Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Too Easy
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Chapter 150
Episode 150
Too easy.
'The moment you think that, it gets hard.'
The system and gates always loved to catch Jeong-hyeon off guard.
Whenever he got a little stronger and started grinning like an idiot, they’d throw out something ridiculous like, 'Oh yeah? Then how about beating this?'
In truth, Jeong-hyeon felt incredibly wronged.
It was only a little stronger by his own standards, but objectively speaking, every time he raised a trait rank or equipped a new one, his growth was enormous.
It was just that the enemies he’d faced so far were way above the level of the gates they appeared in.
He’d never once had his head ache over the regular mobs up until then.
This time was no different.
Just because the first two waves—from regular Lizardmen to Shamans—had been easy didn’t mean he could get complacent.
"If he let his guard down, something like a Swordmaster Grand Lizardman Warrior might show up..."
"Yes?"
"Ah, nothing."
Su-chan must have overheard Jeong-hyeon muttering, because he asked from nearby.
Jeong-hyeon just shook his head vaguely.
He didn’t even know if something like that really existed.
But if it did, what could he do about it?
A Lizardman swinging sword aura around, with solid armor and masterful swordsmanship?
He didn’t even want to imagine it.
'Honestly, if I took down something like that, I’d demand the Association exempt me from all taxes.'
Stopping a break from a level 5 gate with a monster like that would be worth a national medal of honor at minimum.
Hunters who participated in stopping breaks actually received medals based on their contributions, along with hefty tax breaks.
That was exactly what Jeong-hyeon was aiming for.
His taxes had already dropped significantly since registering as S-Rank, but less was always better.
Anyway, that was the end of his daydreaming.
"Since Shamans came out this time, what do you think will show up next?"
Yeon-hee asked, staring at the narrow entrance to the jungle beyond the clearing where the Lizardmen had emerged.
The area around it had widened considerably, probably from Ji-hee’s indiscriminate bombardment earlier.
As a result, even Ji-hee couldn’t focus properly on that spot.
Jeong-hyeon pondered it himself.
Defense missions usually ended after five waves.
They’d blocked two so far.
Three more to go, which meant the difficulty would ramp up significantly from the previous waves, with more high-tier Lizardman monsters appearing.
That much he could predict roughly.
"For the third wave, probably more Lizardman Shamans for revenge. Fourth wave, Lizardman Warriors mixed in. If we’re unlucky, some ranged ones with bows or crossbows too."
"Warriors? And ranged...?"
Yeon-hee shuddered at the mere thought upon hearing Jeong-hyeon’s guess.
And understandably so—both possibilities were counters to her martial arts trait.
Lizardman Warriors wore full plate armor despite being monsters.
Maintaining it in the humid swamp wasn’t easy, but the oil from Lizardmen skin prevented rust, or so they said.
That Lizardman oil was even a key ingredient in the oils hunters used for their gear.
'Humans without abilities have it the roughest.'
With solid armor, plus halberds and crossbows, even with good gear, unarmed martial arts couldn’t smash through them easily.
At that moment, Ji-hee, who had been quietly listening to Jeong-hyeon, spoke up.
"What about the fifth?"
"Hmm... All Lizardman Warriors and Shamans would be about right. The numbers... looking at the trend, maybe around 200."
"That’s ‘about right’?"
Healer Yun-ho’s eyes went wide in shock at Jeong-hyeon’s casual estimate.
'Isn’t it?'
Jeong-hyeon was the one taken aback by the unexpected reaction.
"Lizardman Warriors and Shamans are all elite monsters, aren’t they? They come in huge numbers already, and all elites...?"
'What’s wrong with that?'
Jeong-hyeon desperately wanted to say it, but he held back. He had to manage his image with the Association’s ace prospects.
Truth be told, he’d never done a ‘normal’ mission gate hunt.
Every time he entered one, it was a near-death ordeal, a living hell he barely crawled out of.
The most straightforward had been the ‘Dragon’s Tomb’ with Sea Guild, but even that was above average difficulty compared to other gates.
‘Are Lizardman Warriors and Shamans that tough?’
Their extreme reactions made Jeong-hyeon run a few mental simulations.
They weren’t pushovers, of course.
As elite monsters, they were tricky opponents, though not on a boss’s level.
But they were still level 5 gate monsters.
And he wasn’t fighting alone—with his party, especially Ji-hee, nothing was unbeatable.
In the end, after failing to understand Yun-ho’s perspective, Jeong-hyeon asked bluntly.
"Still better than Demi Drakes or Grand Mantises, right?"
"?"
The reaction was a bit off.
Everyone’s faces were quite the sight upon hearing his question.
Their mouths hung open as they stared at him, speechless.
"H-Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, this is definitely a level 5 or below, right?"
"Yes. That’s why we’re here."
His firm answer came with a confident nod.
"Good lord..."
The prospect trio exchanged glances and nodded again.
Watching them, Jeong-hyeon felt a surge of irritation and snapped.
"Fine, then what came out in the gates you cleared?"
They’d gone in with S-Ranks anyway, so he hadn’t looked into it much, but theirs had been a defense mission too—their first and last clear.
It was the most common mission type, so nothing unusual.
"Ours was blocking 50 enhanced Ropu Orcs and 100 Tadan Orcs from the ramparts."
"Yeah... We really thought we were goners."
"?"
Now it was Jeong-hyeon’s turn to be baffled.
50 enhanced Ropu Orcs and 100 Tadan Orcs?
No decent boss, and that was it?
"Uh... Wasn’t there more? Like three orc chieftains dropping from the sky at once, or an orc shaman showing up?"
No matter how he thought about it, that sounded too boring.
Enhanced or not, orcs were orcs.
Tadan Orcs had been tricky at first for him too, but while grinding coins to level the Trait Shop to 5, he’d smashed countless ones. He could draw their glute muscles blindfolded now.
Of course, that took a ton of dissection materials.
And they’d fought from ramparts too.
Difficulty varied by wall size and siege weapons, but it beat flat-ground fights.
But when Jeong-hyeon asked incredulously, the trio tilted their heads as if he’d said something absurd.
"What are you talking about? If that happened, we’d all be dead."
"Right. Everyone except the S-Rank we went in with would’ve been corpses."
‘This is such a scam.’
Lately, he’d been yelling ‘scam’ in his head more than ever.
Ji-hee was too strong—a scam. These guys were too weak—another scam.
‘When did A- and B-Ranks get this weak?’
They’d once seemed like pipe dreams, but now with his own B-Ranks, the gap was glaring.
Though their levels were still low, sure.
‘So other mission gates have final waves like that?’
The trio’s gate wasn’t average either, but even so, Jeong-hyeon’s were all abnormal.
Others used level 5 monsters properly for balanced difficulty.
Not throwing in level 6s or bosses willy-nilly.
Jeong-hyeon felt an inexplicable surge of annoyance.
‘Are they messing with me?’
Only his mission gates had insane difficulty spikes.
It had to be rigged.
Like spawning bosses when an EX-Rank entered, or jacking up difficulty several times.
For example, waves he’d expect at wave five showing up at wave three.
Clank—clank—
"This sound...?"
The deafening clash of metal armor filled the jungle as Yeon-hee shot to her feet.
The noise was still growing, not even at full volume yet.
Finally, the source emerged into the barren clearing.
Shiny silver heavy plate armor, open-faced helmets revealing elongated snouts.
Halberds twice their height, shortswords at their waists.
Lizardman Warriors.
And all with white pigment smeared on their faces.
Shamans had to be following for sure.
With a force this size, more than one, unlike before.
‘It won’t end with just buffs.’
Their influence wouldn’t stop at Lizardmen buffs—it’d extend to Shamans’ real nuisance: curses.
And the numbers already exceeded the previous 70, just from what was visible.
Less a mob, more a proper unit.
"At least 200..."
Yeon-hee muttered, her senses second only to Jeong-hyeon’s.
Ji-hee tensed inwardly, agreeing with the estimate.
Her spread mana had snagged more than that.
Jeong-hyeon, meanwhile...
"H-Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon. What are you doing?"
While the rest of the party geared up for battle, he stayed seated, butt planted firmly.
Only when Su-chan called urgently did he speak.
His gaze never left the Lizardman unit marching to fill the clearing.
"Oh. Just pissed off for a sec."
"...Pardon?"
Ignoring the dazed Su-chan, Jeong-hyeon grabbed his pickaxe and strode toward the entrance.
Just like when hunting regular Lizardmen.
"H-Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon!"
"?"
"How about using the mace this time?"
Yeon-hee’s suggestion.
Ji-hee had mentioned he originally used a mace.
He’d taken down a mid-tier spirit with just dagger and mace—an absurd feat. Now with a new pickaxe, it might hurt his performance.
Against a Lizardman Warrior horde, a familiar weapon made sense.
Maces were great against plate armor too.
"..."
Jeong-hyeon paused, glancing at the mace still stuck in the ground, then at the pickaxe in his hand.
"I’m good."
That was it.
A man charging solo into a Lizardman Warrior unit, clad in armor forged from Black Griffin hide and Dullahan plate.
Artifact pickaxe in hand.
‘You’re all dead.’
The slaughter began.