Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

Chapter 258

Hot Victory Report (3)

“You motherfucker…!!”

A hoarse shout erupted.

The owner of the voice was the man in the robe.

It was Dave, the sub-branch leader of the Ludenack faction.

He tightly grasped the tattered end of his robe and struck his own thigh repeatedly.

Since they were fleeing to a barren wasteland with nothing around, unfortunately he had nowhere to vent his anger except his own body.

“What the hell is that damn bastard?!”

The Holder who had blocked their path when they were in a hurry to get away.

No, he did more than just block them – he had pushed them to the edge of a cliff.

Park Jin-woo.

Because of his exploits after newly awakening the power of a ‘Seeker’, Dave and his subordinate Aquillen had to flee from the area without inflicting any significant damage on the enemy.

“Please calm down, Mr. Dave.”

“How can I calm down? Our Ludenark had to turn tail and run away because of a mere human!”

“…The situation was unavoidable.”

Aquillen tried to persuade Dave as calmly as possible.

In fact, he was right.

No matter how much Park Jin-woo had awakened, he was still ultimately weaker than Dave, so originally there was no risk to their lives that would make them have to flee.

However, from the point he succeeded in defending once…

The tide turned in favor of the Baraten camp.

The human heroes blocked the vanguard, and the emboldened wolves launched a counterattack.

The Clark camp’s wolves fell one by one to their relentless assault, and the Baraten camp succeeded in gaining a numerical advantage.

The favorable situation had turned unfavorable in an instant.

Even though Dave and Aquillen were powerful mages, they were still just mages after all.

Without troops to hold the front line, they could become endangered at any moment.

“Damn it. We tried to capture Do Jae-hyun, but ended up being held back by some human…”

Their original target had been Do Jae-hyun.

The plan was to lightly step over the area Park Jin-woo was guarding, reach Do Jae-hyun’s front area, and launch additional attacks.

Since Hwang Seong-yeon had already left for the front area to fight him, they thought they could flank and pressure Do Jae-hyun by breaking through the side area.

But then they ended up having to flee due to an unexpected human blocking them…

For Dave, it was an unbelievably ridiculous reality that was hard to believe.

“It seems we were too focused on Do Jae-hyun and overlooked his attack squad. Not only in the area we were in, but reports of defeats are coming in from various other areas as well.”

Aquillen spoke with his head bowed.

Do Jae-hyun and the <Ripple Raid> were completely leading this battle.

In one area, a destructive mage-type Holder praised as the ‘Goddess of Fire’ was active, and in another area, rumors swirled of a woman riding a wolf and shooting arrows.

And in the area they directly experienced with Park Jin-woo, as well as the originally intended area of Do Jae-hyun.

His attack force was present in every place the ambush took place.

There was no place they were not around.

Perhaps the mistake in this infiltration operation was…

That they had underestimated the people around the target too much.

“…Is there still no contact from Angela?”

As Dave gritted his teeth and asked, Aquillen took out a crystal ball.

It was an item that would light up when a signal came from the distant her.

“Not a single time since the ambush began. It’s certain she’s been exposed.”

“To think they actually found the spy we so carefully prepared. They’re not just good at fighting.”

Even Angela the spy had been uncovered.

This was a considerable blow.

She was a spy they had painstakingly trained, even enrolling her in the American Academy, and she had also shown outstanding ability in manufacturing within Ludenark, so the regret was even greater.

Do Jae-hyun, Do Jae-hyun, Do Jae-hyun.

That damned name kept clinging to their heels wherever they went.

During <Villain>, he was merely an annoyance, but now he was truly rising as an enemy of Ludenark.

“Didn’t I tell you not to be complacent? Do Jae-hyun is not an opponent to be taken lightly like that.”

Then, a low voice chiding him came from the side.

Dark blue hair covering the face.

A crimson sword gripped in the hand.

It was Hwang Seong-yeon.

“But aren’t you in the same boat, Mr Hwang Seong-yeon?”

A sneering sound accompanied Dave’s retort.

He had rushed alone to the front area only to end up fleeing as well.

Hwang Seong-yeon had also failed to anticipate Do Jae-hyun’s ‘battle avoidance strategy’.

In an instant, the battle situation had changed to a one-versus-many, and Hwang Seong-yeon could only leave the battlefield as well.

Normally, Dave would have mocked his flippant tone, but he had no such leisure now.

Hwang Seong-yeon folded his arms expressionlessly and said, “So we’re in the same boat. Then, do you have a next plan?”

“……”

At that, Dave silently looked at Aquillen.

Quickly understanding what his boss wanted, Aquillen took out a small jewel from his magic bag.

A flashy crystal that sparkled with a green light.

This item was essentially the biggest reason they had come to this dungeon.

“There doesn’t seem to be any damage to it.”

“Of course. It was an item prepared originally to extract those inferior wolves, but we couldn’t even draw out a single one.”

Dave received the crystal and put it in his robe.

Then, he placed his hand on the ground and concentrated his magic.

The plan when entering the dungeon was simple.

Aid the Clark camp and wipe out the <Ripple Raid> and Baraten camp.

Then, turn the victorious Clark wolves into ‘defectors’ and extract them out of the dungeon.

That was the entire plan, which ultimately failed.

If it had succeeded, it would have caused great chaos and raids in the present world, but since the plan failed, all that was left was to leave the dungeon and pursue an alternative.

Although to get out of the dungeon, you have to either find the entrance through which you came in or conquer the dungeon…

Dave didn’t need to do that.

He was already an ‘escapee’ who had escaped the dungeon once before.

“Aquilen, as soon as we get out, we’ll execute the plan. We’ll use the spare crystals to expedite the defection of the guild master.”

“Yes, Dave!”

Aquilen, who assisted with the defection magic, answered with a resounding voice.

Watching this scene silently, Hwang Seong-yeon muttered while gripping a blood-stained magic sword in his hand.

“But it seems they still have a plan.”

Despite the apparent failure of the dungeon infiltration and the defection of the wolves,

It seemed that the Ludenark Guild still had a contingency plan.

***

Ippotranslations

* * *

“Raise your glasses…!!”

“Victory! A great victory!!”

“For Baraten! For Tol!”

“For our human comrades!!”

Cheers erupted from the excited wolves, and reports of victory rang out here and there.

A great victory.

The battle ended in an unprecedented great victory in Baraten’s history.

Considering the surprise attack at dawn and the overwhelming numerical difference, as well as other unfavorable circumstances…

It was a victory that could be called a miracle.

“Do Jae-hyun, are you okay?”

Amidst the pouring congratulations, Enrichten came up to me and asked.

After I had almost finished the battle with [Dragon Breath], I had expended all my magic and stamina, and was lying exhausted on the ground.

Having no strength left to get up, I answered him while lying down.

“I can’t get up. But I’m okay physically.”

“It’s fine, stay like that. You deserve to.”

“Enrichten, by the way, what happened to Hwang Seong-yeon? The human who was fighting me earlier.”

When I asked the question that first came to mind…

Enrichten’s expression darkened slightly.

“I’m sorry. He seemed to be a very important enemy to you, but I let him get away. With his peculiar abilities and great power, it wasn’t easy to forcibly capture him.”

“Ah…”

I, too, swallowed my regret at that answer.

Hwang Seong-yeon was a man with the abilities and rune settings of an S-grade Holder, as well as the top-tier rune, the magic sword [Dine Slipher].

Since I, his only rival, had fallen in battle, it wouldn’t have been easy to keep him detained.

So I had somewhat expected it, but I still felt a tinge of disappointment that he had indeed slipped away.

“Can’t be helped. It’s not like we didn’t mark him; we did our best but couldn’t capture him. Then what about the Clark forces?”

Hwang Seong-yeon and the Ludenark Guild.

A major issue that humans and Holders must resolve going forward, but for now, the important thing is the victory in this war.

This time, Enrichten’s expression brightened considerably.

“It’s a complete great victory. Eleven of the Clark bastards’ units have been annihilated, and twelve of their Awakened Warriors have died. Although the Tol Clark Blake and some units managed to survive and flee to their camp , they’ve had their supply lines cut off. If we advance like this, the war will be a victory for our Baraten.”

A victory close to a miracle.

Of course, there were many casualties on the Baraten side as well, and even our <Ripple> suffered losses… But in the end, the important thing is that we ultimately prevailed.

I look up at the sky.

The full moon that had filled the dawn was gone…

And the sun was already rising in the sky.

Seeing this, I smiled and said, “Good work, Enrichten.”

“That’s not for me to hear, it seems.”

“Haha. You still went along with my rather forceful plan, didn’t you? It would have been impossible without you, Enrichten.”

I had gained the trust of the Lycan warriors not only because of my abilities but also because Enrichten had believed in me and pushed me forward.

If it weren’t for him, this dungeon raid would have been considerably more difficult.

In response to my expression of gratitude, Enrichten smiled wryly.

“You talk too much. Get some rest. I’ll see you later.”

As befitting a rough-and-tumble wolf warrior.

As expected, there was no human-like courtesy.

But that plain response only made the victory feel more real to me.

We won.

Damn, we really won.

Still rolling on the dirt-covered ground…

I fully savored that victory.

And-.

[Breath of Fantasy! With the deep trust built between you and your contractor, you will now shine brighter when both participate in the same battle. The level of understanding of the promise made through the Dragon’s Words has increased dramatically.]

[‘Promise Bound by the Dragon’ Rune leveled up…]

[Due to the nature of the rune, you gain 10 Leadership.]

[The shackles binding your contractors have finally been undone. You are now the true master of the two contractors, having met all qualifications. (*You still cannot summon both contractors simultaneously due to insufficient Leadership stat).]

[Restrictions on the ‘Magic Domination’ and ‘Dragon’s Promise’ Runes of your contractor ‘Tyrbon (True Dragon)’ have been lifted.]

[Restrictions on the ‘Magic Domination’ and ‘Horn of Bravery’ Runes of your contractor ‘As (Aspidochelon)’ have been lifted.]

[You have won the duel! Due to your high contribution in the duel, your victory is recognized. Through the mysterious power of a Rune Hunter, you can duplicate one of your opponent’s Runes. Please select the Rune to duplicate.]

[This is a duplicate Rune!… You can only duplicate the derived skill of this Rune.]

[The derived skill ‘Orange Buff Howling’ has been newly added.]

[You have won the duel!…]

[You have won the duel!…]

…

…

Information windows congratulating me on my victory kept popping up one after another.

At the sheer volume, I stuck out my tongue.

‘…But the raid isn’t even over yet.’

It was certainly a case of reaping sweet rewards after great toil.

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