I Possess Too Many Characteristics

Chapter 7

From the fifth battle, skeletons started to appear.

Four skeletons emerged from the end of the dark hallway.

They were monsters that even Sunhyeong’s original party struggled against, as their bodies were tough enough to withstand most blades or arrows without a scratch.

Unlike zombies, they were even more troublesome because they wielded weapons like rusty swords or crude spears, and some even wore helmets.

Ting━

“Ugh, seriously, why are skeletons so tough?”

I wonder if I even scratched it?

Jeongah was furious as her arrow bounced off after hitting the skull.

It seemed to have received some impact, but it wasn’t nearly enough to neutralize the undead.

It was said that an archer needed at least a C-rank trait to play a proper role in a fight against skeletons.

Of course, an archer of that level wouldn’t be hunting mere skeletons.

Sunhyeong was definitely more tense than when he was fighting zombies.

Unlike zombies that attacked with only their claws and teeth, which could barely pierce armor, the skeletons in front of them carried swords.

Unlike clean cuts from swords, injuries from skeleton weapons were messy and even carried the risk of tetanus, requiring extra caution.

No matter how much Doyun, the healer, was on standby, it was best to avoid getting hit as much as possible.

“Doyun, be ready to heal!”

“Okay!”

The overall tense atmosphere of the party was palpable.

It seemed that even for the original party, skeletons were not to be taken lightly.

The member missing this time was the lightning mage, who was in charge of firepower.

Skeletons, made entirely of bones, were not a good matchup for him.

Of course, if he was a D-rank, he might have been able to roast them completely.

Anyway, for Jeonghyeon, who had to encounter all monsters for the first time, skeletons were also a first.

Jeonghyeon stood a little away from Sunhyeong and observed the skeletons’ movements.

Clang.

Clang.

The movement of the swords striking the shield was definitely powerful.

‘Their overall speed is a notch above zombies.’

However, it was still at a level that Jeonghyeon could clearly see through.

The attacks, swung haphazardly without any plan, were too obvious to Jeonghyeon, who could grasp their trajectory.

Having roughly grasped the situation, Jeonghyeon once again passed by Sunhyeong’s side and moved to get behind the skeletons.

Click-clack.

However, the skeletons’ reaction was much better than the zombies’.

Two of the skeletons attacking Sunhyeong immediately turned around and focused on Jeonghyeon.

Naturally, the two remaining skeletons facing Sunhyeong created distance, harassing him.

Whether it was intentional or not, it was a decent strategy.

It goes without saying that two attacks coming from both sides were more troublesome than two attacks coming from one side.

Jeonghyeon, facing the two skeletons that were constantly chattering their teeth at him, calmed his expression.

They were skeletons, a sight he had grown accustomed to at the processing plant, although they were considered somewhat rare there.

Thinking like that, he wasn’t scared, but,

‘I still can’t let my guard down.’

Unlike the processing plant, where they were just scary stories to tease newcomers, these were real monsters that could stab him in the stomach at any moment.

After a brief standoff, the one on the right lunged first, swinging its sword.

As expected, it was a straightforward attack that he could easily dodge by slightly twisting his body.

And then the one on the left followed up with a thrusting attack.

Since the right side was already blocked by the first one, Jeonghyeon took a big step to the left.

As undead, their bodies weren’t easily controlled, so the skeleton stabbed at the air and stumbled for a moment.

And Jeonghyeon carefully examined the skeleton’s skull.

At first glance, it looked like a single piece, but upon closer inspection, it was divided into several fragments.

And when dismantling a skeleton, the crown of the head, where the bones were most concentrated,

‘Here!’

That was the spot to aim for.

Fortunately, thanks to the skeleton’s posture being broken, Jeonghyeon, who had grasped the structure, swung his mace.

With mediocre skill, one would have to accumulate damage with a blunt weapon to take down a skeleton, but if you could hit the weak point, it didn’t matter.

Crack.

With the sound of bones breaking, the crack in the skull became noticeably larger.

Still, as a sturdy skeleton, it didn’t die instantly and twitched.

‘It’s a bit different from the processing plant.’

However, it crumbled helplessly under the second swing of the mace, which struck the same spot.

The skeleton collapsed with the bones around its crown completely caved in.

Meanwhile, as if unconcerned about its comrade’s death, a rusty sword fell vertically from beyond.

Jeonghyeon, who had spent a little more time finishing off the first one, couldn’t properly dodge the attack.

In the end, Jeonghyeon raised his mace to block the sword, but,

Screech━

With the chilling sound of metal clashing against metal, he lost in terms of strength.

The skeleton’s sword only stopped after hitting the mace’s head, which was tilted downwards.

‘Damn it, I have to invest in strength for my next trait.’

Jeonghyeon’s combat prowess stemmed from his battle sense, which allowed him to read his opponent’s movements, and his agility.

In terms of strength, he was still being pushed back by even these skeletons.

“Mr. Jeonghyeon!”

At that moment, an arrow flew in with an urgent call.

Jeongah, who had been watching the fight, had hurriedly provided support fire.

Thud━

Of course, it wasn’t significant damage, but the arrow accurately struck the head.

And for a moment, the skeleton’s posture crumbled, and the force behind its sword lessened.

“Oh my god!”

At the same time, Jeonghyeon let out a shout and swung his mace upwards.

The rusty sword, which was practically scrap metal, couldn’t withstand the impact and broke, and,

Crack━

Crack━

Jeonghyeon didn’t miss the opportunity and smashed the skeleton’s temple with his mace.

Although not as effective as the crown, the temple was also a vulnerable spot as it was where several bones converged.

“Thank you!”

After thanking Jeongah, who gave him a triumphant smile, Jeonghyeon immediately headed towards Sunhyeong.

“Ugh!”

Sunhyeong’s condition wasn’t very good.

Even with one shield, it was too much for him to block the attacks coming from both sides.

But he was somehow holding on when Jeonghyeon, who had finished his part, joined in.

Sunhyeong noticed Jeonghyeon so easily crushing the skeletons’ crowns.

When one of the fierce attacks from both sides suddenly disappeared, Sunhyeong inadvertently focused on the other side.

And in a battle where every moment counted, such a minor mistake demanded a price.

Swish━

“Euaaaah!”

The sword of the skeleton that Jeonghyeon hadn’t managed to take down had cut the inside of Sunhyeong’s elbow.

Still, as a tanker, he was able to maintain his posture without collapsing pathetically.

The skeleton was turned into bone dust by Jeonghyeon before it could attack again, and Doyun rushed over when he saw Sunhyeong get hurt.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

It was the inside of his elbow, a spot where the armor didn’t properly protect him.

There was quite a bit of bleeding, and Sunhyeong’s face was contorted in pain.

Having a tanker trait didn’t mean they were immune to injuries.

They also bleed and feel pain when attacked beyond a certain point.

This was especially true for vulnerable areas like the elbow.

However, they could simply endure it better and longer.

“I’m sorry, I should have said something before jumping in.”

“No, it was my mistake.”

Sunhyeong waved his hand at Jeonghyeon, who approached, panting and apologizing.

Fortunately, Doyun’s trait could heal the injury.

Sunhyeong asked Jeonghyeon, whose gaze seemed to be fixed on something in the air.

“Skeletons…… How much are the skeletons……”

Despite the blood gushing from his elbow, Sunhyeong’s face was filled with a sense of determination as he asked about the price.

It seemed he was in pain, but as a tanker, he must have been injured many times and had some leeway.

Jeonghyeon finally turned his gaze back, smiled brightly, and answered.

“All in all, it’s about 400,000 won. There aren’t many materials…… But it’s okay, right?”

Hearing the answer, Sunhyeong closed his eyes with a relaxed expression.

It wasn’t a fatal wound, so what.

Thinking that Jeonghyeon was an unexpectedly interesting person, he turned his gaze back to what he had been looking at before.

『You have acquired 1 coin.』

The coin that he could randomly acquire by hunting monsters.

It was the moment he acquired his first coin.

‘The probability is lower than I thought……’

Jeonghyeon must have killed about fifteen monsters since entering the Gate.

Getting only 1 coin after killing so many felt a bit lacking.

The probability decreased as he killed the same monsters, so it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

‘Well, it would be too overpowered if I got more than this.’

He could understand, but once you start cheating, human nature wants to cheat even more.

Jeonghyeon, realizing this about himself, smiled and shook his head.

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

“You’ve all worked really hard today!”

“No, not at all. Sunhyeong-ssi, Jeongah-ssi, and Doyun-ssi, thank you too.”

“Thank you as well!”

Only after each of their bags were stuffed full did Jeonghyeon and Sunhyeong’s party emerge from the Gate.

Of course, the absolute number of monsters hunted was somewhat less than when he came with Sangsu, but this time, Jeonghyeon had meticulously processed all the valuable materials.

With their earnings significantly higher than usual, everyone was beaming despite their evident fatigue.

Sunhyeong, the Tanker, had been injured multiple times in the process, and Jeonghyeon also suffered quite a few injuries, especially towards the latter half when he was fighting multiple skeletons simultaneously.

Of course, thanks to Doyun’s Healing, it didn’t become a major issue.

The monsters Jeonghyeon ultimately caught were roughly 15 zombies and 10 skeletons.

Even that alone was an unbelievable achievement for a Hunter entering a Gate for the first time, but considering that he had subtly yielded to Sunhyeong’s party towards the end, the results were even more astonishing.

And his expression was even brighter than that achievement.

‘This is more important to me than that.’

What made Jeonghyeon proud was none other than the 5 coins.

To put it simply, a whopping 5 F-rank traits!

Considering how he had surprised Sunhyeong’s party, who had been hunting with two F-rank traits and a D-rank, it was a tremendous gain.

Of course, judging by the immense fatigue, it was a shame that he wouldn’t be able to enter Gates every day.

“Well then, I’ll be going now…… Huh? You haven’t left yet?”

Jeonghyeon, who was about to stretch his stiff body, tilted his head in confusion.

It was because of Sunhyeong’s group, who hadn’t left yet despite having already said their goodbyes.

“Jeonghyeon-ssi, it’s about that.”

Sunhyeong gave an awkward smile and patted his bag.

“Where do we go to sell these things?”

“Ah.”

Although they had managed to process the materials with Jeonghyeon’s help, they naturally wouldn’t know how to handle them afterwards.

Jeonghyeon clapped his hands as if he hadn’t thought of it before and then grinned.

“If you’re unsure, how about I handle the disposal as well?”

“Ah, that would be really great!”

Of course, he wasn’t planning to do it for free.

“However, I’ll take 5% of the proceeds as a commission.”

Even at those words, Sunhyeong and his party smiled even wider, as if they were pleased.

“Oh, of course you should. You’re not digging up the ground and selling it, are you?”

The fact that they were so happy even though he was taking a commission made Jeonghyeon feel a bit bewildered.

But from Sunhyeong’s perspective, it wasn’t a problem at all since the profit per monster had increased so much thanks to Jeonghyeon.

In any case, the deal was quickly struck as it was a satisfactory condition for both sides.

Sunhyeong and his party exchanged their bags, contact information, and account numbers with Jeonghyeon, who also shared his contact information, before parting ways.

Finally left alone, Jeonghyeon.

He could go to the processing plant to handle the byproducts right away, but he had something to do now.

“I need to use the coins!”

Jeonghyeon was excited at the thought of going home, taking a hot shower, lying down in bed, and using the coins because he was so exhausted.

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

『「Trait Shop」（Lv.1）

Coins needed for the next level: 8

Equippable Traits / Storable Traits: 1/8

Trait Probability: F 70%, E 25%, D 3%, C 1.5%, B 0.5%, A 0%, S 0%

Shop List（Refresh Cost: 2 Coins）

━

━

「Passable Swordsmanship」（F, Lv.1）, 1C

「Passable Fist Fighting」（F, Lv.1）, 1C

「Weak Mana Sensitivity」（F, Lv.1）, 1C

Current Coins: 5』

“Kyaa, I’m so hyped.”

Jeonghyeon, who had returned home and finished a hot shower, lay on his bed and let out a sigh of excitement.

Of course, compared to the overwhelming potential the Trait Shop could hold, the current shop was ridiculously shabby, but even that was incredibly thrilling for Jeonghyeon.

Jeonghyeon had 5 coins.

Gathering that many took him rolling around in the Gate all day and he was extremely tired, but it was worth it.

With 5 coins, he could buy all the remaining traits and even refresh once.

“Of course, I’m not going to use them so foolishly.”

For the time being, he planned to use the mace that Cheolyong recommended, so unless there was a Blunt Weapon Specialization, the traits were unnecessary for now.

Mana Sensitivity was especially so.

Therefore, there was only one option left.

Jeonghyeon closed his eyes tightly and refreshed the shop.

In his heart, he wished,

‘Please, a B-rank. Please, a B-rank……’

Hoping for the highest-grade trait that could appear in the current shop.

And when Jeonghyeon cautiously opened his eyes and saw the refreshed window,

“Huh?”

Jeonghyeon’s eyes widened at the newly displayed list.

It wasn’t like his punk-like wish came true and a B-rank actually appeared, defying the 0.5% probability.

Nevertheless, Jeonghyeon cheered.

“E-rank! E-raaank!”

“Hey, stop playing that damn game, you crazy bastard!”

It seems the peaceful night of the next-door neighbor will be disturbed again today.