Episode 7: Job Change
《Calculating rewards.》
Yes!
This is exactly what I was waiting for!
What rewards will I get?
《Providing dungeon clear rewards.》
The first reward was runes.
《Obtained Common Dark Runes x300.》
《Obtained Advanced Dark Runes x100.》
《Obtained Rare Dark Runes x50.》
Nice, very nice.
That’s a hefty haul of runes.
Enough to enhance several summons’ abilities and still have leftovers.
But this is just the dungeon clear reward. The main event starts now.
《Providing clear grade rewards.》
《Obtained Common Summon Tickets x100.》
《Obtained Advanced Summon Tickets x50.》
《Obtained Rare Summon Tickets x20.》
A smile crept onto my face.
A generous stack of Common, Advanced, and Rare summon tickets landed in my hands.
Selling these could easily cover my pocket money.
But runes and summon tickets, while useful, weren’t the ‘main’ reward I was after.
《Providing clear time record-breaking rewards.》
‘Finally!’
《Obtained a Special Skill Unlock Scroll.》
‘A Special Skill Unlock Scr…! Wait… what?’
…?
What’s this?
I’ve never seen this item before.
Is it something added when the game became reality, like Hertia’s ‘Apocalypse’ rank?
I quickly checked the item description.
【Special Skill Unlock Scroll】
Description: A scroll imbued with powerful energy that forcibly unlocks one of a summon’s unique skills.
‘Wha… what…?’
My mind went blank for a moment.
Forcibly unlock a unique skill?
That means I can unlock one of Hertia’s unique skills right now!
The value of this is beyond imagination.
‘Unique skill unlocks start at level 10, but that’s not all it takes.’
Unlocking unique skills requires consuming various resources—runes are the basics, but you also need monster horns, teeth, ancient tomes, and more. The list is endless.
The higher the summon’s rank, the more absurdly rare the materials.
For Mythical rank, the cost could easily reach billions of KRW.
And judging by Hertia’s performance, her ‘Apocalypse’ rank is at least on par with Mythical.
That means billions would’ve been burned for this process—but now I can skip all that.
I looked to the sky, clenching my fist.
‘Jackpot!’
This item is more than worthy as a reward for Hertia.
I called out to her, staring intently at me.
“Her.”
“You called?”
“Your contribution was great. I shall grant you a reward.”
“A… reward, you say?”
Hertia’s expression shifted subtly.
It wasn’t hostility, but why was she staring at me so intensely?
No way.
Is she evaluating me?
If the reward is lackluster, she might flip and choke me again.
I was nervous, but I had confidence in this one.
“Sit here for a moment.”
“Yes, Master.”
Hertia knelt and sat.
I pulled out the scroll.
《Would you like to use the Special Skill Unlock Scroll on Hertia?》
Absolutely yes!
《YES》
《Hertia’s unique skill ‘Darkness Within’ has been unlocked.》
“Haa…”
Hertia trembled from the skill awakening’s aftershock.
I glanced at her, then quickly checked the skill description.
[Unique Skill]
Skill 2: <Darkness Within>
Description: Unleashes the essence of darkness, reducing the enemy’s defense by 50%.
Triggers an additional attack, <Vortex of Death>, upon attacking.
Vortex of Death: Concentrates dark energy into a vortex to destroy enemies, stealing 20% of their attack power. Damage scales with maximum health.
The description was so wordy it could rival a literature passage—typical of this trash game.
But my years of experience let me distill the key points:
Defense reduction! Attack power theft! Health-scaling bonus damage on attack!
Combined with her first skill, Hertia’s growth path became crystal clear.
Prioritize speed! Stack health! More health means stronger damage! Secure first strike!
In short, she’s a bruiser (damage-tank) that would make enemies curse.
“Her, can you feel it?”
“Yes… I feel your grace surging within me, Master.”
“Good. We will conquer this place nine more times.”
“I will follow you anywhere, Master.”
Of course, I’m not stopping at one clear.
I’ll farm this dungeon dry, breaking records with my own hands.
***
At the same moment, Team Leader Lee Jung-yul was scouring the Forest of Growth records with burning intensity.
Her neck ached, and her back felt like it might snap.
Yet, no matter how long she waited, there was no sign of a record being broken.
‘…Not planning to run today?’
Unlikely.
Statistics show 90% of adventurers who clear the tutorial attempt the Forest of Growth immediately or, at latest, the next day.
Who wouldn’t want to claim rewards and pull a new summon after awakening to a life-changing opportunity?
‘A one-hit wonder? …Nah, no way.’
Sure, a strong tutorial performance doesn’t guarantee success elsewhere, but there’s a limit to what’s reasonable.
Someone who set an absurd 34-second record wouldn’t suddenly become average in the next dungeon.
‘Unless… they’re tackling a different dungeon?’
The Forest of Growth is the go-to beginner dungeon.
It offers good rewards for its difficulty, and high rankings get publicized, attracting scout offers from top guilds.
It’s a magnet for newbies, but—
‘If this rookie doesn’t want their info exposed… they might target a dungeon that doesn’t track rankings, like the Rune Dungeon.’
Lee Jung-yul paused to reconsider her theory, then let out a deep sigh.
Slap!
“Ow, damn!”
Park Tae-gyun flinched at the sudden sound.
Turning, he saw his boss, Lee Jung-yul, pressing her cheeks hard.
“…Sleepy?”
“Guess so.”
Apologizing for slapping herself too hard, Lee Jung-yul cooled her cheeks and refocused.
‘Get it together, Jung-yul. No way a freshly awakened adventurer could tackle a Rune Dungeon.’
Her judgment must be clouded from overwork.
Determined to snap out of it, she stretched and glanced at her subordinate.
“Tae-gyun, coffee?”
“Pass. That’d be my fifth today.”
Damn, she was hoping to send him on an errand.
Cursing her lack of authority, Lee Jung-yul stood up—then froze.
‘Crap.’
She hurried back to her seat.
Approaching from afar was the person of interest: Union Leader Jeon Myeong-il.
‘Ugh, perfect timing, old man!’
Jeon Myeong-il, head of the South Korea Adventurer Management Union, oversees the nation’s top rankers—the undisputed top dog of the organization.
He’s also the person Lee Jung-yul finds most difficult to deal with at work.
Noticing her suspicious behavior, Jeon strode toward her desk.
“Team Leader Lee.”
“Yes, Union Leader!”
“No need for the military act. Got time to talk?”
“Uh, I’m a bit swamped…”
“Get coffee after we’re done.”
“…Should I book a meeting room?”
Jeon waved it off, pulled a chair over, and sat beside her.
Wondering why he was acting like this, she listened closely.
“Anything new?”
“Uh, what?”
“New talent. Got any leads?”
Lee Jung-yul hesitated.
‘What’s this? Does he already know?’
She hadn’t reported the tutorial record-breaking incident or the possibility that the adventurer might be Korean.
“Well…”
Should she spill now?
Jeon is obsessed with performance metrics.
If she tells him everything and something comes up, he might leak the info to foreign guilds like a vending machine dispensing drinks.
That would ruin any chance of a ‘Korean-born super ranker.’
“You’re thinking hard. So there is something, huh?”
“N-no, not exactly—”
As Lee Jung-yul’s eyes darted nervously under Jeon’s gaze, an unexpected voice cut in.
“It’s not confirmed, but we think a super rookie might have emerged in Korea.”
‘Tae-gyun!!’
Her deliberation was for nothing—Park Tae-gyun spilled the beans.
She wanted to smack him, but not in front of Jeon.
Something was off, though.
Contrary to her expectations, Jeon’s expression hardened.
After glancing around, he leaned in and whispered.
“What’s this about a super rookie?”
“There was a record-breaking clear in the tutorial dungeon recently.”
“I wasn’t briefed on this.”
“Oh, we were just drafting the report.”
A lie.
“So why do you think they might be Korean?”
No hiding now.
Better to share the info, impress the gravity of the situation on Jeon, and persuade him.
Lee Jung-yul laid out her reasoning.
Most adventurers enter the tutorial in their home country, backed by Tower of Records data.
Statistically, 93.8% of adventurers run the tutorial in their nation.
However, given Korea’s unique influx of foreign adventurers and the historically low records of local adventurers, she was proceeding cautiously.
“…Got it. Keep monitoring for now.”
“What about public disclosure?”
Jeon’s face twisted into a deep frown.
“Disclose what? We play dumb.”
“Huh?”
“We only have guesses, and we don’t know their nationality, right?”
“Right.”
“We stick to the facts. No need to add speculation.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jeon Myeong-il is a South Korean, after all.
He’s keenly aware of how weak South Korea has become in this changed world.
Especially when dealing with adventurer powerhouses, he’s gritted his teeth more than once.
They’ve been holding dungeon break prevention hostage to extract concessions.
“Get that report written and sent up.”
“Yes, sir!”
Just as their conversation wrapped up—
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A chime sounded from the Tower of Records terminal.
The rare noise put the staff on edge.
“An update!”
“What’s it this time?”
“Vampires? Yokai?”
“Anything but another ‘Great War’ title.”
“Seriously…”
The terminal’s chime signaled a major patch.
Patch details are unilaterally delivered by the Tower of Records, unalterable by union members.
Their job is to verify and relay the information to adventurers worldwide.
The Tower of Records glowed brightly, its walls flashing as the next patch’s title was etched.
<Legend Seven Episode 8: Return of the Elf Legion>
The staff were stunned.
“Episode… 8?”
“An episode? Isn’t this the first main story update?”
“So the story’s progressing from here?”
In its game days, Legend Seven had seven episodes.
A new episode meant the adventuring landscape was about to shift dramatically.
Jeon Myeong-il immediately questioned a staff member.
“Update date! When is it?”
“One month from now.”
“A month? Any details?”
“It says further details will be on a dedicated page. Only the title is provided for now.”
As the three whispered, murmurs rose among the staff in the office.
“Elves? Weren’t they all wiped out?”
“Some survived, per the lore. They appear rarely in events. But more importantly… doesn’t that mean she’s coming back? The Witch of the Apocalypse?”
“The Witch of the Apocalypse!? We’re screwed, totally screwed!”
The mention of the Witch of the Apocalypse sent some into a panic.
Park Tae-gyun, however, didn’t grasp why everyone was so rattled.
What’s this about the Witch of the Apocalypse, you nerds?
“Team Leader, why’s everyone freaking out?”
“You don’t know, Tae-gyun? The Elf Episode?”
“I heard something about the Episode 1 boss being a witch or whatever.”
“…Elves were the main race in Legend Seven’s first episode. Their return means…”
“Means what?”
“The elves’ archenemy… the Witch of the Apocalypse, Hertia, might return too.”
“…Oh, right. I see.”
Park Tae-gyun clearly didn’t grasp the gravity.
He had no idea how terrifying a villain Hertia was.
Even if it was a scripted loss, countless newbies were crushed by her overwhelming power.
Even Union Leader Jeon Myeong-il sighed at her name.
“Ugh… good news and bad news at the same time. Life’s a mess. I’m heading out. The higher-ups will throw a fit soon.”
As Jeon left, the staff collapsed into their chairs.
Park Tae-gyun sat and immediately searched for Hertia, then gasped.
“No one’s ever defeated Hertia? What the…?”
***
《Level Up! Adventurer level increased to 9.》
Easy leveling, easy life!
Just one more level to hit adventurer level 10!
Reaching level 10 means it’s time to choose a job as an adventurer.
In Legend Seven, it’s not just about growing summons—adventurers must grow too.
Adventurers can learn summoner-specific skills for PvE or PvP, making them a critical component.
You can drop lightning on an enemy summon’s head or heal an allied summon’s wounds, directly intervening at pivotal moments.
The catch? Those skills are tied to the cursed ‘gacha’ system.
At level 10, adventurers are assigned a job based on their playstyle—but it’s random.
Back in the game days, this was infamous as the ‘demonic reroll.’
A good account wasn’t just about summons; it hinged on pulling decent summoner skills too.
But this time, I felt oddly relaxed.
I’m confident I can make use of any skill.
Plus, if I get a bad job, I can always reroll later.
“Let’s do this one last time!”
“Yes!”
With Hertia’s strike, another golem fell.
The Attribute Rune Dungeon has a 10-run daily reward limit, but you can still farm experience beyond that, albeit with reduced rewards.
《Level Up! Adventurer level increased to 10.》
《You have reached Adventurer Level 10, granting a job selection opportunity.》
《Choose a card from the 10 cards before you!》
《Would you like to proceed with the job selection?》
‘Yes!’
No hesitation.
I dove in.
A stack of white cards appeared, scattering and aligning into 10 cards before me.
Even job selection has a gacha-style flair, like cards faintly glowing to hint at their rank when touched.
I began checking their ranks.
‘Mostly gray—Common. Two green—Advanced. No blue, so no Rare. Oh, a purple one—Hero rank.’
Yellow (Legendary) or orange (Mythical) are the real prizes, but I saw none.
The best was Hero rank—purple.
‘Tch, didn’t expect much. What’s decent among Hero jobs?’
As I mentally sifted through Hero-rank jobs and checked the last card’s color, resigned to a mediocre pull—
Flash!
A sinister, flickering dark purple aura.
I’d seen this eerie vibe before.
‘This… it’s the same as when I summoned Hertia…?’