72
Chapter 72
It was a dark night.
We were on our way back to the Dungeon following the Vampire.
Information about the Unfertilized Egg that the Bat Swarm was carrying next to me suddenly appeared.
[??? lv.?]
└ Pw.?
└ Rnk.?
Helper does not display information for inanimate objects.
Until now, the Unfertilized Egg had shown absolutely nothing.
The fact that its information suddenly popped up was proof that the Unfertilized Egg had changed into a Fertilized Egg.
Did my Luck actually trigger?
Or did the Luck Buffs on the others activate?
I belatedly checked the information of my companions.
The Vampire, Tosuni, and the Star Fox.
The multiple Luck Buffs I had granted to the three of them were completely gone.
What the heck, why is there not a single one left?
Did everyone's Luck gather together to create a miracle for the Unfertilized Egg?
...No, that probably wasn't it.
Unlike the Fox, who was hoping for a miracle to turn the Unfertilized Egg into a Fertilized Egg, the Vampire and Tosuni did not seem to care much. There was no way this would be considered luck for them.
Hmm. I guess a bunch of imperceptible instances of Small Luck had been occurring little by little.
Or maybe the death of the Lycanthrope, or perhaps the fact that I survived and recovered my body through Evolution acted as luck for them.
Then it was highly likely that the Fox and my Luck triggered to make this miracle happen.
The chances of it becoming a Fertilized Egg without any luck were incredibly low.
More importantly, does information usually pop up even in an egg state?
I have never seen an egg before, so I wouldn't know.
I had seen the fetuses growing inside the Slow Stone before, but I could not quite remember if I could see their information back then. Helper didn't automatically bring it up, and I hadn't shown any intention to check their information either.
I wondered if the information was showing because it was close to hatching, but after thinking about it carefully, that didn't seem to be the case either.
The fact that all the information was displayed as question marks meant that its race had not been clearly determined yet. In other words, its physical body was not fully formed, so I guessed it would take quite a long time before it was born.
Well, anyway...
Congratulations, Unfertilized Egg!
You are a Fertilized Egg from now on!
Clap clap clap clap!
After sending my congratulations in my heart.
I immediately reached my arm out toward the egg.
Now that it was no longer an inanimate object, I needed to apply the Luck Buff to it as well.
Since its race hadn't been decided yet, I wanted it to be born as the highest-ranking race possible.
[Using [Dragon Mimicry lv.3]-[Luck Breath].]
[Using [Dragon Mimicry lv.3]-[Luck Breath].]
Luck Breath!
Luck Breath!
Just keep firing!
I spammed Luck Breath.
There was no need to conserve Mana.
I had plenty of Natural Mana Stones anyway.
[??? lv.?]
└ Pw.?
└ Rnk.?
<Applying Luck Breath - 23:59:50>
<Applying Luck Breath - 23:59:50>
<Applying Luck Breath - 23:59:50>
.
.
.
<Applying Luck Breath - 23:59:59>
Good, the Luck Buff is stacking up nicely.
For the record, I wasn't gifting it the Luck Buff just in hopes of it being born as a superior race.
This was also a preliminary step for our safety.
When the little guy hatched from the egg.
There was a chance it might perceive us as enemies.
This wasn't an overreaction.
If it was born with a vicious nature, it was a very real possibility.
Therefore.
You could say I was doing some behind-the-scenes work to ensure a child with a gentle personality was born.
In addition, hoping it would recognize us as its parents if possible, I continued to fire Luck Breath squarely at the egg.
All while replenishing my Mana with a Natural Mana Stone I had prepared in advance.
"Woong?"
"Gom-jjang, whatcha doin'?"
"Hmm. My guess is that the Black Breath is a Debuff that lowers the opponent's luck, and the Golden Breath you're shooting now seems to increase luck... Perhaps the Teddy Bear is applying a Luck Buff in hopes that this Unfertilized Egg will turn into a Fertilized Egg. But does that skill even work on inanimate objects?"
Nope. It probably doesn't.
Also, I'm not shooting it hoping for a miracle to turn it into a Fertilized Egg.
This one has already become a Fertilized Egg.
You just don't know it yet because you lack the Helper skill like I have.
You'll be in for quite a surprise when it hatches later, hehe.
[Using [Dragon Mimicry lv.3]-[Luck Breath].]
While I was at it, I also refilled the Luck Buffs for the rest of the party.
Since their buffs disappeared, I had to restock them.
"Teddy Bear, I appreciate your intention to give us a good buff, but... the light flashes too intensely when you use that breath skill. It would be best to refrain from using it as much as possible at night. It's dangerous if our position in the dark is exposed to unspecified individuals nearby."
"Gasp! Gom-jjang the exhibitionist!"
"Woong?"
Ah. I was being short-sighted.
I'm sorry-gom.
As the Vampire said, I should avoid using it at night if possible.
No, wait a minute.
Could I perhaps extinguish the light of the Luck Breath too?
Just like how there was no light when I underwent Evolution earlier?
Helper, is it possible?
[.......]
There was no response.
I guess not.
Then just say so, you jerk.
Anyway, forcing down my desire to gift them even more Luck Buffs, I decided to stop using Luck Breath here.
I'll have to accumulate them again once we arrive at our Dungeon.
There's no way it's going to hatch before then.
Well, even if it does hatch, that wouldn't be bad.
It might be a shame that I couldn't give it more luck, but it also means we'll get to meet our child sooner.
***
The Vampire could transform into a bat.
I heard she could transform into a giant bat or even into a small Bat Swarm.
And by transforming, she could fly through the sky and travel much faster.
The Vampire mentioned that she normally didn't use her bat transformation skill much.
Because the Mana consumption was so high, she tried to travel on foot to save Mana unless she was in a rush.
However, that wasn't the reason she was currently refraining from using her ability.
We had plenty of Natural Mana Stones, so there was no risk of running out of Mana.
The reason she wasn't using that skill now was because transforming would dismiss the numerous Bat Swarms carrying our luggage next to us.
Apparently, it was difficult to summon this many Bat Swarms while transformed. Even with an abundance of Mana, it was still too much for the Vampire's current level.
If she transformed, she supposedly wouldn't be able to carry the luggage or even fly with us on board.
She said she could only travel alone.
For that reason, we set off on our journey home purely on foot without any means of transportation.
During our return.
The Fox occasionally pointed out shortcuts, but she always made sure to add that they were a bit dangerous, so we didn't use any of them.
"Are we really not going this way? It's just a tiny bit dangerous, but it's super fast..."
I absolutely refuse to take dangerous paths.
There wasn't any particular reason to rush, anyway.
Strangely, every shortcut the Fox pointed out gave off an ominous vibe.
***
The return trip took longer than expected.
We didn't have the ladybug transport like we did when heading to our destination, and of course, we couldn't use the slide shortcut on our way back. We were also walking a bit cautiously because it was dark.
Still, we managed to arrive safely before dawn broke.
There weren't any incidents or accidents whatsoever during our return.
"We've arrived!!!"
"Woooong!"
The place where Mother Bear and Urami's graves were located.
In other words, as soon as we arrived where the Portal to the Dungeon was located, the Fox and Tosuni shouted in joy.
It was fine to shout as much as we wanted here.
Because Tosun's Mom's Flag was placed here, it was relatively safer than other places.
"To think a Dungeon was actually created... That Doll back then was quite something too."
The Vampire muttered as she stared at the Portal.
Tosuni was the one who told her about the Dungeon.
They had talked about a lot of things while the Guardian Stones were mining.
"Woooong."
"We are all amazing. Hehe!"
After passing the tunnel the Fox had dug previously.
Tosuni and the Fox eagerly stepped through the Portal first.
The Vampire and I closely followed behind them and stepped through the Portal as well.
Bow.
Upon crossing the Portal, the Old Man Doll standing nearby bowed its head to welcome us.
"I suppose this is one of the summoned Dolls you mentioned earlier, Princess."
"Woong!"
Tosuni had also told the Vampire about the Fake Dolls on the way here today.
Though it didn't seem like she went into detailed stories, such as the fact that the Old Man Doll used to be the Astral Slayer, who was known as one of the strongest Humans.
"Did you say the summoned Dolls used to be living creatures? Hmm, just by looking at this one, it clearly wasn't a Vampire in its past life. There's no way my kind could be this ugly."
"Woooong, woong, woooong!"
"Ah. You're saying it was a Human like Ailee? You must have encountered another Human recently."
Chatting along the way, we walked toward the bear-shaped house.
Just then, I noticed the Puppeteer Doll crouching in front of the house with a bored look on its face.
Ailee and Jjokkomi must be sleeping.
The Puppeteer Doll couldn't sleep, so it seemed to be waiting outside alone like that.
"...!"
The Puppeteer Doll spotted us as well.
It suddenly jumped up from its spot and ran toward us.
"...! ...!"
"Woooong, woong!"
"In-jjang! We're back!"
The Puppeteer Doll happily greeted Tosuni and the Fox.
It then gave me a tight hug before turning its head slightly to look at the Vampire.
"...!"
The Puppeteer Doll waved its hand at the Vampire.
It seemed to recognize the Vampire.
As expected, it had been conscious even when it couldn't move.
"Are you Ailee's Doll child? You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you. You must have undergone Evolution while achieving a Limit Breakthrough. Anyway, congratulations on being able to move."
"...!"
Wearing a pleased smile.
While the Vampire was stroking the Puppeteer Doll's head.
"Mmmm... Babies, did you just get back? I'm sorry, I dozed off while waiting..."
"Kkuo......."
Ailee and Jjokkomi, who were inside the house, appeared while rubbing their sleepy eyes.
Judging from her hoarse voice, it seemed she had been sleeping until just now and woke up after sensing our presence.
...Huh? Wait a minute.
But Jjokkomi's front paw is perfectly fine?
What is this? Her fur also changed from red to brown?
Jjokkomi's appearance had changed overnight.
There was absolutely no way it was a different bear.
There couldn't be another bear in our Dungeon, and there was no way I wouldn't recognize my own younger sister just because her appearance changed.
Especially since Jjokkomi was the only bear with such a cute and adorable face.
[Inferno Bear lv.23]
└ Pw.92
└ Rnk.Rare
Inferno Bear?
And a Rare rank?
Did she achieve a Limit Breakthrough while we were out?
She was definitely at level 29 just this morning...?
"Kkuo?"
Jjokkomi, who was rubbing her eyes, belatedly spotted me.
With a bright smile, she reached her arms out to me and started running over.
"Kkuooo! My younger sibling!"
...Huh?