Leveling Up Alone

Although it looked the same, this Shadow Demon gave off a slightly different mana frequency compared to the one from before. Han-Yeol was certain that this was not the same Shadow Demon that he had entered into a contract with.

[I think the number of Shadow Demons you can handle has increased due to your skill leveling up.]

The Ego system, Karvis, interjected at just the right time to assist Han-Yeol.

‘Ah, is that so?’ Han-Yeol muttered inwardly.

[Yes.]

Fwoooosh…!

[Human… What should… I do…?]

‘Oh right, it did warn me not to aimlessly summon a demon for no reason,’ Han-Yeol thought as he recalled what the online post had written. He had actually activated ‘Summon Demon’ out of curiosity because it leveled up, but he did not really have anything, in particular, to ask from the demon.

[Human…]

Perhaps it was because the Shadow Demon had noticed what was going on, but its voice seemed to have become a bit more emotional.

“Ah, I am curious about something. The offerings you guys require are monster corpses, right?” Han-Yeol asked.

[That… is right…]

The Shadow Demon calmed down when Han-Yeol mentioned the monster corpses.

“Then, will you also be able to grow stronger if you hunt the monsters yourself?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Of course… We will…become stronger…]

‘I see…’ Han-Yeol thought. It basically meant that he did not have to summon a greater demon, because he could just train the demons he had summoned to become stronger.

“Alright, you can go back now. I will call you the next time I am going on a hunt,” Han-Yeol said.

[Make sure… Call me…]

“Alright,” Han-Yeol replied.

Fwooosh…!

Han-Yeol was able to prevent upsetting the demon thanks to his quick thinking.

‘I don’t have any more time to waste. I need to offer some monster corpses to the Shadow Demon guarding father as well,’ thinking that, Han-Yeol took out his smartphone and dialed a number.

Ring… Ring…

‘Hmm… why isn’t he picking up?’ Han-Yeol wondered.

—The person you are calling is currently not available. Please leave a message after the beep…

Han-Yeol had called Sung-Beom, who did not pick up. He wondered, ‘Hmm? What’s going on?’

Well, Sung-Beom might be busy or away from his phone, so Han-Yeol decided to call Ah-Ri instead.

—Hello?

“Hi, Ah-Ri,” Han-Yeol said.

—Ah, Mr. Han-Yeol…

“Yes, it’s me. Sung-Beom is not picking up his phone. Did something happen?” he asked.

—Ah…

Ah-Ri could not easily respond to his question.

‘Huh? What’s going on?’ he thought.

Han-Yeol was not dense at all. In fact, he was quite sharp and quick-witted, since he had to work countless part-time jobs ever since young. His instincts were currently telling him that something had happened to Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri.

Han-Yeol’s instinct was spot on because something did happen to the two.

—Did Sung-Beom not tell you?

“No, did something happen?” Han-Yeol asked.

—Actually… We joined another party as Porters, and both of us managed to awaken.

It was shocking news. Most Porters, excluding those who gave up on awakening and just worked to make a living, went through all sorts of dangers just in the hopes of awakening, and the actual awakening of a Porter was always something to congratulate them about.

“Oh! Congratulations! Ah, so that’s why he’s out of reach… He can’t work as a Porter anymore,” Han-Yeol said.

—I’m sorry…

“No, that’s alright. But aside from that, is there any other reason Sung-Beom is out of reach?” Han-Yeol asked.

—Ah, luckily, we awakened with B-Rank abilities, so a lot of guilds are calling us. It’s quite hectic for us as well. Sung-Beom was supposed to give you a call, but I guess he forgot about it.

“Ah…” Han-Yeol could totally understand if that was the case. The numerous guilds’ scouts would probably be on fire right now if they heard that they had awakened as B-Rank Awakeneds, and this was especially true in these times when the value of a single Hunter was skyrocketing.

—Uhm… Mr. Han-Yeol.

“Ah, yes?” Han-Yeol responded.

—I’m sorry. We should have contacted you earlier. I can introduce you to two Porters I know, would you want to meet them?

“Ah, really?” he asked.

—Yes, they are quite capable, and they are willing to work hard to make big bucks. I’m thinking that they will be a perfect fit for someone like you, Mr. Han-Yeol.

Ah-Ri’s offer was not that bad. Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom were veteran Porters with four years of experience, and they wouldn’t have low standards at all. That was why Han-Yeol was confident that the Porters they planned to introduce would be somewhat capable at least.

“Then, can I bother you with that?” he asked.

—Of course! Also, Mr. Han-Yeol, you are not bothering me at all! I think I am the one bothering you by making you take care of my juniors.

“Haha! I should be thankful if I can have a Porter as capable as you. I was actually worried for a moment because good Porters are in short supply these days,” Han-Yeol said while letting out a hearty laugh.

The monsters were popping up like a swarm of bees all over the country because of the dimensional holes, and the Hunters were forced to mobilize more often than they usually would because of it. All of the capable Porters were already snatched up by raid parties and guilds, and it was practically impossible to find a capable Porter in the market these days.

Also, the guilds have started to sign the capable veteran Porters to an exclusive contract to protect their own interests during this Porter shortage.

—Then, I will arrange an appointment for you to meet them tomorrow at two in the afternoon at the same place where we first met last time.

“Alright, thanks for your help,” Han-Yeol replied gratefully.

—Then, goodbye.

“Oh right, Ah-Ri,” he called out.

—Yes?

“I hope that you will live happily ever after with Sung-Beom,” he said.

—Omo! You’ve noticed?

“Of course, it’s hard not to when you guys were all over each other so openly. I thought I was going to die from envy! Hahaha!” Han-Yeol said while laughing out loud.

—Ah… We tried to keep it a secret… Were we too obvious?

“I just noticed by chance,” he said cheekily.

There was no such thing as a secret in this world.

Han-Yeol hung up after talking to Ah-Ri.

Their awakening was very good news, but Han-Yeol had something else on his mind the moment he heard it. He was worried about where to find Porters who could replace the two in this day and age, where Porters were high in demand but low in supply. However, his worries were for naught, because he immediately arranged an introduction to replacement Porters.

‘As expected… It always pays to be generous,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Han-Yeol seemed to have started becoming melancholic after becoming financially abundant, and he could not help but feel like he wanted to be around people once again. He was extremely looking forward to the new Porters he planned to meet tomorrow.

‘I wonder what kind of people they are…? I hope they are kind and diligent…” Han-Yeol wondered as he was looking forward to meeting his new Porters.

***

‘Should I call my friends and hang out with them…?’ Han-Yeol found himself pondering this question quite often these days. He missed quite a few of his friends, ones he used to hang out with and do mischievous things together during his younger days.

‘No… I have to return to my senses. I don’t have the luxury to fool around right now… Not yet…’ he thought as he steeled his resolve once again. He still did not have the luxury to laze around and do whatever he wanted.

‘I’ve become quite relaxed, both mentally and physically, these days. I’m still not strong enough to be so complacent. What was I thinking…?’ Han-Yeol rebuked himself. He didn’t feel that he was at the stage where he could get complacent and be satisfied. In fact, he felt an even stronger need to do his best and take one more step if he could.

‘But first… let’s get some sleep…’ he thought as he decided to put to rest the numerous things running on his mind. He was feeling sleepy and he also had to get up early tomorrow, so he decided to lie down on his bed and slowly drift away to sleep.

***

The next day, Han-Yeol woke up early in the morning and went for a light jog around his apartment complex. Then, he took a shower and got ready to go out. The meeting was at two in the afternoon, but he had some other things to take care of prior to that. That’s the reason he left early.

“Ahhh… It’s been ages since I’ve gone shopping,” Han-Yeol said as he lightly stretched his body before leaving his house.

His destination was the Hunter Mall that he had previously been to, but the difference this time was the fact that he was not using public transportation. He was now using his own car.

‘I’ll buy a proper sword this time,’ Han-Yeol steeled his resolve before entering the Hunter Mall.

Han-Yeol’s wealth had well exceeded five billion won by now, but he was still using a sword worth five hundred million won, which was unacceptable. He felt the need to invest more into his sword, which was the other weapon he depended on aside from his chain.

He arrived at Hunter Mall, which was actually more of a shopping mall complex, and he purchased a sword worth one billion five hundred and seventy million won before he sold his old sword at the secondhand market for cheap.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

‘It feels perfect,’ Han-Yeol thought while lightly swinging the sword a few times.

Han-Yeol went to his afternoon meeting with the new Porters after he leisurely went around window shopping at the Hunter Mall.

Ring!

A familiar chime rang out when Han-Yeol entered the café, and he went to the same spot where he had first met Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri before. There was a pair of one boy and girl sitting at the table, and Han-Yeol could only see the boy from his angle. Looking at how young the boy was, he thought, ‘Hm? A highschooler?

‘What the? Did she pass me the bucket or something?’ Han-Yeol thought as his face flushed red in anger.

There were some cases where a raid party or a guild would introduce a Porter in hopes of getting rid of them, passing them to someone else. The term usually used in these kinds of cases was ‘pass the bucket’.

‘Damn it… I should have noticed the moment they did not even bother to contact me even after awakening. How dare they repay my kindness with evil! Those ingrates!’ Han-Yeol cussed inwardly as he gritted his teeth.

Han-Yeol was a peace-loving person who did not wish harm on anyone, but it was a different story if someone actually stabbed him in the back. In those cases, he would only be relieved if he managed to get back at them. That was also the reason why he had stuffed his resignation letter in the factory manager’s mouth previously.

“Ah, he is here,” the boy who looked like a high schooler got up when he first saw Han-Yeol approaching. The girl beside him, who Han-Yeol could barely see, also got up and turned around to greet Han-Yeol.

“Huh? You…? High schooler?” Han-Yeol muttered in surprise the moment he saw the girl’s face.

“Han-Yeol oppa…?” the girl muttered in surprise as well.

Surprisingly, the girl who turned around was the same one who lived next to Han-Yeol at Moon Village, and this was the same girl that Han-Yeol had saved from almost being raped that night—Han Yoo-Bi.

“Oppa!” Yoo-Bi exclaimed excitedly. She stared intently at Han-Yeol before she suddenly said, “You suddenly disappeared! Do you know how sad I was when I went to give you banana milk only to find that you have already moved?”

“I’m sorry. My father suddenly got discharged, so it was quite hectic, and that was not long after I awakened as a Hunter. It was a very hectic time,” Han-Yeol replied apologetically.

“I see…” Yoo-Bi muttered.

The Han-Yeol who was about to explode because he thought he had been ‘passed the bucket’ was nowhere to be found now. He was quite happy to meet his high schooler once again, because he really missed her but hadn’t been able to see her due to all sorts of reasons.

“Now now, let’s cut our greetings short and sit down. It’s uncomfortable for all of us to keep standing,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes!”

“Y-Yes!”

Yoo-Bi replied while smiling brightly, but the boy replied nervously while stuttering his words.

Actually, Yoo-Bi would have been the one frozen stiff from nervousness if the Hunter in front of her was not Han-Yeol, but the nervousness completely disappeared from her face, replaced by a big smile.

‘It’s a relief that I will be working with Han-Yeol oppa…!’ Yoo-Bi thought.

She had heard a lot of stories during her Porter trainee days from fellow trainees, the internet, and her seniors regarding the harsh treatment that the Porters were subjected to by the Hunters. In fact, the scariest part for her was the fact that there had been quite a few cases of sexual assault committed by the Hunters against female Porters. Working as a Porter was difficult for females, who had no one to protect them against the Hunters’ abuse. However, she was now able to be at ease, since she knew very well what kind of a man Han-Yeol was.

“How much experience do you two have working as a Porter? Ah, I can speak informally to you two, right?” Han-Yeol asked. He was already comfortable with Yoo-Bi, since they knew each other, so his question was actually directed at the boy.

Well, who in their right mind would reply ‘no, I want you to speak formally to me’ in such a situation, especially when it was between a Hunter and a Porter, right?

“Y-Yes… Yes! H-Hunter-nim! P-Please speak freely with me…!” the boy replied. He was frozen stiff from nervousness because of the fact that he was sitting in front of a Hunter, and he could not help but stutter with his words.

“Alright, I will ask once again. You just have to answer me honestly,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes, oppa!” Yoo-Bi replied with a bright expression.

Meanwhile, the boy seemed to still be nervous as he kept stuttering. He quickly replied, “Y-Yes, Hunter-nim!”