chapter 60
Rachel is the weakest among us, but that’s only because the level of everyone here is abnormal. Objectively speaking, she’s still considered strong.
Actually, since Arthur is Rachel’s doll, one could argue that if Arthur is strong, then Rachel herself must be strong too…
‘But Rachel considers Arthur as her boyfriend and as a separate entity from herself.’
Anyway.
Having been hit with my “fact bomb,” she gritted her teeth and pulled out multiple dolls from the pocket dimension.
These were not dolls like the one I made or Arthur, which look hardly different from humans. These were clearly recognizable as dolls to anyone.
And unlike Arthur, who could think for himself, these dolls were directly controlled by Rachel.
“Geonwoo…? I’ll show you that I’m not weak.”
She said that and led the dolls as they advanced through the swamp.
Of course, we followed Rachel, and not long after we started walking, monsters began to notice our presence and came rushing toward us.
Burnib and Yowi.
According to Arthur, they’re monsters from Australian legends.
“(Kill them all.)”
Rachel said in English.
Then the dolls simultaneously charged at the monsters.
Some dolls stabbed the monsters’ vital points with sharp arms, some slashed their skin with razor-like limbs, and others crushed bones with their heavy bodies.
‘Each individual is weak, but considering Rachel’s ability, she could probably control many more dolls at once than she just did.’
This is sheer numerical violence.
A strategy of quantity over quality.
Literally using dolls as expendable tools.
This is the classic way a puppeteer fights.
‘I thought Rachel would use special dolls rather than expendable ones.’
I assumed other dolls in the pocket dimension would be similar to Arthur, a unique creation. But it seems Arthur is her only special doll.
“How was that? Pretty amazing, right?”
Just as I was thinking this, Rachel, having annihilated the horde of monsters, asked me.
… Could it be that she wants praise from an elementary school kid…?
“Yeah! You were amazing, noona!”
Though Rachel asked me, it was Lee Ha-eun beside me who answered.
Ha-eun’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the dolls Rachel had summoned.
Of course, Rachel’s dolls were fascinating. Unlike the dolls I use as an artist or Arthur, which didn’t feel like mere dolls, these clearly did.
And…
“Hehe… right?”
Rachel’s pride soared at Ha-eun’s pure admiration.
Originally, she probably wanted me to marvel at her, but thanks to Ha-eun, she completely forgot.
“Good! With this momentum, I’ll wipe out all the monsters in this dungeon!”
“Wow!”
Perhaps wanting to see Ha-eun marvel even more, Rachel sent her dolls in all directions to massacre the monsters.
“Uh… if she keeps going like that…”
“That won’t work…”
For reference, Rachel is undoubtedly strong.
But the dungeon we entered was assigned to us by Australia.
It was a dungeon entrusted to Yeon Mirae, known as an Aura Master.
In other words, this dungeon was judged to require an Aura Master-level skill to clear.
Crack!
“Ah…”
This time, the situation was different from earlier, when her dolls stabbed, slashed, and smashed monsters under her command.
Her individual dolls weren’t particularly strong…
Crack…
“No… no!”
Crack…!
Scattered in all directions, her dolls were inevitably destroyed one by one by the monsters.
“Haha…”
The arrogance typical of awakened youth.
And a fatal mistake born of inexperience.
Arthur smiled wryly, stepped forward, and moved Rachel behind him.
‘(Arthur…?)’
‘(Rachel, if you plan on entering dungeons again, take note.)’
This was a reminder of why normal awakened adventurers form parties before entering dungeons.
Arthur said that and drew his sword.
But he wasn’t the only one.
“It seems all the monsters in this dungeon are gathering because of the earlier commotion.”
Yeon Mirae also drew her sword and assumed a stance.
“Grrr…”
“Tsssss…”
The monsters swarmed, seemingly surrounding us.
Watching them, Yeon Mirae murmured quietly.
“I’ll take the left side.”
Hearing this, Arthur turned and said:
“Alright. Then I’ll take the right.”
Like they had rehearsed, both swung their swords.
Reverse Heaven Sword (Gyeokcheon Geom) Form 3: New Moon.
Arthur-style Sword Technique 5: Monster Hunt.
Yeon Mirae’s sword traced a crescent-shaped path, and the sword energy from her blade flew out, cutting down every monster.
Arthur’s sword targeted the monsters’ vital points precisely, hunting them down one by one.
“……”
“Wow…”
Rachel was speechless at the sight, while Ha-eun could only admire.
I gestured slightly toward the rear.
Swish…!
Monsters that Arthur and Yeon Mirae couldn’t reach from their sides fell immediately.
‘Hopefully, they’ll handle the monsters coming toward our rear too…’
Rachel and Ha-eun could be in danger otherwise.
Of course, the two were probably focused only on the monsters in front, trusting me to cover them.
We continued cutting down monsters for a while…
“Phew…”
Yeon Mirae was the first to sheath her sword.
Arthur wiped his blood-stained sword, sheathed it, and asked:
“Who killed more?”
“…I think Mirae killed more.”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
Rachel answered Arthur’s question.
Though she spoke as if disappointed, it wasn’t really a big deal.
Yeon Mirae had overwhelmingly slain more monsters.
‘Yeon Mirae freely uses her inner energy, whereas Arthur cannot use magic properly.’
Arthur seemed to cover it with his doll-like physical abilities and Aura Master-level techniques, but keeping up with Yeon Mirae, who shredded monsters with sword energy, was impossible.
However, keeping them as rivals could positively impact their growth, so I didn’t mention this.
Anyway…
“Is that the reward? Amazing…”
Ha-eun’s words drew everyone’s attention to a spot.
A white light was gathering, forming some kind of object.
An artifact was being created.
And an artifact forming meant…
‘The dungeon has been cleared.’
Almost all monsters in the dungeon had been killed.
Yet, something felt off as I looked at the white light.
‘…Why is there only one light?’
Usually, dungeon rewards are given individually.
Meaning each of the five awakened adventurers in this dungeon should have received their own reward.
But for some reason, the system was producing only a single artifact.
Sure, the quality of the artifact might be higher, but this could cause disputes over ownership…
“This artifact is yours, Yeon Mirae.”
Arthur spoke.
“Considering we’re already lucky to experience such a high-level, comfortable dungeon in Australia, we can’t be greedy for the artifact.”
Rachel and I were content with just the monster byproducts.
Arthur started putting the monsters’ corpses into the pocket dimension.
Rachel looked surprised that Arthur had made such a decision without consulting her, but she helped put the bodies into the pocket dimension anyway.
“……”
Seeing them so willingly give up the artifact, I felt a little useless.
“Hmm…”
The artifact, now completed, was in Yeon Mirae’s hands. She studied it carefully.
Though she had some magical knowledge, it’s generally difficult to discern an artifact’s properties just by looking at it…
“Hmm… Protective type…? A barrier?”
‘Oh?’
But contrary to my expectations, Yeon Mirae could fairly accurately recognize the artifact’s effect.
Ah, I see.
‘She must have used Samadhi.’
Thinking back, it had been a while since Yeon Mirae started meditating to sense ether.
Although she couldn’t sense ether fully, she could at least gain insight into the artifact.
More importantly…
“Let’s move on, noona. We’re not just clearing one dungeon today.”
Taking planes and helicopters for just one dungeon seemed wasteful.
So I said we should head to the next dungeon.
Others seemed to agree and looked at Yeon Mirae, urging her forward.
Yeon Mirae placed the artifact into the pocket dimension and headed toward the entrance we had come through.
“Amazing…”
Lora spoke sincerely, watching Yeon Mirae and her party, who showed no signs of fatigue despite clearing multiple dungeons consecutively.
In Australia, there were strong figures like Aura Masters and Archmages, but they usually couldn’t move around freely.
So expectations for Yeon Mirae, who had been sent from abroad, were high…
‘I didn’t expect her to clear eight dungeons in one day.’
That was even after accounting for starting late and travel time.
Among the dungeons she cleared, some were considered too difficult for even Australian Aura Masters or Archmages to tackle alone.
Her solo clearance, even while bringing disciples and friends, showed her exceptional skill.
Gulp…
Lora swallowed and said to Yeon Mirae:
“All the dungeons assigned to you have been cleared.”
“Ah, really?”
Yeon Mirae smiled at Lora’s words, which implied that she could return to Sydney and enjoy sightseeing for the rest of the assignment.
“Of course, if you wish to clear additional dungeons…”
“Let’s go back for now. I’m a bit tired.”
Yeon Mirae responded.
Though Lora had many things to say, she didn’t voice them and opened the helicopter door.
The party, now accustomed, boarded and took their seats. Lora told the pilot to head to the airport.
She pondered quietly:
‘How can I make Yeon Mirae want to clear at least one more dungeon…?’
