Chapter 123
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It was strange.
It was a bizarre situation.
I clearly came to this field for party hunting, but I couldn’t calm my fluttering heart as we climbed Sobaeksan Mountain Field side by side.
‘…….’
To be honest, I had felt this way since I first got the call from Do Jae-hyun.
Although I acted composed and told him I’d check when I was free, I swiftly checked all my schedules at that time.
A party hunt with just the two of us, even with a bodyguard.
I really wanted to go for that reason.
‘Why am I like this….’
To be frank, I don’t really know why.
Ever since that day when I was suddenly attacked by Kim Do-yoon.
When I was protected by him and unexpectedly got a back hug.
Since then, every time I saw Do Jae-hyun, I felt strange.
My heart kept thumping rapidly, and I wanted to readily accept anything he suggested.
That was also why I gladly joined the <Anti-Villain> circle.
‘Holder Seong Na-yeon….’
And then.
The words of Seong Na-yeon, who was assigned as my bodyguard, acted as a catalyst.
She told us to act comfortably since she wouldn’t interfere with our date.
We were both flustered by her unexpected remark, and although we properly reached an agreement after apologizing for it, my heart hasn’t calmed down since then.
Just like what Seong Na-yeon said.
Today’s hunt really felt like a date.
That’s why even climbing Sobaeksan Mountain Field together…
And the fact that there were no monsters near the entrance…
Everything felt like it was set up for a date.
The only regretful thing was that I rejected Do Jae-hyun’s suggestion to hold hands.
I also wanted to readily nod my head, but I subconsciously rejected him because I was too embarrassed.
‘Juyeon, Chae-eun… I’m sorry.’
In my head, I apologized to my friends.
Although I couldn’t accurately define these emotions, for some reason, I only felt apologetic towards Kang Juyeon and Kim Chae-eun.
I felt even more so whenever we used couple skinship as an excuse.
And I realized once more.
This must not be found out.
The fake couple act, and the intimate hunt with just the two of us.
I couldn’t even imagine what would happen if the two of them found out.
Kwa, kwaahh!!
Ugh-?!
As we continued climbing the Sobaeksan Mountain Field.
In the middle of it, we finally encountered a B-grade monster.
A harpy.
The creature that was freely flying in the sky…
Was greatly shaken after being hit by Do Jae-hyun’s dagger baptism, followed by an inexplicable explosion.
“This is…”
Even I who was drawing my bow was flustered by the sight.
The original plan was to just restrict its movements with a dagger.
But the result was quite different from that.
Also, even though Do Jae-hyun claims to be a multi-holder… He used a peculiar type of ‘magic rune’ that I’ve never seen before.
Moreover, its attribute was similar to Kim Do-yoon’s ‘explosion’ ability.
Naturally, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘What is that?’
…But even in that bewildering situation.
I couldn’t stop the thought that popped into my head.
‘So cool…’
Do Jae-hyun’s ability that I saw for the first time.
Separate from my questions about it…
His dazzling battle was cool.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The rune I acquired after defeating Kim Do-yoon, [Explosive Sword Aura].
Obviously, this is a magic rune.
When using a blade-type weapon, I can naturally imbue magic power to cause an explosion, and the attribute of that magic power is replaced with fire.
The additional effect of [Quarter Knife], ‘Rainbow Bomb’, is the same.
Just like how magic attacks can deal great damage to monsters with high durability stats, my rainbow bomb that flew out as a [Quarter Knife] imbued with intense explosive power couldn’t help but be effective against the harpy.
‘There are a lot of ways to empower it, too….’
[Explosive Sword Aura] increases in power if you have fire attribute magic runes, and utilizing runes related to magic amplification also strengthens the explosion.
Of the runes I have…
[Fiery Flames] and [Magic Amplification].
These two runes naturally acted as auxiliary runes, making the [Quarter Knife] that flew out as a rainbow bomb exhibit unbelievable power beyond expectations.
Pew- Pak!
Ugh, uhhh-.
While I was lost in thought.
The harpy that was floundering in the air was hit by another strike and crashed to the ground.
Moon Ga-eun, who was blankly watching this scene together with me, had regained her senses and finished her prepared attack.
The completely battle-incapacitated harpy.
It was an all too miserable fight for a B-grade monster.
I awkwardly clapped my hands and said.
“Nice, nice shot.”
“…….”
An awkward silence flowed.
Wasn’t this awkward after all?
Moon Ga-eun, who was adjusting her posture after finishing the fight…
Soon looked straight at me and asked.
“That explosion, it’s a newly awakened ability?”
“Huh, what?”
“I heard it from Juyeon. Do Jae-hyun, you have fire attribute magic runes. After directly fighting Kim Do-yoon, it looks like you’ve also awakened the power to explode.”
…Does it really work like that?
Although I was flustered that Moon Ga-eun found out about my explosive ability, unexpectedly, she readily accepted it on her own.
Like Kim Chae-eun previously, she seemed to think that I originally had the talent and gained enlightenment.
‘Well, I guess I don’t have to explain being a rune hunter.’
From their perspective, it was probably a natural conclusion.
Even when we hunted together in the underground dungeon of the academy, I took on the tanker role in the front with just physical attacks.
And now, I was suddenly learning to utilize magic attacks, exhibiting the appearance of a multi-holder who evolved from a pure tanker to a damage dealer.
Gaining new abilities after that wasn’t odd.
Of course, I didn’t expect her to understand it as me gaining enlightenment from the fight against Kim Do-yoon and blossoming a new power from [Explosive Sword Aura]… but still.
“It’s probably your first time using it, but use it with caution. If you can’t control your power, you who use it might get hurt.”
Moon Ga-eun, whose career as a Holder was a year ahead of mine. Her advice was reasonable.
I nodded and replied.
“Thanks. As expected of my senior, I’m learning a lot.”
“What are you saying. We’re in the same grade. And you know more about monsters than I do.”
After saying that, Moon Ga-eun suddenly headed towards the fallen harpy.
“Where are you going?”
“To harvest harpy by-product. Don’t follow me. I’ll do it alone.”
She went tottering away, covering her face.
I wonder why she’s so embarrassed.
Could she be thinking that she gave presumptuous advice to me?
When it was sufficiently helpful…
Even Moon Ga-eun with her frank personality seemed to be quite shy at times.
‘Then I should also…’
Due to the harpy’s nature of not moving in groups in the Sobaeksan Mountain Field, we now had some time since defeating one.
I also summoned my info window for a moment to take care of my business.
The info window that comes to me after hunts end successfully.
It was the [Rune Hunter] reward.
[You were victorious in the duel! Your high contribution in the duel is recognized as a victory. With the Rune Hunter’s mystical power, you can replicate one of the opponent’s runes. Please select a rune to replicate.]
[1. High-Speed Flight 2. Water Breathing 3. Agility (Not Selectable) 4. Endurance 5. Physical Defence (Not Selectable)]
The harpy is fundamentally a monster focused on physical enhancement.
As an aerial monster that unleashes powerful physical attacks based on high strength and speed, its rune setup was also related.
[Agility] which generally assists the user’s movements, [Endurance] which guarantees high health, and [Physical Defence], one of the representative defense runes.
They were all rune setups focused on physical enhancement, and I also either possessed them already or had higher tier runes, so I didn’t particularly need them.
The remaining choices were [High-Speed Flight] and [Water Breathing].
‘Well, what is this High-Speed Flight.’
The decision time wasn’t long.
I’d end up getting both eventually through hunting, but since I already had [Swirling Tidal Wave, I wanted to acquire a rune with a different form first.
[You have selected High-Speed Flight. As it is a level 7 rare rune, the level will be lowered and registered at level 4.]
[You have acquired a new rune.]
[Due to the rune’s nature, you gain 1 Speed.]
‘They really give it stingily.’
As most of my Holder stats started surpassing 40, the stat gains I got from acquiring runes also greatly decreased.
Despite acquiring a level 4 rare rune, my Speed only went up by 1…
No wonder the Holders who receive high stats from the beginning and awaken are specially treated.
Seeing things like this made me even more grateful for the special effect of [Sweat of the Seeker].
Stat increase proportional to training time.
‘Then for the rune info…’
Just as I was about to check the info of the newly acquired rune.
“Huh?”
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
One golden info window took over my vision again as it appeared.
By now, I also know the identity of this info window.
It’s already the third time.
Experiencing the same phenomenon three times, just seeing the color was enough to know what it signified.
‘A Superior rune appeared again?’
Superior rune.
A system to acquire new runes by combining my current runes, a special effect of [Rune Hunter].
The first was [Master of Martial Arts], and the second was [Descendant of the Barbarian King].
And just two months after acquiring those…
Another superior rune has revealed itself.
[Currently, combinable runes exist. With the Rune Hunter’s mystical power, you can acquire a higher tier rune.]
[Higher Tier Rune: The Greatest Racehorse Under Heaven / Lower Tier Runes: Sprint, Underwater Sprint, Rage Rush, High-Speed Flight]
“…….”
But after checking it, I silently stared at the info window.
What the.
This shabby rune name is….
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