Chapter 28
Vrrr!
As the glow faded—
A shimmering staff floated before my eyes.
[Congratulations!]
[You have obtained an S-rank item!]
‘A staff…?’
My heart pounded.
To be honest, I’ve never had a main weapon.
Necromancers typically use staves,
But after learning ‘Legacy of the Ten Thousand Arts’ from the old man,
I became able to wield all kinds of weapons—
Swords, spears, bows, shields, staffs, and more…
I had to be able to use them all.
‘Feels like I’ve become a jack-of-all-trades.’
A jack-of-all-trades.
Honestly, that’s what the Legacy was.
And the pinnacle of that might just be the old man himself.
‘Anyway.’
Since it’s a staff,
I’d probably use it myself rather than sell it.
After all, that’s the standard weapon for Necromancers.
‘Not bad.’
In fact, that might be better than selling it.
They say an S-rank weapon can completely change a Hunter’s life.
And finding one that suits you? That’s like grabbing a star out of the sky.
Swoosh.
I reached out and grabbed the staff.
Its details surfaced in my mind.
[Item: Staff of the Fire Dragon]
[Rank: S]
[Type: Staff]
[Description: A magical staff imbued with the power of a legendary Red Dragon.]
[Effect 1: Increases Energy by 100.]
[Effect 2: Reduces skill cooldowns by 20%.]
[Effect 3: Increases damage of fire-based skills by 100%.]
“Oh.”
I quickly read through it.
Simple effects.
But not simple in power.
‘First, +100 Energy.’
Considering the average Hunter has 100 base energy—
That’s nearly double.
Energy is a Hunter’s lifeline.
The more, the better.
‘But even more than that…’
Effect 3 caught my eye.
‘This is made for mages.’
Specifically, fire-type mages.
A 100% boost to fire-based skill damage—
It means it ‘doubles’ the output.
‘Might not seem that great for an S-rank…’
But I didn’t think that.
It was clear at a glance—
This is the kind of item that scales with the user’s power.
For example—
A D-rank ‘Fireball’ would just become two ‘Fireballs’.
But if it’s a top-tier spell like ‘Hellfire’ or ‘Meteor Strike’, used only by high-level Rankers?
‘That’s insane.’
Those kinds of massive AoE spells usually have long cooldowns.
Some can only be cast once a day, others once a week.
‘Being able to use those again with zero energy is wild.’
Fire-type Rankers would go nuts over this.
‘This is pretty damn good.’
Even if I didn’t use it directly, it was a great opportunity.
It’d sell for a high price.
‘How much would it go for?’
I pulled out my phone.
Opened the ‘Hunter Board’ app—
The country’s largest Hunter community for real-time info.
[Welcome to the Hunter Board.]
[Logged in as: ‘E-Rank Merc for Hire’ (Lv.8)]
Lalala~
Humming, I quickly wrote a post.
Posted it in the General Forum, which had the most traffic.
— Got an S-rank staff, can someone appraise?
— +100 Energy, 20% cooldown reduction, +100% fire damage.
Even with that short post, replies poured in.
▶ Yeah right, obvious bait.
▶ lol stats are too mid for an S-rank. If you’re gonna fake it, at least try harder.
▶ Look at the username—E-rank merc. How the hell would an E-rank get an S-rank item?
▶ For real. This kind of bait is getting old.
▶ Just ignore.
“These bastards.”
Well…
I get it.
If I saw a post like that, I wouldn’t believe it either.
Guess I’ll repost.
“Reveal info.”
I touched the staff and muttered.
[You are now displaying the item ‘Staff of the Fire Dragon’ (S-rank).]
Then—
[Item: Staff of the Fire Dragon]
[Rank: S]
[Type: Staff]
[Description: A magical staff imbued with the power of a legendary Red Dragon.]
[Effect 1: Increases Energy by 100.]
[Effect 2: Reduces skill cooldowns by 20%.]
[Effect 3: Increases damage of fire-based skills by 100%.]
The previously private details were now visible to all.
The ‘Reveal Info’ command allowed your items to be publicly shown.
— Reposting.
— Item info included.
— Added a video in case you think it’s fake.
I reuploaded it with a phone-recorded video.
A few minutes passed—
The board exploded.
▶ Wait, for real?
▶ No way, it’s legit?
▶ Damn, that’s too real. No way someone could fake this.
▶ Hi, I’m a CGI expert. You can’t fake that kind of precision. It’s real.
▶ Holy crap, real S-rank item!
▶ But what’s up with those stats?
▶ Are you blind? That thing’s amazing.
The small post instantly shot to the top of the BEST section.
But the chaos wasn’t just on the forum.
Reporters hunting for Hunter exclusives pounced.
[“S-Rank Item” Surfaces on Hunter Board!]
[‘Staff of the Fire Dragon’ Appears! Fire-Type Rankers Swarm!]
[‘Parang’s’ A-Rank Hunter ‘Soha’ Comments: “A Very Alluring Weapon for Fire Hunters.”]
[Poster’s Identity Hidden for Now.]
“Huh?”
This wasn’t what I intended.
I hadn’t expected it to blow up ‘this’ much.
Luckily—
‘Hunter Board’ doesn’t release user info recklessly.
That’s why it’s trusted by so many Hunters, including Rankers and S-ranks.
Even lower-ranked users like me have our data protected.
However…
[You have received a message.]
[You have received a message.]
[You have received a message.]
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Usernames can’t be hidden—
So my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
Before it got worse, I quickly deleted the post.
Selling it was secondary.
I wasn’t ready to drag the whole world’s attention onto myself.
‘Wait.’
Come to think of it—
I don’t ‘have’ to sell it.
Bone Five’s a mage and already knows ‘Fireball’.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to just give it to him?
If I use it, Effect 3 would go to waste.
‘Actually, hold on.’
Can I even equip Skeletons with items?
I’d never tried.
Why would I?
I barely had money to live.
I was walking around with trash gear myself—no way I was giving items to bones.
“……”
[Hunter: JooDonghoon]
[Energy: 10/120]
Looks like I had 10 Energy restored.
‘Let’s find out now.’
[Activating skill: Summon Awakened Skeleton (D-rank).]
[Consumes 10 Energy.]
[Bone Five has been summoned.]
Creak!
He appeared, waving his bone staff.
“Hey, Bone Five.”
Creak?
He tilted his head.
When I held out the shiny S-rank staff—
Creak!
He grabbed it immediately.
[Bone Five has equipped ‘Staff of the Fire Dragon’.]
“Whoa, this works?”
My eyes widened.
That was huge.
Normally, undead summoned by Necromancers can’t use gear.
The class is already broken.
If they could use items too, that’d be beyond busted.
Just imagine—
An undead army fully equipped with S-rank gear.
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but admire it.
So now I have to get gear for all ten of them?
“No, not just ten.”
Accessories, clothes, weapons, everything—
There’s so much potential for power-ups.
“……”
That’s when I started wondering.
Should I sell my first-ever S-rank item,
Or give it to Bone Five?
Honestly—
The biggest dilemma of my life.
Click click.
Bone Five clutched the staff tightly between his teeth.
What, is he acting like he doesn’t want to give it back?
“No. That thing’s expensive… hand it over.”
I reached for it.
He dodged subtly.
“You little…”
Creak.
He drooped his joints with a pitiful air.
If he had a mouth, I swear he’d be whining.
“Hah.”
I sighed.
“Fine. Not like I can use it anyway.”
Sure, I’m broke.
But it’s not that urgent.
I can now tackle C or D-rank dungeons no problem.
I’ll manage the bills.
“Just keep it.”
Click click click!
He chattered his teeth excitedly.
Sure, I felt robbed.
But this really was the right call.
If Bone Five gets stronger—
Or undergoes a true awakening like Sunny—
‘I might be the one looking for S-rank gear next time.’
[You have received a message.]
[You have received a message.]
……
Just like these people who keep messaging me.
‘Alright. That’s settled.’
I turned my gaze to the corner again.
There was still one more reward left.
If the Staff of the Fire Dragon was the achievement reward—
This one must be for clearing the dungeon.
[Reward incoming!]
[Congratulations!]
[You have obtained the item ‘Root of Racial Conflict’ (A-rank).]
[Ding!]
[This item is related to your class.]
“What the…?”
Class related?
I grabbed the root-like plant that appeared in midair.
[Item: Root of Racial Conflict]
[Rank: A]
[Type: Catalyst]
[Description: A root that unveils the secrets of a hidden ruin.]
[Effect 1: Unlocks the dungeon ‘Forest and Stone’.]
[Effect 2: Item is bound to Hunter ‘JooDonghoon’.]
[Effect 3: Can only be activated by C-rank or higher Hunters.]
“Hah.”
Knew it.
Another catalyst.
I suddenly remembered what Ki Soyul had said.
— Catalysts are like hidden opportunities. If you dig into them, they lead to linked quests. And those chains always climb in rank—eventually becoming S-rank or higher. That’s how all the catalysts I’ve known worked.
This must be another class quest,
Following the one with the ‘Ancient Desert Relic’.
Honestly—
I could feel it in my gut.
This one would also involve another Bone .
‘What if…’
All ten Skeletons I have—
Are each the absolute rulers of their own worlds?
Wouldn’t that be way too OP?
‘Seriously, why me?’
It’s great, sure.
But also kind of a burden.
Why does it feel like some unknown system is pushing me alone this hard?
“……”
After thinking it over briefly, I shook my head.
Why overthink it?
If some mysterious transcendent being wants to help me get stronger—
And maybe use me for something later—
‘Then I’ll use them right back.’
My goal is to become a Ranker.
Maybe new goals will appear later.
But for now, that’s all I’m aiming for.
Until then—
Whatever happens, I’ll just go with it and give it my all.
“That’s all the rewards.”
I cleared the messages filling my screen.
I’d cleared a dungeon and burned through all my energy.
‘Time to rest.’
And it looked like KiSoyul was approaching from afar too.
Starting tomorrow—
I’d go full throttle again.
To grow stronger.
With everything I’ve got.