Undine seemed visibly shaken by the sudden reversal of momentum.
It retreated far back to regroup.
Not that it matters. Eventually, it has no choice but to come in again.
[Advance and Retreat] had powerful effects, but its drawbacks were just as clear.
You had to keep repeating the same pattern.
The moment it’s broken, all the bonuses accumulated up to that point vanish entirely.
Even if it tried a different method now, there was no guarantee of victory.
Going all-in with this approach was the better choice.
Apparently thinking the same, Undine formed a whirlpool with its waves and surged forward.
Kwoooooosh!
In contrast, Hong Yeon-hwa had regained her composure.
She conjured several flame orbs the size of ping-pong balls above her hand and tossed them into the whirlpool.
Just as the orbs were drawn in and disappeared, she thrust her staff forward and cast her next spell.
[Outburst]
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
A series of fiery explosions erupted, not only breaking apart the whirlpool but also wounding Undine itself.
Its body staggered heavily before pulling back like the receding tide.
Watching this, Hong Yeon-hwa spoke briefly.
“I’ll finish it.”
“Let’s do that.”
If they kept dragging things out and [Advance and Retreat] stacked up again, the tide of battle could reverse once more.
Plus, her mana was nearly spent. It was better to end it while the advantage was theirs.
Soon, a wide magic circle began forming around Hong Yeon-hwa.
Intricate formulas filled the space with red color.
Sensing that the opponent was going all-in, Undine also began preparing its most powerful spell.
Waves rose to the ceiling, and wild horses made of water and ice neighed fiercely, scraping their hooves against the ground.
Undine, the waves, and the horses charged as one.
Whoooooooooosh!
Just then, Hong Yeon-hwa completed her spell and pointed her staff straight ahead.
A pillar of flame surged upward, and unlike before, a small object about the size of a quail egg appeared midair.
The egg began to tremble, then cracked open, and a fledgling bird emerged.
It quickly grew to the size of a chick and fluttered toward the oncoming wave.
At a glance, it looked like it would be swallowed whole in an instant, but that wasn’t the case.
The moment it got close, all the surrounding ice melted away, bubbling and evaporating completely.
In less than the time it would take to drink a glass of water, the wave, the wild horses, and even Undine were all completely gone.
Having wiped out all enemies in one blow, the flame chick fluttered back and landed on Hong Yeon-hwa’s shoulder.
It looked like it had grown a little bigger in that short time.
“It’s growing fast.”
“If only I had the time…”
“This is what you said you were researching?”
“Mhm. But there’s still more to do…”
The Hydra’s biggest drawback was its inability to move.
It was still strong enough despite that, but she must’ve wanted something more adaptable to different situations.
Flying types definitely have better versatility.
When it comes to movement, they’re virtually unrestricted.
If aerial combat is possible, it’s easy to gain the upper hand against grounded enemies.
And the power’s no joke either.
Sure, a lot of that came from B-rank Aqua Flame, but still….it wiped out a C-rank dungeon boss in one shot.
That said, the drawbacks were pretty clear too:
It’s way too slow.
Even with Hong Yeon-hwa’s unrivaled casting speed, it took quite a while.
In most situations, it would be more efficient to layer other spells in that time.
And it seems to take a while to grow, too.
Long casting time, long growth time.
It was practically a skill made for drawn-out battles.
As it was, the skill lacked too much versatility. It seemed better to make it lighter, even at the cost of some destructive power.
She’ll figure it out on her own.
Hong Yeon-hwa was surely aware of that herself, and she’d already said she needed to keep working on it.
Just keep giving her challenging quests and observe from there.
Rumble…
As the dungeon collapsed, a teleportation portal opened.
In front of it sat a few small boxes.
[Walking Turtle Random Box (C)] ×4
While collecting them, I turned to look at the giant turtle inside the huge water tank.
“……”
Now that it had regained its freedom, the turtle was swimming slowly around the tank, and for some reason, it felt like it was expressing gratitude toward us.
Let’s just take that gratitude in the form of a trait.
[Used ‘Locking Pin’.]
[Locking ‘Sovereign’s Crown’.]
The other traits in the slot were decent, but this time I chose to lock the Sovereign’s Crown first.
If I wanted to use it for future combinations, it had to be fully mine.
I planned to use the next Locking Pin for a similar purpose.
[Activated ‘Copy – Trait’.]
[The target’s trait ‘Self-Generation (S)’ has been copied to the slot.]
▷ Copy – Trait [4/4]
1. Self-Generation (S)
2. Time Resistance (S)
3. Pain Delay
4. Chain Explosion (S)
[Traits]
▷ Sovereign’s Crown
The turtle might have had virtually no combat ability, but as the core of a mobile fortress, its key traits were S-rank.
With this, our objectives were fully achieved, and we stepped into the portal one by one.
A warmth immediately enveloped our bodies.
The underground level was relatively cool, but compared to the freezing dungeon, it felt almost warm.
Seo Ye-in looked completely satisfied.
“I feel energized.”
“You’re back to life the moment you get out.”
“This body has been revived.”
Then she looked up at me with sparkling eyes and tugged at my arm.
“Let’s open the boxes. Right now.”
“Wow, you’re the one suggesting it first?”
“It’s a good day.”
Well, she did just learn a spatial-type skill she’d wanted so badly. And an endgame-level one, at that.
You’ve got to ride the momentum at times like this.
Lucky Charm even offered to open them right away. Turning that down would be a loss.
So, as soon as we reached the surface, we moved to a quiet spot.
“Looks like the other two won’t be joining. Let’s do this ourselves.”
By now, Dang Gyu-young was probably inside the dungeon, and Go Hyun-woo wasn’t responding to messages, likely busy training or meditating on mana.
Either way, both of them usually left the random boxes entirely to me, so there was no issue.
I laid out everything I’d recently earned from the latest raid on the table.
[Poison Serpent Pond Random Box (C)]*1
[Poison Serpent Pond Random Box (B)]*2
[Walking Turtle Random Box (C)]*4
Then I turned to Lucky Charm and asked politely,
“Which would you like to open first?”
“……”
Without a word, Seo Ye-in pulled three of the Walking Turtle boxes toward her and popped the lids open in quick succession.
Flaash—!
[Sturdy Shell (B)]*3
Large hexagonal metal plates.
It’s the same material that made up the back plating of the mobile fortress.
Three B-rank items from three C-rank boxes….not bad at all.
“A strong start.”
“Just a warm-up.”
“Meaning we can raise our expectations, yes?”
“Mhmm.”
“Excellent.”
Sturdy Shell is a crafting material, mainly used to make armor.
But for us, it’s not particularly useful. We can get much better materials anytime.
Then let’s feed it.
[Greedy Material Selection Ticket (D)]
▷ Growth-type item
▷ Consumes material items to gain experience
▷ Exp: 48.33%
The three shells disappeared shortly after, and the ticket’s rank was updated.
[Greedy Material Selection Ticket (C)]
▷ Exp: 88.65%
Next, Seo Ye-in picked a C-rank Poison Serpent Pond random box.
But instead of pulling it toward herself, she quietly slid it across to the opposite side.
Seeing this, the smile on Hong Yeon-hwa’s face began to stiffen with tension.
She asked hesitantly.
“Me, I… do I open this?”
“Challenge.”
Seo Ye-in said, clenching her fist.
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa glanced around, subtly sending me a distress signal.
She must be reluctant to open it, remembering the time she completely botched it but made a miraculous recovery.
In response, I said in a calm tone.
“So what if it’s not a good pull? Don’t worry too much and just open it.”
“M-Mhmm…”
Reluctantly nodding, Hong Yeon-hwa looked down at the random box.
She hunched her shoulders and carefully lifted the lid.
Fwooosh!
A dark green aura burst out and then quickly faded away.
Even without a flashbang-like burst of light, that was a decent effect.
Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to realize that too, as her face visibly brightened.
When we checked what she got,
[White King Serpent’s Inner Core (C+)]
An inner core of a venomous creature.
I remembered eating one back in the first semester to upgrade [Poison Resistance] from “Poison Resistance” to “Poison Immunity.”
I handed the core to Hong Yeon-hwa.
“This one’s for you. You need to boost your core.”
“Mhmm, thanks…”
Since we share poison immunity through the Bond, she wouldn’t take any poison damage anyway.
From our perspective, it’s basically an elixir.
Glancing at the now-excited Hong Yeon-hwa, I turned to Seo Ye-in and asked,
“Is it my turn now?”
“No.”
Seo Ye-in shook her head.
Again, Seo Ye-in slid a Poison Serpent Pond random box toward Hong Yeon-hwa.
This time, though, it was B-rank.
And with the higher risk came greater hesitation from Hong Yeon-hwa.
“B-rank is a bit…”
“Challenge.”
“What if I pick a different one…?”
“Challenge.”
Faced with Seo Ye-in’s eyes sparkling with almost overwhelming intensity, Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t bring herself to say no.
As if resigning herself to fate, she opened the random box with a calm expression.
Fwooooosh—!
An even darker, thicker aura than before surged out.
The stench was just as intense, but instead of wrinkling her nose, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a sigh of relief.
Soon enough, both the dark energy and the smell vanished without a trace.
In the box’s place was a lump of blackened mass.
[Poison Serpent Pond Inner Core (B+)]
The very core of the hidden boss of the Poison Serpent Pond.
Seo Ye-in and I took turns praising her.
“Luck’s on your side today. You keep pulling bonuses.”
“Challenge succeeded.”
“R-Really…? Hehe.”
Though still a bit dazed, Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t hide her delight at being praised. The corners of her mouth kept twitching upward.
Then I casually tossed in a comment.
“Take that one too.”
“Am I… allowed to…?”
“Of course you are. You’ve earned your share.”
She’d pulled her weight during the Poison Serpent Pond run, and in the Walking Turtle, she handled most of the combat.
Sure, the latter was mostly to rank up her Aqua Flame, but even so, she deserved her cut.
Now, only two boxes remained: one B-rank Poison Serpent Pond box and one C-rank Walking Turtle box.
“……”
Seo Ye-in looked between the two, tilted her head, then looked again and tilted her head once more.
Then, grabbing the C-rank box, she threw the lid open in one swift motion.
Flaaaash!
A burst of multicolored light scattered through the air.
The effect looked familiar, like something I’d seen before, so I quietly sifted through my memories.
As the hazy recollection grew clearer, the item took shape as well.
[Summon Scroll: Skillbook Fairy]
A fairy that brings you the skillbook you want….though it demands a steep price in return.
Last time, I used Chillwind and Wind Armor to obtain the Frozen Spirit Shot.
“How did you pull this from a C-rank box?”
It’s officially unranked, but honestly, it might as well be A-rank.
It had come out of an A-rank random box before, too.
Not that asking would get me an answer.
“…Lucky.”
“So it seems. Let’s open the last one.”
“……”
Seo Ye-in stared silently at the one remaining random box.
We didn’t want to pressure her, but for some reason, both Hong Yeon-hwa and I instinctively covered our eyes, full of anticipation.
Partly because of the bold claim she’d made earlier.
Moments later, the darkness behind our closed eyes turned into a rainbow of colors.
Flaaaaaaash—!
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