I Possess Too Many Characteristics

Chapter 65

The”Dragon’s Tomb”was located on the side of a mountain near Seoul.

It was such a remote place that it would have been difficult to find if the Se-ah Guild hadn’t given detailed location information.

Mission-type Gates usually appear in remote areas where people rarely set foot. When discovered, guilds pay a hefty sum for the information, so some people make a living by searching for these gates.

Buying and selling Gates is illegal, but mission-type Gates have a faster break time than regular Gates, so the government doesn’t really try to stop it.

Anyway, Jeonghyeon was able to arrive at the Gate a little earlier than expected.

‘The Movement Speed is really good.’

And his Movement Speed trait played a significant role in that.

The speed he could achieve with a C-rank Movement Speed trait was faster than most cars.

For Jeonghyeon, who usually didn’t even take taxis, let alone owned a car, because he found them too expensive, it was a very efficient trait.

Of course, if it wasn’t for the synergy, he would have changed it to Mana Sensitivity right away.

“You arrived earlier than expected?”

“I’m late.”

Even though he thought he had planned his time quite generously, the Se-ah Guild Hunters had already arrived.

Although they exchanged light greetings, the Hunters’ gazes towards Jeonghyeon weren’t entirely friendly.

As he had expected, Jeonghyeon spoke up first.

“I was reckless last time. It was a proposal you could reasonably make.”

“Ahem.”

When Jeonghyeon bowed his head and apologized, Cha Jin averted his gaze and coughed awkwardly.

In truth, arguments are like that.

At the time, it feels like a value you absolutely cannot back down from, but as time passes, you wonder if it was really necessary to go that far.

In that sense, Jeonghyeon taking the initiative to speak first played the role of a veteran.

“No, we were being too narrow-minded as fellow Hunters. We apologize.”

Jeonghyeon’s turn was last anyway.

Although there was a symbolic significance to being able to take the artifact, if it came down to Jeonghyeon’s turn, it meant that the equipment was probably useless to them.

It would be worth a lot if they brought it back to the guild, but would the Se-ah Guild’s raid team threaten an unregistered Hunter for money?

It wouldn’t be good for the Se-ah Guild’s public image.

“It’s only right that those who worked hard take the artifact. I hope for good results.”

Therefore, it seemed that a suitable compromise had been reached between Jina and the other Se-ah Guild Hunters, and Jeonghyeon.

They wouldn’t have to argue with each other, Jeonghyeon would save face for the Se-ah Guild, and the Se-ah Guild would formally grant him the right.

If Jeonghyeon hadn’t spoken first, Jina would have likely said something similar.

‘If I can just break the 5-level Gate record, it’s a win for me.’

Even considering practical benefits, there was no need for Jeonghyeon to stubbornly insist on the right to the artifact.

But this was only the social awareness among Hunters who had been active in Gates for several years.

Jina’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Jeonghyeon.

‘Honestly, it’s a bit unexpected.’

Jina hadn’t expected Jeonghyeon to speak up first.

She had only met him once, but he seemed quite confident in his skills. And the more recently awakened a Hunter was, the harder it was for them to swallow their pride.

This was especially true if the rank he was hiding behind his unregistered status was quite high.

If it hadn’t been for him, she would have apologized first, but that wouldn’t have been good for her pride as a representative of the Se-ah Guild.

But it didn’t seem like Jeonghyeon bowed his head first because he was afraid of the consequences, so she had to assume he had anticipated this far.

His skills aside, his social skills weren’t bad.

“Ahem, actually, I can use most types of equipment. It’s unlikely that it will ever get to Jeonghyeon-ssi.”

For example, Cha Jin’s character, who always had to add a comment, was the opposite.

He had decent skills and wasn’t a bad person, but he was the type to speak his mind rather than considering the situation around him.

Jina glanced at Jeonghyeon, but he didn’t seem offended.

Just as Jina thought, Jeonghyeon wasn’t particularly bothered by Cha Jin’s remark.

If he had to give an example, it felt like seeing Sangsu from Sunhyeong’s party for the first time.

‘Cute.’

This gave Jeonghyeon another confirmation ━ the previous tension wasn’t due to them looking down on him.

The problem was that the one who looked down on him was Jina.

Perhaps they both instinctively felt that they were rivals, at least in terms of their current skills.

Judging by Jina’s reaction today, she seemed to have reached a similar conclusion.

Of course, objectively speaking, time was absolutely on Jeonghyeon’s side.

Unlike her, who was already facing the limits of B-rank, Jeonghyeon had limitless potential for growth.

Meanwhile, as the party leader, Heejun was also pleased that the atmosphere had softened.

And he didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

Since mission-type Gates were exclusively managed by guilds,

there was no need to worry about entry time like with regular Gates.

Heejun clapped his hands a couple of times to get everyone’s attention.

“Now that we’ve all cleared the air, shall we go in?”

“Alright.”

“Let’s do it!”

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

The atmosphere of the”Dragon’s Tomb”was true to its name.

It was dark, but a considerable number of lights illuminated the interior with a mystical glow.

The place where Jeonghyeon and the party members were standing was a vast granite plaza.

‘They said it was a Dragon’s Tomb……’

Dragons, carved in detail down to their scales, were displayed on the plaza walls, exuding a lifelike aura.

And between the six dragons carved on the front wall, there were five passageways.

Could about five people pass through at once?

The width of each passageway wasn’t particularly narrow, but the dragon sculptures on either side were so massive that they made the passages seem relatively small.

Only the passageway in the center was noticeably larger than the others.

“This is……”

Hayul, who had been looking around, spoke in a low voice.

Heejun nodded.

“It must be a defense-type mission.”

Was this what it meant to be a party that had cleared numerous mission-type Gates?

Just by looking at the interior layout, the Se-ah Guild members were able to guess the general nature of the mission.

Jeonghyeon also knew about defense-type missions to some extent through prior research, but Jina briefly explained it again.

“Defense missions are simple. We just have to defend this spot from incoming monster waves. Usually, there are about four waves.”

“I see.”

Jeonghyeon nodded.

In fact, defense missions were among the most common types of missions given in mission-type Gates.

Between three and five monster waves would surge in, and if the Hunters survived until the last monster fell, they would clear the mission.

The five different passageways were a bit concerning, but it was fortunate that the layout wasn’t too bizarre.

While the party members were briefly examining the plaza,

“Combat ready!”

“……Goblins.”

Jeonghyeon and Hayul simultaneously sensed the presence of monsters and issued a warning.

The two exchanged glances, realizing they had both alerted the others to the approaching goblins at the same time.

‘She has B-rank Battle Sense, right?’

Hayul’s trait was 「Excellent Battle Sense」, a B-rank Battle Sense trait that Jeonghyeon also possessed.

It was no surprise that it was on par with Jeonghyeon’s senses, which were amplified by multiple traits and synergies.

‘……What’s this?’

Of course, Hayul felt a similar sensation when she looked at Jeonghyeon.

But with monsters approaching, there was no time for such a brief interlude.

“Everyone behind me!”

As Cha Jin, the Tanker, stepped forward, everyone naturally took their positions.

The only thing that was a bit unexpected from Jeonghyeon’s perspective was that Hayul was positioned considerably further forward than a typical archer.

And goblins emerged from the darkness of the passageways, flooding into the plaza.

“……”

Hubel Goblins, a higher variant of goblins.

Although they were in the lower-middle range of the overall goblin spectrum, they were characterized by their green bodies with brown patterns and were upgraded from regular goblins in every aspect, including strength and speed.

But the problem wasn’t whether the goblins that appeared were Hubel Goblins or not.

“Their eyes look a bit strange, don’t they?”

Cha Jin questioned.

Unlike normal goblins, their eyes were vacant, almost like looking at zombies.

Moreover, while goblins usually tried their best to threaten their opponents by making all sorts of noises, these goblins didn’t bother with such cumbersome actions and simply,

Bang━

“Ugh!”

charged at Cha Jin, who was holding his shield forward.

“It’s Subjugation! Everyone be careful!”

Jina’s warning followed.

Only then did Jeonghyeon understand what was going on.

‘Subjugation’, a special status found in some Gate monsters.

‘Well, I should have known from the moment the Gate’s name included ‘dragon’.’

The probability of Subjugation manifesting increased, especially when there was a deep connection to a powerful being like a dragon.

He had thought undead monsters might appear since it was called the”Dragon’s Tomb,”but it seemed the dragon’s influence hadn’t completely vanished yet.

“Don’t tell me a dragon is actually going to appear!”

Cha Jin asked, blocking the goblin attacks that were pouring down like rain.

‘It seems he can still handle it.’

That exclamation was also proof of Cha Jin’s composure.

Heejun provided the reason, though.

“Why would a dragon appear in a 5-level Gate! If you have the energy to say that, focus on holding your shield properly!”

There was no way a dragon would appear in a mere 5-level Gate.

Of course, Subjugation itself was a troublesome characteristic.

Normal monsters had habitual behaviors based on their species.

For example, goblins would pause their actions every time they screamed.

But Subjugation erased such biological habits and turned them into pure fighting machines.

This was quite bothersome for those facing them.

Ping━

Three arrows flew simultaneously from behind Jeonghyeon.

It was Hayul’s work.

To overcome the archer’s weakness in group battles, she fired multiple arrows at once.

The fact that she could shoot three arrows simultaneously despite not having an Archery trait was clear evidence of her skill.

The three swiftly-flying arrows pierced the neck, shoulder, and chest of a goblin each, but

Thud━ Thud━

“This is why I hate Subjugation!”

Except for the goblin that was instantly killed by the arrow to its neck, the others continued to fight without flinching.

This was a typical reason why Subjugation was troublesome.

‘Anyway, I should get started now.’

Jeonghyeon drew his dagger.

Now that he knew the goblins were under Subjugation, there was no need to hesitate any longer.

Jeonghyeon drew a dagger and immediately threw it.

His target was a Hubel Goblin that had just jumped up to strike Cha Jin’s shield.

Of course, it wasn’t to lessen Cha Jin’s defensive burden.

『37.2%』

‘The probability here is pretty good.’

It was simply because that goblin had the highest coin probability among the visible goblins.

Thwack━

A striking sound, which could not be distinguished as whether it was from hitting with a blunt weapon or a dagger, echoed.

The goblin, with a dagger embedded in its left forehead, was flung backward in the same posture it had jumped in.

And that was the end of it.

It twitched once and then died instantly.

『You have acquired 1 Coin.』

‘This damn probability is high and then low, low and then high.’

Even with a probability of over 40%, some goblins wouldn’t drop coins no matter what, while others would frequently drop coins even with a probability in the 20% range.

It was a world of probabilities that was hard to understand.

Meanwhile, Jina, who had just drawn her rapier, paused after seeing that.

Jeonghyeon’s dagger had not only flown at a speed comparable to Hayul’s arrows but had also killed the goblin in one shot.

‘Is this for real?’

But she soon shook her head slightly.

It must have been luck.

He must have just thrown it randomly and it happened to hit the goblin’s head.

It was a goblin with a head half the size of a human’s.

Moreover, the distance between Jeonghyeon and the goblin was about 20 meters.

There was no way he could have accurately aimed and hit that spot with a dagger.

Of course, if you were to ask whether Jeonghyeon accurately hit the spot he was aiming for with the dagger, the answer would be no.

‘Tsk, I was trying to pierce the center of its forehead, but my hand slipped.’

It was a slightly different meaning from what Jina had thought, though.

Anyway, as Jina was trying to convince herself that Jeonghyeon’s first move was just luck,

Whizz━ Whizz━

a barrage of daggers began.

‘?’