“Well… I wouldn’t call it bullying. He just vents his anger by beating me up.” Oren scratched his face innocently. Arthur didn’t know how to tell his brother this was the definition of bullying.

“Okay. I’ll talk to this dude after I get into the academy. For now, keep away from him. Oh, and… Do you like this girl? Excluding whether you’re worthy or not.” Arthur asked and waited for his brother to answer. All he got, however, was a red face.

Later, as he was back in his room, Arthur placed the suitcase on his desk. It had the gear his father left him. With a click, the suitcase opened, revealing old equipment and a nostalgic past. A grey hard-leathered armor greeted him, and a sword with several scratches, bespeaking of its age. It was what Arthur’s father, Seref, left behind for Arthur to use. 

These were his first equipment, and they held many memories, making Arthur feel proud of having them. Although his father had no use for them after getting stronger and conquering stronger dungeons, he still held onto this equipment as he had bought them with blood and tears. It was his father’s dream for Arthur to use these once he awakened, and now his father wasn’t here to be proud.

***

The Furlair dungeon was an ancient one, as it was one of the first to open since three hundred years ago. However, it was never fully cleared as the Dungeon was only the periphery of a far more dangerous mountain range beyond the gates. 

According to the union, the mountain range held calamity-grade monsters that they didn’t dare to provoke. That’s why no one ever conquered Furlair, and monsters kept pouring in from beyond the gate. 

However, as it was a low-ranked dungeon, its monsters were mostly unranked. They were round beasts with full-body fur and sharp claws, hence the name Furlair. Their body was weak, and that allowed neo-rankers to hunt them as a safe beginner monster. 

Arthur was no different, as his father also started here. A single monster was worth 100 Yalveran dollars; he needed to hunt ten by the end of the week to pay the bank.

“ID?” The guard’s tone was monotonous, evidence of the times he asked this question. Arthur showed him the Union’s ID, and he was allowed entry without further questions. What laid beyond the giant metal gate was a massive cave with many pathways leading somewhere. 

The cave’s ceiling was probably 20 meters high, and that was incomparable to its area. Arthur looked around in amazement, and his behavior and probably his eyes drew clear attention.

There were no monsters around, so he chose a less crowded pathway and went deeper inside. The path diverged into more trails, and they further divided into several more, and some merged with the original pathway. 

It was easy to get lost, so Arthur tried his best to remember the route he took. Thankfully, he started seeing signs leading back to the entrance and some dangerous places he needed to watch out for. After a while, he finally found an empty pathway with no sign indicating anything abnormal.

Arthur’s nose pricked at the smell of manure, notifying him that the monsters weren’t far. He kept heading inside until he started hearing screeches and clanking, making him stick his back against a wall. He then slowly advanced and peeked in a pathway. 

His eyes caught the sight of three small fur balls moving about and jumping as they feasted on a one-meter worm. Two of them were further away, and they were the ones screeching at each other while the third was closer to Arthur, quietly nibbling away the carcass.

Picking up a rock from the ground, the nervous young awakener aimed at the monster closest to him. With newly heightened senses, his arm arched and darted across the air, releasing the rock from his grasp. 

The projectile tore across the air and landed squarely on the body of the distracted monster, enough to draw its attention and ire. It screeched a few times, but the other two were too busy arguing that they missed their friend’s behavior. The now irritated monster traipsed toward the location where Arthur was hiding.

Arthur knew he couldn’t take three of them at the same time, not yet at least. That’s why he hid in another pathway as he waited for the monster to emerge. The monster didn’t disappoint, and it came as expected, only to be confused by the empty path. Arthur waited for it to turn his head before he struck it with another rock, luring it closer to himself.

The monster drew near, and Arthur tightened his grip around the handle of an already unsheathed sword. His heart quickened, and he directed his energy toward the sword, hoping the ore didn’t break over time. The sword lit with a faint glow, and the monster seemed to notice the change in the air. However, Arthur didn’t allow it to fall back and leaped forward as he slashed at the beast.

“the nauseating feeling of cutting through flesh traveled up his arm, making him feel sick, but he held strong. Blood splashed the ground, and a pained screech echoed through the pathway, the latter making Arthur realize he had little time. 

The monster’s survival instinct seemed to kick in as he leaped toward Arthur with a wounded abdomen, trying to hack his leg. Arthur jumped backward after a short pause he took after his first strike, a mistake on his part. 

The monster missed, but it leaped again toward Arthur, who could now see the other two coming from the other pathway. Arthur decided to strike at the incoming monster’s claw, parrying it successfully before taking a step forward and raising his arms to strike again. 

As his strike descended, the monster finally died. The other two came running over, so he kicked the body of the one he had slain over one of the incoming two.

[Strength-I] and [Agility-I] were activated as Arthur imprinted them on his body before he dashed forward. His body found new strength as he felt lighter and faster, full of power. 

As one of them stumbled and was pushed back, Arthur attacked the other one with a horizontal slash that ended its life. He then jumped out of the attack range of the last one before stabbing with his sword forward. His technique was flimsy, but he had enough stats to make it up. He had slain the last monster effectively.

[You have leveled up. New Rune Acquired: Protection -I.]

Arthur breathed in and out as he was exhausted in both mana and stamina. He laid on the ground and checked the surrounding before he activated his Legacy Rune, Absorb.

[Your agility has been increased by 1.]

[Your agility has been increased by 1.]

[Your agility has been increased by 1.]

It seems that what he absorbs depends on the monster’s best forte. That is being agility for the Fur monsters. Arthur was glad he picked this one as it was different from the Sins Dungeon. 

First, it was an open field dungeon, so it had no lairs. Second, it was mostly unranked monsters that Arthur could take on. And third, the boss hasn’t been killed yet to avoid a far stronger monster emerging from the gate. So it was sufficient that they keep on clearing the minions for now, as that would keep the monsters on track and avoid a dungeon break.

As he looked at his new Stats, Arthur could feel himself becoming stronger. He added the point he got from leveling up to Mana straight away as it would allow him to cast more runes.

[Scholar Guardian’s Legacy]

[Level: 3 (0%)]

[Strength: 14]

[Agility: 16]

[Stamina: 14]

[Perception: 10]

[Mana: 1/3]

[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (1%), Useable Runes: 5]

[Skills: None]

[Stats Points: 0]

[Protection-I: This rune would protect you from physical attacks for 5 seconds. Applies defense that equals your strength stat. Mana Cost: 10% of your Strength stat.]

His last rune was a very useful one, as it allows him to deal damage without being harmed for 5 seconds. He doubted any unranked monster would have a strength greater than 14. 

However, he could only use this once with another basic rune or twice without using another one. It seems this would cost more as he would be immune to attacks lower than his strength stat. So, in theory, the stronger he is, the stronger his defense can be with this rune. 

If he became the strongest person in the world, then he can cast this rune, and no harm would befall him. However, the stronger he is, the more this rune would cost in terms of mana.

As Arthur mulled over it, he found this rune to be highly balanced. He would give up what equals 10% of his strength stat in mana to gain protection equaling his strength stat. For example, if he had 100 strength points, he would use 10 mana points to gain immunity against attacks of the same level. Only physical attacks, of course.

Arthur began to hop in his place to test his new agility. His reflexes were faster, and so was the movement he made. If strength was how hard your strike is, then agility would be how fast it will be delivered. 

After his mana refilled after 15 minutes, he was ready to hunt again. He still hasn’t learned any techniques to replenish his mana, so he had to wait for it to do so naturally.