In a life where Dan Jongwoo had lived without envying or fearing anything, there was bound to be at least one thorn in the flesh.
“Oh, a newcomer?”
“Yes.”
Upon turning around, that woman didn’t quite appeal to him from the first impression.
A beautiful face with a delicate figure.
She was Cha Yerin, who had just turned twenty at the time.
“Yerin, want to go for dinner together?”
“No, thank you.”
“Yerin, want to hang out together?”
“No, I don’t.”
Whenever he suggested doing something together, she cut him off sharply with a refusal.
Moreover, while boasting about her A-C-gradeharacteristics elsewhere, there was a default contempt in the eyes that looked at her.
“Manager, when can you provide the data I asked for earlier?”
“What? When the time comes, I’ll give it to you! Why, is it so frustrating for someone of A-grade?”
“What? I never said such a thing.”
Of course, in reality, it was just his inferiority complex and stubbornness that had been building up inside him for some time.
“Dad! What’s with Cha Yerin?”
“Huh? Cha Yerin? Why?”
“I don’t like her, so kick her out of the association right away!”
“Why are you making a fuss about this? Stop it right now!”
If it had been as usual, even his father would have been unable to resist smiling regarding his requests, but somehow, when it came to Cha Yerin, he couldn’t help but look serious.
“Shit, A-grade means nothing.”
In the end, his animosity towards Cha Yerin only grew.
Honestly, within the association, there were plenty of A-grades, excluding Yerin.
But they all hesitated in front of Jongwoo.
They feared that if they got too close to the son of an association director, their hunter life might become awkward.
However, when Yerin repeatedly spoke out boldly in front of Jongwoo and faced no consequences, a strange atmosphere began to form between the other A-grades and Jongwoo.
To Jongwoo, it seemed like Yerin was the cause of all these changes where he was gradually being ignored.
“Oh my, Manager Dan Jongwoo. Something bothering you today?”
Jongwoo was currently at a high-end bar in Gangnam.
Expensive liquor filled his glass, worth millions of won.
“Something bothering me? Of course! There’s always something, always!”
And today, Jongwoo encountered his second thorn in his life.
And it was through the introduction of the first thorn, Cha Yerin.
For some reason, he didn’t like being asked to take a hunter along on a hunt, even if it meant getting one debt cleared.
Moreover, Yerin, an unregistered hunter, had come this far, which gave him a sense of accomplishment.
Seeing that she was well-groomed only made him more eager to ignore her.
But what was this fuss about now?
Jongwoo downed a shot of the whiskey that suited the term “drowning sorrows.”
“Oh my, you seem to be under quite a bit of stress. How about letting off some steam?”
“Ugh, I’m surviving thanks to that idiot Ahn.”
“Hey, Manager. What about me?”
People were trying not to offend Jongwoo by any means necessary.
Yes, this was my life.
Jongwoo often attended drinking sessions with representatives from various influential guilds.
It was called a drinking session, but in reality, it was no different from entertainment or hospitality.
For Jongwoo, it was about enjoying himself, for the representatives, it was about building connections.
But in truth, Jongwoo alone didn’t know about a hidden secret.
“Seems like a pretty decent one has entered the association, judging by how much of a ruckus that trash is making.”
To the association officials, Jongwoo was nothing more than a sucker.
Behind his back, he was referred to as the “A-D-gradeetector.”
The most famous example was Cha Yerin.
Who would have guessed that the trash causing such a commotion upon entering the association was none other than Yerin?
Of course, despite numerous scouting offers from various guilds, Yerin had steadfastly remained in the association, unlike other hunters.
“Hire people Jongwoo dislikes!”
This was already a well-known saying within guild personnel circles.
If another promising individual had entered, then it was a proper source to be exploited.
But for some reason, although Jongwoo would have usually spilled everything out, this time he held his tongue.
“Well, what’s the use of talking about such things? It’s not a pleasant topic anyway.”
Of course, he was bursting with things he wanted to say.
But how would he explain dismantling an orc leather to acquire a debt?
Or about being so scared of a mere unregistered individual with a C-grade that he obediently drove her home?
However, even in such cases, the guild’s personnel team’s extensive experience shone through.
“Oh my, who managed to deceive you, Manager? Here, have another drink!”
Once the alcohol goes in, the stories come out.
If you get drunk enough, even the things you don’t want to say start pouring out.
And that expectation didn’t disappoint.
“So, guess what! That trash dared to say something to me? We should strip him of his rank! I can’t believe it, damn it!”
‘Geez, have you ever seen such a crazy person?’
Jongwoo hadn’t expected his hidden stories to blow up like this.
Not only did Jongwoo receive punishment, but he also had to strip an orc?
And get involved with Yerin too?
Knowing that Jongwoo was of a low grade, being A-grade was no surprise.
But Jongwoo’s contribution, even in a drunken state, was substantial.
Guild officials exchanged desperate glances with each other.
‘Don’t meddle.’
‘Huh? Who’s meddling with whom?’
Although they had collectively succeeded in getting Jongwoo drunk, it was now a war between them.
Before they shared a drink, they were employees of different guilds, and their instincts as such ignited.
“So, Manager. What has this friend named Han Jeonghyun done to disrespect you so much?”
“Guess what! What friend! Where’s the friendship! He’s not even a human from the association! If he were an association member, I wouldn’t have left it alone!”
‘This is a jackpot!’
These days, there’s hardly any demand for inquiries, so they thought about reducing the workload on Jongwoo little by little, but if they did, it would have been a big problem.
Fortunately, there are only about four guilds here.
Though each one is of considerable size, it’s better than having information openly disclosed in the industry.
The performance was remarkable enough to not regret carrying at the 4th level gate.
A spirit that doesn’t back down even in front of Jongwoo.
Moreover, getting an introduction from Cha Yerin was a reliable assurance.
Such a hunter, and still an unregistered?
Isn’t this the one who grabs first in line?
They need to recruit him before the price goes up.
They might not be able to get direct contact information from Jongwoo, but they are pros.
They were the ones who had a firm grip on at least that much information from the association.
The eyes of each guild’s personnel team in the dark room sparkled.
***
“Ah, I’m exhausted.”
Meanwhile, Jeonghyun came home, cleaned up, and lay down on the bed.
It took a long time to clean up because the smell of the orc’s blood was so strong that no matter how much he wiped, the smell wouldn’t go away.
Fortunately, there was a good hunter’s deodorant, so it helped to some extent, but he still felt uneasy for some reason.
Still, Jeonghyun’s expression remained consistently bright.
[Current Coin Balance: 10]
It was because he had obtained as many as 10 coins from this hunt.
Of course, if it weren’t for Jongwoo alone, he might have gotten five more.
It was regrettable, but there was a satisfaction in making the orc leather himself.
Is he too old to be called a craftsman now?
“Attribute Shop.”
And as always, as Jeonghyun called, the shop list came up.
[Shop List (Refresh Cost: 2 Coins)
“Cool Breeze Magic” (E, Lv.1), 2C
–
“Decent Mana Sensitivity” (E, Lv.1), 2C
“Jumping Over Walls with Thorn Fences” (E), 2C
“Fairly Fast Movement Speed” (D), 3C
Current Coin Balance: 10]
Except for one empty slot since he expanded the equipment slots last time, it was a normal list as always.
“These are just ordinary ones if there’s no attribute related to combat or movement speed.”
There was a strong suspicion that unpopular attributes or those not chosen by Jeonghyun would have a higher probability of appearing.
Moreover, seeing unheard-of attributes like wall jumping confirmed it.
“Tsk… Refresh.”
It was better to give up hope unless it’s something extraordinary.
The next list that appeared didn’t have any particularly notable attributes either.
Two were F-grade, and the rest were E-grade.
“Huh?”
However, surprisingly, what caught Jeonghyun’s eye was one of the F-grade attributes, and that was because,
[“Reasonably Agile Movement” (F, Lv.1), 1C]
It was the agility attribute that Jeonghyun achieved level 2 with F-grade and stored in the warehouse.
Now he could raise it to E-grade with just one coin.
It was a small happiness he could enjoy with one coin.
[“Reasonably Agile Movement” has been upgraded to “Quite Agile Movement.”]
And immediately replaced with the existing attribute.
It had been a week since the replacement cycle.
There wasn’t a distinct change immediately, but the difference in proficiency level 1 was quite significant.
The next battle would surely show a noticeable change.
However, such a small stroke of luck…
“Refresh… Huh?”
It seemed to grow like a small snowball rolling and getting bigger.
[“Quite Agile Movement” (E, Lv.1), 2C]
“Is this coincidence?”
The agility attribute that just rose from F to E appeared again.
And to make matters more surprising, it was indicated with the alphabet ‘D,’ suggesting that it could be raised in grade.
“Could this be the power of expectation control?”
In essence, it was equivalent to spending 7 coins to create a D-grade attribute, but as long as he could raise the grade, that didn’t matter.
Moreover, since it was Jeonghyun’s main attribute, he didn’t feel it was wasted considering the value he had used so far.
It was much better than high-grade attributes that were just rotting away in the warehouse because he couldn’t equip them.
[“Quite Agile Movement” has been upgraded to “Distinctly Agile Movement.”]
It was truly a stroke of luck.
It was difficult to feel a direct change with just one level change within the same grade.
This place was Jeonghyun’s familiar home, not a gate where he had to activate all his senses.
But the rise in grade was a different story.
Jeonghyun slowly felt his senses becoming new.
It wasn’t a sudden change like adaptation, but he could tell that his body was gradually changing little by little with the rise in grade of the existing attribute.
His tired body suddenly felt lighter.
In particular, just moving his fingers made him feel the path from his head to his finger muscles more detailed.
The effect of the agility attribute enhanced overall reaction speed and movement by utilizing muscles that were not usually perceived.
It was a change faithful to such basic effects.
With this, Jeonghyun now had two D-grade attributes.
“Alright, this feels great. Let’s go all in!”
Jeonghyun shouted cheerfully.
Seeing that all the stock in the two slots in the warehouse was exhausted, as a Korean, he couldn’t help but feel satisfaction.
Feeling such satisfaction, how could he regret the remaining three coins?
[The list has been refreshed.]
The system faithfully executed Jeonghyun’s will.
And astonishingly, there was even a C-grade on the newly emerged list.
The brilliant appearance of C-grade, which Jeonghyun had never seen as his own before!
If the border of D-grade’s attributes was bronze, then surprisingly, C-grade was copper-colored.
Isn’t it obvious to anyone that this is the beginning of something significant?
“Wow!”
Jeonghyun also exclaimed in awe.
Could this mean that he could finally rise to the same level as Jinwook or Sooyeon?
Could he confidently join the ranks of the higher grades?
After reaching level 3 in the attribute store, is he already spending coins for the first time?
[“Excellent Movement Speed” (C, Lv.1), 4C]
“Damn it…”
It would have been great if it wasn’t just the mobility attribute.
What further dampened Jeonghyun’s mood was the fact that he now only had one coin left.
He couldn’t even immediately purchase the C-grade mobility that came out.
“Isn’t it humane to reduce the mobility cost by 1 coin?”
Just nonsensical thoughts.
The path to the attribute store was still treacherous for Jeonghyun.
