NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Villa district on the outskirts of Seoul.
A sedan with the Jeongjin Guild’s mark engraved on it slid into the front of one of the villas and stopped.
Of course, it was Jeonghyeon who got out of the car.
“Thank you for the ride. Goodbye.”
“Yes, Hunter Han Jeonghyeon, please go in. If you want to hunt together, please contact us anytime.”
“Oh, then I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t just empty words; Jeonghyeon really had no intention of hunting with Jeongjin carelessly.
Just look at Jin-wook’s eyes.
A gleam that clearly conveyed the message, ‘Is this the house you live in?’
He accepted this time because the conditions were good and he didn’t have any particular appointments, but he generally tried to avoid being indebted to others.
“Phew, he’s a scary person indeed.”
On the way home after parting ways with the Jeongjin Guild members.
“What is this really?”
Jeonghyeon looked down at the handle of the mace in his hand with a blank expression.
He knew that since it was a rental item, it wouldn’t be very durable, but he didn’t expect it to snap like this during the hunt without any warning.
“If I see Cheol-yong Ajusshi again, I won’t let him off the hook.”
Jeonghyeon threw the handle carelessly into a corner of the room and sprawled out on the bed.
Even if he said he wouldn’t let him off the hook, what could he do?
Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, Cheol-yong would probably insist on him paying for the repairs.
“By the way, the test results seem to be accurate.”
Jeonghyeon muttered, recalling the memories of the”Cursed Castle”.
According to the test results from the Association, he was at the top 25% level of D-Rank Level 3.
At first, he thought there would be some error, but through this hunt with D-Rank Hunters, he was able to get a sense of his level.
Sang-jun was definitely strong.
But what if they actually fought?
He didn’t think he would lose.
It wasn’t just because of the advantage of distance that came from Jeonghyeon being able to use Throwing Technique.
‘His movements were a bit slow too…… and above all, his judgment wasn’t good.’
Aside from his simple combat power, his level wasn’t much different from Seung-hyeok or Yu-jun, considering he was taking on the leader role alone.
Wouldn’t it be possible to fight even in close combat with just a mace?
He felt even more confident when he considered the effect of the improved synergy.
In fact, even that much showed that Jeonghyeon was at a fairly high level among D-Rank Level 3 Hunters.
Jeongjin wouldn’t have accepted a Hunter below average.
“Anyway…… even if I’m a D-Rank Level 3, I wouldn’t stand a chance against the Manager.”
The problem was C-Rank Seo Jin-wook.
What would it be like to fight him once?
Close combat would be out of the question, and even if Jeonghyeon used Throwing Technique, his only D-Rank trait, it wouldn’t be enough.
Considering Jin-wook’s movements in that brief moment, he couldn’t think of a way to win.
No matter how irregular Jeonghyeon was, the gap in rank couldn’t be easily narrowed down right now.
‘It was a good thing I hid my rank.’
He had raised his specs to a level incomparable to the beginning, but he was still far from C-Rank.
Moreover, it is said that the gap between ranks becomes incomparably larger as the rank increases.
If he had excitedly registered as an EX-Rank without knowing anything, by now……
‘I would have been caught somewhere or worked to death.’
He wouldn’t even dream of fair treatment.
Jeonghyeon had experienced enough to know that the world isn’t so generous to someone’s unknowingly obtained good fortune.
With a feeling of bitterness in his mouth, Jeonghyeon summoned the Trait Shop.
“Tsk, Trait Shop.”
Although he had invested a whopping 12 coins last time and only got one E-Rank trait, it was always a magical sight that made him feel good.
『「Trait Shop」（Lv.2）
Coins needed for next level: 10
Equippable Traits / Storable Traits: 0 / 6
Trait Probability: F 62%, E 30%, D 4.5%, C 2%, B 1%, A 0.4%, S 0.1%』
“Khh, this is it.”
Although nothing had really changed compared to before, just looking at the trait probability made his heart swell with pride.
Especially the probabilities of C-Rank or higher, which Jeonghyeon still didn’t have.
A ridiculous chance of 3.5% in total was given to Jeonghyeon.
Plus, there were 2 Agility traits on the verge of promotion in the storage.
These were the factors that made Jeonghyeon feel like a rich man.
“Let’s see how many coins I earned this time?”
But the highlight was, of course, the shop window where he could buy traits.
He was even more curious because he hadn’t been able to check the coins he earned in the last battle because he was too busy.
『Shop List（Refresh Cost: 2 Coins）
「Decent Durability」（F, Lv.1）, 1C
━
「Tingling Lightning Magic」（E, Lv.1）, 2C
「Wall Climbing that Clears Fences」（F）, 1C
「Poor Mana Sensitivity」（F, Lv.1）, 1C
Current Coins: 7』
A total of seven coins were collected from this hunt.
It wasn’t bad, although he had struggled a bit at the end.
“Wall Climbing? There’s something like that too?”
However, what caught Jeonghyeon’s eye was the Wall Climbing trait, which he couldn’t even guess what it was used for.
He had never even heard of a Hunter awakening with such a trait.
And, just like with Movement Speed, there were the magic traits that popped up from time to time.
To be honest, magic traits are attractive.
There’s no need to mention Jeonghyeon, who can equip multiple traits.
The reason why Jeonghyeon didn’t buy the Mana Sensitivity trait in the first place was simply because he couldn’t expect any particular effect from it alone.
But what if he equipped Mana Sensitivity along with other attribute magic?
It was clear that there would be more than just the effect of using the two traits together.
If he was lucky, he might even get synergy support from the system.
However, Jeonghyeon shook his head.
“It’s a bit late for that now. It’s a shame.”
Even if he bought a magic trait now, he wouldn’t be able to use it immediately.
There was the issue of slots, and he also had to be conscious of the eyes around him.
In this situation, wouldn’t it be better to level up later and buy a higher rank?
There was no need to buy low-rank traits that he wouldn’t use and fill up the storage.
『Would you like to refresh the list?』
Then all that was left was to refresh.
Jeonghyeon nodded.
As 2 coins were deducted, the list changed.
『「Poor Mana Sensitivity」（F, Lv.1）, 1C
「Poor Mana Sensitivity」（F, Lv.1）, 1C
「Hot Fire Magic」（E, Lv.1）, 2C
「Poor Movement Speed」（F, Lv.1）, 1C
「Decent Mana Sensitivity」（E, Lv.1）, 2C』
“……What? Is this a dream?”
However, Jeonghyeon blinked his eyes, unable to believe the contents of the list.
Was what he saw before his eyes reality?
It couldn’t be.
As if mocking his decision not to buy magic traits, the list was filled with related traits.
On top of that, the remaining one was Movement Speed.
“How is my luck this bad?”
Jeonghyeon recalled the previous list.
There was definitely one F-Rank Mana Sensitivity.
If he had bought that, he could have immediately upgraded it to E-Rank, and there was another E-Rank on the list.
It was as if he had thrown away the chance to reach D-Rank at once.
“No, if you were going to do this, you should have told me beforehand.”
Even if Mana Sensitivity was useless to Jeonghyeon now, it would be different at D-Rank.
It might even be more helpful to his senses-based combat style.
At that moment, Jeonghyeon remembered.
No matter how he planned it, this trait was a luck-based trash trait.
Everyone has a plan.
Until they see the next refreshed list.
Even if he realistically couldn’t use magic traits, what if an S-Rank magic trait suddenly appeared?
He would have to buy it immediately, regardless of what others thought.
“Sigh……”
Jeonghyeon let out a deep sigh.
Regretting it wouldn’t change the fact that he had already wasted the refresh.
‘Alright, I’ll have to endure it with grit and determination.’
With that mindset, he tried rolling the list once more, but the result was only more disastrous.
Even though he had 3 coins left, the sight of F-Ranks made him lose all desire to spend them.
“Oh, whatever.”
In the end, Jeonghyeon left the 3 coins as they were and threw himself onto the bed.
He felt too disgusted to do anything else.
The fatigue that had washed over him after receiving Jin-wook’s healing was also clamoring for attention.
He couldn’t expect an immediate increase in combat power unless a Trait Expansion Ticket appeared anyway, and
even if he used up all the remaining coins, it wouldn’t be enough to level up a trait.
“I guess it’s a sign from God to take it easy……”
Jeonghyeon fell asleep before he knew it.
◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈
━R r r
“Ugh, who is it? I was just about to sleep…… I won’t let you off the hook……”
Jeonghyeon woke up to the sound of a text message alarm on his phone.
Jeonghyeon, who had just fallen asleep, frowned as he was unexpectedly woken up.
However, the time displayed on his phone screen was already 10 a.m. the next morning.
Jeonghyeon had come home around 7 p.m. the previous day, so he must have slept for at least 14 hours, even at a minimum estimate.
“Oh.”
The sender of the message was Manager Seo Jin-wook.
Jeonghyeon, wondering what was going on so early in the morning, opened the message and his eyes widened.
━Hello, Hunter-nim. I’ve deposited the settlement amount into your account. Please check. ^^
The unpleasant memories of yesterday melted away in an instant, and
only a smile remained on Jeonghyeon’s face.
“Already? As expected of a large corporation.”
The settlement amount was deposited the very next day after the hunt.
Jeonghyeon checked his balance on the banking app and confirmed that Jin-wook’s words were true.
━15,707,000 Jeongjin Guild
“Wow……”
With this, the amount in Jeonghyeon’s account, including the previous Rock Spider settlement, reached almost 30 million won.
In fact, the most definite proof to Jeonghyeon that he had become a Hunter wasn’t his traits or Hunter ID, but the amount in his bank account.
‘I guess I really did become a Hunter.’
Even when he was working at the workshop, the pay wasn’t bad, but it was still difficult to save up this much money.
Whenever he managed to save a little, it would be withdrawn on the loan repayment date, so how could he possibly save?
It was fortunate that the terms of the Mana Awakening Procedure loan were lenient; if it had been a regular loan, becoming a credit delinquent would have been a piece of cake.
“Even after making this month’s payment…… I guess I’ll have about 20 million left?”
In short, he couldn’t even imagine saying something like this before.
However, Jeonghyeon couldn’t just be happy about the money.
The handle of the broken mace caught his eye like a thorn.
For a Hunter to earn money, they need to hunt, and to hunt, they need good equipment.
Although the importance of Dagger Skill had increased significantly, his main weapon was still the mace.
Since his main weapon was broken, he naturally had to get new equipment, and that wouldn’t be cheap.
Jeonghyeon let out a deep sigh and raised his head.
He had no choice but to visit the Hunter Workshop again.
‘I’ll return the rental equipment while I’m there…… Ugh, how much will a new weapon cost?’
There’s an old saying that goes,”Work like a dog and spend like a lord,”but this was more like working like a dog and spending like a dog.
When he became a Hunter, he thought he would be able to live a more affluent life than before, but
far from being affluent, it felt like he was spending all his money on equipment and living a more impoverished life than before.
‘This time, there won’t be a discount from Master Doil either.’
Even though he seemed to have a good impression of him, he seemed to be strict about payments, so there wouldn’t be a drastic discount like before.
Even last time, he had bought the dagger set at the regular price.
But worrying would only delay the purchase.
Since he had decided to spend money, he had to get his weapons ready immediately, as he didn’t know when he might have to go on a hunt.
Having made up his mind, Jeonghyeon got up from his seat and headed towards the bathroom with a dignified gait.
Thump, thump, thump━
However, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of anger in his footsteps.