I Became the Weakest Summon of the Genius Summoner

Chapter 17. Drawn to Her

Seeing my stats now, I clearly surpassed the bottom rung of an F-rank hunter, which made my shoulders straighten.

It felt like creating a new character in a game and leveling up again, which was quite fun.

Sabak-sabak-

We recently wiped out a Goblin Centurion, so we likely wouldn't encounter such a formidable foe for a while.

Despite that, we never let our guard down.

Lee Yeon-hee seemed to understand that consistently practicing such basic skills is the easiest way to evade future dangers.

After hunting 11 more goblins and 4 slimes, we stopped for a late lunch of rice balls prepared by Yeon-hee, then headed toward the entrance.

"Today wasn't bad. But fighting goblins doesn't give much experience anymore. Leveling up is definitely slower."

I wasn't sure exactly what her stats were, but she seemed to be in her mid-teens level-wise.

At this point, even after hunting hundreds of goblins, leveling up once wouldn't be easy, so we needed to move to a higher-rank dungeon.

"Now that I've hit a growth plateau, I can't bear a single day without progress. I wonder how veteran players maintain their patience."

"Clack-clack-clack-"

Some individuals, often referred to as stubborn spirits, don't risk exploring higher-level dungeons and instead remain stagnant, earning just enough money.

Even in this dungeon, a step above the lowest-rank ones filled with skeleton soldiers and slimes, one could earn a consistent 200-250 a month with effort, so some are satisfied with that.

'Not many people can maintain a sense of improvement.'

Facing creatures with a clear intent to kill you is not something you can do in a sound state of mind.

It's no surprise that statistics show 30% of hunters quit within three months of passing the hunter exam.

On the way to the entrance, we slayed seven more goblins, earning another level.

【Skeleton Soldier Ilwol - Lv.6】

Strength: 23(+3)
Agility: 22(+3)
Stamina: 20
Intelligence: 24
Magic Power: 20(+3)
Resistance: 1
Sense: 16
Recovery: 2

Facing two or three goblins was now effortless, so my steps felt lighter.

Then—

I froze—

Three hunters caught in the net of my senses.

Lee Yeon-hee must have seen them too. She held my hand and crouched down with me.

(.........)

Holding our breath, we waited for the strangers to pass by, cautiously scanning the surroundings.

"Come on out~ We know you're there~"

"Let's have a look at you, haha."

"Kekeke, slurp—"

'Sense type or something?'

Some hunters awaken with enhanced senses like sight, hearing, or smell, beyond the basic sense stat.

'The entrance is still an hour away...'

Inside a dungeon, laws didn't apply, so whatever those guys did was unlikely to reach the outside world.

Upon entering a dungeon, all modern devices were deactivated and moved to inventory storage.

I focused intensely on them, trying to gauge their magic power wrapped around their bodies.

'They've leveled to the point of entering this dungeon... Did they target Lee Yeon-hee?'

They had probably aimed for her from the start since they should've headed for a higher-rank dungeon a while ago.

Judging from their gear, they didn't seem like stubborn spirits.

(Let's run...)

With a nod—

With three individuals possessing higher stats than Lee Yeon-hee, a direct confrontation was a sure loss.

Even landing a preemptive strike would be uncertain. We had to escape before they closed the distance.

Taaht-!

"Heheh! The hunt begins!!"

"Break the skeleton first! Don't miss the rune drop!"

"Yes, Sir!"

'So they were indeed targeting us. Someone from that time must have spread the word. Damn, what's the point of a mere low-rank rune.'

It was worth barely in the mid-1 million won range, but they likely came intending to snatch both Lee Yeon-hee and the rune.

'Cho Giman, you bastard. Why can't you prevent situations like this?'

Though I had to resolve it since I'd altered the future, I still thought of that jerk.

Judging by sense, they were slightly faster than us; getting caught was just a matter of time.

'I have to use acid spray.'

Time for some action.

While running, I opened my mouth wide to show Lee Yeon-hee the full mouth of acid, and she immediately nodded.

Magic Power: 17(-3)

With Stealth and the acid spray, I spent three magic power points, and slowly, my figure blended into the surroundings and disappeared.

"Hey! Where's the skeleton?!"

"Did they de-summon it?!"

"Whoa~ Missy? Planning to put up a fight?"

As Lee Yeon-hee turned and nocked an arrow, the three spread out, advancing. They might've had foul mouths, but their response showed a professional edge.

However, I, already having approached, sprayed the acid in the face of the shortest and most agile-looking one, signaling the battle's start.

Chwaaaak-!

"Aaakk!! My eyes! My eyes!!"

Following that, I delivered a Heavy Strike to the panicked one's occipital bone who suffered from the acid spray.

Magic Power: 16(-4)

Splat-!

The short man collapsed spurting blood. Immediately, a hammer swung toward me.

Crack-!

"You son of a...!"

I tried blocking with my club, but it shattered, and the hammer struck down on my right shoulder blade.

Snap-!

I heard something break loudly in my shoulder, but my eyes were still on the other man wielding a sword, effortlessly batting away the arrows Lee Yeon-hee shot at him.

'Yeah, no match.'

A combination of two warriors and one rogue.

The initial one I nearly downed used daggers, the others wielded a hammer and greatsword and remained unscathed.

The one who attacked me was armed with a blunt weapon, making the match-up the worst possible.

"Die!"

【Acid Spray】

Puhuaak-!

Magic Power: 15(-1)

"Ugh-! You filthy...!"

Sprinkling the acid spray at the man who'd raised his hammer high to finish me off caused him to back away in fright.

Taking advantage of the distraction, I used Stealth again to retreat, drawing another club from my inventory.

Magic Power: 14(-1)

If Stealth is reactivated within a certain time, only half the magic power is consumed, costing just one point.

Grabbing a stone from the ground, I hurled it at the man wielding the sword who was charging at Lee Yeon-hee.

Smack-!

"Hey! What's up?!"

The man's head turned after being struck on the shoulder, but I had already closed the distance to launch an attack.

Puhuaak—!

"Ahh! It burns! You damn pig, what are you doing?!"

"I don't know! Suddenly it vanished!"

The man struck by the acid spray swung his greatsword recklessly, shielding his face, meanwhile, I used Stealth again.

"Sh-shit! It's gone again-"

Thud-!

"Aaah! My leg!"

Grasping the opportunity, Lee Yeon-hee took a shot, landing an arrow on the thigh of the man with the hammer.

Approaching him from behind, I attempted a heavy strike to his head, and right then—

Buuwoong-!

Thwaaack-!

'Oh damn it!'

Caught squarely by the large man's downward swing, my leg was smashed.

'So the big guy's a sensor!'

He sniffed repeatedly; likely a hunter with an acute sense of smell.

'He must've caught the scent of the blood on me?'

With a completely ruined leg, I lost my balance, collapsing to the ground. Meanwhile, a dagger was driven into the swordman's neck by Lee Yeon-hee,

Thunk-!

Stab! Stab-stab-!!

"Guurrrrg-"

Quick-thinking, Lee Yeon-hee flung her robe to obscure their view, deftly thrusting a dagger into her opponent's neck.

The follow-up stabs secured the kill.

Now only one remained, the man wielding a hammer and an arrow in his thigh.

Thwack-!

Crash-!

Stamina: 3/20(-17)

"You bloody... How did it come to this?"

After bashing my torso with his hammer, the man glanced incredulously at his fallen comrades.

'Just play dead...'

Ignoring my nearly destroyed body leaving only the skull intact, he turned toward Lee Yeon-hee, stepping forward slowly.

"I won't let you die easily. I'll make you beg for it."

"Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Kehuhu— You'll find out soon enough. A beauty like you should be shared, but haah!"

Despite a thigh embedded with an arrow, his movements were notably-nimble, advancing toward Lee Yeon-hee without hesitation.

'Oh? Lee Yeon-hee's hurt too?! She must've been hit by the guy with the greatsword earlier.'

Judging by the substantial bleeding at her side, she was indeed wounded.

'This is bad if things continue like this.'

Though she fired another arrow targeting his torso, he blocked it with his thick arm braces, continuing his charge relentlessly.

Desperately, Lee Yeon-hee threw herself aside, and the man immediately gave chase.

'I need to do something, anything.'

While gnashing my teeth in helplessness and scouring the surroundings, I suddenly felt my body being pulled in a direction.

'What's this?... Ah! The distance from Lee Yeon-hee!'

It seemed the enforced distance effect was pulling my body toward her.