Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Frenzied Trait Shopping
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[Current Coins Held: 114]
"Wow."
Jeong-hyeon let out an exclamation as he gazed at his overflowing coffers.
In truth, there was no limit to the number of coins he could hold, so "overflowing" was purely his personal impression.
But it wasn't about the coins needed for the next level—it was just the fact that he had three digits' worth of coins sitting there. Wasn't that like being full without even eating?
And Jeong-hyeon knew full well that unused coins were nothing more than numbers.
"Refresh!"
With that, the mad trait shopping spree began, betting all 114 total seed coins.
"Huh?"
To be precise, it hit a speed bump right at the start.
[「Excellent Movement Speed」(C, Lv.1). 4C]
A C-rank movement speed trait that now felt a bit low-tier.
But the reason Jeong-hyeon paused here was simple.
'It's showing up.'
It was because of the silvery glow brilliantly outlining the trait's border.
A sign that it could soon be upgraded to B-rank.
He hadn't seen a movement speed trait in ages and figured it'd take forever to upgrade, but here it was already.
This must be what people meant by "hand on the doorknob."
Naturally, Jeong-hyeon didn't hesitate and upgraded the movement speed trait.
[「Excellent Movement Speed」 advances to 「Earth-Shattering Movement Speed」.]
'Look at this name.'
For Jeong-hyeon, who could synergize various traits, movement speed was a cheat-level trait, but for most people, it was one of the least desirable ones.
Yet here it was, a mere B-rank with a grandiose modifier like "Earth-Shattering."
What the hell did they put on A-rank, then?
'Whatever, that's not the point.'
Who cared what modifier it had?
The fact that movement speed had finally reached B-rank wasn't limited to just that one trait.
Along with the notification of the trait rank-up, a series of other windows popped up before Jeong-hyeon's eyes.
[Trait Synergy, 『The Best Defense is Evasion 2』 advances from C to B.
「Excellent Combat Sense」 now detects not only visible attacks but also invisible threats. Trust your instincts.
Synergy between 「Superb Agile Movement」 and Thought Acceleration is enhanced. Link rate rises to approximately 50%.
「Greatly Enhanced Physical Ability」 makes the body even tougher and stronger. E-rank healing trait is always applied.
Restrictions on 「Earth-Shattering Movement Speed」 are further lifted. Application rate of Thought Acceleration in daily life and movement speed in combat rises to approximately 50%.]
"Yes! This is it! Long live the Trait Shop!"
Traits were great, of course, but these synergy effects never failed to impress him, no matter the situation.
Just reading the descriptions made them seem to shine brilliantly.
It wasn't so much new effects being added as enhanced versions of prior synergies, but with this level of boost, even simple strengthening felt on another level.
But what truly satisfied Jeong-hyeon even more was something else.
'The fact that this came from a measly 6 coins!'
2 coins for the refresh, 4 for the C-rank trait.
With just 6 coins, he'd achieved this much growth—what incredible things would the remaining 108 coins bring?
Jeong-hyeon dismissed the settled notifications and started refreshing the list again.
After about four refreshes.
He had to shout once more.
"Long live the Trait Shop!"
[B-Rank Trait Level-Up Ticket, 5C]
[B-Rank Trait Level-Up Ticket, 5C]
Not a new trait.
But in some ways, even more useful than a new one: level-up tickets.
Two of them, at once.
Equippable slots could only be expanded with S-rank tickets now anyway.
Even if the S-rank drop rate was a decent 3.5%, it was still nothing to bank on.
So, level-up tickets to boost the efficiency of his current equipped traits were far better.
'Which trait to use them on...'
Jeong-hyeon's happy dilemma began.
Out of his 8 traits, all except Blunt Mastery were B-rank.
And he made great use of every single one, so he didn't begrudge the tickets.
Then, Jeong-hyeon tilted his head.
"Hm? Come to think of it, this..."
His eyes stopped on Combat Sense and Throwing Skill.
Both had reached level 5.
"Does using a ticket here let it break the level cap?"
Every trait had a level cap per rank.
The system, unhelpfully, never explained it.
It was just empirical knowledge from countless hunters.
F-rank: 4 levels, E/D/C: 5 levels, B/A: 6 levels, S: 7 levels.
No hunter had ever been known to exceed these caps.
Sure, like Jeong-hyeon, someone might hide it, but unlike his case, this couldn't be concealed.
'Gates have level limits too, after all.'
Take a B-rank hunter maining 6-level gates who hits level 7.
They'd suddenly lose their entire hunting ground.
But Jeong-hyeon had no such worries.
His limits were tied to the Trait Shop's proficiency level.
He hadn't paid it much mind so far, but it was a non-negligible advantage over other hunters.
'I should test it first. Can I buy two at once?'
No matter the trait, leveling up was never a loss, so he'd buy them all.
But if level-up tickets couldn't break the cap, it'd be better on lower-level ones like Magic Enchantment or movement speed than Combat Sense or Throwing Skill.
Level-up tickets and slot expansions weren't stored—they were instant-use items.
Thankfully, the Trait Shop showed some flexibility.
[Purchase 2 B-Rank Level-Up Tickets simultaneously?
This allows multiple application to one trait or individual application to two traits.]
"Good!"
Just what he wanted—no need to refuse.
Jeong-hyeon bought both tickets at once, planning to apply them to Combat Sense.
Universal Combat Sense was more valuable than Throwing Skill, which was memory-based.
But when he tried applying them to Combat Sense, instead of a level-up notice, another window appeared.
[Warning: Applying 2 Trait Level-Up Tickets simultaneously to 「Excellent Combat Sense」 will only use 1 due to level limit.
Level limit cannot be broken if Trait Shop is below level 6.
Proceed?]
"There really is a level cap?"
He'd half-expected it, but hearsay among hunters and system-confirmed fact were worlds apart.
The system called it "level limit" instead of "level cap," but it amounted to the same.
And one unexpected fact:
'Can't do it now, but when Trait Shop hits level 6, I can break the cap.'
B-ranks couldn't go beyond 6 now, but someday they could.
A true "EX-rank" perk.
Either way, this would waste a ticket, so as he moved to cancel per the system's prompt, another notification appeared.
[Level limit breakthrough attempt detected.
Related information unlocked.]
"What's this now?"
Related information.
Come to think of it, he'd seen something similar when discovering slot expansions before.
[All traits have level limits per rank.
Fulfill conditions to break the limit, recognized by the system as '(Level Limit) + n'.
This means gate level limits no longer apply beyond that.
Breaking the limit greatly increases trait growth.]
"Oh."
Totally unexpected.
'So, even B-rank level 7 lets me enter 6-level gates?'
And with the system's stingy wording calling the growth "great," it had to be beyond imagination.
Not quite S-rank level, but worth noting.
No matter how high the Trait Shop leveled, he couldn't make all traits S-rank.
'Doesn't apply to me yet, though.'
All this info only mattered once he hit level 6.
Jeong-hyeon used one level-up ticket each on 「Excellent Combat Sense」 and 「Earth-Shattering Movement Speed」.
Combat Sense hit the cap at 6, movement speed reached 5 just below.
"Damn, and I still have 90 coins left?"
Already exceeding expectations.
With a lighter heart, Jeong-hyeon burned through the rest.
No huge visible growth or new info like before, but minor gains continued.
[「Physical Ability Enhancement Defying the Gods」(A, Lv.4)]
Physical Ability Enhancement hit A-rank.
"This one always upgrades so randomly."
Others lingered unpurchased, making him antsy, but this one jumped ranks out of nowhere without spares.
Hadn't shown up for ages, then suddenly two B-ranks in a row for the upgrade.
Anyway, among equipped traits, only this changed; others were storage swaps.
[Storage Slots (8/12)
「Explosive Fire Magic」(B, Lv.1)
「Essential Mana Sensitivity」(B, Lv.1)
「Shocking Lightning Magic」(B, Lv.1)
「Deep Shadow Magic」(B, Lv.1)
「Excellent Combat Sense」(B, Lv.1)
「Superb Agile Movement」(B, Lv.1)
「Stealthy Throwing Skill」(B, Lv.1)
「Graceful Magic Enchantment」(B, Lv.1)]
Fire Magic rose from C to B in storage.
Bought one each of Combat Sense, Agile Movement, Throwing Skill, and Magic Enchantment.
Profitable, but not thrilling.
'Using 8 traits, and 5 are pairs? Come on.'
Even if they'd upgrade someday, hogging storage slots like this irked him.
He sold Stealth during cleanup.
Bought for 2 coins, sold for 1—tears welled, but what could he do?
Not in use, low E-rank odds, no upgrade coming—better for higher ranks.
Storage always had room, so no forced sales. Grateful for that.
Snagged a C-rank expansion too, adding one more slot.
And now, the Trait Shop list had one item plaguing Jeong-hyeon.
[「Penetrating Firearms Technique」(A, Lv.1), 6C]
'What the hell is this?'