Leveling Up Alone

‘Father’s heart will be torn to pieces if he sees me living in such a shabby place. I lied to him that I had a stable job, after all. I need to hurry up and find a proper apartment unit we can live in!’ Han-Yeol thought as he checked his bank account’s balance through his mobile phone.

[Total: 311,479,000 won]

He had around three hundred million won in his bank account. It was an amount he had managed to save up after tirelessly hunting Giant Ants and selling their remains and mana stones.

‘I should be able to buy a decent apartment in Gangbuk[1] with this much money,’ he thought as he looked up average housing prices online, searching for decent apartments in the area.

Afterward, he went to a real estate agent’s office, and the real estate agent suggested an apartment unit for him.

“Oh, it is clean and in a good location. This seems nice,” Han-Yeol said.

“Aigoo! Of course! It is very difficult to find a property like this in these times. The owners asked me to sell this as soon as possible because they had to go urgently to the United States, and they were willing to sell it for a cheaper price,” the real estate agent said.

‘Why do all property owners always have to go urgently to the United States…?’[2]Han-Yeol wondered. However, he concluded that he was not losing anything, and so paid it no heed.

“Hmm… But still… 420 million is a bit…” Han-Yeol muttered, trailing off.

He really liked the apartment unit, but it was also true that the price was a bit burdensome for him. His budget was around three hundred million, and it would be nowhere near enough for the asking price set by the owners even if it really was a discounted rush sale.

The real estate agent desperately wanted to make a sale because Korea was in a recession, so he tried to think of a way to convince Han-Yeol to buy the property. He eventually asked, “Hmm… Excuse me, but how much money do you have?”

“My budget is around three hundred million,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Is it three hundred million in cash…?” the real estate agent asked in surprise.

“…Of course?” Han-Yeol replied. He tilted his head in confusion and stared at the real estate agent while thinking, ‘Do people buy properties with credit cards these days…?’

However, the real estate agent’s eyes were sparkling, in contrast to Han-Yeol’s confusion. He asked, “Have you ever heard of a mortgage loan, by any chance?”

“Huh? Mor-what loan?” Han-Yeol asked.

‘As expected!’ the real estate agent rejoiced inwardly, excited by the ray of light he saw in Han-Yeol’s ignorance.

“You seem to be unaware, but the government has reduced interest rates as they are trying to revitalize the economy, and that includes a significant reduction to interest on mortgage loans. S-Bank is giving a special reduced interest rate of 2.59% to those living in Seoul. The current interest rate is so low that I advise you to take it at a fixed rate, so you will not be affected if they increase the rates later on. Besides, it would be a waste to pass up on this property. You will not be able to find a property like this anywhere else for this price. Look, with three hundred million won, the best you would be able to find are those old apartment units in Beon-Dong[3], which is quite old and does not offer a very good standard of living,” the real estate agent blabbered on, trying his best to close a sale with Han-Yeol.

His fervent plea seemed to have worked on Han-Yeol, who replied, “Oh, is that so?”

He could not be bothered by the interest rates, as it would not be a burdensome amount for him. The main issue he had at the moment was the fact that he did not have a lump sum of cash with him, but he was prepared to take out as much money as he could if the banks would give him a loan.

“Of course!” the real estate agent exclaimed in response.

Han-Yeol was the type of person who would always see things through to the end after he got started, and he liked the property the agent had shown him in the first place, so he did not feel the need to go around and look at other places.

‘Hmm… So there was a solution like that…’ Han-Yeol thought. He said, “Alright! Can you proceed with that?”

“Leave it to me! I will handle and take care of everything! Hahaha!” The real estate agent let out a confident, hearty laugh.

That was how Han-Yeol was able to quickly purchase a property to live in with his father.

***

Han-Yeol finished moving and furnishing his new house before going to officially discharge his father from the hospital. When he arrived, he asked, “How are you feeling, father?”

“I’m fine. I’ve never felt better,” his father replied.

“That is a relief,” Han-Yeol said.

“I agree,” his father replied.

Han-Yeol had come to the hospital in a clean white sedan.

Beep.

“Han-Yeol, is this your car?” his father asked.

“Yes, father,” he replied.

The car he had brought with him was something he had purchased hurriedly the previous day on a two-year lease, just to come and pick his father up today. He actually had not wanted to buy a car right after purchasing a house, but it was not that burdensome for him, since he had the option to pay it back monthly instead of paying for it one time in cash.

Han-Yeol helped his father into the car and drove toward the apartment, which was now both officially and legally his own property after he had paid all the fees the previous day.

His father took a look around the house after entering it, remarking, “So this is your house.”

“Yes, it is a nice place despite being in Gangbuk,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Yeah, it does seem like a nice place,” his father said with a strange expression that Han-Yeol did not notice.

Han-Yeol gave his father a tour around the house and showed his father the room he had prepared beforehand. His father suddenly started to tear up, saying, “I never dreamed that I would be able to walk into a house you owned one day. I’m sorry, Han-Yeol.”

Han-Yeol’s father was always strong and steadfast, but even he could not withstand the wave of sorrow he felt at that moment.

“Father…” Han-Yeol said as he hugged and comforted his father.

As they were sharing in their sorrow, Han-Yeol suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! Father!”

“Why? What is it?” his father asked.

“Shall we dine out today? It has been a while since we last did,” Han-Yeol said.

“That’s just a waste of money. Let’s just order some jjajangmyun[4] and eat here,” his father grumbled.

“Today is a special day, because father was just discharged. We cannot just have jjajangmyun on a day like this! We need to go and slice some meat! We should go, father,” Han-Yeol urged his father.

“Ah… We should just eat at home…” his father protested, but Han-Yeol forcefully dragged him out of the house. His father pretended to be unable to fight back and let Han-Yeol drag him out.

They went to a famous grilling restaurant that Han-Yeol had looked up on the internet.

They ordered a bottle of soju[5], as alcohol was a must for such a joyous occasion. Han-Yeol filled his father’s cup with soju, and his father took the bottle and filled his cup in return.

They both raised their glasses before Han-Yeol exclaimed, “Cheers to your being discharged today, father!”

Clink!

“Keeeu!”

“Keeeu! Alcohol tastes really bitter after having it for the first time in a long while,” his father said.

“Father, you are only allowed to drink for today. You should not drink from tomorrow onward. You might have been discharged, but you are still sick. Please do not forget that,” Han-Yeol pleaded.

“Of course. You don’t have to worry about that. I don’t have any plans to be admitted to a hospital ever again,” his father replied.

“Haha! That is a wise decision, father,” Han-Yeol happily replied.

The father and son duo quietly clinked their glasses again. They did not really have to exchange any words, as they perfectly understood what the other wanted to say.

“Oh, right, Han-Yeol,” his father began.

“Yes, father?” Han-Yeol replied as he put a slice of cooked meat on his father’s plate, while turning over the meat on the grill so it would not burn.

Pssssh…

“You’re already twenty-eight years old, right?” his father asked.

“Yes, that is right,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Hmm… Isn’t it time for you to start considering marriage?” his father said out of the blue.

“Cough! Cough!” Han-Yeol spluttered, choking on his food when his father suddenly brought up marriage. He quickly drank a cup of water and exclaimed, “Father!”

“I mean, I thought about that quite often while I was hospitalized. I was thinking about what my biggest regret would be if I were to die tomorrow, and I realized that it was being unable to see the face of my grandchild, in this day and age where people live up to a hundred years. I might be healthy right now, but who knows when this damned illness will come back? How can you call yourself a son if you can’t even grant your dying father’s small wish?” his father nagged him.

“Nobody said anything about you dying!” Han-Yeol loudly retorted, but he was still flustered by what his father had just said. He felt awkward as he thought, ‘What’s with this talk of marriage all of a sudden…?’

“Of course, I’m not telling you to get married right now, but still. Here,” his father said as he passed a picture of an average-looking woman over to Han-Yeol.

“Who is this, father?” Han-Yeol asked.

“I received it from an ahjumma[6] I became close with at the hospital ward. How is she? Isn’t she beautiful?” his father asked.

“I-I am not sure…” Han-Yeol replied.

The woman in the picture was not exactly beautiful enough to captivate Han-Yeol. She looked quite plain, and she could not compare to the countless beauties he had met while working with the Hunters. However, he suddenly remembered the high schooler who lived next door to his old house.

‘That punk… I wonder how she’s doing right now?’ he thought. He had been busy over the previous couple of weeks, so he had not had the time to see her, and the only contact he had with her was through the countless banana milks she had left in front of his door.

‘That kid is much prettier than her…’ he thought. She was only a child, but her body and face had already matured…

‘No, no… she’s just a kid, and our age gap is just too wide. I’ll be called a cradle robber by people if I go for her,’ he thought as he shook his head, but he still missed her nonetheless.

***

Han-Yeol spent the next few days together with his father. Eventually, his father finally decided to go out alone to meet some of his friends, whom he had not seen for quite a while. Of course, Han-Yeol did not forget to use Heal on his father before he left just in case something might happen while he was away.

Afterward, Han-Yeol made ten hunting trips to the Anthill which was now quite crowded with Hunters, but he could not achieve any real results out of it due to the congestion. There was also one concern on his mind that had been bothering him for days.

‘Hmm… I’ve been using Heal for days now, but the skill level shows no signs of leveling up…’ he pondered.

Heal had leveled up more quickly than the other skills he possessed, but the skill would not budge from A-Rank even though he had been using it on his father for days.

‘There must be another condition that needs to be met… Karvis?’ he thought, calling on his Ego System.

[That is most probably the case right now.]

[You need to personally experience and go through each and every one of your skills.]

[There is definitely a prerequisite condition that needs to be met if the skill will not rank up to M.]

‘Hmm…’ Han-Yeol was left deep in thought by Karvis’ answer, but he decided to level up first. Thus, he started to look for a new hunting ground suitable for him online.

‘The Anthill is a bit boring now, and there are too many people over there. I need to find a place that’s more difficult than the Anthill and barely visited by the other Hunters…’ he thought as he searched. He still had not cleared the Anthill all the way through, but he had to give up on it, as it was no longer possible for him to hunt freely because of the crowds there.

‘Hmm… Then where should I go…?’ he thought.

He started to search for a suitable hunting ground to replace the Anthill, based on the information he had collected about his current stats while fighting against the Giant Ants.

[Orc Burrow]

‘Orc…?’ he thought as he read the result.

He had run a simulation program that analyzed his current strength and stats to find the most suitable hunting ground for him countless times, and the results kept going back to the same monsters—Orcs.

‘Let’s see… The closest Orc Burrow from here is… Ah, it’s Anseong City[7],’ he thought as he looked it up online.

The Orc Burrow at Anseong was a place he had never visited even while working as a Porter. The city had been overrun and occupied by the monsters summoned through the dimensional gate thirty years before, and the aliens had had to place a barrier around the whole city to keep those monsters in check. It was a small city that had once had a population of 180 thousand people, but they had been forced to give it up, unable to control the Orcs that had poured out of it.

The government had received severe criticism and backlash because of the civilian casualties suffered on that fateful day. Of course, they had made up some other issue to divert the masses’ attention the way they always did, coming up with some excuse that Anseong was not the only important city for them and they had to protect other cities too.

‘Anyway, my next destination is Anseong,’ Han-Yeol thought, deciding it would be his next hunting ground. While planning for the next hunt, he thought, ‘But first… I have to rearm myself and upgrade my equipment.’

Han-Yeol had quite a large sum of money on hand. The mortgage loan he had taken out was something he could pay back leisurely over ten years, and the total was not that much of a burden to him anyway. As such, he had a lot of money left over after diligently hunting the Giant Ants once again.

‘I should visit the Hunter Mall instead of just looking things up online,’ he thought.

It was convenient for him to shop online, but there was nothing more reassuring than being able to get a feel for goods in person before purchasing them. Online shopping was severely limited, as he could not touch, feel, or even test out any items before purchasing them.

Han-Yeol quickly got ready and left his house. He took the bus to the Hunter Mall, taking a seat at the back. He placed his hand on his chin and fell deep into thought. ‘First… I need to get a firearm.’

The slingshot was a good weapon, but Han-Yeol now needed a proper firearm made by a crafting-class Hunter that was imbued with mana. The words of the old man who had sold him the slingshot, telling him to treasure and cherish it, continuously repeated in his mind, but he could not afford to continue risking his life for something sentimental like that.

‘I’d like to buy a new chain as well… If there’s one available,’ he thought. The free chain he had received to tie up large monsters with when he was a Porter was already damaged and chipped in places, as he had been constantly infusing it with his mana.

[The next stop is Hunter Mall.]

‘Ah, I’m here already,’ Han-Yeol thought when he heard the bus announcement.

Beep…

He had been paying attention to the announcements since it was his first time going to the Hunter Mall, and he immediately pressed the stop bell when he heard it would be the next stop. After he hopped off the bus at his stop, what greeted him was a huge mall.

Han-Yeol was stunned by the grandeur and size of the place, as it was his first time visiting it. ‘I-It’s… It’s so big…!’ he exclaimed inwardly.

1. Gangbuk means ‘north of the river’. It’s the place across Gangnam, which some of you might be familiar with from the song ‘Gangnam Style’ by Psy. ☜

2. This is a common phrase that real estate agents use in Korea to secure a deal quickly. “The owner has to go to the US, so they’re selling it in a rush. Someone else will take it if you don’t. Hurry!” ☜

3. Beon-Dong is an old neighborhood, almost on the outskirts of Seoul. It would take more than an hour to reach Gangnam from there, even though it’s technically Seoul. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beon-dong ☜

4. Jjajangmyun is a noodle dish commonly found in Chinese restaurants in Korea. It’s actually a variation of a Chinese dish, first made by a Chinese immigrant. Jjajangmyun is considered a staple food in Korea, and there’s a tradition of eating it when someone moves houses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jajangmyeon ☜

5. Soju is an alcoholic drink enjoyed by the majority of Koreans. It’s commonly referred to as the staple alcohol of Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soju ☜

6. A word that literally means ‘aunt’ in Korean, but is used to refer to middle-aged women more generally. ☜

7. Anseong is a city in Gyeonggi-do, famous for producing various kinds of crafts made out of copper and other metals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anseong ☜