Chapter 03 - Solo Awakening as an Ex-Rank-Munchkin
Ten years ago.
Gates appeared all over the world.
The gates were both a disaster and an opportunity.
Those caught up in the gates gained new abilities, and people began to call them Hunters.
The magic stones, monster byproducts, and various items that Hunters obtained by conquering gates shook the foundations of existing industrial structures.
Furthermore, the income a Hunter could earn from a single conquest easily surpassed the salary an ordinary office worker would get from slaving away their entire life.
Within a few years, Hunters stood at the pinnacle of capitalism.
Even governments were desperate to stay on their good side, and ordinary people or non-combatant Porters were seen as disposable commodities that Hunters could replace at any time.
In this twisted world, Na Dan-sik was utterly powerless.
To survive, Na Dan-sik worked as an Assistant Manager at a subcontractor for a Hunter equipment manufacturer, where he first learned how to bow and scrape before Hunters and his superiors.
But that was all over now.
He was going to succeed as a Hunter.
***
Na Dan-sik went straight home.
The place he lived was a one-room apartment, barely 350 square feet.
It was a little cheaper because it was on the first floor.
The place was a mess.
The sink was full of dirty dishes, and a mountain of laundry sat next to the washing machine.
On the table were the remnants of last night’s beer and snacks.
*What do you expect from a guy living alone?*
He roughly cleared a space on the floor, sat down, and took out his phone.
He connected to the Hunter-net and searched for information related to conquering Infinite Gates.
An Infinite Gate is a gate that infinitely respawns.
When a Hunter defeats the boss and exits, the gate doesn't disappear; the monsters respawn.
In other words, it can be conquered an infinite number of times.
That's why the Association or guilds often use Infinite Gates for training Hunters.
The Grade 1 Slime Gate that Na Dan-sik had just been to was also a training gate for beginners.
Though he never expected it to upgrade to Grade 2.
Na Dan-sik immediately logged onto the Hunter-net.
He checked the most recent posts, but there was no noteworthy information yet.
He also searched for information about grades.
Nowhere could he find a grade called EX.
‘So it only applies to me.’
It was astonishing.
Na Dan-sik recalled the message.
[Power Inflation is applied.]
Power Inflation: Powerful strength attracts powerful enemies.
“Was that what it meant? Surely not every gate I try to conquer will get upgraded, right?”
But they say it’s always the unexpected that gets you.
He had to test this.
Before that.
“Let’s check the items first.”
Na Dan-sik took the Slime King’s nucleus and the Slime Jelly out of his bag to examine them.
Slime King’s Nucleus
Grade: A
Attribute: Dark
Description: A crafting item, best used to make a ring.
Granted Trait upon Crafting: Physical Defense +10%
It was a pretty good item.
Perfect for a warrior.
“A 10% increase in physical defense…”
The problem was that it was a crafting material.
“Commissioning it will cost a lot of money.”
He considered selling it on the Hunter Auction but decided against it.
“I’ll hold onto it for now.”
He could save up money to have it crafted, or sell it later if he didn’t need it.
Next, he checked the Slime Jelly.
Slime Jelly
Grade: C
Attribute: None
Description: Restores 50% of health upon consumption.
It was meant to be eaten.
“I have to eat this?”
Just looking at it was nauseating; he couldn’t even imagine the taste.
He wondered if this was what it felt like to eat raw squid ink.
“It’s a good item, though…”
Items were graded in the order of S, A, B, C, D, and E.
He hadn’t expected a C-grade item to drop from a Grade 1 Gate.
“Well, items don’t drop often in Grade 1 Gates.”
Working at a Hunter-related company, he had naturally studied up on Hunters.
He had particularly studied the various items that Hunters used.
Since the company Na Dan-sik worked for was a subcontractor for a combat suit manufacturer, his seniors had told him it was good to know about Hunters.
They said there was a difference between doing something with knowledge and without it.
He decided to store the Slime Jelly for now as well.
Na Dan-sik took out the magic stones.
20 Low-grade Magic Stones and 4 Intermediate Magic Stones.
Low-grade Magic Stones sold for 100,000 won each, and Intermediate Magic Stones for 3 million won each. And the higher the grade of the magic stone, the greater the price difference.
“I’ll have to sell these at the Magic Stone Exchange.”
Magic stones could only be sold at the exchange run by the Association.
The Association had a monopoly on magic stones, so guilds and large corporations had to trade for them through the Association.
This was to prevent cases of guilds or corporations overworking Hunters.
In the past, there had been incidents where Hunters died from being overworked by guilds or companies for the purpose of harvesting magic stones.
Since it happened more than once, the Association negotiated with the government and amended the law to prevent the loss of Hunters.
RRRRR-
Suddenly, his phone rang.
The caller was Na Dan-sik’s friend, Yu Il-sik.
Yu Il-sik was from the same orphanage as Na Dan-sik, and he was the only friend at the orphanage with whom he could truly open up.
He could hear Yu Il-sik’s sobbing voice over the phone.
“Are you crying?”
- Dan-sik, let’s have a drink.
“What’s wrong?”
- Man, I’m craving a drink, my friend.
“Where are you?”
- XX Chicken.
“XX Chicken? Did you get dumped again?”
XX Chicken was the place Yu Il-sik went every time he got his heart broken. Being there today meant he’d been dumped.
- Yeah, dumped again. Fuck.
Just as he thought.
- You coming?
“Wait for me.”
- Hurry up, I’m lonely.
“You crazy bastard. I’m hanging up.”
After hanging up, Na Dan-sik threw on a jacket and left the house. In Na Dan-sik’s social circle, Yu Il-sik was his one and only friend.
Yu Il-sik, with his easygoing and sociable personality, had many people around him.
On the other hand, Na Dan-sik was shy and not very sociable, so he had difficulties with relationships.
In that small social circle, Yu Il-sik was the only friend with whom Na Dan-sik could truly be himself.
Na Dan-sik took a bus and arrived at XX Chicken.
When he got there, Yu Il-sik was sitting alone at an outdoor table in front of the shop, drinking beer.
He looked pathetic, to say the least.
It was like he was advertising, “I just got dumped.”
Spotting Na Dan-sik, Yu Il-sik smiled brightly and raised his hand.
“You’re here.”
Na Dan-sik chuckled and sat down across from Yu Il-sik.
He ordered a draft beer and listened to his friend’s complaints.
“Dan-sik, Hye-jin and I broke up.”
“You guys were doing so well. Why’d you break up?”
“She left me for another guy. Said she’s dating a Hunter now. Right in front of me, she got into a foreign car that guy was driving and just left.”
It seemed Yu Il-sik had been on the receiving end of a trade-up this time.
“Drink up.”
He clinked glasses with him.
Then, Na Dan-sik aired his own grievances.
“Il-sik, I resigned from my job too.”
Yu Il-sik frowned and looked at Na Dan-sik.
“Why? Did that bastard department head give you a hard time again?”
“Yeah.”
“Agh, why is that bastard always giving you shit? You want me to go give him a piece of my mind?”
“It’s fine.”
Even though it was just an empty offer, it was comforting.
“I’m not just saying it, you know? You know I’m a good fighter.”
“You don’t have to. I reported him to the audit team before I left.”
“What? For real?”
Yu Il-sik stared at Na Dan-sik with wide eyes.
“You really did it.”
“Yeah.”
“Good for you. I feel so relieved for you, haha. Come on, let’s toast, cheers!”
Yu Il-sik held out his glass.
Na Dan-sik smiled and clinked his glass against it.
“Farewell, sorrow~”
Yu Il-sik started singing, probably drunk.
The betrayal of a girlfriend of three years must have hit him hard. And things like this were common.
Assistant Manager Park from his company had also cried his eyes out at a company dinner, saying a Hunter had stolen his girlfriend.
And an acquaintance from a client company got divorced.
He said his wife had an affair with a Hunter and handed him divorce papers.
He had a really tough time because of it, too.
Fundamentally, it was because Hunters earned more money than regular office workers.
They could earn a month’s salary for an office worker in a single conquest, so they were bound to have the upper hand in a capitalist society.
Even on TV, Hunters get paid more for appearances than ordinary people. That’s how much viewership ratings go up when Hunters are on.
“Dan-sik, so what are you going to do for a living now?”
“What do you mean? I’m going to work as a Hunter.”
“What? A Hunter?”
“I had my Awakening, Il-sik.”
“Whoa, you’re crazy. For real?”
“Yeah.”
Na Dan-sik showed Yu Il-sik his Hunter license.
“It’s real. So you quit your job because you Awakened.”
“I couldn’t stand that bastard department head anymore.”
“Congratulations, man. Your big bro is buying the celebratory drinks tonight.”
“Forget it. You don’t have any money.”
“What do you mean I don’t have money? I just got a pretty sweet income stream.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, a major guild hired me.”
“For real?”
“It’s true.”
“Well then, I can’t say no to that.”
Yu Il-sik was also an Awakened Hunter.
But his Awakened class was Porter.
The Porter class was one that carried heavy loads for other Hunters. You could say they can carry three times more than an ordinary person.
Yu Il-sik had been working as a freelancer, but it seemed he had been hired by a major guild this time.
And being affiliated with a major guild meant a steady salary, plus incentives for going on high-difficulty gates.
However, the perception of Porters among Hunters was generally poor.
This was because they were considered useless, having no combat power.
Incompetents who could do nothing but carry luggage.
It was a profession looked down upon by Hunters.
Yu Il-sik had his Awakening while working part-time with Na Dan-sik after they left the orphanage.
Since then, Yu Il-sik had been working as a Porter.
Getting hired by a major guild was great news.
Na Dan-sik and Yu Il-sik moved from place to place, drinking through a first, second, and third round.
Yu Il-sik wasn't the type to stay in one spot for long when he drank.
He had a set course: beer at a chicken place, soju at a barbecue restaurant, and makgeolli at a pancake house.
Thanks to him, Na Dan-sik was treated to a proper celebratory drink.
“You bastard. Seriously, congratulations.”
“Thanks······.”
“Hurry on home. And put it all behind you.”
After putting a very drunk Yu Il-sik into a taxi, Na Dan-sik returned home.
End
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