EP.3 First Rune Hunt (2)
＜Next Rune Holder＞ is a growth type hunter.
Naturally, the main character, Park Jin-woo, is weak in the beginning.
Its speed is rather high, but its strength and magical power are disastrous.
The rune level is also quite low compared to the other main characters.
So, in the beginning of the play, he was often ignored.
There was only one reason why he made such a reversal.
‘The investigator’s sweat… .’
[Seeker’s Sweat].
Epic Rune that maximizes the holder’s growth.
Rune level growth is 3 times faster, and stats increase slightly in proportion to training time.
An honest rune that returns results as much as effort.
It was a rune that suited Park Jin-woo more than anyone else, a hot-blooded holder who was crazy about training.
If Kang Joo-yeon is a genius in the realm of talent.
Park Jin-woo could be seen as a genius of hard work.
“Jaehyun-ah, here.”
Kim Chae-eun was the first to arrive at the Dalian test site.
Kim Chae-eun smiles and waves to me.
I approached her and sat down next to her.
“Did you do well on the exam?”
“no. The lower class has arrived.”
“… too bad. Jaehyun trained a lot, so I thought he would be in the intermediate class.”
“It’s not just about training. I can’t help it.”
After sitting for a while and talking with Kim Chae-eun, the exam hall began to fill with applicants.
In the center, the blunt supervisor I saw earlier took the microphone.
“To all applicants, congratulations on being accepted to Seoul Holder Academy. The final test of this entrance exam will be held soon. The actual competition will be held for each class that you have been temporarily selected for, so please take it carefully as it is an important test that affects your class advancement and your admission to the academy.”
The actual competition is a test to determine the entrance score.
Professors and supervisors in each field watch the match and make a comprehensive evaluation based on existing abilities and practical skills.
On rare occasions, this will result in a class promotion.
When the actual ability is far superior to the measured ability, the current ability is evaluated higher than the potential and promoted.
In addition, it was an important test with various honors and benefits, such as the position of the chief or vice president, and academic scholarship.
“Then why do you always do it in Dalian? You can catch the monster.”
Kim Chae-eun asked in a quiet voice next to her.
… Did you pretend to know him too much in front of him?
Even if I don’t know something, I feel like I’m asking.
I sighed slightly and replied.
“In the past, I was tested as a monster.”
“uh? really?”
“uh. However, monsters that are too dangerous and too weak to deal with in the entrance exam were eventually abolished because their discriminating power was lost in the upper classes. After all, professors can roughly understand the level of a match just by looking at their movements.”
The full-fledged work and goal of the holders, the monster.
With their various grades, they are ambiguous as test subjects.
The monsters that appear in the city are immediately wiped out, and the process and procedures are complicated to go to the dungeon.
Artificially catching monsters and bringing them back for the entrance exam is more complicated.
In terms of cost, efficiency is also considerably reduced, and such monsters are usually too low-level to discriminate among the top ranks.
For that reason, the ‘monster test’ was briefly implemented and then abolished soon after.
“First, let’s take the actual combat test of the temporary advanced class. Kang Ju-yeon Holder.”
“yes.”
Kang Joo-yeon gave a short answer and came forward.
Black hair with a slight hint of red.
And the energy of fire wafting around.
Even from a distance, I could recognize her at once.
The owner of [The Unquenchable Flame].
A rune holder of genius talent, Kang Joo-yeon.
‘Wow. It’s really Kang Joo-yeon… .’
I admired myself several times.
A person who was only seen as text.
A female protagonist that could only be imagined through illustrations.
Kang Joo-yeon was really in the same room as me.
Even when she breaks down the absurdity between the academy students.
Even when you catch a monster that suddenly appeared with your overwhelming skills.
Even when I went on a dungeon exploration with the main character, Park Jin-woo.
I had vividly pictured those scenes in my head and watched every moment together.
Such a Kang Joo-yeon is within sight.
The test center is so large that it is hard to see, but Park Jin-woo must be nearby.
As one of the most enthusiastic readers of ＜Next Rune Holder＞, I could not easily hide my strange and overwhelming emotions.
“Please indicate the opponent you will fight against. If there is no target, a random target will be selected.”
The actual competition in the entrance exam is conducted in the form of a nomination.
Each class member’s name and measurement ability are not disclosed.
So you can carefully look at and nominate applicants.
Picking weak applicants didn’t always lead to good grades.
Even if there was an extra point for the win, the process was more important.
If the applicants with the extreme level difference were overwhelmingly suppressed, there was a possibility of receiving a low score from the professors.
Searching for and competing with applicants of a similar level to yourself, and maximizing your ability to achieve the best results.
That was the evaluation item required for this actual battle.
“There is not.”
But Kang Joo-yeon answered firmly.
The attitude that it has nothing to do with whoever comes against.
What…
That’s her answer.
And at those insignificant words, the volunteers around them were even more enthusiastic.
“It’s also Kang Joo-yeon.”
“Is this what it is? I feel like I have no opponents in the advanced class… .”
“Are you looking forward to it for nothing? Are the professors only looking at Kang Joo-yeon?”
“The chief seems to be Kang Joo-yeon without seeing anything.”
“I’m really envious… would that be hereditary? My father is an S-class.”
Kang Joo-yeon was a celebrity even before entering the school.
An S-class holder known to have only five in Korea.
The only daughter of Kang Woo-hyun and the owner of Epic Rune.
Her trademark rune, [The Unquenchable Flame], was already featured several times in articles, and was a talent that was evaluated as the best rune among holders.
Holder, who is considered a strong successor to ＜Judgment of Fire＞, a huge clan led by Kang Woo-hyun.
That was Kang Joo-yeon.
“Then we will start the match by random matching. The opponent of Holder Kang Joo-yeon is Holder Seo Jin-ah.”
“ah… .”
A woman in the corner responded to the supervisor’s call.
Seeing that he had a spear as long as his body, he was probably a holder of a [spear] type rune.
‘I’m sorry.’
It’s a real battle with Kang Joo-yeon from the start.
I felt sorry for her bad luck.
She sighed as soon as her name was called.
Perhaps he predicted his own miserable future… .
With the supervisor’s autograph, the first real battle of the entrance exam started immediately.
gang-
buzz-
“End of Dalian. It is a victory for the holder, Jooyeon Kang.”
And there wasn’t much to see.
The Dalian ended with Kang Ju-yeon’s victory in less than three minutes.
I expected it to a certain extent, but it was an overwhelming difference that was hard to see as being in the same advanced class.
“Nonsense… Is it going to end this soon?”
“Is that really the same holder as us?”
“How did you avoid the first attack? He’s a magician, but his speed is that high… ?”
At the celebrity’s first match, the surroundings became noisy.
I also watched the scene with a blank face.
It ended so quickly that the accident circuit stopped instantly.
‘Is it a magic shield?’
If the original wizard class and warrior class face each other, the former is more disadvantageous.
Because they allow attacks before they even use magic.
However, Kang Joo-yeon easily overcame that difference.
I received the first Seo Jin-ah’s stab, directly avoiding it.
The second straight swing was blocked with a skill.
A translucent shield made of red magic.
No matter how you look at it, it was [Magic Shield], one of the main defense skills of a wizard.
‘It’s an incredible talent… .’
[Magic Shield] is a skill derived from the [Magic Control] rune.
In order to derive a skill from a rune, the rune must be raised to a significant level.
In other words, Juyeon Kang already possesses the [Magic Control] rune, and it can be seen that the level of the rune is high.
Truly an overwhelming talent.
It was quite understandable that the surroundings became so noisy at one time of her quarrel.
“It’s the next real battle.”
After the battle that was like Kang Joo-yeon’s turmoil.
The battles of the advanced class continued one by one.
At first, I watched with interest, but as I continued to look, there weren’t many talented people who deserved attention.
At the very least, the main characters in the story, Lee Tae-joon or Moon Ga-eun?
Even that is still incomplete.
There were many holders who hid their power in the early stages, and there were many cases where they gave up quickly after a small difference in skill, so there was not much to see.
“Jaehyun-ah, I’ll go and come back!”
Kim Chae-eun stood up and greeted her with a bright voice.
Before long, the test had progressed to the actual battle of the intermediate class.
Kim Chae-eun won the battle lightly in Dalian.
Her opponent is a holder who uses the [Water] series runes.
It was a perfect match for Kim Chae-eun, who uses [Freezing].
It was a bit of a futile match, but as long as Kim Chae-eun wins, it doesn’t seem to matter much.
He approached me with a V with an excited face, and he looked like a puppy wishing for praise.
“All of the mid-level battles are over. Finally, let’s proceed with the lower class actual battle. Do Jae-hyun holder.”
“yes!”
Finally my turn came.
After both the advanced and intermediate classes have been completed, it is the turn of the lower class battles.
It seems that the opportunities to be pointed out are random.
My name wasn’t the number one, and I was ranked first in the lower class even though I didn’t have high stats.
It was a good feeling from my point of view, as I had decided on a target person.
“Please indicate the opponent you will fight against. If there is no target, a random target will be selected.”
“I… ”
I looked around for a moment at the supervisor’s words.
Lower class holders sitting in different places, each forming their own group.
and…
With a sword against the wall in one corner.
A man doing image training alone.
The protagonist of ＜Next Rune Holder＞.
It was Park Jin-woo.
“I will point to holder Park Jin-woo.”
And the rune I need the most right now.
Owner of [Seeker’s Sweat].
It was also my first rune hunt.