Martyn's attention was immediately drawn to the rune he had just acquired; to him, this was the only reward that mattered.
He would be a rune-wielding hunter!
That was all he could think about, so he quickly pulled up his inventory.
[Inventory]
[Item: Frozen Rune]
Martyn was astonished; the item was a small crystal stone with a liquid inside.
The outside showed some kind of pattern, but he decided to analyze it anyway.
[Frozen Rune: This is a powerful rune containing the blood of ice elves. When used on one of your weapons, it will grant the assigned properties] - [Properties: Freeze, Recoil]
[Success Rate: 90%]
90% success rate!
Martyn's face lit up with happiness at the last message; he had tried before, but everything had failed.
But this time was different, this time he could actually succeed.
"But there's still a 10% chance of failure; I shouldn't take risks," Martyn said as he looked at his dagger.
He could try his luck with this weapon, but it was of a very low rank; he needed to use something else.
"Wait, didn't I get a weapon?" In the excitement of the moment, Martyn had completely forgotten his other rewards.
[Inventory:]
[Hammer of Fenrir: Large steel hammer made from Fenrir's fangs, said to bring good luck to those who can wield it]
[Weapon Rank: Heroic]
"Wow, this... is too much," Martyn said upon seeing his new weapon.
He was used to lighter weapons like swords and daggers; he didn't expect to use something as large as the hammer in front of him.
But it was the best option; the weapon was of heroic rank, the rune shouldn't fail now.
Determined not to fail again, Martyn threw the hammer to the ground and held the crystal stone.
"Alright, it's time!"
[Activating Class]
[Class: Beginner Nordic Blacksmith activated] - [Volundr]
After confirming the activation of his class, Martyn would break the crystal, letting the elf's blood fall onto the hammer.
He began writing the pattern; thanks to Volundr's abilities, he only needed to
see it once, his mind would remember every detail of the rune.
("It has to work, it has to work!")
Those were the only thoughts running through Martyn's mind as he tried to maintain his concentration.
Minutes later, the large hammer was covered with the rune pattern, so Martyn began channeling mana into a stone.
"Alright, here we go!"
Full of determination, the boy struck the hammer, pouring all his accumulated energy into it.
"One more!"
Determined not to fail, Martyn struck the hammer again, which began to glow brighter and brighter.
"One more!"
Excited, Martyn repeated the action, this time with even more force.
The hammer started to shine brilliantly, but this didn't excite Martyn; after all, the same thing had happened before.
But just as he was starting to doubt if the process would succeed, the weapon began to release a massive amount of mana.
It was cold, even colder than snow; Martyn thought he might freeze.
After this large burst of mana, the weapon stopped glowing, and moments later, the patterns disappeared from view.
"Did it work?" Doubtful, Martyn reached out to take the weapon but was stopped by a system message:
[Congratulations!]
[The Hammer of Fenrir has successfully incorporated the Frozen Rune]
[The Hammer of Fenrir has acquired the following properties:]
[Freeze]
[Recoil]
"I did it!"
Martyn's joy was immediate, and he expressed it with a loud cheer.
He had successfully infused a rune into one of his weapons!
Now he could rival hunters like Henry and the others. "I should check out the properties," Martyn said, full of excitement as he opened his window again.
[Freeze: This effect gives a percentage chance to temporarily freeze an enemy in combat, using your mana as a channel]
[10%]
"Wow, a 10% chance is even better than the guard-breaker of my Saex dagger," Martyn was instantly amazed.
If he could freeze his enemies, he would have a great advantage over the others.
"Let's check the other one."
[Recoil: This effect causes each critical hit an enemy receives to make them 5% slower]
"Wow, this seems much better, though it'll be hard with this weapon."
Martyn's complaints weren't without reason; he held the hammer to confirm its mobility, and it was somewhat cumbersome to move.
"Maybe when I increase my strength points, I'll be able to use it better." Having reached that conclusion, he decided to store the weapon.
"I'm going to become very strong." Martyn's confidence was sky-high; it wouldn't be long before he became a recognized hunter.
[Warning]
But, stopping his joy, a system message appeared before him.
"Warning? Is there a monster nearby or something?"
That was the first thing that came to Martyn's mind; he was sure there were no additional monsters besides the three guardians.
[The Boss Monster Kaldvargr is attacking your team]
[Defeat the boss and save your team to receive a hidden reward]
[Remaining team members:]
[Yeon-woo]
[Varek Frostweaver]
[Roy Blackthorn]
[Boss Location]
Martyn was speechless; he had completely forgotten about the others.
"Damn, if there are only these three left, it means the others are dead." Seeing the seriousness of the situation, Martyn set off immediately.
The system had provided a map; it was 5 kilometers away. If he hurried, he would arrive in time.
"Damn, how did this happen? The Kaldvargr wasn't that strong; did the girl from earlier have something to do with it?"
Doubts filled Martyn's mind; if the girl was there, he would have to fight both at once.
But he didn't feel nervous, quite the opposite, he felt excited; he could test his new runes against them.
Minutes later, Martyn felt the immense mana power getting closer, so he quickened his pace.
Thanks to the map, it was extremely easy to get there; the complete opposite of exploring blindly.
"There you are!"
Martyn had located the Kaldvargr and rushed to attack.
But the surprise he encountered was quite large.
The Kaldvargr was fighting what looked like a Henry with a shattered skull and arms.
Is something wrong here?
Of course, there was; Martyn's eyes scanned the area, and the same pattern repeated.
Everyone was half-dead, fighting the Kaldvargr, except for Roy, who was on her knees with her hands covering her face.
Seeing this, Martyn decided to approach the girl; she seemed to be the only one 100% healthy.
"Hey Roy, what happened?" The Kaldvargr was occupied, so he could afford to ask.
"It's not my fault, it was the voices, it was the voices."
Roy noticed Martyn's presence, but she lunged at him!