Snuffing the Cursed Flame and Awakening the Grimoire

But no way that was happening. "Found it."

Even as countless water-soaked torches flickered out, one flame stubbornly held its ground. I finally understood why only Kim Ha-yeon, the water mage, knew about this route. That had to be the torch she mentioned.

With my target locked, the plan was simple. I half-folded my wings and dove sharply toward the lone light, eyes fixed on the goblin holding the torch. A small, pathetic, dime-a-dozen goblin. Hiding their most important item like this? Not bad, they used their heads.

Quaaang-!!

The moment I slammed my sharp claws down on the torch-bearing goblin, confirming the kill, I released Polymorph. I still had to deal with the goblin elite trio ahead—no sense wasting mana.

The thing didn't even scream before going limp. The torch clutched in its tiny hand had already flown free, rolling across the grass. It was clearly touching the grass solidly, yet it didn't catch fire—kinda weird, but no time to gawk.

'Nice, it's intact.'

I pulled out the item I'd stumbled on at the Hunter Mall last time. A blue spherical jar. Looked ordinary enough on the outside, but definitely a magic tool.

Fancy name aside, its weird drawback made it tough to use. But for extinguishing a fire that wouldn't go out with normal water? Perfect.

I controlled my mana flow like a skill activation, directing it into the jar in my hand. It grew heavier by the second, then started spewing water bluer than normal.

Chiiik….

The torch hit the mana-made water and hissed, fading away.

Just as expected, those annoying abilities washed away like dirt in water.

"Kerrwk?!"

"Ke, keruk!"

The goblins, stripped of their infinite lives, lost their bravado and bolted in panic. Kinda pitiful, but I had to catch them. Contribution to the clear affected points and rewards.

I Polymorphed back into dragon form and spread my breath wide this time, unlike the focused blast at the lake.

Whoooosh-!

As a horde of goblins got barbecued, a bulky figure pushed through the flames toward me. The strength-specialized goblin elite. I cut off the breath instantly and focused it into a single point just for him.

Kiiiiing….

An ominous high-pitched whine built in my throat, like a beam weapon charging.

Quaaaa-!!!

The goblin thrashed its massive bulk desperately, but it was futile. This concentrated breath outdid the previous one by miles. This time, I turned the strength elite into half-baked barbecue for real.

Mana left: about half by feel. With the mana-recovery pendant, still plenty of room.

As the brute toppled, the mana-specialized goblin in the safe rear flinched. No more elites to buy casting time, so it hurriedly prepped a small spell.

'Teleport spell…! Can't let it escape!'

No sign of the speed elite yet, but it could pop up anytime to harass. Better thin the herd early. Sure, even if it rushed fast, my boosted strength could handle it…

'But if the mana goblin supports from behind, that's trouble.'

So, seize the chance now—even if it meant burning all my mana.

Kiii… Paang-!

I hastily charged and fired a beam-form breath, potent and swift from the pinpoint focus. Power was lower relative to mana spent due to the rushed charge, but enough to neutralize the mana goblin.

"Kieek…."

As it collapsed with a weird death rattle, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slender shadow zipped past and vanished into the brush. The speed elite. Unlike the others with weaknesses, this one had none. Weak strength? Just hit harder and faster.

Mana remaining: about 22%. One more breath and the backlash could drop me. Miss, and I'd be dead.

Best move now: release full Polymorph to conserve mana.

'Gonna handle that one with partial Polymorph….'

Back to my original form, but I kept one arm draconic. No way I wanted to face the boss barehanded, weak or not.

In this leafy, bushy forest, spotting the speedy pest visually was impossible. I focused solely on smell and sound, tracking its movements.

…Sassak.

The distinct rustle of leaves brushing skin. Left side.

Kaang-!

My hardened arm clashed with the speed elite's thin scimitar. The tough scales took no damage, but the goblin had already rebounded off the impact.

'Speed's the real deal….'

Like an assassin, it held its breath for silent, lightning strikes—tough to counter. How to restrict its movement…? Against a one-trick enemy, deny the trick.

Scanning around for a solution, inspiration struck. Trees—the ones I'd soaked earlier hunting the cursed torch.

I whipped out the Endless Water Jar and trickled mana into it, spraying every nearby tree.

The drenched trees looked slippery to tread carelessly.

Shwaaak-.

"…Keruk?"

Predictably, the speed goblin kicked off a tree for a leap but slipped on the water. Didn't faceplant, but its jump was barely half-speed—easy to track now.

Kwak-!

"Keruk! Kerrruk!!"

Grabbed its neck. It swung its scimitar wildly to break free, but pointless. Time to test my new grip strength.

Kwajijik.

The goblin elite went limp. I tossed the corpse aside, shook blood from my hand, and the usual alert popped up.

"Whoa… boss floors really are something else."

My first C-rank magistone. Wonder how tasty… er, pricey it'd be. I sorted the clear rewards, pondering happily.

"This a reward too?"

I wondered if it was an extra magistone drop, but no—the color and shape didn't match. Unlike the sweet potato-looking magistone, this was a droplet-shaped gem from the goblin I just killed. Maybe jewelry or gear? Likely mage equipment, given the form. And if so, worth a fortune.

I infused it with mana right away.

"Ooh, it glows."

A shimmering orb appeared inside the droplet gem, quivering before floating to point in a direction.

The light moving inside was pretty cool… When I shifted the gem, the orb followed at first, then drifted steadily one way.

"Gasp…!"

I snapped out of it to find I'd been shaking the gem by the water's edge for ages. Come to think of it, the light seemed to point somewhere…

"Huh?"

Turning the gem, the light indeed fixed on one direction.

"This isn't the reward…?"

Should've said so upfront… No wonder no item description popped on pickup.

As I placed the gem in my palm to follow the light,

The timer I'd never noticed before ticked down. Gotta hustle. Missing this hidden piece would be a massive loss—I couldn't even fathom.

Thankfully, the field wasn't huge, so I reached the light's spot quick. Nothing special: same brush, trees, river… and a magic circle floating in the air.

'Never seen that before.'

I hadn't combed every inch of the forest, but something this obvious? I'd have noticed.

Approaching to inspect, the scribble-like runes read naturally.

…Dragon language. Why the hell was this in the tower?

I didn't know, but one thing was clear.

No time for questions. Prove my power—straightforward, I like it.

Passive recovery plus the pendant had restored about 20% mana. Including reserves, enough for full Polymorph and breath.

I Polymorphed into dragon form via skill and charged breath immediately to minimize waste.

Goooo….

To prove power, no half-measures. I dumped everything but 2% into the charge.

Mana surged out at once, exhaustion crashing over me like a wave. But stopping now meant no shot at max power before auto-eject. Time to go all-in.

Kuoooo-!!!

Fierce flames engulfed the circle, and script appeared:

The circle faded, leaving a single book.

Whoa. Jackpot.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A-rank hunter Park Chae-rin of Korea. To most, her daily routine was tower raids, but she had weightier matters than tough climbs.

Morning community patrol. Any big incidents needing her attention? World-shaking events? …Or failing that, fun stuff that happened while she slept.

Honestly, it was mostly the last one, but she kept that to herself. She knew how vital a good excuse was.

"Park Chae-rin, remember we're hitting Black Tower floor 28 today?"

"Yup, got it locked in."

Of course. Why else squeeze into sweaty hunters on a fine weekend afternoon?

"But as an A-rank, you gotta stay on top of the news too!"

"True, but… sigh… just prep without being late."

A-ranks made bank but got dragged out lots. Seemed free-spirited till you realized "out" meant tower stabilization raids.

Anyway, Park Chae-rin couldn't ditch her guilty pleasure of SNS scrolling, so she zipped through Hunter Gallery patrol.

OK. All clear.

Next up…

"Hm?"

Swiping through Inbyul's feed, she spotted a video. Playing it on impulse, Park Chae-rin was floored.

The cuteness hit like a heart nuke.

'Baby noises into a satisfied grin—too adorable!!!'

Poster: Yoon Seol-ah. Oh, the Hunter Association admin from before.

Normally, you'd just note "oh, she has a kid," but Park Chae-rin's take was different.

'Hoarding this is a crime against humanity!'

Seconds after sharing, views rocketed: 1k, 2k, blasting past 20k.

Spreading cuteness was public service. Park Chae-rin smiled warmly, replaying Lee Ha-neul's sleepy baby sounds.

Ah, right—not the time. This needed max eyes.

She fired up Hunter Gallery and hammered out a post.