Chapter 77

EP.77 Reward (1)

After everything, including the Min Chae-hwan incident, was finally over.

We were finally able to calmly check the dungeon rewards.

As befitting a dungeon known for its difficulty,

the rewards in the rest room were no joke.

There were so many various mana stones, equipment, and special items that they were practically tripping us, and the reward level was splendid, with rare items and even epic items occasionally visible.

These rewards primarily belong to the clan, but since our hunting team 5 was directly responsible for the successful dungeon run, we can apply for appropriate reward distribution and designate the rewards we want.

"Intern, Intern. Just tell me. How did you do that just now? How did all those arrows end up stuck in the ground?"

One of my teammates was pestering me while we were checking the rest room rewards.

Lee Soo-mi, a member of the holy class.

She's skilled but has a lot of mischief in her.

"It's an industry secret. You'll get hurt if you know."

"Ugh—Should we be like this between us?"

"What kind of relationship do we have…."

Sometimes, or maybe often,

conversations with Lee Soo-mi are hard to follow.

It's also quite awkward to see her overly exposed body parts.

Still, there was a teammate who could resolve such awkward situations.

"…Lee Soo-mi, holder."

One word from Kang Joo-yeon was enough.

No matter who Lee Soo-mi is, she's powerless in front of the clan successor.

After we collected all the rest room rewards,

we neatly completed the dungeon.

When we exited the dungeon,

the scene was exactly as Kwon Oh-joon had described.

Holders who seemed to belong to <Villain> were kneeling with their bodies restrained.

Clan members of <Fire's Judgment> were monitoring and suppressing them.

And among all these people,

"…Clan Master?"

"I see the Master!"

"I see the Master!"

Kang Woo-hyun, the clan master of <Fire's Judgment>, was also there.

I gazed at him in awe.

'Wow. What a presence…'

Kang Woo-hyun's presence, which I was seeing for the first time in person, was overwhelming.

To use a cliché, he wasn't just an S-rank holder for nothing.

Even without taking any particular action other than holding a sword embedded in the ground, his mana overflowed around him, and just looking at him gave a sense of being overwhelmed.

Does Kang Joo-yeon's charisma come from her father?

Indeed, they are a mother-daughter pair of holders who are among the best in the country.

"Everyone, you've all worked hard on the dungeon run. There are many things to handle today regarding villains and spies, and it's getting late, so let's return quickly. We can discuss reports and rewards at the clan tower tomorrow."

"Yes, understood!"

Kwon Oh-joon answered loudly enough to echo through the mountains.

I had never heard such a loud voice from him before.

Is this the level of social skills for a team leader…?

Anyway, we received the order to disband and returned to our respective homes.

It was an unusually tiring and difficult day.

The completion of the dungeon run, which had been full of trouble.

* * *

After my victory in the duel with Shin Yuna,

I developed a habit.

That is, even if I win a duel according to the [Rune Hunter] standards, I usually delay claiming the rune reward until I'm alone.

There's no grand reason for this.

It's just that when there are many people around or things to handle, it's hard to make proper judgments, and there's a chance that something embarrassing, like my whole body glowing as it did during the 'Upper Rune Combination' last time, might happen.

It was a habit to prevent awkward situations.

"…But checking in the bathroom is a bit…"

Instead, the place where I check the rune reward is always the bathroom.

For some reason, it seems that when I get runes in the bathroom,

good things tend to happen…

It's my personal superstition.

…It's a bit embarrassing, even to me.

Anyway, after the completion of the snake-covered forest dungeon,

I was in my dormitory bathroom checking the information window.

"First… Min Chae-hwan's rune."

The trick of defending against the arrow barrage with [Declaration of Melee Combat] and immediately attacking Min Chae-hwan to meet the [Rune Hunter]'s 'duel conditions' worked perfectly.

As soon as the chaotic situation ended,

the information window that appeared right after confirmed it.

[You have won the duel! Your victory is recognized due to your high contribution during the duel. By the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can duplicate one of the opponent's runes. Please select the rune to duplicate.]

[1. Bow (Not Selectable) 2. Cold Focus 3. Star Cutting Technique 4. Heaven Martial Technique 5. Fussy Arrowhead 6. Mana Control (Not Selectable) 7. Agility 8. Exploration]

Min Chae-hwan's rune setup was standard.

If an archer-type holder saw his rune setup, they would probably be dazzled by the…

clean and attractive runes.

Min Chae-hwan, whose main weapon is a bow, naturally had the [Bow] rune, and he also had [Mana Control] for smooth mana handling, [Agility] as a movement rune, and [Exploration], a common rune for archer-type holders.

These four were not even worth considering.

The first two were already in my possession and not selectable, and I had [Agile Movement], a superior version of [Agility], so there was no reason to choose it.

[Exploration] was useful, but considering my role in the party, it didn't have much significance.

"Star Cutting Technique… is also… not great."

[Star Cutting Technique].

This is one of the most basic archery techniques for archer-type holders.

It's similar to [Three Elements Sword Technique] for sword users and [Wing Chun Fist] for martial artists.

It's a type of martial technique rune.

While it's a rune I don't have, it's a common rune that any archer-type holder would have, so it would be a bit wasteful to take it as a reward.

"Sky Martial Technique and Fussy Arrowhead. These are a bit more difficult to choose…."

[Sky Martial Technique] is a rare rune among archery martial techniques.

I don't know the detailed information or content of the rune.

It's a rune I've only heard the name of.

However, Min Chae-hwan's excellent archery skills during the dungeon run and the 'arrow barrage from the air' skill he used against hunting team 5 at the end… these were likely due to [Sky Martial Technique].

[Fussy Arrowhead] is also a rare rune.

It's a rune that occasionally appears for some talented archer-type holders, allowing them to imbue arrowheads with mana to cause specific status effects on the target.

It's a rune similar to [Simple Curse] among my runes.

Due to this rune, archer-type holders are also known as the class responsible for party CC (Crowd Control) techniques.

"Still, in the end…"

I was a bit hesitant,

but my gaze eventually settled on [Cold Focus].

The first two runes are definitely good runes.

They are rare (Rare) grade and, being Min Chae-hwan's main runes, they are likely to be quite high level.

However, they have the disadvantage of being limited to archer-type holders, and my archery skills are not good enough to actively use them.

On the other hand, [Cold Focus].

This is a rune that affects the holder's overall combat.

It's a mental-type rare rune that allows you to maintain a steady combat stance without being shaken by sudden ambushes, surprising variables, or special status effects.

It's also a rune that can completely counter status effect-related runes like [Fussy Arrowhead] or [Simple Curse].

While it's one step below Park Jin-woo's [Clear Mind], it would definitely be helpful to me.

[You have selected Cold Focus. As it is a level 9 rare rune, its level will decrease and be registered as level 5.]

[You have obtained a new rune.]

[The rune's attribute grants 4 points to mental.]

A new rune is engraved on one side of my body.

The special effect of [Cold Focus] is, as expected, the ability to resist various status effects in proportion to the 'mental' stat.

There are no special derived skills.

"Next… the Imugi of the Wild Mountain."

I called up the second information window that I had delayed.

[You have won the duel! Your victory is recognized due to your high contribution during the duel. By the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can duplicate one of the opponent's runes. Please select the rune to duplicate.]

[1. Garden of Split Earth 2. Solid Endurance (Not Selectable) 3. Strong Fangs (Not Selectable) 4. Herculean Strength (Not Selectable) 5. Flesh Defense (Not Selectable) 6. Agile Movement (Not Selectable)]

The rune setup of the 'Imugi of the Wild Mountain' was simple.

Most of the runes were already in my possession, so there was only one option available.

Judging from the fact that most of the runes were focused on physical enhancement, it seems that the monster had a very high base ability.

Its stats and rune setup surpassed those of a typical A-rank monster, and it also had the dungeon gimmick of freely manipulating old trees.

In fact, hunting it was a miracle.

[You have selected Garden of Split Earth. As it is a level 11 epic rune, its level will decrease and be registered as level 6.]

[You have obtained a new rune.]

[The rune's attribute grants 6 points to earth resistance and 3 points to mana.]

[A new resistance has been activated.]

Due to all but one being not selectable, the rune was automatically decided.

I quickly checked the rune information.

<Rune Information>

◎Name: Garden of Split Earth

◎Grade: Epic (Epic)

◎Level: 6

◎Engraved Part: Soles of the feet

◎Special Effect

: Allows free manipulation of the earth and the ability to handle the energy of the ground. Its use is limited in special areas like deserts.

: Enhances abilities in terrains like mountains and thickets. Allows designation of the direction of 'landslides' caused by ground vibrations.

: Earth Resistance +6, Mana +3

◎Derived Skill

[Power Break]

◎Detailed Information

: The energy accumulated over a long period is stored in the cracks of the split earth. Within the area of the garden, the user can freely handle this energy.

Staring blankly at the rune information, I muttered to myself.

"Jackpot…."

They say that after hard work comes reward.

This is like hitting the jackpot on a slot machine after enduring hardships.

The sweet rewards for overcoming the dungeon with a life-or-death struggle.