Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Skeleton Showdown
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From the fifth battle onward, skeletons started appearing bit by bit.
Four skeletons revealed themselves at the end of the dark corridor.
They were monsters that even the original Sunhyeong party struggled greatly against, as bladed weapons or arrows barely left a scratch.
Unlike zombies, they wielded rusty swords or crude spears, and some even wore helmets, making them even more troublesome.
Ting-
"Argh, why the hell are skeletons so damn tough?"
Did it even leave a dent?
Jeonga flew into a rage as her arrow struck the skull but bounced right off.
It seemed to have taken a bit of impact, but that was nowhere near enough to neutralize an undead.
She'd said that for an archer to play a proper role against skeletons, they needed at least a C-rank trait.
Of course, no archer at that level would be wasting time on mere skeletons.
Sunhyeong looked far more tense than when fighting zombies.
Unlike zombies that only had nails or teeth capable of barely piercing armor, these skeletons each carried a sword in one hand.
Unlike a clean sword cut, getting hit by a skeleton's weapon left messy wounds, and there was even the risk of tetanus, so extra caution was needed.
Even with healer Doyun on standby, the best policy was to avoid getting hit as much as possible.
"Doyun, get healing ready!"
"Okay!"
The party's tension was palpable.
Even the original party wouldn't have taken skeletons lightly.
The missing member this time was the lightning mage in charge of firepower.
Skeletons made of just bones weren't a great matchup.
Of course, at D-rank, they might have been able to roast them outright.
In any case, skeletons were a first for Jeong-hyeon, just like every other monster.
Jeong-hyeon stayed a bit away from Sunhyeong, observing the skeletons' movements.
Kang.
Kang.
There was real force behind the swords banging on the shield.
'Overall speed is a notch above zombies.'
Even so, it was crystal clear in Jeong-hyeon's eyes.
From the start, attacks swung without any plan were far too predictable for Jeong-hyeon, who could read their paths.
Once he'd gotten a rough read, Jeong-hyeon moved past Sunhyeong again to flank the skeletons from behind.
Tadak-tadak.
But the skeletons' reactions were much sharper than zombies'.
Of the two pounding on Sunhyeong, both facing Jeong-hyeon immediately turned and focused on him.
Naturally, that left two on Sunhyeong, who kept his distance to harass him.
Whether intentional or not, it was a decent strategy.
No need to explain how two attacks from both sides were more annoying than two from one.
Jeong-hyeon faced the two skeletons clacking their jaws at him and steadied his expression.
They were skeletons he'd seen plenty of in the workshop, rare as they were there.
That made them less scary, but
'Still can't let my guard down.'
Unlike the workshop ghost stories meant to prank newbies, these could really stab a knife into his gut at any moment.
After a brief standoff, the one on the right charged first, swinging its sword.
As expected, a straightforward attack Jeong-hyeon easily dodged with a slight twist.
Then the left one followed with a thrust.
With the right one already blocked, Jeong-hyeon hopped a step to the left.
Undead weren't great at body control, so the skeleton stabbed at empty air and staggered briefly.
Jeong-hyeon closely examined its skull.
They looked identical at a glance, but up close, it was made of several pieces.
And when dismantling skeletons, the crown was where the most bones clustered,
'Here!'
That was the spot to target.
Luckily, with its stance broken, Jeong-hyeon instantly read the grain and swung his mace.
Skeletons required accumulating damage even with blunt weapons unless you were skilled, but hitting the weak point made it irrelevant.
Eujik.
With the sound of bone crumbling, a clear crack appeared in the skull.
Tough as skeletons were, it didn't drop in one hit and merely twitched.
'Different from the workshop ones.'
But the second mace strike to the same spot crumbled it helplessly.
The skeleton toppled over, its crown completely caved in.
Meanwhile, ignoring its comrade's death, a rusty sword came dropping vertically from beyond.
Having spent a bit more time finishing off the first, Jeong-hyeon couldn't fully evade.
In the end, he raised his mace to block the sword, but
Kkigigik-
With a chilling clash of metal on metal, he was pushed back in strength.
The skeleton's sword slid down, hitting the mace's head before stopping.
'Damn, next trait has to be strength no matter what.'
Jeong-hyeon's combat prowess came from his combat sense to read movements and quick footwork.
He was still overpowered in raw strength even by these skeletons.
"Jeong-hyeon-ssi!"
At that moment, an urgent call came with an arrow flying in.
Jeonga, who'd been watching the fight, hurriedly provided covering fire.
Thud-
No meaningful damage, of course, but the arrow hit its head perfectly.
Its stance crumbled for an instant, easing the force on the sword.
"Uwaaaap!"
Matching that, Jeong-hyeon roared and swung his mace upward.
The heavily rusted, near-scrap blade couldn't withstand the impact and snapped,
Ppak-
Ppakak-
Jeong-hyeon didn't miss the opening and smashed the skeleton's temple with his mace.
Not as vital as the crown, but the temple was still a cluster of bones, a weak point.
"Thanks!"
He thanked Jeonga, who flashed a triumphant smile, then headed straight for Sunhyeong.
"Kuuk!"
Sunhyeong's condition wasn't great.
One shield against attacks from both sides was too much.
Even as he held on somehow, Jeong-hyeon joined after handling his share.
Sunhyeong noticed how effortlessly Jeong-hyeon crushed the skeleton's crown.
With one side of the fierce dual assault suddenly vanishing, Sunhyeong's focus unintentionally shifted to the other.
In a battle decided by split seconds, such a minor lapse demanded payment.
Sseuk-
"Uwaa!"
The sword from the skeleton Jeong-hyeon hadn't dropped yet sliced the inside of Sunhyeong's elbow.
As a tank, he avoided an unsightly fall and kept his stance.
Before the skeleton could attack again, it turned to bone dust in Jeong-hyeon's hand, and Doyun rushed over upon seeing Sunhyeong hurt.
"Hyung, you okay?"
Of all places, the inside of the elbow, poorly covered by armor.
There was considerable bleeding, and Sunhyeong's face twisted in pain.
Tank traits didn't make them immune to wounds.
They still bled and felt pain beyond a certain damage threshold.
Especially fragile spots like elbows.
They just endured far better and longer.
"Sorry, because I jumped in without warning."
"No. It was my mistake anyway."
Sunhyeong waved off the apology from Jeong-hyeon, who approached panting.
Luckily, Doyun's trait could heal it.
Sunhyeong asked Jeong-hyeon, whose gaze seemed oddly distant.
"Skeletons... how much for skeletons..."
Blood pouring from his elbow, yet his face held a strange resolve as he asked the price.
It hurt, and as a tank he'd taken plenty of damage before, so he had some leeway.
Jeong-hyeon finally snapped out of it with an "Ah," turned to him, grinned, and answered.
"All in, about 400,000 won. Not much in materials... but still okay?"
Sunhyeong closed his eyes with a relieved expression at the answer.
It wasn't a fatal wound or anything.
Jeong-hyeon thought he was unexpectedly amusing as he returned his gaze to what he'd been checking.
[You have acquired 1 coin.]
The coin you could randomly get from hunting monsters.
The moment he got his first one.
'The drop rate is lower than expected...'
Of the monsters Jeong-hyeon had killed in the gate, just under fifteen.
One coin from that felt a bit low.
The rate drops the more of the same monster you kill, so it wasn't as easy as thought.
'Well, if it dropped more, it'd be too broken.'
He understood, but once you start hoping for cheats, you want to squeeze out more.
Jeong-hyeon caught himself, smiled wryly, and shook his head.
***
"You all worked really hard today!"
"No, Sunhyeong-ssi, Jeonga-ssi, Doyun-ssi too, thanks."
"I appreciated it too!"
Only when everyone's bags were stuffed full did Jeong-hyeon and the Sunhyeong party exit the gate.
Absolutely fewer kills than with Sang-su, but Jeong-hyeon had processed all the top-grade materials.
Everyone beamed despite exhaustion, thanks to the much higher earnings.
Tank Sunhyeong took several wounds in the process, and Jeong-hyeon got dinged up often in the latter half fighting multiple skeletons at once.
Doyun's healing prevented major issues, though.
Jeong-hyeon's final tally: about 15 zombies and 10 skeletons.
Unbelievable for a first-time gate hunter, but even more so considering he'd subtly yielded to the Sunhyeong party later on.
And his expression was brighter still.
'For me, this matters more than that.'
What filled Jeong-hyeon with pride was none other than the 5 coins.
Simply put, five F-rank traits!
Considering how he'd shocked the Sunhyeong party—who'd hunted with just two F-ranks and a D-rank—it was an enormous gain.
The massive fatigue suggested he couldn't do gates daily, which was a shame.
"Alright, time to head out... Huh? You haven't left yet?"
Stretching to loosen his aching body, Jeong-hyeon tilted his head.
They'd even said goodbyes, but the Sunhyeong group lingered.
"Jeong-hyeon-ssi, um."
Sunhyeong gave an awkward smile and patted his bag.
"Where do we sell stuff like this?"
"Ah."
They'd gotten Jeong-hyeon's help processing, but had no idea how to handle the rest.
Jeong-hyeon hadn't thought of it, clapped his hands, then grinned.
"If you're asking nicely, want me to handle disposal too?"
"Ah, that'd be great!"
Of course, not for free.
"But I'll take 5% commission on the proceeds."
Even then, Sunhyeong and the others smiled wider.
"Of course. You're not digging for profit here."
Them so eager to pay left Jeong-hyeon stunned instead.
From Sunhyeong's view, monster profits had soared thanks to Jeong-hyeon, so no qualms.
Both sides happy, the deal closed quickly.
They exchanged contacts, accounts, bags; Jeong-hyeon swapped contacts and parted.
Finally alone, Jeong-hyeon had business before heading to the workshop.
"Time to spend coins!"
Exhausted, he buzzed at the thought of hot shower, bed, then spending coins.
***
[「Trait Shop」(Lv.1)
Coins needed for next level: 8
Equippable Traits / Storage Capacity: 1/8
Trait Probabilities: F 70%, E 25%, D 3%, C 1.5%, B 0.5%, A 0%, S 0%
Shop List (Refresh cost: 2 coins)
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「Passable Swordsmanship」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Passable Punching」(F, Lv.1), 1C
「Faint Mana Sensitivity」(F, Lv.1), 1C
Current coins: 5]
"Kuh, the thrill is kicking in."
Back home, post-shower, Jeong-hyeon lay in bed and let out a satisfied groan.
Compared to the trait shop's overwhelming potential, the current list was pathetically meager, but it was ecstasy for him.
Five coins gathered after rolling in the gate all day, utterly exhausting, but worth it.
Five coins let him buy out the list and refresh once.
"Of course, I won't waste it like that."
Planning to use Cheol-yong's recommended mace for now, no need for blunt specialization yet.
These were unnecessary for the moment.
Mana sensitivity especially so.
Only one choice left.
Jeong-hyeon squeezed his eyes shut and refreshed the shop.
In his mind,
'Please B-rank. Please B-rank...'
Hoping for the highest possible from the current odds.
When he peeked at the refreshed window,
"Huh?"
The new list made his eyes fly open involuntarily.
No 0.5% miracle B-rank like a thug's wish.
Even so, Jeong-hyeon cheered.
"E-rank! E-raaaaank!"
"Quit the damn game already, you lunatic!"
Looks like the neighbor's peaceful night would be disturbed again tonight.