Chapter 368: 2nd and 3rd Week Large Scale Dungeon Part 3

The Crow Craftsman, just like the others before, casually ignored Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa.

Even Dang Gyu-young didn’t catch his eye, so it was no surprise those two didn’t either.

But when he spotted me, he flapped his wings violently.

That reaction meant I was something truly unusual to him.

I thought he’d immediately start talking about the “Young Monarch” again, but his dramatic reaction didn’t stop there.

As soon as he saw Seo Ye-in, he flinched and began hopping in place in shock.

“Caw!! Young Monarch, what in the world is this!?”

How would I know?

Our lucky charm still has plenty of secrets.

She claims even she doesn’t know what they are.

Of course, if I said that out loud, there was a risk of being underestimated.

It’d sound like I brought her here without knowing what she really is.

And getting underestimated in a situation like this could easily ruin negotiations.

So I responded calmly.

“Don’t worry. She won’t eat you.”

“Then why did you bring her?”

“Just to let her watch from the side. Is that a problem?”

“Caw, I suppose that’s fine!”

The Crow Craftsman seemed to accept that explanation.

Since things were going smoothly, I got straight to the point.

“I’d like you to craft an item.”

“My commission fees are high, Young Monarch. Can you afford it?”

“How about this?”

I took out the Kraketite Octopus Statue from my inventory.

As expected, the Crow Craftsman’s attention was immediately caught.

Leaning forward eagerly, he asked,

“Caw! I’ve never seen something like this! May I take a closer look?”

“Be my guest.”

I agreed readily, and the octopus statue floated up and flew over to him.

The Crow Craftsman examined it from every angle, then started hopping up and down in excitement.

“Caw, a shiny octopus! I want it!”

“I’ll take that as payment enough, then.”

“Yes! Tell me what you want!”

I showed him my weapon first.

[Deep-Root Sapling] was a modular weapon.

At the bottom was the ritual dagger of the Feathered Serpent Priest, followed by a shaft made of Millennium Iron and Black Mithril, and above that, a section made of Kraketite.

“I want to add one more level to this.”

“Caw. You’re aiming for the big picture, Young Monarch.”

“This much is necessary. Think you can handle it?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do! What materials will you be using?”

“These.”

I then pulled out two more items from my inventory.

A tree branch dyed with the colors of the night sky and a translucent purple leaf.

[Crow Branch (S)]

[Dimensional Leaf (S)]

“Caw, I can feel the sage’s mana in these.”

“I got some investment.”

Though I’m not sure when I’ll be able to pay it back.

The Crow Craftsman alternated his gaze between the two items, then slowly nodded.

“Caw. Normally, I’d charge extra, but I want that shiny octopus. I’ll make it for you. Just this once, Young Monarch!”

“I appreciate it.”

“And let me say this in advance. I don’t know what kind of grand plan you’re working on, but these materials alone won’t be enough. I’m just building the foundation.”

“I know. That’s good enough for now.”

This commission was moved up a bit earlier than planned, mostly because the octopus statue turned out to be higher grade than expected.

To fully complete the equipment I had in mind, I would’ve needed at least two or three more materials of the same grade. And the labor cost would’ve been much higher, too.

For now, I’m satisfied with this. Once I gather the remaining materials, I’ll visit the tailor or whoever’s next.

Having come to an agreement, the Crow Craftsman nodded again, bobbing his head up and down.

“Caw, fine. I’ll make it for you.”

Soon, the branch and the leaf floated into the air. Their shapes turned soft and fluid before merging into one.

Like a clump of night sky crudely mashed together into a single mass.

Then, with a flap of one wing, the tools at his waist floated up on their own and began rhythmically tapping the mass.

They looked ordinary on the surface, but each of those tools was a high-grade spatial item.

Wielded with the precision of a craftsman’s own limbs, the tools quickly shaped the mass into form.

What was completed soon after looked much like the previous branch.

But now it had a faint purple color, and the bottom end was shaped like a rod.

It was made to be attachable and detachable from the sapling.

[Crow Branch (S+)]

▷An intense dimensional power can be felt.

▷Caw—! (C)

▷Currently unstable.

The skill “Caw—!” which had disappeared before had returned.

With a single use of that skill, I was once able to open every teleportation portal in the entire teleportation labyrinth and summon the entire Witch of Corruption subjugation force to one place.

The effect attached to this “Caw—!” was probably similar.

But right now, the rank was only C, so I couldn’t expect the same level of power as back then.

Because the equipment itself is incomplete.

The tooltip outright says it’s “unstable”.

If I use it carelessly, it’ll come back to bite me.

For example, I might suddenly get flung somewhere because of a spatial distortion.

There’s no need to fuse it right away.

So I decided to store the Crow Branch in my inventory for now and only take it out when I needed to use the skill.

The craftsman emphasized that point again.

“Caw! As I said before, I only built the foundation. The rest is up to you, young monarch.”

“Yeah, I’m grateful enough for just this much.”

“Is that all you needed?”

“That’s it for today.”

“Caw! Then I’ll be on my way!”

“You just got here. Why not stay a bit longer?”

Might as well warm up by the campfire while you’re at it.

At that, the crow craftsman began inspecting his tools one by one, before casting a brief glance toward Seo Ye-in.

“I can’t stay with those eyes on me. That stare—caw!”

“If that’s how it is, I won’t stop you.”

“Until next time, young monarch!”

With a loud caw—! he leapt into the air.

Then he started flapping his wings and vanished into the sky.

The space rippled briefly and then settled again. Only then did I turn to the others.

“He’s gone. What did you think?”

“As expected of his reputation. I could feel an overwhelming power beyond imagination.”

Go Hyeon-woo let out a series of admiring remarks, all while fiddling with the magic sword at his waist.

He must have really wanted a spar, even if it killed him.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in was still staring into the empty sky, tilting her head as if confused by the crow’s strong reaction.

Honestly, I was starting to get curious too.

I’ll have to find the right moment to ask the Underworld Dragon King, the Chairman, or even the Meteor Dragon about it in more detail.

Then Hong Yeon-hwa carefully asked me,

“Um… hey…”

“What is it?”

“Well… the replay… is it okay?”

After all, we were here in this dungeon for our practical exam.

To get our scores, we had to submit the replay no matter what.

In the midst of it all, the Dimensional Crow had appeared and even crafted an item for us. The question now was whether it was okay for that to be left in the replay.

I answered without a second thought.

“It’s fine. Even if it’s in the replay, they won’t be able to copy it anyway.”

Even if someone watched the replay and waited at the same spot, meeting the Dimensional Crow would be impossible.

Those things flit between countless dungeons, and to see one again in the territory of the White Wolf Tribe would take at least a month.

Miss the exact timing, and that’s another month gone.

If you want to see them when you want, you need to have big data like I do.

“And it’s not like everything gets revealed.”

The replay only records visual information.

In other words, the truly important conversations won’t be leaked.

“Same goes for the item’s options.”

From the viewer’s perspective, they might see me offering some sort of statue and having a unique item crafted.

But would they be able to tell just by looking that the item was an S-rank space-type artifact?

Not unless they had skills on par with the Principal.

And honestly, part of it is intentional.

It’s not like I’m obligated to only sell full guides.

Arranging meetings with the Crows could be a valuable bargaining chip in itself.

I’m just leaving some proof behind in advance for when that time comes.

After hearing all that, Hong Yeon-hwa looked thoroughly convinced.

“Oh, then… I guess it’s fine.”

“Let’s keep going.”

With the hidden piece taken care of, it was time to focus on the main strategy battle again.

Of course, the strategy battle was already progressing even at that moment.

From the instant we set up base and lit a fire here.

Awoooo—

A wolf’s howl rang out from somewhere, and in response, wolves howled in chorus from various directions.

Looking down from the hill, I saw white-furred wolves gathering below.

“Looks like they’re taking the bait.”

“Now it begins.”

Since we smashed every totem we came across on our way in, the White Wolf Tribe must have realized someone had invaded their territory long ago.

On top of that, we were currently positioned at the peak of a hill with a steep elevation.

Even without doing anything, we were clearly visible…let alone the large pile of firewood we’d stacked and set ablaze.

It was basically an open advertisement: “We’re right here. Come and see us.”

Of course, that was my intention all along, and the advertisement worked extremely well.

Awoooo—

More and more white-furred wolves began to gather at the base of the hill.

Among them were unusually large, bipedal werewolves. That was the White Wolf Tribe.

One of them must have felt our gaze, as he looked up at us with eyes full of hostility.

I met his eyes for a moment, then turned my head slightly and casually spoke to Seo Ye-in.

“I don’t like the way that guy’s looking at us.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Thump—!

Her rifle flared with a burst of blue flame, and the White Wolf Tribe member who’d just been glaring at us was sent sprawling backward.

He’d been sniped cleanly.

They were E+ rank name-level monsters, practically on par with D-rank in terms of power. But Seo Ye-in’s magic bullets were at least two ranks higher, B+ rank.

No way something like that hitting square between the eyes wouldn’t be deadly.

Thump—!

A heavy gunshot rang out, and another member of the White Wolf Tribe collapsed.

The others, startled and flustered, began to panic. But realizing they couldn’t just stand around, they started charging toward us, leading the wolves behind them.

Just as they’d closed about half the distance, a red glow lit up beneath their feet.

And then, pillars of flame shot up violently.

Kwooooosh—!

They had triggered the Fire Pillar magic circles I had Hong Yeon-hwa set up in advance.

When they all activated at once, most of the enemies were incinerated on the spot. They vanished without even leaving ashes behind.

Go Hyeon-woo watched the scene, idly rubbing the hilt of his sword with a hint of regret.

“Looks like there won’t be much left for me. You two are handling things too well.”

“Ranged attacks are more effective here. Just look forward to the boss fight.”

“Hmm, fair enough.”

Even after wiping out a wave of the White Wolf Tribe, more white-furred wolves and werewolves were still gathering at the foot of the hill.

Looking down at them, I spoke.

“Now this is what I call efficient.”

Originally, the standard way to conquer the White Wolf Tribe territory was to fight through continuous battles as you explored every corner. It was a large-scale dungeon after all.

But from my perspective, that was a waste of both time and stamina.

No reason to make things harder for myself.

Especially when there’s a more efficient way.

Just cause a bit of noise, wait in place, and they come to you.

Hunting is best done as a drive hunt.