Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 88

88. These Youngsters These Days Don’t Even Go To Hell (3)

“Aaaagh! Arrows! There’s an archer over there!”

“There are Orc warriors behind us too!”

*Thwack, Pow!* Orcs, being 3-star dungeon monsters, were stronger than Ratmen but lacked organization.

Of course, that was relatively speaking; at least 4 or 5 of them moved in packs, which Hyun-woo found just right.

However, despite Hyun-woo’s expectations, the hunters who entered the 3-star dungeon were… surprisingly chaotic.

It was only natural, really.

They faced a life-threatening crisis every minute, and the hunters increasingly considered broken limbs a stroke of luck.

At first, they sobbed, but later they cackled. Trauma accumulated, occasionally manifesting as madness.

This was exactly what Hyun-woo had hoped for.

‘The closer they are to death, the stronger they become.’

Hyun-woo quickly blocked any crises that could genuinely lead to instant death. His senses already grasped the status of all creatures nearby.

He tempered the hunters by maintaining a manageable level of danger, yet repeatedly pushing them into perilous situations the moment they started to relax.

Hyun-woo glanced at Seo Ji-hoo. Abruptly dragged into the dungeon empty-handed, Seo Ji-hoo was no different from an ordinary person.

Even a graze from an Orc would likely result in a severed limb and death. Yet, he appeared surprisingly calm, even more so than the other hunters.

“What’s the matter?”

“Why are you so calm? Is this your living room?”

“Why are you picking a fight? You dragged me here against my will. This is beyond my job description. I’ll be claiming extra compensation later.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t take care of it? Are you keeping a record?”

Hyun-woo casually flicked a Hell Dart towards an Orc charging at Seo Ji-hoo. Instead of lodging in the Orc’s head, the Hell Dart pierced right through it, leaving a fist-sized hole.

Seo Ji-hoo, unfazed by the carnage behind him, stroked his chin and said,

“It’s not easy to record while walking. I’m memorizing everything for now.”

Seo Ji-hoo was following the hunters, memorizing and analyzing their behavior.

Seo Ji-hoo possessed the skills ‘Analysis’ and ‘Magic Understanding.’

He had two skills, but both were ambiguous. He couldn’t function as a hunter with just the Analysis skill. Moreover, ‘Magic Understanding’ was considered the most useless skill ever.

This was because there was no such thing as magic among skills [skills are typically combat-related or enhance physical abilities].

However, the reason Hyun-woo hired Seo Ji-hoo for an annual salary of 200 million was precisely because of that Magic Understanding skill.

‘I should get a magic book and have this guy read it.’

Hyun-woo still had the ‘Book with a Forgotten Title’ that Yanok Max had read in his inventory, but he didn’t want to push him too hard from the start. He could look for other magic books.

If it turned out to have some useful effect, Seo Ji-hoo’s ‘Magic Understanding’ skill would be like an unscratchable lottery ticket.

‘Anyway, that’s that for now. Let’s focus on the immediate task.’

Seo Ji-hoo kept his eyes glued to all five hunters, not even noticing the monster approaching him due to his intense concentration.

He was the type to obsessively complete any task he was given.

“What do you think?”

Hyun-woo had been telling him who leveled up and awakened skills. But soon, there was no need, as he captured every moment of subtle strengthening or different behavior without missing a beat.

“Song Yeo-woon just leveled up again.”

Everyone had leveled up at least once since entering the dungeon. Leveling up once or twice in nearly half a day was decent in terms of time efficiency.

Only one person had awakened a skill.

“She seems to be under less stress compared to dealing with people. Unlike when she fought at the training camp yesterday, she’s showing a bolder and more lethal side to her enemies.”

“Isn’t it because of the weapon? Mindsets change depending on whether you’re holding a weapon or not.”

“No. Rather, that’s why she delivers more brutal attacks when she’s holding her fists.”

“It might be good to pit her against people later on.”

“Well, ordinary sparring might be difficult now.”

Hyun-woo simply smiled. He had no intention of arranging ordinary sparring matches.

“But everyone has so many points to correct. Too many, too many, too many flaws. If Hunter Kang Hyun-woo doesn’t help, they’ll be wiped out in 30 minutes. They’re not utilizing their abilities at all. It seems like they’ve developed bad habits from only frequenting low-level dungeons. Ah, if Hunter Jang Chae-hyun does that, it’ll be a hindrance to the other hunters.”

Seo Ji-hoo wiggled his fingers, muttering incessantly. Hyun-woo wondered if Seo Ji-hoo was really a robot. He couldn’t tell if he was lacking or brilliant.

With this level of ability, he should be aiming for Taesung’s administrative team, not the Omnipotent Alliance.

“Why are you in the Omnipotent Allian–”

“Shhh.”

“…Okay.”

Since the Flood at the Severed Head Dungeon, had anyone been this insolent to him besides Yoo Min?

But Hyun-woo had no intention of interfering with someone who was diligently doing his job.

Then, Hyun-woo noticed beads of sweat forming on Seo Ji-hoo’s forehead. Something was off. But Hyun-woo knew what was happening.

It was the moment of skill awakening.

Seo Ji-hoo, who had been trailing Hyun-woo, stopped abruptly. His breathing also ceased.

Just when it seemed he would collapse from holding his breath, he finally exhaled. Hyun-woo checked Seo Ji-hoo’s abilities.

[Seo Ji-hoo (LV 1)]

[Skills: Analysis (Control), Magic Understanding]

[Stats: D/S]

Unfortunately, he didn’t gain a new skill, but rather the trait of Control. The name alone felt as eerie as Seo Ji-hoo himself.

[Analysis (General)]

[Special Ability: Analyzes and organizes the condition of humans or items. When analyzing a human, can manipulate the target’s movements for a very brief moment. Only applies for a moment so short it’s hard to notice, and resistance increases if they feel discomfort.]

‘A unique trait.’

Skill awakenings often occur when one becomes aware of the need to resolve a situation they’re facing.

Hunters who enter dungeons are filled with the will to kill enemies, so the awakening rate for attack skills is the highest, while the awakening rate for buff-type skills that heal or help others is the lowest.

Defense skills and debuff skills fall in between.

But it was hard to tell whether the skill Seo Ji-hoo awakened was a debuff or a buff.

The ability to control others is undoubtedly powerful. But it’s hard to use effectively since the moment is very brief, and it becomes harder to apply once they become aware of it.

However, Seo Ji-hoo, after briefly gazing at the hunters, immediately showed how to use the trait.

The hunters’ movements began to improve noticeably. It was too coincidental to be attributed to growth from a desperate fight.

Even to Hyun-woo, who lacked the Analysis skill, the hunters’ accuracy and evasion rates had increased significantly.

‘Huh, so that’s how he uses it.’

It was like controlling a game character for a very brief moment. Then, the hunters took down monsters as if they were auto-hunting [like a feature in video games where the character automatically fights].

What was even more surprising was that the hunters realized their movements had improved and gradually began to internalize those movements.

For Hyun-woo, it was like a battle helper used on others.

Yet, Seo Ji-hoo was simultaneously micro-controlling eight people.

“Were you a pro gamer before coming here?”

“How did you know… Don’t talk to me.”

Then, Seo Ji-hoo suddenly clutched his head and started bleeding from his nose. It was a mana depletion symptom.

Hyun-woo took out a mana potion and handed it to Seo Ji-hoo. Seo Ji-hoo immediately gulped it down as if he were drinking a beverage.

“Are you feeling better?”

“No. I want to rest immediately.”

Despite Seo Ji-hoo’s unwelcome words, Hyun-woo was grinning from ear to ear. He felt like he had reeled in a big fish from an unexpected place.

‘I can’t let this guy go.’

In his future plans, Seo Ji-hoo was moving more and more towards the center.

***

Finally, they found a return stone and returned.

It was already evening outside the dungeon.

The hunters, who had been walking fine until then, staggered and collapsed as soon as they faced the peaceful night sky and forest of reality.

Some hunters collapsed and fell asleep as the tension was released all at once.

Only Song Yeo-woon, the team’s leader, barely managed to sit on a chair.

They couldn’t believe they had cleared a 3-star dungeon.

But it was more like they had forced their way through rather than cleared it. They couldn’t tell how many of their limbs had been broken or severed.

From Song Yeo-woon’s or the other hunters’ perspectives, this expedition was an epic tale on par with the Severed Head Dungeon expedition.

But for Hyun-woo, it was just a peaceful and leisurely part of his daily life.

Hyun-woo stepped forward with the report that Seo Ji-hoo had written intermittently in the dungeon.

The hunters looked at Hyun-woo with dark, lifeless faces.

“If there are any of you who can’t handle it, raise your hand now. It’s going to be like this from now on.”

The hunters’ expressions became even more lifeless.

The expedition was more like a near-death experience than a hunt. Some hunters’ wills had crumbled as they faced the fear of death.

What’s the point of getting stronger if you’re going to die along the way? Eventually, three people raised their trembling hands.

There were also those who had awakened skills thanks to Hyun-woo. But Hyun-woo gestured without hesitation.

“Get lost.”

The hunters who gave up returned with slumped shoulders. The expressions of the remaining hunters weren’t much different.

They were wondering whether to raise their hands now, but in the end, no one else raised their hand.

‘Starting with 24 people and ending with five.’

The survival rate is about 1/5. Still, more survived than I thought. Five is just right. Usually, about five people form a team.

Hyun-woo wasn’t looking for talented hunters. He was looking for ability users who could listen to him and endure hellish difficulty.

Finding talented guys is easy.

Difficulty: You can find it by searching for Hell.

But this is a world where even top-ranked hunters like Johann Hessner commit suicide.

He could fix those who were utterly useless. The key was whether they could endure it or not.

Even he, who was an incompetent 0-star ordinary person, had become like this just by ‘enduring,’ hadn’t he?

And the more hunters who had experienced the bottom, the more likely they were to have that kind of mentality. The more they had scraped the bottom, the stronger their desire to rise.

“Good. Now that the dropouts are gone, let’s settle the expedition.”

Hyun-woo had used 76 bottles of potions on this expedition. Nearly 10 bottles per person.

Since Hyun-woo didn’t give potions unless they were close to death, it meant each person had almost died ten times.

It was more like pushing through with potions rather than an expedition.

“Since intermediate potions cost about 4 million won per bottle, I spent 304 million won on this expedition. The efficiency is too low, isn’t it? Even if I sell all the expedition byproducts, I think I’ll only get about 80 million won.”

The cost of potions was also why it was difficult for hunters to become rich even if they earned a lot of money. The reason they were obsessed with large clans was largely to receive supplies.

But even then, it was difficult for Omnipotent Alliance hunters to receive a large amount of supplies.

This was also why Omnipotent Alliance hunters only went to lower-level dungeons with lower difficulty than upper-level dungeons.

“Well, whatever. I don’t plan on skimping on money for the kids I’m raising.”

For the first time, the hunters’ faces lit up. When had they ever heard such words since joining the Omnipotent Alliance?

Receiving high-level supplies was only for high-ranking hunters with high growth potential.

‘Well, I did receive 1 billion won in support from Oh Dae-sung.’

It was like taking credit with someone else’s money, but they could be moved by it anyway.

Besides, Hyun-woo didn’t spend anything other than the cost of the bottles to make intermediate potions in Difficulty: Hell.

“Song Yeo-woon.”

“Yes, yes!”

The first to be called was the female hunter with her hair tied back, Song Yeo-woon.

Hyun-woo had been keeping the closest eye on her.

She was the oldest among them, but she was also the most advanced, a 2-star, and had high growth potential. She was also one of the hunters who had awakened a skill.

[Song Yeo-woon (LV 16)]

[Skills: Repulsion, Exhaustion]

[Stats: C/A]

‘Hmm, is Song Yeo-woon the only one worth using?’

She had awakened the debuff skill Exhaustion, following Repulsion, the power to push objects away.

Exhaustion was a skill that drained the opponent’s stamina and made them lethargic, and it seemed to have good synergy with Repulsion.

Using Repulsion and Exhaustion in succession would make it difficult for any enemy to approach easily.

“Why a bow? How much did you pay for that trash… I mean, that bow? Did you spend your own money?”

“Yes? Uh, Director Kim Sung-ho thought it was the way to utilize my skills…”

“Throw that trash away and pick up a whip. Before you throw it away, be sure to stick an arrow in the face of the guy who gave you that advice. Why is he talking nonsense when it’s not even his money?”

It was clear that it was a one-dimensional judgment that since she had the ability to create distance, she should ‘use a long-range weapon = a bow.’

The bow itself is a decent weapon. Arrows are the easiest consumable item to obtain, and being able to safely snipe enemies from a distance is a great advantage.

Moreover, Song Yeo-woon was a pretty decent archer, as could be seen from her considerable growth potential.

But it had no synergy with Song Yeo-woon’s skills at all.

“The distance you can push with Repulsion isn’t that far, and you can’t use one hand while using the skill. Then, that distance will be closed again while you’re re-aiming the bow. The most suitable thing is a whip. Give that trash… I mean, the bow to someone else. Anyone can hold a bow.”

“Huh, yes! B-but a whip…”

“What about a whip? Is it expensive?”

“It’s a little… perverted. And it doesn’t look cool.”

Hyun-woo was silent for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

“Which is better, you dying or becoming an uncool pervert?”

“I’ll become a cool pervert.”

Hyun-woo couldn’t tell if this was余裕 [leeway/composure] or a manifestation of madness.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have had a consultation before entering the dungeon.’