Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: C-Rank Achievement
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[Coins needed until next level: 76
Coins currently held: 18]
"How many more golems do I have to hunt from now on?"
Jeong-hyeon, who had returned home, let out a sigh.
The hunt in the "Golem's Land," which he had entered half-believing and half-doubting, had been a massive jackpot.
It was rare to earn 15 coins from a single hunt.
However, even spending all 15 coins, he still needed to gather nearly 50 more, which felt daunting.
"Sigh. Might as well just spend them all."
Normally, he would wait until he had at least 30 points saved up, but this hunt made him want to blow it all.
Perhaps it was because he had sold both the onyx and the golem core to Doil.
In any case, he had lost quite a few daggers, so he wanted to take a break from hunting for a while.
Upon carefully checking after exiting the Golem's Land, not only the daggers used on the Onyx Golem but several others were in serious condition as well.
With the remaining daggers, normal hunting in a level 5 gate felt a bit risky.
If he encountered an out-of-spec monster like the Onyx Golem again, it would be a disaster.
'I still can't properly handle mana for sure. And my gear is lacking.'
As expected, the root cause was hiding his abilities from others and not fully utilizing his Magic Enchantment trait.
Fine-tuning how much mana to infuse into each dagger was necessary, and he was still lacking in that area.
The doranium daggers Jeong-hyeon was currently using now felt somewhat low-quality.
Fortunately, according to Doil, onyx gear wouldn't have that issue.
Mana overcharge strains the metal and causes cracks, but onyx was the best ore in that regard.
Of course, its absolute strength was lower than comparable metals.
'Still, having the golem core is a relief.'
Doil had explained the expected effects of using the golem core in gear.
And those effects were utterly ridiculous.
'Automatic repair as a base effect? That's artifact level, isn't it?'
One could argue it was natural since golems themselves had auto-repair, but auto-repair on mere gear felt like something out of a novel.
Even if additional effects could be added, Doil couldn't guarantee them, so he'd have to see once it was made.
"In any case, I should do what needs to be done now."
Jeong-hyeon immediately opened the shop list.
He couldn't do much with 18 coins, but he wanted to spend them anyway.
As he refreshed the list without much thought, his eyes widened.
A moment of blankness, then surprise, and finally thick delight.
"This showed up?"
[「Considerable Combat Sense」(D, Lv.1), 3C]
It might seem like just a D-rank trait, but it wasn't "just" anything to Jeong-hyeon.
Buying this D-rank Combat Sense would allow him to upgrade it to C-rank.
On top of that, the synergy would rise to C-rank as well.
It was the butterfly effect from a D-rank trait.
[You have purchased 「Considerable Combat Sense」(D, Lv.1).]
[「Considerable Combat Sense」has risen in rank to 「Excellent Combat Sense」.]
[Trait synergy, 『Best Defense is Evasion 2』's rank has increased from D to C.]
And as expected, once he bought Combat Sense, the notification windows he anticipated popped up in a chain.
'Actually, this isn't the important part.'
This much was a given.
Jeong-hyeon quickly closed the notification windows.
The core was, no matter what anyone said, the synergy rank effect.
[With 「Excellent Combat Sense」, the probability of discovering an opponent's weakness arises. There is a chance of error.
「Extremely Agile Movement」links slightly with Thought Acceleration.
The overall correction value of 「Physical Ability Enhancement」increases.
The restrictions on 「Excellent Movement Speed」are slightly lifted. Movement Speed affects combat slightly, and Thought Acceleration affects daily life slightly.]
"Oh ho."
Honestly, was it because he had seen too many overpowered effects so far?
They were clearly good effects, but there were no items as ridiculously cheat-like as before to make him faint.
'No, maybe I've just gotten used to the taste of cheats...'
Of course, such doubts crept in.
The probability of discovering an opponent's weakness was ambiguous, but it would definitely help.
For example, just seeing the golem core in the Golem's Land had been a huge clue.
When facing a seemingly hopeless enemy, even a single straw could turn the tide.
Moreover, the synergy between movement and speed was especially nice.
The biggest hassle after acquiring Movement Speed was that his thoughts were fast, but his body couldn't keep up.
He had adapted somewhat now, but even slight linkage between the two was an amazing merit.
The Movement Speed synergy scratched an itchy spot as well.
Especially since Movement Speed now applied slightly even in combat, which was a big help considering Jeong-hyeon's agility-focused combat style.
"This is synergy—huh?"
As he was admiring the pleasant changes with a grin, Jeong-hyeon noticed one notification window that hadn't disappeared yet.
[Hidden achievement, 'Hey, have you heard of C-Sprinkling?' achieved. You have acquired 5 coins.]
"Crazy..."
Come to think of it, his last D-rank Combat Sense had risen to C-rank, making all of Jeong-hyeon's equipped traits C-rank.
Looking at the achievement description, it was for aligning 5 or more equipped traits to C-rank.
Thanks to that, he had spent 5 coins only to get exactly 5 back in a bizarre phenomenon.
"Maybe there were achievements for F, E, and D ranks too?"
He was happy about the unexpected income, but regret hit first.
If he had known, he would have challenged it when low-rank traits appeared more often.
It felt like an obvious achievement he should have thought of, yet he hadn't.
"I thought achievements only applied inside gates..."
But such thoughts were fleeting.
Jeong-hyeon shook his head and clicked his tongue.
'You damn con artist system. You expect me to endure those adaptation pains multiple times a week just for 5 coins?'
Coins were nice, but adaptation pains were a hard pass.
To align all traits per rank, he might have to swap to new traits against his will.
He couldn't afford to pass out in agony weekly for a measly 5 coins.
Besides, as levels rose, low-rank traits would appear less in the shop, so it might become an achievement he couldn't even intentionally unlock.
Instead, he thought he should try aligning B, A, or S-ranks at least once.
'Damn, what's the B-rank hidden achievement? I don't even have a single B-rank trait right now.'
Perhaps because ranks were about to rise, the traits he used oddly didn't appear.
Looking back, duplicates came often enough, but the last one rarely did.
As he was thinking that, somewhat out of the blue, Jeong-hyeon's eyes lit up.
'What if I refresh right now?'
He had just completed all C-ranks and unlocked the hidden achievement.
Luck seemed to be on his side, so refreshing now in this moment of regret?
Who knows, it might upgrade one trait to B-rank or pop a fresh B-rank trait.
Without giving the system time to read his emotions, he refreshed in an instant, turning disappointment to anticipation.
But...
"Damn it... I should trust the guy I trust."
No usable traits appeared until he spent all remaining 18 coins.
He wasn't angry since today's harvest was already overflowing, but as he threw himself onto the bed, he grumbled.
'Tsk, why does the system do business without even a customer center?'
Of course, there was nowhere to complain or voice dissatisfaction.
Games now had to disclose probabilities by law, but demanding the system do the same was impossible.
If he said that aloud, a passing hunter might crack his skull open.
They'd call it a full belly complaining.
"Still, it's a shame I can't hunt until new daggers come... Is there nowhere to go for a light outing?"
In the end, it was just solo muttering.
The joy from the synergy upgrade was brief.
Out of lingering regret, Jeong-hyeon browsed HunterNet.
He had become someone who could tolerate muscle loss but not coin loss.
"Level 4 should be fine even now..."
A level 5 gate might lead to accidents if entered in incomplete state, but for level 4, he was confident he could come out unscathed no matter what.
Even saving all party members, probably.
Considering the updated synergy effects, survival was a given.
He could drive a 12-cylinder bus and comfortably banter with passengers.
However, the problem remained.
"Level 4 is too boring..."
Level 4 gates no longer satisfied him.
They had long become mere playthings, nothing more or less.
Even if he entered to avoid coin loss, earning 3 coins per hunt—if lucky—was poor cost-performance.
He wasn't desperate for living expenses either.
'Honestly, the days of worrying about money are over.'
Doil had given him tens of millions after commission from the materials alone, and the gate settlement exceeded 300 million.
Just months ago, he had struggled to pay off 200 million in debt, but now he could earn that easily.
'Well, this time it was luck with the Onyx Golem.'
- R r r
Then, a call came to Jeong-hyeon's phone.
"Huh?"
- Operations Division Section Chief Choi Nam-shik
It was the number of Choi Nam-shik from before.
He had saved it from the business card, but this was the first actual call.
"Hello?"
- Hello, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon. Do you have time right now?
'Something smells off...'
A very annoying smell.
Jeong-hyeon hadn't had great experiences with the association.
First button: creepy duo Hee-su and Han-seok.
Second button: special nuisance Dan Jong-woo.
Plus Ye-rin as a bonus.
"Yes... well. It's fine."
But Jeong-hyeon didn't flatly refuse.
He was too bored for that.
Nam-shik sighed in relief as if it were good news and continued.
- Glad to hear. Could you come to the Hwisi Hunter Association? Of course, I can visit you instead.
"I'll come."
Staying home would just make him stiff and bored.
Nam-shik noticeably perked up when Jeong-hyeon said he'd come to the association.
- Thank you. I have a small favor to ask.
"But I just came back from hunting today. Is tomorrow okay?"
- Of course. I think it'll be helpful for you too, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon.
Something helpful?
What could that be?
'Maybe the association president is giving out gold bars.'
That would certainly qualify as helpful.
Money was already plenty, but more was always better.
Anyway, hearing it would be helpful lifted his mood, so Jeong-hyeon hung up and grinned.
This time, his instinct that smelled annoyance had been wrong.