As they ventured deeper into the cave, stronger Rock Spiders appeared. It seemed crucial to pick the right moment to engage in battle.
Sunhyung provided a brief overview of the cave and its inhabitants. Although individual members likely conducted their research before going to the gate, giving a summary of the monster they are engaged with is just a reminder to have common knowledge about it.
After Sunhyung finished speaking, Jeonghyun wanted to confirm something.
“I heard that the boss monster can respawn in this cave. Any information on that?”
“Oh, according to the Association, the respawn cycle just passed not long ago. But there’s no confirmation since they couldn’t find any signs of the boss respawning even after sending a team inside. Well, it’s not a popular gate, so they might not have been thorough with their search.”
“Hmm…”
Jeonghyun pondered, a sense of unease lingering. The fact that a boss monster hadn’t respawned, despite the cycle passing, raised concerns. While it was a low probability, boss-level monsters sometimes mutated upon respawning, making them unexpectedly strong to face. Even if it was unlikely, Jeonghyun couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
“Anyway, we won’t be going deep enough to encounter the boss, so even if it’s there, we won’t run into it.”
Sunhyung reassured him with a smile, but Jeonghyun was not reassured enough.
“More importantly, Jeonghyun.”
At Sunhyung’s call, Jeonghyun turned his head. Sunhyung awkwardly smiled and asked, “Can you dismantle Rock Spiders?”
“I’ve done it a few times before. It’s been a while, but I thought I’d give it another try this time.”
“Ah, well then…”
Sunhyung sent a subtle look, making his intentions clear. Jeonghyun responded with a knowing smile, saying the things Sunhyung wanted to hear without making a fuss.
“Rock Spiders go for around 800,000 won. (around 615 USD)”
“Wow! 800,000 won?”
The expressions of the party members brightened. The bounty for Rock Spiders was originally around 300,000 won, several times higher than that of zombies, indicating the increased difficulty.
While Sunhyung and Jeonghyun discussed the bounty, Sangsoo, who had been listening with dissatisfaction, interjected, “You know how to dismantle them?”
“Yes, I used to work in a workshop before becoming a hunter.”
Since it wasn’t a secret, Jeonghyun answered immediately.
How else could he explain his dismantling skills?
But Sangsoo lifted the corner of his mouth, as if he had caught onto something.
“Ah, that makes sense. You used to work in a workshop. That must have been tough.”
Sangsoo’s intentions were apparent. However, Jeonghyun remained unfazed, silently observing Sangsoo.
“So there was a reason why Sunhyung called an F-rank Hunter.”
Sangsoo, seemingly satisfied with mocking him, didn’t add anything more but instead let out a snort.
“Hey, what are you talking about?”
“Jeonghyun, Sangsoo didn’t mean any harm—”
“Oh, it’s okay. I understand.”
Jeonghyun let out a nonchalant smile. There was no need to react to such petty provocations. He had already faced enough challenges from society.
F-rank Hunter, a mocking tone? If someone was genuinely a power hunter, they wouldn’t resort to such cheap taunts. Besides, Jeonghyun had an EX-rank attribute, unknown to everyone.
‘Well, I don’t get why he’s acting like that.’
Despite just joining a giant guild, he seemed to not possess the bearing of someone being part of it. Thinking so, Jeonghyun’s attitude was gradually becoming more relaxed, especially when dealing with Sangsoo’s provocations.
‘But, why not teach him a lesson for mocking me?’
Understanding Sangsoo’s intentions and turning a blind eye were two different things.
“Jeonghyun, Sangsoo stop that. Let’s faace the Rock Spider first.”
Sunhyung let out a sigh of relief, even if the two had some friction, their skills were not something he could compare to.
Sangsoo, who was quite the opposite, didn’t say much, but Jeonghyun looks at him and ask.
“Can you aim for the Rock Spider’s forehead or third leg? Doesn’t matter left or right.”
“The third leg?”
Out of the blue, Jeonga curiously asked a question.
Jeonghyun recalled the memory from the day he visited the workshop upon receiving a call from Sunhyung.
The workshop he worked before wasn’t well-equipped for dealing with Rock Spiders, so he followed the introduction of the team leader and visited another workshop.
“Are you Jeonghyun, the Hunter? I got a call from Dayoung! It’s rare to see someone from the workshop become a hunter, I feel proud!”
People in the workshop seemed to share a similar temperament. They welcomed him with cheerful laughter and pats on the back, making Jeonghyun feel a sense of camaraderie.
“Well, it’s just E-rank, nothing special. Thanks anyway. Oh, is that the Rock Spider?”
“Yes. Feel free to take a good look before you go.”
“Ugh, it does look quite gross.”
Although Jeonghyun prided himself on having resistance to most monsters, the Rock Spider he encountered in person was truly horrifying.
Despite its name suggesting a smooth, rock-like surface, its dark, thick, purplish exoskeleton emitted a strange odor.
Irregularly protruding from its body were large and small holes, and its face had ten eyes arranged like a baseball, with eight legs ending in sharp blades.
Even though Jeonghyun had seen a few of these spiders when they were available in his previous workshop, he kept his distance, being a newbie at the time.
Chuckling loudly, the team leader of this workshop, who had welcomed him with a pat on the back, turned and said, “Ugh, a bit creepy, isn’t it? But you’ll find it cute the more you look. Come on, take a closer look.”
‘How can that be considered cute?’
It was a ridiculous statement, but Jeonghyun decided to learn about the creature’s characteristics by following the team leader.
Fortunately, the team leader, having dealt with Rock Spiders for a long time, shared a huge amouns of informations about them.
“What weapon do you use?”
“Mace and… a dagger.”
“Oh, a mace is generally effective against them. If you swing it hard, you might crush its face, even if the body is tough.”
He pointed out the thinnest part of its exoskeleton, situated between the eyes on the face.
“Of course, try to avoid the front legs and mouth if possible! Hahaha!”
It sounded easy, but identifying and avoiding those vulnerable points wasn’t as simple as it seemed. However, the team leader assured him that, during dissection, targeting that area first was effective.
“And this is really advanced information… but if you give a shock to the third leg, it becomes easier to flip the spider. When the leg spreads out, you see.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
This was the third leg that Jeonghyun wanted to attack first.
Still smiling, he explained the technique while glancing at Jeonga and glancing casually at Sangsoo. Jeonghyun continued, unbothered by the malicious glances of Sangsoo and trying to focus on the explanation.
“If you see an opportunity, Sangsoo, try to attack the third leg with your lightning magic.”
Jeonghyun smiled as he spoke, and Sangsoo, who had been paying close attention, responded confidently.
“Okay!”
***
Rock Spider’s cave.
Even for a party of E-rank to D-rank, it was considered a gate where they could hunt reasonably. However, due to the instinctive phobia Rock Spiders invoked and their habit of not distinguishing between walls and ceilings when approaching, accidents could easily occur.
The cave stretched long without any light, and small holes scattered across the walls, used by the spiders for surprise attacks. At least, compared to the corridor of the Gathering of Withered Souls that seemed similar to human-made structures from the outside, it conveyed a much more dangerous atmosphere.
“But do you usually visit places like this?”
Jeonghyun asked the question he had been holding onto since he heard about entering the Rock Spider’s Cave.
Before, he accepted that it was because he was financially tight, but now, even in this unpopular gate?
With Jeonga’s body shivered in this atmosphere and Sangsoo giving subtle glances, this seemed like a place that Jeonga would dislike.
“Uh, no, we also want to go to normal gates. Bright and fresh air in places like those gate with goblins or orcs.”
In addition to that, there was the constant shiver of Jeonga in such an atmosphere, similar to the last time.
“Ugh, this is all because Sunhyung is lazy. Even when I told him to make reservations early!”
Even Jeonga’s words didn’t escape Jeonghyun’s hearing, and he chuckled.
Certainly, it was a common occurrence for regular parties to miss E-rank gate reservations if they didn’t make them right away.
‘Well, it seems Jucheol made a genuine effort.’
He had prepared a goblin gate, saying he would hunt together with the newbies to help them, even though there was no need for such trouble.
And amidst that, Sangsoo tried to appeal to Jeonga subtly.
“Now you don’t have to worry about that. For level 2 gates, our guild can reserve one even with regular reservation.”
Sangsoo’s words were not wrong.
The Association operates regular reservations for regular parties and reservations for guilds separately.
Regular reservations are first-come-first-served, while guild reservations are decided through mutual agreement among the guilds.
‘But things in this world don’t always go according to the rules.’
Even in regular reservations, Jucheol was still able to get an E-rank gate without any reservation for it.
‘But life doesn’t always flow as expected.’
Jungjin would probably exclude E-rank gate from their usual regular reservations.
Even so, regular hunters of the guild don’t need to refuse by giving up such rewards or gate reservation if they are given.
Originally, the high guild admission competition rates were due to such advantages.
“Hey, someone like me could easily be a team leader. I could take care of the reservation issue once I become one.”
Sangsoo was a constant show-off, but as long as he didn’t unnecessarily interfere, he seemed like a somewhat cute guy.
Listening to their conversation, Jeonghyun had a momentary thought.
‘Someday, I should join a guild too.’
Joining a guild was different from just registering as a hunter. It was a contractual relationship where the hunter fully disclosed their attributes, and the guild provided support accordingly.
Would any guild trust Jeonghyun if he could change to multiple attributes as he pleased? Especially with the absurd feature that allowed him to spend coins to gradually increase his level?
Even if such a guild existed, with his current level barely reaching D-rank, he might just end up being used and discarded.
‘I need to improve my skills a bit more.’
However, freelancing was only a temporary solution. As his level rose, the gate’s level would need to be adjusted upwards. The higher the gate’s rank, the less freedom there was in forming a party. For growth’s sake, whether it was the Association or a guild, he would eventually have to join somewhere.
It wasn’t a question that could be easily answered.
Just then, while Jeonghyun was contemplating, he sensed an approaching presence.
“It’s coming.”
“What?”
The group looked puzzled as if wondering what was coming.
‘Oh.’
Jeonghyun internally scolded himself for his mistake. With his E-rank Decent Combat Sense and Physical Ability Slight Enhancement, he already had a unique sense that no one else in this group possessed.
Nevertheless, on the surface, he was an F-rank hunter. He should have informed them just before everyone could feel it to avoid any confusion.
“Can’t you hear the footsteps echoing?”
“······?”
“······Prepare for battle!”
In the end, Jeonghyun awkwardly shouted for battle preparation.
Next time, he promised himself to stay alert and hide his skills properly.
‘I need to manage my stamina better in situations like this.’
