Chapter 60

Chapter 60 Hidden Piece (1)

Before regression, JaeHyun recalled an item that was especially eye-catching, even among the hidden pieces.

It was an artifact that any Warrior would love to have and was relatively easy to obtain. He had to make sure he got it.

《Thialfi’s Thunder Steps》

Known as the swift shoes worn by Thialfi, Thor’s servant, it was one of the few S-ranked items in the world.

Once worn, the artifact would add around 100 points to one’s Dexterity.

‘It’s an item that I really need, as someone who has been putting most of the stat points I’ve received into Magic.’

JaeHyun nodded his head slightly.

Honestly, for him to truly become a Battlemage he would need to increase not just his Magic, but also his Combat stats.

In other words, he would need to increase his Strength and Dexterity as well.

But, even so, JaeHyun was still a Magician. It was still a fact that, for him to grow, Magic was the most important stat.

Assuming that it was difficult to raise the main stats in general, it seemed wasteful to invest the hard-earned points gained from leveling up in Strength or Dexterity.

“I haven’t touched my Strength or Dexterity stats until now, but… I realized from the fight that staying like this is dangerous. I don’t have the power to respond to every variable that suddenly comes up.”

His strength was his hybrid combat style.

In order to make the best use of it, extreme ‘overgearing’ was required.

‘It’s true that I’m growing faster than others thanks to my EX-rank skills. But that alone will only make me good at both. To reach the peak of both fields, I need to resolve the imbalance in my stats.’

Therefore, JaeHyun intended to narrow the gap by obtaining 《Thialfi’s Thunder Walk》.

As it was an S-rank item that increased Strength and Dexterity, it would be able to make up for his missing combat stats.

‘Now that I think about it… This is my first time clearing a themed dungeon.’

Themed dungeons were normally rare hidden dungeons.

Unlike other dungeons, where you had to kill the boss monster, the way to clear it was incredibly unique and it gave a ‘hidden piece’ as a reward. It was called that because it gave S-rank items that were equivalent to the weapons of the gods.

For that reason, Themed dungeons had another name.

《God’s Assignment》

“I shouldn’t let my guard down since it’s an A-rank dungeon. It would be great if I could become stronger before trying it out, but… If I wait, I’ll miss timing and lose the item. I have no choice but to take the risk.”

He knew that it would be dangerous.

However, the item was worth it.

Speed was one of the biggest factors in battle, and JaeHyun currently lacked speed and strength when compared to Warriors.

JaeHyun looked out the window with his chin propped on his hand.

‘Neverland… it’s been a while since I’ve been there.’

Neverland was a medium-sized amusement park near Pangyo in Seoul.

He remembered going there several times, a very long time before he returned to the past.

Of course, once he got a bit older he was so busy trying to earn a living that he didn’t have time…

He remembered going there often when he was still a student.

Being dragged there by YooJung or going with his friends for a birthday.

Now that he thought about it, he could see how easy he once thought being a raider was.

It was enough that he felt embarrassed for thinking his lack of talent was the reason he hadn’t grown stronger. Back then, he could have worked harder, but he hadn’t.

However…

JaeHyun shook his head and brushed away his stray thoughts.

Now, the past had no meaning.

Instead of regretting things, it was more important that he continued forward.

There was no reason he should continue to hold on to things that had already happened.

JaeHyun thought about how to keep a distance between him and Ina.

During the Dungeon Practicum, Ina had put her life on the line to save him.

Knowing that she could have died from Mana Rebound, she still used up all of her mana.

But in the end, he decided to push Ina away.

He had put up a wall and maintain distance.

There was nothing Ina could do but to take a step back.

“Ha…”

He already knew that Ina would feel betrayed.

It was only a short while, but as one of the first friends she had made, JaeHyun’s actions might make her mad. It might hurt her deeply, as well.

But there was nothing else he could do.

He needed to continue standing beside YooJung. She was going to face a tragic death in a future event otherwise.

But Ina was different.

In the future, she only had a brilliant path ahead of her.

What if he kept intervening in her life?

Dangerous situations like the Dungeon Practicum might appear again.

Even if he’d approached her with ulterior motives at the beginning…

Still, it wasn’t right.

If he did, it wouldn’t be any different from his cowardly actions in the past.

He planned to act differently.

‘I don’t plan to get stronger by harming other people. I only want to get what I can. If I act too greedy, I’ll only create more enemies.’

Organizing his thoughts, JaeHyun turned his attention to his inventory.

[Consumable Item]

Name: Idunn’s Golden Apple

Rating: Mythic

Apple grown by Idunn, the goddess responsible for the immortality of the gods.

Slows down aging upon consumption and dramatically increases natural healing abilities.

Greatly increases magic aptitude permanently.

Aging Rate -50%

Natural Healing Rate +50%

Stamina +20

Magic +20

*An item that cannot be transferred or sold to others.

The golden apple he obtained from clearing the quest 《First Junction》.

***

Translator – Rainypup

Proofreader – Harley

***

“Hey! Hey, Min JaeHyun! Are you in there?!”

YooJung and Ina had gone to JaeHyun’s hotel room and knocked on the door. They’d already tried calling him, but he wasn’t answering so they came in person.

“Where the hell is this guy roaming around? Something major happened just yesterday.”

“… YooJung, let’s just go. We can just talk to him some other time.”

Ina grabbed Yoojung’s sleeve and spoke as the latter started to grumble.

YooJung looked at the closed door and crossed her arms with a puzzled expression.

‘Strange. Did he really go out? … There’s no way that’s true.’

To begin with, JaeHyun was an extreme homebody who didn’t like getting close to others.

Even though he was popular due to his good looks, he didn’t go out that often because of his personality.

So YooJung didn’t think that JaeHyun would leave home.

‘If he was at home, he would have opened the door sooner because of the noise… Did something happen?’

YooJung thought for a moment before she nodded.

“Okay. It seems like Min JaeHyun isn’t here. Let’s ask him tomorrow.”

At her words, Ina nodded her head in relief.

‘… Thank god…’

Although Ina had expressed her disappointment in him with her actions the day before, she hadn’t said anything as she didn’t know what to say. She had been stewing in her disappointment.

Even if she were to see him, she might not have been able to speak up properly yet.

Because of that, she wanted to bring things up again once she was able to organize her thoughts a little more.

“… Um, but… YooJung? I have something I want to ask you.”

“Huh? What is it?”

YooJung looked at Ina, who was squirming and twisting her hair around her finger.

A nervous expression and unusual atmosphere hung over her.

“That… How long have you been friends with JaeHyun? Has it been a long time?”

“Well, I guess? Our parents are friends. Probably more than ten years?”

“Is that so…?”

A smile spread on YooJung’s face at Ina’s strange words.

“What’s wrong? No way… Do you like Min JaeHyun?”

At those words, Ina’s eyes widened.

“N-no! It’s not like that… I just thought that you guys were pretty close.”

“Since we’ve been friends for so long, I guess it’s to be expected.”

At those words, Ina thought with a gloomy expression.

‘The way JaeHyun treats me and YooJung is strangely different… Is it just because he’s been close to YooJung for so long?’

“… Sometimes, I’m jealous. That you guys have someone you’re so close to.”

“Huh? Huh?”

At Ina’s honest confession, YooJung didn’t know how she should react.

JaeHyun didn’t like interacting with strangers, but he wasn’t the type to show his discomfort to others.

But to think Ina, who wasn’t close to anyone, would actually point it out.

YooJung looked at Ina with a stiff expression and laughed.

“Ina, I’m hungry. Why don’t we leave Min JaeHyun behind and go get something to eat?”

“… Okay!”

Ina’s expression as she replied was much brighter than the moment before.

* * *

“Damn. If it was possible to sell it, this item would break every balance out there.”

JaeHyun mumbled dazedly as he stared at the status window in front of him.

It was as he said.

《Idunn’s Golden Apple》 boasted an insane number of benefits.

It wasn’t that there weren’t items that reduced the aging rate or increased a person’s natural healing ability, but the ones on the market only did so by a small percent.

Even those were sold at billions of won, since there were so few.

But 《Idunn’s Golden Apple》 did both of those things by 50%.

It was so shocking that he couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s insane no matter how many times I look at it.”

He couldn’t help but exclaim.

JaeHyun took the golden apple out of his inventory and held it in his hand.

《Idunn’s Golden Apple》 was an item awarded by the Nornir System.

Those items were on a totally different level from the ones sold on the market.

For example, 《Odin’s Lost Eye》 was a mythical artifact, and it was not an exaggeration to say that it was an item that created the current JaeHyun. The recently obtained 《Mistilteinn》 didn’t need further explanation.

《Idunn’s Golden Apple》 was on the same level as those items.

‘Though the meaning is pretty obvious.’

The reason they were so generous to JaeHyun was simple.

It was to make JaeHyun grow stronger as the Adversary.

Well, JaeHyun was also making use of their generosity since he had no reason to refuse.

“By the way, how can all the items given by the system be bound to the user?”

He hadn’t planned to sell it, but it was true that he was a bit disappointed.

If items that could be sold came from the system, they might be useful if he urgently needed money.

‘Well, it can’t be helped since the system’s goal is to make me strong.’

JaeHyun quickly got over it.

The forces against the Aesir…

They were supporting JaeHyun so that he could grow into his role as the Aesir’s Adversary. They didn’t choose to give him things just so he could sell them.

“Now then.”

JaeHyun rubbed the apple against his sleeve and quickly took a big bite.

Crunch.

JaeHyun frowned.

“Hmm… It’s not as tasty as I thought it would be.”

He’d expected something special since it was grown by Idunn, who was called the ‘Goddess of Youth.’

It occurred to him that it wasn’t that different from regular apples.

It was crisp and fresh, but…

Ordinary.

That was JaeHyun’s thoughts as he finished eating the golden apple.

But despite the taste, the system reacted.

The effects of Idunn’s Golden Apple have started to be absorbed.

Stamina stat has permanently increased by 20.

Magic stat has permanently increased by 20.

The user’s aging rate has decreased by 50%.

Natural healing ability has increased by 50%.

Your magic aptitude has been raised significantly.

“… Ah!”

The effect of the apple quickly permeated his whole body.

His body felt revitalized, and even his aura changed.

In an instant, his skin became as elastic as a baby’s and the dark circles under his eyes were erased. In addition, he felt energized and motivated.

“What is this… some kind of drug?”

Feeling like all the negative substances in his body had disappeared, JaeHyun smiled.

JaeHyun moved around and nodded in satisfaction.

Then.

Screech!

The bus he was riding suddenly stopped.

Soon, the bus arrived at its destination and a crowd of passengers flowed out of its open door.

The amusement park could be seen through the window.

The land of dreams and hopes, 《Neverland》.

JaeHyun took a deep breath.

He intended to put his life on the line to get his hands on Neverland’s hidden piece.

____