Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 347 – Instigated Confusion (3)

Fortunately, Han-Yeol and the others safely entered the cave without being chased by the hyenas. He successfully opened the dimensional gate. However, the coordinates of the gate they exited were not the laboratory complex in Switzerland but South Korea.

Wooong!

They swiftly crossed the gate and closed it behind them, ensuring the hyenas wouldn't find anything even if they managed to enter the cave.

"Phew... That was a long ten days," Han-Yeol sighed, feeling as though he had lost ten years of his life the moment the corrupted serpent appeared unexpectedly.

"Hoho~ It was quite fruitful, though, wasn't it, master?" Tia remarked nonchalantly with a smile.

Han-Yeol nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

He stretched his tired muscles and exited the warehouse constructed to house the dimensional gate.

However, the automatic warehouse doors suddenly ripped apart with a bang, revealing a familiar face.

[Huff! Huff!]

“Huh? Kandir?"

The person gasping for breath was none other than Han-Yeol's trusted subordinate, Kandir, who seemed to have rushed there urgently.

[Y-You are back!]

"Yeah. That cursed dimensional gate ran out of mana when I needed it. Switzerland is quite a distance from here, so it's understandable, but it chose to give out just when I had to return to Earth."

The ten days spent in the Bastro Dimension were somewhat fruitful, yet being trapped there against his will made Han-Yeol grumble. Despite that, apart from this inconvenience, it wasn't all bad, so he chose to simply grimace and move on.

Meanwhile, Kandir appeared to have anxiously waited day and night for Han-Yeol.

[Haa...] Kandir let out a sigh after seeing how nonchalant his master was.

"W-Why? What’s wrong?" Han-Yeol flinched and asked after seeing Kandir sigh suddenly.

However, Kandir simply shook his head and replied, [It's not important. I'm glad you're back safely. Are you hurt anywhere?]

Han-Yeol chuckled, saying, "It's really awkward that you're the one asking me that, Kandir."

[Ah... You're right...]

Han-Yeol, a combat-type Hunter, possessed top-tier healing skills, enabling him to easily heal himself as long as he remained alive and had mana.

Tak! Tak!

Han-Yeol smiled and patted Kandir's shoulder twice, completely understanding what he was thinking. "I'm home, Kandir."

[Welcome back, Harkan-nim.]

This was Kandir's greeting whenever Han-Yeol returned from battle.

Heh.

Han-Yeol smiled and walked past Kandir, cracking his aching joints and muscles. "Ah! This feels much better!"

Unfortunately, things were just getting started for him.

[H...ar...kaaaaan!]

"Han-Yeol."

"Han-Yeol-nim."

The three women he feared the most appeared in front of him, radiating killing intent.

"Hiiik!"

It was needless to say that Han-Yeol shrieked as soon as he saw them.

'S-Someone help me...!' he screamed inwardly out of desperation, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

Thus, he was caught by the three women and received an earful all night long. Only the next afternoon was he able to escape from them.

Han-Yeol wanted to rest more than anything right now, but he did not forget to greet his father first before going to rest.

***

“Yawn... All that nagging made it feel like I didn’t get a wink of sleep...”

Han-Yeol woke up and yawned even after sleeping for seven hours. It was the first time since becoming a Hunter that he was sleep-deprived.

His fatigue was evidence of how draining the ten days in the Bastro Dimension had been. Additionally, crossing between dimensions with different mana densities took a toll on his body, despite his resilience. He might be incredibly tough, but the fatigue caused by mana was undeniable.

He rose from his bed and headed to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of barley tea and downing its entire contents.

"Ah~ I feel much better now."

His plan was to rest comfortably from this point on, doing whatever he wanted, eating whatever he craved, and catching up on all the movies he desired to watch.

Plop...!

Finally settling onto the ultra-comfortable sofa he had purchased for his room, it seemed that the gods had no intentions of granting him rest.

Knock! Knock!

“Yes?”

Creak...!

The door opened, and Albert peeked in.

“What is it, Albert?”

“Hello, Han-Yeol-nim. Sung-Jin-nim has come to see you.”

“Sung-Jin?”

“Yes.”

Following Albert's words, someone peeked in from behind him.

“Yo!”

All of Han-Yeol’s detection skills were momentarily deactivated; he longed for undisturbed rest if possible. Despite the inconvenience, his best friend, Sung-Jin, was an exception. After all, Han-Yeol enjoyed having his friends over at his place.

“Yoo!” Han-Yeol raised his hand in greeting.

Tak! Tak!

He then tapped the sofa beside him, gesturing for Sung-Jin to take a seat.

“Oh right, Albert.”

“Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?”

"Please prepare some tea and snacks for Sung-Jin and me."

"Most certainly, I will instruct the maids to prepare it at once."

"Thank you."

Albert bowed and closed the door.

Sung-Jin’s eyes sparkled just after Albert shut the door. "Wow! My friend is so cool these days!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I’ve always been cool!"

"Haha! Aigoo~ Good for you, chairman."

"Do you realize now how great I am?"

There was a saying that boys will be boys, and that probably described these two perfectly. Both nearing thirty, they reverted to high school antics whenever they got together.

The beauty of having friends was the ability to be oneself without worrying about manners or reputation. A philosopher once said that having one true friend in your life meant that your life was a success.

"Hey."

"What?"

"What brings you here all of a sudden? It’s rare for you to come without calling first, and it seems there’s something you want to talk about."

Han-Yeol possessed the ability to read minds like Mariam, but out of respect for his best friend, he didn't peek inside Sung-Jin's thoughts.

"Ah, you noticed?"

"Of course, we’ve been friends for years. Did you really think I couldn’t read your mood?"

"Haa... I knew you would notice... It’s nothing big really. The company is doing really well thanks to your help with securing numerous export deals and expanding our factory," Sung-Jin said, fidgeting.

It's worth mentioning that the factory expansion was a result of Han-Yeol pushing them out from their original location. He arranged Yoo-Bi’s workshop beside the Sung Jin Factory, but their constant growth posed potential security risks for Yoo-Bi. Thus, he convinced Sung-Jin’s father to relocate the factory for Yoo-Bi’s safety.

Feeling guilty about displacing them, he secretly aided them in purchasing a large plot of land below market price to rebuild a bigger, better factory.

"Hmm... Then it’s probably a personal problem. Ah, is it related to awakening?" Han-Yeol asked.

Kwachik...!

"Yeah," Sung-Jin replied, clenching his fists.

He assisted his father in running the factory but couldn’t abandon his dream of becoming a Hunter. Joining a raid party, he left empty-handed. He roamed, joining random parties, but saw no results.

"Maybe I’m not talented, Han-Yeol."

“Come on, what are you saying? You haven't even awakened yet, so how do you know if you have talent or not?”

The rank post-awakening was random. Martial artists or the talented had higher chances of awakening with a better rank, but even they faced the 'random rank generator.'

“I’m doing my best since becoming a Hunter has always been my dream, but I’m starting to feel impatient now that I’ve spent so much time being a Porter...”

Kwachik!

A nerve bulged on Han-Yeol’s forehead.

‘You crazy bastard! I managed to awaken after working as a Porter for four years!’ he inwardly screamed.

However, he understood Sung-Jin's frustration.

‘Tsk... I managed due to my father’s hospital bills, but it’s probably stressful for him aiming to become a Hunter...’

Tak! Tak!

“Hang in there, buddy.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh right, you said you’re joining random parties these days, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, why don’t you work as a Porter for my Gurkha raid party instead of joining those shady small parties?”

“Hmm?”

“I received reports finding good Porters is extremely difficult. You might be reluctant as you’re my friend and don’t like using connections, but Sahas stressed they need a Veteran Porter. So, why don’t you try applying?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I might be the chairman, but I don’t get involved in daily operations. And this is technically okay since I can at least let you know there’s a demand, right? I mean, what are friends for?”

“Thanks~ Thanks~”

Having connections in Korea was a potent ability. However, this wasn't a classic case of using connections for personal gain as the Gurkha raid party indeed sought a Veteran Porter. Though Han-Yeol heard about it from Purva and not Sahas, that detail wasn't crucial.

Sung-Jin stood up, energized by the news. “I don’t have time to sit around! I need to go prepare my resume! I’m leaving now, bye!”

“Yeah, sure, bye~”

Sung-Jin hurried off, invigorated by the prospect.

‘Tsk... Did I tell him too early?’ Han-Yeol clicked his tongue in disappointment.

It had been a long time since he last had the chance to sit down and chat with his friend, so he wanted more time with him if possible.

‘Oh well, let’s just watch TV.’

He had missed numerous episodes due to his extended absence.

He was about to wave his hand in the air to activate the TV through the motion sensor, but he was interrupted once again.

Knock! Knock!

‘Again...?’ he grumbled inwardly before responding to the knock.

“Come in.”

Albert opened the door once again.

“Yes, Albert?”

“Hoho! I see Sung-Jin-nim just left. I guess that's a good thing as we almost had to prepare more tea and snacks.”

“Huh? Why?”

“You have another visitor, Han-Yeol-nim.”

“Again?”

“Yes.”

Another familiar face peeked from behind Albert.

“Hi~”

“Scarlett?”

“Surprise!” she exclaimed with a smile.

It had been a long time since Han-Yeol last saw her, but her face and body remained as attractive as ever. Certainly, she wasn’t as stunning as Tayarana, yet there was no need to compare them; Scarlett's charm was distinct from Tayarana’s.

Moreover, it was unfair to make such comparisons. After all, it was inevitable for any woman to pale in comparison to Tayarana.