Chapter 146
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Tl/n: Changing recovery to divinity
The next day.
Our team members went down to the 1st floor to have the breakfast provided by the ryokan.
Yoon Ji-ah, who I hadn’t seen since checking in yesterday, and Kang Juyeon, who had talked for a long time in the mixed bath, were already there in the dining room.
“…Hello.”
“Oh, uh. Good morning.”
Kang Juyeon, who now naturally greets me first.
I awkwardly replied to her words
…It would sound unnatural to anyone listening.
‘Get it together, Do Jae-hyun.’
I lightly slap my cheeks with my palms.
My dazed mind comes back a little.
It’s not that I’m awkward with Kang Juyeon.
Rather, after sharing many conversations last night, the distance that had remained between us completely narrowed.
We even agreed to call each other by our first names to become closer. It doesn’t make sense for that intimacy to disappear overnight.
It’s just…
-Jae-hyun.
-Huh?
-I think the towel tie on my back came loose….
-…Yes?
Before finishing the conversation and leaving the bath.
Kang Juyeon, who asked me to tie her towel.
And I was extremely nervous as I helped her.
Her smooth back then, her pounding heart…
kept popping up in my head.
‘Ah, really. Am I possessed by a perverted demon?’
I scolded myself internally and shook off the useless thoughts.
Anyway, putting aside the strange memories from last night, we finished preparing to head out for the investigation.
After breakfast and checking out of the ryokan, Akiba was already waiting in front of it.
“Then let’s meet up again at the Sakae Station warp gate after everyone finishes investigating. Please take good care of our team members, Akiba.”
“Yes. Leave it to me, Jae-hyun.”
Our team, divided again into two teams to investigate.
Akiba was in charge of Team C.
Since she knows the geography and characteristics of Nagoya so well, and is a skilled B-grade Archer, it was easy for her to give combat orders.
Thanks to that, each of us headed to our investigation points, and Team B, Juyeon and I, also moved to the site.
Our first destination was the Port Aquarium at Nagoya Port.
Specifically, the dungeon located in one of its exhibition halls, called the ‘Sea Monster Habitat’.
Most dungeons are found somewhere in a field, but there are many cases like this where they manifest in ordinary places.
Also the ‘Underground Academy Dungeon’ was one such case.
[You have entered the dungeon.]
[The stuffy aura of the dungeon slightly reduces your Holder’s speed.]
The ‘Sea Monster Habitat’ was an uninhabited island style dungeon.
The sea stretched in all directions, and the entrance was at the beach.
I have runes like [Underwater Breathing] and [Underwater Sprint] so I’m fine, but Kang Juyeon doesn’t have related runes, so even underwater dungeons give her a headache.
Fortunately, despite the name, the combat route heads inland, and the boss room is also located in the center of the land…
So it didn’t look like there would be major issues during combat.
Thanks to that, we steadily hunted the monsters while investigating the unauthorized warp gates.
Groooaaar-!!
Swish- Swish-
“Juyeon, Light Meteor!”
“…Okay.”
The battle progresses quickly.
Meanwhile, Kang Juyeon’s and my breathing gradually synchronized.
Since I know Kang Juyeon’s main spells, I looked to her when needed, and she also preemptively combined spells to support my combat.
Quack, quackagack-!!
Quackwaaang-!
“Huh?”
But while continuing the battle at the front, I had to be surprised every now and then by Kang Juyeon’s support.
Kang Juyeon’s fire-attribute magic.
They were magic attacks I had experienced several times, with a familiar aura, but…
Their power and spellcasting speed far exceeded my expectations.
‘What the. When did she get this strong?’
When we cleared the ‘Humid Ghost Cave’ yesterday, there were several damage dealers in the 5-person party, so I didn’t fully realize it.
But facing Kang Juyeon’s firepower support head-on in a 2-person party today, I clearly felt her strength was exceptional.
‘Did she reach the A-grade threshold?’
Kang Juyeon utilizes orthodox [Florian Spell] runes.
Compared to Kim Chae-eun’s [Adriane Spell], [Florian Spells] are much more common and easier to use, so they grow faster, but that’s at the beginner stage.
High-level mage-type Holders like Kang Juyeon increasingly face complex rune utilization and easily hit limits.
Naturally, their growth slows down.
But despite those limits of the runes, Kang Juyeon demonstrated overwhelming might.
Her abilities and rune utilization improved, and her battle sense became even sharper.
Kang Juyeon, whose limit seemed to be removed after encountering Yoon Ji-ah.
It felt like I was watching that process directly.
Quack- Quackagack-
Grooo…?
When there’s a difference in level, attributes become meaningless?
Most of the monsters appearing in the dungeon have water attributes, so they shouldn’t be very effective, but Kang Juyeon’s magic mercilessly suffocated the monsters.
Meanwhile, I as the frontliner was able to move freely.
Clang- Kagang-
Guoo-!!
‘Easy, too easy.’
With Kang Juyeon’s firepower support, the monsters were practically on the verge of death, and the power of [Sword of Penitent] continuously amplified due to the monsters’ nature of harboring curses.
Naturally, combat was much easier than usual.
That’s not all.
My newly acquired [Curse of Demon] rune.
Its utilization was quite handy.
<Currently Available Curses>
*[Simple Curse]
: Corrosion, Blunting, Confusion
*[Curse of Demon]
: Corrosion, Blunting, Confusion, Frailty, Provocation
-When a rune’s level rises and its unique trait is contained in the curse, that curse transforms into a derived skill.
Until now, I could use 3 curses with [Simple Curse].
Corrosion, blunting, confusion.
Most curses, including confusion which debuffs the enemy’s directional sense, have effects just as their names state.
‘It was hard to use them effectively in combat…’
I did mix in curses here and there until now, but [Simple Curse] could not become my main combat rune.
The reason is simple.
It’s difficult to simultaneously control divine arts and direct combat.
I can mix in attribute runes during combat, but more complex magical attacks are hard to combine, and divine arts like curses need even more delicate control to use together.
‘It became much easier thanks to the Curse of Demon.’
But yesterday, after obtaining a high-level curse rune, that issue was immediately resolved.
It still takes time to use complex and precise curses, but some curses can now be mixed in during combat.
Guoo…?
The most handy of those was undoubtedly ‘Frailty’. A curse that instantly reduces the target’s toughness.
It’s commonly called a ‘defense debuff’.
Among my runes there’s [Sturdy Fangs] with that effect, and for skills there’s [Hide Attack], but…
The two can only be used when certain conditions are met.
Meanwhile ‘Frailty’ is a curse that only uses divine power, without risk.
For me who focuses on physical attacks, it was the most suitable status ailment.
‘Its power is considerable, too.’
Unlike magic, curse manifestation uses divine power.
Just as divine-type Holders borrow the power of certain gods to use divine arts, curses also borrow the power of evil gods, so they are related to the divine.
Therefore, their might depends on the divine stat, and is enhanced by divine-related runes.
That was why the might of [Curse of Demon], which I just obtained, was so great.
[An intensely wicked curse! The incantations that place spells on the target contain an extremely evil aura. Your curse handling skills become more meticulous.]
[The level of the ‘Curse of Demon’ rune has risen.]
[The rune’s nature rewards 1 divinity.]
[Your extremely high divinity makes recovery very fast! Your body’s healing response becomes increasingly familiar.]
[The level of the ‘Rapid Recovery’ rune has risen.]
[The rune’s nature rewards 1 divinity.]
My runes grew steadily as well.
Along with the ‘Curse of Demon’ rune level rising thanks to consistent use, the ‘Rapid Recovery’ rune also repeated growth.
It was a rune I obtained by catching a rare manticore in the ‘Nest Covered by Clouds’ dungeon some time ago.
It feels similar to [Combat Healing] among my runes, but its performance is much better since it only heals magical damage.
By raising divine-related runes like this and increasing abilities, now my divinity stat reached 35.
‘It’s pretty high…’
Even I’m amazed by that stat.
This much is almost…
Enough even for a C-grade divine-type Holder.
Go, goooh….
The battle ended.
The sea monsters we faced all collapsed.
Still, it was a 7 monster horde of all B-grade monsters…
The battle ended far too quickly and futilely.
I shook my body once and lightly inspected my equipment.
Since time was limited, I had to take only the magic stones and move forward like before.
“Jae-hyun.”
While preparing to head out like that.
Kang Juyeon, who had been supporting with rear attacks, approached.
“Oh, are you done with preparations? Let’s take these magic stones and head out.”
As I said that, Kang Juyeon suddenly shook her head.
“That’s not it….”
Then her finger pointed slightly away.
The bushes of the uninhabited island-style dungeon.
It was somewhere among those lush trees.
“I felt… a strange power from over there. It’s subtle so you’d miss it if you don’t check carefully.”
At those words, my eyes immediately widened.
The second day of the Nagoya investigation.
The slight clue we had been looking for…
Kang Juyeon was pointing at it right now.
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