If you forgot about description about Jeonghyun’s attributes, here’s a dedicated page about his attributes! Here->
***
A sunny day within the grassy gate.
In a party of eight taking a break after a hunt in the meadow-like gate, two members, looked on each other’s eye, stood up from their resting spot.
“We’ll go scout for a bit.”
“Oh, sure! We really appreciate that!”
In the wide grassland gate where parties had to roam freely without a set path, scouting was crucial.
Without scouting, there was a risk of encountering a massive monster horde beyond their abilities or ending up doing nothing until the gate usage time was over.
For optimal efficiency, it was best to scout during the rest time to find the next horde.
However, scouting right after a challenging battle wasn’t an easy decision. That’s why, generally, it was customary to rest first and then scout. So, the two offering to scout was genuinely appreciated by the remaining party members.
As the two left, the others engaged in small talk.
The main topic, of course, was the departed pair.
“Doesn’t Youngjun and Jooyoung seem nice? Honestly, most people like them already have guilds or fixed parties.”
“Yeah, they’re both Level 2 in E-Rank, right?”
“Much better than a Level 1 D-rank like me.”
The current location was the ‘Cobalt Meadow,’ a gate with monsters of Level 2 or below. Youngjun and Jooyoung, both Level 2 E-rank hunters, had recruited others mainly focusing on Level 1 beginners.
In such cases, experienced high-level hunters usually dominated the distribution regardless of grades.
However, Youngjun and Jooyoung not only suggested equal distribution but also excelled in abilities despite their E-rank.
It felt like they were being generous by helping newbies.
“It’s probably around the end of Level 2. They’ve been Level 2 for quite some time.”
“I didn’t know they were that good for their rank. But even tired, they’re still went to scout.”
“Maybe they’re a couple. They came together last time too. Probably trying to have a date with a good view.”
“Ugh, as much as I want to have a girlfriend, I can’t do that. Imagine meeting a kobold while kissing.”
People burst into laughter at the man’s comment, who seemed to be complaining about love.
Indeed, the scenery was beautiful. If such a place existed on Earth, it would likely be swarmed with tourists.
It was a good dating spot, excluding the significant drawback of the possibility of encountering kobolds, the main monsters in this gate.
Much imagination was spent on the absent couple’s love story.
Just as the remaining group was chatting away, screams echoed from beyond the hill where Youngjun and Jooyoung had gone for scouting.
“Ah, run away!”
Not long after, two figures appeared, chased by kobolds that had turned into a hunting party.
“What’s happening?!”
Despite being caught off guard while relaxing, people grabbed their weapons and prepared for battle.
“Help, help!”
Having recently awakened, their lack of experience became apparent. If they were experienced hunters, they might have quickly formed a defensive line and avoided the impending crisis.
Kobolds, although considered monsters of a similar level to goblins, overwhelmed them. The group, still recovering from the fatigue of the previous battle, was not prepared to face the sudden horde.
Before they could even organize themselves for battle, kobolds were charging in, and the unexpected attack unfolded.
Just as the last kobold was about to land a blow on the man who had earlier joked about kissing, a swift swing of an axe severed its head.
“Kya-”
The kobold’s head flew off just as Youngjun and Jooyoung approached.
“Now, let’s clean up.”
A voice filled with laughter echoed as the kobolds that had swarmed in were swiftly defeated.
And the ones killing the kobolds were none other than Youngjun and Jooyoung.
Youngjun skillfully swung his axe among the kobolds, while Jooyoung, from a distance, continuously casted spells without rest.
Their skills seemed far superior to when they were hunting earlier. Their abilities were now on full display.
“Grr…”
As the last kobold gasped for breath, Youngjun and Jooyoung approached the surviving man.
Looking at Youngjun, covered in kobold blood, he resembles that of a demon.
“Why… why on earth…”
The man repeated the question, unable to understand the current situation.
“Why? Well…”
Youngjun smirked as if to say, “Why ask such an obvious question?”
Picking up his axe beside the kobold he had just killed, he continued, “It was fun.”
That was the last thing the man heard.
Youngjun mercilessly hacked away at the man’s head with an axe, just as Kobalt had originally intended.
“Look at this guy, peeing himself. Pathetic.”
Jooyoung, poking the man’s corpse with his shoe, commented as she pinched her nose with her thumb and index finger.
“Not the first or second time I’ve seen this kind of thing.”
Youngjun replied nonchalantly.
“More importantly, it seems like we’re getting some attention now. It might be time to lay low.”
“Oh, already?”
Jooyoung raised an eyebrow.
Youngjun nodded.
“Yeah, they’ve posted everything suspicious on the HunterNet. Bunch of bored kids.”
“Ugh… annoying. But I guess we can do it once more, right?”
Jooyoung grumbled and absentmindedly kicked the ground.
The thick soil, stained with the oozing blood, was churned up.
Youngjun chuckled and replied, “Of course. Let’s have one more round and then get out.”
They smeared each other’s bodies with blood, dirt, and dust, not forgetting to inflict some superficial wounds.
Finally, they exchanged the unrecognizable Hunter IDs of the deceased hunters with their own.
“Now you’re Park Gareng.”
“And you?”
“Seo Hanseok.”
“Sounds good.”
“Both D-rank this time. No need to go overboard.”
After roughly assessing the information, Jooyoung used magic to alter the facial features in the ID photos provided by Youngjun.
Admiring Jooyoung’s magically transformed face, Youngjun exclaimed, “The more I see it, the more amazing it is. How do you do this?”
“Isn’t it something anyone can do?”
And with that, they exchanged frivolous banter and left through the exit.
“Hey, are you okay? What about others? Medical team here!”
However, when they exited the gate, they appeared to be survivors of an unexpected incident at the gate.
***
“Phew, is this enough?”
After finishing reading from F-rank to D-rank attributes, Jeonghyun closed the HunterNet window.
Of course, the page contained only the most well-known attributes, so rare ones might not be listed.
But those were probably unlikely to appear in the store anyway.
The names of the attributes were quite easy to see through, so he felt confident he could judge them on the spot.
“Ah, studying after such a long time makes my head spin.”
Jeonghyun leaned back in his chair and stretched, yawning.
In fact, all the work he had done since graduating from school until now had been manual labor in a workshop.
Planning and thinking about the future like this was unfamiliar to him.
However, attributes were complicated, making it impossible for him to live his life as he pleased if he did’t study them.
“Attribute Store.”
With the chair leaned back, Jeonghyun called up the store window.
The store window displayed two empty slots, waiting to be filled.
If he had to point out what was hindering his growth right now, it was this.
“I can’t ignore this either.”
He didn’t know whether each slot for abilities would expand each time he level up.
But for now, it was one of the reasons why he couldn’t just buy any attribute that caught his eye.
Ring!
At that moment, Jeonghyun’s phone vibrated.
“Hmm?”
When Jeonghyun glanced at it, he saw a message from Sunghyung.
<<I confirmed the money you sent! Thanks to you, our income has increased a lot. If our schedules match next time, can we go hunting together again?>>
He didn’t know how much they earned in a day before, but it was probably doubled, at least.
Jeonghyun chuckled and sent a casual reply.
They weren’t bad people, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go hunting with them again if the timing worked out.
“But who knows what I’ll be dealing with them, probably like fighting zombies or skeletons again.”
Jeonghyun had no intention of smashing skeletons’ heads in at the moment.
Even with the E-rank ability “Physical Ability Slight Enhancement” he had obtained, looking back on the battles with zombies and skeletons, he couldn’t help but sigh.
At that time, he thought he had shown optimal movements, but there were too many unnecessary details.
Of course, back then, he couldn’t reduce those mistakes.
“The differences between ranks are too significant.”
As he turned back, the sharp realization hit him more about the limits of rank and levels than his own capabilities.
With significant differences in characteristics based on rank and levels, and only three applicable attributes?
Well, Jeonghyun was clear about the goal he should aim for with the coins he would earn in the future.
He looked at the list of attributes stored in the saveable attributes under the attributes shop, even though they were not currently in use.
[“Meager Combat Sense” (F, Lv.1)]
A copy of the attribute that he was currently using.
Since the issue was the experience points for leveling up, he had no choice but to gather attributes of the same to raise its rank, even if he was reluctant.
The E-rank Attribute corresponding to the “Meager” series of combat senses was also a common qualifier attached to the E-rank – the “Decent” series.
[“Decent Combat Sense” (E, Lv.1)]
Of course, it might be possible to get it on the next refresh of the store list, but the percentage of getting it was low.
The priority was clear – he had to raise the rank of the attributes he currently possessed.
And to achieve that, he knew exactly what to do.
“I need to go to the gate.”
To earn coins, he had to hunt at the gate. Ignoring the significant profits compared to his days as a by-product processing worker was not an option.
Jeonghyun turned on the internet and connected to HunterNet again.
Then he started looking for a suitable place for himself on the bulletin board recruiting party members.
“Avoid skeletons and zombies…”
Certainly, the gates with lower-level undead monsters were the most abundant, but Jeonghyun postponed that for now.
The probability of coins dropping decreased with the same monsters.
Of course, the decrease might be insignificant after hunting once or twice, but he needed to aim for maximum profit.
Ideally, monsters weaker than lower-level undead but still helpful for experience were preferable.
“Like goblins, for example.”
However, finding a goblin gate might not be easy, as they were quite popular.
While scrolling and thinking about it, Jeonghyun’s eyes casually landed on one of the posts.
– Recruiting individuals for gates with goblins, level 2 or lower, in the Seoul area. Rank and levels don’t matter.
This was almost like a tailor-made post for Jeonghyun.
If there were still spots available, he needed to contact them quickly, he thought, quickly reading through the post.
– Recruiting temporary members for goblin hunt through a guild request. Two D-rank hunters at the end of level 2 will help you safely hunt. No distribution disadvantages. Recruiting with the mindset of helping the talented, so we prefer two lower-level newbies. ^^
“Wow, insane. Are these people really angels?”
The conditions were so appealing that it made Jeonghyun’s head spin.
Two D-rank hunters for goblin hunting?
It was more than enough.
Moreover, they even distributed it evenly, claiming to be a bus driver?
The one who will miss this was a fool.
Jeonghyun quickly sent a message to the phone number registered in the post.
– Hello, I saw the HunterNet recruitment post. Is it really okay regardless of grade and level?
The reply came back quickly.
– Yes ^^
– Can you send a picture of your hunter’s license?
– Picture
– Picture
And the author sent two pictures of their hunter’s license.
Certainly, their attributes were D-rank level 1, and there were no traces of forgery.
‘What’s the point of forging anyway.’
Despite feeling a slight discomfort due to the too-good-to-be-true conditions, nothing major was likely to happen on HunterNet, where identities were revealed.
Moreover, ‘What if someone else takes the spot while I hesitate?’
The hunter’s society was, after all, a competitive society where one’s position could be taken away at any moment.
Gambler’s mindset lol