Chapter 32

EP.32 End-of-Semester Evaluation (2)

"Big sister, is this really mine...?"

Choi Arin stared blankly at the passbook her sister had handed her.

Bulk purchase of potions.

In exchange, the money her sister had brought was a staggering 50 million won.

At the time, she was shocked by the amount of money she had never seen before.

But this time, it was a whopping 200 million won.

200 million won as an investment.

It was an amount that was hard to believe even when she saw it with her own eyes.

"It's the same as last time. They raised the price significantly, so they just need you to double the quantity. Since you have nothing to do after school anyway, make the requested amount and earn some pocket money."

"Wait, big sister. This isn't the kind of money that can be considered pocket money."

Choi Arin felt a sense of unreality.

She was 19 and had just become a holder.

And she wouldn't be able to enter the academy until next year.

For a typical prospective holder, the standard practice is to grow their rune and study before entering the academy, but blacksmiths and alchemists belong to a field that requires a significant amount of money.

In other words, if the family is poor, it's difficult to utilize the holder's abilities.

Even if she wanted to use her rune to create something, she had no money.

So Choi Arin couldn't make anything special.

At best, she could make simple medicines from herbs found in the mountains.

'But...'

Suddenly, an unknown investor appeared to provide her with funds.

A first-year holder from the academy who entered with her sister.

However, this holder, who had a shocking contract with her sister for 200 million won per month.

He had also signed a lucrative sales contract with Choi Arin, stating that he needed potions and medicines made by alchemists, in addition to the equipment made by Choi Yumin.

A per-item sales contract, different from Choi Yumin's fixed-term contract.

But the amount was beyond imagination.

"You need to get used to it. Once you enter the academy and start in the holder world, you'll realize... blacksmiths and alchemists can earn that much money quite easily. If the product quality is good, they can make a fortune. This is just the beginning."

"Right. He was making a fuss after signing the contract a few weeks ago."

"..."

Choi Yumin, who had been boasting, fell silent.

Even if special field holders can earn a lot of money.

And there is hope that they might become rich one day...

For them, who had lived in poverty all their lives, this much money was an amount that felt unreal even when they touched it.

'What kind of person is he?'

It was amazing that a mere first-year could earn that much money, and even more amazing that he would entrust such a large sum based on the potential of her and her sister.

The insight to believe in oneself rather than following others.

Choi Arin was curious about the holder with such confidence.

"Have you ever met that investor, big sister?"

"Huh? Of course. We signed the contract directly."

Choi Arin sighed deeply and continued.

"Ah, I want to enter the academy quickly."

"Why?"

"I want to meet the senior who invested in me. I received such a large sum of money, but I don't even know what he looks like. I'm curious about what he looks like."

"That, that doesn't matter!"

"...What?"

Choi Arin looked at Choi Yumin with a bewildered expression at her sudden outburst.

She was curious about the face of the investor who had entrusted such a large sum, but Choi Yumin said it didn't matter.

What did that mean?

But Choi Yumin looked somewhat embarrassed.

Her face was slightly red, and she lowered her head.

Choi Arin scratched her head, seeing her sister's unfamiliar behavior.

...Why is my sister acting like this today?

* * *

An excess of holders and a shortage of dungeons.

Monsters respawn once a week.

In this imbalance, being able to monopolize a dungeon is a significant advantage in terms of profit.

You can also kill the monsters outside the barrier to obtain mana stones, but that's not a good choice in terms of efficiency and difficulty.

- Kieeee...!!

The screech of a Sizzling Salamander echoes again.

I blocked one that flew at me from the front with a combo of [Chain Attack] and a stab, and then tied up another that flew at me from the side with my hands and feet.

Thanks to my versatile use of [Sword] and [Combat] runes.

"Jae-hyun, behind you!"

At Kim Chae-eun's voice, my hand went to my waist.

There was no need to turn around and confirm.

Another Sizzling Salamander must be charging at me.

I turned around and threw the four daggers I had just drawn.

[Quarter Knife].

One of my main skills, which I have been working on recently, along with the growth of my mana.

- Kie, kieeee...

Three Sizzling Salamanders were instantly dispatched.

A spell that froze the ones that fell to the ground.

Kim Chae-eun's [Field Freezing] caught them unexpectedly.

I also gain a lot from this dungeon, but it seems that Kim Chae-eun is repeatedly growing by training her [Freezing] rune and improving her holder information.

[Field Freezing] is a new [Freezing] rune spell that Kim Chae-eun learned for this dungeon.

"Are you completely used to it now?"

"Yeah. The mana arrangement is similar to Frozen Fog, so it's not that difficult."

"Mana what?"

"Mana arrangement. When casting a spell, you need to sense and arrange your mana before casting. The new Field Freezing I learned this time has a similar structure to Frozen Fog."

"Wow. I don't understand even when you explain it."

I can understand sensing mana, but the arrangement is a whole new world.

When I hear such things, it feels like mage-type holders live in a different world.

Unlike holders who fight based on the proficiency of their runes and skills, they are people who are adept at understanding and handling mana.

Of course, I, like mage-type holders, have a rune that can handle magic.

<Rune Information>

◎Name: Glowing Flame

◎Grade: Rare (R)

◎Level: 4

◎Engraved Part: Left Shoulder

◎Special Effects

: Fire Resistance +4

: Can freely ignite flames on the holder's body or weapon. These flames naturally contain the holder's mana and are treated as magical attacks.

◎Derived Skills: -

◎Detailed Information

: Ability to handle fire and increased understanding.

One of the runes obtained from hunting Sizzling Salamanders.

[Glaring Flame].

As the simple description suggests.

I can now ignite flames through this rune.

It's like gaining another magical attack method.

However, that doesn't mean I can use magic.

I have a rune that can use magic, but I lack the necessary knowledge and preparation to cast spells, so I don't know any spells.

As evidence, there are no skills in the derived skills of [Glaring Flame].

With almost no understanding of magic, even a high level doesn't result in derived skills.

A holder with a normal [Fire] rune might be able to use more fire spells than I can.

'I could learn if I studied hard... but...'

Honestly, it would be a waste of time.

I don't have enough training time even with the runes and skills I'm currently learning.

'I should be satisfied with just the fire resistance.'

Like when I gained [Poison] and [Water Breathing].

This time, I gained a new resistance, [Fire].

Combined with the additional effects and the Sizzling Salamander hunts, it has already reached a value of 6.

I opened my holder information for the first time in a long time.

<Holder Information>

◎Name: Do Jae-hyun

◎Gender: Male (20)

◎Attributes

[Strength: 32] [Mana: 9]

[Speed: 35] [Agility: 5]

[Endurance: 26] [Spirit: 21]

◎Resistances

[Poison: 7] [Water: 3] [Fire: 6]

◎Owned Runes

- Epic (E)

[Rune Hunter Lv.Max] [Sweat of the Seeker Lv.Max]

[Intimidation Lv.1]

- Rare (R)

[Lizard Scales Lv.7] [Water Breathing Lv.3] [Poison Lv.4]

[Flurry Sword Technique Lv.6] [Flowing Sword Technique Lv.4] [Brute Strength Lv.0]

[Agile Movement Lv.4] [Strong Teeth Lv.4]

[Glaring Flame Lv.4]

- Normal (N)

[Sword Lv.8] [Dagger Lv.6] [Cooking Lv.5] [Combat Lv.3]

[Sprint Lv.3] [Mana Control Lv.3] [Bow Lv.1] [Axe Lv.1]

[Spear Lv.1] [Blunt Weapon Lv.1] [Shield Lv.1] [Four-Limbed Combat Lv.2]

◎Owned Skills

[Quarter Knife] (Dagger)

[Poison Claw] (Poison)

[Chain Attack] (Sword)

[Strengthen] (Lizard Scales)

[Stamina Food] (Cooking)

[Declaration of War] (Intimidation)

◎Ultimate Skill

[Flurry Thousand Swords] (Flurry Sword Technique/Limited)

Is this the information window of a holder who only had [Dagger] four months ago?

It's hard to believe even after seeing my own growth.

Thanks to [Sweat of the Seeker], various runes have grown rapidly, and the attributes have also increased significantly.

The only downside is that the runes I learned early on are growing quite slowly.

But I can't make all runes grow evenly.

To grow faster and more efficiently, I need to focus on specific areas.

'Still, it's an incredible growth...'

The results I've achieved are astonishing.

The information that rolls up like a feast.

Just looking at it makes me feel good.

"Ugh, I'm tired."

After killing all the nearby Sizzling Salamanders.

Kim Chae-eun stretched, frowning.

Seeing this, I smiled and said,

"Should we head back now?"

"Yeah! Hunting with just two people doubles the fatigue..."

B-grade monsters usually require five C-grade holders to defeat.

But we are doing it with just two C-grade holders.

This is possible because my runes and attributes are far superior to those of a typical C-grade holder, and Kim Chae-eun also shows strong power in [Freezing] rune magic.

We are managing to continue hunting, but it's a bit of a stretch and we are more tired.

"And we have the end-of-semester evaluation tomorrow!"

Kim Chae-eun clapped her hands and said.

"Is it already tomorrow?"

"Yeah. To do well on the test, we need to go back and manage our condition."

"...Right, let's do that."

"Speaking of which, prepare dinner."

I knew it.

It's such a predictable line that it makes me laugh.

"Does the conversation always flow like this?"

"Yeah! Jae-hyun, you need to eat the food you cook and sleep to be in good condition the next day. It feels like all the drained energy is restored."

That's not just a feeling; it's a real effect.

A skill that removes all fatigue from a holder once a day, only at night.

[Stamina Food].

An advanced skill I obtained when [Cooking] reached level 5.

Kim Chae-eun saw its effects a few times...

Now she almost craves my cooking.

She liked it before, but it's even more intense since she learned about the skill.

"Pudding?"

"Grape flavor!"

And the condition to taste my cooking.

Kim Chae-eun, who knows it all too well.