Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Golem's Land
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Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon, who had parted ways with Min-ji and returned home.
After sending an email roughly outlining the website's storyboard and the content to include, he leaned back in his chair and muttered.
"Trait info."
A simplified window displaying the current status of the trait shop appeared.
[「Trait Shop」(Lv.4)
Next level required coins: 76
Current coins: 3]
"Is level 5 seriously designed to be impossible?"
Jeong-hyeon grumbled—not quite a complaint, but close.
It had already been two months since he unlocked the synergy between Magic Enchantment and Mana Sensitivity.
No exaggeration—he had hunted like a madman nonstop during that time.
Even on the days he interviewed staff members in between, he scheduled hunts before and after, so coin losses were practically nonexistent.
Yet, only 76 coins remained.
No—subtract the 3 he had on hand, and it was 73.
He had definitely accumulated a fair amount of coins.
It just seemed like a lot were still left because of that.
But regardless of Jeong-hyeon's frustration, the results of his two months of relentless growth were undeniably substantial.
The status window, which had shown only brief info, soon transformed into a list of his current traits.
[Equippable Slots (7/7)
「Considerable Combat Sense」(D, Lv.4)
「Extremely Agile Movement」(C, Lv.4)
「Physical Ability Enhancement」(C, Lv.4)
「Ripe Throwing Skill」(C, Lv.5)
「Clear Magic Imbuement」(C, Lv.2)
「Excellent Movement Speed」(C, Lv.3)
「Useful Mana Sensitivity」(C, Lv.2)]
He had upgraded everything except Considerable Combat Sense to C-Rank.
If Combat Sense reached C-Rank, its synergy would naturally upgrade too, so it was a bit regrettable.
Even so, the proficiency levels had risen considerably.
The Throwing Skill he used most in hunts had finally hit level 5.
Its level-up pace was even faster than the agility traits he had acquired earlier.
On top of that, Magic Imbuement, Mana Sensitivity, and Movement Speed had each risen by one level.
'If I didn't have to watch my back, Magic Imbuement would've leveled up more.'
For Magic Imbuement, he couldn't dream of elemental magic and only occasionally mixed in neutral spells, so it had only just reached level 2 recently.
Considering that Mana Sensitivity, acquired around the same time, had already been at level 2 for a while, its growth was definitely slower.
And finally, the traits in storage.
[Storage Slots (6/11)
「Considerable Combat Sense」(D, Lv.1)
「Excellent Movement Speed」(C, Lv.1)
「Stealth Enough to Fool Goblins」(E, Lv.2)
「Useful Mana Sensitivity」(C, Lv.1)
「Clear Magic Imbuement」(C, Lv.1)
「Ripe Throwing Skill」(C, Lv.1)]
First, he expanded the storage slots by two.
He had never filled them to capacity, but more storage space was always better.
Coins weren't that tight anyway, so he bought them in advance to avoid future headaches.
He also stocked one each of most C-Rank traits as stepping stones to B-Rank.
It was no small change for two months of growth.
'Still, progress has definitely slowed.'
Compared to the explosive rise to level 4, it felt underwhelming.
76 coins to the next level wasn't insignificant—going from level 3 to 4 had taken 70.
And the real problem was elsewhere.
"I've cleared every gate worth farming around here."
From his home, he had stamped out most level 4 and 5 gates he could reach in a day.
Not just once or twice, either.
Local parties even recognized him now and welcomed him without question.
But easy party invites weren't the issue anymore.
One mountain after another—repeating the same gates had tanked his coin drop rate.
He used to get one coin every five kills at best; now, it took over ten.
Even if coin probability was visible, the absolute rate had halved, leaving him no choice.
"Three coins per hunt is way too low."
The three coins he had were from a full day of hunting recently.
And that was without slacking off.
The solution was simple.
Challenge gates he had skipped nearby, or move to a new area altogether.
'The best is hitting fresh gates entirely.'
Jeong-hyeon knew the answer.
Even switching regions, new monsters in level 4-5 gates weren't that plentiful.
Excluding unique local specialties, changing areas briefly wouldn't help much.
Those special gates were hard to join anyway.
With his thoughts settled, Jeong-hyeon closed the status window and logged into Hunter Net.
- [Lv.5] Recruiting for 'Golem's Land'.
"Never thought I'd stoop to hunting golems..."
The name alone made him sigh deeply.
Golems.
Jeong-hyeon could breeze through most level 5 gates half-asleep now, but he had avoided Golem gates for a simple reason.
They were his hard counter.
'Golem's Land' was nicknamed the 'Archer's Graveyard'.
Hunters in archer roles were utterly useless.
Jeong-hyeon, who relied on Throwing Skill, was in a similar boat.
Living creatures had standard weak points—hit them right with arrows or daggers, and efficiency soared.
Golems?
Unless you destroyed the randomly placed core inside, smashing the whole body did nothing.
And that body? Incredibly tough.
'Golem's Land' featured golems made of rock, ore, and every hard material imaginable.
Daggers, which dealt localized damage, hit a wall.
Even maces without Blunt mastery were useless.
That's why he saved it for last, even as other gates dried up.
'No choice now.'
Sticking to three coins per hunt would delay level-up by over a month.
He had no real golem experience, so difficulty was unknown, but he had to try.
Recent growth had boosted his confidence too.
"Tch, at my level... raw damage should handle it somehow."
Rationalizing it that way, he sent the application.
***
"Oh, I know this guy. We hunted together before, right?"
In front of the gate to 'Golem's Land'.
Party members gathered one by one for the group Jeong-hyeon joined.
Some recognized him.
"Hello. Weren't you with us for the acid slimes last time?"
"Yeah!"
Jeong-hyeon had rampaged through level 4-5 gates and hunted often with big guilds and the Association, but at this level, faces repeated.
Solo hunters in level 5 circles inevitably crossed paths.
That's how his name spread by word of mouth.
'Definitely easier finding parties after getting known.'
Early on, as an unregistered hunter, he faced suspicion and bias in open parties.
Now, those looks had faded.
Around here, he was known as the 'Unregistered Romantic'.
The hunter who recognized him had partied a couple more times too.
A versatile fire mage, so frequent encounters.
"Oh, you know him?"
"Of course. Throws daggers like a pro. Dodges like crazy too. Han Jeong-hyeon, right?"
"Yes."
The fire mage's endorsement shifted the party leader's gaze.
When Jeong-hyeon first applied, the leader had been subtly wary, though not outright.
- You've hunted a lot in level 5 gates... but unregistered. What's your specialty?
- Mainly Throwing Skill, backup mace, agility type so good evasion.
Then silence from the leader.
Probably thought, what kind of jack-of-all-trades is this?
Low-rank hunters did leverage physical boosts from traits for sales pitches.
Even honed to perfection through blood and sweat, they lagged behind specialized traits at higher ranks or peers, getting poor treatment—but survival demanded it.
Jeong-hyeon probably looked like one.
- Golem party with Throwing Skill... iffy, but sub-tank spot open. Can you sub-tank?
- Of course. Wasn't planning to throw at golems anyway.
- Hm... let's try it.
Thus, Jeong-hyeon's role was sub-tank, not dealer.
Originally, an axe-wielder handled close DPS and sub-tank.
Traits differed, but irrelevant to Jeong-hyeon.
Throwing might not work on golems, but self-preservation? No issue.
The recognizing hunter gave a worried look too.
"But Han Jeong-hyeon, golems are tough for you too... you sure?"
"Have to try."
"True, you're no slouch. Firepower's solid, so should be fine. Just evade well, we'll DPS from back."
"I'll hold the line."
The mood settled roughly like that.
In a 7-man party minus one healer: two tanks, Jeong-hyeon sub-tank, and three mages.
Two fire, one mana sensitivity.
Clear intent, strategy matching Jeong-hyeon's guess.
In the briefing room near the gate, the leader explained.
"Basic formation: 3-3-1. Three tanks front, three mages mid, healer last."
Standard, safe setup.
No archer spot—not just matchup, better extra tank there.
Golems averaged 5-6m tall, individual variance.
Their power overwhelmed single-tank parties.
Needed three for stability.
"Tanks hold front, mages probe slowly with attack spells to find core. You know: no big spells. Light hits to search."
"Got it."
Mages whittle surface slowly till core exposes, then sustained DPS.
Core defense low once found—easy.
"You know rushing golems leads to wipes? This nets enough today—no greed, play safe."
"Understood!"
Leader's final warning.
Rushing golems meant no haste—literal.
Greedy mage gaps in DPS? Reset from scratch.
Undestroyed core let golems regenerate surface fast.
Tanks overextend, lose aggro? Mages couldn't tank one hit—wipe.
Bloodthirsty parties eyeing golem materials for loot still featured in hunter training vids.
'Tch... no room for me to shine.'
In this plan, Jeong-hyeon had no spotlight.
Just faithful sub-tank.
Even he agreed.
Solid plan.
Until they entered the gate.