Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Broken Mace Blues
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Chapter 35
Outside Seoul's villa district.
A sedan marked with the Jeongjin Guild emblem slid smoothly to a stop in front of one of the villas.
Of course, the one stepping out of the car was Jeong-hyeon.
"Thanks for the ride. Drive safe."
"Yes, Jeong-hyeon Hunter. Get some rest. If you ever want to hunt with us again, just give us a call."
"Ugh, then I'd feel bad."
It wasn't empty talk—Jeong-hyeon truly had no intention of casually hunting with Jeongjin again.
Just look at Jin-uk's eyes.
That gleaming stare practically screamed, 'Is this where a punk like you lives?'
This time, the conditions were good, and he had no prior commitments, so he'd accepted. But he generally avoided incurring debts whenever possible.
"Whew, he's one scary guy."
With that, he parted ways with the Jeongjin crew and headed into his house.
"What the hell is this?"
Jeong-hyeon stared vacantly at the mace handle in his hand.
He knew rental gear wouldn't last forever, but he hadn't expected it to snap clean in half mid-hunt without any warning.
"I'm really gonna let Park Cheol-yong have it next time I see him."
Jeong-hyeon tossed the handle haphazardly into the corner of the room and flopped onto the bed.
Let him have it? As if that would do any good.
They hadn't known each other long, but Cheol-yong would probably just demand repair fees.
"Guess those test results were spot on."
Jeong-hyeon murmured as he recalled his memories from the "Cursed Castle."
The Association's test had pegged him at D-Rank, Level 3—top 25%.
He'd initially figured there might be some margin of error, but hunting with those D-Rank hunters had given him a solid sense of his own level.
Sang-jun was definitely strong.
But if they actually fought?
Jeong-hyeon didn't think he'd lose.
And it wasn't just because of the range advantage from his Throwing Skill.
'His movements were a bit slow... and more than that, his judgment was off.'
For someone shouldering the leader role solo, his capabilities beyond raw combat power weren't much better than Seung-hyeok or Yu-jun.
Even if Jeong-hyeon only used the mace for close-quarters combat, he figured he could take him.
Factoring in the enhanced synergy effects made him even more confident.
That alone showed Jeong-hyeon was pretty high up among D-Rank Level 3s.
Jeongjin wouldn't have recruited anyone below average, after all.
"Anyway... D-Rank Level 3 is one thing, but the team lead is on another level."
The real issue was C-Rank Seo Jin-uk.
What if they squared off?
Close-range alone would be out of the question, and even using his sole D-Rank trait, Throwing Skill, wouldn't cut it.
From the brief glimpse he'd gotten, Jin-uk's movements left no path to victory in sight.
No matter how much of an outlier Jeong-hyeon was, the gap from rank differences couldn't be bridged easily right now.
'Hiding my rank was the right call.'
Even after boosting his specs far beyond his starting point, he was still nowhere near C-Rank.
And supposedly, the gaps between ranks only widened exponentially higher up.
If he'd gotten cocky over that EX-Rank title and registered honestly, he'd probably be...
'Either locked up somewhere or worked to the bone by now.'
Fair treatment? No chance.
Jeong-hyeon had learned the hard way that the world wasn't kind to unearned luck.
A bitter taste settled in his mouth, so he summoned the trait shop.
"Tch, trait shop."
Even though he'd dumped 12 coins last time for just one E-Rank trait, it was still that magical sight that always lifted his spirits.
[「Trait Shop」(Lv.2)
Coins needed for next level: 10
Equippable Traits / Stored Traits: 0 / 6
Trait Probabilities: F 62%, E 30%, D 4.5%, C 2%, B 1%, A 0.4%, S 0.1%]
"Kuh, this is it."
Not much had changed since last time, but just seeing those probabilities made his chest swell.
Especially the ones for C-Rank and above that he still hadn't acquired.
A ridiculous 3.5% combined shot at them, all for him.
Plus those two pre-upgrade movement traits piling up in storage.
It all made him feel like a tycoon.
"Let's see how many coins I racked up this time."
But the real draw was the shop list itself.
The last fight had been too chaotic to check, so he was dying to know.
[Shop List (Refresh Cost: 2 Coins)
「Somewhat Decent Toughness」(F, Lv.1), 1C
-
「Stinging Lightning Magic」(E, Lv.1), 2C
「Wall-Climbing Over Fences」(F), 1C
「Faint Mana Sensitivity」(F, Lv.1), 1C
Current Coins: 7]
Seven coins from that hunt.
The end had been rough, but it wasn't bad.
"Wall-Climbing? What even is that?"
What really caught his eye was the utterly baffling Wall-Climbing trait. He couldn't imagine what it was for.
He'd never heard of a hunter awakening to something like that.
And then the usual magic traits, like movement speed.
Honestly, magic traits were tempting.
Especially for Jeong-hyeon, who could equip multiples.
He hadn't bought Mana Sensitivity before because it alone wouldn't do much.
But pair it with other elemental magics?
It'd surely synergize beyond just stacking them.
With luck, the system might even recognize it officially.
But Jeong-hyeon shook his head.
"Too late for magic right now. Such a shame."
Even if he bought one now, he couldn't use it immediately.
Slots aside, he had to mind the eyes on him now.
In this situation, wouldn't it be better to level up later and buy higher ranks?
No point cluttering storage with low-ranks he wouldn't use.
[Refresh the list?]
That left refreshing.
Jeong-hyeon nodded.
Two coins deducted, and the list updated.
[「Faint Mana Sensitivity」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Faint Mana Sensitivity」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Scorching Fire Magic」(E, Lv.1), 2C
「Faint Movement Speed」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Decent Mana Sensitivity」(E, Lv.1), 2C]
"...What? Am I dreaming?"
Jeong-hyeon blinked hard, unable to believe the list.
Was this real?
No way.
It was like the shop was mocking his decision not to buy magic—flooded with related traits.
And the last one? Movement Speed.
"What kind of luck is this?"
He recalled the pre-refresh list.
There had definitely been one F-Rank Mana Sensitivity.
Buying it would've let him upgrade straight to E-Rank, and now there was even another E-Rank on offer.
He'd tossed away a shot at D-Rank verge himself.
"No, if it was gonna pull this, you should've warned me."
Even if Mana Sensitivity was useless to him now, D-Rank would've changed everything.
It might even boost his sense-based fighting style.
Then it hit him.
This trait was pure luck-based trash, no matter how you planned.
Everyone has a solid plan.
Until the next refresh.
Even if magic was impractical in reality, what if an S-Rank magic trait popped up?
Eyes be damned—he'd buy it on the spot.
"Haa..."
Jeong-hyeon sighed deeply.
No use regretting; the refresh was done.
'Alright, gotta tough it out.'
He rolled the list once more with that resolve, but it was even worse.
F-Rank fiesta. Even with 3 coins left, the motivation was gone.
"Screw it."
In the end, he left the 3 coins and crashed onto the bed.
His mood was shot.
Lying there, the fatigue from Jin-uk's healing hit him like a wave.
No expansion ticket meant no instant power-up anyway.
Blowing all coins wouldn't guarantee a level-up either.
"Guess it's a sign to take it easy..."
Jeong-hyeon drifted off before he knew it.
***
- R r r
"Ugh, who is it? I just fell asleep... Not letting them off..."
Jeong-hyeon woke to his phone's message alert.
It felt like he'd barely nodded off, but frowning at the screen, it was already 10 a.m. the next day.
He'd gotten home around 7 p.m. yesterday, so at least 14 hours of sleep.
"Ugh."
The sender was team lead Seo Jin-uk.
Wondering what it could be so early, Jeong-hyeon checked and his eyes went wide.
- Hello, Hunter. Settlement payment deposited to your account. Please confirm. ^^
Yesterday's awkward final memory melted away,
leaving only a smile on Jeong-hyeon's lips.
"Already? As expected of a big corp."
Payment the day after the hunt.
Checking his banking app confirmed it.
- 15,707,000 Jeongjin Guild
"Whoa..."
Adding it to the last Rock Spider payout, his account was nearing 30 million won.
For Jeong-hyeon, the truest proof he was a hunter wasn't traits or his license—it was the bank balance.
'Guess I really am a hunter now.'
His workshop pay hadn't been bad, but scraping together this much cash? Tough.
Whenever it built up, loan payments wiped it out.
The mana awakening loan's lenient terms had saved him; a regular one would've tanked his credit.
"After this month's payment... maybe 2 mil left?"
He never could've imagined saying that before.
But Jeong-hyeon couldn't just celebrate the cash.
His eyes landed on the broken mace handle like a thorn.
Hunters earned by hunting, and hunting needed gear.
Dagger skills had grown, but mace was still his main.
Main weapon broken? Time for a new one—and it wouldn't be cheap.
Jeong-hyeon sighed and looked up.
No choice but to hit the hunter forge again.
'Might as well return the rentals... Ugh, how much for a weapon?'
Old saying: Earn like a dog, spend like a lord.
But here he was, earning like a dog and spending like one too.
He'd thought being a hunter meant a lavish life unlike the workshop days.
Lavish? More like bleeding cash on gear and feeling poorer than before.
'No Doil senior discount this time either.'
The old man seemed to like him, but his billing was straight—no repeat discounts.
Last time, he'd paid full for the dagger set.
But agonizing only delayed the buy.
He'd decided to spend; hunts could pop anytime, so gear up now.
Decision made, Jeong-hyeon rose with purpose and strode to the bathroom.
Thud thud thud—
Still, his steps carried an angry edge he couldn't shake.