Getting Runes – 1

There’s a proverb that says you might not know the value of someone’s presence, but you’ll quickly notice their absence. However, even with Inerma’s departure, the atmosphere of the Knight Order didn’t significantly dampen.

Iris and Erica did express their concerns once or twice, but that was all. According to them, Inerma left the castle by her own choice, so she must have had her reasons, and they were respecting that.

When I playfully teased them, asking why they didn’t show me the same respect when I said I was going to subjugate the Headless Armored Cavalryman alone, Iris’s cheeks flushed crimson.

‘Well, my case and Inerma’s case are a little different.’

I focused on leveling up again. My top priority was to reach Level 20 and unlock the Rune Slot.

Even now, if I wanted to, I could proceed with the Main Story or fight with bosses, but I chose the safe path over the fast one.

This wasn’t a speedrun, and there was no one to praise me for clearing it faster anyway. Besides, I only had one life. With a safe path clearly laid out, I had no desire to seek out dangerous endeavors.

After that, I eagerly waited for the trash mobs to respawn, and only after a full day had passed was I finally able to achieve the much-desired Level 20.

[Stats]

[Level] 20

[Health] 1

[Mana] 1

[Faith] 1

[Stamina] 1

[Proficiency] 1

[Strength] 1

[Magic Power] 10

[Divine Power] 10

[Endurance] 2

I allocated Stat Points to raise Magic Power to 10, and the remaining one to Endurance. I didn’t need to put many points into this; I only needed to raise it to exactly 7 later to wield the weapon I wanted.

Now, all that was left was to wait for Iris to mention the dungeon containing the rune. Even if I went to find the dungeon beforehand, it wouldn’t be open yet.

This was something akin to a forced event, so the player had no right to refuse.

Considering that the Silver Dawn Knights route itself was a story for newbies first entering BraDk 4, it was actually better for it to explicitly specify what to do.

“Unnie, please stop bothering the newbie-ssi. What are you doing clinging to them since morning?”

On the evening of the day I reached Level 20. As we headed to the dining hall, Erica let out a deep sigh, watching Rije clinging tightly to my side.

Rije, unconcerned, poked my cheek repeatedly with her finger.

“Bothering? I’m giving them full-body service! Look, the newbie likes it too. Right, newbie?”

“Yes, yes. It’s good, so let’s just hurry to the dining hall.”

They say humans are creatures of adaptation. Fortunately, I too had developed a slight tolerance to Rije’s physical contact.

Regardless of what I truly felt, it was a relief that I had reached a point where I could feign composure and retort, instead of outwardly revealing my embarrassment as before.

‘Still, I haven’t quite gotten used to the difference between her appearance and personality.’

Rije was a woman with a cold and haughty impression, as if not a drop of blood would come out even if you pricked her with a needle, provided she kept her mouth shut. I wondered if such behavior wouldn’t suit Erica more.

‘If I said that to Erica, I’d probably get hit.’

In fact, Erica treating me the way she treated her older sister was also a sign that we had become quite close.

Rije’s actions, a mix of aegyo and seduction, continued all the way to the dining hall. Erica, as if embarrassed by her sister, racked her brain trying to separate the two of us.

Of course, it didn’t work at all.

“Whoa, newbie! You’re already walking around with two women clinging to you? You’ve got skills, huh?”

As we entered the dining hall, Claudia, who was gulping down a mug of beer larger than her head, waved at us. Next to her, there were already two more empty beer mugs of the same size.

‘Things like that are just like in the game.’

The original NPC that Claudia was based on was a monstrous giant, over 2 meters tall in her lore, with a hearty, straightforward personality and a constant companion in alcohol.

Even though her appearance had changed from a burly, bearded muscular man to an androgynous beauty with slender limbs, unlike the other Knight Captains, her personality seemed to have remained completely unchanged.

Despite all that, her hair was a cute, round bob in light pink, her pupils were light pink, and even the dolphin shorts she was wearing were light pink.

“Claudia Knight Captain-nim!”

Erica, who had suddenly been treated the same as Rije, shrieked. Claudia laughed heartily, saying it was a joke, and then gulped down her beer again.

‘I wonder if she knows that’s really how it looks to other people.’

The person in question seemed completely oblivious, busy trying to pull Rije away, but it was true that to someone observing the three of us from the side, it really did look like I was walking around with Rije and Erica simultaneously.

Rije had noticed it long ago and was simply holding her tongue, wearing a meaningful smile.

“Drink in moderation and lower your voice, Claudia. And Rije, you too, step away from the newbie now.”

Iris, who had been quietly munching on bread at the head seat, spoke up.

The head seat was originally where Claudia, the Silver Dawn Knights’ rank 1, was supposed to sit. However, she apparently yielded it to Iris, saying that she felt uncomfortable sitting there and couldn’t eat.

Perhaps unable to refuse Iris’s words, Rije quietly stepped back a pace. Erica made an incredulous expression watching her.

‘If I don’t eat, I’ll starve to death, but I don’t feel hungry even if I don’t eat anything specific. I don’t know what kind of phenomenon this is.’

I picked up a piece of bread and a plate of soup and headed to the table. Rije had already brought seven pieces of bread and three plates of soup, and was munching on them at the table.

I sat next to her. Our seats were practically fixed. Iris was at the head seat, Rije and I were on Iris’s right side, and Erica and Claudia were on her left side.

It wasn’t explicitly decided that we should sit this way, but since Iris was at the head seat and Rije always sat with me, it had become a naturally accepted rule at some point.

“Ah, newbie. I have something to say before you get up, so wait.”

As the mealtime, which hadn’t been boring thanks to Rije and Claudia, was slowly coming to an end, Iris suddenly spoke. Wondering what it was, I turned my gaze to Iris.

“Do you happen to know what a rune is?”

‘Finally, it’s here.’

As soon as I heard the word ‘rune,’ I straightened my posture.

“Judging by that reaction, it seems you know.”

“To some extent.”

“Then the conversation will be quicker. We are planning to head to the dungeon tomorrow. A cliff on the mountain collapsed, revealing a hidden dungeon, and judging by the form of the magic power waves felt, it is believed that there is a very high probability of a rune being there. Aurora requested us to investigate.”

Iris continued speaking calmly.

This was the story of the ‘Vigor Enhancement’ rune, the first one obtained in the Silver Dawn Knights route. I had been waiting for Iris because the dungeon could only be entered once the mountainside collapsed and revealed it like that.

Runes, one could say, were the passive concept in BraDk 4.

Once equipped, they provided a semi-permanent buff to the character until replaced or unequipped, and the difference between having a rune and not having one was truly immense.

Just for Combat Fatigue alone, there were countless enhancement effects, such as increasing the total amount of the gauge, reducing the amount accumulated per hit, or increasing natural recovery speed.

Especially in Darkest Light Mode, where bosses appeared plastered with all sorts of unreasonable patterns, the proper use of runes was virtually essential.

“So, if there truly is a rune there, the Knight Captains have already finished discussing giving it to you.”

“To me?”

It was an unexpected statement.

In the game, of course, the player goes in alone, and the Knight Captains don’t move from the castle.

But here, it was obvious they would act as a group, so I had been wondering how the ownership of the rune would be decided later, but surprisingly, it was going to be resolved simply. Honestly, I was a little surprised.

Iris nodded.

“Didn’t I tell you before? We intend to give you the maximum support we can. This, too, can be seen as part of that support. I can’t guarantee it will be useful since we don’t know what type of rune will appear, though.”

‘Ah, right. They wouldn’t know what’s going to come out of there.’

I, of course, have it all memorized, but they wouldn’t know concepts like New Game+ or multiple playthroughs, so they’d naturally think it’s random.

“How come you’re not surprised at all? Don’t tell me you already knew what a rune was, newbie?”

Rije, who had somehow devoured all the piled-up bread and soup, looked at me with a clean face.

I wondered how she could eat so much. She was small and had no visible body fat, so where did all that food go?

-Jiggle.

“……”

I somehow felt like I knew. I quickly turned my head before Rije noticed my gaze. However, hearing giggling from beside me, it seemed I was already too late.

Iris, who had finished speaking, picked up her empty plate and stood up from her seat, adding one last thing.

“Do you have any questions, newbie?”

“No, I don’t.”

There was no way I would. I picked up my empty plate and stood up.

Now it was time to go defeat the boss that received the most complaints in BraDk 4.