R-rare Rune?!

After Moon Bora left.

I slowly approached Meowi, who was sitting there dazed.

Hmm.
I wanted to say something comforting to her, but unfortunately, I wasn’t very good with words.

In the end, I just lightly patted her on the shoulder.

“…Are you okay?”

She flinched, as if she just came back to reality with my question.

She scratched her cheek, pretending to be cheerful.

“Yes, thank you for worrying. Um… Did Miss Bora…?”

“She said she would report to the guild first. She mentioned that the reward would be generous, so look forward to it.”

“Hehe. The reward seems like it will be substantial. ‘Break Out’ usually pays several times more than the usual dungeons.”

Oh, that’s good news.

Especially since I urgently needed to get a new sword.

’…What is it even made of to be so weak…?’

Just a few normal hits.

I only used [Flowing Slash] about four times in total.

I hurriedly put it back in the sheath to make it look okay.

The blade was worn out and cracked everywhere, beyond use.

‘No, initially, it’s a no-grade item. Maybe it performed well considering that it lasted this long.’

Just as I was thinking about buying a new sword the moment I had some money.

Then came a reply that made me feel a bit sad.

“I can finally pay off my overdue rent… and the deposit… oh, and the water bill, too.”

“……”

In the setting of ‘GAL,’ Ma Hana was poor.

The state of her clothes and equipment gave me a hint, but it seemed there wasn’t much difference here either.

‘…No, the way she talks, it seems even worse than I imagined…’

I was a bit worried and wanted to visit her home just once if I could.

But it would be weird to just blurt out, “Please invite me to your house!”.

“…Shall we settle up now?”

Trying to change the subject, I pointed to the sphere that had fallen next to the corpse of the Kappa Rhino.

It seemed that this by-product was the most valuable thing right now.

“Would you like to take it, Miss Hana? If you have a [Storage Pouch] or something, you could sell it. Without that… it seems like it will disappear if we just leave it here.”

I was tempted too, but I asked her first out of courtesy.

For her, this might be the first opportunity to own a proper [Rune].

She had been treated like an outsider in other parties all this time, hardly having a say in what she could take from the loot.

So, I guessed she might be eager.

Ma Hana looked at the bluish sphere as I spoke.

She shook her head firmly.

“…I appreciate the thought. But it’s okay. This rune doesn’t suit me… If I took it, it would only increase my magic consumption.”

That was true.
The rune of the [Kappa Rhino] was a typical ‘attack type’ rune.

“…And I don’t deserve to have it. Mr. Yu Seha.”
“……”

I looked at her silently and then slowly nodded.

“Then… could you wait just a bit? I was planning to take it.”
“Of course. It’s only polite to protect the owner of a rune. I’ll be mining the other by-products of the Kappa Rhino in the meantime.”

I watched Ma Hana, who drew a dagger with admirable words, and moved towards the sphere.

Kukukuku!

The sphere, redolent with a powerful magical aura, felt strong from its very presence alone.

‘…So this is what a Rune is.’

[Rune System]

In ‘GAL’, it was considered an innovative system along with the ‘Backup’ position, where defeating bosses, monsters, or a very few NPCs drops these spheres of power.

‘Runes’, though exceptions existed, were fundamentally divided into ‘Skills’ and ‘Traits’.

Unlike [Trait Runes], which granted power upon consumption, [Skill Runes] required settings to be applied.

‘Select the skill to embed the rune into. Then add options.’

This grants additional effects to the skills and opens up new pathways for growth.

‘There are various other settings and precautions… but there’s no need to mention each one right now.’

‘GAL’ usually obtained runes through a drawing.

It was much faster and more convenient, and it was possible to acquire high-grade runes that were normally unobtainable.

However, this world was a harsh one without such drawings.

In the end, one must obtain them through hunting, as now.
Most ‘Supervisors’ do not prefer this method.

‘There’s no guarantee I’ll encounter the boss I will do well against… and I might get a rune I don’t want.’

Especially, this became more severe the higher the rank.

As a single boss possessed various abilities, the probability of dropping a rune with the [Skill] I wanted decreased.

In the case of characteristics, it was relatively easy to learn without necessarily using a [Rune], and it seemed likely that the balance set by the operators was due to the inability to embed runes innately.

‘That’s why, usually, one embeds runes in their main skills and plans their development tree.’

Then cover the lacking parts with ‘Characteristics’.

This was the basic growth method of ‘GAL’.

Anyway, that was as far as the thoughts went for me.
It would be a disaster if it disappeared.

I cautiously reached out my hand towards the sphere.

Then, as if it were alive, it reacted and got pulled into my palm.

“I choose Flowing Slash.”

As soon as the words ended, the skill window was updated.

“Keugh…”

I clenched my fist, overwhelmed by the rising thrill.

I wondered if this was really the same ‘Flowing Slash’ skill that seemed so foolish to have before.

‘My mobility, which was like a beggar’s, has finally changed.’

Flowing Slash’s skill was terribly lacking in mobility, despite its decent attack power and range.

It wasn’t for no reason that I hid in the bushes and used it for surprise attacks.

But now, by supplementing it with [Charge], I’d be able to insert the skill more easily and more powerfully.

‘If needed, it can also serve as a means of escape.’

Since it was categorized as a movement skill, it could be useful for emergency evasion if it were unavoidable.

‘Of course, there’s a delay in charge, so I shouldn’t recklessly do that… Huh?’

It was only then that I belatedly realized something was off.

‘…What?’

It was because of the existence of a passive called [Adrenaline Booster (P)].

The only rune I knew of from the [Kappa Rhino] was the [Headlong Rush (P)].

It was always disappointing how a rune dropped by a boss mob had only one option.

An entirely new skill was attached that I had never seen before.

“…and the effect is freaking amazing.”

It increases all action speeds during combat.

Though the description was simple, the scope of its effect was tremendous.

‘Whether running, dodging, attacking, etc… it means all speed related to movement are increased.’

In fact, it was a step above S-grade buffs, like increased movement speed and attack speed.

Such an absurd option… from just a C-grade rune?

‘…On closer inspection, it’s C+? Is this some crazy rare boss-level?’

You might wonder what was so special about a +.

In ‘GAL’, a + is treated as a kind of rare grade.

Even within the same grade, the addition of a + acts as a sort of guarantee of its value.

Then, a thought suddenly came to mind.

I hurriedly opened the status log to check the details.

‘…Nekomata’s Luck?’

This was also a skill I’d never heard of before.

Ah, this hurts my pride.

‘Am I really a veteran if I don’t know things?’

It turns out, maybe I’m just a cute and lovable newbie?

Anyway, it was obviously not recorded for me, so it must be a skill possessed by Moon Bora or Ma Hana.

My guess was Ma Hana.

‘…[Lucky Cat].’

Like my [Eyes of Reverse Heaven], it was a unique ability Ma Hana possessed.

The effect was just a modest boost in luck, exactly as it sounded.

‘…Both have ‘luck’ in their names… so the effects could be similar…’

But the aftermath was of a different magnitude.

A luck trait that boosts rewards by another level? I had never heard of such a thing.

‘There… again, 0? The caster’s spirit…?’

The more I looked, the more puzzling the description was.

This, this.

‘It’s been a while since my blood as a supervisor has boiled…’

Now, thanks to the strategies written by the veterans, everyone plays the game comfortably.

When ‘GAL’ first came out, everyone was experimenting, striving, sharing information, and exploring hidden knowledge they figured out in the game.

I was also one of the representative figures of the ‘During my time~’ group.

‘…This makes my mouth water.’

Later, promising to try various experiments with it, I turned to Ma Hana, who was silently standing guard, and opened my mouth.

“It’s all finished, Miss Hana.”
“…Ah! Congratulations. You seem to have become stronger.”
“It’s thanks to your generosity.”

It seemed we had extracted all the by-products… Then, now…

“Shall we go out now?”