Leveling Up Alone

The next day, Han-Yeol went to the hospital to visit his father’s doctor as he always did.

“Have you still not found a cure for my father?” he asked. It was the same question he would always ask whenever he went to meet the doctor.

However, the doctor’s response was always the same. “I am sorry. We can only delay the progress of the illness with current medical technology, as this is a rare type of cancer that drains the patient’s life force. A normal cancer cell is usually a mutated cell that infects the other cells near it, thus causing a problem once the tumor has grown large enough; but this cancer works in the exact opposite way. The cancer your father has is growing at an abnormal speed, and it is eating away at the life force of the cells near it. The mechanism of this cancer is completely different from those we know of… I am sorry.”

Han-Yeol covered his face with his hands. He had heard the explanation countless times, but it did not change the fact that his heart was torn apart whenever he heard it. His father had never hesitated to do anything for him, but the fact that he could not do anything in return now that his father needed him hurt Han-Yeol a lot.

“Why not visit your father since you are here anyway? He should be awake right now,” the doctor suggested.

“Ah, thank you,” Han-Yeol replied.

His father was always asleep whenever Han-Yeol visited the hospital, but it seemed that he had gotten lucky, as he was told that his father was awake today. Han-Yeol immediately went and filled up the visitor’s form, then changed into a sanitized gown before going to the ICU to pay his father a visit.

“Han-Yeol…” His father’s extremely weak voice called out to him.

Han-Yeol grabbed his father’s withered, bony hands that did not have an ounce of strength in them. He said softly, “Father…”

“Aren’t you busy? Why did you visit?” his father asked.

Han-Yeol did not get to visit frequently, and yet his father was always worried that he was causing trouble for his son at his workplace; he was also always concerned that Han-Yeol was neglecting work just to make time to visit him.

Han-Yeol had lied to his father, telling him that he was working for a mid-sized corporation and that he was doing quite well at work. He did not want to make his father worry whenever he was awake by telling him that he was risking his life as a Porter.

“I told you, I am doing very well at work. I told them I would be going out for a while to meet a client, and I decided to drop by and visit you on the way,” Han-Yeol lied.

“You brat… When did you grow up so fast? Look at you, talking about clients already. This old man of yours won’t have any regrets even if I die today,” his father said with a laugh.

“Father! You have worked your whole life. I will take care of you from now on, so you have to get better and let me!” Han-Yeol replied.

His father always apologized and felt sorry toward him, but Han-Yeol wanted to save his father no matter what. He held his father’s hand and tried infusing his mana through it. He infused his mana into his father with a desperate plea in his heart that it would make a difference and cure him.

Wooong…

‘You have to get better, father… I can’t send you off like this…’?Han-Yeol pleaded inwardly, looking away to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

“Hoo… Maybe it’s just because it’s been a while since you last visited, but I feel really good today. I suddenly feel vigorous!” his father exclaimed.

Han-Yeol and his father did not realize it, but the numerous scars all over his father’s body that looked as if they had been drawn with a pencil slowly started to disappear. Han-Yeol decided to pour all of his mana into his father before leaving, hoping that his mana would help alleviate his father’s illness even by a tiny bit.

It was then that a message suddenly popped up.

Ding!

[You may heal the body depending on how you utilize your mana.]

[A new skill has been created—Heal.]

‘Heal?’?Han-Yeol was surprised by the sudden message, and he checked the skill’s details.

[Heal (F)]

Type: Active

Description: The skill infuses your mana into the target to heal their external wounds and regenerate their vigor. 𝒃𝒆𝙙𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝙡．𝙤𝒓𝙜

He was very happy that a new skill had been created, and he did not waste time as he called out to his Ego System, ‘Karvis. Will I be able to cure my father if I level this skill up?’

[It is possible in theory.]

[There are other skills that can cure illnesses, but you might be able to cure this illness by leveling up your skill and using a powerful version of ‘Heal’ on the target.]

Karvis made an appearance after a long period of absence. She normally waited quietly on the sidelines due to her personality as an Ego System, not saying a word until Han-Yeol asked her something.

“Hoo… Han-Yeol… I’m getting sleepy,” his father said.

“Ah! Father, please rest well. I will definitely come and visit you again,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Hoho, I feel much better going to sleep after seeing my son’s face,” his father said with a laugh.

“What are you talking about, father? Just hang on a little bit and you will be able to see my face until you are sick and tired of it,” Han-Yeol said seriously.

“Alright…” his father muttered before succumbing to the drowsiness and falling asleep.

Han-Yeol looked at his father’s face and gripped his hands tightly as he steeled his resolve, ‘Father… I’ll definitely cure you. Believe me, I will…!’

“Lee Han-Yeol-nim, visiting hours have ended.” A nurse opened the door and informed him it was time to go.

“Ah, yes. I will get going now,” Han-Yeol replied with a sigh before leaving the hospital.

He looked up into the sky after leaving the hospital. The sky high above was a deep blue. He thought as he clenched his fists tightly, ‘I don’t have a lot of time. I need to hurry up.’

His plan had been to slowly and safely grow stronger, but he had realized after meeting his father that time was unfortunately not on his side. He had felt his father’s life force slowly being extinguished when he had infused mana into him.

Clench…!

Han-Yeol clenched his fists even more tightly as he resolved, ‘I have to change all of my plans, even if it will be dangerous. I could end up dying, but what’s the point of living if I don’t push myself and my father ends up dying?’

What he needed now was not a stable income, but a huge gamble that would strike it big. A gamble could make one lose everything in an instant, but the opposite also held true, as one could also strike it big in an instant.

‘Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Besides, was there ever a time I planned ahead in life?’?Han-Yeol made up his mind as he sat at a nearby bench and took out a memo pad.

‘I’ll pass on the Hunter registration for now. It’s too complicated and it’s just going to take a lot of time,’?Han-Yeol thought as he jotted an entry down on the pad.

Of course, he planned to officially register as a Hunter sooner or later. It was just that the registration process was very complicated, and he would not be allowed to go on any monster hunts until he received his Hunter license. A single second was precious to him right now, and he could not afford to waste time sitting around while waiting for some bureaucratic process to finish.

‘Also, I have to quit working at the factory,’?Han-Yeol thought, adding it to the list. What Han-Yeol needed right now was not to make money, but to level his skills up.

‘Getting a gun is going to be a stretch…’?he thought, clicking his tongue.

It would be extremely easy for him if he used a gun and imbued his mana into the bullets, but guns were impossible to procure unless he went through a lengthy legal process. He had heard that there were ways to illegally obtain a gun from the black market, but Han-Yeol did not have the funds to purchase a gun that would definitely be sold at multiple times the cost of a legal gun.

‘I need to utilize my skills to the fullest extent. They might not be that powerful, but I do have a lot of them. There’s definitely going to be a way for me to use them efficiently,’?Han-Yeol thought as he stood up and walked. He had learned that if there was a problem he could not find an answer to, taking a step back and going for a walk would help.

He ended up going to a supermarket; as he was passing by the supermarket’s entrance, he saw some street peddlers selling various dubious things. He did not pay much attention to the peddlers as he passed by them.

‘Eh?’ Han-Yeol stopped for a moment as something caught his eye. That something was a slingshot.

‘A slingshot…?’?he thought.

It was not a toy slingshot of the kind sold at the kid’s toy corner, but rather a proper slingshot made out of wood and composite plastic that adults would use to hunt for small game.

“Grandpa, this is a real slingshot, right?” Han-Yeol asked the street peddler.

“Of course! I might be old, but I was a slingshot maniac back in the day. But grandma hates these babies and threatened to throw them away. That’s why I’m trying to sell them off and make some booze money out of them before that hag throws them out,” the old peddler replied.

Han-Yeol picked up a white slingshot made out of wood and pulled the band attached to it.

‘Wow, its elasticity is no joke!’?Han-Yeol was impressed. He felt that it would be a dependable weapon if he imbued the projectiles with his mana.

“Grandpa, how much is this?” he asked.

“Hmm… Since you’re my first customer… How about 50,000 won? I’ll throw in two bundles of bullets as a service,” the peddler replied.

Han-Yeol flinched for a moment when he heard the price, but he decided that 50,000 won was not a bad price for a weapon. Thus, he ended up opening his wallet and passing 50,000 won to the street peddler with trembling hands, saying, “…Here you go.” He then received the slingshot and two bags of steel shot as a bonus.

“Please treasure it. I might be selling it because I’m bending to my wife’s wishes, but it was my partner at one point in time…” the peddler said.

“I will, grandpa,” Han-Yeol replied with a nod before placing the slingshot and the bullets into his backpack. He then said, “Well, I hope you sell a lot today. Goodbye.”

“Thanks! Goodbye to you too,” the peddler responded.

Han-Yeol was delighted by the fact that he had been able to purchase a weapon so soon, and he decided to drop by the supermarket before going home. However, another old street peddler suddenly caught his eye once again. He called out, “Excuse me, grandpa.”

“Eh? Why are you calling me?” the peddler responded.

‘What the hell? Why would someone selling something ask why I called him…?’?Han-Yeol was perplexed by the old man’s response, but that was not the important thing right now.

“Grandpa, are you allowed to sell these kinds of things here…?” he asked.

The peddler suddenly got worked up and retorted, “What’s the problem?! I want to sell them! Who dares to complain?!”

The items displayed in the peddler’s stall looked as dangerous as the old man’s outburst.

‘I did see on the news a few days back that there were illegal street peddlers selling dangerous things like axes or machetes on the streets…’?Han-Yeol thought as he looked at the peddler’s wares.

Among the items that the old street peddler was selling, there were several normal hunting knives, but he even had knuckle knives and folding military-style knives in his selection. The weapons seemed illegal even in the eyes of Han-Yeol, who had zero knowledge about knives.

However…

‘Excellent. The slingshot can be my ranged weapon, and I can buy some of these knives to use for close combat,’?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly.

Han-Yeol would technically require a license to legally keep such weapons in his possession, but he did not have the luxury of being picky about legal and illegal things right now. These weapons were the best he could do at this point in time when a gun was definitely out of the question.

‘Which one should I get, though…?’?Han-Yeol pondered as he observed the knives.

The folding knives looked cool, but they did not look as if they would be of much help in combat, so he passed on them. That meant only the normal knives and the knuckle knives were worth considering.

‘What are you hesitating for…’?Han-Yeol thought, then made up his mind. He pointed at a normal knife and a knuckle knife, saying, “Give me these two, please.”

“That will be 70,000 won,” the old peddler said.

‘Euk… I’m in the red today…’?Han-Yeol grimaced inwardly, as the money he had saved up for some time had gone down the drain in less than an hour. Still, he had been able to purchase several items and solve his weapon issue thanks to his frugal habits.

‘I need to invest rather than save up right now,’?he thought to console himself.

“I hope you sell a lot, grandpa. Goodbye,” Han-Yeol said as he received the knives.

“Yeah, yeah, you have a good night too,” the old peddler replied while waving his hand.

“Thank you.” Han-Yeol bowed before he turned around and left, as he had been able to fill his weapon arsenal earlier than expected.

Right when Han-Yeol left, four men approached the old street peddler.

“Hmm? Do you want to buy some knives?” the peddler asked.

“Grandpa, we were alerted that someone was selling weapons illegally here. We are confiscating these knives, and you will have to come with us to the station,” one of the men, who turned out to be a cop, said.

“Ha! What the hell are you talking about?! Who are you to say anything against me?!” the peddler screamed at the men.

However, one of the men, who had a civil servant ID, did not budge an inch. He told the police, “Hurry up and take him away.”

“Yes, sir!” the cops replied as they grabbed the old man from both sides.

The old man resisted while shouting, “Let go of me, you bastards! What’s the problem with me trying to make a living?!” However, he was no match against the two young, able-bodied policemen.

“Tsk tsk… I knew this was going to happen,” another peddler remarked.

The surrounding peddlers clicked their tongues. They had warned the stubborn old man multiple times that what he was doing was illegal, but he had refused to budge an inch, and now he was getting dragged away by the cops.

The civil servant collected all the knives the old man was selling and put them in a bag he had prepared in advance while thinking, ‘I hope no one bought anything from him…’

There were not many people passing by this place at this hour, and there were even fewer people who would go out of their way to come all the way here just to buy some weapons, of all things.

The civil servant closed the bag after collecting all of the knives in it before getting into his car and following the police cars in front of him. The knives he had collected were going to serve as evidence against the old man.