Chapter 64

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 64

Chapter Title: Power Enhancement (2)

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'I'll find out eventually.'

I set aside my thoughts about the system messages for now and pulled out the Superior Ability Awakening Stone from my inventory.

"Rubyel, how about the Superior Ability Awakening Stone?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. I figure a superior one might yield an even better ability."

Rubyel pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm good for now. If I use it, I'd rather do so after advancing my realm."

"Your realm?"

"I want to focus solely on that. Plus, using it after a breakthrough might give something even better."

I wasn't sure if realms and Awakening Stones were connected, but since that was Rubyel's thinking, I didn't push.

"Give it to Aila instead."

"Aila?"

I turned to look at the saintess, Aila.

With her sky-blue hair and gentle squinted eyes, Aila smiled warmly at me.

"I'll follow your lead, Castaway."

"Then I'll give the Superior Ability Awakening Stone to Aila."

Either way, boosting the Hero Party's strength was key.

I handled rear support, but they were the main attackers.

'Does Aila fight up front, though?'

I wondered briefly, but with Tipina joining, probably yes.

Without hesitation, I handed the stone to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Aila, and she bowed gratefully.

"I am always thankful for your mercy, Castaway."

"No need for thanks. I'm curious what ability a superior stone will give, so go ahead and use it."

"Yes."

Aila swallowed the Superior Ability Awakening Stone right away.

She checked the new ability and spoke up immediately.

"......Lightling Summon?"

What? That name oozed cuteness.

'Hard to get a read from the name alone.'

I could vaguely grasp Elisicia's [Instant Acceleration] and Syrine's [Muscle Wave].

But Aila's [Lightling Summon] gave no clue.

"Let me try it out."

Aila, curious too, activated the ability.

Fwosh―

A cute, fluffy orb of light appeared, like a stuffed toy.

It even had adorable little angel wings flapping slowly on either side of its face.

"That...... is cute."

I honestly called the presumed Lightling adorable.

But these women, hardened by long wars, seemed to lack that sensibility.

"It emits light. A lamp maybe?"

"She used a superior stone. Probably something special."

"If it understands speech, it could scout."

"......"

Was I the only one who thought it was cute?

Meanwhile, Tipina, watching the Lightling, spoke up.

"Looking closer, that summon seems to be absorbing light."

"Oh. Maybe it absorbs light to use certain abilities."

Rubyel observed intently, then murmured a short incantation.

Fwosh!―

A fairly intense orb of light appeared overhead.

The Lightling zipped toward it, eagerly absorbing the glow.

'The more it absorbs, the brighter it gets.'

I even briefly thought it might just be lighting, as Aila first suggested.

'No, it's A-Grade. Can't be that basic.'

An A-Grade ability reduced to a lamp would be disappointing.

"Hey there. What can you do?"

Aila, deeming it charged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough, asked directly.

Thankfully, the Lightling understood and faced forward, mouth agape.

Fwaaaah!―

"......?"

A finger-thick white laser shot from its tiny mouth in an instant.

"Ah~ Got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. It's a summon that attacks with absorbed light."

"We should test its power."

"There should be monsters nearby. Lynes, mind helping?"

The elf, Lynes, nodded and pointed one way.

"That direction."

"Let's go."

The Hero Party moved toward the monsters while recharging the Lightling with light.

With mage Rubyel here, providing light was easy.

'Or I could buy lights to charge it?'

Grrrrowl......

Soon, a monster appeared—black-bodied with glowing red eyes.

We hadn't encountered many in the labyrinth's lower floors yet, but seeking them out worked.

"Lightling. Attack."

On Aila's command, it opened wide again and fired a laser.

Fwaaaah!―

The laser hit instantly, then after 1-2 seconds, punched a hole clean through, killing the monster.

'Solid power.'

Notably, it penetrated after a delay, suggesting ongoing damage from contact.

"Power seems decent."

"Attack starts on contact with light. Continuous fire qualifies it."

"Lightling. Anything else you can do?"

Aila asked further, but the Lightling shook its head.

'It even responds.'

Aila nodded.

"Could work for scouting too."

"But it glows itself. Easy target."

Rubyel tapped it with her staff—it passed right through.

"Physical immunity. Perfect for luring monsters."

I quietly watched the Hero Party figure out its uses.

Separately, as an A-Grade, specialization potential seemed promising.

"Oh, Lynes. If it's not too much, could you find one more monster?"

Glancing at the Lightling, I decided to test my new guns too.

Nod―

(Note: Lynes and I rarely chatted personally. She subtly avoided me, and I avoided awkwardness.)

'This kind of request should be fine.'

Lynes nodded and led the way.

I pulled out the four Taehwa 9 rifles from the Golden King.

'Why are these so huge?'

Each nearly matched my height.

Heavy, but telekinesis handled them fine.

"Castaway, what's that......?"

Elisicia eyed the guns.

"New guns I got."

"Like the Shredder Blaster?"

"Similar."

Both guns, after all.

But the Golden King said these excelled in single-target penetration.

I was curious about their fusion-core firing too.

Grrrrowl......

A monster growled distantly; Elisicia stuck close protectively.

Telekinesis firing, so safe—but I aimed a Taehwa 9 and pulled the trigger.

Whumm―

Circuits lit up for ~2 seconds.

Then—

Papapapapow!!―

A brief beam from the muzzle, and the monster was shredded into unrecognizable black pulp by dozens of rounds.

"......"

Dangerous in a different way from the Shredder Blaster.

Elisicia, gauging its power, stiffened slightly.

"Insane. Even I couldn't dodge seeing it."

"Ah...... really?"

Normal bullets dodgeable?

"With Instant Acceleration, maybe once or twice. More's impossible."

Dodging a 4-channel military Taehwa 9 even briefly was impressive.

'Elisicia's strength is unreal.'

I couldn't track her at full acceleration now.

If she wanted, my head could be gone in a blink.

"Should be useful past floor 20."

"Good to hear."

Now I could contribute meaningfully to clears.

'Plasma Pistol, I'll wield personally.'

Quick Fix Doctor's gift—for emergencies, better handheld.

"Castaway. Got Bloodstones? Let's level Aila's ability."

"Oh, right. Gotta upgrade it."

Rubyel, done experimenting, suggested leveling.

Wasting an A-Grade at level 1 would be a shame.

I handed Aila Bloodstones.

As expected, maxing [Lightling Summon] to level 10 brought upgrade options.

Unlike my telekinesis, no penalties or reductions.

'Summon perks?'

Aila pondered long, then chose 5: Body Strengthening.

"Better to boost the Hero's power over the Lightling."

Judging Elisicia's strength more effective than Lightling lasers.

With my long-range Taehwa 9s, lasers were redundant anyway.

'Choosing 5 doesn't disable lasers.'

Higher levels boosted storage and output anyway.

At 20, it'd be viable there too—so I approved her choice.

'Personally liked 6.'

Body Strengthening might not appear at 20 specialization.

If so, securing it now for Elisicia made sense.

"How about we rest here?"

After descending to floor 7, Elisicia suggested camping.

No objections, so we settled nearby.

I thought:

'Now with Syrine and Tipina, seven total.'

Past five-person tent felt cramped now.

Adding another bed? Definitely.

Time for a bigger one?

'Buying tents is trivial.'

Just my hunch for now—try tonight.

Setting up tent and shower as usual, Syrine and Tipina took interest.

"Castaway, what's this?"

"Shower room. Wash up inside."

"Wash?"

Syrine perked up at "wash," beaming extra bright.

"Showering in the labyrinth! Tipina, you hear that?"

"Yes. Your abilities exceed imagination, Castaway."

"Right? Where does the water even come from?"

Syrine, loving showers, grilled me 1.2x enthusiastically.

"My ability fills that tank. Watch how the Hero or others do it."

"Got it!"

Syrine dashed to Elisicia without delay.

I messaged 7-channel Yoo Hyun-min for dinner delivery in advance.