“I’m definitely exhausted.”
In an open space in front of the ‘Distorted Forest of Lesser Spirits’ gate.
Jeonghyun laid down tired, deep in thought.
He wasn’t one to believe in superstitions, but this was an inexplicable phenomenon unless it was such a theory.
The explanation Sooyeon gave on the way back was mind-blowing.
“Well, the wrath of spirits occurs when the hunting pace is too high. We couldn’t have anticipated it happening to us. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand.”
A pattern triggered by hunting too well.
What kind of ridiculous thing was that?
Now that he couldn’t become a boss or a villain, he couldn’t shake off the suspicion of all sorts of strange occurrences being inserted.
‘Even at just a Level 3 gate, things are like this. If we go to a high-level gate… Ugh, it’s terrifying to even imagine.’
Well, he was fine with it.
With his attributes, he could accept it even if the gate threw a tantrum.
But what about the fellow hunters who had to hunt with him?
Look at Sunhyung’s party for instance.
They were originally enjoying hunting as usual, but since he joined them, they had experienced things they might never have encountered in their lifetime.
…But their proficiency levels were rising well, so maybe it was actually a good thing.
‘Still, the results aren’t bad.’
The spirits they caught during the rage of spirits all dropped spirit stones and died.
It seemed like some sort of compensation.
Moreover, when he checked his coins earlier, he found nine of them.
With the character shop level-up in sight, it was the biggest profit.
“I have 6 coins left until the level-up… I could buy something after leveling up.”
After finishing his thoughts, Jeonghyun looked around.
In the spirit world, people who used to walk well were now scattered everywhere, no different from him.
Except Sooyeon, who was just leaning against the wall, not lying down like the others.
If she had been a little friendlier with others, she probably would have sprawled out too.
“Well… Everyone, thank you for your hard work…”
Sunhyung spoke with a voice as if everyone was dying.
Upon his words, everyone groaned and got up from their seats.
Although their arms and legs were sore, and their bodies were still feeling the aftereffects of being hit by various attributes, they had to go home.
Anyway, they survived.
“When I hunt with Hyung, I feel alive.”
“…Yes, thank you.”
‘Is that what it means to feel alive? We almost died.’
Sangsoo’s eyes seemed to think it was becoming a bit more dangerous.
If you receive too much stimulation, you can’t respond to anything lower than that anymore, it seemed like the same law applied even to risking your life.
Anyway, Sunhyung’s party left, leaving only Jeonghyun and Sooyeon in the open space.
They could have left earlier, but for some reason, they hesitated.
“Do you have something to say…?”
Finally, when the bewildered Jeonghyun asked, Sooyeon, who had been hesitating, asked back.
“I know it’s rude, but… What are your attributes?”
‘It must really look strange.’
Jeonghyun inwardly nodded.
To be honest, people who didn’t think like Sooyeon were the strange ones.
That’s why he understood, but answering was a separate issue.
“Did the boss tell you to ask me?”
“Ah, no! I’m just really curious. Your dagger skills are a bit strange, and you don’t seem to be a complete agility type either…”
As Sooyeon was petite, her deeply flustered appearance was quite cute.
Seeing that, Jeonghyun couldn’t help but playfully tease her.
“Why not just say we both have them?”
If he mixed a bit of jest, they probably wouldn’t believe it anyway.
They would think he was telling an unbelievable lie because he didn’t want to tell the truth.
Or perhaps, judging from Jeonghyun’s performance, they might truly believe he was a reincarnated individual.
But there was no need to scratch an itch that didn’t exist.
“It’s just an agility-based attributes.”
“Then, just the grade… No, it’s not F-grade, is it?”
“Uh… It’s not F-grade.”
Even mentioning F-grade would make the situation even stranger.
Now his abilities were completely beyond the scope of F-grade.
Of course, in reality, he had graduated from the F-grade a long time ago.
“Thank you very much for your hard work, Sooyeon. I’ll be going then.”
With that, Jeonghyun turned around.
Somehow, Sooyeon felt urgent.
As a member of the welcoming team, she felt like she shouldn’t let Jeonghyun go like this.
“Uh, would you like a ride?”
Since he came by car anyway. It was a suggestion that came to mind.
Jeonghyun’s steps, which seemed like they would disappear in no time, suddenly stopped.
“If you insist that much… Well, I’ll gratefully accept the ride.”
‘…?’
Although it felt a bit too much, in the end, he managed to add another layer to the relationship, so it should be fine.
“T-Then let’s go.”
***
“Ugh, I’m dead.”
It felt like he was saying the same thing every time he came home, but anyway, Jeonghyun arrived home.
As a sub-tanker, he had absorbed a lot of the attacks from the spirits.
Of course, most of the direct injuries were healed by Doyoon’s healing.
“If the aftereffects of spirit attacks were this big, I should have said something…”
However, unlike wounds inflicted by weapons or physical attacks, the pain from spirit attacks was not easily discernible.
To put it into perspective, where fire touched, it felt scorching like a burn,
where water touched, it felt heavy,
where lightning struck, it felt somewhat numb,
and where wind touched, it felt stinging.
According to Sooyeon, it was because the attributes manipulated by spirits were different from those in the natural world, but regardless of the natural world, shouldn’t healing have been the next step once the damage was done?
“Hehehe…”
Yet, a laugh inexplicably escaped from Jeonghyun’s lips.
Had he somehow reached a point where he enjoyed the pain?
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
“Now the attribute level is at 3…”
[Next level coin needed: 4
Current coin possession: 9]
It was because of the delightful coin status displayed before him.
“Even if the next rolling fails, this is acceptable!”
As Jeonghyun said, in reality, the coins used this time were more for raising the level of attributes rather than obtaining something special. Thinking so would alleviate some psychological damage.
[“Goblin Eye Deception” (E, Lv.1) has been purchased.]
First, he purchased the attribute he had been eyeing before but couldn’t buy due to having only one coin left.
The rest was for leveling up.
At that moment, a voice from the neighboring room, seemingly irritated, rang out as if tired of it all.
“Are you playing games again today?”
Usually, Jeonghyun would shout in uncontrollable joy, but feeling sorry for the neighbor, he responded with a sheepish smile.
“Yes, I’ll try to keep it quiet today…”
Whether he could keep that promise remained to be seen.
[The list has been updated.]
[Proficiency level of “Attribute Shop” (EX) has increased from 2 to 3.]
Similar to what he had seen in the Hunter Association before, a level-up notification appeared.
Thus, the “Attribute Shop” became Jeonghyun’s first level 3 attribute.
“Now that the level-up is done… let’s check the probabilities!”
With great anticipation, as he opened the probabilities of the “Attribute Shop,” Jeonghyun realized.
The “Attribute Shop” was not something to live up to his expectations.
[“Attribute Shop” (Lv.3)
Next level coin needed: 70
Equipable attributes / storable attributes: 0 / 5
Attribute probabilities: F 40%, E 30%, D 18%, C 7%, B 4%, A 0.7%, S 0.3%]
“Finally…”
Finally, the F-grade probability dropped below 50%, which brought him immense joy.
‘Farewell to the miserable, mediocre times!’
Furthermore, the D-grade probability, which could be considered Jeonghyun’s main grade now, had greatly increased. In terms of probability, it was nearly four times.
Moreover, the C-grade, which was only 2% before, had also significantly increased to 7%.
With a 4.5% probability, even D-grade seemed quite achievable, so C-grade wasn’t just a dream anymore.
Jeonghyun now had the possibility of reaching the level of Jinho, who had felt like a monster, and Sooyeon, who had already shown the strength of C-grade.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Moreover, it wasn’t just a simple level-up.
A new notification popped up before Jeonghyun’s eyes.
[“Attribute Shop” (Ex, Lv.3) Achievement Reward.
Coin probability calculation, Surprise Coin Quest unlocked.
Coin probability calculation: The probability of coins dropping from each monster is now visualized.
Surprise Coin Quest: You can obtain additional coins if you meet specific conditions when entering battles.]
“Insane! It’s here!”
Initially, Jeonghyun was leisurely reading the text, wondering what it was all about, but he suddenly jumped up from his bed.
It was a bonus to enjoy the complete victory, and the angry response from the next room was just an added bonus.
“You said you’d keep it quiet today!”
“I’m sorry, sir! I’m really sorry, so I’ll buy you some meat later!”
“F*uck You!”
Even if he had to buy beef or pork later until the old man’s heart softened, how could he contain this joy?
After all, as the old saying goes, good deeds multiply when shared, and Jeonghyun had firmly decided to follow the wise words of Sunhyun.
Fortunately, it seemed like the old man wasn’t entirely against receiving meat as a gift, considering they were living separately in one-room apartments.
Even if there was something in the updated list of the 3rd-level shop, he wouldn’t make a big fuss about it.
Jeonghyun made a firm resolution and opened the shop list.
[Shop List (Updated: Coin cost for refresh: 2)
“Faint Attribute Bestowal” (F, Lv.1), 1C
“Hundred Mile Eyes” (D, Lv.1), 3C
“Heated Flame Magic” (E, Lv.1), 2C
“Noticeable Ax Technique” (E, Lv.1), 2C
“Decent Punching” (F, Lv.1), 1C]
However, Jeonghyun’s expression turned ambiguous as he checked the list.
“Huh?”
There was one D-grade that appeared.
“Hundred Mile Eyes”
Simply put, it was a superior version of what Jeonga had, “Ten-Mile Eyes.”
Upon acquiring the attribute, not only would his field of vision increase, but the stats necessary for archery would also rise. It would likely complement his dagger skills quite well.
Generally, strength enhancement attributes were popular.
However, Jeonghyun couldn’t buy it immediately and could only hesitate.
“If only I had a few more coins to buy it!”
Although it was good that a D-grade appeared, the situation wasn’t particularly favorable.
He had only 5 coins left.
If he were to buy “Hundred Mile Eyes” for 3 coins, he’ll have two coins left.
Refreshing the list once more shouldn’t be a problem, but ultimately, that was all there was to it.
Even if you could reroll once more, there wouldn’t be any coins left worth purchasing for immediate value.
“If only a D-grade appeared among the dagger techniques or the attributes I have…”
Certainly, Jeonghyun himself thought that the purpose of this coin consumption was to level up the attributes, but when it came down to making a choice, he hesitated.
For example, if you could raise physical agility or combat instincts to a D-grade, the effect would be guaranteed.
“Well… logically speaking, just living your life is the right thing to do…”
Surely his mind insisted without hesitation to buy “Hundred Mile Eyes”
However, somehow there was a nagging feeling that buying it would lead to regret.
At that moment,
“Hehehe, it seems like today karma has made a move on you!”
An enthusiastic voice came from the next room.
Well, considering all the trouble Jeonghyun had caused so far, he understood but…
“Even someone of advanced age is seeking revenge…”
He never thought they hoped that something bad will happen to him.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but wonder how they planned to exact revenge.
In fact, if they were really angry, wouldn’t they have come knocking on the door instead of just talking behind it as before?
“Are they just going to force me to refresh like last time?”
And Jeonghyun’s curiosity was resolved not long after.
Moreover, he realized that the old man’s revenge plan was more impressive than he had thought.
“Even if something good comes up now, there might be something better next.”
“Hmm.” (The people in the other room)
“But isn’t it foolish to easily decide to reroll when faced with realistically appealing options?”
“Ahh!” (The people in the other room)
Jeonghyun’s right eyebrow raised slightly.
Surely, he expected to be tempted to refresh like last time, but the strategy seemed to have changed a bit.
“But it’s also a waste to spend all your savings to buy something expensive.”
“Ugh…” (The people in the other room)
“Please, stop it, please!”
Jeonghyun, unable to bear it any longer, writhed in agony.
Somehow, the turmoil in his mind caused by the voice from the next room was more agonizing than the lingering effects of the spirit attack.
“Refresh!”
“Aaaah!” (The people in the other room)
In the end, Jeonghyun found himself shouting “Refresh” without even realizing it.
Certainly, it seemed like the path he chose himself, but somehow it felt forced, and no matter which path he took, it seemed like it would be filled with regret.
“Hehehe, I won today after all. That’s a safe investment over there.”
And the voice of the next-door neighbor continued.
“I lost… But isn’t that old man too carefree?”
Tears even began to well up in the corners of his eyes.
But since things had turned out this way, what could he do?
He had to look past the “Hundred Mile Eyes” that had passed and examine the newly emerging attributes.
