Chapter 29

EP.29 The Forgotten Dragon (1)

A room shrouded in deep darkness.

Various wines are displayed as if in a collection throughout the room.

From rare wines that ordinary people cannot purchase...

To cheap wines that can be bought at convenience stores.

Even a stranger could tell at a glance that the owner of this room is a wine collector.

The owner of this dark room.

Jae-sun Cha looked out the window, slowly savoring the wine.

Despite losing much and living a desolate life...

When she drank wine and watched the people outside, she felt as if she were still alive.

"Branch Manager, there seems to be a problem."

A voice that broke the mood sounded.

A man, kneeling on one knee and bowing his head.

A new student who entered this Holder Academy as the second-in-command of the Assassin class and a member of the <Villain> Clan's Academy branch.

Ji-yun Jae.

Irritation welled up at the unexpected arrival of a subordinate.

But Jae-sun Cha forced a smile and asked.

"Hmm. What kind of problem?"

The <Villain> Clan's plans for the Seoul Holder Academy had not even begun.

If there was one thing to mention...

It was that they had made a B-class monster appear inside the academy using a special item [Odd Bait] to summon monsters?

Even that was not a full-scale battle.

It was merely to show the possibility that the [Magic Barrier] could be broken.

At this preparatory stage...

There was no room for problems to arise.

But from Ji-yun Jae's mouth came a story that could truly be a problem.

"The dungeon under the academy seems to have been cleared."

"Hmm?"

Jae-sun Cha's eyes widened slightly.

Her gaze suggested that she had heard something strange.

After taking a sip of wine, she lifted Ji-yun Jae's head with her long hand.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The artifact linked to the dungeon entrance has reacted. It seems to have been discovered and cleared by another holder. Considering the performance of the artifact, it's probably certain..."

"Ji-yun."

"Yes, Branch Manager."

Magic began to rise around Jae-sun Cha.

Though her lips were smiling...

Her eyes were cold and distant.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Choke. Cough—Branch, Manager... Cough."

Ji-yun Jae, who was kneeling on one knee, collapsed.

He lay on the ground in a twisted position, gasping in pain.

Jae-sun Cha's trademark [Unbearable Gravity].

This rune magic was pouring down on him.

The feeling of being choked.

The threat of overwhelming gravity.

[Unbearable Gravity] was an extremely dangerous rune.

Jae-sun Cha placed the wine on the table and knelt in front of where Ji-yun Jae had fallen.

"Hmm—Ji-yun, are you in pain?"

"Choke—No... No."

"Lie. You're in pain."

Jae-sun Cha flicked her fingers lightly.

The pressure on him eased slightly.

Ji-yun Jae panted and gasped for breath.

"Gasping—Gasping—"

"Ji-yun."

"Yes, Branch Manager."

"Do you know the value of an undiscovered dungeon?"

"Yes, I know."

An undiscovered dungeon, or an unexplored dungeon.

A hidden dungeon that, when first cleared, rewards the holder with information and exclusive rewards from the final room, the Rest Room.

Every holder wants to find it...

And if found, everyone attempts to clear it.

The <Villain> Clan's Academy branch was recently preparing to clear such an undiscovered dungeon.

Jae-sun Cha smiled and asked again.

"You know that we were a week away from being able to clear it, as we had requested support from the clan?"

"Yes, I know very well."

"I trusted you with the dungeon you discovered first... What exactly happened? You said no one had discovered it."

"I'm sorry. I must have missed something..."

"Hmm—It's no good, as expected."

An unwanted answer came out.

Jae-sun Cha cast the magic again with that logic.

"Ji-yun needs to be taught a lesson."

"Choke—Cough—P-Please save me..."

Once again, [Unbearable Gravity] struck Ji-yun Jae's body.

...Was there ever a desired answer?

That question was meaningless.

The <Villain> Clan operates beyond normal logic.

It is a collection of bizarre and cold-blooded psychopaths.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.

The ceiling of the dungeon I had been clearing for the past few days.

The dungeon, structured like a cave, came into view.

I tried to get up immediately upon confirming this.

But the intense pain throughout my body.

Especially the injury to my left shoulder was excruciating.

I had to bend my body again, against my will.

"Ah! Ow…."

"Jae-hyun, are you okay? It's still hard to get up, right?"

Was she watching over me as I lay there?

Moon Ga-eun quickly supported me from the side.

Unexpectedly, her hands felt quite warm.

It didn't seem to match her rough personality...

Moon Ga-eun had many sides that were different from her outward appearance.

I held my left shoulder and looked around.

"What about the others?"

"They're sorting out the mana stones and rewards in the boss room. They're waiting for you to get up to distribute them."

"Me getting up?"

Come to think of it, how long had I been out?

I remember catching that damn lizard.

Moon Ga-eun nodded and said.

"Yes. Your role was the most significant in completing the dungeon. It's only right that you have the choice."

"Ah, that was only when we were fighting the boss. The other monsters were taken care of by the dealers."

"Don't say that. Thanks to you, we all survived."

"...That's embarrassing."

The boss room in this dungeon was the most dangerous.

Feeling the threat of death there...

Was everyone thinking the same?

I could feel the sincerity in Moon Ga-eun's words of gratitude.

She checked my condition for a moment and then asked.

"How's your body? Your shoulder looks pretty serious."

"I'm fine. I used all the potions I bought, so it's okay. My shoulder... I can get it healed by the holy-type holders outside."

Buying potions in bulk from Choi Ara was a stroke of luck.

Even though I used most of them...

At least it saved my life.

I should thank Choi Yumin and Choi Ara later.

And the serious injury to my shoulder.

I can get it healed by the holy-type holders.

In a world where holders use their abilities as professions,

visiting a 'Holy Treatment Center' operated by holy-type holders is more effective than visiting a hospital.

As long as you pay the appropriate amount.

They can heal any injury.

"But I don't have the strength to get up yet."

"Can I help you up?"

"Sure, I'd appreciate it."

With her help, I slowly got up.

She placed one of my arms over her shoulder and supported my waist with her other hand.

A proper way to help someone up.

But because our bodies were so close...

Unexpected parts of our bodies touched each other.

I turned my gaze away, feeling embarrassed.

"...That's embarrassing."

Moon Ga-eun is really...

very different from what she appears to be.

As I was helped to the boss room,

the information windows that had been suppressed suddenly appeared, cluttering my vision.

[You have won the duel! Due to your high contribution in the duel, you can replicate one of the opponent's runes. Please choose the rune to replicate.]

[1. Intimidation 2. Lizard Scales (Unselectable) 3. Agile Movement (Unselectable) 4. Herculean Strength (Unselectable) 5. Clawed Combat (Unselectable)]

[You have chosen Intimidation. As it is an Epic-level rune, its level has dropped to 1.]

[You have obtained a new rune.]

[The rune's attribute grants you 1 point in Spirit.]

<Rune Information>

◎Name: Intimidation

◎Grade: Epic (Epic)

◎Level: 1

◎Engraved Part: Cheek

◎Special Effects

: When fighting an opponent with lower stats, you receive a 5% (Lv.1) boost in those stats.

: Spirit +1

◎Derived Skill

[Declaration of War]

◎Detailed Information

: Those with great power possess a corresponding level of dignity. They exert even greater power when facing weaker opponents.

The information window for the rune obtained from the Grizzly Drake appeared.

As expected...

The Grizzly Drake was the boss monster that possessed all the runes of the monsters in the dungeon.

[Lizard Scales], [Agile Movement], [Herculean Strength], and [Clawed Combat] are the 'body-related runes' of the monsters we encountered at the beginning and middle of the dungeon.

The Grizzly Drake had pushed these runes to their limits, which is why it displayed such overwhelming combat power.

Especially considering its incredible defense.

[Lizard Scales] must have been close to its maximum level.

Since I already possessed those runes, [Intimidation] was automatically selected and registered as a rune.

After [Rune Hunter] and [Sweat of the Seeker].

This was the first Epic rune I obtained.

'Its performance is amazing...'

I whistled as I read the information about [Intimidation].

Each effect shown in the information window was appealing.

First, it's a rune related to Spirit.

Spirit is a crucial stat for holders, but it's one of the lower stats I possess.

So obtaining a rune that boosts Spirit is valuable for me.

And the special effect.

When fighting an opponent with lower stats, you receive a boost in those stats.

If my Strength is higher than the opponent's, I can fight with a 5% boost in Strength.

This percentage seems to vary with the level.

A special effect fitting the name [Intimidation].

'So that's why the Grizzly Drake was so strong.'

Even as an A-class monster and a dungeon boss.

Our party was not weak.

Kang Juyeon is a B-class holder, and the other party members are C-class holders with exceptional skills within their ranks.

Park Jin-woo and I have just reached the C-class level, but we have many special abilities, making us highly competitive.

Our party could be considered a standard B-class holder party for hunting A-class monsters.

But the dungeon gimmick that completely nullified magic attacks.

And the combat power enhanced by [Intimidation] and other runes.

These various factors made the Grizzly Drake even stronger.

'And [Declaration of War] is also useful.'

The skill [Declaration of War], which the Grizzly Drake used to inflict the status effect 'Fear' on us when we first encountered it.

The ability to temporarily inflict a status effect on the opponent during combat is quite appealing.

Especially since status effect skills are hard to obtain...

And the related runes are rare, making it even more welcome.

The only drawback is the 1-hour cooldown.

Still, there are plenty of situations where it can be useful.

"Jae-hyun! Are you okay?"

"Hey, you're up."

When I returned to the boss room from the Rest Room,

Kim Chae-eun and Park Jin-woo greeted me.

Kang Juyeon was also looking at me with a relieved expression.

...It felt like a somewhat burdensome welcome.

Definitely, risking our lives together in a dungeon creates camaraderie.

The awkwardness we felt when we first entered the dungeon was almost gone, and a strong bond seemed to remain in the party.

I smiled awkwardly and raised my hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. They're sorting out the rewards, right?"

"Yep! Everything's sorted. Come and take a look."

Following Kim Chae-eun's lead, I moved my steps.

Various mana stones and items were neatly displayed in the center of the boss room.

The true flower of an unexplored or undiscovered dungeon.

It was time to check the Rest Room rewards.