Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

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A New Power (5)

“Anyway, I need to train more. I’ve been slacking off lately.”

At those words, I suddenly lifted my head.

The words ‘slacking off’ came out of Park Jin-woo’s mouth?

This is quite a scoop in itself.

And as soon as I heard those words, something immediately came to mind.

I forced an ominous grin and said to him, “Hehe. Have you made any progress lately? Why didn’t you tell me, man.”

Previously, under the pretext of ‘a friend’s request’, I had become a sacrificial pawn in Park Jin-woo’s romantic endeavors.

The Holder from the California Academy I saw then.

Camilla Flores.

If what I saw was correct, Park Jin-woo was interested in Camilla at the time.

And if the notorious training maniac Park Jin-woo is using the expression ‘slacking off’, the chances are high that it’s related to Camilla.

“Well, it’s only been about a month. We’re just in the texting stage for now.”

Park Jin-woo didn’t deny it and answered.

But I asked again as if I didn’t understand his words.

“Why? You should meet up, grab a meal, go to a cafe or something.”

This guy…

He teased me so much about my romantic exploits, but he can’t even unbutton the first one with his own romance?

Park Jin-woo sighed deeply and replied, “Ah… I’d have to be able to meet her first.”

During the winter break of the Seoul Holder Academy.

Along with that, Camilla had returned to America.

Of course, it’s not like she completely withdrew after her exchange student program ended.

She just went home during the break, and she’ll be back once the new semester starts.

In any case, since she’s an American Holder from California, she had to go home to rest during breaks.

So Park Jin-woo has been in frequent contact with Camilla, but he said he just doesn’t have a proper opportunity to meet her.

“…Tsk. That’s too bad.”

I clicked my tongue in resignation as well.

This was Park Jin-woo’s romance that didn’t exist at all in the original, so to be honest, I had hoped for it as a fan at one point…

It seems we’ll have to wait until the next semester starts before anything happens.

“Yeah. What kind of romance is this? You’re more suited for training. Let’s go to a dungeon I’ve looked into, after some hardcore grinding.”

It worked out well this time.

<The City of the Estranged Wolves>.

For the strategy to clear that dungeon, I had even considered removing Park Jin-woo from the party if he was too busy…

But this way, I can recruit him as a party member without worry.

Since powerful monsters appear frequently in that dungeon, every A-rank Holder was precious.

Park Jin-woo let out a dry laugh at my words.

“Wow… You want to date around while I roll in the dungeon? Have you ever seen such a jerk?”

“Why are you being so grumpy? I said, Let’s roll together.”

“Oh, those party members are probably all your girlfriends too.”

“If you’re upset, just call Camilla to Korea.”

“Damn… Nothing has even started yet…”

I had told Park Jin-woo that three of my friends became my lovers.

They’re also members of our ‘Underground Dungeon Party’, and he’s not the type to go blabbing about this fact.

Afterwards, he kept teasing me, “So you acted all innocent, but you were dating them all along.”

But still, it felt comfortable to open up to my closest friend.

We tease each other every day, calling each other this jerk and that jerk, but Park Jin-woo is the only friend I can have these serious conversations with.

“But seriously, how are you planning on dating three of them? Gonna become the Korean Liam Hendricks or what?”

“They said they’re going to make me into that.”

“They’re messed up too. But wait, how are you going to explain this to your parents? If the Clan Master of the Judgment of Fire finds out, I don’t think you’ll be able to stay alive.”

At Park Jin-woo’s biting remark…

My body froze for a moment.

I remembered the scary, daughter-obsessed side hidden behind Kang Woo-hyun’s benevolent appearance.

-Hahaha. A thief trying to take my daughter away, I can’t just leave him in the clan, can I?.

I started sweating unconsciously.

If just taking his daughter away makes me a thief, and on top of that, I have two more girlfriends?

If he finds out, I might really get turned into mincemeat.

As Park Jin-woo said, I may not be able to stay alive in this world.

After clutching my chest for a moment, I tried to brush off reality and said, “…Ju-yeon will somehow make it work.”

“How are you going to convince Professor Kim Myeong-hyun?”

“…Chae, Chae-eun will somehow.”

“You crazy bastard. What about Holder Moon Jung-hyuk from the Royals?”

“Ah, that one’s fine.”

I had directly sparred with Holder Moon Jung-hyuk and grasped his character.

He was a father who would understand anything as long as his daughter is happy.

…It’ll definitely be fine, definitely.

Anyway, we continued exchanging stories while lying down in the training hall.

This is how we unwind after sparring.

The amusing part is, the main topic tends to be romance.

Even Park Jin-woo, that bastard, is a guy.

He tries to act innocent, but he’s quite attentive to my advice and consultation.

To be fair, since I was the one who got confessed to first, my advice may not always be clear.

But still, I had more to say than him as his senior.

After giving him a full consultation, I suddenly said with a touch of regret, “It’s such a shame. I should put what I’ve learned into practice right away.”

At those words, Park Jin-woo scratched his head too.

“Tsk. Can’t be helped. It’s for the better anyway. I need to focus on growth for now. There will be a lot of Holders acquiring the sword rune soon.”

“…What?”

I was startled and asked back at the words he casually dropped.

A lot of Holders will acquire the sword rune?

It sounded vaguely familiar.

Then Park Jin-woo asked as if I didn’t know.

“Oh, what? You didn’t see the news while you were in the dungeon? It was crazy yesterday.”

After briefly searching on his phone, he tossed it to me.

Thunk-

On the screen of the phone I received…

As he said, sensational news articles were displayed like posters.

– World’s First! Holder Who Artificially Created Runes, Song Hyun-ah

– Who is Song Hyun-ah? The Heiress of the Sword Master Song Family

– Song Hyun-ah to Enroll at Seoul Holder Academy…

…

…

– Song Hyun-ah Picks Do Jae-hyun as Her Idol Holder

– ‘Repetitive Action’ Created the Rune… Any Others Besides [Sword]?

– Liam Hendricks, “Korea always surprises me.”

“…It’s real.”

Finally, the acquisition method for the [Sword] rune has been revealed to the world.

It was scheduled to happen around this time in the original too.

I was aware of it, but I was just a bit surprised when it was announced while I was in the dungeon.

‘It must have really caused an uproar.’

It makes sense why there are so many articles.

The artificial acquisition of runes through repetitive actions.

This amazing method has been revealed to the world for the first time, so it’s no wonder the entire Holder community is in an uproar.

From now on, many Holders will acquire the [Sword] rune.

Of course, Holders who mainly use [Sword] already possess it, and holders who don’t may not necessarily need a rune that’s not their main one…

‘But runes grant stat increases when acquired.’

Regardless, just acquiring a rune gives you a stat increase, however small.

In the case of the [Sword] rune, if your strength is very low when you acquire it, it gives you 1 point in strength.

It may be meaningless for high-ranked Holders whose stats won’t increase, but for newbie Holders just learning about runes, it’s a precious stat increase.

Perhaps all the close-combat focused Holders will try to obtain this.

“Apparently, Song Hyun-ah became a Holder through that method.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So now regular people are all trying to imitate it. They want to become Holders using that method.”

I just nodded along to Park Jin-woo’s words.

I already knew this information.

Moreover, it will soon be revealed that this is not actually a method to awaken as a Holder.

Of course, Song Hyun-ah did become a Holder from being a regular person…

But her case is completely different.

In truth, she already had the ‘innate talent to become a Holder’, and this method just accelerated that process.

Since so many people are apparently trying it now, the truth will be revealed soon.

But then, I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

It was as if I heard an unfamiliar name from Park Jin-woo’s words.

‘Not Song Hyun-i, but Song Hyun-ah…?’

Not Song Hyun-i, but Song Hyun-ah.

The name I was familiar with had changed.

After listening to Park Jin-woo’s words, I quickly reread the articles…

It was true.

The Holder who first revealed the acquisition method of the [Sword] rune to the world.

The heir of the prestigious Song Sword Master Family.

The person who should have been the male Song Hyun-i was now the female Song Hyun-ah for some reason.

‘…What is this?’

She’s even pretty.

With her long, dyed blonde hair, she flaunted a glamorous appearance befitting the heir of a renowned family.

In the original, she was portrayed as an icon of perseverance, overshadowed by her talented brother Song Do-hyuk’s abilities, but here she gave off the vibe of a noble young lady.

‘…I can’t keep track of it.’

I thought I had a decent grasp of this world, the differences from the original, and the butterfly effects I had caused…

But there were still many unpredictable elements.

This was the first time a character’s gender had changed.

‘…It’s not a huge deal, though.’

Still, nothing seemed to change drastically.

The important thing is that Song Hyun…

No, now Song Hyun-ah, was…

The Holder who first revealed the acquisition method of the [Sword] rune to the world.

And.

Like Park Jin-woo, she’s an incredible icon of perseverance, a ‘possessor of acquired talent’ who is later rewarded for her efforts.

So if I ever happen to meet her, considering her future achievements, it would be better to maintain a more amicable relationship with her.

That’s about all I needed to keep in mind.

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