Leveling Up Alone

Luckily for Han-Yeol, chains were not considered to be weapons; they were mostly used as logistical tools by Porters. That made them extremely cheap for someone like him who used them as a weapon. The reason why chains were so comparatively cheap was the fact that weapons were taxed by the government at a higher rate than miscellaneous items.

Han-Yeol looked around the miscellaneous corner of the basement and picked out a size four chain from among the chains made by crafting-class Hunters. He thought, ‘Well, who in their right mind would ever use a chain as a weapon besides me?’

All in all, he had managed to purchase a rifle, a revolver, and a chain on this trip.

The attendant asked Han-Yeol as soon as he exited the miscellaneous corner, “Shall I guide you to any other place?” She had been waiting for him outside the whole time with a smile on her face.

“No, I would prefer to go around by myself from now on. Thank you for your hard work,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Thank you, customer. Please do not hesitate to call me again if you need anything, and also… Here,” the attendant said as she took out her business card and politely passed it to him with both hands[1].

Han-Yeol received her business card and read it.

[Hunter Mall]

Lee Su-Yeon

E-mail: [email protected]

The business card had a simple design with the attendant’s details on it.

“This is?” Han-Yeol asked, looking confused.

“You may call for me again if you show that to the receptionist on the first floor the next time you visit us, dear customer,” Su-Yeon explained.

“Oh, is that so?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes, customer,” Su-Yeon replied.

‘Ohhh!’ Han-Yeol was impressed and thought that it was a good system. Anyone would prefer to deal with someone they were familiar with, after all. He said, “Alright. I will call Ms. Su-Yeon the next time I come again.”

“Thank you, dear customer. Then, I wish you a pleasant day,” Su-Yeon said as she bowed politely.

Han-Yeol walked around the Hunter Mall complex after Su-Yeon left. It was the first time he had found out that there was a dedicated large-scale shopping complex for Hunters; he really liked this place, as it had a very nice and aesthetically pleasing exterior.

‘Oh right, I should buy a gift for father, since I’m here after all. How could I forget to buy him a gift to celebrate being discharged? Sheesh, and I call myself a son…’ he reprimanded himself.

He wondered how much filial piety he lacked. He resolved that it would now be his turn to take care of his father the same way his father had once taken care of him; after all, he was no longer the poor and powerless son he had been.

‘I’m a Hunter now. I’m considered to be in the top 1% now,’ he thought.

Of course, he was still a greenhorn Hunter who was lacking in many ways and still had to grow stronger, but he was confident that he would be able to grow stronger than anyone else.

The place he went to next was one most Hunters loved visiting—the luxury brands corner. In that area, shops sold all sorts of luxury goods such as handbags, clothes, and watches made from monster parts. If people were able to craft luxury goods from materials such as crocodile and buffalo leather, what could stop them from making such things out of monster hides?

The luxury goods being sold in this place were primarily marketed toward Hunters, but there were still a lot of normal people who came and bought them as well. After all, there were plenty of normal people who were wealthier than most Hunters, and most of them loved coming to the Hunter Mall just as much. The best example of that was the chairman of S-Group, who had been unable to awaken, but was nevertheless famous for his love for the goods sold at the Hunter Mall despite being a normal person.

Han-Yeol went to a shop selling men’s wallets. ‘Father really loved wallets back then,’ he recalled clearly, even though it had been ages.

His father had always worked tirelessly and scrimped meticulously just to provide for his son, but the only things that had always caught his eye were the expensive wallets displayed in luxury shops. However, he had always bought cheap wallets at the bookstore for ten thousand won and used them for years until they were worn out and tattered.

“Welcome! Is there anything you are looking for?” a salesperson greeted Han-Yeol.

“Yes, I’m looking to buy a gift for my father. May I see some of your wallets?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Ah, is it your father’s birthday?” the salesperson asked.

“No, he was very sick until recently, but he thankfully recovered after some time. I wanted to buy a gift to commemorate his being discharged,” Han-Yeol replied.

Han-Yeol spoke freely about such a sensitive subject without reservation. He and his father had been struggling for a long time because of his father’s illness, but he felt a sense of freedom now that his father has recovered.

“Omo! Congratulations! Then, shall I prepare the best gift possible for him?” the salesperson asked.

“No, I’m not looking for the best one. My father has always loved wallets, so I was wondering if you had a wallet with an imposing yet luxurious design?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Of course we do!” the salesperson replied. Of course, there was no way a salesperson would tell a customer that they did not have what the customer was looking for.

“Is that so?” Han-Yeol asked.

In truth, he had zero knowledge of luxury goods. He was amazed that the salesperson had told him that they had what he was looking for when he had just repeated some fancy words he heard on the TV. He wondered, ‘Is that person just trying to sell me something, or do they really have it…?’

Perhaps it was because he was from a poor family, but he was always skeptical of anything a salesperson said. That was why he always preferred to see the goods in person before purchasing anything. The products sold online were always cheaper, but they had the tendency to break more quickly, which would be his loss in the end.

“What do you think of this?” the salesperson asked Han-Yeol while opening a luxurious box.

Click.

All of the products in the shop came in boxes. They were all expensive products, so it made sense to keep them protected in boxes at all times.

“Oh! It looks good!” Han-Yeol exclaimed.

The item the salesperson had shown him was a long wallet from L-Company. In keeping with the company’s trademark, it had a distinctive checkered pattern of gray and black squares, which made it look even more luxurious and elegant while staying classic.

However, the only question on Han-Yeol’s mind was, ‘Is this good?’ The wallet looked somewhat cool to him, someone who had no idea about anything related to luxury goods, but that was it. He was stuck in a dilemma about whether to buy it or not.

Suddenly, the salesperson caught wind of his hesitation and started to run their glib tongue with a sales pitch. “This is a product newly launched by L-Company! This brand proudly holds the top spot for the brand desired by men in their forties, and anyone who has a passion for wallets would definitely want one of these!”

“Really?” Han-Yeol said as his ears perked up. He was a Korean through and through, so the common Korean trait of choosing luxury brands based on the way people perceived them certainly applied to him.

‘I won’t get scolded if I buy something from the best company, right…?’ he thought. He recalled a phrase he had heard somewhere: ‘When in doubt, buy something from a large conglomerate.’

“Ok, I’ll take this. How much is it?” he asked.

“That will be thirty-two million won,” the salesperson replied.

“What?” Han-Yeol blurted out in shock.

“That will be thirty-two million won. Should I find you a cheaper option?” the salesperson asked.

Han-Yeol was surprised once he heard the price tag, but the salesperson was surprised by his reaction as well. The salesperson assumed that Han-Yeol was a Hunter, which was why they had started by presenting a mid-range product. But to think that a Hunter would be shocked by such a price tag…?

‘Maybe he isn’t a Hunter…?’ the salesperson thought. They had never seen a Hunter visiting the luxury goods corner and getting shocked by the price tag.

“Ah, no… I’ll take it…” Han-Yeol said, extending his debit card. However, he grumbled inwardly, ‘What the hell? What kind of wallet costs thirty-two million won…? They call it a luxury brand, but still…’

L-Company held the top spot when it came to desirable wallet brands, and their products did not come cheap at all. Han-Yeol was initially shocked by the price tag, but he could not help but hum a tune when he imagined how happy his father was going to be.

“Lalalala~” he hummed while walking. While he was not paying attention to his surroundings, however…

Thud!

“Oh my!”

Han-Yeol bumped into someone as he turned a corner on the way to the elevators. As a Hunter, he was not pushed back at all, but the person he bumped into, who was holding a large pail of water and a mop, fell backward and collapsed.

Ping! Clang clang clang…!

The water in the pail splashed all over Han-Yeol’s legs and his lower body, covering the surrounding area around them.

Unfortunately for the cleaning ahjumma, the floor manager had witnessed what had just happened. He cried as he ran toward Han-Yeol, “Sir customeeer!”

This place was mostly visited by Hunters, and even the ordinary people who visited this part of the mall were rich, as the prices of the goods sold in it were exorbitant. This part of the Hunter Mall was a place where top-class customer service was constantly.

And yet, dirty water had been splashed all over a customer in this place? It was something that should never have happened unless someone had gone mad and done so on purpose.

“Ahjumma! Are you crazy?! Have you gone mad?!” the floor manager screamed.

“I am sorry… I am so sorry…” the ahjumma repeated over and over again.

The floor manager’s anger was fully directed toward the cleaning ahjumma, and he continued scolding her. “Do you think this is something that will be solved by apologizing?!”

“I am sorry… I am really sorry…” the ahjumma continued to apologize.

Han-Yeol was not comfortable seeing a woman who was old enough to be his mother bowing and apologizing while not being able to stand up for herself. He felt that he had seen enough and decided to talk to the floor manager, saying, “Manager-nim, I am fine. Just let go of it.”

“B-But, sir…” the floor manager mumbled hesitantly.

“It was my fault. My shopping bags are safe, and I am really fine. Also, I am sorry, ahjummoni[2]. I should have watched where I was going,” Han-Yeol said, apologizing earnestly to the cleaning ahjumma. After all, what had happened was clearly his fault.

“Ah, no, sir… It was my fault. I should have been more careful,” the ahjumma said.

“Then it is both of our faults, so no one has to apologize. You do not have to keep apologizing,” Han-Yeol said.

“But…” the ahjumma mumbled. In truth, she was shocked. The customers she had to deal with everyday were not the type to let go of things so easily.

“Umm… Excuse me, sir. We have to tidy this place up now… So…” the floor manager carefully told Han-Yeol.

The place where they were standing was on the way to the elevator, so they had to clean it up as soon as possible.

“Oh! I am sorry,” the cleaning ahjumma said as she quickly started to mop the floor.

“Let me help you,” Han-Yeol said.

“No, sir; you do not have to,” the ahjumma replied.

“No, it is fine with me. Please, let me help,” Han-Yeol insisted.

He then helped the cleaning ahjumma clean the place up. His entire lower body was soaked, but he still did not complain as he assisted in mopping up the mess.

“Thank you. Thank you so much…!” the cleaning ahjumma repeated multiple times. She was very thankful to the young man in front of her for helping her out, as she could have been fired immediately from her job over such an incident.

‘He’d be a perfect son-in-law…’ she thought greedily, but shook her head and dismissed the idea. He must have been someone very rich or an able Hunter if he was shopping in this place; she could not help but compare him to her daughter, who did not know how to do anything except fool around.

Han-Yeol wrapped up the incident without a fuss, then dried his pants in the restroom with his fire-controlling skill before heading back home.

His father was not home by the time he came back, so Han-Yeol could not give him the wallet he had purchased earlier in the day. ‘Well… I can always give it to him later,’ he thought as he went into his room.

***

The next morning, Han-Yeol started his day with a big stretch before heading over to his father’s room. He placed the wallet he had purchased the previous day on the bedside table, then used most of his mana to use Heal on his sleeping father just in case anything happened while he was away hunting.

‘I will be going, father,’ he greeted his father inwardly before he left, just in case he never made it back. He stopped and looked at his father’s face for quite a while as the thought that this might be the last time he saw his father crossed his mind.

Eventually, Han-Yeol turned around and left the house.

“…”

Seoul was a city that was always filled with people, but it also had a quiet side in the early mornings when even the sun had not risen yet. It was still very early in the morning, but Han-Yeol was able to collect the RV truck he had reserved, as the Hunter’s Association worked around the clock.

‘It’s nice that I get to save money on small things like this after officially becoming a Hunter, but is it time for me to hire my own personal Porter now…?’ he wondered.

He had initially wanted to do everything by himself to save up as much money as he could. However, after having done the work of both a Hunter and a Porter by himself for quite some time, he realized that not only was it a bother, he was also losing a lot of precious time by burdening himself with both jobs.

‘Well, let’s think about that a bit further down the line.’ He pushed back those thoughts, saving them for another time. After all, he had planned to hunt alone today, and it was not something he urgently needed to decide on anyway.

He drove for over an hour before reaching the outskirts of Anseong. ‘So it’s here,’ he thought as he stopped his truck.

Creak…

It was still early in the morning, but the hunting ground was unusually empty and free of Hunters, as most of them were focused on the dimensional hole raid.

‘Perfect. Shall we go and hunt some Orcs now?’ Han-Yeol thought as he parked the truck in a suitably safe place. He climbed up to the second floor of an abandoned house before taking out his new M4A2-001, which was equipped with a scope, to survey the area.

Then…

‘Orcs,’ he thought, spotting three of the monsters through his scope. The three Orcs were equipped with shabby swords and shields, and were simply loitering around the area.

He had no reason to hesitate. He aimed at the Orcs and pulled the trigger.

Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang!

‘Tsk!’ Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue.

Perhaps it was because he lacked practice, or because he was not used to the new gun’s recoil, but three out of four of the shots he had fired missed; only one had managed to hit one of the Orcs in the chest. Of course, he had not forgotten to infuse his mana into the bullets before firing them.

“Gguek?” the orc that had been hit exclaimed, looking around in confusion.

‘Damn it… What kind of monster has such tough skin…?’ Han-Yeol thought in surprise.

Orcs were monsters that were famous for their thick skin. One of the shots might have hit its target, but it did not manage to inflict much damage on the Orc’s hide.

“Gguek!” the Orcs roared as they charged toward Han-Yeol. They had been able to find where he was hiding due to the sound of the gunshot.

1. Giving something to someone older or higher-ranked than you with both hands is a form of respect in Korea. ☜

2. ’Ahjummoni’ is the respectful way of addressing an ahjumma. ☜