Leveling Up Alone

Han-Yeol’s demeanor had been careful but confident, and he had also been able to look her straight in the eyes while he spoke. The investigator thought, ‘It would make sense that he could be lying if he were a pathological liar or a career criminal, but all this guy has on his records are a few fights he had back in his school days.’

Some time passed before another investigator entered the room and whispered something to the investigator in front of Han-Yeol.

“Hmm… As expected,” the investigator muttered.

They had checked the CCTV around the Anthill, and also received the statement of the two Porters who had accompanied him.

“See? What did I tell you? There is no problem, right?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Hmm… There certainly is not. Though it seems that you have quite the ties with us, seeing how you have met us for the second time without being guilty,” the investigator said with a straight face.

‘Tsk… No such thing as an apology again,’?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue in annoyance. He understood that they were just doing their job, but the fact that they did not feel the need to apologize to him ticked him off for some reason.

‘They did that when I was a Porter, but they’re doing it again when I’m a Hunter. Are they looking down on me because I’m an F-Rank or something?’?he grumbled inwardly. Awakened Hunters were at the top of the social ladder, but the fact that they were treating him the same way as when he had been a Porter ticked him off.

But still, Han-Yeol decided to hold it all in as he thought, ‘Just try doing this again next time. I won’t stay so quiet then!’?He stood up, about to stomp out of the investigation room. He might have been pronounced not guilty, but the fact that he had not committed a crime in the first place made him even more annoyed.

“Oh, right, please do not forget to update your rank next time to prevent these kinds of things from happening. We are also upset that we have to go back empty-handed a second time, you know?” the investigator added.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do as you say,” Han-Yeol replied nonchalantly.

‘You. I have my eyes on you,’?he grumbled inwardly. It was not the right moment, but Han-Yeol swore he would one day grind that investigator’s nose flat.

***

Han-Yeol finished the annoying and frustrating investigation he had to take part in before going to have his mana tested. His rank increased from F-Rank to E-Rank.

‘F or E, it doesn’t really make a huge difference…’?he thought. He did get some benefits in terms of taxes or access to information, but the ranks F, E, D, and C were all birds of a feather anyway.

Han-Yeol went to the multimedia room, which was located on the second floor of the main Hunter’s Association building, instead of going home. He grabbed a spot and uploaded his information to the community board for those looking for a party on the association’s website.

[Looking for Party—E-Rank Hunter]

I am an E-Rank Supporter and secondary Healer looking for a party. My main weapon is a chain and claw, and I can bind enemies with my chain as well as attack them with the claw. I can also use Heal, so I can assist in healing injuries. However, I cannot heal at long range like a main Healer, and am limited to physical contact. Additionally, I can only heal external wounds.

He uploaded his information before leaning back in his chair, thinking, ‘I wonder when I’ll receive a message…’

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

A wave of messages flooded the computer screen as soon as he finished wondering when he would be able to get a response.

‘What the hell? Why are there so many messages?’?he wondered, before he turned the alarm off and read the messages he had received.

[Hunter-nim! We will offer you the best conditions! We will give you 1.5 times the share of the loot!]

[Hunter-nim, you will be able to hunt exponentially faster if you hunt with us.]

[We are Hunters associated with the Arangsa Guild. Don’t you want to hunt comfortably with us in our own hunting ground?]

He had received a ton of messages trying to scout him for their party. He wondered, ‘Hmm… The matching system doesn’t usually work this well, from what I’ve heard…?’

Han-Yeol had experienced various kinds of situations while working as a Porter. There were times when a Hunter had suddenly decided not to show up, so they had to find a replacement Hunter, but the Hunters had always used to grumble that there were no useful ones in the bunch. There were also some Hunters who grumbled that they rarely received a message even after writing very good introduction posts on the community board.

‘Don’t tell me… Is it because of Heal…?’?Han-Yeol wondered.

Looking back, most of the parties he had joined as a Porter had lacked a Healer. However, it was a given that there would be injuries and casualties while hunting monsters, so the Hunters had been forced to treat their injuries with expensive potions due to the absence of a Healer.

‘Now it makes sense. My healing ability is something any party would covet even if it’s not an immediate or long-distance healing ability,’?he thought, coming to a sudden realization.

Han-Yeol had finally realized that even though his Heal was not an instant healing skill that was usable in battle, the fact that he was able to heal was already a huge merit in itself. That was because the Hunters would be able to save a lot of money, as they would not have to use expensive potions anymore.

He decided to happily re-read the messages he had received now that he understood what was going on. They were all offering him the best terms and conditions to scout him for their parties.

Han-Yeol finally sent a reply after pondering which party to join for thirty minutes.

[I wish to join your party.]

Then, he waited for their confirmation.

Ding!

[Thank you! The hunt will be three days from now at eight in the morning. The meeting point will be in front of the 2nd wharf of Incheon Port.]

Han-Yeol replied.

[I understand.]

***

Han-Yeol arrived at Incheon Port three days later, boarding a ship at the 2nd wharf. The place they were going to was none other than Baekryeong-do.

“The place we are going to is Baekryeong-do,” the party leader said, pointing at a screen where a projector was displaying an image of Baekryeong-do. He added, “As you might be well aware, this is a place where Trolls live.”

‘This reminds me of old times…’?Han-Yeol reminisced about a time two years before, when he had gone to this place while he was still a Porter.

Trolls were very valuable monsters, so entry into Baekryeong-do to hunt them required the party to obtain a hunting permit from the government. They were also quite the opponents to deal with; they were as strong as they were valuable, so most parties that hunted them were made up of three to five Hunters. However, this party was composed of eight Hunters, eight Porters, and two managers, for a total of an eighteen-person strong party.

“I will now explain how the Trolls attack. They use wooden clubs as their weapons, but you should in no way underestimate them. Their clubs are infused with mana that can rip through most Hunters’ defenses like paper. Just listen to my orders; as the Tank, I will guarantee that none of you will be attacked as long as you follow my commands,” the party leader explained.

Then, he continued, “The Trolls’ attack pattern is quite simple. They smash away with their wooden clubs until they feel that their prey is in a weakened state, before throwing away their clubs and hacking away with their long nails. That will reduce the reach of their attacks, but you have to be vigilant, as their nails are significantly stronger than their clubs.”

He explained further, “Next up is defense. These monsters do not even bother to defend when they are holding their wooden clubs. They do not bother, as their hides are quite thick and their blood grants them a healing ability. They can heal from whatever damage they receive in under five seconds. That is why we have to restrict their movement and inflict as much damage as we can in a short period of time, and aim for their hearts or necks to prevent them from regenerating.”

Those present nodded, as they were all aware of those details.

“Lastly, I will repeat myself once again. I hope you will follow my commands. Alright, I will end my briefing here. We still have some time before we reach the island, so you may all have your own personal time till then. Our ETA is at one in the afternoon,” the party leader said, ending his briefing.

Most of the Hunters chit-chatted with their fellow comrades, while other Hunters took a nap after the briefing ended. However, the party leader walked over and approached Han-Yeol, calling out, “Mr. Lee Han-Yeol.”

“Yes?” Han-Yeol responded.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am the leader of the Onyx party, Ham Ji-Pyung,” the party leader said as an introduction, offering Han-Yeol a handshake.

“Yes, it is nice to meet you too. Your briefing skills were extraordinary,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Haha! Thank you very much. I was actually very surprised to find someone with a healing ability pop up on the matching website, so I immediately sent you a message. To be frank, I was not really expecting much when I sent it, so I was really happy when you replied,” Ji-Pyung said.

“It is good for me as well, since I get to be a part of a Troll hunt, which is rumored to be very difficult,” Han-Yeol replied.

The reason why Han-Yeol had chosen this party was because of the Trolls. He could go to any other hunting ground whenever he wanted to, but coming here to hunt Trolls was not an opportunity that came easily.

“What? A Healer?”

“Daebak! Are you saying we have a Healer in our party?”

The biggest problem the Hunter industry was facing at the moment was the shortage of Healers. The large guilds scouted anyone who awakened as a Healer, regardless of whether they were a primary Healer who could use an instant healing skill or a secondary healer who could not. There had been numerous accusations against the large guilds of monopolizing Healers due to that, but it did not really matter, as the large guilds had already cemented their status and power in their respective countries. It was possible to find a Healer from time to time due to the government’s intervention, but that still did not change the fact that a Healer was a rare and precious asset to any party.

“Nice to meet you! I heard you were a Healer?” one of the party members asked.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you too. I can’t really say I’m a Healer, since I can’t use an instant heal,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Well, what does it matter? I’ll be in your care from now on!” the party member said.

“Alright,” Han-Yeol replied.

The Hunters had not really cared who Han-Yeol was, but that all changed after they heard that he was a Healer, as all of them rushed to get acquainted with him. After all, it was simply common sense to appeal to a Healer so they would be prioritized for healing in a life or death situation, which could end up saving their lives. Additionally, the chances of them joining a party with a Healer would increase if they got acquainted with a Healer who was not affiliated with any party. That was what networking is all about.

“Haha! You sure are famous because you are a Healer! I am jealous!” Ji-Pyung said after all of the Hunters were done taking turns shaking hands with Han-Yeol.

“You are one to talk, party leader. I heard you were an Original Tank; should you not be much more famous than me, someone who is just half a Healer?” Han-Yeol replied.

It was exactly as Han-Yeol had just said. Another role that was just as difficult to find as a Healer was a Original Tank. An Original Tank was also known as a Main Tank in many cases. A Main Tank’s primary role was to block the monster’s attacks and protect their allies at all costs.

Most Tanks these days did not focus fully on defending like Original Tanks, but instead focused on either increasing their strength to deal damage or increasing their mobility to avoid and parry attacks. There were also some new-generation Tanks who focused on honing their long-range skills in some cases.

They were called jacks of all trades, as these Tanks could both defend and attack but their defense was a bit lacking for them to be considered Main Tanks. In fact, most of the new Tanks who had awakened recently lacked defensive skills, unlike the Original Tanks.

That was the reason why the recent trend these days was to have two Sub Tanks in a party. However, a Main Tank was still preferred, as that would allow the party to free up a slot to bring in a DPS instead of having two Tanks.

“Well, I do not really feel the importance of a Tank. Perhaps it is because I am a Tank myself? Anyway, all I know is that I am really glad to meet you!” Ji-Pyung said.

“Is that so?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Of course!” Ji-Pyung replied enthusiastically.

The ship soon reached Baekryeong-do while the Tank and the Healer, who were considered to be the backbone of the party, chatted away and got acquainted with each other.

“We have finally arrived,” Ji-Pyung said.

“Did you say we would be staying here for three days?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes, I received permission from the government to hunt for three days in this place. There is no reason for us to waste time by going back and forth, right? A friend of mine went ahead with the party just before us, so I asked him to save us a spot to camp. We will set up our base camp in that place, and hunt Trolls for three days,” Ji-Pyung explained.

“I see…” Han-Yeol replied. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝑚

That was the second reason why he had chosen the Onyx party. Han-Yeol desperately wanted to level up more quickly, and it would have been very annoying for him if he had to hunt with a party that hunted leisurely for eight hours with breaks in between.

He had already been prepared to join an eight-hour-a-day party before he luckily stumbled upon the Onyx party, who had put forth their plan of hunting for two nights and three days instead of the eight-hour-a-day schedule.

‘Well, I’m not losing out on anything either way. I actually got the best deal this time,’?he thought.

They soon arrived at the place Ham Ji-Pyung had told Han-Yeol about and set up their base camp. Their camp was nothing special, as it just consisted of tents made out of tarpaulin.

“Alright, listen up, Porters. Hurry up and finish your preparations. We will be moving in an hour from now,” the manager said.

“Yes, manager-nim!” the Porters replied.

The busiest people in any party were always bound to be the Porters. That was because the job of a Porter was to make life easier for Hunters while they were hunting, even if it was by the smallest bit.

“Party leader, we have finished all preparations,” one of the managers reported to Ji-Pyung.

“Alright, all forces! Prepare to move out!” Ji-Pyung gave out the command to mobilize, and all eighteen members of the party moved at his command.

‘This place still gives off that sinister vibe…’?Han-Yeol thought. The place had given off a bad feeling even when he had been there two years ago, and this time was no different.

1. There is a saying in Korean that someone arrogant or haughty ‘has a high nose’ and the act of humbling someone is to ‘grind their nose down’. So what Han-Yeol meant was that he intended to greatly humble them, akin to making them kneel in front of him one day.

2. Baekryeong-do, also known as Baengnyeongdo, is a South Korean island near North Korea. You may read up on its details here if you’re interested.

3. Here, the author literally uses the Korean term ‘???? ??’, which is a transliteration of ‘Original Tanker’ in English. It’s meant to distinguish them from the new style of ‘hybrid tanks’ described a few paragraphs later.