Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Trait Shop Level 5
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Chapter 119
"D-D finally...!"
Jeong-hyeon's face was flushed with excitement.
His fingers trembled uncontrollably, and his breaths came out just as ragged.
Had something good happened?
Of course it had.
Something good that he couldn't tell anyone else about.
[Coins needed until next level: 53
Current coins held: 54]
It had been a month and a half since the Daebok Guild incident.
After hunting like a madman during that time, he had finally amassed enough coins to reach level 5 of the 「Trait Shop」.
"Heh heh heh..."
Jeong-hyeon let out a sinister chuckle.
Judging by how the probabilities had been increasing so far, the odds for B-Rank or higher traits would surely skyrocket at level 5.
That meant investing the same coins would yield much higher expected value.
And dropping 50 coins right away?
"At the very least, I'll snag two B-Ranks before going up."
All the traits Jeong-hyeon had equipped were C-Rank.
Plus, he had stockpiled one each of movement speed, mana sensitivity, magic enchantment, and throwing skill through past refreshes, so even with the worst luck, he could aim for at least two B-Ranks.
No matter which trait's rank went up, it wouldn't leave him regretting it.
The ones he had equipped now were the cream of the crop, handpicked from the best.
He closed his fluttering eyelids, took a couple of deep breaths, and shouted boldly.
"Refresh!"
Trait proficiency level 5.
He had finally set foot on the glorious path to that summit.
And five minutes later.
"Hmm..."
Jeong-hyeon's expression had turned utterly ambiguous.
"Hmmmmm..."
All that came out were sighs that grew longer and longer.
"I just don't get this system sometimes."
The results weren't bad, objectively speaking.
They were just... a bit too underwhelming.
A status window of his current traits floated before Jeong-hyeon's eyes.
[Equippable Slots (7/7)
「Excellent Combat Sense」(C, Lv.4)
「Outstandingly Agile Movement」(B, Lv.4)
「Physical Ability Enhancement」(C, Lv.4)
「Ripe Throwing Skill」(C, Lv.5)
「Clear Magic Imbuement」(C, Lv.2)
「Excellent Movement Speed」(C, Lv.3)
「Essential Mana Sensitivity」(B, Lv.2)]
In summary, mana sensitivity and movement had upgraded to B-Rank.
He had also picked up one extra 「Physical Ability Enhancement」 at C-Rank.
This left him with 2 coins needed to level up the 「Trait Shop」 to 5, and 3 coins in hand—just one more refresh away.
But put another way, it also meant no more chances to score anything else.
He had aimed for at least two B-Ranks when starting the shopping spree, but he hadn't expected exactly two and nothing more.
'If I'd known, I would've gone in with a mindset to upgrade at least four.'
Now he understood why adults hammered home the advice to set goals high and dream big until your ears fell off.
Out of the four traits he had in stock, only mana sensitivity had ranked up.
Movement, which he hadn't even considered, popped up twice in a row and jumped straight to B-Rank.
Probability trials were independent after all, and life was a battlefield.
It was the moment he started thinking the Trait Shop system was unknowable, even knowing it.
"Eh, upgrades are upgrades."
Humans were greedy creatures—two upgrades made you want three, three made you crave four.
Jeong-hyeon clicked his tongue and said flatly.
"Refresh."
Truth be told, after pouring his heart into spending coins, the tension had worn off a bit, but the real game was hitting proficiency level 5, wasn't it?
The dizzying 200-coin goal had finally dwindled to zero.
And before Jeong-hyeon's eyes appeared a notification window he hadn't seen in ages.
[The proficiency level of 「Trait Shop」(EX) has increased from 4 → 5.]
"Yes!"
Level-ups always brought that satisfying fullness, like a hearty bowl of beef soup, no matter how many times you saw them.
Especially for Jeong-hyeon, whose traits relied on luck and probability, a level-up that boosted those odds themselves was all the more welcome.
"Hm?"
Normally, it would've ended with just that one line about proficiency increasing.
But this time, there was another notification.
"This couldn't be..."
Jeong-hyeon distinctly remembered something like this happening before.
It was when the 「Trait Shop」 hit level 3.
'Back then, it unlocked the sudden quest and probability display. So this time too?'
Most likely, it was notifying the unlock of another shop feature.
The probability boosts from proficiency ups had always been generous, so he'd been content just watching those, but now excitement bubbled up in his heart again.
New content was always welcome.
[EX-Rank trait 「Trait Shop」 proficiency level has reached 5.
Additional features have been unlocked.
Clearing Mission Gates will grant extra coins based on contribution.
Trait Level-Up Tickets will now appear in the shop. Using one on a trait of equal or lower rank increases its proficiency level by 1.]
"Crazy..."
What more was there to say?
Mission Gate extra coins were tailor-made for Jeong-hyeon's plans.
He was planning to specialize in Mission Gates from now on.
And Trait Level-Up Tickets?
'This is straight-up broken.'
Proficiency levels weren't on par with rank, but they were still crucial for hunters.
No—rank was set by luck at awakening in the first place.
Proficiency was something you could raise through personal effort, so in some ways, it garnered even more attention than rank.
Of course, proficiency had limits based on rank, leaving you despairing at rank walls once maxed, but still.
Leveling up proficiency with just one ticket?
Even Jeong-hyeon, who had milked the benefits of his cheat trait plenty, was left speechless at the sheer brokenness.
"Does this even break the level cap?"
The most curious part was whether it applied to de facto caps like level 4 for F/E-Rank or level 5 for D/C-Rank.
If he could push an F-Rank to S-Rank's level 7?
Sure, it wouldn't make it as strong as an S-Rank, but since no one had ever reached it, who knew what might happen.
'Whatever... I'll find out when I use one.'
After pondering briefly, Jeong-hyeon shook his head to clear his thoughts.
It was a ticket he didn't even have yet.
With that in mind, he closed the notification.
"Hm?"
But one notification lingered afterward.
[EX-Rank trait reaching level 5 confirmed.
System acceleration is activating rapidly.
Be careful.]
"What the hell is this?"
It reeked of something suspicious.
He already knew about hitting level 5.
The key was the second line, but the problem was...
'You gotta write it in words I can understand if you want me to be careful or figure it out.'
System acceleration activating rapidly? All it had were things Jeong-hyeon couldn't comprehend, so where was he supposed to be careful?
It had been ages since such a short sentence left him clueless.
'System acceleration sounds sketchy as hell.'
The system had appeared with the gates in the first place.
Sure, people had adapted and entered a stable phase now, but thinking the system was user-friendly was a stretch.
If such a system was accelerating in any direction, it surely wouldn't end well.
Had he entered high-level territory now, where the system spouted nonsense?
But when had the system ever been friendly?
If it was gibberish he couldn't parse right away, staring wouldn't summon an explanation, so better to just commit it to memory.
Pushing aside the cryptic message, Jeong-hyeon pulled up the Trait Shop info.
'All it does is leave a bad taste...'
[「Trait Shop」(Lv.5)
Coins needed until next level: 700
Placeable Traits / Storable Traits: 0 / 4
Trait Probabilities: F 10%, E 17%, D 23%, C 25%, B 15%, A 6.5%, S 3.5%]
But his irritation from the ominous notice melted away cleanly.
More precisely, his annoyance peaked at the 700 coins needed for level 6, then vanished clean upon seeing the probabilities.
The overall distribution matched his expectations closely.
F and E-Ranks, now largely irrelevant to him, had their odds slashed.
Even D-Rank probabilities dipped for the first time.
Meanwhile, C and B-Ranks—his mainstays—had surged.
'No one to compare with, but purely by numbers, it means I'm growing within the expected range.'
Recalling the probability trends, Jeong-hyeon concluded as much.
No one else had the 「Trait Shop」 trait, so gauging his growth speed was tricky.
Even if another EX-Rank existed, anyone with brains wouldn't advertise it.
Just like Jeong-hyeon hadn't.
Or they'd live under even tighter security than S-Ranks.
'At first, I wondered if other EX-Ranks existed...'
Lately, his thinking had shifted.
Even S-Ranks were unknown to most civilians, let alone mid-tier folks.
Who could say if another EX existed?
Ignorance was total—it was like asking if aliens were real for Jeong-hyeon.
Either way, the only metric to gauge his growth among EX-Ranks was probability.
In that sense, he wasn't deviating much from the system's projected pace.
Standard speed, or maybe a tad faster.
'Growing like this, and it's just "standard"...'
Jeong-hyeon shook his head.
Sure, everyone called probability a trash game, but objectively, hadn't he touched B-Rank territory in just half a year?
'Thought hitting level 5 would be the endgame.'
A sudden wave of vague emptiness washed over him, and Jeong-hyeon flopped backward onto the bed.
Had he fixated too much on level 5?
Now that he'd hit it and heard about system acceleration and 700 coins, the road ahead felt endlessly vague.
Of course, he had no intention of stopping.
The revenge burning from before his awakening still breathed fiercely within him.
- R r r
Just then, Jeong-hyeon's phone buzzed shortly with a message.
- Supreme Forge here. Your commissioned order is complete. Please come pick it up.
The Onyx Golem Dagger he had been waiting for was finally ready.
Confirming the message, Jeong-hyeon smirked.
"Looks like today is the day for good news."
Where was the time to wallow in helplessness?
Jeong-hyeon had to keep running.