Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Lycurelin's Egg
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[Until Lycurelin Respawn: 30 days, 2 hours, 21 minutes]
Dun wandered around until he somehow found Lycurelin's room. Inside was a massive egg, and once the timer the system had shown ran out, Lycurelin would be reborn.
[Live!!!]
[Forever!!!]
The baby Lycus that had followed him jumped for joy the moment they spotted the giant egg.
Only then did Dun realize he'd misunderstood the Lycus pack.
"Figures it'd take a while to respawn, being such a strong monster and all."
Dun placed his hand on the huge black egg. It was piping hot, just like you'd expect from a fire monster.
The baby Lycus pawed at the giant Lycurelin egg with their front feet. They looked like they had a lot pent up. One even started peeing all over it. It was their way of pledging full loyalty to Dun now, but of course, he had no idea.
"Anyway, what to do with these baby Lycus."
Acquiring the Monster Domination skill was great, but the aftermath was the problem. He couldn't raise a whole pack of them. Plus, if the villagers who saw Lycus as imaginary monsters caught sight of them, it'd be a headache for sure.
[Die! Intruder!]
"Monster Domination."
[Cool! Boss!]
One of the surviving Lycus leaped out from a blind spot, baring its teeth at Dun—only to immediately roll over and expose its belly.
Dun stroked the belly of the Lycus that had just tried to kill him moments ago and made up his mind.
"You."
[Me? Me?]
"Yeah. Once Lycurelin hatches, you all are in danger. Seal off this room until I get back and raise the babies right."
They had high loyalty, so they'd be useful once grown. Their ride quality was good too, so maybe he could even mount them later. Above all, this seemed like the safest place for them right now.
[Stake my life. To protect!]
"Not just you—any other surviving Lycus?"
[A few. Left. Waiting to kill boss.]
"Bring 'em."
Soon enough, more Lycus were rolling on their backs and growling submissively in front of Dun.
"What did Lycurelin have you doing, anyway?"
[Hunting, sorting nearby monster pecking order, baby wrangling.]
"What was your role?"
[All pitched in whenever.]
"You're short-handed now, so divvy up the tasks. Strongest attacker handles hunting, non-hunters watch the babies. I'll check in often, so report how things are going."
[Sorting pecking order?]
"You're too few to make a difference— it'd just advertise that Lycurelin's dead."
Mentioning their absent leader made the Lycus look deeply uneasy.
Dun gave his orders and turned to leave the Lycus den, then added one more thing.
He suddenly remembered that his first rapport with the Lycus had come after showing his strength.
"And as long as I'm the boss, you lot are undisputed number one in the pecking order."
Awoooo!
Awooooo!
The Lycus, who knew Dun's strength all too well, howled in excitement.
[Lycus loyalty has increased.]
Dun spat out the words, then calmly brushed the goosebumps from his arm.
* * *
Dun rode a Lycus out of Yoharaum and arrived back at the Genesis hunting grounds.
Before heading home, he pulled Briareus wolf fur—far cooler than Lycus flame fur—and monster essence from his inventory, slathering them all over his body. Couldn't go home naked, after all.
Dun cracked a satisfied smile, then absentmindedly kicked a pebble.
Zing!!!
The pebble shot off at exponential speed, embedding in a tree that promptly toppled several others.
"Can't control my strength yet..."
It was even harder now that he'd undone the curse before returning to Genesis.
After all today's chaos, his stamina was hitting rock bottom. Dun gathered what was left, tensing his whole body.
This immense power meant living in constant tension, like holding in a bowel movement 24/7, every minute, every second.
At first, suppressing it had been agony, but now he was at least used to it.
Dragging his weary body along, Dun soon reached the village outskirts. This was the slime hunting ground right next to it.
With his breath ragged to the limit and unable to walk farther, he leaned on a stick, panting as he scanned for players.
"Qu-quest..."
He was about to hail any player to carry him home when he remembered the closest one nearby.
Dun sent a quest message to Lee Yoo-hyun, then flopped into the grass by the entrance for a quick nap.
[MISS]
[MISS]
Slimes nearby attacked, being annoying.
Dun grabbed one, hugging it tight and draping it over himself. The filling sensation in his arms felt nice.
Coolness spread through him, and he drifted off fast.
* * *
Drip. Drip.
Lee Yoo-hyun stared blankly at the sweat hitting the ground. A notification floated before him: stats increased. For a VR game, his heartbeat felt incredibly real.
Since Dun gave him the swordsmanship lesson quest, he'd stuck to the training grounds, focusing solely on completion.
Truth be told, that wasn't the only quest from Dun. Last time, he'd dropped by out of nowhere and handed over another.
[??-Grade Quest] Item Crafting
Details: Dun entrusted you with 'Grey's Venom' and 'Yenz's Wing.' Try making something with these two items.
Reward: 70 EXP, ?? Item
On Failure: None
Status: Incomplete
Gulping water, Lee Yoo-hyun pulled up the quest window again. All his attention was on this ungraded quest.
His instincts screamed it wasn't ordinary.
That's why, beyond sword practice, he'd squeezed in time to craft, grinding the 'Basic Goods Crafting' skill whenever free. He was terrified of wasting materials by forcing something with low crafting level.
What item would completing an ungraded quest yield? Leveling had been grueling lately, but now things felt a bit easier.
Folks ragged on over-immersion in game characters, but Lee Yoo-hyun was grateful for this NPC named Dun. He wished they could meet more often, but Dun was always busy.
Frequent meetings and chats would build affinity, and higher affinity meant more quests.
Compared to other NPCs, Dun's affinity was tougher to raise.
He gave tons of minor quests, so it seemed easy at first, but he soured quick—mess up, and affinity plummeted.
Quests were the only way to raise it; otherwise, it just dropped.
Chats alone tanked it. He seemed annoyed by too much talk.
[Emergency Quest] Rescue Exhausted Dun
Details: While out walking, Dun's stamina ran out, leaving him collapsed. Carry him back. Rewards improve the faster you sprint there.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Reward: 30 EXP, ?? Item
Penalty on Failure: Dun's Dislike
He'd just caught his breath after practice when the emergency alert hit.
Still mulling NPC affinity, the "Dun's Dislike" penalty jumped out more than the rewards.
Lee Yoo-hyun bolted up, opened the map, and set the quest destination.
* * *
Dun wasn't far off. Near Genesis hunting grounds, so a sprint got him there quick.
"...Caveman?"
Lee Yoo-hyun tilted his head at the small kid surrounded by monsters. Covered head to toe in monster fur, clutching a stick and hugging a slime. Bad eyesight might've mistaken him for a monster.
There were scorch marks too, like he'd taken a bomb blast—or volcanic fallout. And that hair...
[NPC Dun]
Only the overhead name tag confirmed it wasn't a caveman, monster, or wildling.
"That's what you call 'out walking and ran out of stamina'..?"
No clue how he ended up like this, but with Dun unconscious amid monsters, it looked dicey. Lee Yoo-hyun gripped his sword.
Time to shine with Dun's swordsmanship lessons.
"Hiyah!"
Momentum was half the battle. Lee Yoo-hyun yelled fiercely and charged the monsters. Used to low-level earthworms—the weakest—he tensed facing stronger lowbies.
His movements still clumsy, he barely struck slime cores for crits. Rough, but he nailed the weak points.
He slew several small slimes. Taking hits? Down a recovery potion from Rihaowel's stockpile, then back to the brink.
No sooner had he finished the small ones than a giant slime oozed up.
This slime's vibe was worlds apart.
"High monster?"
Bosses for strong types, but weaklings had high monsters as pack leaders.
High slimes had wildly irregular attack patterns over normal ones.
Left-right-left-left. Right-left-left-left. Right-left-right-right.
Undulating like water, but Lee Yoo-hyun's agility let him barely dodge.
The high slime, sticking to physicals, then filled its maw with venom and spat at him.
Anticipating poison splash, Lee Yoo-hyun triggered a crude device he'd made practicing for Dun's crafting quest.
It glowed, enveloping him and neutralizing the venom.
He reached into his inventory, tossed a makeshift trap at the slime to bind it.
Grass crunched as he leaped high, mud splashing near Dun. He plunged his sword deep into the big slime, palm-thrusting the hilt.
Still not hitting core, he anxiously punched the pommel. The blade drove further, piercing the nucleus.
Kieeeek!
The high slime shrieked and collapsed, melting into the ground, dropping more loot than small fries.
[High Monster Defeated!]
[Level Up!]
"Yes!"
[Normal] Chipped-Tooth Sword
[Normal] Slime Dew
[Normal] Adventurer's Shoes
Lee Yoo-hyun didn't grab the loot, dashing to Dun instead.
"You okay?"
Dun had actually stirred when the fighting started. All that shouting made it impossible not to wake.
Rubbing heavy eyelids, Dun squinted harder at the figure. Neat features sharpened into view.
"Scared me seeing you down like that. Monsters everywhere..."
Fretting, Lee Yoo-hyun propped up and hoisted Dun piggyback. Dun yawned hugely, settling on.
"Took you long enough."
"Waited long?"
Lee Yoo-hyun smiled softly.
He wanted to ask why napping alone here, but prying might drop affinity, so he held back. Also, that slime on Dun's back...
Wanted to peel it off, but it rubbed blissfully against him—too happy for a monster.
"Progressing fast."
"Haha, still a ways to go."
"True."
Drifting in half-sleep, Dun recalled Yoo-hyun's fight and spoke up. The sudden praise flustered him.
"Loyal to quests is good, but you skipping high monster drops?"
"Oh!"
Heading to Dun's house, Lee Yoo-hyun turned back mid-stride to snatch the loot, piling and inventorying it.
Bending for items dislodged Dun.
Upside-down, Dun eyed him through slits; flustered, he apologized.
"Whoops, sorry!"
He bowed again, offering his back. Dun brushed off his fur, grimacing as he remounted.
Leaving the hunting grounds piggyback, Lee Yoo-hyun's steady footsteps pattered.
Village bread scents wafted pleasantly to Dun's nose.
Despite the nap, drowsiness hit. Half-lidded, Dun watched the sunset-glow village.
Shame pretty scenery came with bratty village kids.
"Dun! What the heck is that look! Pffft!"
"Ew, so ugly!"
"Dun looks like a monkey! Ooh-ooh-ah-ah!"
"Uga-uga!"
"Uu!"
"Huh? That's a slime?"
The kids' faces split in grins.
Too drained for anger, Dun leaned on Lee Yoo-hyun's back and silently flipped them off.
By the time the teasing faded, they reached Rihaowel's general store.
Dun tossed Lee Yoo-hyun a Lycus fang from his hunt, sending him back to training.
"I'm home."
Opening the door, Rihaowel was right there.
"Good trip...? Dun! What happened! Where're your clothes!"
Cowed by her scolding, Dun ruffled his frizzy hair.
"...Yoharaum."
"You went to that dangerous place? And came back looking dangerous too."
"Harsh."
He'd braced for a lecture on burning his clothes, but she just teased lightly and sighed worriedly, saying no more.
She was brewing healing potions, stirring ingredients in a big cauldron with a wooden paddle.
Dun shuffled over, dumping rare and normal weapons he'd picked up—epics mixed in too.
Rihaowel eyed the rares while restocking sold spots, then spoke.
"Eat yet?"
"Not hungry."
Dun faceplanted onto the wooden floor on entry. Exhausted, no appetite. He wasn't big on food anyway.
"You skip meals and picky-eat, then wilt after a jog. Up—eat now."
Rihaowel jabbed him with the paddle, clicking her tongue.
"Mom eats plenty, so chow down for two."
"...Tease."
"Yeah."
Dun chuckled weakly.
Rihaowel glared at his grin, then shook her head with a sigh.
"Dun, stock's good, so quit hunting? Run errands instead. Seeing you like this keeps me up worrying. I know you're strong, but..."
"Uh... that much worry?"
Her face hardened at the question. How could he ask something so obvious? Hurt swelled.
"Of course I'm worried sick! My kid traipsing dangerous spots! Even bringing monsters home!"
Dun blanked for a sec. Right—moms fret when safe kids risk danger.
Association days were constant high-risk gigs for pay; this felt alien.
Scratching his head, replaying her words, Dun caught something odd.
"What d'you mean, 'bringing a monster on me'?"
"You didn't notice? It was stuck to your back the whole time..."
Slime on back? Dun pushed up, reaching around.
Something squelched into his hand.
[Lv. 15] Love-Struck Slime
It wriggled in his palm, cooing "Kyuu, kyuu." Eyes beaming heart-ray potential.
...The slime he'd hugged all nap long.