Chapter 14

< Chapter 14: Killing Two Birds with One Stone (3) >

Yu Hwa left as soon as she handed me the item.

She said she had another interview at 9 o’clock.

She must be really annoyed.

Being a guild master is not something anyone can do.

I thought that as I opened the suitcase that Yu Hwa gave me.

“…Wow. Look at that.”

The Gauntlet of the Fierce Tiger, which literally reminded me of a fierce tiger, with its exquisite blend of yellow and black, captivated my eyes.

The Gauntlet of the Fierce Tiger, named after the tiger tribe, which had outstanding destructive power and agility among the beastmen, had a perfect balance of attack and defense, as befitting an ancient artifact.

Of course, only beastmen could wear it, and it was an [Ancient Artifact/B+ Rank] item, which was among the upper-middle class of ancient artifacts.

The Blessing of the World Tree was also this rank.

The physical ability adjustment was also similar to the Blessing of the World Tree.

It had special options such as [Roar of the Beast] and [Wildness].

I don’t remember the exact values of the other options.

[Ancient Artifact/B Rank] and [Normal/S Rank] had similar performance, so it could be said that it was a better item than the sword, [Key of the Six Worlds/S Rank], that Pi Jin Ho showed me as an example before.

Anyway, it was just an awesome item.

…Even though I can only use it for a minute.

“…Shi― Ahem.”

I almost swore without knowing.

But I can get one of the beastmen’s traits with this.

Let’s think positively.

I’m the winner in the future.

No, I don’t even have to go to the future.

Who knows?

I might get a great racial trait like [Blessing of the Water King], which was common among the elite warriors of the beastmen,

or [Bloodline], which was possessed by the cat tribe tricksters.

“….Should I just wear it now?”

If I get it, it’s really a life-changing thing.

Screw the status window or whatever!

That’s what I could shout out.

“No. No. Calm down.”

I somehow overcame my desire.

There are more than 10 beastmen traits that I can remember.

Among them, there are also strange traits like [Sensitive Smell].

If I wear the Gauntlet of the Fierce Tiger right here and get a useless trait like [Sensitive Smell], I might be seized by a suicidal impulse.

And I can’t always carry this huge gauntlet as insurance either.

I don’t know if there is an inventory or a subspace in this world, but there isn’t.

I can’t always carry this huge suitcase either.

It’s not suitable for insurance in many ways.

Then what should I do with this Gauntlet of the Fierce Tiger?

“The answer is the creative economy.”

I just need to put in an ancient artifact and get an ancient artifact out.

I have the knowledge of the novel.

Of course, I know where the ancient ruins are and where ancient artifacts are hidden.

The problem was that I had no means to raid those ruins.

How could an F-rank or something break through a dungeon made for a munchkin protagonist?

But now it’s different.

I have the Gauntlet of the Fierce Tiger.

A gauntlet that gives me power comparable to a B-rank superhuman for a minute.

With this gauntlet’s power, I can raid the ruins near Seoul, ‘The Golden Rest’.

I can do it.

And then I use the ancient artifact I got from there to raid another ruin.

And repeat this infinitely.

Then my traits will increase like crazy.

“Perfect.”

It’s a perfect plan.

* * *

I decided to postpone the exploration of the ruins. No, I had no choice but to postpone it.

It takes at least a day to explore the ruins.

It’s impossible on weekdays because of classes.

I had to choose a weekend day to explore the ruins.

So I set the exploration day to Saturday, three days later.

“I’ll make a quick announcement and then start the class.”

Before the Wednesday class started, Pi Jin-ho said he had an announcement to make.

“You all know this, but next Monday, the ranking battle will begin.”

It looks like the ranking battle is finally starting.

“The first ranking calculation was done using a simulator. We used the ability test data and the data from the last confrontation.”

The instructor’s words sparked complaints from the surroundings.

“What?”

“I did it very casually then!”

“Where did that come from?”

Pi Jin-ho smirked as he heard those complaints.

“This is just the result of running a simulation. You’ll eventually find your place, so don’t complain too much.”

It was a reasonable argument.

Those who rose by luck would eventually find their place and go down.

“Then announce the ranking calculation results.”

Along with Pi Jin-ho’s words, the rankings appeared on each tablet PC.

“Wow!”

“Whoa!”

At that moment, exclamations burst out from here and there.

“The first place in the entire first year is cadet Shin Ji-ah. She achieved an overwhelming victory in the confrontation simulator against all students.”

[1st Shin Ji-ah]

Shin Ji-ah’s name was in the top row.

“Ah, and we have one more first place in our class.”

At the bottom row, there was a familiar name.

“Kang Seo-yul. Congratulations. You’re the first from the back.”

[498th Kang Seo-yul]

My name.

“…Should I be happy?”

I made a nervous expression.

“Cadet Kang Seo-yul’s skill with the bow and dagger is excellent. But in the end, that absurdly low ability score held him back.”

As expected, it was as expected.

“I analyzed the data from when you fought with Cadet Choi Ji-hoon, and the result was that with your current strength, you can hardly inflict any damage on cadets with durability C or higher. That’s why you lost in all the simulations. The fact that your stamina is F rank also contributed.”

Every word hit my bones.

“Hehe.”

“I can fight him with my eyes closed.”

Oh yeah.

Keep them closed.

I’ll pierce your crotch.

“How can the two top students be so different?”

“Why~ They’re both first place.”

The sympathetic eyes of the surrounding cadets turned to me.

“······.”

Gogogo-

At that moment, Shin Ji-ah’s fierce gaze turned to the cadets around her.

“Ahem.”

Everyone quietly turned their heads at that cold gaze.

As the eyes that were directed at me disappeared, Shin Ji-ah smiled brightly and looked at me.

Her expression was like a puppy asking for praise, saying ‘Did I do well? Please tell me I did well!’

I couldn’t help but smile.

‘Thank you.’

I mouthed my gratitude, and Shin Ji-ah smiled even more.

To be honest, I wasn’t hurt by the other students’ eyes.

I would have done the same thing if I were them.

They were all innocent people who admired superhumans, so there was no blatant criticism either.

Rather, it made me more determined.

They’ll see how it feels to be beaten by an all-F ranker in the ranking battle.

They’ll say ‘Ah. I shouldn’t have wagged my tongue then~’

They’re all dead.

“That’s a good look.”

Instructor Pi Jin-ho looked at me and smiled as if he was amused.

“?”

Why is he looking at me like that?

“Then I’ll announce the schedule for the ranking battle as the last thing.”

The screen of the tablet PC changed.

I skimmed through the ranking battle plan that was set up for next Monday.

Where am I?

I could find my name right away.

That’s because my name was.

[Monday, April 27, 2021, 12:30 p.m.]

[498th Kang Seo-yul VS 497th Kim Min-hyuk]

At the top row.

…Am I the first?

* * *

After the Wednesday class.

I was training in the personal training room.

It was more accurate to call it an experiment than training.

Squeak!

The sound of an arrow piercing the air rang out and stuck in the doll’s forehead.

[Training is over.]

With the end, the voice of the training ground AI rang out.

[Maximum range 2,472m. Accuracy 100%. Comprehensive evaluation score 10/10]

The racial trait ‘Guardian of the Bow’ of the elf race seems to work normally when holding a bow.

It greatly increases the bow proficiency and gives correction when moving.

“Then next….”

It’s time to test ‘Wind’s Path’.

I took out a dagger from my waist and held it. At that moment, the world tree tattoo turned red.

“As expected.”

As expected, Wind’s Path seems to be a trait that only activates when holding a dagger.

I expected that because all the elves who had this trait in the novel used daggers.

Now that I know the activation condition, it’s time to check the power.

“I’ll change the training mode.”

[Please select a training mode.]

“Monster extermination mode.”

[Changing to monster extermination mode.]

With that, the appearance of the training room began to change.

[Please set the type and number of monsters.]

“Blood wolf one.”

A blue light slowly condensed and began to change into a wolf of 1 meter in size.

“Its teeth are like knives.”

Blood wolf.

They are the most common monsters in Seoul, and they are canine monsters that roam in groups of at least 5 to 10. They’re not that strong.

[Do you want to start training?]

“Ah, before that, can you lower the durability to E rank?”

[Durability rank E. Applied.]

“Okay. Then start.”

At that moment, life returned to the blood wolf’s dull pupils.

“Grrr!”

Saliva dripped down.

Is that fake?

It’s really real.

I won’t die if I get bitten, right?

I made such a silly thought and held the sword not too strongly.

Zing-

At that moment, distortion occurred in my sight again.

The scene I saw when I fought with Choi Ji-hoon.

I didn’t know what it was then because I was flustered, but now I know.

I’m reading ‘Wind’s Path’ right now.

“Grrr!”

With the beast’s roar, the wind split left and right.

The blood wolf changed its direction as it charged.

Judging by the movement of the wind, it’s not very fast.

Whooong-

At that moment, a wind blew.

An unnatural wind that was different from the natural one.

It showed me the way I should go in the red.

This is Wind’s Path.

It reads the wind and determines the best movement, and suggests a response in an instant.

I moved my body and dagger one by one along the red path.

Pwoooook!

It was only three steps of movement.

It was only one stab.

[Critical hit. Target death confirmed.]

[Training is over.]

That light action led the blood wolf to death in one blow.

“…Really?”

Of course, I set the durability to E.

I wouldn’t have been able to pierce the blood wolf’s skin with my strength, so it was an inevitable choice.

Anyway, the important thing is that I killed a blood wolf with all its abilities intact except for durability in one blow.

Wind’s Path is really amazing.

There is a penalty that it only activates when holding a dagger,

but it’s worth considering with this performance.

[Do you want to continue training?]

“No. Take a break.”

[Transitioning to standby mode.]

I collapsed on the floor.

“Ah. I’m out of breath.”

Is there any way to improve this poor stamina?

I recited today’s experiment results while catching my breath.

The trait ‘Guardian of the Bow’ obtained from [Blessing of the World Tree] is a racial trait that greatly increases bow proficiency and gives correction when moving when holding a bow.

The trait ‘Wind’s Path’ obtained from [Tranquility of the Forest] is a kind of dagger skill that allows you to read Wind’s Path when holding a dagger.

And there was one more thing I learned.

‘The color of the tattoo changes when the second trait activates.’

From green to red.

Not only that.

If you look closely, the shape of the tattoo has changed a little.

If the previous tattoo looked like a withered tree, now it has more leaves and looks more lush.

It must be changing little by little every time I acquire a trait of the same race.

For now, I figured out about the traits.

Then it’s time to experiment with my abilities.

I opened the box Shin Ji-ah gave me.

What will happen if I hold a normal item that doesn’t have a racial restriction for a long time?

It was an experiment to find out.

To be honest, it seemed like nothing would happen.

It’s obvious that an error will pop up and end after a minute.

There’s nothing to gain from a normal item.

Even if the item has a high strength limit, it won’t increase my strength.

Of course, it would be awesome if that happened….

“There’s no way.”

I gave up my expectations and took out any item from the box.

A necklace with fancy decorations.

“Can you run a timer?”

[Timer is running.]

[00 : 01]

Now I just have to wait for a minute.

If an error pops up, I’ll be ready to throw it away.

[00 : 53]

I waited for the time, ready for the pain.

[00: 59]

And now I’m ready to throw away the item―

[01: 10]

Huh?

“······?”

But contrary to my expectations, nothing happened surprisingly.

[02: 11]

I decided to keep holding it just in case.

The time might be different.

[10: 38]

After 10 minutes passed.

[20: 21]

Even after 20 minutes passed, the item was still quiet.

I suddenly thought of this.

‘Is there no user time limit for normal items?’

I stared at the necklace in my hand.

…Really?

Please leave a response, if possible

Please motivate me…