Leveling Up Alone

“Why is she always like that?”

“I know, right? That’s why she’s an outcast.”

The staffer who had dampened the mood always went around saying pessimistic things, and that was why none of the others wanted to be friends with her. It was a classic case of workplace bullying, but she did not seem to mind it at all.

A pink atmosphere once again bloomed among the women after the pessimistic coworker left.

“Kyaah! Should I try talking to him if he comes back next time?”

“His name was Lee Han-Yeol, right? How can even his name be so sexy?”

“Kyaah!”

“How many kids do you think I should have with him?”

“I don’t think it matters, since he’ll be loaded anyway.”

“But they say you’ll gain weight if you get pregnant… Hing…”

Well… One had the freedom to imagine.

Vroooom!

Han-Yeol drove the truck toward the same Anthill he had previously been to. He was very familiar with the way, as he had already driven over there personally countless times by now.

Clack.

He parked the car somewhere safe after arriving at his destination, then slowly entered the Anthill.

“Kiekik!”

‘They’re here,’?he thought, preparing himself. The Giant Ants welcomed him, as expected. He glanced around and counted them, concluding, ‘There are three of them.’

Three was a small number for a group of Giant Ants, as they tended to move about in groups of six at the entrance. However, it was a perfect number for Han-Yeol to warm up with before diving deeper into the Anthill.

He took out a lighter he kept in his pocket and flicked it on. He then gathered his mana into his hand. Then…

Ding! 𝒷𝓮𝒹𝓃ℴ𝓿𝓮𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂

[You have mastered the basics of infusing your mana with an attribute.]

[A new skill has been created—Fire Attribute.]

Another skill had been created. Han-Yeol wanted to check its details immediately, but he did not have the luxury of doing so, because the three Giant Ants were already prowling in front of him without hiding their intention to feast on him. He loaded a steel bullet into his slingshot and pulled it as far back as he could.

‘The most basic AOE attack is an explosion. An explosion is basically an expansion of force. A wide expansion… So wide that it spreads all over the area…’?he thought as he infused the bullet with compressed fire mana.

Tak! Fsshhwoooh… Pukeok!

He let go of the band and a steel bullet flew, digging itself into a Giant Ant’s forehead.

Kaboooooom!

The steel bullet exploded after hitting its target, causing a fierce explosion in the area that swallowed the two other Giant Ants around it as well.

‘Heok!’?Han-Yeol was stupefied by the intense explosion he had created, and he could not believe it was something he had done. The explosion did not cover a large area, but all of the three Giant Ants in it died instantly.

Ding!

[You have successfully created a new skill by infusing the fire attribute into your compressed mana.]

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

‘Fire Attribute… Mana Explosion…’?Han-Yeol thought as he read the notifications.

[Fire Attribute (F)]

Type: Passive

Description: A union of mana and fire. This skill can cause a natural ignition by utilizing mana. In addition, it also increases the user’s proficiency in fire-attribute skills and increases their destructiveness.

[Mana Explosion (F)]

Type: Active

Description: An AoE skill that utilizes the natural energy of mana and the explosive properties of the fire attribute. It will cause an explosion five meters in radius if infused into a physical medium. The explosion radius will increase the higher this skill’s level becomes.

‘I-It’s amazing…!’?Han-Yeol could not help but exclaim in awe at the skill he had just created. He thought, ‘I can definitely pull and kill multiple monsters at once from now on.’

Previously, he had only stayed at the entrance of the anthill due to the fact that more and more Giant Ants would be crawling around the deeper he went inside it. From now on, however, he had nothing to be afraid of. He might not have had a proper AoE skill that covered a large area yet, but he now had a skill that would allow him to dispatch multiple monsters at once.

Tak.

Han-Yeol bumped his fists together with a smile and thought, ‘Shall we go and exterminate some bugs?’

***

As Han-Yeol swept through the Anthill, explosions continuously rang out through the place as if a war had just broken out,

Kabooom! Kaboooom! Boooom!

“What the hell is going on?!”

“Is it an earthquake?”

“No, it sounds like some kind of explosion!”

“Did a fire-type Hunter come here or something?”

“I have no clue…”

That night, a rumor spread among the Hunters because of the continuous explosions. It was that a high-ranking Hunter was at the Anthill massacring the ants in search of something. Numerous Hunters flocked toward the Anthill when the rumor spread in hopes of finding that ‘thing’ the high-ranker was looking for, and Han-Yeol had to stop hunting due to the sudden influx of competitors.

“What the…? Why are there so many people all of a sudden?” Han-Yeol grumbled in confusion.

The only person at the Anthill who had no idea of what was going on was the cause of the commotion—Han-Yeol himself. That was how he had to put a stop to his hunt even before he was fully satisfied with it, and he left the Anthill.

However…

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 15

Points: 20

STR: 49

VIT: 46

AGI: 40

MAG: 25

LCK: 10

Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (F), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (E), Fire Attribute (F), Mana Explosion (F).

He had been able to gain four levels in a short amount of time from hunting the Giant Ants and an assortment of other ant monsters in massive numbers, and he now had a whopping 20 bonus stat points piled up as a result.

‘Mana?Explosion is really?effective, but I can only use it a few times because of my lack of mana… I should diversify my stat distribution the way I always have, but…’?Han-Yeol thought, feeling conflicted.

He had realized how lacking his mana was in this hunt even with the regeneration provided by Walking. That made him decide to invest all 20 of the bonus stat points into MAG.

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 15

Points: 20

STR: 49

VIT: 46

AGI: 40

MAG: 45

LCK: 10

Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (F), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (E), Fire Attribute (F), Mana Explosion (F).

‘Alright,’?he thought in satisfaction.

Wooooong…

His mana wildly flowed inside his heart for a moment before eventually calming down.

‘Hooo…’?After investing all 20 bonus stat points into MAG at once, Han-Yeol felt all of his fatigue dissipate as the mana in his heart spread a cleansing sensation throughout his body.

‘I really like this feeling,’?he thought. It was the sort of high a junkie would experience, and he felt as if he might get addicted to it one day.

***

Han-Yeol voluntarily ended his hunt, albeit with some influence from external forces. Unfortunately, he could not recover as many ant remains due to the explosions, but he was still able to fill up his RV truck and sell them at the factory he had sold them to the last time.

He did not earn a lot from the hunt, but he was still able to earn a significant amount of money in a short period of time, as he did not have any other particular expenses aside from his father’s hospital bills and his living allocations.

‘My mana has significantly increased. I guess I can properly use Heal on my father now,’?he thought.

The first place Han-Yeol went to after receiving his money from selling the monster remains was the hospital where his father had been admitted. He had not had the luxury to frequently visit his father prior to his awakening, but he was now able to visit whenever he had spare time due to the freedom his awakening gave him.

He filled up the visitor’s form and entered the room where his father was staying. He approached his father, who was sleeping on the bed, and grasped his pale, skinny hand before using Heal on him.

Woooong…

Han-Yeol’s body let out a blue glow that moved to envelop his father.

Ding!

[The rank of ‘Heal’ has risen from (C) to (B).]

Han-Yeol stayed in the hospital’s patient guardian lounge for ten consecutive days, and continuously used Heal on his father whenever he got the chance to during visiting hours. The healing he did for his father successfully slowed down the progression of the illness, but failed to show any signs of completely curing it.

In fact, the more he used Heal on his father, the larger the black lump of mana on his father’s chest grew, as if it were resisting his attempts to cure it. He had decided to stay for ten days at the hospital after realizing the severity of the situation, and made the most out of every single visiting hour to use Heal on his father.

Fortunately, he was able to rein in the black lump of mana that was trying to rampage through his father’s body. His Heal skill reached A-Rank from continuous use over the previous ten days, but it still did not show any signs of ridding his father of the black lump of mana.

During one of his usual consultations with the doctor in charge, however…

“Your father is showing signs of improvement,” the doctor said.

“Huh?” Han-Yeol exclaimed in surprise.

The doctor in charge, who usually said things that only made Han-Yeol worry, had suddenly said something positive today for a change. He explained that Han-Yeol’s father had begun getting better, and that the improvement of his condition was nothing short of a miracle.

“It is really a miracle for a patient whose condition has deteriorated that badly to suddenly recover. I am certain that this will garner a lot of attention if it is published in a medical journal!” The doctor, who was usually emotionless and cold, was full of enthusiasm as he spoke, his saliva spraying all over the place.

However, Han-Yeol was not interested at all in what the doctor was saying, as he was lost in thought, ‘I’m certain that the black lump of mana is still there, but father’s condition has improved…?’

He wanted to grab the doctor’s collar and scold him for claiming something akin to saying a dog was a grass-eating herbivore. However, when he thought about it again, he realized that his father had managed to wake up on five out of the ten days he had been using Heal. He had considered it pure luck and a very good coincidence that he had managed to catch his father awake, but what if that was no coincidence at all?

‘Wait a second… The?black lump of mana is still there in his chest, but what if his body actually has gotten better because of the constant healing I was doing?’?he thought.

He finally understood why the doctor was so worked up about the recent turn of events. He was able to reach that conclusion because of the knowledge he had absorbed from reading countless medical journals to level up his Heal skill.

‘Hmm…’?He was deep in thought as he left the excited doctor behind and went back to his father just in time for visiting hours to start.

Then…

“I’m going to get myself discharged,” his father said.

“What?” Han-Yeol exclaimed, perplexed.

“I overheard the doctor and nurse talking a while ago. They were saying that my illness hasn’t been cured, but I’m now able to function and live a normal life like everyone else,” his father said.

“But father, you still have not fully recovered, just as the doctor said. I suggest that it would be better for you to stay at the hospital instead of at home…” Han-Yeol tried to convince his father.

It was not as if his father would suddenly recover just because he was staying at the hospital; still, the hospital had people monitoring him twenty-four hours a day. He wanted his father to stay longer because he would feel more at ease, and someone would be there for his father in the event that something happened.

However, his father adamantly refused and would not be convinced, saying, “I don’t want to stay any longer in this useless hospital. Look, I’ve been here for so long, but they still couldn’t figure out the cause of my illness. This is all a waste of time and money. I want to get discharged immediately, and I’ll do it myself if you refuse to.”

His father tried to get up as soon as he finished speaking, but Han-Yeol jumped in surprise and immediately blocked him. He said, “Ah! No, father. I will do it myself, so please do not push yourself too hard.”

“Alright, if you say so,” his father responded.

Han-Yeol could not bend his father’s stubborn will, so he went to the administration office and applied to have his father discharged. The administration office had perhaps received some sort of instruction from above, as they tried their best to prevent Han-Yeol’s father from getting discharged and even offered to reduce the hospital bills.

However, Han-Yeol refused their offers and proceeded to have his father discharged. He had already settled all of the delayed bills, so the hospital had no justification to prevent him from discharging his father. He then returned to the ICU with five minutes remaining before the end of visiting hours.

“Father, you will be discharged a week from now,” Han-Yeol said.

“Alright. I’m feeling tired,” his father replied.

“Yes, please sleep well, father,” Han-Yeol said, just before visiting hours finished.

The next day, Han-Yeol moved his father out of the ICU to a normal ward, in order for his father to rest for at least a week before he gets discharged. His father’s illness had stopped progressing, and there was no longer a reason for him to stay in the ICU.

Now, Han-Yeol ran around busily trying to find a house that could accommodate him and his father.