[ Found It! (3) ]
Lower D-rank rocky terrain dungeon.
The main monsters here were mountain goats that scaled the cliffs. They were called Rock Goats, and their initial optimized skills were Jump Headbutt and Stomp.
The Promising Talent skill really is great. Even though it has the lowest rank among the title skills, its usage rate is the highest.
Of course, there were other skills that allowed you to check your opponent’s information. However, those could only confirm stats or skill ranks one level lower than your own. Compared to that, Promising Talent is an information skill that can check stats and skills of any rank.
Its main purpose isn’t just to check status windows, and there are limitations, but it’s all about how you use a skill.
“Mister, over here!”
Yerim called out proudly, showing off a goat frozen solid. No, I told you to level up. Why are you bringing that to me?
“It’s nicely frozen, so all you have to do is stab it. It’s safe!”
“Just stab it, huh? Do you really think a spear will even go through that block of ice?”
Yuhyun interrupted, grabbing the horn of a goat that had been charred black. He then smiled at me.
“It’s still breathing. Most of the tough hide has been burned off, so the spear will slide in nice and smoothly.”
“I-I can freeze it a bit too! Want me to peel off the hide?”
These poor goats. Frozen and grilled—it’s chaos from both sides. I turned to look at Myungwoo, who was wearing an expression like he wished he could dig a hole and disappear.
“You need to level up too. Hurry up and come over.”
“M-Me too?”
Myungwoo glanced behind me. Then he shrank back like a frightened turtle. It’s just a battered goat—are you really that scared?
Just in case, I looked over at Yuhyun and Yerim. Both of them smiled at me simultaneously. The atmosphere was nice. Maybe the charred goats looked a little grim, but you could just think of them as poorly cooked roast.
“You need to reach level 10 before I do.”
I don’t have anything urgent, but Myungwoo needs to hit level 10 in this dungeon and then hole up to sharpen knives. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along since he still wouldn’t budge. Don’t worry, it’s fine.
“Think of it as stabbing an overcooked steak. Or maybe the frozen one—it kind of looks like frostbite, doesn’t it?”
“I caught it for you, Mister.”
Yerim grumbled. Why are you making a fuss over this?
“Yerim.”
Called out, Yerim pouted her lips.
“But still…”
“No buts. I’m telling you now: the three of you should get along. At the very least, don’t fight and be decent colleagues.”
Fire attributes, ice attributes, and crafting equipment. What a good mix. If Kim Seonghan reaches S-rank later, the offense and defense will be complete. In the future, all sorts of crazy dungeons will appear, and if they cooperate and support each other, they’ll do incredibly well.
The only thing we might lack is a healer. Even five years from now, finding an SS-stat or even AS-stat healer was difficult. Why is it that the stat and skill ranks of healers are inversely proportional? Is it because their average age is in their 50s?
Stat ranks tend to be higher in younger, healthier people. Although there are exceptions, most S-rank stats are found in those under their mid-30s.
“Especially you, Yuhyun, don’t try to pick a fight with someone five years younger. And Yerim, remember that as long as you’ve signed a contract as an official hunter, you’re dealing with your guild leader and a senior of three years.”
Both of them sighed simultaneously at my nagging.
“I’m not trying to fight. I just don’t like how you keep getting involved with my brother.”
“Mister is my guardian, so of course, I’m going to be involved. What’s your problem with that?”
“You’re still young, but you should be more aware of your position. Didn’t the PR team teach you that? It’s not like I enjoy distancing myself from my brother.”
“I’m trying to be considerate too, you know.”
“And you call that being considerate, trying to drag my brother to the association?”
“Well, we didn’t end up going together, did we? I might be clumsy now, but I’m trying my best to learn!”
There they go again. You’d think fire and ice wouldn’t get along with how well they show it. Shouldn’t their promotional image be the opposite? Maybe as rivals or something.
“I said enough, both of you.”
“… Okay.”
“… Fine.”
No matter how I look at it, the problem is more with Yuhyun than with Yerim. That guy worries way too much about my safety. If only I could hurry up and raise Peace and get a few more monsters, then maybe he’d worry less.
“One’s my younger brother, and the other is my ward. If you keep fighting over me, how do you think I’ll feel? At least pretend to get along in front of me. You did a good job of that in front of the reporters.”
If you keep pretending, it might just become real.
“If that’s what Mister wants, then I’ll do it. It’s easy to pretend.”
Yerim smiled brightly as she looked up at Yuhyun.
“If you’re Mister’s brother, then you’re not a stranger to me either. Let’s get along from now on. Can I call you oppa?” (TL Note: Oppa is basically calling someone big brother. It’s a respectful way for young girls to refer to older males)
… Wait, why are you suddenly calling him oppa? Yuhyun returned her kind smile. They both look good since they’re good-looking. But it’s just appearances.
“Of course. Then I’ll speak comfortably to you from now on too.”
“Yes, please do. I look forward to working with you, Yuhyun oppa.”
“Same here, Yerim.”
They were smiling gently, but you could clearly feel the daggers being sharpened behind their backs. Ugh, look at those two. Stubbornly locking eyes like they’re having a staring contest.
It’s a good thing there aren’t more of them. If I had unknowingly reeled in more, I’d have had to start a “Get Along Campaign.”
Meanwhile, our poor Myungwoo was still cowering. Well, with two S-ranks engaging in a silent battle, how could an average F-rank keep his wits about him? Just hold on a little longer. There’s happiness at the end of hardship.
“You probably won’t see them for a while, so just endure today. All you need to do is reach level 10.”
After that, you’ll be sharpening knives for about half a year, so you won’t see them even if you want to. Myungwoo nodded at my comforting words. He might be more at ease with monotonous work in a secluded room.
After that, the dungeon raid went smoothly. Yuhyun was naturally unbeatable, and Yerim was also doing exceptionally well.
After we exited the winding valley, a wide basin came into view. Hundreds of goats were grazing in groups across the green meadow. Beyond them, a large black-furred goat stood proudly. It might as well have had a flashing sign saying, “I’m the boss.”
Still, I’m thankful when they make it so obvious. It’s a pain when you encounter those that hide.
“You said you’re still level 9, right?”
Yuhyun asked. Since we were focused on Myungwoo, I hadn’t reached level 10 yet. Myungwoo reached level 10 about thirty minutes ago but was disappointed because he didn’t acquire any new skills.
As expected, the skill he would have gained at level 10 seemed to be replaced by Master of the Golden Forge.
The absence of a new skill at every tenth level usually means the conditions haven’t been met. He might get it immediately upon meeting the conditions later, or he might never get it at all… It’s partly luck.
“I don’t really need to hit level 10.”
“It’d be easier with just one more skill. I’ll lure some over.”
“I’ll do it! Let me handle it!”
Yerim, now completely accustomed to using Hermes’ Shoes, stepped forward confidently. Then, with a swoosh, she leapt into the air. She looked like a fish in water.
‘I wonder if a skill won’t appear this time either.’
Before the regression, I hadn’t gained a new skill until I hit level 30. This time probably won’t be any different.
What could my optimized skills be?
I wish I could use Promising Talent on myself. I tried looking into a mirror just in case, but no status window appeared. Not just Promising Talent, but I’d love to get some growth buffs too. I love myself, so would that help?
Seriously, I ended up with two L-rank title skills, and one is practically useless while the other just benefits others. Did the one who made the system dislike me? Or at least make them easy to use—the strange effects, the keywords—it’s all so annoying and unfair—.
[Found it!]
…What?
A message window appeared?! W-Wait a minute. Was it because I cursed? Did it find my curses? No way, it’s not like this was my first time cursing at the system. What’s going on? What’s this?
Another message window popped up.
[Oh, sorry!]
No, I should be the one saying sorry for swearing… or not. An error? A chat mistake by an admin?
Damn it, wait. Let’s talk. Isn’t there a chat keyboard or something? Why is it always a one-way conversation—?
“Hyung!”
Yuhyun shouted and pulled me into his embrace. Almost simultaneously, I shouted out.
“Yerim, protect Myungwoo!”
I didn’t know what was happening, but it was a warning sign. Meaning Myungwoo would die if we just left him alone.
Immediately after, a chorus of goat screams filled the air.
— Keeek!
— Kieeee!
The smell of burning flesh. I couldn’t feel the heat, probably because of Yuhyun’s fire resistance. Were Yerim and Myungwoo okay? Since the Final Recompense skill notification didn’t pop up, it seemed like both were alive.
“… What the hell is going on?”
Being hugged made it hard to grasp the situation. I could tell we’d been hit with a large-scale fire attribute attack. But isn’t this a lower D-rank dungeon? Why is there something that uses a large-scale attribute attack here? It’s not like five years from now when dungeons were completely out of control. Things should still be stable.
“It’s a monster I’ve never seen before.”
Yuhyun said in a low voice. Hey, let me see too. When I tapped his shoulder, he loosened his grip.
“Be careful.”
I turned to look toward the basin. The green meadow was blazing red with fire. The charred and still-burning goat carcasses were piled up like a mountain.
The original boss was impaled on a sharp golden beak.
A massive bird engulfed in flames ripped apart the nicely roasted goat and swallowed it whole. I recognized it immediately from that distinctive beak.
‘Grade 2 Bird-type. Golden-beaked Maia.’
It’s an A-rank upper dungeon boss monster. The Bird-types tend to be weaker than their grade suggests, so it wasn’t at S-rank level. But why did that show up here?
‘… Could that “sorry” message have been about this?’
Is this really a system error? A bug? Someone bring out the admin. We need to have a chat.
“Are the two of you okay?”
After confirming the monster, I turned to check on Yerim and Myungwoo. Fortunately, it seemed Yerim had used her Cold Sigh skill just in time. She was standing in front of Myungwoo, with a blackened mark visible on the ground in front of them.
“… We’re okay. But what is that?”
“Very rarely, monsters that don’t match the dungeon’s grade will appear.”
It was extremely rare at this time, though. More importantly, since the escape gate didn’t appear after the boss died, that flaming bird seemed to have replaced it. What a pain.
By now, the situation outside must be chaotic. The dungeon that the Haeyeon Guild Leader and the new S-rank entered has suddenly turned into at least a B-rank. Over an hour has passed, so no one can come to help.
“Hyung, take this.”
Yuhyun handed me a gate stone. A reenactment of what happened before the regression, huh? Of course, compared to those damn lizards, the Lautitars, this flaming chicken is nothing.
“No need for that. That thing’s weaker than you are.”
Neither of us can affect each other with our attribute attacks, and Yuhyun, with his S-rank combat aptitude, is stronger in physical combat. The fact that it’s a flying monster is annoying, but with Yuhyun’s Blue Willow Leaves, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Myungwoo and I can just hide in a corner and let Yerim protect us.
Yuhyun looked puzzled at my words.
“You know what kind of monster that is?”
“It’s a Grade 2 Bird-type Golden-beaked Maia. As you can see, it has a fire attribute and is a boss-level monster from an A-rank upper dungeon. It has a tendency to focus on its first target, so it’s unlikely to change aggro. As long as you do your job well, we can get out of here quickly. Be careful of its beak attacks. Its grip is relatively weak. Its skull is soft, and its back and belly are the toughest parts. Since it’s likely protecting its head, the temperature of the flames is highest there, but you’ll be fine. It appears to have just one pair of wings, but there’s a hidden set, so instead of trying to bring it down by attacking the wings, just aim for the head. Yerim will protect Myungwoo and me. By the way, that beak is an extremely valuable material, so try to cut it off cleanly.”
Yuhyun looked momentarily at a loss for words.
“… Hyung, you’re definitely acting strange.”
“It’s not strange; it’s suspicious. Seok Gimyeong also said I seemed suspicious. Even if you ask, it’s hard to explain, so just brush it off. Can’t you?”
“I suppose I could…”
“Anyway, I’m still your brother. That much hasn’t changed.”
Whether it’s the Han Yujin from five years ago or the Han Yujin now, I’m still Han Yuhyun’s older brother. Yuhyun nodded slightly and placed the gate stone in my hand.
“Still, keep this with you.”
What a death flag. As if I’d die to some fire-breathing bird.
“Please take care of them.”
Yuhyun said politely to Park Yerim.
“Don’t worry.”
At that moment, both of them had a serious look, completely devoid of any lingering animosity. It made me feel a little warm inside. I hope they continue to cooperate and get along well.
Yuhyun glanced at me once more before turning his back.
He’ll be fine. If it were the Yuhyun from five years later, this would be over in 10 minutes, no, five minutes flat. Even now, it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes. So I can relax and cheer him on.
–TL Notes–
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