The new Zither Scout materialized and the summoned creature stood poised, its mandibles clacking, ready to fight alongside its brethren. Ethan wasted no time directing it.

"You're up. Back them up on the front lines," Ethan commanded, pointing toward the clash. The Zither Scout darted forward, joining the slimes.

Up at the front the many slimes had ganged up on a single zither scout completely arresting the insectoid. The insectoid's sharp limbs were not sharp enough to get out of the hold and little by little the entirety of the thing sunk into the gelatinous bodies.

The gelatinous creatures clung to the insectoid's serrated limbs, their amorphous forms rippling as they absorbed the impacts. The trapped insectoid screeched, thrashing violently, but the slimes were relentless, holding it in place.

Though they were not able to harm it, holding it in place was more than helpful. Coordinating with the slimes, the new zither scout was able to effortlessly land a devastating strike on the immobilized insectoid.

It moved with precision, targeting the vulnerable joints where the exoskeleton met the softer tissue. Its serrated limbs plunged into the trapped creature's thorax with a sickening crunch.

The pinned Zither Scout screeched, ichor spraying from the wounds as its struggles grew weaker. The slimes rippled with each thrash, adjusting their forms to maintain their hold. They shifted and stretched, absorbing the frantic movements of the insectoid until it was rendered completely motionless.

[Ding! Your summon has killed a Zither Scout.]

[Ding! You have gained experience points.]

[Ding! Slime has leveled up]

[Ding! Slime has leveled up]

[Ding! Slime has leveled up]

…

…

…

Ethan smiled weakly as the notifications bombarded him one after the other. His slimes had finally leveled up and clearly this was way more efficient than what he was doing before. However, not all was good news.

[Ding! Green goblin has died.]

Ethan frowned at the message, instantly regretting summoning the wounded goblin in the first place but the next notification surprised him.

[Ding! Green goblin can now be summoned only after 72 hours]

Did this mean that he did not lose the minion to death? The penalty was only a temporary cooldown?

Ethan's eyes widened as he processed the information. What sort of a broken class did he have? His minions weren't permanently lost when they "died"—instead, they were temporarily out of commission. Relief surged through him, quickly followed by a flicker of realization.

"This changes everything," Ethan muttered under his breath, gripping his dagger tighter. "I can push them harder in battles. They're not gone forever, just… on a timer. Hmmm. What if their level got reset on death?"

He still had a lot more to learn about his class. Even the loss of gained levels would be a big hit to the progress. Before verifying that he did not want to risk losing minions if he absolutely didn't have a chance.

He glanced at his remaining summons. Grug and Snarl were still battling fiercely, their movements fueled by Lia's buffs, while the slimes and Zither Scout worked together seamlessly to immobilize and dispatch another scout. The other insectoids were also pulling their weight.

The battlefield was chaos, but his forces were holding their own. Experience gained notifications and level-up notifications were chiming in rapidly.

Lia, standing a few steps back, wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her breathing was labored, but she hadn't stopped supporting the group. "Master, are we okay? Did we lose one?"

Ethan nodded. "We lost the green goblin, but it's not permanent. It's okay. Keep fighting." He quickly dismissed the other goblin.

Maybe adding more healers to the team like Lia would not necessarily be a bad thing. Saving that thought for later, he dove back into battle, trying to kill steal whenever he had a chance to generate another summon.

Within seconds, Ethan leveled up again, pushing him to level 9, and giving him more wiggle room to add more minions. He dumped the stat points evenly and the faint glow of newfound strength coursed through his body, making him feel lighter, faster, and more capable.

Not that it helped. The battlefield had become a grotesque quagmire of black ichor and shattered chitin, the thick, acidic stench saturating the air.

Ethan's summons fought relentlessly, their strikes growing more precise with each passing moment as they adapted to the insectoids' weaknesses. His own body buzzed with the surge of power from his recent level-ups, but the relentless onslaught gave him little time to enjoy it.

Every few seconds, new insectoids emerged from the portal and many came their way, their screeches blending into the cacophony of battle. Ethan managed to glance at the main adventurer's team for a moment and they too seemed to be completely drowned in combat.

Soon another issue cropped up. With the corrosive nature of the insectoids even the tall shrubbery and the trees started getting affected and the visibility had increased everywhere. In a few minutes, Ethan wouldn't have anywhere to hide and all of his minions would be exposed.