Leveling Up Alone

“Yes, that is me,” Han-Yeol replied.

“May you kindly show me your ID?” the receptionist asked.

“Of course,” Han-Yeol replied. He took out his ID from his wallet and passed it to her.

The receptionist compared the picture on the ID to Han-Yeol’s face with a nod. She then guided him toward a machine to scan his fingerprint.[1]

Beep… Beep!

“I have confirmed your identity. You may proceed to Testing Room 1,” the receptionist said.

“Ah, thank you,” Han-Yeol replied. He was aware of the process, since he had researched it before. ‘They’re probably going to test my mana capacity and type with this test,’ he thought, recalling the information he had looked up.

Normally, a candidate was supposed to first get tested to determine whether they had the aptitude to become a Hunter, then go through four weeks of training before their mana was tested—which was what Han-Yeol was going to do now.

‘Haa… I got lucky this time,’ he thought.

He had almost died because of the lobster monster, but he had been able to save four weeks of his precious time because of it. He had originally planned to hunt illegally during his four weeks of training, but there was no longer a need for him to risk that anymore.

“Please come here,” a receptionist said as she guided him.

“Ah, yes,” Han-Yeol replied. This place, which was usually crowded with those hoping to be Hunters, was supposed to be closed and empty by six in the afternoon. But now, he was the only one taking a test in the large hall.

‘It feels as if I rented the whole place out,’ Han-Yeol thought smugly.

When he entered Testing Room 1, he was greeted by a modern interior and a large machine. The machine had four pillars and a circular platform in the center.

“Please take your shirt off and stand on the platform,” a staffer instructed him.

“Eh? Take my shirt off…?” Han-Yeol asked in surprise. He was suddenly embarrassed by the request, as the staffer present was a woman; but she did not seem to be bothered by it, despite the way he was feeling.

“It will be over quickly, so please cooperate with us,” the staffer said.

“Yes…” Han-Yeol replied, and he obediently took his shirt off.

Beep…

The staffer pressed a few buttons and activated the machine.

Wooooooong…

Bluish light that resembled mana slowly started to flow out from the four pillars, moving up and down Han-Yeol to scan him. The process went on and on for a while before the light suddenly dissipated.

Beep… Beep!

“Hmm… Your mana rating is F. You have my sincere condolences,” the staffer said.

“Ah…” Han-Yeol pretended to be disappointed. It was something he had already expected, as he had a growth-type ability, and he was not truly disappointed at all.

“The next step is supposed to be a demonstration of your skills, but since you are F-ranked… I will just do it as a formality. What are the skills you awakened with?” the staffer asked.

“Ah…” Han-Yeol contemplated for a moment before replying, “A skill for using chains in ranged combat, and a skill for using a dagger in close combat.”

“Ah…” the staffer muttered while writing something down.

Shk… Shk… Shk…

‘Isn’t he just a mishmash? What rotten luck he has,’ the staffer thought. However, she politely said, “Then, please just wait for an hour.”

“Ah, okay!” Han-Yeol replied.

He was able to receive his freshly printed Hunter License after an hour. He stared at the card for a while, and he could not help but feel deeply moved after seeing his face on it. In fact, he felt more emotional than when he had first awakened. He finally felt that one of his lifelong goals had been achieved, as he was now looking at his own Hunter License.

‘I’m officially a Hunter now!’ Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. It did not matter that he was F-ranked on his Hunter License, as he no longer had to sneak around and hunt illegally from now on.

‘Alright, first things first,’ he thought. He really wanted to sleep. He was exhausted after running away all day from the lobster monster.

‘Ah… Master Hee-Yun… She was really beautiful…’ He suddenly thought of the beauty who had saved his life.

In addition to her superhuman strength, Hee-Yun possessed beauty that was out of this world; she also had the strong backing of the S-Group as well. She was still in her mid-twenties, and there was no man in the world who would not covet her, as she was the definition of a perfect woman. No one deserved the title of ‘Perfect Woman’ more than her.

‘Right… I don’t have time for all of this,’ Han-Yeol thought, snapping himself out of his reverie. He dragged his tired body home, collapsing onto the bed as soon as he returned.

Snore… Zzzzz…

***

The next morning, Han-Yeol dragged his half-awake body out of bed and sat down in front of the computer.

‘Let’s see… Where should we go hunt today?’ he thought as he waited for his computer to boot up. He could have rested for longer after his near-death experience, but his fight against the lobster monster had made him realize how weak and powerless he was.

‘Still have a long way to go… I’m still lacking,’ he thought as he steeled his resolve once again.

His fight against the lobster monster could not even be considered a real fight. All he had done was draw its aggro and run around while hoping that someone would come and help. The chain attack he had thrown with all of his might had easily bounced off of the monster, and he was the one who had received damage instead when the impact flung him backward.

Han-Yeol desperately wanted to grow stronger even more quickly, and thus did not even consider taking a break. He began scouring the internet for information. He was planning to hunt solo for the time being, and was browsing for information on small and low-tier monsters when one particular piece of information caught his eye.

‘Anthill? This should be about right,’ Han-Yeol thought. He decided that the anthill would be his next hunting ground.

He had had to secretly rent a truck from a company when he hunted illegally the last time; it was different this time around, however, as he confidently walked to the Hunter’s Association to ask for support. He was now eligible to borrow a fully equipped RV truck as a licensed Hunter.

“Thank you,” Han-Yeol said to the association staffer before driving the truck toward the anthill.

The Anthill was located at a mountain in Chungcheongbuk-do[2]. Despite being called an Anthill, it was not located in a cave or anything resembling one, instead having a wide-open ceiling. It was not dark at all, as the area was fully lit by sunlight.

Shhhhkkk… Pukeok!

“Kiriririieeek!”

Giant Ants were the weakest monsters found in the Anthill. However, they were still strong monsters, as their large frames and hard exoskeletons made them able to withstand Han-Yeol’s chain attacks without dying in one hit. He had to hit them with at least three chain attacks to stagger them, then stab them in the head with his mana-infused knuckle knife, in order to kill them.

‘There guys are annoying,’ Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue. The Giant Ants’ hard exoskeletons and natural barriers made his slingshot useless against them, which made him wish that he possessed a powerful AoE[3] skill to sweep them away in one go.

***

The hook attached to the end of Han-Yeol’s chain wrapped itself around the neck of a Giant Ant, which was the size of a large dog.

Shhhk… Thud!

He yanked the chain and pulled the Giant Ant down to the ground, and the ant fell over with its abdomen facing up. Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity to charge at the Giant Ant with his knuckle knife, stabbing it in the chin and neck.

Giant Ants possessed tough exoskeletons, but the areas around their neck and chin were covered by a softer shell, and targeting those areas was the fastest way to kill them.

‘Ugh… This way of hunting is too inefficient,’ Han-Yeol grumbled.

Such a method would make quick work of one or two Giant Ants, but it would hardly be effective when facing a lot of Giant Ants. It had been four days since Han-Yeol started hunting at the Anthill, but he had not made any progress at all, only being able to hunt carefully around the entrance.

Ding!

[Your level has risen.]

Han-Yeol invested all of the bonus stat points he gained after leveling up into VIT, the same way he had previously when he invested them into STR.

“Hooo…” He exhaled deeply, feeling his fatigue leaving his body and his muscles contracting and relaxing after he invested his bonus stat points into VIT. He thought, ‘Status.’

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 10

Points: 0

STR: 49

VIT: 46

AGI: 35

MAG: 25

LCK: 10

Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (F), Infinite Library (M).

He had just been hunting conservatively at the entrance, but there had been more than enough monsters to make him level up twice in the span of four days. However, Han-Yeol was still not satisfied.

‘Arghhh… I don’t like this…!’ he thought, sitting down in frustration.

Thud…

Han-Yeol pouted as he sat in the truck, even though he had gained an average of one level per day.

‘It’s slow… It’s too slow… My level is rising too slowly,’ he thought, feeling frustrated.

His Heal skill was at a meager C-rank, and he also needed to level up to quickly raise his other skills’ levels as well. His father’s illness had been slowed down thanks to his skills, but he had still failed to completely cure it, and it could suddenly explode like a ticking time bomb.

‘I need to at least raise the level of Heal for now,’ he thought. He had kept some medical books in the truck to read from time to time while taking a break, but the speed at which the Heal skill leveled up had slowed dramatically after it reached the C-rank.

‘In that case… The best method is to use the skill repeatedly…’ he thought.

If there was one similarity among many video games, it was the fact that the best way to level a skill up was to consistently use it again and again, rather than leveling one’s character up.

‘Should I join a party as a healer…?’ Han-Yeol pondered. There was bound to be a shortage of healers, whether in games or in reality.

‘No… I’ll only end up becoming a backup healer, since I can’t heal as quickly as a real healer,’ he concluded. At its current level, his Heal skill was not as efficient as a main healer’s skill.

‘Things have just circled back to me having to level up in the end…’ he thought with a sigh.

Level up, level up explosively, and level up monstrously. Those were the only three choices Han-Yeol had at this point.

Kirik!

“Huh? Ah, damn it…” Han-Yeol grumbled. A group of Giant Ants was approaching the truck; he had not noticed them fast approaching, as he had been busy spacing out while thinking about many different things.

Shhhhhwiik!

However, Han-Yeol calmly prepared for combat, extending the chain wrapped around his left arm.

‘There are six of them in total,’ he counted. It was the largest group of Giant Ants he had ever faced at once. He was slightly nervous, but he was not afraid. He thought with a smirk, ‘In the end, they’re only ants.’

Bam!

Han-Yeol slammed the truck door shut, then jumped and threw his chain toward a Giant Ant.

Shhhhwiik… Pukeok!

“Kieeeek!” One of the Giant Ants shrieked in agony.

However, the other Giant Ants surrounded Han-Yeol as soon as he landed after throwing his chain. The Giant Ants’ hard exoskeletons made them able to withstand Han-Yeol’s powerful chain attacks up to three times before they were incapacitated; he had to follow them up by stabbing them in the neck as soon as they were incapacitated, as they would recover and get up once again if they were not taken care of within three minutes.

“Kieeek!” A Giant Ant shrieked as it charged toward Han-Yeol.

“In your dreams! Mana Shield!” Han-Yeol yelled, casting his defensive skill.

Thud!

He had forgotten about it for quite some time, but offensive skills were not the only skills he had obtained until then. Mana Shield had been neglected for a while, as he had not particularly felt the need for it. It was a small, round shield made out of his mana, which acted as a barrier and protected him from attacks.

One of the Giant Ants tried to bite Han-Yeol with its strong jaws, but it was thrown back as soon as it hit his Mana Shield.

‘Alright, Mana Shield is really effective,’ Han-Yeol thought.

He had invested five points into his STR and five points into his VIT after leveling up, which meant he would no longer be pushed back by the Giant Ants. Giant Ants were simple-minded monsters that only knew how to charge at their target with brute strength, and the newfound boost to his stats made it possible for him to use their strength against them.

Pueok!

“Kieeeek!” One of the Giant Ants shrieked in pain after being hit by Han-Yeol.

“Mana Shield!” Han-Yeol quickly shouted, once again using his defensive skill.

Thud!

‘Keuk…!’ Han-Yeol groaned when a Giant Ant slammed itself into him with its signature strength. However, he parried the Giant Ant’s attack by twisting his body slightly.

Pukeok!

“Kieeeek!” The Giant Ant shrieked in pain as Han-Yeol drove his knuckle knife into its neck, having lost its balance when he parried its attack.

Squirm…! Squirm…!

The Giant Ant squirmed as it struggled to survive, and its fellow ants rushed in to save it.

Thud!

“Huh?” Han-Yeol was stunned for a moment, finding that he could not pull his knuckle knife out of the Giant Ant’s neck.

He hurriedly tried to remove his fingers from the knuckle knife, but even his fingers were stuck inside the ant’s carapace, and he could not free himself no matter how much he struggled. He tried to pull his hand out, but it simply would not budge an inch.

“Damn it!” Han-Yeol cursed out loud. The Giant Ants were closing in on him.

“Eat this!” he shouted. His right hand was stuck, so he used his Mana Shield to bash two of the Giant Ants multiple times. The Giant Ants retreated for a moment before closing in on him again.

Again!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

“Kieeeek!” The Giant Ants shrieked and retreated after Han-Yeol bashed them with his Mana Shield.

It was then…

Ding!

[Your improvised use of the skill ‘Mana Shield’ has created a new skill.]

[A new skill has been created—Shield Bash.]

‘What? Shield Bash…?’ Han-Yeol was surprised by the sudden message.

1. In Korea, you are required to scan your fingerprint to prove your identity whenever you do something at a government facility. This measure was implemented to prevent identity theft. ☜

2. 충청도 is a province in Korea, divided into North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong. The ‘buk’ or ‘북’ here means ‘North’ in Korea, so the province mentioned here is North Chungcheong. ☜

3. ’Area of Effect’, meaning a skill that covers a wide area in games. ☜