Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Reward Time
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A low hum buzzed through the air.
By the time the glow faded...
A crystalline staff floated before my eyes.
[Congratulations!]
[You have obtained an S-grade item!]
'A staff...?'
My heart raced.
Truth be told, I didn't have a main weapon.
Necromancers were supposed to use staves as their primary gear.
But ever since the old man passed down the "Myriad Arts" to me, the weapons I could wield had multiplied.
Swords, spears, bows, shields, staves, and more...
I had to master them all.
'Felt like I'd turned into a jack-of-all-trades.'
Jack-of-all-trades.
The Myriad Arts basically turned you into one, in other words.
And wasn't that old man the ultimate example?
'Anyway.'
If it was a staff...
The odds of me using it myself were higher than selling it.
Necromancers favored them, after all.
'Not bad at all.'
Might even be better than selling it.
They said a single S-grade weapon could change your hunter career overnight.
Finding one that suited you was like reaching for the stars.
I reached out and grasped the staff.
Its details popped up.
[Item: Staff of the Fire Dragon]
[Grade: S]
[Type: Staff]
[Description: A magic staff imbued with the power of a legendary red dragon.]
[Effect 1: Vitality +100.]
[Effect 2: Skill cooldown -20%.]
[Effect 3: Fire-attribute skill power +100%.]
"Oh."
I scanned the description quickly.
It was straightforward.
But the effects? Anything but.
'First off, +100 Vitality.'
The average hunter's base Vitality was around 100.
This was basically doubling it.
Vitality was a hunter's lifeline.
The more, the better.
'And that's not even the best part.'
Effect 3 especially caught my eye.
'Isn't this straight-up for a spellcaster?'
A fire-attribute mage, no less.
+100% power on fire skills meant double the punch.
'Sure, might not seem amazing for an S-grade at first glance.'
But I saw it differently.
This was an item that scaled hard with the user's strength.
Take a D-grade Fireball, for example.
It'd just spit out two instead of one.
But if you were slinging top-tier nukes like "Hellfire" or "Meteor Strike"—skills even rankers barely touched?
'Insane.'
I'd heard those OP AoE spells had brutal cooldowns.
Some only once a day, others with a full week between casts.
'It's like casting them again for free with zero Vitality cost.'
Fire-attribute rankers would be losing their minds over this.
'Pretty solid, huh?'
Sure, I couldn't use the effects myself.
But I was thrilled anyway.
This thing would fetch a fortune.
'How much, I wonder?'
I pulled out my smartphone.
Opened the Hunter Board app.
It was the biggest hunter community in the country—real-time info central.
[Welcome to the Hunter Board.]
['E-rank Mercenary for Hire' (Lv. 8) has logged in.]
Whistling a tune, I hammered out a post.
The Free Board—highest traffic spot.
-Got an S-grade staff. Appraise?
-Vitality +100, skill cooldown -20%, fire-attribute power +100%.
Short and sweet.
But the replies poured in.
▶Lol, bait.
▶ㅋㅋ Kinda meh stats for S-grade. Try harder if you're scamming.
▶ID says it all. E-rank merc? How's an E-rank getting S-grade gear?
▶Fr, this troll daily?
▶Delusional.
"These jerks?"
Fair enough.
I wouldn't buy it either if I saw this.
Time for round two.
"Reveal info."
I touched the staff and called out.
[Visualizing info for item 'Staff of the Fire Dragon' (S-grade).]
And there it was.
[Item: Staff of the Fire Dragon]
[Grade: S]
[Type: Staff]
[Description: A magic staff imbued with the power of a legendary red dragon.]
[Effect 1: Vitality +100.]
[Effect 2: Skill cooldown -20%.]
[Effect 3: Fire-attribute skill power +100%.]
The info, once visible only to me, now etched itself into the air.
The system's way to share item details publicly.
-Reposting with proof.
-Item info revealed.
-Video too, in case you think it's photoshopped.
Uploaded with phone footage.
Minutes later...
The board exploded.
▶For real?
▶Wtf, it's legit?
▶Holy shit, looks real af. Unless it's pro VFX, that's the real deal.
▶Hi, CG expert here. No way current tech fakes that precisely. It's genuine.
▶Whoa, actual S-grade pics.
▶But why those stats?
▶You blind? That's busted.
The little Free Board post shot to the top in seconds.
It wasn't just the board blowing up.
Hunter-beat reporters pounced.
['Hunter Board' drop: Mysterious S-grade item appears!]
[S-grade 'Staff of the Fire Dragon' surfaces! Fire mages incoming?]
['Blue' A-rank hunter 'Little Fire' Lee So-hye: "A game-changer for fire users."]
[Poster info private for now.]
"Huh?"
This wasn't the plan.
Didn't expect it to blow up like this.
Silver lining: Hunter Board, a private site, never leaked member data.
That trust was why it had so many hunters.
It protected big shots like rankers and S-grades, sure.
But low-ranks too.
Still...
[Message received.]
[Message received.]
[Message received.]
...
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Couldn't hide the ID, though.
My phone wouldn't shut up.
I deleted the post before it got worse.
Selling could wait.
I wasn't ready to aggro the whole world.
'Hang on.'
Besides...
Did I even need to sell it?
I had a bone mage with Fireball.
Why not give it to Bono?
Effect 3 was wasted on me anyway.
'Wait, before that.'
Could skeletons even equip items?
Never tried.
No wonder.
Money was tight as is.
I was stuck with a junk staff myself—why gear up bones?
...
[Hunter: Joo Dong-hoon]
[Vitality: 10/120]
Vitality topped off at 10.
'Let's test now.'
[Using skill 'Awakened Skeleton Summon' (D-grade).]
[Using 10 Vitality.]
['Bone5' appears.]
I summoned Bono, squeezing out the Vitality.
Creak!
He popped in, waving his bone staff.
"Bono."
Creak?
He tilted his head.
I held out the gleaming S-grade staff.
Creak!
He snatched it.
['Bone5' equips 'Staff of the Fire Dragon.']
"Whoa, it works?"
My eyes went wide.
This was huge.
Necro undead usually couldn't equip items.
That class was broken enough already.
Letting them gear up? Game over.
Imagine it.
An undead legion decked in S-grade gear.
"Whoa..."
I was floored.
Unlike other hunters, did I need 10+ items now?
"Wait, not just 10."
Jewelry, armor, weapons...
Endless slots to min-max.
...
Then it hit me.
Sell my first S-grade item? Or hook up Bono?
Toughest call of my life.
Clack!
Bono hugged the staff, chattering his teeth.
What, no take-backsies motion?
"No, that's expensive... Gimme."
I reached out.
He dodged slyly.
"Seriously?"
Creak...
He drooped his joints, all mopey.
Like he'd be whining [Whiiiine...] if he had a mouth.
"Sigh."
I let out a soft breath.
"Fine. Better someone uses it."
Money sucked, yeah.
But not desperate.
D- or C-grade dungeons were cake now.
Living expenses? Covered.
"Keep it."
Clack clack!
Quick tooth-chatter thanks.
Felt like a scam, but...
Smart play.
If Bono powered up more.
Or hit true awakening like Taya...
'I might be hunting S-grades for him later.'
[Message received.]
[Message received.]
...
Like these spammers.
'Yeah, decision made.'
I glanced at the corner.
More rewards left.
Staff was achievement.
This? Dungeon clear.
[Reward arriving!]
[Congratulations!]
[Obtained item 'Root of Racial Conflict' (A-grade).]
[Ding!]
[This item relates to your class.]
"What's this?"
Class-related?
I grabbed the floating plant root.
[Item: Root of Racial Conflict]
[Grade: A]
[Type: Catalyst]
[Description: A root that uncovers secrets of hidden ruins.]
[Effect 1: Unlocks dungeon 'Forest and Rock.']
[Effect 2: Bound to hunter 'Joo Dong-hoon.']
[Effect 3: Activates at C-grade hunter rank or higher.]
"Huh."
Another catalyst, as expected.
Gi So-yul's words echoed.
-Catalysts are opportunities too. Dig in, and linked quests pop. They scale up, eventually S-grade or better. Every one I've seen.
Follow-up to 'Traces of the Ancient Desert,' no doubt.
Another class quest.
Honestly...
My gut said it.
This tied to Taya too.
Like the others.
'What if.'
All ten skeletons were apex beings from their worlds?
Wouldn't that make my class broken?
'Why me?'
It was great.
But heavy.
What made me special?
Felt like some faceless system had it out for me...
...
I shook it off.
Overthink much?
If some transcendent picked me to get strong...
To use me...
'Then I'll use it right back.'
Goal: Ranker.
Whatever comes after? TBD.
For now, laser-focused.
Whatever threw at me, I'd grind.
"Rewards done."
I cleared the screens.
Cleared a dungeon today, Vitality spent.
'Time to rest.'
Gi So-yul approaching from afar.
Back at it tomorrow.
Full throttle.
Give it everything to get stronger.