Leveling Up Alone

The Hunters threatened Han-Yeol, telling him to be thankful that they were willing to overlook the fact that he had stolen the last hit, and that he had better not go around blabbering about what had happened that day. Additionally, they refused to acknowledge any contributions he had made in the day’s monster hunt.

This was the relationship, or rather, the established hierarchy between a Hunter and a Porter.

Han-Yeol was boiling with anger inside, but Tae-Su approached and patted him on the shoulder, giving him some words of comfort. “Just let it go. Those kids’ demeanor is nothing new anyway, right?”

“Hooo… You’re right. Tsk… I just got worked up since it’s still a lot of money,” Han-Yeol grumbled.

“Haha! That’s that, but you’re quite an amazing one, aren’t you? To think a Porter like you would be able to kill a Silver Lizard!” Tae-Su exclaimed while letting out a hearty laugh.

“Well… I just got lucky,” Han-Yeol replied with a shrug.

Han-Yeol and Tae-Su left behind the newbie Porter who seemed to still be out of his wits, and they each took out their monster dismemberment tools before going to their respective positions. Then, they put on their safety goggles.

“It’s just the two of us today. Ahjussi should start from the head until the monster’s midsection, and I’ll start from the tail all the way up and meet you there,” Han-Yeol said.

“Alright, that sounds like a plan,” Tae-Sun replied.

They were just called ‘Porters’ for the sake of convenience, but the Porters basically did everything during a monster hunt apart from participating in combat against the monsters. No, rather, they were still involved in combat against the monsters, albeit in a supporting role; it really could be said that they basically did everything in a monster hunt.

They took out tools that resembled chainsaws from their toolkits.

Brrr…! Whiiiiiing!

The barrier that surrounded monsters’ bodies naturally disappeared once the monster was dead, but that did not mean the monsters’ muscles and bones were weak enough to be easily dismembered by a normal human. That was why the Porters needed to use special electric chainsaws made by crafting-class Hunters.

Brrrrrr…!

Han-Yeol did not hesitate at all as he started to dismember the Silver Lizard’s corpse with his chainsaw.

Splurt…! Splurt…!

Not long had passed since the monster died, so blood oozed out whenever the chainsaw dug into its flesh. Han-Yeol’s vision was hindered by the blood that splashed all over the place whenever his chainsaw spun. It would actually be impossible for just anyone to dismember a monster’s corpse out in the open that way if they did not have a lot of experience and practice.

Brrrr…! Brrr…!

“Eh?”

It was then that the chainsaw Tae-Su had been using until then suddenly started to have some problems before stopping completely.

Han-Yeol stopped what he was doing before he looked at Tae-Su and asked, “Ahjussi, is there a problem?”

“I’m sorry, Han-Yeol. It seems there’s an issue with my chainsaw and it won’t start at all,” Tae-Su replied.

Han-Yeol could not help but shake his head as he responded, “Seems we have shit luck today.”

“I know, right? I heard the newbie doesn’t have a chainsaw with him,” Tae-Su added.

“What can we do? I’ll dismember the corpse, so can you work on the other things and clean up?” Han-Yeol asked.

“I’m sorry,” Tae-Su said apologetically, as he felt bad about pushing all the work onto Han-Yeol.

“Don’t worry about it,” Han-Yeol replied.

Han-Yeol had no choice but to work alone on dismembering the monster after Tae-Su’s chainsaw broke down. Around thirty minutes after he started to focus on dismembering the monster, he finally managed to finish the job.

“Phew!?That’s done,” Han-Yeol said, wiping his sweat.

It was at the moment that he finished dismembering the monster that…

Ding!

[You have successfully dismembered the Silver Lizard.]

[A new skill has been created—Dismember.]

A skill called ‘Dismember’ had suddenly been created.

‘What the hell is going on?’?Han-Yeol thought, unable to hide his confusion at what had happened throughout the day.

***

“I’ve transferred 1.4 million won to each of your accounts. Great work today once again,” Tae-Su said.

There were no other hunts, as the Silver Lizard Han-Yeol had caught was the last one for the day. Perhaps the Hunters had also sensed that it was an ominous day, as they refused to hunt anymore and called things a day early.

‘Well, I have no?complaints about finishing?early.’

Porters were paid based on a daily wage whether they worked for one hour or the standard eight hours, and their pay was fixed at 1.4 million won.

Dingdong!

Just then, Han-Yeol’s phone rang and alerted him of a new message.

[Mr. Lee Choon-Sam’s hospital bill of 5 million won for the month of November has been deducted from your account.]

Han-Yeol’s monthly income was around 5.6 million won, but the hospital bills alone amounted to a staggering 5 million won per month.

‘Euk…?The money disappeared as soon as it came in…’?Han-Yeol thought with a hint of despair. He had known it would happen, but it felt much more depressing when he read the message that seemed to remind him of reality.

‘Well…?It’s still nothing compared?to my father, who’s currently fighting for his life against his illness. Let’s hang on! Aja?aja!’?Han-Yeol thought, snapping himself out of his despair.

The only family Han-Yeol had was his father, who had been bedridden for four years due to an unidentified rare disease. His father had told him that his mother died giving birth to him, but he had later found out that his mother was still alive and that she had left home along with his elder sister when he was young.

Well, that did not mean Han-Yeol had any intention of looking for his mother and sister.

‘Why would I waste my time looking for the people?who?abandoned me?’?

Now, Han-Yeol found it difficult to even make ends meet, as he was the sole breadwinner of his so-called ‘family’.

‘Hold on. What time is it?’?Han-Yeol thought as he checked his old mobile phone.

[15:30]

He still had around four and a half hours remaining before his part-time job started. How long had it been since he last had spare time for himself?

[Rather than that, what about checking your current status first?]

“Euaak!”?Han-Yeol suddenly screamed. He was so surprised by the sudden message window and voice that popped out of nowhere that he fell backward and landed on his butt.

“Hahaha! What is he doing?”

“Is he stupid?”

“Hahahaha!”

Several passers-by laughed at Han-Yeol, who had suddenly landed on his butt in the middle of the street.

‘D-Damn it…!’?Han-Yeol felt extremely embarrassed, as his face flushed red before he ran into an alley away from the crowd. Then, he let out his anger and shouted, “You! What the hell are you?!”

[I will repeat myself once again.]

[I am the Ego System, Karvis, who has been assigned to assist you, the newly awakened Mr. Lee Han-Yeol.]

“Me? Are you saying I’m an Awakened?” Han-Yeol asked with confusion and skepticism in his voice.

[Yes.]

[Luckily, you have beaten the odds of one in ten billion and received the ‘Awakened System’.]

[First, try saying ‘status’.]

“S-Status?” Han-Yeol obediently did as he was told.

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 1

Points: 5

STR: 28

VIT: 34

AGI: 29

MAG: 10

LCK: 10

Skills: Dismember (F)

A simple and organized message window popped up in front of his eyes as soon as he said the word ‘status’.

‘Points?’?Han-Yeol thought in confusion. Then, the Ego system immediately spoke as if it had read his mind.

[You may distribute the points into each of the STR, VIT, AGI, MAG, and LCK stats that you see on your status window.] 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠

[I am certain that you will be able to understand what each stat does even if I do not explain it to you in detail, right?]

“O-Of course!” Han-Yeol replied. There had been a time in his life when he enjoyed playing computer games. However, he only had enough time to play games at an internet café for an hour or two once in a while because of his busy schedule working to make ends meet. There was no way someone like him would not be able to understand a simple status window like that.

‘They say there are different types of Awakened in the world. Perhaps I?have?some unique powers…?’?Han-Yeol thought, recalling what he had learned from his previous research.

The Awakened usually got their powers the same way, and there were no major differences in how they awakened. Awakened usually knew what kind of abilities they had as soon as they awakened, and they even knew how strong they were from the get-go.

Most Awakened possessed three abilities, and their role in a monster hunt would be decided by the combination of the abilities they had awakened with. For example, an Awakened who possessed mostly offensive skills was designated as a ‘DPS’, an Awakened who possessed healing abilities was designated as a ‘Healer’, and an Awakened who possessed miscellaneous abilities that assisted others in combat in one way or another was designated as a ‘Supporter’. Of course, there were always some deviations from that standard set-up, as it had also been found that there were some Awakened who defied that common logic and possessed unique abilities.

‘Some of them can shapeshift into the?form?of other creatures, and there are some?who?can manipulate space and dimensions,’?Han-Yeol thought. People called those kinds of Hunters ‘Unique Hunters’.

‘Then, am I also?a?Unique Hunter…?’?Han-Yeol pondered.

[Well, you can think of it that way.]

“Karvis, did you say you were an entity assigned to assist me?” Han-Yeol asked.

[You finally understand.]

Karvis’ voice finally sounded gentle, as she felt that her owner had finally gone from being a frustratingly stupid baboon to being a baboon who used his brains.

“Then, how am I supposed to grow stronger from now on?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Of course, you will slowly grow stronger from now on.]

[Other Awakened get their strength all at once and no longer grow stronger later on, but the strength of Han-Yeol-nim’s abilities will fully depend on how much effort you put into getting stronger.]

“Ah, I see…” Han-Yeol muttered, as he seemed to be processing what Karvis had just said.

[Try to perform a plethora of activities as much as possible.]

[Any action that can be developed into a skill will turn into a skill once you become proficient in it.]

“Is that so?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Yes.]

Han-Yeol asked Karvis everything he wanted to know, but that did not mean Karvis gave him all of the answers he was looking for. No, it would be more precise to say that she did not answer anything outside the information she possessed.

“Then, are you saying that trying to hunt monsters is a stretch right now and that I should continue working as a Porter to level up a bit more while collecting new skills?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Yes.]

[It will be risky to try and hunt monsters, as you do not possess any skills at the moment.]

[I advise that you continue getting some experience while working as a Porter for now.]

‘But I already have enough experience as a Porter…?Tsk…’?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue inwardly. He had already been doing this crazy job for three years, and he had already achieved the sole reason he had been doing it, but to think he had to continue working as a Porter because of his unique abilities as an Awakened?

‘Should I be happy about this, or should I be sad…?’?Han-Yeol was conflicted, but he had already awakened, and he decided that it would be for the best that he listened to the advice of the Ego System.

‘I’m pretty sure there’s a good reason why it’s an assistant,’?Han-Yeol thought.

[Of course.]

“Can you stop reading my thoughts…?” Han-Yeol grumbled.

[…I apologize.]

It seemed that even the Ego System was not perfect.

***

Han-Yeol ate a simple, late lunch after resolving every question he was curious about before going to the factory where he worked part-time.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The factory was busy at work today, as always.

“Hello!” Han-Yeol enthusiastically greeted people.

“Oh! If it isn’t Han-Yeol! You’re early today.”

A few familiar faces welcomed him as soon as he entered the factory.

“Ah, yes. My work as a Porter finished early today,” Han-Yeol replied with a smile.

The place was a factory near where Han-Yeol lived; it was also where monster remains that had been dismembered at the hunting grounds were processed again.

Han-Yeol worked as a Porter while also working part-time at this place, because his income as a Porter alone was not enough to make ends meet while paying for his father’s hospital bills.

“Did something good come in today?” Han-Yeol asked his line partner, whom he usually got along with very well, while changing into his work clothes.

“That’s an excellent question. Today, we had that famous B-grade monster, an Alcatraz, come in!” the man said.

“Wow! Really?” Han-Yeol exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

An Alcatraz was a monster that was infamous for being difficult to catch. Han-Yeol could not hide his excitement at the news that one had been brought in. It was also a monster that would be very difficult for a small factory like theirs to procure.

“They say it was caught by a Hunter who’s close to our factory manager. He got it through his connections, I guess. He might be useless, but we do know that he has very good connections,” the man said.

“Still, it is really amazing,” Han-Yeol replied.

Of course, there was no way that a mere part-time worker like Han-Yeol was ever going to get the chance to even touch the Alcatraz that had come in today, and the fact that he could admire it from afar was an honor in itself.

***

Han-Yeol was excitedly thinking about whether he would get the chance to see the Alcatraz that had come in when someone called him from behind.

“Oi! Lee Han-Yeol!”

“Y-yes!” Han-Yeol responded while thinking to himself, ‘Ah… I’m screwed…’?He knew exactly who had called him just by hearing the voice. He cursed inwardly, ‘That damn pig.’

The pig called Deok-Su was the manager of the factory Han-Yeol worked at, and the brother of the factory owner as well. On the first day Han-Yeol had started working at the factory, he had accidentally spilled the coffee he was drinking on Deok-Su when the latter suddenly appeared out of nowhere and bumped into him. The place where Han-Yeol had been standing at the time was not a walkway, and it had even been a place where it would be difficult to bump into anyone, but Deok-Su seemed to hold a grudge against Han-Yeol since that fateful day, finding all sorts of ways to bother him.

“Shouldn’t you work a little bit harder if you’re getting paid? How dare you chit-chat leisurely like this, you freeloader?! Get moving, you leech!” Deok-Su shouted condescendingly.

“Yeah, yeah, I understand,” Han-Yeol responded while grumbling under his breath, ‘Damn… I guess I won’t get to see the?Alcatraz…’

He would no longer be able to take it easy today now that Deok-Su had his sights set on him. He had to just stick to his line and avoid running into Deok-Su, as the pig would nag about every small thing he could think of.

‘Let’s just get to work and be done with it,’?Han-Yeol thought with a sigh.

The dismembering work at the factory required more precision than the dismembering done at the hunting grounds.

Fshoooo!

The first step was to use an air gun to remove any dust or contaminants that could have come along with the monster corpses. The next step was to use a blade made out of a special material to cut the monster corpses into pieces.

The body parts Han-Yeol was currently in charge of were the easiest parts, the arms and legs. They were easy because they did not contain any important organs, and were only made up of meat and bone most of the time. Additionally, all he had to do was to separate the muscles from the rest and his job would be done.

Shhk… Shhk… Shhk…

‘Huh?’

He had started to dismember the monster's corpse just as he usually did, but something strange suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

‘What are these lines…?’

The monster Han-Yeol was currently working on was a Mad Deer, which was literally a deer that had gone mad.

Han-Yeol had tried to get to work the way he usually did, but that was when the lines had suddenly appeared all over the monster he had to dismember. He rubbed his eyes, thinking that perhaps he was hallucinating and seeing things, before he looked at the monster corpse again.

‘Eh??They’re?still here?’

Han-Yeol was confused.

1. Korean for ‘uncle’.

2. 5 million won is around 3,955 USD.

3. 5.6 million won is around 4,429 USD.

4. ’Aja aja’ is a cheer used to support someone or yourself in Korea. It’s usually used in tandem with ‘fighting’, which is another cheer.

5. The author used ‘????’, which is the English phrase ‘Mad Deer’ transliterated into Korean.