abcnovels
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23 – Crisis of Death (1)
“Thank you so much. If it weren’t for Kang Hyeon, I don’t know what would have happened…”
Kang Hyeon smiled at Kim An-seong, who was bowing his head in gratitude.
“It’s nothing. I should have moved faster.”
After the battle, the raid party gathered the magic stones and assembled at the core.
“Is this the core?”
“Whew… It’s over!”
The core pulsated like a heart.
As soon as the connection was removed with a light sword strike, it stopped moving. Simultaneously, a blue portal leading outside opened.
-Whoosh!
Finally, after 4 days, the raid party escaped the dungeon.
Most cheered with relief at being alive, but some people glanced at Kang Hyeon.
“Hey, you.”
“…?”
“If you had such power, shouldn’t you have stepped up earlier?!”
“Pardon?”
As one man spoke, others began to agree.
“That’s right. If you had stepped up from the beginning, we wouldn’t have struggled so much in the dungeon.”
“And accidents wouldn’t have happened either.”
Kang Hyeon’s expression gradually twisted as he listened to their words.
“Are these people joking right now…”
“What? These people?!”
“You there.”
“What is it?”
Kang Hyeon looked at the person who first shouted that he had done wrong.
“If you are old enough, don’t you think you should act your age.”
“What…?”
“Am I your nanny? Why should I step up and clear the dungeon for you?”
Kang Hyeon’s patience quickly crumbled.
“You were quick to run away to save yourselves, and now that you’re safe, you harass the person who helped you? Damn. This is ridiculous.”
“Let’s all stop this,” Kim An-seong intervened, unable to watch any longer.
“Kang Hyeon actually jumped into a horde of monsters for our sake.”
“But still, from the beginning…”
“Moreover! When all of you were running away, he alone stood against those creatures.”
“…”
“Do you think we could have made it out of the dungeon alive like this without Kang Hyeon?”
As Kim An-seong continued speaking, people began to calm down.
“Kang Hyeon, please try to control your anger. How about we stop here?”
Kang Hyeon felt somehow calmer at Kim An-seong’s words.
“Yes. Well…”
“Thank you. Haha.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Kim An-seong.”
“Yes?”
“Do you perhaps have a skill for calming people down?”
Kim An-seong looked surprised at Kang Hyeon’s question.
“Why do you ask that…”
“Both in the dungeon and just now during the fight, people quickly calmed down with just a word from you, Mr. Kim An-seong.”
Kim An-seong laughed awkwardly at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Actually, my unique ability is related to dealing with people. It’s nothing special. Haha.”
Kang Hyeon nodded in understanding at those words.
“If it’s alright with you, could we go to the dungeon together again next time?”
“Yes.”
As Kim An-seong spoke while handing over his contact information, Kang Hyeon reluctantly nodded.
“Then, good work.”
Kim An-seong politely greeted Kang Hyeon until the very end as he left.
“Haa, mister. I’m sorry about this.”
Although he received the contact information, Kang Hyeon had no intention of going to dungeons with anyone else in the future.
“In fact, far from helping, they’re just burdens. If I had gone alone, I would have cleared it in two days and earned much more money.”
Kang Hyeon shook his head as he put his armor in his inventory.
“Well, I should check the rewards first.”
?Name: Kang Hyeon
?Title: Tutorial Graduate and 1 other
?Level: 29 ? 30 new!
?Detailed Stats:
Strength 21 (+2.5)
Agility 20 (+2.5)
Stamina 20 (+2.5)
Magic Power 20 (+2.5)
Additional Stat Points: 0 ? 1 new!
?Unique Ability: Resurrection
?Abilities: Intermediate Swordsmanship(D), Lower-Grade Shield Technique(E), Lowest-Grade Crossbow Skill(F)
?Skills: Roar of the Enraged Lion(C), Intermediate Bodily Regeneration(B), Bisection(E), Giant’s Strength(B)
After checking his status window, Kang Hyeon invested the additional stat point in stamina.
“Hehe… Finally level 30, huh.”
His stats had also grown significantly.
Total stats: 82.
Additional stats from titles: 10.
It was an amazing figure approaching a total of 92.
“Compared to the beginning, it’s really increased tremendously.”
While Kang Hyeon was smiling contentedly, a taxi arrived.
“Welcome.”
“Yes. Please take me to the nearest magic stone exchange.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
“How much did you say?”
“27.6 million won.”
Kang Hyeon’s jaw dropped to the floor at the employee’s words.
‘How is it this much?’
He had converted all the magic stones he had been collecting in his inventory into cash at the magic stone exchange.
The amount was a whopping 27.6 million won.
Kang Hyeon was dumbfounded at the amount, which was much more than expected.
“Yes. Please exchange it.”
“The payment will be deposited into your account by the end of today. Here’s your receipt.”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyeon received the receipt, greeted, and turned around.
“Thank you for your business.”
“Have a nice day.”
After leaving the magic stone exchange and catching a taxi, Kang Hyeon blankly looked up at the sky.
He was holding a receipt for 27.6 million won in his hand, but it didn’t feel real at all.
“The total is over 35 million won…”
Including the 8 million won from selling the skeleton knight’s equipment to the middle-aged man, the money earned over three days exceeded 35 million won.
Most of the money was earned from items Kang Hyeon had obtained in the tutorial, but still.
“If I consistently run dungeons every day, earning a million won a day isn’t just a dream.”
Kang Hyeon clearly realized from this dungeon raid that working with others was of no help at all.
The difference in levels was too stark.
Although there were occasionally outstanding individuals like Kim Yi-hyeon and An Yu-seong, they were truly rare exceptions.
Kang Hyeon was beginning to realize that he was one of the only three people in Korea who had passed the tutorial.
“Now I don’t have to worry about money anymore!”
He could feel the taxi driver in front glancing at him, but he didn’t care.
***
Ippotranslation
***
Kang Hyeon arrived home and forcefully swung open the front door.
“I’m home!”
“Welcome back. Ugh, the smell.”
As soon as the door opened, Kang A-hyun covered her nose at the stench that entered with Kang Hyeon.
“Sorry, I couldn’t shower for 3 days. I had to pay the taxi driver double because of this.”
Although he had changed into new clothes he had packed after clearing the dungeon, he couldn’t hide the smell of not having washed for three days.
“Think about what you want to eat while your brother is washing up.”
“What’s this? Looks like you made some money?”
“Hehe. You’ll be surprised.”
A moment later, Kang Hyeon came out of the shower and showed his bank account balance.
“Huh? Th-thirty-five million won?!”
“Is your respect for your brother growing by leaps and bounds?”
“Did you really earn this? In just three days?”
“Tsk, your words are too brief.”
“How did you earn such a large sum of money, my esteemed brother?”
Kang A-hyun prostrated herself on the floor, mimicking the speech from historical dramas.
“Ahem. It’s all thanks to my excellence. Now, prepare to go shopping!”
“Yay~”
Kang A-hyun hurriedly ran to her room to change clothes.
“But did you really earn this? Even looking at reviews online, I’ve never seen anyone earn this much in just a few days.”
“That just shows how amazing I am. Let’s go quickly!”
“Okay!”
Although Kang A-hyun didn’t like Kang Hyeon’s constant boasting, she went along with the mood.
‘What should I ask him to buy first?’
***
Ippotranslation
***
Kang Hyeon had lived his entire life without knowing money.
The same was true for Kang A-hyun.
When such a large sum was suddenly given to these siblings, they were at a loss as to how to spend it.
“Welcome.”
After much deliberation, they ended up at a nearby department store.
They entered the luxury goods section, which could be considered the height of extravagance by Kang Hyeon’s standards.
“Hey. Isn’t this too much, even for you?”
“Don’t you want a nice bag or something? Choose before you change your mind.”
“Really? No take-backs.”
For a moment, Kang Hyeon considered setting a limit, but then shook his head.
‘A man’s got to have his pride.’
While Kang A-hyun was frantically looking around at the items, Kang Hyeon checked the price tags on the displayed products.
‘How can a bag be this expensive?!’
The prices for bags slightly larger than Kang Hyeon’s palm started at 1 million won. Looking around a bit more, he saw bags exceeding 2 million won quite frequently.
“Hmm. I guess it’s okay…?”
Having never even window-shopped in a place like this in his life, Kang Hyeon involuntarily swallowed at the prices of the products, which were much higher than he had expected.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“Ah, just browsing.”
At Kang Hyeon’s response, the employee’s friendly expression crumpled.
The employee looked Kang Hyeon up and down with an unpleasant expression, then turned around to find another customer.
‘What’s this? Did I just get looked down on?’
In fact, no one in the store was dressed as shabbily as the siblings.
Most people were wearing clothes that, if added up, could easily buy a small car.
‘Damn… Should we go somewhere else?’
Just as Kang Kyeon was considering going to another store, feeling upset, Kang A-hyun approached.
“How about this one?”
The bag Kang A-hyun had chosen was really just the size of a palm. When Kang Hyeon checked the price tag, it read 750,000 won.
“Is this enough?”
“Yeah.”
At that moment, Kang Hyeon’s eyes met with that employee from earlier. The employee was clearly wearing a smirk.
‘That bitch…’
Kang Hyeon, feeling heated, roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“Haah…”
“What’s wrong? Is it too expensive…?”
“Hey. Choose something else. Something more expensive.”
“But I said I want this one?”
Kang Hyeon grabbed Kang A-hyun and picked up the most expensive bag he had seen earlier.
“How about this? It looks nice.”
“It’s pretty, but it’s too expensive.”
“If we’re going to buy something, we should buy something good. Do you like this?”
“Yeah… It is nice, but…”
“Then let’s get this. Excuse me.”
When Kang Hyeon called for an employee, the one who had ignored him earlier hurried over.
“Do you need something?”
“I want to buy this.”
“Certainly. Then…”
“But call another employee, not you.”
“Excuse me?”
The employee made a stupid expression at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“I’m not going to buy from you, so please call another employee.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
After finishing their shopping at the department store and having a late dinner, the siblings returned home.
“Didn’t you overdo it today?”
“I told you it’s fine. If you’re that worried, we can return it now.”
“Hmph!”
Kang A-hyun hurriedly took the bag into her room.
“Thank you. I’ll cherish it and carry it for the rest of my life. But why did you act like that to that employee earlier?”
Kang Hyeon explained to Kang A-hyun what had happened at the department store.
“What? How can there be such a bitch?!”
“Right?”
“You did well. If it were me, I would have taught her a proper lesson!”
Kang Hyeon couldn’t help but laugh at Kang A-hyun’s appearance as she clenched her fist and shouted.
“Anyway, I’ll earn a lot of money from now on, so you should dress up nicely and meet some guys too.”
“You were doing so well, why bring up men?”
Kang A-hyun had been working diligently, knowing nothing but home and work.
Objectively, she was quite beautiful, but because their living situation had been so difficult, she hadn’t even had the luxury to think about other things.
“You’re one to talk. You’ve been single for over 5 years.”
“I’m not unable to date, I’m choosing not to date.”
Kang Hyeon threw out the classic excuse used by the hundreds of thousands in the singles army.
“Haah, I need to rest now. You did well today.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyeon entered his room and picked up his smartphone.
“I need to buy a car too…”
Although there had been larger than expected expenses today, he couldn’t afford not to buy a car.
Kang Hyeon took out his smartphone and searched for used cars.
“Why are these used cars so expensive?”
The average price of the cars appearing on the first screen was over 10 million won.
As he continued scrolling down looking for cheaper cars, Kang Hyeon finally saw a product that caught his eye.
“5 million won, huh…”
It was an older mid-size sedan.
It was a common national car that could be seen anywhere on the streets.
“I’m just going to use it to go back and forth to the dungeon anyway, so this should be enough.”
Kang Hyeon smiled contentedly after completing the application on the number listed on the site.
“I’ll name it Bentley.”
Although there was a 100-fold price difference, it was Kang Hyeon’s heart that mattered regardless of what he called it.