Chapter 5

EP.5 First Rune Hunt (4)

"Wow... They really fight well, don't they? They're not at the level of the lower class, are they?"

A woman, smoothing her ash-blond hair, said.

Her name is Moon Ga-eun.

The daughter of Moon Jeong-hyuk, a core officer of the <Royal> clan, and one of the promising freshmen at the Seoul Holder Academy.

Moon Ga-eun was genuinely impressed by the lower class match that had just ended.

The live sparring between Park Jin-woo and Joo Dae-hyun.

This was undoubtedly the most intense of all the sparring matches today.

There was no special skill exchange or notable rune usage.

The machine that measures the abilities of the freshmen cannot be denied.

They seemed to lack distinctive features in their runes, and their rune levels were not particularly high, which could be seen at a glance.

However, they fought to the best of their abilities, covering their shortcomings based on their superior stats.

Their superior stats were already at the level of the middle class, and their excellent combat sense was a skill hard to find even in the middle class.

"They might even be able to advance to the middle class."

The live sparring in the entrance exam can be seen as the final stage to discover such hidden talents.

Park Jin-woo and Joo Dae-hyun would likely advance to the middle class in the official class selection through this match.

"Joo Yeon, what do you think?"

Moon Ga-eun asked Kang Joo-yeon, who was standing regally beside her.

An S-grade Holder and the daughter of a giant clan master.

A top prospect Holder with overflowing talent.

When she announced her enrollment in this academy...

She was the most talked-about and reported figure.

Moreover, there was no match for her in this batch, making her a likely candidate for the top of the class.

Moon Ga-eun had been friends with Kang Joo-yeon since they were young.

Their fathers, both famous Holders in their own right, often met, and their families would dine together, making them close.

"…Not really."

Kang Joo-yeon replied indifferently, showing little interest.

After all, to her, one of the top talents in Korea, the rough sparring of the lower class Holders would not have caught her eye.

In fact, she should have gone home right after the sparring ended, but...

She stayed to watch the other matches, as her father had instructed her to do so for the clan, in case there were any hidden gems.

No matter how interesting it was, it was still just a lower class match.

Moon Ga-eun's enthusiasm for it was rather unusual.

"Is that so? Maybe it's because I'm an archer... I found something to appreciate. The intense clashes of weapons without any special skills. Other kids would give up as soon as there's a difference in stats or runes."

The live sparring between the upper and middle classes was too bland.

Even in the same class, Holders have a clear gap that cannot be bridged due to differences in stats and runes.

This can be easily seen in a single match.

Therefore, most of the Holders who participated in today's sparring gave up or quit the fight more easily than expected.

Even though it affects their entrance scores, ranking is not that important unless you're aiming for the top or second place.

"…Because they're in the lower class."

"That's true."

Kang Joo-yeon dismissed Moon Ga-eun's chatter with a single word and looked at a corner of the arena, leaning against the railing.

A man, holding daggers in both hands, gazed into the air.

The Holder who just finished the sparring, Joo Dae-hyun.

Despite clearly winning, he sat there calmly, showing no signs of joy, staring into the air.

It looked like he was checking his Holder information.

Kang Joo-yeon, as if entranced, stared at him blankly.

'...What a strange person.'

Kang Joo-yeon had watched the entire match.

Honestly, she didn't pay much attention to the lower class sparring and didn't assign much meaning to it, but for the participants, it was quite an exciting match.

After all, it was a long and intense battle, and they won by instinct.

However, Joo Dae-hyun seemed completely uninterested in the whole situation.

He just sat there, quietly maintaining his weapons and occasionally gazing into the air.

'...Maybe he has high mental strength.'

His calm and composed demeanor, more so than anyone else.

Perhaps his mental strength was higher than his other abilities.

Kang Joo-yeon thought she wasn't paying much attention, but...

For some reason, her gaze kept returning to him.

A Holder who remained calm and composed in any situation.

That was Kang Joo-yeon's first impression of Joo Dae-hyun.

* * *

'Oh, damn! Thank you, God. Jin-woo, thank you. I've been happy, and let's see each other with smiling faces in three years.'

I was huddled in a corner of the arena.

Desperately trying to suppress the urge to burst into laughter.

If I suddenly laughed out loud, I might be seen as crazy like Park Jin-woo earlier.

But I felt like I could fly, and I was in a state of intense excitement.

[Seeker's Sweat].

The cheat rune that I thought was only for the protagonist.

Now it was in my hands.

'No effect is a waste.'

Unlike the simple [Rune Hunter] that allows you to copy the opponent's rune, [Seeker's Sweat] has amazing effects befitting an epic rune.

There are no fewer than three visible effects.

First, the rune level growth speed is tripled.

Considering that the power of a rune is the power of a Holder...

An effect that cannot be bought for a fortune.

This was the main reason why Park Jin-woo, who obtained various runes later, could raise his rune levels without any issues.

Additionally, a random stat increase for every 100 hours of training.

This is also a cheat-like effect.

Regardless of the type of Holder, high stats are always important.

If you train for just 5 hours a day, you can raise one stat in 20 days.

Finally, it increases durability and mental by 3.

The effects of a max-level epic rune are enormous.

'Really, if I had been a little careless, I would have lost.'

Park Jin-woo, the monster of effort, grows even during battles.

If I had been a little careless, I might have lost to the grown Park Jin-woo during the fight.

Park Jin-woo, who had just become a Holder at the start of the story.

His abilities were still incomplete.

Fortunately, I managed to win.

"Jae-hyun!"

Kim Chae-eun, who had gone to the bathroom, returned.

"Are you back?"

"Yeah! You really fought well. It must be the effect of training for a month."

"Was it that good?"

"Yeah, yeah. It was really cool. Swish, swish. Maybe I should learn daggers too?"

"Go ahead. You don't even have a rune."

Seeing Kim Chae-eun's lively demeanor is always surprising.

We lived next door, but I only became friends with her after I possessed Joo Dae-hyun.

When I asked her about it before, she said my first impression was a bit cold, making it hard to approach me.

But when she saw me apply to the Holder Academy, she felt a sense of kinship and started talking to me.

Thinking about it, it all made sense.

Kim Chae-eun, in fact, also had a cold first impression...

If you don't know her personality, it's hard to approach her at first.

"Is the entrance exam over today?"

"Yeah. The opening ceremony and the start of classes are next week. I'm looking forward to the academy life."

"Chae-eun, haven't you seen a lot since your father is a professor?"

"That's different! Visiting and being a student are like heaven and earth-"

Kim Chae-eun's father is a professor at the academy.

A Holder who teaches swordsmanship at the Seoul Holder Academy.

Professor Kim Myung-hyun.

When I first heard about him, I thought it was unique.

His father is a Holder with deep expertise in swordsmanship, but his daughter is a mage-type Holder with the [Freezing] rune.

While the runes a Holder awakens to can be random, they can also be influenced by the environment they grew up in.

Kang Joo-yeon, who followed Kang Woo-hyun, obtained the fire-type rune [Unextinguishable Flame], and Lee Hyun-ho, who followed Lee Do-gwon, became a famous blacksmith.

Both were Holders influenced by their parents.

Therefore, if the parent is a sword-wielding Holder, the child has a higher chance of awakening to the [Sword] rune due to early exposure.

In that sense, it's surprising that Kim Chae-eun, the daughter of Professor Kim Myung-hyun, obtained a completely different type of rune.

Moreover, the [Freezing] rune, despite being a normal rune, is quite rare among mage-type runes.

'My daggers... must be completely random.'

My parents are not Holders.

When I searched their phone numbers and contacted them, they were farming in the countryside.

I suddenly awakened as a Holder and moved to Seoul to live alone.

Additionally, I am an only child with no siblings.

Naturally, my first rune, [Dagger], is a random rune.

As can be seen from the talents of the children of talented individuals, the more random a rune is, the more ordinary its effects and the slower its growth.

If I didn't have the [Rune Hunter] rune...

I would have become a very ordinary Holder, no doubt.

"I'm hungry. I want to eat."

After the entrance exam was over and on the way back home, Kim Chae-eun said with a gloomy expression.

Her words seemed to have some intention, making me sigh.

"Just eat."

"I want to eat the food that Joo Dae-hyun made!"

"Twice a day? Are you serious?"

I had expected this.

Now that I know my cooking is good.

Especially because she has been pestering me for my cooking so much...

When I made pasta for lunch today.

My [Cooking] rune finally reached level 2.

The first level-up for any of my runes.

It's hard to believe, but it's true.

Still, I gained 1 mental stat from the level-up effect.

Kim Chae-eun awkwardly smiled and smoothed her hair.

"Hehe. In return, I'll cook for you tomorrow."

"Sorry, I'll pass on that. Just bring pudding."

"Ugh... Do you want to die?"

I'm sorry, but I seriously have to decline Kim Chae-eun's cooking.

When she once offered to cook for me, I suffered a severe injury that affected my training the next day.

If it weren't for my durability stat, I might have been assassinated.