NOVEL NEXT chapter 10
Chapter 10. Fortune
The taming was a success.
“Woof!”
Now completely at ease, the puppy scampered over, licking the human’s fingers, and Kim Do-jin gently scooped it up.
“A shrinking superpower, huh…….”
The puppy had currently shrunk itself to the size of Kim Do-jin’s fist, thanks to its ability.
Thus, he remarked, “How cute.”
With the puppy dangling in one hand, its little legs flailing, Kim Do-jin couldn’t help but smile with delight.
“Is it a Black Tan Shiba?”
Looking at its appearance, it seemed to be a Shiba Inu, but what on earth had led it to be trapped within this violet fissure?
“Are you alone?”
“Woof…”
“Since when?”
“Woof…”
Kim Do-jin, observing the sad response of the puppy, began to speculate.
Having originally been a stray dog without an owner, perhaps it had been living in this abandoned building, only to be suddenly swept into this violet crack one day?
“Hmm…”
If that speculation were true, this puppy had been living all alone for nearly a year in a place teeming with monstrous claws.
“…”
With a sympathetic expression, Kim Do-jin scratched the puppy’s brow before slowly rising to his feet.
“Let’s go outside now. But first, there’s something I need to do, so wait here for just a moment.”
As he spoke, he tucked the puppy into the pocket of his school uniform.
“Woof!”
The puppy poked its head out just enough to peek, remaining surprisingly calm.
“Good.”
Kim Do-jin thought again how clever the creature was as he made his way toward his destination.
– Tada-dad!
How much time had passed like this?
“Kieeeek!”
At last, he had found the boss monster of this dungeon.
Like any dungeon, it was a larger version of the spotted mat-rabbit, the creature he had encountered most frequently.
It bore the same appearance and traits as the spotted mat-rabbit, but its size was more than double, and of course, its combat prowess was more than double as well.
– Srrung!
Without hesitation, Kim Do-jin drew his sword and plunged into battle.
– Tang!
But the same went for the boss monster.
Suddenly, like a true mat-rabbit, the boss monster kicked off the ground and leaped high, attempting to slam down its massive body onto Kim Do-jin.
‘It seems I won’t manage without using my powers after all.’
In the battles up to this point, he had deliberately refrained from using his abilities to draw out the practical sense of combat in his new body.
But against the boss monster, his magic was still too weak, and mixing in his psychic powers was a practice for another time.
– Thwack!
Kim Do-jin leaped back, evading the boss monster’s attack.
– Shard!
A sharp stone spear erupted from the ground at that very spot.
– Thud!
The stone spear pierced the boss monster’s rear as it came crashing down.
“Kyack!”
The boss monster, having unwittingly leaped into a thorny bramble, began to thrash about in rage and pain, letting out a howling roar.
– Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
The ground trembled under the sheer ferocity of its movements, yet Kim Do-jin remained calm.
– Thwack!
With a light motion, he deftly dodged the next attack.
– Slash!
Seizing the moment, he struck at the exposed nape of the boss monster with precision.
“Krack!”
A strike that pierced the only weakness with a razor-sharp edge.
But it merely grazed the flesh; it was far from enough to sever its breath.
“Tch.”
If he could wield the same magic as his true form, he could have cleaved that nape a hundred times over.
Yet now was not the time for such regrets.
– Thud!
Kim Do-jin began to dart around again, engaging the boss monster in battle, and after what felt like an eternity.
– Boom!
He finally succeeded in bringing the boss monster down.
“Haah…”
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he gazed down at the corpse of the beast.
‘Is this worth about ten million won these days?’
Within every monster’s body lay a mana crystal known as ‘magic stone.’
And in this age of magical science, that magic stone was the most vital resource of all.
—
Thus, the mana stones obtainable from the F-rank rifts were traded at considerable prices, and this was the very reason many Awakened chose to pursue the path of the ‘Hunter.’
Nevertheless, even with the boss monster’s mana stone, which could fetch such a high price, Kim Do-jin’s attention was drawn elsewhere.
‘Where could it be?’
A treasure of immense value, incomparable even to the mana stones of boss monsters, could only be found within the violet rifts.
“I found it.”
At last, Kim Do-jin’s eyes sparkled as he discovered a gem, no larger than a fingernail, nestled in a corner of the boss room—this was the ‘Essence of Mana.’
‘Is this a reward for my failed return? To stumble upon a spirit and the Essence of Mana… How can I be this lucky?’
Essentially, the way for an Awakened to enhance their magical power, the mana within their body, was simply through the steady practice of ‘Mana Breathing.’
Naturally, this required time, which is why the ‘First Generation Awakened’ who had awakened since the onset of the rift crisis possessed far greater magical power than the ‘Second Generation Awakened.’
Of course, there were variables like mana affinity that could allow those who awakened later to catch up.
A prime example was none other than Kim Do-jin himself.
In any case, strengthening one’s magical power required time, and one of the methods to shorten this was to consume the ‘Essence of Mana.’
The vast amount of mana condensed within the ‘Essence of Mana’ was pure enough to blend harmoniously with the mana in one’s body.
Thus, consuming it would enhance the mana within.
‘This is something I can eat right away.’
As Kim Do-jin held the ‘Essence of Mana’ between his thumb and forefinger, turning it this way and that, he suddenly blew a puff of air to shake off the dust.
Without hesitation, he popped it into his mouth and swallowed.
“…Ugh.”
Indeed, the effects manifested almost immediately.
Suddenly, a warmth surged in his belly, the heat gradually radiating throughout his entire body.
‘As expected, it’s not too potent for an F-rank rift.’
This was merely a symptom of the mana condensed within the ‘Essence of Mana’ slowly being absorbed into his body, so Kim Do-jin settled into a cross-legged position, focusing his mind.
For the first three minutes, a high fever would arise, but after that, it was typical to move about as usual without issue.
“Whoo…”
As expected, after about three minutes, the heat began to subside.
However, absorption was still ongoing, and his actual magical power had only increased by about 10%.
‘Should I test this out?’
To gauge his newfound strength, Kim Do-jin lifted a boulder he had previously raised during the battle with his telekinesis.
– Vwooom…
“Ah, impressive…”
—
—
Indeed, it felt lighter than before.
Having absorbed only about 10% so far, if this was the change…
Perhaps I could even surpass the threshold of mana grade B.
‘Exceeding expectations, aren’t we?’
For reference, the average mana grade for awakeners at the age of 17 typically ranged from F to E.
And those with the talent to enroll in ‘Arc’ usually fell between D and C, with only a rare few reaching B.
Yet, thanks to this essence of mana, I was on the verge of becoming B-grade in an instant, so how could I not feel elated?
“Khuk…”
As Kim Do-jin suddenly let out a sinister chuckle, the puppy nestled in his chest pocket looked up with a startled expression, as if worried it had eaten something wrong.
Of course, it hadn’t eaten anything wrong; rather, it was in a state of having eaten quite well.
“Shall we head out?”
With that, Kim Do-jin turned around with a flourish.
The rift created by the death of the boss monster awaited as an escape route.
As he reached out, he was transported to another realm, just as he had come.
– Phaat!
Confirming he had safely emerged from the rift, Kim Do-jin observed the puppy’s reaction.
“…….”
Having escaped the rift after a whole year, the puppy gazed around in a daze, and Kim Do-jin patiently waited for it to gather itself before speaking.
“What will you do? Will you live with me, or stay here?”
The creature was, of course, a being of great value from a human perspective.
Humans could receive aid from these supernaturally gifted beings, but conversely, they could also exploit them.
There were even humans who used these creatures as subjects for experiments, so awakening a power was not necessarily a blessing for the animal.
Though it seemed this puppy was blissfully unaware of such harsh realities.
“Woof!”
As expected, it clung tightly to Kim Do-jin, refusing to let go.
“Alright. Let’s go home.”
With that, Kim Do-jin took the puppy and headed back to the dormitory.