Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Back at the Lycus Den
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To confirm where they were, Prim slowly turned his head and took in the surroundings.
“……Yoharaum, huh. I thought the Continent of Elements was across the sea. How did we get here so fast? Could the dungeon use teleportation magic?”
“…….”
He tossed out the question, but Dun didn’t so much as twitch his lips.
“Uh, sorry. Just catch your breath for now.”
Dun regretted making the same choice as he had with Lee Joo-hyun.
[Ability utilization rate has increased by 1%!]
At least the message in front of him was welcome. It only seemed to go up when he pushed his body to its absolute limits like this.
Dun pulled a stamina potion from his pocket and chugged it down, coughing two or three times.
“Piggyback…….”
Prim hurried over to the collapsing Dun and hoisted him onto his back. Dun had wanted support, but being carried wasn’t so bad either.
Prim was pretty strong, so the two of them moved along quite steadily.
“So it was all real, after all.”
Instead of answering, Dun pointed in the direction they needed to go.
“Got it, got it. I’ll follow without a word.”
When Dun gave a thumbs-up instead of replying, Prim chuckled softly.
What an odd kid. He seemed a bit—okay, a lot—lacking in social graces, but talking to him revealed a fundamentally kind nature.
“Still, Dun, we’re not gonna die here, right? I’m a bachinum with big dreams.”
Prim had followed along to the Lycus habitat half in doubt, but now that they’d arrived, worries bubbled up.
As they kept going in the direction Dun pointed, they spotted what looked like a burrow dug by the Lycus. The mana emanating from it felt ominous, weighing even heavier on his heart.
When the surrounding temperature rose high enough to start dealing damage, Prim conjured a cloud of frost and spread it around them. The coolness washed over their bodies, dispelling the heat damage.
“!! Ack.”
Sizzle.
Prim’s shoe melted after he accidentally stepped in Lycus secretions that dissolved anything they touched. Now carrying Dun in a piggyback stance with one leg hiked up, Prim let out a sigh.
“Dun, I think this is as far as I go. One more step and my foot’s gonna melt.”
“Ah. Wear my slippers.”
Dun kicked off the slippers he’d been dragging his feet through. They’d started as normal-grade but Tia Lin had upgraded them to epic last time.
Thanks to that, the slippers held up fine against Yoharaum’s flames.
His stamina had mostly recovered while being carried and chugging potions, but Dun pretended not to notice since he didn’t feel like walking.
Prim’s pace was quick, so they soon reached the Lycullin habitat.
Prim set Dun down near the burrow entrance.
“Dun. You got this? Even if it’s all bluff, I’ll say it’s cool. If you wanna head back, just say so. But if you’re really going in, make sure you protect me.”
Dun nodded to reassure him.
Returning to the Lycus burrow after so long, Dun didn’t enter right away. Instead, he tensed his stomach and called out to them.
“Lycus crew, come out! We’re moving!”
At that moment, a faint tremor ran through the ground.
Thud thud… thud thud.
Thud thud… thud thud… thud thud!
The faint sound of footsteps from afar grew louder and louder until baby Lycus and adult Lycus burst out of the burrow.
Last time, the pups had still looked childish with their dark red fur sticking out messily and fluffy, but now it lay sleek and glossy in one direction. Their yellow eyes sparkled brighter than before.
[Tutu!]
[Tumoo!]
Without regard for age, the Lycus flipped onto their backs in front of Dun, begging for belly rubs. Dun scratched each one in turn.
“Lycus No. 1.”
[Tu!]
“Lycus No. 2.”
[Tutu!]
“Lycus No. 3.”
[Tumo!]
Dun lined up the baby Lycus. Their lively cries were so pleasing he made them repeat.
The pups bounced around before finally losing patience and swarming Dun, clinging to his shoulders and feet.
Dun petted their fur and turned to the adult Lycus.
“We’re heading in now. What was the plan?”
[We guard! Boss’s spawn, we protect!]
The Lycus howled as they circled Prim.
Prim watched the cheerful pups with a complicated expression, letting out a quiet sigh. Fortunately, he didn’t sense the usual unpleasant monster vibe from them.
“By the way, Dun, you’ve got all the Lycus. Anything left to do?”
“Lycullin’s still here.”
“……Yeah, I’m done trying to figure you out. Do whatever you want.”
The respawn timer on the Lycullin he’d accidentally killed last time should be up by now.
Dun chugged a stamina potion in one go.
Grrrrrooooaaaaarrr!!!!
Suddenly, the ground shook. Right on cue, the Lycullin’s respawn countdown had ended. The killing intent pouring from the Lycus burrow created immense pressure that bore down on Dun and his group.
The Lycus tucked their tails and ears, trembling at their former leader’s roar.
The air felt suffocating, like it was pressing down on him. Prim summoned his staff and erected a wind barrier. The Lycus stopped shivering inside it.
“So this is the terror monster Lycullin from the books. It’s immense.”
Tensing up, Prim placed a hand on the ground. The vibrations were growing stronger. And they were coming straight this way.
Prim racked his brain in the short time he had.
No matter how strong Dun was, how well could he handle Lycullin when its combat power was unknown?
Dun seemed relaxed, like it’d be no problem, but in the worst case, they’d all have to run. The terrified Lycus wouldn’t help. Nor would he, for that matter.
Trying to assist Dun would just get in the way.
Still wanting to help, Prim kept his hand on the ground and read the mana flowing from the burrow.
He sensed mana tied to earth and wind magic, the kind used in those spells. Just in case, Prim began drawing a magic circle to counter it.
“Dun! You probably know, but Lycullin’s coming out! I’ll watch these shaking idiots, so focus on taking it down!”
Dun, arms crossed as he stared at the entrance, turned at Prim’s shout.
“Hang on, don’t look at me—keep watching ahead!”
Prim yelped in shock at Dun casually turning to him while something charged from the front. Then came the ear-splitting crash.
KABOOM!
In an instant, a red stone storm erupted. The hot sand tones made it look like flames engulfed everything. Or burning mist. The mist enveloped the idly standing Dun, blocking his view. He raised one eyebrow.
A pattern he hadn’t seen before. The red mist thickened, starting to clog his airways. As breathing grew harder, Dun grimaced.
“Kh…… kkh.”
Prim heard Dun’s strained voice and frantically searched for him. Cold sweat beaded from his anxiety.
“Dun, you dead?!”
The mist filling his vision slowly settled, revealing—thankfully—the familiar light brown little head. Dun stood firmly on both legs, looking unscathed.
He’d pinned Lycullin’s mouth to the ground with one hand, sealing it easily. His expression looked strangely urgent, like he desperately needed to pee.
“Eh…….”
“?”
“Eh…… eh…….”
“??”
“Achoo!”
Dun’s big sneeze expelled a cloud of red sand from his mouth. Not enough, apparently—he hacked out a loud “Kaaah!” and spat up the sand stuck in his throat along with some phlegm.
“Prim, did you cast any magic in the middle there?”
“I dispersed the suffocating sand mist. You okay?”
Dun glanced down at the Lycullin immobilized in his grip, then looked at Prim.
‘What? Isn’t he supposed to be the weakest bachinum in history?’
The Lycullin’s magic attack had been a red mist to block vision and sand inside to suffocate. Blocking that would’ve taken Prim a good long cast time.
Defending against an attack from a much higher-level Lycullin, sensing its mana the moment it respawned and prepping a counter spell…
Weak or not, he was a bachinum. More useful than expected.
[NPC Primavera]
Level: 115
She’d leveled up nicely in the meantime. Dun whistled at Prim’s growth.
After a couple more sneezes, Dun locked eyes with the wriggling Lycullin in his grasp.
“Monster Domination.”
[Monster Domination activates.]
Dun’s eyes glowed red clearly.
[Lycullin domination successful!]
[Monster Domination level has increased!]
[You can now set and select domination direction.]
Among domination types, Lycullin fell to ‘Domination of Strength’ and gracefully sidled up to Dun, rubbing against him.
[I am Lycullin. I’d prefer if you called me by name.]
Prim rubbed his eyes at the sight of Lycullin amiably wagging its tail and offering its chin to Dun.
Honestly, he’d expected Dun to struggle more against it.
Strength aside, the kid could command adventurers and tame monsters like this. For someone who only stood out in appearance like a simple village brat, he was extraordinarily exceptional.
When Dun first said he’d tamed a Lycus, Prim had half-laughed it off. Even if he had the ability, he’d figured it took effort to make it believable for his age.
But taming not just any Lycus, but their leader Lycullin like a housecat?
He’d been baffled when Dun casually slammed its head down.
All those guys claiming Lycus were arrogant and bowed to no one but their leader deserved to be thrown in jail for lying.
Prim wondered if Lycus were overhyped among people.
How could something so obedient and cute be……
Grrrrr……
When their eyes met, Lycullin’s pupils narrowed, unleashing massive killing intent. It looked ready to rip his head off.
Okay, take it back. You’re strong and scary, got it.
As his life force started draining from the mana-infused killing intent, Prim smiled awkwardly and stepped back a bit.
[Words. No good.]
[Whoa.]
The adult Lycus and pups gaped at Lycullin circling Dun. They rushed him all at once, trembling no more, and yipped joyfully.
[Not homeless! We not homeless!]
[Yay! Yay!]
[Tutu best!]
“Hot, hot, get off.”
Dun shook off the Lycus clinging to him and met eyes with the silent Lycullin beside him.
Lycullin’s gaze overflowed with admiration and respect it couldn’t contain. The sparkling innocence in its sharp eyes unnerved Dun, who covered them with his hand. Lycullin nuzzled the small palm against its face.
“Follow me.”
[I planned to.]
Dun stroked Lycullin’s chin with a satisfied smile.
The pups, jealous that only Lycullin got pets, growled at it despite their fear.
Sensing the faint hostility, Lycullin rolled its bright yellow eyes toward the source. The pups tucked their tails and bowed the moment their eyes met.
[Are you taking the whole clan? Managing us all alone might be tough. Were you planning to take just me?]
At Lycullin’s words, the pups and other Lycus looked at Dun with teary eyes.
“I’m taking you to wrangle them. Of course, you’ll have to follow my way, not your old one.”
[Can you handle our numbers? Unless your home is huge, it’ll be hard. Leave it to me—I can set up a new burrow near the boss’s place.]
“Our house is smack in the city center. If you show up nearby, it’s pandemonium. Don’t even think about it.”
[Then what…… will you do?]
Lycullin fretted that Dun might change his mind and abandon them here.
“No chit-chat. Just follow.”
Dun brushed off the pups climbing his shoulders and explained.
“I don’t take on responsibilities without a plan, so when I say follow, just follow without a word.”