Being unregistered doesn’t necessarily mean being F-ranked.
However, almost everyone tend to think of Unregistered Huntered as F-ranked.
Sooyeon was one of those people.
When Junwon mentioned that Jeonghyun was an outstanding unregistered individual, Sooyeon thought it meant he fought exceptionally well for just an F-ranked person.
Junwon and Jinwook, both hunters, had a tendency to become overly involved when interested in something unusual.
Partly because they repeatedly failed in projects where they invested a lot of effort, resulting in lower positions than their abilities would suggest.
Even if they rode Junwon’s line, thinking they would be promoted if they succeeded this time, Sooyeon shook her head, feeling that it was another failure.
But now?
She only felt a sense of betrayal, as if she had been caught up in an incredible farce.
“Oh! Another nice throw this time!”
“Wow, how do you guess so accurately? My attacks always miss.”
This time, it was Jeonghyun who finished off the spirit.
Sooyeon was amazed, even though she had been consistently enchanting her dagger.
Of course, even with Jeonghyun, it wasn’t always a bullseye.
The first throw seemed to be a bit lucky, but afterward, he would throw two or three times before hitting.
“Even so, the success rate itself doesn’t make sense.”
If one could easily defeat spirits with a dagger, the ‘Distorted Forest of Lesser Spirits’ would be a gate without any drawbacks.
At least, that’s how it seemed now. But more than anything, what made Sooyeon feel awkward was the attitude of others toward Jeonghyun.
“Did you level up again during this time?”
“Really, this is… No, you’re definitely not an F-ranker, right?”
Despite her puzzlement, were they really seeing him as an F-ranker?
Even if you think about it straightforwardly, Hunter Sangsoo is level 2 in D-rank, but Jeonghyun is showing much better performance than that.
She couldn’t understand why they considered him an F-ranker.
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but… Are you all really stupid…?”
Sooyeon cautiously muttered some harsh words in her mind.
It was just so frustrating.
She hesitated for a moment about whether to point it out or not, but eventually, she raised her head.
It was not the right situation for Sooyeon, who had just joined the hunt this time, to point it out confidently.
“Honestly, if you can throw a dagger like that, the mace behind it is just for show. Or maybe it’s really a scam!”
It was just a fervent wish for her world to be as sensible as what she knew.
Since the flying spirit made the mace unnecessary, it was fortunate that she didn’t have to use it.
If she had used a mace so skillfully at that level only with dark magic, it might have been a bit overwhelming.
“Okay, let’s keep going.”
“Sure, Hunter Sooyeon, do you think we’ll make a lot of money today?”
“Well, yeah…”
Jeonga, who seemed to know Sooyeon’s feelings or not, spoke gently.
Sooyeon awkwardly nodded in agreement.
She came today with the intention of completely donating her talent for the day, but things turned out differently.
Honestly, following this flow, hunting in a level 4 gate might be as profitable as or even better than today.
Moreover, spirits constantly approached them today.
“Wind spirit in front! Circulating at 9 o’clock!”
Just when a gust of wind seemed to blow, Jeonghyun briefed on the spirit’s location.
Surprisingly, that guy’s senses were top-notch.
Finding the location of a wind spirit, whose form was faint and difficult to locate due to its rapid speed, was not easy. Still, Jeonghyun pointed out the location confidently.
‘It must have been tough if it was a power-type ability.’
It was possible because Jeonghyun had become accustomed to relying more on senses than vision.
Especially advantageous for finding monsters that were difficult to see with the naked eye.
Su’s magic spread widely after Jeonghyun’s briefing.
If you couldn’t accurately determine the location, it was better to widen the range and attack.
The slowing effect would decrease, but it was better than nothing.
Hoo-
Jeonghyun quietly took a breath.
Hitting a spirit was not an ordinary task.
You had to throw with the utmost concentration to barely hit it, or sometimes, it would narrowly miss.
Fortunately, some know-how had accumulated by now.
Although it looked irregular, it was possible because Jeonghyun had started to predict the movement of the spirits.
In situations where he could feel the virtual point and the spirit perfectly aligned,
Swish-
A sensation tingled from the fingertips as he threw the dagger.
‘Huh? This time it feels like something’s really right.’
It was easier said than done, and success was rare until now.
However, this time, the moment he threw the dagger, a tingling feeling from the dagger itself indicated success.
It was as if he were shouting, “This is success.”
And Jeonghyun’s intuition did not betray him.
Thump-
In the blink of an eye, the thrown dagger pierced right through the core of the spirit.
[Proficiency level of “Physical Ability Slight Enhancement” (E) has increased from 1 to 2.]
At the same time, an alert window appeared before Jeonghyun’s eyes.
“Huh?”
It was somewhat unexpected, and Jeonghyun felt momentarily bewildered.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I gained enhanced physical abilities, so it’s not strange, but…’
‘”Physical Ability Slight Enhancement” was a attribute obtained after the hunt of the ‘Gathering of Withered Souls.’
Since then, Jeonghyun had consistently utilized it well, so leveling up at this point felt somewhat delayed.
Although it was a trait that significantly increased various stats, Jeonghyun had vaguely thought that the required experience points would be considerable, given its broad range of effects.
“Does it have something to do with the sensation I felt earlier?”
Somehow, he sensed a connection between the tingling feeling when he threw the dagger and the enhancement he just experienced.
Regardless, even though he had fallen behind in recent dagger techniques, this was Jeonghyun’s first E-grade attribute, and one effect was outstanding. The range of his senses immediately expanded, and things felt more detailed.
Perhaps his natural healing ability had also increased.
Above all, the sensation from the dagger in his hand felt remarkably new.
“Is this how it feels to hold it like this?”
As Jeonghyun was contemplatively observing the dagger in his hand, Sunghyung asked, “Why are you like that? Did you throw it too well?”
It wasn’t an easy task to honestly explain that he leveled up his proficiency. After hesitating for a moment, Jeonghyun awkwardly smiled and nodded.
“Yes, well, I seem to be catching it too well.”
“Oh, don’t say that! Thanks to you, hunting is easier and more enjoyable!”
Sunghyung responded cheerfully.
That settled it.
After that, elemental spirits began appearing for revenge, but it wasn’t much of a challenge.
Firstly, Sooyeon’s support was perfectly timed, and Jeonghyun’s dagger skills, boosted by leveling up, displayed an incredible accuracy.
Swoosh!
The dagger imbued with electricity pierced through the core of the water spirit.
The heightened sensory perception that used to require intense concentration seemed almost like a default setting now.
The gaps between throws became much shorter, noticeably increasing the hunting speed.
“As expected of Hunter Jeonghyun! He’s turning the spirit world upside down!”
“Wow… accuracy, sense, speed, it’s all just Hunter Jeonghyun…”
Now, the party members were reacting to Jeonghyun’s unique dagger skills as if they were accustomed to them. And Sooyeon was…
“Now I don’t even know… just enchant the dagger, and it kills them. What else.”
She chuckled with a somewhat detached expression, laughing along with her party members.
They had already acquired over a dozen elemental stones.
Each elemental stone obtained from the spirits amounted to a substantial reward, considering they received payment per spirit.
If they could earn like this every time, Sooyeon felt like joining this party wouldn’t be a bad idea.
However, at that moment…
“Be careful!”
Whoosh!
Flames erupted around them.
A completely different, fierce momentum than before.
In the midst of the peaceful atmosphere, everything changed in an instant. As everyone flinched, spirits surged out from the flames.
Four spirits in total.
Moreover, after that, elemental spirits of various attributes joined from beyond the flames, bringing the total to ten spirits surrounding them.
It was a completely different number than before.
Frowning, Sooyeon bit her lower lip.
“I forgot!”
She was surprised by Jeonghyun’s skills and the smooth flow of hunting, forgetting something important.
The wrath of the spirits.
If you hunted too many spirits too quickly through the spirit world gate, there was a probability of triggering this event.
Usually, it was challenging to provoke the spirits enough for their wrath to occur, and Sooyeon had been at ease, thinking that with this party’s specs, it wouldn’t happen.
“No, this is something you need to pay attention to with a party of at least B-level!”
However, it was too pathetic to use such an excuse.
Although they didn’t openly discuss it, Sooyeon was only in a position to coordinate and command the hunt as an overspec member.
Moreover, the wrath of the spirits was particularly challenging for a specific reason.
“It’s the Wrath of the Spirits! Be careful; some of them change their patterns to close combat when it happens!”
Some of the spirits that had previously relied on long-range attacks and evasion would switch to close combat during the wrath of the spirits event.
Moreover, due to their aerial nature, they didn’t only attack the tank.
The random aerial bullet attacks did not discriminate between front and backlines.
Although the attacking power of the lowest-grade spirits was bearable, it wasn’t to the extent that the rear lines, weak in defense, could simply ignore it.
Following Sooyeon’s instructions, the party members closed the distance between each other.
The goal was to somehow allow the tank, Sunghyung, to withstand the attacks.
“Let me support you first!”
Sangsoo unleashed a ranged attack.
It was a preparatory action to facilitate long-range attacks smoothly.
Although it was groundwork for the hunt, it created a sizzling sound.
“They’re insane!”
The lightning spirits, now taking the forefront, received his magic in return.
Naturally, lightning magic wasn’t the most effective against lightning spirits.
Sooyeon’s thoughts became complicated.
‘What should I do? Should I take the offensive this time? No, it seems like I might suffer a loss instead…’
If she personally attacked, she could handle it to some extent. However, that would mean she couldn’t focus on other areas.
Not only would Jeonghyun and Jeonga’s attacks become less effective, but there was also the issue of Sun-hyung’s tanking, which had been effective up to this point.
It was a challenge to deal with him, given that the rage of the spirits that occurred during Jeonghyun’s hunt-like frenzy had exceeded his ability to handle.
‘Ugh, I should have adjusted a bit…’
Even sighing didn’t change anything.
She had no choice but to choose the method that would minimize the damage.
“For now, let’s retreat-”
At that moment, Jeonghyun’s voice echoed.
“Sooyeon, please give enhancements to Sunhyung and Jeonga as much as possible! Sangsoo, focus on casting spells against the charging ones!”
Sooyeon turned to Jeonghyun in surprise.
Jeonghyun’s expression, fiercely glaring at the floating spirits in the sky, revealed his determination.
“What about you, Jeonghyun?”
It was a natural question for Sooyeon.
Regardless of what anyone said, Jeonghyun was the party’s main firepower. However, without Sooyeon’s enhancements, he couldn’t deal significant damage to the spirits.
Jeonghyun met her gaze and responded with a fierce smile.
“I’ll decide that. Can you provide the appropriate enhancement when requested?”
‘… What?’
Sooyeon, feeling a bit bewildered by the sudden change in him, asked with a hint of confusion, “What are you planning?”
However, instead of an answer, Jeonghyun drew out his mace.
