Chapter 65
Chapter 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Dragon's Tomb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 65
The 'Dragon's Tomb' was located midway up a mountain near Seoul.
Without the detailed location info from the Sea Guild, it would have been hard to find, as it was in a place untouched by human presence.
Mission Gates tended to spawn in remote areas away from people's eyes, and once discovered, guilds bought the info for big money, so there were even people who made a living hunting down these gates on purpose.
Buying and selling gates for money was illegal, but since Mission Gates broke much faster than regular ones, the country turned a blind eye.
In any case, Jeong-hyeon arrived at the gate a bit earlier than expected.
'Movement speed is pretty great.'
And that was thanks to his Movement Speed trait working its magic.
The speed from a C-Rank Movement Speed trait outpaced most passenger cars.
For Jeong-hyeon, who rarely took taxis let alone drove his own car because it was a waste of money, it was an incredibly efficient trait.
Of course, without the synergy, he would've swapped it for Mana Sensitivity right away.
"You're here sooner than I thought."
"I'm the one who's late."
He thought he'd timed it leisurely, but the Sea Guild hunters were already there.
They exchanged light greetings, but the looks directed at Jeong-hyeon weren't exactly friendly.
It was as he'd expected, so Jeong-hyeon spoke first.
"I was rash last time. It was a perfectly reasonable demand from you all."
"Ahem."
As Jeong-hyeon bowed his head in apology, Cha-jin averted his gaze and cleared his throat.
That's how arguments go.
At the time, it feels like something you absolutely can't back down on, but after it's over and time passes, you wonder if it was really worth it.
In that sense, Jeong-hyeon bringing it up first had taken the high road.
"No, we're the ones who were petty when we're hunting together. Sorry."
Jeong-hyeon's turn was last anyway.
There was symbolic value in taking the artifact, but if it came down to him, it meant the gear was pretty useless to them.
Sure, the guild payout would be nice, but threatening an unregistered hunter for money?
It wasn't a good look for the Sea Guild's public image.
"You all who did the hard work should take the artifact. Hope you get good results."
So, a proper compromise had formed between Jeong-hyeon and the Sea Guild hunters, including Jin-ah.
No need to make things awkward, Jeong-hyeon saves face for the Sea Guild, and they grant him nominal rights.
If Jeong-hyeon hadn't spoken up, Jin-ah probably would've said something similar.
'Clearing a level 5 gate record is profit enough for me.'
Realistically, Jeong-hyeon had no need to insist on artifact rights.
But this was just the social norm among veteran hunters who'd rolled in gates for years.
Jin-ah's eyes softened as she looked at him.
'Honestly, unexpected.'
She hadn't expected Jeong-hyeon to bring it up first.
They'd only met once, but he seemed confident in his skills. Newly awakened hunters especially had a hard time bending their pride.
If the rank hidden behind his unregistered status was high, even more so.
She would've apologized first if it were her, but as a Sea Guild rep, it wouldn't save face.
And it didn't seem like he was bowing out of fear of repercussions, so he must've anticipated this far.
Whatever his skill level, his social savvy was solid.
"Ahem, truth is, I can use pretty much any gear, so it probably won't come to you, Jeong-hyeon."
Cha-jin, adding an unnecessary comment, was the opposite type.
Decent skills, not a bad guy, but the type to blurt out whatever's on his mind without considering the situation.
Jin-ah glanced at Jeong-hyeon, but he didn't seem offended.
As she thought, Jeong-hyeon felt nothing special about Cha-jin's extra words.
If anything, like first meeting Sang-su from Sun-hyeong's party.
'Cute.'
It gave Jeong-hyeon another certainty: last time's tension wasn't simple dismissal.
The problem was that Jin-ah, not them, had been the one dismissing him.
At least based on current skills, they'd instinctively sensed each other as rivals.
Judging by Jin-ah's reaction today, she felt the same.
Of course, objectively, time was on Jeong-hyeon's side absolutely.
Unlike her, nearing B-Rank limits, he had endless room to grow.
Meanwhile, Hee-jun, who had to lead the party, welcomed the softened mood.
And he didn't want to waste it.
Mission Gates were guild-exclusive anyway.
No need to worry about entry times like regular gates.
Hee-jun clapped twice to get attention.
"Looks like we're good, so shall we head in?"
"Sure."
"Let's do this!"
***
The 'Dragon's Tomb' atmosphere lived up to its name.
Dim, but plenty of lights glowed mysteriously, illuminating the interior.
Jeong-hyeon and the party stood in a massive granite plaza.
'Dragon's Tomb, huh...'
The plaza walls featured dragons carved down to the finest scales, exuding lifelike menace.
And between the six front dragons, five passages pierced through.
Wide enough for five people abreast?
The passages weren't narrow, but the massive dragon carvings made them seem small by comparison.
Except the center one, noticeably larger.
"This is..."
Ha-yul whispered after scanning around.
Hee-jun nodded.
"Defense mission."
As expected from a party that cleared many Mission Gates.
They gauged the mission from the interior layout alone.
Jeong-hyeon knew basics about Defense missions from research, but Jin-ah summarized anyway.
"Defense is blocking monster waves coming here. Usually about four."
"Got it."
Jeong-hyeon nodded.
Defense was among the most common Mission Gate tasks.
Short: three waves, long: five. Survive till the last monster falls to clear.
Five directions was a bit much, but not too weird—better than nothing.
As the party inspected the plaza,
"Combat ready!"
"...Goblins."
Jeong-hyeon and Ha-yul sensed the monsters simultaneously and warned.
Their eyes met briefly upon realizing they'd both spotted the goblins at once.
'B-Rank Combat Sense, right?'
Ha-yul's trait was Excellent Combat Sense, B-Rank, same category as Jeong-hyeon's.
Boosted by multiple traits and synergies to similar levels, no wonder.
'...What?'
Ha-yul felt the same watching him.
But with monsters approaching, no time for that.
"Everyone behind me!"
Tank Cha-jin stepped forward, and they naturally took positions.
From Jeong-hyeon's view, the surprise was Ha-yul way up front from her usual archer spot.
Then, goblins burst from the passage darkness into the plaza.
"..."
Hobgoblins, goblin upper variant.
Mid-low in goblin spectrum, but upgraded in strength, speed, everything—green base with brown patterns.
But the issue wasn't if they were hobgoblins.
"Their eyes look weird."
Cha-jin's doubt.
Unlike normal goblins, their blank stares evoked zombies.
Normal goblins screeched threats desperately, but these charged silently.
Thud-
"Ugh!"
Straight at shield-front Cha-jin.
"They're Enslaved! Careful everyone!"
Jin-ah's warning followed.
Now Jeong-hyeon got it.
Special state found in some gate monsters: 'Enslaved'.
'Should've known from the dragon in the gate name.'
Especially with powerful beings like dragons, Enslavement chance rose.
He'd expected undead in 'Dragon's Tomb', but the dragon's influence lingered.
"No way a real dragon shows up!"
Cha-jin asked while blocking the goblin downpour.
'He can still hold.'
The shout proved his leeway.
Hee-jun explained.
"Why would a dragon spawn in a level 5 gate! Worry about your shield if you can talk!"
No way in a mere level 5.
Enslaved was annoying though.
Normal monsters had racial habits.
Goblins paused when screeching.
Enslaved erased habits, turning them into pure combat machines.
A real pain for hunters.
Ping-
Three arrows flew from behind Jeong-hyeon.
Ha-yul's work.
Overcoming archer multi-target weakness by firing multiples.
Firing three without Archery trait proved her skill best.
The fast arrows pierced goblin neck, shoulder, chest, but
Thud- Thud-
"That's why I hate Enslaved!"
Except the neck instant-kill, they ignored and fought on.
Classic Enslaved hassle.
'Anyway, my turn now.'
Jeong-hyeon drew his dagger.
Knowing they were Enslaved, no point delaying.
He drew one and threw immediately.
Target: hobgoblin leaping at Cha-jin's shield.
Not to ease Cha-jin's burden, though.
[37.2%]
'Nice odds here.'
Among visible goblins, it had the highest coin chance.
Splat-
Unclear if blunt impact or dagger hit, the sound echoed.
Dagger lodged in left forehead, goblin rebounded mid-leap.
Then done.
Twitched once, instant death.
[Acquired 1 coin.]
'Probabilities are wild—high then low, low then high.'
Some over 40% drop nothing, others under 20% drop often.
Unpredictable world.
Meanwhile, Jin-ah, just drawing her rapier, froze watching.
Jeong-hyeon's dagger flew no slower than Ha-yul's arrows and one-shot the goblin.
'Is this real?'
But she shook her head soon.
Just luck.
Random throw that happened to headshot.
Goblins have half-human heads.
Plus 20m distance.
No way he aimed dagger precisely there.
Of course, he hadn't hit exact aim.
'Tch, slipped aiming dead center forehead.'
Different from what she thought.
Anyway, as Jin-ah chalked his first move to luck,
Whirr- Whirr-
The dagger barrage began.
'?']