Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy
Chapter 218:

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Chamber of the Transcendent: Canales (6)

Even with the appearance of the Transcendent, Kang Juyeon showed no hesitation.

Without a moment of hesitation, she gathered her magic.

“Flame…!”

“Wait! Wait a minute, Juyeon!”

I hurriedly stopped Kang Juyeon.

After all, even if we attacked the Transcendent, it wouldn’t have any effect, and since it wasn’t hostile in the first place, there was no need to attack it.

“…Why?”

“I told you before we came in. There is a being called a Transcendent in this dungeon. That being is probably the Transcendent, the owner of this chamber.”

“……”

Convinced by my persuasion, Kang Juyeon’s momentum gradually subsided.

However, she still looked at the Transcendent with sharp eyes.

The ‘trial’ that had almost killed us just now.

She seemed unable to let go of her anger at the one who created it.

…In fact, I don’t understand that structure either.

Driving the intruders in with a murderous intent, and then being hospitable if they overcome the trial.

It was an inconsistency that was difficult to accept rationally.

If the Transcendent had not been stronger than us, to be honest, I might not have been able to control my emotions and attack it, system or not.

“But I see you are an Oath Bearer. Have you already met Fluvius?”

Unlike her sharp impression, a soft voice flowed out.

The Transcendent also knew about my relationship with Fluvius.

Well…

Since I obtained the rune [Brave Eternal Wave] and had the ‘power of water’ all over my body… It would have been funny if the dragons didn’t recognize it.

I greeted her with proper courtesy.

“It is an honor to meet such a great being.”

“I am also glad to see an Oath Bearer like you. My name is Canales. I am the Transcendent who gave you the trial, and I am also known as the Red Dragon of Protection.”

The Red Dragon of Protection, Canales.

Ever since we first entered the <Altar of Ash Fire>, we had speculated about this Transcendent, and we were certain of it when we entered the <Chamber of the Transcendent>.

The legendary being that was the source of the new power Kang Juyeon had obtained was right before our eyes.

Canales turned her head slightly and looked at Kang Juyeon.

“I’m glad to see the child who inherited my power as well. I didn’t expect you to come, though.”

Kang Juyeon frowned slightly and replied. “…Who says I’m your child?”

“Haha. Don’t you know that best? My name must have appeared in the system as well.”

“……”

Just like with Fluvius, the Transcendents were well aware of the ‘system’.

The system where Holders acquire runes and raise their stats.

The various information windows that quantify them.

Perhaps the Transcendents could freely utilize such information as well.

“Well then…”

Tap-

Canales moved the conversation along and snapped her fingers.

The special warp that I had seen before with Fluvius.

With just a snap of her fingers, she instantly moved us to her lair.

“……!”

Experiencing this for the first time, Kang Juyeon was startled and looked around.

Like partners…

It was exactly the same reaction I had shown before.

I smiled slightly and gently held her hand to reassure her.

“Take a seat. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

At Canales’ words, we took our seats.

On the table, of course, an hourglass was draining its sand.

The time given to us this time was only as much as this sand.

I glanced at Kang Juyeon’s eyes for a moment.

She met my gaze and nodded.

-Do as you please.

That was the meaning of her nod.

We had already explained the structure and rewards of the <Chamber of the Transcendent> before entering the dungeon.

And entering this chamber was primarily due to ‘Park Ji-hwan’s request’…

If we overcame the trial, we had agreed to ask his questions first.

“Ms. Canales… May I call you that?”

“Of course, as the Oath Bearer pleases.”

Dragons are benevolent towards Oath Bearers, the dragon knights.

I don’t know if that’s true of all dragons…

Or if it’s just that the dragons I’ve met happen due to ‘Dragon’s Blessing’ by chance.

“By any chance, could you interpret this note?”

I took out a small note from my magic bag and handed it to her.

This was the note that Park Ji-hwan gave me right before he left yesterday.

-If you meet a Transcendent, hand it this note and ask about it. A Transcendent should be able to interpret it. And once you hear the answer, you’ll also share the information about this with the organization.

Instead of hiding information as much as possible, Park Ji-hwan had decided to share the secrets if we succeeded in clearing the dungeon.

Even if he trusted us enough to share dungeon information, sharing information about the organization he was pursuing was a separate issue, which is why he took this approach.

Canales received the note I handed her and answered with a slight smile.

“There is a light magic seal on it.”

“A magic seal?”

“Yes. It’s a device that only those well-versed in magic can create. A kind of barrier, if you will.”

Canales spoke and then ignited a small flame at the tip of her finger.

The note was lightly burned, turning quickly to ash and disappearing.

Judging by her slightly closed expression, it seemed to be her way of undoing the magic seal.

And when Canales opened her eyes, the story she told was quite shocking.

“You’re asking about the Ludenark Spell.”

“Luden…ark?”

I asked back, opening my eyes slightly.

The Ludenark Spell. A name that was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar. It was definitely a name I had heard before.

<Rune Information>

◎Name: Rapid Recovery

◎Grade: Rare / Downgrade

…

◎Detailed Information: One of the representative enhancement spells of the barbaric tribe, the Barbarians. It was artificially injected and inscribed into the target through the special power of the Ludenark spell. In the process, it was registered in a downgraded state from its original power.

The first was <The Nest Covered by the Cloud>.

A rune acquired by defeating a mutant of the A-grade monster Manticore.

Its detailed information contained the unfamiliar names ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Ludenark’.

Combining the original information and the stories of the Transcendents, I finally realized that they were a specific race or group in the ‘otherworld’…

But I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of people they were.

<Contractor Information>

◎Name: Bon (Bone Dragon)

– Contractor: Do Jae-hyun

◎Classification: True Dragon (Special/Manufactured)

…

◎Detailed Informations: An undead granted intelligence through the forbidden magic of the Ludenark…

And the second piece of information.

Now given the new name ‘Tyrbon’ and becoming a completely different being, the original Bon definitely had these details.

Here, the name ‘Ludenark’ appeared once again.

Bon was originally the undead that Hwang Dong-yeon tried to control.

This meant that the power of Ludenark was directly or indirectly related to the <Villain> clan as well.

Additionally, it could be inferred that they were a spell that used a kind of black magic ability.

And finally…

“The Ludenark are those who seek to imitate evil. They committed horrific human experiments as well as various evils that were considered taboo. In particular, they have a history of summoning demons or demons in the past, so they were considered public enemies on the continent of Laphrion.” Canales mentioned this again in great detail.

In other words, the note asked about the Ludenark Spell, and the group Park Ji-hwan was chasing was precisely them.

It was quite ironic that the information deeply entangled with me eventually came back to me.

I slowly organized my thoughts and asked Canales, “When you say spell, does that mean they study magic?”

“That’s right. Precisely, that’s what I’ve heard. It’s unnecessary for us dragons, but humans have such things. However, the evil group represented by Ludenark is probably not an officially recognized spell.”

Information about ‘spells’ was already known in the Holder Realm.

The <Florian Spell> and the <Adrian Spell>.

The two branches of ‘Spell’ that represent the current line of mages.

The orthodox [Florian Spell] and the irregular [Adrian Spell] are spell traditions that came from these spells.

This was also information written in the rune’s details, but their specific organizational relationships were not revealed.

‘Because there aren’t many people dealing with high-level information like me yet.’

Even the <Chamber of the Transcendent>, it was still information that the master hadn’t disclosed.

In any case, the <Ludenark Spell> was likely a similar type of spell to the previous ones…

And as Canales said, it would be a spell not officially recognized by the humans on the continent.

“This note asks about the main abilities and movements of the Ludenark Spell… But I don’t have much to tell you about that. It will be faster to ask humans about human stories.”

Canales added this response, saying she couldn’t give a clear answer to the questions Park Ji-hwan asked in the note.

It was a phenomenon that occurred because we didn’t know what kind of Transcendent would appear in this dungeon.

I nodded at this and asked one more question out of curiosity.

“Then are there any Transcendents among them?”

“Perhaps. Even if they immediately sacrifice and summon demons, they will have the power of a Transcendent, and I’ve heard that the human called the spell leader is very dangerous, though I’ve never seen one.”

That was really unpleasant information.

I understood why Park Ji-hwan was chasing after the Ludenark Spell.

If a group more vicious than the <Villains> gained power rivaling the dragons… If they reached reality in a worst-case scenario, the negative impact they could have on the Holder Realm seemed significant.

They might even try to destroy everything indiscriminately.

Like ‘monsters’ that can’t communicate.

“Vowed one, time is running short,” Canales suddenly said to me, pointing at the hourglass.

The rewards for conquering the <Chamber of the Transcendent> are largely two.

‘Information’ given by the Transcendents who are mostly benevolent to the challengers, and rewards of ‘ascension’ in material or ability.

However, there wasn’t much time to obtain information, so more conquests and efficient questioning were needed.

I turned my head and glanced at Kang Juyeon.

The conquest of this dungeon would have been impossible without Kang Juyeon.

Moreover, the Red Dragon Canales before us… Was a Transcendent deeply related to Kang Juyeon’s legendary rune.

Rather than asking my personal questions, it seemed a little more helpful for the party if Kang Juyeon did the questioning.

And…

“…What is the relationship between you and me?”

Kang Juyeon’s first question, without even honorifics, was fiery from the start.

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