The wall of the ruins opened.
We began clearing the ruin at a rapid pace.
Aside from that brief moment of being stuck at the wall, everything afterward was no different from an ordinary ruin.
Combat and trap disarming—repeating those two things over and over, we eventually reached the final room of the ruin.
“Hoo. It’s already the last room.”
“I came to enjoy the festival, but how did it end up like this?”
“Right? I’m a bit confused myself.”
I stepped forward and placed my hand on the door.
“Let’s head in right away.”
“Yeah.”
Creeeaaak…
As the door opened, a vast, towering space came into view.
[You have entered the final room of the ‘Ruins of the Boundary.’]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
The final room of the ruin.
There were moss-covered rocks and numerous statues.
Colorful flowers bloomed on the floor, and towering trees surrounded the area.
At a glance, the space radiated a sacred aura fitting of a “ruin.”
“Wow. This is seriously amazing. I’ve been to artificial ruins a few times, but this is my first time in a real one.”
“Same here.”
Everyone but me seemed amazed, glancing around with wide eyes—it was their first time in an actual ruin.
“Ah, I’ve gotta get a photo of this. Seo-yoon, want me to take one of you too?”
Song Seung-ah asked, clutching her smart student notebook.
“No thanks. We’re not here on vacation.”
“Oh come on. Don’t be like that. Ah, Sunwoo! Stand next to Seoyoon. I’ll take a picture of you two together.”
“What picture? Forget it.”
At my response, Choi Seo-yoon turned to Song Seung-ah.
“See? He said no.”
Song Seung-ah gave me a strange look, then let out a sigh.
“Fine, then I’ll take one of Seo-jun and Hyun-joo.”
“Us?”
I thought they’d refuse, but unexpectedly, the two happily posed in front of an elegant statue.
They even stuck close together and struck a pose.
Smile. Click.
“……”
…They’re really carefree, huh.
After the shot, Lee Hyun-joo ran over to Song Seung-ah.
“It came out great! Send it to me after we leave the ruin.”
“Sure. Want me to edit it before I send it?”
“Nah, that’s fine.”
Just as the atmosphere started feeling like a school trip, Lee Seo-jun spoke up, seemingly trying to bring focus back.
“So, where’s the reward?”
“Over there. That must be the altar, right?”
Yoo Ara pointed somewhere. Everyone’s eyes turned in that direction.
“Oh. Yeah, looks like it.”
We headed toward the altar. As expected, atop it was a transparent gem glowing with a white light.
━━
[Stone of Life (Divine Relic)]
Description: A stone imbued with the power of life.
[Effect]
▶ Grace of Life
Infuse the stone with mana to invoke a miracle of life.
All diseases are cured.
All injuries are healed and regenerated.
*Cooldown: 3,650 days
Durability: SSS
━━
The Stone of Life.
It was exactly the reward I remembered from the original story.
A divine relic—the crystallization of “mystery,” known as the most mysterious force in this world.
The Stone of Life wouldn’t be needed right away, but it would become a key element in the story’s progression later on.
With this, we had taken one more step toward the main scenario.
“A stone? A gem? Hmm. What is it? Some kind of relic?”
“It looks like one… but I’m not entirely sure.”
As everyone stared at the Stone of Life, Lee Hyun-joo’s voice turned serious.
“This isn’t an ordinary relic.”
“Then what is it?”
“A divine relic.”
“D-Divine relic?”
Just like in the original story, she recognized it right away—fitting for someone known for her deep interest in mystical forces.
“Yeah. I’ve seen one before, a long time ago. See that soft white glow around it? That’s the sign of a divine relic. And you can feel something unusual radiating from it, right?”
At the word “divine relic,” everyone’s eyes widened in shock.
“Whoa… so this is the famous divine relic. Feels unreal.”
“Let’s keep today’s events a secret.”
Everyone looked at Lee Hyun-joo in confusion.
“There are a lot of people out there who hunt for divine relics. If word gets out that we have one… I doubt it would end well.”
I nodded at her words. Not just “to some extent,” but completely true.
There was no reason to go around announcing we had acquired a divine relic. This world had plenty of people—outside of just Jaun—who were obsessed with the mysterious.
Yoo Ara added,
“She’s right. There are people out there who wouldn’t hesitate to kill for a treasure like this.”
Her voice had a bitter edge—likely recalling something from her family’s past. Song Seung-ah and Choi Seo-yoon nodded.
“Yeah, we won’t tell anyone.”
Just as the mood started turning somber, Lee Seo-jun brightened the atmosphere again.
“Alright then, should we go ahead and claim our reward?”
“Let’s. Who’s going to hold onto it?”
When Lee Hyun-joo asked, no one answered.
Even though the reward was a divine relic, it seemed everyone was hesitant after the earlier warning.
I turned to Seo-jun.
“Seo-jun. You take it.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’re the one who opened the sealed path and got us here, right?”
It was meant to be his anyway.
“Well… I guess. Alright. But I’m just holding onto it for now. If any of us ends up needing it, we’ll use it then. That okay?”
“Yeah.”
Just as Lee Seo-jun reached out to pick up the Stone of Life, I stopped him.
“Hey, hey—wait a sec.”
“Huh?”
Everyone looked at me, caught off guard.
“Get ready for battle, all of you.”
Like most ruins, the moment you claim the final reward, the guardian awakens.
We still had one last fight ahead. And everyone nodded at my warning.
“Ah, right. I forgot about the guardian.”
“Another battle? Ugh… I wonder how strong it’ll be. I heard they’re tougher than dungeon bosses.”
As everyone gathered their mana and finished their preparations, Seo-jun spoke.
“Alright, I’m picking it up.”
“Go ahead.”
The moment Seo-jun took the Stone of Life into his hand, a bright light burst from it, and the entire ruin began to tremble.
Wooooooom……
Sand began to fall from the ceiling. Then came a thunderous sound of something massive moving.
KWOOM!
From the darkness, a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared. Turning toward the sound, we saw a massive statue clutching a giant spear walking toward us.
It was easily over 10 meters tall.
And behind it, another statue—slightly smaller—emerged.
“Prepare for battle!”
And then—
KWOOM!
Another heavy footstep echoed through the chamber.
“…Huh?”
I turned my head in surprise.
Boom!
Another sound from a different direction.
The footsteps kept coming.
“…What is this?”
I looked around with wide eyes at the unexpected change from the original story.
In the original, there were only two guardians. But now, there were four.
What the hell happened?
Don’t tell me… because we have more people?
Tch.
An unexpected variable had occurred.
I thought having more people would make it easier to conquer the ruin, but of course, nothing ever goes smoothly.
Of course, we had four more people, and two more guardians had appeared, so it wasn’t a major problem.
Besides, everyone here ranked among the top in the academy.
But the issue was—the statues were strong enough that even in the original, Lee Seo-jun could barely take one down by himself.
Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ara might be able to manage, but the others would have trouble handling a guardian alone.
Boom!
I shouted urgently.
“Me, Lee Seo-jun, and Yoo Ara will each take one! The rest of you handle the last one together!”
“Got it!”
Everyone quickly moved to their targets. I rushed toward the guardian closest to me.
The guardian saw me and immediately swung its spear.
Whoooosh!
With such a huge and heavy body, I expected it to be slow, but its attack was fast and sharp.
I barely dodged using my mana.
At the same time, the Outsider’s Privilege activated and illuminated the weak points between the cracks of the guardian’s body.
Between the body and clothing. Between folds. The small openings that appeared as it moved.
I quickly compressed and formed magic above my hand.
Whooosh…!
Swirling mana. Just as its spear extended toward me, I extended my hand and released the spell.
Bang—!
The magical sphere sliced through the air and struck the guardian’s neck with precision.
A loud boom echoed as the guardian’s body tilted heavily.
Its defense was so solid that I couldn’t blow off its head, but the damage wasn’t completely ineffective—chunks of stone fell from its neck.
It was vulnerable now.
I activated “Heart of the Nature” to not miss this chance.
Thump!
A massive wave of mana rapidly began to recover.
Thanks to the recent upgrade to S-rank of Nature’s Blessing, the duration was extended to a full 3 minutes.
And 3 minutes was enough time to take this thing down.
I launched multiple spells and charged toward the guardian.
Bang! Bang! Baaang—!
The guardian’s body tilted backward again.
I seized the chance, using Air Walk to jump.
Flash!
I landed on the guardian’s head and cast a new spell.
Its weak points—between the statue’s seams, and the gap between its neck and clothing.
Bang!
The moment the spell hit, the guardian’s reaction was clearly different. Its body leaned even more and then dropped to its knees.
I fired again at its neck.
Bang! Bang!
After a few more blasts, the guardian’s neck shattered, and its head crashed to the ground.
[Achievement: Guardian Slain]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]
[You have defeated a ‘Guardian’ solo!]
[You receive an additional 2,000 points.]
“Huff.”
Finally defeated it. Even though I went for the weak spots, the hard defense made it take longer than expected.
I looked to the side and saw Lee Seo-jun still struggling with his guardian.
He looked like he was having a hard time.
“Lee Seo-jun! Its weak points are in the gaps between its joints and seams! Aim there!”
Everyone turned to look at me after I shouted.
“What? He already took his down?”
Lee Seo-jun stared at me in disbelief. Just then, the guardian swung its spear at him, and he barely dodged.
“Hey! Don’t get distracted!”
“Ugh!”
Then another loud crash came from the other side. It was the sound of the guardian facing Choi Seo-yoon, Song Seung-ah, and Lee Hyun-joo striking the ground.
“…Total chaos.”
Everything was a mess.
Still, the three of them seemed to be in sync and were handling the guardian fairly well. If time passed, they’d probably finish it off.
I turned to Yoo Ara.
As a fire-type mage lacking utility, she wasn’t well-matched against golems.
Just as I expected, she was struggling.
…Then let’s put out the biggest fire first.
[You have successfully cleared the ‘Boundary Ruins.’]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]
[The ‘Boundary Ruins’ bestows its blessing upon all.]
[You have acquired the adaptive trait, ‘Grace of Life (C).’]
“Huff!”
Thanks to running around like mad, we defeated all the guardians faster than expected.
And just like in the original story, I received the universal reward from the ruins—the trait ‘Grace of Life.’
Everyone looked cheerful, probably because they could feel new power within them.
I checked the specific effects of the trait.
[Grace of Life (C)]
Category: Trait
Description: Blessing of the ‘Boundary Ruins’
[Passive Effect]
▶ Strong Vitality
Greatly reduces the chance of contracting any disease.
An increase in immunity against diseases.
It might sound simple, but considering that no matter how much a mage trains their body, they can’t stop illnesses, this was a satisfying effect.
“Good job, everyone.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
As we exchanged greetings, Lee Seo-jun walked up to me.
“Dude, didn’t you basically take down three guardians on your own this time?”
He wasn’t wrong.
It was mostly because I quickly identified and exploited the guardians’ weak spots, which gave me better results than the others.
“That’s why I told you the weak points.”
“How do you expect me to understand when you say it so vaguely?”
“For someone smart, you sure lack comprehension at the worst times.”
Lee Seo-jun frowned at my words.
“What are you talking about.”
Just as we were starting to enjoy the aftermath of the battle—
Song Seung-ah checked her smart student notebook and suddenly gasped.
“Senior! It’s already 5 PM!”
“What?”
The hunting event ends at 6 PM.
We only had one hour left. If we were late getting back to the starting point, we’d be disqualified—we had to hurry.
And I had gathered 58 mana stones this time.
If I got disqualified now, I’d be so bitter I wouldn’t sleep tonight.
“Damn it… run!”
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