My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon Chapter 55 - Will Be Revealed in 60 Seconds

[Dad. Help me.]

After some hesitation, Byeol called out to Belquior through telepathy. Belquior turned his head toward Byeol and responded in kind.

[Make the lingering energy that the human woman failed to control your own.]

Around Elena Kim, remnants of holy light shimmered in the air from her last skill. Make that mine? Byeol’s eyes sparkled.

[And then what?]

[If you are truly my kin, you will find the way yourself.]

It was far from a kind lesson, but his words carried confidence that Byeol would know what to do. Taking Belquior’s advice at face value, Byeol eagerly absorbed Elena Kim’s lingering energy.

Elena Kim suddenly felt a chill. Some immense, unfathomable power seemed to be focusing on her.

[Ah, so this is how it works.]

Having “interpreted” Elena Kim’s energy, Byeol began to mold her own magic.

[Yap.]

She stretched out her tiny arms. A wave of sacred light descended over Eunse and the rest of the team.

What Byeol had just cast was a Blessing — a spell that repelled the skeletons’ attacks and temporarily imbued the group with holy power.

“Huh?”

Eunse clenched and unclenched her fists, feeling something different. Byeol fluttered over and rubbed her cheek against Eunse’s head.

[Nuna! I did it!]

“You did! You’re a genius, Byeol!”

Eunse lifted Byeol high into the air with a wide smile. She knew she could do it.

“Whoa, my body feels…”

“This is insane.”

Park Doyoon and the others were bewildered at first, but soon astonished by the holy energy coursing through them.

“Oh! My attacks are landing better!”

“Nice. This is going smoothly!”

With the blessing’s buff, their attacks became faster and stronger. The skeletons’ momentum faltered. Park Doyoon and his team seized the chance and struck the monsters down.

Smash!

Eunse crushed the last skeleton soldier’s skull and finally caught her breath.

“Checkpoint clear. Let’s move to the second floor.”

They needed to advance while Byeol’s blessing was still active. As they stepped onto the bloodstained stairs—whether real or just illusion—they were hit by the stench of rotting flesh.

The group grimaced, and Seo Horang gagged. At the front, Eunse and Elena Kim sensed a familiar aura.

“Feels like… that, right?”

“Yes. Zombies.”

Moments later, every door on the second floor burst open at once.

Grrrrk…
Uuuugh…

With guttural growls and phlegm-choked snarls, zombies and ghouls emerged—like corpses freshly risen from their graves.

The party tensed as dozens of monsters began to pour out. Zombies inflicted curses with their attacks, and ghouls were absurdly strong and durable.

Beep!

Bom fainted at the sight of them and flew straight into Belquior’s arms, trembling as she buried her head against his chest.

For the young dragonling, it was a terrifying scene. Eunse felt guilty—perhaps she should’ve left Bom behind to rest.

If Bom was that scared, what about Byeol?

“Byeol, are you okay?”

[I—I’m fine! Not scared at all!]

Byeol tried to act brave, tail tucked between her legs. Her eyes were wide and fierce, but her body trembled just like Bom’s. Eunse soothed her gently, sending her over to Belquior for protection.

Uuuugh…
Grrraaah…

Zombies and ghouls charged at the group, their twisted limbs flailing, chunks of flesh dropping as they lunged forward.

Eunse called out urgently.

“Elena Kim, now!”

“Holy Light!”

Elena Kim cast her skill. The weakened zombies collapsed, but most only took light damage and continued to advance.

Kku-kku!

Dodari fired a spore shot. As the zombies and ghouls faltered, Park Duyoon and his teammates coated their weapons with holy water and charged.

“Forward! Let’s reattach those flying limbs!”

“If a chunk of meat falls off, hand it back to them later!”

“Ugh! Don’t come near me! Don’t come near me!”

“Seo Horang! Open your eyes and fight!”

Byeol’s Blessing truly shone now. Combined with Elena Kim’s holy skill, the team’s attack power doubled. They took far less damage compared to the previous floor.

Grrraaah!

Thud!

Whoosh.

Eunse swung her staff at the rushing horde of zombies and leapt into the air. Their attacks were working—but there were far too many of them. No matter how much they struck, the swarm seemed endless.

Clutching her staff tightly, Eunse’s gaze darted around until she spotted Belquior standing calmly off to the side. The most effective weapon against zombies was, of course—

Fire.

“Sir Belquior!”

At her call, Belquior raised his hand, unleashing a wave of raw magic. Fierce flames erupted, engulfing the zombies surrounding Eunse.

Grrraaah!

The creatures burned to ash, blackened beyond recognition. His firepower was, as always, overwhelming.

Uuuuuh…

Elena Kim loosed an arrow of purification at a ghoul—but it snarled and redirected its attention toward her.

“Ugh!”

Its razor claws slashed her arm open. The wound immediately began to fester and rot.

Thanks only to the lingering blessing, Elena Kim stayed conscious.

She’s in danger!

Eunse spotted her staggering and swiftly switched weapons—a short dagger of pure silver, its hilt set with diamonds.

Her form vanished—then reappeared behind the ghoul attacking Elena Kim.

“Haah!”

She stabbed its neck repeatedly. Blood splattered across her face, but she had no time to care.

Eunse’s silver dagger plunged again and again, shredding the ghoul’s throat until it hung in tatters.

Puk!

Uuuuuh…

With one final thrust, Eunse drove her dagger deep, and the ghoul finally collapsed. Catching her breath, she shouted toward Byeol.

“Byeol! Bless the team one more time!”

[Okay!]

Byeol’s magic filled the room with light. Under her blessing, the zombies and ghouls attacking them froze for a brief moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Eunse pulled an item from her subspace storage—an A-rank item, Eternal Rest, an exorcism device.

“Everyone, duck or close your eyes!”

She yanked the pin and hurled it into the horde like a grenade.

BOOM!

A blinding flash filled the air. More than half the zombies were obliterated instantly.

As the light faded, Oh Jonghwan whistled.

“Evil undead, be gone to eternal slumber!”

“Do you have to joke at a time like this?”

Lee Yena scolded him. The remaining ghouls and zombies were finished off methodically by Park Duyoon’s team.

Slash, slash!

One zombie, still trying to bite at ankles despite its severed head, was kicked far away by Eunse. After finishing off the last few stragglers, things finally quieted down.

“Ugh, finally done!”

“Gross, this rotten stench is unbearable.”

The team was covered in foul, decayed blood. There was no fixing that inside the dungeon, so they pulled out water bottles from subspace and wiped off what they could.

“Everyone, use potions to treat your wounds!”

“Captain Park! Lee Yena’s ankle looks like it’s about to fall off!”

“Oh Jonghwan, stop exaggerating! It’s fine, Captain!”

“I have a top-grade potion. Here, take it.”

“Hey, Hunter Yoo Eunse! Don’t waste that! A regular potion’s enough—Oh Jonghwan was just fooling around.”

As they took a short break, Eunse and the others patched themselves up and cleaned their gear.

Then—

Ding!

The sudden chime put everyone on alert as the system window popped up.

[Team C, “Haunted House” Phase 1 Clear Time: 1 hour 52 minutes 12 seconds! Great job, everyone! ٩̋(ˊ•͈ ꇴ •͈ˋ)و]

Eunse blinked in surprise.

“What, it was timed? What’s the point of finishing fast?”

[Revealing results in 60 seconds!]

“What happens in 60 seconds?”

[59, 58, 57…]

Eunse and the team watched silently as the numbers ticked down.

[…3, 2, 1. Ding! Phase 2 unlocked!]

Clunk. A staircase appeared, leading up to the third floor. The hunters groaned.

“Ugh, don’t scare us like that, system.”

Now somewhat used to the system’s antics, Eunse grumbled as they trudged up the stairs.

On the third floor, the monsters awaiting them were—

“Ghosts and Banshees,” murmured Park Duyoon.

Ghosts—intangible, immune to physical attacks. Banshees—known for their lethal “screams of death.”

“Guess we should be thankful it’s not Dark Knights.”

“No, Banshees are way worse.”

“I’ve never seen a Banshee before.”

“Horang, and that makes you happy?”

Lee Yena scolded him. Eunse stepped forward.

“Let’s take out the Banshees first.”

When a Banshee screamed, it inflicted both a curse and an HP drain debuff.

Its “Wailing” skill couldn’t be used often, but when it hit, it was devastating.

“I’ll take this one.”

Belquior stepped forward through the group of hunters.

“Huh? You, Sir Belquior?”

Eunse’s eyes widened. She couldn’t tell why he chose to move now, of all times.

Sensing her question, Belquior gave a brief explanation—something he’d only bother doing for Eunse.

“The foes before you are not as you know them.”

“What? Not the same…?”

Eunse turned her gaze toward the Banshee. It looked like an ordinary one, but—was there something different?

Before she could figure it out, Belquior stepped past her, facing the enemy.