Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: The Golden Peach
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“Hey, is this the place?”
“Yeah, it’s right here. The device is reacting.”
Who are they?
It was a voice I’d never heard before. And it didn’t quite sound like a student’s—felt a bit too mature.
“Keep it down. We’ll get caught.”
“Got it.”
From the conversation, they didn’t seem like students.
Outsiders, then? Who the hell could they be?
Out of curiosity, Lee Seojun started descending the stairs.
About ten seconds later, the voices faded away.
“What the...”
Still curious, Lee Seojun kept going down the stairs. That’s when a familiar back came into view ahead of him.
“Kim Sunwoo?”
“Huh? Oh, we meet again.”
Kim Sunwoo spoke with a slightly flustered expression.
“What are you doing here?”
“......Looking for relics.”
“Relics?”
“No, artifacts. I misspoke.”
Something seemed off about the way he trailed off, but Lee Seojun let it slide.
“Right. How many artifacts did you find?”
“Me? Thirteen.”
“......What? How many?”
For a moment, Lee Seojun doubted his own ears. Had he misheard?
“Thirteen.”
“......You took all the artifacts here, didn’t you?”
“Not all of them. Maybe half?”
Lee Seojun stared at Kim Sunwoo in disbelief.
Kim Sunwoo glanced around restlessly with uneasy eyes, then said,
“I’m in a hurry, so I’ll get going.”
Kim Sunwoo hurried off somewhere.
Lee Seojun watched his retreating figure in a daze.
Thirteen—that should lock in first place already. What was he in such a rush for?
“Right. Thirteen means he cleaned out this whole place.”
Damn it. I’m screwed.
Lee Seojun hurriedly climbed back up the stairs.
Arriving at Basement 8, I walked straight ahead. I’d wasted time running into Lee Seojun.
I needed to grab artifacts faster than the looters, but it looked like they’d already reached Basement 8.
Sure, if I could beat the looters in a fight, I could just take everything from them—but there were two of them.
And both were likely at least B-Grade wizards, so taking them on solo would be a stretch.
“Which way to go.”
The ruin site was a maze.
Plenty of paths.
Multiple entrances to hidden spaces, too.
Voices from the right path meant left was the smart choice.
So I took the left path, keeping an eye out for changes while activating Outsider’s Benefit.
“Hm?”
Then, far off on the wall, I spotted a crude painting smeared with paint—chaotic and suspicious.
“This it?”
It screamed shady at first glance. No visible magic circle, though.
Sometimes they’re covered by something else.
Rubbing the wall’s painting made it vanish, revealing the hidden magic circle.
“Found it.”
I rubbed the wall vigorously with my palm. Soon, all the paintings were gone.
A perfect magic circle.
I glanced around for any watchers, then dispelled it.
Wooooong......
The wall vibrated, opening a new space.
“Nice. Perfect.”
I stepped inside. A dark ruin site.
Moss-covered stone chunks littered the floor everywhere.
Just like ancient ruins from movies or games.
[You’ve achieved ‘Secret Ruin Site Discovered’.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[You’ve achieved ‘Noble Explorer’.]
[Reward: 2,000 points acquired.]
Good—no signs of anyone else here yet.
I’d beaten the looters to it.
“But where’s the altar?”
I looked around.
No altar with the ruin’s reward in sight.
That’s when a massive tree in the center caught my eye.
Drawn like a moth to flame, I approached it.
Up close, a single golden peach hung from a branch.
[Golden Peach (S)]
Classification: Spiritual Medicine
Description: Permanently increases Vitality, Strength, and Agility by up to 15 upon consumption.
“Holy shit.”
A curse slipped out the moment I saw it.
An S-Rank spiritual medicine, no less.
And it boosted Vitality, Strength, and Agility by a whopping 15.
“Jackpot. Jackpot. Jackpot.”
I kept muttering jackpot while staring at the Golden Peach.
But I hadn’t picked it yet. The moment you claim a ruin’s reward, the ‘guardian’ activates.
Guardians vary in strength by ruin, but they’re famously tougher than most dungeon bosses.
Of course, I’d prepared for that.
That’s when—
Kuuuung! The ground shook with a boom.
“Whoa. Here it is. Finally found it.”
“Wow, look at that grandeur. So cool. Gotta snap a pic.”
I quickly ducked behind the tree.
The looters had found the site faster than expected.
“Hm. No altar.”
“Yeah. Where is it?”
I subtly used Character Insight to check them out.
Name: Lee Cheolhee
Age: 32
Race: Human
Status: Excited
Mana Grade: B+
Interest: 0
Name: Kim Jangwon
Age: 31
Race: Human
Status: Tense
Mana Grade: B+
Interest: 0
Lee Cheolhee and Kim Jangwon.
They were wizards from the ‘Goldwin’ Guild, one of the crime syndicates.
Goldwin was one of many hidden magic crime guilds in this world, created by Jaun member Baek Eunseong to fund his vices in secret.
“We can handle the guardian, right?”
“We can take it, but it’ll be a pain.”
I waited calmly for the right moment—for them to move away from the entrance.
‘Now!’
I snatched the Golden Peach from the tree.
The entire ruin shook violently at once.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“What’s going on?”
The looters looked around in shock.
Then, from a dark corner, a massive statue with glowing blue eyes stepped forward.
“G-Guardian?”
“What? We didn’t even grab the reward item—why’s it moving first?”
“Damn it! No clue! Get ready for battle!”
The looters hastily drew their weapons and prepared.
That drew their eyes. Time to bolt.
Once the guardian moves, the ruin door locks in ten seconds.
Using Air Walk, I dashed for the door.
“Huh? Hey? What’s that? Who’s that guy!”
As I ran without looking back, I heard the looters yelling at me.
They tried to chase, but the guardian blocked them.
‘Good luck with that.’
And so, I slipped out of the ruin unscathed.
Thunk! The door slammed shut behind me.
“Phew.”
Peace returned.
The same long maze stretched ahead.
I gazed at the Golden Peach in my hand with a satisfied smile.
“Heh heh.”
Never dreamed I’d score an S-Rank spiritual medicine.
These top-tier elixirs never hit the market—even if they did, they’re priceless, only traded for other items.
Ruins deliver on rewards, alright.
I chuckled quietly and stowed the Golden Peach in my subspace.
Tempting to pop it right now, but ingesting a premium elixir raw could overwhelm you with rampant energy and knock you out—or worse—so I’d save it for later......
“Gotta head back first.”
I stretched, then checked my Smart Student Notebook.
4:22 p.m.......
About eight minutes left.
“Hold up.”
The key condition of this ruin class: return on time.
Miss the deadline, and you get zero points, no matter how many artifacts.
“Damn it. Screwed.”
I bolted down the maze corridors.
Running nonstop, I barely made it back in time.
One minute to spare.
That was close.
A little later, and my training score would’ve been zilch.
The instructor glanced at me as I arrived and said,
“Kim Sunwoo, that was cutting it close.”
“......Phew.”
I wiped sweat from my forehead.
The other students shot me dirty looks—apparently last place on a razor’s edge didn’t sit well.
“Alright, Kim Sunwoo. Hand over your magic stones.”
I pulled thirteen magic stones from my pocket and offered them to Instructor Jang Ancheol.
The students gawked at me in shock.
“Whoa, how many is that? Looks like over ten?”
“That guy swept a whole ruin site solo.”
“Damn! The site I went to was cleaned out—who knew it was him?!”
Even Instructor Jang Ancheol was stunned.
“......Thirteen. Overwhelming. You keep surprising me like this.”
He muttered quietly, then spoke up again.
“Well done. You’re first. By a landslide.”
I’d half-expected it, so no big thrill or shock.
“I’ll look forward to your next training, too.
Return to your spot.”
“Yes, sir.”
I headed back to the group. Yoon Hayoung rushed over like she’d been waiting.
“Whoa, Sunwoo, how’d you snag thirteen? I only got three.”
“What? Only three?”
“Yeah. I suck at finding stuff. But how do you sniff them out like that?”
“Uh...... It’s all about observation skills.”
That’s what I said, but really, it was Outsider’s Benefit carrying me.
Without it, I’d have topped out at maybe six magic stones.
Chatting with Yoon Hayoung, I felt eyes on me from somewhere.
Glancing over, Lee Seojun was staring with a weird look.
“What?”
“......I got thirteenth this time. Thanks to you sweeping the artifacts.”
He spoke with a deflated expression—more dazed than usual, clearly hit hard.
Fair enough—it’d shock him.
Getting below fifth place was probably a first in his life.
“......That so.”
But I had no intention of consoling him.
No way the top student looks good whining about scores in front of sixtieth.
Finished Monday’s classes and back at the dorm.
Unexpected score today, so I skipped training.
My heart raced with excitement.
Sitting on the sofa, I pulled the Golden Peach from my subspace.
“So beautiful.”
A massive peach gleaming gold.
Just looking at it made my chest swell.
Did I really deserve to consume such a priceless elixir?
Strength and Vitality weren’t huge for me—but wouldn’t it be better to give it to reinforcement-type Lee Seojun?
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
Nah, me eating it is best.
Lee Seojun’s high base stats would net maybe 20% gain, but for me, it’d be nearly 30%.
Efficiency-wise, it’s mine.
......Self-hypnosis complete, I gripped the Golden Peach.
“But can I just eat this straight?”
Rumor has it careless ingestion of rare elixirs can unleash uncontrollable power, even killing you.
That’d be a real problem for me.
“It’ll be fine, right?”
I could handle B-Grade-plus mana, so probably okay.
Not like some mana-less normie.
I rinsed the Golden Peach with water and took a big bite.
“Mmm......”
Tasted like a regular peach. The chewy texture was oddly good, so I kept chomping.
Before long, I’d devoured the whole thing.