Leveling Up Alone

The lines on the Mad Deer’s corpse were still present no matter how many times Han-Yeol rubbed his eyes.

‘Is this because of the Dismember skill, by any chance…?’ Han-Yeol pondered.

[…]

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?” Han-Yeol grumbled.

“Hmm? Did you say something, Han-Yeol?” the line partner asked. Han-Yeol had asked Karvis, his Ego System, but the line partner beside him had ended up answering instead.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Please don’t mind me. I was just talking to myself,” Han-Yeol said with an awkward laugh.

“Alright, if you say so,” the line partner replied.

Han-Yeol’s line partner went back to his own work, and Han-Yeol talked to Karvis in his head instead. ‘Why aren’t you answering?’

[Did you not tell me not to read your mind?]

‘Cancel that. You can read it from now on,’ Han-Yeol said, with a hint of resignation mixed with frustration.

[Then I shall explain.]

[The ‘Dismember’ skill is a passive skill that assists Han-Yeol-nim whenever you dismember a monster’s corpse.]

[The skill will support you by providing the most efficient and fastest way to dismember corpses.]

‘Ah, so that’s why I’m seeing these lines…’ Han-Yeol thought.

[Yes, that is correct.]

Han-Yeol cut the monster corpse along the lines visible only to him without any hesitation after listening to Karvis’ explanation. Cutting up monsters was something he had been doing for the past three years, so there was no hesitation in his movements at all. This time, however, Han-Yeol felt as if he were basically taking a test with the answer sheet right beside him.

‘It’s really fast,’ Han-Yeol thought with a hint of admiration for the skill.

The speed he was working at was incomparable to before. In fact, his average work efficiency was normally around 12 to 15 corpses per hour, but he had now already exceeded 40 corpses with the help of the Dismember skill. He would be able to finish his daily quota in just three hours if he continued at this rate.

‘This is amazing!’ Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly. The thought of being able to finish earlier excited him all the more, and his cutting speed increased.

Ding!

[Your repeated actions have increased your knowledge of swords.]

[A new skill has been created—Sword Mastery.]

‘Sword Mastery?’

A message suddenly popped up while he was immersed in dismembering the monster corpses. He found it odd that he had obtained an offensive skill while dismembering monster corpses.

[Sword Mastery (F)]

Type: Passive

Description: A skill that appears when you gain a little bit of understanding of swords. You will gain increased proficiency whenever you handle a sword. The efficiency when you imbue your mana into a sword will increase by a little.

‘It’s a bit of a stretch to call it an offensive skill. I guess it’s more of a support skill?’ Han-Yeol thought as he went over the skill’s details.

The skill helped its user to gain increased proficiency with swords, and dismembering monster corpses was technically an action performed with a ‘sword’.

Shhk… Shhk… Shhk…

‘I knew it!’ Han-Yeol marveled inwardly. His cutting speed had increased as expected.

Chiiik! Chiiiik! Chiiik!

Han-Yeol finished his quota of 120 monster corpses in a record time of two and a half hours, and quickly began cleaning his workstation.

“Eh? Han-Yeol, have you given up for today?” his line partner, who was still hard at work, asked with a confused expression. It was understandable, as it had only been two and a half hours since they started working. The dismembering job was very labor-intensive work, so there were a few people who usually gave up halfway.

‘Well, it’s understandable… The factory manager has his eye on him, so it’s actually commendable that he stuck it out till now,’ the line partner thought. The workers all thought that the factory manager was just a scumbag who depended on his elder brother’s position as the factory owner to bully even those who were decades older than him.

“No, I’ve finished my quota for the day. So I’m wrapping things up to go and watch the Alcatraz dismemberment later,” Han-Yeol replied.

“What?” the line partner responded, unable to believe what Han-Yeol had just said.

They had to work a full eight hours without taking any breaks in between to barely meet their daily quota, and it was just impossible for anyone to fulfill their quota in just two and a half hours.

[Daily Quota (120/120)]

However, the machine beside Han-Yeol’s workstation displayed the number 120.

“H-How…?” the line partner muttered, unable to believe his eyes.

“Well… Let’s just say I discovered some techniques from experience? You know… Like the way people get enlightenment in wuxia novels?” Han-Yeol said with a shrug. He gave a silly excuse, as he had not made his awakening public yet. Besides, he was still legally a normal civilian, as he had not done any mana testing yet.

“Even if you say so… That’s still a bit…” The line partner could not make heads or tails out of the current situation. He had been working in this industry for nearly twenty years, and even he found it difficult to fulfill his daily quota in eight hours; but Han-Yeol, who had only worked for four years, was able to complete his daily quota in such a crazy time?

‘Did he pull off some tricks?’ the line partner thought as he gave Han-Yeol a skeptical look.

“Then, I’ll excuse myself,” Han-Yeol said as he waved his hand while leaving the workstation.

“Fwuumhaaa!

The air when you get off work early smells extra sweet!” he exclaimed in delight. He had been working at the factory for four years, and this was the first time he had left work early. The fact that he had been able to finish work early made him extremely happy.

However, while he was relishing in his happiness…

“Oi!”

‘Fuck… It’s that pig again…’ Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. He had been planning to relax for a bit at the rest area before going to watch the Alcatraz dismemberment, but the factory manager had called him out.

Han-Yeol’s face crumpled in annoyance, but he was all smiles the moment he turned around. He responded in a calm, friendly voice, “How may I help you, sir?”

“Ha? ‘How may I help you’, you say? You’ve got it quite easy, haven’t you? Lounging around when you should be working! Have you even completed your work? Huh?!” the factory manager nagged, giving Han-Yeol an earful while he thought, ‘Tsk… This fucking beggar. How dare he try to leech off of me!’

The factory manager was pettier than anyone else Han-Yeol had ever met in his life. In fact, it seemed that he still held a grudge for what had happened on Han-Yeol’s first day at work, when Han-Yeol had spilled coffee on his shirt.

‘How dare he make a mess out of the expensive shirt mommy bought for me!’

Yes, that was how petty the factory manager was, and he was a mama’s boy on top of that. The truth was that he, who did not have any particular skills or sufficient intelligence, was still able to work as the manager of his elder brother’s factory only thanks to his mother.

“Yes, I am done for the day,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Ha! I knew… What did you just say?” Deok-Su asked with a perplexed look on his face. He even doubted his ears for a moment, thinking he had heard Han-Yeol wrongly. That was why he decided to double-check just to make sure.

However, Han-Yeol confidently replied, “I finished my quota for the day. The whole 120 corpse requirement.”

Beep!

[Lee Han-Yeol-nim has fulfilled his daily quota of 120 corpses.]

Han-Yeol tapped his employee card on the machine beside him, and the machine backed up his claim, precisely repeating what he had just said.

“Eh…? H-how could this be?!” Deok-Su shouted, unable to believe his ears.

Deok-Su had worked for quite a long time at the factory, and he knew very well how labor-intensive and grotesque the dismembering job was. In fact, he was also the one who had adjusted the daily quota to be very difficult to achieve in eight hours.

“Well, it is as you heard. So, I will excuse myself,” Han-Yeol said with a smile before he walked toward the rest area. He rested for a bit before going to observe how the veteran workers dismembered the Alcatraz.

‘So that’s how you dismember an Alcatraz…’ Han-Yeol thought with fascination. He focused on the Alcatraz, as he wanted to test whether he would be able to see the same lines he had seen on the Mad Deer or not. However, nothing special happened, and he could not see any lines on the Alcatraz.

‘Huh? What’s going on? Why can’t I see anything…?’ Han-Yeol thought, perplexed.

[Your Dismember skill level is still too low to support you in dismembering an Alcatraz.]

‘Ah, so that’s how it is,’ Han-Yeol thought, feeling slight regret.

He felt that he could do nothing about it, and instead decided to focus on observing the veteran workers dismember the Alcatraz. He learned a lot just by observing the veteran workers. Han-Yeol’s dream had been to become a professional dismemberment technician in the event that he failed to awaken.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter anymore since I managed to awaken.’

He had originally planned to leave this place as soon as he awakened. However, it had become difficult for him to just get up and leave the factory, as his ability was not an instantaneously empowering one, but rather a growth-type ability one might see in a video game.

‘Let’s stick around for a bit longer.’

After finishing his observation of the Alcatraz’s dismemberment process, Han-Yeol put on his coat and left his workplace for the day.

The factory manager looked as if he had just eaten shit as he watched Han-Yeol leave early. Han-Yeol felt slightly nervous, but he decided to brush it off, as he was not in the wrong at all. He also remembered to politely give a 90-degree bow toward the factory manager before he left.

Han-Yeol went on his way home. His house was around forty minutes away from the factory by foot. He had never felt that it was too far, so he preferred to walk to save money on transportation.

He ignored the bus that had just left the bus stop as he started to walk, just as he always had every day for the past four years. He had always loathed the fact that he had to walk just to save money, but his steps were unusually light today.

‘I’m also an Awakened now!’ Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly.

He had lived with no hopes, and dreams had just been a luxury he could not afford, as he worked day in and day out to pay his father’s hospital bills. He had never felt alive for even a day in his life as he struggled to make ends meet, but it was different now—things were slowly starting to change for the better.

The way back home that had once been empty and filled with despair felt as if it were praising him and cheering him up.

It was then…

Ding!

[Your positive mindset combined with your light steps have created a new skill.]

[A new skill has been created—Walking.]

“Whoa! What nonsense is this?” Han-Yeol exclaimed, surprised and perplexed at the same time due to the sudden creation of a skill while he was walking. Of course, the creation of a skill was always a good thing for Han-Yeol. However, he could not help but be dumbfounded at the way it had been created, along with the strange name the skill had.

‘What kind of a skill is ‘Walking’…?’ Han-Yeol wondered as he opened the skill’s details.

[Walking (F)]

Type: Passive

Description: A skill created through the combination of optimistic thinking and walking. You will recover a little bit of mana whenever you take a step.

‘Recover mana whenever I take a step…?’

[Any Awakened can use mana.]

[As you can see in your status window, Han-Yeol-nim’s current MAG stat is 10.]

[You may invest your bonus points into your MAG stat if you wish to increase your mana.]

‘Any Awakened can use magic?

Han-Yeol thought in surprise. In truth, that was unexpected information. There were no communities online that had mentioned anything of the sort.

‘Or maybe they only let the paid subscribers in on this info…’ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.

If that was the case, his Ego System, Karvis, was the most perfect partner any Awakened could ever wish for.

[Yes. It is difficult to explain through words, but mana can be considered your mental strength.]

[You will be able to use it if you desperately wish for it and focus hard enough.]

[I advise you to try it out once you get back to your residence.]

“Alright, I’ll do as you advise,” Han-Yeol replied.

His steps home were lighter thanks to the unexpected gains he had obtained on the way home. He took a quick shower and sat down in a comfortable position on the bed. Then, he looked at his hand and focused all of his senses on it.

‘Mana! Come on! Mana! Show yourself!’ Han-Yeol thought as he channeled his mental strength.

5 minutes passed since he had begun staring at his own hand, and it was right when he started to doubt what he was doing and wondered how much longer he needed to do that when…

Fwuaah!

A bright blue ball of light suddenly appeared above his hand. It was the size of a table tennis ball, and was so small that it seemed negligible; however, without a doubt, Han-Yeol had succeeded in channeling his mana.

Ding!

[You have gained an understanding of how mana works.]

[A new skill has been created—Mana Control.]

[A new skill has been created—Mana Mastery.]

“Wow! Jackpot!” Han-Yeol exclaimed. He was normally not the type of person to talk to himself that way, but he could not help but shout in joy as something really amazing had just happened.

‘Hehehe… I’m going to stay up all night tonight!’ Han-Yeol thought excitedly. He was going to be on night shift the next day, so it did not really matter if he stayed up all night.

***

Wooong…

Perhaps it was because he had gained the Mana Control skill, but Han-Yeol could now easily control his mana, and the ball of mana floating above his hand that had been the size of a table tennis ball had now grown to the size of a tennis ball. He tried to focus even more just in case the ball of mana could grow further, but it seemed to already be at its limit.

‘Hmmm… What should I do with this?’ Han-Yeol pondered, and he threw the ball of mana toward the wall just to test it out.

Thud.

“…”

The impact was so weak that it would probably have been stronger if he had punched the wall with his own fists.

Grrrr…

His stomach suddenly growled, crying for food at a late hour.

‘Ah… I usually would have eaten dinner at the factory…’

He usually ate dinner at the factory, but he had forgotten to eat as he rushed home filled with the joy of leaving work early for the first time.

‘Tsk… I should’ve eaten before I left…’

Missing out on a free meal was quite a blow for Han-Yeol, who had to save every penny to make ends meet. In fact, he had begun thinking about how to convince the cafeteria lady to feed him in advance starting from tomorrow, and he was even ready to beg her if he needed to.

However, what was done was done, and he went to check his kitchen cupboard to see if he had anything to eat. He found a pack of ramyun, which was the only food he had in the house. He then took out a portable burner stove and cooked the ramyun.

It has been quite a while since his gas stove had broken down, and he had had no choice but to buy a cheap portable burner stove, as the homeowner had shown no signs of fixing the gas stove anytime soon.

Brrup... Brrup…

A spicy, savory scent filled the room; its lack of proper ventilation made the ramyun’s smell even stronger.

Slurp… Slurp…

Han-Yeol turned on the TV while eating his ramyun. Any other hobby that cost money would be a luxury to him, and that was why the only other hobby he had was watching TV after work. A baseball game was live on TV, so he decided to watch it.

[Jeon Gwang-Yeol throws a pitch.]

A baseball player wearing a red uniform fiercely threw the baseball in a flashy motion.

Tak!

[Strike!]

It was a powerful throw. The pitcher’s ball messed up the batter’s rhythm, easily passing the bat and digging itself into the catcher’s mitt. It was a throw befitting a player who was known as a top-class pitcher.

‘Wow… It must hurt like hell if anyone gets hit by that ball… Hm?’ Han-Yeol suddenly had a thought while he was watching the baseball game. An idea suddenly came to his mind as he watched the pitcher throw the ball.

‘Karvis,’ Han-Yeol called on the Ego System in his mind.

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?]