee Yeong-cheol smiled, completely absorbed in writing his own private scenario. He remained unaware of the dark eyes watching his every move.
What the hell is he smirking about? Disgusting bastard.
"Ilwol, if you're done organizing the loot, shall we move on?"
I gave a single clack of my teeth in reply.
While eavesdropping on their conversation, I tried to imagine how I would think if I were in Lee Yeong-cheol's position.
The summons are stronger than expected. Avoid fighting them directly. He only increased the number of summons during battle. Most were dismissed afterward. Maintaining the summons requires significant mana, or her total mana pool is limited. Therefore, strike at the moment when her mana is at its lowest. And unlike usual, do it faster than expected.
Wouldn't his train of thought flow along those lines?
Hmm… He'll probably observe us one more time… Most likely after the second or third battle.
I nodded and set off down the path once more. Now that we'd killed some Lizardmen, the time between encounters would gradually shorten.
Twenty minutes later.
Why aren't any appearing?
"Should we move a bit further from the entrance? It feels like there aren't any monsters around at all."
"It might be difficult here. Let's head out a little farther."
Helen agreed with Lee Yeong-cheol's suggestion, so we decided to expand our search radius instead of circling the entrance as before.
And twenty minutes after that, we encountered nine Lizardmen.
Churarap!!
The difference this time was that they had spotted us first and were charging toward us. Of course I had already noticed, but their numbers weren't overwhelming, and I saw no need to raise Lee Yeong-cheol's wariness by warning everyone in advance.
I'm a little tired. Maybe I should just kill him…
But killing a person outright would only cause problems for Yeonhee, so that wasn't an option. Besides, she needed to learn this lesson. That in a dungeon, there was no one you could truly trust.
"Damn it!! There wasn't any presence at all! When the hell did they get here?"
It's been a while, sis.
I imagined snapping that retort at Helen as she hurriedly readjusted her sword grip.
Yeonhee seemed to ponder for a moment before summoning four Lizardmen and both Deonnis.
She wants to see how each of them fares against one opponent, excluding Lee Yeong-cheol, Helen, and Jin-gyeong.
It looked like she was curious about the gap between the Lizardmen of this swamp and our own summons.
Our side is clearly ahead…
Kroaak!!
Clang! Clang!
Just as expected, the summons held a clear advantage in one-on-one fights. Even the weakest of the summoned Lizardmen—No. 4—was overpowering its opponent with ease. It was evident that our summons' levels had risen considerably.
On the other hand, these swamp Lizardmen were likely all newly reborn except for those from the deepest areas, so their stats would be close to their base values.
Stab!
Gurgle—
Jin-gyeong and Helen also subdued their opponents more easily than before, while Lee Yeong-cheol had already crushed one creature's skull with his shield. Though it had begun as a team battle, this fight had essentially become a series of individual duels.
"Heek— Haa… This is so hard…"
Gulp, gulp—
As expected, the pair struggling the most were Jin-gyeong and Helen. I wasn't the only one concerned; Yeonhee watched them with worry in her eyes. When they noticed her gaze, both women gave thumbs-up signs to show they were fine.
Since their levels have gone up, it should be a bit easier for them now.
The faint glow emanating from the duo's bodies suggested the next battle would go more smoothly.