Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 23: Orc Burrow (4)

Chapter 23: Orc Burrow (4)

“Huff… Huff… Huff…!”?

Han-Yeol exercised and trained his body on the days he did not go out to hunt.

Ding!

[Your continuous training has produced results.]

[The rank of ‘Body Strengthening’ has risen from (F) to (E).]

[Your STR has increased by 2.]

[Your VIT has increased by 3.]

[Your AGI has increased by 1.]

‘Alright!’?he cheered.

Han-Yeol had been stuck in a dilemma after investing all of his bonus stat points into MAG and losing after physically clashing with the Orcs, but the buff he had just received to his stats could alleviate some of his concerns.

‘This means I can grow stronger by training myself, and investing stat points isn’t the only way to grow,’?he thought.

“Hooo…”?He exhaled after finishing the first part of his physical training. As he was catching his breath from the workout, however…

“As I thought… Han-Yeol, you’ve awakened as a Hunter, haven’t you?” the owner of OKGYM suddenly asked.

“Ah, you noticed?” Han-Yeol asked in response.

He had not really planned to keep it a secret from people, but neither had he planned to go around bragging that he had become a Hunter. That was why he did not bother hiding it from the people who had noticed or recognized it.

“Of course. You might have come by from time to time, but I’ve seen you ever since you were a kid. There could be no logical explanation for your sudden explosive growth…. other than the explanation that you’ve awakened as a Hunter, that is,” the owner said.

“As expected, no one can beat you when it comes to anything related to physical ability,” Han-Yeol said with a laugh.

“Of course!” the owner exclaimed.

“Oh, right, how is Ji-Sook doing?” Han-Yeol asked.

Ji-Sook was the gym owner’s only daughter. She had always been picked on for her tacky old-fashioned name, and she had cried quite a lot with snot all over her face because of it. Han-Yeol had suddenly asked about her because he suddenly remembered that it had been ages since he last saw her.

“They say a person has to have a bit of abundance in their life. Who knew that you of all people would ask about Ji-Sook? Well, she’s doing fine, as always… Although she still hasn’t given up on her ambition to change her name…” the owner said.

“You can say that again. Everyone needs to have a bit of abundance in their life to relax…” Han-Yeol responded. He picked up a pair of boxing gloves lying on the floor, putting them on and climbing up into the ring.

Bam! Bam!

He bumped his fists together twice and asked, “Uncle, can you hold the mitts for me?”

“A-Alright…” the owner replied with a hint of awkwardness in his voice when he heard Han-Yeol call him ‘uncle’ after a long time. Nevertheless, he brought the mitts and joined Han-Yeol in the ring.

“Here I come,” Han-Yeol said.

“Alright, come!” the owner responded.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

It had been ages since the two of them last did some mitt work together, but they synchronized quite well even though a lot of time had passed since their previous session.

The gym owner had actually seen some potential for Han-Yeol to pursue a professional boxing career, which was why he had allowed Han-Yeol to use the gym for free under the condition that he would clean it. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol had trained just to get fit and showed no interest in pursuing a career as a boxer. In the end, the man had to give up on any plans to turn him into a boxer.

‘As expected… Such a waste of talent,’?the man had thought.

Of course, Han-Yeol had now awakened and become a Hunter, but his punches were still as accurate as those of a boxing professional.

Bam! Bam!

“Huff… Huff…?Have you met with father, by any chance?” Han-Yeol asked.

Exchanging conversations during mitt work was something both of them had done ever since Han-Yeol was young.

“One! Two! Jab! Of course. He did lose a lot of weight, but he’s still as lively as ever,” the man replied.

“That’s a relief… I thought he was acting healthy in front of me just to avoid making me worry,” Han-Yeol said.

In truth, Han-Yeol had still been worried about his father’s health the entire time. He knew that his father was a proud, stubborn man who would rather die than show his weak side to his son. Of course, his father was not stupid enough to just sit back and ignore the signs his body sent him, but Han-Yeol was still worried nevertheless, because his father had already suffered an incident of severe illness.

Bam! Bam!

“Take good care of your father. He’s lived his entire life just for you,” the man said.

“Yes, I am very well aware of that,” Han-Yeol replied.

Han-Yeol had realized a lot of things in the previous four years. There was a time in his younger days when he had not known how to be grateful for the things his father gave him, and he had blamed his father for being too poor to give him the things others usually got.

However, he was very aware of those things now that he had gotten older. He was aware that the only reason he had not starved and could still socialize with other people on equal footing was the fact that his father had sacrificed so much for him.

‘It’s now my turn to make sure father lives a comfortable life!’?Han-Yeol thought as he gritted his teeth.

Baaam!

“Kuheok!”?The gym’s owner let out a pained groan.

Han-Yeol had failed to control his strength as his emotions started to well up from inside at the thought of his father, and had thrown a powerful straight punch. Thankfully, the thick mitt had absorbed most of the impact, but even that could not stop the sharp pain that traveled all the way to the man’s wrist.

Han-Yeol immediately approached the gym owner and checked up on him, asking, “Uncle, are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah… You Hunters pack quite the punch, eh?” the man replied while holding onto his wrist.

“I am sorry…” Han-Yeol muttered with a guilty look.

His sparring session ended prematurely because of the injury he had given his uncle. He cleaned the gym just as he always did to pay for working out, then took a shower before leaving for the agreed-on meeting place.

Cring…! Cring…!

The Starcafe was a popular coffee shop in the city, and the mecca of all meeting places for youngsters to meet in.

Han-Yeol stood at the entrance and looked around, thinking, ‘Hmm… Oh, there they are.’

He spotted a man and a woman nervously sitting at a table while sipping on iced Americanos. He reminisced, ‘I was also like them in the past.’

It was a tremendous opportunity for a Porter to be hired directly by a Hunter or a party. That way, they received more pay and had a stable source of income, as opposed to when they had to look for parties to join each time. Additionally, some Porters would steal a mana stone or two whenever the chance presented itself from time to time.

‘I’ve really grown a lot. Who knew I would be hiring two personal Porters of my own?’ Han-Yeol thought.

Until just recently, Han-Yeol had been meticulously weighing every single one of his decisions just to earn a little bit more. But now, he had the luxury and abundance needed to put money second and focus on leveling up to cure his father’s illness.

He walked toward the table where the two Porters were waiting for him.

“Ah!”

Drrrd…

The two Porters immediately stood up once they saw Han-Yeol walking toward them.

The male Porter was the first one to introduce himself, bowing deeply from the waist. “Hello, sir! My name is Choi Sung-Beom!”

“Hello, my name is Lee Ah-Ri,” the female Porter said, following suit with a slight nod.

‘Heh. I used to be just like that,’?Han-Yeol reminisced. Memories from his past had flooded in when he saw the Porter bowing deeply. He had been hired as a personal Porter twice during his career as a Porter, and he remembered bowing from the waist just to appeal to the Hunter. ‘I realized sooner or later that I just looked stupid, though.’

Hunters did not usually need to hire their own personal Porters, but the main reason they would go out of their way to hire one was that they liked something about the Porter. It could be because they liked the Porter’s skills or appearance, or because they felt romantically inclined toward the Porter. In most cases, the second and third reasons were the main factors.

‘I was just a pushover both of those times, though.’?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue when he remembered how he had been used both times.

He had actually been hired by Hunters to educate and train the other Porter they had hired both times, and was fired once the other Porter was fully trained. He had belatedly realized the Hunters’ modus operandi after the second time, so he had begun refusing all offers and gone back to working as a daily Porter.

“It’s nice to meet both of you. My name is Lee Han-Yeol. Let’s try to get along from now on,” Han-Yeol said with a smile.

“Yes! I will work hard until my body breaks!” Choi Sung-Beom said enthusiastically.

The female Porter nodded awkwardly in response, but she did not seem to be the type of person Han-Yeol would have to be worried about. Her eyes glistened when she shook his hand, and he knew very well that people who had eyes like hers were not weak types who would easily give up. Besides, he had picked them in the first place because of their stellar records as Porters.

“Please, take a seat,” Han-Yeol said.

“Okay,” the Porters said simultaneously, both sitting at the table.

“The reason why I wanted to see you both before going out to the hunting ground was to explain my hunting style,” Han-Yeol began.

“I am all ears, sir,” Choi Sung-Beom said earnestly.

Han-Yeol almost burst out into laughter, as he saw his old self in the male Porter.

“I’m sure you guys are aware of how Hunters normally hunt. Usually, they start at nine in the morning and finish at six in the afternoon,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes,” Choi Sung-Beom and Lee Ah-Ri replied. They answered and nodded at the same time, and their eyes sparkled as they showed their determination not to miss a word that came out of Han-Yeol’s mouth.

“However, I hunt in a slightly different fashion. I don’t usually leave the hunting grounds until my truck is full of loot, and I rest for an hour after transporting and selling the monster remains before going back to the hunting ground. I do this back-to-back for a few days,” Han-Yeol explained.

“I-I see…!” Both Porters flinched at Han-Yeol’s explanation.

The two Porters were experienced enough to understand how risky and tiring Han-Yeol’s hunting style was. Even a party that hunted just once a week tended to be ambushed by monsters, barely making it out alive. Hunting day in and day out continuously would definitely increase the odds of them getting ambushed by monsters.

Then, Han-Yeol added the most critical piece of information. “Also, I hunt alone.”

“Huh…?”

“Eh…?”

The two Porters were shocked by what they had just heard. They heard some rumors of Hunters going on solo hunts, but they had never met one before in their entire career as Porters. In fact, they had thought that Hunters going out on solo hunts was a rumor people had made up after experiencing numerous grueling and dangerous hunts themselves.

It was understandable for them, people who had experienced the dangers of monster hunting personally, to think that solo hunts were just rumors. There were some records of Hunters going out on solo hunts, but they had always believed that there was more to those stories than the records showed.

The only logical explanation for a solo hunt would be that a high-ranking Hunter was going on a solo hunt in a low-tier hunting ground.

‘It’s impossible for Hunters to go out on solo hunts…’?was what was on both Porters’ minds.

It was now time for Han-Yeol to throw them the carrot, since he had already whipped them up. He offered, “In return, I’ll pay you four and a half times more than the pay you’ve been receiving until now.”

“Huh?”

“F… Four and a half times more…?”

“Yes, I’m not going to exploit you for free. It’s going to be a tough job after all,” Han-Yeol continued.

“T-That is not the problem…”

The two Porters were once again shocked, this time by Han-Yeol’s offer. Porters who joined unofficial parties usually received around 1.4 million won a day, and they normally received around 2 million won if they were hired as personal Porters. However, Han-Yeol was offering them an astonishing 9 million won for a day’s work.

“I-I will do it! I will do everything you tell me to!” Choi Sung-Beom exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Me too! I will do it too!” Lee Ah-Ri exclaimed as well.

The two Porters were not that poor, but they thought that it was well worth the risk to get paid several times more if they were going to go out on hunts anyway.

“Alright, then please sign here,” Han-Yeol said as he extended papers toward each of them. They were the Porter contracts he had prepared beforehand, and he only handed them over after confirming that they had no qualms about his hunting style.

The two Porters carefully read the terms and details laid out in the contract, then signed it after confirming there were no problems.

“It’s an honor to work with you two,” Han-Yeol said.

“I will do my best! Thank you, sir!” Choi Sung-Beom exclaimed energetically.

“Me too. I will do my best as well,” Lee Ah-Ri said.

“Good. Oh, and, we’ll be going to the Anthill for our first hunt. We’ll meet at the Hunter’s Association at eight in the morning in two days,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes, sir,” both of them replied.

That was how Han-Yeol’s first meeting with his personal Porters concluded.

***

Han-Yeol spent the next two days before the hunt preparing his equipment. In the meantime, however, did not forget to check up on his father’s health and spend some quality time with him.

On the day of the hunt, he left for the Hunter’s Association. He met up with both of his Porters, Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom, there and they left for the Anthill.

Creak…

There was no longer a reason for Han-Yeol to drive, so he just slept leisurely in the back seat until the truck stopped. He thought, ‘Hmm? Are we here already?’

“Hunter-nim, we have arrived at the Anthill’s entrance,” his Porters informed him.

His Porters addressed him as ‘Hunter-nim’; that was the industry standard for how Porters were supposed to address Hunters.

“Alright… Yaaawn,” Han-Yeol responded while yawning. He stretched to wake his body up before sitting upright.

The Porters parked the truck, then proceeded to take their equipment from the trunk, fully arming themselves.

‘They’re certainly not the kind of Porters who do it just to make ends meet,’?Han-Yeol thought as he observed the equipment of the two Porters he had hired.

The people who became Porters just to make a living, the way Han-Yeol had before, usually used the cheap and reliable equipment sold by the association. However, those Porters who were serious about their work and aimed to awaken as Hunters, like Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri, did not use that sort of cheap equipment. Rather, they purchased proper equipment made by a crafting-class Hunter from the Hunter Mall.

Click… Clack…!

Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom finished putting on their expensive-looking equipment.

‘Ah… I remember drooling over that equipment back then…’?Han-Yeol thought as he reminisced about the past that was not so far behind him. However, he decided to stop as he realized, ‘I don’t have a single good memory from that time…’

It was only natural that he would not have had any good memories, since he had lived for money and money alone. The only memories he had from that period of time involved going through all sorts of tedious and hazardous situations just to make enough money to pay off his father’s hospital bills. In addition, he had spent all of his free time working part-time at the factory to supplement his income just to make ends meet.

“Hunter-nim?” the Porters called out.

“Ah, sorry. I was just reminiscing about the time when I was a Porter myself,” Han-Yeol said.

“Ah…” both Porters muttered, looking at him enviously.

Both of them were actually from well-to-do families, and they did not really have to work as Porters. However, they endured the nasty things a Porter had to do just so that they would one day be able to become Hunters as well—people who were currently at the top of the social ladder.

‘I want to hurry up and become a Hunter as well…’?

‘My father will finally acknowledge me if I become a Hunter…’

The two Porters had their own reasons for aiming to become Hunters.

“Let’s go!” Han-Yeol called out.

“Yes, Hunter-nim!” the Porters both responded at the same time.

Clack!

Han-Yeol led the way, and the Porters followed him from behind. Four Giant Ants immediately showed up and welcomed them as soon as they entered the Anthill.

“Oh right, we don’t have a manager. Why don’t you, Sung-Beom, take on that role for now since you’re the more experienced one?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes, I understand! Fire!” Sung-Beom bellowed out a command.

Ratatatata!

The two Porters’ assault rifles spat fire.

“Kieeeeek!”?The Giant Ants shrieked loudly as the shower of bullets struck them. However, it was not a shriek of agony, but one of annoyance.

The Giant Ants charged toward them, but Han-Yeol was ready for them. He infused his mana into his bullets, then aimed his M4A2-001 rifle and pulled the trigger.

Ratatatata!

“Kieeeeek!”?The Giant Ants shrieked once again, but this time it was from pain.

Thud…!

The result was worlds apart from when the Porters had fired at the Giant Ants. The monsters Han-Yeol had fired on bled profusely with a colorless fluid, then collapsed and died. Their blood was colorless because ants did not have any hemoglobin.

‘As expected… The?bullets fired by a Hunter are in a completely different league compared to mine…’?Sung-Beom thought.

The bullets they had fired were equivalent to annoying pests, but the ones the Hunter had fired went straight into the Giant Ants’ exoskeletons.

‘I will become a Hunter no matter what it takes!’?

Both of the Porters were thinking the exact same thing.

1. This is technically true; ants have a fluid called hemolymph, although it’s sometimes yellowish to greenish instead of clear.