Leveling Up Alone

It was surprising because the pyramids in Egypt did not have the barrier specially made by the aliens, like the ones in other normal hunting grounds, but the monsters inhabiting it could not escape even without such a barrier. It was still a mystery why this was happening and why this was possible in the first place.

In short, Egypt was a country that had its own hunting grounds in addition to the pyramids which were also separate hunting grounds. On top of that, the purity and density of the mana stones found within the pyramids were much more valuable compared to the difficulty of the monsters possessing them, and these same monsters provided highly valuable monster parts that could be sold off for a hefty profit. Not only that, but numerous items and treasures were also said to have been found within the pyramids as well.

The Egyptian government managed to quickly stabilize their internal affairs by rallying the Hunters after this incredible discovery, and they adopted a policy of secularism that alleviated the anxiety and dissatisfaction of their own people.

“Well, I did hear that the treasures in Egypt are incredibly famous,” Han-Yeol said.

He was well aware of the various treasures in Egypt, since he had read about them in books. In fact, there had been so many treasures unearthed from the pyramids that there were numerous volumes of books dedicated to introducing all of them.

The pyramids soon became an object of envy for other countries. China, especially, was the first to react when the news that treasures and hunting grounds had been discovered inside the pyramids. They dug up the Tomb of their Ancient Emperor in hopes of discovering similar treasures and hunting grounds, but it remained just an ordinary tomb in the end.

“Please try it on. It will be Han-Yeol-nim’s item from now on, and I was tasked to find out what unique effect the item has and report it to the researchers,” Mariam said.

“Ah, is that so?” Han-Yeol said.

In that case…

Han-Yeol wrapped the chain around his left arm, as he usually did with the chain he used. Getting a sense of it, he thought, ‘This chain feels great.’

The chain emitted a subtle hint of mana, giving a cool and refreshing feeling when it came in contact with Han-Yeol’s skin.

Mana originally had a positive effect on improving a person's mood, and that was why the subtle mana emitted from the chain improved Han-Yeol’s mood.

After wrapping the chain around his arm, Han-Yeol tried injecting a small amount of mana as a test.

Woooong…!

The chain had a far better reaction compared to the chain he currently used.

“Oh, this feels incredible. It feels light to hold, and I can also feel that it has a large amount of mana stored inside it, and…” Han-Yeol said before he stopped mid-sentence.

Woooooong!

The chain suddenly started to react violently.

“W-W-What!?” Han-Yeol was startled by the chain’s sudden violent reaction. He tried to control the chain by injecting his own mana, attempting to counter whatever was going on. He groaned, “Keuk!”

He desperately thought, ‘C-Calm down, will you?!’

“Oppa!” Yoo-Bi yelled out.

“Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!” Mariam shouted.

Mariam and Yoo-Bi tried to help Han-Yeol, but there was nothing that they could do to help him. They had no choice but to stand still and helplessly watch Han-Yeol writhing in pain. They needed to know what was going on for them to be of any help, but…

Han-Yeol spent a while struggling against the chain. Then, he could finally feel the chain’s strength gradually getting weaker.

‘Good, I just have to seal it all at once,’ Han-Yeol thought as he concluded that a dangerous situation could occur if the chain was left to act however it wanted. He decided to inject his mana to seal the chain and force it to obey him. ‘One… Two… Three!’

Woooong!

Han-Yeol injected an enormous amount of mana into the chain to seal it in one go.

Ding!

[The unique item, Enkidu, has accepted its new owner.]

[Enkidu is a living mana chain, and you may grant new powers to it.]

[Do you wish to grant it new powers?]

‘W-What's going on?’ Han-Yeol was confused by the message that suddenly appeared in front of him. He was caught off guard entirely.

A chain was just a chain, but what was up with the name ‘Enkidu’? And what did it mean by granting it new powers?

It was something that Han-Yeol could not make heads or tails of, but he was already a veteran when it came to handling this game-like system. He had already experienced all sorts of things, so he wouldn’t remain taken aback for too long.

‘From my experience, it is always beneficial in such cases to press ‘YES’ whenever the system offers you such an option.’

Without hesitation, Han-Yeol pressed ‘YES’ since he thought that nothing bad was going to happen.

[You have granted new power to Enkidu.]

[Enkidu will randomly absorb one of your abilities.]

[The Ego system, Karvis, has been absorbed by Enkidu.]

‘Wait, what?’ Han-Yeol was shocked by the most recent notification.

Shwaaaaaa…!

“!!”

Surprisingly, the chain called Enkidu suddenly changed its original form and seeped itself into Han-Yeol’s skin. It turned into a tattoo.

“O-Oppa?!” Yoo-Bi cried out.

“Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, just what on earth happened just now?” Mariam asked.

Both Mariam and Yoo-Bi could not make sense of this whole situation. It was beyond common logic for a chain to suddenly enter a Hunter’s skin and turn into a tattoo no matter how unique their ability was. It was something they had never heard or seen before.

Some might argue that it was possible since it was a unique item, but Mariam had seen a lot of unique items. She had never witnessed something like this happening in any of those cases.

When the two women were still baffled by what was going on, a message popped up in front of Han-Yeol.

Ding!

[The Ego system, Karvis, has been absorbed by Enkidu.]

[Karvis is now able to check not only the user’s physical condition and abilities but the status of items as well.]

[A new skill has been created through Enkidu’s influence – Item Appraisal.]

‘Item Appraisal?’ Han-Yeol thought as he immediately checked the skill’s details.

[Item Appraisal (F)]

Type: Active

Description: A skill created after the Ego system, Karvis, was absorbed by an item. This skill allows the user to not only check their status and abilities, but also the information of any object they touch. The user will be able to see more detailed information the higher this skill’s level becomes.

‘Wow… This is really starting to feel like a real video game,’ Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise. He shook his head, then thought, ‘More importantly… Just how the hell am I supposed to explain this situation to them?’

Han-Yeol, who had no intention of revealing the game-like system ability he possessed, was left with the headache of explaining this bizarre situation to Mariam and Yoo-Bi.

‘Well… I guess I’ll just wing it and make it work somehow.’ Han-Yeol shrugged his shoulders casually, since he was in a good mood and did not want to stress over the small things.

Han-Yeol began by explaining that the chain was called Enkidu and that it was indestructible since it harbored its own mana, but it could also siphon away the mana of the target it was binding. However, he purposely excluded any explanation related to the game-like system that he possessed.

Both of them seemed to be convinced by Han-Yeol’s explanation.

Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were invited to have dinner with Tayarana and Mariam at the mansion after the incident, and it was only after they had dinner that they were finally able to escape from that place.

“Ahh, today was so tiring…” Yoo-Bi whined as she buried herself into the passenger seat and let out a sigh.

The mansion owned by the Egyptian princess, Tayarana, was a tremendous culture shock for Yoo-Bi, who had lived her entire life below the poverty line. Spending all that time in the extravagant mansion had really stressed her out.

“But it was fun, wasn't it?” Han-Yeol asked.

Han-Yeol had lived in a somewhat similar environment as Yoo-Bi, but he had a different take on the matter. It was mainly because of the difference in their present circumstances; Han-Yeol was able to realistically dream of becoming as rich as Tayarana after witnessing her wealth. In short, the way they saw the entire experience today had been affected by the difference between a person who had hopes of achieving the same status and someone who could not.

“Hmm… Well… That is true… The mansion was incredibly beautiful and I did enjoy looking at its design, but the other things that happened were just too tiring,” Yoo-Bi replied with a smile.

She was indeed tired and stressed from what had happened today, but she did not want to worry Han-Yeol.

“Really? Then, I’ll drive you home today. You should get off work early and get some rest.”

“Oh, can I really do that?!”

“I’m going to let it slide for today.”

“Wow, oppa is the bomb!”

“Haha! But isn’t the word ‘bomb’ a little old-fashioned?”

“But oppa, you are an old man, right? You always make those boring dad jokes,” Yoo-Bi teased.

“When did I?!” Han-Yeol retorted.

“Every time!” Yoo-Bi retorted back.

“Ugh... I can never beat you when it comes to words,” Han-Yeol said as he admitted defeat.

“Hehe, of course. A man can never beat a woman when it comes to words.”

Han-Yeol felt a lot closer with Yoo-Bi than before, since they were spending more time with each other. However, it was more of a relationship between brother and sister than a relationship between a man and a woman. He would have preferred if their relationship did develop into that of a man and a woman, but he instinctively felt that…

‘Yoo-Bi probably doesn’t see me as a man,’

He believed that a man should not be so dense as to not catch how a woman saw him and end up crossing the line, and he could tell that Yoo-Bi did not see him as a man.

‘Ha… I guess I just have to accept my fate,’ Han-Yeol thought as he sighed inwardly, accepting his fate and deciding to give up on pursuing Yoo-Bi. He then thought, ‘I don’t want to lose such a capable manager just because I did something stupid like confessing my feelings.’

Han-Yeol did not believe Yoo-Bi when she initially confessed to her plans to betray him. He had learned quite a bit about Yoo-Bi by watching her from the sidelines, such as how she studied hard to be the best possible manager and did not slack off on trying to awaken as a Hunter too.

‘Yoo-Bi is a very diligent person.’ Han-Yeol could not help but admire Yoo-Bi.

Han-Yeol knew that their relationship would not further progress from where it was now as long as he put his feelings on hold. Their relationship might not blossom into one between a man and a woman, but he was certain that Yoo-Bi was going to be a very dependable ally if she awakened one day.

Screech!

They chatted all the way until they finally reached near Yoo-Bi’s house. This was the furthest Han-Yeol went whenever he dropped her off.

‘There is always this small distance between us, now that I think about it,’ Han-Yeol thought bitterly.

“Wow, we already arrived? Oppa's driving skills are the best!” Yoo-Bi said.

“Stop flattering me and go home. Your mother must be worried sick since it's getting late.”

“Looks like my mom has not left work yet.”

“What? Why is your mother still working when her daughter is making so much money?” Han-Yeol asked while seemingly surprised.

Yoo-Bi glared at Han-Yeol, then she angrily puffed her cheeks and said, “Hmph! This is all because you gave your father a billiard room! I had to open a cleaning company my mom always wanted because of that! She yelled at me for forcing her to retire, because she still feels young enough to work!”

‘So cute,’ Han-Yeol thought as his face turned red from seeing Yoo-Bi’s cute outburst.

Han-Yeol might have given up on his feelings for Yoo-Bi, but he could not stop himself from appreciating her beauty. He decided to be content with the fact that he could see her from so close.

Yoo-Bi was the type of girl who lowered her guard and acted cute the closer you got to her, so it was worth continuing the current relationship they had.

“I’m sorry, I'm really sorry.”

“I won't be so forgiving next time, so watch it, and please drive home safely,” Yoo-Bi said before she stretched out her arm and waved in a cute manner.

Han-Yeol also smiled and waved his hand to send her off.

Whooosh…!

Fall was coming to an end and the weather was starting to get chilly.

Hunters were not particularly bothered by the cold weather compared to ordinary people since the mana within their bodies regularly circulated and kept them warm, but the change of seasons still affected them mentally.

‘Phew… I should go home and get some rest too,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Even though he was a Hunter, Han-Yeol was exhausted after going through so many things recently. The fatigue he felt was not the physical kind but the mental kind.

He decided to call it a day, since he would probably feel much better after a good night's sleep.

***

Five days flew by.

“Hunter-nim, long time no see!” Su-In greeted Han-Yeol.

“Hello!” the Mulan team members greeted.

“Hello, have you all been well?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Eh, of course, we are not doing well!” Su-In said.

“We were working day and night for a week editing videos, managing our website, and managing the outsourced image files thanks to a certain famous person. Do you not see how dry and haggard our faces are because of all the work we did?” Su-In grumbled. She then pouted and complained, “Hiing… It’s going to take quite a while to restore my skin to how it was before…”

It was said that even glass would not be able to handle the noise once a woman started nagging, and Han-Yeol gained firsthand experience after being barraged with complaints from the entire Mulan team. They all generously unloaded their stress at him.

They were currently standing in front of the Hunters’ Association because today was going to be their very first hunt with the Horus raid party.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Hunter-nim,” Su-In called out.

“Yes, Ms. Su-In?” Han-Yeol responded.

“Is that lie actually true?”

This was one of Su-In’s absurd paradoxical questions: A lie that was actually true?

“What do you mean by that?”

“You know… That lie we posted on ThinkBig… They say that we are hunting with the goddess of Africa who is also the princess of Egypt, Tayarana, today. We posted it since you told us to and even attached the video from the rescue site that day, but it sounds too good to be true… I mean, she could have helped out at that time because of the terrorists and all, but I don’t think Hunter-nim has what it takes to be associated with a goddess like her…

“Have you heard of that rumor? One of the Korean Master Hunters tried proposing to her, but she shot him down almost instantly. So…how does it make sense that she is going to be hunting with us? It doesn’t make sense! It has to be a lie!”

Su-In was having a hard time believing whether what Han-Yeol said was true or false…