The situation was dire, but Han-Yeol desperately needed the skill to be useful to him, so he opened the skill details and read through them.

[Shield Bash (F)]

Type: Active

Description: A skill linked to Mana Shield. You may bash the enemy with your Mana Shield. An enemy hit by this skill will be knocked back a few steps. The knockback will be much more effective the higher this skill’s level becomes.

‘Alright!’ Han-Yeol cheered inwardly when he saw that a useful skill had emerged from Mana Shield, something he had had no expectations for.

‘Anyway, this guy first!’ he thought.

Bam!

“Kieeeek!” The Giant Ant shrieked in agony.

As soon as he finished reading the skill details, Han-Yeol bashed the half-dead Giant Ant that was trapping his right hand with the Mana Shield in his left hand.

‘Shield Bash!’

The Giant Ant was knocked back by Han-Yeol’s newfound skill, and he was finally able to free his hand from the monster. Unfortunately, he was only able to free his right hand, while his knuckle knife was still stuck in the monster.

Shhk…

However, the knuckle knife was not the only weapon Han-Yeol possessed. He drew the hunting knife on his waist and readied himself for combat once again.

“Kieeeek!” A Giant Ant shrieked after it was struck down by Han-Yeol, then died.

However, Han-Yeol had barely managed to kill one Giant Ant, and there were still five monsters remaining. He observed his current situation, thinking, ‘Hoo… There are still five of these buggers left…’

He might have created another skill from his Mana Shield, but that did not change the fact that the Giant Ants were still formidable opponents for him when they ganged up on him.

Tak!

Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and charged toward the Giant Ants, and the five Giant Ants responded by charging toward Han-Yeol as well.

Shwiiiik!

Han-Yeol’s chain sliced through the air as he attacked in a frenzy.

***

“Heuk…Heuk… Heuk… Heuk… Haaa…” Han-Yeol gasped for air.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

[The skill ‘Sword Mastery’ has leveled up.]

[The skill ‘Restrain’ has leveled up.]

[The skill ‘Mana Shield’ has leveled up.]

[The skill ‘Shield Bash’ has leveled up.]

[The skill ‘Chain Mastery’ has leveled up.]

[The skill ‘Sixth Sense’ has leveled up.]

[Your level has risen.]

“Haa… Haa… Ha… S-Status,” Han-Yeol muttered laboriously, checking his rewards as he sat atop a pile of six dead Giant Ants.

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 11

Points: 5

STR: 49

VIT: 46

AGI: 35

MAG: 25

LCK: 10

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

Most of the combat skills he used frequently in battle had gone up a level this time around, which further boosted his combat capabilities. Han-Yeol might have had weaker physical prowess than other Hunters, but he was not lacking compared to them at all because of his massive arsenal of skills. However, the one decisive skill that made him not fall behind other Hunters despite being a growth-type Awakened was ‘Sixth Sense’. Sixth Sense allowed him to see everything around him in slow motion, and it would definitely turn out to be a cheat-type skill when used to its full potential.

“Hoo… 

He had allocated all of his five bonus stat points into AGI this time around, and he felt his body become lighter as those stats took effect.

Shwik! Shwik!

He threw a few punches and moved around while doing some shadowboxing to test his newfound agility.

‘My body has gotten much lighter,’ Han-Yeol thought with a satisfied expression. He did not seem to have become especially faster or anything, but he definitely felt his movements had become lighter.

After stretching his body a few times, he cut off the dead Giant Ants’ heads with his knife and collected their mana stones.

Thud!

He dismembered the Giant Ants and kept only the parts that were in demand by the factories, loading them up in his truck. Han-Yeol, who had previously worked at a factory that dismembered monsters caught by Hunters, was probably the only one who could hunt in this fashion. Most Porters usually loaded up the whole monster's remains just in case they missed something and ended up taking the blame for it. However, any excess monster parts that were not used by the factories usually ended up becoming waste products and discarded as trash.

‘Everyone else just keeps their mouths shut,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Factory owners could ask Hunters to leave out specific monster parts when providing them with corpses, but they did not, as they feared the Hunters would be offended and end up cutting all business ties with them. That was why the factory owners usually ended up stuck in a situation where they had to bear the disposal cost for useless monster parts while not being able to say a word to the Hunters.

‘But I’m different.’

He already had years of experience working at a factory, and he had also studied which body parts of various monsters held value during his time as a Porter. Both of his experiences combined allowed him to distinguish between valuable monster parts and useless garbage. Due to that, Han-Yeol was able to load up many more monster parts onto his truck compared to normal Hunters.

Vrooom…!

Han-Yeol left the hunting grounds and drove to the factory he would be doing business with.

“Welcome, Han-Yeol-nim. We have been waiting for you.”

“Hello,” Han-Yeol replied with a short greeting.

The factory manager had come out to greet Han-Yeol in person. A normal factory manager would most likely not even bother to come out and greet a Hunter who had only brought low-tier monsters like Giant Ants, but the place Han-Yeol was dealing with this time was a small, newly established private factory. Every Hunter, no matter how small or low-tier the monsters they brought, was a precious customer to them.

Shwik!

“Here are the goods,” Han-Yeol said as he pulled away a tarpaulin covering the pile of Giant Ants.

“Oh! There are a lot of Giant Ants today!” the factory manager exclaimed in delight.

“I did work a bit harder this time around,” Han-Yeol said, while thinking in the back of his mind, ‘Although I almost died this time.’

A chill went down his spine whenever he remembered the time his hand had been stuck in the Giant Ant’s carapace.

“Hey! What are you doing just standing around?! Hurry up and calculate the goods for Han-Yeol-nim!” the factory manager ordered his staffers.

“Yes, manager-nim!” the staffers responded, and they immediately got to work.

***

“There are eight hundred kilograms of Giant Ant corpses, and that will be fifty million won in total. If I subtract the tax, it will be around thirty-five million won,” the factory manager informed Han-Yeol.

The tax rate for dealing with monster corpses was fixed at 30%. Many Hunters had complained that the tax rate was too high, but the government had stopped their complaints by bringing up how high the percentage was in Europe.

‘European Hunters would be delighted if their governments lowered the tax rate to 30%, anyway,’ Han-Yeol thought as he recalled the tax rates in European countries.

The tax rate for an A-Rank Hunter in Germany, for example, was set at a whopping 55.5%. It was a rate that would definitely make anyone gasp.[1]

‘Well, it’s embarrassing to think about the facilities and support that we Korean Hunters get compared to European Hunters. Thanks to that, the fatality rate of European Hunters is much lower in comparison to us Korean Hunters,’ Han-Yeol thought, before eventually deciding to stop dwelling on useless things.

“Alright, I will sell them to you,” Han-Yeol replied with a nod.

“Hahaha! I sincerely thank you for doing business with a small factory like us every time! Really, thank you very much, Han-Yeol-nim!” The factory manager expressed his gratitude with a hearty laugh.

“Don’t mention it,” Han-Yeol replied coolly.

The factory manager smiled brightly and extended his hand, and the two men shook hands.

Han-Yeol was actually losing out on this deal, but the reason why he bore the loss of potential profit and did business with this factory was the fact that there were very few Hunters who operated solo. Rumors about him would spread like wildfire and the other Hunters would try to keep him in check if he went to deal with the larger, more established factories. The factory he had decided to work with this time was a small one, but it was a calculated decision that he had made despite the reduced profit.

In truth, the small factory had dealt honestly and fairly with him without attempting anything underhanded. He knew plenty of factories out there that would come up with all sorts of excuses and stories about their misery to try to reduce the amount they would have to pay.

‘I wonder if this factory will survive?’ Han-Yeol wondered. Most factories that survived their start-up phase would eventually be pushed out by larger corporations and go bust. He thought, ‘Well, I look forward to them surviving.’

Ding dong!

[Deposit: 35 million won]

“Everything seems to be in order,” Han-Yeol said.

“Thank you once again for doing business with us,” the factory manager replied with a polite bow toward Han-Yeol.

Han-Yeol left the factory and got back into his RV truck. He then drove to the Hunter’s Association and returned the truck before heading home on the bus.

‘Han-Yeol really made it, huh? Riding the bus and all now,’ Han-Yeol thought with a snicker. He could now take the bus even for distances he had used to walk or run for if he had the time to spare.

Clack.

Han-Yeol returned home, took his clothes off, and took a quick shower.

Pssht… Shaak!

He had brought home a few cans of beer that had been on sale in a convenience store at the entrance of the moon village, and he drank them while watching TV. It was a moment of respite that he never could have afforded before he awakened.

On the TV, a beautiful girl who was a former member of an idol group was conducting an interview with a man.

‘That man doesn’t seem like a celebrity…’ Han-Yeol thought while looking at the man. He did not have the handsome appearance one would expect of a celebrity, nor did he have the funny face of a comedian.

“Hello, Mr. Joo-Hyun,” the MC said in greeting.

“Hello, everyone. I am the Vice Master of the Hermos Guild, Lee Joo-Hyun,” the guest, who seemed to be called Lee Joo-Hyun, introduced himself.

“Hermos Guild!” Han-Yeol exclaimed when the man introduced himself, clenching the beer can in his hand tightly in the process.

Crush…!

The beer can could not withstand a sudden burst of strength from an Awakened and was instantly crushed, spilling its contents all over the floor.

“Euk… What a waste…” Han-Yeol lamented.

Slurp… Slurp…

Han-Yeol slurped up the beer flowing out of the sides of the crushed beer can. He might have purchased it on sale, but the fact that he had not even been able to drink much of it felt like a kick to the gut.

‘How much do you think this was?!’ he lamented inwardly. However, the interview continued while he was clumsily licking his own hand.

“Is it true that the Hermos Guild is going to attempt to raid Karakus, the top-tier monster that emerged out of a dimensional hole?” the beautiful MC asked.

The Vice Master of the Hermos Guild smiled gently and replied, “Yes, that is true. Before that, I am aware that many of our fellow Koreans have been trembling in fear and great shock after the dimensional hole emerged recently, and I would like to sincerely apologize for that unfortunate event on behalf of all Hunters. We Hunters also deeply regret what happened this time and are greatly concerned with the sudden turn of events. I would also like to add that the Hunter’s Association is doing everything possible at the moment to prevent such events from happening again.”

It was a reply that was not related to the MC’s question. Thus, she asked, “But how is that related to the Karakus raid?”

“Yes, we are planning to reclaim the Nam-Gu district[2] of Incheon by hunting down the first ever top-tier monster summoned through a dimensional hole. I will personally be leading the raid party formed to raid the monsters that emerge from this dimensional hole and subjugate it,” Lee Joo-Hyun declared.

“A-Are you serious?” the MC asked, her eyes wide open in shock.

Lee Joo-Hyun almost broke character when he saw the MC’s cute reaction, but he managed to collect himself and reply coolly, “Ehem… Of course, the only reason we were watching from the sidelines all this time was to prepare an efficient and safe raid plan. I wish to inform the public that it is not because we Hunters were lazy or anything.”

Beep!

Han-Yeol switched the TV off and did not bother to listen to the whole interview. He could always easily look up the details on the Hunter’s Association’s website, anyway. He felt that it was more worth his time to think about what he had just heard.

‘A large-scale raid party will be mobilized to subjugate the dimensional hole? Those selfish bastards are going?’ he thought skeptically.

Lee Joo-Hyun had said that they were doing this for public safety, but Han-Yeol did not buy even 0.1% of that story. He knew very well how selfish and prideful Hunters were, as he had experienced it firsthand when he worked as a Porter. The most recent dimensional hole incident was a very good example.

‘I’m certain they’re doing this because they have something to gain out of it. That’s the only reason they’re rolling up their sleeves and risking their lives. It could be because the monsters are worth much more than usual, or the mana stones from the dimensional holes are much more valuable. Anyway, there must be a reason why they’re doing this,’ he thought. He was certain that his theory was highly probable.

‘Hmm… But does that mean that only temporary parties and unskilled Hunters will be at the hunting grounds, since most of the established raid parties will be busy with the dimensional holes?’ he thought.

Most Hunters were already affiliated with a party, and those who were not affiliated with a party were either unskilled or socially awkward. Most temporary parties at the hunting grounds were usually formed by the latter, or by Hunters who were already affiliated with a party but were just moonlighting on the side.

‘I’m not sure how valuable the monsters from the dimensional holes are, but I am certain that this is a golden opportunity to monopolize the monsters at the hunting grounds. Which means… It’s a golden opportunity for me to level up explosively!’ He rejoiced at the rare opportunity.

‘What do I need to level up explosively? I need to pull[3] monsters over and kill them in groups. What would I need in order to do that? I’d definitely need an AOE skill. So, I need to obtain an AOE skill.’ He mentally listed his goals before getting from the couch and booting up his computer.

Han-Yeol started looking up AOE skills on a search engine owned by G-Company. As he scrolled through the results, he thought, ‘There must be a skill somewhere out there that I can obtain right now…’

Clack clack clack… Clack clack clack… Clack clack clack…

He typed away busily at his keyboard for some time, but he soon leaned back in his chair and sighed. He said in resignation, “Haa… It’s not as easy as I thought it would be.”

He had looked up the term ‘AOE skill’, but the only results that had turned up were skills used in retro RPGs. In short, the results were useless, unrealistic, and skills he would never be able to use in real life.

Han-Yeol’s ability was very similar to the systems seen in games, but the kinds of skills that turned up in the search results were the ones that depended purely on computer graphics, such as lightning or a giant sword suddenly falling from the sky.

‘Am I missing something…?’ he thought.