Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Cleric Class
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The 'Cleric' class was a rare job that couldn't be obtained just by chasing after it.
Many hunters, realizing the importance of healers, aimed to switch to Cleric, but pretending to have deep faith on the surface was completely useless.
Only hunters who demonstrated genuine devotion and sincere selflessness could finally transfer to 'Cleric.'
No wonder there was a saying that if the job was just 'Cleric,' you passed the interview without needing to look at anything else.
It was as good as a blank check, not only in parties but in trades as well.
Clerics enjoyed immense trust among hunters—plenty of people would do business just based on the class alone.
"I never imagined I'd get this class from smashing skeleton skulls."
He'd never even heard of a case like that.
Perhaps it was because outside, skeletons had never appeared in such numbers all at once.
"Long-term, it's a good outcome, but..."
Cleric wasn't a great class for solo dungeon runs.
Skills skewed toward support and defense might offer stability, but fast hunting was impossible.
"For the time being, I'll have to rely on this bat."
Without skills to hit multiple monsters at once, he'd have to keep smashing them one by one like before.
The silver lining was that the baseball bat's power outperformed any other item.
With a normal weapon, taking on over a hundred skeletons like earlier would have been utterly impossible.
"Heal."
When Kang Jin-hyuk tested the skill on himself, he felt his fatigue ease somewhat.
Just as he'd heard, the Heal skill not only restored health but also relieved weariness.
Feeling reenergized, Kang Jin-hyuk stood and ventured deeper into the labyrinth.
With all the skeletons cleared, no more monsters appeared.
Relaxing as he scanned the depths, Kang Jin-hyuk soon spotted a silvery mineral emitting a faint blue glow.
Judging by the traces of someone having partially mined it, it was almost certainly mithril.
"To think minerals are embedded in these stone walls—this place is so unpredictable."
Kang Jin-hyuk pulled the pickaxe the dwarf had given him from his inventory.
"Hup."
Swinging it with all his might, chunks of the mineral shattered and flew off.
"Was mithril always this brittle?"
He couldn't tell yet whether the pickaxe was exceptionally strong or if mithril was just a soft metal.
After mining enough to hug a full armload, no more similar minerals were visible nearby.
He experimentally dug at the surrounding earth with the pickaxe, but only ordinary dirt came out.
It seemed the amount the dwarf had left behind was all there was.
"Well... this should be plenty."
Kang Jin-hyuk stored the mined mithril in his inventory and retraced his steps in the opposite direction, heading outward.
* * *
After exiting the black wall and passing through the gate to the first floor, Kang Jin-hyuk soon arrived at the dwarf's smithy.
The dwarf, who had been resting in a chair, stood up upon seeing Kang Jin-hyuk's face.
"You actually made it back without croaking?"
"Is that what you say to someone who went through hell?"
"Hey, man, can't you take a joke?"
The dwarf chuckled heartily and held out his hand to Kang Jin-hyuk.
"Hand it over. Since you brought some, I'll whip up something killer for you."
Kang Jin-hyuk paused as he was about to hand over all the mithril he'd mined.
Instead, he took out only about two-thirds and passed it to the dwarf.
"Here you go."
"That all there was?"
"I dug around more, but nothing else like this turned up."
"Tch, looks like that labyrinth's tapped out now."
The dwarf accepted the mithril without suspicion.
"Alright, let's start with your gear."
Before tossing the mithril into the furnace to melt, the dwarf tossed out a question.
"Any special features you want?"
"Hmm... it'd be great if it weren't too flashy."
"That much is simple."
As the dwarf lit the furnace, an intense heat filled the smithy.
Unable to withstand the sweltering air—hotter than a sauna—Kang Jin-hyuk backed away.
He'd only stood there briefly, but his whole body was already drenched in sweat.
"How does that old man work in this heat without even taking off his shirt, fur and all?"
The sight of the hairy dwarf stoking the furnace fully clothed was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Figuring it would take quite a while, Kang Jin-hyuk stepped out of the labyrinth.
It was late anyway, so he planned to get some sleep and wake up refreshed.
"Six hours or so should do it."
Kang Jin-hyuk set an alarm, lay down on the bed, and his eyes closed on their own.
Before he could even think about washing up first, he plunged into the world of sleep.
When he opened his eyes again.
His smartphone was blaring an alarm and vibrating noisily by his bedside.
"Slept like a rock for once."
Without waking even once in between, no less.
It was the first time since turning twenty-three.
"Did I overdo it with the physical exertion?"
Heal had taken care of the bodily fatigue, but his weary mind was another story.
Kang Jin-hyuk hurriedly finished washing up, changed clothes, and immediately headed into the attic room.
The moment he entered the labyrinth, a fierce heat hit him.
The heat pouring from the smithy had spread throughout the entire labyrinth over time.
"It's a total steam bath in here..."
The goblins he encountered in the labyrinth were wilting pathetically, unable to handle the heat.
Kang Jin-hyuk hunted the goblins, who couldn't even put up a fight, as he made his way to the smithy.
By the time he arrived, the dwarf had just finished his work.
Spotting Kang Jin-hyuk, the dwarf waved a hand.
"Where've you been? Out doing what?"
"Uh, just had some quick business."
He couldn't admit he'd passed out sleeping, or he'd get an earful.
Avoiding the dwarf's gaze, Kang Jin-hyuk's eyes fell on the object on the table.
The chainmail, linked with fine chains, gave off the same faint blue sheen as the mithril he'd found in the cave.
"Could this be..."
"Yeah, your armor. Since you didn't want it flashy, I made it so you can wear it underneath."
As soon as Kang Jin-hyuk picked up the chainmail, a message appeared before his eyes.
[You have picked up a Unique item.]
A Unique item—one rank higher than Rare!
Kang Jin-hyuk barely suppressed the cheer rising in his throat.
[Mithril Chainmail]
Rank: Unique
Description: Chainmail crafted with care by a dwarf. Light and sturdy.
[Unique Effect]
50% Physical Damage Reduction
50% Magic Damage Reduction
Confirming the item's description, Kang Jin-hyuk could truly feel why it was Unique-ranked.
Even a 20% damage reduction made for top-tier Rare gear.
But this armor provided a whopping 50%.
And it halved both physical and magic damage without discrimination.
He'd briefly suspected mithril might be as common as orichalcum, but that thought vanished completely.
"Whoa..."
Trying on the chainmail, it fit perfectly, as if sizes had been measured in advance.
For armor, it wasn't all that heavy, and he could completely conceal it under outer clothes.
Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't help thinking an item this good was almost too easy to obtain.
"Thanks, Uncle!"
"Forget the thanks—take this instead."
What the dwarf handed over next was a large barrel fitted with various strange devices.
"What's this?"
"Can't tell? It's a keg."
"A keg? Were you planning to make a keg?"
"Yeah, I combined it with the mithril you brought and finished it."
"So you can brew booze in this?"
"Nah, you take it. I quit drinking."
Kang Jin-hyuk tilted his head at the dwarf's words.
"You were chugging it down yesterday."
"That was just me sampling what you brought for once."
"Then why'd you make this?"
"Why make it? 'Cause I felt like it."
"..."
Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't comprehend, but that was dwarves for you.
They were a race satisfied purely by the act of creation itself.
"I wouldn't even know how to brew with something like this..."
"I know, kid. Like I'd expect the guy who brings swill like that to know brewing."
The dwarf grumbled, still queasy at the memory of the taste.
It must have really not sat well with him.
"Just dump that bug-piss booze of yours in there. It'll bring out the flavor."
"Huh? That's possible?"
"Don't believe me? Have a taste."
The dwarf poured some of Kang Jin-hyuk's soju, which he'd already put in the keg beforehand, into a cup and handed it over.
Tasting it skeptically, Kang Jin-hyuk nearly dropped the cup in shock.
"Wh-what is this? Is this really soju?"
It was so good that he finally understood why the dwarf had reacted that way to his soju.
If you'd grown up tasting something like this, the booze sold outside would naturally seem like trash.
"Kuhahaha! Now you get what real booze tastes like?"
It was astounding.
Not only did he crank out Unique-grade armor like it was nothing, but he even made a keg that transformed flavors.
To Kang Jin-hyuk, the dwarf looked like a robot from the future with a fourth-dimensional pocket.
"Does any booze turn into this when you put it in?"
"Nope, only that clear stuff you brought. It pairs perfectly."
The moment he heard that, a single plan flashed into Kang Jin-hyuk's mind.
* * *
Having received the keg from the dwarf, Kang Jin-hyuk was filled with strong conviction.
'This is gonna make bank!'
The baseball bat and armor were too good to sell, but the booze was different.
With the keg, he could produce booze of this quality endlessly, so massive profits were within reach.
His thoughts having reached that point, Kang Jin-hyuk stepped out of the attic room and immediately called Lee Jun-cheol.
[Yes, Mr. Kang Jin-hyuk? What can I do for you?]
"I have something I want to sell, so I called."
[What monster corpse is it this time?]
"Kobold corpses... and booze."
[Booze?]
Lee Jun-cheol doubted his own ears.
Selling booze that wasn't even monster-related?
[What's the brand?]
"I brewed it myself."
[...I'll be waiting at the office.]
Lee Jun-cheol pressed a hand to his forehead.
He had to humor valuable clients, but trying to sell homemade booze?
This must be why people say business is tough.
But his thinking changed completely after Kang Jin-hyuk arrived at the office.
The booze Kang Jin-hyuk had brought in bottles looked like ordinary beer at a glance.
But the moment the cap was opened, a rich aroma unlike any normal beer assaulted Lee Jun-cheol's senses.
"You... brewed this yourself?"
Kang Jin-hyuk nodded instead of answering.
Lee Jun-cheol poured some into a glass and examined it from all angles.
No matter how he looked, the color was beer-like, but the aroma was something else entirely.
After a moment's hesitation, Lee Jun-cheol steeled himself and cautiously took a sip.
Just like Kang Jin-hyuk the first time he'd tasted it, Lee Jun-cheol's face lit up in astonishment.
"What do you think? Think it'll sell?"
To Kang Jin-hyuk's question, Lee Jun-cheol answered without a moment's pause.
"It'll sell. This will absolutely sell."
Having drunk all sorts during his gang days, Lee Jun-cheol was certain.
The booze Kang Jin-hyuk brought had deeper flavor and aroma than anything he'd ever tasted.
Using it for client entertainment and promoting it as a premium brand would make it sell like hotcakes.
"How much were you thinking of selling it for?"
"You set the price. I just want my cut of the profits."
"...So, 7-3?"
Kang Jin-hyuk shook his head and held up eight fingers.
He didn't need to spell out what that meant.