197 – Dragon’s Breath River (1)

After the hot Christmas, after all the end of the year.

New Year’s morning was bright.

And then, the academy vacation began.

This vacation is quite meaningful to me.

It was also because it was the first vacation to finally take off the freshman title from the academy, and it was also because it was a break to wrap up this year that was like a blast.

If I had to evaluate last year in one word…

I can only pick one up and say it.

Rune.

In the meantime, I have acquired countless runes through a fraudulent rune called [Rune Hunter], and those various runes have served as a foundation for me to grow without being biased in one place.

“The number… 48?”

I was surprised when I suddenly counted the number of runes I had.

crazy.

what’s so much

Far exceeded the limit on the number of runes (30) that ordinary holders could obtain.

Even the [Rune Hunter] special effect increased the limit of 50, which is almost full.

I thought I got it by controlling myself, but the pace was much faster than I thought.

“Oh, there is one more.”

Not 48, but 49.

Come to think of it, there was one more rune acquired on Christmas Eve.

＜Rune information＞

◎Name: Deer’s Ice Horns

◎Rating: Rare

◎Level: 4

◎Engraved part: head

◎Special effects

: You can freely handle ice properties. When used in special terrain such as water or ice, it can be used stronger and faster.

: When held by a target with horns on their body, the power of the rune increases by 50%. In addition, the corresponding horn can be converted into an ice attribute containing magical power without a cooldown at any time.

◎ Derivation skill

◎Details

: A special ice horn of a deer that comes only on special days. Originally, it was the power to decorate the garden beautifully, but as time passed, it also contained a powerful power that made the surroundings freeze.

A rune obtained by defeating ‘Ice Rudolph’.

When I first got this, I thought it would go into the sub-rune of [Elemental Master], but strangely, this guy didn’t go into the sub-rune.

It’s not just this rune.

The [Scorching Flame] and [Penetrating Brain Ki] that I have are not incorporated into sub-runes, and still remain in my own runes.

Read at noblemtl.com

Just because it is a rune with simple elemental properties, not all of them are incorporated into sub-runes.

Apparently, [Elemental Master], unlike other runes of high rank, seemed to recognize only certain set runes as lower runes.

Anyway, [Ice Horns of a Deer], as you might expect from the name, was a magic rune that allowed you to control ice properties.

There were no derivative skills due to the low proficiency and rune level, but there were special effects that increased power conditionally.

In particular, the condition ‘if possessed by a target with horns on the body part’ stood out.

“… It’s plainly saying that people shouldn’t use it.”

It feels unfair, but when you think about it, there is nothing wrong with it.

‘Isn’t that something you can’t get?’

It was a rune that people couldn’t acquire in the first place, but it was no different from forcibly obtained through [Rune Hunter].

At least among the skills I have, there is a special skill called [Yonginhwa] that transforms the body…

This was just a stat pumping skill that only sprouted small scales on the body, and there was no special effect of sprouting horns on the body.

“I’ll have to give it to the contract monster.”

It was necessary to grant runes to monsters that would be newly contracted, or to give bond additional runes by raising the rune level of the [promise made by dragons].

I can just use it, but I don’t think it will be very effective.

In the first place, when you really need ice attribute magic, you just have to go hunting with Kim Chae-eun.

“It’s level 3, and the level of leadership is 31… .”

In the meantime, I have been steadily training with Professor Kang Dong-wook, and researching the special item [Order of Convergence]…

My skills related to ‘contract’ have also grown a lot.

[The promise made by the dragon] is level 3, and the leadership value is 31.

Thanks to this, the number of targets that could be contracted increased from 1 to 3.

If this is enough, it seems that there will be no great difficulty in maintaining the summon even if one more contract is signed.

“I need to quickly sign a contract and shake off some of the runes.”

I felt that I had managed my own way, but I never thought that it had already reached 49.

It seems that the 15 runes acquired in large numbers during the ＜Villain＞ eradication operation took up a lot of space.

There could be a situation where you can’t get the rune you want if the rune you have is full, so I decided to hurry up and make another contractor.

There are two ways to organize runes: ‘higher runes’ and ‘grant runes to contractors’, but the latter is more reliable and faster than the former.

“reappearance. Have you been waiting long?”

That was around the time I was sorting out my ＜Holder Information＞ for a while.

I felt a tap on my shoulder along with a familiar voice.

“Ah, Master.”

Pure white uniform and flowing white hair.

A pale yet beautiful appearance like a snowflake.

Even though the coordination might feel old, the unique lofty atmosphere of the holder offsets this.

Now it was Yoo Eun-seol who became my ‘official teacher’.

She was still speaking honorifics to me, but the hard title of ‘Do Jae-hyeon Holder’ had been changed.

At first, I didn’t think much about the title, but when I was called by my first name by Master, I felt closer.

It was similar to how I felt when I first opened my name with Jooyeon or Gaeun.

Yoo Eun-seol approached me while adjusting her uniform and daggers little by little.

“sorry. It’s a dungeon I’ve been preparing for a long time, so there’s a lot to check.”

“no. I just came too.”

Today is just a few days after the start of the new year.

We were preparing for a hunt with a party of two.

The promise that Yoo Eun-seol and I made when we first met.

The reason why she dared to take office as an academy instructor.

It was to capture the double dungeon inside ＜The River Where the Dragon’s Breath Touches＞.

“Did you bring the items I told you about?”

Yoo Eun-seol asked me while checking my magic bag and equipment.

Items that have been pre-arranged.

That said, [Intermediate antidote], [Intermediate sedative], [Intermediate accelerator], etc.

In ＜The River where the dragon’s breath touches＞, which we will go to this time, various types of monsters appear, and most of them use runes or skills related to ‘status abnormalities’.

For that reason, in order to attack, you must include a divine holder in the party or bring ‘status abnormality release’ items made by an alchemist.

“We’re going to clear the dungeon with a party of two, so we really need the items.”

However, this attack is Yoo Eun-seol and me.

It is made up of only two people.

The reason is that our goal is not ＜the river where the dragon’s breath touches＞, but the ‘double dungeon attack’ hidden in it.

This dual dungeon can only be entered by two holders with special conditions.

In Eunseol Yoo’s words, it is a ‘holder with the energy of the dragon’…

At the time, I hadn’t unlocked the slate, so I don’t know how I met the conditions at that time.

Anyway, she reminded me of such strategy-related information, and instructed me to bring related items before coming today.

‘I don’t need it because of the Myungkyung index… .’

But actually I don’t need those items.

It’s because there is a spirit-type epic rune, [Mysterious View Index] obtained by defeating ‘Yamata no Orochi’ in Japan.

Park Jin-woo’s second trademark, this rune, is a fraudulent rune that shows complete immunity to mental attacks.

Since he had already reached level 6, he was itching for quite a few status ailments.

“Yes. I brought everything here.”

Still, the teacher’s instructions are instructions.

I didn’t have to add such an explanation to inform my rune information, and there was nothing bad just in case.

When I took all the items out of my magic bag, Yu Eun-seol nodded in satisfaction.

“like. Then let’s go right away.”

“Shall we go to the academy warp gate?”

“Yeah. I have to go to Chungnam.”

＜River where the dragon’s breath touches＞ is a dungeon in South Chungcheong Province.

It is a dungeon located on Mt. Gyeryong, which rises across Gongju and Daejeon. It was a privately owned dungeon that Yu Eun-seol purchased all the shares from the party members at the time of the raid and took ownership of it.

Thanks to that, even when we went today, it seemed that the attack would proceed without interference from other holders.

We moved from the main gate and moved to the warp gate inside the academy.

“It’s convenient because the academy has a warp gate.”

“It’s a bit unfortunate that students can’t use it.”

In fact, this warp gate cannot be used carelessly by ordinary students.

The academy put restrictions on its use.

Only internal officials, full-time professors, or special students whose rights were recognized could use it.

Such restrictions were possible because it was not a simple state-operated warp gate, but a gate managed by the operating foundation for private reasons and linked to the association.

‘Although I can write.’

By the way, I also have access to this warp gate.

The ‘Circle of the Year’ officially selected by the academy the other day.

Among the awards that my ＜Anti-Villain＞ received, this ‘Academy Warp Gate’ was included.

It is said that it includes special and various benefits, but unexpectedly, there was a place to use it not far away.

Thanks to that, I was able to use the warp gate with Eunseol Yoo without having to go far.

“Even though I am leaving soon, the academy still recognizes my status.”

Yoo Eun-seol walked beside me and said.

Read at noblemtl.com

Just as she initially aimed for, she quit the academy after only six months as an instructor.

Since this was something Professor Tak Won-ho also accepted, he let her go without saying anything.

However, since the academy’s official graduation period is in February of the new year, it seemed that the special lecturer position was still recognized.

I replied with a smile.

“That’s because Master contributed a lot in the last operation. You spent a lot of energy trying to save the academy.”

“is that so?”

“Yeah. If it wasn’t for Master, we would have been wiped out there.”

“Doesn’t that mean Jaehyun? I think Jaehyun did more than me.”

“ah… .”

After praising her once, you get a more unfamiliar compliment.

In fact, in a conversation like this, you can’t beat Master.

Master was very proud of having me as his disciple.

Even when interviewed by the media, he always looked up at me and made a shocking remark that he would surpass himself and become the youngest S-class holder.

‘… I have to do well.’

At first, I was embarrassed by her praise, but now I first thought that I should live up to that expectation.

It means that they trust and rely on me, the ‘first official disciple’.

“I have arrived.”

As we talked about this and that, before we knew it, we had arrived at our destination.

Daejeon, Yuseong-gu, which came through the warp gate.

Gyeryongsan National Park spans the end of it.

It was a mountain heading towards ＜the river where the dragon’s breath touches＞.