Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

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In his hands, he held a shortsword in each hand.

He rushed fearlessly towards the Electrophoruses.

Stepping on one creature’s head, he swiftly bent and leapt into the air, somersaulting before landing with his body weight.

In mid-air, he swung his dual shortswords in a cascading motion, slicing through the creature.

Slaughter.

The term slaughter was fitting – Choi Dong-wook’s shortsword technique was splendid and full of speed.

I watched the scene in awe.

‘Wow… that’s how it’s done?’

Due to my lack of proper dagger training in the academy, I used [Dagger] mainly for throwing purposes, so my perspective was different from his.

Choi Dong-wook skillfully utilized two slightly elongated shortswords as if they were extensions of his limbs, effortlessly cleaving through the monsters’ bodies.

I didn’t know what kind of runes or skills he was employing, but he definitely showcased the elegance and flair of an ‘assassin’.

If I ever got the chance…

I wanted to learn proper dagger techniques from him.

Swoosh-Crack-!!

Kwaaang-!!

But that wasn’t the end of it.

This time, spells flew out and covered the monsters.

One was a fire-based spell, and the other was wind-based.

It was the attack magic of Kang Juyeon and Kim Sung-cheol, who were now prepared.

The Electrophorus in front of me, which was already in a weakened state, met its end. The situation was similar for the monsters the other team members were dealing with.

“…”

I scratched my head and quietly observed the scene.

It was over in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the battle all around was finished.

Although Shin Yuna seemed burdened handling two creatures on her own, with the assistance of the archer Min Chae-hwan and the magic-wielding team members, they managed to finish the hunt.

There was no need to mention Kwon Oh-jun.

He single-handedly dealt with two Electrophoruses.

His damage abilities utilizing a spear were at their peak, and around him were only the corpses of two monsters and puddles of blood.

‘…This is why they’re the top three clans.’

“Judgment of Fire”.

Along with <Royal>, and <Dragon Flame Sword Sect>, were the top three clans in the nation.

They demonstrated their immense power in an instant, proving they weren’t just called the best clans for show.

30 seconds? 40 seconds?

It seemed to take roughly that amount of time.

Comparing this to when Shin Yuna and I fought together, the battle here on Inwangsan Field was quite embarrassing.

“Battle ends. Good job, everyone.”

Kwon Oh-jun succinctly declared the end.

Then he turned his attention to a panicked Shin Yuna.

“Shin Yuna. Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine…”

Shin Yuna managed to respond, but it was clear that she wasn’t fine.

It was understandable.

She wasn’t a shield user like me, nor did she possess overwhelming power like Kwon Oh-jun to take down two monsters alone.

She was an evasion-based tanking warrior.

Although she had an attractive ability, she felt uncertain when facing monsters utilizing magical attacks like just now.

Thanks to Min Chae-hwan, Kang Juyeon, and Kim Sung-cheol.

Three of the support-oriented members handled the monsters on Shin Yuna’s side.

Of course, Shin Yuna was well aware of this, and she was probably feeling like a burden in the team right now.

“Heh, Shin Yuna seems to be struggling a lot.”

“Oh, it’s Holder Lee Soo-mi.”

As usual, Lee Soo-mi approached.

She casually placed her hand on my shoulder, radiating recovery power. This time, the light was violet instead of the usual emerald green.

“Newbie, you got shocked earlier, right? I’ll use Rest on you.”

Among the various buff skills of the divine category, [Rest] was focused on stabilization. It was the most suitable treatment for me, who had been momentarily shocked by the monster.

I was about to express my gratitude, but her touch on my chest once again surprised me.

This woman was a repeat offender.

“I, I appreciate it… but it’s too inward…”

“Oh my, my mistake, my mistake.”

Lee Soo-mi responded cheerfully.

Then she naturally moved her hand towards my shoulder.

She then brought up the topic she had mentioned earlier.

“Make sure to comfort the newbie later. She seems a bit disheartened after this battle.”

Surprisingly, she was capable of such words.

It turns out I shouldn’t judge people solely by their appearance, attire, speech, and actions.

I nodded my head in agreement.

“It’s all part of the learning process. I’m sure Shin Yuna will do even better with more battles under her belt.”

“Hehe, but you were fighting so well, Intern. Didn’t you practically take down one of them?”

“…I got lucky.”

Truthfully, luck wasn’t a factor.

As Lee Soo-mi said, I fought well, and it was easier than I expected.

The Electrophorus was a monster with strong attacks but weak defenses.

Because of this, it would release a powerful attack before being hit, which meant if I had a preference for attacking, I could strike before getting hit by its intense magical attack.

However, with a variety of runes that focused on both defense and offense, it was easy for me.

The balanced combination of my runes was perfectly suited for hunting this creature.

The 3-second fear-inducing [Declaration of Domination] skill was too overpowered, and the battle seemed like a piece of cake.

Perhaps even without party support, I could have managed to take down both monsters by myself.

While my attributes were far from B-grade, my rune utilization felt like it was approaching that level.

[Your understanding of the flowing water and the rough currents deepens, allowing you to gain more insight into these contrasting aspects.]

[The level of the rune ‘Water Sword Technique’ has increased.]

[Victory in combat! Your significant contribution in the battle is recognized. Through the mystical power of the Rune Hunter, you can duplicate one of the opponent’s runes. Please select the rune to duplicate.]

And with that, a reward for my monster hunt, as always.

It was just like adding strength to my abilities.

Yet another reward for my growth.

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