Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Rune's Binding
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[You have achieved the 'Skill Purchase' achievement.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
With this, I finally had a skill of my own.
Late at night.
Disguised as Kim Jinwoo, I headed to the monster field on Ganghwa Island.
I just couldn't wait to test out the new skill I'd acquired.
When I arrived at the entrance to the monster field, the usual long line of camping setups stretched out, just like always.
Countless wizards were hustling around, hauling their gear.
With the heatwave hitting hard and monsters holing up during the day, it looked like they were gearing up for nighttime hunts when things cooled down.
But today, there seemed to be way more people than usual. Was it just my imagination?
"Hey, bro, you a wizard too?"
As I stood there taking in the scene, someone called out to me.
A rugged-looking guy in his fifties. The massive spear slung across his back marked him as an augmentation wizard.
"Yeah, that's right."
"No kidding? Figured you might be since I didn't recognize you. So, you here to hunt 'that thing' too?"
"That thing?"
"You haven't heard?"
The man eyed me curiously.
That thing? What the hell was that?
"The field boss showing up in Ganghwa Field tonight."
...A field boss?
Field bosses were special monsters that popped up in specific areas.
Just like dungeons appeared out of nowhere without warning, new monsters could spawn naturally in this world too.
Naturally, field bosses lived up to their name—they were on a whole other level compared to regular monsters.
That's why people usually formed large parties to take them down.
'No wonder there are so many people here today.'
I glanced around and spotted a familiar emblem on some flags.
A sword slashing across a massive shield.
It was the symbol of the War King Guild, one of the world's top ten guilds.
Looks like one of the big guilds had shown up for the field boss hunt.
"You really had no idea?"
"Nope, not a clue."
"The news has been blowing up for three days straight about some massive life force detected around here."
Three days ago, I was still on Mist Island. That explained it.
"I was tied up three days ago, so I missed it."
"Hmm. Fair enough. Hey, you got a party?"
"Oh, no. I'm solo."
"Solo?"
The man gave me a skeptical look.
"You look pretty young. Night hunts can be dangerous."
"I know. I'll play it safe."
He nodded and gave me a once-over.
"What's your wizard rank?"
"Me? B-Grade."
"...B-Grade? Damn, that's higher than I thought."
He looked surprised.
"You affiliated with a guild?"
The guy I'd just been chatting with was actually an executive from the War King Guild.
His name was Jeon Chanwon.
I'd wondered where I recognized him from—he was pretty famous.
Jeon Chanwon invited me to join their field boss raid and try out for the guild. But I had no interest in joining up anywhere, so I turned him down.
Plus, the way he switched to talking down to me right off the bat rubbed me the wrong way.
Unless you were someone like Kim Jincheol or Jeong Yunseul, standing unrivaled in your field, that kind of attitude was a turn-off.
And now, I was wandering the monster field alone as Kim Jinwoo.
I ran into a few monsters along the way, but I took them down without breaking a sweat.
"Whew."
Wonder when the field boss would show.
I'd originally planned to test the skill on any old monster, but I'd changed my mind.
With a powerhouse like a field boss about to appear, I couldn't waste it on small fry.
I was crouched on the ground, waiting for it to spawn, when suddenly a surge of powerful mana hit me, and the earth began to rumble.
I whipped my head toward the source of the mana.
Ruuuuumble...
About 150 meters away, mana energy converged in one spot, taking the form of a massive creature.
Shocked voices started rising from the crowd around me.
"It's here!"
"Get ready!"
"What the hell, it's huge!"
—Roooaaarrr!
As the field boss appeared, people started backing away.
The sheer pressure was overwhelming.
It let out a deafening roar, and everyone clamped their hands over their ears. I did the same—the sound felt like it was ripping my eardrums apart.
"Urgh!"
From a distance, the field boss reminded me of a gorilla.
But this thing was no ordinary gorilla—it had to be around 4 meters tall.
"First line, manifest spells!"
A rainbow of spells lit up the sky overhead. The field boss shielded its eyes with the back of its hand, blinded by the glare.
"Attack!"
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out as waves of mana swept across the entire monster field.
"Second line, attack!"
Boom!
—Grrraaahhh!
The field boss hunkered down, blocking the onslaught.
Eventually, it got pissed and swung its arm at the wizards.
"Argh!"
Five wizards got caught in the shockwave and went down.
I watched the battle in a daze for a moment before snapping out of it.
This wasn't the time to gawk—I activated the skill, Rune's Binding.
Whoooosh...
A blue glow of mana sparked to life above my hand.
At the same time, every drop of mana in my body drained out in a rush.
"Huh?"
Dizziness hit me like a truck, nearly toppling me over. But I focused and steadied myself.
Rune's Binding consumed way more mana than I'd expected.
I'd never had all my body's mana vanish this fast before.
In a panic, I quickly activated Heart of Great Nature.
Thump!
As Heart of Great Nature kicked in, mana started flooding back in to replenish what was draining away.
Even so, an insane amount kept pouring out. The mana cost was ridiculous.
"Hup!"
I gritted my teeth and locked onto the field boss. I aimed the glowing special rune pattern gathered in my hand at it.
Hummm...
Then, something incredible happened.
Ten streaks of blue light shot up from the ground where the field boss stood, wrapping around its limbs and binding them tight.
—Grraaak?!
The field boss thrashed in shock at the sudden restraint.
But the more it struggled, the tighter the light tendrils squeezed.
"...What the?"
"What kind of spell is that?"
"Looks like auxiliary magic?"
"Since when was there auxiliary magic like that?"
The wizards in the fight reacted with surprise at the unexpected support. They shook it off and started manifesting spells again.
The field boss kept writhing, trying to break free.
That's when it happened.
"Huh?"
Even with Heart of Great Nature active, my mana hit zero, and Rune's Binding fizzled out.
The field boss's body went slack, lurching forward.
"Now! Hit it!"
The wizards seized the opening and unleashed another barrage.
Countless spells rained down from the sky.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rocked the area, followed by a blinding flash.
A message popped up in front of me.
[You have achieved the 'Field Boss Subjugation' achievement.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
[You have achieved the 'Skill Usage' achievement.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
"Whew."
I collapsed right there on the ground.
My mana was completely tapped out. The binding had only lasted about three seconds, but the cost was enormous.
Heart of Great Nature couldn't even keep up.
"...Still, not bad."
Rune's Binding.
The mana drain was absurd, but the performance was undeniable.
It was a secret art of the 'Rune Clan,' a type of auxiliary magic that had all but vanished from the world.
It was leagues beyond your standard binding spells.
Of course, the extreme mana cost made it impossible to weave into regular combat.
But that was fine.
If it could hold someone down for even three seconds, it could turn the tables in certain situations.
Especially at the Night of the Pioneers, where all the S-Rank wizards gathered.
The day after the field boss subjugation.
A small rumor started circulating on wizard forums.
Something about a mysterious auxiliary spell playing a key role in the War King Guild's raid.
Like a ghost story, the tale spread fast.
+Wizard's Forest Anonymous Board+
[No way, I saw it with my own eyes, dude.]
[No such spell exists. Get a grip.]
[You guys have no idea how big that field boss was. A binding spell holding down something that size for a few seconds? Yeah right.]
[I hear it was some B-Grade auxiliary wizard. Not impossible. Just costs a ton of mana. Someone like Jeong Yunseul could pull it off easy.]
[So you're saying it was Jeong Yunseul?]
[Could be a lost clan secret art.]
All sorts of opinions flew around, but most people weren't buying it.
I didn't pay it much mind.
Sure, if I revealed myself, I'd get a ton of attention and rack up points, but the timing wasn't right yet.
Life went back to normal after that.
I hunted hidden villains for points and grinded stats with the All-World Notice effect. My causality built up to 0.8 over break.
And the documentary finally wrapped.
It was supposed to be five parts, but good reception led to two extras, making it seven.
The PD in charge suggested doing another when second semester started, but since that's in the future, I said I'd think about it without committing.
That said, 'Kim Sunwoo' wouldn't be appearing on TV anytime soon.
Sure, drawing public interest for points was nice, but too much media exposure could make me too familiar, and the attention would dry up.
Plus, with 'Kim Jinwoo' already getting known, plastering 'Kim Sunwoo's' face everywhere might spark rumors about our connection.
Above all, I absolutely could not let it slip that Kim Sunwoo and Kim Jinwoo were the same person.
'Kim Jinwoo' was just a fake identity to let the real me, 'Kim Sunwoo,' move freely without scrutiny.
It was the best option for me.
"Let Kim Jinwoo handle hogging the spotlight."
Sure, it meant half the points, which sucked a bit, but if Kim Jinwoo built a big enough name to cover for both, problem solved.
That's what Kim Jinwoo meant to me.
A special mask to hide behind, letting me act without a care for prying eyes.
"Still, he's not exactly popular."
Over the past few weeks as Kim Jinwoo, I'd solved a bunch of crimes and gotten decent media play.
You'd think I'd have some personal fans by now, but the public reaction was just 'nice wizard' at best.
Heck, in pure popularity terms, 'Kim Sunwoo' might've done better.
A real shame from a points perspective.
"Hmm."
Why wasn't Kim Jinwoo catching on? Probably zero star power.
He didn't sling flashy, unique spells like others, and nothing special about his looks either.
Maybe it was par for the course.
"Star power, huh..."
I mulled over what made a wizard a star.
Three days left until the Night of the Pioneers and the underground auction.
I headed to a brand-name café in Seoul to meet Han Seyeon.
Ding-a-ling.
I pushed open the café door and scanned the room for Han Seyeon.
In the far corner by the window sat a woman bundled up in sunglasses and a mask, all alone.
The overkill disguise cracked me up a little.
As I approached, Han Seyeon's gaze turned my way. In that instant, her body went rigid like stone.
"...Jinwoo?"
She whispered my name in a trembling voice.
"No way, what's with the hair?"
"Oh, this?"
I lightly touched my wavy bangs with their brownish tint.
"Felt like I needed some personality, so I dyed it. Changed the style a bit too. What do you think?"
It was for flair, but also to further distinguish Kim Jinwoo from Kim Sunwoo.
I'd be racking up enemies operating as Kim Jinwoo, so better safe than sorry.
Truth be told, this wasn't my real hair—it was a special disguise from the point shop.
"...I figured you weren't the type to fuss over stuff like that. Kinda surprising."
Han Seyeon stared straight through me before speaking.
"I get in the mood sometimes too. So, does it suit me?"
"Hmm..."
She studied my face intently with a serious gaze, then finally replied.
"Yeah. It looked weird at first, but now that I'm looking... it's good."