Leveling Up Alone

“Anyway, I plan to work no matter what,” his father stubbornly insisted.

Han-Yeol now had another thing on his plate to worry about, and it was not going to be something he could solve this instant.

“Father, I understand. I will let you do what you want, so please take your time and think about it. I think I should help you find a nice job, so please wait for me, but the security guard idea is a no-go. Are we clear?” Han-Yeol said firmly.

“Hmm… I don’t mind as long as you find something for me as soon as possible, but Han-Yeol... Do you even have the ability to do all of that?” his father asked.

Han-Yeol’s father was still unaware that he was a Hunter. Han-Yeol had kept it a secret because he did not want his father to continuously worry about him and end up making his illness worse.

“I-I am the most capable guy in our company; did I not tell you?” Han-Yeol replied while stuttering a bit.

“Hmm…” His father stared at him with a strange look in his eyes.

***

Han-Yeol looked up the details of a famous crafting-class Hunter’s workshop in Gangnam, then went to pay them a visit.

The sound of a classic, vintage bell that seemed out of place in such a modern city rang out when Han-Yeol entered the workshop.

“Welcome to the Dwarven Workshop,” a woman’s clear voice greeted him as soon as he entered.

‘What kind of a name is ‘Dwarven Workshop’…?’ Han-Yeol wondered.

He decided not to think too much about the workshop’s odd name as he walked toward the reception desk. There, he took out the chain he had been using, along with a picture of a chain with a claw attached to one end and showed it to the receptionist. He said, “I want to request a chain weapon that looks like this.”

“Wow, that looks unique. I have worked here for almost five years now, but this is the first time I have seen a request to make an unusual weapon like that,” the woman said. She continued, “The owner of this workshop is actually quite a fussy person. He has been complaining for quite a while now that he has been making the same kinds of weapons for too long. Well, I guess I will not have to listen to his grumbling this time.”

“Hahaha.” Han-Yeol laughed in response, while thinking in the back of his mind, ‘This woman is a bit weird…’

It was definitely strange to see an employee openly criticizing their boss in front of a customer. He suspected that the woman might somehow be related to the owner.

The woman received the picture and scanned it, then typed something on her keyboard. Then, she clicked a few times with her mouse before turning to look at Han-Yeol. She said, “The quotation came out just now.”

“Ah, how much is it?” Han-Yeol asked in response.

“Hmm… You cannot get shocked, okay?” the woman asked.

“What?” Han-Yeol responded, tilting his head in confusion.

“That will be 1,930,000,000 won, and it will be 2,123,000,000 won including taxes. Oh right, you will have to pay the whole thing up front, by the way,” the woman said.

“…What did you just say?” Han-Yeol asked, thinking he might have misheard the woman.

“Your order will cost 1,930,000,000 won, and it will be 2,123,000,000 won including taxes. You will have to pay the whole thing up front,” the woman repeated.

Han-Yeol was flabbergasted to learn that the workshop had quoted him a price that amounted to nearly two-thirds of his assets. He protested the unreasonable figure, exclaiming, “W-What the hell? Are you making the chain out of diamonds or something? How does 2.1 billion even make sense?”

However, the woman calmly dealt with the unruly customer in front of her even though he was protesting in a very rough and aggressive tone. She replied, “I am sorry, but we are not the ones who decide the material, method, and price of our items. Our owner is the one who decides those things, and there is nothing we can do about it. We do not have the authority to touch even a single won of the total price.”

“Haa… Never mind, I’ll just go,” Han-Yeol said with a sigh.

“I apologize for the inconvenience. We hope to see you again,” the woman responded with a polite bow.

‘See me again, my ass!’ Han-Yeol thought as he stomped out of Dwarven Workshop. He then went around to the other workshops he had looked up before going there to request his chain.

However…

“I apologize… Our boss does not make these kinds of weapons.”

“I apologize… Our boss does not…”

“I apologize… Our boss…”

“I apologize… Our…”

“I apologize…”

“I…”

‘What the hell…? What’s going on right now?’

He has already visited more than ten workshops, but his request to commission his chain was rejected by all of them. He was certain that the workshops he visited had all advertised that they took requests for all sorts of weapons, but all of them had repeated the same thing like parrots, rejecting his request to commission a chain.

Han-Yeol’s head felt as if it would crack from stress at that point. He thought, ‘Haa… I guess I have no choice…’

He was very annoyed and frustrated, but he needed to get his weapon made. In the end, he had no choice but to go back to the Dwarven Workshop.

Ring…!

“Welcome! Omo! You are back?” the woman exclaimed in surprise.

“Haa… Please ask your boss to make it for me. I hope the quality will match how expensive it is,” Han-Yeol said.

“Of course! You may request for an exchange if you are not satisfied with the quality of our work,” the woman replied.

“Haa…” Han-Yeol sighed in frustration. He finalized his request with the Dwarven Workshop before heading to the bank to issue a check for 2,123,000,000 won. He then returned and passed the check over to the woman.

“Thank you very much, dear customer. We will contact you once it is ready if you leave your contact details with us,” the woman said.

“Alright,” Han-Yeol replied weakly.He wrote down his name, address, and mobile number before heading home. When he arrived, however, his father was not home.

‘He must have gone out to have a drink with his friends,’ he thought.

He was not particularly worried, as he knew his father was one to prioritize taking care of his health even if he was out with his friends. Additionally, Han-Yeol had been casting Heal on his father every day so it did not really matter if he drank or not, but it was still reassuring to see his father take care of his health.

Flop.

Han-Yeol threw himself on top of a bed that was incomparably more comfortable than the one he had once used.

‘Haa… I’ve earned 3 billion won, but I ended up using 2.1 billion already. Is this what it means to be a Hunter…?’ he thought. He suddenly remembered something he had read on the Hunter’s Association’s website back when he was a Porter.

[Hunters make a lot of money, but there are only a few rich Hunters.]

He had initially thought back then that that was a load of horseshit, but he now understood what that meant.

It had already cost him billions just to make a chain, but what if he requested a piece of equipment that required more precision or something even more sophisticated? How much more would he have to spend on that? A chill traveled down his spine at the mere thought of it.

‘Let’s just get some sleep…’ he thought, closing his eyes and deciding to leave those problems for another time.

***

Han-Yeol was forced to rest for four days until his chain was complete.

Shhhhwiiik!

His eyes sparkled the moment he arrived at the Dwarven Workshop and saw his 2,123,000,000 won chain. He exclaimed, “Wow, what’s this? This is completely different from what I imagined!”

Han-Yeol had initially grumbled about what kind of chain would cost 2.1billion won, but all of that changed when he received the finished weapon. The chain felt so natural in his hands and exuded such warm mana that it was well worth the 2.1 billion won he had spent. That said, that did not mean that Han-Yeol, who was a penny-pinching miser, was happy about spending 2.1 billion; still, he was content with the fact that the chain he had received boasted quite high-quality workmanship.

“It’s the best,” he said in satisfaction.

“Haha! My boss of a husband is quite skilled with his hands, and his skills are the one thing I can personally guarantee about him,” the woman said with a proud smile on her face.

“Ah, you are married to the crafting-class Hunter?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes, did I not tell you?” the woman asked in response.

‘No, you didn’t…’ Han-Yeol was about to reply, but he decided against it when he saw the bright, innocent smile on her face. ‘No wonder she had no reservations talking crap about her boss to a customer,’ he thought. It made perfect sense if they were a married couple.

“Oh and, our boss wanted to tell you that it was a fun request, so he is willing to give you a 10% discount the next time you request for something else,” the woman added.

“Ah, please thank him for me then,” Han-Yeol replied.

“I will!” the woman replied enthusiastically.

Han-Yeol left the workshop, thinking about what to do next. He pondered, ‘Should I just go home?’

He had already gotten his new chain, so his lack of weaponry was no longer stopping him from going out to hunt. He thought of going home and searching online on the Hunter’s Association website under the ‘looking for party’ tab to see if there were any parties he could join.

But then…

“Lee Han-Yeol, Hunter-nim?” someone called out from behind.

Han-Yeol had felt someone approach him from behind, but he had never expected that they would call him out. He turned around and replied, “Ah, yes, that’s me.”

When he turned around, he saw two people who were wearing black sunglasses and suits. They looked exactly like the stereotypical image of a government agent—particularly like S.H.I.E.L.D. agents[1].

The two people took out their official IDs and showed them to Han-Yeol, saying, “We are from the Hunter’s Association. We are currently investigating the Giant Ants' corpses and mana stones you have sold. Will you please come with us?”

“Are you asking me to come voluntarily?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes,” one of the agents replied.

‘So it means I’m not in trouble,” Han-Yeol thought.

A voluntary commitment did not give the arresting officer any right to forcefully make an arrest. That meant that he had the right to refuse to be investigated. However, Han-Yeol did not refuse, and instead agreed to follow them.

“Alright, I don’t mind at all,” he said, thinking, ‘I’m not guilty of anything anyway.’

The only thing Han-Yeol had done the entire time was hunt diligently; that was the reason why he agreed to follow them to be investigated.

‘This will be the second time I’m going to the Hunter’s Association for an investigation, come to think of it…’ he thought. He had been investigated on charges of ‘illegal hunting’ the first time he went, and he was curious as to what the charges would be this time around.

“Ughhh…” Han-Yeol groaned when the door to the investigation room opened, and the same investigator who had investigated him the last time he was there—the same one who had tried to corner Han-Yeol for illegal hunting.

“We meet again. I was hoping that it was just someone with the same name when I saw the name Lee Han-Yeol, but I suppose we are destined to meet,” the investigator said. “You do not have to be so nervous. You will be out in no time… if you are innocent, that is.”

“I suppose you are right. That was what happened last time, after all,” Han-Yeol leisurely replied.

Han-Yeol tried his best to put up a front, but he could not help but feel nervous while he was in the investigation room , which was the kind of place he normally only saw in movies or TV dramas. He was an Awakened and a Hunter, but he was also a human with a beating heart, in the end.

“So, what are your suspicions about me this time?” he asked.

“I will get straight to the point, since you asked me first. Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, are you involved in any illegal trade of monster corpses and mana stones?” the investigator asked.

“What?” Han-Yeol grumbled in surprise as he thought, ‘What kind of dogshit nonsense is this?’

He was in disbelief. He had hunted to the point of exhaustion and experienced multiple bouts of nausea that made him vomit a few times to pay his taxes and contribute to the country’s economy, but now they were accusing him of illegal trade?

“Ha! What a load of bull! Look here, on what grounds are you even investigating me right now? Illegal dealings? My patriotism and love for my country made me hunt like crazy for the past few days to contribute to our economy, but what? Illegal trade?!” He could not help his angry outburst at the accusations thrown at him. He was so worked up that he could not control his emotions any longer, and mana slowly started to exude out of his body.

[Please calm down, Han-Yeol-nim.]

[You will be restrained by the Hunters outside if you get worked up in here.]

[It is a complete misunderstanding, so there will be no problems as long as you do not get worked up.]

Karvis suddenly intervened. This was the second time she had helped calm him down.

‘Hoo… Thank you, Karvis,’ Han-Yeol replied to the Ego System.

[You are welcome.]

Getting worked up gave him a nice kick to his adrenaline, but anything in excess was bound to do more harm than good.

“Please calm down. That is the reason why we did not arrest you, but asked you to come voluntarily. We do have our suspicions, but we do not have any concrete evidence against you. That was why we wanted to listen to your side of the story first. Please just keep in mind that the amount of monster corpses and mana stones you have sold is highly suspicious for an F-Rank like you,” the investigator explained.

“Hoo… I understand,” Han-Yeol said. He calmed himself down and started to think about his next words. After all, the investigation room was a place where a single word could have him locked up regardless of whether he was guilty or innocent.

‘I saw that on the news once,’ he thought. Y-News was a channel that specifically dealt with stories like that, and he had watched a few of their segments before.

Han-Yeol lied to the investigator, explaining that his ability allowed him to grow slightly while not mentioning anything about being able to level up. He then explained the times when he had hunted with full honesty and transparency.

“So you are saying… Your ability grew stronger, so you hunted the Giant Ants for fifteen days with just two Porters?” the investigator asked.

“Yes. You may check the CCTV cameras around the Anthill if you do not believe me. You will clearly see me there, since I used the main roads after all,” Han-Yeol said confidently.

“Hmm…” The investigator thought deeply about his words.

One of the investigators watching in the other room went to check the CCTV as soon as Han-Yeol mentioned it in his statement. However, the investigator in front of Han-Yeol was already convinced, thinking, ‘He is telling the truth.’

1. The reference here is from the raws. Author-nim must be a Marvel fan. ☜