Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The PvP had been conducted in secret, but the results were made public.
<Platinum Slayer. Unveiling their Majesty!>
<The Slayer who perfectly defeated Ha Jongwon. Voluntarily acknowledged defeat to the Platinum Slayer.>
<Perfect defeat against the Platinum Slayer!>
The exact details weren’t revealed, but the fact that Hyunseok had lost was known. Naturally, this increased the recognition of his name, or more precisely, the fame of the Platinum Slayer.
Seoul, city center. Coffee shop.
Hyunseok spoke first.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you… I was just teasing to provoke and excite you. I do have a knack for small schemes, after all.”
“….”
The woman sitting across from him didn’t say a word. Yet Hyunseok knew that, even if not admiration, she must have some curiosity about him.
Just the name “Platinum Slayer” was enough to pique interest. Outside the training grounds, Hyunseok was notably gentle and polite, which contrasted sharply with his usual demeanor. That contrast, though not entirely romantic, allowed her to sense a certain human charm.
‘If she really hated me, she wouldn’t even come to a private meeting.’
Hyunseok smiled faintly inwardly. Regardless of outward appearances, behavior betrayed feelings. She had even taken the effort to wear makeup, subtle, everyday makeup, but still indicating she didn’t entirely dislike him. More precisely, it suggested she thought meeting him at least once was worth it.
‘From here on, it’s up to me.’
He sipped his Americano and spoke playfully.
“Oh? Really… Did you notice my Intelligence stat? I didn’t see your eyes rolling all over? Secret, by the way… I’m an Intelligence-type Slayer.”
Seyoung stared at him in disbelief. He claimed to be an Intelligence-type Slayer, the man with insane endurance. Even seeing Critical Hits deal zero damage was new.
‘What kind of man is this?’
Seyoung was both incredulous and slightly intrigued. Hyunseok wasn’t lying, he truly had the highest Intelligence stat among Slayers, the first to surpass 200 stats.
The conversation continued. Last time, he had used a whip; now, he would try a carrot. Seyoung, confident enough to demand Platinum rank, had that confidence shattered, and now Hyunseok intended to give her an opportunity to rebuild it.
“Do you know what rank of achievement you get if you defeat a Cyclops?”
“…Impossible… right?”
It was well-known.
“Impossible achievements give far more bonus stats than normal achievements. You know that, right?”
Seyoung nodded, not out of conscious will but automatically. Impossible achievements were legendary.
“If you team up with me, you can complete a lot of Impossible Achievements. I’m an achievement hunter, you know.”
Seyoung couldn’t quite grasp the term but chuckled anyway.
A few days later, she contacted him, joining the Inha Guild. The new roster was:
Ha Jongwon suggested adding one more.
“Hey, Hyunseok, let’s recruit Myunghoon too. No, we must.”
“Myunghoon?”
He remembered Lee Myunghoon, the eccentric who first discovered the Twin-Head Troll. Myunghoon had strong ties with Jongwon.
“Look, Inha Guild is shaping up well. Myunghoon has a special class too… He wants to reveal it himself. Should we make a meeting? I’ll make sure you meet him.”
He added one last word:
“Hyunseok.”
Jongwon’s tone was playful, but Hyunseok was impressed. He could learn things from Myunghoon that he hadn’t known before. Even as an All Stat Slayer, he realized he needed Myunghoon.
‘Such a change…’
❋ ❋ ❋
Myunghoon was close with Jongwon, yet he was eccentric, walking a different path from other Slayers. His focus was dungeon exploration and discovering new monsters, rather than slaying.
Upon entering Normal Mode, Myunghoon gained the Trapper class, specializing in exploration skills that allowed him to find things ordinary Slayers could not. For Hyunseok, this class was unfamiliar.
Watching TV, Hyunseok reflected.
‘In fact… maybe I have nothing to regret compared to others.’
With Seyoung, being with him was only beneficial. She could clear Impossible Achievements, earning massive stat points in the same field. Her pride set aside, she joined Inha Guild.
Joining Inha Guild was advantageous for anyone. Once Hyunseok committed to slaying, the fastest path to strength opened.
The problem: Myunghoon’s path differed.
‘Solo might be more convenient.’
Since Myunghoon focused on exploration, solo activity suited him better. Even skilled combat Slayers weren’t expert climbers; he needed to find dungeons and monsters, and Hyunseok might not be that helpful.
From Jongwon, Hyunseok learned more. Myunghoon had started as a regular combat Slayer in the I’UET guild but shifted focus to exploration in Normal Mode. Few understood the Trapper class in detail, but it clearly specialized in exploration.
‘He’s probably a special kind of Trapper.’
Hyunseok, despite his unique class, realized Myunghoon was equally special. Strength-wise, they were incomparable, but Hyunseok wanted him in the guild.
He believed Myunghoon wasn’t desperate to join; his interest was purely dungeon exploration. Hyunseok used “rapid achievements leading to leveling” to persuade him. Stat gains would allow better skills, aiding dungeon searches, clearly beneficial to Myunghoon.
‘If it works, it helps me tremendously.’
The discussion proceeded smoothly.
“All right. I’ll join Inha Guild too.”
“Eh?”
Surprisingly, Myunghoon agreed easily.
“You may have guessed, but I have a special class among Trappers. Trapper itself is rare, but my special class will be extremely rare.”
“Hmm…”
A special class, expected, yet acknowledging it aloud was different.
“You haven’t heard from Jongwon? I thought he told everything. Anyway, this class consumes massive stats.”
Conversation continued. Then Myunghoon suddenly asked,
“By the way, will you keep working at Hanjin… no.”
He cleared his throat, adding politely,
“Will you continue at Hanjin?”
Hyunseok noted Myunghoon’s directness, prodding at weaknesses, but didn’t feel annoyed.
“Hmm… In the past, I’d never quit… these days, I’m considering options.”
❋ ❋ ❋
Ha Jongwon and Hong Seyoung formed a team that was both harmonious and chaotic.
Currently, the Inha Guild trained at Bukhansan, where the Twin-Head Troll had appeared before. It had been a boss monster, giving achievement points, but now it was slightly weaker, still a top-tier monster.
Ha Jongwon plopped down, and Seyoung glanced at him, smiling lightly.
Jongwon pouted.
“You’re provoking me, right?”
Seyoung glanced again, laughing lightly.
“Ugh… without me, you couldn’t even handle Twin-Head Troll slaying.”
“….”
Her smile was full of mockery: “You couldn’t even touch me; you’re the perfect loser.” Jongwon wanted to start PvP again, but it would only anger him, any victory was unlikely.
Regardless, Inha Guild continued slaying practice at Bukhansan.
Hyunseok received a call.
―Guild Leader, I found it.
It was Myunghoon. They were the same age and spoke casually, as Myunghoon had first suggested.
Hyunseok raised his voice.
“What did you say?”
―I’ll send the coordinates. Come quickly. Bukhansan, right? Close.
“What exactly did you find?”
―A dungeon! Hidden! Hidden dungeon!
In Normal Mode, the first dungeon discovered through exploration. Found by Myunghoon of the Inha Guild.
Using Trapper skills to locate the dungeon was fine, but there was a problem. Unlike Easy Mode, the dungeon didn’t reveal itself naturally. Discovered by Trapper skills, it appeared just as it had in Easy Mode.
Upon arriving at the Inha Guild dungeon, a problem had already arisen.
(End of Chapter 35)
Thanks for reading All Stat Slayer! If you’re enjoying the climb, share your feedback, it keeps Hyunseok’s stats rising and the story evolving.
— Translated by Prime Works —