Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Jeongjin Guild's Gratitude
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Chapter 29
"Jeongjin Guild HR Team 2 Junior Manager Seo Jin-uk speaking."
Jeong-hyeon's left eyebrow twitched.
It wasn't because he sensed anything off.
*Junior Manager... what level is that?*
He had no sense for corporate ranks. He'd only ever worked in workshops, and guilds were even more foreign to him.
Still, HR seemed like a pretty powerful department.
"Yes, hello. What brings you to call...?"
Jeong-hyeon's voice shrank a bit unnecessarily.
His counterpart's tone stayed bright and firm throughout.
Mid-thirties, maybe?
"It's nothing major, but I heard our guild's Hunter Han Sang-su owes you one. We were wondering how to repay the favor, and since you're a hunter too, how about joining us on a gate raid? What do you think?"
"Huh? Oh, so this isn't a scouting offer?"
Jeong-hyeon felt a bit deflated for some reason.
*Why was this guy asking if Jeongjin was interested in me in the first place?*
A place like Jeongjin wouldn't show instant interest in some unregistered hunter.
Just as he sighed, thinking he'd gotten ahead of himself, Jin-uk laughed loudly in response.
"Haha, of course we'd welcome you if you joined, but I heard you turned us down. Changed your mind?"
It reminded him of Cha Ye-rin's sly charm.
Though this was much better.
Jeong-hyeon smiled awkwardly and signaled his refusal.
"No problem. This time, it's to repay you by having you lead the way—basic pay of 10 million won guaranteed, plus shares from the hunt. Sound good?"
"Oh, I'd be grateful."
"Not at all. I'll contact you again with the details."
A few polite exchanges later, the call ended cleanly.
*Comparing a guy like this to Manager Cha Ye-rin... sorry, Junior Manager.*
After hanging up, a laugh slipped from Jeong-hyeon's lips unbidden.
He'd just been mulling over how to get a proper hunt, and here came this perfect offer.
Big corporations lived up to their reputation.
From their side, it was probably HR stepping in to settle a debt for a new recruit.
"They've got scale, real scale."
Honestly, slotting him into a hunt like this beat just handing over cash.
A regular hunter rarely got chances to join a mega-guild like Jeongjin.
Of course, it wasn't purely out of gratitude.
*Probably mostly to check my skills.*
A bit burdensome, but no reason to back out.
Having an HR guy from a top guild view him favorably was a win.
The fact he could make this offer suggested Junior Manager was a high position.
*Plus, a gate Jeongjin picks? Can't be some scrub spot.*
Surely a popular one civilians couldn't even book easily.
"Finally, a normal hunt! A proper one!"
His mood lifted instantly, voice rising.
He glanced sideways at the wall to the neighbor's.
*About time for a yell by now.*
Of course, Jeong-hyeon wasn't deliberately provoking them.
The situation was plenty justified.
Lately, though, the neighbor seemed resigned—no shouts.
"Sorry, sir. Wasn't on purpose."
Invisible to them, he bowed toward the wall, then flopped back onto the bed.
He opened the trait shop.
[Shop List (Refresh Cost: 2 Coins)
「Decent Mana Sensitivity」(E, Lv.1), 2C
-
「Eye-Catching Archery」(E, Lv.1), 2C
「Somewhat Decent Toughness」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Poor Movement Speed」(F, Lv.1), 1C
Current Coins: 12]
More coins than expected.
One from the boss, five from the hidden achievement—six more from regular spiders.
The chaos had kept him from checking notifications fully; this was his first exact count.
"And the odds are decent now."
Not ideal for him, but two E-ranks.
Considering his bought Throwing Skill, way better than Lv.1 shop.
"Still, enough with the movement speed already..."
He frowned at the last one.
Even with slot expansion later, did he need movement speed?
Enduring adaptation pain for it?
Jeong-hyeon shook his head and refreshed.
[List refreshed.]
[Shop List (Refresh Cost: 2 Coins)
「Poor Movement Speed」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Faint Fire Magic」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Decent Movement Speed」(E, Lv.1), 2C
「Illyan (One-Ri Eye)」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Fairly Swift Movement Speed」(D, Lv.1), 3C
Current Coins: 10]
"Ugh!"
He yelped at the refreshed list.
A feast of movement speeds—F, E, even D.
"This damn movement speed... rigged odds?"
The shop disclosed rank probabilities—praiseworthy.
But within ranks, who knew which traits?
Movement speed might be 50% for all he knew.
"Sigh... what the hell."
Other speeds were whatever, but D-rank hurt.
If it'd been his agility line or Throwing Skill—or even Blunt— he'd have warehoused it.
His highest realistic grade wasted on speed.
He wanted to summon the system admin and complain.
"Sigh, that's the thrill of gacha, I guess."
Thrill he could pass on a thousand times.
But his trait demanded grinding through.
Jeong-hyeon shook his head, refreshing again—and again, and again. No keepers.
[Current Coins: 4]
"Uh, bad day to roll?"
Cold sweat beaded on his temples.
Should've stopped at the triple speed streak?
Twelve coins, eight gone to refreshes.
He just wanted one decent trait.
His hands trembled.
*Stop now? Or burn the rest?*
Seeing coins vanish two-by-two froze him.
Then, the neighbor's furious shout.
"You're holding the door handle to what you want right now!"
"Ah, aaah!"
Hypnotized by the chant, Jeong-hyeon squeezed his eyes shut and refreshed.
*Quiet lately... plotting revenge!*
Who could resist "the door handle to what you want"?
Bankrupt or not, one more pull was human nature.
Neighbor probably timed it.
Eyes cracking open,
「Fairly Agile Movement」(E, Lv.1), 2C
There, consoling his lost 10 coins.
"It dropped! Dropped! Thanks, sir!"
"You mad..."
Perfect contrast.
Jeong-hyeon's joyful whoops versus the neighbor's faint despair.
Not enough—he banged the wall with his mouth a few times, then steadied.
*Now what?*
Great it dropped.
Bought and warehoused, no hesitation.
Problem: he already had an F-rank Lv.2 movement trait equipped.
He pulled up his trait list, pondering.
[Equipped Slots (4/4)
「Decent Combat Sense」(E, Lv.2)
「Somewhat Agile Movement」(F, Lv.2)
「Slight Physical Ability Enhancement」(E, Lv.1)
「Fairly Sharp Throwing Skill」(D, Lv.1)
Storage Slots (2/8)
「Somewhat Agile Movement」(F, Lv.1)
「Fairly Agile Movement」(E, Lv.1)
Current Synergy: 『The Best Defense is Evasion』(F)]
Higher levels widened gaps, but F/E Lv.1s counted as same tier usually.
By that rule, similar effects already.
Worth swapping?
One F movement would Lv-up his E to 2 anyway.
No split exp needed.
"Huh?"
His eyes stuck on synergy.
Unnoticed till now, but synergy was F-grade too.
Did synergy follow the lowest component grade?
Nothing to lose.
He swapped F movement for E.
["Somewhat Agile Movement" changed to "Fairly Agile Movement".
Same trait family already applied. Adaptation skipped.]
"Whew... lucky."
Real relief.
Knew gathering three same traits skipped adaptation on upgrade, but this was new—half gamble.
Skipping adaptation was win enough.
That pain was brutal.
System didn't stop.
[Trait Synergy 『The Best Defense is Evasion』 upgraded from F to E.
「Decent Combat Sense」 predicts enemy attack paths slightly faster and more accurately.
「Fairly Agile Movement」 correction increased further.]
"Yes!"
Synergy followed lowest trait grade.
He clenched his fist at the upgrade notice, yelling.
Couldn't quantify exactly, but experience said it wasn't negligible.
Felt like half-grade boost.
And on his core movement and combat sense? Priceless.
*Stick with this; swap Lv.2 to E later.*
Same family meant no adaptation on swaps—perfect.
Of course,
[Time until next trait swap: 7 days]
*...in a week.*
Not unlimited.
Anyway, 12 coins nearly wasted turned harvest.
He started humming unconsciously.
"Wonder where Jeongjin's hunting? Hope it's lucrative~."
Already looking forward to big corp perks.