I Became the Weakest Summon of the Genius Summoner

Chapter 11. A Chance, a Misjudgment

Maybe the woman behind me had her head turned, her eyes tightly shut.

I didn't know how long she would act like this, but if it was just because of the mole cricket, there was no need to fuss.

In fact, even Kang Yeon-su of the White Knight's Guild didn't bother with mole crickets, and no one ever accused her of being soft-hearted.

Ding-!

More importantly, I focused on the message that appeared with a pleasant sound, carrying a bit of expectation.

- The trait 【Kleptomancy】 is activated.

- Randomly steals a skill from the mole cricket.

- Acquired skill 【Basic Conversion】!

"Haha..."

Honestly, the ever-increasing number of skills left me overwhelmed, causing a hollow laugh to escape.

-----

Basic Conversion Lv.1

- Consumes monster bones to process and condense them within the body, transforming them into mana stones.

-----

'Really, this is...'

I had studied countless traits and skills documented for decades, but there was never a more mysterious ability than this.

'So that's why there's always a mole cricket in every dungeon.'

As it turned out, they played the role of a cleaner at the very bottom of the dungeon ecosystem.

"Did you acquire another skill, Ilwol? But... can you even eat that?"

'Yeah, the problem is that I can't eat it...'

In any case, I decided to think about it later. Before the goblins, drawn by the scent of blood, gathered, there was something I needed to collect.

'The leg bone would be good.'

Before my bones were crunched again, I planned to cut some bones to give to Woof-woof.

Now that I also possessed the same skill, I was curious about the process.

I extended my hand to Lee Yeon-hee, who, after a moment's hesitation, handed me a dagger.

'Isn't this revealing too much of my humanity?'

Yet, my hand was already expertly slicing through the goblin's thigh, splitting the inner flesh in a straight line.

Crunching-

Maintaining quality while extracting by-products was challenging, but simply removing the bone wasn't too difficult.

Goblins fell among the easier monsters to disassemble, so I quickly took a leg bone, wiped it clean of blood with some miscellaneous wild grass growing on the ground, and stored it in my inventory.

The entire process took merely 2-3 minutes.

While I worked, Lee Yeon-hee, watching with her mouth agape and hands clasped together, chatted incessantly until we moved on, just before I could find other prey.

'How is this even possible? Maybe the dismantling theory in my head is being applied to the summons. Then if I stuff my head with as much information as possible...!'

Although most of her guesses were off the mark, it wasn't impossible that summons operated on such mechanisms.

So I just quietly walked forward.

Anyway, I needed to see the next summons after Woof-woof to address the remaining questions, so I half-listened to her and focused my senses.

'Today, there really aren't many...'

Compared to last time, the number of monsters caught in the net had been nearly halved.

'I wish I had grown more before running into those...'

In the dungeons, there's an old saying about the law of monster preservation.

If monsters are fewer than usual, it's a sort of jinx predicting the likelihood of encountering stronger ones.

This notion is backed by various theories, making many hunters choose to withdraw early on such days.

As if Yeon-hee sensed the uneasy atmosphere, she whispered cautiously.

"Do you think we might run into a Goblin Centurion today?"

It was something even the heavens wouldn't know, so I merely glanced around earnestly.

"It might be tough right now... don't you think?"

Nod-

Of course, capturing one would be a good thing. The Goblin Centurion is the only one in this dungeon to drop a basic rune, with a drop rate of over 70%.

Though called a centurion, the Goblin Centurion is akin to a minor tribal leader, notorious for lazing around—nonetheless, they need to be handled carefully because only those with superior stats can command such positions.

In other words, they inherently possess good physical attributes.

Besides, they always roam around with about ten other goblins, making it a challenge for just the two of us to handle.

'I better stay clear of them for now.'

While contemplating whether I should prioritize investing in sense stats, we unexpectedly stumbled upon the location of a goblin village.

This meant the centurion was nearby.

'It's farther from the center than I thought? Hmm-'

We positioned ourselves on a hill, observing the goblin village spread over a considerable plain in the lower terrain.

"There are so many... We need to call people for this."

Always prudent in her judgments, Yeon-hee quickly reached a conclusion.

Of course, it was audacious for just the two of us to even try.

We'd need to rally more than fifty F-rank hunters who'd just entered to reasonably subdue them without major damage.

Over a hundred goblins were cultivating their modest territory inside a makeshift wooden barrier.

Although some groups declared hunters as invaders upon witnessing the communal lifestyle of goblins, if not culled now, they would rapidly multiply, eventually causing a dungeon break.

If you don't want to see these creatures tear apart citizens viciously once they flood into the city, there should be no hesitation in eliminating them.

'But right now, it's us who must wish for mercy.'

The challenge in encountering goblins wandering aimlessly was due to the emergence of a strong leader establishing their own guidelines.

(Ilwol, move carefully...)

She whispered exceedingly softly, pausing as soon as she noticed a particular goblin in view.

'Of course, it's bigger than the other goblins. It's still a goblin, after all.'

Even from a distance, one could see a goblin standing a head taller than the rest.

At the heart of the village, it stretched grandly; I assessed it briefly.

'If I approach using Stealth, then launch an acid attack before following with a Heavy Strike... it's no use. Far too short...'

I needed to invest in magic power statistics to extend Stealth duration and boost strength to eliminate it before other goblins could interfere.

The conclusion was to retreat. Yeon-hee also resumed her halted steps.

As we continued walking for about ten minutes to distance ourselves from the village, we fortunately stumbled upon a group of goblins.

Without any words, we proceeded through our established routine. There were three goblins in total.

Qi-yi-e! Keh-erk- Kirghh-!

Defeating them was instantaneous.

"Wow... it feels like the world has been turned upside down."

Yeon-hee lamented about how much she had struggled to deal with three when she hunted alone.

Shooting, retreating, then shooting and distancing again repeatedly.

However, she had to adapt to a completely different combat style now. There's a reason frontline positions are revered among hunters.

It's a grueling position—that demands one embrace danger, filth, and toil.

But summons, valiantly dedicated, could rush to handle it ahead. Yeon-hee, prioritizing her safety, only needed to command from behind.

'If I were Cho Giman, I'd secure Yeon-hee now while she's still unaware. I still don't understand why he betrayed us in the end...'

Though I had some guesses, drawing a conclusion skewed by personal opinion seemed utterly pointless.

"This time let's not dismantle. Let's just move."

'Of course.'

Given the proximity to the large village, it was necessary to further create distance.

After moving for another ten minutes, we stumbled upon twenty hunters gathered around a massive tree trunk.

We stealthily approached close enough to overhear their conversation, intrigued by their discussion.

- I'm telling you we should just go in. It's rare to discover large gatherings like this at these locations.

- With more members, it might be manageable.

- Let's gather and break through at once then.

- Seriously, why're you acting like complete amateurs? Our guild will take on the centurion; the rest of you can...

It seemed like a group debate, yet there were surprisingly few making sound judgments.

(Are they seriously considering attacking that village...?)

Beside me, Yeon-hee peered through the bushes with worried eyes.

'They're not foolish enough for that. It doesn't seem like a pre-formed team; they must have instinctively gathered here sensing something off... They'll probably call it off, right? It's hard to consolidate opinions.'

But my prediction missed the mark entirely.

Once about ten more people arrived from another direction of the forest, they debated a bit longer before concluding on an attack.

A few minutes later, after personal preparations, they began moving in the direction of the village we had observed earlier.

"Ugh, what should we do..."

TL's Corner:
Wait for them to get massacred and take the fruits of their labor!