Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

Chapter 46: C-grade Holder Promotion (5)

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“Capture that little brat!”

Oh no.

I’m the only one here right now.

As soon as I saw the Golden goblin carrying a treasure pouch, I unintentionally blurted out.

-Kerek…!!

I wonder if it was surprised by my scream.

The Golden goblin hastily took a defensive posture to escape.

But I wasn’t going to let it get away.

“No, absolutely not.”

If my speculation was correct,

This Golden goblin is the rest room of this dungeon.

A walking rest room.

Although it was a story I hadn’t heard before, there was no other way to explain the absence of a rest room in this undiscovered dungeon.

I quickly reached the Golden goblin.

And I grabbed its tail, preventing it from fleeing.

Its speed was noticeably slow.

Not just slower than the Goblin Chieftain, but even slower than a C-grade goblin warrior.

It was much slower compared to archers or magicians as well.

This fact indicated that it wasn’t an ordinary monster but a special-purpose monster in the dungeon.

“Huh?”

However, while I was holding it and trying to snatch the treasure pouch, I felt something strange.

A force seemed to leave my tightly gripped hand.

The Golden goblin, held by its tail, thrashed around…

Then suddenly slumped, as if… dead.

No, damn it.

Did It just die because of this?

“…A monster true to its purpose.”

A walking rest room.

A monster rewarded to dungeon conquerors for their efforts.

It faithfully fulfilled its purpose…

The Golden goblin completed its task and died.

To think it would die just from being held by its tail.

It was probably an F-grade monster if we go by grades.

The [Rune Hunter] message for acquiring runes didn’t appear either.

“Let’s check the rewards.”

After briefly expressing my condolences to the fallen goblin, I rummaged through the treasure pouch to check my rewards.

Rewards poured out into the room.

Various items, including magic stones, equipment, potions, and elixirs, were hidden in the treasure pouch.

Among them, I noticed the most eye-catching piece of equipment.

A Bronze-colored shield. I picked it up.

<Item Information>

◎ Name: Goblin’s Bronze Shield

◎ Type: Shield

◎ Grade: Rare

◎ Toughness: Normal

◎ Maker: –

–

◎ Special Effects: –

: Toughness +2

: When the user infuses magic, it can block not only physical attacks but also magic attacks. This effect will activate even if the user doesn’t have resistance to the specific element, and the level of defense will vary depending on the opponent’s attack level.

◎ Detailed Information: A shield mainly used by goblins. Considering its luxurious decorations and sturdy craftsmanship, it was probably used by the chieftain of the goblin tribe.

“Not bad.”

Starting with the first item, it’s a jackpot.

A Rare item that seems to have been used by the ‘Goblin Chieftain’.

It increases toughness by 2 and can block both physical and magic attacks with a shield.

I could have been in trouble if I mindlessly applied a magic attack to the shield.

“Lucky me.”

Not only the conquest itself but also the luck with the items.

Unlike the Academy Underground Dungeon, where B-grade monsters roamed and the boss was A-grade, the Goblin Lair was a lower to mid-tier dungeon with an average grade of C-grade monsters.

Naturally, the rewards for conquering it would be lower compared to the underground dungeon.

Yet, I broke through all of that, and an Epic item was hidden among the rewards.

The effect was amazing as well.

What the Golden goblin left behind…. It was literally a treasure bag.

“Should I start using a one-handed sword from now on?”

When I saw a rare-grade shield, I suddenly felt that way.

Meanwhile, when I used [Sword], it was a two-handed sword.

When using a two-handed sword, It had the advantage of being able to exert more power than normal tanks in terms of strength and speed, and being able to fight more smoothly in battles using [Sword]. On the other hand, if you use a one-handed sword while holding a shield, you can show your strength in defense much more than before.

“… It is better to change when necessary.”

Still, I’ve only used two-handed swords so far, but I couldn’t easily change my fighting style just because I had a good shield.

In addition, if I recklessly use a shield, my freedom in combat will also be restricted.

[Dagger] is difficult to use, and [Combat] is almost impossible to use too, only when you really need it, like now. For example, only in the case of a party where the role of the tank is more important…

It seemed better to take out the shield and use it.

“Elixir, potion, axe, armor… ”

The rest of the items were mediocre.

Most of the equipment are normal grade items.

In addition, there were various potions that could be purchased on the market. Among them, there was one elixir that increased magic power, and I took it right away to raise my abilities.

It only increased by 1, but…. Even that is precious to me, who needs magic right away.

“Is it over?”

After clearing all the items, the only thing left is the magic stone.

But between the stacked magic stones, a book was cleverly hidden.

A book full of dark energy.

I pondered over it, and then took it out immediately to check the information.

<Item information>

◎Name: Cursed Spellbook

◎Type: Special

◎Grade: Epic

◎Maker: –

–

◎Special effects: –

: If you spend three hours a day for ten days studying it, you will gain 2 points in magic, recovery, and willpower, each. It’s a one-time use effect, and once you use it, you can’t use it again..

◎Detailed Information: A book containing various spells and casting methods related to curses. If you have curse runes, this is a book that can be of great help.

“… I see.”

I thought it was over with one rare item, but what?

An Epic item was hidden.

Its effect was amazing.

An effect that raises each of the three stats by 2 when certain conditions are met.

Furthermore, it contained the magic stat that I needed the most right now.

“So, I can learn magic with this.”

While hunting goblin shamans in this dungeon, I gained the [Simple Curse], but I couldn’t use it because I didn’t know how to. Even though it wasn’t as complicated as regular magic, there must be a method to use curses.

And that method was written in this spellbook.

Curses like corrosion, frailty, debilitation, distortion, and more…

Various types of curses were recorded in the book. As a special item, it had considerable utility.

I put the [Cursed Spellbook] into my bag with a satisfied smile.

“Golden goblins… So good.”

Certainly, no matter where you go.

Golden goblins never betray us.

***

ippotranslations

***

Ji-hye couldn’t believe her eyes.

“So, this is…?”

The pile of magic stones and monster by-products drops in front of her.

They were the items I got from the dungeon raids and could also be used for promotion.

It wasn’t something that had accumulated in just a month or two.

Two days.

The promotion evaluation had begun, and the results were gathered in just two days.

Do Jae-hyun, the applicant who urgently needed to get things done, showed off his expertise in handling things quickly and brought all these results.

“It’s been a while, Examiner. No, it’s too soon to say a while, right?”

“Holder Do Jae-hyun….. What in the world…”

Ji-hye still seemed to be trying to grasp the situation.

Do Jae-hyun smiled as he looked at her.

“I got lucky. I found an undiscovered dungeon during a hunt.”

“An undiscovered dungeon?”

“Yes. Here’s the related report.”

He handed her a stack of papers.

<Undiscovered Dungeon: Goblin Lair (Tentative) – Report and Dungeon Ownership Evaluation Application – Holder Do Jae-hyun>

When she unfolded the documents, they indeed contained information about the undiscovered dungeon in the middle of Bukhansan Field, it is a small dungeon accessible through a small hole amidst the thick trees.

Bukhansan Field was already explored by numerous clans and Holders, so Ji-hye found it both fascinating and surprising that an undiscovered dungeon still existed there.

However, there was one strange point in the report.

It stated not only the discovery but also an additional phrase, ‘Application for the ownership evaluation of the dungeon’.

Reading it, Ji-hye cautiously asked, “Holder Do Jae-hyun, does this dungeon…”

“Yes, I completed everything from discovery to conquest. Most of the monsters were C-grade, so I got lucky.”

“….”

An undiscovered dungeon.

The first discoverer or clan with the priority to conquer it.

Regardless of whether the discoverer’s level matched that of the dungeon or whether they had the ability to conquer it.

It was an absolute regulation and law.

Once they completed the first conquest of the dungeon with the priority they acquired…

An evaluation of the ownership of the dungeon would follow.

In other words, Do Jae-hyun is now…

He had not only completed everything from discovery to conquest all by himself but also submitted a report requesting the evaluation of the ownership of the dungeon.

Do Jae-hyun smiled at Ji-hye.

“I assume examiners will be in charge of evaluating the ownership of the dungeon as well. I’ll be counting on you this time as well.”

Lee Ji-hye couldn’t pull herself together.

Too much information was coming in.

Her head felt overloaded.

So…

The Holder who, for the first time since being registered as a Holder, was attempting a three-step promotion to C-grade…

And in just two days, he brought all the designated achievements specified by the Association, satisfying all the necessary evaluation conditions…

And on top of that, he discovered an undiscovered dungeon, completed its conquest in two days, and even applied for the evaluation of its ownership?

“This is unbelievable…”

It was a series of stories that didn’t make sense logically.

However, the report and the items in front of her proved it.

And the protagonist was there, smiling with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Haha. I’m sorry. I unintentionally piled a lot of work on you, Examiner.”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that. This is an achievement for me as well…”

One of the highest achievements during an evaluation was the exploration of an undiscovered dungeon.

Especially the results achieved in this level were impossible to intentionally create.

Frankly, this situation was not bad for Lee Ji-hye at all.

But still…

“I’m just amazed. Holder Do Jae-hyun… You’re much more amazing than I thought.”

She had thought of him as a reckless Holder when they first met. She had even thought of him as a fledgling Holder fresh out of the Academy. But he shattered all those preconceptions, he was the protagonist of results that went beyond expectations.

During the promotion evaluation season six months ago, since Kang Juyeon became a B-grade Holder… He was the extraordinary newcomer Holder to appear after a long time.

“I got lucky.”

“If that luck continues, it’ll be seen as your skill.”

“If you think that way, thank you.”

Finding the undiscovered dungeon might have been luck, but bringing all these achievements after conquering it in two days was by no means a matter of luck.

His insane hunting speed on the first day. Without that, these results would have been impossible.

“The evaluation results will be out by today. With these achievements… It’s almost certain. I’ll try to process the evaluation of the dungeon ownership as quickly as possible too.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“I told you. It’s an achievement for me too. Thank you. Thanks to Holder Do Jae-hyun, I might get a promotion this time as well.”

With a bright smile, Lee Ji-hye stood up from her seat.

Preparing for the massive amount of work to organize all these reports required some time.

“Anyway! It was nice to meet you. If you come to the Association again next time, let’s meet then.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“If there’s anything you need help with, feel free to contact me. I’ll do my best if it’s something I can handle.”

A Holder who took care of even the evaluation of the examiner during the promotion evaluation.

She wanted to help him if he asked for something within reason.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for your hard work, Examiner.”

With a bright smile, Do Jae-hyun bid farewell.

Looking at him, Lee Ji-hye turned her head for a moment.

…There was absolutely no ulterior motive behind it.

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