Its true identity was, of course, the dinsional crow.
The creature circled once through the air before settling on a branch of the ancient tree.
For beings that traveled dinsions, spatial dungeons like this one were both a holand and a vacation retreat.
The Teleportation Labyrinth was no exception. The crows make their own hideouts in a few very remote rooms among the hundreds of rooms and stop by every now and then to rest.
Of course, this ti, this dinsional crow hadn’t co to rest. It had sensed soone trespassing in its retreat and had co to investigate.
The creature before looked slightly different from the “Tailor” I had encountered at the Rainbow Lake.
This one wore an old pointed hat on its head and held a crooked wooden staff in one hand.
The “Grand Sage Crow”.
Among the various kinds of dinsional crows, it was the most adept at magic.
If ranked, it would likely be S or even EX-class.
Even so, the Grand Sage’s reaction upon seeing wasn’t all that different from the Tailor’s.
It flapped its wings in apparent curiosity and asked,
“Caw. Young Monarch, how did you find your way here?”
“I didn’t co here on purpose.”
In situations like this, it was better to maintain an air of mystery than to admit to any ulterior motives.
“I just happened to pass by and decided to stop in when I noticed sothing.”
“Caw, is that so? A young monarch is still a monarch, indeed!”
The Grand Sage Crow seed to accept my explanation easily.
One small perk of being regarded as a monarch was that even unusual actions could be dismissed with a casual, “Because they’re a monarch.”
Before it could ask another question, I decided to take the initiative.
Feigning interest, I looked at the ancient tree and asked,
“So, what is this place for?”
“It is a place for studying magic, caw.”
The crow lightly tapped the branch it was perched on with its staff.
At that mont, the ancient tree revealed its true nature.
Its appearance shifted. It grew translucent and dark, yet it was faintly glowing which was a paradoxical sight.
It was like gazing into the night sky itself.
It must be so kind of dium for spatial magic.
Such things had been planted not only here but also in other hidden rooms and dungeons.
This just went to show the dinsional crows’ incredible power.
Still, I nodded nonchalantly.
“That makes sense. But this place seems to have bad energy.”
“Caw, it was good until recently. Now, it’s not.”
“Because of the Witch?”
“That’s right.”
This dungeon must have been left unattended for a long ti.
Being an A-rank dungeon, its difficulty was imnse, so unless a team of exceptionally skilled individuals was gathered, no one would even dare to attempt it.
And being a labyrinth only makes it less appealing.
In such a peaceful place, the sudden invasion of the Witch of Corruption, releasing hordes of Dark Ooblecks, would certainly have been unpleasant to the dinsional crows.
I asked as if the answer were obvious.
“Why not just blow her away? You could do it easily.”
“Caw. Young Monarch, you speak so recklessly. That is not our way.”
Dinsional crows were neutral by nature.
Even soone like the Witch of Corruption would be no match for them if they decided to fight, but unless the other party crossed the line first, they wouldn’t attack.
The Witch of Corruption knew this, which was why she left the hidden rooms untouched.
“Still, she seems to be bothering you.”
“That’s true. Will you take care of it for us?”
“I could, as long as I’m properly compensated.”
After all, taking care of annoying tasks for others always ca with a price.
The Grand Sage Crow seed to agree and asked,
“Caw, what do you want in return?”
“Nothing too much. Just one branch from the tree. It’d be even better if you gave it upfront.”
At my words, the Grand Sage Crow flapped its wings as if it was startled.
Then, in a tone of growing curiosity, it asked,
“How did you know about that?”
“Who do you think I am?”
I couldn’t exactly tell it that I was a stagnant water of this ga, so I deployed the usual “Monarch’s vague authority” strategy once more.
The Grand Sage Crow once again seed to agree easily.
“Caw, is that so! But, young Monarch, don’t you think your request is a bit greedy?”
“I’d prefer if you thought of it as an investnt. After all, we’ll be seeing each other often in the future.”
“……”
It gazed down at and was lost in thought for a while.
I maintained an attitude of indifference while eting its gaze without flinching as if to say, “Take it or leave it.”
After so ti, the crow seed to co to a decision. Its beak opened.
“Caw, fine. I’ll consider it an investnt.”
Then, it slowly moved toward the edge of the old tree, snapped off a branch with its beak, and tossed it in my direction.
The branch was thin, scraggly, and about two palm lengths long. It looked nothing impressive at first glance.
However, when the Grand Sage lightly waved its staff, the branch transford.
It was no longer an ordinary, unimpressive stick; like the ancient tree it ca from, it now shimred with starlight from the night sky.
[Crow’s Branch (S)]
▷ Caw—!
▷ Usage Limit (1/1)
This was the first S-rank item I had obtained since entering this ga world. Its power and value were extraordinary.
Still, I kept my calm and maintained my “Monarch” persona. Without showing any excitent, I casually collected the branch.
“Thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”
“I’ll be watching you, young Monarch!”
“Consider it already taken care of.”
“Caw—!”
With that, the crow great sage jumped up, circled the air once, and disappeared.
It had crossed over to another dinsion.
Only then did I turn to the two bystanders who had silently observed everything. Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so.
“It’s gone.”
“…….”
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Dang Gyu-young’s lips.
Her playful deanor pointed at what she was about to say.
“Here we go again.”
“Yoooung~ Moooonarch~! Flap-flap-flap~!”
Dang Gyu-young mimicked flapping wings with her hands.
Even Jegal So-so seed amused and joined in, attacking from both sides alongside Dang Gyu-young.
“Young Monarch~!”
“Youuuuung Monarch~!”
“Youuuuung—”
Until now, I had thought of Jegal So-so as a composed and serious strategist type. Apparently, even she had a mischievous side to her.
If I didn’t stop them, this nonsense could go on all day. So, I decided to end it here.
“That’s enough, both of you. It’s making dizzy.”
At my words, Jegal So-so dropped the teasing and returned to her usual calm deanor.
However, her eyes still sparkled with curiosity.
“What kind of item is that? Considering it was given by the Dinsional Crow, it doesn’t seem ordinary.”
“It’s an item that will play a decisive role in this dungeon.”
“Really? What does it do?”
“It’s hard to explain everything right now, but it’s space-related.”
That ant that despite being a single-use item, it had to be incredibly powerful.
This ti, Dang Gyu-young asked a question.
“You got that as a reward for clearing the dungeon?”
“Sothing like that.”
“But weren’t we going to clear the dungeon anyway?”
“That’s true, too.”
“…Wow, that’s like pure profit.”
Even though we had fallen into the Witch of Corruption’s trap, the academy’s resources were still formidable.
Just considering the staff alone, there were more than just a few of them.
Even without my help in this strategy, there was a high probability they would succeed.
Once the dungeon was cleared and reset, the ssy Dark Ooblecks scattered everywhere would also be cleaned up.
In essence, it was like selling water from the Taedong River.
Of course, I had my own justification.
“As you might have guessed from what I said, it’s partly an investnt. And even if the dungeon’s going to be cleared anyway, it’s better to do it efficiently.”
“Hmm, that makes sense too.”
Dang Gyu-young nodded her head in agreent.
Currently, the subjugation team was scattered, fighting Ooblecks across various locations. In the process, casualties could occur at any ti.
If we used the Crow Branch to clear the dungeon more efficiently, we could reduce the damage accordingly.
Jegal So-so raised an important question next.
“How do we use it?”
“There aren’t any specific conditions, but since it’s single-use, it’s best to save it for a truly critical mont.”
“You an in the boss room.”
“That would be best.”
With the Crow Branch secured, it was ti to refocus on the original goal.
To reach the boss room as quickly as possible.
***
After finishing our preparations, we left the hidden room and began navigating the dungeon once more.
Just like before, thanks to Dang Gyu-young’s stealth ability, we managed to bypass most rooms without engaging in combat.
But tricks like that always have their limits.
As soon as we stepped into the next room via the teleportation portal—
Clank.
A hulking Oobleck knight spun around to face us.
The knight which had likely absorbed several others had six arms. Five of them held longswords, while one gripped a staff.
A mage mixed in, huh?
Despite Dang Gyu-young’s stealth still being active, the creature walked directly toward us, as if it could see through the ability.
Dang Gyu-young asked cautiously.
“…Do you think we’ve been spotted?”
“Yes, we’ve been spotted.”
This was a type that could detect stealth.
Once the Oobleck knight determined we were within its range, it began swinging all five longswords wildly.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Pitch-black sword energy rained down in every direction.
We dodged by throwing ourselves out of the way.
Jegal So-so deflected so of the incoming sword energies while dodging others, and then asked,
“Do we tie it down again this ti?”
“Yes, sa plan as before.”
Just as we had done against the greatsword-archer combo, Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so would immobilize the enemy while I attacked with Inferno Fist.
This one looks like it’ll be harder, though.
Unlike before, the creature’s type was closer to a ranged fighter.
Instead of using its longswords for lee attacks, it launched sword energy from them while darting around the room at incredible speed to control the distance.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
To make matters worse, its nurous arms created an overwhelming barrage of sword energy, leaving barely any gaps to evade.
The staff appeared to be for support, casting buffs like increased sword energy and enhanced movent speed.
Jegal So-so weaved through the oncoming sword energy using her movent technique. She steadily closed the gap between herself and the Oobleck knight.
She struck smoothly with a combination of thrusts and slashes, but the creature rely staggered montarily before quickly retreating to widen the distance again.
Next, Dang Gyu-young made a gesture, causing the ground beneath the creature to ripple as shadow spikes erupted upwards.
However, the knight’s rapid movents allowed it to narrowly avoid them, leaving only scratches on its armor.
“This isn’t easy.”
“Stay calm.”
“I know.”
Jegal So-so continued her relentless pursuit while I used wind magic to restrain the creature, and Dang Gyu-young summoned more shadow butterflies one by one.
Together, the three of us gradually pressured the Oobleck knight and started cornering it bit by bit.
Flash!
Suddenly, a brilliant light filled one corner of the room, and from that radiance, three people erged.
It was a faculty mber, Jeong Chong-myeong, and Kim Gap-doo.
By so stroke of luck, their teleportation portal had opened into this very room.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The blind sword energy flew toward them, but Jeong Chong-myeong calmly raised a translucent barrier to block the attack.
Kim Gap-doo quickly surveyed the scene. He glanced between the Oobleck knight and us, then stepped forward decisively after assessing the situation.
“So there were others here already. Allow to join you.”
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