Having completely lost his will to resist and forced to endure excruciating pain, Kang Jae-jun let out a scream that was closer to a desperate struggle.
“Argh! P-please… Gack! Ack! Kuaaaah! S-stop! Euaaaaarrrgh!”
Before long, Kang Jae-jun’s face was a mess of tears and snot. Judging that this was enough, Seong-jun finally stopped his Rehabilitation Thrashing.
Thud!
Only then was Kang Jae-jun released from the horrific agony.
“Well? Do you feel some regret now?”
Looking at Seong-jun, who wore a fishy smirk, Kang Jae-jun asked with eyes filled with terror.
“Pant! Pant! Wh-who… what are you!”
“What else? I’m just a lowly F-rank buffer. But isn’t your tone a bit short? Am I your friend?”
As Seong-jun spoke, he slowly raised his fist again.
“Hieek! I-I’m sorry!”
An apology burst out of Kang Jae-jun’s mouth immediately.
The moment he saw Seong-jun’s fist, the memory of the horrific pain engraved into both his body and mind resurfaced.
“Go ahead and run to that great Taeseong Guild of yours and tell them I beat you up. But can you actually do that? If a supposed E-rank dealer says he got thrashed by an F-rank buffer, do you think your guild members will actually avenge you? Or will they look at you like you’re pathetic? Your guild life would get real ‘variety’ after that, wouldn’t it? Don’t you think so?”
If he told his guild members what happened today, the latter result was a certainty.
No matter how far beyond standard buffs his were, Seong-jun was still technically an F-rank buffer.
If an E-rank combat class warrior admitted to being beaten by an F-rank non-combat class buffer, Kang Jae-jun would be branded as a pathetic loser from that day forward.
In other words, Kang Jae-jun couldn’t go around blabbering about today’s events to anyone.
“…”
Looking at the silent Kang Jae-jun, Seong-jun spoke in a low voice.
“Jae-jun, keep this in mind. If you try anything stupid, it won’t end at this level next time. I’ll make you realize that the pain you felt today was just child’s play, so if you’re curious, give it a shot. Just remember that you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”
“…”
When Kang Jae-jun remained silent, unable to say a word, Seong-jun raised his fist once more.
“Hey, no answer? Should we start round two?”
Startled, Kang Jae-jun answered hurriedly.
“Ack! N-no! I-I understand!”
Seong-jun smiled at that and lowered his fist.
“Good. Let’s be on our best behavior. And let’s try our best not to see each other again. It’s better for you too, right? It’s not like we have a good relationship. So stay away from me if possible. If I catch you hanging around my sight for no reason, I might lose my temper and I don’t know what I’ll do.”
At Seong-jun’s words, Kang Jae-jun could only tremble violently without being able to offer a proper response.
“…”
Seong-jun chuckled at the sight.
“That’s enough. Get lost.”
At the command to leave, Kang Jae-jun struggled to stand on his trembling legs and then scrambled out of the alleyway in a panic.
Once the man had completely disappeared from sight, Seong-jun resumed his walk with a smile.
***
After administering a “true education” to Kang Jae-jun, Seong-jun returned home feeling refreshed.
After taking a shower, Seong-jun sat down in front of his computer.
“Seeing that guy’s face contorted in pain really cleared my head for the first time in a while. Anyway, I wonder if there’s a usable mace available. Let’s see…”
He immediately logged onto Hunternet and entered an artifact sales site.
“Auction sites will only have expensive stuff anyway, and I don’t need something that high-end right now, so it’s better to look at general sales sites.”
High-grade artifacts, or low-grade ones with special skill options, were usually listed on auction sites.
Items that wouldn’t fetch a high price even at auction were listed on general sales sites.
Since he didn’t have enough money to buy auction items anyway, he accessed the sales site to purchase a decent mace.
Click, click, click!
When he searched for ‘mace,’ a list of available items appeared.
“Hmm, as expected, most of the options are for dealers.”
Blunt weapons were mostly used by dealers, though tankers occasionally used them as well.
Since they were classified as melee weapons, they naturally came with options suitable for dealers or tankers.
Of course, there were occasional outliers with completely different options.
“Oh? This one is quite usable.”
Sometimes, melee weapons came with options suitable for magic or healer classes.
In such cases, since they rarely sold well, the prices were cheaper compared to normal weapons.
And right now, a mace with options perfectly suited for a healer caught Seong-jun’s eye.
“5 million won. The price is reasonable too. I should buy it immediately.”
Maces with options for dealers or tankers were mostly maintaining a price range of around 8 million won.
However, the mace with healer options was listed much cheaper, likely because there were almost no buyers looking for it.
When Seong-jun clicked the buy button, the seller’s basic information appeared.
It wasn’t a detailed profile, just the name, general location, a 1:1 chat window, and a phone number provided by the site.
Seong-jun, who had topped up his credits using the account linked to the site, paid the balance immediately.
Then, he began a conversation with the seller through the 1:1 chat window.
***
The hunt proceeded smoothly the next day as well.
For efficient hunting, Seong-jun searched specifically for dungeons where dark-attribute monsters appeared.
As a result, he found a dungeon called the Forest of F-Rank Zombies.
The clear rate was 56 percent, which wasn’t particularly high or low, and perhaps because of that, there were much more parties hunting there than in the skeleton archer dungeon.
Of course, he provided buffs to every party he met without asking for anything in return, and thanks to that, he was able to significantly increase his proficiency in the five basic buffs.
It was a little past 6 PM.
“Wow! It’s not as much as yesterday, but we cleared 20 million won easily today too.”
Yu-seon, who had finished the hunt, smiled brightly at the settlement amount.
“Yesterday was because we caught an elite and got loot. In terms of pure hunting profit, today is actually better than yesterday.”
Today’s total hunting revenue was 27 million won.
After deducting 2.7 million won in taxes, the net profit was 24.3 million won.
From this, Seong-jun took 9.72 million won (40%), while Gwang-taek and Yu-seon took 7.29 million won (30%) each.
“I know that much. Still, I wish every day was like today.”
Seong-jun smiled at Yu-seon’s words and spoke.
“We can’t always pick dark-attribute dungeons, so there will be many times when our income drops lower than this.”
Although F-rank dungeons were the most common, those with dark-attribute monsters were fewer than one might think.
Since the proportion of monsters with other attributes was much higher, it was certain that there would be more days where they couldn’t match today’s profits.
“Still, compared to when I was a mercenary, this profit is insane, right? There are probably very few people running F-rank dungeons who take home as much as we do. That aside, you guys have treated me so many times, so how about I treat you today?”
When Yu-seon offered to buy dinner for once, Gwang-taek’s face lit up.
“Oh! You’re treating us, Yu-seon? Wow! I guess the sun will rise in the west tomorrow.”
“Oh, whatever. People would think I only ever get treated if they heard you. I’ve treated you guys too!”
“Haha, sure. You did. It’s just as rare as rain in a drought, that’s the problem.”
While Gwang-taek and Yu-seon bickered like that.
“What should I do? Today’s going to be difficult.”
Seong-jun said it would be hard for him to join them today.
Yu-seon asked with a puzzled expression.
“Eh? Why?”
“I’m supposed to trade for the artifact I’ll use as a main weapon in a bit.”
Seong-jun had made an appointment with the seller through the 1:1 chat yesterday.
Since he had no other plans, he had set the appointment for the very next day, which was today.
“Oh! You’re finally buying a healer’s staff?”
“Not a staff, a mace. I saw a usable healer mace on the Hunternet sales site yesterday. I have to go there since we agreed to trade after today’s hunt.”
When he said he was buying a mace instead of a staff, Yu-seon and Gwang-taek looked confused.
“Huh? A mace?”
“A mace is that blunt weapon I’m thinking of, right? A healer using a blunt weapon? Don’t they usually carry staves?”
Generally, magic classes used wands or staves because magic-type options appeared frequently on them.
Particularly for healer-specific options, they appeared more often on staves, and above all, most options that increased healing efficiency were attached to staves, so most healers carried them.
So, hearing him say he was buying a blunt mace out of the blue naturally made them curious.
“Maybe because I’m a Battle Priest, I have a passive that increases efficiency when using blunt weapons. Anyway, I don’t think I can make it today.”
What could they do? He already had a prior engagement.
“It can’t be helped then. We’ll have dinner tomorrow. Oh! Right! That video from yesterday. I had my friend upload it. It’s only been a day, but the view count is crazy.”
When Yu-seon brought up the video, Seong-jun showed interest.
“Really? What title did you use?”
“The Tyranny of a Taeseong Guild E-Rank Melee Dealer? It was probably something like that.”
When Yu-seon mentioned the title, Gwang-taek asked worriedly.
“Huh? Is it okay to mention the Taeseong Guild directly like that?”
He seemed concerned about naming the Taeseong Guild in the title.
“Well, so what? Kang Jae-jun mentioned the Taeseong Guild himself.”
The video captured the scene where Kang Jae-jun mentioned the Taeseong Guild with his own mouth.
Of course, depending on the situation, they could be sued for defamation, but wouldn’t that just be settled by paying a small fine?
“If Taeseong sues for defamation, tell your friend I’ll pay the fine for them. Oh! And if they ask to take the video down, tell them to take it down at an appropriate time. The video was meant to screw over Kang Jae-jun anyway, so the moment Taeseong notices it, the video has already fulfilled its role.”
The reason Seong-jun asked to post that video on social media was solely to ensure the Taeseong Guild would see it.
In other words, if Taeseong tried to take action regarding the video, it meant they had already seen it, and thus the video’s job was done.
“Got it. I’ll tell my friend that.”
After Yu-seon agreed.
“Anyway, look at the time. I should probably head out first. It’s almost time for my appointment.”
Since the appointment time was approaching, Seong-jun said he would leave first.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Finish the trade well. See you tomorrow.”
With that, Seong-jun separated from the group and headed toward the meeting place.
***
A cafe near Hongik University.
Seong-jun was sitting across from a man in a corner seat.
“Can I see the item first?”
When Seong-jun asked, the man across from him hurriedly lifted a mace and placed it on the table.
“Ah, yes. Here it is. Please check it.”
Seong-jun took the mace in his hand and checked its information.
[F-Rank] Goblin Mace
– Weapon Attack Power +1,300
– Holy Magic Efficiency increases by 10%.
As was common with F-rank artifacts, it had one or two additional options excluding basic stats like attack or defense.
And this mace also had only one option besides attack power.
However, since that option increased Holy Magic efficiency, it was the best possible choice for Seong-jun.
Having checked the mace’s information, Seong-jun then used In-depth Analysis on his counterpart.
‘In-depth Analysis.’
Information about the man appeared before his eyes in a translucent window.
[Analysis Results]
Kim Chang-su: [F-Rank Assassin]
Average Stats: [F-]
Combat Style: [Uses Stealth to get behind the enemy, strikes with a Critical Blow, and thereafter proceeds with combat focused on agile movements and fast attacks using a dagger.]
Core Skills: [Stealth / Critical Blow]
Reliability: 32
Psychological State: [Feeling greatly discouraged after recently being cut from a fixed mercenary position.
Thinking about selling the Goblin Mace he received as back pay for a month’s work to quickly pay his mother’s hospital bills.]
Judging by his psychological state, it seemed he had indeed been cut from a fixed mercenary spot recently.
It looked like he hadn’t been paid for a month and was given a Goblin Mace instead, likely because the employer expected it wouldn’t sell well due to its healer-specific option.
‘An F-rank assassin. Looks like he was cut from his fixed spot recently. Tsk, I was looking to see if there was room to negotiate the price, but I shouldn’t rip off someone trying to pay for their mother’s hospital bills.’
He had used In-depth Analysis to see if he could lower the price, but upon seeing that the man was in urgent need of hospital fees, he abandoned the idea of haggling.
It was bad enough that the man was struggling with his sick mother’s bills; it would be wrong to haggle with someone who had even been cut from their job.
“I’ve confirmed it. The options are the same as what you posted on Hunternet. Shall we proceed with the trade?”
Therefore, Seong-jun decided to complete the transaction at the originally listed price of 5 million won.
“Ah! Yes!”
When Seong-jun suggested proceeding immediately, Kim Chang-su’s expression brightened drastically.
Since it was a mace for healers, there were almost no buyers, and even when people did inquire because of the low price, there were many cases where they changed their minds and canceled at the site.
“Just a moment. I’ll log into Hunternet and deposit the money for you right now.”
Hunternet was a place where one could find everything from information on monsters and dungeons to the sale and auction of various artifacts, so accounts were naturally linked to bank accounts upon registration.
Seong-jun deposited the remaining balance through Hunternet.
“I’ve sent the payment. Please check.”
At Seong-jun’s words, Kim Chang-su hurriedly checked his account.
“I’ve confirmed it. Thank you so much. But… are you perhaps a healer? It’s my first time seeing a healer who uses a mace.”
Most healers used staves, and a small minority used wands for faster cooldowns.
Of course, even if it wasn’t a staff, options like Holy Magic efficiency increases could appear on items like this mace, but that was a basic option for staves, which allowed them to have additional options on top of it.
Most importantly, since a staff itself was a magic-type artifact, its basic efficiency increase was 20 percent, unlike other weapon types which only got 10 percent.
In many ways, a staff was far more efficient for a healer than other weapon types.
So, it seemed he found it a bit strange that a healer was buying a mace instead of a staff.
Seong-jun shrugged and answered.
“I just happen to like blunt weapons. Anyway, I’ll put it to good use.”
There was no need to explain everything to someone he would likely never see again.
Giving a vague excuse, Seong-jun stood up with the purchased mace.
“W-wait a moment!”
For some reason, Kim Chang-su called out to Seong-jun.
***
I Became an EX-Grade All-Purpose Priest Episode 11
E-book Publication Date: 2025.11.14
Author: Kim Hyeon-jun
Publishers: Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by: Poten
Address: 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul [04783]
Phone: 02-6320-8500
Fax: 02-6320-8585
ISBN: 9791175302167
Price: Not for Sale
(c) Kim Hyeon-jun 2025
This e-book is a work protected by copyright law.
This e-book was published through a contract with the author, and unauthorized transcription, reproduction, distribution, or sharing without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.