He Talks Too Much
Since he talked way too much, Yeonhee dismissed all her summons and started gathering the byproducts together with me.
"But what on earth are you planning to use these for? They're toxic, so you can't even sell them like Big Boars."
"Ah… I just have a use for them."
Lee Yeong-cheol had approached at some point and was speaking to Yeonhee. At the same time, he kept sneaking glances at me, scanning me up and down. When I rapidly turned my stealth on and off while pretending to slump down, his face lit up with excitement. To his eyes, it must have looked like Yeonhee's mana was running low and I would soon be unsummoned.
'That's what it looked like, right? I sure hope so.'
◈ Strength +8
◈ Strength +9
"Two runes secured!"
'Ooh— As expected of a thief. That class never changes.'
Jin-gyeong waved her arms with some effort, showing off the two runes that had simple drawings of a giant on them.
'Those are mine! Mine! Huff, huff—'
We had already agreed that the first three runes obtained today would belong to us, so those were mine. Of course, assuming Yeonhee gave them to me.
Helen immediately brought the runes over and handed them to Yeonhee.
"Helen of honesty and trust. Please remember that."
"Ah, y-yes…"
It was touching to see her trying to make up for not contributing much in battle, even if only in this small way.
"This is the Rune of the Giant… Look, it really looks like a giant."
Only the upper body was drawn, so it was questionable whether it was actually a giant, but once people realized the tiny dots below it represented human figures, it was named the Rune of the Giant.
Yeonhee suddenly spoke while I was staring intently at the runes again.
"Ilwol can take them all."
When I lifted my head and stared at her, she fidgeted and added that it was fine since Ilwol would protect her anyway.
"Clack clack clack!!"
I didn't refuse. I immediately shoved them into my inventory's rune storage.
'Heh heh. At this level, I could probably hold my own against Number One with pure strength alone.'
While I was laughing with satisfaction on the inside, the signal to move out came again.
"By the way, Yeonhee. You gave all the runes to your skeleton?"
"Huh? Ah… yes…"
"Is there some special story behind it? It feels like you're showing the skeleton an unusual amount of favoritism. Hehe."
Helen asked with obvious curiosity.
"N-no! It's just… he's my first summon, so…"
"Aha! Your first summon! That explains it!"
I had no idea what it explained, but I wished they would stop paying so much attention to me.
"The skeleton… received two Runes of the Giant…"
A chill ran down my spine. The muttering from Lee Yeong-cheol, who had been standing slightly ahead of Jin-gyeong, reached my ears. His voice had shifted from an ill-fitting high pitch to one that finally suited him—low, gloomy, and carrying an unbearable tremor of excitement.
'He's not even trying to hide it anymore. It'll be after the next battle.'
He probably wouldn't be able to hold back any longer than that. Even now, my senses could clearly pick up how he was fidgeting like a dog that desperately needed to piss.
As I observed him more closely, I detected something alien deep inside his chest pocket.
'What the hell is that…?'
It was so faint it could be called a mere scrap of mana, but something was definitely inside that inner pocket. Maybe a consumable item? It could be poison smoke or perhaps the Swiftness Powder that temporarily boosted movement speed.
'Whatever it is, it means he has one more card up his sleeve.'
I kept my tension raised to the maximum in case he went berserk, and we continued moving until we encountered another group. But it wasn't monsters—it was a meeting with another party. Normally, unless it was near the entrance, running into other parties was something you deliberately avoided. It was strange.
"Whistle~ Quite the impressive bunch you've got there, heh heh."
"Lee Yeong-cheol, it's been a while. With skills like yours, it's no wonder you're partying with beautiful ladies. I'm jealous."
"Haha, hello!"
They seemed to be acquaintances of Lee Yeong-cheol.
'So that's why they approached. They must be pretty close.'
Even a lunatic like him managed to maintain some semblance of a social life. Lee Yeong-cheol asked for our understanding, chatted with them briefly, and returned with a very satisfied expression.
'What did he hear that made him so happy?'
Step. Step.
"Sigh, what should we do? I just heard from them that this area has been completely cleared out. It looks like we'll need to go deeper."
'Of course he does.'
He seemed delighted to have found an excuse to move further from the entrance. Once we went deeper, contact with other people would almost completely disappear.
"Really? Hmm— It seems a bit dangerous to go further… What do you think, Yeonhee?"
"Eh? Um— I think it'll be fine."
"Then we're in too. Let's go."
"A wise choice, everyone…"
Lee Yeong-cheol seemed energized. His stride grew much wider as he boldly took the lead.
"Fifteen detected… How should we initiate? Lizards again?"
"Yes… That would be best."
It was near a small stream so I was a bit reluctant, but the number was actually smaller than the first group we had met. There was nothing to worry about.
. . .
"Whew— I feel like I'm losing a kilo with every fight."
"Seriously, I don't even need to diet anymore."
The Helen and Jin-gyeong combo still struggled, but they seemed to be gaining confidence little by little. Both had decent mental fortitude, so if trained properly, they might even be able to challenge C-grade someday.
Yeonhee had dismissed all her summons except for me and was resting, sitting on a rock with a low ledge.
She had two artifacts and one quasi-artifact, but after three tightly paced battles, she would be quite exhausted regardless of her remaining mana.
Step. Step.
"Ah, Yeong-cheol, come rest over here too!"
The duo who had already claimed the seats beside Yeonhee waved at Lee Yeong-cheol, who was walking over with his head slightly lowered.
He was circling around us, planting something in the ground one by one. They were probably items containing the Cognitive Impairment spell.
"Heh… Kick… Hehehe… Perfect."
When Lee Yeong-cheol got within ten meters, he suddenly started making noise and laughing. The three women tilted their heads in confusion and simply watched him. They wondered if he was just tired, but it also felt a little creepy.
And then… they started feeling sleepy…?
The sudden wave of drowsiness felt strange. Right then, Yeonhee shot up from her seat, tried to chant a spell, but her legs gave out and she collapsed again.
"Uh… Y-Yeonhee, what's wroooong…"
Thud. Thud.
'Sleep! The effect is so strong I can't even open my mouth!'
It felt like my head had been struck by a hammer, but that only lasted a moment. My body quickly grew languid, and the dry ground against my face felt like a soft bed.
'Where's Ilwol…'
"Aaaagh!! Fuck!! Yes! This is it! That expression of not knowing what's going on! Kyahahahaha—! The way their tongues get twisted and they stumble as they collapse is just so fucking hot, don't you think? Haa… I'm losing my mind here."
—!!
"Y-you… bastard…!"
Helen's eyes turned bloodshot with rage as she tried to hurl curses at Lee Yeong-cheol, but her tongue was too tangled to speak properly. That only made her angrier, and tears finally streamed down her face.
"What you all drank is a special sleeping powder. Colorless and odorless. Do you have any idea how much money I poured into this? No, no. Since I liquefied it like perfume, I should call it Sleep Fragrance."
Lee Yeong-cheol removed his arm and leg guards one by one as he approached them.
"Haa— This makes three times now. Betraying my own party carries a lot of risk, so I really wasn't planning to do it again. But seeing your faces… I don't think I can hold back anymore. That's troublesome for me. I've been working so carefully until now."
He shook his head and stroked Helen's fully exposed thigh.
"Haha, don't misunderstand. This isn't the high-grade stuff that knocks you out cold. That costs way more. But the low-grade version is actually better, right? You'll get to watch everything clearly while in a dreamy, half-asleep state. You'll see exactly what happens to your comrades. Kihihihi—"
Whether because he had inhaled a bit of the fragrance himself or because his excitement had reached lethal levels, his words were pouring out faster and faster.
"But the effect doesn't last very long, so I'll start by cutting off both of your legs. You'll understand, right? If the audience suddenly leaves in the middle of the show, it kills the mood. Are you listening properly? That's how it is, anyway."
Srrrrng—
"Huuuugh!! Mmph!!"
"Aaaauuugh—!!"
Yeonhee, Helen, and Jin-gyeong all thrashed violently, glaring at Lee Yeong-cheol as if they wanted to kill him.
"Hehehe— Excellent eyes. Please keep that look until the very end. Hoo… Today really is the best day ever. Ah! Yeonhee, do you know how hard it was to wait for that monstrous skeleton to disappear? How can a summon be stronger than its summoner? It was truly absurd."
Lee Yeong-cheol lightly swung the greatsword he had taken from his inventory with one hand as he looked at Helen.
"Dressing so provocatively… Were you secretly hoping for a situation like this? Hmm… I'd love to respond to that, but you're not the star of today's show. It's a shame, but please enjoy it from the audience seats. Now then—"
Lee Yeong-cheol's sword rose high into the air.
"Eeeeek—!!"
The moment Helen squeezed her eyes shut—
Smash
Squelch—!!
"Guh—?!"
'This bastard really talks too fucking much. I waited thinking he might spill some secret information like Jo Giman, but tsk— I just wasted time.'
I didn't wait any longer. I drove Arhen's dagger deep into his neck.
"Guhhhk— Glurk— Cough—"