Chapter 23: Gearing Up at Home

Returning home, he immediately opened his inventory, pulled out the items, and equipped his gear. To check his stats for hunting, he even drew his weapon.

With the dizzying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠messages flashing, he finished equipping everything and opened his status window.

"Haha..."

Taemin chuckled involuntarily as he checked his status window. His stats had skyrocketed to an incomparable level compared to before. Now, most monsters would drop dead with a single slash, no skills needed. On top of that, his movement speed and evasion had surged, granting him even quicker maneuvers and agility. His mana had exploded too, widening his options for skill usage dramatically.

Wearing a satisfied grin, Taemin closed the status window and opened his skill window.

Thanks to the set effect, every skill except Insight had leveled up once.

"Whoa, look at that movement speed. 180? That's car-level, right?"

Taemin stuck out his tongue in awe, closed the skill window, and sank into thought.

"Hmm. What's next? A raid? Nah, got my gear already. Time to hit intermediate?"

To learn about intermediate dungeons, Taemin sat down at his computer.

"Intermediate... intermediate..."

It hadn't been long since he'd last browsed, but he quickly found info on intermediate dungeons. There were four in total:

Philadia Mountains.

Crystal Plateau.

Robot Base.

Abandoned Ruins.

First, Philadia Mountains were the easiest for hunting compared to the others. No attribute-based monsters appeared. Even the strongest attacks mean nothing if attributes don't match, so from intermediate dungeons on, you must gear up per attribute for each hunting ground. The cheapest attribute gear on the market cost around 3 billion won each—impossible without being a chaebol. That's why Philadia Mountains were mainly used by low-budget hunters fresh out of beginner dungeons.

Next, Robot Base. Also no attributes, all neutral monsters. The difference? Their armor was top-tier.

Then Crystal Plateau. This marked the true start of intermediate dungeons. Blanketed in snow and crystals, attribute gear was essential. Without it, no party would take you. The silver lining: all monsters had one attribute, so one set sufficed.

Finally, Abandoned Ruins. The pinnacle of intermediate difficulty. All four basic attributes mixed in, plus tanky large monsters—most hunters wouldn't dare.

"No necklace yet, so only two options for now? Stock up on potions first."

The next day, Taemin headed to the Desert Zone for hunting. He'd blown all his cash on gear, so no raids. Instead, he swept materials from the hills.

With his agility over 200, monsters split in one slash even without Hydeger.

After a few days, he had 400 million won again. He dumped it all into potions.

"Money? I can farm more there."

The next day, Taemin left early, activated his map, and set Philadia Mountains—closest intermediate dungeon—as destination. He drove to a remote mountain near Seoul.

At the portal, he equipped from inventory, double-checked everything, and stepped toward it with anticipation.

Right then, a stranger's voice came from behind.

"Hey."

Taemin paused and turned. Two men about his age eyed him suspiciously. Greatswords on backs, swords at waists—they were hunters too.

"Yeah?"

Taemin responded reflexively. They scanned him head to toe, then spoke.

"You going in?"

"Yeah. Problem...?"

"Our guild's using it in two days. Go somewhere else."

"Pardon?"

Taemin stared, baffled. Two days from now, so fuck off?

"I got here first..."

The front guy sighed annoyedly as Taemin didn't budge.

"Hey? First time in an intermediate dungeon?"

"Yeah. Our guild manages this."

"What does that—"

"We use it, others can't."

Taemin gawked, incredulous. He'd read about portal management, but it was an unspoken rule—no legal right to exclude others.

He scoffed. "Portals aren't owned. You pay rent or what?"

"Government approved us to manage it, so yeah, ours."

"I thought it was just entry control for civilians."

"Ugh, this guy's dense. Our rule. Just go. Don't wanna see you hurt."

"But the law—"

Shing!

The sword pressed against Taemin's throat. Caught off guard, he froze.

"Wh-what the—"

"Last warning. Go."

"Ha..."

Taemin laughed at the absurdity, then rage boiled. Not just the blade—it meant no one but their guild could use this dungeon.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

What kind of bullshit is this? Thugs in modern times?

Unconsciously, his right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand gripped his sword. They'd drawn first; he was ready to strike if needed.

Just under 3 meters apart, tension crackled.

Then Taemin turned away, ending the standoff.

No matter what, blades between people? Over this?

Win or lose didn't matter. He hated spilling blood over petty shit with fellow humans, not monsters.

Fine. Other places exist.

He walked off without a word. After five minutes...

"Still, it's ridiculous. How's it theirs?"

Resolved, Taemin climbed back up and hid near the portal. The men still guarded, scanning sides.

You play dirty? I got ways too.

He cast Invisible instantly. His body vanished.

He approached them unseen.

Even up close, they noticed nothing.

As expected.

Right before entering, he kicked the ass of the guy who'd threatened him.

Eat this.

Thwack!

"Argh!"

The man tumbled into the portal with a scream. Faint voices trailed.

"Did you just get hit?"

"What nonsense? Heatstroke?"