Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

After dinner with Kang Juyeon yesterday, Choi Yoo-min met me and handed me this armor. Naturally, I was pleasantly surprised.

She had already crafted a ‘Rare-grade’ item? How much had she grown her Runes while I was away?

[Iron-Blooded Night Field] was an Epic Rune that was considered one of the best in the alchemy category. The fact that this Rune was growing so quickly meant that Choi Yoo-min’s path to becoming a high-level blacksmith was not far off.

Choi Yoo-min had handed me this commemorative item, calling it a ‘contract equipment,’ despite my intention to pay for it. I insisted, but she politely declined.

-It’s thanks to you that I was able to make this item! So, consider it my gift. I really hope you accept it. It’s also a chance for me to repay your help.

Choi Yoo-min was not only skilled but also had excellent character. She had a way of saying the same thing so beautifully. Honestly, considering her future reputation, the money was almost insignificant… Having the investment she needed at the right time was much appreciated.

At that point, I couldn’t refuse her kindness any longer. So today, I wore the armor she had given me.

[Scorched Lizard Leather Armor], along with [Penitent’s Sword] and [Goblin’s Bronze Shield].

This was the moment when the third Rare-grade or higher item was added to my inventory.

Keyeee-!!

Key, keyiit…!!

After easily blocking the fire attacks with fire resistance and the armor’s power, the battle continued relentlessly in the middle section.

Once again, there were more than ten B-grade monsters.

I didn’t stop and continued my relentless hunting of them.

Susu, sususe…

Wooong-!

Shoaaa-!!

This time, I utilized [Swirling Tidal Wave]. Since it was a cave, there were puddles of water scattered around on the ground. I made the water spout up and transformed it into a giant wave that covered everything. It was the manifestation of the derived skill from the Rune, [New Wave].

‘I’ve definitely become more proficient.’

I had used [New Wave] during my spar with Park Jin-woo. It was a skill I had acquired not long ago and had used immediately. At the time, my control over the wave was unskilled, and I could only barely avoid it thanks to Park Jin-woo’s quick reflexes.

But now, I have become significantly more skilled at it.

When I was alone, I occasionally attempted Rune utilization, and my proficiency had improved to a point where it was quite usable now.

Buzz, buzz-

Grrrrr-

The quantity of waves inside the cave was enough to turn it upside down. However, this alone wouldn’t deal much damage to the lizards. Lizard-type monsters were almost impervious to water-type magical attacks because of their [Underwater Breathing] ability. This ability, possessed by C-grade Lizardmen and B-grade lizard-type monsters, meant their combat abilities weren’t significantly diminished even in water. In fact, swift creatures like the Poisonous Iguanas might fight even better in water.

“Let’s see if you can handle this, guys.”

So, I immediately planned an additional strike.

[Penetrating Brain Strike].

It was a lightning attribute magical Rune I had acquired while hunting Electrophoresis. I used it to charge my sword with electricity in both hands.

[New Wave], filling the cave with waves, and the intense lightning that followed.

Pa, parts-parts-

Tss-tss-tss-tz!!

An enormous amount of excessive current surged over the lizards. They couldn’t withstand the intensified lightning as they rode the water and were instantly electrocuted.

It was only natural that after the casting time of [New Wave], all the surrounding monsters turned into crispy corpses.

I watched the spectacle and scratched my head.

“What is this… these performance levels are too good.”

This dungeon exploration was a hunt aimed at confirming the rewards I had obtained from the Forest Covered by Snakes, the last place I had conquered.

As for items, I had [Penitent’s Sword] and [Scorched Lizard Leather Armor], and for Runes, I had a total of seven additional Runes, including [Fragmented Earth Garden], [Penetrating Brain Strike], and [Stealth].

I wanted to check their performance and my own skills that had grown. However, the battles had become so easy that it wasn’t an easy assessment. Of course, this was due to the fact that I had faced lizard monsters countless times and had a good understanding of the structure and mechanics of this underground dungeon. This was already an attempt on the verge of reaching two digits.

“Maybe I should have conducted this experiment in a different dungeon.”

I had such a frustrating thought.

Anyway, I continued to defeat the B-grade lizards systematically and eventually reached the front of the boss room.

“It’s really possible to do this alone.”

I muttered in awe while looking at the boss room’s entrance. Excluding the initial party hunt with five members in the Academy Underground Dungeon, I had never reached this far on my own. Even when hunting with Kim Chae-eun, we hadn’t reached this point. I keenly felt how much I had grown.

“Then…”

I used [Combat Healing] to heal the wounds I had accumulated from hunting up to now. After a short maintenance break, I cautiously opened the door to the boss room.

It had been a long time since I encountered the final boss in the lizard’s lair.

[You have entered the boss room.]

[The fierce aura of the Red Drake is present. Holder’s speed is reduced.]

An information window appeared before my eyes. And in the center of the boss room stood a…

Red-scaled Drake.

…Red?

What, red?

“…Isn’t this the Grizzly Drake?”

I looked at the boss monster with a puzzled expression. It was the first time in a long while that I had encountered a different individual of the boss monster species in the boss room.