519

 [Chapter 142]

[Hatching (2)]

The egg cracked open with a snap.

The monster hatched.

"─Pipipi papapa pupupu?"

"""...."""

The egg suddenly hatched at an unexpected timing.

Eunha and his friends looked down at the chirping bird while brushing off eggshell pieces stuck to them.

"This is all thanks to me! Hurry and thank me!"

"...What is this?" "A monster..."

"Pipi?"

Ignoring Ariel's fuss,

Eunha answered Jo Ara with a sour expression.

He had certainly been looking forward to the egg hatching, but

He never expected it to hatch so suddenly out of nowhere.

Still, it hatched well.

It is indeed a monster influenced by the Phoenix.

Eunha observed the baby bird that jumped from his palm and was pecking at eggshell pieces on the ground.

A bright red bird that seemed to be wrapped in embers.

The bird, barely the size of a palm, was undoubtedly a monster influenced by the 3rd tier monster Phoenix.

"But what is it doing now?"

"Eggshells contain nutrients. That's why it's eating the shell pieces."

Watching the monster continuously peck at the eggshells,

Jo Ara expressed her curiosity.

Soon Eunha knelt down on one knee and picked up an eggshell piece that had fallen far from the monster.

He brought it to the monster.

"Pipi? Papa!"

"Oh, it eats when you give it?" "I want to try too!"

The baby bird stared at him blankly.

Eventually the monster spread its wings wide and circled around him.

Then it quickly snatched the eggshell piece from Eunha's hand.

Ara and Ariel let out small exclamations seeing this.

They also wanted to feed it, so they followed Eunha's example.

The baby bird showed no wariness and accepted the eggshells given by the two.

"Oh my, how sweet... Is it delicious because mommy gave it to you?"

"Pipi!"

"Yes, mommy will give you one more?"

"Why are you the mom?" "Technically, this baby was born because of me so I'm the mom!" "Geez... Then am I the dad?"

"Hey, why ask such an obvious thing? Noh Eunha, if you're not the dad, did I give birth to it alone?" "That roleplaying again..."

Like a mother,

Ariel gently stroked the monster's head.

The monster rubbed against her as if asking to be petted more.

Eunha let out a small laugh.

"Come here."

"Pupupu?"

Finally, after the monster finished eating the eggshell pieces,

Eunha held out his hand to the monster.

The monster that had been circling between the three people suddenly stopped its tiny feet.

It tilted its head with sparkling eyes.

The adorable baby bird ran over to Eunha.

"The pass hasn't connected yet..."

After sending mana to the monster,

Eunha clicked his tongue in disappointment.

The monster happily accepted his mana, but

Eunha couldn't feel anything from the monster.

It seems to consider me its master... no, parent...

Is it because it's still young?

A monster that can think like humans.

Humans could use a monster's power by forming a contract with it.

So Eunha sent his internal mana to the monster to form a contract, but

The bird just happily accepted it without showing any special reaction.

It's said that people who form contracts with monsters experience a sensation of a pass connecting, but

Eunha couldn't feel anything.

Can't be helped.

It just hatched from the egg, so I'll have to wait a bit.

Though he was somewhat disappointed,

Eunha decided not to mind.

Anyway, the fact that the baby bird accepted his mana meant forming a contract was inevitable.

"Peeek." "Oh, what? Did it just burp? Even its burp is so cute. Adorable."

Meanwhile, befitting a monster influenced by the Phoenix,

Perhaps because it was full after accepting Eunha's internal mana,

The baby bird suddenly burped.

It burped out a spark.

Then it plopped down.

"Oh my, our fire chicken. Are you tired?"

"Pik."

The baby bird flopped down on the ground.

Ariel patted the baby bird's belly with a pleased expression, for some reason.

The baby bird moved one wing.

It seemed to be a gesture saying not to touch.

"Hm? Don't touch? Okay, mommy won't touch our fire chicken's belly anymore?" "You're having fun by yourself. How long are you going to keep that up?" "Fire chicken, daddy is always like that. His tone sounds like he's picking a fight, but know that he's actually a very shy daddy."

"Sigh..." "Pupu."

The baby bird yawned.

Then Ariel started singing a lullaby.

He clicked his tongue, dumbfounded.

Jo Ara was quietly laughing on the side.

"Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, our fire chicken." "By the way, what's with 'fire chicken'?" "What do you mean. It's our baby's name." "Its name is fire chicken?"

"Doesn't it fit perfectly since its feathers look like fire?" "Do you know what monster this is based on?" "Suwon King Fire Chicken?" "..."

"And I tried Suwon King Galbi Chicken once before and it was so delicious!"

"...Why. Are you planning to raise it and eat it?"

"Hey! How can you say such things in front of the baby! Fire chicken, ignore what daddy Eunha just said. It's bad words you shouldn't listen to." "..."

She's become a full-fledged mother.

And she named it as she pleased.

A name that would make the 3rd tier monster Phoenix flip out if it heard.

Eunha sighed as he watched her pick up the baby bird that was now slowly closing its eyes.

"Fire chicken, seriously... I'm not going with that name." "Whyyy. What's wrong with fire chicken. Pupu."

"Don't imitate the fire chick-, I mean, don't imitate the monster." "Hmph, it's already stuck in your mouth too, Eunha! Fire chicken, do you like your name?" "Pipipi papapi pupupu."

"See. It likes it."

"How is that liking it..."

The baby bird cried pitifully, looking sleepy.

The bird that had been tossing and turning as if throwing a tantrum suddenly left her arms.

Though it probably hadn't properly learned how to fly yet,

When the monster flapped its wings, tiny sparks scattered.

"Oh, daddy must be smart?"

"What do you mean daddy... It just recognizes me as its master."

As if knowing they were its parents,

The baby bird flew onto Eunha's head.

The monster settled on top of his crown and curled up.

Soon after, the monster started making soft sleeping noises.

☆

That day, right after dinner,

Jo Ara's party immediately packed up to tackle the 4th underground floor.

When Eunha heard the news that she was leaving, he quickly went to find her.

"Ah, why did you come out?"

"I came to see you off."

"How thoughtful. Thanks."

Except for Eunha's party,

All the parties remaining at the hot spring area were packing up.

Among them was On Taeyang, giving instructions to his party members.

Eunha helped her stand up as she put on her backpack.

"Will you really be okay? Doesn't it hurt?"

"The hot spring seems to have had some effect. I think it's much better than before?" "That's because you took painkillers."

"Anyway. The swelling has gone down a lot so I don't think I need to worry. See, I can walk perfectly fine now. Running would be hard though..."

"That's good then."

Jo Ara lightly walked in front of Eunha.

However, contrary to what she said, her gait looked quite awkward.

Eunha inwardly frowned.

He couldn't help but speak up.

"If it's hard, do you want to join our party?"

"Huh?"

"It'll be difficult to tackle the dungeon in that state, so just join our party."

"..."

"Don't worry about grades. You know me, right? Even though I'm taking it easy now, tackling the dungeon is no big deal once I get moving." "I know your skills. How could I not know? But still, um... I'll pass."

"Why?" "Because I feel like if I rely on you once, I'll keep relying on you in the future."

"..."

"I'm grateful that you're worried about me, but I'm not that weak. I want to try doing as much as I can like everyone else."

Eunha offered his party to Ara.

Ara hesitated for a moment, then smiled softly and shook her head.

Eunha sighed as if there was nothing he could do after hearing her opinion.

"Alright then. Do as you want. But don't overdo it."

"Hey! If you worry about me too much like that, I might really misunderstand? You don't actually like me, do you?"

"Okay, hurry and go."

"Tch, you can't even take a joke..."

"Wash your feet properly next time."

"Hey! Do you want to die!?"

Not long after,

On Taeyang, who ended up leading the remaining parties, blew his whistle.

The students moved as a group.

Jo Ara also joined the procession.

"Anyway, I'm going now. See you later!" "Yeah, see you later."

"Fire chicken, mommy will see you later too!?"

"Pipipi papapa pupupu!"

Jo Ara left the hot spring area, supported by one of her party members.

The baby bird that had made a nest on top of Eunha's head cried pitifully.

Eunha gave a wry smile.

"You're acting like a mom too..."

Maybe because of its cute appearance,

Besides Jo Ara and Ariel,

The baby bird, Fire Chicken, was apparently very popular among the female students.

☆

Late night of the 4th day in the Academy dungeon.

Hosimiya Kaede quietly checked if Eunha and Ariel were sleeping.

Good.

After making sure her party members were asleep,

She headed to the hot spring with just a towel.

"Phew..."

This is heaven.

She hadn't been able to properly enjoy the hot spring after being tormented by Ariel all this time.

She decided to fully enjoy what might be her last hot spring experience.

There was nothing better than having the spacious bath all to herself.

Just then,

"─Pipipi papapa pupupu?"

"Hm?"

Fire Chicken, who was surely sleeping,

Had somehow entered the women's bath.

Kaede turned to look at Fire Chicken, who was tilting its head as if asking what she was doing.

"Do you want to come in too?"

"Pipipi papapa pupupu!"

Its curious look was so cute.

She asked with a giggle.

Then Fire Chicken jumped into the hot spring without hesitation.

Fire Chicken floated around.

"Pipi! Papa!"

Splashing around energetically,

Fire Chicken approached Kaede.

She touched Fire Chicken with her wet hands.

Fire Chicken made happy noises, seeming to enjoy her touch.

Then it snuggled into her arms.

"So cute..."

It's cute.

Too cute.

Kaede had been ignoring Fire Chicken during the day because of other people, and in the evening because she was conscious of Eunha and Ariel.

She took advantage of this moment when no one was around to continuously dote on Fire Chicken.

Then she made Fire Chicken look at her and─

"─Say 'mommy'."

"Papa?"

"Mom-my."

"Pipipi papapa pupupu!" "No. Mommy."

"Papa!" "Mom-my."

"Pupupupu..."

Without worrying about others, in a very affectionate voice,

That day, Kaede apparently petted Fire Chicken to her heart's content.

☆

Day 5 of the Academy dungeon.

Eunha's party started tackling the 4th floor after eating breakfast.

"Kaede. Any monsters around?" "The one we just dealt with is all. There are none nearby." "That's strange..." "Why, why, why, what's what's?"

"Pi, pi, pi, pupipi?"

"No, just... There are fewer monsters than I expected."

After defeating a 7th tier monster, Eunha asked Hosimiya Kaede to scout.

Meanwhile, he deployed his detection network to search for any hidden monsters nearby.

But there was no response caught in the detection network.

Strange. Something's strange...

How can there be so few monsters on the 4th floor?

While Ariel played with Fire Chicken,

Eunha fell into thought.

Quite some time had passed since they came down to the 4th floor.

Yet the monsters they encountered could be counted on one hand.

"Isn't it good if there are fewer? Why are you making a fuss over something like that? Fire chicken, daddy is so strange, right?" "Pipipi!"

"This is the 4th floor. The floor right above the dungeon's deepest part. Does it make sense that there are no monsters?"

"I guess the ones who went ahead took care of them all."

"That could be the case, but..."

Ariel spoke as if it was no big deal.

Eunha trailed off.

As she said, it was possible that parties who went ahead had defeated the monsters inhabiting the 4th floor.

However, even so,

The nature of dungeons is to create new monsters to replace those that are defeated.

But there were no signs of monsters appearing at all.

Above all, the dungeon was quiet.

There were no sounds coming from afar.

An unnatural situation for a dungeon.

Eunha couldn't shake off a feeling he couldn't put into words.

Just then,

"Noh Eunha!" "I know."

At a very fast speed,

Something was flying towards them from the front.

He coated his blade with mana before even hearing Kaede's shout.

And soon after─

─It's coming.

A sound that seemed to vibrate the air.

Eventually, wasp-type monsters revealed themselves from the darkness.

Hosimiya Kaede quickly drew her bowstring.

The arrow that left the string split into multiple strands and attacked the monsters.

Two had their wings torn and plummeted to the ground.

Mana Crasher

The remaining three endured the attack and charged forward.

Until then, he had been gauging the timing, and now he swung Winter That Creeps Like Snow.

The mana coating the blade expanded and whipped like a lash.

The three monsters were split in half and disappeared.

"As far as I know, monsters like these don't appear on the 4th floor?"

Fire Chicken ran over and picked up the mana stones that fell to the ground with its beak.

Eunha took the mana stones from Fire Chicken and recalled the monsters he had just defeated.

It was a monster he had never seen on the 4th floor before.

What's going on? Did the dungeon change again without me knowing?

That shouldn't be possible...

Something feels uneasy.

An ominous feeling crept up.

I should check the monster I just killed more closely.

Fortunately, there was a monster Kaede had knocked down up ahead.

She had finished off one, but the other was still breathing.

Eunha stopped her from killing the remaining one and stepped forward.

Shunk

He stabbed Winter That Creeps Like Snow into the monster's abdomen.

The creature thrashed about, trying to escape somehow.

But when he cut off all its limbs with Winter That Creeps Like Snow, it stopped moving.

After examining the monster's identity, Eunha─

"─Isn't this a Golden Wasp?"

7th tier monster Golden Wasp.

Also known as the monster that captures enemies.

Eunha's face scrunched up.

What on earth is happening in this dungeon?

Why is this thing here?

Golden Wasps are monsters that form swarms.

They move in groups and capture every visible being.

Whether human or monster.

And they transport the captured beings to their swarm.

"─It seems something must have happened below. We should pick up the pace?"

Forming a swarm means

There's a clear hierarchy among the individuals in the swarm.

Furthermore, it means there's also a being that leads the swarm.

In other words─

─There's no doubt something equivalent to a boss monster has been born.

Somewhere in this dungeon.

No, probably in the deepest part.

There may be a high-tier monster.

At least 5th tier or above.

Eunha let out a hollow laugh.