Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 166: Telepathy II (1)

Lawyer Han took care of everything related to the welfare foundation Han-Yeol wanted to establish. The welfare foundation might have been rushed and created on a whim, but Han-Yeol did not see any problem with that.

The 'donation' industry of South Korea was not so 'clean'. A report by the Department of Statistics mentioned that there were eighty thousand welfare foundations in South Korea, but only two of them were being run without a hint of corruption in their operation.

This meant that 79,998 foundations had some sort of corruption, no matter how big or small they were. It might seem like not a big deal at first glance, but this was a huge problem as most of these foundations in South Korea depended not on large donations from corporations but on donations from normal working-class people.

In the end, the hard-earned money that these people were donating out of goodwill was being misused for personal gains, and the donation culture in the country slowly started to deteriorate out of mistrust for these foundations.

This, in turn, ironically made it difficult for those who were really in need to get help.

‘Well, no reason for me to help them, but I need to have something to show after being in this position. If not, this newfound fame of mine could quickly turn against me,’?Han-Yeol thought.

He was a huge fan of South Korea’s most famous MC, and he recalled being in awe of him whenever he heard the news that the MC donated to the needy and less fortunate.

‘I need to take care of my public image while it’s still good,’?he knew he was fortunate enough to be able to help others.

He had more than enough money right now, and he could earn more anytime he wanted to. He was currently taking a break after the vicious battle against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, but he was planning to return to hunting very soon.

“Kyu!”

“Yes, Mavros. We will go hunt together.”

He was especially looking forward to the numerous synergies he could create with Mavros. Already quite strong thanks to his numerous skills, how much stronger was he going to be if he found a way to maximize their efficiency by flying with Mavros? Han-Yeol could not help but look forward to hunting again.

‘Hmm… I should probably focus on resting right now. I need to rest to be able to work hard later, right?’?he knew that resting was vital if he wanted to be at his peak performance later on.

He learned from his father that resting was the start of working hard, his father taught him a lot of things when he was younger, and he was still giving him a lot of advice these days too. He would tell him jokes, quotes, and even some words of wisdom from time to time, and Han-Yeol always took those words to heart since he respected his father more than anyone else in this world.

Han-Yeol might have gone astray during his high school days, but he never forgot about his father’s teachings, so he did not bully other kids just for his own entertainment like what most bullies would do.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!?

Han-Yeol looked out the window. The scenery outside was quite peaceful despite being located very close to Seoul. He looked around his mansion grounds and noticed that it was a bit empty for his liking.

‘It’s quite spacious but there are only five buildings here…’?he wondered what the original owner’s plans were when they built this place.

They only built four buildings in this large area, and the fifth one was added by Han-Yeol to house his vehicle collection. The hangar housing the vehicle collection was quite a large one, but there was still a lot of space left in the mansion grounds even after building the large hangar.

Han-Yeol wanted to fill up the land with something. Some would argue that there was beauty in the void, but he preferred to put something there instead of keeping it unused. After all, he had the money to do whatever he wanted.

‘Hmm…?Should I build a gold storage over there?’?he suddenly thought of the Demon Merchant.

Delchant, quite a repulsive demon to deal with, but able to get various items that Han-Yeol would never dream of getting on his own. Indeed, a being he was going to summon from time to time in the future.

Han-Yeol had no idea why the demon was asking for gold in this day and age where mana stones existed, but good for him since gold was cheaper than mana stone.

He needed to have an ample supply of gold if going to use Delchant from now on rather than scrambling to get enough gold after using his services.

‘I’ll build a huge storage and commission the Shine raid party to keep hunting gold for me.’?

Han-Yeol was certain this was going to protect him from any variables that could suddenly appear if the golems suddenly stopped dropping gold.

Some might think it was wasteful for him to store up gold that cost him money to procure, but Han-Yeol had already entered the upper echelons of society that whatever he spent to procure the gold was going to be chump change for him.

He pressed the call button on his remote control after making up his mind.

Beep!

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?]

An Egyptian staff working in the control room appeared on TV. The Horus raid party may have returned to Egypt, but the Egyptians working for Han-Yeol remained in South Korea.

“Please call Albert for me.”

[Certainly, sir.]

Beep!

He switched the TV off and Albert appeared exactly two minutes later.

“Did you call me, Han-Yeol-nim?”

“Yes, Albert. I wish to build a large storage on the empty plot of land over there.”

“Hmm? The hangar for the car is not even full yet, but you want to build another storage unit?”

“No, this one is not for cars but for gold.”

“Gold…?”

“Yes, you are already aware that I can trade with demons, right?”

“Hoho, I am. I am also an avid viewer of Level Up TV.”

“Oh my, I suddenly feel burdened knowing that you are watching me…”

“Hohoho!”

.

Level Up TV had evolved to the size of a broadcast station now and could no longer be considered a streamer’s broadcast channel. In fact, its revenue started to rival that of most broadcast stations, thanks to the number of viewers tuning in. On top of that, there were the viewers who purchased V Tickets, further boosting their revenues. Albert was one of those who purchased a V Ticket.

“The demon asks for payment in gold, and the amount of gold they ask increases the better the quality of the item I buy is. For example, the item I bought last time cost me ten tons of gold. I am not sure how long I will be able to keep procuring gold from monsters, so I figured it was going to be a good idea to keep a stockpile of them for whenever I need them.”

Albert nodded in agreement. “Yes, that is certainly a wise choice. It is the same as how it is extremely inefficient for someone to work for cash whenever they want to buy something, and it becomes even more inefficient the more expensive that product is.”

“I would have stored the gold in a place like a gold bank if this was before the dimensional gates, but nobody considers gold as a currency these days, so I have no choice but to build my own storage.”

“I understand,” Alfred said before he suddenly added, “Oh, what do you think of commissioning the work to Mujahid’s construction company? I doubt he is going to pull some shady tricks like the Korean construction companies when you are the one requesting it.”

“Hmm… That’s true…”

The world had gone through a drastic change, but the fact that Korean companies thought little of the consumers did not change. The Korean construction companies were infamous for inflating material prices, delaying construction, increasing labor costs, and all sorts of other shady tricks to squeeze whatever they could from their clients.

Han-Yeol worked at a construction site during the days he was a Porter and there was no work at the factory, so he was well aware of what kind of tricks the construction companies employ.

He could not confidently say that the Egyptian construction companies were any better than the Korean ones, but he was at least going to be assured that the one owned by Mujahid was not going to try and pull a fast one on him.

“I’ll speak to Mujahid directly. It seems that I’m the one who ended up with the work when I was trying to ask you to do it, Albert.”

“Hoho! I am greatly saddened that you do not need the services of this old man.”

“Is that how it sounds?”

“Hohoho!”

There was quite a big age gap between Han-Yeol and Albert, but they were still able to have fun conversations with each other.

Albert was quite polite, smart, and patient with people, so Han-Yeol sincerely liked having Albert around.

The conversation came to an end, and the old butler left to tend to his other duties.

Han-Yeol immediately called Mujahid.

[Hello? Are you finally going to hunt with me, hyung-nim?!]

[No, I’m still resting.]

[WHYYYYY?!]

[What do you mean why…? Anyway, I have a favor, Mujahid.]

[What is it? Consider it done! I’ll put my life on the line to make sure it gets done!]

[There’s no need to put your life on the line. I want to build a big and awesome storage unit in my mansion, and I was thinking of commissioning the work to your construction company.]

[A big and awesome storage unit… Alright, do you have a budget in mind?]

[Hmm… Not really… Just do your best. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be motivated to go hunt if you do a great job.]

[Oh! Okay! I’ll whip the boys to build you a big and awesome storage unit as soon as possible!]

Mujahid was definitely fired up now after finding a reason to accept Han-Yeol’s request. He was the type to go all out if he saw a reason to do it, and Han-Yeol’s bait to go hunt with him was the perfect motivation he needed.

[Oh right, the storage unit will be used to store gold. Make sure you design it accordingly.]

[Yes, I understand.]

Beep…!

Mujahid seemed to be in a rush to end the call; he normally would wait until Han-Yeol hung up first, but it seemed that he was really in a hurry this time.

Han-Yeol was not upset about getting the call cut on his face, as he knew that Mujahid was quite the impatient one at times. Well, a part of him was hoping that he was not going to cause a mess after being too worked up.

There were only three people in South Korea that could control Mujahid, and two of them were back in Egypt right now.

‘The mess this guy causes will be on a whole different scale. It's going to be annoying to clean up after him, so I hope he doesn't do anything.’?Han-Yeol could only hope.

Han-Yeol immediately called the Shine raid party after he commissioned Mujahid to build the gold storage unit.

[Hello, it has been a long time, Mavros-nim. How have you been?]

The voice of the Shine raid party’s leader sounded as young as ever. They only spoke once over the phone, but Han-Yeol remembered the voice as quite unique. On the other hand, the Shine raid party leader seemed to remember the alias Mavros as well. After all, Han-Yeol had paid them quite a lot for the work commissioned, so they were probably waiting earnestly for him to call again.

“I have been well, thank you. What about you, how have you been, Shine raid party leader-nim?”

[Ah, my name is Chu Si-Hyung. You can call me Chu Si-Hyung from now on.]

‘Chu Si-Hyung…?’?Han-Yeol suddenly thought of something.

“Excuse me…”

[Yes, Mavros-nim?]

“Do you have an elder brother named Chu Si-Han by any chance?”

[Huh? H-How did you know?]

Chu Si-Hyung sounded flustered over the phone.

Han-Yeol was certain after hearing the response. ‘Well, I would be surprised too if someone suddenly told me about my family.’

Then, unable to resist, he smiled at this peculiar twist of coincidence. He was delighted yet saddened by the flood of old memories. He thought, ‘Who would’ve known?I'd?meet him like this…?’?

He then said, “It’s been a while, Si-Hyung. How have you been?”

[W-Who are you?]

“Keke! It’s me, Han-Yeol.”

Han-Yeol had felt the voice sounded familiar the first time he heard it, but he hadn’t dwelled on it much at that time since he could not really put a finger on it. However, he finally realized why the voice sounded so familiar in the first place after hearing his name.

[W-What?! Hyung?! It’s been ages since I last heard from you! How have you been?]

“I’m doing okay, but what about Si-Han?”

[Ah… My brother was very upset that you suddenly disappeared… He’s doing alright, but I’m not sure if he’s still upset…]

“Well, I’m glad he’s doing alright. Anyway, keep this between ourselves for now. I’m going to go find him in person soon.”

[Ah, okay. I got it.]

“You’re as nice as I remember you to be, Si-Hyung.”

[I-I’m not!]