Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Trait Shopping Frenzy
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Chapter 165
With that, Nam-sik and Jeong-hyeon wrapped up a mutually satisfying contract.
Jeong-hyeon was left alone in his hospital room.
'My gear is being kept by the Association, so that's fine.'
His mace, pickaxe, Cursed Armor, and other equipment had been in the Association's custody since his hospitalization.
It worked out perfectly, so he'd asked them to pass the mace and pickaxe along to Doil at the Supreme Forge.
They'd be needed for setting up the Harad he'd consigned last time.
Besides, since he'd pushed himself too hard this time, he figured he'd milk a few more days at the hospital while he was at it.
As befitting treatment for an S-Rank hunter, the university hospital had assigned him their best single room. If not now, when else could he rest easy?
"Ah."
Then Jeong-hyeon let out a sudden exclamation.
"I need to call Min-ji."
He used to hunt solo back in the day, but now he was the president of the HJH Gate Office with an employee to boot.
"Hello?"
Was she waiting for his call?
Min-ji picked up before the rings had even finished.
- Ah, President! Are you okay?
"Yeah, that... Sorry for going radio silent for a few days."
- No, it's fine. The Association section chief? He gave me the gist. Said you got injured clearing a gate and are in treatment. Didn't get the details, though.
It seemed Nam-sik had fielded calls while Jeong-hyeon was out cold.
Not sharing specifics must've been for security reasons.
"I see. So you had a rough idea, but I won't be taking requests for a while."
- Of course not! You were out for three whole days... Right?
She must've thought maybe he'd woken up earlier but hadn't called her.
Jeong-hyeon chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, that's right. I called as soon as I woke up."
- Oh, got it. Anyway, requests are trickling in even now, but nothing standout yet.
That figured.
Before heading into the Lizardman Sanctuary, Jeong-hyeon had skimmed them, and they were all recruitment pitches or curiosity requests about his identity.
Otherwise, he'd have prioritized proper incoming requests.
"Got it. Paychecks are going out on time, right?"
- Yes! And this month's is way bigger than last.
"That's the performance bonus per request."
Of course, it was peanuts compared to what Jeong-hyeon pulled in overall.
But for Min-ji, unemployed until recently, it was eye-popping money.
Just like it had been for him when he first awakened as a hunter.
On top of that, last month had the Merrillium Mine's Gems bonus, this month the Lizardman Sanctuary plus extras. Just thinking about it would make her happy.
Sure enough, after hearing his reply, Min-ji lowered her voice solemnly.
- I'll keep giving my all from now on, President. Tell me where you are, and I'll visit right away.
Jeong-hyeon burst out laughing before answering.
Telling her the hospital probably wouldn't cause issues, but since Nam-sik hadn't explained properly, better not to.
"It's fine. I'll drop by once I'm discharged."
- Yes, sir! Thank you always!
The call ended.
With urgent matters sorted, it was time to enjoy some pure downtime for himself.
A window floated before Jeong-hyeon, now so seamless it felt real.
Naturally, the 「Trait Shop」.
[Coins on Hand: 77]
"Kuh."
A deep sigh of satisfaction escaped him, like downing a refreshing drink.
How could he not?
Look at that gleaming number.
Even after grinding countless level 4 and 5 gates for trait level-ups, scraping together just over 50 coins had been his limit.
Yet one mission gate clear netted him nearly 80 coins. Pure bliss.
Money or coins, you earn 'em to spend 'em.
"Refresh."
The five trait lines in front of him rapidly shuffled.
***
"Whew..."
Jeong-hyeon let out a deep sigh.
[Coins on Hand: 1]
All those coins were gone in a flash.
His frenzied trait shopping spree had finally concluded.
"Yeah, that's how you spend coins."
First time blowing them without restraint.
So why the sigh?
The gains weren't bad at all.
But now, Jeong-hyeon had become the type who couldn't be satisfied by anything less than the top tier.
S-Rank trait 「Battle Rage」.
He'd tasted S-Rank fighting Lizardman Warrior Chief Ashurek.
That overwhelming combat prowess owed plenty to his other traits too, but none matched an S-Rank's sheer power.
And despite burning 76 coins, he hadn't snagged another S-Rank like last time.
"Can't they keep the compensation bonus from their screw-up going?"
He was desperate enough to gripe like that.
Still, to reiterate, his haul wasn't small.
Far from it—massive.
"At least I got this."
His eyes locked onto one status window line.
[Equippable Slots (7/8)]
It showed his current equippable trait count.
Until moments ago, he'd been capped at seven, but now one extra slot was open.
「Slot Expansion Ticket」(A)
Around 30 coins in, was it?
At first, he thought, "Huh, a trait with a golden border?"
Gold borders marked A-Rank traits.
With slots full, it'd just go to storage anyway, so he checked the name out of curiosity.
Lo and behold, a Slot Expansion Ticket.
- Aaaargh!
- Wh-what is it, sir? Patient?
Jeong-hyeon had screamed without realizing.
A nurse passing in the hall jumped, flung the door open.
He hurriedly claimed his Ashurek-punched side suddenly hurt.
All while beaming with zero pain.
The puzzled nurse fetched a doctor for checks, but nothing was wrong.
They left scratching their heads. Minor mishap.
Who cared about embarrassment?
One more slot to use right away—that was what mattered.
And naturally, he slotted his A-Rank Blunt Mastery there.
The Slot Expansion Ticket was his prize gem, but the rest were solid too.
「Outstanding Combat Sense」(B, Lv.5)
「Greatly Enhanced Physical Ability」(B, Lv.4)
「Graceful Magic Enchantment」(B, Lv.3)
These three had each climbed a rank.
Now, excluding movement speed, all his traits were B-Rank or higher.
With the Magic Enchantment rank-up, the 「Basics of Magic Usage」 synergy naturally hit B-Rank too.
[Trait Synergy: 「Basics of Magic Usage」 rank rises from C to B.
With 「Essential Mana Sensitivity」, unleashing spells grants neutral magic properties.
「Graceful Magic Enchantment」 can now imbue not just basic elements but user-accessible ones via additional traits. Add diverse elemental magic traits!]
The 「Trait Shop」 never failed him, but synergies shone even brighter.
This B-Rank 「Basics of Magic Usage」 perk would drop jaws among magic-trait hunters.
'What sorcery is this?'
His resolve to train magic alongside Cha Team Leader strengthened.
Casting standard mana spells as neutral now?
Unbearable.
'Just need movement speed to B-Rank, and the other synergies hit B too.'
Combat Sense and Physical Ability upgrades put 「The Best Defense is Evasion 2」 synergy on the cusp of B-Rank.
'Movement speed traits spam when I don't want 'em, vanish when I do.'
Not asking for much—just a C-Rank movement speed to upgrade the one in stock. But no dice yet.
Anyway, that wrapped his immediate combat boosts.
He'd stashed a few magic traits besides.
First, another C-Rank fire magic like his last buy.
The rest were B-Rank elementals.
「Shocking Lightning Magic」(B, Lv.1)
「Thick Darkness Magic」(B, Lv.1)
Lightning was fine, but darkness? First Jeong-hyeon had heard of it.
"If it's that rare, I'd have at least heard whispers."
Common elements were fire, water, lightning, wind, earth—but magic elements were diverse.
Even Ji-hee's trait stabilizer used poison.
Others existed too: metal, plant, sand, etc.
Those drew more industry and research scouts than hunters, so rare in hunts.
Elements varied, but darkness? Brand new to him.
Darkness sounded ominous, so he nearly skipped it.
He'd endured the Cursed Armor's curse thanks to traits, but courting that vibe? Nah.
Still, with Magic Enchantment's new "user-accessible elements" clause, he bought it.
Might come in handy someday.
Thud.
Thus ended the 77-coin shopping saga that felt endless.
Exhaustion hit; Jeong-hyeon flopped back.
Logically, huge win—but his heart wouldn't accept it.
What to do about that lingering S-Rank 「Battle Rage」?
Swallow the regret, await their reunion.
He was just settling into true rest when—
- Rrring.
His phone buzzed.
"Who now?"
Jeong-hyeon frowned slightly, grabbing it from the bedside drawer.
No one had really bothered him so far, but interruptions at rest time irked.
But seeing the screen name, he sat up.
Not wholly unexpected.
He'd figured it'd come eventually—just sooner than thought.
- Won-ho Uncle
Vice Guild member, A-Rank strength enhancer Kim Won-ho.
Jeong-hyeon's old neighbor uncle.
The caller was him.
"Hello?"
- Got a sec to talk?
That familiar gravelly voice on hitting accept.
He wouldn't know about the hospitalization, so not well-wishes.
Jeong-hyeon replied evenly.
"Sure, go ahead."
- It's... that proposal you made last time.
After the Merrillium Mine, he'd given his number, reiterated the offer.
Call anytime if Vice Guild felt stifling.
He'd been ambivalent then—maybe decided now?
Jeong-hyeon grinned at Won-ho's words.